Busy Bee
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Damn I'm busy. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I am a man of leisure. This work at 8 and class till 10 routine is killing me. The class is only Monday and Tuesday, but tonight I have the pleasure of traveling an hour to LI right after work for fiance Kim and my "engagement photo", which of course ignores the fact that (1) we got engaged over a year ago, (2) we are getting married in less than a month, and (3) I look like shit, as the first thing that goes when I get busy is my personal hygeine. Yeah I said it. I still shower and everything, but I ran out of face wash a week ago and I am in desperate need of a shaving (face and/or head). At least the pic will look different from my wedding photos.
Ah, but this is a poker blog. Sorry for the recent lack of in depth poker thought. I think I had a nugget yesterday that I wanted to share. Hopefully, recanting this story will help. (Bonus points if someone is able to verify that I used "recanting" in the wrong context, as I'm want to do.)
At about 11:15pm last night, I was looking to play another Maui tournament on Noble. I figured that since I placed 2nd in the Maui yesterday, I should try to string together a full 5 wins to earn the $200 bonus. Unfortunately, thanks to the Million $ Jackpot tables on Noble, the Maui room could not get any love. I must've sat in that room with one other guy (it's a 10-table tournament) for 15 minutes, until I got fed up. I also registered for the Million $ Jackpot SNG ($10, 10-person), and a six-person $5 Omaha SNG. Hey, I was here to gamble. The Million $ Jackpot was the first to start, so I quickly unregistered on the other tournaments and set down to play some pokah!
The tournament went excedingly well. I was chatting lightly with GCox for a bit, and also playing some .50/1 limit (just enough to earn my last $10 bonus, but not enough to feel the sting of a bad session). I decided to stick to a proven strategy at Noble SNGs (or any SNGs, I suppose). I played tight. I didn't get involved in any big hands, because, frankly, it only takes one big hand to break you in an SNG. Even if you think you are good going in with 55 or ATs or KJ because of the weakness of the other players, you still might get stuck in a situation where your hand is outdrawn. Or, with cards like those and 10 players, you are dominated and don't know it. Hell, set over set. High-pair vs. Overpair. Out kicked. Seen it, wouldn't wanna been it. Um, you get the idea.
And suddently, when I did bet, I got respect. I switched into what Sir Hellmuth calls Eagle play. I was staying out of the way for the most part, swooping down to pick up opportune pots, both big and small. I took out a couple of players. Suddenly, there were four players left and I was the big stack. This didn't last long. By the time I told GCox, I was already crippled in a hand I've conveniently forgot. On the shortstack, I got into my solid shortstack game. I made a few well-timed all-ins. I stole some blinds and doubled up. And suddenly I'm the leader again. Fourth place goes out and I'm in the money. Third-place goes too, and I'm heads up, outchipped about 4500 to 5500.
Thank you Heads Up Challenge! If it weren't for those games (of which I only got to play 7, plus about a half-dozen practice games), I would not have had such control when we were heads up. Thanks to the HUC, I knew the value of raising the minimum pre-flop. If the other player has nothing, he'll likely fold at first. If you do this a bunch of times in a row, with hands like Ace high, low pocket pairs, K9o, etc. he'll eventually start calling you with his 6To.
I even got a little fancy. I had shown him a 2c3c bluff pre-flop. The very next hand, I had 26o. Knowing that I just showed a silly bluff, I decided to raise the blinds again. He called this time, which ironically was what I expected. The flop was nothing special. There was a T high, or maybe a Q. I bet out and he called again. Okay... The next card was another blank as far as I was concerned. I thought things over. He has been calling me the entire way and I just showed a bluff. There is no way he can think I am bluffing here, because who the hell shows a bluff and then bluffs right away. I bet big. He folded. I knew he was getting desperate and was probably drawing to an inside straight draw or had a small pair. Otherwise, he would've put the pressure on me, happy that he finally had a hand. Some might not think this was a wise play. Well, the situation called for it, and I took the advantage. In the end, that is the core of poker. Timing.
In the end, I took it down. Down to China Town. It was a $50 win ($38 profit, as the buy-in was $10 and the fee was $2). It was an unexpected win too, due in large part to my expert play. Hell, you know I'll admit it when I'm lucky. Not this time. All me.
That win helps replenish some of my depleted bankroll. With that, I am about $100 on Noble again. I think I stand at $117. I have about $240 on Neteller, awaiting my return from my honeymoon, at which point I will sign up for another bonus through PokerSourceOnline (wait for it....wait for it....NOW....Bonus Code: HighOnPoker, infidels!). I wish I could start a promotion now and get the September PSO bonus for 9000 PSO points instead of the usual 6000. But I cannot realistically expect to clear any bonus requirements before my wedding in early October, and hence, it would be a waste of a promotion (you have 30 days to clear it, I think).
This weekend is my bachelor party in beautiful Atlantic City. The night before the official Saturday night festivities, I'll be in AC with Dave Roose, Robby Hole and Randy Hole getting in some pre-party poker. The Friday night plans all came together kind of quick, but I'm glad they did, as I might have to share some time away from the tables Saturday. Unfortunately, not all of my buddies (16 or so are coming) are poker players, so blackjack (shudder) and craps (joy) may have to be worked into the rotation.
Final thought. I spoke to good friend Dave Ruff yesterday about the bachelor party. I mentioned that I have to go to the stupid NJ classes and he replied, I know, I read about it in your blog. Wha? I didn't know he read this drivel. So a sincere apology to Ruff for any crap I said about him here. HAHAHA! I never said anything bad about Ruff, I swear! I bet he's just reading this so he knows how to play against me in AC. Well, we'll see about that! The real interesting thing is that people I know actually read this. I know Roose and Hole do from time to time, but now Ruff too. I'm glad overall. I guess I just won't be discussing my herpes outbreak. Ah, who are we kidding. I don't have an edit button.
Paging Mr. Herman. Mr. Herman. There's a seat at 1/2 NL..
posted by Jordan @ 8:42 AM,
2 Comments:
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At 9:37 AM,
TripJax said...
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I think you have 60 days...
Good job on the SNG. Nice to have a game where you don't have to recall sucking out 5 times to win it, instead just good play reigns supreme.
Haven't had a chance to email you back, but I will this week...sounds all good... -
At 4:11 PM,
Jordan said...
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According to MicroSoft Word, synonyms of "recant" are generally renounce, and so forth. Therefore, I DID use it out of context. I think I mean to say recount. Regardless, clealy I suck.
