Saturday, January 21, 2006

Date #2

I'd like the record to show that I chose a date with Michelle this evening over going with my homegame poker buddies, Russ and Albert, to the Commerce Casino. I really like poker, but I've got my priorities.

I also missed this badass, the self-proclaimed Wally Pipp of the Murderer's Row tourney, win Event #1 of the LA Poker Classic, besting a field of more than 1100.

The date went well, but I bet I missed a helluva post-tourney celebration. I'd imagine Murderer's Row was out in force - I can't wait for the writeup.

Great work, Absinthe!!!

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Vicarious living at Commerce

I've been feeling semi-sick all week. Not deathly ill to the point where I miss work, just blah enough to be able to go through the motions, but have no energy doing so. I passed on Albert's offer to go with him to Commerce to play in some satellites for the LA Poker Classic. He's probably the best player at my homegame (myself included), so I wanted to know how he did.

His report was a sad one.

He started out at the $40 satellite, which gives you 500 in chips to start, blinds at 25/25. His playing style is generally tight. Apparently he folded for a bit, and got busted when his AQ-suited hit a flush on a turn-card that also gave somebody a set. All the money went in, and Mr Set had the board pair on the river. Bye Albert.

He moved to the $80 satellite, which starts with 1K in chips. The very first hand he played was QQ, raising several limpers by a large amount. Flop was eight high with two spades, and he raised a small flop bet. They got all-in, the flop bettor had sevens (with a spade), but turned a seven. No soup for Al.

In his second attempt at an $80, he flopped a flush with JT from the BB in an unraised pot. He bets out on the flop, getting only one caller. The turn is a brick, but Albert still has a flush, and he's openended for a straight flush. He bets big to take it down right there, and of course the ace-of-the-suit calls him, and rivers his flush. Hasta.

He played ten hands total, and lost three satellites. Harsh.

~~

I'd still like to hit up Commerce during all this. I'd skip the $40's and go right to the $80's. Friday's my off-day, but this Friday is the $330 limit tourney, and I'm horrible at limit. (And I might even have a date this Friday night. Stop laughing - she gets back from Brazil tomorrow.)
If I go to Commerce, I'll go for the NL satellites.

I've got my eyes on this, and I'd really like to play my way into the fun.

I also think it's awesome that plenty of the Murderer's Row people are gunning for these tourneys, and even an out-of-town blogger or two. Good luck to you all!!

(and if I see any of you at my satellite table, I'm begging for a refund.)

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

I Heart Full Tilt

I started with $50 yesterday on Full Tilt, and I think I'm gonna like it here. I haven't sat down in a NL holdem cashgame yet, but the games I have tried, I've loved so far.

Starting out at UltimateBet, my bread 'n butter was the $5 sng. My bankroll is tiny, but the fives were a fairly sure way of building it. So it appears on FT, and the players make more mistakes more often than I see at the fives on UB. Raises are usually of the min-or-all-in variety, which is nice when you're trying to flop a set with a small pocket pair.

Early on, it seems pretty useless to bother trapping. Bet for value - somebody's going to pay you. Nearing the bubble, everybody tightens up, so it's stealin' time. It's especially nice if you're a middle stack and there are two shortstacks almost even. They eye each other, urging the other to bust out first, while you stack their blinds. It doesn't seem like anybody's read Harrington.

I also sat at a low level Omaha/8 limit game, and it was pretty apparent who knew which hands were playable in certain situations. I remember it being a bad idea to play QJTT singlesuited when it's capped preflop.

~~

End of the day Tues: I'm at $80, which I figure affords me a buy-in to this special event (tourney #2482794) if I'm home on Friday. Goooooo HORSE!

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Prop Bets, 2006

Among other things, 2006 will be the Year of the Prop Bet. Stupid stuff, really, but I want to record all of them for kicks.

Jan 1: $5 wager, Shawn gave up pot for his New Years resolution. Over/under for doobage: Feb 14. I bet the over, and lost. -- Resolution broken after 4 days. Skipper wins $5.

Jan 12: $5 wager, number of times Russ says "Wow!" during the PL Omaha/8 cashgame at my place on Thursday. Over/under set at 4.5. Skipper is betting the over.
-- Russ a no-show, bet off the table. Push.

Jan 12: $5 wager, Russ's win/loss for the PL Omaha/8 cashgame. Over/under set at -$30 ($20 buy-in game, unlimited rebuys). I'm betting the over (losing 30 or less).
-- Russ a no-show, bet off the table. Push.

Jan 15: $1:$4 wager, Skipper gave me 4:1 odds that Derek wouldn't win the tourney's heads-up battle with Tim, the chipleader. -- Derek made a good comeback, but ran into two pair. Skipper wins $1.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Writeup To Follow

I just got home from the Murderer's Row homegame, and it's late.

Change100 won the tourney, JoeSpeaker crushed the cashgame, and Ephro told the tale of The Snowman Tater Leg (83, suited or not), As Named By Oilcan Dan.

I had a great time. I folded a lot. I managed to leave the place with some money.

~~

I also had a message from a coworker reminding me I'm bartending in the evening, not the morning. And I got an email from Michelle, who found an internet cafe in Rio.

So I'm sleeping in, and my dreams will be pleasant.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Murderer's Row

I did some research:

The Murderer's Row defensive lineup ('27 Yankees, winningest team of all time):
C - Pat Collins
1B - Lou Gehrig
2B - Tony Lazzeri
3B - Joe Dugan
SS - Mark Koenig
OF - Earle Combs
OF - Babe Ruth
OF - Bob Meusel

What did I learn? Those Yanks, while formidable and utterly dominant, had a few weak links. Collins and Dugan were .270 hitters with little extra-base pop.

Why does this matter?

I'm going to the LA blogger Murderer's Row homegame tonight, and I don't believe there's a Collins or Dugan in the bunch. I'm going to go play with Ruths and Gehrigs.

And I'm a bat boy.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

It's the little things that amuse me

While tidying up, I found a coupon for a dollar off at my local supermarket. Most curious was this note on it, in medium print:

"Excludes items prohibited by law"

Come again? So you mean I can't drop by for a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, a fully automatic machinegun and a pound of weed?

Crap.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

On a personal note

It's amazing how a first date goodnight kiss can turn a bad day right around.

I had the worst day at work. That's not hyperbole, as I actually cannot remember a shift I've had waiting tables, EVER, that was worse. The nadir came when the British lady insulted me, to my face, in an extended monologue. I was so enraged, words failed me. I was unable to say anything, for the most part because I'm polite and was unwilling to get myself fired at that moment. Rather than stand there and take more abuse (or fail/succeed to keep my emotions in check), I left her table wordlessly, with her in mid-sentence. Straight to a manager, explaining why it would be best for everyone concerned if somebody else were to take the table. He concurred.

I was so mad I couldn't see. For about a half hour, I was physically trembling with rage. I'm normally very slow to anger. This day summed up and concentrated all the reasons why I should get a new job. I will remember the British lady when I'm talking about my resume in a job interview. (That's on the '06 To-Do List)

But the most wonderful present was waiting for me at home. I had met Michelle at the New Year's Eve party I went to, on my roommate's urging. She had left her first message on my machine, letting me know she was headed to Brazil tomorrow for two weeks, wondering if I might like to catch a movie tonight.

Hell. Yes.

My roommate and Michelle's best friend had both made an effort to pimp us out to each other - the NYE party was our first meeting, and was pretty laid back. Conversation and billiards at a party that had absolutely nothing else going for it but the presence of the girl who had engaged my attention. I thought she was almost-out-of-my-league attractive, but a bit guarded. No clue how she felt about me. I got her business card (she's a budding jazz musician), and sent her an email that night.

So the message was a treat. She wanted to see a movie, and I struggled to come up with a better idea for something to do that might impress an artistic babe. I failed, so we decided on The Producers, at a mutually convenient theater.

I'm 16 again. I'm in a movie with a girl I don't know well, and I have no clue if this is a platonic thing or not. From what I've learned so far, I like her. Don't want to do something stupid. I figure that she wanted to see me before she left, so I put my arm around her. Halfway through the movie. Yup, I actually thought about this for a good 30 minutes.

Nothing awkward. This is good.

She sure smells nice.

Movie ends, and I walk her to her car. We hug, and I actually ask her, "Would you like me to kiss you now?" Clearly, I am socially retarded. How long as it been since I've been in this situation? Why can't I handle this with anything approaching self-assurance?

Her response was a good one - "Do you want to?" I believe I had my lips on hers just as she was finishing the word "to".

She'll be in Brazil for two weeks. And oddly enough, there is a scene in The Producers where one of the main characters gets a postcard from Brazil.

I've got hope. And she's got my address.

Monday, January 02, 2006

Pocket change on Pokerstars

I traded Skipper some money the other day, $28 UB for $28 on Stars. And so the Stars SNG Experiment begins. I've got five tries (if I fail to make the money in each one), and the first one was a sad, sad bustout on the bubble. My second is going on right now.

I think this is all part of Skipper's master plan for me to eventually play $2/$4 6-max limit on PS, like he sometimes does.

(later edit)
Attempt 2: Out of the money, 6th.
Attempt 3: Currently running. Just played a sick hand - unraised pot, flop was T-9-6, two clubs. Three ways all-in on the flop, First player showed 66, second showed 99, I tabled TT. Set over set over set, and I'm the benificiary. Holy Jebus.

(even later edit)
Attempt 3 was a win! After the triple-up, I stayed chipleader for a while, before running into a few hands and bluffing off some chips. Everybody was dead even in chips while 4-handed, but my cards were nice, and my play solid on my trip into the money. I was pleased to see the most passive guy start heads-up play with me, while I had the chiplead.

Currently +$6 at PS! I think I have more than that lodged in my couch.