Ahh, poker -- such a cruel cruel cruel woman, so I dump her to the curb.
Okay, maybe not. But I haven't played a hand since Sunday, and won't for a few more days, most likely.
Life's been pretty busy these days, what with weekly New Ben Franklins rehearsals, and gigs every 10-12 days or so now, it seems. We're playing a food bank donation raiser tomorrow, and then up in Loveland, Colorado, next Saturday.
Oh yeah, if you're in Denver and reading this, come to the Toad Tavern on Saturday, we play at 8pm. $5, and a buck off for each canned good you bring.
Initially, that was going to be the end for a while, as I've been supposed to leave town for a five week trial later in March. Yeah, this is part of the reason I haven't been really jazzed about BBT4, as I'd be pretty much incapable of playing about half the series.
Well, what do you know...fingers crossed, but this whole case may soon be over, sans trial, and what does that mean? A buncha stuff.
It means I can go to Rockies Opening Day, woohoo!!!! And for our home opener, no one other than the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies (whom of course we swept in the 2007 Division Series).
It also means I can actually consider playing the Heartland Poker Tour, which is back again in Blackhawk during March and April. Since the Colorado gaming limits don't go up until July, this again will be a case of having to play your way into the Main Event via a $340 qualifier. I'd given it no thought, considering the timing, but I've missed the previous HPT events, also because of work/travel reasons, and I do not intend to miss this one if I'm around. At least I'll take one shot in a qualifier. Who knows, if I win a Main Event seat, I'll likely play a 2nd qualifier with the hope I can win a 2nd seat and sell it, thus coming out ahead no matter when my AA goes down to 86s in Level 5 of the Main Event.
Anyway, tonight should also be a fun night. Three of my favorite bands are playing at the hi-dive, Denver's premier small indie music hipster paradise venue. Or something. I keed, I keed, but they do book a lot of really cool shit.
And tonight's no exception. The legendary Omens are fresh off a European tour, and celebrating release of their newest CD. I know there aren't a lot of true garage rock fans reading this, but let me just say that as a hardcore garage rock aficionado, I can tell you there is no more authentic true garage punk combo in the USA today. And in support are other faves Hawks of Paradise, and Overcasters.
Denver really does have an amazing music scene these days, attested to by the fact that these are flat out three of my favorite bands, with no "favorite local band" qualifier.
Wherever you're playing, whether its cards, rock and roll, tiddly winks, or some demented crap requiring a safety word, even when played solo (yeah, I'm thinking of a certain http://nickleanddimes.blogspot.com/ here), have fun this weekend.
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the Creen of the Crub Frushes!
Friday, February 27, 2009
On the Subject of Man-Ram
Okay, so most of youse could give a crap about the Los Angeles Dodgers. And frankly, neither can I, other than the extent to which my beloved Colorado Rockies will pound them over the course of 18 games this year, but I digress...
But if you've been following this year's MLB free agent cycle at all, you may know that talented, yet petulant, aging, quit-on-his-team, general all around douchebag Manny Ramirez has, just since the end of last season:
a. Declined the $20 million option on his contract for 2009;
b. Turned down contract arbitration guaranteed in his case to net between $20m and $27 for 2009;
c. Turned down a 2-year, $45 million contract offer from the Dodgers;
d. Turned down a 1-year, $25 million contract offer from the Dodgers;
e. Turned down a revised 2-year, $45 million contract offer from the Dodgers that included a player option for the second year;
f. All of the above.
If you answered any of them, you are correct. If you answered "f", you were most correct. You see, Manny has turned down four separate contract proposals, all of which would have made him the highest paid player in baseball history not proven to have done steroids. In other words, the highest paid player in history for 2009 not named Alex Rodriguez.
But you see, he wants a six year contract. He's already nearly 37. He's already demonstrated his tendency to be a malingerer when he's not happy about his contract. Fuck him. I mean, he can still smack the cover off of a baseball, but his pissant pettiness and rampant narcissism, in an environment where no other team is even offering him a deal is beyond asinine. And given the current economic headlines, makes him look even more pathetique.
Still, the Dodgers would be well served to read this story I came across today (compliments of a fellow Purple Row reader):
The above story was compiled by Glenn Welker
We already have the Diamondbacks in our division; do we really need a rattlesnake to go along with it?
But if you've been following this year's MLB free agent cycle at all, you may know that talented, yet petulant, aging, quit-on-his-team, general all around douchebag Manny Ramirez has, just since the end of last season:
a. Declined the $20 million option on his contract for 2009;
b. Turned down contract arbitration guaranteed in his case to net between $20m and $27 for 2009;
c. Turned down a 2-year, $45 million contract offer from the Dodgers;
d. Turned down a 1-year, $25 million contract offer from the Dodgers;
e. Turned down a revised 2-year, $45 million contract offer from the Dodgers that included a player option for the second year;
f. All of the above.
If you answered any of them, you are correct. If you answered "f", you were most correct. You see, Manny has turned down four separate contract proposals, all of which would have made him the highest paid player in baseball history not proven to have done steroids. In other words, the highest paid player in history for 2009 not named Alex Rodriguez.
But you see, he wants a six year contract. He's already nearly 37. He's already demonstrated his tendency to be a malingerer when he's not happy about his contract. Fuck him. I mean, he can still smack the cover off of a baseball, but his pissant pettiness and rampant narcissism, in an environment where no other team is even offering him a deal is beyond asinine. And given the current economic headlines, makes him look even more pathetique.
Still, the Dodgers would be well served to read this story I came across today (compliments of a fellow Purple Row reader):
The following is a very old story told by Cherokee, Seneca, Hindu, and many other people all around the world.
The little boy was walking down a path and he came across a rattlesnake. The rattlesnake was getting old. He asked, "Please little boy, can you take me to the top of the mountain? I hope to see the sunset one last time before I die." The little boy answered "No Mr. Rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you'll bite me and I'll die." The rattlesnake said, "No, I promise. I won't bite you. Just please take me up to the mountain." The little boy thought about it and finally picked up that rattlesnake and took it close to his chest and carried it up to the top of the mountain.
They sat there and watched the sunset together. It was so beautiful. Then after sunset the rattlesnake turned to the little boy and asked, "Can I go home now? I am tired, and I am old." The little boy picked up the rattlesnake and again took it to his chest and held it tightly and safely. He came all the way down the mountain holding the snake carefully and took it to his home to give him some food and a place to sleep. The next day the rattlesnake turned to the boy and asked, "Please little boy, will you take me back to my home now? It is time for me to leave this world, and I would like to be at my home now." The little boy felt he had been safe all this time and the snake had kept his word, so he would take it home as asked.
He carefully picked up the snake, took it close to his chest, and carried him back to the woods, to his home to die. Just before he laid the rattlesnake down, the rattlesnake turned and bit him in the chest. The little boy cried out and threw the snake upon the ground. "Mr. Snake, why did you do that? Now I will surely die!" The rattlesnake looked up at him and grinned, "You knew what I was when you picked me up."
The above story was compiled by Glenn Welker
We already have the Diamondbacks in our division; do we really need a rattlesnake to go along with it?
Bring on the BBT!
Yup, it is that time.
Battle of the Blogger Tournaments, Take Four.
Once again, Alcanthang has managed to somehow coddle, coerce, or otherwise successfully blackmail Full Tilt into ponying up major prizeage, including TWO WSOP Main Event seats, and several prelimin event seats. As such, the competition looks to be fierce -- fierce like a hot tranny mess, even. I'm not sure how Al does it every time, good sir, but you are to be thanked. At least time time, you didn't have to bed down that no-talent poker skank Clonie Gowen to get 'er done.
Any way, there's going to be a ton of events to participate in:
Tournament: Brit Blogger Game
When: Sunday's at 16:00ET
Game: NLHE
Buyin: $5+.50
Password: donkament
Tournament: Riverchasers
When: Monday's at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $24+2 or token
Password: riverchasers
Tournament: Blogger Skillz Game
When: Tuesday's at 21:30ET
Game: rotation of non-NLHE games
Buyin: $10+1
Password: skillz
Tournament: The Mookie
When: Wednesday's at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $10+1
Password: vegas1
I understand MiamiDon's running his Big Game, too, but I don't have details.
If you were to play every event, it would cost something like $600-700. That's not a lot of dosh for those bigballahs, but my Full Tilt roll's about 1/4 of that (and my over online roll down to not much over that). So of course, as for myself, I'll hardly be playing in any events. I just can't play that many nights of the week, and my Full Tilt roll would only withstand two weeks of this, anyway. I run so g00t, of course. I do expect to play in a couple of the Skillz Game events, and probably a Mookie or two.
Besides, given all the snarkiness I read about during the last series...well, poker's just not a big enough part of my life these days to deal with that.
Battle of the Blogger Tournaments, Take Four.
Once again, Alcanthang has managed to somehow coddle, coerce, or otherwise successfully blackmail Full Tilt into ponying up major prizeage, including TWO WSOP Main Event seats, and several prelimin event seats. As such, the competition looks to be fierce -- fierce like a hot tranny mess, even. I'm not sure how Al does it every time, good sir, but you are to be thanked. At least time time, you didn't have to bed down that no-talent poker skank Clonie Gowen to get 'er done.
Any way, there's going to be a ton of events to participate in:
Tournament: Brit Blogger Game
When: Sunday's at 16:00ET
Game: NLHE
Buyin: $5+.50
Password: donkament
Tournament: Riverchasers
When: Monday's at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $24+2 or token
Password: riverchasers
Tournament: Blogger Skillz Game
When: Tuesday's at 21:30ET
Game: rotation of non-NLHE games
Buyin: $10+1
Password: skillz
Tournament: The Mookie
When: Wednesday's at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $10+1
Password: vegas1
I understand MiamiDon's running his Big Game, too, but I don't have details.
If you were to play every event, it would cost something like $600-700. That's not a lot of dosh for those bigballahs, but my Full Tilt roll's about 1/4 of that (and my over online roll down to not much over that). So of course, as for myself, I'll hardly be playing in any events. I just can't play that many nights of the week, and my Full Tilt roll would only withstand two weeks of this, anyway. I run so g00t, of course. I do expect to play in a couple of the Skillz Game events, and probably a Mookie or two.
Besides, given all the snarkiness I read about during the last series...well, poker's just not a big enough part of my life these days to deal with that.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Oooookey FaMoooookie
Ended up actually playing a wee bit of poker last night, and enjoyed it. Only played four tourneys, cashing in one, but had a great time in the Mookie? Did I win? No. Did I cash? Hell no...
But as I said in the chat, my real goal was just to make it past hour #1. I've rarely been able to play the Mookie, which is probably the undisputed champeeeeeen of bloggerments. In fact, last night was only my second entry in it this year. The previous attempt ended five hands into it when lucko's destroyed my KK. Yup, after five hands, I would have been happy to last an hour.
But still, I wanted to play some cards, and being a bloggerment, I was willing to try some plays I probably wouldn't attempt in a large field MTT, such as this one, early in the event (2nd orbit, I believe):
Full Tilt Poker Game #10715882359: The Mookie (79825300), Table 3 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:09:02 ET - 2009/02/18
Seat 1: iaatg6296 (6,150)
Seat 2: DaBag (2,805)
Seat 3: Mondogarage (2,840)
Seat 4: Astin (3,000), is sitting out
Seat 5: JoeSpeaker (2,970)
Seat 6: Blinders (2,955)
Seat 7: Joanne1111 (3,105)
Seat 8: MiamiDon (2,220)
Seat 9: ScottMc (3,220)
DaBag posts the small blind of 15
Mondogarage posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Mondogarage [3h 5h] (eww, but let's see...)
JoeSpeaker folds
Blinders folds
Joanne1111 folds
MiamiDon folds
Mondogarage: I just want to survive 1st hour (see, I wasn't kidding)
ScottMc raises to 115 (the asshat crew's been known to steal from cutoff)
iaatg6296 folds
DaBag folds
Mondogarage calls 85 (hand sucks, but if ScottMc is stealing, I'm probably two live with draws)
*** FLOP *** [2c 3d 4h] (intriguing flop for my hand)
Mondogarage checks (hoping for free card, of course)
ScottMc bets 240 (damn, no freebie; ScottMc bets nearly pot)
Mondogarage raises to 480 (I might actually be ahead here, but represent strength)
ScottMc raises to 3,105, and is all in (D'oH!!!)
Mondogarage calls 2,245, and is all in (if this isn't a bloggerment, I can probably fold here, but as I said, I may actually be ahead, and pretty sure he didn't hit flop)
ScottMc shows [Kh Kc] (double D'oH! Guess I read that one wrong, hit my draw ONE TIME DEALER)
Mondogarage shows [3h 5h]
Uncalled bet of 380 returned to ScottMc
*** TURN *** [2c 3d 4h] [Ah] (YAHTZEE!)
*** RIVER *** [2c 3d 4h Ah] [9c]
ScottMc shows a pair of Kings
Mondogarage shows a straight, Five high
Mondogarage wins the pot (5,695) with a straight, Five high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5,695 | Rake 0
Board: [2c 3d 4h Ah 9c]
Seat 1: iaatg6296 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: DaBag (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Mondogarage (big blind) showed [3h 5h] and won (5,695) with a straight, Five high
Seat 4: Astin is sitting out
Seat 5: JoeSpeaker didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: Blinders didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: MiamiDon didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: ScottMc showed [Kh Kc] and lost with a pair of Kings
Anyway, the more I think about this hand, the more I think that if I was committed to my read preflop, raising would have been better, but then I would have folded to Scott's inevitable 4-bet preflop. So this is one time when a bad preflop read led to what I think was the correct play on the flop, with one pair, OESD and backdoor flush draws against a player who either had an overpair or two overs, but was unlikely to have hit that board. But if anyone has better advice, I'm all ears.
That hand set me off on my way, and I spent the first hour plus in the top 2-3 in chips, and the next 30 minutes after that in the top eight or so.
Unfortunately, I went utterly card dead at that point, and when I open raised QJhh to 900, and PokerPeaker shoved his remaining 3k stack, I felt obliged to call, and his AQo held up. This took about 1/2 my chips, and another orbit of strictly trash (with growing blinds/antes). When I was next in the big blind, and the button raised up 3x, I felt compelled to shove my last 3.4k with A5 soooted. The original raiser thought long and hard, but eventually called with AJo. Two spades on the flop, and we were off to the races, but the third spade never fell, and I went out 24th of the original 54 players.
I realize I didn't have to shove, but with an M of about 7, and again, with Mookie button players often raising up trash, I thought the overshove might induce a fold. Still...I did even steal a blind with the hammer. That was rare, but it felt good to show.
So yeah, I donate again, and my 0-fer-forever in the Mookie continues. But I had a blast, and at least I cashed in a $12/180 (again missing final table, though), so I essentially broke even for the night, and enjoyed the play.
But as I said in the chat, my real goal was just to make it past hour #1. I've rarely been able to play the Mookie, which is probably the undisputed champeeeeeen of bloggerments. In fact, last night was only my second entry in it this year. The previous attempt ended five hands into it when lucko's destroyed my KK. Yup, after five hands, I would have been happy to last an hour.
But still, I wanted to play some cards, and being a bloggerment, I was willing to try some plays I probably wouldn't attempt in a large field MTT, such as this one, early in the event (2nd orbit, I believe):
Full Tilt Poker Game #10715882359: The Mookie (79825300), Table 3 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:09:02 ET - 2009/02/18
Seat 1: iaatg6296 (6,150)
Seat 2: DaBag (2,805)
Seat 3: Mondogarage (2,840)
Seat 4: Astin (3,000), is sitting out
Seat 5: JoeSpeaker (2,970)
Seat 6: Blinders (2,955)
Seat 7: Joanne1111 (3,105)
Seat 8: MiamiDon (2,220)
Seat 9: ScottMc (3,220)
DaBag posts the small blind of 15
Mondogarage posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Mondogarage [3h 5h] (eww, but let's see...)
JoeSpeaker folds
Blinders folds
Joanne1111 folds
MiamiDon folds
Mondogarage: I just want to survive 1st hour (see, I wasn't kidding)
ScottMc raises to 115 (the asshat crew's been known to steal from cutoff)
iaatg6296 folds
DaBag folds
Mondogarage calls 85 (hand sucks, but if ScottMc is stealing, I'm probably two live with draws)
*** FLOP *** [2c 3d 4h] (intriguing flop for my hand)
Mondogarage checks (hoping for free card, of course)
ScottMc bets 240 (damn, no freebie; ScottMc bets nearly pot)
Mondogarage raises to 480 (I might actually be ahead here, but represent strength)
ScottMc raises to 3,105, and is all in (D'oH!!!)
Mondogarage calls 2,245, and is all in (if this isn't a bloggerment, I can probably fold here, but as I said, I may actually be ahead, and pretty sure he didn't hit flop)
ScottMc shows [Kh Kc] (double D'oH! Guess I read that one wrong, hit my draw ONE TIME DEALER)
Mondogarage shows [3h 5h]
Uncalled bet of 380 returned to ScottMc
*** TURN *** [2c 3d 4h] [Ah] (YAHTZEE!)
*** RIVER *** [2c 3d 4h Ah] [9c]
ScottMc shows a pair of Kings
Mondogarage shows a straight, Five high
Mondogarage wins the pot (5,695) with a straight, Five high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5,695 | Rake 0
Board: [2c 3d 4h Ah 9c]
Seat 1: iaatg6296 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: DaBag (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Mondogarage (big blind) showed [3h 5h] and won (5,695) with a straight, Five high
Seat 4: Astin is sitting out
Seat 5: JoeSpeaker didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: Blinders didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: MiamiDon didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: ScottMc showed [Kh Kc] and lost with a pair of Kings
Anyway, the more I think about this hand, the more I think that if I was committed to my read preflop, raising would have been better, but then I would have folded to Scott's inevitable 4-bet preflop. So this is one time when a bad preflop read led to what I think was the correct play on the flop, with one pair, OESD and backdoor flush draws against a player who either had an overpair or two overs, but was unlikely to have hit that board. But if anyone has better advice, I'm all ears.
That hand set me off on my way, and I spent the first hour plus in the top 2-3 in chips, and the next 30 minutes after that in the top eight or so.
Unfortunately, I went utterly card dead at that point, and when I open raised QJhh to 900, and PokerPeaker shoved his remaining 3k stack, I felt obliged to call, and his AQo held up. This took about 1/2 my chips, and another orbit of strictly trash (with growing blinds/antes). When I was next in the big blind, and the button raised up 3x, I felt compelled to shove my last 3.4k with A5 soooted. The original raiser thought long and hard, but eventually called with AJo. Two spades on the flop, and we were off to the races, but the third spade never fell, and I went out 24th of the original 54 players.
I realize I didn't have to shove, but with an M of about 7, and again, with Mookie button players often raising up trash, I thought the overshove might induce a fold. Still...I did even steal a blind with the hammer. That was rare, but it felt good to show.
So yeah, I donate again, and my 0-fer-forever in the Mookie continues. But I had a blast, and at least I cashed in a $12/180 (again missing final table, though), so I essentially broke even for the night, and enjoyed the play.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
CD Review - Surf City - Surf City EP
Ahh, in a welcome respite from my weekly poker junk-kicking, it's time to put up another CD review. Actually, I wrote the following a couple of weeks or so ago, but it finally made it up on to the Hybrid Magazine site today, so I can now share it with you. With no further ado, I present Surf City's self-titled EP.
Upon receiving a review copy of Surf City, the new EP from the young New Zealand band of the same name, my initial impression was something along the lines of "cool, surf music from some of the biggest reef country the far side of the moon from Huntington Beach." The promo materials even made the obligatory Dick Dale reference. As an old time gremmie with a deep and abiding love of heavily reverbed instrumental surf guitar, I expected to be in for a treat. Notwithstanding the first few seconds of the record's opening track, "Headin' Inside", neither the label's misguided publicist nor I could be more wrong. But so what? The record's pretty damn good - not for what it isn't, but for what it is.
Surf City is a collection of four lads from the land of kiwis and the haka, who have a keen grasp of energetic melody, pacing, and the entire Jesus & Mary Chain back catalog. Their EP checks in at a crisp 19 minutes across seven tracks, each of which is a tasty slab of power pop and nods towards old school Australasian punk pop of the 70s and early 80s (think Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists, Lime Spiders, Split Enz, etc.), the rapid chiming guitars of The Wedding Present, and yes, even the occasional wink of the eye to a double-picked surf run. And all of this is accomplished in a wonderfully appropriate low-fi recording that revels in the natural boisterous tendencies of the band without dragging the final produced down the descent into mud.
Simply put, there is not a clunker to be found in the bunch. From the roller rink organ, rapid fire hi-hat, and jagged guitar of "Records Of A Flagpole Sitter", to the desperate, near Wolf Parade-like vocal stylings found in "Dickshakers Union", to the retro dance rock of "Free The City", this EP is consistent throughout. While it is never truly mindblowing, it is always entertaining, and holds up well to repeated listening. Surf City appears to have a firm grasp of the true essence and source of power pop, and aural rewards await those who can tolerate the somewhat rawer nature of their recordings.
These days, it seems to be hip to be a kiwi with a guitar, especially if you can wangle an HBO show out of being a silly hack from the land next to the land down under. But never mind the Conchords, Surf City is the real deal.
Upon receiving a review copy of Surf City, the new EP from the young New Zealand band of the same name, my initial impression was something along the lines of "cool, surf music from some of the biggest reef country the far side of the moon from Huntington Beach." The promo materials even made the obligatory Dick Dale reference. As an old time gremmie with a deep and abiding love of heavily reverbed instrumental surf guitar, I expected to be in for a treat. Notwithstanding the first few seconds of the record's opening track, "Headin' Inside", neither the label's misguided publicist nor I could be more wrong. But so what? The record's pretty damn good - not for what it isn't, but for what it is.
Surf City is a collection of four lads from the land of kiwis and the haka, who have a keen grasp of energetic melody, pacing, and the entire Jesus & Mary Chain back catalog. Their EP checks in at a crisp 19 minutes across seven tracks, each of which is a tasty slab of power pop and nods towards old school Australasian punk pop of the 70s and early 80s (think Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists, Lime Spiders, Split Enz, etc.), the rapid chiming guitars of The Wedding Present, and yes, even the occasional wink of the eye to a double-picked surf run. And all of this is accomplished in a wonderfully appropriate low-fi recording that revels in the natural boisterous tendencies of the band without dragging the final produced down the descent into mud.
Simply put, there is not a clunker to be found in the bunch. From the roller rink organ, rapid fire hi-hat, and jagged guitar of "Records Of A Flagpole Sitter", to the desperate, near Wolf Parade-like vocal stylings found in "Dickshakers Union", to the retro dance rock of "Free The City", this EP is consistent throughout. While it is never truly mindblowing, it is always entertaining, and holds up well to repeated listening. Surf City appears to have a firm grasp of the true essence and source of power pop, and aural rewards await those who can tolerate the somewhat rawer nature of their recordings.
These days, it seems to be hip to be a kiwi with a guitar, especially if you can wangle an HBO show out of being a silly hack from the land next to the land down under. But never mind the Conchords, Surf City is the real deal.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Almost Springtime
Which means it's time for more bad beats. Okay, I keeeed, I keeeed...sorta.
But seriously, I've been limiting my online poker play lately to Sundays, and I've been getting seriously kicked in the junk by some of the worst play around. As such, my meager roll's down another 10-15% or so. Usually, the beats come just before breaking the bubble. Without belaboring the point, there's really two examples that sum up the last three weeks.
JokerStars $10+1 $200k guarantee....getting semi sorta close to the money bubble. I pick up AQ or AK on the button and open raise about 3x. BB repops. I shove. BB calls. With 63o. Yeah, he calls off almost his entire stack with 63, and the call was at least 20BB. We each pair the flop, but the three on the river seals my fate, for a pot that would nearly assure me surviving the bubble. But really, who calls off 15BB with 63o just to protect a botched re-steal? At the very best, you're no better than 40% to win, and at worst, you're hopelessly behind.
Bodog $12r, about two tables from the bubble. Late position raises about 3x, I overshove with AK. He snapcalls....with A7o. Of course, the seven on the river takes me out.
If you want to knock me out of a tournament, the best way to go about doing it is clearly to get it all in as a 2.5:1 dog or worse. If you're way behind, you're guaranteed to win.
I've lost another 1/3 of my dwindling Bodog roll, by going out a bit before the bubble in a variety of $10, $10r and $12 tourneys, nearly every time as a huge favorite on the turn, only to get three outed or five outed on the river. I'd pull my remaining $$$ off of there, but it's only a couple hundo and hardly worth waiting the godawful 40-60 day wait for. But I'm almost looking forward to being able to uninstall Bodog at this point, as it has really exceeded JokerStars for the combination of atrociously bad play that has been rewarded by catching miracle cards against me time and again. I'm choosing to look at it this way...I've already pulled off 4x the $$$ from Bodog than I ever deposited there, so I can exit a lifetime winner. At this point, I have zero intention of redepositing, not when there are sites with a greater volume of tournaments and players, and where the beats don't seem to come in such bad spots quite as often.
Yeah, that's whining -- deal with it. I'm okay with Bodog's software, but the inability to transfer to/from players on that site, the relative paucity of MTTs, combined with the level of abusive three outers, and my recent loss of ad sponsorship of my blog by that site, has just drained my desire to play there. If you're doing well there, I hope you continue to do so.
I did manage to mincash in a $20+2 PLO8 tourney on Stars, but again, missed a chance to run truly deep, when what appeared to be a likely chop turned into a scoop of all my chips, when a river trey counterfeited my low and worse, filled in villian's 7-high straight. Ugh. But that's Omatard, and that's not going to change. When he called, he was drawing OESD on a non-flushing board, and had a decent (if non-nut) low. Oh well. I did pick up a pocket of JJJJ. That was kinda funny.
So yeah, I don't write about poker much these days, because I have nothing of interest to write about. The story remains the same. I continue playing good tight smart poker early, chipping up (but not really getting to the top of the leaderboard). Eventually, when close to the money, I'm correctly reading someone for making a move with air, and then when they call off most or all of their chips way behind, they're getting inordinately lucky. It's always the same....AK can't beat A7, JJ can't beat 86s, KK can't beat 44 on a K-high flop, flopped two pair go down to runner runner trips or runner runner gutterballs...it goes on. Frankly, I don't see how reading about that would be of interest to anyone.
But really, I'm just tired of playing smart poker for three hours only to get kicked in the balls again for making the correct play. I'd just as soon it happen in the first few minutes, so I can go off and do something else. Or even at least a few minutes later when I've at least recovered my buy-in. But to have it happen the same way every time, at or near the bubble, just fucking sucks ass. It's more the timing of the beats than the beats themselves, as we're all pretty used to horrible poker players by now. Hell, most of us feed off of them, as do I. Except on the bubble, I guess.
Back to your regularly scheduled grinding.
But seriously, I've been limiting my online poker play lately to Sundays, and I've been getting seriously kicked in the junk by some of the worst play around. As such, my meager roll's down another 10-15% or so. Usually, the beats come just before breaking the bubble. Without belaboring the point, there's really two examples that sum up the last three weeks.
JokerStars $10+1 $200k guarantee....getting semi sorta close to the money bubble. I pick up AQ or AK on the button and open raise about 3x. BB repops. I shove. BB calls. With 63o. Yeah, he calls off almost his entire stack with 63, and the call was at least 20BB. We each pair the flop, but the three on the river seals my fate, for a pot that would nearly assure me surviving the bubble. But really, who calls off 15BB with 63o just to protect a botched re-steal? At the very best, you're no better than 40% to win, and at worst, you're hopelessly behind.
Bodog $12r, about two tables from the bubble. Late position raises about 3x, I overshove with AK. He snapcalls....with A7o. Of course, the seven on the river takes me out.
If you want to knock me out of a tournament, the best way to go about doing it is clearly to get it all in as a 2.5:1 dog or worse. If you're way behind, you're guaranteed to win.
I've lost another 1/3 of my dwindling Bodog roll, by going out a bit before the bubble in a variety of $10, $10r and $12 tourneys, nearly every time as a huge favorite on the turn, only to get three outed or five outed on the river. I'd pull my remaining $$$ off of there, but it's only a couple hundo and hardly worth waiting the godawful 40-60 day wait for. But I'm almost looking forward to being able to uninstall Bodog at this point, as it has really exceeded JokerStars for the combination of atrociously bad play that has been rewarded by catching miracle cards against me time and again. I'm choosing to look at it this way...I've already pulled off 4x the $$$ from Bodog than I ever deposited there, so I can exit a lifetime winner. At this point, I have zero intention of redepositing, not when there are sites with a greater volume of tournaments and players, and where the beats don't seem to come in such bad spots quite as often.
Yeah, that's whining -- deal with it. I'm okay with Bodog's software, but the inability to transfer to/from players on that site, the relative paucity of MTTs, combined with the level of abusive three outers, and my recent loss of ad sponsorship of my blog by that site, has just drained my desire to play there. If you're doing well there, I hope you continue to do so.
I did manage to mincash in a $20+2 PLO8 tourney on Stars, but again, missed a chance to run truly deep, when what appeared to be a likely chop turned into a scoop of all my chips, when a river trey counterfeited my low and worse, filled in villian's 7-high straight. Ugh. But that's Omatard, and that's not going to change. When he called, he was drawing OESD on a non-flushing board, and had a decent (if non-nut) low. Oh well. I did pick up a pocket of JJJJ. That was kinda funny.
So yeah, I don't write about poker much these days, because I have nothing of interest to write about. The story remains the same. I continue playing good tight smart poker early, chipping up (but not really getting to the top of the leaderboard). Eventually, when close to the money, I'm correctly reading someone for making a move with air, and then when they call off most or all of their chips way behind, they're getting inordinately lucky. It's always the same....AK can't beat A7, JJ can't beat 86s, KK can't beat 44 on a K-high flop, flopped two pair go down to runner runner trips or runner runner gutterballs...it goes on. Frankly, I don't see how reading about that would be of interest to anyone.
But really, I'm just tired of playing smart poker for three hours only to get kicked in the balls again for making the correct play. I'd just as soon it happen in the first few minutes, so I can go off and do something else. Or even at least a few minutes later when I've at least recovered my buy-in. But to have it happen the same way every time, at or near the bubble, just fucking sucks ass. It's more the timing of the beats than the beats themselves, as we're all pretty used to horrible poker players by now. Hell, most of us feed off of them, as do I. Except on the bubble, I guess.
Back to your regularly scheduled grinding.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Lighter Side of the Bailout
I suppose if I ever filled out this form, I might have to join the bankers in front of Barney Frank and explain how I'd spend the money. And no, I have no interest in buying the Phelps bong on eBay for a hundo large...
Thanks to my awesome friend Franco for sharing it...unfortunately, I don't know the original Photoshop artist to properly credit...
Thanks to my awesome friend Franco for sharing it...unfortunately, I don't know the original Photoshop artist to properly credit...
Friday, February 06, 2009
Everyone Into the Pool
Yeah, I don't think I've had a good rant lately. And no, I'm not going to rant about leading a JokerStars $10+1 HORSE MTT for 3+ hours, only to go out 25th after severe coolers in Razz and Stud...
No, I'm going to rant about that dumbass sack of fishfood, Michael Phelps.
Let me begin by simply saying, I don't have a horse in the pot legalization debate. I don't smoke it, I have no desire to smoke it, but I don't particularly care whether you do or not. I'm a law-abiding citizen, but I also know there are an awful lot of fucked up laws in this country (and in others, to be sure). And yes, the alcohol lobby's got a pretty strong grip on the government that a bunch of green growers do not.
Now that I got that out of the way, Michael Phelps is an idiot, perhaps only exceeded in his idiocy by those who are raving about how all of America should boycott Kellogg's cereals simply because Kellogg's had the temerity to fire Phelps from his endorsement deal. I would submit that most of the people screaming the loudest to boycott, simply can't see through the haze of their own bong smoke far enough to actually grasp why Kellogg's dumped Phelps.
It's as simple as this. People with millions of dollars of endorsements don't get to live their lives in the same fashion as us random anonymous mondos. That's part of what earning those millions of dollars of endorsements is about. That's part of being a star -- you simply are not like the everyday Joe.
I don't care how anyone here feels about pot -- they have to know that there are still millions of parents of young aspiring swimmers out there, who don't want to think about their 8- and 9- year olds growing up on drugs, who will react very badly to learning their role model is a bong hitter.
Is that potentially rather paranoid line of thinking by the parents? That, because Phelps smokes up, and my kids idolize him, they're going to smoke pot? Maybe. In most cases, probably. But that's not the point. The point is that this *is* what the parents of a lot of those kids are thinking. And that's who Kellogg's constituency is, not you the NORML member. Kellogg is a breakfast food company, and has no fiduciary duty to its shareholders to advocate legalization of pot on behalf of one of their former paid endorsers.
And those parents buy a lot of cereal. As a paid endorser, Phelps should have known that. At least, he was paid to behave as if he knew that. He doesn't have to care about whether or not pot is illegal or performance enhancing or anything else, he only has to care about how parents will perceive him. Because that's why he's an endorser, because companies think his presence helps them sell product. His bucket full'o'gold medals is why his sponsors think he'll sell product, but not the direct reason they pay him. All he had to do to earn was simply this -- do not embarrass your employer.
Furthermore, after the 2004 Olympics, Phelps got a DUI driving drunk while underage. He should fucking know better by now.
I say good on Kellogg's for holding their own cereal box heroes to a higher standard. Phelps doesn't have some sort of statutory right to keep his endorsements when he acts in a manner the company finds outside the bounds.
The dude has his entire life after the end of his competitive career and cereal box days to smoke all the weed he could stand. He clearly has not learned that when you live in the public eye, people will be watching. It's not his first transgression.
This isn't even about pot being illegal or not -- it's about setting an example for kids. The only reason he was their star endorser at all is because all those parents saw him as someone to look up to. When he no longer performs that job satisfactorily, it's time to let him go.
Kellogg's isn't screaming for the po-po to arrest Michael Phelps. They're simply firing him for not performing the job he was hired to do, which was to appear to be enough of an example for children such that their parents would buy more Kellogg's products. It's not Kellogg's job to change the perception of millions of parents about pot, and for anyone to argue that they're somehow wrong for not taking on that responsibility is silly. Or stoned. Or both.
In the end, it's all cool. Now that Michael Phelps won't have to make so many of those pesky paid public appearances, he'll have plenty more time to toke it on up. Win/win, I guess.
I've got a suggestion for all those who are up in arms over wanting to boycott Kellogg's for their righteous injustice against Michael Phelps. Why don't you all pool some of your dime bag money together and hire Michael Phelps as an endorser for NORML, and put him on the cover of High Times. Now THAT would be putting your money where your bong pipe is. Maybe enough of you can even replace his entire former sponsorship, and he'll wear hemp trunks to the 2012 Olympics.
No, I'm going to rant about that dumbass sack of fishfood, Michael Phelps.
Let me begin by simply saying, I don't have a horse in the pot legalization debate. I don't smoke it, I have no desire to smoke it, but I don't particularly care whether you do or not. I'm a law-abiding citizen, but I also know there are an awful lot of fucked up laws in this country (and in others, to be sure). And yes, the alcohol lobby's got a pretty strong grip on the government that a bunch of green growers do not.
Now that I got that out of the way, Michael Phelps is an idiot, perhaps only exceeded in his idiocy by those who are raving about how all of America should boycott Kellogg's cereals simply because Kellogg's had the temerity to fire Phelps from his endorsement deal. I would submit that most of the people screaming the loudest to boycott, simply can't see through the haze of their own bong smoke far enough to actually grasp why Kellogg's dumped Phelps.
It's as simple as this. People with millions of dollars of endorsements don't get to live their lives in the same fashion as us random anonymous mondos. That's part of what earning those millions of dollars of endorsements is about. That's part of being a star -- you simply are not like the everyday Joe.
I don't care how anyone here feels about pot -- they have to know that there are still millions of parents of young aspiring swimmers out there, who don't want to think about their 8- and 9- year olds growing up on drugs, who will react very badly to learning their role model is a bong hitter.
Is that potentially rather paranoid line of thinking by the parents? That, because Phelps smokes up, and my kids idolize him, they're going to smoke pot? Maybe. In most cases, probably. But that's not the point. The point is that this *is* what the parents of a lot of those kids are thinking. And that's who Kellogg's constituency is, not you the NORML member. Kellogg is a breakfast food company, and has no fiduciary duty to its shareholders to advocate legalization of pot on behalf of one of their former paid endorsers.
And those parents buy a lot of cereal. As a paid endorser, Phelps should have known that. At least, he was paid to behave as if he knew that. He doesn't have to care about whether or not pot is illegal or performance enhancing or anything else, he only has to care about how parents will perceive him. Because that's why he's an endorser, because companies think his presence helps them sell product. His bucket full'o'gold medals is why his sponsors think he'll sell product, but not the direct reason they pay him. All he had to do to earn was simply this -- do not embarrass your employer.
Furthermore, after the 2004 Olympics, Phelps got a DUI driving drunk while underage. He should fucking know better by now.
I say good on Kellogg's for holding their own cereal box heroes to a higher standard. Phelps doesn't have some sort of statutory right to keep his endorsements when he acts in a manner the company finds outside the bounds.
The dude has his entire life after the end of his competitive career and cereal box days to smoke all the weed he could stand. He clearly has not learned that when you live in the public eye, people will be watching. It's not his first transgression.
This isn't even about pot being illegal or not -- it's about setting an example for kids. The only reason he was their star endorser at all is because all those parents saw him as someone to look up to. When he no longer performs that job satisfactorily, it's time to let him go.
Kellogg's isn't screaming for the po-po to arrest Michael Phelps. They're simply firing him for not performing the job he was hired to do, which was to appear to be enough of an example for children such that their parents would buy more Kellogg's products. It's not Kellogg's job to change the perception of millions of parents about pot, and for anyone to argue that they're somehow wrong for not taking on that responsibility is silly. Or stoned. Or both.
In the end, it's all cool. Now that Michael Phelps won't have to make so many of those pesky paid public appearances, he'll have plenty more time to toke it on up. Win/win, I guess.
I've got a suggestion for all those who are up in arms over wanting to boycott Kellogg's for their righteous injustice against Michael Phelps. Why don't you all pool some of your dime bag money together and hire Michael Phelps as an endorser for NORML, and put him on the cover of High Times. Now THAT would be putting your money where your bong pipe is. Maybe enough of you can even replace his entire former sponsorship, and he'll wear hemp trunks to the 2012 Olympics.
He Looks Funny Without A Beard
"Just a good 'ol boy...never meaning no harm..."
Some folks tend to associate Waylon Jennings strictly for his cultural contributions to the Dukes of Hazzard, but the dude could flat out play. Next week, New Ben Franklins is going to change things up a bit in his honor.
I'm pretty sure most of my miniscule readership ain't exactly local, but so what. I think our guitarist does good flyer, so I'm gonna share them.
Right now, I'm mostly just looking forward to the Fire Drills / Bluebelle show at the hi-dive tomorrow night. If you have any inkling at all who Billy Childish is, then you'd love Bluebelle. I checked out the middle band, Pacific Pride, and think they're going to be pretty cool stuff live, as well.
I expect a poker-free weekend, unless I can wangle a few donkaments on Sunday night. Tonight, it's Slumdog Millionaire for the Good Doctor Mondo and I. She's had a long, tough week, and as much as I'd love to see some of my favorite songwriters (frontmen from Cowboy Curse, Cat-A-Tac, Breezy Porticos, and Astrophagus) playing solo sets tonight at the Meadowlark, it's really important for me to be a good hubby tonight. As supportive as she's been of the massive timesuck that is my love of live local music, she deserves much more than she gets.
Some folks tend to associate Waylon Jennings strictly for his cultural contributions to the Dukes of Hazzard, but the dude could flat out play. Next week, New Ben Franklins is going to change things up a bit in his honor.
I'm pretty sure most of my miniscule readership ain't exactly local, but so what. I think our guitarist does good flyer, so I'm gonna share them.
Right now, I'm mostly just looking forward to the Fire Drills / Bluebelle show at the hi-dive tomorrow night. If you have any inkling at all who Billy Childish is, then you'd love Bluebelle. I checked out the middle band, Pacific Pride, and think they're going to be pretty cool stuff live, as well.
I expect a poker-free weekend, unless I can wangle a few donkaments on Sunday night. Tonight, it's Slumdog Millionaire for the Good Doctor Mondo and I. She's had a long, tough week, and as much as I'd love to see some of my favorite songwriters (frontmen from Cowboy Curse, Cat-A-Tac, Breezy Porticos, and Astrophagus) playing solo sets tonight at the Meadowlark, it's really important for me to be a good hubby tonight. As supportive as she's been of the massive timesuck that is my love of live local music, she deserves much more than she gets.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
My How Time Flies
Wow, I just noticed I haven't blogged in a whole week. Well, it's been a pretty heavy week, that's for certain.
Where to begin?
Well, my team is finally fully geared up in full bore trial prep mode in one case, while busting hump in discovery in another. So work has been really busy for me. In fact, it's looking like my poker shenanigans will generally be slowing way up for the next couple of months or so. That said, I put in a full day this past Sunday, which deserves its own post as soon as I can get to it, perhaps over lunch tomorrow, if I can see over the stacks of docs on my desk. Oh, if those stacks could only be red chips...
In fact, I've been too busy to review the latest CD I've been assigned by Hybrid Magazine, but hope to get to it some time over the next week. This particular review will be a test of my objectivity, in that it's the most recent release by one of my favorite bands, but a disc that so far fails to live up to their previous work. This holds true despite how well most of the songs came off when I saw the live recently.
Hybrid does have another review in the can from me, which I'll share once they post it.
New Ben Franklins keeps pushing forward. We've got a show next Thursday night at the Toad Tavern in beautiful downtown Littleton, Colorado. What, you thought I'd say "Burbank"? This gig will be a bit more country than most, as we're tossing in a couple of Waylon Jennings covers in honor of the day of his passing.
In bummer news which I pretty much expected, Bodog has decided not to renew their sponsorship agreement with Donkin' in the Rockies. I still have a few hundo on their site, so I'll play it out and hopefully build it back up again. But to be honest, I really only loaded up there to play in the original Bodonkey series, and played it mostly with blog sponsorship. So if I ever go busto there (which hasn't happened yet...I've even managed to pull off several hundo), I'm likely to be done with the site. There's just not enough MTTs to make a reload worthwhile. On the other hand, I like the structure well enough, and have come close enough, to play out the string.
Still, I extend my appreciation to Nadia for working with Bodog to sponsor this lil' blog for the past year. Onwards and upwards...and I'll now be free to link "online poker" to anyone else who wants to step up (yeah, right!)
At any rate, we're only ten days from the most telling sign of spring of all -- Pitchers and Catchers Report! Go Rox!
Finally, in a sad note that seems to come far too often, Lux Interior is taking his bad music for bad people to the next world. Lux, you were singularly badass.
Where to begin?
Well, my team is finally fully geared up in full bore trial prep mode in one case, while busting hump in discovery in another. So work has been really busy for me. In fact, it's looking like my poker shenanigans will generally be slowing way up for the next couple of months or so. That said, I put in a full day this past Sunday, which deserves its own post as soon as I can get to it, perhaps over lunch tomorrow, if I can see over the stacks of docs on my desk. Oh, if those stacks could only be red chips...
In fact, I've been too busy to review the latest CD I've been assigned by Hybrid Magazine, but hope to get to it some time over the next week. This particular review will be a test of my objectivity, in that it's the most recent release by one of my favorite bands, but a disc that so far fails to live up to their previous work. This holds true despite how well most of the songs came off when I saw the live recently.
Hybrid does have another review in the can from me, which I'll share once they post it.
New Ben Franklins keeps pushing forward. We've got a show next Thursday night at the Toad Tavern in beautiful downtown Littleton, Colorado. What, you thought I'd say "Burbank"? This gig will be a bit more country than most, as we're tossing in a couple of Waylon Jennings covers in honor of the day of his passing.
In bummer news which I pretty much expected, Bodog has decided not to renew their sponsorship agreement with Donkin' in the Rockies. I still have a few hundo on their site, so I'll play it out and hopefully build it back up again. But to be honest, I really only loaded up there to play in the original Bodonkey series, and played it mostly with blog sponsorship. So if I ever go busto there (which hasn't happened yet...I've even managed to pull off several hundo), I'm likely to be done with the site. There's just not enough MTTs to make a reload worthwhile. On the other hand, I like the structure well enough, and have come close enough, to play out the string.
Still, I extend my appreciation to Nadia for working with Bodog to sponsor this lil' blog for the past year. Onwards and upwards...and I'll now be free to link "online poker" to anyone else who wants to step up (yeah, right!)
At any rate, we're only ten days from the most telling sign of spring of all -- Pitchers and Catchers Report! Go Rox!
Finally, in a sad note that seems to come far too often, Lux Interior is taking his bad music for bad people to the next world. Lux, you were singularly badass.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)