Ch - Ch - Ch - Changes

While the new job means more scratch and more title, it's also quickly come to mean:
a) less free time
b) less blogging
c) less poker
oh, and d) much more evening/weekend work. 

Net/Net, it's all for the good.  I'm very much digging being back in the financial saddle.  The old job had a lot of near and mid-term stagnation, with a glimmer of massive upside.  I think the role I'm in now has a much more stable, predictable future associated with it. 

But I do miss the freedom.  I missed AIPS today, although it was for family reasons and not work.  And I wish I could play lots more because I've been cleaning up in the past couple weeks. 

* 6th in an 18 person token race, which misses the token but gets me some cash
* Got the token next time around
* A few good SNG performances
* A CHIMPScyber-bracelet in Stud (of all games) on Tuesday. 

The hilarious thing is that while Stud is a game that demands memory and concentration, I somehow won this while working AND going on tilt because the Metsbullpen blew a huge lead right in the middle of the final table.  Chalk it up to being a lucktard, I guess.  I don't have the hand history near me, but some key hands included making a crying call of someone's short-stacked naked bluff, getting dealt rolled up aces against the aggressive guy to my right, and then being a card rack late. 

* Also I've done well in the few cash games I dabbled in.  Last night was a great example.  I played about 30 hands, never saw an Ace better than AQo, never saw a pair higher than 99.  And I walked away with slightly more than 2x my initial buy-in.  Flopping a set of 4s in a semi-dangerous board against a loose passive guy (mid 80s VP$IP !!) and a calling station helped.  While there were straights out there by the river, and four board cards higher than the 4, neither of them had anything more than a pair.  I had a VP$IP in this session <20% which is small for 6-max, but I won most of the pots I dabbled in, never was down more than like $5 and thought I was playing sharp.  When you're playing against a table that plays tons and tons of hands, just wait for a hand and you'll get paid off.

Tonight is the home game.  It's been a while.  The thought process is to mix it up for the first three levels, then pick my spots thereafter.   I'm expecting some LAG play early on as we haven't played in about 6 weeks. 

I will bluff, at least early, but I will walk away if someone plays back, and I will value bet the hell out of made hands, because this group WILL pay you off.  Fingers crossed. 

CHIMPS Multi-Table

I rarely if ever multi-table - my ADD mind can't really handle it.  But multi-tabling three SNGs against a good field, well why the fuck not. 

Table 1: 9PM.  I chip up early, make a MP standard raise with KK.  One of the blinds shoves and I call.  He has AQ, flops an A and I'm crippled.  Soon thereafter, I have 84o in a free multiway pot from the BB.  It checks around on the flop.  The turn gives me an 8 for top pair, POS kicker, but I shove.  I get called by K6 and he rivers a K.  0-fer-1.

Table 2: 9:15PM.  I make a raise from the CO w/ A9o and get two callers.  The flop is 669.  Unless the blind who came along had a 6, I figure I'm golden w/ TTP TK.  The turn blanks, we get it all in and the blind had AA.  Oy vey.  I'm uber crippled here and disappear even before the third event starts.  Nice night. 

Table 3: I chipped up.  Got tired, made a donk call of a reraise while holding 55 (vs. 88) and that was that.

Tough Times...and we're NOT going to pull through

I will ALWAYS remember the speech given by one of the finance higher-ups at Ford Motor back when I worked there in the early part of the decade.  9/11 had just happened, the economy was in a pretty strong downturn (though not a fullblown recession).  But more importantly, the "foreign" automakers now had a full lineup of trucks and SUVs to compete with the "Detroit" offering.  This wasn't just a rough patch in the economy, it was a fundamental tipping of the see-saw.

The finance big shot is speaking to a room of finance grunts like myself when he says "Tough times are ahead, but we'll pull through it and be stronger than ever" or something to that extent. 

Here we are, seven years later, and look at this - the Blue Oval is in debt up to its eyeballs. 

Selling Jaguar, Land Rover, and potentially Volvo will only keep the ship afloat just a little bit longer. 

I wonder if the following speech is being given somewhere in Dearborn today.  Given the ownership structure of the shares, it's probably not:
"Tough times are ahead.  And we're not prepared to deal with what will happen.  We need to do something now that's in the best interests of our shareholders."

Lucksack

The villain here had been playing a little tricky - and I honestly thought he may have had a set or two pair.  Anything is possible in the BB.  But to aggrodonk his way through the hand like this AND hit the four-outer on the river...my God. 

Full Tilt Poker Game #7102994113: Table Quimby (6 max) - $0.05/$0.10 - Pot Limit Hold'em - 23:18:34 ET - 2008/07/05
Seat 1: SaltyDog2952 ($2.75)
Seat 2: Clos8828 ($24.10)
Seat 3: djm182 ($12.20)
Seat 4: crymeariver13 ($4.35)
Seat 5: MoBrasil ($12.80)
Seat 6: derkui ($11)
SaltyDog2952 posts the small blind of $0.05
Clos8828 posts the big blind of $0.10
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djm182 [As Qc]
djm182 raises to $0.35
crymeariver13 folds
MoBrasil folds
derkui folds
SaltyDog2952 folds
Clos8828 calls $0.25
*** FLOP *** [7h Qs 4s]
Clos8828 checks
djm182 bets $0.50
Clos8828 raises to $1
djm182 calls $0.50
*** TURN *** [7h Qs 4s] [5d]
Clos8828 bets $2.75
djm182 calls $2.75
*** RIVER *** [7h Qs 4s 5d] [6h]
Clos8828 checks
djm182 bets $8.10, and is all in
Clos8828 calls $8.10
*** SHOW DOWN ***
djm182 shows [As Qc] a pair of Queens
Clos8828 shows [Ad 8s] a straight, Eight high
Clos8828 wins the pot ($22.45) with a straight, Eight high
djm182 is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $24.45 | Rake $2
Board: [7h Qs 4s 5d 6h]
Seat 1: SaltyDog2952 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: Clos8828 (big blind) showed [Ad 8s] and won ($22.45) with a straight, Eight high
Seat 3: djm182 showed [As Qc] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 4: crymeariver13 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: MoBrasil didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: derkui (button) didn't bet (folded)

AIPS: Razz

Disclaimer: I know full well that the play in these events is going to be, um, less than stellar.  I expect wacky things to happen.  That's why I specifically laid out a strategy to help me avoid as much wackiness as possible and hopefully capitalize on the poor choices of others.  The strategy is as follows.

a) Play nothing with a 9 or higher in it to start
b) Play nothing with an 8-6 or 8-7 in an early spot
c) Run from any and all bricks on 4th street unless the opponent(s) bricked worse
d) Play good hands hard.  Punish people for trying to come at me with crap
e) Always remember that it's better to get the eff out of a Razz MTT early than stick around and be the bubble boy.  My priorities are 1) win, 2) get KOed very early, 3) anything else. 

Got all that?  Good.  Then here we go. 

15 minutes into the festivities I'm down to 1410 in chips and am dealt [3 6]5.  There are two 4s, two 5s, and a 7, 8, and 9 showing, not a great board, but I'll see another card.  A 4 completes in front, I call and it's heads up. 
4th st: The 4 gets a J.  I get a K.  He bets and I call...surely not the wisest call, but I still have three babies, and I've seen some pretty aggressive play from this guy so far.  He lands a T on 5th while I get a J.  Buh bye. 

Five minutes later, I have 1295 chips and see [5 A]6 to start.  I complete it, and the bring in (J) calls me.  Lovely.  On 5th street, he has J 8 6 showing vs. my 6 9 7.  I'm still ahead, I'm still betting every street, and he's still calling.  Uh oh. I pair my 7 on 6th street while he picks up an Ace.  He leads out and may have just made an 8-6.  At this point, I know where three of the deuces and all of the threes and fours are - hidden (either in the deck or buried cards).  I've got lots of outs here.  Well I get a 8 on 7th street for a measely 8-7.  He checks, I check behind and he made the 8-6.  The hand history shows he had [3 3]J.  I'll assume that FT reshuffled it for display, but my God, even with [2 3]J, that's some sketchy play. 

Now I'm down to 1000 chips.  A few hands later, I get [A 4]5, complete it, get called by the same guy.  Then I get a Q on 4th and release.  950 chips.

This one really irked me.  I'm now anted down to 900 chips and start with [4 8]5.  There's a dead 2, 3, and 6 so this isn't ideal, but I need to get some chips - even via stealing.  It folds to me, I complete, and yet again the bring-in (T) calls.  Long story short:
*** 6TH STREET ***
Dealt to Seitz333 [Tc 3h 7s] [2c]
Dealt to djm182 [4d 8c 5h 7c Kh] [9c]
Seitz333 bets 100
djm182 folds

684 chips left.

Then for 25 straight hands, I release on 3rd street.  Thank you very much for coming.  384 chips left.  At long last, with [6 7]A, I complete early, and get called by two other ace door cards behind.  They get a T and J respectively on 4th street.  Good news, huh?  Not when I get a K.  The T properly leads out and I release.  Down to 289 chips.

And I release the next dozen hands on 3rd street.  Only 84 chips left behind now and we're 45 minutes into this.  THIS IS NOT HOW I PICTURED IT!!!

Now here is the hand that sets me over the edge.  With 84 chips left I'm dealt [6 4]2.  I'm second after the bring-in and I complete it for all I've got.  It folds around (damn) to the bring-in who calls with

...wait for it...

[6 Q]Q. 

What an unabashed prick.  Fittingly, he makes quad Queens on 5th street and I triple up to 258 chips. 

Two hands later, I see [8 2]4.  A 6 in front of me completes, I raise and we get it all-in on 3rd.  He has [A 2]6.  I peel off trip 8s by 5th street, followed by a T and a J and that's that. 

Just a completely fucking brutal session, highlighted by a bad run of cards and some horrific play into me that was inappropriately rewarded.

The good news?  I made the whole buy-in back and more in about 45 minutes of Micro PLHE.  I never thought cash games would subsidize my SNG/MTT play, but that's the case lately. 

Ramblings...and a tangent

If Simmons can do it, why can't I?

* Besides the NBA, there is no more overhyped, overpublicized, and underwhelming event than the College World Series.  I can't believe anyone watches this crap.  Aluminum bats...bad pitching...scores like football games.  I can't imagine what it was like before the television coverage took a dramatic turn for the better. 

* Why would the Weather Channel build a big HD studio and only use it for some shows?  Are the Mets only planning on playing divisional games in CitiField next year, relegating other games back to Shea?  This makes no sense. 

* Dr. James Dobson goes off about Obama "distoring the bible."  I don't even have a joke here.  People like Dobson are the reason I have less and less interest in religion with every passing day. 

* Here's Matthew Berry with some great anecdotes about the late and great George Carlin.  If you ever want to know what kind of person a celebrity really is, you see what they do off camera.  I'll never forget the Senior Players Championship that I volunteered at in Dearborn.  Tom Kite led going into Sunday, played poorly and got passed by Raymond Floyd.  After the round is over, they do the trophy presentation on #18.  When that wraps up I began to head for the car.  As I'm walking toward the clubhouse, there's Kite *still* signing autographs between 18 and the locker room.  Mere minutes after blowing a major championship, Kite signed every autograph.  That's the kind of stuff great people are made of. 

* "I'm just so, so thrilled."  Those the words of Ana Ivanovic after barely winning her second round Wimbledon matchup.  In response to this, the entire male population of the world was heard saying "whew, I'm glad we get to see her play another match this week."

* Here's a gem.  Glenn Beck on conservative values.

So what are my core values, the things that I refuse to compromise on? To figure that out, I decided to try to define what I think a conservative really believes.

A conservative believes that our inalienable rights do not include housing, healthcare or Hummers.

I agree...with the last one.  But why on Earth is some level of healthcare for our citizens - even the most basic care level - not an inalienable right?  Nobody has ever sufficiently explained this to me, but it's clear that the rich don't want to pay for it.  

A conservative believes that our inalienable rights DO include the pursuit of happiness. That means it is guaranteed to no one.

Blah blah blah...

A conservative believes that those who pursue happiness and find it have a right to not be penalized for that success.

Correct.  Instead, penalize the less successful - fuck them all.  They don't need homes or healthcare either.  Fact is, dickwad, that the existence of government is critical because there are certain things only governments can pull off.  And with our infrastructure crumbling, the government needs more revenue (i.e. taxes) to pull off said things.  

The root cause of all these problems is wasteful government spending.  It's not the sources of the tax dollars - it's the USAGE of the tax dollars. 

A simple analogy for your simple mind, Glenn.  Say you have a kid in college.  The kid loves him the booze.  Spends a TON of money on it.  What do you do to correct the problem?
a) If you're a conservative, you give him less and tell him to get by with it. 
b) If you have a brain, you educate him/impose restrictions on him/discipline him so that the money he has is not spent as wastefully. 

Attack the problem, don't put a band aid on it.

A conservative believes that there are no protections against the hardship and heartache of failure. We believe that the right to fail is just as important as the chance to succeed and that those who do fail learn essential lessons that will help them the next time around.

A conservative believes in personal responsibility and accepts the consequences for his or her words and actions.

These two are both very true.  

A conservative believes that real compassion can't be found in any government program.

A conservative doesn't believe in real compassion.  That's my observation.

A conservative believes that each of us has a duty to take care of our neighbors. It was private individuals, companies and congregations that sent water, blankets and supplies to New Orleans far before the government ever set foot there.

True, but only the government was *capable* of properly dealing with the Katrina disaster.  Now they royally fucked it up and that is well known.  But no disorganized group of volunteers, private individuals, congregations, etc. could adequately pull off the recovery effort that was needed to rescue New Orleans.  Government could pull this off.  It didn't, but it's the only kind of entity capable.  To fix this, we don't abandon government, we fix it, monitor it, and kick the asses of those within it who continue to screw up.

A conservative believes that family is the cornerstone of our society and that people have a right to manage their family any way they see fit, so long as it's not criminal. We are far more attuned to our family's needs than some faceless, soulless government program.

What faceless, soulless government program would this be?  Seriously, I haven't a clue.   When did government try to interject itself into how people manage their own families?

A conservative believes that people have a right to worship the God of their understanding. We also believe that people do not have the right to jam their version of God (or no God) down anybody else's throat.

Fine.  Everyone has the right to worship or not worship.  I wholeheartedly support the second point.  And I'll add a third - I reserve the right to question the entire concept of religion (not the concept of God - but the bureaucracy and bullshit that accompanies religion) without being branded as an evil person.  

A conservative believes that people go to the movies to be entertained and to church to be preached to, not the other way around.

Conservatives also believe that people go to restaurants to eat and to laundromats to wash their clothes, not the other way around.  Seriously, WTF is the point of this?

A conservative believes that debt creates unhealthy relationships. Everyone, from the government on down, should live within their means and strive for financial independence.

Smartest thing he's written - perhaps ever. 

A conservative believes that a child's education is the responsibility of the parents, not the government.

True, though EVERY child is entitled to the right to go to school.   

A conservative believes that every human being has a right to life, from conception to death.

There are just SO many grey areas in here.  I'll just say this - I believe that everyone who isn't 100% ready to parent a child ought to exercise birth control.  It ain't that expensive.  

A conservative believes in the smallest government you can get without anarchy. We know our history: The larger a government gets, the harder it will fall.

Moderately true.  But as I mentioned above - if you starve a government, you get nonsense like the Katrina response.  You get deteriorating infrastructure.  You lose the ability to have a military presence that we need.  You lose the kinds of things that only government can provide.  There's a balance in here, and the way to best achieve the balance is to continue to fund the government AND hold the government accountable for what it does.  The latter surely hasn't happened in our last 7.5 years - perhaps it hasn't happened in decades.  Government has come to mean entitlement for those in it - not responsibility to those who fund it.  Therein lies the problem.  

Those are the things a conservative believes in, and they're the things that I believe in. Now, if only I could find a candidate to match.

Keep searching, ol boy.  I've found mine. 

* When you have 57 suited in the BB, see a free flop of 3 5 5, what could possibly go wrong?  Well when you try to trap an aggressive player and said player flopped a boat with 35...'nuff said.

* "Kobe, how my ass taste."  Brilliant. 

* Woo hoo, Jerry Manuel yelled at an umpire.  Who the hell cares?  Win some damn ball games and get back into the NL East race first, then I'll start to worry about the little things like team fielding exercises and argued balls and strikes.  That's not an indictment of Manuel - it's a prioritization of what needs to happen. 

The Joe Morgan Backstory

...as only Posnanski can. 

Just Observed

An actual overheard quote from the driving range, mere minutes ago.

"Yo, are those m*****f****** signs in yards?"

Epic. 

Oh and thanks to the kind folks who decided to put the ropes on the *downslope* of the grass tee.  Nice job, fellas. 

Oh the calls that we make

In total, it was a good night of online play for me.  Something triggered me to sign up for a $5 45-player SNG.  While it was coming together, I sat at a micro PLHE table.  I quickly doubled up my stack with good-but-not-great hands against a table full of fair-but-not-good players that didn't know how to fold.  I would've done better here except for an AA<QQ hand later on.  I shut this down at the first break in the SNG up a buy-in - so I'm freerolling in the SNG. 

The SNG played amazingly passive.  I kept stealing early on with all sorts of stuff.  I lost one big pot with something like AQ losing to A9, but quickly recouped that stack and more.  I held the chip lead for a while and made it to the final table in good position - either 1st or 2nd in chips. 

At this point, there were a couple of short stacks but mostly 6-7 equally sized stacks and we were rapidly approaching the 10BB level.  I folded lots, watched a fair amount of people get their chips in questionably, and finally made the bubble (after I called a short stack shove where my AQ actually beat A9). 

Here's where it sucked.  With three players left, I had about 38k of the remaining chips.  One player had about 8k, and the third player had the balance.  I'm dealt A6 in position, and see a 534 flop.  The aforementioned third player shoves his ~20k stack in.  I have two overcards, a OESD, but nothing else.  Yet for some reason I felt compelled to call here.  He turns over 52 which hurts - he has a hand, he too has an OESD, and his 2 takes away one of my outs.  Plus any 6 or A now kills me. 

Needless to say, this was a terrible spot:

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=4824402
pokenum  -h 5h 2s  - ac 6d  -- 5c 3d 4s 
Holdem Hi: 990 enumerated boards containing 4s 5c 3d
 cards  win   %win  lose  %lose  tie  %tie     EV
2s 5h  712  71.92   257  25.96   21  2.12  0.730
Ac 6d  257  25.96   712  71.92   21  2.12  0.270

He rivered the straight, not that he needed to, but that made me a distant second.  In the very next hand, I'm the BB and see 44.  The button folds, the short stacked SB shoves and I call.  He tables Jc6c - as if he had an ounce of fold equity.  The bastard rivers a J and now I'm down to one BB.  I move in with K5 the very next hand and so ends my night. 

Why on earth did I call with that OESD?  Really the only time I got chips in bad all night but I had to do it at the end. 

Patience.  Slow down.  When will I learn?

CHIMPS H/U

And to think I was *thisclose* to blowing this one off.


Of course, a first round bye helps things.

In the second round, after being down to 1220 in chips, I flopped bottom two on a 7s Qs 8d board. I check-called the flop, led out on the turn when an A landed, got called and shoved the rest of my stack in on the river. He had a naked A, and now I had the lead. Six hands later, my 88 held up against his A8 and on we go to the semis.

I took a small chip lead in the first hand and never trailed here. Made a questionable call in the last hand. I button raised 3x with 77. He shoved his 4300 chip stack in, and I made the call with my 7600+ stack. He flipped over A9o and I dodged all the bullets.

After a long wait and what looked like one heck of a back and forth battle in the other semi, we started the finals vs. ReedMoney. He came out firing with both barrels and I was quickly in the hole. Whiffed a flop with A9o but tried to represent something and quickly I was down 15.4 to 8.6k chips. Yeeowch. Four hands later, I have AKs. Reed made a 3x button raise which he did often. I min-raised that and he made a big reraise over that. Well I'm not folding this so I ship the rest of my stack in and he has 10s. I flop an A and now I take the 16.5 to 7.5k lead.

Trying my best to nurse this lead, I piss my stack down to 14.4k when I get frisky from the BB w/ J8s, and c-betting on an A-high flop. Whoops. But PS came to my rescue two hands later and this is how it ended:

PokerStars Game #18210159583: Tournament #92414506, $5.00+$0.50 Hold'em No Limit - Match Round IV, Level II (120/240) - 2008/06/17 - 22:57:13 (ET)
Table '92414506 1' 2-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: ReedMoney (9720 in chips)
Seat 2: djm182 (14280 in chips)
ReedMoney: posts small blind 120
djm182: posts big blind 240
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to djm182 [As Ac]
ReedMoney: calls 120
djm182: raises 480 to 720
ReedMoney: calls 480
*** FLOP *** [Kd 6d 7d]
djm182: bets 720
ReedMoney: raises 1200 to 1920
djm182: raises 11640 to 13560 and is all-in (God bless him if he has the flush already.)
ReedMoney: calls 7080 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (4560) returned to djm182
*** TURN *** [Kd 6d 7d] [Ah]
*** RIVER *** [Kd 6d 7d Ah] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
djm182: shows [As Ac] (a full house, Aces full of Sixes)
ReedMoney: shows [4s Qd] (a pair of Sixes)
ReedMoney said, "gg"
djm182 collected 19440 from pot

About damn time I got me one of them CHIMPS virtual bracelets.