At the Mookie last night I was berated - mildly, but still berated - by a player who I respect and won't name here because I'm not into pissing matches.
It's a blind versus blind confrontation. It's folded around to us blinds. We're really just underway - the blinds are 25/50 - and we both have most of our chips from our starting level of 3,000. Actually, he has around 2,250, and I have a little more than my starting stack of 3,000.
He's an aggressive player, more aggressive than most, and we just had two confrontations last week, one when I made a questionable play but it worked, the other where he made a good play with Aces and I sucked out on him. I'm not really sure if that's important, but I thought I'd mention it here.
OK, so I have A-K unsuited. He raises me 3xs the big blind. I re-pop him to 350. I have position and I want to get more chips in the pot with this premium hand. Plus, to be honest, this is a move he likes to make with me a lot, and I wouldn't mind sending him a message to knock it off and win the hand right there.
He JAMS all his chips in.
So I had to think a while. When I finally called, he showed A-4 (sooted, of course), lost and then berated me for taking my time. I think he was implying that I was slow-rolling - and he even mentioned that - but mostly he was just amazed that it took any time at all for me to call there.
He called it a "snap call" many times.
Now, really? Is it REALLY a "snap call?" I wanted to think if it was worth a race so early in the contest, when a tight player (me) re-raises a guy and he jams all his chips in? What could he really have there? What do you put him on there? I figured at best I was racing and might even be facing KK or AA even if it is unlikely. Even if he has 77+ I'm racing there.
What do you think?
Showing posts with label Mookie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mookie. Show all posts
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
This is a poker post!
Anyone else watching the cash game on Poker After Dark?
It's really a good mix.
I mean, I know that watching poker on TV is SO 2005. But I still love it. I'm really jacked for ESPN's World Series of Poker coverage starting Tuesday. And I am loving PAD.
But let's be honest. I don't get out much.Though I am climbing a mountain Friday. Man, I'm rambling. Get back on track, Peaker.
OK, sorry. "Durr" is a fantastic player. Most of them on Poker After Dark, actually.
Except for Phil Hellmuth.
I'm going to say nothing new here. In fact I'll bet my traffic drops as soon as this post goes up.
But Hellmuth is such a jackass, and the act is getting old. In fact, it's also SO 2005. It really has started to screw with my enjoyment of the whole show. This is what happens when you allow a guy to wear a bathrobe to work (how's that for a weak-tight analogy, kind of like my play at the Mookie last night). He starts to think he can say anything, forget to shave (this analogy is going nowhere I'd better drop it) and then he slaps on some Brut instead of showering. Anything goes.
It's a tired, tired act. You could see the other players visibly uncomfortable with his antics. And the thing was, he made some terrible plays. I realize the guy has 11 bracelets but he played TERRIBLE. He checked a hand down with K,A on a King-high flop after re-raising in position and then bitched when his aggressive opponent caught up. Then he bragged about "how much money he saved."
I don't need to go on. We all know he's a jackass. This post is about as original as raising with the hammer. Maybe less. But I really wish he'd move on to a new act.
Its time for Hellmuth Part II. And I know sequels aren't very imaginative. But maybe just once we'll get one that will surprise us.
P.S. Had A-K, went all in with a pathetic M, was facing A-10 heads up, 10 on the turn. Ahhh. It's good to be back. :)
It's really a good mix.
I mean, I know that watching poker on TV is SO 2005. But I still love it. I'm really jacked for ESPN's World Series of Poker coverage starting Tuesday. And I am loving PAD.
But let's be honest. I don't get out much.Though I am climbing a mountain Friday. Man, I'm rambling. Get back on track, Peaker.
OK, sorry. "Durr" is a fantastic player. Most of them on Poker After Dark, actually.
Except for Phil Hellmuth.
I'm going to say nothing new here. In fact I'll bet my traffic drops as soon as this post goes up.
But Hellmuth is such a jackass, and the act is getting old. In fact, it's also SO 2005. It really has started to screw with my enjoyment of the whole show. This is what happens when you allow a guy to wear a bathrobe to work (how's that for a weak-tight analogy, kind of like my play at the Mookie last night). He starts to think he can say anything, forget to shave (this analogy is going nowhere I'd better drop it) and then he slaps on some Brut instead of showering. Anything goes.
It's a tired, tired act. You could see the other players visibly uncomfortable with his antics. And the thing was, he made some terrible plays. I realize the guy has 11 bracelets but he played TERRIBLE. He checked a hand down with K,A on a King-high flop after re-raising in position and then bitched when his aggressive opponent caught up. Then he bragged about "how much money he saved."
I don't need to go on. We all know he's a jackass. This post is about as original as raising with the hammer. Maybe less. But I really wish he'd move on to a new act.
Its time for Hellmuth Part II. And I know sequels aren't very imaginative. But maybe just once we'll get one that will surprise us.
P.S. Had A-K, went all in with a pathetic M, was facing A-10 heads up, 10 on the turn. Ahhh. It's good to be back. :)
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A radio personality made for the newspaper
Well, last night was my debut on Buddy Dank Radio, although I hesitate to call it a debut because that implies I'll get to be on again at some point.
After my blasé performance, I'm pretty sure I won't be asked back on. It made me appreciate what Buddy and Instant Tragedydo every week. Even if it does sound chaotic at times, those guys monitor all the games, try to keep us entertained, make sure the music is going, take messages from us Yahoos (literally) and play the Mookie all at the same time. It's harder than it sounds, folks, and that's because they are so relaxed while I do it.
I wanted to tell more climbing stories but after a while I realized it didn't seem to fit, and it would probably just come across as me just bragging about my exploits anyway. What I was hoping to do was introduce the poker bloggers to a different world, but I don't have the personality to do that without it coming across as just me blathering about my "great feats."
I busted fairly early from The Mookie. I was re-raised a lot preflop, and I'll have to start taking a stand if that continues, although I have a feeling I was beat each time, and I couldn't get anything going otherwise.
Now that PokerStars is on the Mac, I two tabled it while I was on the radio after I busted and scooped a huge pot when I called a minimum raise with five other callers with A-J clubs, expecting to either hit the flop big or let it go cheap. The flop came A-J-9, with two spades, so I bet the pot and was mini-raised by the original raiser. Given the draws and the fact that I thought I had the guy beat, I pushed, and he eventually called with K-K.
I had a great time on the radio, so thanks to Buddy for putting up with me the whole radio program. I would encourage all of you to give it a shot, as it was really easy to set up, and Buddy and IT will make you feel at home.
Speaking of a different world, go check out the latest Miami Donpost, his first installment of a series about his former life. It's outstanding writing, from the soul, and I can't wait for the next part. When Don isn't feuding or talkin' like a bookie, he's one of the best bloggers out there, and I'm really glad he's started this series.
We've got a prop bet this weekend, my Kansas Jayhawks versus Don's Missouri Tigers. The Tigers have us in their building, and that's a tough game no matter how good we are. And our ballas are really, really good this year. This is probably the best Jayhawk team I've seen in a long, long time, and that's saying something. This team is definitely better than the one that went to the title game in 2003 and equal to the one that went to the Final Four in 2002.
I'm heading to Black Hawk this weekend for some donkey limit poker after some time with Kate's parents. I've already scheduled a 10-mile run on Sunday to work off the frustration from that session.
After my blasé performance, I'm pretty sure I won't be asked back on. It made me appreciate what Buddy and Instant Tragedydo every week. Even if it does sound chaotic at times, those guys monitor all the games, try to keep us entertained, make sure the music is going, take messages from us Yahoos (literally) and play the Mookie all at the same time. It's harder than it sounds, folks, and that's because they are so relaxed while I do it.
I wanted to tell more climbing stories but after a while I realized it didn't seem to fit, and it would probably just come across as me just bragging about my exploits anyway. What I was hoping to do was introduce the poker bloggers to a different world, but I don't have the personality to do that without it coming across as just me blathering about my "great feats."
I busted fairly early from The Mookie. I was re-raised a lot preflop, and I'll have to start taking a stand if that continues, although I have a feeling I was beat each time, and I couldn't get anything going otherwise.
Now that PokerStars is on the Mac, I two tabled it while I was on the radio after I busted and scooped a huge pot when I called a minimum raise with five other callers with A-J clubs, expecting to either hit the flop big or let it go cheap. The flop came A-J-9, with two spades, so I bet the pot and was mini-raised by the original raiser. Given the draws and the fact that I thought I had the guy beat, I pushed, and he eventually called with K-K.
I had a great time on the radio, so thanks to Buddy for putting up with me the whole radio program. I would encourage all of you to give it a shot, as it was really easy to set up, and Buddy and IT will make you feel at home.
Speaking of a different world, go check out the latest Miami Donpost, his first installment of a series about his former life. It's outstanding writing, from the soul, and I can't wait for the next part. When Don isn't feuding or talkin' like a bookie, he's one of the best bloggers out there, and I'm really glad he's started this series.
We've got a prop bet this weekend, my Kansas Jayhawks versus Don's Missouri Tigers. The Tigers have us in their building, and that's a tough game no matter how good we are. And our ballas are really, really good this year. This is probably the best Jayhawk team I've seen in a long, long time, and that's saying something. This team is definitely better than the one that went to the title game in 2003 and equal to the one that went to the Final Four in 2002.
I'm heading to Black Hawk this weekend for some donkey limit poker after some time with Kate's parents. I've already scheduled a 10-mile run on Sunday to work off the frustration from that session.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Meh
Last night I managed to not really cripple myself but tear a chunk out of me anyway, sort of like when you step on a nail, in the Mookie last night.
I was also playing the Dookie and was considering a hand when Full Tilt buzzed me. I had just won a big hand with J-J and had 7,000 chips, which left me in the top 20, maybe even the top 15, I believe. I had played well the whole tournament, stealing, making good contination bets (for once) and getting a couple nice hands.
At the buzz, I clicked on the call button, and found that I had just called off a raise and a re-raise with Q,4os.
Awesome.
The flop brought me a queen and two nines, but TripJax bet large, and while I considered shoving, given that it was TripJax and he had a huge amount of chips and was capable of making a move on both those factors, I still folded because I did not think he would re-raise with nothing. It turns out he told me had me beat but just barely.
In the past such a moronic, stupid mistake would tilt me.
But I didn't even care.
Poker's been like that lately.
As Vegas approaches, I find myself caring less about poker every day, for the first time in at least three years.
The Mookie was the first time I played all week, and I'll skip Riverchasers tonight. As excited as the BBT2 is, my family life and work schedule doesn't allow me to play all the events. In fact, I can only play one a week , and I'm lucky if I make that. That leaves me at a serious disadvantage. So I hope they continue to host these contests, as they are really fucking cool, but I really can't take part in them fully just yet. Maybe in a couple of years.
Occasionally I get in these life funks, and usually I just tell myself to quit being a pussy and shake them, but a few times a year I really can't, and this is one of those times.
There's no reason for it. Work is still good, family life is fine, and after a brief hiatus to get my balls whacked, I'm running strong in time for the Turkey Trot 5K Thanksgiving race.
Ah, maybe that's it. I have post mortem depression.
I do think part of it is the twins have forced me into biorhythms that aren't really me. I would love to stay up until midnight every night and wake up at 7:15 or so, but instead I'm going to bed at 11 p.m., vaguely unsatisfied, and waking up at 6 a.m., sprinkled with wakings at 2 a.m., 3 a.m., etc. It's all catching up to me.
I don't know if poker itself is why I don't want to play or if it's this bluesy feeling I can't shake. I plan on dinking around in a cash game tonight and quitting when I don't want to play anymore, which might be right away. Maybe I need to hit up Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (yes, an old game, but one I've just discovered) and go kill a few innocents.
At least then they can't outdraw my set.
P.S. Congrats go out to Scott for his news on the twins. Welcome to the club. It's not something I would wish on anyone, but it's also been the greatest experience of my life.
I was also playing the Dookie and was considering a hand when Full Tilt buzzed me. I had just won a big hand with J-J and had 7,000 chips, which left me in the top 20, maybe even the top 15, I believe. I had played well the whole tournament, stealing, making good contination bets (for once) and getting a couple nice hands.
At the buzz, I clicked on the call button, and found that I had just called off a raise and a re-raise with Q,4os.
Awesome.
The flop brought me a queen and two nines, but TripJax bet large, and while I considered shoving, given that it was TripJax and he had a huge amount of chips and was capable of making a move on both those factors, I still folded because I did not think he would re-raise with nothing. It turns out he told me had me beat but just barely.
In the past such a moronic, stupid mistake would tilt me.
But I didn't even care.
Poker's been like that lately.
As Vegas approaches, I find myself caring less about poker every day, for the first time in at least three years.
The Mookie was the first time I played all week, and I'll skip Riverchasers tonight. As excited as the BBT2 is, my family life and work schedule doesn't allow me to play all the events. In fact, I can only play one a week , and I'm lucky if I make that. That leaves me at a serious disadvantage. So I hope they continue to host these contests, as they are really fucking cool, but I really can't take part in them fully just yet. Maybe in a couple of years.
Occasionally I get in these life funks, and usually I just tell myself to quit being a pussy and shake them, but a few times a year I really can't, and this is one of those times.
There's no reason for it. Work is still good, family life is fine, and after a brief hiatus to get my balls whacked, I'm running strong in time for the Turkey Trot 5K Thanksgiving race.
Ah, maybe that's it. I have post mortem depression.
I do think part of it is the twins have forced me into biorhythms that aren't really me. I would love to stay up until midnight every night and wake up at 7:15 or so, but instead I'm going to bed at 11 p.m., vaguely unsatisfied, and waking up at 6 a.m., sprinkled with wakings at 2 a.m., 3 a.m., etc. It's all catching up to me.
I don't know if poker itself is why I don't want to play or if it's this bluesy feeling I can't shake. I plan on dinking around in a cash game tonight and quitting when I don't want to play anymore, which might be right away. Maybe I need to hit up Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (yes, an old game, but one I've just discovered) and go kill a few innocents.
At least then they can't outdraw my set.
P.S. Congrats go out to Scott for his news on the twins. Welcome to the club. It's not something I would wish on anyone, but it's also been the greatest experience of my life.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Good Wednesday
The Rockies won their first game against the Phillies despite Baseball Tonight giving them about as much chance as me cashing in the Mookie.
Oh. Speaking of which...
I even knocked the fertile bad boy out himself. I bet $10 on Kansas to make it to the Final Four or win it all. Maybe I should bet on the Rockies?
Now, I know a 5th place finish isn't really worth a brag post, but this is my first cash in the Mookie since the twins were born way back in May. I had to give up the Mook for a long, long time, and to not only play it but cash against a group of tough mofos like yourself means a lot.
Life is finally returning to normal.
Well, as normal as it will ever be again.
P.S.S. I actually SENSED that Andie pooped this morning and I was right. No odor. I was just right. I have ESP (extra sensory poop) and that means I'm WAY too dialed into my kids right now. Thank goodness we're heading to Vegas on Oct. 16 for a break and to celebrate five wonderful years with Katers.
P.S. We call this foreshadowing. I visited the urologist today. In three weeks we're gonna make sure I NEVER have twins again.
More to follow...
Oh. Speaking of which...
I even knocked the fertile bad boy out himself. I bet $10 on Kansas to make it to the Final Four or win it all. Maybe I should bet on the Rockies?
Now, I know a 5th place finish isn't really worth a brag post, but this is my first cash in the Mookie since the twins were born way back in May. I had to give up the Mook for a long, long time, and to not only play it but cash against a group of tough mofos like yourself means a lot.
Life is finally returning to normal.
Well, as normal as it will ever be again.
P.S.S. I actually SENSED that Andie pooped this morning and I was right. No odor. I was just right. I have ESP (extra sensory poop) and that means I'm WAY too dialed into my kids right now. Thank goodness we're heading to Vegas on Oct. 16 for a break and to celebrate five wonderful years with Katers.
P.S. We call this foreshadowing. I visited the urologist today. In three weeks we're gonna make sure I NEVER have twins again.
More to follow...
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Let's see just how stupid I was last night...
Details are sketchy given that one of the twins had just started to whimper a bit in her carrier last night:
It's early, blinds are 25/50, you are playing the Mookie, a early position raiser pops you 3xs the BB, and you have K-Q soooted.
I called because I had a few chips, it was double-stacked and it was the Mookie. I don't think it's a bad call.
Flop comes 10,K,Q. Perfect. Initial raiser, a guy who has had success at the Mookie and someone you see as an aggressive player, checks, you bet 295 into the 500-some pot. Third player along for the ride calls and the raiser calls as well.
Hmmm. Still, I don't think the bet is bad here.
The turn comes a harmless...6, I think...and we're all rainbowed now. Raiser checks, I bet 1,000 chips, a little less than the pot. The third guy thinks and folds. The initial raiser raises. You'll have 800 chips left if you call.
I pushed all-in.
Is there ANYONE here who would make that play?
It's early, blinds are 25/50, you are playing the Mookie, a early position raiser pops you 3xs the BB, and you have K-Q soooted.
I called because I had a few chips, it was double-stacked and it was the Mookie. I don't think it's a bad call.
Flop comes 10,K,Q. Perfect. Initial raiser, a guy who has had success at the Mookie and someone you see as an aggressive player, checks, you bet 295 into the 500-some pot. Third player along for the ride calls and the raiser calls as well.
Hmmm. Still, I don't think the bet is bad here.
The turn comes a harmless...6, I think...and we're all rainbowed now. Raiser checks, I bet 1,000 chips, a little less than the pot. The third guy thinks and folds. The initial raiser raises. You'll have 800 chips left if you call.
I pushed all-in.
Is there ANYONE here who would make that play?
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
In the greatest upset since, um, Golden State v. Dallas...
Yes, it's only third, but this is HORSE we're talking about here. I didn't even know why all the chips were being shipped my way once.
Stud was good to me, I played Razz well, sucked out in Hold Em once and survived Omaha and Stud Hi/Lo.
And I beat Drizz in a last-longer bet. Even if it WAS a turbo, and even if Drizz did suffer perhaps the worst suckout I've ever seen in hold 'em, if me beating him in HORSE in a last-longer bet isn't the upset of the century, I don't know what is. Maybe that hockey thing against the Russians.
This may be my last Mookie event for a while — and I will miss it dearly, even if it is just until the twins learn how to sleep through the night (they HAVE to be here by next week or Kate may just kill me) — so this was a nice way to say goodbye for a bit. Just as I've been suffering a long dry spell with my tournament game too.
Maybe this is a good omen.
Let's hope so.
As it pertains to poker AND babies!
P.S. Oh and I had the honor of talking to Iakaris via cell phone last night. He's in Denver and I was apologizing for not going out there to see him. I would like to keep my marriage whole and frying-pan free, so I don't dare ask, especially because I just know THAT'S when they would come.
I gave him a scouting report about our 2/5 limit poker game here in Colorado (can't wait to see THAT post) and got to visit with him a bit.
I figured he would sound like an intelligent, snooty guy, but he sounded pretty regular. Even almost young, like he was a college dude or something. I can't wait to meet him. December!
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Bad Girls
This could pertain to my twins, given that they refuse to come out of room right now. Not that I blame them. The womb is a pretty nice place. But come on, ladies, it's time to see the world! You come out of that room RIGHT NOW!
They're ignoring Daddy.
I"m told I'd better get used to it.
On a poker note — yes, I still play poker, every night, in fact — I've never understood why QQ is called the Hiltons. Are we naming that hand after Paris Hilton and her sister?
If so, good, because I hate Paris Hilton.
And I hate QQ.
I've lost more money with QQ than any other hand. I have made five times as much with 10,10 and JJ. Easily. QQ is like Paris, who looks really, really good on the surface and is a dangerous little wench underneath. Why does it continue to beckon to me? Like the stripper I once dated long ago, before I found the wholesome power rock that is Kate, I know I should get away from it more often but I just...can't.
All small with the board pairing? The guy has the other xx. Aggression before the flop? The guy always has KK or AA (and I always call, at least, with QQ unless it's a shove). Flop a set? It turns into a flush or a straight despite me blistering my finger on the raise button. I finally got stacked last night on a 6,2,9 board when the other guy showed no aggression pre-flop to my raise. I put him on JJ and shoved. He had a set. Maybe if I listened to my don't go broke with one pair mantra, I'd be OK.
I can make great laydowns. All the time. I have no idea why QQ is different.
Maybe it's the looks. That always gets the guys.
I did play the Mookie last night. I felt all right about it after struggling with SnGs lately (0-5 on cashing this week) and wondering why I bother playing them any more at all. Cash games are going so well, if SnGs weren't fun I would just ditch them completely. Strangely enough, my MTT game is pretty good now. It used to be horrible, but generally in every Mookie I've played I've either made the final table or put myself in a good position to do so. I was a coin flip away from being in the top 10 after gasping on life support earlier that night.
By the way, Mookie is playing his ass off. He barely missed another final table. Good show. JJOK seems to be another hot player right now, but he's got the mutiple power working for him.
See, girls, JJOK did a good job with his girls. It's OK to come out. Join the world.
Please.
They're ignoring Daddy.
I"m told I'd better get used to it.
On a poker note — yes, I still play poker, every night, in fact — I've never understood why QQ is called the Hiltons. Are we naming that hand after Paris Hilton and her sister?
If so, good, because I hate Paris Hilton.
And I hate QQ.
I've lost more money with QQ than any other hand. I have made five times as much with 10,10 and JJ. Easily. QQ is like Paris, who looks really, really good on the surface and is a dangerous little wench underneath. Why does it continue to beckon to me? Like the stripper I once dated long ago, before I found the wholesome power rock that is Kate, I know I should get away from it more often but I just...can't.
All small with the board pairing? The guy has the other xx. Aggression before the flop? The guy always has KK or AA (and I always call, at least, with QQ unless it's a shove). Flop a set? It turns into a flush or a straight despite me blistering my finger on the raise button. I finally got stacked last night on a 6,2,9 board when the other guy showed no aggression pre-flop to my raise. I put him on JJ and shoved. He had a set. Maybe if I listened to my don't go broke with one pair mantra, I'd be OK.
I can make great laydowns. All the time. I have no idea why QQ is different.
Maybe it's the looks. That always gets the guys.
I did play the Mookie last night. I felt all right about it after struggling with SnGs lately (0-5 on cashing this week) and wondering why I bother playing them any more at all. Cash games are going so well, if SnGs weren't fun I would just ditch them completely. Strangely enough, my MTT game is pretty good now. It used to be horrible, but generally in every Mookie I've played I've either made the final table or put myself in a good position to do so. I was a coin flip away from being in the top 10 after gasping on life support earlier that night.
By the way, Mookie is playing his ass off. He barely missed another final table. Good show. JJOK seems to be another hot player right now, but he's got the mutiple power working for him.
See, girls, JJOK did a good job with his girls. It's OK to come out. Join the world.
Please.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Finishing Second to Mom is heartwarming but frustrating
For my new column for the Greeley Tribune, I"ll occasionally write a personal column, as I did last month about the Daddy Spot. This is my second one. I thought I would share it again.
A couple quick things:
• I am Mr. Split Personality. I"m just crushing the cash games right now (three-tabling $25 NL on Ultimate Bet), but my SnG game has gone in the tank. I"m still making good decisions, but all my good hands have not held up or I'm just running into monster coolers. But my Mookie game is strong, as last week's third-place finish and fourth-place position on the leaderboard shows.
Of course, this is much better than tanking the Mookie and the cash games and doing well in SnGs, so I'm not complaining.
• Speaking of The Mookie, I'll be there tonight. It's been a blast lately with the good turnouts.
Here's the column:
There is nothing in this world that warms my heart more than when Jayden says, "Daddy!"
But I don't hear it as often as I'd like.
"Mom?" Jayden says to me as Kate drives away for a break with her friends, leaving him in my care at Pheasant Run Park during a glorious evening.
Jayden is a couple months shy of his second birthday, and he's learned to say a few words. He can't put together sentences yet, but one word usually does the trick. "Mom?," of course, means "Where the heck is Mom?"
He asks that 10 more times as our mini-van drives away.
In our home, Mom, not Daddy, is King.
When Kate places him on the bed in the morning, in the few minutes I'll have with him before I have to get ready for work, Jayden usually cries out of fear that Mom will go away. At night, when I'm excited to see him, Jayden squirms when I pick him up, angling his way back to Mom. When I open my arms as he watches "Cars," he'll nod his head "No" and nuzzle up next to Mom.
It's not all bad. When I lay on the floor, Jayden inevitably can't resist the urge to dogpile me. When he's playing in the backyard, Jayden usually comes in to "ask" me to join him (the kid already knows his father). And when I come home, he always says, "Daddy!"
Then he goes back to Mom.
"Mom?" Jayden says to me at the park, in between slides down on his belly while he says "weeeee!" He just saw a woman get out of another minivan who looks like a mom. She is a mom. Just not Mom.
"Go play," I say.
I've got no one to blame for this but myself. I put in my fair share of time, even watching him on Fridays, one of my "weekend" days for working Sunday, but Kate puts more hours than me. She gets up with him early to watch cartoons, feeds him breakfast and takes him to day care. She is extremely good at being Mom.
But other times I wonder if it would make a difference if I, say, fixed him breakfast (we'll find out soon enough, when the twins arrive). After spending all day with him Friday, on Saturday morning, Jayden favors Mom once again. Jayden doesn't hand out extra credit for a day spent with him. Either that or Mom gets awarded double points.
I have to admit, sometimes I get a little jealous at being second fiddle, even when I realize that my mom is the first person I call when I'm sick. And I'm 35.
I also know our roles are different. I'm the one Jayden can dogpile. I'm the one who throws him under the bed to make forts. I, more than Kate, take him to the park.
"Daddy?" Jayden says, in the distance, as he struggles to find his way through a plastic tube filled with screaming children. "I'm here," I answer.
Jayden appears a moment later, after another trip down the slide, with his arms outstretched to me, so I can pick him up and put him on a wheel that spins around and around. He laughs. I laugh. He turns to look at me and touches my nose. I pretend to eat his hand. He laughs and wants to be put down. He runs off to the slide again.
"Daddy!" he says, again, before I tell him it's time to head to the car and grab some dinner. It's times like these when the jealousy fades, and I feel good about my place in his world.
Then, as we're walking back to the car, he looks over at another mini-van that's just pulled up. A woman yells at her kids to get in the car.
"Mom?" Jayden asks and looks at me.
Sigh.
— Dan England covers the outdoors, entertainment and the environment for The Tribune. His column runs on Tuesdays. If you have an idea for a column, call 392-4418 or write dengland@greeleytribune.com.
A couple quick things:
• I am Mr. Split Personality. I"m just crushing the cash games right now (three-tabling $25 NL on Ultimate Bet), but my SnG game has gone in the tank. I"m still making good decisions, but all my good hands have not held up or I'm just running into monster coolers. But my Mookie game is strong, as last week's third-place finish and fourth-place position on the leaderboard shows.
Of course, this is much better than tanking the Mookie and the cash games and doing well in SnGs, so I'm not complaining.
• Speaking of The Mookie, I'll be there tonight. It's been a blast lately with the good turnouts.
Here's the column:
There is nothing in this world that warms my heart more than when Jayden says, "Daddy!"
But I don't hear it as often as I'd like.
"Mom?" Jayden says to me as Kate drives away for a break with her friends, leaving him in my care at Pheasant Run Park during a glorious evening.
Jayden is a couple months shy of his second birthday, and he's learned to say a few words. He can't put together sentences yet, but one word usually does the trick. "Mom?," of course, means "Where the heck is Mom?"
He asks that 10 more times as our mini-van drives away.
In our home, Mom, not Daddy, is King.
When Kate places him on the bed in the morning, in the few minutes I'll have with him before I have to get ready for work, Jayden usually cries out of fear that Mom will go away. At night, when I'm excited to see him, Jayden squirms when I pick him up, angling his way back to Mom. When I open my arms as he watches "Cars," he'll nod his head "No" and nuzzle up next to Mom.
It's not all bad. When I lay on the floor, Jayden inevitably can't resist the urge to dogpile me. When he's playing in the backyard, Jayden usually comes in to "ask" me to join him (the kid already knows his father). And when I come home, he always says, "Daddy!"
Then he goes back to Mom.
"Mom?" Jayden says to me at the park, in between slides down on his belly while he says "weeeee!" He just saw a woman get out of another minivan who looks like a mom. She is a mom. Just not Mom.
"Go play," I say.
I've got no one to blame for this but myself. I put in my fair share of time, even watching him on Fridays, one of my "weekend" days for working Sunday, but Kate puts more hours than me. She gets up with him early to watch cartoons, feeds him breakfast and takes him to day care. She is extremely good at being Mom.
But other times I wonder if it would make a difference if I, say, fixed him breakfast (we'll find out soon enough, when the twins arrive). After spending all day with him Friday, on Saturday morning, Jayden favors Mom once again. Jayden doesn't hand out extra credit for a day spent with him. Either that or Mom gets awarded double points.
I have to admit, sometimes I get a little jealous at being second fiddle, even when I realize that my mom is the first person I call when I'm sick. And I'm 35.
I also know our roles are different. I'm the one Jayden can dogpile. I'm the one who throws him under the bed to make forts. I, more than Kate, take him to the park.
"Daddy?" Jayden says, in the distance, as he struggles to find his way through a plastic tube filled with screaming children. "I'm here," I answer.
Jayden appears a moment later, after another trip down the slide, with his arms outstretched to me, so I can pick him up and put him on a wheel that spins around and around. He laughs. I laugh. He turns to look at me and touches my nose. I pretend to eat his hand. He laughs and wants to be put down. He runs off to the slide again.
"Daddy!" he says, again, before I tell him it's time to head to the car and grab some dinner. It's times like these when the jealousy fades, and I feel good about my place in his world.
Then, as we're walking back to the car, he looks over at another mini-van that's just pulled up. A woman yells at her kids to get in the car.
"Mom?" Jayden asks and looks at me.
Sigh.
— Dan England covers the outdoors, entertainment and the environment for The Tribune. His column runs on Tuesdays. If you have an idea for a column, call 392-4418 or write dengland@greeleytribune.com.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Thank you, girls, for staying put for another week
That may be the title of my posts until they actually come.
I could have done something braggy like:
• A New Me at the Mookie
• I Am Awesome
• I Love The Mookie
• Chop, Chop, Chop
• We here are Bartles and James thanks you for your support
But, nah, let's keep the karma going, shall we?
Yes. Let's.
First of all, thank you for all your support, folks. Things are dandy right now. Kate is feeling the weight of almost 11 pounds of baby, which is like having a Shaq, but so far those little girls are actually cooperating with Daddy and have decided to hang in the womb a bit longer. So now even if Kate lasts until Sunday, I get to cover the jazz festival here, I get to run in a race, and, most importantly, the two will be at 34 weeks and their lungs will have had the chance to get some super-mongo development thanks to a steriod shot or two that Kate got before she went home.
(Side note: Kate took the shot in the butt. Damn. Those girls aren't even out yet and they're ALREADY kicking our ass).
Kate, a P.E. teacher, hopes that doesn't ruin their chances in gymnastics for the Olympics. I hope the steriod doesn't mean they will have huge racks at 13, thereby forcing me to take lessons on how to clean a shotgun on my front porch until they are 26.
Anyway, shall we move on to the Mookie?
Yes. Let's
• • •
So I am floating around here:
And what would the old Pokerpeaker, like the guy, er, two weeks ago would have done? He would have waited around for a premium hand and hoped for the best.
That, after two years of playing good, solid poker, I've discovered does not win you tournaments. Especially blogger tournaments. Tough ones like the Mookie.
Now I have blogged before about how I was changing my style, blah blah blah, yeah yeah yeah. And I did. I bluff a lot more now. But what I still didn't do was steal.
Stealing is an art. It is much harder than it looks. And it's something that poker books don't teach. At least, not very well. I was a book learner. After a year of play money three years ago, I decided to really learn the game and got a bunch of books and read the shit out of them. Those books helped. I learned the game. I am extremely sound. Fundamental. Downright solid.
But unfortunately, those books, along with playing a year of play money and learning that simply playing solid poker wins big pots, doesn't teach you how to steal. When everyone else at the table knows how to play - and that's true more and more these days, not just at blogger tournaments, well, you can't just play solid poker, make great laydowns and hope others make a mistake.
I figured that given my style of tight-until-a-diamond-comes-out-of-your-butt wouldn't have to change too much. But I did need to steal. I needed to be more aggressive pre-flop based on position and the situation and who I was up against and not just my cards.
So I've been working on that. I have played $25 NL poker to build my bankroll on Ultimate Bet (my last PSO bonus before Neteller exploded, so I figure why not build that sucker up to go along with Full Tilt and Poker Stars?). I have stolen many more pots, even at that level.
So...at the Mookie tonight, I stole. A lot. For me, at least. I didn't go crazy. Every hand I raised with was a decent holding. But I raised more on position than what I had. Before I would fold K,8 sooted, even on the button in a six-handed game. Tonight I raised it automatically.
I won't go on and on about this. There were other keys tonight. I made some great laydowns - K,A three times, JJ once when Kat re-raised me all in with AA - and I made some decent bluffs post-flop, including 10,3 against Waffles when I was on life support and 4,2 against a big blind with nothing. And I got lucky, twice getting trips with K,8, once when I was nearly gasping for air. I only made two bad plays tonight and got away from them when I realized they weren't working.
Finally, though, I realized something. It was easier when I was raising a fair amount. For instance, it was easy to get away from JJ, even though I had to raise it in first position, because Kat, a solid player, re-raised me. Plus I had lots more blinds to work with, so I wasn't always pushing and hoping for coin flips. In fact, I didn't have many tonight. The ones I did have, 2-3, I won two and lost one.
Oh, and there was this, too:
That's right, two away from the final table, I am re-raised all in while I hold K,A, and I call it, and he has K,J, and he gets a J on the flop, and I was just starting to say MOTHER *((^(8JLI SON....
And then the A hit on the turn.
Oh.
Never mind.
So, I got lucky, and I made good laydowns, and I made a lot more steals than I normally would, and after winning that huge pot, it was on to the final table, and we wound up chopping it up for second and third, given that Mattazuma had a huge lead on the two of us and I wanted to take the money at that point.
Nice win, Matta.
Here it is, with a tie for second:
So I believe I"m looking pretty good on the Mookie leader board.
Maybe, just maybe, that hot wind that Don is feeling on his neck is me breathing down it.
Wait. That sounded really ghey.
Moving on.
• • •
This poker blog continues to entertain me with the top-10 Poker Babes. I love it.
I have a few in mind. Change 100, Kat, Gracie, Iron Girl, Poison, Love Elf, Carmen, The Princess, April and my favorite twin mom (links to the right, I'm tired). My wife gets counted too even though she knows about as much about poker as Jayden (something I hope to remedy one day; Jayden, not Kate). She's carrying two boulders in her belly right now. She gets a pass.
• • •
I will abide by Pauly's wishes and not blast ESPN for deciding to part with him so soon after getting us all excited about the poker coverage this year.
Instead, I'll offer a note of praise.
Pauly isn't working there because of creative differences.
Now, it would be extremely easy for Pauly to have given in and decided he would do fluffy features on the same fucking (sorry, pardon my french but I'm fired up over this) pros every damn year. He didn't do that, despite the fact that this gig meant a lot to him, more, I believe, than he's even letting on.
As a journalist, I've had to fight for my writing style in the past, and so when Pauly got the gig, I (and apparently lots of others) sent him one piece of advice: Be yourself.
Apparently he took that to heart, but I get the feeling he knew that anyway.
Look, I'm so impressed with this because I'm not sure I would do the same thing. It's easy for me to say I would stick to my guns and tell ESPN that it would be my way or no way, but that's a pretty nice gig. I'm sure I would probably compromise a bit. It hurts to say that, and yet, I probably would.
Pauly stuck to it. He's also right. Poker is a nasty business and a wonderful game at the same time, and I'm tired of ESPN presenting it like it's the annual Scrabble tournament. Pauly wanted to show both sides. As, by the way, most good journalists do.
Good for him. I'll continue to read his wonderful blog. Now more than ever.
• • •
I was thinking about how much fun tournaments are, but I've focused most of my attention on cash games this year, successfully, I might add. I don't know if I'll have much else when the girls arrive. It's a lot easier to leave a cash game and tend to a squawly baby than an SnG. Even if it's turbo. And I hate turbo SnGs anyway.
I do hope I can continue with the Mookie. I don't know if convincing Mom when she's out here that I need her to feed baby A or Baby 1A so I can play a poker tournament will work.
Maybe if I tell her about how you've all been so supportive lately it will help.
I could have done something braggy like:
• A New Me at the Mookie
• I Am Awesome
• I Love The Mookie
• Chop, Chop, Chop
• We here are Bartles and James thanks you for your support
But, nah, let's keep the karma going, shall we?
Yes. Let's.
First of all, thank you for all your support, folks. Things are dandy right now. Kate is feeling the weight of almost 11 pounds of baby, which is like having a Shaq, but so far those little girls are actually cooperating with Daddy and have decided to hang in the womb a bit longer. So now even if Kate lasts until Sunday, I get to cover the jazz festival here, I get to run in a race, and, most importantly, the two will be at 34 weeks and their lungs will have had the chance to get some super-mongo development thanks to a steriod shot or two that Kate got before she went home.
(Side note: Kate took the shot in the butt. Damn. Those girls aren't even out yet and they're ALREADY kicking our ass).
Kate, a P.E. teacher, hopes that doesn't ruin their chances in gymnastics for the Olympics. I hope the steriod doesn't mean they will have huge racks at 13, thereby forcing me to take lessons on how to clean a shotgun on my front porch until they are 26.
Anyway, shall we move on to the Mookie?
Yes. Let's
• • •
So I am floating around here:
And what would the old Pokerpeaker, like the guy, er, two weeks ago would have done? He would have waited around for a premium hand and hoped for the best.
That, after two years of playing good, solid poker, I've discovered does not win you tournaments. Especially blogger tournaments. Tough ones like the Mookie.
Now I have blogged before about how I was changing my style, blah blah blah, yeah yeah yeah. And I did. I bluff a lot more now. But what I still didn't do was steal.
Stealing is an art. It is much harder than it looks. And it's something that poker books don't teach. At least, not very well. I was a book learner. After a year of play money three years ago, I decided to really learn the game and got a bunch of books and read the shit out of them. Those books helped. I learned the game. I am extremely sound. Fundamental. Downright solid.
But unfortunately, those books, along with playing a year of play money and learning that simply playing solid poker wins big pots, doesn't teach you how to steal. When everyone else at the table knows how to play - and that's true more and more these days, not just at blogger tournaments, well, you can't just play solid poker, make great laydowns and hope others make a mistake.
I figured that given my style of tight-until-a-diamond-comes-out-of-your-butt wouldn't have to change too much. But I did need to steal. I needed to be more aggressive pre-flop based on position and the situation and who I was up against and not just my cards.
So I've been working on that. I have played $25 NL poker to build my bankroll on Ultimate Bet (my last PSO bonus before Neteller exploded, so I figure why not build that sucker up to go along with Full Tilt and Poker Stars?). I have stolen many more pots, even at that level.
So...at the Mookie tonight, I stole. A lot. For me, at least. I didn't go crazy. Every hand I raised with was a decent holding. But I raised more on position than what I had. Before I would fold K,8 sooted, even on the button in a six-handed game. Tonight I raised it automatically.
I won't go on and on about this. There were other keys tonight. I made some great laydowns - K,A three times, JJ once when Kat re-raised me all in with AA - and I made some decent bluffs post-flop, including 10,3 against Waffles when I was on life support and 4,2 against a big blind with nothing. And I got lucky, twice getting trips with K,8, once when I was nearly gasping for air. I only made two bad plays tonight and got away from them when I realized they weren't working.
Finally, though, I realized something. It was easier when I was raising a fair amount. For instance, it was easy to get away from JJ, even though I had to raise it in first position, because Kat, a solid player, re-raised me. Plus I had lots more blinds to work with, so I wasn't always pushing and hoping for coin flips. In fact, I didn't have many tonight. The ones I did have, 2-3, I won two and lost one.
Oh, and there was this, too:
That's right, two away from the final table, I am re-raised all in while I hold K,A, and I call it, and he has K,J, and he gets a J on the flop, and I was just starting to say MOTHER *((^(8JLI SON....
And then the A hit on the turn.
Oh.
Never mind.
So, I got lucky, and I made good laydowns, and I made a lot more steals than I normally would, and after winning that huge pot, it was on to the final table, and we wound up chopping it up for second and third, given that Mattazuma had a huge lead on the two of us and I wanted to take the money at that point.
Nice win, Matta.
Here it is, with a tie for second:
So I believe I"m looking pretty good on the Mookie leader board.
Maybe, just maybe, that hot wind that Don is feeling on his neck is me breathing down it.
Wait. That sounded really ghey.
Moving on.
• • •
This poker blog continues to entertain me with the top-10 Poker Babes. I love it.
I have a few in mind. Change 100, Kat, Gracie, Iron Girl, Poison, Love Elf, Carmen, The Princess, April and my favorite twin mom (links to the right, I'm tired). My wife gets counted too even though she knows about as much about poker as Jayden (something I hope to remedy one day; Jayden, not Kate). She's carrying two boulders in her belly right now. She gets a pass.
• • •
I will abide by Pauly's wishes and not blast ESPN for deciding to part with him so soon after getting us all excited about the poker coverage this year.
Instead, I'll offer a note of praise.
Pauly isn't working there because of creative differences.
Now, it would be extremely easy for Pauly to have given in and decided he would do fluffy features on the same fucking (sorry, pardon my french but I'm fired up over this) pros every damn year. He didn't do that, despite the fact that this gig meant a lot to him, more, I believe, than he's even letting on.
As a journalist, I've had to fight for my writing style in the past, and so when Pauly got the gig, I (and apparently lots of others) sent him one piece of advice: Be yourself.
Apparently he took that to heart, but I get the feeling he knew that anyway.
Look, I'm so impressed with this because I'm not sure I would do the same thing. It's easy for me to say I would stick to my guns and tell ESPN that it would be my way or no way, but that's a pretty nice gig. I'm sure I would probably compromise a bit. It hurts to say that, and yet, I probably would.
Pauly stuck to it. He's also right. Poker is a nasty business and a wonderful game at the same time, and I'm tired of ESPN presenting it like it's the annual Scrabble tournament. Pauly wanted to show both sides. As, by the way, most good journalists do.
Good for him. I'll continue to read his wonderful blog. Now more than ever.
• • •
I was thinking about how much fun tournaments are, but I've focused most of my attention on cash games this year, successfully, I might add. I don't know if I'll have much else when the girls arrive. It's a lot easier to leave a cash game and tend to a squawly baby than an SnG. Even if it's turbo. And I hate turbo SnGs anyway.
I do hope I can continue with the Mookie. I don't know if convincing Mom when she's out here that I need her to feed baby A or Baby 1A so I can play a poker tournament will work.
Maybe if I tell her about how you've all been so supportive lately it will help.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Don goes down tonight
"It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business."
— Michael Corleone
I've come to know Miami Don these last few weeks, and I really like the guy. I really do. He's a good virtual friend. He's an University of Missouri graduate, but even then, he's a good guy and an interesting character.
He also knows his poker.
Hence this post.
I like Miami Don a lot. He's one of the guys I really want to meet when I finally make it out to a blogger event this winter.
But tonight he goes down.
It's not personal. It's strictly business.
Don cannot, must not and will not make the FInal Table of the Mookie tonight, folks.
Don, like me, is mostly a cash game player. He's a brother. He's a Big 12 guy.
But enough is enough. He's dominating too many blogger tournaments. We're all pretty good players, except maybe for Waffles. (Ha ha ha ha ha, just kidding you little psycho elf). Don won the Mookie two weeks ago, a long overdue win that I railbirded and rooted for. Then he won again, and while I was a little jealous, I was impressed. He beat perhaps the toughest Mookie field ever, and he did it back to back. Amazing.
But then he beat the Hoy, even if it was a three-way chop.
And we can't have a three-peat in the Mook.
Tonight the Don goes down.
Let's get that sucka.
It's not personal. It's just poker.
• • •
BABY UPDATE:
The twins are more than 4.5 pounds. EACH. So Kate is carrying around almost 10 pounds of baby. And she may still have a month to go. We're both feeling the strain. She isn't sleeping much but is hanging in there and doing a great job. It seems amazing that having twins might be easier once they're out, but that might be true.
For her, anyway.
I have cancelled the money baby contest due to a lack of interest. It's now free. Email me your guess at dengl5@earthlink.net and I'll buy in the winner in a tournament of your choice, $11 max. Fuel and Tripjax have guessed. Why not you? Or you can leave me a comment with your guess.
Remember, Kate is due June 3, but most twins don't arrive on time. Many arrive from 33 weeks to 38 weeks. Kate is now 31 weeks.
If you're one of those twins bloggers, I could give you a gift certificate to Target or something for some diapers?
• • •
My faith in humanity, or at least huge media conglomerates, has been temporarily restored as Oprah has selected
"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, one of my favorite books in recent years, as her book of the month.
It deserves it.
I'll admit an odd and kind of creepy fetish for nuclear war and doomsday stories. The idea of society being blown to pieces somehow fascinates me in the sense of how our world could be turned into a lawless place where the strongest survive. The thought terrifies me and also makes me curious.
Weird, I know.
So this book is about exactly that, and yet, it's not. Here's a description:
"The father and son move through the ruins searching for food and shelter, trying to keep safe from murderous, roving bands. They have only a pistol to defend themselves, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.
Awesome in the totality of its vision, The Road is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation."
This book is a classic, and I would love it even without my strange fetish. Enjoy.
And see you tonight at this:
— Michael Corleone
I've come to know Miami Don these last few weeks, and I really like the guy. I really do. He's a good virtual friend. He's an University of Missouri graduate, but even then, he's a good guy and an interesting character.
He also knows his poker.
Hence this post.
I like Miami Don a lot. He's one of the guys I really want to meet when I finally make it out to a blogger event this winter.
But tonight he goes down.
It's not personal. It's strictly business.
Don cannot, must not and will not make the FInal Table of the Mookie tonight, folks.
Don, like me, is mostly a cash game player. He's a brother. He's a Big 12 guy.
But enough is enough. He's dominating too many blogger tournaments. We're all pretty good players, except maybe for Waffles. (Ha ha ha ha ha, just kidding you little psycho elf). Don won the Mookie two weeks ago, a long overdue win that I railbirded and rooted for. Then he won again, and while I was a little jealous, I was impressed. He beat perhaps the toughest Mookie field ever, and he did it back to back. Amazing.
But then he beat the Hoy, even if it was a three-way chop.
And we can't have a three-peat in the Mook.
Tonight the Don goes down.
Let's get that sucka.
It's not personal. It's just poker.
• • •
BABY UPDATE:
The twins are more than 4.5 pounds. EACH. So Kate is carrying around almost 10 pounds of baby. And she may still have a month to go. We're both feeling the strain. She isn't sleeping much but is hanging in there and doing a great job. It seems amazing that having twins might be easier once they're out, but that might be true.
For her, anyway.
I have cancelled the money baby contest due to a lack of interest. It's now free. Email me your guess at dengl5@earthlink.net and I'll buy in the winner in a tournament of your choice, $11 max. Fuel and Tripjax have guessed. Why not you? Or you can leave me a comment with your guess.
Remember, Kate is due June 3, but most twins don't arrive on time. Many arrive from 33 weeks to 38 weeks. Kate is now 31 weeks.
If you're one of those twins bloggers, I could give you a gift certificate to Target or something for some diapers?
• • •
My faith in humanity, or at least huge media conglomerates, has been temporarily restored as Oprah has selected
"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, one of my favorite books in recent years, as her book of the month.
It deserves it.
I'll admit an odd and kind of creepy fetish for nuclear war and doomsday stories. The idea of society being blown to pieces somehow fascinates me in the sense of how our world could be turned into a lawless place where the strongest survive. The thought terrifies me and also makes me curious.
Weird, I know.
So this book is about exactly that, and yet, it's not. Here's a description:
"The father and son move through the ruins searching for food and shelter, trying to keep safe from murderous, roving bands. They have only a pistol to defend themselves, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.
Awesome in the totality of its vision, The Road is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation."
This book is a classic, and I would love it even without my strange fetish. Enjoy.
And see you tonight at this:
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Weeeeeeee
I had a blast at the Mookie last night, and I only finished in the upper-middle of the pack.
Practically everyone who's a who in the poker blogging world was there. I was honestly bummed I didn't get to say hi to most of them, even though they really don't know me very well. I swear at times I feel like I'm the kid running around the turf with a scorecard and a pen before baseball's all-star game.
Congrats to Miami Don for going back-to-back on Mookie titles. That's an amazing accomplishment, especially against such a tough field.
I didn't get many cards last night, and the hands I did play generally played wiffle ball. Three highlights:
• The second-place finisher in the Mookie, oossuuu754 (what's your blog?), tries to push me off with A,Q and I re-raise all in with A,K. Runner, runner two pair on the board and we chop it. If he loses that hand he's severely crippled. I point this out only to show the fascinating nature of these tournaments. A double up would have helped me a lot there and probably knocked him out early. Instead I had to play shortstack poker for most of the night, and oossuuu754 used his second chance to play excellent poker down the stretch and finish second in his first Mookie and one of the toughest fields ever. I can think of many times I've won a tournament or lost a tournament based on the outcome of one hand. When I won the Mookie, I won several coinflips that would have sent me home.
It's what makes the game so great, but it's also what keeps me humble. Those who think about how brilliant they are at tournament poker need to remember this.
• A shortie simply pushes with an M of 10 in late position. I'm in first position with a pair of 10s and I had limped. Many of you may disagree with this move, but I wanted to see what the rest of the table would do before I decided how far I wanted to push a semi-strong pair. I put the shortie, based on that action, on a small pair and I think my 10s are good. I call. She has JJ. Oops. Trash flop. I turn a 10. Bingo! She gets a J on the river.
That sucked but I had no right to complain so I didn't. I was behind to begin with, so a little justice was delievered there.
• I sucked out with K,Q on an all in versus K,A when a Q hits the flop. My suckout ratio improves to 9-1 against. Still, I felt bad, as I always hate it when that happens to me.
I went out when I pushed with A,J sooted in the cutoff. The button has QQ. I really hate A,J but my M was four and I was hoping they would fold when it was over to me. I had two of my suit on the turn but no luck.
Three questions:
• How often should I steal in the later portion of the matches, and what do you consider stealing hands, as I still prefer to have something in case I'm called.
• What's your range of all in pushes with an M of 5 or less? The problem with A,J is it might be dominated, where if you have 9,10 your cards are probably live. So do you prefer still pushing with something like a fairly strong A or something that has a greater chance of being live but may not hold up as the high card if no one hits?
• Is it possible to final table a tournament like the Mookie and be for the most part card dead? My game still relies on me getting good cards and hitting flops, even though I have learned to bluff and steal with regularity. How much does your game rely on getting good cards? And am I weak because of that?
I had an awesome time last night. It would be great to see a turnout like that again. Perhaps my personal highlight was talking metal with Bad Blood and AlCan'tHang. I would love, at some point, to play a poker match with those two and maybe Speaker and just talk about metal music. That sounds pretty dorky, I realize, but that's basically what our home game is like every month and I have a blast.
I went out in the second chance HORSE match when my 7 in razz lost to a 6 at the final table. Ugh. I had a much better starting hand but the guy got perfect, perfect, perfect while I was delivered a set of bricks.
P.S. Happy 200th post to me.
Practically everyone who's a who in the poker blogging world was there. I was honestly bummed I didn't get to say hi to most of them, even though they really don't know me very well. I swear at times I feel like I'm the kid running around the turf with a scorecard and a pen before baseball's all-star game.
Congrats to Miami Don for going back-to-back on Mookie titles. That's an amazing accomplishment, especially against such a tough field.
I didn't get many cards last night, and the hands I did play generally played wiffle ball. Three highlights:
• The second-place finisher in the Mookie, oossuuu754 (what's your blog?), tries to push me off with A,Q and I re-raise all in with A,K. Runner, runner two pair on the board and we chop it. If he loses that hand he's severely crippled. I point this out only to show the fascinating nature of these tournaments. A double up would have helped me a lot there and probably knocked him out early. Instead I had to play shortstack poker for most of the night, and oossuuu754 used his second chance to play excellent poker down the stretch and finish second in his first Mookie and one of the toughest fields ever. I can think of many times I've won a tournament or lost a tournament based on the outcome of one hand. When I won the Mookie, I won several coinflips that would have sent me home.
It's what makes the game so great, but it's also what keeps me humble. Those who think about how brilliant they are at tournament poker need to remember this.
• A shortie simply pushes with an M of 10 in late position. I'm in first position with a pair of 10s and I had limped. Many of you may disagree with this move, but I wanted to see what the rest of the table would do before I decided how far I wanted to push a semi-strong pair. I put the shortie, based on that action, on a small pair and I think my 10s are good. I call. She has JJ. Oops. Trash flop. I turn a 10. Bingo! She gets a J on the river.
That sucked but I had no right to complain so I didn't. I was behind to begin with, so a little justice was delievered there.
• I sucked out with K,Q on an all in versus K,A when a Q hits the flop. My suckout ratio improves to 9-1 against. Still, I felt bad, as I always hate it when that happens to me.
I went out when I pushed with A,J sooted in the cutoff. The button has QQ. I really hate A,J but my M was four and I was hoping they would fold when it was over to me. I had two of my suit on the turn but no luck.
Three questions:
• How often should I steal in the later portion of the matches, and what do you consider stealing hands, as I still prefer to have something in case I'm called.
• What's your range of all in pushes with an M of 5 or less? The problem with A,J is it might be dominated, where if you have 9,10 your cards are probably live. So do you prefer still pushing with something like a fairly strong A or something that has a greater chance of being live but may not hold up as the high card if no one hits?
• Is it possible to final table a tournament like the Mookie and be for the most part card dead? My game still relies on me getting good cards and hitting flops, even though I have learned to bluff and steal with regularity. How much does your game rely on getting good cards? And am I weak because of that?
I had an awesome time last night. It would be great to see a turnout like that again. Perhaps my personal highlight was talking metal with Bad Blood and AlCan'tHang. I would love, at some point, to play a poker match with those two and maybe Speaker and just talk about metal music. That sounds pretty dorky, I realize, but that's basically what our home game is like every month and I have a blast.
I went out in the second chance HORSE match when my 7 in razz lost to a 6 at the final table. Ugh. I had a much better starting hand but the guy got perfect, perfect, perfect while I was delivered a set of bricks.
P.S. Happy 200th post to me.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Crushing the Minnows
I have never "gotten" American Idol.
I don't begrudge too many folks for watching it. But really it's a crappy show. It's an overblown karaoke contest, and the winner gets to release a bad album. I mean did anyone like Taylor Hicks' album? Really?
I'm saying that, of course, not to bag on karaoke, so relax, Soul Brother. Karaoke is fine for what it is. Most of the people having fun in a bar, I'm assuming, aren't out for a record deal.
There's a lot more to singing than just getting the notes right (and half of this year's contestants don't seem to nail that too well). There's expression and mood and, most of all, interpretation, and every single singer, save, maybe, for Kelly Clarkson, are about as interesting as a bowl of Cherrios in skim milk. There's no style, surprisingly little substance and yet it's the top show every week.
I don't get it.
Which is why I love Sanjaya.
American Idol fans recoil in horror at this mess of a human being. Pot Committed, in her brilliant reviews of the show (almost makes me want to watch it, but I've long since been one of her blog's biggest fans, so she could write about the virtues of lawn care and I'd read it), tells us to put Sanjaya out of his misery.
No way, Jose.
Sanjaya exposes the show for what it is. They picked him, now they can deal with him. Vote for this guy every week until he's the winner. Please. Everyone sucks anyway. Let's have some fun with it and embarass the show. It certainly deserves it.
In the meantime, I have been feeding on the minnows at $25 NL poker again. I hadn't played it for months but I've gotten back to it on Ultimate Bet. Why? I deposited $200 there just before the whole Neteller thing went down. Since then I've treated each bankroll on my three poker sites as a separate account. I haven't signed up for ePassporte yet because I'm a little leery after still having $700 of my monies being trapped in virtual land. If others have had good experiences with it let me know.
So now my bankroll is $475 on Ultimate Bet, and so I'm still being responsible with it. Plus the players still are bad there. It's almost hard to resist. I'll start playing $50 soon, once I build the bankroll a little more on UB.
I find myself playing more and more cash games these days and fewer and fewer SnGs. I've found my win rate is much higher in the cash games.
Plus, speaking of the non-minnow crowd, I've found that stuff like the tournament below seems to satisfy my appetite for tournaments.
And here's where you'll see me tonight:
We've had a good crowd the last couple of times, so stop on by and watch me blow another big lead!
I don't begrudge too many folks for watching it. But really it's a crappy show. It's an overblown karaoke contest, and the winner gets to release a bad album. I mean did anyone like Taylor Hicks' album? Really?
I'm saying that, of course, not to bag on karaoke, so relax, Soul Brother. Karaoke is fine for what it is. Most of the people having fun in a bar, I'm assuming, aren't out for a record deal.
There's a lot more to singing than just getting the notes right (and half of this year's contestants don't seem to nail that too well). There's expression and mood and, most of all, interpretation, and every single singer, save, maybe, for Kelly Clarkson, are about as interesting as a bowl of Cherrios in skim milk. There's no style, surprisingly little substance and yet it's the top show every week.
I don't get it.
Which is why I love Sanjaya.
American Idol fans recoil in horror at this mess of a human being. Pot Committed, in her brilliant reviews of the show (almost makes me want to watch it, but I've long since been one of her blog's biggest fans, so she could write about the virtues of lawn care and I'd read it), tells us to put Sanjaya out of his misery.
No way, Jose.
Sanjaya exposes the show for what it is. They picked him, now they can deal with him. Vote for this guy every week until he's the winner. Please. Everyone sucks anyway. Let's have some fun with it and embarass the show. It certainly deserves it.
In the meantime, I have been feeding on the minnows at $25 NL poker again. I hadn't played it for months but I've gotten back to it on Ultimate Bet. Why? I deposited $200 there just before the whole Neteller thing went down. Since then I've treated each bankroll on my three poker sites as a separate account. I haven't signed up for ePassporte yet because I'm a little leery after still having $700 of my monies being trapped in virtual land. If others have had good experiences with it let me know.
So now my bankroll is $475 on Ultimate Bet, and so I'm still being responsible with it. Plus the players still are bad there. It's almost hard to resist. I'll start playing $50 soon, once I build the bankroll a little more on UB.
I find myself playing more and more cash games these days and fewer and fewer SnGs. I've found my win rate is much higher in the cash games.
Plus, speaking of the non-minnow crowd, I've found that stuff like the tournament below seems to satisfy my appetite for tournaments.
And here's where you'll see me tonight:
We've had a good crowd the last couple of times, so stop on by and watch me blow another big lead!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
np, sir - lololololololol
Oh yeah, poker.
I've gotten away from writing about poker, given that I have no real stragety tips to offer here that you haven't read AQ other times, with Q being the number of books you've read and A being the number of blogs you've read, minus Waffle's rants and the OMGYOUFKINGSUKs you've seen in the chat box.
And if you haven't read me in a few days, or you're over here from the twins blog, sleep deprived and wondering why someone would devote hours of their limited time to playing cartoon characters on the intertubes, then I encourage you to scroll down and read the last two posts, as those are much better examples of my writing ability, such as it is.
Onto the Mookie. Well, I was smoking the Mookie like a ham last night. As it has the last few times I've played the Mook, the deck was slapping me in the face, as if I was making ill-timed passes at it, like the "arm stretch over the couch" move. The Mookie loves me for some reason.
But I finished 11th. That's right. I did not make my fourth final table in a row. I did not cash for the third time in five tries. Why? you ask. I thought you said the deck was slapping you in the face.
Well, I was an idiot.
I had a nice chip lead and probably could have coasted to the final table, despite the blinds that were eating up the smaller stacks, Pac-Man style, and snacking on timid players on the side. I had 7,7. I just call. I get raised in the BB.
So. What do you do. I have the guy covered by 2xs the amount of chips. Just call? Not a bad play. But I re-raised him all in. He has KK and suddenly I'm in sixth and fading fast. I have no choice but to push with A,Q, not my favorite hand to push with, and I lose to QQ and I"m out in 11th.
Yeah, yeah, Gordon Pair principle, equity, attacking chip stacks that can afford to fold (which he could), blah blah blah. The bottom line is I made a play that I normally would never make, and it cost me dearly.
It's bothered me quite a bit. But, thankfully, I have learned a few things from it:
• Playing big stack poker is an art. It's an art that Smokee and Lucko and TripJax and others can do so well, it looks easy. Hey, it's not easy. You have to know when to push and when to back off. I'm learning how to play with a big stack, and I'm doing better at it, but I'm much more comfortable with a medium to smaller stack. I've won many SnGs, small MTTs and The Mookie by hanging around and then going on a rush at the end to win.
• The reason for that is I am a solid, tight/aggressive, Harrington-like player. And you know what? It's a successful style. I'm not a rock, I bluff, blah blah blah, but the one thing I do well is I almost always get my money in when I'm ahead. I almost never suck out. I'm a winning player because of this.
That's harder to do than it sounds, but that's what I do, and I should appreciate my style more, rather than get all enamored with fancy-play syndrome.
But when you do play that way, you usually aren't going to have a huge stack, unless the cards are just too kind, as they were last night. I mean, I had AA five times, and I had action on them. Five times. My golden retriever/lab mix could probably make the final table with those kinds of cards.
The bottom line is I don't have a lot of experience playing with a huge stack and it shows. I'm getting better, and my MTT play has improved a ton since three months ago.
I really respect Lucko and players like him who can get a big stack and use it to push people around. I'm not there yet, and I've got a long way to go to learn how to effectively wield one without running into trouble. Poker, as always, is a work in progress. I'll continue to experiment and tool my game, but if I'm ahead, as I was last night, I'll still be cautious.
I did not have a monster, monster stack. That's a different thing all together. But even so I had a stack to play with and I blew it.
I've learned that if you play too far outside your natural style, without the proper studying and experience, you'll fail.
Good job to those of you who made the Final Table last night. I wish I could have been there. Congrats to you all for staying within yourselves. Maybe next time I'll join you.
I've gotten away from writing about poker, given that I have no real stragety tips to offer here that you haven't read AQ other times, with Q being the number of books you've read and A being the number of blogs you've read, minus Waffle's rants and the OMGYOUFKINGSUKs you've seen in the chat box.
And if you haven't read me in a few days, or you're over here from the twins blog, sleep deprived and wondering why someone would devote hours of their limited time to playing cartoon characters on the intertubes, then I encourage you to scroll down and read the last two posts, as those are much better examples of my writing ability, such as it is.
Onto the Mookie. Well, I was smoking the Mookie like a ham last night. As it has the last few times I've played the Mook, the deck was slapping me in the face, as if I was making ill-timed passes at it, like the "arm stretch over the couch" move. The Mookie loves me for some reason.
But I finished 11th. That's right. I did not make my fourth final table in a row. I did not cash for the third time in five tries. Why? you ask. I thought you said the deck was slapping you in the face.
Well, I was an idiot.
I had a nice chip lead and probably could have coasted to the final table, despite the blinds that were eating up the smaller stacks, Pac-Man style, and snacking on timid players on the side. I had 7,7. I just call. I get raised in the BB.
So. What do you do. I have the guy covered by 2xs the amount of chips. Just call? Not a bad play. But I re-raised him all in. He has KK and suddenly I'm in sixth and fading fast. I have no choice but to push with A,Q, not my favorite hand to push with, and I lose to QQ and I"m out in 11th.
Yeah, yeah, Gordon Pair principle, equity, attacking chip stacks that can afford to fold (which he could), blah blah blah. The bottom line is I made a play that I normally would never make, and it cost me dearly.
It's bothered me quite a bit. But, thankfully, I have learned a few things from it:
• Playing big stack poker is an art. It's an art that Smokee and Lucko and TripJax and others can do so well, it looks easy. Hey, it's not easy. You have to know when to push and when to back off. I'm learning how to play with a big stack, and I'm doing better at it, but I'm much more comfortable with a medium to smaller stack. I've won many SnGs, small MTTs and The Mookie by hanging around and then going on a rush at the end to win.
• The reason for that is I am a solid, tight/aggressive, Harrington-like player. And you know what? It's a successful style. I'm not a rock, I bluff, blah blah blah, but the one thing I do well is I almost always get my money in when I'm ahead. I almost never suck out. I'm a winning player because of this.
That's harder to do than it sounds, but that's what I do, and I should appreciate my style more, rather than get all enamored with fancy-play syndrome.
But when you do play that way, you usually aren't going to have a huge stack, unless the cards are just too kind, as they were last night. I mean, I had AA five times, and I had action on them. Five times. My golden retriever/lab mix could probably make the final table with those kinds of cards.
The bottom line is I don't have a lot of experience playing with a huge stack and it shows. I'm getting better, and my MTT play has improved a ton since three months ago.
I really respect Lucko and players like him who can get a big stack and use it to push people around. I'm not there yet, and I've got a long way to go to learn how to effectively wield one without running into trouble. Poker, as always, is a work in progress. I'll continue to experiment and tool my game, but if I'm ahead, as I was last night, I'll still be cautious.
I did not have a monster, monster stack. That's a different thing all together. But even so I had a stack to play with and I blew it.
I've learned that if you play too far outside your natural style, without the proper studying and experience, you'll fail.
Good job to those of you who made the Final Table last night. I wish I could have been there. Congrats to you all for staying within yourselves. Maybe next time I'll join you.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Sick of it all (or that WAS the title before another good Mookie. How about yippieKI-A?
The alarm went off at 5:50 a.m. Wednesday, or exactly three seconds after I finally went back to sleep after a hiatus longer than "Jericho."
It started when Kate brought Jayden to bed at 4 a.m. to "encourage" him to drift back into toddler dreamland. It continued with my wife's snoring, who, bless her pregnant heart, is beginning to sound like the mating call of a warthog when she drifts off to dreamland. It was further helped by the big yellow dog, who decided that this would be a great time for a belly rub and maybe he'd better push himself up by my nose to receive one.
It ends tonight, with a suddenly stuffy nose, an achy body and a half-assed attitude toward The Mookie, although I find myself looking forward to it with every second. Something needs to go right today.
It's the perfect situation. If I do well, I get grub, a good time and the admiration of millions of bloggers worldwide. If I suck, I get to go to sleep and help my little white blood cell soldiers fight off whatever seems to think it can just move into my body and take over, like a crack addict moving into an empty building. Squatters rights!
• • •
Made the first break, sitting at T2700, in 8th place. Playing a little too tight, as usual, but won a big hand with a set of 4s on a 2,3,4 flop.
• • •
Top 5 things my wife (who is preggers with twins, in case you didn't know or have chosen NOT to enter the baby pool, which is all of you) has heard this week:
5) Wow, didn't you just have a kid? And now you're pregnant again?
4) Are you overdue (not even close)?
3) Holy cow you've gotten big!
2) Are you having triplets?
1) Are you supposed to be that big.
Here's a hint. Pregnant women don't like to be reminded three times a day that they are huge. They know they are huge. Kate has TWINS in her belly. She knows she is big.
Thanks.
• • •
Second break I am chip leader after turning into such a card rack that you could hang me in Tiffany's. I bust Fuel, one of my mentors, with AA against his K,Q sooted.
Oh, and speaking of the Mookie...
I'll take 4th and a $42 cash any day.
I've completely forgotten about my cold. This makes three final tables in a row for me at The Mookie. I hope this gives me some much needed confidence in the future. Congrats to Astin for taking down an inevitable title. I knew it was only a matter of time for the raisy-daisy frog.
I'm going to bed. I just started to feel achy again.
It started when Kate brought Jayden to bed at 4 a.m. to "encourage" him to drift back into toddler dreamland. It continued with my wife's snoring, who, bless her pregnant heart, is beginning to sound like the mating call of a warthog when she drifts off to dreamland. It was further helped by the big yellow dog, who decided that this would be a great time for a belly rub and maybe he'd better push himself up by my nose to receive one.
It ends tonight, with a suddenly stuffy nose, an achy body and a half-assed attitude toward The Mookie, although I find myself looking forward to it with every second. Something needs to go right today.
It's the perfect situation. If I do well, I get grub, a good time and the admiration of millions of bloggers worldwide. If I suck, I get to go to sleep and help my little white blood cell soldiers fight off whatever seems to think it can just move into my body and take over, like a crack addict moving into an empty building. Squatters rights!
• • •
Made the first break, sitting at T2700, in 8th place. Playing a little too tight, as usual, but won a big hand with a set of 4s on a 2,3,4 flop.
• • •
Top 5 things my wife (who is preggers with twins, in case you didn't know or have chosen NOT to enter the baby pool, which is all of you) has heard this week:
5) Wow, didn't you just have a kid? And now you're pregnant again?
4) Are you overdue (not even close)?
3) Holy cow you've gotten big!
2) Are you having triplets?
1) Are you supposed to be that big.
Here's a hint. Pregnant women don't like to be reminded three times a day that they are huge. They know they are huge. Kate has TWINS in her belly. She knows she is big.
Thanks.
• • •
Second break I am chip leader after turning into such a card rack that you could hang me in Tiffany's. I bust Fuel, one of my mentors, with AA against his K,Q sooted.
Oh, and speaking of the Mookie...
I'll take 4th and a $42 cash any day.
I've completely forgotten about my cold. This makes three final tables in a row for me at The Mookie. I hope this gives me some much needed confidence in the future. Congrats to Astin for taking down an inevitable title. I knew it was only a matter of time for the raisy-daisy frog.
I'm going to bed. I just started to feel achy again.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Mookie Minefield
Last night was one of those nights that makes me wonder why I play poker.
And yet it was a lot of fun too.
I got my money in as a 3-1 favorite three times in the Mookie last night, including my last beat, when my A,K fell to A,J at the final table.
But the Mookie was littered with bad beats last night, so I can't really complain too much. I swear I saw three people in a row lose with KK. It was a brutal night. I was only one of the many victims.
Besides, in a tough tournament with bloggers, if there were no bad beats, the thing would last until 3:30 a.m. You gotta knock out tough players somehow, right?
I did feel great about my play. I made both final tables in NE and in Razz (took my 8 high a little too far but I was low in chips).
I think making the final table again, just two spots from the money, when I had my money in as a sparkling water favorite, proves to me that I should be more confident about my MTT play. It's improved quite a bit. I was always a tight, careful player, so mixing that in with a few well-timed steals and bluffs seems to be all I needed. Plus my reads are better. I can't remember the last time I sucked out in an MTT or a SnG, and while some would bitch about that, I look at it as proof that almost all of the time, I'm getting my money in when I'm a favorite. That's about all you can do in poker. The rest is up to the hamster that runs the card program.
Ah, that bastard hamster. In limit last night, right after I was thrown from the Mookie, I took more beats than an old mule. The details? Nah. The best, though, I have to share with you. I lost with TPTK, A,J, to A,10 when he hit runner, runner 10s. Weee.
I did well, however, because I also got a full house with a pair of 6s in the hole, a set of 7s and finally a player decided that capping the pot was a good idea after I completed my straight flush. Thank you, sir, may I have another bet? Sweet.
Limit is a little too much like Bingo Poker, what we Coloradans like to call Black Hawk Casino 2/5 limit poker, but that also is what gets your hands paid off. I must keep reminding myself of that.
Sometimes it's hard though.
I'll continue to pimp the baby pool until April 1, the deadline. Thanks to those of you who have pimped away. I would really appreciate it, and maybe let you suck out against me, if you do the same.
And speaking of MTTs, pimping and the damn hamster:
I'll be here tonight.
And yet it was a lot of fun too.
I got my money in as a 3-1 favorite three times in the Mookie last night, including my last beat, when my A,K fell to A,J at the final table.
But the Mookie was littered with bad beats last night, so I can't really complain too much. I swear I saw three people in a row lose with KK. It was a brutal night. I was only one of the many victims.
Besides, in a tough tournament with bloggers, if there were no bad beats, the thing would last until 3:30 a.m. You gotta knock out tough players somehow, right?
I did feel great about my play. I made both final tables in NE and in Razz (took my 8 high a little too far but I was low in chips).
I think making the final table again, just two spots from the money, when I had my money in as a sparkling water favorite, proves to me that I should be more confident about my MTT play. It's improved quite a bit. I was always a tight, careful player, so mixing that in with a few well-timed steals and bluffs seems to be all I needed. Plus my reads are better. I can't remember the last time I sucked out in an MTT or a SnG, and while some would bitch about that, I look at it as proof that almost all of the time, I'm getting my money in when I'm a favorite. That's about all you can do in poker. The rest is up to the hamster that runs the card program.
Ah, that bastard hamster. In limit last night, right after I was thrown from the Mookie, I took more beats than an old mule. The details? Nah. The best, though, I have to share with you. I lost with TPTK, A,J, to A,10 when he hit runner, runner 10s. Weee.
I did well, however, because I also got a full house with a pair of 6s in the hole, a set of 7s and finally a player decided that capping the pot was a good idea after I completed my straight flush. Thank you, sir, may I have another bet? Sweet.
Limit is a little too much like Bingo Poker, what we Coloradans like to call Black Hawk Casino 2/5 limit poker, but that also is what gets your hands paid off. I must keep reminding myself of that.
Sometimes it's hard though.
I'll continue to pimp the baby pool until April 1, the deadline. Thanks to those of you who have pimped away. I would really appreciate it, and maybe let you suck out against me, if you do the same.
And speaking of MTTs, pimping and the damn hamster:
I'll be here tonight.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Run those stairs a second time
Come out tonight to this:
When in the biggest upset since the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team took down a bunch of much larger and angrier men on ice I took down the last Mookie. I'll be "defending" my title tonight, meaning I'll be handing off the crown like a former Miss America to the next lucky contestant, probably by the first hour.
Complicating things is the fact that I"m Mr. Mom tonight, so I hope the toddler cooperates when Daddy whispers to him that he needs him to sleep so he can fold his way to a sixth place cash.
I think I'll make the Razz event too as I love Razz.
* * *
I had a good time playing some (actually a lot) of hold em with CC of Quest of a Closet Poker Player last night. The closet player himself came out of the closet to crack my KK with A,5 and destroy my K,Q with top pair with his set of 3s.
I tried $2/$4 limit for the first time and thought I did well until the very end, when after three tough hands I finished $35 down in a bit of a daze. That's nothing to what CC suffered yesterday, but I was still bummed, considering several times I was up quite a bit, and I've always prided myself on not donking off a good night.
CC had several good suggestions for my game (including the shocker suggestion of the century, raise more preflop, gosh I thought I was pretty LAG, I guess not).
Thanks, man.
* * *
I have had ONE entry for the baby pool. I have heard some rumblings that more want to enter.
To enter, send me $5 via Paypal (dengl5@earthlink.net) or via my Poker Stars or Full Tilt accounts (I'm pokerpeaker).
Tell me what you think the birth date will be of the twins in the email you send me.
If this is a dumb idea let me know, too. I thought it would be fun. I'm not profiting from this at all. This might just be stupid. Maybe a little pimping would help?
The official due date is June 3 but twins, as you might guess, don't get carried for 40 weeks. So what will it be?
Hmmm....
Edit: I actually don't know if I'll enter. I think I have an unfair advantage to inside information. And I don't want people to think this pool is as rigged as online poker.
I've also had people wonder when they can enter.
Well, OK.
The deadline is APRIL FOOL'S DAY.
April 1.
And some want data. I'll post data when I know it.
Here's what I know now.
Kate had a great pregnancy with Jayden. She was dead on on the due date last time and had a quick and (relatively) easy delivery.
Mostly what I hear is we are lucky to carry twins 35 weeks, although a twins blogger just told me she went 39 weeks with hers. The babies are growing normally right now, meaning it's possible Kate could have them sooner or later, depending on your thought process.
The official due date is June 3.
We're going to consider ourselves "on call" from mid-April on.
And if we do have a scheduled C-section (Kate didn't need one the first time), that date still counts, so good guess.
Three slots per date. You can enter up to five times.
Good luck.
When in the biggest upset since the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team took down a bunch of much larger and angrier men on ice I took down the last Mookie. I'll be "defending" my title tonight, meaning I'll be handing off the crown like a former Miss America to the next lucky contestant, probably by the first hour.
Complicating things is the fact that I"m Mr. Mom tonight, so I hope the toddler cooperates when Daddy whispers to him that he needs him to sleep so he can fold his way to a sixth place cash.
I think I'll make the Razz event too as I love Razz.
* * *
I had a good time playing some (actually a lot) of hold em with CC of Quest of a Closet Poker Player last night. The closet player himself came out of the closet to crack my KK with A,5 and destroy my K,Q with top pair with his set of 3s.
I tried $2/$4 limit for the first time and thought I did well until the very end, when after three tough hands I finished $35 down in a bit of a daze. That's nothing to what CC suffered yesterday, but I was still bummed, considering several times I was up quite a bit, and I've always prided myself on not donking off a good night.
CC had several good suggestions for my game (including the shocker suggestion of the century, raise more preflop, gosh I thought I was pretty LAG, I guess not).
Thanks, man.
* * *
I have had ONE entry for the baby pool. I have heard some rumblings that more want to enter.
To enter, send me $5 via Paypal (dengl5@earthlink.net) or via my Poker Stars or Full Tilt accounts (I'm pokerpeaker).
Tell me what you think the birth date will be of the twins in the email you send me.
If this is a dumb idea let me know, too. I thought it would be fun. I'm not profiting from this at all. This might just be stupid. Maybe a little pimping would help?
The official due date is June 3 but twins, as you might guess, don't get carried for 40 weeks. So what will it be?
Hmmm....
Edit: I actually don't know if I'll enter. I think I have an unfair advantage to inside information. And I don't want people to think this pool is as rigged as online poker.
I've also had people wonder when they can enter.
Well, OK.
The deadline is APRIL FOOL'S DAY.
April 1.
And some want data. I'll post data when I know it.
Here's what I know now.
Kate had a great pregnancy with Jayden. She was dead on on the due date last time and had a quick and (relatively) easy delivery.
Mostly what I hear is we are lucky to carry twins 35 weeks, although a twins blogger just told me she went 39 weeks with hers. The babies are growing normally right now, meaning it's possible Kate could have them sooner or later, depending on your thought process.
The official due date is June 3.
We're going to consider ourselves "on call" from mid-April on.
And if we do have a scheduled C-section (Kate didn't need one the first time), that date still counts, so good guess.
Three slots per date. You can enter up to five times.
Good luck.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Stunned - Part II
And no, this isn't about the twins.
It's about this:
Read on, if you care.
(And, I have to admit, I hope you do).
"There's no secret. Tight players like me (and you) do well when they catch cards and go out early when they don't."
— GCox (who I should link but it's late and I need to go to bed)
I yahooed Gary, a.k.a, G-Cox during the Mookie last night to see if I could find out why he was making so many damn final tables lately. We are soul brothers, Gary and I, firm believers of Tight is Right, a.k.a. The Blinds The Rest Of You Maniacs Love To Steal.
He answered that he had been re-raising a bit more, but otherwise he was still playing his (our) style.
And that's when I decided that that's who I was. I was going to play my style. I was NOT going to try to raise with Q,10 in mp. I may try to steal and I may not.
It gave me some confidence to play the way I wanted to play.
And we would just see what happened.
Well. I honestly figured that God or Budda or Tom Cruise or whoever you subscribe to was to take it easy on shocking moments in my life. I mean, I kinda just had one lately. Scroll down a bit if you don't know what I'm talking about. The one with the ultrasound photo.
Yeah.
Those girls.
And then I win this? The Mookie? The toughest damn tournament I play on a regular basis?
Are you KIDDING me?
If you think this is false modesty, trust me, it isn't. I am a winning player, yes, and a good one, but I am tight, and my hole is I"m too conservative most of the time. So in other words, I can be outplayed by those who know what they are doing. And The Mookie, like any blogger tournament, is STUFFED like a Christmas Goose with players who know what they are doing.
Early on I doubled with with QQ versus 9,9, but anyone can do that, and soon after I'm dealt A,K. I raise it up, and Mr. Subliminal, who just limped, calls my raise. A trash flop comes down, and I continuation bet.
Mr. instantly calls me. When I check the flop (weakness, I know), he bets and I have to fold. More of the same, I figured. It's possible he had something there. It's also more possible that he knew exactly what I was doing and outplayed me. Just like always, I figured.
But then I started to pay attention. And (I've tried to leave names out for the most part so they don't think I am showing them up because that is not my intention here at all...you can read the live blog if you must know) when a raisy-daisy raised yet again and I was down to 1,700 chips and I have K,Q, I call because I don't want to push just yet and I hate K,Q, but I also don't want him picking on my blind all day.
And I flop a straight. Broadway, in fact.
I double up.
Soon after I get KK. I never got AA all night, but I got KK 5-6 times. Yes, I was lucky. So very, very lucky many times. I am very proud of the way I played. Never ONCE did I suckout. But I got good cards and I won several key coinflips. In a row. For the first time EVER.
Maybe the keyest moment was my 9,9. I had 3,500 in chips and knew I needed a double up to make the final table. I was 12th out of 14. When I get re-raised, I push, figuring I need to take a chance, and I win versus A,Q. I was lucky. Yes, I was ahead, but I was lucky. Now I have 7,500, and I coast to the final table:
Yeah, I don't exactly have a tower of chips there, do I? I get A,J in ep and raise, hoping that no one calls. No one does. I get KK soon after that, when we have eight left (two from the money, which at this point was my only concern), and I raise again and get no callers. I get K,A on the next hand and raise AGAIN and I get a caller from a short stack. K high flop, I check and he goes all in and boom. Now I have some chips.
I would say to play with, but we know better.
To hang onto like they were my children.
OK, maybe that's a bit much.
So I"m barely hanging on when I win two coin flips to stay alive, including 6,6 and Q,J, and I'm still kind of floating around with three left, although I am second at this point (this is getting long, we'll cut to the chase, shall we, it's like midnight here now and I ran five miles earlier tonight) when I get 8,8. I do have some chips so I raise and I get a call.
Flop 6,8,J.
Are you kidding me?
I bet...opponent raises...I just call. Yes, there are two hearts out there, but he's protecting a hand, not drawing to one. On the turn I check, he bets, I push, he calls.
He has 6,6.
Ouch.
But yay.
Because now I have a huge chip lead.
And it occurs to me that a tiny thought in the back of my head just got a lot louder.
You know what? You could WIN this thing.
Well, we were heads up soon after that, and I had a big lead, which promptly got whacked up and down, and so I figure I'm gonna lose. I even tell Love Elf that. But I started playing aggressively.
Heads up I bet and bet and bet, and I don't think my opponent expected that, given that I played so conservatively throughout. In fact, I bluffed five times in a row, and he never called. I think he figured I had it. I don't blame him. I pecked and pecked and pecked and won a big hand and suddenly I had a big lead again. Then I'm dealt JJ, and I actually make a move.
I slowplay it. When the flop comes 6,6,2, I check, he shoves and I call and he has a 2 and I win and yell a huge holla, which I hope didn't wake up Jayden, and if I do that this summer when the twins are outta da nest I really think my wife will beat me purple.
I would say this is my greatest accomplishment ever, but that's not true. That twin thing, for one, is kinda cool.
But this is my greatest poker accomplishment. So I'm pretty damn excited, and so sorry for going on and on about it. It's honestly not bragging. It's just feeling good about the fact that I can now call myself a blogger champ, a title I never, ever thought I would own.
And if you do think I've got a big head despite my saying it's not so, well, cheer up.
The twins will humble me up come June.
It's about this:
Read on, if you care.
(And, I have to admit, I hope you do).
"There's no secret. Tight players like me (and you) do well when they catch cards and go out early when they don't."
— GCox (who I should link but it's late and I need to go to bed)
I yahooed Gary, a.k.a, G-Cox during the Mookie last night to see if I could find out why he was making so many damn final tables lately. We are soul brothers, Gary and I, firm believers of Tight is Right, a.k.a. The Blinds The Rest Of You Maniacs Love To Steal.
He answered that he had been re-raising a bit more, but otherwise he was still playing his (our) style.
And that's when I decided that that's who I was. I was going to play my style. I was NOT going to try to raise with Q,10 in mp. I may try to steal and I may not.
It gave me some confidence to play the way I wanted to play.
And we would just see what happened.
Well. I honestly figured that God or Budda or Tom Cruise or whoever you subscribe to was to take it easy on shocking moments in my life. I mean, I kinda just had one lately. Scroll down a bit if you don't know what I'm talking about. The one with the ultrasound photo.
Yeah.
Those girls.
And then I win this? The Mookie? The toughest damn tournament I play on a regular basis?
Are you KIDDING me?
If you think this is false modesty, trust me, it isn't. I am a winning player, yes, and a good one, but I am tight, and my hole is I"m too conservative most of the time. So in other words, I can be outplayed by those who know what they are doing. And The Mookie, like any blogger tournament, is STUFFED like a Christmas Goose with players who know what they are doing.
Early on I doubled with with QQ versus 9,9, but anyone can do that, and soon after I'm dealt A,K. I raise it up, and Mr. Subliminal, who just limped, calls my raise. A trash flop comes down, and I continuation bet.
Mr. instantly calls me. When I check the flop (weakness, I know), he bets and I have to fold. More of the same, I figured. It's possible he had something there. It's also more possible that he knew exactly what I was doing and outplayed me. Just like always, I figured.
But then I started to pay attention. And (I've tried to leave names out for the most part so they don't think I am showing them up because that is not my intention here at all...you can read the live blog if you must know) when a raisy-daisy raised yet again and I was down to 1,700 chips and I have K,Q, I call because I don't want to push just yet and I hate K,Q, but I also don't want him picking on my blind all day.
And I flop a straight. Broadway, in fact.
I double up.
Soon after I get KK. I never got AA all night, but I got KK 5-6 times. Yes, I was lucky. So very, very lucky many times. I am very proud of the way I played. Never ONCE did I suckout. But I got good cards and I won several key coinflips. In a row. For the first time EVER.
Maybe the keyest moment was my 9,9. I had 3,500 in chips and knew I needed a double up to make the final table. I was 12th out of 14. When I get re-raised, I push, figuring I need to take a chance, and I win versus A,Q. I was lucky. Yes, I was ahead, but I was lucky. Now I have 7,500, and I coast to the final table:
Yeah, I don't exactly have a tower of chips there, do I? I get A,J in ep and raise, hoping that no one calls. No one does. I get KK soon after that, when we have eight left (two from the money, which at this point was my only concern), and I raise again and get no callers. I get K,A on the next hand and raise AGAIN and I get a caller from a short stack. K high flop, I check and he goes all in and boom. Now I have some chips.
I would say to play with, but we know better.
To hang onto like they were my children.
OK, maybe that's a bit much.
So I"m barely hanging on when I win two coin flips to stay alive, including 6,6 and Q,J, and I'm still kind of floating around with three left, although I am second at this point (this is getting long, we'll cut to the chase, shall we, it's like midnight here now and I ran five miles earlier tonight) when I get 8,8. I do have some chips so I raise and I get a call.
Flop 6,8,J.
Are you kidding me?
I bet...opponent raises...I just call. Yes, there are two hearts out there, but he's protecting a hand, not drawing to one. On the turn I check, he bets, I push, he calls.
He has 6,6.
Ouch.
But yay.
Because now I have a huge chip lead.
And it occurs to me that a tiny thought in the back of my head just got a lot louder.
You know what? You could WIN this thing.
Well, we were heads up soon after that, and I had a big lead, which promptly got whacked up and down, and so I figure I'm gonna lose. I even tell Love Elf that. But I started playing aggressively.
Heads up I bet and bet and bet, and I don't think my opponent expected that, given that I played so conservatively throughout. In fact, I bluffed five times in a row, and he never called. I think he figured I had it. I don't blame him. I pecked and pecked and pecked and won a big hand and suddenly I had a big lead again. Then I'm dealt JJ, and I actually make a move.
I slowplay it. When the flop comes 6,6,2, I check, he shoves and I call and he has a 2 and I win and yell a huge holla, which I hope didn't wake up Jayden, and if I do that this summer when the twins are outta da nest I really think my wife will beat me purple.
I would say this is my greatest accomplishment ever, but that's not true. That twin thing, for one, is kinda cool.
But this is my greatest poker accomplishment. So I'm pretty damn excited, and so sorry for going on and on about it. It's honestly not bragging. It's just feeling good about the fact that I can now call myself a blogger champ, a title I never, ever thought I would own.
And if you do think I've got a big head despite my saying it's not so, well, cheer up.
The twins will humble me up come June.
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