Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

Can't get that Dylan song out of my head.

Figured I'd write an update since I hadn't written in a bit. Though really there's not much to update. Won a small $55 tourney on AP (clearly running like a God on AP right now). Otherwise have spent the rest of the month giving some back. Haven't been playing all that much though relatively. Been too consumed by pennant race and such. I think I'm down to up 7800 or so for the month at this point.

Three days to go in the Mets season. Or at least regular season. Maybe. Or the whole series might get rained out. Gonna be an interesting weekend.

Ship AP 30r Redux (Almost)

Wow two in a row! That doesn't happen very often. Got to three handed, here was the key pot against DZ00NUTS:

Stage #1278132961 Tourney ID 2070670 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $20000 - 2008-09-17 02:45:51 (ET)
Table: 19 (Real Money) Seat #8 is the dealer
Seat 6 - DZ00NUTS ($294100.79 in chips)
Seat 7 - BZIMZIM ($426193.86 in chips)
Seat 8 - CHANCECHACE ($150205.35 in chips)
DZ00NUTS - Ante $2000
BZIMZIM - Ante $2000
CHANCECHACE - Ante $2000
DZ00NUTS - Posts small blind $10000
BZIMZIM - Posts big blind $20000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
ealt to BZIMZIM [Jd Jh]
CHANCECHACE - Folds
DZ00NUTS - Raises $50000 to $60000
BZIMZIM - All-In(Raise) $404193.86 to $424193.86
DZ00NUTS - All-In $232100.79
BZIMZIM - returned ($132093.07) : not called
*** FLOP *** [Qd Ad 9c]***
TURN *** [Qd Ad 9c] [10c]
*** RIVER *** [Qd Ad 9c 10c] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DZ00NUTS - Shows [Ac 7c] (Flush, ace high)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Jd Jh] (One pair, jacks)
DZ00NUTS Collects $590201.58 from main pot

Er, wait. Never mind.

But did hang on to finish second. And it's hard to complain about how I've been running, haha. I've pretty much taken over the AP 30r. I've played it four times in the last week, and I've finished first, second, and fourth. I love the AP 30r. Also thanks to the AP 30r, on like a 7k heater over the last two days. It's a relief to be in such a good position midway through the month. Currently up 9200. Also, my 100k yearly goal, which went in the tank with the last two months, might be back in the realm of possibility if I can get some more done this month. But hell, I play multis for a living anyway. I could theoretically make nothing for two months and make thirty grand in a day (hey I made 25). So who knows.

Also qualified for Super Tuesday on Stars yesterday, but three outed for most of my stack. Ah well.

Odds are I'm taking today off, watching some Champions League, playing some soccer tonight. Probably wander around outside some, it's gorgeous out. Gonna be a good day.

Ship AP 30r

Hey, that's better! I like that title for an entry. Just when I get annoyed at 2 outers, etc, there comes that tournament where I run like a God, and then I love poker again. I was actually down to 2000 chips at 500/1000. Shove KTo, up to 7200. Then three hands in a row:

Stage #1277352078 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-09-16 00:31:58 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11653.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34967.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12303 in chips)
Seat 4 - YACHRED ($8071 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($8019.50 in chips)
Seat 6 - ACESJAMMI111 ($15457 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($4368.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($10005 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $100
TRACKER2TR - Ante $100
GETINITIN - Ante $100
YACHRED - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Ante $100
BRUCECMC - Ante $100
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Posts small blind $500
ACESJAMMI111 - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Qd Qs]
BRUCECMC - Folds
ZOOTEDJAY - Folds
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
YACHRED - All-In(Raise) $7971 to $7971
BZIMZIM - All-In $7419.50
ACESJAMMI111 - Folds
YACHRED - returned ($51.50) : not called
*** FLOP *** [10c Js 10h]
*** TURN *** [10c Js 10h] [2s]
*** RIVER *** [10c Js 10h 2s] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
YACHRED - Shows [Jd 7d] (Two Pair, jacks and tens)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Qd Qs] (Two Pair, queens and tens)
BZIMZIM Collects $17639 from main pot

Stage #1277352771 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-09-16 00:32:58 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11553.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34867.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12203 in chips)
Seat 4 - YACHRED ($51.50 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($17639 in chips)
Seat 6 - ACESJAMMI111 ($14357 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($4268.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($9905 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $100
TRACKER2TR - Ante $100
GETINITIN - Ante $100
YACHRED - Ante $51.50
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Ante $100
BRUCECMC - Ante $100
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Posts small blind $500
BRUCECMC - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Jd Qs]
ZOOTEDJAY - Folds
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $10000 to $10000
ACESJAMMI111 - All-In(Raise) $13757 to $14257
BRUCECMC - Folds
BZIMZIM - Calls $4257
*** FLOP *** [Jh 10c Js]
*** TURN *** [Jh 10c Js] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Jh 10c Js 3d] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
YACHRED - Shows [7c 9d] (Two Pair, jacks and nines)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Jd Qs] (Three of a kind, jacks)
ACESJAMMI111 - Shows [Ad Ah] (Two Pair, aces and jacks)
BZIMZIM Collects $29853.50 from side pot-1
BZIMZIM Collects $412 from main pot

Stage #1277353300 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1200 - 2008-09-16 00:33:44 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11453.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34767.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12103 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($33547.50 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($3168.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($9805 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $125
TRACKER2TR - Ante $125
GETINITIN - Ante $125
BZIMZIM - Ante $125
BRUCECMC - Ante $125
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $125
BRUCECMC - Posts small blind $600
ZOOTEDJAY - Posts big blind $1200
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [3s Ah]
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $10800 to $10800
BRUCECMC - Folds
ZOOTEDJAY - All-In $8480
BZIMZIM - returned ($1120) : not called
*** FLOP *** [9h Jc 5h]
*** TURN *** [9h Jc 5h] [2h]
*** RIVER *** [9h Jc 5h 2h] [5d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BZIMZIM - Shows [3s Ah] (One pair, fives)
ZOOTEDJAY - Shows [Kd Qs] (One pair, fives)
BZIMZIM Collects $20710 from main pot

Two hands later, won a 28k pot against Z06 after three outing him, AQ v. AK aipf (sorry Z). Clearly I run like a god. From here I went into aggro mode, and stole a lot of blinds and antes without getting in too much trouble. Got down to 6 handed and it was me, norcalsurf and 4 of the worst players I've ever seen. Norcal got three outed out of the tourney. I caught a three outer all in to double up. And that was pretty much the tournament. Once I became chip leader I just raised like crazy, and for the most part no one else wanted to play. I've never seen an entire table go into playing for second place money mode so early. It was kind of embarassing. By the time it was four handed I raised essentially every unopened pot. And had a damn lot of fun doing it. By the time it got HU I had like a 9:1 CL, and it was over in one hand. Good times.

So now up 6500 midway through the month. Hey this month doesn't suck. It is excellent not to be digging out of massive hole this month. Now I'll see if I can really get it going and post a big number.

Buckeye Therapy Session

Three things that need to change before we can get back to being an elite program:

1. Talent

I think this game clarified the talent difference between us and USC. USC is more talented than us at virtually every position. Of course USC is the most talented team in the country as well. But if we want to win championships, national championships and not Big Ten ones, the talent level has to improve. Nowhere is this more obvious than on the offensive and defensive lines. One scout referred to our O line after the game as having "four Ohio projects." Only Boone was a highly rated recruit. Well obviously that's not getting it done. Our offensive line came out OK, but in the second half they may as well have not even been there. It's not like this is new. The questions about our offensive line have been building and building. Right now, they just aren't very talented. That's solved through recruiting, and to be fair, with bringing in the national recruits last year, the makeover of the offensive line is underway. It also means if there's a player like Marcus Hall in Ohio, a national O line recruit in our own backyard (not just that, he goes to fucking Glenville, our main feeder school where Ginn is the coach!), we absolutely can't afford to miss on a player like that. Long considered an OSU lock, everyone feels less confident recently. USC still hasn't offered, and I pray to God they don't. But there's just no short term answer there on the O line. Not talented enough.

The same could probably be said about our WRs right now, though we didn't provide enough protection to really find out. Hartline actually said he thought he and Robiskie were running open after the game, so maybe that wasn't the problem. USC blitzed a lot (read: basically anytime Boeckman was in), so it's not surprising there was space out there. Still, the criticism of them is that they aren't game breakers, which I think is correct. The wide receiver who looked like he belonged out there was Ray Small, who was recruited by USC and was a national recruit. He's long been an enigma, but no one doubts his talent. He actually played well too. That's something I can add to my good list. But again, more game breakers needed. True freshman DeVier Posey is going to be a star, and I think he'll play more and more as the season goes on. I love Dane as the possession WR. I'm less concerned about the future of the WR position, we've got guys with the ability, especially if Small is finally going to get his shit together.

The RBs were OK. I thought Boom ran hard for what the O line gave him. That said, it's obvious there's only one star player on this offense right now. And he didn't play. Would he have made the difference between winning and losing? Of course not. But the effect on this offense when he's not out there is hard to miss. And Beanie will be gone next year. We'll be awful young at RB next year, with Boom probably starting, Saine hasn't figured it out. He's a track champion, but he plays tenative and slow. National recruit Jamaal Berry is coming in from Florida, and given the lack of depth he'll probably get touches right away.

I'm not going to pile on Boeckman, everyone's favorite punching bag. He is what he is. Frankly, I kinda feel bad for him. He has one million people in Columbus saying Todd Boeckman sucks. I think if he could stand back there in the pocket and take a nap like Sanchez, he'd be pretty good too. There aren't a million people in Columbus saying Bryant Browning sucks or Ben Person sucks, even though frankly that's the bigger problem. That said, obviously he hasn't progressed like we're hoping. He's just not very good, and he's clearly lost his confidence. This is another position where obviously I'm not worried about the future of the talent level. Pryor is going to play more and more throughout this year. I love Pryor so much already. He has the ability to be a legend. I don't use that word lightly. Legends don't need last names. Archie is a legend. Eddie is a legend. Florida not withstanding, Troy is a legend. People will forget (or at least forgive) about the one game. Hell, Eddie's teams played in the Citrus Bowl every year, but he couldn't be more beloved.

The defensive line: not even close to good enough. Our defensive tackles, on the national scale, just aren't very good. On our 2002 championship team, that was the unit that won us the game. More talent, better recruiting needed. That's hard position to recruit, especially because Ohio produces so few quality DTs. That's a position we need to go national on. Sometimes there were holes in our line that we may as well have been Virginia, or like that USC-Nebraska game a couple years ago. It obviously wasn't like that on every play, but there were plays where it did look like that. I still think we have talent at DE, but didn't play very well. Waiting for the light to go on to go to the next level for Heyward, Gibson.

The LB performance is obviously tied to the DTs, who were getting absolutely worked. That said, anyone still taking JL over Rey? I wouldn't. And I've been a Cushing doubter, but I was very impressed. On our side, not so much. Our LBs are not great at getting off blockers. Technically precise, good in space, but not mean and/or playing with an edge.

The corners were fine. We'll miss Jenkins when he's gone. Chekwa's a good one. I hope Washington gets his shit together. We need him. I thought the safety play was horrid. Anderson Russell, yikes. I forgot Kurt Coleman was on the field. On the other hand, they controlled the point of attack so much they didn't really need to throw that much. And we didn't get much pressure. It's possible I'm being way too hard on the safeties.

Overall, sort of like the Florida game, the defense wasn't good, but it also was screwed all day. Our offense accounted for -4 points and the USC offense almost always had good field position. It's hard for any defense to function in those circumstances.

2. Coaching

After the Florida game, the Florida players made comments about knowing exactly what was coming. I mostly dismissed it. Then LSU said the same thing. And then Sanchez basically said the same thing yesterday. I was slow to come around, but clearly something is wrong on the coaching front, and the schemes that we're running are way, way too predictable. Our passing game in particular is not inventive and has a total lack of sophistication.

What's particularly frustrating about this is that Tressel doesn't seem to acknowledge that anything is wrong. Is this going to be the plan? Every time we get thumped we just say, well, we have no earthly idea what happened. But gosh, we'll go out and try hard next time. What does it take for something to have to change?

3. Mental Toughness

This is the most discouraging thing of all. What has made Tressel's teams so formidable under his tenure is that they were always so mentally strong. 2002, national title, overtime, 4th and 14, Krenzel throws a strike to Michael Jenkins, first down. In fact, for the entire first six years of Tressel's tenure, those teams were always mentally tough. And then Florida. We scored first, they punched back, we folded. Same against LSU. Same against USC. What happened? Where is the leadership on this team? When did we become the team that folds, that's psychologically fragile? When did we turn into Michigan State?

At this moment this is just not a very mentally strong team. I'm not optimistic about going at Wisconsin right now. What happens when Wisconsin hits back? Cause they will. That's a good football team. I don't think we're done losing games this year. But worse than that is that the program has assumed the identity of everyone that hates us. We really do just fold in big circumstances. That's maybe the hardest thing. How do you change that identity back? Until we do, we are what everyone thinks we are.

2nd Cake 30r; Some (Ineffective) Bluffs

Played full day Monday. Day of frustration ended on a good note with a 2nd place finish in the Cake 30r. Still haven't won that tournament like a swore I would, but I'm sure I will. Otherwise had finished 13th with 12 qualifiers in a satty for the 1K WCOOP event on Sunday, and was annoyed, and took some beats in some big pots the rest of the day. But hey things happen. At least the day ended on a good note. Now up about 2.5K to start the month, so at least I won't spend the entire month feeling like I'm digging out of a giant hole.

Here are three hands that had a big impact on deciding the outcome of the Cake 30r. RespectMGame is a Cake regular that plays fairly TAG (for a multi player anyway, which is a sliding scale). As a result I tried to control the action, as I had done for the rest of the tournament, but got burned a couple times. Here's hand 1, still three handed:

Hand #16182CA330002761: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (656465.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (416814.00 in chips)
Seat 8: VoxM*** (351221.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,000
bzimzim posts ante of $1,000
VoxMan posts ante of $1,000
VoxM***: posts small blind $5,000
Resp***: posts big blind $10,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Kc Jd ]
bzimzim: raises to $26,000
VoxM***: folds
Resp***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 3c 6c 5h ]
Resp***: checks
bzimzim: checks
# # # TURN # # # [ Qc ]
Resp***: bets $20,000
bzimzim: raises to $60,000
Resp***: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ Qs ]
Resp***: checks
bzimzim: bets $70,000
Resp***: calls***
SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [ Kc Jd ] (Pair of Queens )
Resp***: shows [ 3h Ad ] (Two Pairs, Queens and Threes )
Resp*** wins $320,000 with Two Pairs, Queens and Threes

I'd been cont. betting a lot, but hard to represent that flop, so happy to take a card off. Pick up the flush draw on the turn and raised, he called. I didn't put him on much. Queens paired on the river, and I bluff in a way that attempts to look like a value bet. He tanks and eventually calls. NC. I still like the way I played it. He had to put a lot of chips in with bottom pair.

Now heads up:

Hand #16182CA330002775: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (925065.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (499435.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,200
bzimzim posts ante of $1,200
Resp***: posts small blind $6,000
bzimzim: posts big blind $12,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Ts Kc ]
Resp***: raises to $29,000
bzimzim: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ Js 4c 3d ]
bzimzim: checks
Resp***: bets $30,200
bzimzim: raises to $85,000
Resp***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 9c ]
bzimzim: bets $120,000
Resp***: raises to $300,000
bzimzim: folds
Resp***: returns uncalled bet $180,000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Resp***: mucks
Resp*** wins $470,400

I interpreted his bet as a standard c-bet and c/r with air. He calls. Here I get stubborn and fire again, which I hate in retrospect. If he's calling the c/r, he's probably going with it. Plus he'd try to pick up pots with smallish bets in relation to the pot a lot of the time, I might have been able to see a cheap river. I don't like my play here.

Final hand:

Hand #16182CA330002793: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (861730.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (562770.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,200
bzimzim posts ante of $1,200
Resp***: posts small blind $6,000
bzimzim: posts big blind $12,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Th Kd ]
Resp***: calls
bzimzim: raises to $35,000
Resp***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 9h 9d 8d ]
bzimzim: bets $42,000
Resp***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 5c ]
bzimzim: checks
Resp***: bets $42,000
bzimzim: raises to $134,000
Resp***: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ 2h ]
bzimzim: is all in 350570.0000
Resp***: calls
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [ Th Kd ] (Pair of Nines )
Resp***: shows [ 8c 6s ] (Two Pairs, Nines and Eights )
Resp*** wins $1,125,540 with Two Pairs, Nines and Eights

Again, I'm not sure I actually mind my play in this spot. I'm representing big here. My c/r on the turn is something I'll also do with a big hand. Again, I put him on a marginal holding, and I actually thought he might have had a draw, in which case my shove wins it for sure. Instead he calls with a weak 8. Another good call. Sometimes the other guy just plays better.

The only thing I wonder about in retrospect is whether I played too aggro against this guy in general. clearly he was willing to call me light, and had the impression I could put chips in without much of a hand. Which I could obviously. But maybe it would have paid to be a little more solid and attempt to get paid. On the other hand, if the key to no limit is to force the other guy to a decision, I did plenty of that. Just didn't work out this time.

3 days until Ohio State-USC.

Full Day Today

Last week was a relatively light week, and nothing much to report from it. More or less even for the month to this point. Going to ramp it up this week, play at least some every day with some full days in there. Today is full day number 1, let's go. Feeling good about my play and ready to pwn some donkeys.

Five days until OSU-USC. Yesterday I was absolutely terrifed. Today I'm a little more excited. But still a lot terrified. I actually feel comforted though that everyone in the country, in the words of Peter King, thinks it'll be over by halftime. The "nobody believes in us" card is cliche, but it's a great motivator.

August Wrap

August: $1894

Year to date: $59,425

Despite posting an even lower number than I did last month (slightly), I feel a lot better about it. Probably because my major emotion about the month could best be described as "relief".

I'm going to be traveling a decent amount in the next month and a half, so I'm really going to have to work to keep my hours up. Which I'm determined to do, since I'm particularly determined to have a good month this month, after two disappoinments in a row.

I do feel like I was playing significantly better by the end of the month. That's the level of play I'm hoping to maintain.