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BadBlood on Poker    Friends

Pics From the Drizz Visit

Date: Sun, Jun 22, 2008

Things started out the right way when we were delivered our food/bar tab at the local Mexican food place (hammer is good):


Then Drizz showed up to the house bearing gifts:


Lastly, my daughter donated her dry-erase board for the evening's Digital Cable Classic Rock channel prop bets. Otis cleaned house in that regard.

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Wow

Date: Sat, Jun 21, 2008

I suppose part of getting lucky in poker is playing horribly and not losing. At least not too much.

Tonight, I sucked out on Wes all in pre-flop with AK vs KK. Not one of my prouder moments.

Then, I mis-read the board thinking I had a double belly-buster straight draw against G-Rob. In reality, I had a gut shot. Sadly, I hit. Then I rubbed it in. Mainly because G-Rob would have done so against me. But still, that's no excuse.

What's even worse is then finishing down for the evening $113. Really, it's a small loss. But given how absolutely horribly I played, it's a blessing.

So let me say this. Publicly.

Glad I could host.

Glad Drizz had a good time.

Sorry for sucking out Wes and G-Rob. I played bad, knew it, and still continued.

It's a good wake up call for me. Don't drink and play. At least too much.

Embarrassed am I.

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Victims of Fun

Date: Fri, Jun 20, 2008

Excitement mounts as I start this lovely Friday, the 2nd of such in this month of June that should prove to ROCK! \m/

Last Friday started out glum with nobody except a few diehards willing to play live poker at my house. Alas, the game crumbled and my house was empty. G-Rob called (one of the diehards) and mentioned the 7:15pm tourney on Stars, a $10+1 with 1 rebuy and 1 add-on. I signed up so I could play virtual cards with my home town fellow blogger.

He busted in 20 minutes.

I did not.

Like I mentioned last post, the key hand was avoiding getting coolered. I'm pretty sure we were not in the money, however we may have been close. I had about 70k in chips and I think the blinds were 600/1200 with an ante. I had pocket Jacks in middle position and re-raised an UTG raiser 4x his bet. One guy on the button then pushed all-in over the top for 50k and it was folded back to me. It was a dilemma. I really thought about folding.

Especially when the phone rang.

It was my cooler of a wife, who while I love dearly, simply cannot help herself from unwittingly destroying any chance of me winning at poker while she's around. She was an 8-hour drive away up in Virginia beach and yet she found the perfect time to call me, right in the middle of a decision for 2/3rd's of my chips in this tournament wherein I've lasted longer than I imagined.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hey. How's it goin'?"

"Honey, I'm RIGHT in the middle of a huge hand right now, I have Jacks and just got re-raised. Can I call you back?"

"Alright." But you see, it wasn't "alright." It was that exact tone that 12 years of marriage allowed me to translate thusly: "It's not alright. I miss you, I want to talk to you, the kids are in bed, I have time to chat. CHAT WITH ME!"

She hung up.

I had clicked my time bank and it was ticking down. Then I had this thought: "Hey, she hung up. She's in another state, another area code, another ZIP CODE even. I have to call."

I clicked call. Push-monkey had 66 and didn't suck out. Tough call, but in the end it still was a $10 MTT.

I called my wife back, a 3rd place chip stack fueling my ability to "chat." She was mollified.

****

FYI to Jordan: Once it got heads up, we were both pretty even in chips and my opponent typed "DEAL" into the chat box. We both agreed to sit out (got to fold KK once, yay!) and I fired off an email to Pokerstars support. Within perhaps 2 minutes, an online host was at the table and stopped the tournament to discuss a deal. I offered an even chop $2600 each, with the remainder to go to the winner. The host confirmed the deal and we both had to type "I agree" into the chat box to formalize it. Then the host re-started the tournament and off we went.

****

I leave work tonight as soon as humanly possible to go hit up Total Wine for some alcomahol. Grey Goose, and for a very special guest, Captain Morgan rum are on my list. We'll be raising a toast and/or dial-a-shotting some other local bloggers who couldn't make it.

SpecialK is kicking special ass over in Iraq, uncorrupting databases that were either attacked by nasty terrorists or Microsoft Vista. Not sure which.

And TripJax couldn't make it due to in-law health concerns, so hopefully all turns out well for he and his family. We have your number and hopefully can remember how to dial a phone.

Hell, even Shep's playing tonight. Fun indeed.

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Biggest Tourney Cash. EVAR!

Date: Sat, Jun 14, 2008

I actually chopped with 2nd for this, but won the extra $100 on the table. $2708 for me.

Mainly, because I'm lucky. I have a funny story about my wife (cooler) that I'll share later. It was a turning pt. in the tournament for sure. Until then though, let me be Barry Horowitz and pat myself on the back.

Ouch. I need to stretch more.


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Three Friday's In June

Date: Thu, Jun 12, 2008

I enjoy Friday just like any other person. However, this month, I plan on enjoying them even more.

Friday the 13th - Normally an unlucky day, I hope to host a poker game at my house. The beautiful part about this is that I'm still home alone with no distractions, so there is a chance, albeit a slight one, that I can win at my own home game. The only negative is that of this writing I only have 4 people committed to playing. I won't let that get me down though. Of all the Friday's, this week's is perhaps the least exciting.

Friday the 20th - Minnesota meets G-Vegas. A certain blogger vacationing in the Charleston, SC area is willing to make the drive to the upstate area for some patented and perfected good times. He's picking up Columbia's last remaining Pirate and should be able to join myself, the Upforpoker crew, and Charlotte's most famous poker playing thespian. Mmmmmm.....thespians....

Friday the 27th - I'll be in Vegas. Yeah big deal, I've been there before, so what. So what? Maybe you don't know, but Steel Panther, formerly known as Metal Skool, will be playing the Green Valley Ranch Ovation theater that night. And yes, I'll be there. I recommend you right now go listen to the song "Asian Hooker" on their myspace page.

That is all.

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The Myth of the Unknown Cheater

Date: Tue, Jun 10, 2008

I don't want to re-hash what's already been said, but in case you weren't aware (like any of my readers don't read Pauly or UpForPoker) there were two cases of online cheating going on at two poker sites. Both Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet (intentionally not linked) were discovered to have users capable of viewing other player's hole cards. It's pretty much impossible not to win when you have that advantage. These "super user" accounts were discovered eventually by some smart folks over at the 2+2 forums. The bottom line was that effectively millions of dollars were stolen by these accounts in high stakes games and tournaments and it went undiscovered for months.

After news of this cheating was released and confirmed, some smart folks wondered about the hypothetical "smart" cheater. Apparently, in both of the above instances, the cheating was so ridiculous that it was really only a matter of time before they got caught. But what about the cheater who only does it every so often, guaranteeing him/her a steady income of ill-gotten gains?

My theory is that person doesn't exist.

My opinion is that if you're the type of person to actually consider cheating in the first place, then you'll never be satisfied with getting away with it at a reasonable rate to deflect suspicion. Think about it this way. If you could guarantee yourself a $10k winning month each and every month, would you do it? Perhaps, but by month number three, you'd realize that covering your tracks is simply not worth the effort. If you can make $10k in 30 days, why not $20k? So you change your play. You cheat more often.

And yet you still don't get caught.

Human nature dictates that the cheater will always crave more, not less. And perhaps I'm projecting my non-cheating mind to that of a cheater; but I can't conceive of someone stealthily cheating online poker for years, and never getting any more greedy. The feeling of satisfaction will always elude the cheater until finally, they cross the line from the undetectable to the obvious.

Granted, we'll probably never know if these so called "smart" cheaters exist or not. But I just have a feeling that they don't. Eventually they'll desensitize themselves to what they're doing and increase the stakes over and over again until they get caught. Just like Absolute and Ultimate Bet.

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Do You Take This Game?

Date: Tue, Jun 10, 2008

It's an exchanging of vows so to speak. Just like when you agree to get married, you're accepting all that your soon-to-be-spouse has to offer. You're accepting all her great qualities, all the things that made you fall in love with her in the first place. But also know this. You're also accepting all her flaws. And you're not going to change them. So don't try.

If you decide to play poker, you're also accepting all that the game has to offer. The thrill of making a final table, the thrill of picking off a huge bluff, the thrill of out-smarting your opponent.

But you're also accepting all of its flaws.

Getting out drawn, getting dealt crap cards for two hours, dealing with people you wouldn't normally associate. And you cant' change poker. So don't try.

Some people still do try though. You can try to play a different style of poker, one that you think will minimize your exposure to its flaws. But it won't work, at least not forever. Because you can't change poker and eventually you'll experience all its wonders and all its flaws.

So if the flaws outweigh the benefits, you just don't get married. You find another girl who's a better match, one with fewer flaws. Nobody's perfect though, so don't bother looking for that person. But if you do get lucky, and find someone whose imperfections don't matter when compared to her beauty, only then can you dedicate yourself to making that relationship work.

So if you're not ready to embrace poker, take it for all the good and all the bad, then you should probably find another game.

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Man-cation

Date: Mon, Jun 9, 2008

Didn't do much blogging after Otis and G-Rob came over on Saturday. But just to recap, here's what went down.

First, we played Pai Gow to determine who would pay for the cab ride downtown. Even though we were at my house, with three automobiles at our disposal, our plans dictated that we cab it FROM my house due to, well, due to not really being able to drive.

Otis had a bad run at Pai Gow. He'd be stuck early.

Then we played Chinese poker for $1 a point and quickly got bored, requiring us to up the stakes to $5 per point. G-Rob crushed that game. We also gambled on the Belmont. Otis coerced G-Rob into a $10 bet at 1:6 on Big Brown. G-Rob didn't read CJ's post about the race after his original pick, Casino Drive, was scratched. Ship $60 to Otis.

The only thing I won money at was the music prop bets. Here's how it works. We flipped on Arena Rock on the digital cable. We each pick one band and one song from that band. If your band gets played first, it's a $5 payoff from the other two. If you get the song right, it doubles to $10.

I nailed it for Winger and then Zeppelin when we switched to classic rock. But I finished down for the day because I mis-dealt Chinese which was a 2 pt. penalty. Who knew counting to 13 would be so difficult.

Otis brought 4 lbs of porterhouse which we dusted off pretty quickly. I helped Otis and T finish their steaks, which may have meant I downed 32 oz. of steak by myself. I think I could have gone more. For some reason, steak-ingestion doesn't register with my "I think I'm full" feedback loop. Give me about 3 or 4 hours and I may have been able to eat all four pounds.

Beef. It's what's for dinner.

Then T drove us downtown because he was sober. At least I thought so until he pulled out of my subdivision and then nearly ran head on into an oncoming car. I was in the back seat with Otis and I think G-Rob's girth would have probably saved me from major damage as he occupied the passenger seat in front of me.

We made it safely, and drank anew at Meat Heads, wherein G-Rob and I defended our "2nd best beer pong team in G-Vegas" title against his morning co-host and her date. I nailed 4 cups including the last 2 to seal the deal.

We migrated to Connolly's and drank some more before losing steam. We finally took a cab home and that was all she wrote.

Sunday, I did nothing besides eat, watch TV, and lose all four 4:1 favorite pre-flop situations playing online poker.

I didn't think I'd miss the wife and kids until Wednesday. I was wrong.

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Plans for the Day

Date: Sat, Jun 7, 2008

7:00 AM - Wake up.
7:30 AM - Wish the wife and kids a great week away. Have house to myself.
8:00 AM - Make eggs, toast and coffee. Eat breakfast and watch DVR'd episode of Inside MMA. Dream about being Bas Rutten and executing a nice liver punch.
9:00 AM - Shower
9:30 AM - Log in for some poker. House is empty. I should do well.
10:45 AM - 20th of 78 remaining in a HORSE tourney. Top 16 pay.
11:30 AM - out in 40-something. RAZZ is officially on my hate list. Good gravy.
12:30 - Off to the gym because poker annoys me. Should do well? Ha.
3:00 - PM Workout complete. Arms huge. Protein shake ingested.
3:26 - PM G-Rob, en route, Otis soon to follow. With meat.
...updates to come...

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X-Tourist

Date: Wed, May 28, 2008

Well, I'm going back. Last time I went, there was very little poker to play. My traveling companion was my better half. I had a really, really good time too. Seeing shows, eating well, staying in a fancy schmancy hotel room. Even ordering room service was something I'd not done before on previous trips.

Now, I'm putting the old hat back on, hoping it fits. I'm booking a poker trip. Back to Vegas with the UpForPoker crew. Sleeping far to little on floors far too uncomfortable, staying far too long in the same seat at MGM poker room, drinking far too much at a PaiGow table (FYI - I hate that game), and spending far too little time with other folks who may be out there at the same time. That's how the plans are shaping up.

G-Rob's bogus vacation schedule prevents us from leaving at the same time, so I'll be out there one day ahead of him on Wednesday the 25th. He's asked me not to go broke before he gets there. If I can stay away from the Rhino, I have a good chance of avoiding that. I'm bringing a good amount of cash, which doesn't mean I'll put it all in play. But I'll be prepared for any runner-runner mishaps that may occur.

The real enabler of this trip is Otis. And again, I really have to thank him profusely for letting this moocher leech yet again some free floor space off of him. This is probably the 4th time.

****

So I pose a practical question at this point (Dr. Pauly and Grubby if you'll be out there): Are we gonna do the procedure?

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989:1 Favorite

Date: Sat, May 24, 2008

Thought I could slow play. Silly me.


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"You're Right, I Don't Have Spades"

Date: Fri, May 23, 2008

Instead of the opening scene of Rounders, it's the last hand of the night on a Thursday night. We're four-handed, playing 1/1 $100 max. It's a straddled pot (why wouldn't it be?), and all four players see the flop. I'm holding A6o.

As8h6s.

I've flopped two-pair. It's a pretty strong hand four-handed, but with the flush draw out there, I have to bet.

"Ten," I say as I toss two red chips into the middle.

"I call." My only opponent, Dr. Alan could very well be on a flush draw.

The turn hits, it's my money card, 6d. It gives me a fullhouse. But the flush draw hasn't hit yet, so I check my monster.

"Ten more," says Dr. Alan.

Hmmm, maybe not a draw, maybe a weak Ace.

"I raise. Fifteen more."

"Check-raise, huh? OK, I call."

Interesting.

River is the 9s. He made his flush, I've got him right where I want him.

"Are you gonna check-raise me again?"

I reply, "I'm not sure I can afford to let you check the river behind me if I don't bet."

I stack out ten red chips, cut them in half, and like a poker pro, spill the right half in an elegant display of my poker wizardry.

"How much is that?" he asked.

"Fifty even."

"I raise. Make it a hundred."

Let's see, uh...I got the 15, plus, uh, another 33 to um raise you um uh...Yeah, I'm gonna go all in, cuz I don't think you have the spades

"All in!" I figure to double up here, in fact I wouldn't be surprised to get a fold out of my raise. It's nearly a $200 raise.

Then I'm frozen. Dr. Alan insta-calls.

"Full house!" he says.

You're right Mike, I don't have spades.

****

Last year, Dr. Alan would have flopped a set of 8's against me and I'd have lost the $600 pot.

But.

It's 2008.

He had 86o for 6's full of 8's.

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Anti-Rigged

Date: Wed, May 21, 2008

Running good. It's a great feeling. And I know the trigger. The peculiar piece of happenstance that launches me into a streak of good fortune.

It's the "You ha' full house! You can' lose!" theory.

Recall that bad beat I had in New Orleans when I flopped middle set against top pair. I'll never forget that Asian gentlemen who sat next to me assuring me a nice sized pot would be coming my way.

Well, it happened again. But this time it was online and there was no talking during the hand. Just me launching a few expletives after the hand. But I couldn't get too mad, the hand occurred in a silly little sit 'n go.

I took a break. Had dinner. Put the kids to bed. And re-launched into some cash games.

Stats for the curious:

Hands: 310
Showdowns won: 23/26
PTBB won: 158

How? I got my hands in good. And as you can see, for the most part, they held up. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that this was at CAP NL. Capped. For the truly inept deepstack online players which I have sadly morphed into. But when you can eliminate some massive river mistakes from your game, which CAP NL does for you, then you can post some winnings. And post some winnings I have.

So. I ha' full house.

I can' lose.

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Can't Touch That Day

Date: Tue, May 20, 2008

I was scheduled for jury duty this past Monday. Not really knowing what to expect, I informed my boss that I'd be out for the entire day. Sometimes when you plan for the worst, it's easy to exceed your expectations. Pessimism. You should try it.

I had to state my name, my occupation, my marital status, and spouse's occupation.

"BadBlood, hot air balloon pilot, married to a professional poker player groupie."

"No, your honor, I don't play. It's illegal."

Those were the thoughts rumbling through my brain as I sat in front of the district judge. A small up tick in my maturity level prevented me from actually saying that, so I told the whole truth, nothing but the truth. So help me flying spaghetti monster. Or microscopic teapot if you're G-Rob.

****

I was elected to participate in three trials. My occupation as engineer was enough to sway two defense attorneys to excuse me from their juries, but I got nabbed for three anyway. There was time for me to go to lunch with the wife in between my first dismissal and my first trial. So I took her to a local sandwich shop and then to the mall. It's her birthday and I figured I'd get her some perfume for the kids to give to her. She likes the new Victoria's Secret stuff and who am I to refuse a trip inside a store where this woman is plastered all over its walls?

****

My phone rang. It was G-Rob calling from home.

"I have some exciting news for you," he said.

"Cool, spill it."

"I'm taking a nap."

For literally only a millisecond, I wondered why that was exciting news. But only a millisecond.

"Surely someone of your intelligence can figure out why that's exciting," he continued.

"Ah ha! You're going to play poker at Rick's tonight then go straight to work afterward."

"Bingo."

****

I was about to pay for the perfume when the Mrs. pointed at the sales clerk about to come over.

"Check out this woman's boobs," she said, "they're gigantic."

"If you say so."

Oddly, I'd seen them before.

I know what you're thinking. Otis thought the same exact thing when I told him about the encounter. The sales clerk took my credit card and said, "You look familiar. Where I have I seen you before?"

Expect the worst. Hope for the best. The whole truth, nothing but the truth.

"The gym," I responded. You may not believe me, but that was really the case.

****

The jury trial scheduled for that afternoon turned out to be a traffic violation. Illegal lane change. Why on earth was this infraction escalated all the way to trial? I could think of only two reasons: One, the defendant was so sure he was in the right, he was willing to go to whatever lengths to ensure his side of the story was recognized as truth. Two, he had too many points on his license and this ticket would be just enough to get it suspended.

After hearing both side's testimony, we adjourned to the jury room.

"Guilty."

****

Poker was odd last night. I was all-in twice with pocket Jacks, each time with roughly 50% equity. The first was on the flop against Otis. The board was 972, two hearts. He held the 68 of hearts for the 15-outs twice scenario. We ran it twice as is often done on huge pots. I won the first and lost the second on the river. It was somewhat exciting, but we split the pot in the end.

The second time, I was all-in pre-flop as a somewhat short stack. I was up against KQ suited, a early position, re-raise, "move" from Gucci Rick. We ran that twice too. Again I won the first and lost the second on the turn.

I expected the worst. So I wasn't too displeased with the results.

Then I folded away for about 2 hours. Discipline.

****

Things go in streaks at the poker table. Right now, I'm in a streak with G-Rob wherein he doubles me up at some point. I doubled him up at my birthday party cash game. He's returned the favor twice in return. Last night's double up put me in the profitable zone for the first time all evening at about 11:30. It can pay to wait sometimes, hard though it may be.

It was after all exciting news. Playing poker with your friends just can't be beat. Especially on a Monday.

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