Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...
Also happy birthday to real blogger, Carmen, who's also celebrating today.
~
I took down a forum anniversary tourney on Saturday that earned me over 41k in FTP's. It took me over 4 years to make 25k for a jersey, and I almost doubled that in one afternoon... I think I'm going to wisely invest those points in either a Cardrunner of Stoxpoker membership. My only problem with that is, I don't know when I would find the time to get the most out of those sites. I barely have enough time to play as it is, I don't know when I'd have time to study the game too. Maybe this fall/winter I'll have more time...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Ok...
I don't have the time at work like I used to to write these posts, but since I'm hoping to get posting regularly again, the posts are going to be shorter and less drawn out and probably full of spelling and grammar errors because I'm not going to proof them so closely...
~
I had to drop the Jewell off at the airport this morning. She's gone to Washington DC for the week for work. That sucks.
~
I'm pretty sure I wrote about this last season, but just in case I didn't, I run a poker league with my friends (The Way Cool Super Fun League... "It's like a super fun league, only way cooler."). Basically there's a series of tournaments where you earn chips by what place you come in for the tournament. After the 7 "regular season" tournies, we're going to have a "Final Table" where each player uses the chips that they earned during the season. We've had 2 games so far (both of which I came in 5th out of the 9 people that are in it. Game 3 is this Friday. You don't have to be a league member to play in the tournament, so you're all invited.
~
I also have a prop bet going with a friend at work for this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP). We drafted some players and win $3 if they make a final table and $5 if they win the bracelet. We're a little over half way through the Series, and I'm doing well thanks to Phil Ivey winning two bracelets (so far!)... Still a ways to go, but I'm feeling good about it.
~
Back when I was writing here regularly, my game of choice was 6-max turbo SNG's. Since then, I've switched to playing full ring PLO cash games. I read Pot Limit Omaha Poker by Jeff Hwang, and it changed my game completely. Such a great read that provides a real thorough understanding of the game (for my level anyways). For anyone wanting to make the switch to PLO, that's the book to get...
~
I had to drop the Jewell off at the airport this morning. She's gone to Washington DC for the week for work. That sucks.
~
I'm pretty sure I wrote about this last season, but just in case I didn't, I run a poker league with my friends (The Way Cool Super Fun League... "It's like a super fun league, only way cooler."). Basically there's a series of tournaments where you earn chips by what place you come in for the tournament. After the 7 "regular season" tournies, we're going to have a "Final Table" where each player uses the chips that they earned during the season. We've had 2 games so far (both of which I came in 5th out of the 9 people that are in it. Game 3 is this Friday. You don't have to be a league member to play in the tournament, so you're all invited.
~
I also have a prop bet going with a friend at work for this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP). We drafted some players and win $3 if they make a final table and $5 if they win the bracelet. We're a little over half way through the Series, and I'm doing well thanks to Phil Ivey winning two bracelets (so far!)... Still a ways to go, but I'm feeling good about it.
~
Back when I was writing here regularly, my game of choice was 6-max turbo SNG's. Since then, I've switched to playing full ring PLO cash games. I read Pot Limit Omaha Poker by Jeff Hwang, and it changed my game completely. Such a great read that provides a real thorough understanding of the game (for my level anyways). For anyone wanting to make the switch to PLO, that's the book to get...
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Stay Tuned...
In an attempt to add some content to my Facebook page, I'm going to try to revitalize this blog... hope for the best...
Friday, January 2, 2009
Music Review 2008
I told myself that if I didn’t resurrect this blog in time for my 2008 Music Review post, I’d never resurrect it. And since this was such a big music year for me, I couldn’t NOT have a year end review… So here I am…
I developed a new appreciation and relationship with the Doors this year…
I’m going to be showing a lot of videos in this post so you can really get a feeling of my music year. I gained a new appreciation of live performances and tried to only use them in the ones that I chose. Of course you can always search out studio versions of these songs on youtube or other sites if you want to hear those…
Without a doubt, the best album of the year for me was The Unusable Signal from the greatest gutterrock band of all, Junkbutton. However, I really can’t count that one for this review because it’s not widely available, so it’s not fair to count it with national acts. I’m not just saying that either. For me, it really is the most thoroughly enjoyable album I listened to this year. I wish I had more videos to select from, but these are the best of the new songs that I’ve been able to come up with… Maybe if I ever get myself to another show, I’ll be able to get more videos…
One of the biggest assets to my new music binge this year was the Pepsi Stuff promotion that I talked about earlier in the year. Collecting close to 3,000 points meant that pretty much any song I came across and wanted to download from Amazon would be free. That really helped me to expand my music library.
I used that promotion to make a conscious effort to catch up on two bands that I knew I liked, but never really got on their wagon. One of those bands was the Foo Fighters. After getting a couple of albums from them, I decided that while I really liked all of their hits, the lesser known songs never really caught on to me. That’s ok though… I don’t have to like it all…
It’s not too often that I can say that the drums are really what stand out for me in a song, but I can say it about this one…
The White Stripes were the other band that I wanted to get into. Like the Foo Fighters, I always liked what I would catch on the radio or the music channels, but I never really invested in them or their albums. What I found really blew me away. Jack White is an incredible artist… There weren’t really any songs by them that I couldn’t get into.
It’s amazing what sound can come from just two people on stage…
What was great about really discovering the White Stripes was that it led me to discovering the Raconteurs, Jack White’s other band. Jack’s able to play with an entire band around him and not be contained by the image that the Stripes cage him in… What I love about him in this band is, while he’s obviously the star of the group due by just being who he is, you never get the sense that he thinks he is. He’s only interested in making great music. He does… I’ll be talking more about The Raconteurs later and their new album, but for now, this is Level from their 2006 album, Broken Boy Soldiers…
I came across this really cool vid on youtube (through Moby’s blog of all things…). Check this out…
Pretty cool, right? I believe that is a video that someone made in their movie making class that was posted on youtube, and then someone dubbed the song over it. That got me interested in the song, and I found the actual video of the song (by Gary Jules) to be equally interesting… Check it out…
Early in the year I made what was probably my biggest music discovery of 2008. It was a band called Okkervil River, and I came across them by stumbling upon this song from their 2007 album, The Stage Names…
I actually like this band and this album so much, that I’m pretty sure it would have made the top 2 for my album of the year this year if it was released in ’08. They did put out an album in ’08, so all hope isn’t lost yet, but I’d have to say this was probably my favorite album I bought this year… Here’s another track…
Another great discovery I made this year, was the band Against Me!. I found their album, New Wave to be a really good one, but unfortunately it was released last year so it wasn’t able to make my top albums for this year’s list… That doesn’t make Thrash Unreal any less of an awesome song…
Ryan Star was a contestant 2 years ago on the Rockstar: Supernova series. I’m not really one to jump on the bandwagon of some fly by night performer on a show like that, and I wasn’t. It wasn’t until earlier this year that I really discovered what a great singer/songwriter Star is with his album, Songs from the Eye of an Elephant which was released in September of ’06.
Another artist I found this year is Sufjan Stevens. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to really spend the time with him that I’d like to. He has a really large catalog of music (including a 5 disc Christmas album!), but what I have been able to find from him I’ve really enjoyed. I discovered him with a song called Chicago, but it was a song about John Wayne Gacy Jr. that really stuck with me…
Another band that I came across this year was the Cold War Kids. They had some songs from their 2006 album, Robbers & Cowards that really caught my attention. Most notably, Hospital Beds…
This year they had a new album come out that I was really excited about called, Loyalty to Loyalty. Unfortunately, nothing from it really grabbed me like the earlier record. I’ve made it number 10 on my top ten albums of 2008 list. Here’s the biggest single from it so far, Something is Not Right With Me…
As you may recall, last year my big music discovery was an artist by the name of Micah P. Hinson. I wasn’t able to put him on my list for 2007 because he didn’t put out an album last year, but he did put one out this year with …And the Red Empire Orchestra. To say I was anticipating it pretty highly should go without saying. However, it never really grabbed hold of me like his earlier albums did so I put it at number 9 for 2008. There was one stand out track for me with The Fire Came Up to My Knees…
Another new band for me this year that I’ve started to get into is The Decemberists. I was eased into them with their album, The Crane Wife. I like them, but much like the Foo Fighters and the White Stripes, their collection of music is so vast, it’ll take time (and money) to catch up. But then I heard a song that caught my attention while listening to an episode of NPR’s All Songs Considered. It was Wonder by Decemberist’s front man Colin Meloy from his live album, Colin Meloy Sings Live!. It didn’t take me long to buy that album and really find something special in it. It comes in at number 8 of my top ten albums of 2008.
Download: The Engine Driver, On the Bus Mall, Wonder
A band that I really got into this year, which I’m kind of disappointed in myself for not getting into earlier was Buckcherry. This is a great rock band that has really put some good songs out. Their new album, Black Butterfly is no exception and comes in at number 7 on my list. It’s a great mixture of ball grabbing rock songs (Rescue Me, Too Drunk…) and radio friendly ballads (Dreams, Don’t Go Away). Josh Todd and Co. may be falling into the formula rock trap (ala’ Nickelback/Hinder), but the difference between him and Chad Kroeger is, I believe Todd has lived these songs before.
Download: Rescue Me, A Child Called “It”
One of my most anticipated albums of the year came from The Killers. I loved every song from their first album, Hot Fuss (it probably would make my all time top 10 list of albums if I was to make one…). I didn’t give their second album Sam’s Town much attention, but after hearing the first single, Human from the new album, Day & Age, I knew this was going to be a good one. It was.
Everything I love about Okkervil River, can be found in The Killers which helps the album, Day & Age come in at number 6 on my top albums of 2008 list. This album brings a real nice mellow sound, but they add a synth sound to it that makes it feel more radio/video friendly. I think that helps it to sell some more records, but it really gives the music a watered down feel…
Download: Human, Spaceman, A Dustland Fairytale
Like I said before, Okkervil River was one of my biggest discoveries this year. Their 2007album, The Stage Names could have been my album of the year last year if I had known about them at that time. While I don’t hold their 2008 album, The Stand Ins quite up to that level, it holds its own at number 5 for my 2008 list. With really no bad songs, on the record, these guys are what I’d call quiet rock. You can go see them in a club and nod your head to every song, but they’re not going to blow your ears out.
Download: Singer Songwriter, Starry Stairs, Pop Lie, On Tour With Zykos
My other big discovery for 2008 was The Hold Steady. These guys are just a great rock band, and you know if from the first note of their album, Stay Positive, which I put at number 4 of my top albums of 2008. I love the voice of singer, Craig Finn, but I will admit that his style of storytelling rather than actually singing does bug me sometimes… My one disappointment in this album is that it was leaked before it was released, so when it was released they put out a limited number of discs with some bonus tracks. I, of course didn’t get that version, and am missing some songs, most notably a song called Ask Her For Some Adderall that I really like. Hopefully they’ll be available individually sometime soon…
Download: Constructive Summer, Lord, I’m Discouraged, Stay Positive, Magazines
One of the most anticipated albums of the last two decades finally hit the shelves about a month ago… Chinese Democracy isn’t your old school Guns n’ Roses. And anyone who would expect it to be is crazy. This album took 15 years to make and saw a lot of musicians come and go. From what I’ve read online, a lot of people would be happy if this was called the Axl Rose Project and not GNR. I can’t say that I disagree with them, but it is what it is… And I think it’s pretty awesome. Awesome enough to come in at number 3 for 2008. Sure it’s over produced but what can you expect after so many years in production? It doesn’t rock in the same way that they did in the 80’s and 90’s, but it still rocks.
Download: Chinese Democracy, Better, Sorry, I.R.S., This I Love
Another of my favorite surprises this year was Jack White’s other band, The Raconteurs. It’s no secret what an amazing musician he is, and their 2008 album, Consolers of the Lonely shows what he can produce when he’s got a full band of talented musicians around him. Just awesome awesome stuff. I flip flopped a couple of times between this and my number one pick for my favorite album this year. I went with the other making this number 2, but as I listen to this again, I’m just not sure I made the right choice…
Download: All of it, but the ones that really stand out to me are, Many Shades of Black, Five on the Five, Rick Kid Blues, You Don’t Understand Me
You know? Now that I’ve listened again to Kings of Leon’s album, Only by the Night, I know exactly why it took the number 1 spot of my top albums of 2008 list. It’s perfect. From beginning to end, it captures your ears and holds on with everything it has. I came across KOL last year with their album Because of the Times. I thought they were awesome then, so I collected their entire back catalog and loved everything I heard. With this year’s album, you can see real growth in their music and musicianship. Before they were just a real catchy band with a southern rock style and a singer you can’t understand. They’re still all that, but with this album they’re bringing a real modern sound with them.
Download: The whole thing. Really. There’s a lot to be appreciated with this record. I think it has a lot to offer people with all kinds of musical tastes.
Enjoy!
I developed a new appreciation and relationship with the Doors this year…
I’m going to be showing a lot of videos in this post so you can really get a feeling of my music year. I gained a new appreciation of live performances and tried to only use them in the ones that I chose. Of course you can always search out studio versions of these songs on youtube or other sites if you want to hear those…
Without a doubt, the best album of the year for me was The Unusable Signal from the greatest gutterrock band of all, Junkbutton. However, I really can’t count that one for this review because it’s not widely available, so it’s not fair to count it with national acts. I’m not just saying that either. For me, it really is the most thoroughly enjoyable album I listened to this year. I wish I had more videos to select from, but these are the best of the new songs that I’ve been able to come up with… Maybe if I ever get myself to another show, I’ll be able to get more videos…
One of the biggest assets to my new music binge this year was the Pepsi Stuff promotion that I talked about earlier in the year. Collecting close to 3,000 points meant that pretty much any song I came across and wanted to download from Amazon would be free. That really helped me to expand my music library.
I used that promotion to make a conscious effort to catch up on two bands that I knew I liked, but never really got on their wagon. One of those bands was the Foo Fighters. After getting a couple of albums from them, I decided that while I really liked all of their hits, the lesser known songs never really caught on to me. That’s ok though… I don’t have to like it all…
It’s not too often that I can say that the drums are really what stand out for me in a song, but I can say it about this one…
The White Stripes were the other band that I wanted to get into. Like the Foo Fighters, I always liked what I would catch on the radio or the music channels, but I never really invested in them or their albums. What I found really blew me away. Jack White is an incredible artist… There weren’t really any songs by them that I couldn’t get into.
It’s amazing what sound can come from just two people on stage…
What was great about really discovering the White Stripes was that it led me to discovering the Raconteurs, Jack White’s other band. Jack’s able to play with an entire band around him and not be contained by the image that the Stripes cage him in… What I love about him in this band is, while he’s obviously the star of the group due by just being who he is, you never get the sense that he thinks he is. He’s only interested in making great music. He does… I’ll be talking more about The Raconteurs later and their new album, but for now, this is Level from their 2006 album, Broken Boy Soldiers…
I came across this really cool vid on youtube (through Moby’s blog of all things…). Check this out…
Pretty cool, right? I believe that is a video that someone made in their movie making class that was posted on youtube, and then someone dubbed the song over it. That got me interested in the song, and I found the actual video of the song (by Gary Jules) to be equally interesting… Check it out…
Early in the year I made what was probably my biggest music discovery of 2008. It was a band called Okkervil River, and I came across them by stumbling upon this song from their 2007 album, The Stage Names…
I actually like this band and this album so much, that I’m pretty sure it would have made the top 2 for my album of the year this year if it was released in ’08. They did put out an album in ’08, so all hope isn’t lost yet, but I’d have to say this was probably my favorite album I bought this year… Here’s another track…
Another great discovery I made this year, was the band Against Me!. I found their album, New Wave to be a really good one, but unfortunately it was released last year so it wasn’t able to make my top albums for this year’s list… That doesn’t make Thrash Unreal any less of an awesome song…
Ryan Star was a contestant 2 years ago on the Rockstar: Supernova series. I’m not really one to jump on the bandwagon of some fly by night performer on a show like that, and I wasn’t. It wasn’t until earlier this year that I really discovered what a great singer/songwriter Star is with his album, Songs from the Eye of an Elephant which was released in September of ’06.
Another artist I found this year is Sufjan Stevens. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to really spend the time with him that I’d like to. He has a really large catalog of music (including a 5 disc Christmas album!), but what I have been able to find from him I’ve really enjoyed. I discovered him with a song called Chicago, but it was a song about John Wayne Gacy Jr. that really stuck with me…
Another band that I came across this year was the Cold War Kids. They had some songs from their 2006 album, Robbers & Cowards that really caught my attention. Most notably, Hospital Beds…
This year they had a new album come out that I was really excited about called, Loyalty to Loyalty. Unfortunately, nothing from it really grabbed me like the earlier record. I’ve made it number 10 on my top ten albums of 2008 list. Here’s the biggest single from it so far, Something is Not Right With Me…
As you may recall, last year my big music discovery was an artist by the name of Micah P. Hinson. I wasn’t able to put him on my list for 2007 because he didn’t put out an album last year, but he did put one out this year with …And the Red Empire Orchestra. To say I was anticipating it pretty highly should go without saying. However, it never really grabbed hold of me like his earlier albums did so I put it at number 9 for 2008. There was one stand out track for me with The Fire Came Up to My Knees…
Another new band for me this year that I’ve started to get into is The Decemberists. I was eased into them with their album, The Crane Wife. I like them, but much like the Foo Fighters and the White Stripes, their collection of music is so vast, it’ll take time (and money) to catch up. But then I heard a song that caught my attention while listening to an episode of NPR’s All Songs Considered. It was Wonder by Decemberist’s front man Colin Meloy from his live album, Colin Meloy Sings Live!. It didn’t take me long to buy that album and really find something special in it. It comes in at number 8 of my top ten albums of 2008.
Download: The Engine Driver, On the Bus Mall, Wonder
A band that I really got into this year, which I’m kind of disappointed in myself for not getting into earlier was Buckcherry. This is a great rock band that has really put some good songs out. Their new album, Black Butterfly is no exception and comes in at number 7 on my list. It’s a great mixture of ball grabbing rock songs (Rescue Me, Too Drunk…) and radio friendly ballads (Dreams, Don’t Go Away). Josh Todd and Co. may be falling into the formula rock trap (ala’ Nickelback/Hinder), but the difference between him and Chad Kroeger is, I believe Todd has lived these songs before.
Download: Rescue Me, A Child Called “It”
One of my most anticipated albums of the year came from The Killers. I loved every song from their first album, Hot Fuss (it probably would make my all time top 10 list of albums if I was to make one…). I didn’t give their second album Sam’s Town much attention, but after hearing the first single, Human from the new album, Day & Age, I knew this was going to be a good one. It was.
Everything I love about Okkervil River, can be found in The Killers which helps the album, Day & Age come in at number 6 on my top albums of 2008 list. This album brings a real nice mellow sound, but they add a synth sound to it that makes it feel more radio/video friendly. I think that helps it to sell some more records, but it really gives the music a watered down feel…
Download: Human, Spaceman, A Dustland Fairytale
Like I said before, Okkervil River was one of my biggest discoveries this year. Their 2007album, The Stage Names could have been my album of the year last year if I had known about them at that time. While I don’t hold their 2008 album, The Stand Ins quite up to that level, it holds its own at number 5 for my 2008 list. With really no bad songs, on the record, these guys are what I’d call quiet rock. You can go see them in a club and nod your head to every song, but they’re not going to blow your ears out.
Download: Singer Songwriter, Starry Stairs, Pop Lie, On Tour With Zykos
My other big discovery for 2008 was The Hold Steady. These guys are just a great rock band, and you know if from the first note of their album, Stay Positive, which I put at number 4 of my top albums of 2008. I love the voice of singer, Craig Finn, but I will admit that his style of storytelling rather than actually singing does bug me sometimes… My one disappointment in this album is that it was leaked before it was released, so when it was released they put out a limited number of discs with some bonus tracks. I, of course didn’t get that version, and am missing some songs, most notably a song called Ask Her For Some Adderall that I really like. Hopefully they’ll be available individually sometime soon…
Download: Constructive Summer, Lord, I’m Discouraged, Stay Positive, Magazines
One of the most anticipated albums of the last two decades finally hit the shelves about a month ago… Chinese Democracy isn’t your old school Guns n’ Roses. And anyone who would expect it to be is crazy. This album took 15 years to make and saw a lot of musicians come and go. From what I’ve read online, a lot of people would be happy if this was called the Axl Rose Project and not GNR. I can’t say that I disagree with them, but it is what it is… And I think it’s pretty awesome. Awesome enough to come in at number 3 for 2008. Sure it’s over produced but what can you expect after so many years in production? It doesn’t rock in the same way that they did in the 80’s and 90’s, but it still rocks.
Download: Chinese Democracy, Better, Sorry, I.R.S., This I Love
Another of my favorite surprises this year was Jack White’s other band, The Raconteurs. It’s no secret what an amazing musician he is, and their 2008 album, Consolers of the Lonely shows what he can produce when he’s got a full band of talented musicians around him. Just awesome awesome stuff. I flip flopped a couple of times between this and my number one pick for my favorite album this year. I went with the other making this number 2, but as I listen to this again, I’m just not sure I made the right choice…
Download: All of it, but the ones that really stand out to me are, Many Shades of Black, Five on the Five, Rick Kid Blues, You Don’t Understand Me
You know? Now that I’ve listened again to Kings of Leon’s album, Only by the Night, I know exactly why it took the number 1 spot of my top albums of 2008 list. It’s perfect. From beginning to end, it captures your ears and holds on with everything it has. I came across KOL last year with their album Because of the Times. I thought they were awesome then, so I collected their entire back catalog and loved everything I heard. With this year’s album, you can see real growth in their music and musicianship. Before they were just a real catchy band with a southern rock style and a singer you can’t understand. They’re still all that, but with this album they’re bringing a real modern sound with them.
Download: The whole thing. Really. There’s a lot to be appreciated with this record. I think it has a lot to offer people with all kinds of musical tastes.
Enjoy!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Pep Talk...
My poker game has reached a new plateau this weekend. It didn’t start out that great. I had a cash game here at the house where after 5 hours of play I lost exactly one $10 buy in. But since then I’ve been on fire.
My bankroll has reached a new all time high, and for whatever reason I just can’t bring myself to move up in levels. It’s gotten to the point where even the Jewel is giving me shit for not moving up. My games of choice are $6.00+$.50 6-max turbo SNGs and .5/.10 $4 CAP PLO. And I’m sitting on a $700 bankroll. Those are pretty much the lowest stakes you can play and I’ve got the bankroll for so much more. But every time I try to move up, I just can’t handle it. I just always feel like I’m outmatched or I’m not comfortable playing my A-game. That’s pretty much what it is. My A-game suffers because I can’t get past the fact that the top of the window says it’s a $12 SNG and not a $6 one…
But anyway, I did take some shots yesterday. I played a $12 SNG, and you know what? I went out 6th. Dead last. I crumbled and burned. But I didn’t let that stop me. I fired up a $.10/$.25 $10 CAP PLO table. The buy in was $20, which just about stopped me right there… I played timid at first. Trying to stay out of the aggressive player’s way until I found a big hand (as I normally do at the lower stakes…). I bled a few chips away. I stayed in a few hands I wasn’t supposed to for a little longer than I should. At one point I found my stack down to $13, and I just felt so down on myself for trying to move up… But then I found some hands. I found some big hands and some opponents who wanted to get some money in against me with them… and they held up. In the matter of about a half an hour I had built my stack up to over $50.
And my run didn’t end there. That was the only shot I took at the higher PLO tables, but I played some more at the lower level and I cleaned up. I did play another higher SNG and went out 5th, so that still isn’t treating me very well. But the lower games kept working for me and I played a few. When the dust settled yesterday I had added about $100 to my Full Tilt bankroll. I’ll admit the deck was hitting me pretty hard, but I was also making some good laydowns as well as some next level moves that I may not always make. I also found myself playing extremely patient, even for me. (UPDATE: Tried another $12 SNG and came in 2nd, so that’s looking up…)
So from here what I have to do is just keep taking these shots. I’m not ready to exclusively play the higher stakes, but I’m going to work them in when I feel confident.
My bankroll has reached a new all time high, and for whatever reason I just can’t bring myself to move up in levels. It’s gotten to the point where even the Jewel is giving me shit for not moving up. My games of choice are $6.00+$.50 6-max turbo SNGs and .5/.10 $4 CAP PLO. And I’m sitting on a $700 bankroll. Those are pretty much the lowest stakes you can play and I’ve got the bankroll for so much more. But every time I try to move up, I just can’t handle it. I just always feel like I’m outmatched or I’m not comfortable playing my A-game. That’s pretty much what it is. My A-game suffers because I can’t get past the fact that the top of the window says it’s a $12 SNG and not a $6 one…
But anyway, I did take some shots yesterday. I played a $12 SNG, and you know what? I went out 6th. Dead last. I crumbled and burned. But I didn’t let that stop me. I fired up a $.10/$.25 $10 CAP PLO table. The buy in was $20, which just about stopped me right there… I played timid at first. Trying to stay out of the aggressive player’s way until I found a big hand (as I normally do at the lower stakes…). I bled a few chips away. I stayed in a few hands I wasn’t supposed to for a little longer than I should. At one point I found my stack down to $13, and I just felt so down on myself for trying to move up… But then I found some hands. I found some big hands and some opponents who wanted to get some money in against me with them… and they held up. In the matter of about a half an hour I had built my stack up to over $50.
And my run didn’t end there. That was the only shot I took at the higher PLO tables, but I played some more at the lower level and I cleaned up. I did play another higher SNG and went out 5th, so that still isn’t treating me very well. But the lower games kept working for me and I played a few. When the dust settled yesterday I had added about $100 to my Full Tilt bankroll. I’ll admit the deck was hitting me pretty hard, but I was also making some good laydowns as well as some next level moves that I may not always make. I also found myself playing extremely patient, even for me. (UPDATE: Tried another $12 SNG and came in 2nd, so that’s looking up…)
So from here what I have to do is just keep taking these shots. I’m not ready to exclusively play the higher stakes, but I’m going to work them in when I feel confident.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Maybe the Bills are this good…
What a great time to live in Buffalo and be a fair weather fan! I’m not going to be so bold as to say the Bills are playoff bound just yet, because seriously, who have we beaten? But it’s certainly exciting around here… Now if we can only get some billionaire to swoop in and keep the team here… Sign the petition here…
~
The Jewel and I went out to her favorite restaurant Saturday night to celebrate our 6 year anniversary that was Sunday. “Kung Fu Dinner”, as my friend, E calls it, it’s a Japanese place where the chef comes right out to the table to cook and serve your meal. It doesn’t suck, but it’s the same show every time (chef spins the egg on the grill and says, “Japanese eggroll”, sprinkles sesame seeds on the rice with a strobe light flashing and says, “Japanese disco”…). But if that’s where my sweetie wants to go, and it’s only once a year, that’s where we go…
One highlight, if you can call it that, is you’re usually sitting at a table with people that you can grow to hate and have something to talk about on the way home. We were seated with a party of 5 celebrating a birthday. We know that because they were sure to mention it to us, our waitress and our chef at least a half dozen times.
It took until the salad course for me to decide I hated them. The birthday girl (50-something, I’d guess…) really liked the ginger dressing they put on the salad and asked for some extra. The waitress brought out a little bowl of it and set it down in front of her. You know that face that people make when they’re talking to an idiot? I know that face well because I deal with idiots all the time. Well the birthday girl asked if she could have a spoon and huffed and puffed and pointed at the spoonless bowl and made that face. If she were in my party, I would have told her to use her fork (this dressing has the consistency of applesauce) or maybe she could *shudder* POUR the dressing from the bowl onto her salad. It’s not like she was sharing it with anybody…
Anyway the waitress got her a spoon, and that’s when I started hating someone else in the group. This older gentleman asked for a knife. Seems simple enough. However, this place didn’t have knives. See, they cook your meal right there in front of you. The chef, with all his whirling and twirling of his knife and spatula, cuts up all the food in little bite sized pieces for you. “I’m sorry sir, we don’t have knives.” “But I need to cut up my salad. Either bring me a knife, or you can take this back to the kitchen to have someone cut it up.” Now I wasn’t watching too closely, but I suspect he was giving the look too. He certainly had the tone…
Now I don’t deny someone the right to cut their salad up. But come on… live a little. They don’t have knives, slice through that lettuce with your fork. The waitress went to the kitchen to see what she could wrestle up while he sat there and had a silent tantrum. Someone did come get his bowl and took it to the back to be cut up. When they brought it back he didn’t even say thanks. I actually don’t think he said anything for the rest of the meal… He’s brave though. He finished that salad. If I worked there, there’s a good chance there might have been some spit in it when it came back out…
~
Poker was an up and down battle all weekend. My great run at the PLO CAP games sort of fizzled out, and I had minimal success at the SNGs. However, last night I did end up taking a second and a first to bring my roll back up to where I started the weekend. So it was a push…
~
The Jewel and I went out to her favorite restaurant Saturday night to celebrate our 6 year anniversary that was Sunday. “Kung Fu Dinner”, as my friend, E calls it, it’s a Japanese place where the chef comes right out to the table to cook and serve your meal. It doesn’t suck, but it’s the same show every time (chef spins the egg on the grill and says, “Japanese eggroll”, sprinkles sesame seeds on the rice with a strobe light flashing and says, “Japanese disco”…). But if that’s where my sweetie wants to go, and it’s only once a year, that’s where we go…
One highlight, if you can call it that, is you’re usually sitting at a table with people that you can grow to hate and have something to talk about on the way home. We were seated with a party of 5 celebrating a birthday. We know that because they were sure to mention it to us, our waitress and our chef at least a half dozen times.
It took until the salad course for me to decide I hated them. The birthday girl (50-something, I’d guess…) really liked the ginger dressing they put on the salad and asked for some extra. The waitress brought out a little bowl of it and set it down in front of her. You know that face that people make when they’re talking to an idiot? I know that face well because I deal with idiots all the time. Well the birthday girl asked if she could have a spoon and huffed and puffed and pointed at the spoonless bowl and made that face. If she were in my party, I would have told her to use her fork (this dressing has the consistency of applesauce) or maybe she could *shudder* POUR the dressing from the bowl onto her salad. It’s not like she was sharing it with anybody…
Anyway the waitress got her a spoon, and that’s when I started hating someone else in the group. This older gentleman asked for a knife. Seems simple enough. However, this place didn’t have knives. See, they cook your meal right there in front of you. The chef, with all his whirling and twirling of his knife and spatula, cuts up all the food in little bite sized pieces for you. “I’m sorry sir, we don’t have knives.” “But I need to cut up my salad. Either bring me a knife, or you can take this back to the kitchen to have someone cut it up.” Now I wasn’t watching too closely, but I suspect he was giving the look too. He certainly had the tone…
Now I don’t deny someone the right to cut their salad up. But come on… live a little. They don’t have knives, slice through that lettuce with your fork. The waitress went to the kitchen to see what she could wrestle up while he sat there and had a silent tantrum. Someone did come get his bowl and took it to the back to be cut up. When they brought it back he didn’t even say thanks. I actually don’t think he said anything for the rest of the meal… He’s brave though. He finished that salad. If I worked there, there’s a good chance there might have been some spit in it when it came back out…
~
Poker was an up and down battle all weekend. My great run at the PLO CAP games sort of fizzled out, and I had minimal success at the SNGs. However, last night I did end up taking a second and a first to bring my roll back up to where I started the weekend. So it was a push…
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Well, here’s a twist…
While I was getting crushed in SNG’s all weekend, my cash game went on a heater like I’ve never had before. I took a few beats as per the game, but I sat and doubled my buyin consistently all weekend long.
It started Friday night with game 3 of The Way Cool Super Fun League (“It’s like a super fun league, only way cooler”). We had seven players turn out. I started off running very well, but pushed AQ into AK on a flop of Axx to get crippled. After building back a little bit I was able to get it all in preflop dominating my nemesis (AK vs AQ I believe). He spiked his Q (hence nemesis status) and I slide down to the cash game end of the table… From there I buy in for $10 for our .25/.25 dealers choice game and a few hours later cash out up $15, the exact amount I lost in the tourney.
The weekend showed more of the same. I’ve found a new love in the PLO CAP cash game tables. The hands that people are willing to cap it with is beyond astonishing, and my running well didn’t hurt either. 3 or 4 times I was able to double or more my buy-in. Unfortunately, my SNG game was getting kicked around and I lost a lot of that back to that. I even switched to PLO SNG’s where I felt I could take advantage of some top pair maniacs… One hand stands out. I was in the pot with 44xx for whatever reason and looked at a flop of 4KK. I knew this would be a great chance to take advantage of some dope overplaying a naked K and got in a raising war with one guy. I was licking my chops when all the money went in and our cards were turned over. I looked to see what 3 cards I’d have to sweat on the turn and river but instead was staring at KKxx… Amazingly two more 4’s didn’t hit the board, and that was it for me in that game…
~
The finale of Big Brother is tonight… The two that are left deserve it as much as anybody I suppose. While this show remains Must See in our house, it’s certainly taken a dive in the interesting department these last few seasons… I’m rooting for Dan because he’s been the most fun, but either way, I don’t really care…
It started Friday night with game 3 of The Way Cool Super Fun League (“It’s like a super fun league, only way cooler”). We had seven players turn out. I started off running very well, but pushed AQ into AK on a flop of Axx to get crippled. After building back a little bit I was able to get it all in preflop dominating my nemesis (AK vs AQ I believe). He spiked his Q (hence nemesis status) and I slide down to the cash game end of the table… From there I buy in for $10 for our .25/.25 dealers choice game and a few hours later cash out up $15, the exact amount I lost in the tourney.
The weekend showed more of the same. I’ve found a new love in the PLO CAP cash game tables. The hands that people are willing to cap it with is beyond astonishing, and my running well didn’t hurt either. 3 or 4 times I was able to double or more my buy-in. Unfortunately, my SNG game was getting kicked around and I lost a lot of that back to that. I even switched to PLO SNG’s where I felt I could take advantage of some top pair maniacs… One hand stands out. I was in the pot with 44xx for whatever reason and looked at a flop of 4KK. I knew this would be a great chance to take advantage of some dope overplaying a naked K and got in a raising war with one guy. I was licking my chops when all the money went in and our cards were turned over. I looked to see what 3 cards I’d have to sweat on the turn and river but instead was staring at KKxx… Amazingly two more 4’s didn’t hit the board, and that was it for me in that game…
~
The finale of Big Brother is tonight… The two that are left deserve it as much as anybody I suppose. While this show remains Must See in our house, it’s certainly taken a dive in the interesting department these last few seasons… I’m rooting for Dan because he’s been the most fun, but either way, I don’t really care…
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