Uncharacteristic of me

I don't remember the last time I tried a bluff like this.



Cake Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4.00 BB (5 handed)

Villain (BB) ($1052.59)

UTG ($390)

MP ($769.12)

Hero (Button) ($902.10)

SB ($263.20)



Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 9

2 folds, Hero raises to $8, SB calls $6, Villain calls $4



Flop: ($24) 3, 6, J (3 players)

SB checks, Villain checks, Hero bets $12, 1 fold, Villain raises to $36, Hero raises to $100, Villain calls $64



Turn: ($224) 8 (2 players)

Villain checks, Hero checks



River: ($224) J (2 players)

Villain bets $120, Hero raises to $584, 1 fold



Total pot: $464 | Rake: $2





I just kept thinking after the flop. Oh crap, I just represented a set. Just stick with the story, stick with the story... This could work unless of course he's the one with the set. But if he did have one, how is not going to raise with a suited board and me representing a hand that will pay him off?

Turn card makes a flush, so I would check (plus take a free card now that I have possible straight and flush outs). River card pairs the board so I should be gunning the pot. Flush board has the possibility of scaring away a jack (his most likely hand).

Man, that felt good.

Good fold?

One of my poker weaknesses is that I have a hard time folding good hands. Many times, I don't even go in the tank and I insta-call only to lose to a monster. So I was very surprised that I folded this. Is this a good or bad fold?


MERCY_PERCY! is a solid player who also thrives in cash heads up. This is from limited observation; haven't really played against him.

Baccarat Man is very loose and aggressive. He will call virtually any normal preflop raise when he has money invested in the pot, either through a blind or limp. He gets big stacks by bluffing at a lot of pots with pot-sized bets. Sometimes he leaves with chips intact, but often he gives it all back. He has improved his game recently by playing less predictably, enabling to avoid the traps that other players have learned to set against him. Baccarat Man never multi-tables.

Cake Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $10.00 BB (6 handed)


MP ($258.25)

Baccarat Man (CO) ($2980.60)

Button ($1404)

SB ($732.50)

MERCY_PERCY! (BB) ($1587.50)

Hero (UTG) ($1338.75)



Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, K

Hero raises to $50, 1 fold, Baccarat Man calls $50, 2 folds, MERCY_PERCY! calls $40



Flop: ($155) 9, 5, K (3 players)

MERCY_PERCY! checks, Hero bets $80, Baccarat Man calls $80, MERCY_PERCY! calls $80



Turn: ($395) 4 (3 players)

MERCY_PERCY! checks, Hero bets $300, Baccarat Man calls $300, MERCY_PERCY! raises to $750, Hero folds, Baccarat Man calls $450



River: ($2195) K (2 players)

MERCY_PERCY! raises to $707.50 (All-In), 1 fold



Total pot: $2195



Results:

MERCY_PERCY! didn't show

Outcome: MERCY_PERCY! won $2197

Black Gold Deal

I just filled up my entire gas tank for less than $20. Gas is $1.79 a gallon!

Black Friday Deal #1

I just bought $320 worth of restaurant gift certificates for about $20. Check out restaurant.com, where you can get $10 gift certificates for $3. Enter promo code SURPRISE for 80% off on top of that. There you go, 60 cents will buy you $10 worth of food. This offer only lasts until tomorrow!

Worst to First

What would you say about a fantasy basketball team in a ten manager league that drafted a starting lineup like this?

(Round - Pick) Player (Yahoo/ESPN ADP)

1 - 7 Kevin Garnett (8.2)
2 - 14 Steve Nash (12)
3 - 27 Allen Iverson (13.15)
4 - 34 Andre Iguodala (27.9)
5 - 47 Baron Davis (15.4)
6 - 54 Paul Pierce (26.1)
7 - 67 Emeka Okafor (72.75)
8 - 74 Jamal Crawford (67.95)
9 - 87 Zydrunas Ilgauskas (82.2)
10 - 94 Leandro Barbosa (72.45)


You wouldn't say that this is a team that deserves to be in last place. But that is essentially what my team is right now and I am at the bottom of the ladder looking at a pair of losses in the opening two weeks.

Right now, only two of the above players, Crawford and Ilgauskas, are outperforming their O-Rank. As the season goes on and the stats start regressing to the mean, this team is going to crush everything in its path. Worst to first, mark my words.

Barack Obama, Presidential Nominee

King Me

Sweet, I won Fantasy Football Week 7 in all three of my leagues. I'm still bitter about losing Week 6 just because I started Favre against the Cincinnati instead of Peyton against Baltimore. I should be in the top three of my money league of this ridiculously luck-based fantasy game.

I went to my first hockey game today. I don't really know anything about hockey other than what a power play is and that the Kings aren't very good. The LA Kings were playing Colorado and I got free tickets right by the ice. While it was not $76 fun, it was still pretty fun. I was impressed how they switch players in and out without pausing the game, which kept it pretty action-packed. The game had all the things that I was looking for: lots of goals (Kings lost 3-4), a fight (there was blood!), entertaining games between periods (guys racing in big bubbles over the ice), and hot girls (they scooped up ice). Oh and this one guy from the Avalanche slammed this Kings dude so hard it broke the glass! Fucking awesome. I also learned that the average IQ of a hockey fan is not very high.

Now that's what the fuck I call a chain reaction

Just when I was ready to assume that I was going to be at the same skill level at Tetris Attack forever, I start to see some real improvement. Today, I did a 8-hit chain in single player endless mode, which means no help from garbage. Back when I was playing with Angie, a 4-hit chain was an incredibly rare occurrence. Now my reflexes are faster and I am incorporating horizontal matches in my chains much more effectively. I managed to hook my new roommate on Tetris Attack and he's come a long way, such that I now have a decent opponent that I can play regularly with. The handicap used to be level 9 to 1, but it has dropped to 7 to 1, since he is improving faster than I am. Hopefully, I can get it back to 8, if I can get more consistent with these chains.




Even more replay value than Tetris.

Quintuple Up

Half an hour into a $30+3 rebuy satellite for a PCA seat. Unfortunately, I didn't survive the insane turbo blind structure.


PokerStars Game #21018997346: Tournament #112323110, $30+$3 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/10/08 0:47:18 ET
Table '112323110 2' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: TERMINATERR! (3700 in chips)
Seat 2: SHIPP ITT (4150 in chips)
Seat 3: papadelpoker (7830 in chips)
Seat 4: ExtravaDanza (5505 in chips)
Seat 5: R0GEREL (4000 in chips)
Seat 6: *HERO* (3510 in chips)
Seat 7: lilica333 (2040 in chips)
Seat 8: joe3325 (19965 in chips)
Seat 9: gunitizzy (6765 in chips)
SHIPP ITT: posts small blind 100
papadelpoker: posts big blind 200

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [Js Jd]
ExtravaDanza: raises 400 to 600
R0GEREL: raises 3400 to 4000 and is all-in
*HERO*: calls 3510 and is all-in
lilica333: calls 2040 and is all-in
joe3325: folds
gunitizzy: folds
TERMINATERR!: folds
SHIPP ITT: raises 150 to 4150 and is all-in
papadelpoker: raises 3680 to 7830 and is all-in
ExtravaDanza: calls 4905 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (2325) returned to papadelpoker
ExtravaDanza said, "HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAH ONE TIME."

*** FLOP *** [8c 2h 8d]

*** TURN *** [8c 2h 8d] [4h]

*** RIVER *** [8c 2h 8d 4h] [8s]

*** SHOW DOWN ***
papadelpoker: shows [Kh Qc] (three of a kind, Eights)
ExtravaDanza: shows [Ad Qs] (three of a kind, Eights - Ace kicker)
ExtravaDanza collected 2710 from side pot-4
SHIPP ITT: shows [Tc Kc] (three of a kind, Eights - lower kicker)
ExtravaDanza collected 450 from side pot-3
R0GEREL: shows [Qh Ah] (three of a kind, Eights)
ExtravaDanza collected 980 from side pot-2
R0GEREL collected 980 from side pot-2
*HERO*: shows [Js Jd] (a full house, Eights full of Jacks)
SHIPP ITT said, "lol"
konspirator collected 7350 from side pot-1
lilica333: shows [7c Ac] (three of a kind, Eights)
*HERO* collected 12240 from main pot
SHIPP ITT said, "i was like dead"
lilica333 re-buys and receives 2000 chips for $30.00
SHIPP ITT re-buys and receives 4000 chips for $60.00

*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 24710 Main pot 12240. Side pot-1 7350. Side pot-2 1960. Side pot-3 450. Side pot-4 2710. | Rake 0
Board [8c 2h 8d 4h 8s]
Seat 1: TERMINATERR! (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: SHIPP ITT (small blind) showed [Tc Kc] and lost with three of a kind, Eights
Seat 3: papadelpoker (big blind) showed [Kh Qc] and lost with three of a kind, Eights
Seat 4: ExtravaDanza showed [Ad Qs] and won (4140) with three of a kind, Eights
Seat 5: R0GEREL showed [Qh Ah] and won (980) with three of a kind, Eights
Seat 6: *HERO* showed [Js Jd] and won (19590) with a full house, Eights full of Jacks
Seat 7: lilica333 showed [7c Ac] and lost with three of a kind, Eights
Seat 8: joe3325 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: gunitizzy folded before Flop (didn't bet)

3 Wins, 3 Fails (Part 1)

I haven't posted in a while because I have been busy with work and moving into the new apartment. So I was without internet for a while too, which is never as traumatizing of an experience as you think it will be. I wonder if the cell phone is like that too. We use it everyday, so the thought of not having it for a week might send some people in a panic. But would it really be that bad? All right, enough rambling, on with the show...


Win

1.) More hours at work
My supervisor at the new job likes my work and has been giving me more hours. I'm a few hours a week shy of full-time status now. I suspect that I won't get another bump in hours for a while though, so that they can avoid giving me benefits. My plan is to continue to crank up my numbers in October, make them realize I'm not easily replaceable, and then approach them for a 40 hour week, a raise, and benefits.

2.) Barack Obama is going to destroy McCain
Obama's poll numbers are skyrocketing due to a number of factors. The financial crisis is the latest water cooler topic and it is bad news for McCain. We've also had two debates since my last post, which I am, as objectively as possible, awarding to the Democrats, especially Joe Biden.
The line at Sportsbook has shifted dramatically: Obama -350, McCain +225. I put my money in at the best price and I'm actually in a position where I can arbitrage for guaranteed profit. If I put $270 on McCain, I am guaranteed a profit no matter who wins the election. I won't, of course, but there is a great sense of satisfaction in knowing that you can.

3.) New apartment!
No more gross bugs and smells. This time around, I'm getting guest parking, more storage space, and hardwood floors, while keeping my bedroom approximately the same size. The rent is a little bit more, but it's been more than a year since there was a rent increase at my old apartment, so I suspect that one is due soon anyway.


Fail

1.) I'm getting ready to take a piss in a public bathroom at the Rose Bowl. Just as I take my dick out, the guy in the urinal next to me says, "So...how ya doing?"

Freakin' Bluetooth, man.

2.) The human eye can distinguish between 10 million different colors. Unfortunately for me, paint companies try their best to represent as many of them as they can. How am I supposed to choose a color to paint my room when there are 500 shades of light blue? On the other hand, I am now looking into how to land a job as the guy who gets to name these colors. You can seriously make up whatever bullshit you want. Some examples: Approaching Dusk, Baked Scone, Comforting

3.) A few weeks ago, AAA sent me some information trying to get me to become a member. In the envelope, there was a temporary membership card good for the next six weeks or so. I threw away the letter and forms and kept the card. Never know when you could use it, right? As luck would have it, I locked my keys in my car a few days ago. I remembered the card, pulled it out of my wallet, and called the number.

After I told her it was a temporary membership, the representative asked me if I had sent in my payment yet. Not liking where this was going, but not wanting to paint myself in a corner, I told her that I hadn't. She consulted her supervisor and then told me that they couldn't help me.

"Oh, so this isn't a trial membership, but more of a temporary card to use while the member fee gets processed and the real card gets sent in the mail?"

"Uh yeah."

"So, you can't send someone over?"

"No. I can give you the number for a service nearby."

"It's alright, I'll figure something else out. But I guess I won't be sending that payment in."
*click*

If AAA had helped me out, I would've actually considered joining. But nope, they just suck at customer acquisition.

Obama regains the lead in polls

I have to admit that I thought about betting on McCain in the past couple of weeks. With Biden seeming like he fell off the face of the planet, McCain erased Obama's lead and even enjoyed being the favorite by a few points as recently as yesterday. All the while, he taunted me on Sportsbook.com with +110 and +120 payouts. A good gambler is ruthless and does not let personal preference cloud his judgment. Chris, for example, will bet against his alma mater UCLA when favorable conditions arise. Then again, poetic justice came to bite him in the ass when they upset Tennessee. Nevertheless, I remained patient and held back. Today, Obama surged ahead to become the favorable selection in the election projections (you like that?). His win percentage is now 61.2%. I pounced on the bet, putting down $600 to win $400. +EV by 1%, baby!!


We're talkin' change in my pocket, biatch!

How much is Obama worth?

On Sportsbook.com, he is -160, but on Intrade.com, he is trading at 48.5. I think that getting Obama at the end of the Republican National Convention buzz is a great move. Palin is a little worrisome, because of all the media attention she is getting. Although some of it may be painting her to be a wolf-hunting, book-banning Bridge to Nowhere supporter, there is also no such thing as bad press...

On an unrelated note, I've started to put a parking ticket envelope on my windshield to ward off future parking tickets. Do you think this will work? I am still feeding the meter, but I figure this is a no-cost backup plan.

Edit (09/16/08): Obama shifts to -150, McCain to +110 on Sportsbook.

Goo Gone

omg, i win teh interwebz!!!1



By the way, never type like that unless you're being ironic. And even then, it's a little questionable. Ugh, I can't even begin to count how many games of Amorphous+ I played to get that. It's a fun game, but getting all the awards is brutal.

Neat Change Example #1

The basic guidelines to strive for are to get bills or quarters over other coins and to avoid pennies.

Lots of expletives

I played for seven hours. I was fairly certain that I was going to cash around $1000. Here are some of the highlights:

$5+0.50 No-Limit Hold 'em tourney on PokerStars ($15k guaranteed)
3510 entrants

37 players left, a sick beat:

Level XXI (4000/8000) - 2008/09/05 18:32:38 ET
Seat 1: El Jokko Bro (245662 in chips)
Seat 2: Doctor AK (369908 in chips)
Seat 3: OoYeahoO (260111 in chips)
Seat 4: daBread5 (150066 in chips)
Seat 5: konspirator (398868 in chips)
Seat 7: Rusty988 (286437 in chips)
Seat 8: thelover10 (196113 in chips)
Seat 9: FlyingLear (394202 in chips)

El Jokko Bro: posts the ante 800
All players: post the ante 800
FlyingLear: posts small blind 4000
El Jokko Bro: posts big blind 8000

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [Th Ts]
daBread5: calls 8000
konspirator: raises 27000 to 35000
daBread5: raises 114266 to 149266 and is all-in
konspirator: calls 114266

*** FLOP *** [9d 8h Jc]

*** TURN *** [9d 8h Jc] [7d]

*** RIVER *** [9d 8h Jc 7d] [Tc]

*** SHOW DOWN ***
daBread5: shows [Ks Qc] (a straight, Nine to King)
konspirator: shows [Th Ts] (a straight, Seven to Jack)
daBread5 collected 316932 from pot
OoYeahoO said, "omg"



18 players left, huge call against a hyper-aggressive opponent:

Level XXIII (6000/12000) - 2008/09/05 19:10:44 ET
Seat 1: El Jokko Bro (190750 in chips)
Seat 2: joelmelcher (398696 in chips)
Seat 3: OoYeahoO (301400 in chips)
Seat 4: daBread5 (429732 in chips)
Seat 5: konspirator (603050 in chips)
Seat 6: yukon200 (142240 in chips)
Seat 7: Rusty988 (223637 in chips)
Seat 8: gtntrs117 (1133322 in chips)
Seat 9: joeppiej (631799 in chips)

All players: post the ante 1200
daBread5: posts small blind 6000
konspirator: posts big blind 12000

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [2c 2d]
joelmelcher: raises 36000 to 48000
konspirator: calls 36000

*** FLOP *** [Kc 3d Ks]
konspirator: checks
joelmelcher: bets 349496 and is all-in
konspirator: calls 349496

*** TURN *** [Kc 3d Ks] [Kd]

*** RIVER *** [Kc 3d Ks Kd] [Jd]

*** SHOW DOWN ***
konspirator: shows [2c 2d] (a full house, Kings full of Deuces)
joelmelcher: shows [Ad 6d] (a flush, Ace high)
konspirator collected 811792 from pot


The setup leading up to my fatal hand:

Level XXV (10000/20000) - 2008/09/05 19:42:36 ET
Seat 1: El Jokko Bro (730232 in chips)
Seat 2: iamadumbnoob (215561 in chips)
Seat 3: BigGeno47 (460546 in chips)
Seat 5: konspirator (1206096 in chips)
Seat 8: gtntrs117 (962009 in chips)
Seat 9: joeppiej (1231216 in chips)

All players: post the ante 2000
El Jokko Bro: posts small blind 10000
iamadumbnoob: posts big blind 20000

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [5s 5d]
konspirator: raises 40000 to 60000
El Jokko Bro: raises 260000 to 320000
konspirator: folds
Uncalled bet (260000) returned to El Jokko Bro
El Jokko Bro collected 152000 from pot
El Jokko Bro: shows [Ad Ah] (a pair of Aces)


Level XXV (10000/20000) - 2008/09/05 19:51:13 ET
Seat 1: El Jokko Bro (770232 in chips)
Seat 2: iamadumbnoob (545422 in chips)
Seat 3: BigGeno47 (135985 in chips)
Seat 5: konspirator (1128096 in chips)
Seat 8: gtntrs117 (664709 in chips)
Seat 9: joeppiej (1561216 in chips)

All players: post the ante 2000
joeppiej: posts small blind 10000
El Jokko Bro: posts big blind 20000

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [Jc Th]
konspirator: raises 40000 to 60000
El Jokko Bro: raises 80000 to 140000
konspirator: folds
El Jokko Bro collected 142000 from pot

El Jokko Bro said, "qq"
konspirator said, "had me killed"


Level XXVI (15000/30000) - 2008/09/05 19:57:08 ET
Seat 1: El Jokko Bro (975232 in chips)
Seat 2: iamadumbnoob (563422 in chips)
Seat 3: BigGeno47 (85985 in chips)
Seat 5: konspirator (1360096 in chips)
Seat 8: gtntrs117 (604709 in chips)
Seat 9: joeppiej (1216216 in chips)

All players: post the ante 3000
joeppiej: posts small blind 15000
El Jokko Bro: posts big blind 30000

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [4s 4d]
konspirator: raises 70000 to 100000
El Jokko Bro: raises 260000 to 360000
konspirator: folds
El Jokko Bro collected 233000 from pot
El Jokko Bro: shows [Kh Kc] (a pair of Kings)


I finally decide that he has to be setting up for a bluff soon. When he reraised me again preflop, I just could not put him on yet another high pocket pair. Besides, I was raising his blind every time, not because he was a weak player, but because I just happened to always get dealt a raising hand when it was his blind.

Level XXVI (15000/30000) - 2008/09/05 20:00:47 ET
Seat 1: El Jokko Bro (1078232 in chips)
Seat 2: iamadumbnoob (503422 in chips)
Seat 5: konspirator (1230096 in chips)
Seat 8: gtntrs117 (1134418 in chips)
Seat 9: joeppiej (859492 in chips)

All players: post the ante 3000
joeppiej: posts small blind 15000
El Jokko Bro: posts big blind 30000

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [Kd Th]
konspirator: raises 60000 to 90000
El Jokko Bro: raises 180000 to 270000
konspirator: calls 180000

*** FLOP *** [Ts 7s 6c]
El Jokko Bro: bets 180000
konspirator: raises 330000 to 510000
El Jokko Bro: raises 295232 to 805232 and is all-in
konspirator: calls 295232

*** TURN *** [Ts 7s 6c] [Ad]

*** RIVER *** [Ts 7s 6c Ad] [Qh]

*** SHOW DOWN ***
El Jokko Bro: shows [Jd Js] (a pair of Jacks)
konspirator: shows [Kd Th] (a pair of Tens)
El Jokko Bro collected 2180464 from pot


I finished in 11th place and we all know that you don't get paid shit unless you make the final table.

Edit: Went to the final table to chat a little. El Jokko Bro is still in with 4 players left. This helped confirm that he had QQ when he said he did. If a player lied about what he had, usually he won't remember what his lie was.


maui'd [observer]: el jokko, you're still in?
konspirator [observer]: he was the one who busted me
konspirator [observer]: woke up with a high pocket pair everytime i raised preflop
maui'd [observer]: tuff one
konspirator [observer]: brutal
maui'd [observer]: i forgot who took me out
El Jokko Bro: yes I was vey lucky against conspirator
konspirator [observer]: hard to believe that if i survived 11 more hands, i would've made at least 900 instead of 100
El Jokko Bro: had AA KK KK QQ and JJ
konspirator [observer]: you play hundreds and hundreds of hands and it just comes down to one
maui'd [observer]: yup

Buzz Cola

Aside from a great dinner and movie, my birthday also brought me a job interview, which I went to today. It's nothing too glamorous, but I am now a marketing intern for SodaHead, a social networking site that centers around user-created polls. I'm only going to be working there 20 hours a week, so I'll still be looking for work in order to put three meals in my belly everyday. This is a step in the right direction though. It's not just a time-killer job like the admin one I posted about last week and it would let me explore one of the major facets of business. Because it is a start-up, I hope to spend some time picking the brain of the founder and hearing his story on how he started his own company. I start next Monday, so I'll follow up with details then.

Quarter Century

I am now 25 years old. Yay, I guess. I can now rent a car and be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Let the flood of Facebook messages begin...

A favorite game of mine from long ago called Magic: The Gathering turned 15 this year. I went through some of my old decks and it brought back a lot of good memories. Now, Black Lotuses are worth thousands of dollars and there are too many expansions to keep track of. Man, I would love to just spend a day and geek out with players using old-school Magic cards. One of the great things about Magic was that as nerd-centric as it was, you would occasionally see some pretty gangsta people into it. I also remember seeing some bored, yet hot, girlfriends at the side of some of these Magic players. I mean, really, the satisfaction that is gained from having something you've spent hours constructing work exactly as planned is universal.


Some people would give up their firstborn for this.
Edit: How do you do captions? =(

Other milestones in the past few days:
- 300 badges on Kongregate
- 500 movie ratings on the Facebook movie application

Card Drought Ends Auspicious Tournament Start

Normally, I wouldn't even blog about a tournament cash so minor, but looking at my records, I just realized that this was the first online tournament cash I've had in 2008. Granted, I haven't been playing much online this year, but that's still pretty sad. Ok, time to celebrate my little victory:

$10+1 No-Limit Hold 'em tourney on PokerStars
Unlimited rebuys, 1 add-on
$80,000 guaranteed prize pool
2187 entrants

After a rough start that had me rebuying a few times, I manage to pull into the chip lead in my table. Then I started to slowly build up my stack. I am trying to do moves like this more often.

Level V (75/150) - 2008/09/02 22:46:37 ET
Seat 1: The Bronc (16825 in chips)
Seat 2: docloosley (3925 in chips)
Seat 3: Dany1984 (6905 in chips)
Seat 4: gillete (5625 in chips)
Seat 5: Nanguillo (1550 in chips)
Seat 6: i k!ll D0nks (8845 in chips)
Seat 7: JezusKrist (3650 in chips)
Seat 8: 27011988 (9125 in chips)
Seat 9: konspirator (9550 in chips)
Nanguillo: posts small blind 75
i k!ll D0nks: posts big blind 150

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [Ts Ah]
27011988: calls 150
konspirator: calls 150
gillete: calls 150
Nanguillo: calls 75
i k!ll D0nks: checks

*** FLOP *** [Js 2h 7c]
Nanguillo: checks
i k!ll D0nks: checks
27011988: checks
konspirator: checks
gillete: checks

*** TURN *** [Js 2h 7c] [3c]
Nanguillo: checks
i k!ll D0nks: checks
27011988: checks
konspirator: checks
gillete: bets 300
Nanguillo: folds
i k!ll D0nks: folds
27011988: folds
konspirator: raises 600 to 900
gillete: folds
konspirator collected 1350 from pot
konspirator: doesn't show hand



About an orbit or two later, it's time for a "get out with that weak shit" play:

Level VII (125/250) - 2008/09/02 23:07:33 ET
Seat 1: The Bronc (14925 in chips)
Seat 2: Hmelmahay (6220 in chips)
Seat 3: Dany1984 (10355 in chips)
Seat 4: gillete (6080 in chips)
Seat 5: Nanguillo (4400 in chips)
Seat 6: i k!ll D0nks (20340 in chips)
Seat 7: JezusKrist (7450 in chips)
Seat 8: 27011988 (21150 in chips)
Seat 9: konspirator (11500 in chips)
All players: post the ante 25
27011988: posts small blind 125
konspirator: posts big blind 250

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [8s 2c]
The Bronc: raises 250 to 500
i k!ll D0nks: calls 500
konspirator: calls 250

*** FLOP *** [Qs 6h 8h]
konspirator: checks
The Bronc: checks
i k!ll D0nks: bets 500
konspirator: calls 500
The Bronc: calls 500

*** TURN *** [Qs 6h 8h] [Tc]
konspirator: checks
The Bronc: checks
i k!ll D0nks: bets 500
konspirator: raises 1500 to 2000
The Bronc: folds
i k!ll D0nks: calls 1500

*** RIVER *** [Qs 6h 8h Tc] [9c]
konspirator: bets 2500
i k!ll D0nks: folds
Uncalled bet (2500) returned to konspirator
konspirator collected 7350 from pot
konspirator: doesn't show hand



Then I get moved to another table. About 10 hands in, I make a nice call.

Level IX (200/400) - 2008/09/02 23:27:53 ET
Seat 1: 1CDN_Hustler (20480 in chips)
Seat 2: jrwhitetiger (13650 in chips)
Seat 3: Bumpers251 (13700 in chips)
Seat 4: ECR714 (9250 in chips)
Seat 5: THE BORT (26260 in chips)
Seat 6: Kpenga (10975 in chips)
Seat 7: konspirator (17725 in chips)
Seat 8: 0TT0MaTic (10145 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 9: chipmaker9 (5505 in chips)
All players: post the ante 50
jrwhitetiger: posts small blind 200
Bumpers251: posts big blind 400

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [Jd Ah]
konspirator: raises 800 to 1200
1CDN_Hustler: calls 1200

*** FLOP *** [Js Qd 8h]
konspirator: checks
1CDN_Hustler: checks

*** TURN *** [Js Qd 8h] [8s]
konspirator: bets 2000
1CDN_Hustler: raises 3200 to 5200
konspirator: calls 3200

*** RIVER *** [Js Qd 8h 8s] [Qh]
konspirator: checks
1CDN_Hustler: bets 4800
konspirator: calls 4800

*** SHOW DOWN ***
1CDN_Hustler: shows [4d Ad] (two pair, Queens and Eights)
konspirator: shows [Jd Ah] (two pair, Queens and Jacks)
konspirator collected 23450 from pot



It never feels like discipline is rewarded in poker. Fortunately, there was no action, saving my desk from some serious headbanging.

Level X (300/600) - 2008/09/02 23:42:05 ET
Table '105241989 21' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: sergiomotta (31140 in chips)
Seat 2: jrwhitetiger (29230 in chips)
Seat 3: Bumpers251 (3760 in chips)
Seat 4: ECR714 (10550 in chips)
Seat 5: THE BORT (29910 in chips)
Seat 6: Kpenga (8375 in chips)
Seat 7: konspirator (42060 in chips)
Seat 8: 0TT0MaTic (6545 in chips)
Seat 9: DcRoCk6 (7925 in chips)
All players: post the ante 50
Bumpers251: posts small blind 300
ECR714: posts big blind 600

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [5d 6d]

konspirator: folds
Bumpers251: calls 300
ECR714: checks

*** FLOP *** [3d Kh 4d]
Bumpers251: checks
ECR714: checks

*** TURN *** [3d Kh 4d] [8d]
Bumpers251: checks
ECR714: checks

*** RIVER *** [3d Kh 4d 8d] [7d]
Bumpers251: checks
ECR714: checks

*** SHOW DOWN ***
Bumpers251: shows [2c Qs] (high card King)
ECR714: shows [6s Qc] (high card King - Queen+Eight+Seven+Six kicker)
ECR714 collected 1650 from pot



I have had sessions where every time I fold a questionable hand, I seemingly hit the flop hard. Another example of me tightening up just because it's a tournament:

Level XV (1000/2000) - 2008/09/03 0:42:05 ET
Seat 1: konspirator (102726 in chips)
Seat 2: KenaiBear (11445 in chips)
Seat 3: janetintexas (41554 in chips)
Seat 4: IONA06 (28009 in chips)
Seat 5: peeks33 (81011 in chips)
Seat 6: luisfran (48343 in chips)
Seat 7: Hallowed6882 (22840 in chips)
Seat 8: jamesy (38464 in chips)
Seat 9: DaddyBrooks (40218 in chips)
All players: post the ante 200
jamesy: posts small blind 1000
DaddyBrooks: posts big blind 2000

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to konspirator [8s As]
konspirator: folds
jamesy: calls 1000
DaddyBrooks: checks

*** FLOP *** [8c 3s Js]
jamesy: bets 2000
DaddyBrooks: folds
Uncalled bet (2000) returned to jamesy
jamesy collected 5800 from pot


Near the bubble, I lose a race against a short-stacked player, which marked the beginning of my chip stack's decline. Moved to another table, I had to wait over 20 hands before I picked up something I felt comfortable going all-in with. They were pocket nines, and even that couldn't hold up to another short stack's 2-9s when the flop showed a pair of deuces. Meanwhile, a player with 15000 chips goes on an insane rush to shoot up to nearly 200,000 and third in chips overall. Another player at this new table is overplaying mid-tier hands and is getting massively paid by sucking out.

Finally with blinds 3000/6000 and a 600 ante, I push my 54,000 chip stack in preflop with 67 suited, while in middle position. These situations never have a happy ending for me. It's my first time making a move like that and of course pocket kings calls me. I finish in 237th place.

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers

Finally, the dozens of resumes I have sent out paid off in the form of a job interview last Friday. Unfortunately, it was a safety net job as an administrative assistant for a law firm. I showed up to the office and there were competent looking people waiting for their interviews too. It looks like I'm not even guaranteed to land a chump job these days. (In these situations, where everyone interviewing is pretty much qualified to do the job, I try to make a lasting impression by taking a non-conventional approach: being funny, brutally honest, whatever). It turned out that the law office is of one Jeffrey Steinberger, a celebrity attorney. Didn't ring any bells for me either.

The office is cramped, seemingly more so from the framed collages of celebrities plastered all over the wall. The receptionist is browsing mySpace profiles. Everyone working there is attractive. I don't think I would mind working here. I need a steady income stream and an office job with lots of downtime could let me do the things I'm doing here at home everyday and get paid for it.

Mr. Steinberger wasn't in the office. After consulting with him on the phone, one of the assistants proceeds with the first round, which was just a five-minute information gathering chat. I heard all the questions before my turn because they didn't even bother closing the door. After the interview, she tells me that Mr. Steinberger would be in the office in half an hour and recommended that I go kill some time in a coffee shop. That's a good sign, I heard her tell one of the applicants before me that they would call her.

I come back to see even more applicants waiting on Steinberger. However, it is apparent that Steinberger is in his office now. There are assistants going in and out and his voice rings clearly through the door. As the minutes ticked by, I was increasingly appalled that an employer would have such low regard for his potential employees to leave them in the lobby waiting while he continued to work as normal. His true colors were made even more apparent in a few phone calls which we all could hear, including one on speakerphone where he verbally abused the caller for asking him to repeat what he said. After an hour in a room with these miserable applicants waiting to be a whipped lackey, I got up and told the receptionist, "Tell Mr. Steinberger to call me if he likes my resume. I have better things to do with my day."

gg, McCain

McCain must be getting desperate. Sarah Palin? Seriously? I bet I can tell what he's thinking though. Just for fun, let's talk about it in terms of fantasy sports, since my brain is still wired to think that way from yesterday.

I was almost certain that Obama would not choose Clinton as his running mate. He wants someone who will help anchor his lead in the polls, someone to take votes away from McCain. He doesn't need to appease Clinton supporters when they are going to end up voting for him anyway. If he drafted Jonathan Papelbon, he does not need to need to draft Francisco Rodríguez in the next round. He's going to take a player from a position who is going to help him in other statistical categories. So Obama chose Biden, an old white man. Don't take this the wrong way; I'm not saying that this is the reason, I'm saying it's a reason.

McCain is trying the same thing. There's the hope to convert some of the Clinton voters and maybe steal some of the thunder from Obama's message of change by doing something completely unexpected of the GOP. However, because he's behind, he's using another fantasy concept: upside. This means passing up more established and competent players/candidates for a rookie that has a high ceiling of return. In the long run, you do better by sticking with the solid veteran, but if you're behind, you might need to take a gamble. That gamble might pay off or it might totally blow up in your face. I don't think McCain is that far behind to justify taking this risk. How could this plan backfire, as it most likely will? It might have to do with the fact that not only is Palin a rookie, she's never played in anything past Little League.

"As for that VP talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day?"
-Sarah Palin

Always a good sign...

...when people are complimenting your picks instead of laughing at them. I just got out of the draft for the 12-team fantasy football league I mentioned below. Here's my team, along with some commentary.

QB - Peyton Manning: (17) I was glad that Manning fell to me here because I wanted to draft either Manning, Romo, or Brees. I feel that Brady's price (he goes around 6th in drafts I've seen) is too high based on his previous season. Out of the top 4 QBs, I thought I got the best deal, as Romo and Brees owners (insanely?) reached for them at 11th and 18th picks respectively. Larry Johnson was the only attractive option.

WR - Plaxico Burress: (32) I wanted T.J. Houshmandzadeh, but Tai took him right before me.

WR - Laveranues Coles: (65) I wanted Jerricho Cotchery, but in every recent draft I've seen, he's been snagged up way before his 83rd ranking.

RB - Joseph Addai: (8) This was huge. Picking 8th, I was expecting someone like Frank Gore to be my best option. Addai is so much better.

RB - Earnest Graham: (41) With only 1 RB in the first three picks, this one needed to be a RB and getting one ranked 33rd on the latest Big Board is not bad.

TE - Kellen Winslow: (56) I tried to avoid drafting a TE too early, waiting patiently as Antonio Gates (44) and Jason Witten (51) went off the board. After I chose Winslow (mostly because I had no backup plan once Calvin Johnson was taken), Tai remarked, "He is no better than the next 5 TEs." This was probably my first mistake during the draft.

W/R - DeAngelo Williams [RB]: (80) I heard he is having a good preseason.

BN - Lee Evans [WR]: (89) I had just filled out my starting lineup minus kicker and defense, so my goal was to choose the best available player regardless of position. I don't know who that is, but Evans was on top of the list. Picks 90-95 went: Scheffler, Fargas, Perry, San Diego, Chester Taylor, and Norwood. None of those guys really look better than Evans.

BN - Ricky Williams [RB]: (104) This was the last of the players on my short list of middle-tier sleepers (projected rank 100-150). Patrick Crayton (72), Nate Burleson (98), Chris Johnson (79), and Jerious Norwood (95) were the others. Apparently, other managers had the same ideas as me (or read the same articles...haha).

BN - Brett Favre [QB]: (113) There's upside here, no? Delhomme, Schaub, and Eli Manning were the other draft-able QBs. Four DEF had already gone in the top 100 and I was considering using this pick for Chicago. Unfortunately, it went at 109. It may be a blessing in disguise, though, because this is earlier than I would've liked to choose a DEF anyway. I was hoping for like two rounds later.

BN - Sidney Rice [WR]: (128) Not sure what I was doing here. I think Derrick Mason would have been a better choice.

BN - Ahmad Bradshaw [RB]: (137) I think this is one of those picks where I just take the highest ranked player that I haven't written a negative note about.

BN - Maurice Morris [RB]: (152) This could be a huge pick if Julius Jones drops out of the picture.

DEF - Tennessee: (161) Just took the highest ranked one available. Tennessee is one of four consistent defenses that have been in the top 12 for the past three seasons. Even then, I probably would have picked New York (159). I might get it anyway since its owner already has Minnesota.

K - Rob Bironas: (176) 2007's 2nd best kicker. Not too shabby for a last round pick.


Overall, I think my draft went well. I am going to try to downgrade my TE and maybe try to boost my bench's strength. I am definitely losing to Tai when we face each other though. Almost half of my offense has a bye week (most notably my top 3 draft picks) and I have barely enough active players to fill the spots.

I wanna get you in the Georgia dome on the fifty yard line

I have been playing fantasy sports for five years. I have gotten pretty good at it. Since 2005, I have been in 14 leagues. Nine of them have finished already and I have placed at least third in regular season standings in all of those leagues (average league size of 12), with the exception of a 4th place finish in a 18-team league. I am currently leading my baseball league. If I win it, I would have at least one league win for three years straight.

With all that said, let me add another thing: I know very little about actual sports. I don’t know which teams belong in the AL or the NL. I couldn’t tell you what teams many of my fantasy players play for in real life. I’m still a little bit hazy on what the different positions in basketball do. I rarely watch sports on TV or in person. I certainly wouldn’t be able to recognize most sports stars if they passed me on the street. I shy away from sports video games because I have no clue how to play them.

I see fantasy sports as a game and the players as stocks with values that rise and fall. Because of the time commitment that is required, I deem it worthy of being competitive over. Like a good investor, I gather information and try to find good values.

This is my first year playing fantasy football. Tai invited me to a $50 entry fee league with his coworkers. I spent this week preparing for the draft, more time than usual because I had to learn all of these unfamiliar names. I can already see some significant differences between fantasy football and basketball/baseball, such as the absence of streaming as a strategy. One thing I’m starting to do to prepare is run through a practice draft in a Yahoo! public league. It’s not a mock draft because I go on to play in the league but it helps me learn which players to reach for and which ones I can hold off on.

I was supposed to do my practice draft yesterday. I had my Excel file and my schedule open. I cracked my knuckles and clicked on the link to Yahoo’s fantasy sports page. It refused to load. Every other webpage didn’t have a problem. Just this specific webpage at this specific time. Even the rest of Yahoo! was working. If you knew all the shit that had happened to me earlier this week though, this kind of cosmic cruelty would seem about par for the course.

I check the site again a little later. Of course it works and of course the draft is already over. I check out the draft results and gaze at the horror that is auto-draft:

QB – Carson Palmer (38)
WR – Larry Fitzgerald (23)
WR – Marvin Harrison (43)
WR – Chris Chambers (63)
RB – Steven Jackson (3)
RB – Ryan Grant (18)
TE – Chris Cooley (58)
BN – Jonathan Stewart (98)
BN – Donald Driver (103)
BN – Jerry Porter (118)
BN – Tony Scheffler (123)
BN – Jon Kitna (138)
K – Shayne Graham (83)
BN – David Akers (143)
DEF – Jacksonville (78)

There are a few picks that I like, but overall, it will be a struggle to transform this team into a winner.

So today, I decide to try it again. This time I can get to the fantasy homepage, but when I try to join the draft, it doesn’t fully load! The progress bar is stuck at about 90% on several attempts. The solution was to update my Flash player because now the draft window is really fancy, with a ton of flashy (heh heh) graphics and features. I was not too happy to see that they show the ADP of each player because it levels the playing field a bit for the managers who don’t do any pre-draft research.

I’d like to think that I have a better team here than my auto-drafted one, but you can be the judge of that:

QB – Donovan McNabb (52)
WR – T.J. Houshmandzadeh (29)
WR – Calvin Johnson (49)
WR – Donald Driver (69)
RB – Frank Gore (9)
RB – Larry Johnson (12)
TE – Vernon Davis (92, autodrafted/ran out of time)
BN – Jamal Lewis (32)
BN – Matt Forte (72)
BN – Jay Cutler (89)
BN – Anthony Gonzalez (109)
BN – Selvin Young (112)
BN – Donte’ Stallworth (129)
K – Kris Brown (149)
DEF – Jacksonville (132)

I hated being at the end of the snake (9th pick with 10 teams). It forced me to reach for some players to fill scarce positions (McNabb, Driver). I learned that it is not a good idea to go RB-RB with the first two picks because the RB position is deep and there are a lot of good values to be found in the middle rounds of the draft when managers are skipping over RBs to fill other positions. Anticipating this, I would try to get a WR with one of my first two picks, so that I wouldn’t feel pressured to reach for one later when the run starts. I would’ve enjoyed getting Jamal Lewis with the 32nd pick if I had chosen Terrell Owens in the second round instead of Larry Johnson. I’m not sure how important the bench is in fantasy football yet. I know I can use my RB3 at least twice, during the bye weeks of my main guys. But if there’s not much more to that, then it would be a lot of wasted stats for Lewis.

Now I turn my attention to Tai’s league, where there’s money on the line and the smack talk matters. I don’t know Tai’s coworkers, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s more or less like a public league. The main thing that I needed to take into consideration though is the custom settings for the league. These are the differences from the default settings and the adjustments I am making in my drafting strategy:

12 teams instead of 10 - I don't have enough experience to know how to adjust my drafting for this, but I think it means that shallow positions are even more valuable. Being at the end of the snake would be even more brutal too, as you would have to watch up to 22 picks go by between yours. Yup, might have to stretch before the draft because of all the reaching you'll do.

W/R replaces one WR position – It allows the manager more flexibility in setting his lineup. This slot is going to be filled by a RB most of the time because they score more points. But if there are three good WR matchups for the week, this will be useful. In terms of drafting, there is less pressure to reach for WR. This also makes drafting RB-RB for the first two rounds a more attractive strategy.

Passing Touchdowns worth 6 points instead of 4 – This is a huge boost to the value of the QB position, which is already the highest-scoring. Tom Brady would have scored you an extra 100 fantasy points last year under this setting. Drafting a top 5 QB is essential.

Interceptions worth -2 points instead of -1 – No significant effect. QBs don’t throw more than 25 interceptions over the course of the season and the touchdown boost above more than compensates for this.

(Offensive) Return Touchdowns not scored – No significant effect.

FG (0-39 yds.) missed worth -1 point – No significant effect. Kickers only miss a few field goals per season.

Blocked Kicks worth 3 instead of 2
Kickoff and Punt Return Touchdowns worth 6 points – Chicago led the league in return TDs in 2006 and 2007 by a margin of 2. They also led the league in blocked kicks last year. These two changes slightly boost other DEF point contributions, but they don't boost their relative value like it does for Chicago. Unlike a manager who is looking to get San Diego or Minnesota, I can just let the crowd dictate when the run for DEF will start rather than risking jumping the gun too early.


I will update the blog later tonight after the draft. Hopefully everything goes according to plan!

Brain Pain

If you have already beaten Minesweeper and Sudoku puzzles backwards and forwards and are still looking to get your logic fix, let me recommend my time sink today, Hexiom Connect. It has 40 levels, so the learning curve is gradual. There is also a random level generator to add some replay value. I have less than ten levels to go, so expect a brag post once I finish tackling the hard badge. Some of the levels will make your brain hurt just from looking at it, but having a systematic approach is the key in making sense of the chaos. Just make sure that approach doesn't include being a wuss and using a walkthrough.

If you liked the game, check out others at Kongregate's puzzle page. I recommend 3D Logic and Bloons because they are good enough to have sequels in case you get utterly hooked.

Edit (8/31/08): Got the hard badge. Man, level 39 took me a while...

Necessity is the mother of invention

Without getting into the details leading up to this, here's the situation: She is happily asleep next to me and I'm lying there with my first case of blue balls in over a year. I surreptitiously sneak out of bed and head to the bathroom to try to rub one out. It was then that I discovered a second use for face wash.

I'm just glad that I use this now

























instead of my old face wash:

No Limit Soldier

I broke my rule of only risking $400 max at the casino last night. I was pissed after losing two buy-ins at my usual 200NL game. I withdrew another $400 and went to the 400NL table, which had significantly better players. It seemed like the only time big pots were won was when an excellent hand beat a great hand. However, my biggest hand of the night came as a result of a breakdown in discipline for one of my opponents:

Two players limp in preflop. I (stack size $700) am in the small blind with JJ. I raise it up to $70. The big blind (stack size $1500+), who is known for playing any hand, calls. One of the limpers (stack size $600), a young hotshot type, calls. Flop comes 4-5-8 rainbow. I check and the big blind checks. The last player thinks for a long time, then goes all-in. I go in the tank. I feel that a straight or set would not have made such a large overbet. Pocket kings or aces probably would have reraised preflop instead of seeing the flop three-way. I am not sure what hand he has, but I think that he puts me on AK who got scared when I got two surprising calls. I call. He has 8-6 and my jacks hold up.

--------------------

Since we're on the subject of No Limit, I have to share these YouTube comments on the video for "Make 'Em Say Ugh":

"fights used to always break out at the club when this song ... went on"

"Lol this song is fucking sick but at the same time its pretty retarded in many ways"

"THIS SONG IS FUCKING INTENSE"

"i hATE THE WAY SILK THE SHOCKER RAPS ITS LIKE HE ALWAYS OFF BEAT AND SHIT"

"Since young people have matured, nobody don't really like Master P anymore, he don't sell anymore, and since I have matured since 7 monts ago and more, I don't like his shit, but this song is still aight and kind of crunk. Ugh-boo!"

What does a popsicle and a thermos have in common?

There is something awesome about the sight of a grown man eating a popsicle. He was a swarthy, solidly-built guy with a bit of a resemblance to Sylvester Stallone sitting at the poker table enjoying a bright red popsicle at 11pm. Where did he even get it? What if in addition to those chip carts you see in the casinos there were guys pushing carts of Mexican frozen treats? I guess the little bells would get annoying after a while.

Thinking of popsicles led me to thinking about other genericized trademarks. There are different degrees of them, I concluded. Popsicles are a better example than Kleenex or xerox, for example, because most people will still say "tissue" and "copy".

There are going to be a lot of poker-related posts in this blog

After butting heads a few times with a guy who had about $3000 in chips, he told me, "I just can't figure you out." Now that's the ultimate poker compliment.

I went on to have one of my best sessions in recent memory.

--------------------

As I walked up to the cashier cage to cash out, I saw a guy ahead of me buy about $40 in chips. The thing was, he paid with an assortment of bills and coins.

"Do you ever get worried when you see that?" I asked the cashier.

"I try not to think about it. But I know what you mean."

Little Victories

I have no job. I have no girlfriend. I have no direction in my life. By many standards, I should be considered a loser. I am like a stoner letting the years of my youth float away, except I don't even get a good high out of the deal. But this isn't going to be a pity party because there are no neglectful parents or chronic illnesses to blame, just a man in his mid-twenties with just a little too much intelligence to settle for the mundane, but just a little short of the ambition needed to really do something about it. In fact, I am aiming to make this the first and last time I use this tone here. I know it will be a long time before I consider myself truly successful and happy. In the meantime, it is important for me to acknowledge, maybe even celebrate, the little victories in life. Most of them won't be relevant to my life's challenges, but that isn't the point. The point is that those moments that make you do a fist pump are great and deserve to be captured in a blog. By the way, "littlevictories.blogspot.com" and "fistpump.blogspot.com" were already taken.

--------------------

Tonight, I turned in another winning session at Hollywood Park's 200NL game ($3/$5 blinds). I played awfully, however, donking off chips with questionable hands and buckling under weak bets. Thanks to some bad plays by my opponents, I was able to see my stack size seesaw rather than just disappear into the felt. Several hours into the session, I was at $701 after posting the small blind. Now, I don't know if it's superstition or OCD, but I like cashing out with a nice even number. After tipping my usual dollar to the cashier, I would be walking out with a cool $500 in profit. Of course, this is a terrible basis for deciding when to leave a table. It is just one of those little illogical flaws I have in my game, like how some people have a favorite starting hand that they will play preflop when they otherwise shouldn't. In a situation like this, I even hope that someone will make a preflop raise so that I don't have to agonize over throwing in $2 to complete the blind and ruining my perfect chip count. Thankfully, there was a raise and I happily folded.

I go into tight mode, folding crappy hands as I wait for the big blind to come to me (I heard that writing/speaking in present tense makes for better storytelling). Then I am under the gun. Ah, one more fold and it will be time to go home. I take a peek and see A♣T♣. Just great... An ace-nine offsuit, I wouldn't have had trouble folding. I limp in and most of the table follows along. The flop comes 5♣6♣7♣. I fire out $20. The player to my left calls. Action makes it down to the cutoff and he grabs four yellow chips. But then he starts to mentally hem and haw. He shows his already-folded neighbor his hand. Finally he goes all-in. I flat-call, but the player on my left folds. The poor guy has a red 4-8 and now I'm sitting with about $850 in chips. I have another OCD dilemma now. Even stacks of chips are nice, but people like me also like to break arbitrary goals that we set. This has led to some headbanging in the past where a thought like "I have $490. I'll leave when I crack the $500 mark. Just gotta steal the blinds once or something." eventually resulted in me losing it all.

So I decide to stick around and go for $1000. I think you might have a feeling for how this story ends already. A few orbits later, I am on the button with pocket nines and a table full of limpers. I raise it up to $30, but I still get about five callers. The flop shows 9♥T♣Q♦. A little worrisome, but still a great flop for me. A woman bets $75 and a relatively short stack calls. I raise it to $200 to force the short stack to make an all-in decision. But first, the initial bettor is clearly not liking the raise. She hesitantly makes the call, the short stack calls, and the turn brings an 8♥. The woman's demeanor does a 180° and she confidently goes all-in for $300+. I groan and fold. She has J♥Q♥, the other player has some bullshit like J6o, and they chop up the pot.

Dang, just goes to show you should never question the sign of the even stack.

--------------------

Another victory today came in the form of this Flash game that I've been addicted to for the past couple of days called Amorphous+. I finally cleared the big nest after I-don't-know-how-many tries. Now to work on that Hall of Fame badge...