My parents are the hardest people for me to buy gifts for. If either of them sees anything they want, they buy it. I am the same way, so now I know how hard it is to get me a gift....
Every year I spend a ton of time looking for one or two good Christmas presents for them. Usually I end up with something that is just OK in my book, but it's the thought that counts right? I decided to do as much of my xmas shopping for this year online as I could. Somewhere in there I managed to find a gift I was excited to get for my parents. It was something I know they'd love and, just as important, something they would never think to buy themselves. So I add it to my Amazon cart and purchase it, along with a few gifts for Sarah.
Fast forward a week or so. I have everything I ordered for Sarah, yet the mom and dad gift that was supposed to ship with Sarah's stuff is still en route. Or so I thought. At 1:24 am this morning they sent me an e-mail letting me know that even though they guaranteed I'd have it by the 24th, it was not in stock and they had to cancel it from my order. Five days before Christmas.
So for once, I don't procrastinate and I still get to mill around with all the idiots looking for last minute gifts in the malls around here.
Last week, someone at work offered up an innovative idea on how to relieve stress. If you need to talk to me any time soon, I'll be out looking for some pigeons to kick.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Changes
When I got home from work today, I decided I would play 3 or 5 heads up matches and see if I got winner or not before pressing on. Upon opening Full Tilt, I got a new update. Probably something I won't even notice I thought. Ha! This update added a rematch option for heads up SNGs. BRILLIANT! How many times have you outplayed someone heads up only to lose to a suckout or complete crap luck and hurried back to the menu to try and catch that player again before someone else got the chance to take YOUR money from him/her?
I know I have had this happen quite a few times, often missing the person I wanted to play and getting someone else much better as I kept my eye on the player who was busy giving away my money. Needless to say, I thought this addition was great. At first. I posted a 15-11 (.577) record for the day heads up, but that included 4 consecutive losses to someone that I really thought I was outplaying. When I finally beat him in the fifth match, he declined my offer for a rematch. Ugh. I found him right away and sat down in another HU game with him and asked, politely, why he didn't let me have a chance to win back my money after I rematched him every time he won. His answer didn't satisfy me, and I ended up dismantling him pretty quickly and, of course, politely before he "headed off to dinner". I'm still down 2-4 to this guy, but will definitely be looking for him very soon to pull my money back out of his pockets.
Other than that little hiccup, I am very happy with my play and results today. 2-4 against him and 13-7 (.650) against the rest of my opponents. I spent way too much time and energy in the process, but I did end the day up a couple SNG buy-ins after the rake, and got pretty hot at the right time on a limit table in the process. I think I spent about 45 minutes playing two cash games while playing my heads up matches, and in about 20 minutes on the one table I was up 1.5 buy ins....in a limit game. Small stakes may be a big headache for the amount of money you win, but the skill level is still terrible and the tables often produce a decent profit for a good player. Not to mention, it gives me a lot of material for my Low Limit Hand of the Week.
I know I have had this happen quite a few times, often missing the person I wanted to play and getting someone else much better as I kept my eye on the player who was busy giving away my money. Needless to say, I thought this addition was great. At first. I posted a 15-11 (.577) record for the day heads up, but that included 4 consecutive losses to someone that I really thought I was outplaying. When I finally beat him in the fifth match, he declined my offer for a rematch. Ugh. I found him right away and sat down in another HU game with him and asked, politely, why he didn't let me have a chance to win back my money after I rematched him every time he won. His answer didn't satisfy me, and I ended up dismantling him pretty quickly and, of course, politely before he "headed off to dinner". I'm still down 2-4 to this guy, but will definitely be looking for him very soon to pull my money back out of his pockets.
Other than that little hiccup, I am very happy with my play and results today. 2-4 against him and 13-7 (.650) against the rest of my opponents. I spent way too much time and energy in the process, but I did end the day up a couple SNG buy-ins after the rake, and got pretty hot at the right time on a limit table in the process. I think I spent about 45 minutes playing two cash games while playing my heads up matches, and in about 20 minutes on the one table I was up 1.5 buy ins....in a limit game. Small stakes may be a big headache for the amount of money you win, but the skill level is still terrible and the tables often produce a decent profit for a good player. Not to mention, it gives me a lot of material for my Low Limit Hand of the Week.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
In Dreams v2.0
Not much in the way of details for my dreams last night, but one thing did stick out to me. I was either the manager or owner of a local bar/brewery. We found a niche market.....a VERY niche market. Our best selling beer was made with a certain group of people in mind. This beer was made specifically for homosexual Jewish males and was a kosher pale ale called He-Brew.
Monday, November 12, 2007
In Dreams
It's no secret that I often have trouble sleeping. By nature I am a night owl. By work schedule I am an early riser. Those two things don't always work well with each other. Saturday night/Sunday morning I didn't go to bed until about 6 am....24 hours before I had to be at work the next day. Somehow in that 24 hours I had to find a way to get two full nights of sleep. Easier said than done.
I set an alarm to get me up around 11 on Sunday to do all my NFL picks and manage my FFL teams. It seems that in a couple weeks I won't have to worry about any of that as I am pretty sure to miss the playoffs in all three of my leagues, and my NFL picks are just sucking ass this year. Oh well.
So last night I get to bed at a decent hour after a nice meal with my girlfriend's family. Full stomach, tired....I should have slept really well. But when does that happen on a Sunday? I tossed and turned all night but did get some sleep in there somewhere, because I remember a couple dreams. The one that sticks out the most is the one I probably remember the fewest details from, but the one big thing I remember was very strange. Strange enough to make me realize it was a dream while I was still dreaming it.
Long story short, a bunch of my friends and I were hanging out at my house (which is usually the house I grew up in when I am dreaming) before we went out to the bar. When we went outside to drive to the bar, we all ended up "driving" separately because we were all piloting our own beds. We all laid face down on single mattresses on bed frames that rolled, and paddled with our arms like we were on surfboards. Navigating the neighborhood was no big deal, but when we got to a busier road, I started to wonder how all of us were going to paddle at like .5 mph when the speed limit was 45 mph.
I was the second bed at the stop sign turning right on to the road, and when the guy in front of me took off at like 50 mph (with bad Star Trek FX even) I realized that it was a dream and woke up. I was somewhat disappointed that I woke up at that time, because every now and then I realize I am dreaming when I am in a dream and go along with it. It's very cool to be in control of a dream.
Also at one point last night I woke up from a dream because I could smell something. I don't know if I have ever noticed whether or not my sense of smell is active in a dream before, but it kind of freaked me out when it happened last night. It was so real that I have a scent memory of it.
Hopefully sometime tomorrow I will remember to look into the whole "smell while dreaming" thing, but that will have to wait as my weird ass dreams are calling me to bed once again.
I set an alarm to get me up around 11 on Sunday to do all my NFL picks and manage my FFL teams. It seems that in a couple weeks I won't have to worry about any of that as I am pretty sure to miss the playoffs in all three of my leagues, and my NFL picks are just sucking ass this year. Oh well.
So last night I get to bed at a decent hour after a nice meal with my girlfriend's family. Full stomach, tired....I should have slept really well. But when does that happen on a Sunday? I tossed and turned all night but did get some sleep in there somewhere, because I remember a couple dreams. The one that sticks out the most is the one I probably remember the fewest details from, but the one big thing I remember was very strange. Strange enough to make me realize it was a dream while I was still dreaming it.
Long story short, a bunch of my friends and I were hanging out at my house (which is usually the house I grew up in when I am dreaming) before we went out to the bar. When we went outside to drive to the bar, we all ended up "driving" separately because we were all piloting our own beds. We all laid face down on single mattresses on bed frames that rolled, and paddled with our arms like we were on surfboards. Navigating the neighborhood was no big deal, but when we got to a busier road, I started to wonder how all of us were going to paddle at like .5 mph when the speed limit was 45 mph.
I was the second bed at the stop sign turning right on to the road, and when the guy in front of me took off at like 50 mph (with bad Star Trek FX even) I realized that it was a dream and woke up. I was somewhat disappointed that I woke up at that time, because every now and then I realize I am dreaming when I am in a dream and go along with it. It's very cool to be in control of a dream.
Also at one point last night I woke up from a dream because I could smell something. I don't know if I have ever noticed whether or not my sense of smell is active in a dream before, but it kind of freaked me out when it happened last night. It was so real that I have a scent memory of it.
Hopefully sometime tomorrow I will remember to look into the whole "smell while dreaming" thing, but that will have to wait as my weird ass dreams are calling me to bed once again.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Evil
While cleaning the house the weekend before last I came across some things I forgot I still had. Things that I meant to throw away. Things that reminded me of a time a few years back when I wasn't as nice of a person as I am today. Reminders of some purely evil things I had done. Things I'll never discuss.
It's scary to know that I justified everything that I did. It was rather easy to do actually because nothing I did was illegal, and that used to be something that I relied on as a moral compass. The law. Kind of laughable really.
When I found these things, I was very surprised that I hadn't gotten rid of them. Why would I want to keep them? I set them aside to make sure I got rid of them. Then....I packed them away again. I decided that it might be a good idea to keep them around. I don't see how it could be bad to remind myself of things I used to do that I never want to be able to justify again.
It's scary to know that I justified everything that I did. It was rather easy to do actually because nothing I did was illegal, and that used to be something that I relied on as a moral compass. The law. Kind of laughable really.
When I found these things, I was very surprised that I hadn't gotten rid of them. Why would I want to keep them? I set them aside to make sure I got rid of them. Then....I packed them away again. I decided that it might be a good idea to keep them around. I don't see how it could be bad to remind myself of things I used to do that I never want to be able to justify again.
Friday, November 09, 2007
I'm It?
Somewhere during my little bday break I was tagged by JamyHawk. I've never been one to play along with these types of reindeer games, but I don't see what would stop me now that I am making an honest effort to be an active part of the community once more.
Although I am going to go along with this, it's going to have to wait a day or two....and since I haven't really been reading blogs lately, I doubt I will end up tagging any poker bloggers. What a shame huh?
Although I am going to go along with this, it's going to have to wait a day or two....and since I haven't really been reading blogs lately, I doubt I will end up tagging any poker bloggers. What a shame huh?
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Birthday
So I took a few days off or birthday celebration stuff. Got some cool gifts, got too much food and dessert.
I have, however, discovered an equation that I never knew existed.
Crunch Berries = Love
I have, however, discovered an equation that I never knew existed.
Crunch Berries = Love
Sunday, November 04, 2007
NFL Week 9
I had thought about doing a nice write up on a handful of games that I'd be betting on if it wasn't such a pain in the ass to do so where I live....but I am going to be happy enough just watching the Indy/NE game at 4 o'clock, so we'll have to save that for some other time.
I say NE takes it 28-24.
Grab some popcorn and enjoy.
I say NE takes it 28-24.
Grab some popcorn and enjoy.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
I Could Get Used to This....
My birthday isn't actually until Monday, but the celebrations started yesterday at work with a home made birthday cake of my choosing. Tonight is a night of drinking and gaming fun at the big boy Chuck E Cheese in Novi known as Lucky's. My birthday may actually be the lamest day of birthday celebration for me this year....
Friday, November 02, 2007
My Editor is an Ass
I'm making a serious attempt at getting at least one post up here or at my other blog every day this month and next month. I've been an on and off blogger for more than a couple years, but most of that time has been spent in shut down. I always have a lot to say, and blogs are a wonderful tool for the average guy to get his viewpoint out there....I am just too lazy to post as often as I should.
Actually, that's not the whole story. The truth is I am an asshole of an editor. Nothing is ever good enough for me. Couple that with being a writer with a somewhat fragile ego, and I am truly my own worst enemy when it comes to writing anything. For the next couple months, though, my writer-self and editor-self have agreed on a truce. Hopefully this will help me get more content out there.
Quick note: My birthday celebration is tomorrow night. We're starting off at Lucky's in Novi, and I am sure we'll end up somewhere else later in the night. If anyone is interested in joining these festivities, let me know and I can give you the details.
Actually, that's not the whole story. The truth is I am an asshole of an editor. Nothing is ever good enough for me. Couple that with being a writer with a somewhat fragile ego, and I am truly my own worst enemy when it comes to writing anything. For the next couple months, though, my writer-self and editor-self have agreed on a truce. Hopefully this will help me get more content out there.
Quick note: My birthday celebration is tomorrow night. We're starting off at Lucky's in Novi, and I am sure we'll end up somewhere else later in the night. If anyone is interested in joining these festivities, let me know and I can give you the details.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Day One
My first "must blog" day of my own little two month challenge and I have already put myself behind the 8 ball. My sleep habits have left me very little time to get anything up here, but something is better than nothing. The next few days will be very busy for me, so I'll be sure to post but I am not sure the quality of those posts will be up to par. I'll just consider this weekend a warm-up of sorts for next week when I start talking about something(s) with substance.
Or I'll just rant about my bad poker luck like usual....
Or I'll just rant about my bad poker luck like usual....
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
This token post should be followed up by an outright barrage of posts the next couple of months. I am going to try to take this blogging thing seriously once more and see if I can get a post up just about every day for the rest of the year.
More soon, stay tuned.
More soon, stay tuned.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Scott Weiland Loves His Bullhorn
Friday, July 27, 2007
Long Time Coming
It's been quite a while since I've posted anything of substance here. I'm not going to change that just yet, but it's been even longer since I posted a silly picture of my dog....so here goes.
Guinness says:
"Michael Vick is a good guy....FOR ME TO POOP ON!"
"Michael Vick is a good guy....FOR ME TO POOP ON!"
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Briefly
This is why I love HU SNGs on Full Tilt.
Full Tilt Poker Game #2705422933: $11 + $0.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (20629860), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:35:48 ET - 2007/06/18
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Table_Max [6s 8s]
Table_Max calls 15
Opponent raises to 90
Table_Max calls 60
*** FLOP *** [3d Jd Ts]
Opponent bets 90
Table_Max calls 90
*** TURN *** [3d Jd Ts] [3h]
Opponent bets 90
Table_Max raises to 270
Opponent calls 180
*** RIVER *** [3d Jd Ts 3h] [Jh]
Opponent checks
Table_Max bets 750
Opponent folds
Uncalled bet of 750 returned to Table_Max
Table_Max mucks
Table_Max wins the pot (900)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 900 | Rake 0
Board: [3d Jd Ts 3h Jh]
Seat 1: Opponent (big blind) folded on the River
Seat 2: Table_Max (small blind) collected (900), mucked
Full Tilt Poker Game #2705430713: $11 + $0.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (20629860), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:36:30 ET - 2007/06/18
Seat 1: Opponent (1,050)
Seat 2: Table_Max (1,950)
Opponent posts the small blind of 15
Table_Max posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Table_Max [Td 4h]
Opponent calls 15
Table_Max checks
*** FLOP *** [7s 8h 6c]
Table_Max bets 30
Opponent calls 30
*** TURN *** [7s 8h 6c] [2c]
Table_Max bets 60
Opponent calls 60
*** RIVER *** [7s 8h 6c 2c] [9h]
Table_Max bets 240
Opponent raises to 480
Table_Max raises to 1,830, and is all in
Opponent has 15 seconds left to act
Opponent calls 450, and is all in
Uncalled bet of 900 returned to Table_Max
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Table_Max shows [Td 4h] a straight, Ten high
Opponent mucks
Table_Max wins the pot (2,100) with a straight, Ten high
Table_Max: gg
Opponent stands up
Table_Max stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,100 | Rake 0
Board: [7s 8h 6c 2c 9h]
Seat 1: Opponent (small blind) mucked [5d Ah] - a straight, Nine high
Seat 2: Table_Max (big blind) showed [Td 4h] and won (2,100) with a straight, Ten high
Yep, two hands. This happens a lot more than you would think....
Full Tilt Poker Game #2705422933: $11 + $0.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (20629860), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:35:48 ET - 2007/06/18
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Table_Max [6s 8s]
Table_Max calls 15
Opponent raises to 90
Table_Max calls 60
*** FLOP *** [3d Jd Ts]
Opponent bets 90
Table_Max calls 90
*** TURN *** [3d Jd Ts] [3h]
Opponent bets 90
Table_Max raises to 270
Opponent calls 180
*** RIVER *** [3d Jd Ts 3h] [Jh]
Opponent checks
Table_Max bets 750
Opponent folds
Uncalled bet of 750 returned to Table_Max
Table_Max mucks
Table_Max wins the pot (900)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 900 | Rake 0
Board: [3d Jd Ts 3h Jh]
Seat 1: Opponent (big blind) folded on the River
Seat 2: Table_Max (small blind) collected (900), mucked
Full Tilt Poker Game #2705430713: $11 + $0.50 Heads Up Sit & Go (20629860), Table 1 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:36:30 ET - 2007/06/18
Seat 1: Opponent (1,050)
Seat 2: Table_Max (1,950)
Opponent posts the small blind of 15
Table_Max posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Table_Max [Td 4h]
Opponent calls 15
Table_Max checks
*** FLOP *** [7s 8h 6c]
Table_Max bets 30
Opponent calls 30
*** TURN *** [7s 8h 6c] [2c]
Table_Max bets 60
Opponent calls 60
*** RIVER *** [7s 8h 6c 2c] [9h]
Table_Max bets 240
Opponent raises to 480
Table_Max raises to 1,830, and is all in
Opponent has 15 seconds left to act
Opponent calls 450, and is all in
Uncalled bet of 900 returned to Table_Max
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Table_Max shows [Td 4h] a straight, Ten high
Opponent mucks
Table_Max wins the pot (2,100) with a straight, Ten high
Table_Max: gg
Opponent stands up
Table_Max stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,100 | Rake 0
Board: [7s 8h 6c 2c 9h]
Seat 1: Opponent (small blind) mucked [5d Ah] - a straight, Nine high
Seat 2: Table_Max (big blind) showed [Td 4h] and won (2,100) with a straight, Ten high
Yep, two hands. This happens a lot more than you would think....
Friday, May 18, 2007
Trifecta Therapy
Insomnia has made an unwelcome return to my life this week. It has been creeping up on me for a few weeks, making a surprise appearance here and there, but this week is the longest bout I’ve had to deal with in quite a while.
Years ago I battled it long and hard, after living with it for several months. Actually at that point in my life it wasn’t so bad. I was still in school, working full time, and had a more than full time girlfriend. Time was at a premium then, and walking around like a zombie for days on end was probably very good for my relationship at the time.
When school settled down a bit and my work schedule was cut I figured the insomnia would die down. After a couple weeks I realized it wasn’t going anywhere and looked for answers. It seems there are a ton of “experts” who have foolproof ways to fight insomnia, or maybe it was a ton of fools with expertproof ways. Either way, I tried most of them. Some seemed very plausible, eating or drinking certain things at certain times of the day made a lot of sense to me Give your body what it needs when it needs it, and this should help restore your circadian rhythm. Others seemed ridiculous, like taping a coin to each of my temples and covering them by wrapping a tube sock around my head, but it seemed I should try them just in case. No luck with the dozens of “cures” I tried.
After many months I found that a balanced diet, lots of time in the gym, and a very active sex life combined to be the best way for me to treat my problem. Even with other issues stressing me out at the time, these three things kept me sleeping well night after night.
In the last few months I have been more active, and have been eating a healthier diet than I had been for quite a while. My stress levels have been low, and I am very happy in my personal life. This week has been somewhat of a break from that. My stress levels have risen and I haven’t been as active as usual, partially due to the weather, which should change this weekend. And now not only is my sleep affected, but I also have this amazing bouncing knee that won’t stop anytime I am sitting in a chair. I’m a zombie with restless leg syndrome.
I know that I need to continue to pursue my insomnia treatment trifecta, and I really hope this weekend will do a lot to get me back on track. Maybe by Sunday night I’ll be in bed at a normal hour getting some much needed rest. Or maybe I’ll just play in the blogger Big Game and/or the FTOPS ME which has more than a quarter million dollar payout for the winner. That would definitely help me sleep better at night.
Speaking of poker, I think I need to find the time to enter a live tourney or at least get a home poker night together with some friends soon. I’ve been playing exclusively online all this year. I haven’t played a serious hand of live poker all year. I like playing on Full Tilt and all, but I am mostly playing limit right now to grind the bankroll to a respectable level and, like I always said about dealing black jack when I was at MGM, I could teach a drunk monkey to do that. It’s not always fun to be on auto-pilot when I am on the digital felt, and with the problems involved with reloading online right now, I need to have a little more padding to account for variance. Smart and responsible poker isn’t always fun and entertaining poker.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Western Conference
My ramble on gene got the best of me yesterday and I didn’t have enough time to get out my thoughts on the Western Conference Finals which begin tonight when the Ducks come to Hockeytown to take on the Red Wings. The puck drops in less than 11 hours, and there are still many good seats available. It’s amazing what can happen to a team with a great fan base when ownership keeps raising ticket prices. Wasn’t there a lockout recently that led to a salary cap to help the owners from going broke? Didn’t the Wings payroll decrease by 40-50% after said lockout? How is it that I got two tickets for game 1 of the Pistons/Bulls series for 60% of what it would cost me to take my mom to a Wings game for mother’s day? Especially considering I sat only 6 rows behind Pistons owner Bill Davidson for game one, and the Wings tickets for Sunday were 18 rows from the glass in the corner. Did I mention the Pistons have sold out 181 consecutive games?
OK, enough of the anti-Illitch rant. He’s done some great things for the city of
Looks like my ramble gene is still in high gear. Sorry, it’s hereditary. But now, on to the series breakdown.
Western Conference:
#1
While I think the Eastern Conference Finals will be the most entertaining series for casual fans of the NHL to watch, I’m pretty sure the hockey snobs purists will like watching this series a lot more. Both of these teams play great defense (all three Norris Trophy finalists are playing in this series) and have good goalies with playoff experience. Giguere has won the Conn Smythe Trophy, but not a Stanley Cup, while Dominik Hasek has won six consecutive playoff series wearing the winged wheel (including our most recent Stanley Cup victory) and is playing as good at 42 as he did while winning the cup 5 years ago.
One of the first things you will notice about this year’s Red Wings team when you watch them play is that while they are still a great puck possession team they also have a lot of grit and can play a more physical game when needed. That was important in the first two series this year, and should play a major role in this series as well. The Wings are a very balanced team, and may be the most versatile in the league. At times they look unbeatable offensively and defensively, but this versatility also has its drawbacks as the Wings can look like a team without an identity from time to time and actually look a little lost in their offensive zone or on the power play.
This is not the case for
I really think this series can go either way, but the longer the series goes the better it is for the Ducks. In my opinion the Wings will have to get on
Like I said before I think this series can go either way, and as a Wings fan I’ll remain optimistic about our chances, but I really think I have to give
Pick:
Thursday, May 10, 2007
More Hockey Stuff
Two rounds and twelve teams down, two rounds and four teams left. Generally speaking, the first two rounds of the NHL playoffs are usually easy money for anyone that knows anything about the game. Case in point; I have not paid nearly as much attention to the game since the lockout that I did before it and I have gone 11-1 picking the winners in each series so far. No matter how bad I do from here on out, the worst I can be is 11-4. And that might end up being the case because I am a lot less confident about these match ups than I was about the first two rounds, but seeing as I love sports and betting on playoff games and series I’ll stick it out for the rest of the Stanley Cup run.
So now that I got the bragging about my 11-1 record in the first two rounds out of the way, twice now, here are my picks for the Conference Finals.
Eastern Conference:
#1
I’ve felt all along that
These games should be fast paced with both teams getting a lot of quality scoring chances. This could very well be the best series of the entire playoffs for the fans who aren’t hockey purists. I don’t know that the games will all be high scoring, it’s hard to tell how either goalie will handle the pressure of this series while facing a lot of tough shots. Both goalies have played very well so far, and I am really starting to respect Ray Emery’s (OTT) focus and mental toughness. That being said, I really think that Ryan Miller will be the deciding factor in this series. The kid is a puck magnet. I think he’s let up 2 rebounds so far in 11 playoff games. OK I am probably exaggerating a little here, but that’s what it seems like to me. As a shooter, you better get the puck past him on the first attempt because it’s very unlikely that puck is gonna bounce back your way.
I think this series will go six games and seem a lot tighter than it actually is. This series should be exactly what the NHL was hoping to get after tweaking the rules in recent years to open up the games a little, and therefore should be a lot more entertaining for a wider base of fans….if anyone watches that is. Two small market teams in
Pick:
Since I rambled on too long about the Eastern Conference match up, I don’t have any time left to do my Western Conference breakdown today. Look for it tomorrow.
Tonight’s picks:
Pistons +2.5
Buf/Ott OVER 5
Monday, April 30, 2007
End of the Month
Just played my last session of poker for the month of April. I have played 12 cash game sessions this month and have turned a profit in 11 of those. Most of those 11 were small wins seeing me walk away 4-10 BBs ahead from when I sat down, but all but one of those sessions lasted more than 90 minutes.
I am nowhere near being able to pay for a trip to Vegas solely with my poker winnings this year, but if I can keep my cash game tight throughout spring and into the summer I might just have to spend a week out there during the WSOP just to take advantage of the side action. With decent cards and/or luck I am pretty sure I can win more than enough to freeroll myself into one of the smaller buy-in events.
Hell, if I can book a few big wins in the coming month I might be able to move up to a limit where the money actually means something. I've still got a few leaks here and there, but my profit per hour keeps creeping up toward my hourly wage at work. Hopefully in the next couple months I'll be making more per hour with my "side job" than I am at my 9-5.
In other news, the Lions seemed to have another sub par draft this year. We really couldn't mess up the second pick as far as I am concerned, and I really like the idea of having Calvin Johnson on this team. But it seems that everyone in the war room was too busy giving each other congratulatory blowjobs the rest of the day to pay attention to who was out there that could actually help the team this year, instead of holding a clipboard as a third string QB or playing on kick coverage teams.
Other than that the weekend weather was great and it really looks like spring is finally here. I am looking forward to many a lazy afternoon on the porch watching the hilarity that is my neighborhood in the summer.
The Pistons looked good disposing of the Magic in 4 games, while Chicago did the same to the Heat. I can't wait to see what the crowd is like when the Bulls come to town for games one and two of our series.
The Red Wings looked pretty good against Calgary in the first round, but playing the Sharks is a whole different story. San Jose is a much better team than Calgary, and we suffered a couple injuries in round one that might really effect the next few games of round two. As I sit here game three in San Jose is tied 0-0 halfway through the first period, with the series tied at one game apiece.
Last but not least, my golf game still sucks....but it's not any worse than the guys I play with so I am ok. After spotting Mark and Mark three strokes on the first hole yesterday I only finished two strokes behind them for the nine holes we played. My short game failed me and I three putted on three different holes because I misread the cut and/or the speed on the green. After a few more days at the range and a couple more rounds I should be able to get a decent swing back and play well enough through the summer.
I am nowhere near being able to pay for a trip to Vegas solely with my poker winnings this year, but if I can keep my cash game tight throughout spring and into the summer I might just have to spend a week out there during the WSOP just to take advantage of the side action. With decent cards and/or luck I am pretty sure I can win more than enough to freeroll myself into one of the smaller buy-in events.
Hell, if I can book a few big wins in the coming month I might be able to move up to a limit where the money actually means something. I've still got a few leaks here and there, but my profit per hour keeps creeping up toward my hourly wage at work. Hopefully in the next couple months I'll be making more per hour with my "side job" than I am at my 9-5.
In other news, the Lions seemed to have another sub par draft this year. We really couldn't mess up the second pick as far as I am concerned, and I really like the idea of having Calvin Johnson on this team. But it seems that everyone in the war room was too busy giving each other congratulatory blowjobs the rest of the day to pay attention to who was out there that could actually help the team this year, instead of holding a clipboard as a third string QB or playing on kick coverage teams.
Other than that the weekend weather was great and it really looks like spring is finally here. I am looking forward to many a lazy afternoon on the porch watching the hilarity that is my neighborhood in the summer.
The Pistons looked good disposing of the Magic in 4 games, while Chicago did the same to the Heat. I can't wait to see what the crowd is like when the Bulls come to town for games one and two of our series.
The Red Wings looked pretty good against Calgary in the first round, but playing the Sharks is a whole different story. San Jose is a much better team than Calgary, and we suffered a couple injuries in round one that might really effect the next few games of round two. As I sit here game three in San Jose is tied 0-0 halfway through the first period, with the series tied at one game apiece.
Last but not least, my golf game still sucks....but it's not any worse than the guys I play with so I am ok. After spotting Mark and Mark three strokes on the first hole yesterday I only finished two strokes behind them for the nine holes we played. My short game failed me and I three putted on three different holes because I misread the cut and/or the speed on the green. After a few more days at the range and a couple more rounds I should be able to get a decent swing back and play well enough through the summer.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
NHL Round One Results
So I was a little off on the number of games for most of the series, but I did manage to correctly pick who would move on to the next round and who was going to be hitting the golf course early. I am not as confident in my second round picks, but here they are anyway.
Detroit vs San Jose:
With my Wings a little banged up going into our matchup against San Jose I am a little worried. With all the pressure on this team to win a playoff series, I hope that they can focus on round two now that they have finally beaten a team they are supposed to in the first round of the playoffs. Hasek has been playing well enough to carry us to the finals, and if he gets some defensive support in this series we should advance in 6 or less. Normally I would bet the Wings on the money line for game one at home in any playoff series, but I think the Sharks may come in and steal this game.
Pick: Detroit in 6
Anaheim vs Vancouver:
I think the long Dallas series will really take it's toll on Vancouver. They will be fired up for the first couple games in Anaheim, which is good, and I'd look for them to seriously push the Ducks in those games but I just think Anaheim is gonna grind them down and take the series pretty handily.
Pick: Anaheim in 5
Buffalo vs NYR:
It's no fluke that Buffalo was the best team in the regular season. Usually in the NHL that doesn't mean much in the playoffs, but I really don't see the Rangers hanging with the Sabres this series. This could be painful for NY.
Pick: Buffalo in 4
NJ vs Ottawa:
I think this will be the best series of the second round and could go either way. I really think it will come down to goaltending, and for my money there hasn't been a better pressure goalie in the NHL the last decade or so than Martin Brodeur. He looked someone average in the first couple games against Tampa Bay, but the defense shored up in front of him after that and he played very well the rest of the series. NJ could ride his play to the finals, and if they do he will almost certainly be a lock for the Conn-Smythe no matter who wins the cup.
Pick: NJ in 6
Detroit vs San Jose:
With my Wings a little banged up going into our matchup against San Jose I am a little worried. With all the pressure on this team to win a playoff series, I hope that they can focus on round two now that they have finally beaten a team they are supposed to in the first round of the playoffs. Hasek has been playing well enough to carry us to the finals, and if he gets some defensive support in this series we should advance in 6 or less. Normally I would bet the Wings on the money line for game one at home in any playoff series, but I think the Sharks may come in and steal this game.
Pick: Detroit in 6
Anaheim vs Vancouver:
I think the long Dallas series will really take it's toll on Vancouver. They will be fired up for the first couple games in Anaheim, which is good, and I'd look for them to seriously push the Ducks in those games but I just think Anaheim is gonna grind them down and take the series pretty handily.
Pick: Anaheim in 5
Buffalo vs NYR:
It's no fluke that Buffalo was the best team in the regular season. Usually in the NHL that doesn't mean much in the playoffs, but I really don't see the Rangers hanging with the Sabres this series. This could be painful for NY.
Pick: Buffalo in 4
NJ vs Ottawa:
I think this will be the best series of the second round and could go either way. I really think it will come down to goaltending, and for my money there hasn't been a better pressure goalie in the NHL the last decade or so than Martin Brodeur. He looked someone average in the first couple games against Tampa Bay, but the defense shored up in front of him after that and he played very well the rest of the series. NJ could ride his play to the finals, and if they do he will almost certainly be a lock for the Conn-Smythe no matter who wins the cup.
Pick: NJ in 6
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Today's Picks
I wanted to get more of these in this week, but hey.
Detroit -240
Det/Cal under 5
Ottawa +115
Ott/Pit under 6.5
NHL playoff games are all about match-ups and adjustments to those match-ups. Game 2 between the Wings and Flames should be relatively low scoring. I see a 2-0 or 2-1 game.
After playing a high energy game just yesterday, Ottawa and Pittsburgh should play a little tired today. Both teams need to make quite a few adjustments. I believe the Senators will implement their adjustments a lot better than the Penguins, but coming home will mean a lot to Pittsburgh. Ottawa should get on the board early to take the crowd down a notch.
Detroit -240
Det/Cal under 5
Ottawa +115
Ott/Pit under 6.5
NHL playoff games are all about match-ups and adjustments to those match-ups. Game 2 between the Wings and Flames should be relatively low scoring. I see a 2-0 or 2-1 game.
After playing a high energy game just yesterday, Ottawa and Pittsburgh should play a little tired today. Both teams need to make quite a few adjustments. I believe the Senators will implement their adjustments a lot better than the Penguins, but coming home will mean a lot to Pittsburgh. Ottawa should get on the board early to take the crowd down a notch.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
NHL First Round
I used to make brackets every year for the NHL playoffs to see how well I was really paying attention to the game throughout the year. This year I have paid little attention to the game itself and have relied more on stats to tell me about the games and match-ups. Here are my thoughts on round one.
Eastern Conference
#1 Buffalo vs #8. NY Islanders
I really don’t see the Sabres having too much of a problem with the Isles. NY may win game 3 or 4 at home, but I think that’s about it.
Pick: Buffalo in 5
#2 New Jersey vs #7 Tampa Bay
Another series where I think the lower seed is really overmatched. Martin Brodeur is a machine. 2.18 GAA this season (3rd in NHL, 1st in East) in 78 games (1st in NHL). Impressive stats for a goalie, but even more I think it’s a great indicator of how well this NJ team plays as a whole. Tampa might be able to take a game at home, but I doubt it.
Pick: NJ in 4
#3 Atlanta vs #6 NY Rangers
I really like the Rangers team this year and think that they will take this series if they get some good play in goal. I think they will steal a game in Atlanta and lock up the series in NY in game 6. If they don’t take it in six, I don’t think the win game 7 in Atlanta.
Pick: NYR in 6
#4 Ottawa vs #5 Pittsburgh
Nothing would please the NHL front office more than the Pens making it deep into the playoffs led by the great play of Sidney Crosby. I think Crosby will play well and could cause some match-up issues for the Senators, but I think Ottawa will prevail. I also think all seven games will be very close 1-2 goal difference games.
Pick: Ottawa in 7
Western Conference
#1 Detroit vs #8 Calgary
Being a Red Wing homer I always get a little too optimistic in the first round of the playoffs considering the Wings track record over the last few years. That being said, I think this team is ready for anything and barring any major injuries (keep and eye on Bertuzzi) we should take this series handily, with the possibility of a sweep. Look for Hasek to get 2 shutouts in this series.
Pick: Detroit in 5
#2 Anaheim vs #7 Minnesota
Another series that could be a sweep, but I think that Backstrom might just stand on his head in one or two games and really frustrate the Ducks. Even if he handles the playoffs as well as he handled the regular season, I don’t think he can keep his GAA under 2 in this series and it may actually end up being double that when all is said and done.
Pick: Anaheim in 5
#3 Vancouver vs #6 Dallas
I also think this series has the underdog really overmatched and Vancouver should win pretty easily.
Pick: Vancouver in 5
#4 Nashville vs #5 San Jose
This may be the most entertaining match-up in the entire first round. I think that the games will be close, could all be pretty high scoring, and it will go seven games.
Pick: San Jose in 7
Eastern Conference
#1 Buffalo vs #8. NY Islanders
I really don’t see the Sabres having too much of a problem with the Isles. NY may win game 3 or 4 at home, but I think that’s about it.
Pick: Buffalo in 5
#2 New Jersey vs #7 Tampa Bay
Another series where I think the lower seed is really overmatched. Martin Brodeur is a machine. 2.18 GAA this season (3rd in NHL, 1st in East) in 78 games (1st in NHL). Impressive stats for a goalie, but even more I think it’s a great indicator of how well this NJ team plays as a whole. Tampa might be able to take a game at home, but I doubt it.
Pick: NJ in 4
#3 Atlanta vs #6 NY Rangers
I really like the Rangers team this year and think that they will take this series if they get some good play in goal. I think they will steal a game in Atlanta and lock up the series in NY in game 6. If they don’t take it in six, I don’t think the win game 7 in Atlanta.
Pick: NYR in 6
#4 Ottawa vs #5 Pittsburgh
Nothing would please the NHL front office more than the Pens making it deep into the playoffs led by the great play of Sidney Crosby. I think Crosby will play well and could cause some match-up issues for the Senators, but I think Ottawa will prevail. I also think all seven games will be very close 1-2 goal difference games.
Pick: Ottawa in 7
Western Conference
#1 Detroit vs #8 Calgary
Being a Red Wing homer I always get a little too optimistic in the first round of the playoffs considering the Wings track record over the last few years. That being said, I think this team is ready for anything and barring any major injuries (keep and eye on Bertuzzi) we should take this series handily, with the possibility of a sweep. Look for Hasek to get 2 shutouts in this series.
Pick: Detroit in 5
#2 Anaheim vs #7 Minnesota
Another series that could be a sweep, but I think that Backstrom might just stand on his head in one or two games and really frustrate the Ducks. Even if he handles the playoffs as well as he handled the regular season, I don’t think he can keep his GAA under 2 in this series and it may actually end up being double that when all is said and done.
Pick: Anaheim in 5
#3 Vancouver vs #6 Dallas
I also think this series has the underdog really overmatched and Vancouver should win pretty easily.
Pick: Vancouver in 5
#4 Nashville vs #5 San Jose
This may be the most entertaining match-up in the entire first round. I think that the games will be close, could all be pretty high scoring, and it will go seven games.
Pick: San Jose in 7
Monday, March 19, 2007
St Patrick's Suckage
Well my 9-5 completely botched my plans for St Patrick’s Day. Instead of going out and celebrating with my friends all night and getting pretty well shit faced, I worked a 12 hour shift from 6p-6a. Boo!
After working five straight 12 or 13 hour afternoon/midnight shifts I got up early enough on Saturday to go out and hang with some friends at the bar before I went into work. I was tired, and only about 1/3 of our crew showed up before I had to leave for work, but I still had a good time. Although, it was very weird being the only completely sober person in the bar on St Patty’s Day. A feeling I hope I never experience again.
Driving to work I was already getting texts from my friends saying how much it sucked that I had to work and that they really wanted to hang out with me that night. My responses were pretty simple and short and agreeable, but the whole time I was thinking, “I already know this….I am the one on his way to work for the night.”
It was nice to know that my friends were looking forward to me being there, but of little solace to me as I faced my favorite bar night of the year all alone at work.
At first I thought it would be an ok night because I got two drunk dials from friends by 8 o’clock. Those ended up being the only two though and my night wasn’t as interesting as I would have thought with all of my friends out drinking. At one point I got a text saying that “everyone is crazy” but not much in the way of drunken mutterings after Rob called me and sang the song from Bodyguard to me. Ironically enough, about two hours after that call I was flipping through TV stations in one of the lounges at work and saw that Bodyguard was actually on.
I briefly talked to Sarah on her way from the Brand New concert to the going away house party she was attending that night. I was very glad to hear that she thought that concert was the best one she had seen yet, even though the opening band with the lame name sucked. After a couple minutes on the phone with me she noticed exactly how many drunk drivers were out and decided it would be best to drive without the phone distracting her.
Later on, after a few texts back and forth, I got one that told me to ignore her the rest of the night because she was drinking and gets stupid when she drinks. Seemed like I might get some interesting calls or texts after all, but that was the last I heard from her for the night. Guess she was too worried about her drunk skating form to think about drunk dialing or texting anyone.
The bright side to missing out on St Patty’s Day is that after doing some rough figuring about how much I am going to make from all this crazy OT, I have been looking at the WSOP schedule for this year and found a couple events that I could put this money toward. The last couple years I’ve thought that if I stayed on my game for a couple months leading up to the WSOP and got even a little bit of luck in an event, I could be a serious contender for a bracelet. Of course that’s not possible if you don’t enter any events, but this could very well be the year I put my money where my mouth is. A lot will depend on the traveling costs associated with a week in Vegas during the WSOP, but if it’s not so much that I’d have to borrow from my bankroll to fund it, I could easily see myself there in late June.
After working five straight 12 or 13 hour afternoon/midnight shifts I got up early enough on Saturday to go out and hang with some friends at the bar before I went into work. I was tired, and only about 1/3 of our crew showed up before I had to leave for work, but I still had a good time. Although, it was very weird being the only completely sober person in the bar on St Patty’s Day. A feeling I hope I never experience again.
Driving to work I was already getting texts from my friends saying how much it sucked that I had to work and that they really wanted to hang out with me that night. My responses were pretty simple and short and agreeable, but the whole time I was thinking, “I already know this….I am the one on his way to work for the night.”
It was nice to know that my friends were looking forward to me being there, but of little solace to me as I faced my favorite bar night of the year all alone at work.
At first I thought it would be an ok night because I got two drunk dials from friends by 8 o’clock. Those ended up being the only two though and my night wasn’t as interesting as I would have thought with all of my friends out drinking. At one point I got a text saying that “everyone is crazy” but not much in the way of drunken mutterings after Rob called me and sang the song from Bodyguard to me. Ironically enough, about two hours after that call I was flipping through TV stations in one of the lounges at work and saw that Bodyguard was actually on.
I briefly talked to Sarah on her way from the Brand New concert to the going away house party she was attending that night. I was very glad to hear that she thought that concert was the best one she had seen yet, even though the opening band with the lame name sucked. After a couple minutes on the phone with me she noticed exactly how many drunk drivers were out and decided it would be best to drive without the phone distracting her.
Later on, after a few texts back and forth, I got one that told me to ignore her the rest of the night because she was drinking and gets stupid when she drinks. Seemed like I might get some interesting calls or texts after all, but that was the last I heard from her for the night. Guess she was too worried about her drunk skating form to think about drunk dialing or texting anyone.
The bright side to missing out on St Patty’s Day is that after doing some rough figuring about how much I am going to make from all this crazy OT, I have been looking at the WSOP schedule for this year and found a couple events that I could put this money toward. The last couple years I’ve thought that if I stayed on my game for a couple months leading up to the WSOP and got even a little bit of luck in an event, I could be a serious contender for a bracelet. Of course that’s not possible if you don’t enter any events, but this could very well be the year I put my money where my mouth is. A lot will depend on the traveling costs associated with a week in Vegas during the WSOP, but if it’s not so much that I’d have to borrow from my bankroll to fund it, I could easily see myself there in late June.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Museum Night, Family Day, and Opposite Week; An Update for the Last Week or So
The first full week of March was somewhat of a downer. It all started off with a Monday that saw me angry most of the day for no reason at all. By 1:00 on Friday I was singing the praises of my 9-5 to anyone that would listen because of a few conversations I was part of on Thursday and Friday. By 3:00 I was angry again.
I had plans to go out of town for St Patrick’s Day. I try to go to Chicago that weekend if possible every year to visit Cathy, and it’s been about a year since I have seen her since I wasn’t able to make it to her wedding in November. My 9-5 changed those plans for me.
It’s nice to know that my partner and I are almost irreplaceable at the 9-5, but when emergency situations arise it can be a real pain in the ass. One of these situations came up on Friday and we were required to cover the exec suite 24 hrs/day for the entire week leading up to St Patty’s Day, one of us working 6a-8p and the other working 6p-7a.
I don’t mind the long shifts, but I normally start my day at 6a, and I was tapped for the 6p shift which completely reversed my schedule for the week and got me out of work no earlier than midnight Friday night when I was supposed to be driving to Chicago that very morning. Chicago was scrapped, and other plans were soon made. I was bummed, but I was still going to spend national drinking day with a lot of my close friends.
My anger soon disappeared once I worked out our work schedule for opposite week and got to leave. I was out 30 minutes late, but happy to be gone for the weekend even though I had a ton of errands to run before my date with Sarah. Got the errands done-ish, just didn’t clean the house as much as I had hoped to before she came by.
The date was pretty awesome. We had a good dinner at Union Street where we played Stripper or EMO Slut? Never found out for sure, but I was leaning toward stripper. Normally I would have just asked the girl in question, but wasn’t so sure that would be the best way to start off our date and just let it go.
From there we hit the Detroit Institute of Arts to see the Ansel Adams exhibit. It was effing spectacular. I could have stayed and looked at many of the photos for hours on end, but we ended up leaving after an hour or so because the museum was closing. Or so they thought. We still had some time before the movie started, so I decided that we’d try and find the long way to the theatre and go through the museum. Security didn’t like that and re-routed us about halfway through our journey.
The movie we saw is called The Bridge. I had read a little about it beforehand, and knew that I would see a couple people jump to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge, but wasn’t quite expecting what I ended up seeing. I had no idea that there would be family interviews and a personalization of many of the suicides. Putting names and families to the jumpers made it a lot harder to watch.
From the depressing movie we headed back to my house and hooked up her Gamecube to play some Mario Kart. I haven’t had a Nintendo system since my NES, and had only played Mario Kart once before so I was told I was going to have my ass handed to me. But like I told her, if it’s a racing game she never really stood a chance against me.
I won the first 6 races, and then we split the next six. 12 was enough for us since we both had long days before our date, and we went to bed. Not much sleep to be had that night. We both had visions from the movie playing in our dreams. Add to that the slight, bittersweet discomfort of sharing your bed with someone else for the first time, and the both of us tossed and turned til the sun came up.
Saturday was a poker day as I played in the level two WSOP freeroll that afternoon and hit some cash games after playing many heads-up SNGs. After an astounding 8 game win streak, I ended up losing 3 out of 5 to BJ and decided that HU SNGs were BS and made a lot more money in a 2-4 limit game than I had lost to my eurodonk friend.
Sunday’s weather was awesome and made me look like a genius for scheduling a family BBQ that day more than a week beforehand when it was still snowing a lot around here. I think the real genius of it was getting my cousin and her husband to host and cook all the food that I brought.
Large family dinners are rare for me nowadays and it was a great feeling to have a bunch of us eating at the same table. Even with Denise’s dogs flipping out because they had been locked in the basement, and Guinness flipping over chairs once he saw/heard that I had discovered Denise had a cat. Guinness once went through a window at my house just to chase a cat, he doesn’t like them and I don’t like having to tackle a 115 lb Rottweiler that is hell bent on killing a cat just as we are all sitting down to eat.
The highlight of the evening though was definitely getting to hang out with my nephew Desmond. The kid is so effing cute that it’s hard not to just pick him up and hug him, but making sure that he was cool with Guinness being around kept me occupied enough.
I had plans to go out of town for St Patrick’s Day. I try to go to Chicago that weekend if possible every year to visit Cathy, and it’s been about a year since I have seen her since I wasn’t able to make it to her wedding in November. My 9-5 changed those plans for me.
It’s nice to know that my partner and I are almost irreplaceable at the 9-5, but when emergency situations arise it can be a real pain in the ass. One of these situations came up on Friday and we were required to cover the exec suite 24 hrs/day for the entire week leading up to St Patty’s Day, one of us working 6a-8p and the other working 6p-7a.
I don’t mind the long shifts, but I normally start my day at 6a, and I was tapped for the 6p shift which completely reversed my schedule for the week and got me out of work no earlier than midnight Friday night when I was supposed to be driving to Chicago that very morning. Chicago was scrapped, and other plans were soon made. I was bummed, but I was still going to spend national drinking day with a lot of my close friends.
My anger soon disappeared once I worked out our work schedule for opposite week and got to leave. I was out 30 minutes late, but happy to be gone for the weekend even though I had a ton of errands to run before my date with Sarah. Got the errands done-ish, just didn’t clean the house as much as I had hoped to before she came by.
The date was pretty awesome. We had a good dinner at Union Street where we played Stripper or EMO Slut? Never found out for sure, but I was leaning toward stripper. Normally I would have just asked the girl in question, but wasn’t so sure that would be the best way to start off our date and just let it go.
From there we hit the Detroit Institute of Arts to see the Ansel Adams exhibit. It was effing spectacular. I could have stayed and looked at many of the photos for hours on end, but we ended up leaving after an hour or so because the museum was closing. Or so they thought. We still had some time before the movie started, so I decided that we’d try and find the long way to the theatre and go through the museum. Security didn’t like that and re-routed us about halfway through our journey.
The movie we saw is called The Bridge. I had read a little about it beforehand, and knew that I would see a couple people jump to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge, but wasn’t quite expecting what I ended up seeing. I had no idea that there would be family interviews and a personalization of many of the suicides. Putting names and families to the jumpers made it a lot harder to watch.
From the depressing movie we headed back to my house and hooked up her Gamecube to play some Mario Kart. I haven’t had a Nintendo system since my NES, and had only played Mario Kart once before so I was told I was going to have my ass handed to me. But like I told her, if it’s a racing game she never really stood a chance against me.
I won the first 6 races, and then we split the next six. 12 was enough for us since we both had long days before our date, and we went to bed. Not much sleep to be had that night. We both had visions from the movie playing in our dreams. Add to that the slight, bittersweet discomfort of sharing your bed with someone else for the first time, and the both of us tossed and turned til the sun came up.
Saturday was a poker day as I played in the level two WSOP freeroll that afternoon and hit some cash games after playing many heads-up SNGs. After an astounding 8 game win streak, I ended up losing 3 out of 5 to BJ and decided that HU SNGs were BS and made a lot more money in a 2-4 limit game than I had lost to my eurodonk friend.
Sunday’s weather was awesome and made me look like a genius for scheduling a family BBQ that day more than a week beforehand when it was still snowing a lot around here. I think the real genius of it was getting my cousin and her husband to host and cook all the food that I brought.
Large family dinners are rare for me nowadays and it was a great feeling to have a bunch of us eating at the same table. Even with Denise’s dogs flipping out because they had been locked in the basement, and Guinness flipping over chairs once he saw/heard that I had discovered Denise had a cat. Guinness once went through a window at my house just to chase a cat, he doesn’t like them and I don’t like having to tackle a 115 lb Rottweiler that is hell bent on killing a cat just as we are all sitting down to eat.
The highlight of the evening though was definitely getting to hang out with my nephew Desmond. The kid is so effing cute that it’s hard not to just pick him up and hug him, but making sure that he was cool with Guinness being around kept me occupied enough.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
To Blog, Or Not To Blog
One of the reasons I became a member at Suicide Girls was Wil Wheaton. When I heard he was writing over there I decided to sign up so I didn't miss any of his content, and he seemed a perfect fit for the job. What's that? You don't need to be a member to read his stuff? Only if you want to look at the naked women? OK, not important. In my mind he has always been one of the top bloggers out there on the internets. He’s in my top three along with Iggy and Pauly, and unfortunately I’ve been failing to read any of them with regularity recently.
About the time Iggy started his gig over at Poker Works is when I started to read a lot more new (to me) poker blogs. With Poker Works blocked at my 9-5 I could no longer lose my productivity to the Iggy ubers, and the Tao was blocked well before that. In my search for new weekday content, I lost track of my favorite pokerbloggeractor.
The last couple weeks I have been hitting Wil’s blog here and there when I had the time, then yesterday I saw this great post that he put up about not being motivated to post anything for about a week even though he knew he could easily come up with some great stuff.
For the past few months I’ve felt pretty much the same way. I had fully intended to post on a regular basis follwing my most recent Vegas trip, because that right there would undoubtedly give me a ton of stuff to write about. That trip was in December. This is only my 10th post since I returned from Vegas. Almost three full months. Definitely not often enough.
In this time I’ve struggled with myself about this a little bit. Justifying the lack of posts on one hand, while reasoning out why I should post more on the other hand. But why? Why should I feel any pressure at all to post on my blog at any time unless I truly feel like it. When I really want to get something up there, the excuses will fall to the wayside and I will.
And since I mentioned Iggy’s Poker Works gig, I should also mention that he is back home now at Guinness and Poker. No ubers up last I checked, but I’m assuming that will change real soon.
About the time Iggy started his gig over at Poker Works is when I started to read a lot more new (to me) poker blogs. With Poker Works blocked at my 9-5 I could no longer lose my productivity to the Iggy ubers, and the Tao was blocked well before that. In my search for new weekday content, I lost track of my favorite pokerbloggeractor.
The last couple weeks I have been hitting Wil’s blog here and there when I had the time, then yesterday I saw this great post that he put up about not being motivated to post anything for about a week even though he knew he could easily come up with some great stuff.
For the past few months I’ve felt pretty much the same way. I had fully intended to post on a regular basis follwing my most recent Vegas trip, because that right there would undoubtedly give me a ton of stuff to write about. That trip was in December. This is only my 10th post since I returned from Vegas. Almost three full months. Definitely not often enough.
In this time I’ve struggled with myself about this a little bit. Justifying the lack of posts on one hand, while reasoning out why I should post more on the other hand. But why? Why should I feel any pressure at all to post on my blog at any time unless I truly feel like it. When I really want to get something up there, the excuses will fall to the wayside and I will.
And since I mentioned Iggy’s Poker Works gig, I should also mention that he is back home now at Guinness and Poker. No ubers up last I checked, but I’m assuming that will change real soon.
Monday, March 05, 2007
My Morning of Anger
Have you ever woken up angry? On the proverbial wrong side of the bed? This isn't something that happens to me all that much, but when it does there there is a discernible reason for it. Like I went to bed angry about something, or have been under a lot of stress about something for a few days. But today was not one of those cases. Today was a complete mystery to me.
I had a very good weekend. Actually got a good amount of sleep for once. Wasn't steaming from any poker games. Was properly tucked in before bed. Hell, if anything I should have been happy when I woke up. This was not the case.
This general sense of aggressive anger coursed through my body the whole time I was getting ready for work, and increased exponentially on my ride in. All 12 minutes of my commute.
First I was cursing the dumb ass in the Escalade who got right in front of me from the middle lane while I was speeding up and merging into the right lane. Of course the right lane was no longer of any use to him as soon as I signaled to pass him on the left, so he cut me off again.
A couple other drivers pissed me off a little more after that, but as I pulled into the structure at work I started to calm down a little. But not nearly enough. On my way in I made sure to have my iPod on and visible to all so I could avoid any contact before I got to my desk to scarf down a big breakfast, since food always comforts me. A couple people tried saying good morning, but I just kinda grunted back and brought my head up slightly and quickly in a universal "what's up"gesture.
When I get to work, I have two options for breakfast. There's the smart healthy choice, which I generally choose every day except for Wednesday when my greasy, unhealthy, wonderfully delicious choice is one of the breakfast specials at the restaurant in my building. Today I went for the grease. Then followed that with the healthy breakfast....and followed that with a granola bar and a buttload of water.
Still not happy.
I leer and nod my way through the morning, and the anger doesn't subside....but it doesn't get any worse either. As I'm sitting at my desk wondering what in the hell is wrong with me, I get a few text messages from my sheet midget about what's going on at her job. Twice I end up laughing out loud, one of those times some water found it's way out of my nose and onto my keyboard. Not a pretty sight, or a great feeling immediately, but it ended up turning my attitude around for the morning. From there I slowly rose from the depths of my anger and ended the day on a good note when I got some more food at work. For free no less.
Since then it's been pretty smooth sailing as I am about to chow down on my free work food for dinner, and I just set the ground work for a website that I've discussed with a few friends a couple times over the last couple months. Nothing big for me, but it could really help out a few of my friends in the long run.
At least my day will end on a high note. Hopefully I can avoid a repeat of my pissed off morning come tomorrow.
I had a very good weekend. Actually got a good amount of sleep for once. Wasn't steaming from any poker games. Was properly tucked in before bed. Hell, if anything I should have been happy when I woke up. This was not the case.
This general sense of aggressive anger coursed through my body the whole time I was getting ready for work, and increased exponentially on my ride in. All 12 minutes of my commute.
First I was cursing the dumb ass in the Escalade who got right in front of me from the middle lane while I was speeding up and merging into the right lane. Of course the right lane was no longer of any use to him as soon as I signaled to pass him on the left, so he cut me off again.
A couple other drivers pissed me off a little more after that, but as I pulled into the structure at work I started to calm down a little. But not nearly enough. On my way in I made sure to have my iPod on and visible to all so I could avoid any contact before I got to my desk to scarf down a big breakfast, since food always comforts me. A couple people tried saying good morning, but I just kinda grunted back and brought my head up slightly and quickly in a universal "what's up"gesture.
When I get to work, I have two options for breakfast. There's the smart healthy choice, which I generally choose every day except for Wednesday when my greasy, unhealthy, wonderfully delicious choice is one of the breakfast specials at the restaurant in my building. Today I went for the grease. Then followed that with the healthy breakfast....and followed that with a granola bar and a buttload of water.
Still not happy.
I leer and nod my way through the morning, and the anger doesn't subside....but it doesn't get any worse either. As I'm sitting at my desk wondering what in the hell is wrong with me, I get a few text messages from my sheet midget about what's going on at her job. Twice I end up laughing out loud, one of those times some water found it's way out of my nose and onto my keyboard. Not a pretty sight, or a great feeling immediately, but it ended up turning my attitude around for the morning. From there I slowly rose from the depths of my anger and ended the day on a good note when I got some more food at work. For free no less.
Since then it's been pretty smooth sailing as I am about to chow down on my free work food for dinner, and I just set the ground work for a website that I've discussed with a few friends a couple times over the last couple months. Nothing big for me, but it could really help out a few of my friends in the long run.
At least my day will end on a high note. Hopefully I can avoid a repeat of my pissed off morning come tomorrow.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
We Were on a Break
The last few days I have played a total of 37 hands. One heads up SNG. I actually won after getting my money in ahead. That was quite a change from Tuesday. Varience toyed with me all afternoon. I take pride in being someone who doesn't go on tilt while playing poker, but Tuesday was an exception to the rule.
Normally if I think I am going to tilt I can get up from the table or computer and just stop playing, but the other day the play was so bad and the suckouts so crazy that I knew I could still win even if I was tilting a little. Or so I thought.
I just got angrier and angrier as I got my money in good and lost time after time, but I continued to play because the games were juicy. I knew I was in trouble when I went off on someone for a play. I never do that. It's usually only 'nh' or something similar because I want the players who are playing badly to feel comfortable and stick around. I usually go out of my way to defend people who play like shit when others call them out because I don't want the guy handing me money to be chased away.
Once I tore up the donkey who told said I was a terrible player and he left, I realized how bad I was tilting....but continued to play. I don't know why now. But I pressed on.
Had I dropped my buy in, I would have left but because I was basically breaking even I stuck around. I lost a total of $12 the whole afternoon while I saw the sickest single day of cards in my entire poker life. In that regard I was lucky.
So enough of my bad beat day story. Last night I went to my first Flogging Molly concert. I've tried to see them a couple of times in the past, but ended up being out of town just about every time they came to Detroit. Awesome. That's about all I can say. We had a great time, spent a lot of money on beer, and had a drink with Dave and Bridget after the show when they strolled into the Town Pump and hung out at the table next to us.
I'm normally not the "Hey, take a picture with me" type, but I had to get one with them. I even made sure to post it on myspace before I passed out last night. I'm such a dork.
Not sure yet where tonight is going to take me, but I can guarantee I won't be drinking after all the beer I had last night.
Normally if I think I am going to tilt I can get up from the table or computer and just stop playing, but the other day the play was so bad and the suckouts so crazy that I knew I could still win even if I was tilting a little. Or so I thought.
I just got angrier and angrier as I got my money in good and lost time after time, but I continued to play because the games were juicy. I knew I was in trouble when I went off on someone for a play. I never do that. It's usually only 'nh' or something similar because I want the players who are playing badly to feel comfortable and stick around. I usually go out of my way to defend people who play like shit when others call them out because I don't want the guy handing me money to be chased away.
Once I tore up the donkey who told said I was a terrible player and he left, I realized how bad I was tilting....but continued to play. I don't know why now. But I pressed on.
Had I dropped my buy in, I would have left but because I was basically breaking even I stuck around. I lost a total of $12 the whole afternoon while I saw the sickest single day of cards in my entire poker life. In that regard I was lucky.
So enough of my bad beat day story. Last night I went to my first Flogging Molly concert. I've tried to see them a couple of times in the past, but ended up being out of town just about every time they came to Detroit. Awesome. That's about all I can say. We had a great time, spent a lot of money on beer, and had a drink with Dave and Bridget after the show when they strolled into the Town Pump and hung out at the table next to us.
I'm normally not the "Hey, take a picture with me" type, but I had to get one with them. I even made sure to post it on myspace before I passed out last night. I'm such a dork.
Not sure yet where tonight is going to take me, but I can guarantee I won't be drinking after all the beer I had last night.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
How Not to Talk Your Way Out of a Ticket (A poker player's analysis)
Me: Afternoon Trooper, how are you today? (Always start out with a pleasant question, like a probe bet it will tell you where you are in the hand)
Douchebag Trooper: Do you know why I pulled you over? (Trying to convey strength, he's obviously concerned about the strength of his hand)
Me: Truthfully I have no idea sir. (Smooth call the reraise to make him think he's taken control of the hand)
DT: Do you know how fast you were going? (Too strong of a continuation bet, he's still worried about his hand)
Me: Yes sir, 74 mph. (Another smooth call to make him wonder exactly what you have)
DT: So you admit that you were speeding? (Reading me as weak, he checks and tries to trap me here)
Me: I admit that I was driving 4 over, that's what I always set my cruise at. (Small bet hoping for a reraise)
DT: And why is that? (Min raise)
Me: Cause I come from a family of cops, went to school to be a cop, and that's what we all do since it's too much trouble to pull someone over and write them up for only four over. I've actually never heard of anyone doing it. (Min reraise, lets see where he stands)
DT: You went to school to be a cop but you aren't now....and why is that? (Another min reraise, what is this donkey doing?)
Me: When I graduated I decided there were too many douchebag cops in the area so I went into the private sector. (Enough of this bullshit, I'm all in)
DT: Excuse me? (In the tank, and on the verge of tilt)
Me: Well, Detroit is a death sentence, being a Wayne County deputy is a life sentence, and the suburbs are full of douchebags....since Michigan State Police wasn't hiring at the time I decided to get paid protecting Corporate America. (Table chatter giving off false tells of strength because even though I may not have a hand, I know he's uncomfortable with his)
DT: Alright, well do me a favor and watch your speed. It's rush hour, and even 4 over can be dangerous at this time of day. (Folding his hand without showing, even though he says he's got pocket kings)
Me: Will do sir. Have a good day, and stay safe the rest of your shift. (Telling him it was a good fold because I had the nuts)
Disclaimer: Do not try this at home, I am a professional asshole.
Douchebag Trooper: Do you know why I pulled you over? (Trying to convey strength, he's obviously concerned about the strength of his hand)
Me: Truthfully I have no idea sir. (Smooth call the reraise to make him think he's taken control of the hand)
DT: Do you know how fast you were going? (Too strong of a continuation bet, he's still worried about his hand)
Me: Yes sir, 74 mph. (Another smooth call to make him wonder exactly what you have)
DT: So you admit that you were speeding? (Reading me as weak, he checks and tries to trap me here)
Me: I admit that I was driving 4 over, that's what I always set my cruise at. (Small bet hoping for a reraise)
DT: And why is that? (Min raise)
Me: Cause I come from a family of cops, went to school to be a cop, and that's what we all do since it's too much trouble to pull someone over and write them up for only four over. I've actually never heard of anyone doing it. (Min reraise, lets see where he stands)
DT: You went to school to be a cop but you aren't now....and why is that? (Another min reraise, what is this donkey doing?)
Me: When I graduated I decided there were too many douchebag cops in the area so I went into the private sector. (Enough of this bullshit, I'm all in)
DT: Excuse me? (In the tank, and on the verge of tilt)
Me: Well, Detroit is a death sentence, being a Wayne County deputy is a life sentence, and the suburbs are full of douchebags....since Michigan State Police wasn't hiring at the time I decided to get paid protecting Corporate America. (Table chatter giving off false tells of strength because even though I may not have a hand, I know he's uncomfortable with his)
DT: Alright, well do me a favor and watch your speed. It's rush hour, and even 4 over can be dangerous at this time of day. (Folding his hand without showing, even though he says he's got pocket kings)
Me: Will do sir. Have a good day, and stay safe the rest of your shift. (Telling him it was a good fold because I had the nuts)
Disclaimer: Do not try this at home, I am a professional asshole.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Tags; Not Just for Decoration
This one is to be filed under "Too Embarrassing to Elaborate".
So I procrastinate. A lot. I've got a date tonight and need to get a few things ready beforehand. Do I make sure everything is taken care of before I leave for work this morning? No. I've got time after work.
Had I not procrastinated, I would have seen the little tag that says DRY CLEAN ONLY and I just might have listened to it. But being pressed for time I think, "What's the worst that could happen?" and put it in the washing machine on the perm press cycle. That will do it just fine.
Fast forward a couple hours and here I am, sitting in track pants and a hoodie, one delicate item lighter, silently hoping that my washing machine isn't damaged by this debacle. To make matters worse, my date just texted me and said she probably won't be able to make out it now.
Being me rocks.
So I procrastinate. A lot. I've got a date tonight and need to get a few things ready beforehand. Do I make sure everything is taken care of before I leave for work this morning? No. I've got time after work.
Had I not procrastinated, I would have seen the little tag that says DRY CLEAN ONLY and I just might have listened to it. But being pressed for time I think, "What's the worst that could happen?" and put it in the washing machine on the perm press cycle. That will do it just fine.
Fast forward a couple hours and here I am, sitting in track pants and a hoodie, one delicate item lighter, silently hoping that my washing machine isn't damaged by this debacle. To make matters worse, my date just texted me and said she probably won't be able to make out it now.
Being me rocks.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Token Post
Saturdays have been spent on Full Tilt lately. I had planned to shovel my snow and get some other things done that I have been neglecting, but the weather got a little warmer last night and I didn't have any snow to worry about when I rolled my ass out of bed this morning....er, afternoon....so I eventually made my way to the computer. Held off on the poker until I decided to get a few hands in while Cousin Mark was showering before we went to lunch. Oh look, a juicy 2-4 limit speed table has an opening. That's just what I need for a quick hit and run.
Not so much. It was very juicy, and donkerific and it also ate up half a buy-in by the time Cousin Mark got out of the shower. So much for earning my lunch money.
Lunch was great, but I was still stinging from my limit loss so I was eager to get back onto FT and find another weak table. So far so good. Found a 1-2 limit table that suited me well and I am working on tripling up my buy-in. I love LHE because of the return I see but it's very boring, so I decided to try one of those token tourneys I've heard so much about. 8 bucks, 18 players, top 5 get tokens and 6th gets $10. Sounds simple enough. Even though I'm not a fan of the turbos on FT, I decide that that's the best format of the bunch for me today and jump in.
I know that one tournament doesn't really qualify as a random sample, but if all these token sats are like this I really need to toss my hat in the ring more often. The amount of scared money in this $8 sat was amazing. Very easy to chip up early after sitting out an orbit to get my "tight" image, and once I became the chip leader at my table I only had opponents play back at me two or three times. Long story short I pounded the money and token bubbles and was the big stack when we got down to 5. As a result, I am now registered for the first WPBT event this year for just under 1/3 of the buy-in.
Hopefully I can stay awake long enough to do some damage tomorrow night, and I really hope that I can play in more events this year than I did last year. I think I made it into three last year before life got in the way of my poker again. One of my poker goals for the year is to be more involved with the blogger games again, so this should be one step toward that. And hopefully Don will keep the Big Game going on a monthly basis. I am always up for the bigger buy-ins.
We had a good time at the Pistons game last night, but the game ended badly as the Wizards pulled out a two point victory. The last five minutes of the game were pretty exciting as the Pistons looked out of it until then. When Sheed hit a fade away to tie it up after trailing for more than half of the game, the crowd went nuts.
Wings/Avs tomorrow as a replacement for football. The rivalry doesn't have the punch that it used to, neither does hockey for that matter, but it's still always a good game to watch. I just hope that it's on CBC and not just carried by NBC.
Not so much. It was very juicy, and donkerific and it also ate up half a buy-in by the time Cousin Mark got out of the shower. So much for earning my lunch money.
Lunch was great, but I was still stinging from my limit loss so I was eager to get back onto FT and find another weak table. So far so good. Found a 1-2 limit table that suited me well and I am working on tripling up my buy-in. I love LHE because of the return I see but it's very boring, so I decided to try one of those token tourneys I've heard so much about. 8 bucks, 18 players, top 5 get tokens and 6th gets $10. Sounds simple enough. Even though I'm not a fan of the turbos on FT, I decide that that's the best format of the bunch for me today and jump in.
I know that one tournament doesn't really qualify as a random sample, but if all these token sats are like this I really need to toss my hat in the ring more often. The amount of scared money in this $8 sat was amazing. Very easy to chip up early after sitting out an orbit to get my "tight" image, and once I became the chip leader at my table I only had opponents play back at me two or three times. Long story short I pounded the money and token bubbles and was the big stack when we got down to 5. As a result, I am now registered for the first WPBT event this year for just under 1/3 of the buy-in.
Hopefully I can stay awake long enough to do some damage tomorrow night, and I really hope that I can play in more events this year than I did last year. I think I made it into three last year before life got in the way of my poker again. One of my poker goals for the year is to be more involved with the blogger games again, so this should be one step toward that. And hopefully Don will keep the Big Game going on a monthly basis. I am always up for the bigger buy-ins.
We had a good time at the Pistons game last night, but the game ended badly as the Wizards pulled out a two point victory. The last five minutes of the game were pretty exciting as the Pistons looked out of it until then. When Sheed hit a fade away to tie it up after trailing for more than half of the game, the crowd went nuts.
Wings/Avs tomorrow as a replacement for football. The rivalry doesn't have the punch that it used to, neither does hockey for that matter, but it's still always a good game to watch. I just hope that it's on CBC and not just carried by NBC.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
You don't say....
Warning, this could be misconstrued as poker content. Read on.
This weekend was up and down at the tables for me. I ended doing rather well over all, but the swings within each session were horrible. Glad I am a super donk and chase my losses.
I won more than enough in cash games to justify entering Don's Big Game on Sunday night. Last time I played in it I ended up chopping with Don, and this time around he won it outright after a chop that left about $100 in the mix for the first place finisher. Blogger Big Games are so rigged.
For me the Big Game started off well enough. I chipped up early by mixing it up in a few pots and getting paid on my nut flush. Things were going well, and I was the early chip leader when I looked down at pocket aces. I thought I had played enough to get somewhat of a LAG tag for the game thus far, even though it was early, so I was pretty confident I could pull in a decent sized pot here. I make a standard 3x raise and get one caller, our tourney host. Innocuous jack high flop with two clubs and Don bets out at me, 200 into a 225 pot. I think about pushing here but elect to just call. Seven of spades on the turn can't help him at all, yet he bets out 500 into a 625 pot. I put him on AJ clubs, but would expect a little bigger of a bet if he wanted to bet the turn. I loudly proclaim, to no one cause I am alone in the room, that I am no doubt ahead and reraise all in. Insta call. Don flips over pocket 4s and a flopped set. DOH!
Maybe a better player doesn't double Don up there, but that's just not me. My m.o. in the blogger tourneys is get the chip lead as soon as possible and use all that rope to hang myself in some elaborate manner. I'm getting rather good at it, I just need to play more of the blogger games.
A couple hands later I drop another 400 to Don when I 3x raise from MP with AK and he repops me from 120 to 400 from the big blind. Flop comes rags and Don bets out about 1/2 of my stack and I am forced to throw it away cursing my luck. I am now 18th in chips out of 18 remaining players....at least I didn't bust out 1st as we only had 19 runners.
Not too long after that I double up when I flop a flush and someone pushes with top pair and a draw at a better flush. Thankfully the river was kind for once and I didn't exit earlier than Iak who wasn't even playing. As a matter of fact, after building my stack up quit nicely into the top 5 of chips once again I ended up going out in 8th, just two spots ahead of the m.i.a Iak, when I ran my AQ into Hoy's AK. Oddly enough, that was the second consecutive hand that AQ got all in preflop against AK. Rigged.
After I busted out I did a couple quick things around the house and sat back down in a limit game, not ready to be parted of my $75. Unfortunately I didn't downshift from the tourney quick enough and found myself in a hole pretty quick. As I battled back I decided to take a shot playing with the bloggers at the 1/2 NL table. At one point I had a Rounders moment as it very much seemed we were all targeting a couple of the non-bloggers at the table and pretty much staying away from each other. "You don't see Pirahna eating each other do you?"
Glad I did it. It was only about an hour or so, but I had a good time and walked away from the table up $74.75. I figured that only paying a quarter to play that much with the bloggers was quite the value and it was time for bed.
Hopefully sooner or later my work schedule or sleep schedule will permit me to play a few more blogger games this year. Everyone has a few poker resolutions, and this is one of mine. I have always enjoyed the blogger games, but hated getting up for work an hour or two after they were finished. I need to make adjustments and see that I get into a few more games each month.
Side note: My links are all effed up cause I got so sick of my last blog template and discarded it with haste. I will build my blogroll up soon and get my linkage back on track.
This weekend was up and down at the tables for me. I ended doing rather well over all, but the swings within each session were horrible. Glad I am a super donk and chase my losses.
I won more than enough in cash games to justify entering Don's Big Game on Sunday night. Last time I played in it I ended up chopping with Don, and this time around he won it outright after a chop that left about $100 in the mix for the first place finisher. Blogger Big Games are so rigged.
For me the Big Game started off well enough. I chipped up early by mixing it up in a few pots and getting paid on my nut flush. Things were going well, and I was the early chip leader when I looked down at pocket aces. I thought I had played enough to get somewhat of a LAG tag for the game thus far, even though it was early, so I was pretty confident I could pull in a decent sized pot here. I make a standard 3x raise and get one caller, our tourney host. Innocuous jack high flop with two clubs and Don bets out at me, 200 into a 225 pot. I think about pushing here but elect to just call. Seven of spades on the turn can't help him at all, yet he bets out 500 into a 625 pot. I put him on AJ clubs, but would expect a little bigger of a bet if he wanted to bet the turn. I loudly proclaim, to no one cause I am alone in the room, that I am no doubt ahead and reraise all in. Insta call. Don flips over pocket 4s and a flopped set. DOH!
Maybe a better player doesn't double Don up there, but that's just not me. My m.o. in the blogger tourneys is get the chip lead as soon as possible and use all that rope to hang myself in some elaborate manner. I'm getting rather good at it, I just need to play more of the blogger games.
A couple hands later I drop another 400 to Don when I 3x raise from MP with AK and he repops me from 120 to 400 from the big blind. Flop comes rags and Don bets out about 1/2 of my stack and I am forced to throw it away cursing my luck. I am now 18th in chips out of 18 remaining players....at least I didn't bust out 1st as we only had 19 runners.
Not too long after that I double up when I flop a flush and someone pushes with top pair and a draw at a better flush. Thankfully the river was kind for once and I didn't exit earlier than Iak who wasn't even playing. As a matter of fact, after building my stack up quit nicely into the top 5 of chips once again I ended up going out in 8th, just two spots ahead of the m.i.a Iak, when I ran my AQ into Hoy's AK. Oddly enough, that was the second consecutive hand that AQ got all in preflop against AK. Rigged.
After I busted out I did a couple quick things around the house and sat back down in a limit game, not ready to be parted of my $75. Unfortunately I didn't downshift from the tourney quick enough and found myself in a hole pretty quick. As I battled back I decided to take a shot playing with the bloggers at the 1/2 NL table. At one point I had a Rounders moment as it very much seemed we were all targeting a couple of the non-bloggers at the table and pretty much staying away from each other. "You don't see Pirahna eating each other do you?"
Glad I did it. It was only about an hour or so, but I had a good time and walked away from the table up $74.75. I figured that only paying a quarter to play that much with the bloggers was quite the value and it was time for bed.
Hopefully sooner or later my work schedule or sleep schedule will permit me to play a few more blogger games this year. Everyone has a few poker resolutions, and this is one of mine. I have always enjoyed the blogger games, but hated getting up for work an hour or two after they were finished. I need to make adjustments and see that I get into a few more games each month.
Side note: My links are all effed up cause I got so sick of my last blog template and discarded it with haste. I will build my blogroll up soon and get my linkage back on track.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Re: I suck
What the hell do I know about football anyway? It's not like I spent the majority of my formative years training and practicing for the next game, breaking down film from my first year of high school on. All those years spent at the Silverdome while the Lions were still there....OK, bad example. I could go on, but why? It's obvious I know nothing about this game anymore. January has been total suck sausage for my picks. My heater from Vegas is now a cooler. The NFL playoffs used to be my wheelhouse....now I am just under the bus. I hate this game!
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Week 2
Here are the picks for week 2 of the 3M Playoff Challenge.
Mike (18 units):
NE/SD under 46.5 ~~ 6 units
Phi/NO under 49 ~~ 3 units
SD -5 ~~ 3 units
Phi +5.5 ~~ 3 units
Ind +4 ~~ 3 units
Max (16 units):
Bal-4 ~~ 8 units
NO-5.5 ~~ 4 units
Phi/NO under 49 ~~ 4 units
Mark (10 units):
Bal-4 ~~ 10 units
Mike (18 units):
NE/SD under 46.5 ~~ 6 units
Phi/NO under 49 ~~ 3 units
SD -5 ~~ 3 units
Phi +5.5 ~~ 3 units
Ind +4 ~~ 3 units
Max (16 units):
Bal-4 ~~ 8 units
NO-5.5 ~~ 4 units
Phi/NO under 49 ~~ 4 units
Mark (10 units):
Bal-4 ~~ 10 units
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Playoffs
This week's picks for the 3M Playoff Challenge:
Max:
Sea -3 for 3 units
KC +7 for 2 units
NE -8.5 for 1 unit
NYG +7 for 2 units
Dal/Sea Over 46.5 for 1 unit
KC/Ind Over 50.5 for 1 unit
Mark:
Phi -7 for 5 units
KC +7 for 5 units
Mike:
KC/Ind Over 50.5 for 3 units
NYG +7 for 4 units
NYJ +8.5 for 3 units
Right now it's halftime of the Indy/KC game and Indy is up 9-0. Not looking good for any of our picks so far.
Max:
Sea -3 for 3 units
KC +7 for 2 units
NE -8.5 for 1 unit
NYG +7 for 2 units
Dal/Sea Over 46.5 for 1 unit
KC/Ind Over 50.5 for 1 unit
Mark:
Phi -7 for 5 units
KC +7 for 5 units
Mike:
KC/Ind Over 50.5 for 3 units
NYG +7 for 4 units
NYJ +8.5 for 3 units
Right now it's halftime of the Indy/KC game and Indy is up 9-0. Not looking good for any of our picks so far.
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