US MNT and news

That stands for United States Men's National Team for the uninitiated. That's soccer. I'd expect an awful lot of soccer in this space over the next 6 weeks.

The match Tuesday against Morocco was pretty disappointing. The team looked pretty disjointed and coudln't really get anything going. The fact that we lost is meaningless - in these games we're not looking at results, we're looking at quality, and there wasn't a lot of it Tuesday.

Tonight's match against Venezuela (from CLEVELAND! - I just was too lazy to drive up there to watch, I'm bad) was mutch better. I think the opposition were worse, and they weren't packing it in defensively, which helped, but the boys looked much b tter in attack. The play in the final third was still lacking as players just weren't in tune with each other in the end. That's to be expected, I think. That's also what these 3 sendoff matches are for.

This post has just given my glossed over thoughts on these two matches and served as a warning - expect more of this.


Oh, and we're going to have a boy. It's been confirmed.

I hate this

I've been focusing on SnGs since the debacle that was Monday evening at the 5/10 table. I'm a bit mad at it, so I'm taking some time away from it. SnGs are a nice change of pace, and there we go.

Anyway, today in one of the SnGs, down to 3 handed a player disconnected and went on post and fold. I hate this situation. I have an unusual ethical sense here. I have no problem stealing from a player who has disconnected when we are multiway, but when it gets down to heads up, I really feel badly about it. In the few hands he was gone when we were 3 handed, I raised him every time (he was on my right, so his BB was my button). I eliminated the other player (suckout!) and then was conflicted to the best course of action. I ended up waiting 3 minutes, which took about 20-25 hands. After that time, I started to finish the game. The player returned as a terribly short stack, and I busted him before long. I explained to him that I waited for him, restated this after the end, though he did not respond. I don't know if he did not believe me or if he did and was just frustrated at what happened.

In non-poker related news: Baskin Robbins Shakes are friggin AWESOME. Delicious.

off tilt

I finished 24th or 25th in the 17k last night while getting off 5/10 induced tilt. It was easily the most anonymous top 3% finish I've ever had. No interesting hands, only one of the top 5 pairs (JJ), nothing. I went 2/3 in coinflips and had a couple of marginal favorites hold. That was it.

You know how in the World Series Main Event coverage, there's always Some Guy that gets far but you never see him? The only footage of him the entire tournament is a shot of him busting in 14th at the other table with Lon saying "And Aaron Kanter claims another victim, Norm, busting Oskar Silow in 14th place" and Norman says something asinine about how Kanter is a monster on the river. That Guy was me.

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 7330476

two things

first,

props to the quarterback for taking down the 19k on FT Sunday. Congratulations, you discovered the secret to winning poker tournaments: get service, win flips, have your favorites hold and winning as a dog once. The rest is skill!


second,

I am sick and tired of getting into holes at the 5/10 table for shit like the following hands. I'm getting into significant holes early on because the play just hits like gold and I can't hold. Without further ado, the hands:


** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to THEOSU7 [ Ac Js ]
thomias23 folds.
THEOSU7 raises [$10].
docjohnm raises [$15].
G8RGIRL97 folds.
Chloechan folds.
raaas111 calls [$10].
THEOSU7 calls [$5].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 3s, Ad, 6c ]
raaas111 checks.
THEOSU7 checks.
docjohnm bets [$5].
raaas111 calls [$5].
THEOSU7 calls [$5].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 8c ]
raaas111 checks.
THEOSU7 checks.
docjohnm checks.
** Dealing River ** [ 4c ]
raaas111 bets [$10].
THEOSU7 calls [$10].
docjohnm calls [$10].
raaas111 shows [ 5c, Kc ] a flush, king high.
THEOSU7 doesn't show [ Ac, Js ] a pair of aces.
docjohnm doesn't show [ 7h, 7c ] a pair of sevens.
raaas111 wins $89 from the main pot with a flush, king high.



** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to THEOSU7 [ Kh Qh ]
G8RGIRL97 folds.
Chloechan folds.
raaas111 folds.
thomias23 folds.
THEOSU7 raises [$8].
docjohnm calls [$5].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 6c, 7c, Kd ]
THEOSU7 bets [$5].
docjohnm calls [$5].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 5h ]
THEOSU7 bets [$10].
docjohnm calls [$10].
** Dealing River ** [ 4c ]
THEOSU7 checks.
docjohnm bets [$10].
THEOSU7 calls [$10].
docjohnm shows [ Qd, 8d ] a straight, four to eight.
THEOSU7 doesn't show [ Kh, Qh ] a pair of kings.
docjohnm wins $67 from the main pot with a straight, four to eight.



I had to stand up because I went on severe donkeytilt.

Captivated and horrified

I've never understood the passive fascination I have with horse racing. It's a style of fascination I share with many other people, I know. For the most part, I don't care much about it until the Derby comes around. If the Derby winner intrigues me, I remain almost riveted for the ensuing two weeks and, if necessary, two more. I already related the story of slipping out to watch the Belmont Stakes at my buddy Greg's wedding reception.

Smarty Jones was a fine horse, and I remember he took the lead with about a half mile to go - at which point I said "It's over" as in "He won't win." It was a different race than the previous two races I saw, and everyone in the bar was completely devastated, myself included. There's an allure to a Triple Crown winner. I can't explain it.

That's why what happened today to Barbaro is so devastating. For those that did not watch or are not a sporting fan, Barbaro took a bad step shortly out of the gate and fractured his ankle in two places, putting his life in danger. It was disgusting to see the replay with his ankle flailing over the place while he continued to try to run. Debbie started to cry, in fact.

NBA

I've never been a big fan of the NBA. OK, I loved the Cavs teams of the late 80s - it was a legitimately sick team. The 88-9 team that lost to the Bulls (I hate that fucking shot) in the first round went 57-25. Daugherty, Hot Rod, Nance, Harper and Price with some impressive depth. An incredible team, fun to watch. Of course, any team with Mark Price was fun to watch. If there's one player from the 80s I miss watching, it's Price over anybody, and I include Bird and Magic in that.

But then Price and Daugherty got hurt, Harper got traded, Nance got old and the Cavs went downhill. We went through the Kemp years, and the ugly 2002-3 season. And then we got LeBron. I don't think I need to go through how incredible LeBron is, but I will say it's amazing watching him these past 3 years. He came into the league an unbelievable player and has clearly worked very, very hard to improve. He's learning how to make his teammates better, which is a skill that the greats have.

And then we're brought to this year. Everything that's been critiqued of LeBron he's overcome. He couldn't make the big shot - he made the big shot. He couldn't win when not playing his best - he's won when not playing his best. So the Cavs dispatch the Wizards and face the Pistons, the team that's been in the finals two years in a row. Experts were saying that the Cavs would be able to win one game - two games if everything broke right. The first two games in Detroit did nothing to dispute this opinion, if anything it changed it to "Hopefully they'll win one." And then something curious happened. LeBron James became the best player in the NBA. The Cavs have won 3 straight close games agianst a team that nobody gave them a shot against, and have a chance to win the series at home Friday. I'll be watching. You should, too.

pwned!

Still haven't gotten around to the 5/10 post, because I'm still writing it in my head. Of course, that means I'll probably never write it here, but there you go.

In the interim, my 2nd ever:


Table Touch Wand (Real Money)
Seat 3 is the button
Total number of players : 5
Seat 6: TMOTG ( $510.50 )
Seat 5: THEOSU7 ( $150.50 )
Seat 3: iamfooz ( $341 )
Seat 4: jumbo57 ( $324.20 )
Seat 2: sim_sim_sim ( $493 )
jumbo57 posts small blind [$2].
THEOSU7 posts big blind [$5].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to THEOSU7 [ Qs Ks ]
TMOTG raises [$10].
sim_sim_sim folds.
>You have options at Drift Wood Table!.
iamfooz folds.
jumbo57 folds.
THEOSU7 calls [$5].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7c, Ts, Js ]
THEOSU7 bets [$5].
TMOTG calls [$5].
** Dealing Turn ** [ As ]
THEOSU7 bets [$10].
TMOTG calls [$10].
** Dealing River ** [ 6c ]
THEOSU7 bets [$10].
TMOTG calls [$10].
THEOSU7 shows [ Qs, Ks ] Royal Flush.
TMOTG doesn't show [ Kc, Ac ] a pair of aces.
THEOSU7 wins $70 from the main pot with Royal Flush.

Weekend Tournament Update

I played a few majors this weekend and quite a bit in the way of cash games. I'm gonna save the cash games for another thread. The 3 majors I played in were Saturday's 200k and Sunday's 500k on Party and the 200k on FT on Sunday. I'll share a hand history from each tournaemnt that really exemplifies my run. As is becoming frustratingly normal, I did not money in any of the tournaments, but I think I played well in all of them, with the exception of a major mistake in the FT 200k.

I managed to satellite into all 3 tournaments on my first try. This is a good thing, because my bankroll now sucks. 4-5 month long downswings are no fun. 4-5 month long upswings are much more fun. I'm ready for one.

Party 200k

I went into the tournament intending to be much more aggressive beforehand. I had been having trouble building stacks lately, and I wanted to be able to take advantage of the weaker players in the tournament. This started out well, as I picked up 2000 chips on hand 3 when I flopped queens full, waited for an ace to hit and extracted chips from A3 who could not fold. From that point on, I just kept getting drawn out on (a theme that would extend to the cash games ALL WEEKEND). My LAG play was really working, because I was getting called down by weaker hands - they'd just keep hitting. A few notable occurances were in blind vs blind battles with the player on my left. Twice he called down with a weaker pair until the river, when he spiked two pair (and I paid). On two other occasions ace high called me down to the river when the ace spiked. I expect this sort of crap in a limit game, but not no limit. Stunning. Needless to say, this ate away at my stack, but eventually they stopped hitting and I was able to rebuild a decent stack when...


NL Texas Hold'em Trny:23513726 Level:4 Blinds(100/200) - Saturday, May 13, 23:05:38 ET 2006
Table $200K Guaranteed Saturday(685825) Table #27 (Real Money)
Seat 5 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: Weinglas ( $3359 )
Seat 2: PrtyIsRigged ( $5804 )
Seat 4: THEOSU7 ( $8566 )
Seat 5: charlie1896 ( $9504 )
Seat 6: ARDIE777 ( $5338 )
Seat 7: freshfish952 ( $12188 )
Seat 8: ScoobyDrew ( $5898 )
Seat 10: HerrKonig ( $2098 )
Seat 3: jeppecool ( $7260 )
Seat 9: JyleHB ( $6843 )
Trny:23513726 Level:4
Blinds(100/200)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to THEOSU7 [ Qs Qd ]
ScoobyDrew folds.
JyleHB calls [200].
HerrKonig folds.
Weinglas calls [200].
PrtyIsRigged folds.
jeppecool folds.
THEOSU7 raises [1000].
charlie1896 folds.
ARDIE777 folds.
freshfish952 folds.
JyleHB folds.
Weinglas calls [800].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9c, 9s, 9h ]
Weinglas checks.
THEOSU7 bets [2400].
Weinglas is all-In [2359]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4h ]
** Dealing River ** [ 5c ]
THEOSU7 shows [ Qs, Qd ] a full house, Nines full of queens.
Weinglas shows [ 9d, Jd ] four of a kind, nines.
THEOSU7 wins 41 chips from side pot #1 with a full house, Nines full of queens.
Weinglas wins 7218 chips from the main pot with four of a kind, nines.


Yeah.

A couple orbits later I won a coinflip (? wtf? that's nuts!) with AK against JJ. Unfortunately, from that point on I tried to make some chips, but got reraised a few times preflop, then doubled a shorty who had TT with my JT. Vicious Reality finally looked my way and I lost a coinflip to go out.


Party 500k

I really liked how I played this tournament. I didn't go in planning to be aggressive, but the situation presented itself quickly. I lost a bunch of chips on the first hand when I missed a 14 outer (surprise), and within a few orbits I went down to 2k on the following hand:



NL Texas Hold'em Trny:23548617 Level:1 Blinds(20/40) - Sunday, May 14, 16:45:10 ET 2006
Table $500K Guaranteed(686820) Table #59 (Real Money)
Seat 9 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: Nokia456 ( $3620 )
Seat 2: Erdnase ( $6715 )
Seat 3: Red_Orchid ( $4880 )
Seat 4: Kvelerslange ( $6640 )
Seat 5: THEOSU7 ( $4345 )
Seat 6: JaMesklean ( $4225 )
Seat 7: boca33432 ( $5145 )
Seat 8: Kublahj ( $4830 )
Seat 9: dontneednuts ( $4880 )
Seat 10: almostsane ( $4600 )
Trny:23548617 Level:1
Blinds(20/40)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to THEOSU7 [ 4c 3c ]
Erdnase raises [150].
Red_Orchid folds.
Kvelerslange folds.
THEOSU7 calls [150].
JaMesklean folds.
boca33432 folds.
Kublahj folds.
dontneednuts folds.
almostsane folds.
Nokia456 folds.
** Dealing Flop ** [ 5h, Ah, Qh ]
Erdnase bets [240].
THEOSU7 calls [240].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9c ]
Erdnase checks.
THEOSU7 bets [450].
Erdnase calls [450].
** Dealing River ** [ 3s ]
Erdnase checks.
THEOSU7 bets [1500].
Erdnase will be using his time bank for this hand.
Erdnase calls [1500].
THEOSU7 shows [ 4c, 3c ] a pair of threes.
Erdnase shows [ Kh, Kc ] a pair of kings.
Erdnase wins 4740 chips from the main pot with a pair of kings.


I really love my play on this hand. I called the UTG raise with a suited connector hoping to win a big pot. The bet on the flop was pretty quick and odd. I say odd because previously he had won a pot with top pair when he used the slider (I'm an unusually big proponent of slider tells on Party. My default is that someone who occasionally uses the slider and occasionally types in a value uses the slider to bet for value, but types in a number because he has a specific purpose for his hand.) I did not think he had the ace, so I decided to float to evaluate the turn (and maybe spike a black deuce). When he instachecked the turn I put him on kings, with likely the Kh. I think this player would have fired one more shot with nonheart kings to get me to fold "my draw". I bet the turn to set up a river bet. When he called and checked the river I was about 95% sure of his holding. I tried to make a bet that he could not call. I was wrong. I still love the play, it just didn't work.

From the "I wish I had known this then" file - Erdnase lost about 40% of his stack later on with 4th pair on a 3flush board, then busted with kings to an ace on board. Oops.

I was able to grind it back, though. I doubled through KJ with AJ on a jack high flop. I could do no better than to slowly add occasional chips when I was fortunate to go against a player with even fewer chips than I had when I had aces. That finally put me over 6k in the tournament, but I really struggled to add chips. The player on my right was very aggressive and getting involved in some big pots with some very marginal hands. Whenever I got something I planned to bring in for a raise, he raised in front of me. I wasn't going to pop him back with hands like QJ or KJ because he was apt to call with hands that beat mine that others would have laid down. I planned to wait to find a spot to pop him back, but I never got that hand. I was doing all I could to maintain my stack. Finally, a big stack who covered the table joined, and on hand 1 raised to 4BB. With 99 in the SB I pushed. He had aces, typically. Bye.


Full Tilt 200k

I really played well here up until the mistake mentioned above. Early on in the double stack tournaments I try to get involved cheap and make a big hand - busting a player who cannot fold. I wasn't able to do that this time, but I was able to basically maintain my starting stack of 3k as opposed to dropping to around 2k or so (as usually happens when I don't make a big hand.) I finally built a nice stack when, in a 3 way pot, AA held over KQ on a JT6 flop. I started getting more aggressive, and my stack kept swinging back and forth as usually happens when I'm aggro - I miss draws to lose chips but I induce folds to gain chips. I was able to chip up to a sizable stack when my bustout hand occured - a hand I misplayed.



Full Tilt Poker Game #637724897: $200,000 Guarantee! (3906433), Table 49 - 150/300 Ante 25 - No Limit Hold'em - 19:56:15 ET - 2006/05/14
Seat 1: DrewBoski (15,720)
Seat 2: DoctoJones (4,750)
Seat 3: festermouly (5,405)
Seat 4: Antoshka (10,210)
Seat 5: terrible_kid (2,835)
Seat 6: BJH74 (9,950)
Seat 7: Osogood (5,870)
Seat 8: LebanonJon (4,845)
Seat 9: THEOSU (10,845)
DrewBoski antes 25
DoctoJones antes 25
festermouly antes 25
Antoshka antes 25
terrible_kid antes 25
BJH74 antes 25
Osogood antes 25
LebanonJon antes 25
THEOSU antes 25
terrible_kid posts the small blind of 150
BJH74 posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to THEOSU [Ah Kd]
Osogood folds
LebanonJon folds
THEOSU raises to 750
DrewBoski calls 750
DoctoJones folds
festermouly folds
Antoshka folds
terrible_kid folds
BJH74 calls 450
*** FLOP *** [6d Kc 7h]
BJH74 bets 1,500
THEOSU raises to 5,000
DrewBoski raises to 14,945, and is all in
BJH74 folds
THEOSU calls 5,070, and is all in
DrewBoski shows [7d 7s]
THEOSU shows [Ah Kd]
Uncalled bet of 4,875 returned to DrewBoski
*** TURN *** [6d Kc 7h] [Kh]
THEOSU: gl all
*** RIVER *** [6d Kc 7h Kh] [5h]
DrewBoski shows a full house, Sevens full of Kings
THEOSU shows three of a kind, Kings
DrewBoski wins the pot (24,265) with a full house, Sevens full of Kings
THEOSU stands up


I had been calling bets on flops (which sounds contrarian to my aggro play, but it's consistent the way I play it, shush) so I raised for 3 reasons: 1) mix up my play, 2) isolate the BB and 3) get it in here against a weaker hand. One out of three ain't bad.

In reality, I do not mind the raise here. If I raise, I'm likely forcing myself to call the BB's push, but when this player "coldpushed" - I was beat. I even said outloud that he had the set, but I still called. I invested 60% of my stack, I was getting 4-1 on my money, I had TPTK. I still had to fold. I was nearly dead. I'm quite disappointed in myself for this hand.


Anyway, that's my weekend tournament report. Later tonight or tomorrow I'll post my weekend cash game report. I'll try to lay off the bad beat stories, though they played in integral part of the experience.

oh.. my... god

i just got 3 outed, 2 outed, 4 outed.. you anme it... about 15 times in a half an hour.

i hate poker.


This is in my last orbit of the night. I actually split this pot, but it about sums it up:



***** Hand History for Game 4238750850 *****
$5/$10 Texas Hold'em - Thursday, May 11, 01:02:20 ET 2006
Table Table 97108 (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 1: deeznutz882 ( $184.50 )
Seat 4: T9_Offsuit ( $538.13 )
Seat 5: rdanscott ( $18 )
Seat 6: olgimak ( $246.50 )
Seat 3: THEOSU7 ( $209 )
Seat 2: HaveGunWT ( $247 )
deeznutz882 posts small blind [$2].
HaveGunWT posts big blind [$5].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to THEOSU7 [ Jd Jh ]
THEOSU7 raises [$10].
T9_Offsuit folds.
rdanscott folds.
olgimak folds.
deeznutz882 calls [$8].
HaveGunWT calls [$5].
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qd, Td, Ah ]
deeznutz882 checks.
HaveGunWT checks.
THEOSU7 bets [$5].
deeznutz882 calls [$5].
HaveGunWT calls [$5].
** Dealing Turn ** [ Qh ]
deeznutz882 checks.
HaveGunWT bets [$10].
THEOSU7 calls [$10].
deeznutz882 calls [$10].
** Dealing River ** [ As ]
deeznutz882 checks.
HaveGunWT checks.
THEOSU7 checks.
deeznutz882 shows [ 7h, 4h ] two pairs, aces and queens.
HaveGunWT shows [ 6s, Jc ] two pairs, aces and queens.
THEOSU7 shows [ Jd, Jh ] two pairs, aces and queens.
HaveGunWT wins $36 from the main pot with two pairs, aces and queens with jack kicker.
THEOSU7 wins $36 from the main pot with two pairs, aces and queens with jack kicker.

Wednesday's Indians related rant

There's a theory in baseball that the manager that is able to bring a young, inexperienced team to the brink of being a challenger to win the World Series is not the manager that will be able to turn that challenger into the World Series winner. At first glance this theory seems pretty difficult to conceptualize - a good manager is a good manager, right? But in is quite plausible - the skills required to develop a young team are usually related to teaching. The skills required to put a team over the edge are related to in game strategy and motivating. It's become pretty clear to me that, at this time, Eric Wedge is not the manager to bring the Indians over the edge.

Take the last 2 games, for instance. Never mind that we're 1-5 on the season against the fucking Royals (The ROYALS! I think even the most retardedly optimistic Royals fan this season said "maybe we can win 68 games if everything goes right.") So last night's game, the Indians take a 6-4 lead in the top of the 6th inning and Jason Johnson allows the first two runners to reach base. Naturally, Wedge goes for... Danny Graves. I'm not sure if it's Shapiro's idea or Wedge's idea for Graves to be on the team, but it's not working. He looks miserable, he can't strike anybody out and he does the following when facing John Buck with two on and no out in the 6th inning, up two. I will represent it graphically.

The first picture below is Buck's hot/cold chart against any pitch that a) wiggles or is b) thrown at a velocity greater than 85mph. The 2nd picture is his hot/cold chart against any non bendy pitch below 85mph. For point of reference: red = hot. notred = not.
























So Veteran Expert Danny Graves naturally throws an 83 mile per hour meatball right into the red area. I didn't think it was necessary for anyone to say to Danny before the atbat started "Look, Danny, that's John Fucking Buck. Let's make sure our pitches wiggle and maybe are near the corners, then we'll go from there." We then require 3 more relievers to complete the game, even putting Guthrie in down four for the bottom of the 8th when Jason Davis had only thrown an inning and a third and is used to going distance.

Today's game, the Indians finally tie it in the top of the 8th when Ambiorix Burgos balked home the tying run. Wedge sent Guillermo Mota, short reliever, out to start the bottom of the 8th, despite the fact that Mota had been brought into the game to put out a fire in the 6th inning. Apparently, having a tired Mota out there in a tight game for 2 innings is preferred to having a relatively fresh Davis out there in a blow out for 2 innings. Predictably, Mota gave up a homer or two and that was that.

Time will tell. Perhaps Wedge will figure things out, Graves will move on, Fernando Cabrera will rejoin the trusted ranks in the pen and Jason Davis will move up to those spots. I hope you'll forgive me for having my doubts.

Wednesday non-poker post

If you come here for poker, this post will not entice you in the least. I recommend you scroll down a bit to Wednesday's Poker Post.


Debbie had another ultrasound today. Well, let me explain why she had another ultrasound. She's had a uterine cyst for the entire pregnancy, so the doctor has wanted to take a look every four weeks. As a result, we get to see the baby every four weeks. That's pretty cool. Actually, she gets to see the baby much more often, because her coworkers (she works at an OB-GYN) occasionally get bored (usually on Fridays) and take a look.

Anyway, the ultrasound. The cyst has reduced in size, which is great news because it means that there is a minimal chance that she will have to undergo surgery to remove it. Debbie was understandably very concerned at this possibility, and is relieved that it will not have to be. In baby related news, the doctor believes it's going to be a boy, but was not willing to make it official. Certainly by the next appointment in four weeks it will be clear, and I suspect that if Debbie gets zapped again by a coworker in a couple weeks it'll be clear then, too.

I would imagine that Debbie is now going to be designing a boy's room in her mind, if not actually purchasing anything yet. She'd already been doing all sorts of research into designs and blankets and things like that, so I assume this will only target her focus on boy's stuff.

Yep, I'm gonna be a father. I am coming to terms with it, but it's still unbelievable, honestly. It should be fun, though.

Wednesday's Poker Post

Hi. It's been a few days since I've posted, nad I just wanted to let all of you know that yes, I am still here. <3 you all.

Anyway, I've failed miserably in my desire to avoid playing any tournaments during the workweek. I knew I would, so I'm not very disappointed in myself or anything. As usual, I've not actually accomplished anything in them, other than reestablishing just how not good I am at coinflips or running hot or anything. So there's that.

I've done really well in the 5/10 game since then, though it's not all been rosy. I did have one session yesterday that was rough - I dropped 28 big bets. It was a combination of factors - I struggled to hit, I got repeatedly outdrawn. I also had a nasty habit of betting for value when I ultimately was 2nd best and checking through winners. That's just not fun when you're wrong like 75% of the time.

I stood up from that after a set got outdrawn by an inside straight, regrouped and came back and won most of it back. I still was ahead at the game for the day because in an early session I managed to somehow put a guy on tilt. I'm not sure how - I didn't lay any ridiculous beats on him or anything. Near as I can tell, I held over him for 3 or 4 consecutive hands, and then all of the sudden he's isolating every time I raise, which really worked out very well for me.

That's about it. Pretty nondescript, really.

sunday tourneys

I got to 13k very early at party, then i couldn't get paid on any of my hands and my efforts to make chips were largely rebuffed. I made the wrong choice to c/r or c/c a draw and let a player who could not call a raise catch a hand, and then reraised QJ into AQ and could not draw out.


At full tilt, I got a lot of service but again I simply could not get paid. I got two outed when I tried to let a player hang himself (I think he would have), built it back up, then lost a coinflip (shocking!) to bust. The flop came JT4 and I pushed KQ behind a bet and a call, and lost to AJ. I'm gonna need to win those. Please. Let me win a coinflip.

Thanks, eric!

http://www.umpatriots.com/pacman/pacamajig.wmv

Derby Predictions

I have seen the horses come out.

My prediction:

Win: Flashy Bull - the long shot will come home
Place: Steppenwolfer
Show: Cause to Believe.

Why yes, I AM partial to silver horsies.

still don't believe me about the 5/10 game?

I submit the following hand:




***** Hand History for Game 4199472949 *****
$5/$10 Texas Hold'em - Saturday, May 06, 11:31:05 ET 2006
Table Table 95410 (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 3: Kos32 ( $551.65 )
Seat 4: racetracks22 ( $401.50 )
Seat 5: THEOSU7 ( $192 )
Seat 6: baby2money ( $75 )
Seat 2: Explorer226 ( $318 )
Seat 1: jprinefan65 ( $250 )
THEOSU7 posts small blind [$2].
baby2money posts big blind [$5].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to THEOSU7 [ Ks Kh ]
Explorer226 folds.
Kos32 folds.
racetracks22 folds.
THEOSU7 raises [$8].
baby2money calls [$5].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7s, 5s, Qs ]
THEOSU7 bets [$5].
baby2money calls [$5].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 9d ]
THEOSU7 bets [$10].
baby2money calls [$10].
** Dealing River ** [ 4c ]
THEOSU7 bets [$10].
baby2money calls [$10].
THEOSU7 shows [ Ks, Kh ] a pair of kings.
baby2money doesn't show [ 7c, 2s ] a pair of sevens.
THEOSU7 wins $68 from the main pot with a pair of kings.



I was at a 3 handed table last night with someone who didn't know the location of his fold button. This guy helped me get out of a big hole for the evening (I ended it in just a small hole - a shallow grave, if you will), although because I insisted on getting a steady stream of J3o the third player in the game got most of it. 3 handed, 5/10 - I won a $120 pot with bottom pair. It was that good.

Yay Sports

Hey! Damon Jones isn't completely worthless! That was a very exciting game, although I don't see this team having a chance against the Pistons unless 1) LeBron turns into MJ in his prime and 2) Larry Hughes stops sucking. Z waking up wouldn't be bad either, but right now we're just not playing a style that benefits him at all.

Tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby. I admit, I love the Derby, I haven't missed it either on TV or on radio for as long as I can remember. I'm not much of a horse racing enthusiast other than the Triple Crown though, but as long as there's a shot at it, I'm there. I remember a couple years ago when Smarty Jones was going for the triple crown at the Belmont, a bunch of us were at my buddy Greg's wedding reception, and we wandered over to a nearby bar in the complex to watch.

Now, I employ a strategy for picking the Derby winner (and thus my rooting interest in the race) that is, I am afraid, akin to myriads of women everywhere. Put simply, I turn on the TV around 530. I watch the horses come out of their stables and onto the track. And then I pick/root for the prettiest horsie. That's it. It works pretty well, though - I nailed Giacomo last year.

This isn't really as easy as it sounds. Most years the Derby has at least 15 horses going off, and this year there are 20 horses that'll approach the gate. I'm sure a good handful of those horsies will be pretty. And I've got to choose the prettiest one. It's not easy, but somebody's got to do it. And that somebody is this guy.

boooooooooooooooooring

So, most of the day I'm saying "well, let's just play a few limit tables today, let's stay away from the tournaments." Naturally, I signed up for the Super. Hand 4 I cracked AA with 25s (he slowplayed). I folded AK preflop 3 hands later. And then I folded for about 90 minutes straight before going out on a bad beat.

That's obviously a bit of an exaggeration. I mixed in a couple of AQs that I played, one which flopped massive and one which didn't. I was getting AJ or KJ every tenth hand. I had four pocket pairs all tournament - 66, 44, 33 and 22. And I had a table that was giving chips away. And I could not do anything to get them, because I had to keep folding T4o and KJ.

So now I'm at the cash tables, I've found a good one, though I'm missing bets. I'm also watching the Suns-Lakers game, rooting for the Suns.

mixed bag

I continue to struggle in tournaments. I moneyed in the Monday Super, but kept running into aces. That's been it for moneying this week, though. I've played pretty well, I just keep 1) not having or making big hands and 2) when I have or make strong hands I run into stronger hands. Bad.

I had an awful session last night at the 5/10 game. I wasn't playing very well, but I was just getting awful luck. One hand that is symptomatic of the game was when I took AA in a 4 way capped pot preflop and would have ended up 4th best had I not folded them. The board came QQ79J, I folded the turn. Q9 won, JJ stuck to the river to catch jacks full and 8T somehow stuck around for a capped pot preflop and on that flop to make a meaningless straight and lose even more than I lost with aces. That pretty much summed it up.

I won quite a bit of it back tonight though, so I'm happy. I wasn't getting an awful lot of service, but I found a couple spots to win pots without the hand, which is unusual in this game. I think I'm getting better at that, even though these guys largely cannot fold. They love calling you down with ace high - they do it often enough that I'm honestly considering value betting big aces on the end occasionally.

The Cavs are apparently taking lessons from Bob Wickman on how to make games way way more interesting than they need be, but like Wicky they eventually escaped with a win and a 3-2 series lead. They're not going to beat the Pistons playing like this. Well, let me amend. With Lebron playing like this they have a shot. With the other 11 guys on the team playing uniformly horrid ball, they're not.