Well, I finally have a chance to post some pictures of my car. She's a beauty, ain't she?
What a way to end my sabbatical...crashing the car I just bought no more than a month ago.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
WEMT Course, Caro's Game, ASOP
This course is super intense, classes are 8-5 M-F, and an additional 6-9 on T & Th. This final week is full of testing after one day of touring local EMSs. I'm excited to be getting 9 college credits for it, assuming I pass, all crammed into one month. I'm also excited to have been exposed to this field and have the opportunity to be an EMT or Ski Patrol, and to just generally feel confident in outdoors situations guiding or whatnot.
I'm also getting really excited to move to Tahoe and finally be settled, it's been a long 3 months "on the road." I'm looking forward to starting school back up, grinding out a couple classes, a ton of poker, and fitting in some skiing when I can.
So this course has been limiting my poker play quite a bit. I have played maybe 3 hours online in the non-existent free time I have, just a little $1/$2, and have won a few buyins. I also was informed about a game taking place at a bar in the town of Jackson Hole, and I decided to check it out. It was also $1/$2, and I swear the players there were the same ones whose pictures were taken for Caro's famous Book of Tells. It was pretty fun, I sat down with $300 and walked away with $656 after 2.5 hours of play. There was one woman in the game who was playing every hand. She first outflopped my QQ with KQ, then my KK with an A hi flop and she shoved the turn, another A. I didn't see her hand but I'm pretty confident it was the correct fold.
Finally, she limped UTG, a nervous player in MP made it $10 to go, I called OTB with ATo, and the woman UTG obviously called as well. Flop came T33 with two clubs. She leads out $15, the PFR flats, and I decide she's got a weaker ten, and he's got AK or a pair lower than tens, because I don't give a player credit in this kind of game for flatting with an overpair on that kind of board, so I bumped it up to $60. She instacalls, and the PFR's chest starts pounding. I'm thinking, "Okay, I guess if he doesn't fold he's got the overpair or TT, I give him enough credit for an easy fold of the AK." He ends up folding as he exclaims, "God Damnit!" Turn comes Jh, she checks, I shove, she deliberates and calls. The river comes another A, she turns over T9 and I scoop the pot with aces up. The PFR showed his KK after the hand, no comment.
The only other notable hand was when there were scattered limpers and I rapped the table in BB with A7h. The flop came AT6 with two spades, and I checked. A LP limper led out $5, the button flatted, I decided I definitely had the best hand and raised to $25. The first bettor folded, and the button instaflatted, so I put him on a draw. The turn was a 3d, so I led for another $40 (I wish I had led for more but I overthought things a little in the moment and wanted to try to keep the pot reasonable) and he instacalled again. The river brought the innocuous 5c so I of course checked to induce a bet, and he obliged with a $50 bullet that I proudly snapped off without a second thought.
I just now set the date for the annual Alexandria Series of Poker. It's always fun to get together with old friends at holiday times and rejoice as I strike them. :) This year is a little different because I'm going to match the prize pool and donate that amount to a charity of the winner's choice. I've been wanting to give back from poker for a long time and I've slacked on taking action.
I'm also getting really excited to move to Tahoe and finally be settled, it's been a long 3 months "on the road." I'm looking forward to starting school back up, grinding out a couple classes, a ton of poker, and fitting in some skiing when I can.
So this course has been limiting my poker play quite a bit. I have played maybe 3 hours online in the non-existent free time I have, just a little $1/$2, and have won a few buyins. I also was informed about a game taking place at a bar in the town of Jackson Hole, and I decided to check it out. It was also $1/$2, and I swear the players there were the same ones whose pictures were taken for Caro's famous Book of Tells. It was pretty fun, I sat down with $300 and walked away with $656 after 2.5 hours of play. There was one woman in the game who was playing every hand. She first outflopped my QQ with KQ, then my KK with an A hi flop and she shoved the turn, another A. I didn't see her hand but I'm pretty confident it was the correct fold.
Finally, she limped UTG, a nervous player in MP made it $10 to go, I called OTB with ATo, and the woman UTG obviously called as well. Flop came T33 with two clubs. She leads out $15, the PFR flats, and I decide she's got a weaker ten, and he's got AK or a pair lower than tens, because I don't give a player credit in this kind of game for flatting with an overpair on that kind of board, so I bumped it up to $60. She instacalls, and the PFR's chest starts pounding. I'm thinking, "Okay, I guess if he doesn't fold he's got the overpair or TT, I give him enough credit for an easy fold of the AK." He ends up folding as he exclaims, "God Damnit!" Turn comes Jh, she checks, I shove, she deliberates and calls. The river comes another A, she turns over T9 and I scoop the pot with aces up. The PFR showed his KK after the hand, no comment.
The only other notable hand was when there were scattered limpers and I rapped the table in BB with A7h. The flop came AT6 with two spades, and I checked. A LP limper led out $5, the button flatted, I decided I definitely had the best hand and raised to $25. The first bettor folded, and the button instaflatted, so I put him on a draw. The turn was a 3d, so I led for another $40 (I wish I had led for more but I overthought things a little in the moment and wanted to try to keep the pot reasonable) and he instacalled again. The river brought the innocuous 5c so I of course checked to induce a bet, and he obliged with a $50 bullet that I proudly snapped off without a second thought.
I just now set the date for the annual Alexandria Series of Poker. It's always fun to get together with old friends at holiday times and rejoice as I strike them. :) This year is a little different because I'm going to match the prize pool and donate that amount to a charity of the winner's choice. I've been wanting to give back from poker for a long time and I've slacked on taking action.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Road Trip!
Mad and I spent last night in Las Vegas. We stayed at Palace Station, a little ways off the strip, but just about the best hotel you could ever get for $45. Plus, who cares about being off the strip when you have a brand new car to take you to the strip!? Anyways, we went first to Mandalay Bay where we dined at House of Blues, then I dabbled in craps as Mad looked on. I was up and down and up and down until finally an obnoxious guy came over and bet on the darkside, and then it was all down, $210.
We drove down the block to the New York New York and rode the roller coaster, which was a blast. Afterwards, we proceeded to the Venetian where I played $1/$2 for about an hour, lost $128, biggest pot I lost was with KQo in sb. A player in EMP, with whom I'd already had one confrontation of which I was the victor, raised to $10, two players called including the button, I called, and the four of us saw the flop: K64 rainbow. I went into check/call mode, $20 on the flop, $30 on the turn (7s adding the flush draw) and $50 on the river (offsuit J), the other two players quit after PFR's first bet. I did feel that I was likely beat as I can't beat much other than a bluff, especially since if he did have KJ he was now ahead. However, considering we had one confrontation already and I figured him to be an aggressive player, I thought I was strong enough to look him up. My biggest mistake in the hand was probably the preflop call, but I think my subsequent play was fine/standard. He turned over two Aces and dragged the pot.
I followed those two stellar performances up with a speedy exit in the 12:30am nightly $150 tourney at Harrah's, right nextdoor. I was literally plugging my ears to block out the middle aged drunk hicks at my table, only reminding me why online poker>live poker. I suppose I got a litte impatient, but again I was confident about my edge on my opponents, so after playing it tight for a while, I got a little frisky with my QhJs in MP, limping in after two others. The button limped and we saw the flop: J84 all hearts! When four players checked to me, I fired out 300, the button flatted, the first limper flatted, and we saw the turn, which I was planning on checking almost regardless of what it was. Unfortunately, it was the Qc, giving me now two pair and a decent heart draw. The button had been solid, but for whatever reason I couldn't give him credit for having slowplayed. I fired out 1000 and he raised all in for 1400 more. I never plan on making a Hellmuth-esque fold in this spot, but I wonder how loose his range really is here? It obviously didn't feel good, and it felt a lot worse when he turned over KThh, leaving me 4 outs, none of which decided to make an appearance on the river. I hung around as a shortstack until finally my A4 fell to 33.
Not a very lucky night in Vegas, but I had fun!
In the morning, we got on the road and made it to Salt Lake City around 8:30, where Mad had contacted a co-worker from ARCC who had been generous enough to offer us a place to stay. We got to see a fair bit of the city, got a bite to eat, and now are resting up before finishing up the drive tomorrow.
We drove down the block to the New York New York and rode the roller coaster, which was a blast. Afterwards, we proceeded to the Venetian where I played $1/$2 for about an hour, lost $128, biggest pot I lost was with KQo in sb. A player in EMP, with whom I'd already had one confrontation of which I was the victor, raised to $10, two players called including the button, I called, and the four of us saw the flop: K64 rainbow. I went into check/call mode, $20 on the flop, $30 on the turn (7s adding the flush draw) and $50 on the river (offsuit J), the other two players quit after PFR's first bet. I did feel that I was likely beat as I can't beat much other than a bluff, especially since if he did have KJ he was now ahead. However, considering we had one confrontation already and I figured him to be an aggressive player, I thought I was strong enough to look him up. My biggest mistake in the hand was probably the preflop call, but I think my subsequent play was fine/standard. He turned over two Aces and dragged the pot.
I followed those two stellar performances up with a speedy exit in the 12:30am nightly $150 tourney at Harrah's, right nextdoor. I was literally plugging my ears to block out the middle aged drunk hicks at my table, only reminding me why online poker>live poker. I suppose I got a litte impatient, but again I was confident about my edge on my opponents, so after playing it tight for a while, I got a little frisky with my QhJs in MP, limping in after two others. The button limped and we saw the flop: J84 all hearts! When four players checked to me, I fired out 300, the button flatted, the first limper flatted, and we saw the turn, which I was planning on checking almost regardless of what it was. Unfortunately, it was the Qc, giving me now two pair and a decent heart draw. The button had been solid, but for whatever reason I couldn't give him credit for having slowplayed. I fired out 1000 and he raised all in for 1400 more. I never plan on making a Hellmuth-esque fold in this spot, but I wonder how loose his range really is here? It obviously didn't feel good, and it felt a lot worse when he turned over KThh, leaving me 4 outs, none of which decided to make an appearance on the river. I hung around as a shortstack until finally my A4 fell to 33.
Not a very lucky night in Vegas, but I had fun!
In the morning, we got on the road and made it to Salt Lake City around 8:30, where Mad had contacted a co-worker from ARCC who had been generous enough to offer us a place to stay. We got to see a fair bit of the city, got a bite to eat, and now are resting up before finishing up the drive tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Live and Die in LA
Phase II has been a big week for me back in the states. Mad's car was certainly performing at a very mediocre level, making us a bit weary about the road trip we had planned through the wintry mountains. We decided to change plans, she sold her car and I decided to buy my own, which I had planned to do in San Francisco in January, en route to moving to Tahoe, but this way I will have that portion of my move out of the way, and Mad and I will be stress and hassle free on our road trip, which has now been significantly shortened by the car buying process.
Our plan to start The Abs Diet this week was thwarted by the tremendous number of options for dining out in LA, which we've done for just about every meal thus far, nice life, IMO. Anna, Mad's former roommate, has a friend named Miles who works on the show Real Time with Bill Maher, and incredibly, Miles got us tickets to see the season finale show, televised live. The show featured Ashton Kutcher, P. Diddy, Jon Meacham (editor of Newsweek), and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). The show was really a fun experience and very educational as well. Last night we went to Upright Citizens Brigade comedy club to see a show with a variety of comediens who were mostly hit or miss, but the host, Brody Stevens--who I swear was hammered, but Mad begs to differ--was hilarious.
I've played poker 3 nights since I've been here and have had little success. The first night I got 3rd in the $30r on AP for about $2k, offsetting a decent portion of my roughly $2500 of buyins that day. The second day I played I final tabled the evening $50 (1r+1a) on FTP. I went into the final table in 7th place, and the second or third hand in, I picked up 22 in the sb. Cutoff raised and with a little influence from a friend on AIM, I was persuaded to shove my 13ish BB stack over his 3x raise. I hate the shove only because when called I'm clearly never dominating, and in this case I was in fact crushed by his 66.
Sunday was frustrating but I felt I was much more focused and less mistake prone. I got 61st in the Stars 2nd chance, when my AK fell to AJ. Later on that evening, I found myself deep in the 11pm $109 2x which has a new blind structure since I left in October. The structure helps, but a tarnished table image doesn't, I got 12th place when at 3k/6k blinds, button 3x'd with a smallish stack, which obviously was surprising and made me a little weary of extreme strength, since he didn't just shove, but I was looking at KQs and felt it was too strong of a hand to lay down, especially since his OPR was experienced, he might just be trying to get us (the blinds) to level ourselves thinking he's strong. I shoved and was instantly called by the big blind who turned over A8o. I couldn't win the "race" (46/54), and $700 wasn't quite what I was hoping for when taking on the responsibility of a new car, but it will have to suffice.
I can think of several reasons why my results were sub-par this week. First I suppose I should start by saying that 3 losing days is hardly sub-par when it comes to tournament poker, but based on the month I had in September, let's just say my expectations were high.
I saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire, a sort of grim fairy tale about an Indian boy who gets a chance to be on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and knows answers to the questions from childhood experiences. I saw the film at ArcLight, which is a very modern movie theater showing a wide variety of movies; we are in Hollywood, afterall. I hope the movie gets a lot of publicity, I highly recommend it.
Our plan to start The Abs Diet this week was thwarted by the tremendous number of options for dining out in LA, which we've done for just about every meal thus far, nice life, IMO. Anna, Mad's former roommate, has a friend named Miles who works on the show Real Time with Bill Maher, and incredibly, Miles got us tickets to see the season finale show, televised live. The show featured Ashton Kutcher, P. Diddy, Jon Meacham (editor of Newsweek), and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). The show was really a fun experience and very educational as well. Last night we went to Upright Citizens Brigade comedy club to see a show with a variety of comediens who were mostly hit or miss, but the host, Brody Stevens--who I swear was hammered, but Mad begs to differ--was hilarious.
I've played poker 3 nights since I've been here and have had little success. The first night I got 3rd in the $30r on AP for about $2k, offsetting a decent portion of my roughly $2500 of buyins that day. The second day I played I final tabled the evening $50 (1r+1a) on FTP. I went into the final table in 7th place, and the second or third hand in, I picked up 22 in the sb. Cutoff raised and with a little influence from a friend on AIM, I was persuaded to shove my 13ish BB stack over his 3x raise. I hate the shove only because when called I'm clearly never dominating, and in this case I was in fact crushed by his 66.
Sunday was frustrating but I felt I was much more focused and less mistake prone. I got 61st in the Stars 2nd chance, when my AK fell to AJ. Later on that evening, I found myself deep in the 11pm $109 2x which has a new blind structure since I left in October. The structure helps, but a tarnished table image doesn't, I got 12th place when at 3k/6k blinds, button 3x'd with a smallish stack, which obviously was surprising and made me a little weary of extreme strength, since he didn't just shove, but I was looking at KQs and felt it was too strong of a hand to lay down, especially since his OPR was experienced, he might just be trying to get us (the blinds) to level ourselves thinking he's strong. I shoved and was instantly called by the big blind who turned over A8o. I couldn't win the "race" (46/54), and $700 wasn't quite what I was hoping for when taking on the responsibility of a new car, but it will have to suffice.
I can think of several reasons why my results were sub-par this week. First I suppose I should start by saying that 3 losing days is hardly sub-par when it comes to tournament poker, but based on the month I had in September, let's just say my expectations were high.
- Rust - Having just returned to the states from a different world, jumping right back into my usual routine of 30+ tournaments in a day was maybe not the best idea, but I really liked the benefits of playing that many tournaments and was in a good routine before I left.
- Stress - With the prospect of buying a new car and all the implications going along with that and being in an unsettled and distracting environment rather than a home base were two factors that definitely accounted for sub-optimal playing.
- The "What can this money buy?" syndrome - I've read time and again how you have to desensitize yourself to money and you can't sit at the table and think, "Oh man, if I win this tourney, I could buy a new car!" I always thought that was such a random hypothetical situation, but I realized as I was playing I was very hopeful to win one of the many tournaments I was playing where first place was equal to or significantly greater than the total cost of the car!
I saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire, a sort of grim fairy tale about an Indian boy who gets a chance to be on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and knows answers to the questions from childhood experiences. I saw the film at ArcLight, which is a very modern movie theater showing a wide variety of movies; we are in Hollywood, afterall. I hope the movie gets a lot of publicity, I highly recommend it.
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