Sunday, June 29, 2008

One More FT, End of Month Regression

Made one more final table in a row, made it basically 4 in 4 days with UB 20k. Finished fourth, not sure I really played well. Then proceeded to give back about two grand over the last couple days, after being up about 7.5k for the month after the UB tourney. Now up about 5.5K. That might be it for the month, playing softball today and soccer doubleheader tomorrow, along with going to the South Side for the Cubs-White Sox game tonight. I'm at least pleased I got in some volume at the end of the month, though the end wasn't what I hoped.

Played the FT $322 six handed yesterday, lasted for say, six minutes. Here's the hand:

Full Tilt Poker Game #7006291974: $90,000 Guarantee (51450846), Table 8 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 15:15:58 ET - 2008/06/28
Seat 1: Sudco (2,745)
Seat 2: bakitako (2,735)
Seat 3: Chat Off (2,690)
Seat 4: bzimzim (3,260)
Seat 5: The Universe112 (3,495)
Seat 6: TheKoalabear (3,075)
bakitako posts the small blind of 15
Chat Off posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bzimzim [6d 6s]
bzimzim raises to 90
The Universe112 calls 90
TheKoalabear folds
Sudco folds
bakitako calls 75
Chat Off folds
*** FLOP *** [8s 3c 6h]
bakitako checks
bzimzim bets 210
The Universe112 calls 210
bakitako folds
*** TURN *** [8s 3c 6h] [5h]
bzimzim has 15 seconds left to act
bzimzim bets 450
The Universe112 calls 450
*** RIVER *** [8s 3c 6h 5h] [Qc]
bzimzim has 15 seconds left to act
bzimzim bets 1,000
The Universe112 raises to 2,745, and is all in
bzimzim has 15 seconds left to act
bzimzim has requested TIME
bzimzim calls 1,510, and is all in
Uncalled bet of 235 returned to The Universe112
*** SHOW DOWN ***
The Universe112 shows [7h 9h] a straight, Nine high
bzimzim mucks
The Universe112 wins the pot (6,640) with a straight, Nine high

You know those calls you talk yourself into? This was a call I talked myself into. Part of the calculus was that he badly overplayed top pair with a nothing kicker before, making a big bet on the river that was clearly a value bet (except he was behind). And I was getting better than 3:1, and I thought well, he could have etc. But really, what else could he have here? Another set maybe. I just don't think I'm going to see hands I can beat enough to make this call here. I saw exactly the hand I expected to see; and if that's true, why am I calling in the first place?

The 150k was a shove fest by the beginning of hour three yesterday thanks to the new awful blind structure. Supposedly they've changed back. God I hope so, that was atrocious. I wrote an angry email to AP support, they say my suggestions are "well received" and my email has been forwarded to the Programmers Team. But if I had some part in them doing something about it, I'm happy. The worst part was that it was intentionally deceptive, starting at 5/10 and then still providing less play than before.

World Series is going on. Eric "jakz" Crain finished 13th in an event, good showing. Wasn't really one of my goals to make it out there this year, more concerned with getting myself established playing online poker and paying rent then trying to qualify for big tournaments. But next year, making it out to Vegas for the WSOP will definitely be on the list of goals I think.

Ohio State recruiting class is basically already wrapped up, 23 recruits committed, which is sick. Euro Final today. The Mets still suck. College football season, and in particular September 13, is still too far away.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Ship 8k; Poker Week

Well I was getting annoyed after blowing a bunch of chips at final tables at Stars 20r and Cake 30r, being in the top two in chips at final table and finishing seventh both times. Did I play too aggressively? Still need to review those. But got the monkey off my back by shipping AP 8k last night for essentially 2.5k. Actually my first shippage of the month, though the big cash was finishing second before. It was weird because when we were down to two tables my table went ballistically aggro, and I wasn't picking up much, but managed to pick spots and hang around well I think. But I had a sort of "Am I on AP? What's happening right now?" moment as the table went nuts around me. Then the final table was much more standard, just lots of shoving by me, with the added bonus that I was able to go into run over people mode with the CL with 3 people left since they were clearly interested in trying to make an extra $700 by finishing second.

Hey it's poker week! After being totally derelict in my poker duties for most of this month, ramped it up this week. I did not play any tournaments from the 4th to the 18th. Wow. I work hard at my job. Anyway, got it going now, with the result being 3 final tables in four days (and really 3 in 3 days, only played one tourney Monday after I got back from soccer). Tonight? Why I think I'll play some poker. Feeling a big shippage coming.

Pokerstars now has rakeback. Sweet. I still have not heard about Cake. It was supposed to take 3-5 days. That was a month ago. Maybe I'll just attempt to sign up again.

Alright back to laundry, then what should be an awesome Euro semi between Russia and Spain. And then poker.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

This Post Couldn't Have Less To Do With Poker

Although I will say, finished 4th in the 1r1a $55 Stars tournament this week, had big chip lead with four left than lost it all, at some point I'll go back and decide if that goes in the category of "didn't catch cards, unlucky" or "totally epic fucking collapse, I suck". Probably somewhere in between.

Anyway, I don't normally watch Sunday morning political shows because they (politicians, hack commentators like George Stephanopoulos) feed us such drivel, but I happened to catch the "Commentary" by Bob Schieffer at the end of Face the Nation. What followed was, I thought, hilarious, but then again I have a weird sense of humor. In case you don't know, Schieffer is 100 years old. I might be rounding.

"Finally, today, I'm just back from two weeks in France. I hadn't been there in awhile and I'd forgotten just how beautiful Paris can be. But there was a little culture shock and it took me a day or two to figure it out. Then it hit me; I was seeing something on the boulevards of Paris that I hadn't seen lately in America, at least not in the Northeast: couples. Boys and girls paired off, men and women holding hands, strolling, talking, sitting in sidewalk cafes, immersed in each other as the world passed by. Stroll down an American street in the early evening and what you see are not couples but groups of young women going off to see Sex and the City or some such, and then gangs of guys heading for sports bars. Late in the evening, or so I'm told, they eventually meet up at clubs or other gathering places where everyone, for wont of a better word, gets plastered. Long ago, I moved from participant to consultant observer status in such matters, and it is none of my business of course, but based on my boulevard observations, here is my thought on all this. American guys would do well to start talking to the ladies much earlier in the evening before the drinking starts. Those French guys seemed fascinated with what their dates were saying, and from what I could tell, things were moving along just fine."

Top three moments in that speech:
3. All French guys are "fascinated" by their dates.
2. Referring to any group of guys as a "gang", and he had a little bite in his voice when he said it.
1. Eventually everyone meets up and gets plastered. I suppose I can't argue with this, but hearing Schieffer say it in his advanced age was awesome.

Also, unlike the other morning shows, Face the Nation is only a half hour. Are we really setting aside two minutes so Schieffer can lecture us young whipper snappers? Of course, this is the same network that still allows Andy Rooney to talk, despite the fact that he makes less sense than your average person in a mental asylum. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Back From California!

And refreshed, and ready to get to work!

Went to my friend's wedding. It was in a winery in Calistoga, or outside of Calistoga, and it was great. Wineries are definitely an excellent place to get married, especially if you can incorporate wine into the ceremony. Also, funny story. Al Jazeera was at the wedding. Well, kind of. The minister who did the ceremony is also doing gay marriages, so the reporter was covering him with gay marriage going legal that week. Turns out he was more of an independent contractor really, but still thought that was funny.

Alright, haven't done shit so far this month, but I'm ready, time for some afternoon poker.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Lethargy

I can't remember a week that I've played less. There are some legitimate reasons for that: I usually play big on Sunday but went to the Chicago Blues Festival instead, plus I'm not playing during the Finals games so I can watch the Lakers lose (that's turned out to be a lot less fun than I was hoping). I've also been sucked in by the Euro. Still way too much coasting lately. I go to California tomorrow, back Tuesday night. I will rededicate myself to putting in the hours in the second half of this month.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Some Hands; Almost Ship

In AP 20r, played three hands in a row, opponents had aces three times. Never had that happen before. Cracked 'em twice. Even I want to run like me:

Stage #1195322451 Tourney ID 2019047 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $300 - 2008-06-04 13:48:29 (ET)
Table: 13 (Real Money) Seat #2 is the dealer
Seat 1 - VLAD5873 ($18797.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - ILLFUUP ($17717.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - BZIMZIM ($10000 in chips)
Seat 4 - JD38 ($13690 in chips)
Seat 6 - KUDOS72OFF ($8910 in chips)
Seat 7 - MPITTSBURGH ($11865 in chips)
Seat 8 - ICECRUSHER ($10380 in chips)
Seat 9 - SPOTUPJ ($16720 in chips)
VLAD5873 - Ante $25
ILLFUUP - Ante $25
BZIMZIM - Ante $25
JD38 - Ante $25
KUDOS72OFF - Ante $25
MPITTSBURGH - Ante $25
ICECRUSHER - Ante $25
SPOTUPJ - Ante $25
BZIMZIM - Posts small blind $150
JD38 - Posts big blind $300
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Jc Jh]
KUDOS72OFF - Raises $800 to $800
MPITTSBURGH - Folds
ICECRUSHER - Folds
SPOTUPJ - Folds
VLAD5873 - Folds
ILLFUUP - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $2350 to $2500
JD38 - Folds
KUDOS72OFF - Calls $1700
*** FLOP *** [6c Qd Jd]
BZIMZIM - Bets $3000
KUDOS72OFF - All-In(Raise) $6385 to $6385
BZIMZIM - Calls $3385
*** TURN *** [6c Qd Jd] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [6c Qd Jd 6d] [Qh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BZIMZIM - Shows [Jc Jh] (Full house, jacks full of queens)
KUDOS72OFF - Shows [As Ah] (Two Pair, aces and queens)
BZIMZIM Collects $18270 from main pot

Stage #1195323027 Tourney ID 2019047 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $300 - 2008-06-04 13:49:47 (ET)
Table: 13 (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 1 - VLAD5873 ($18772.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - ILLFUUP ($17692.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - BZIMZIM ($19360 in chips)
Seat 4 - JD38 ($13365 in chips)
Seat 7 - MPITTSBURGH ($11840 in chips)
Seat 8 - ICECRUSHER ($10355 in chips)
Seat 9 - SPOTUPJ ($16695 in chips)
VLAD5873 - Ante $25
ILLFUUP - Ante $25
BZIMZIM - Ante $25
JD38 - Ante $25
MPITTSBURGH - Ante $25
ICECRUSHER - Ante $25
SPOTUPJ - Ante $25
JD38 - Posts small blind $150
MPITTSBURGH - Posts big blind $300
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Ac Jc]
ICECRUSHER - Folds
SPOTUPJ - Folds
VLAD5873 - Folds
ILLFUUP - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $800 to $800
JD38 - Calls $650
MPITTSBURGH - Calls $500
*** FLOP *** [4h 2h 6h]
JD38 - Checks
MPITTSBURGH - Bets $2575
BZIMZIM - Folds
JD38 - Calls $2575
*** TURN *** [4h 2h 6h] [Kc]
JD38 - Checks
MPITTSBURGH - All-In $8440
JD38 - Calls $8440
*** RIVER *** [4h 2h 6h Kc] [Kh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JD38 - Shows [Ah As] (Flush, ace high)
MPITTSBURGH - Shows [8c 6c] (Two Pair, kings and sixes)
JD38 Collects $24605 from main pot

Stage #1195323565 Tourney ID 2019047 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $300 - 2008-06-04 13:51:04 (ET)
Table: 13 (Real Money) Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 1 - VLAD5873 ($18747.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - ILLFUUP ($17667.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - BZIMZIM ($18535 in chips)
Seat 4 - JD38 ($26130 in chips)
Seat 8 - ICECRUSHER ($10330 in chips)
Seat 9 - SPOTUPJ ($16670 in chips)
VLAD5873 - Ante $25
ILLFUUP - Ante $25
BZIMZIM - Ante $25
JD38 - Ante $25
ICECRUSHER - Ante $25
SPOTUPJ - Ante $25
ICECRUSHER - Posts small blind $150
SPOTUPJ - Posts big blind $300
*** POCKET CARDS ***Dealt to BZIMZIM [Ah Kd]
VLAD5873 - Folds
ILLFUUP - Calls $300
BZIMZIM - Raises $1200 to $1200
JD38 - Folds
ICECRUSHER - Raises $3450 to $3600
SPOTUPJ - Folds
ILLFUUP - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $10350 to $11550
ICECRUSHER - All-In $6705
BZIMZIM - returned ($1245) : not called
*** FLOP *** [2h Js 8h]
*** TURN *** [2h Js 8h] [7h]
*** RIVER *** [2h Js 8h 7h] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BZIMZIM - Shows [Ah Kd] (Flush, ace high)
ICECRUSHER - Shows [Ad Ac] (One pair, aces)
BZIMZIM Collects $21360 from main pot

But what goes around...

Stage #1195342549 Tourney ID 2019047 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $600 - 2008-06-04 14:26:55 (ET)
Table: 4 (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 2 - CLUBMASTER48 ($15203.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GLOWGREEN ($35744.50 in chips)
Seat 4 - NEWDADDY30 ($13857 in chips)
Seat 5 - ALID ($33262 in chips)
Seat 6 - BZIMZIM ($28590 in chips)
Seat 7 - HAIRYAREOLA ($11140 in chips)
Seat 8 - SIDNEYFALCO ($11650 in chips)
Seat 9 - BBIRD300 ($4492.50 in chips)
CLUBMASTER48 - Ante $50
GLOWGREEN - Ante $50
NEWDADDY30 - Ante $50
ALID - Ante $50
ZIMZIM - Ante $50
HAIRYAREOLA - Ante $50
SIDNEYFALCO - Ante $50
BBIRD300 - Ante $50
NEWDADDY30 - Posts small blind $300
ALID - Posts big blind $600
*** POCKET CARDS ***Dealt to BZIMZIM [Ad Ah]
BZIMZIM - Raises $1600 to $1600
HAIRYAREOLA - Folds
SIDNEYFALCO - Folds
BBIRD300 - Folds
CLUBMASTER48 - Folds
GLOWGREEN - Raises $5000 to $5000
NEWDADDY30 - Folds
ALID - Folds
BZIMZIM - Calls $3400
*** FLOP *** [6d 10s 8s]
BZIMZIM - Checks
GLOWGREEN - Bets $9000
BZIMZIM - All-In(Raise) $23540 to $23540
GLOWGREEN - Calls $14540
*** TURN *** [6d 10s 8s] [7s]
*** RIVER *** [6d 10s 8s 7s] [6h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
GLOWGREEN - Shows [Qs 9d] (Straight, six to ten)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Ad Ah] (Two Pair, aces and sixes)
GLOWGREEN Collects $58380 from main pot

I'm not normally one to knock people's game, because I like when people play badly cause it makes me money and I just generally don't care that much. Plus it annoys me when people berate people to make their own ego feel better. And hell, it's not like immune from playing badly, God knows it's happened. But I did notice that Glowgreen actually won a WSOP main event seat. And honestly, I have no idea how that happened. I'm putting the over/under at how long he'll be in the tournament at, say, six minutes.

Or he'll win the tournament. Nothing in between.

Got headsup in 15k $109 on Stars, turned down a chop for $7k and play for the rest to play it out cause I was better than the other player imo. But couldn't getting anything going, then ended on this:
PokerStars Game #17918941742: Tournament #90369539, $100+$9 Hold'em No Limit - Level XXIV (8000/16000) - 2008/06/04 - 19:27:48 (ET)
Table '90369539 35' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 5: bzimzim (322340 in chips)
Seat 8: Chris-nana (865660 in chips)
bzimzim: posts the ante 1600
Chris-nana: posts the ante 1600
Chris-nana: posts small blind 8000
bzimzim: posts big blind 16000
*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to bzimzim [Qd Qh]
Chris-nana: raises 22880 to 38880
bzimzim: calls 22880
*** FLOP *** [2h 5h Js]
bzimzim: checks
Chris-nana: bets 32880
bzimzim: raises 47120 to 80000
Chris-nana: calls 47120
*** TURN *** [2h 5h Js] [Ah]
bzimzim: bets 201860 and is all-in
Chris-nana: calls 201860
*** RIVER *** [2h 5h Js Ah] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [Qd Qh] (a pair of Queens)
Chris-nana: shows [Jd Jc] (three of a kind, Jacks)
Chris-nana collected 644680 from pot

Tried to get tricky, may as well have reraised it was all getting in there anyway. Oh well, what can you do. Still, almost $6k cash, good way to start the month. Especially since I only have three cashes so far this month for the rest of the tournaments. And they were both rebuys, and in both of them I still lost money for the tourney lol. But only need one cash if it's the right one.

Also lost a flip for big chip lead at FT of AP 9k, that was annoying. Had great potential, there were only 45 people in the tourney that day because there was some sort of problem with registering, I wasn't able to register til the minute before. Overall, was hoping for a really big day but suppose I can't complain. I run good when I play 13 hour days, which is what I did Wednesday.

Won't play much this weekend I don't think, Chicago Blues Festival going on and friend's birthday, plus I think I'm buying a new TV because my current one is cracked and annoying the hell out of me. And because what the hell, should spend my money on something.

Speaking of money, it takes Bodog for fucking ever to send checks. I ordered two over a month ago and I still haven't got the first one yet. I did get one from AP already that I ordered three weeks later.

I've made $33.75 from rakeback so far. I'm rich.

Still mad about the Lakers losing Game 1 last night. If you can go from "I need carried off because I can't walk" to "I'm fine" that quickly, you should be in Euro 2008, not the NBA Finals. Just sayin'.

Monday, June 2, 2008

May Wrap

Well I had the goal of volume for May, and I'd say I mostly succeeded until the last week. The last week I definitely did not, I think I got in a life funk. But whatever, life funk over, full speed ahead.

May: +$6842

Year to date: $50,085

Was pretty tired yesterday after waking up at 6:45 am for absolutely no reason (at least I went to bed at 1, which was the earliest I'd gone to bed in a long time), and then I had softball, so only played a few tournaments yesterday, which mostly consisted of me consistently rebuying and getting bitch-slapped around. Did almost FT AP 30r, but whatever.

So finally signed up for rakeback. I have never actually had rakeback. I am a moron. So far been approved on AP and UB. Hey if they're going to have massive cheating scandals, the least they could do if give me rakeback, lol. Hopefully get approved for Cake as well. At the moment that seems like it, didn't get approved on FT, and it seems no rakeback on BD or Stars. But hey, free money.

Hopefully lots of play this week, be good to get some play going during the day on nights when I'm doing stuff. Also on nights when the Lakers have Finals games I won't be playing.

For tonight though, off to see Indiana Jones.