I snuck back up to the old home country for a couple of days here recently, trying to give my brain a short bit of down time before the grind otherwise known as the WSOP begins. I planned on doing a lot of shopping, a little fishing, maybe a round of golf, maybe a casino visit.
I managed to do a ton of needed shopping on Friday, but the Northwoods weather wasn't too cooperative, so I got in no fishing and only one round of golf. I did get in live poker play twice, though, since my sister and her husband both wanted to go to the casinos, so we made a project of it on Friday night and again on Saturday.
While both me and my brother-in-law Brad had a down night in the $1/2 NL game at Lake of the Torches, the highlight of the night had to be the rinky-dink way the single table in action (on a Friday night, no less) was being run. What follows is a hilarious lesson in small-time poker:
We had reserved our seats for when the game began and were therefore playing soon after 4pm, when the game started up. No one busted out until after 5:00, and that was a kid who claimed to play a ton at low stakes on Stars, but was about the opposite of what I expected him to be. He must have limped in 30 times pre-flop, and to the best of my memory never made a pre-flop raise, but never failed to call if someone raised behind him. He eventually put himself in a position to get his aces cracked, and thus departed. His seat was filled by another of the game's regulars, who in total probably occupied seven of the ten seats.
Then I busted anther one of the regulars, despite being down myself, and another player from the lengthy waiting list came in on the third of three calls for the open seat, bought $150 in chips, dropped them by the open ten seat and went off to the dinner buffet without playing a single hand. And the floor allowed this, despite a waiting list of six or seven names and only the single table in play.
An hour later the guy still hadn't returned and the majority opinion, including mine, was, "What the fuck?"
Eventually the guy did show, spouting some cockamamie about the situation, at which time the floor guy, a native with a bad attitude at the best of times who had an extra bad attitude this night (because he had not been chosen to be the new room supervisor), announced to the complainers that he wasn't going to listen to anyone's complaints, because that was now the new room supervisor's job. Poor new supervisor Debbie is gonna have a fun time with this assclown on staff.
But amid the grumbling, I said, quite loudly, so the whole room could hear: "What kind of bullshit is this? It's the floor's job to listen to complaints -- besides making change and assigning seats, that's basically why he's here."
I got an icy look for that one from said assclown. Ah, well.
The next day Brad and Holly wanted to go up to Watersmeet, Michigan, the home of the fabled Nimrods in the ESPN high-school football series and commercial. The UP is rugged country but quite beautiful, if still a bit barren this very late spring. We went up there because they were running the first of what they promise will be monthly $100+15 buy-in freezeouts, which is relatively high stakes for the area. (They run a quarterly $300+30, too.) The room supervisor happened to be an old Flambeau hand who remembered me from my last visit to that room some months before, and not only was he glad for all of us to be there, he even arranged with the big boss on duty for me to be allowed to take a photo or two of the Watersmeet layout. The disintegrating situation in Flambeau was among the topics of conversation by everyone in sight. Lots of bad crap going on at Lake of the Torches, the type of bad crap that brings S.W.A.T. teams authorized by the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. And when I say buzz, I mean it; at least a third of the players in Watersmeet were people I recognized as regulars from the Flambeau game.
In total, despite a nice layout and friendly staff, Watersmeet drew only 25 players for this event. It's what happens for a smaller, new tourney that gives it its first go just before Memorial Day. It may also be an one of a thousand small indicators of what is likely to be a tough summer for the region's touristy economy. They'll still do somewhat better in the summer and should likely approach the 40-player cap for these things, since the casino has a very nice four-table room.
We started play at about 12:15 with 7,500 in chips each, and for the first hour I went nowhere, slipping down to about 5,000 at one point. I chipped up a tiny bit, then halfway through Hour 2 pulled off an all-in, check-raise semi-bluff against a couple of the table's steadier players, who -- thank heavens -- bought my push and let me take down a pot up to almost 12,000 at that point. Then I came over the top of my brother-in-law's late-position raise when I found 10-10 in the small blind, only to get an all-in push over the top of me from the big blind. Brad went away -- he had only 5-5 -- and I was getting better than 4:1 and was definitely priced in against the guy's range, despite having only about 3,000 behind. The big blind showed A-K and my tens held up, and I was suddenly over 20,000 in chips, and in the hunt.
By the time we consolidated into a final table of ten I'd chipped up to 33,000 and had taken a very thin lead, though the stacks were tight enough and the blinds high enough that it was really anyone's game. I made a jump up to about 60,000 after a couple of big pots, the second of which found me with K-K, where I re-raised one of the event's better players out of the pot. (He had A-Q, though a shorty called with 10-10 and went bye-bye.)
I was pretty sure I'd make the top four and cash in the thing at this point. My brother-in-law was on fumes, though, but correctly made a last stand before becoming Broomcorn's Uncle, the fate which befell the eventual fifth-place bubbler, an old guy who had been solid early but turned weak-tight as the bubble approached. I busted him when my A-3 held against his all-in-with-his-big-blind K-10. My brother-in-law went out in seventh or eighth, and he was happy enough with that performance, it seemed, despite not cashing.
Problem was, I had dropped a few chips in the meantime from my high-water mark, and had roughly just a fourth of the chips in play when the bubble burst, so when a chop was offered for the cash portion of the prize money -- a $330 seat to the quarterly $15K was an added bonus for the winner -- I figured what the hell. It was a straight 40:30:20:10 split on the prize money, so I grabbed the $540 in chop cash and tried for the seat. I eventually went out in third, as 5:30 approached, though I'd have given the seat to Brad if I'd won it anyway.
And that's how my unplanned poker weekend went. The single round of golf was played through a series of popcorn showers, and I struggled to an 87 (from the men's tees, at least) on a shortish course near Tomahawk. At least I chipped one in for a birdie on a short par five.
Now it's back to work for a hard few days, including preparation for my mad-dash drive to Vegas over the Memorial Day weekend. I'll see some of you there, I'd guess, including a handful of you folks I've never met in person before. It'll be a busy seven weeks, won't it?
Pssst.... All this, of course, is an alternate post. I had written a lengthy, lengthy post on another topic, and just couldn't quite talk myself into publishing that one before I headed north. Perhaps I will soon. Then again, perhaps not.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
I Might Have to Put a Buck or Two on Smokkee
Had a big-time ROFL when I saw this Cappers Mall piece on "celebrity" poker odds for the WSOP, including the special poker-blogger category.
Here's the linky.
Hmmm, Pauly at 16:1 and Smokkee at 60:1? Gotta like Smokkee there. Nothing personal, Pauly; it's just that Smokkee's one tough SOB.
Here's the linky.
Hmmm, Pauly at 16:1 and Smokkee at 60:1? Gotta like Smokkee there. Nothing personal, Pauly; it's just that Smokkee's one tough SOB.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
More Projects Than Time
As summer approaches I'm still looking for assistance with some major project work, along the lines of editing poker-related material several hours a day. If you have some available time in the next few months and are interested in a middlin' small amount of scratch, drop me an e-mail. Two requirements: you've got to have a pretty decent knowledge of poker, and you'll need to be able to demonstrate acceptable copy-editing skills. Good working knowledge of English grammar a huge plus. Good working knowledge of poker, including the specifics of the game and well-known players, is mandatory.
Friday, May 02, 2008
The WSOP and the Ratings Sweeps Final Table
[The opinions expressed here are mine alone, and not necessarily those of my employer or employers.]
It was pretty much open knowledge that the announced press conference this week by Harrah's and the WSOP was to confirm that the final table of the WSOP Main Event final table was to be delayed to November, in large part to be able to hype the partipicants and the massive money involved, the better to reinvigorate TV ratings and casual poker interest in a stagnant televised-poker market.
To be sure, ESPN was a big mover behind the new plan, though as spring arrived it appeared that getting it done for the 2008 WSOP was too little, too late. Among the rumored issues was the lengthy time required to have changes of such a major scope authorized by the Nevada Gaming Commission, the official oversight body for such tournaments. NGC approval normally takes months, but this, somehow, made it onto the fast track. Disney corporate muscle, perhaps?
No matter. The move's going to happen, and I don't care about that in a personal sense. The chance of it personally affecting me is related only to the chance I have of needing to return there for work duties, and that's part of my job... Its greater effects on poker I do care about, however. En fuego threads have popped up on bulletin boards of all sizes, most of which has which have featured largely negative comments on the proposed change.
Can't say I blame them. The change benefits the upper crust of pro players, and also benefits the donkeys having the runs of their lives, who will then have a chance to study and improve. It's a distinct dis-benefit to the rank-and-file player who grinds away year after year. It's also a distinct dis-benefit to international touring players. It's a decent enough idea, just poorly executed.
Some of what was said to during the conferences during the conference had me agape with the double-speak being shoveled. One early call had CC phoning in to ask, in part, whether Harrah's was going to sweeten the prize pool with a slice of the added revenues generated by ESPN's switch to make this a ratings-sweep, high-viewership powerhouse. Would Harrah's share the wealth?
WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack circled around the question and then returned to it, avering that Harrah's was indeed padding the pot. That padding in turn, turns out to be the accrued interest generated by the $20 million or whatever will generate in a low-risk CD over the 117 days the ME is placed on hold. That money, of course, is rightly the players' anyhow, so it can be translated as saying that the pool will be padded slightly -- by the players' own entry fees. I find the attempt by Harrah's to claim that this is Harrah's "padding" the player pool to be both inaccurate and disingenuous. They're giving the eventual winner the accrued interest on the portion of the player pool that has to be held for the extra four months. They're contributing nada from the extra corporate sponsorship deals they have or may yet ink.
Another point of contention sure to draw attention in recent days is the oft-repeated mantra that the changes were approved by the Players Action Committee. The PAC has powerful members, and it's unfair to refer to it as "rubber stamp" organization, but the PAC is neither all players, nor do the players who are on the committee free of other business interests that would not make them far more likely togo along with the change.
According to a recent Matt Savage column on PokerNews, the PAC consists of: The PAC is headed up by WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and is attended by Harrah's executives Howard Greenbaum, Ty Stewart, Gary Thompson, Bruce Benson, Joseph Scibetta, and Effel. Player representatives are Howard Lederer, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon, TJ Cloutier, Cyndy Violette, Robert Williamson III, Mickey Appleman, Wendeen Eolis, Barry Greenstein, Chris Ferguson, Bob and Maureen Feduniak, Marissa Chien, Tom Schneider, and Steve Zolotow. Also among the PAC members are WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla, and from the television-production side, Matt Maranz, David Swartz, and Jamie Horowitz.
Interesting mix. First, the business side of poker occupies almost as many positions on the committee as those occupied by people who would generally be identified as major pro players. Second, several of the players on the board are exactly among the upper crust that would likely benefit the most from the extra wrinkles the four-month delay would bring. Either these players would benefit from huge endorsement opportunities from being likely the only name star at a final table to be pimp-delayed for four months,or would be the most likely to leverage their own teaching and promotional opportunities regarding the players who are lucky enough to make the final. Such high-end influences and pros are less likely to reflect the interests of rank-and-file players, and are more susceptible to the big-dollar pitch likely offered by Harrah's and ESPN. It's not the true cross-section of the pro-player public Harrah's makes it out to be.
I haven't even gotten into some of the other very obvious issues the delayed final brings up, including the widespread collusive threat the new format is likely to encourage.
In short, I wish it well as a innovative concept, but I think it's a bad move for poker as a legitimate, serious game. Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see.
It was pretty much open knowledge that the announced press conference this week by Harrah's and the WSOP was to confirm that the final table of the WSOP Main Event final table was to be delayed to November, in large part to be able to hype the partipicants and the massive money involved, the better to reinvigorate TV ratings and casual poker interest in a stagnant televised-poker market.
To be sure, ESPN was a big mover behind the new plan, though as spring arrived it appeared that getting it done for the 2008 WSOP was too little, too late. Among the rumored issues was the lengthy time required to have changes of such a major scope authorized by the Nevada Gaming Commission, the official oversight body for such tournaments. NGC approval normally takes months, but this, somehow, made it onto the fast track. Disney corporate muscle, perhaps?
No matter. The move's going to happen, and I don't care about that in a personal sense. The chance of it personally affecting me is related only to the chance I have of needing to return there for work duties, and that's part of my job... Its greater effects on poker I do care about, however. En fuego threads have popped up on bulletin boards of all sizes, most of which has which have featured largely negative comments on the proposed change.
Can't say I blame them. The change benefits the upper crust of pro players, and also benefits the donkeys having the runs of their lives, who will then have a chance to study and improve. It's a distinct dis-benefit to the rank-and-file player who grinds away year after year. It's also a distinct dis-benefit to international touring players. It's a decent enough idea, just poorly executed.
Some of what was said to during the conferences during the conference had me agape with the double-speak being shoveled. One early call had CC phoning in to ask, in part, whether Harrah's was going to sweeten the prize pool with a slice of the added revenues generated by ESPN's switch to make this a ratings-sweep, high-viewership powerhouse. Would Harrah's share the wealth?
WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack circled around the question and then returned to it, avering that Harrah's was indeed padding the pot. That padding in turn, turns out to be the accrued interest generated by the $20 million or whatever will generate in a low-risk CD over the 117 days the ME is placed on hold. That money, of course, is rightly the players' anyhow, so it can be translated as saying that the pool will be padded slightly -- by the players' own entry fees. I find the attempt by Harrah's to claim that this is Harrah's "padding" the player pool to be both inaccurate and disingenuous. They're giving the eventual winner the accrued interest on the portion of the player pool that has to be held for the extra four months. They're contributing nada from the extra corporate sponsorship deals they have or may yet ink.
Another point of contention sure to draw attention in recent days is the oft-repeated mantra that the changes were approved by the Players Action Committee. The PAC has powerful members, and it's unfair to refer to it as "rubber stamp" organization, but the PAC is neither all players, nor do the players who are on the committee free of other business interests that would not make them far more likely togo along with the change.
According to a recent Matt Savage column on PokerNews, the PAC consists of: The PAC is headed up by WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and is attended by Harrah's executives Howard Greenbaum, Ty Stewart, Gary Thompson, Bruce Benson, Joseph Scibetta, and Effel. Player representatives are Howard Lederer, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon, TJ Cloutier, Cyndy Violette, Robert Williamson III, Mickey Appleman, Wendeen Eolis, Barry Greenstein, Chris Ferguson, Bob and Maureen Feduniak, Marissa Chien, Tom Schneider, and Steve Zolotow. Also among the PAC members are WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla, and from the television-production side, Matt Maranz, David Swartz, and Jamie Horowitz.
Interesting mix. First, the business side of poker occupies almost as many positions on the committee as those occupied by people who would generally be identified as major pro players. Second, several of the players on the board are exactly among the upper crust that would likely benefit the most from the extra wrinkles the four-month delay would bring. Either these players would benefit from huge endorsement opportunities from being likely the only name star at a final table to be pimp-delayed for four months,or would be the most likely to leverage their own teaching and promotional opportunities regarding the players who are lucky enough to make the final. Such high-end influences and pros are less likely to reflect the interests of rank-and-file players, and are more susceptible to the big-dollar pitch likely offered by Harrah's and ESPN. It's not the true cross-section of the pro-player public Harrah's makes it out to be.
I haven't even gotten into some of the other very obvious issues the delayed final brings up, including the widespread collusive threat the new format is likely to encourage.
In short, I wish it well as a innovative concept, but I think it's a bad move for poker as a legitimate, serious game. Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Alas, No Hat Trick
Sometimes I wonder how much of the difference between a competent player and a truly successful one is belief. As in thinking something like, "I know I'm going to win this tourney or take down this pot." Perhaps that little bit of extra confidence is what makes a hot player run a bluff at the right time, while a cold player makes the wrong one.
A lot of players swear by feel and streaks and rushes and the like, while others go by the pure math. I'm torn between the two. Numbers are numbers, of course, and I trust in math enough to know that there are few things that can't be explained by mathematical anomaly. Still, there's always that tingling speck of doubt: In a quantum sense, can believing in something happening give it just the slightest more chance of becoming so? That's what confidence is, isn't it?
I can't answer that. I believe in math and probabilities, but I've also seen some things in my life that math alone can't explain.
Back to more mundane thoughts.
It wasn't for the lack of trying, but I couldn't make it three in a row in baby MTTs. I finished something like 29th of 57 in the next one, then took a sixth (of 103) in one soon after. The following night saw me crash out of a couple of MTTs well short of the money.
Sunday found me with a couple of hours with which to try again. In addition to one more bustout, I snagged a third and yet another first for a nice continuation of my recent run. I played eight small MTTs (60-105 players each) over a five-day stretch, with five final tables, including a third and three firsts. All this followed an extended run of at least two months where I did virtually nothing in MTTs. Dozens of them, and it was perhaps a part of why I didn't play at all for about three weeks.
Today's word is syzygy. When things are running well, it indeed feels like the planets are in alignment.
A lot of players swear by feel and streaks and rushes and the like, while others go by the pure math. I'm torn between the two. Numbers are numbers, of course, and I trust in math enough to know that there are few things that can't be explained by mathematical anomaly. Still, there's always that tingling speck of doubt: In a quantum sense, can believing in something happening give it just the slightest more chance of becoming so? That's what confidence is, isn't it?
I can't answer that. I believe in math and probabilities, but I've also seen some things in my life that math alone can't explain.
Back to more mundane thoughts.
It wasn't for the lack of trying, but I couldn't make it three in a row in baby MTTs. I finished something like 29th of 57 in the next one, then took a sixth (of 103) in one soon after. The following night saw me crash out of a couple of MTTs well short of the money.
Sunday found me with a couple of hours with which to try again. In addition to one more bustout, I snagged a third and yet another first for a nice continuation of my recent run. I played eight small MTTs (60-105 players each) over a five-day stretch, with five final tables, including a third and three firsts. All this followed an extended run of at least two months where I did virtually nothing in MTTs. Dozens of them, and it was perhaps a part of why I didn't play at all for about three weeks.
Today's word is syzygy. When things are running well, it indeed feels like the planets are in alignment.
Friday, April 25, 2008
B-2-B
Poker is teh streakaments. Had a couple of hours today in which to relax, and decided to try another small MTT over at poker.com. Smaller entry fee, but I took down the thing, making me two-fer-two for the week.
I'd like to tell you how I crushed the field in this one, but I'd be lying. I had to suck out twice in the early/middle stages just to stay alive. The second suckout got me from endangered to healthy, though; I pushed UTG w/ A-Kx, got a call three seats to my left, and then an all-in re-raise from the cutoff, which was called as well. The re-raiser showed K-K, which was great until I sucked out an ace on the flop. Odd was that the third player made the call with 10-10, and thus departed. Seemed like a hand he could've gotten away from. But I was all of a sudden in the top five in chips with the triple-up.
The one play I was pleased with let me take out the second-place player and gave me a commanding chip lead -- even though I would give a bunch of those chips back later in the final table.
I was in the small blind with an all but worthless 6-3 of diamonds, but there were two limpers before it came around to me. 7:1 to see a flop? (Assuming the BB doesn't jack it up, and he didn't.) Sure. I was back up to over 30 BBs at this point, and a couple of the other deep stacks were in it as well.
Flop comes a heavenly 5-4-2 rainbow... and I bet out for over three fourths of the pot. An aggressive player I'd taken a couple of pots from earlier barely hesitates before pushing all in with 9-9, which was toast barring a runner-runner catch that didn't show. In these low- to medium-dollar tourneys, betting out with a made hand on an all-small board is usually gold, because these players get so trap-conscious that a check-call or check-raise doesn't drag the big pots as often as you'd think. This player was a bit too aggressive but fairly decent, and I think he could have gotten away from his 9-9 if I'd slow-played it, because he had to put me on top pair -- maybe with the straight draw -- when I bet out. As it was I got his chips.
I gave them back to a different player soon enough, due to overplaying A-K when I didn't need to, and then I settled down and tried to play good positional poker as we went from five players to four and then to three. This did wonders for my chip stack. I saved my third suckout for the final hand, when I had a sizable lead and re-raised the short-stacked button all in with A-8. Whoops! He flipped A-10 and would have jumped ahead of me, but a donkalicious eight popped on the river.
Now, if I can just make it three-for-three....
I'd like to tell you how I crushed the field in this one, but I'd be lying. I had to suck out twice in the early/middle stages just to stay alive. The second suckout got me from endangered to healthy, though; I pushed UTG w/ A-Kx, got a call three seats to my left, and then an all-in re-raise from the cutoff, which was called as well. The re-raiser showed K-K, which was great until I sucked out an ace on the flop. Odd was that the third player made the call with 10-10, and thus departed. Seemed like a hand he could've gotten away from. But I was all of a sudden in the top five in chips with the triple-up.
The one play I was pleased with let me take out the second-place player and gave me a commanding chip lead -- even though I would give a bunch of those chips back later in the final table.
I was in the small blind with an all but worthless 6-3 of diamonds, but there were two limpers before it came around to me. 7:1 to see a flop? (Assuming the BB doesn't jack it up, and he didn't.) Sure. I was back up to over 30 BBs at this point, and a couple of the other deep stacks were in it as well.
Flop comes a heavenly 5-4-2 rainbow... and I bet out for over three fourths of the pot. An aggressive player I'd taken a couple of pots from earlier barely hesitates before pushing all in with 9-9, which was toast barring a runner-runner catch that didn't show. In these low- to medium-dollar tourneys, betting out with a made hand on an all-small board is usually gold, because these players get so trap-conscious that a check-call or check-raise doesn't drag the big pots as often as you'd think. This player was a bit too aggressive but fairly decent, and I think he could have gotten away from his 9-9 if I'd slow-played it, because he had to put me on top pair -- maybe with the straight draw -- when I bet out. As it was I got his chips.
I gave them back to a different player soon enough, due to overplaying A-K when I didn't need to, and then I settled down and tried to play good positional poker as we went from five players to four and then to three. This did wonders for my chip stack. I saved my third suckout for the final hand, when I had a sizable lead and re-raised the short-stacked button all in with A-8. Whoops! He flipped A-10 and would have jumped ahead of me, but a donkalicious eight popped on the river.
Now, if I can just make it three-for-three....
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Woot!!
Warning! Thinly disguised brag post! And yes, it's been a while....
Wanna know how you can tell you're a true "poker media" professional? Okay, maybe it's an oxymoron, but let's run with it anyway. The answer... it's when you can't find time to play the game, despite the fact that you're immersed in it on a daily basis. Still, I've managed to visit online sites twice this past week, which was two more than the last three weeks combined.
First, thanks again to Bodog for the ongoing Bodonkey (a/k/a Bodog Bloggerment) series, which this week featured not one but two guest pros in David Williams and Jean-Robert Bellande. I had DW on my right for a while before he chose to mix it up and was bounced. Must've been the pizza delivery guy. Odd story, Part 1: DW got all the chips in pre-flop with A-4x, from EP. Odd story, Part 2: He actually started out ahead, since the other player made the call with K-Q. A queen flopped and a bounty was awarded. I bounced myself out a while later trying to make a re-steal from the big blind, against the chip leader in the small blind, who I thought was trying to push me around. He got my chips.
Tonight I fired up the poker.com software for the first time in several weeks, just in time for the nightly $2,500 Guarantee. Darned if I didn't take the thing down:
So it wasn't a total washout of a month for poker after all. What was odd in this one is how I won it. I am -- and you can take this to the bank -- a lousy tourney frontrunner. I've won this and several other tourneys on the site multiple times each, and never once have I taken a commanding lead and ridden it through to the end. My victories have always been come-from-behind-jobs, and on the occasions I've had big leads in the middle stages, I've never closed the deal.
Until tonight. I moved near the lead with about 30 of the 77 starters still around, and then into the lead with about 17 players leading, after convincing a LAGgy player that I was really bluffing with a sizable overbet after a 7-high flop, something like 6,500 into a 4,000 pot. I'd made a standard 3x raise pre-flop from the button, and he decided to defend with J-7x. Fortunately, I had aces and he bit... hard. I stacked up some more when I pushed hard with A-K on a K-high flop against a player who had K-J and couldn't make himself release top pair. I was in the big blind in that hand and put in a healthy raise before the flop, but the guy apparently loved his K-J. Me, I can't stand the hand, and will only play it for cheap and in position.
From there it was a bit of bullying the short stacks as the bubble loomed (chipping up from maybe 50,000 to 65,000 there), and then riding out a cold spell of about six laps once the final table began.
Soon enough I picked up a few hands again and kept getting paid off. A fun poker night is when you keep getting the chips in ahead and your cards hold up time after time. That was this one in a nutshell. No one got close to me until only four players remained, and my rush continued right on through to the end. Third place went out when we both hit a flop hard, me with top two and him with bottom two. I had a 5:1 chip advantage starting heads-up play, and two hands later this player pushed with an open-ended draw and I called with top pair. Again, it held up.
Sometimes poker runs your way, if only for a short while. Such was this night.
Thursday night I'm going to show up on Rounders Radio as Lou Krieger's guest. We'll probably do what we've done when I was on his earlier Hold'em Radio show with he and Amy, and that's go free-form and talk about whatever subject pops into mind. Ad lib! Ad lib!
Wanna know how you can tell you're a true "poker media" professional? Okay, maybe it's an oxymoron, but let's run with it anyway. The answer... it's when you can't find time to play the game, despite the fact that you're immersed in it on a daily basis. Still, I've managed to visit online sites twice this past week, which was two more than the last three weeks combined.
First, thanks again to Bodog for the ongoing Bodonkey (a/k/a Bodog Bloggerment) series, which this week featured not one but two guest pros in David Williams and Jean-Robert Bellande. I had DW on my right for a while before he chose to mix it up and was bounced. Must've been the pizza delivery guy. Odd story, Part 1: DW got all the chips in pre-flop with A-4x, from EP. Odd story, Part 2: He actually started out ahead, since the other player made the call with K-Q. A queen flopped and a bounty was awarded. I bounced myself out a while later trying to make a re-steal from the big blind, against the chip leader in the small blind, who I thought was trying to push me around. He got my chips.
Tonight I fired up the poker.com software for the first time in several weeks, just in time for the nightly $2,500 Guarantee. Darned if I didn't take the thing down:
So it wasn't a total washout of a month for poker after all. What was odd in this one is how I won it. I am -- and you can take this to the bank -- a lousy tourney frontrunner. I've won this and several other tourneys on the site multiple times each, and never once have I taken a commanding lead and ridden it through to the end. My victories have always been come-from-behind-jobs, and on the occasions I've had big leads in the middle stages, I've never closed the deal.
Until tonight. I moved near the lead with about 30 of the 77 starters still around, and then into the lead with about 17 players leading, after convincing a LAGgy player that I was really bluffing with a sizable overbet after a 7-high flop, something like 6,500 into a 4,000 pot. I'd made a standard 3x raise pre-flop from the button, and he decided to defend with J-7x. Fortunately, I had aces and he bit... hard. I stacked up some more when I pushed hard with A-K on a K-high flop against a player who had K-J and couldn't make himself release top pair. I was in the big blind in that hand and put in a healthy raise before the flop, but the guy apparently loved his K-J. Me, I can't stand the hand, and will only play it for cheap and in position.
From there it was a bit of bullying the short stacks as the bubble loomed (chipping up from maybe 50,000 to 65,000 there), and then riding out a cold spell of about six laps once the final table began.
Soon enough I picked up a few hands again and kept getting paid off. A fun poker night is when you keep getting the chips in ahead and your cards hold up time after time. That was this one in a nutshell. No one got close to me until only four players remained, and my rush continued right on through to the end. Third place went out when we both hit a flop hard, me with top two and him with bottom two. I had a 5:1 chip advantage starting heads-up play, and two hands later this player pushed with an open-ended draw and I called with top pair. Again, it held up.
Sometimes poker runs your way, if only for a short while. Such was this night.
Thursday night I'm going to show up on Rounders Radio as Lou Krieger's guest. We'll probably do what we've done when I was on his earlier Hold'em Radio show with he and Amy, and that's go free-form and talk about whatever subject pops into mind. Ad lib! Ad lib!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Busy, But Not with Poker
Been a spell since I've been here, good readers. Life moves on. I have a couple of major projects I'm working on, had a friends/family weekend that I had to work into the mix, and of course had the regular work as well. Been having iffy health lately as well, which adds to the stress of the whole mix.
Poker for me -- in terms of playing -- has been all but non-existent for the past three weeks. While up north, meaning northern Wisconsin, I accompanied my brother-in-law to the semi-deserted Lac du Flambeau (Lake of the Torches) casino for about three hours of $1/2. I went down about $70 early and fought back to finish only down $20 for the session. I could never hit that draw card or flop that disguised set and put a hurt on an over-aggressive player, of which there were several.
The night's personal highlight had to be when I made three straight instantaneous and correct reads on a regular in the casino's game. First time, he wasn't involved but his language said he had a hand. Same thing the second time, and I folded out top pair to trips, which he showed. Third time he had a different tell, on a board that was something like 6-6-10-A-3. I knew for darn sure he didn't have a six or an ace or a pair of tens, and no straights or flushes were available. I was in the hand with a ridiculous 10-2 from the button, in honor of Doyle, and I was happy enough to make a river call, figuring him for his own ten or something like 8-8 or 9-9. He showed K-10, but the ace played, and I swiped half the pot with crap, thanks to the read I had. So the Joe Navarro session I sat through has already been worth about eight bucks.
I spent some hours sitting at my sister and brother-in-law's place, working on stories with the TV in the background and the wildlife wandering by just outside the window to my left. Every day brought visitors, but these photos were among the highlights:
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I didn't have my camera handy at one other moment when the wild turkey and four different deer were all within 20 or so feet of one another, feeding on corn.
The last of the snow melted a couple of days later, but the lakes were still iced over as of Friday -- and people were out there ice fishing in sweaters and/or light jackets. Late spring.
Poker for me -- in terms of playing -- has been all but non-existent for the past three weeks. While up north, meaning northern Wisconsin, I accompanied my brother-in-law to the semi-deserted Lac du Flambeau (Lake of the Torches) casino for about three hours of $1/2. I went down about $70 early and fought back to finish only down $20 for the session. I could never hit that draw card or flop that disguised set and put a hurt on an over-aggressive player, of which there were several.
The night's personal highlight had to be when I made three straight instantaneous and correct reads on a regular in the casino's game. First time, he wasn't involved but his language said he had a hand. Same thing the second time, and I folded out top pair to trips, which he showed. Third time he had a different tell, on a board that was something like 6-6-10-A-3. I knew for darn sure he didn't have a six or an ace or a pair of tens, and no straights or flushes were available. I was in the hand with a ridiculous 10-2 from the button, in honor of Doyle, and I was happy enough to make a river call, figuring him for his own ten or something like 8-8 or 9-9. He showed K-10, but the ace played, and I swiped half the pot with crap, thanks to the read I had. So the Joe Navarro session I sat through has already been worth about eight bucks.
I spent some hours sitting at my sister and brother-in-law's place, working on stories with the TV in the background and the wildlife wandering by just outside the window to my left. Every day brought visitors, but these photos were among the highlights:
.JPG)
I didn't have my camera handy at one other moment when the wild turkey and four different deer were all within 20 or so feet of one another, feeding on corn.
The last of the snow melted a couple of days later, but the lakes were still iced over as of Friday -- and people were out there ice fishing in sweaters and/or light jackets. Late spring.
Monday, April 07, 2008
The Caesars Indiana Bad Beat
Last time out, I mentioned that I'd spent a quick two days plus at Caesars Indiana for some poker doings. This time, it's the tale of the bad beat, and since it didn't specifically have to do with poker, it's safe for the telling.
After about 12 hours of activities and three or four more doing some late night copywriting and editing ($10.99 for 24 hours of high-speed internet connectivity was the going rate) I finally tumbled into bed around two or so with a massive sore throat and a hope for a few hours of sleep. No such luck. I tossed and turned, turned and tossed, and just when I finally managed to doze off...
BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM
"Open the fucking door!" It's coming from a couple of doors down, by the sound.
I hear more shouting, and then...
BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM
It's 3:57 a.m. by my hotel-room clock when the first bangs occur, and this on the seventh floor of the Caesars Indiana hotel??!? It keeps going on for five, six, seven minutes, and it's just not stopping. The shouting was bad enough, but the banging was so hard that my bed literally shook from the vibrations. There is a security guard posted just yards from the elevator doors on the ground floor, and he could be up there in 45 seconds, tops. Has no one called this crap in? Well, I didn't. Guess that answers that. Damn rich drunks. Finally it ends, or I just pass out from the fatigue. Couldn't say for sure.
There were a few recognizable poker names at the event I was attending. Next morning, I'm idly chatting with Mark Seif about various small stuff as the day's poker doings begin and it occurs to me to ask him if he'd heard the ruckus from hours earlier. I figured he was probably on my floor, since I already knew Paul Wasicka was, as I'd ridden down in the 'vator with Wasicka the morning prior.
"Yeah, what the hell was that?" says Seif, or something similar.
I tell him about the rotating drunks and the slamming doors. I ask him where he was, and it turns out he was way down at the other end of the hall. It's a long hall, since the hotel is a tall, narrow, single-wing affair that must be a hundred yards long from one end to the other. Seif was 50 or 60 yards down and he got woken up by the door-banging drunks as well. I say to Mark, "I almost called security on them."
Mark's reply: "You should've."
Turned out it was my second drunk encounter in two days at the place, too. The first one happened the day before when I shared an elevator ride down to the lobby with a middle-aged couple and their two or three nightclub-age daughters. Dad was potted, so reeking from some sweet booze that I had to turn away from him in the elevator. He even mentioned that he'd had a couple! Thanks for sharing, kind sir! I couldn't have figured it out by myself.
And, he and his clan were headed -to- the casino, not from it. Or rather, the "vessel," as the intercom informs the gamblers as they walk across the metal planking to the moored barge where the casino is housed.
Interesting place. The complex has at least a couple of nightclubs, one of which had long lines of women waiting to gain entry each night. No guys, just girls, and in a wide range of age from 18 to 45. All dressed like they were going to the Elizabeth, Indiana version of PURE... which, come to think of it, they probably were. No specific comment on some of the outfits I saw, except to say I think some of the women consulted drag queens for their wardrobe choices.
By the way, I mentioned the word "boonies" in my last post as describing the casino's location. I think reading between the lines of the official directions to the casino from the Caesars Indiana site verifies that. As they say it:
Directions to Caesars
* Take I-64 west of Louisville to exit 123 in New Albany, IN.
* Turn right at the bottom of the ramp.
* Pass through 2 stop lights. At the stop sign turn right (south) on Main St. (Indiana State Road 111).
* Indiana SR 111 will split to a "Y." At the split bear left and proceed across the railroad crossing. Caesars Indiana Resort is approximately 8 miles ahead.
Boonies! As I mentioned in a Skype chat to Logan, one of the PN writers, they left off the line saying, "If you hit the pig ranch you've gone too far."
After about 12 hours of activities and three or four more doing some late night copywriting and editing ($10.99 for 24 hours of high-speed internet connectivity was the going rate) I finally tumbled into bed around two or so with a massive sore throat and a hope for a few hours of sleep. No such luck. I tossed and turned, turned and tossed, and just when I finally managed to doze off...
BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM
"Open the fucking door!" It's coming from a couple of doors down, by the sound.
I hear more shouting, and then...
BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM
It's 3:57 a.m. by my hotel-room clock when the first bangs occur, and this on the seventh floor of the Caesars Indiana hotel??!? It keeps going on for five, six, seven minutes, and it's just not stopping. The shouting was bad enough, but the banging was so hard that my bed literally shook from the vibrations. There is a security guard posted just yards from the elevator doors on the ground floor, and he could be up there in 45 seconds, tops. Has no one called this crap in? Well, I didn't. Guess that answers that. Damn rich drunks. Finally it ends, or I just pass out from the fatigue. Couldn't say for sure.
There were a few recognizable poker names at the event I was attending. Next morning, I'm idly chatting with Mark Seif about various small stuff as the day's poker doings begin and it occurs to me to ask him if he'd heard the ruckus from hours earlier. I figured he was probably on my floor, since I already knew Paul Wasicka was, as I'd ridden down in the 'vator with Wasicka the morning prior.
"Yeah, what the hell was that?" says Seif, or something similar.
I tell him about the rotating drunks and the slamming doors. I ask him where he was, and it turns out he was way down at the other end of the hall. It's a long hall, since the hotel is a tall, narrow, single-wing affair that must be a hundred yards long from one end to the other. Seif was 50 or 60 yards down and he got woken up by the door-banging drunks as well. I say to Mark, "I almost called security on them."
Mark's reply: "You should've."
Turned out it was my second drunk encounter in two days at the place, too. The first one happened the day before when I shared an elevator ride down to the lobby with a middle-aged couple and their two or three nightclub-age daughters. Dad was potted, so reeking from some sweet booze that I had to turn away from him in the elevator. He even mentioned that he'd had a couple! Thanks for sharing, kind sir! I couldn't have figured it out by myself.
And, he and his clan were headed -to- the casino, not from it. Or rather, the "vessel," as the intercom informs the gamblers as they walk across the metal planking to the moored barge where the casino is housed.
Interesting place. The complex has at least a couple of nightclubs, one of which had long lines of women waiting to gain entry each night. No guys, just girls, and in a wide range of age from 18 to 45. All dressed like they were going to the Elizabeth, Indiana version of PURE... which, come to think of it, they probably were. No specific comment on some of the outfits I saw, except to say I think some of the women consulted drag queens for their wardrobe choices.
By the way, I mentioned the word "boonies" in my last post as describing the casino's location. I think reading between the lines of the official directions to the casino from the Caesars Indiana site verifies that. As they say it:
Directions to Caesars
* Take I-64 west of Louisville to exit 123 in New Albany, IN.
* Turn right at the bottom of the ramp.
* Pass through 2 stop lights. At the stop sign turn right (south) on Main St. (Indiana State Road 111).
* Indiana SR 111 will split to a "Y." At the split bear left and proceed across the railroad crossing. Caesars Indiana Resort is approximately 8 miles ahead.
Boonies! As I mentioned in a Skype chat to Logan, one of the PN writers, they left off the line saying, "If you hit the pig ranch you've gone too far."
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Caesars Indiana
A short trip to Caesars Indiana for poker doings has left me a bit under the weather, so apologies for yet another delayed post. My quick three-day jaunt left me exhausted and resulted in a quick trip to a "doc in the box" upon my return. More to follow on that count, I'm sure.
But as for Caesars, I hadn't quite realized how out in the boonies it is, off to the southwest of Louisville across the Ohio River into southern Indiana. It's a half-hour drive from Louisville despite being ten miles or less from the city as the crow flies, because there aren't any bridges across the Ohio in the direction where Caesars Indiana lies. Instead, Louisvillians have to head to the northwest to the bridge at New Albany, Indiana, and then back down the west side of the Ohio, which turns southward not far west of Louisville.
You know it's a trip to nowhere when you're on a two-lane county highway with a steady flow of traffic both ways, and the county highway even features a "Y" intersection on the way south. Caesars Indiana boasts an Elizabeth, IN zip code, despite the fact that there's three or four closer hamlets to the casino itself. But as one travels down Cty. Hwy. 111, one notices this edifice looming closer. It's Caesars, alright, stuck on a land tract opposite the highway from the river at a spot where the highway itself flows near the water.
The water itself was plenty high before my trip, so high that the casino itself was closed for two or three days. The bottom floor of the parking ramp was closed and the elevators up and down in the parking ramp were still shut down. One of the workers there told me that the Army Corps of Engineers had ordered the casino shutdown because the barge itself that the casino proper is engineered upon --- despite it being some distance from the river proper --- had started to float of its moorings in the flood.
Initial impressions on the layout? Caesars, or rather Harrah's Entertainment, must have gotten a good price on the land. For what there is here for a casino/resort complex, the place sprawls... to the point of creating some lengthy walks at times for its visitors. What's funniest, perhaps, is the nine-story hotel built at the rear of the complex. Floors eight and nine are the key-card-only suites, and I was lucky enough to pull Floor Seven, with the money view to the east. The west side looks directly into a large bluffside immediately behind the hotel to the west. East looks out over the Ohio --- to the strip-mined hillside across the river and the smelting plant just a bit to the north. That's all you see except for the parking ramp and casino rooftops below.
Like I said, they got a good price on the land.
But inside, the place is all Caesars, or perhaps faux Caesars, since it's not quite possible to do the totality of the Vegas Caesars experience in a setting like this. The great Vegas Caesars maze of shops and slot banks and restaurants and clubs turns into something more like a mini-mall here, if indeed a nice one. The casino operations are totally separate, of course, and are a -hike- from the rest of the resort. I spent much of my days in a second floor conference room in the business center above the mall/restaurant area,and even that was a longish walk from the hotel. Seriously --- the longest of the hallways from the hotel to the rest of the complex features not one but two people-movers, like those found in airports. Gotta like the "Global Citizens! Attention, please!" call over the loudspeakers when one reaches the end of the people-movers though; nice touch.
Entertainment choices? They put some big acts on, here, but it's pure heartland --- no rap or alternative to be found. The banners I saw advertised Tanya Tucker, the Doobie Brothers and Sawyer Brown. I'd guess that's a fairly typical selection.
Poker? It's on the bottom level of the four-level casino, three levels of which were open during my visit. While I was there for poker doings, I only had a chance to sneak in one "freelance" session of my own, that the evening of my arrival. I was tired after my seven-hour drive and didn't want to think too hard. So I played $4/8 limit. I left up almost $200, despite missing at least one value bet. The players at my table weren't good --- unless you consider cold-calling with K-9o from middle position a good play --- and I caught a couple of pairs of queens that held. I did snag an extra bet late in the session from a new player who I correctly pegged as having the need to fire at any pot not already fired at someone else. On that hand, I had A-Q in the BB and let him carry the action throughout after catching an A-high flop. When all was done he showed K-9 for poop; I'd only called his river bluff (instead of check-raising) trying for an overcall from a third player in the hand, because that guy didn't have much, either. Sometimes it works.
Good session, for what it was. That said, the attention of a lot of the players was focused on another table, where Paul 'Kwickfish' Wasicka was relaxing and playing some $1/2 NL.
More next time.
But as for Caesars, I hadn't quite realized how out in the boonies it is, off to the southwest of Louisville across the Ohio River into southern Indiana. It's a half-hour drive from Louisville despite being ten miles or less from the city as the crow flies, because there aren't any bridges across the Ohio in the direction where Caesars Indiana lies. Instead, Louisvillians have to head to the northwest to the bridge at New Albany, Indiana, and then back down the west side of the Ohio, which turns southward not far west of Louisville.
You know it's a trip to nowhere when you're on a two-lane county highway with a steady flow of traffic both ways, and the county highway even features a "Y" intersection on the way south. Caesars Indiana boasts an Elizabeth, IN zip code, despite the fact that there's three or four closer hamlets to the casino itself. But as one travels down Cty. Hwy. 111, one notices this edifice looming closer. It's Caesars, alright, stuck on a land tract opposite the highway from the river at a spot where the highway itself flows near the water.
The water itself was plenty high before my trip, so high that the casino itself was closed for two or three days. The bottom floor of the parking ramp was closed and the elevators up and down in the parking ramp were still shut down. One of the workers there told me that the Army Corps of Engineers had ordered the casino shutdown because the barge itself that the casino proper is engineered upon --- despite it being some distance from the river proper --- had started to float of its moorings in the flood.
Initial impressions on the layout? Caesars, or rather Harrah's Entertainment, must have gotten a good price on the land. For what there is here for a casino/resort complex, the place sprawls... to the point of creating some lengthy walks at times for its visitors. What's funniest, perhaps, is the nine-story hotel built at the rear of the complex. Floors eight and nine are the key-card-only suites, and I was lucky enough to pull Floor Seven, with the money view to the east. The west side looks directly into a large bluffside immediately behind the hotel to the west. East looks out over the Ohio --- to the strip-mined hillside across the river and the smelting plant just a bit to the north. That's all you see except for the parking ramp and casino rooftops below.
Like I said, they got a good price on the land.
But inside, the place is all Caesars, or perhaps faux Caesars, since it's not quite possible to do the totality of the Vegas Caesars experience in a setting like this. The great Vegas Caesars maze of shops and slot banks and restaurants and clubs turns into something more like a mini-mall here, if indeed a nice one. The casino operations are totally separate, of course, and are a -hike- from the rest of the resort. I spent much of my days in a second floor conference room in the business center above the mall/restaurant area,and even that was a longish walk from the hotel. Seriously --- the longest of the hallways from the hotel to the rest of the complex features not one but two people-movers, like those found in airports. Gotta like the "Global Citizens! Attention, please!" call over the loudspeakers when one reaches the end of the people-movers though; nice touch.
Entertainment choices? They put some big acts on, here, but it's pure heartland --- no rap or alternative to be found. The banners I saw advertised Tanya Tucker, the Doobie Brothers and Sawyer Brown. I'd guess that's a fairly typical selection.
Poker? It's on the bottom level of the four-level casino, three levels of which were open during my visit. While I was there for poker doings, I only had a chance to sneak in one "freelance" session of my own, that the evening of my arrival. I was tired after my seven-hour drive and didn't want to think too hard. So I played $4/8 limit. I left up almost $200, despite missing at least one value bet. The players at my table weren't good --- unless you consider cold-calling with K-9o from middle position a good play --- and I caught a couple of pairs of queens that held. I did snag an extra bet late in the session from a new player who I correctly pegged as having the need to fire at any pot not already fired at someone else. On that hand, I had A-Q in the BB and let him carry the action throughout after catching an A-high flop. When all was done he showed K-9 for poop; I'd only called his river bluff (instead of check-raising) trying for an overcall from a third player in the hand, because that guy didn't have much, either. Sometimes it works.
Good session, for what it was. That said, the attention of a lot of the players was focused on another table, where Paul 'Kwickfish' Wasicka was relaxing and playing some $1/2 NL.
More next time.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Playing the Bodonkey TV Table
Caught the news late that Josh Arieh would be playing this week's Bodonkey, but after a longish day with no good news stories I decided I'd log on myself and have some fun. Darned if I didn't catch the TV table, with Josh on my immediate left. Gary Cox and Dave (Yestbay) and a couple of others I recognized where there as well, and I did my best to yak it up.
There was a $100 bounty on Arieh's head, which 'Abby17' claimed after Josh decided to mix it up fairly early and lost a race with 7-7 against A-Q. That'll cement the "bloggers are donkeys" image a bit, as will the fact that Josh lost not one, but two, pots to Hammer players. Though, to be honest, knowing a bit about Josh's game, I'd likely have taken the same chance with A-Q, particularly in a bounty event. Bounties neutralize aggressive players.
Sadly, I had neither one of the two Hammer hands.
I didn't catch much else either, and I went out after deciding to defend my blind with K-10 suited against a SB raise. The SB had K-Q and the flop came K-4-4, and we were off to the races. I finished in the "place" spot in the two-horse race; second place gets the "dingleberry close-up" view of the first-place finisher, y'know.
Very busy times for me. I'm headed down to Caesars Indiana on Friday for some early WSOP Circuit doings this weekend. There are so-o-o-o-o many things I'm needing to blog about but the last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic. Hang in there; my blogging always comes in spurts.
There was a $100 bounty on Arieh's head, which 'Abby17' claimed after Josh decided to mix it up fairly early and lost a race with 7-7 against A-Q. That'll cement the "bloggers are donkeys" image a bit, as will the fact that Josh lost not one, but two, pots to Hammer players. Though, to be honest, knowing a bit about Josh's game, I'd likely have taken the same chance with A-Q, particularly in a bounty event. Bounties neutralize aggressive players.
Sadly, I had neither one of the two Hammer hands.
I didn't catch much else either, and I went out after deciding to defend my blind with K-10 suited against a SB raise. The SB had K-Q and the flop came K-4-4, and we were off to the races. I finished in the "place" spot in the two-horse race; second place gets the "dingleberry close-up" view of the first-place finisher, y'know.
Very busy times for me. I'm headed down to Caesars Indiana on Friday for some early WSOP Circuit doings this weekend. There are so-o-o-o-o many things I'm needing to blog about but the last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic. Hang in there; my blogging always comes in spurts.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Good Times, Bad Times
Whereas February had been a really good month for on Stars, March has been the polar opposite to date, so much so that I've fired up alternate sites on occasion just for the change of pace. The start of March was pretty ugly on those sites as well, until a first and a second in a couple of small MTTs at least trimmed the overall losing buy a bit.
Still, it's been a struggle. Here's the epitome of good news / bad news, as occurred in a Bodog turbo SNG I was playing while being bounced on the bubble in last week's Bodonkey. (First time I've made that in a month, by the way.)
The Good News: Making quads in back-to-back hands. I don't remember doing that before in any "normal" poker game.
The Bad News: Still only finishing third in the dang SNG.
Still, it's been a struggle. Here's the epitome of good news / bad news, as occurred in a Bodog turbo SNG I was playing while being bounced on the bubble in last week's Bodonkey. (First time I've made that in a month, by the way.)
The Good News: Making quads in back-to-back hands. I don't remember doing that before in any "normal" poker game.
The Bad News: Still only finishing third in the dang SNG.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
The Wednesday Blahs
A handful of small setbacks in the online game might have had a bit of an extra explanation --- I woke up overnight and realized I had a small cold coming on. Since I've already had both that lovely flu and a nasty cold in the last few months, I figure this one won't get a chance to do much more than take a mild swipe at me. I also got to the echinacea jug tuit de suite.
Being old and gray and feebleminded, something occurred to me that might or not be accurate. It seems like whenever I'm coming down with something (and don't fully realize it), my play produces horrible results. I think this has happened several times. Anybody ever experience something similar?
I probably picked up the bug at a weekend game where I actually ran well, so I guess by the time I've sneezed my last, at least the cough drops and kleenex will be paid for. Weekend game saw me viciously wielding a short stack and staying alive long enough to sneak into the money, then pick up over two buy-ins in a $1/3 NL game where I was running well against some guys that I knew could not stop calling my value bets, and even though they're not the type to allow themselves to be bluffed often, darned if I didn't manage to buy a couple of pots with air as well.
Today sees the delivery of the new sofa, bought over the weekend at a nearby Wickes Furniture "Going Out of Business" sale. Wickes is one of those regional chains caught in the economic downturn and they were featuring 25% of all furniture and 50% off the decorative stuff, but I settled for a recliner sofa to replace my old "drug dealer" sofa, which had utterly collapsed to the point that springs were poking through the cloth and an exposed bracket on the front was offering occasional rude scrapes to the back of my leg. The back lining was so torn whole cushions could disappear down inside the back of the couch. What time is it? Yep, time to get a new one.
The store on Saturday AM was a mob scene, featuring hundreds of would-be furniture buyers and maybe a half dozen employees who didn't really want to wait on them, since they're all gonna be out of a job soon, anyway. And of course, the store's computer system wasn't operating, so all the credit-card purchases had to be entered manually. Word of the day describing the sales staff: SURLY.
Wickes actually has gone into bankruptcy and is closing all 38 of its stores, including seven in the greater Chicago area. I'd find you a picture of the couch, except Wickes has essentially disabled its online site. It's a decent couch for what I spent but if something breaks on it I'm pretty much kayaking up Pooh River.
Then again, it could have been worse. The older guy who finally sold me my sofa remarked that at a similar store closing in Lake Zurich, perhaps 25 miles away, all the employees but one walked off the job. Now that would've been a fun sale to attend, don't you think?
Being old and gray and feebleminded, something occurred to me that might or not be accurate. It seems like whenever I'm coming down with something (and don't fully realize it), my play produces horrible results. I think this has happened several times. Anybody ever experience something similar?
I probably picked up the bug at a weekend game where I actually ran well, so I guess by the time I've sneezed my last, at least the cough drops and kleenex will be paid for. Weekend game saw me viciously wielding a short stack and staying alive long enough to sneak into the money, then pick up over two buy-ins in a $1/3 NL game where I was running well against some guys that I knew could not stop calling my value bets, and even though they're not the type to allow themselves to be bluffed often, darned if I didn't manage to buy a couple of pots with air as well.
Today sees the delivery of the new sofa, bought over the weekend at a nearby Wickes Furniture "Going Out of Business" sale. Wickes is one of those regional chains caught in the economic downturn and they were featuring 25% of all furniture and 50% off the decorative stuff, but I settled for a recliner sofa to replace my old "drug dealer" sofa, which had utterly collapsed to the point that springs were poking through the cloth and an exposed bracket on the front was offering occasional rude scrapes to the back of my leg. The back lining was so torn whole cushions could disappear down inside the back of the couch. What time is it? Yep, time to get a new one.
The store on Saturday AM was a mob scene, featuring hundreds of would-be furniture buyers and maybe a half dozen employees who didn't really want to wait on them, since they're all gonna be out of a job soon, anyway. And of course, the store's computer system wasn't operating, so all the credit-card purchases had to be entered manually. Word of the day describing the sales staff: SURLY.
Wickes actually has gone into bankruptcy and is closing all 38 of its stores, including seven in the greater Chicago area. I'd find you a picture of the couch, except Wickes has essentially disabled its online site. It's a decent couch for what I spent but if something breaks on it I'm pretty much kayaking up Pooh River.
Then again, it could have been worse. The older guy who finally sold me my sofa remarked that at a similar store closing in Lake Zurich, perhaps 25 miles away, all the employees but one walked off the job. Now that would've been a fun sale to attend, don't you think?
Monday, March 03, 2008
"Bad Poker Day" Recipe --- Add Chips and Beat(s) Thoroughly
Just follow the easy recipe and you, too, can watch TV for the rest of the night!
1. Turn on computer.
2. Fire up PokerStars.
3. Fire up a turbo to get the brain workin'.
4. Take this beat in the first level of play:
5. Close Stars client.
6. Turn off computer.
Serves... for a good laugh, if nothing else. Last of the chips went in on the turn. Re-buy!!
1. Turn on computer.
2. Fire up PokerStars.
3. Fire up a turbo to get the brain workin'.
4. Take this beat in the first level of play:
5. Close Stars client.
6. Turn off computer.
Serves... for a good laugh, if nothing else. Last of the chips went in on the turn. Re-buy!!
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