Working on a pricing update here at work. The thing that sucks the most is I do nearly everything electronically in Excel and Access. I have just been giving our competitors pricing data—in a printed copy. There is nothing I loathe more than having to manually input half a bajillion numbers into a spreadsheet. It is just plain wrong and there will be no way I can get it done in time, I’m just not that quick with this type of thing and after about 15-20 minutes or so my brain starts to zone out when doing this type of ‘work.’
On the poker front, the past week or so has been abysmal. I’ve been busting out early in the tourneys or losing a buy-in or two at the cash tables. The cards have been just cold cold cold and I have pretty much just been blinded out of my past two tourneys. What are the chances of playing two tourneys and not taking a single pot? Actually, that’s not entirely correct, one time when I was in the BB and it was folded around to me, the SB had chosen that hand to use the restroom so I got his blind by default when his hand was mucked when the action got to him and he was not in his seat. There’s an idea, maybe I should slip some diuretics into everyone’s drinks tonight to keep them off the table so I can steal blinds to the final table…
Monday, August 28, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
DamnItAllToHell
Unfucking real. I am in a tourney now and in 40 hands I have not yet been dealt a pocket pair or anything better than an A5 (out of position). The two times I have actually made something, any bet, even a min bet gets folds. I am so pissed I am ready to take off the sides of the fucking PC and throw it into the middle of the fucking storm we are having. Why the fuck to I even bother with any of these fucking tourneys, I should just stick with the fucking cash games, but damnitalltohell, I just love the tourneys.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Maybe the Mookie
Managed to bubble yet again in last nights WWdN game. I put the button (I think it was skidoo) on a steal and as it turns out, I was wrong. Oh well, that’s one more bubble I can add to the series. I’d be doing all right if most of those bubbles were cashes, I always seem to screw myself on the bubble in that game, no idea why.
Well I am off work tomorrow, not for a good or fun reason, rather for getting a root canal. Since I will not be getting up at the crack of dawn, I may just well join in on the Mookie tonight and see how I fare. Sounds like they have been falling just short of the 46 people needed to pay the entire final table, so maybe one additional unexpected player will push it over that boundary line and allow the entire final table to get a payday. We’ll just have to see how it goes, wish us luck!!
Sunday 1st
Had another 1st place finish on Sunday, so that’s two Sunday’s in a row with a 1st, not too bad, but damn they finish late (around 1:30 AM). With it being so late in the month, I pretty much have a lock for the six-month top-nine game. That one should be fun, I play regularly with eight of them, there is only one Westsider represented so far, but there are two who have a shot of making it so we shall see over the course of this week.
As for last night, let’s just say the river showed me no love. Time and time again the donkeys would call with their bottom pair and catch runner-runner for a straight or flush or make their set. I can’t even count the number of times I made sure they were getting no better than 2:1 on their money but they would keep calling down with their 4:1, 8:1, 16:1 hands and they kept hitting. It was unreal, one of the morons with a three outer actually told me he was getting his pot odds to call, so he had too! That’s right, three outs getting 2:1 on his money on the river and he had the pot odds to call, must be that new math. While such things may be good for me in the long run, it still just makes you fume when they always fracking hit.
Anyways, on Thursday it’s off to the dentist for that root canal. It will be nice to have this over and done with, that’s for sure. Spent about a week with a swollen and infected tooth, it was not happiness. Work has been crazy during this time as we have been reorganized so I am now part of the new department. As a result, a ton of new work, passing along some old stuff, and a bajillion new meetings and reports to put out, what fun!
See ya’ll at the WWdN!!
Monday, August 07, 2006
Down to Four!
Had a pretty decent night at the tourney yesterday. I actually managed to double up during the Level 1 blinds so that got me off to a good start plus it put Mike (the guy who owns the company that runs these tourneys) on tilt right at the start. Anyhow, Mike is UTG and makes it 160 to go. Four people call when it gets to me on the button. I look down at 89s and since I’m getting at least 5:1 on my money I make the call. Both the blinds fold and Mike is stunned by all the action. Well the flop comes up 995 and Mike makes it 550 to play. It folds to me so I make it 1,100, which irritates Mike who then pushes and I call. He flips up AKs and then starts telling me what a horrible play I made calling him with that hand. So while normally I would agree that it was a bad call against him with an UTG raise, in this case I was on the button getting 5:1 so I put that down as a pretty easy call and a fairly easy lay down if the flop missed me. What do you think, good call or not (and yes, Mike is a solid player)?
Later on, during Level 3 blinds (50/100), I made a mid position raise of 400 with TT, got two callers and the BB pushed. I called and the other two also ended up pushing so I also ended up calling them as well. After all the side pots were worked out, it turns out that I had the only pair, all the A’s were in peoples hands as were ½ the K’s. That ended up working for me quite well as no one improved other than me when the board paired. It was fun having to call out “Doyle, down to four” as I was stacking all those pretty chips.
The next table was pretty nice, a couple of decent size stacks, a mid stack or two and a couple very short ones. Had one sweet hand there. Was dealt Ad6d in the CO and made it 4x BB to go (200/400) and got three callers. Flop came down 7d5d4c. I bet 2,200 and got one caller and two folds. Turn was a Js, and I was not pleased. I bet another 2,200 and Dan went into the tank. About 3 minutes later he finally mucked his hand, gotta love it when you pull off a nice bluff.
Awhile later the final table was announced, I took my seat and my cards went to shit. Actually it wasn’t just my cards, but also the play in general. I really don’t know what happened, it seems like all of a sudden people thought to themselves “Final table, I need to throw in chips with any paint or soooooted cards!” My AKs v K2o, K on the flop with a 2 on the river. 92s, sure I’ll call your 4x BB raise, they’re sooooted! Flush by the river. Over and over, it was surreal. We got down to four and I was down to my last 15,000 with blinds of 5,000/10,000 and I’m on the button with 44. What the heck, the underpairs have been working for everyone else and I know both the blinds will call. I throw in my chips and for the first time at this table, the guy who pairs his A on the flop wins. Oh well, what can you do, das pokah! Who knows, maybe tonight….
Later on, during Level 3 blinds (50/100), I made a mid position raise of 400 with TT, got two callers and the BB pushed. I called and the other two also ended up pushing so I also ended up calling them as well. After all the side pots were worked out, it turns out that I had the only pair, all the A’s were in peoples hands as were ½ the K’s. That ended up working for me quite well as no one improved other than me when the board paired. It was fun having to call out “Doyle, down to four” as I was stacking all those pretty chips.
The next table was pretty nice, a couple of decent size stacks, a mid stack or two and a couple very short ones. Had one sweet hand there. Was dealt Ad6d in the CO and made it 4x BB to go (200/400) and got three callers. Flop came down 7d5d4c. I bet 2,200 and got one caller and two folds. Turn was a Js, and I was not pleased. I bet another 2,200 and Dan went into the tank. About 3 minutes later he finally mucked his hand, gotta love it when you pull off a nice bluff.
Awhile later the final table was announced, I took my seat and my cards went to shit. Actually it wasn’t just my cards, but also the play in general. I really don’t know what happened, it seems like all of a sudden people thought to themselves “Final table, I need to throw in chips with any paint or soooooted cards!” My AKs v K2o, K on the flop with a 2 on the river. 92s, sure I’ll call your 4x BB raise, they’re sooooted! Flush by the river. Over and over, it was surreal. We got down to four and I was down to my last 15,000 with blinds of 5,000/10,000 and I’m on the button with 44. What the heck, the underpairs have been working for everyone else and I know both the blinds will call. I throw in my chips and for the first time at this table, the guy who pairs his A on the flop wins. Oh well, what can you do, das pokah! Who knows, maybe tonight….
Friday, August 04, 2006
Sit In the Chair
Had a so-so day yesterday at the tables. Cashed in two of six SnG’s and bubbled the other four, grrrrr. After that (well during the last SnG anyways) I sat down for the WWdN:Not. Let me start by saying that the SnG I was playing was the longest freaking single-table SnG in history, damn near two hours long. Anyways, the Not was a good time. The hand that stands out the most is the one I played piss-poor. I had an AJ in mid-position and made a decent raise of about 3.5 BB and Katitude called me. During this hand the wife stood in the doorway behind me and was telling me about her day. Now understand that my hearing is not all that great and with the noise of the AC running I have to turn to look at her so I can hear her. So here I am, twisting back and forth throwing hundreds into the pot (flop was AxQ rainbow or something), betting ½ the pot each time and I keep getting called by Kat. So throw in chips and turn back to my conversation. Hear the beep, see another brick, bet ½ the pot and get called again. Turn back to my conversation, hear the beep, see a K on the river bet ½ the pot and get raised from 900 to 1800. I look at the screen, say fuck, realize I have to push or fold and muck my cards. The wife says, “That’s not my fault” and then leaves.
Un.Freaking.Real. There is a chair right next to me that she could have sat down in to talk, that way I could have still focused on the action at the table and carried on a conversation without any real problems. I ended up donking off about 2/3 of my stack in that hand, but at least Kat put them to good use and ended up being the Not of the tourney, so the next one is in her name. I figure she had two pair or a set, I really do not think she made the straight because I do not see her playing a QT down to the river with those bets. The only things I can put her on is AQ, AK, maybe a KQs, but I guess we’ll never know.
Un.Freaking.Real. There is a chair right next to me that she could have sat down in to talk, that way I could have still focused on the action at the table and carried on a conversation without any real problems. I ended up donking off about 2/3 of my stack in that hand, but at least Kat put them to good use and ended up being the Not of the tourney, so the next one is in her name. I figure she had two pair or a set, I really do not think she made the straight because I do not see her playing a QT down to the river with those bets. The only things I can put her on is AQ, AK, maybe a KQs, but I guess we’ll never know.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
A Good Night
Last night I just had too much fun playing online. The WWdN was most excellent with a nice little 8th place finish. Both CJ and Wil joined us from the WSOP so that was quite nice of them to take time from their busy schedules to join us. The first table was pretty interesting with Kattitude, slb, Bobby Bracelet, ISS Spock, Hoyazo, and the LuckBox. Not too long later the empty seats were filled by SoxLover and Gracie. Hoy was the first one out at our table, followed not too long later by CJ. Sorry about that CJ, I was ahead and should have lost to the LuckBox (A7o vs. AKo, 7 on the flop but a K on the river), but I do have a theory about that. Since the LuckBox has been making the rounds there at the WSOP, I suspect that the combination of oils from peoples hands and the wifi craziness you are running into down there add up to decrease the LuckBox Radius of Influence (LBRoI). I suspect that as the number of people who handle your box increases, the LBRoI decreases as a inverse squared function. Just give it a good polish and all will return to normal.
The only other hand that I recall at the moment was courtesy of Waffles. I made a mid position raise with a KQs and Waffles pushed, I called and Waffles showed his Q3s. Waffles got his 3 on the flop and I made a beautiful runner-runner straight. I think I’ll check out my hand history tonight and see what it was that took me out.
Since it was still not too late, I decided to play a bit more for fun. Don’t ask me what compelled me to sign up for a $1 MTT at 10 PM other than I knew I would not be awake that long and just felt like donking off some chips without a huge investment. Turns out I busted out of that one three hours later in 38th. The sad thing is I could have played much longer but I was just so damned tired I couldn’t keep going on. It had been a really fun table and donated most of my stack to one of the fun ones when I called his all-in when I knew I was behind, and I’m glad I was otherwise I would have pretty much doubled up. After that hand the blinds and antes took what I had left in two or three hands. All in all, it was a very fun night.
The only other hand that I recall at the moment was courtesy of Waffles. I made a mid position raise with a KQs and Waffles pushed, I called and Waffles showed his Q3s. Waffles got his 3 on the flop and I made a beautiful runner-runner straight. I think I’ll check out my hand history tonight and see what it was that took me out.
Since it was still not too late, I decided to play a bit more for fun. Don’t ask me what compelled me to sign up for a $1 MTT at 10 PM other than I knew I would not be awake that long and just felt like donking off some chips without a huge investment. Turns out I busted out of that one three hours later in 38th. The sad thing is I could have played much longer but I was just so damned tired I couldn’t keep going on. It had been a really fun table and donated most of my stack to one of the fun ones when I called his all-in when I knew I was behind, and I’m glad I was otherwise I would have pretty much doubled up. After that hand the blinds and antes took what I had left in two or three hands. All in all, it was a very fun night.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Third
Well I had a decent game last night. It was pretty scary at first as when we came back from break I was down to 2,000 and the blinds were 100/200. I got quite lucky and was getting some decent cards along with some aggressive play and I managed to build my stack enough to get in site of the final table. Too bad the cards went so damn cold on me before the final table started; I sat down at the final with only 11,000 in chips and blinds at 1,000/2,000.
I only got to see a couple of flops before I was down to 8,000 and had to post my bb. I looked down and there was 55 looking back at me. There was on caller and then the big stack went all in against me. Since the blinds were about to go up, effectively dropping my M to one, I called—he is known for playing bs when he has a stack. He had pocket fours against my fives, and imagine my shock when I hit quads on the flop. Thanks to that I managed to keep myself going till I busted out in third.
With that finish I have plenty of points for the monthly game and it also put me into eighth place overall in the running totals, but not by much. I’ll be slugging it out with a couple of my good friends as we all struggle to make (or stay in) the top nine, which wraps up at the end of August. In September they hold the “Second Chance” tourney for those who did not qualify for the six month tourney (can you say poker cruise to Mexico in December) at which time there is the “Best of the Best” tourney for the top nine for a trip to Vegas.
I can remember last year when I started playing with this group in December. They were already half way through the September to February six month period and I actually managed to make it into the six-month game in that time. The six-month game is a two-day deep stack tourney and I actually made it about half way through day two. Personally I was quite proud of that as I had only been playing cards for less than six months. It still astounds me that with less than a year’s worth of experience, I am in the top nine of 700+ players, and all of the ones at the top have been playing for 5,10, 20 or more years.
Several of the players now know what my typical ranges are. I have been starting to use this to my advantage whenever I can to pull off the occasional bluff. It has been working out pretty well because in the past two and a half weeks I have only been busted out before the last two tables once, and sadly have had about seven bubbles. Now that I am playing the people at the table rather than just my cards, it has been giving me some help. Now if I can just get a bit better at putting them on a hand I should be able to go much further and give my game a nice boost.
I only got to see a couple of flops before I was down to 8,000 and had to post my bb. I looked down and there was 55 looking back at me. There was on caller and then the big stack went all in against me. Since the blinds were about to go up, effectively dropping my M to one, I called—he is known for playing bs when he has a stack. He had pocket fours against my fives, and imagine my shock when I hit quads on the flop. Thanks to that I managed to keep myself going till I busted out in third.
With that finish I have plenty of points for the monthly game and it also put me into eighth place overall in the running totals, but not by much. I’ll be slugging it out with a couple of my good friends as we all struggle to make (or stay in) the top nine, which wraps up at the end of August. In September they hold the “Second Chance” tourney for those who did not qualify for the six month tourney (can you say poker cruise to Mexico in December) at which time there is the “Best of the Best” tourney for the top nine for a trip to Vegas.
I can remember last year when I started playing with this group in December. They were already half way through the September to February six month period and I actually managed to make it into the six-month game in that time. The six-month game is a two-day deep stack tourney and I actually made it about half way through day two. Personally I was quite proud of that as I had only been playing cards for less than six months. It still astounds me that with less than a year’s worth of experience, I am in the top nine of 700+ players, and all of the ones at the top have been playing for 5,10, 20 or more years.
Several of the players now know what my typical ranges are. I have been starting to use this to my advantage whenever I can to pull off the occasional bluff. It has been working out pretty well because in the past two and a half weeks I have only been busted out before the last two tables once, and sadly have had about seven bubbles. Now that I am playing the people at the table rather than just my cards, it has been giving me some help. Now if I can just get a bit better at putting them on a hand I should be able to go much further and give my game a nice boost.
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