I played in a $2 + .25 today on FT and it was amazing. 457 runners, 176 left at the first break!?!?
The blinds were 50/100 at the break, I cannot fathom why they insisted on impaling themselves on each other. Consistently.
I was a few hundy above average at the break and never really saw great cards. Two biggest pots were 56s where my OESFD missed but my bluff won (second hand of mtt) and a key double up against a maniac when I had 88 about 45 mins in.
81 spots pay, so my goal was to simply make the money and then start taking some more chances. That got a little tougher with 137 left when the SB caught a flush and cost me about T1600. My read that my middle pair was good on the flop, his K5c was flushing on the river and I paid him off on the Q high board. Tighten up or get looser to accumulate and make a real run? That was the question. I thought that I had enough chips (T3900) with 100/200 blinds that I could still wait for some premium hands and spots. Let's see if that works. One double up with the right donkey (and there are still some left around) and I am sitting pretty.
One small problem, the homebrew is starting to kick in a little. I am trying to drink enough so that I have 28 empty bottles for my next batch which I will be bottling next weekend. Tough job, I know. I have a lot of the high octane stuff on hand right now (10.5% abv) so two a day is a tall order.
92o in the BB. Doubt I get to see it for free. Surprise! I did, but the QJ6 did not help me at all. Fold to the raiser.
A9s in the SB and I flop OESD. It fills on the turn and I check it heads up. River pairs the board and my 600 bet is called. The hand holds up and I get some ammo.
AQo very next hand and it is folded around to me on button. Bet 700, SB goes all in for 250 more and BB folds. Hmm, have to call here. He flips AK and I am in trouble, especially when the K flops. NH sir, I give back my gains.
T3740 when the blinds hit 120/240 25 ante. 109 left, money starts at 81. First hand for me at this level is 1010. Win the blinds and antes. T4275 and I promptly get moved for the first time in the MTT.
First hand on the new table is KJo in the BB. I raise pot on the SB limp and he ejects. Cool. AQd is next hand and the early pot bet looks fishy. Apparently I was smelling myself because I jammed on him and his AKc hit a flush. T720 and the beep of life support can barely be heard over the gasps of this fish. I really considered folding that, should have trusted my fishy intution.
In an amazing run, the cards start coming and who am I to deny them? AJ two hands later and I turn my T650 into T2450. Then, one hand after that, my 99 gets all the chips in the middle PF and I am up against KJ. I hit a 9 on the flop and he is out. T4430. That was quite a fast and wild little ride. Let's check the tourney info. 61/95. I am in the BB for the old price when the blinds go up, that never hurts.
I am roughly 13x BB and I get AA in LP and one limper in front. I raise pot, folds around to him and he jams. Easy call, plus I have him covered by 1200 and he shows 88. The flop gives him 4 more outs with a gutshot and it does not materialize. T7290. Wheeee this is fun with good cards.
Stats look like this with 92 left:
Statistics for 111 Hands
Street Saw Saw/Total
Flop 19 17%
Turn 15 14%
River 13 12%
Showdown 8 7%
Street Won Won/Saw Won/Total
Pre-flop 4 4% 4%
Flop 2 11% 2%
Turn 0 0% 0%
River 3 23% 3%
Showdown 5 63% 5%
Random Thought while playing - I saw Freedom Writers last night and I had to admit I was moved some by it. It was not my choice of movie, but I was glad I saw it. It inspired me enough to call and thank the teachers in my life, my mother and my brother's wife. It was certainly a variation on the Dangerous Minds theme with hot white teacher doing right by the minority class, but I found it much more adept at tugging the heart strings. There were several points where the painful lump in my throat rose and I was not too far from crying. Not sure why that was, I guess I could identify with the characters and the respect themes. Last time a movie did something like that to me was Legends of the Fall. I know even admitting seeing both of these movies might put me "under suspicion" but I have to admit that I cried during the mustard gas scene in Legends of the Fall. Something about a movie with three brothers and the military made it very easy for me to put myself in the shoes of the characters. (I have two younger brothers and I served as an Armor Crewman from 93-96) The scene where Brad Pitt watches his younger brother get mustard gassed and then tangled and stuck in concertina wire and then chewed up by machine gun fire got to me. For some reason I could see that as myself and my younger brother Jared.
As I typed that, we lost 9 more and the bubble is ready to burst. 83 left and I am falling behind average. 5790 with 8300 avg stack. Hand for Hand begins and I fold A10o to a raise in EP. I get 88 in MP. Decision time. I decide to go in a blaze (the bubble popped and the difference between 80th and 64th is $0) I jam and get one caller with J8. Cool! I dodge his three outs and very dubious call (he only has 4300 left now and I have T12300) and I am back in the saddle.
Two hands later, AJo in the BB. I dislike this hand. Two raises in front make it an easy fold.
Blinds escalate to 250/500 with 50 ante and I am sitting 22/69 with 11k. I get a support call from work and now I am really multi-tasking. Auto-folding and the large blinds/antes are taking their toll. T9900 and no cards and still on the phone.
300/600 75 Ante. 8700, still on phone and no cards. This is an issue with the firm's CIO so it will take the time that it will take.
500/1000 100 ante. I go out 31st while I am still on the phone when my A7 splits the pot with A3 and then I get A7 the very next hand. I interpret this as a sign from the poker gods and that justice will be served so I go all in PF just like last time and get called by AJ this time. Fickle poker gods! 31/457 and I am not too unhappy with that. I think I could have gone farther if I had not spent 40 plus minutes on the phone troubleshooting a local mail replica issue with the CIO during a very crucial phase of the mtt, but that is how it goes. I am rewarded with a massive 3 dollars in profit and the feeling that my game is not in bad of shape as it sometimes feels.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
For the Record: This Sucks
From the "Goddamn Politicians Creating More Work for Me" file, allow me to present you this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Policy_Act_of_2005
For the unaware (which I assume are many), Mr. Bush and our bicameral legislature decided it would be cool to extend our Daylight Savings Time by 4 weeks starting in 2007 (in addition to a lot of other junk in the act, but that is the specific change that has me riled up). 3 weeks at the front end and 1 week at the back end.
Hey, the kids get an extra "hour of light" on Halloween!! What's the big deal?
Allow me to enlighten you.
Once I get beyond the fact that I never got Daylight Savings Time (DST) in the first place - I prefer the analogy of cutting of 12 inches off of the bottom of your bedsheet, sewing that 12 inches onto the top of the sheet, and then calling it longer - this is going to create a lot of extra work for IT departments throughout the world and possible frustration for many corporate and home users.
Microsoft has released Operating System patches for its servers (unless you are on a Windows 2k server... good luck with that) and for Windows XP clients with the new rules for DST. Ok, cool. That addresses that.
Now, what about all the stuff that runs on top of the operating system. Like say, perhaps, my beloved Lotus Notes. That inherits its DST rules from the OS. Ok, that sounds good too. Patch my OS, Notes will inherit the new rules. Call it a day and crack a cold one. Not so fast.
This thread on the Domino forums sums it up nicely: (C&S is Calendar and Scheduling and DWA is Domino Web Access, a method that users can get access to their mail file from their home computer)
I have a client where the C&S system is about the most critical thing in the environment. Especially for executives.
So here is the best case scenario. On December 12th when it shipped you applied the MS Windows patches to all of your workstations and servers as well as the appropriate APAR's to your servers. As soon as you did that all meetings previously scheduled for the three weeks in question now appear one hour later than they should except on your Blackberries which aren't patched because the patch isn't available. Now you start creating more meetings for that time period which are stored and appear correctly except on Blackberries where they will appear an hour earlier than they should.
This is the BEST scenario. It falls apart very quickly if you take a while to get the Windows patches out or if you can't patch EVERYONE fairly close to each other from a time perspective.
Oh by the way if users are using DWA from home their machines probably aren't patched so they will potentially be scheduling bad entries right up to the deadline.
BTW, the worst thing that will happen is that ALL your meetings occurring in the US and Canada will be screwed up for three weeks.
Good Luck!!!
Rob
http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/nd6forum.nsf/DateAllThreadedweb/f1029f0dcf860b4d8525725a0072f792?OpenDocument
Another poster posted his plan, it is very similar to mine right now:
I think you are right Rob..Everyone who works on large enterprise should freek out. This change will impact every individual's calendar. Here is our plan
1. Complete the OS patch across all Laptops, Desktops, PDAs, Servers, LPARs etc by end of January
2. While this patch is being loaded, work with IBM and start testing Agents to fix Calendar entries that have been scheduled before OS Patch. Testing should include running agents on Rooms & Resource Database
3. Apart from R&R, we also have external application which we use to reserve Conf Rooms with VTC. Hence will have to patch application
4. Once all clients are patched, final step would be to run the agents. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping agents work as expected and don't kill the servers :)
5. We use lot of application databases that use Calendar functions. We have to modify IBM agents to run against all our application databases.
6. Setup a swat team for March 11 to perform some testing. Not to mention, Keep IBM support person on standby
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There is also an effort underway to patch Sametime Meeting Servers, as all meetings will move 1 hour ahead like Notes meetings.
Notes Admin who is not worried about this change, should read the problem between the lines, else will see Admin Assistants standing next to him on 12th March :)
I am a little ahead of the last guy and I am attending a call with IBM tomorrow night at 9PM (might miss the Mookie) that I hope will shed some more light on this situation as far as the "tools" they will have for us administrators to ease the burden and pain for our staff. I am hoping for an agent that we will be able to run centrally that will adjust the affected entries in each calendar and also in the Resource (conference rooms, projectors, etc.) Reservations databases. As it stands right now, it will be a piece of code that each user will have to run on their own computer. I know anyone of you that read this blog with any regularity would fall firmly into the "user" category. No offense, but if I have the choice of leaving something important up to you or doing it myself... I will take the latter everytime.
To sum it up, this could be viewed as a mini-Y2K. The ramifications are not as dire, but it is an external change that will affect computer systems and may have some unknown consequences. At a minimum, I am expecting some disgruntled staff that go to the conference room they had reserved only to find it already in use or people showing up for meetings an hour after they start... basically, a lot of corporate fun.
For the non nerds out there (I expect DNasty to be the only one that made it this far... and that is iffy) enjoy your blissful ignorance of the IT stress that is going on in the background because of the wonderful Energy Policy Act of 2005 and that extra hour of daylight on Halloween.
Trick or Treat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Policy_Act_of_2005
For the unaware (which I assume are many), Mr. Bush and our bicameral legislature decided it would be cool to extend our Daylight Savings Time by 4 weeks starting in 2007 (in addition to a lot of other junk in the act, but that is the specific change that has me riled up). 3 weeks at the front end and 1 week at the back end.
Hey, the kids get an extra "hour of light" on Halloween!! What's the big deal?
Allow me to enlighten you.
Once I get beyond the fact that I never got Daylight Savings Time (DST) in the first place - I prefer the analogy of cutting of 12 inches off of the bottom of your bedsheet, sewing that 12 inches onto the top of the sheet, and then calling it longer - this is going to create a lot of extra work for IT departments throughout the world and possible frustration for many corporate and home users.
Microsoft has released Operating System patches for its servers (unless you are on a Windows 2k server... good luck with that) and for Windows XP clients with the new rules for DST. Ok, cool. That addresses that.
Now, what about all the stuff that runs on top of the operating system. Like say, perhaps, my beloved Lotus Notes. That inherits its DST rules from the OS. Ok, that sounds good too. Patch my OS, Notes will inherit the new rules. Call it a day and crack a cold one. Not so fast.
This thread on the Domino forums sums it up nicely: (C&S is Calendar and Scheduling and DWA is Domino Web Access, a method that users can get access to their mail file from their home computer)
I have a client where the C&S system is about the most critical thing in the environment. Especially for executives.
So here is the best case scenario. On December 12th when it shipped you applied the MS Windows patches to all of your workstations and servers as well as the appropriate APAR's to your servers. As soon as you did that all meetings previously scheduled for the three weeks in question now appear one hour later than they should except on your Blackberries which aren't patched because the patch isn't available. Now you start creating more meetings for that time period which are stored and appear correctly except on Blackberries where they will appear an hour earlier than they should.
This is the BEST scenario. It falls apart very quickly if you take a while to get the Windows patches out or if you can't patch EVERYONE fairly close to each other from a time perspective.
Oh by the way if users are using DWA from home their machines probably aren't patched so they will potentially be scheduling bad entries right up to the deadline.
BTW, the worst thing that will happen is that ALL your meetings occurring in the US and Canada will be screwed up for three weeks.
Good Luck!!!
Rob
http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/nd6forum.nsf/DateAllThreadedweb/f1029f0dcf860b4d8525725a0072f792?OpenDocument
Another poster posted his plan, it is very similar to mine right now:
I think you are right Rob..Everyone who works on large enterprise should freek out. This change will impact every individual's calendar. Here is our plan
1. Complete the OS patch across all Laptops, Desktops, PDAs, Servers, LPARs etc by end of January
2. While this patch is being loaded, work with IBM and start testing Agents to fix Calendar entries that have been scheduled before OS Patch. Testing should include running agents on Rooms & Resource Database
3. Apart from R&R, we also have external application which we use to reserve Conf Rooms with VTC. Hence will have to patch application
4. Once all clients are patched, final step would be to run the agents. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping agents work as expected and don't kill the servers :)
5. We use lot of application databases that use Calendar functions. We have to modify IBM agents to run against all our application databases.
6. Setup a swat team for March 11 to perform some testing. Not to mention, Keep IBM support person on standby
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There is also an effort underway to patch Sametime Meeting Servers, as all meetings will move 1 hour ahead like Notes meetings.
Notes Admin who is not worried about this change, should read the problem between the lines, else will see Admin Assistants standing next to him on 12th March :)
I am a little ahead of the last guy and I am attending a call with IBM tomorrow night at 9PM (might miss the Mookie) that I hope will shed some more light on this situation as far as the "tools" they will have for us administrators to ease the burden and pain for our staff. I am hoping for an agent that we will be able to run centrally that will adjust the affected entries in each calendar and also in the Resource (conference rooms, projectors, etc.) Reservations databases. As it stands right now, it will be a piece of code that each user will have to run on their own computer. I know anyone of you that read this blog with any regularity would fall firmly into the "user" category. No offense, but if I have the choice of leaving something important up to you or doing it myself... I will take the latter everytime.
To sum it up, this could be viewed as a mini-Y2K. The ramifications are not as dire, but it is an external change that will affect computer systems and may have some unknown consequences. At a minimum, I am expecting some disgruntled staff that go to the conference room they had reserved only to find it already in use or people showing up for meetings an hour after they start... basically, a lot of corporate fun.
For the non nerds out there (I expect DNasty to be the only one that made it this far... and that is iffy) enjoy your blissful ignorance of the IT stress that is going on in the background because of the wonderful Energy Policy Act of 2005 and that extra hour of daylight on Halloween.
Trick or Treat.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Friday, January 05, 2007
Nothing to Read Here
Keep it moving folks.
I seem to have misplaced my muse but feel compelled to make a post to the blog. Recipe for less than mediocrity? I think so.
How about a quick catch up for any family and friends that read this. The holidays were great and I enjoyed spending time with both families (in-laws and out-laws). The chance to spend time with family and friends certainly trumps any material gifts and there were quite a few material gifts given. How about a quick top 3? I was most excited to give my wife her Garmin 330c GPS. The more cynical out there might question my motivation (to get my GPS back) but that was just a nice byproduct of this thoughtful gift.
For the non techies and the late adopters out there, a GPS equals piece of mind and carefree driving. This was driven home to me recently on an out of state trip without one. It sucked. I had to pay attention to where I was, wonder if I had gone too far or not far enough before I stressed out looking for my next turn. I also had no idea how close I was to making my 5 PM arrival deadline. A GPS mitigates all of that bs. It lets you know exactly how far you are from your next turn, offers a surprisingly accurate estimate of your arrival time, and prevents arguments with your spouse who swore that she needed it more than you and then was at home when you called home to see if she was really using it (she wasn't). It is hard to express the freedom to someone that has not used one in a new city or foreign country, I think Detroit qualifies as both, and just how cool it is. I got a sweet deal (~$320 delivered to my front door, www.pricegrabber.com) and had a bow on it for our drive to Columbus. SteelerSteph was excited when she finally saw it and the detour function came in handy when I-70 came to screeching halt. We had to make the kennel before they closed at 6:30 and the detour button took us off the highway at the first available exit and put us back on a few miles down the road. Smoooove.
All that stuff I just said, ditto it for the exact same model my father received from my mother and me. He was geeked too and for some reason that still escapes me was proud that he navigated back to the house with it one day by doing the exact opposite of "bitchin' Betty's" instructions. "Off Route, Re-Calculating.....Turn Left in 500 feet" I suspect that he had to eventually give in to her coaching. I love my dad.
Personally, I got some good geek gifts from the Mrs. (4 GB iPod Nano, Scala 500 Bluetooth Headset). I purchased the Nike + kit post Christmas and will be seeking motivation to TripJax myself using the Nike website and the little shoe fob and reciever. A buddy at work has it and showed me his running progress over the past four months. Pretty cool. Football season as I know it is over so there is little excuse for chicken wings, pizza, and Sundays that I don't leave the couch. I am mourning a post season with no Steelers presence and the departure of Coach Cowher. Hard to imagine the team without him but the NFL goes on.
Poker has been extremely lackluster lately (none live and online is biting my ball bag big time). Perhaps this is highly correlated to my misplaced muse. Hmmm. Poker stinks, I have not ridden since the middle of November..... might as well delete this blog!
Does anyone else feel funny or like an impostor offering poker advice when you are a losing player? I do! 2006 was a good year, but a disastrous December found me ending the year down a few bucks online. I know that I have personally grown as a player and if I kept track of live play I would be decently ahead for the year, but I still feel that I am not one that anyone should take an opinion from. I know that I am 10x the player I was at the start, but this run of poor decisions and bad cards has me questioning my "poker skills". I am looking forward to the triumphant return of DNasty to Detroit and playing more live games to re-stoking the flame and helping me continue to improve. I think we both feel that the other has something that we could learn from as we struggle to find our own game. Hurry back D, my bankroll needs your discipline and patience!!
How long has it been since I have blogged? My hands hurt from typing all this! This is the first weekend in a long time that I will not be moving/unpacking/working/travelling/visiting in what feels like forever so don't be surprised if there are more posts to this dusty corner of cyberspace. Right now my agenda includes brewing my next batch of homebrew (a Fat Tire Amber Ale clone), attending the motorcycle show down the road from here, and spending some time with SteelerSteph. Will get some poker in if the mood strikes and some motorcycling if the weather permits. Yay me!!
I seem to have misplaced my muse but feel compelled to make a post to the blog. Recipe for less than mediocrity? I think so.
How about a quick catch up for any family and friends that read this. The holidays were great and I enjoyed spending time with both families (in-laws and out-laws). The chance to spend time with family and friends certainly trumps any material gifts and there were quite a few material gifts given. How about a quick top 3? I was most excited to give my wife her Garmin 330c GPS. The more cynical out there might question my motivation (to get my GPS back) but that was just a nice byproduct of this thoughtful gift.
For the non techies and the late adopters out there, a GPS equals piece of mind and carefree driving. This was driven home to me recently on an out of state trip without one. It sucked. I had to pay attention to where I was, wonder if I had gone too far or not far enough before I stressed out looking for my next turn. I also had no idea how close I was to making my 5 PM arrival deadline. A GPS mitigates all of that bs. It lets you know exactly how far you are from your next turn, offers a surprisingly accurate estimate of your arrival time, and prevents arguments with your spouse who swore that she needed it more than you and then was at home when you called home to see if she was really using it (she wasn't). It is hard to express the freedom to someone that has not used one in a new city or foreign country, I think Detroit qualifies as both, and just how cool it is. I got a sweet deal (~$320 delivered to my front door, www.pricegrabber.com) and had a bow on it for our drive to Columbus. SteelerSteph was excited when she finally saw it and the detour function came in handy when I-70 came to screeching halt. We had to make the kennel before they closed at 6:30 and the detour button took us off the highway at the first available exit and put us back on a few miles down the road. Smoooove.
All that stuff I just said, ditto it for the exact same model my father received from my mother and me. He was geeked too and for some reason that still escapes me was proud that he navigated back to the house with it one day by doing the exact opposite of "bitchin' Betty's" instructions. "Off Route, Re-Calculating.....Turn Left in 500 feet" I suspect that he had to eventually give in to her coaching. I love my dad.
Personally, I got some good geek gifts from the Mrs. (4 GB iPod Nano, Scala 500 Bluetooth Headset). I purchased the Nike + kit post Christmas and will be seeking motivation to TripJax myself using the Nike website and the little shoe fob and reciever. A buddy at work has it and showed me his running progress over the past four months. Pretty cool. Football season as I know it is over so there is little excuse for chicken wings, pizza, and Sundays that I don't leave the couch. I am mourning a post season with no Steelers presence and the departure of Coach Cowher. Hard to imagine the team without him but the NFL goes on.
Poker has been extremely lackluster lately (none live and online is biting my ball bag big time). Perhaps this is highly correlated to my misplaced muse. Hmmm. Poker stinks, I have not ridden since the middle of November..... might as well delete this blog!
Does anyone else feel funny or like an impostor offering poker advice when you are a losing player? I do! 2006 was a good year, but a disastrous December found me ending the year down a few bucks online. I know that I have personally grown as a player and if I kept track of live play I would be decently ahead for the year, but I still feel that I am not one that anyone should take an opinion from. I know that I am 10x the player I was at the start, but this run of poor decisions and bad cards has me questioning my "poker skills". I am looking forward to the triumphant return of DNasty to Detroit and playing more live games to re-stoking the flame and helping me continue to improve. I think we both feel that the other has something that we could learn from as we struggle to find our own game. Hurry back D, my bankroll needs your discipline and patience!!
How long has it been since I have blogged? My hands hurt from typing all this! This is the first weekend in a long time that I will not be moving/unpacking/working/travelling/visiting in what feels like forever so don't be surprised if there are more posts to this dusty corner of cyberspace. Right now my agenda includes brewing my next batch of homebrew (a Fat Tire Amber Ale clone), attending the motorcycle show down the road from here, and spending some time with SteelerSteph. Will get some poker in if the mood strikes and some motorcycling if the weather permits. Yay me!!
Friday, November 10, 2006
Anyone else on top of this?
Not Jordan's beloved Razz - BG's novel.
I did not realize how much I was enjoying my daily dose until it went dormant yesterday and I spent a second every 15 minutes today seeing if your name went bold in Bloglines. Wow, that is some great stuff. I would buy it.
Keep it up BG, I am not sure if I want "Lane" to deviate from his plan because of Sarah but that is kinda how life goes, huh? Excellent balance of knowns and unknowns and you have effectively, efficiently, and wonderfully brought me along in this story so far. I have always enjoyed your voice (and ScurvyDog's too) and would read pretty much anything you two decide to post. The fact that the post is a great story is icing. Pure cake and icing.
Good luck with the loftier 3k words a day goal. I am probably making this plea on behalf of more than just myself. Even if this does not make the NaNoWriMo goal please finish the story. I have this fear of wondering the fate and rest of "Lane's" back story for the rest of my life.
I did not realize how much I was enjoying my daily dose until it went dormant yesterday and I spent a second every 15 minutes today seeing if your name went bold in Bloglines. Wow, that is some great stuff. I would buy it.
Keep it up BG, I am not sure if I want "Lane" to deviate from his plan because of Sarah but that is kinda how life goes, huh? Excellent balance of knowns and unknowns and you have effectively, efficiently, and wonderfully brought me along in this story so far. I have always enjoyed your voice (and ScurvyDog's too) and would read pretty much anything you two decide to post. The fact that the post is a great story is icing. Pure cake and icing.
Good luck with the loftier 3k words a day goal. I am probably making this plea on behalf of more than just myself. Even if this does not make the NaNoWriMo goal please finish the story. I have this fear of wondering the fate and rest of "Lane's" back story for the rest of my life.
Catching Up
Did anyone notice the dust collecting on this chunk of cyberspace?
I have been busy staying busy. Work, poker, brewing, laundry, being a
single father (to my pets)... blogging has not been a priority. What could be more
important? Well, let me tell you.
SteelerSteph gets back late this Friday from her 3+ week training in North
Carolina. Despite her absence (being careful not to discount how much I
missed her) I have not been bored! Somewhat unexpectedly to me, my days
have revolved around our beagle, Copper. He gets up when I do at 6:45 and
does his business outside. By the time I leave the apartment for work, he
is soundly back in his doggy dreams under the comforter on our bed. I
don't know what he does until noon when I come home at lunch to let him
out, but I suspect it is the same thing he is doing when I leave. I can
almost surprise him when I come home and he has to stretch and shake off
the sleep. Weather permitting, we take a short walk and I head back to the
office. Routine is repeated when I get home around 6 PM and he is my
shadow until he reluctantly gets into his crate around 11.
Knowing he is cooped up all day in the apartment really makes his patented
"hound dog" look haunt me. If I have to leave during a weeknight to get
food or something, I really feel guilty. I suspect I am giving him
feelings he may not really posses, but regardless, it is really cramping my
style! I had planned on hitting the casino for some live poker while Steph
was out of town, but put that off for my homie. Ditto for going out to
catch a movie (I want to see Borat). The weekends are all about my canine
buddy as we cruise PetSmart together and he accompanies me on trips to the
grocery store. If he would just figure out that I come back everytime I
leave him in the car to run in someplace, he could maybe lose the frantic
howling routine as I walk away from the car. It can startle people because
it sounds like our government is trying to extract information from him at
Guantanamo. Torture indeed.
I did manage to put aside my doggy guilt this past Saturday and attended a
brewing demonstration by a local brew club at a store in Macomb, MI. I did
not know what to expect and I was very surprised at what a good time I had.
The guys brewing were are very friendly and willing to share their
expertise and their handiwork. It was hard to keep an empty cup and I had
to be careful; that homebrew can be powerful stuff. After enjoying the
free beer and food, I took the opportunity to purchase my ingredients for
the next batch. I also picked up a $2.95 adapter that is worth 10x that.
It allows me to hook up my wort chiller to my kitchen sink since I no
longer have access to an outdoor hose. I brewed once before I had this
little machined piece of convenience and I had to hold the hose to the
faucet head for at least 20 minutes. What a pain in the ass. Not this
past Sunday though! Armed with some tips on when to add ingredients, I had
my cleanest brew yet. It went flawlessly and I am hoping the product turns
out as good as the process was. No boilovers, much less mess to clean up,
I am ready to do it again as soon as my fermenters are clear. It was also
my first time using Dry Malt Extract (DME) so I am curious to see how this
batch tastes. It should not make a difference, but all my other batches of
HoneyWheat used liquid malt extract.
My bankroll on Full Tilt is like a tire with a very very slow leak. I
loaded $100 on there and have been playing mostly $5 and $6 SNGs with some
grinding thrown in .50/1.00 Limit. The play there is much different than
Party. I would dare say "better"... or at least more "patient". So many
of the single table SNGs go to break, it is nuts. 5-6 levels in and we are
still 6-8 handed? Not uncommon. Compared to Party, the low level SNGs seem
to be much tighter. This has been different and I think I have adapted my
game correctly. I play more suited connectors in position and try to limp
into more pots in the early stages. I have been seeing good results mixed
with some spectacular bad beats. I am looking to string together a few 1st
and 2nds so I can get some momentum with this seed money. Wish me luck.
Finally, I feel comfortable saying that we have sold our house in Ohio.
After an exciting back and forth negotiation, we accepted an offer. Originally, they wanted to close on the 15th of December but we got a call last week to see if it could be moved up to November 15th. Umm, sure! I had to jump through my own rectum to get all the arrangements in place on such short notice but that was well worth the extra 2k + closing a month earlier will save us. Curious what you could have moved into in the sprawling metropolis of Medina, OH? Here is what you missed. The movers are coming this Monday and I will be there Monday and Tuesday to make sure everything gets packed and loaded and then sent up here to MI. It will be delivered Thursday of Friday hopefully sooner rather than later because SteelerSteph and I are driving to Florida for a wedding that weekend. A high roller like me driving to Florida? I know, craziness. When we made the arrangements, the financial burden of the house and apartment was still looming large and into the foreseeable future. I am not excited about the drive, but with free gas (company car) and a free hotel that we had in Orlando, it was almost a no brainer. Driving to Kentucky Friday after work, dropping off Copper, and then heading the rest of the way Saturday. Attend wedding on Sunday and then do it all again in reverse. Yeah, I know... some guys have all the fun.
The net result of these wedding shenanigans is that I will miss a lot of cool stuff. Ohio State vs. Michigan. Yup. Steelers vs. Browns. Check. DADIX. Roger. The icing is that I am not that fond of the friend that is getting married for the second time. She is a childhood friend of Stephanie so I am doing the good husband thing and keeping my mouth shut. It would be nice if I could catch DNasty while I am down there, but I doubt there will be time.
Edit - I drafted this in an e-mail two days ago and since then I have been doing pretty well on the SNG's the seed money is up over $150 now even with the failed shot I took at a 90 person MTT with a $10 + 1 buy in. I finished 33 and was never really a factor after a horrendous beat took me well below average right after the first break. Maybe I will try a larger field game like that again, I felt like I could take it down. I hope this run continues now that I posted about it.
I have been busy staying busy. Work, poker, brewing, laundry, being a
single father (to my pets)... blogging has not been a priority. What could be more
important? Well, let me tell you.
SteelerSteph gets back late this Friday from her 3+ week training in North
Carolina. Despite her absence (being careful not to discount how much I
missed her) I have not been bored! Somewhat unexpectedly to me, my days
have revolved around our beagle, Copper. He gets up when I do at 6:45 and
does his business outside. By the time I leave the apartment for work, he
is soundly back in his doggy dreams under the comforter on our bed. I
don't know what he does until noon when I come home at lunch to let him
out, but I suspect it is the same thing he is doing when I leave. I can
almost surprise him when I come home and he has to stretch and shake off
the sleep. Weather permitting, we take a short walk and I head back to the
office. Routine is repeated when I get home around 6 PM and he is my
shadow until he reluctantly gets into his crate around 11.
Knowing he is cooped up all day in the apartment really makes his patented
"hound dog" look haunt me. If I have to leave during a weeknight to get
food or something, I really feel guilty. I suspect I am giving him
feelings he may not really posses, but regardless, it is really cramping my
style! I had planned on hitting the casino for some live poker while Steph
was out of town, but put that off for my homie. Ditto for going out to
catch a movie (I want to see Borat). The weekends are all about my canine
buddy as we cruise PetSmart together and he accompanies me on trips to the
grocery store. If he would just figure out that I come back everytime I
leave him in the car to run in someplace, he could maybe lose the frantic
howling routine as I walk away from the car. It can startle people because
it sounds like our government is trying to extract information from him at
Guantanamo. Torture indeed.
I did manage to put aside my doggy guilt this past Saturday and attended a
brewing demonstration by a local brew club at a store in Macomb, MI. I did
not know what to expect and I was very surprised at what a good time I had.
The guys brewing were are very friendly and willing to share their
expertise and their handiwork. It was hard to keep an empty cup and I had
to be careful; that homebrew can be powerful stuff. After enjoying the
free beer and food, I took the opportunity to purchase my ingredients for
the next batch. I also picked up a $2.95 adapter that is worth 10x that.
It allows me to hook up my wort chiller to my kitchen sink since I no
longer have access to an outdoor hose. I brewed once before I had this
little machined piece of convenience and I had to hold the hose to the
faucet head for at least 20 minutes. What a pain in the ass. Not this
past Sunday though! Armed with some tips on when to add ingredients, I had
my cleanest brew yet. It went flawlessly and I am hoping the product turns
out as good as the process was. No boilovers, much less mess to clean up,
I am ready to do it again as soon as my fermenters are clear. It was also
my first time using Dry Malt Extract (DME) so I am curious to see how this
batch tastes. It should not make a difference, but all my other batches of
HoneyWheat used liquid malt extract.
My bankroll on Full Tilt is like a tire with a very very slow leak. I
loaded $100 on there and have been playing mostly $5 and $6 SNGs with some
grinding thrown in .50/1.00 Limit. The play there is much different than
Party. I would dare say "better"... or at least more "patient". So many
of the single table SNGs go to break, it is nuts. 5-6 levels in and we are
still 6-8 handed? Not uncommon. Compared to Party, the low level SNGs seem
to be much tighter. This has been different and I think I have adapted my
game correctly. I play more suited connectors in position and try to limp
into more pots in the early stages. I have been seeing good results mixed
with some spectacular bad beats. I am looking to string together a few 1st
and 2nds so I can get some momentum with this seed money. Wish me luck.
Finally, I feel comfortable saying that we have sold our house in Ohio.
After an exciting back and forth negotiation, we accepted an offer. Originally, they wanted to close on the 15th of December but we got a call last week to see if it could be moved up to November 15th. Umm, sure! I had to jump through my own rectum to get all the arrangements in place on such short notice but that was well worth the extra 2k + closing a month earlier will save us. Curious what you could have moved into in the sprawling metropolis of Medina, OH? Here is what you missed. The movers are coming this Monday and I will be there Monday and Tuesday to make sure everything gets packed and loaded and then sent up here to MI. It will be delivered Thursday of Friday hopefully sooner rather than later because SteelerSteph and I are driving to Florida for a wedding that weekend. A high roller like me driving to Florida? I know, craziness. When we made the arrangements, the financial burden of the house and apartment was still looming large and into the foreseeable future. I am not excited about the drive, but with free gas (company car) and a free hotel that we had in Orlando, it was almost a no brainer. Driving to Kentucky Friday after work, dropping off Copper, and then heading the rest of the way Saturday. Attend wedding on Sunday and then do it all again in reverse. Yeah, I know... some guys have all the fun.
The net result of these wedding shenanigans is that I will miss a lot of cool stuff. Ohio State vs. Michigan. Yup. Steelers vs. Browns. Check. DADIX. Roger. The icing is that I am not that fond of the friend that is getting married for the second time. She is a childhood friend of Stephanie so I am doing the good husband thing and keeping my mouth shut. It would be nice if I could catch DNasty while I am down there, but I doubt there will be time.
Edit - I drafted this in an e-mail two days ago and since then I have been doing pretty well on the SNG's the seed money is up over $150 now even with the failed shot I took at a 90 person MTT with a $10 + 1 buy in. I finished 33 and was never really a factor after a horrendous beat took me well below average right after the first break. Maybe I will try a larger field game like that again, I felt like I could take it down. I hope this run continues now that I posted about it.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
One of the words in this post was on my SATs
Just dropped SteelerSteph off at the Detroit Metro Airport for a three and half week training in Raliegh, NC and I am feeling a little melancholy. It did not help that I was living in a sitcom this morning; I could practically hear the studio audience laughing. It quickly went from bad to worse when I got to work and reached its nadir as I drove away from the airport worrying about Stephanie lugging all her crap through the airport. “Will they hassle her for what I know is overweight baggage?” “Did she have too much carry-on? – who knows what the rules are these days?” “I hope she gets there ok”
I drove her unfamiliar mini-van away from the unfamiliar airport being careful not to hit anything, an exercise that increased in complexity because it was raining. What a recipe for a shitty day!
So what was the sitcom this morning? Glad you asked. I stayed up late last night since the bed and our bedroom was taken over by clothes in various stages of packing. I watched the Cardinals implode in the most spectacular fashion and finally got to bed around
I went into the bathroom and immediately stubbed my toe on a scale that was not there the day before. “Goddamnit, that hurt!!” Relieved the bladder and I turned on the water in the shower to get it hot and got ready to jump in. Standing outside the shower, I pull the little plunger thing up on the tub faucet and “WHAT THE FU-K?!?!?!” I was instantly confused, wet, and cold. Somehow the shower head was facing directly out at me and I quickly realized this was not going to be a good day. Water under control, dripping wet and pissed I asked Steph if she had done anything to the shower. “Nope”. Whatever, I gotta get going.
15 minutes later I am out the door and into school bus hell. I call the director I am supposed to be meeting with right then and get the info I need to get started for when I finally will make it into the office. The stalled Ford Taurus blocking the right lane of the two lane road was a perfect touch to the morning.
Director taken care of, I get back to my own desk to find out that our collaboration software is slowly grinding to a halt. Our instant messaging screen sharing meetings won’t work, our Quickplace rooms won’t authenticate and our webserver is not displaying the proper awareness that shows if the names listed on a page are in the office and logged in. Quicker than I can say, “Fan-Frickin-Tastic” I am neck deep in troubleshooting and have to bring down all the collaboration software for the firm during business hours. I am sure that even the non geek out there can appreciate that this is not a good thing.
Tomorrow will be a better day (how can it not, I have the bi-monthly office bowling league!!) and the dog, cat, and myself will start to work out our new routines. In all of this, I feel the worst for the dog. Steph has been home from work with him for the past 6 months. The little bastard is spoiled and he is pretty emotional for an animal. I am planning on making a trip home to the apartment everyday at lunch to let him out for a quick walk, but that will not make up all the time he spent at Steph’s side. I am slightly worried he might stroke out when she finally comes home. I am sure that at a minimum bladder control will be lost.
Soooooo. Bachelorhood until November 10th. What to do? I guess I hope that I don’t lose my whole bankroll on FT because of all the extra playing time I will have! I am going to set a rule that requires at least 30 mins of exercise before I fire up the virtual tables. It is always easier to exercise without SteelerSteph for some reason. Good chance to drop a few of the pounds that have attached themselves over the past few months. I should get the opportunity for some live play in the local casiono(s) and have high hopes for good results there. Watch some football, drink some beer, play some poker. It will be novel and new at first, but I am sure that by the time Steph gets back I will really be missing her.
Look me up at FullTilt, SteelerJosh.
Nadir was the word that somehow came to mind from the SATs. I am pretty sure it is a nerd word for the lowest point on something and the polar opposite of apogee. Insert nerd laugh here -->
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Live Poker Fun
I miss playing live poker. I forgot how much fun it can be to drink some beers, talk some smack, and rake some pots with friends. The stakes are low enough that it can probably be classified as pure fun, but if you get a little luck (as I did) you can make a nice profit. We played 3 five dollar SNGs with second place getting their buy in back and first taking the rest. With 7 players this created a $25 profit for taking it down. I hope they invite me back :)
If my buddy Aaron is reading this, I know he will say, "I told you so" but I had some serious luck. I was winning my races with AK and even got quad 6's one hand. It was a good night.
Game 1. Jim V was a card rack and was playing some good power poker with his big stack. The biggest hand of the game was one that was so rigged it belonged online. QQ vs J9 vs K10 on a QJ9 flop. Fireworks and Jim tripled up with his flopped straight. Jim and I got heads up and he had a decent chip advantage. I got it all in PF with A4 vs his 78 and he caught his straight on the river to take it down and I got my money back for finishing second.
Game 2. I took this one down without any real memorable hands. It seemed to go pretty fast and at the end it was me and Mike B. Time ran out and I won it on total chip count. Mike played solidly and it would have been an interesting HU match if time would have allowed it.
Game 3. I took this one down also with some solid play and a nice dose of luck. The first one out of the game was DFed when he could not get away from his pocket KK on an all heart flop. Three way, there was a pot sized raise (300) from EP, a call and Derek showed me his hand. None of the Ks had a heart on them and he was in a tough spot. Personally, I would have made an easy fold here but I did not advise him as such because I am a believer in one player to a hand. He made the interesting move of shoving all in and the EP raiser (Jim V.) folded (which surprised me) and then Matt agonized a long time over making a call. This was the first or second hand of the tourney so DFed's all in meant Matt would be all in. As it turned out, Matt had a baby flush and made the tough call. DFed missed the runner runner he would have needed to stay alive and was the first one out. He would be unhappy to know that Kings held up two or more three times this game. Oh well. Sixes would prove fickle too as BHoj got Jim V. all in with 66 vs Jim's 44 and the 4 on the flop sent Hoj packing. A hand or two later I hit quads with my pocket 6's and sent Matt home. It came down to Jim and me heads up and I had a huge chiplead and the game was called.
Final Results:
Game 1: Jim V., Josh S.
Game 2: Josh S., Mike B.
Game 3: Josh S., Jim V.
A good time and I am looking forward to the next time we can get together. I introduced them all to the Hammer and it was being played a good bit! I did not get it once the whole night, but there were a ton of 7s and 2s on the boards. I think it was played at least 6 times and picked up a few pots. There are some good players in the bunch and I am looking forward to being put to the test by them. Hopefully you can make it next time Bean!!
If my buddy Aaron is reading this, I know he will say, "I told you so" but I had some serious luck. I was winning my races with AK and even got quad 6's one hand. It was a good night.
Game 1. Jim V was a card rack and was playing some good power poker with his big stack. The biggest hand of the game was one that was so rigged it belonged online. QQ vs J9 vs K10 on a QJ9 flop. Fireworks and Jim tripled up with his flopped straight. Jim and I got heads up and he had a decent chip advantage. I got it all in PF with A4 vs his 78 and he caught his straight on the river to take it down and I got my money back for finishing second.
Game 2. I took this one down without any real memorable hands. It seemed to go pretty fast and at the end it was me and Mike B. Time ran out and I won it on total chip count. Mike played solidly and it would have been an interesting HU match if time would have allowed it.
Game 3. I took this one down also with some solid play and a nice dose of luck. The first one out of the game was DFed when he could not get away from his pocket KK on an all heart flop. Three way, there was a pot sized raise (300) from EP, a call and Derek showed me his hand. None of the Ks had a heart on them and he was in a tough spot. Personally, I would have made an easy fold here but I did not advise him as such because I am a believer in one player to a hand. He made the interesting move of shoving all in and the EP raiser (Jim V.) folded (which surprised me) and then Matt agonized a long time over making a call. This was the first or second hand of the tourney so DFed's all in meant Matt would be all in. As it turned out, Matt had a baby flush and made the tough call. DFed missed the runner runner he would have needed to stay alive and was the first one out. He would be unhappy to know that Kings held up two or more three times this game. Oh well. Sixes would prove fickle too as BHoj got Jim V. all in with 66 vs Jim's 44 and the 4 on the flop sent Hoj packing. A hand or two later I hit quads with my pocket 6's and sent Matt home. It came down to Jim and me heads up and I had a huge chiplead and the game was called.
Final Results:
Game 1: Jim V., Josh S.
Game 2: Josh S., Mike B.
Game 3: Josh S., Jim V.
A good time and I am looking forward to the next time we can get together. I introduced them all to the Hammer and it was being played a good bit! I did not get it once the whole night, but there were a ton of 7s and 2s on the boards. I think it was played at least 6 times and picked up a few pots. There are some good players in the bunch and I am looking forward to being put to the test by them. Hopefully you can make it next time Bean!!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Full Tilting
Tempted by Full Tilt’s new reload bonus and claims that they will be around for awhile, I reloaded on there what I withdrew from Party. The past two nights have been a mixed bag. Two tabling 1-2 Limit saw me lose 10 BB over 200 hands. Same old, same old, dodge a river card here, catch a river card there and the results would have been much better. Biggest loser of the night was my AK vs. AQ. One of those nights.
Last night was much better. While chatting with DNasty and watching his beloved Tigers put on a pitching clinic, I played in my first SNG on FT. It was the tightest $10 SNG, hell any level SNG, I have ever participated in. 45+ minutes in we still had 6 of the original 9 participants. Over an hour in, I busted on the bubble when I ran my AJ into the BB’s AA. The A on the flop all but sealed my deal. I did drop the hammer twice and advised the table (both times) of what I thought was the best damn hand in poker. The table was so tight, it did not seem to get me any extra action on my big hands….but it made an impression. When the pocket rockets sent me packing, the comment was something about the best damn hand in poker. J Amateurs!
Dissatisfied with my bubble, I fired up some 1-2 Limit and hung around my buy in. I lost with the Hilton Hoes twice and could never get any traction. Curious about the waters the next level up, I found a seat in a 2-4 game. It was a much better game and a few hands in, I noticed a familiar name to my left. change100. Hmmm, could it be “the change100”? That would be pretty cool and a first for me. I have never accidentally run into another blogger at the tables. If I did, I did not know it. I have certainly enjoyed playing with them on purpose in SNGs, MTTs, and blogger events but have never bumped into one accidentally in a ring game. I didn’t really know the protocol or etiquette for a situation like this so I just blundered ahead and asked in the chat box. “Change, shot in the dark here – are you a blogger?” Yup, it was her. “That is pretty cool”, I thought and then proceeded to check raise her after I limped in the SB with KQs. K36 flop and a K on the turn. The turn was checked around and I checked the river hoping for a bet (I was really out of position, but confident I had the best hand). Change100 obliged me and was not happy with my check raise. After expressing her displeasure in the chat box “aaarrgh” and making the crying call with 36 she let me know we were no longer friends J It was nice the couple hands it lasted. I felt a little bad check raising a blogger, but I would not expect anyone to play me soft and would not do that to someone either. When I recalled her perfect week with football picks (meaning she picked against my Steelers) I did not feel so bad about catching that 3rd King on the turn. 36 was her hand and the number of Jerome Bettis. Jerome was an awesome Steeler. Coincidence? I think not.
It was getting really late so I played a few more orbits and wished her luck. I wonder if I will start bumping into more bloggers as the pool of sites we can play on is shrinking. That would be a double edged sword. Cool to run into them, but most of them are pretty solid players so that is one less fish to fleece.
On the good news front, we have an end in sight to our home for sale in Ohio. We had a very low ball offer come in (it was so tempting to counter offer “at least kiss me first”) making a lot of demands. 20k below list. 3k towards their closing costs. All the appliances, we pay for their home warranty, and they want to close 60 days from now. Wow! It is a buyer’s market for sure, but that is a little outrageous. We countered with agreeing to all the concessions but only knocking 5k off our list. They responded by coming up 5k. Hmmm, this is not really getting us anywhere. Long story short, we sent an official counter offer last night for 10k off list and meeting all their demands and our agent expects it to be accepted. We shall see. However it shakes down, if we can sell this house life will be much better for the Steeler household. Maintaining two properties in two different states is neither a fun nor cheap experience. I hope this deal goes through.
Last night was much better. While chatting with DNasty and watching his beloved Tigers put on a pitching clinic, I played in my first SNG on FT. It was the tightest $10 SNG, hell any level SNG, I have ever participated in. 45+ minutes in we still had 6 of the original 9 participants. Over an hour in, I busted on the bubble when I ran my AJ into the BB’s AA. The A on the flop all but sealed my deal. I did drop the hammer twice and advised the table (both times) of what I thought was the best damn hand in poker. The table was so tight, it did not seem to get me any extra action on my big hands….but it made an impression. When the pocket rockets sent me packing, the comment was something about the best damn hand in poker. J Amateurs!
Dissatisfied with my bubble, I fired up some 1-2 Limit and hung around my buy in. I lost with the Hilton Hoes twice and could never get any traction. Curious about the waters the next level up, I found a seat in a 2-4 game. It was a much better game and a few hands in, I noticed a familiar name to my left. change100. Hmmm, could it be “the change100”? That would be pretty cool and a first for me. I have never accidentally run into another blogger at the tables. If I did, I did not know it. I have certainly enjoyed playing with them on purpose in SNGs, MTTs, and blogger events but have never bumped into one accidentally in a ring game. I didn’t really know the protocol or etiquette for a situation like this so I just blundered ahead and asked in the chat box. “Change, shot in the dark here – are you a blogger?” Yup, it was her. “That is pretty cool”, I thought and then proceeded to check raise her after I limped in the SB with KQs. K36 flop and a K on the turn. The turn was checked around and I checked the river hoping for a bet (I was really out of position, but confident I had the best hand). Change100 obliged me and was not happy with my check raise. After expressing her displeasure in the chat box “aaarrgh” and making the crying call with 36 she let me know we were no longer friends J It was nice the couple hands it lasted. I felt a little bad check raising a blogger, but I would not expect anyone to play me soft and would not do that to someone either. When I recalled her perfect week with football picks (meaning she picked against my Steelers) I did not feel so bad about catching that 3rd King on the turn. 36 was her hand and the number of Jerome Bettis. Jerome was an awesome Steeler. Coincidence? I think not.
It was getting really late so I played a few more orbits and wished her luck. I wonder if I will start bumping into more bloggers as the pool of sites we can play on is shrinking. That would be a double edged sword. Cool to run into them, but most of them are pretty solid players so that is one less fish to fleece.
On the good news front, we have an end in sight to our home for sale in Ohio. We had a very low ball offer come in (it was so tempting to counter offer “at least kiss me first”) making a lot of demands. 20k below list. 3k towards their closing costs. All the appliances, we pay for their home warranty, and they want to close 60 days from now. Wow! It is a buyer’s market for sure, but that is a little outrageous. We countered with agreeing to all the concessions but only knocking 5k off our list. They responded by coming up 5k. Hmmm, this is not really getting us anywhere. Long story short, we sent an official counter offer last night for 10k off list and meeting all their demands and our agent expects it to be accepted. We shall see. However it shakes down, if we can sell this house life will be much better for the Steeler household. Maintaining two properties in two different states is neither a fun nor cheap experience. I hope this deal goes through.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Bloody Nose
Poker punched me in the face the past two sessions. Normally this is nothing to blog about, but it was poor timing as I had just moved up in limits. I am comfortable at the limit (it is still just chips meaning I am not playing scared) but the beats are a little bigger to the bank roll and I am throwing in the towel and moving back down. I'll be back bitches.
I won't be back this weekend though because I am enroute to the house in Ohio that is still for sale. Motivated by watching home improvement and house flipping shows, we are headed in to paint the two rooms we never painted when we lived there and to install some blinds upstairs. A thorough cleaning is also in order as we have not been there since the beginning of September. I am not fazed by the work ahead this weekend, I enjoy getting projects done, but there is no Internet or tv at the house now. All I will have for outside contact is my trusty little BlackBerry (which I am blogging from right now). No football, no poker, just a partially empty house. The bright side is that I plan on exercising the ST1100 if the weather permits. I also plan on picking up some brew supplies for the next batch of honeywheat I will be brewing. Oh yeah, we might even sell the house as we have a buyer coming through tonight and we are apparently on their short list. Wish us some luck because I am convinced that is what it will take to sell this place in the current market.
No Steeler football this weekend so I will not be missing much during the drive back to MI on Sunday. After last weeks game I am not sure I would be missing anything even if they were playing!
DoubleAs busted out of the ArUBa tournament but is still having a good time. Next time Scott.
Have a great weekend out there.
I won't be back this weekend though because I am enroute to the house in Ohio that is still for sale. Motivated by watching home improvement and house flipping shows, we are headed in to paint the two rooms we never painted when we lived there and to install some blinds upstairs. A thorough cleaning is also in order as we have not been there since the beginning of September. I am not fazed by the work ahead this weekend, I enjoy getting projects done, but there is no Internet or tv at the house now. All I will have for outside contact is my trusty little BlackBerry (which I am blogging from right now). No football, no poker, just a partially empty house. The bright side is that I plan on exercising the ST1100 if the weather permits. I also plan on picking up some brew supplies for the next batch of honeywheat I will be brewing. Oh yeah, we might even sell the house as we have a buyer coming through tonight and we are apparently on their short list. Wish us some luck because I am convinced that is what it will take to sell this place in the current market.
No Steeler football this weekend so I will not be missing much during the drive back to MI on Sunday. After last weeks game I am not sure I would be missing anything even if they were playing!
DoubleAs busted out of the ArUBa tournament but is still having a good time. Next time Scott.
Have a great weekend out there.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Meh
Poker was Meh this weekend with a little Blah thrown in for good measure. I guess the good thing is that I avoided tilt for the most part, and did not go chasing despite the hits that kept on coming. My stats in PT were in line (17 to 22 VP$IP) with all the other winning sessions and I played my good hands aggressively and got action on them. The cards just did not fall my way. There was one read that I made and did not act upon…. I just had to see! That bothered me to the tune of a $9.00 loss so it was not catastrophic by any means, just plain old dumb.
The trend I noticed was the same old one I read about quite often on other blogs. Get stuck early and spend the rest of the session fighting back. Three of the four big sessions saw me not making it back. I dropped a buy in and a half twice on the $25 NL tables and only one session saw me up that same amount. I also hit a rough patch on the ½ Limit tables and was proud of making some decent laydowns. Not sure I would be able to get away from KK, 1010, and AK in limit in the past. I dropped some of the gains I had made on replacing my 2% of DoubleAs in Aruba, but I am still headed in the right direction overall. It feels good.
Speaking of DoubleAs, I am anxiously waiting for some updates from Mean Gene and the UltimateBet Blog from Aruba. I was disappointed to see that their blog did not offer an RSS feed, so I will have to check that one from home. I have a good feeling about DoubleAs in this tourney and I am more excited about it than I otherwise would be because I have some money on it. I figure it is like me playing the tourney for a $125 buy in but with a much better version of me playing and I get to stay in Detroit, not sunny Aruba. So, win-win, right? Umm, yeah. I have been to Aruba once and would jump on the opportunity to get back there. I spent an 8 day honeymoon there at the Divi Divi resort and it was awesome. I did the whole tourist/newlywed thing with SNUBA diving, horseback riding on the beach, booze cruises, etc. and the weather and ocean was fantastic. Looking at the pictures on Mean Gene’s blog took me back there instantly.
I am sure that Gene will be glad that he was out of town and missed the debacle of a football game between the Steelers and the Bengals. It was almost like the Steelers wanted the Bengals to win. It was a very frustrating experience to watch all the turnover mistakes. Muffed punts that the Bengals recover and score with. Fumbles that the Bengals recovered. Interceptions in the end zone that really swing momentum. Dropped TD passes. Ugh, I can feel my blood pressure rising. I hope that game was not a harbinger of things to come. I know we can’t win them all, but the offense and special teams might being trying to prove that they can lose them all. The contest last week with Jacksonville was a good game against a good opponent. This week it was a bad game with an average opponent and the Steelers made way too many mistakes. The score should not have been as close as it was. Booooo Bengals and Steelers. Hooray Beer!!
The trend I noticed was the same old one I read about quite often on other blogs. Get stuck early and spend the rest of the session fighting back. Three of the four big sessions saw me not making it back. I dropped a buy in and a half twice on the $25 NL tables and only one session saw me up that same amount. I also hit a rough patch on the ½ Limit tables and was proud of making some decent laydowns. Not sure I would be able to get away from KK, 1010, and AK in limit in the past. I dropped some of the gains I had made on replacing my 2% of DoubleAs in Aruba, but I am still headed in the right direction overall. It feels good.
Speaking of DoubleAs, I am anxiously waiting for some updates from Mean Gene and the UltimateBet Blog from Aruba. I was disappointed to see that their blog did not offer an RSS feed, so I will have to check that one from home. I have a good feeling about DoubleAs in this tourney and I am more excited about it than I otherwise would be because I have some money on it. I figure it is like me playing the tourney for a $125 buy in but with a much better version of me playing and I get to stay in Detroit, not sunny Aruba. So, win-win, right? Umm, yeah. I have been to Aruba once and would jump on the opportunity to get back there. I spent an 8 day honeymoon there at the Divi Divi resort and it was awesome. I did the whole tourist/newlywed thing with SNUBA diving, horseback riding on the beach, booze cruises, etc. and the weather and ocean was fantastic. Looking at the pictures on Mean Gene’s blog took me back there instantly.
I am sure that Gene will be glad that he was out of town and missed the debacle of a football game between the Steelers and the Bengals. It was almost like the Steelers wanted the Bengals to win. It was a very frustrating experience to watch all the turnover mistakes. Muffed punts that the Bengals recover and score with. Fumbles that the Bengals recovered. Interceptions in the end zone that really swing momentum. Dropped TD passes. Ugh, I can feel my blood pressure rising. I hope that game was not a harbinger of things to come. I know we can’t win them all, but the offense and special teams might being trying to prove that they can lose them all. The contest last week with Jacksonville was a good game against a good opponent. This week it was a bad game with an average opponent and the Steelers made way too many mistakes. The score should not have been as close as it was. Booooo Bengals and Steelers. Hooray Beer!!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Excited
Sadly, it has come to this. I am really excited because DirecTV finally came to the apartment and was able to hook up the dish and restore our service. The service includes the NFL Sunday Ticket and TIVO.
This 16 day hiatus from TIVO has helped me realize something about myself.
I love TIVO. If you have never had it, you would not understand. If you have had it and never lost it, you too would not understand.
I managed to live 29 years without you and I know now that I took you for granted while I had you the last year. I am sorry TIVO, I will not do it again. I will appreciate every commercial you let me speed through with your happy "Be-doop, Be-DOop, Be-DOOP" chirp. I will praise you for allowing me to watch LOST when I want to watch it, not when the network says I have to. What, I am busy during High Stakes Poker on GSN? I know you have my back. There was a show with something Pittsburgh Steelers related and I was not aware it was on? You have me covered there too lil' buddy. You know that staying up to watch Lucky Louie would make me tired and cranky the next day so you assure me I can rest easy and watch it on Monday when I get home from work. In short, you are the man TIVO. Keep on doing what you do I promise to keep you happy by recording our favorite shows (sometimes two at a time!) and even finally allowing you to offer some of your zany suggestions.
In the "Other News that Dugglebogy does not care About" department, I am proud to brag that my "children" went 2-0 this weekend. I started off my season in both leauges with a win, although one took a tackle for a 9 yard loss of Washington's althletic TE, Chris Coooley. I scraped by with a .5 point win there. Consider me a fan of the Vikings D for week one (although Mean Gene and I both know who really defines Defense and is starts with a Pitts and ends with a burgh). Bragging will continue as my wins do.
No poker yet this week, but I have been enjoying a modicum of success at the micro-limit NL Hold Em on Party. Two months of positive results at the $25 Max Buy in NL has me feeling that this focus shift from Limit to NL is what I was looking for. I plan to keep grinding away and taking a shot at the next level as I feel comfortable.
I missed the Mookie last night, but plan on being there next week... that is always fun.
This 16 day hiatus from TIVO has helped me realize something about myself.
I love TIVO. If you have never had it, you would not understand. If you have had it and never lost it, you too would not understand.
I managed to live 29 years without you and I know now that I took you for granted while I had you the last year. I am sorry TIVO, I will not do it again. I will appreciate every commercial you let me speed through with your happy "Be-doop, Be-DOop, Be-DOOP" chirp. I will praise you for allowing me to watch LOST when I want to watch it, not when the network says I have to. What, I am busy during High Stakes Poker on GSN? I know you have my back. There was a show with something Pittsburgh Steelers related and I was not aware it was on? You have me covered there too lil' buddy. You know that staying up to watch Lucky Louie would make me tired and cranky the next day so you assure me I can rest easy and watch it on Monday when I get home from work. In short, you are the man TIVO. Keep on doing what you do I promise to keep you happy by recording our favorite shows (sometimes two at a time!) and even finally allowing you to offer some of your zany suggestions.
In the "Other News that Dugglebogy does not care About" department, I am proud to brag that my "children" went 2-0 this weekend. I started off my season in both leauges with a win, although one took a tackle for a 9 yard loss of Washington's althletic TE, Chris Coooley. I scraped by with a .5 point win there. Consider me a fan of the Vikings D for week one (although Mean Gene and I both know who really defines Defense and is starts with a Pitts and ends with a burgh). Bragging will continue as my wins do.
No poker yet this week, but I have been enjoying a modicum of success at the micro-limit NL Hold Em on Party. Two months of positive results at the $25 Max Buy in NL has me feeling that this focus shift from Limit to NL is what I was looking for. I plan to keep grinding away and taking a shot at the next level as I feel comfortable.
I missed the Mookie last night, but plan on being there next week... that is always fun.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Koney Island
Can anyone tell me why there are approx 125 of these per square mile in MI and why or what I would eat there?
I am quite curious, but too afraid to actually venture in one. If it is a greasy spoon type place, give me a Waffle House and I am all set.
1st full week in MI and I have been to the B&M casino zero times. Money is pretty tight right now with a mortgage and rent. I am looking forward to getting some live action in now that I am only 30 mins from the downtown Detroit casinos but it will have to wait for a windfall like a big score online or selling our house.
I am quite curious, but too afraid to actually venture in one. If it is a greasy spoon type place, give me a Waffle House and I am all set.
1st full week in MI and I have been to the B&M casino zero times. Money is pretty tight right now with a mortgage and rent. I am looking forward to getting some live action in now that I am only 30 mins from the downtown Detroit casinos but it will have to wait for a windfall like a big score online or selling our house.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Enough Already
I need to get some tv service or something else to do in Michigan. For Fook's sake, poker is really pissing me off right now and I seem to be in a flat spin. This is particularly frustrating after a great August that saw me making steady gains throughout the month. With no DirecTV service yet (screw you installers) I am spending a lot of free time mashing buttons and getting the shock. No banana. Stupid monkey, when will I learn?
Baahh Humbug.
Baahh Humbug.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Unpacked (Almost)
Had some time for poker today and it was not nice to me. I think I played well, but I could not win a HU SNG if my life depended on it and my one MTT was 1 hour and 26 mins for nothing. My JJ could not win the race against the maniac that hit a three outer on the river earlier against me to stay in. Funny how that catches up more often than not. The guy that should have been on the rail survives his all in with me and then proceeds to knock me out later in the tourney.
One thing I enjoyed in this MTT, and I have to thank Hoyazo for, was playing my pocket pairs. I utilized his treatise on playing middle pairs and raised them 3x BB regardless of position and it went well for me. A great example is when I had pocket 8's late in the tourney and raised to 3600 UTG +1. In the past I might have limped with these hoping to hit a flop but this time my raise won the blinds and the antes. I raised all my PP 3x and almost any hand I was playing and this really helped to disguise my monsters and my hammers. Looking at my stats in the disappointing final table money miss, I think I might have played a little too tight. I was hot early on and was chip leader most of the first hour. I checked my stats after the break and I was only 14% VPIP according to Party which means I was closer to 10%. Pretty tight. This is good, as I have been working on that, but that is probably why I finished out side of the money.
Actually, poker has pretty much sucked since the move, but what else am I going to do? I have no tv service yet (not until the 14th..don't ask, but DirecTV can bite my ass) and you can only arrange so much crap. After dropping half a G at Ikea, at least I have a place to keep all my clothes and I have lights in each room. Pretty much, moving into an apartment after living in a house.... sucks. On the bright side I am now 14.4 miles from the office and there is a ton of shit nearby the new homestead. I got my haircut, purchased groceries, had pizza delivered, and found some nice dog walking less than a mile from the Steelerhome. Curious how I will feel when it is winter here.
Ironic that DNasty is in MI this week but we will not see each other. He is in the woods have man sex with his brother or something. They call it "camping up north" but I think I know the real deal. I might have to re-develop my passion for sleeping and eating without walls and roof but 3 years stationed at the National Training Center and sleeping under the stars for 2 weeks out of every month kinda killed that desire. It did develop a knack for knowing how to shit outside and which MRE's were the best, but not so much a desire to rough it. Anyway, I hope DNasty is smart and uses protection...
from mosquitoes.
Before I go iron something for my first day in my new office, let me worry publicly about Big Ben and his appendectomy that will cause him to miss the opener. I am not a Batch hater (which is against the grain in my new locale), there is something about Ben that just wins games. Charlie might get it done, but I have less faith/hope that the defending Super Bowl Champs will start the season with a win. I wonder what this is doing to the line at Mansion.
Have a good week all and make HighonPoker's Poker.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)