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BadBlood on Poker    Friends

Chose or Be Chosen

Date: Thu, Aug 26, 2010

Some of you folks who've been to the house for a home game have met my buddy John "Falstaff" Hartness. He's another one of my friends who get out and actually do stuff rather than simply talk about doing stuff, like I'm prone to do. Hey, I'm an idea man, but executing upon ideas requires effort and I'm the definition of lazy.

If you weren't aware, John recently self-published a book and I'd like to relay that information to any readers who might be interested in purchasing it. You can purchase it here:

http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=4174880

Here's a shot of the cover which came out pretty decent, in my humble opinion:





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WSOP Event #20 - Part Two

Date: Tue, Jul 27, 2010

When I last left off my WSOP Event report, I had just paid off the nut full house with second nut full house. Not only did my chip stack drop to roughly the 1800 range, but I kept thinking that I should have been able to fold to the river raise. I do recall thinking to myself however not to beat myself up over the decision. I still had chips and the blinds were still only 50/75. I was short, but not without life. The only problem was that in a PLO game, there is no "shoving" strategy in your arsenal. If you can only make a 3.5x pot-sized opening raise, you need to have a hand.

The table I was at was still fairly passive. In fact, I bled chips from the blinds when the pot-odds dictated a call with marginal run-down holdings like 4678 and the like. I bled all the way down to 1100 in chips and posted a twitter update lamenting my status. Still, I intended not to just blow my last chips away in disgust.

Reacting to my twitter update, AlCantHang wandered over to the table. His intentions were noble, he reminded me to get Medusa running on my iPod, a tradition we developed back in the Party Poker days. He railed me one time while I was short in an online tournament and I managed to somehow final table it only after switching iTunes to constantly play Medusa over and over and over again. I complied with his suggestion, it was an outstanding idea.

I finally was dealt a playable hand in the big blind. A late position player opened and my 9TTJ single suited was the hand I was going to go with. I re-raised pot and we got it all in. Of course, I was behind. The opener showed AJJx and had me pretty well beat. Cue the T-high, all heart flop. I took a second look at my opponents cards and saw no red. I dodged the 1 remaining Jack and doubled to about 2400. Medusa at work as they say. Then, our table broke.

My new table was filled with bigger stacks than the one I left, so I knew it would have more action. I got a free flop in the big blind with AQ63, suited Q in spades. The flop came down As9s6x, I flopped top and bottom and second nut flush draw. Vulnerable, but strong enough to lead at. I bet about 2/3 the pot and everyone folded except for the small blind. He check-raised me such that it was either push or fold for me. I felt I had to gamble at this stage and shoved. He called and showed A9xx with no spade re-draw. I was behind, but it was a great situation. I said, "Queen or a spade please to the dealer." I bricked the turn, but flushed up on the river and doubled up again. It was nearing the end of level 4 and I was over 5100 in chips with an average near 7500. It was a spot I could hardly complain about based on where I'd been.

The next hand of interest was the very last one played before the end of level 4. I called a raise in position (position is the NUTS in this game) with JT87 single suited. There were 4 players to the flop of 974 rainbow. I had flopped a 10-card wrap, any 6,8, or T gave me the nut straight, so when the initial raiser c-bet, I called. The turn came a 6, putting a second club on the board to go along with the 4 of clubs from the flop. I had the nuts, but no flush redraw. Again, the original raiser led out, but it was a bet less than pot size. My raise if I chose to do so, would commit me all-in effectively. I wasn't sure exactly what I was up against, but I felt that again, this was a time to gamble and get it all in with one card to come. My worst nightmare would be that I was up against the same hand with the flush re-draw, but I took that chance.

I raised pot, he did the same and we got it all in. What did my opponent have? Second nuts, but they were the 5c and 8c. He had no straight outs, but he did have the club outs. For a second, when the river came, I thought I was good. It paired the board 7. Unfortunately, it was the 7 of clubs giving my opponent a straight flush and me a ticket to the rail.

I'll admit, I was deflated. The guy had 3 clubs in his hand, so he only had 8 outs at most and was betting as if he had the nuts. But that was the level of skill in this tournament and the luck factor is just huge in Omaha. If I win the hand, I'm probably sitting on an 11k stack and well above average going into the break. Instead, I went to drown my sorrows at the Hooker Bar with Al and WriterJen. I ended up buying their drinks since they got to hear my bad beat stories. I'm good like that. Oh yeah, I also hit Quad Aces for $800 while I was there, so that dulled the pain a bit....

...More PLO cash game action to come...

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Interim - Sirens

Date: Tue, Jul 20, 2010

I have the second part of my WSOP / Vegas trip coming, but I just can't find the time to put in the work for a decent post. So, I give you an evolution of Sirens in metal. Pretty much the same topic if you think about it.


Earliest Sirens - Savatage:


More Sirens, this time from Coroner: (FYI - Mental Vortex is an absolute hidden gem in progressive metal. The songs from this album take a bit of listening to get used to, but once embedded in your brain, you'll hopefully discover the genius behind the music. And no I'm not kidding.)


Even later still, The Sirens Song by Parkway Drive: (Heaviest of the offerings perhaps)


And finally, sirens in their own right, Cut Throat by Kittie: (I'd roadie for them for free. Pretty sure.)

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WSOP Event #20

Date: Mon, Jul 5, 2010

I'm a firm believer in the fact that poker is a psychological game. It's all a matter of how your ability to decipher the proper information from the poker table is affected by everything else that's going on around you. For me, most importantly, it's highly dependent on my level of confidence. All I really wanted out of my WSOP experience was a sense that I belonged, a sense that I could compete. I did not want to show up and immediately think I was in above my head.

For some reason, whenever I walk into the Rio during the WSOP, my confidence in my poker ability just dissolves. I look around at the thousands of players and think to myself, "Well, I'm the fish, these people are all better than I am." Obviously that can't be true; well, it could, but the odds are against it. Still, that is the main reason I played the 5/5 PLO cash game the day and night before Event #20. I wanted to gain some confidence, a feeling that I belonged.

After two separate sessions, both winners, I felt exactly that. PLO is perhaps the game into which I've put the most amount of study. A hundred and fifty thousand online hands, a book here and there, and participation in forum discussions about PLO hands were all things I have not done in a long time with respect to NLHE. And I saw people making what I thought to believe horrendous mistakes. That's all I needed, some form of evidence that I had a shot to do well and capitalize on others' inexperience. Sure there would be better players than myself with more experience as well, but I didn't think I'd be the huge fish at the table. That's all I wanted.

I began the day a bit early and had a filling breakfast, planning for the long haul. I registered without a wait and sat quietly with AlCantHang in the Amazon Room. The tourney was being held in the Pavillion, but I wasn't going to be the noob sitting alone, first at my table. The Amazon room was about as empty as possible and the quiet beforehand was good for my concentration. Finally it was time to get going and I bid my adieu to Al and found my seat.

My intentions were to pay as much attention as possible. The focus required to spot everything for several 2 hour intervals was going to be taxing. But that's what is required to do well. One guy at my table made some bad plays but got lucky, I took note in case I was ever in a hand against him. The $1500 buy-in got you T1500 and 3 red rebuy chips. Many folks took their rebuy's right away, as did I, to start off the tournament with T4500. Of course, I busted a shortie who did not take his rebuy and only won about T1000 in the hand.

There are several arguments about when/why you should take the rebuys. You're forced to take them at the end of level 4 regardless. But prior to that, should you? I chose to take them, based on the argument that you want to maximize your value early against the weaker players. In fact, on one hand I saw a set over set that resulted in only a T1500 double up for a guy who could have got T4500 out of his opponent. Other folks argue that you should never be all in for T4500 at a 25/25 or 25/50 level in the WSOP. That argument is valid, but with a weaker than normal field, some people were playing big pots with suspect holdings early on.

One of the defining hands for me came in the 50/75 level. I started with probably around T4800 and raised pot with AdQdJsJc. I got called behind by one player on the button and the blinds folded. The flop came K72, all diamonds. Having flopped the nuts in hold 'em, a check could be argued for. Not so in Omaha. Either a worse flush is coming along for the ride, or many times a set will too. I bet about 3/4 pot and got smooth called by the button. Don't pair the board, don't pair the board, BAM, 2 of hearts. I sighed (internally obviously) and checked. The button checked behind.

The river was the worst card in the deck for me. A Jack, giving me Jack's full. Now here's where I made my mistake. River action with my hand, in my opinion, should be either bet/raise/fold or bet/call. I don't think a check is in order with my hand. My Jack's full beats 7's full and other odd-ball full houses if my opponent called with a 2 in his hand. So if I bet, I'll get called in those spots. However, if I bet and get raised, I have to be beat and should fold. At least that's how it tends to go down online against competent opponents.

So I bet about 2/3rd's the pot and got raised. Ugh. The action screams Kings full based on the flop call and the turn check. And what did I do? I called. Kings full it was and I was now a short stack. I immediately hated my call and then banished those thoughts from my head. If I kept any negative thoughts flowing around my skull, it was going to lead me into an "aw fuck it" play and I still had chips. I saw people go from near out to well over starting stack in a couple of orbits at my table and there was no way I was going to simply torpedo my remaining chips in a stupid fashion. Granted, this WSOP event was a low buy-in to many folks, but to me, it was my first and only Event for the year. No reason to give up now.

...to be continued...

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Writers

Date: Tue, Jun 29, 2010

WSOP Report coming, honest....in the meantime....

A couple of folks I know are writing or have written some really good stuff lately. First, in case you haven't already heard, Pauly finally has his book ready for mass consumption.

Check out his site, Tao of Poker, for more information.



Also, good buddy Falstaff is doing some more writing and also is having his book The Chosen published via the same Lulu.com publishing system. Here's hoping they both have success with their projects. Great job guys.

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Day 1

Date: Thu, Jun 17, 2010

First things first. Before I start my trip report, I'm going to have to take some time to thank TheMark once again. His generosity in allowing me to stay in the other half of his Rio suite for this trip was greatly appreciated. If he keeps it up, he'll pass Otis for first on my list of most free rooms bummed off of in Vegas.

Traveling with TheMark is traveling in style. He and the Pizza King picked me up at my house in plenty of time to catch our flights out of G-Vegas, connecting through Charlotte. On the main flight, his new 17" MacBook Pro acted as the in-flight entertainment, and we watched Terminator Salvation to pass the time. Once on the ground, a limo picked us up (sadly, the sign held by the driver did NOT say "TheMark") and got us to the Rio.

Standard operating procedure when TheMark is your host: Prior to check-in, bet $100 on a single roulette spin. "Bet black," he said. Off went the Diamond Total Rewards card and a $200 bet, one that probably lowered his average spin wager, was placed on the felt. Clickety clack went the ball and bam, right into a red slot. "Sighball." Down already.

No worries, we dropped our luggage off and had lunch at the All American. I donked $80 off at video poker to earn my two free Heineken's and when we were finished, we walked down to the Pavilion to check out the poker action. It was early still on Wednesday and nothing much was going on. We found AlCantHang and had some fun reading Pauly's Mastodon weekend recap in Bluff magazine. It should be online soon, and it's pretty funny if you know our G-Vegas scene at all. If you're still out in Vegas, it's the issue with Annette15 on the cover.

TheMark and I put our names down for a single table PLO satellite that unfortunately never materialized. I wanted to focus on PLO this trip since I was playing in Event #20, the $1500 PLO. I still wanted to play a satellite since Event #20's entry fee was the most I'd ever paid to enter a tournament. We settled on a $125 10-person SNG. Obviously the structure for these things makes them effectively a turbo, but I've played enough of them online that I wasn't too worried.

It was during this SNG that I remembered why I began playing PLO in the first place. The edge in these things is nearly zero. I won some limps when I raised with pocket Jacks. Standard. I raised with pocket 8's and called a short stack's shove. I lost a race against AJs. Standard. I re-raised all-in with pocket Aces, and got AQ to fold. I re-raised all-in with AK and lost a race to pocket Tens. Standard, standard, standard. And boring as hell. There weren't any mistakes made by anyone really, the hands played themselves and the only deciding factor was luck. Sure, most of it was due to the structure of this turbo, but the appeal of playing Hold 'em hit an all time low for me. I'll get over it, but if there's PLO to be played, I'm probably going to always want to play that first.

Off to the cash games.

The Rio was only offering the following PLO cash games: 5/5 and 5/10/25. Both had no cap on the buy-in and several players had $2k+ sitting in front of them in the 5/5 game. Still, I bought in for a lucky $700 and internally reiterated my PLO mantra: Patience + Position.

Over the past year and a half, I've played primarily 6-max PLO online and was cognizant of the fact I was now sitting at a live, 9-handed and deep stacked game. There would be differences. Online, 100BB games are actually pretty shallow and buy-ins fly into the pot regularly. Here, things would be different. There was a decent amount of limping, which wasn't a mistake generally when the implied odds were so large. I just kept my eye open for players who played obviously bad starting cards and tried to take advantage of them.

Oddly enough, there were a lot.

Everyone at the table knew to raise AAxx, KKxx, and some double suited rundown hands, but there were several players calling out of position with effectively garbage hands. I played tight enough that I was able to win a pot with an airball on the button on a Q77 board, getting some one's naked 7 to fold. Over the course of two sessions at 5/5, I booked a +90 and +540 win, erasing the roulette, video poker, and SNG losses for the day. I turned in early so that I'd have enough sleep in me for the reason I went to Vegas in the first place, my first World Series of Poker Event.

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Back from Vegas

Date: Wed, Jun 16, 2010

I'm back, just posting a bullet list of items I should be covering in future posts so that I don't forget them...


Day 1 - Early thoughts, Satellites, Cash PLO
Day 2 - WSOP Event #20, $1500 PLO
Day 3 - Venetian Deep Stack $540, Cash PLO
Day 4 - Table #216, UFC, The Mayor is The Mayor
Day 5 - More Cash PLO and End of Trip Thoughts

After all was said and done, finished the trip up $25.00. Ship it!

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Off To The Races

Date: Tue, Jun 8, 2010

For those interested, a quick update.


Leaving Wednesday to Vegas to play in the WSOP Event #20, $1500 PLO. Some folks were gracious enough to offer me stakes, and I've enabled a Twitter feed in the upper left so that I can post updates for them to follow the action.

Thanks to TheMark and his degenerate ways, for allowing me to crash with him at the Rio for this trip.

This is my first event and like I told Otis in a recent email, I'm treating it just like my race. Focus, have a good time, do my best. And whatever happens after that, happens.

\m/

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Cutting Your Feet On The Hard Earth Running

Date: Tue, Jun 1, 2010

For a refresher - you may want to re-read this: Proposition Wager

Back when the prop bet was made, the race up in Gaffney was scheduled for July 10th. Sometime between then and now, they rescheduled the race to July 17th. This was bad. My family and I made vacation plans for that week and now I'd have to find another race. Research began.

Apparently, 10K races are not very common. 5K's are a dime a dozen, yet 10K's are few and far between. The nearest 10K I could find was taking place up in Brevard, NC, not known for its flat country roads. Still, they had a race scheduled on May 29th and July 3rd. Nothing in the prop bet stipulated that I couldn't run a race earlier than July 10th, nor did it limit me to the number of tries. I decided I was going to try to finish my end of the bargain earlier than anticipated.

I was leery. I input the race map into the mapmyrun website and this is what I found:

Brevard White Squirrel Race

If you click the "show elevation" checkbox, you'll notice that the end of the race has about .6 or .7 miles with 2 and 3% grades. Upwards. Ouch. Most, if not all, of my training was on rather flat areas, like a treadmill set to 0% incline. I figured if I could get to mile 4 by 32 or 33 minutes, I'd have a shot. Undeterred, I registered for the race and paced my training accordingly.

****

The training....

It was difficult. I began running last June, but mainly just for cardiovascular activity purposes. Constant speed, no variation in tempo, just boring running. Luckily, as I mentioned in my original post, I had a secret weapon.

The beauty of this blogger community is that even though we've all been basically introduced to each other via poker, there are many experts and enthusiasts in many fields. And most everyone is willing to give advice when asked. I called upon the PokerPeaker for assistance and he was more than happy to lend a helping hand with some training advice.

So beginning in January, I followed it as best as I could. There was some slight variation, based mainly on my 42-year old knees and their ability to withstand pounding punishment, but I kept at it. That was what I felt was my edge in this wager. Some people may call it discipline, but fellow Taurus' know the truth. Stubbornness. A blatant disregard for obstacles in your way.

G-Rob lost about 30 pounds in the first 6-weeks. He talked trash. I didn't care. This was a 6 month bet and I'd seen him lose that type of weight before. I remember my first run at an accelerated pace - a form of interval training known as a fartlek - I ran three 2-minute stretches at a 7:30 minute per mile pace. I was exhausted afterwards. My face was red and my legs were burning. According to my running log, that was on January 10th. My last week of training, I did 4 5-minute intervals at that pace. And I felt pretty good afterwards. Regardless of how race day ended up, I was coming out of this bet in much better shape. That alone was worth it to me.

****

The weekend before the race, G-Rob effectively conceded. He plateaued and then had a vasectomy. That took some of the pressure off, but in all honesty, I still wanted to successfully complete my end badly. Perhaps some of you also remember this:

Not Purple Jesus

The guy I lost that bet to is our Monday Night poker game dealer, Broc. I bet $100 I could beat him in a 75-yd dash, then fell and fractured my wrist, not my finest moment. This past January, Broc parlayed another $100 wager with me and G-Rob that we'd both fail our end of the prop bet. If we both didn't hit our goals, we'd each owe Broc $100 even though we wouldn't have to pay each other. But if we both made it, he'd owe each of us $50. If one of us made it, he'd owe that person $100. That also motivated me. I wanted my $100 back.

****

I went to bed early every night last week. I passed up a poker game last Thursday with two former NFL 1000-yd running backs, one a Heisman Trophy winner. I woke up at 5am alone and in the dark on Saturday and drove 90 minutes to the race. Then I ran.

Results by Age
Overall Results

As Daddy would say, "Crush." 11th place, 47:53 time, 7:53 per mile pace. Even with the hills.

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In Case You Were Wondering

Date: Wed, May 19, 2010

Wed, Jun 9, 2010
Arrive: 12:59 pm
Las Vegas, NV (LAS)

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R.I.P. RJD

Date: Mon, May 17, 2010

He'll know for the first time if he's evil or divine.

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Young Again

Date: Fri, May 7, 2010

I was a junior in high school in 1985. I was deeply engulfed in the hair metal scene, even though later in life I'd be forced to shave all of mine off every 2 weeks. My favorite album at the time was Invasion of Your Privacy by Ratt. Lay It Down had just come out on MTV featuring a Playmate of the Year (Marianne Gravatte - and no I didn't need Google or Wikipedia to remember that name....splooge...) and there was no doubt in my mind that my favorite guitarist was Warren DeMartini. He nailed the riffs, the solos, and it all was just so perfectly put together.

Well, on my birthday this year, they released a new studio album. This song may seem bland to some, but to me it brings back so many memories of the summer of 1985 and 86. Note that former Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo is playing in the band now. That can only mean good things.

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Metal Monday

Date: Mon, May 3, 2010

Simple riff. Executed masterfully. Great sounding live clip, and don't forget to listen to the sick double bass at 4:35 comprising the intro to Clayman.

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I Enjoy This Immensely

Date: Wed, Apr 28, 2010

You probably won't. 2:03 mark and it's riff-time.


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