Doing It for the Rail
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Man, I love railbirds. I realize I play better, or at least have more fun, when there is someone else sharing in my play. I guess this is why I prefer the casino to online poker (or even home games). Generally speaking, I cozy up to one or ten of the players, and I turn it into a fun experience. We share insight and compliment each other on our successes. There is usually one or more designated nemesis at the table, but even when there isn't one, I can often find a "pal" at the table to attack and still laugh with after I show my blatant bluff or monster hand.
So, it was great signing online last night in good ole LI to see DP (aka fluxer) and Aussie Dave online. Aussie and I agreed to play an SNG and DP decided to join for the ride. TripJax was also online, but he had cashed out of UB and Titan, and I think had no money on Stars, so he was out of the SNG-seeking clan.
After some discussion, we decided to play at Stars, which was a mistake. After attempting to jump into three different SNGs which filled up faster than we could coordinate, I ended up jumping the gun and entering an SNG that filled up without my compadres. To make matters worse, my Internet connection stopped working and I had to restart my computer. By the time I was back online, I had given up 200+ in chips. I played tight and made it to 5th place, but lost to a suckout. I'm not too upset. I knew one player was willing to gamble, so I pushed after he raised. I held A2 and he held K3. He hit his K and I went to the 4-person HU SNG on Stars.
Now, Aussie Dave and Fluxer would eventually find me and railbird my 4-p HU SNG, but first, I lost 2 consecutive 4-p HU SNGs in no time. As soon as I lost I registered for the next match. The thing was, I knew that if I just kept at it, I'd win. I ended up playing against xcharlesx or something thereabout, and had a great time. Fluxer and Aussie Dave jumped in. I openned a 2nd chat window via Yahoo IM with fluxer and we had fun playing with my opponent's head. I'd talk smack or show my suited hammer (which rivered a flush) and fluxer would jump in laughing and talking smack. I told fluxer to do it so that it'd piss off my opponent. Humorously, my opponent started firing back at me and won a decent pot soon after. My response to fluxer, "Well, I was right. He's pissed." In the end, I took the lead and didn't give it up. At 35 hands into the tourney, I predicted, publicly in the Stars chat window, that I would win by hand 50. It actually took me to 52, which I take as an omen.
I next went against Trof, who joined us early on as a railbird in my match v. xcharlesx. I was talking smack to him before our match even began, asking him "You want a piece of this?" and telling him to "See what I'm going to do to you." Another of my favorite lines that I used at the beginning of all 3 HU SNGs, "Are you ready?" When they respond, "Yeah" I say, "Then what are we waiting for!" The SNGs take 1 minute to start when you are sitting there watching the clock. I like this banter because it opens the opponent up to talking and often gets a laugh out of them. Like me, opponent, and then give me your money!
Oh yeah, so I'm playing Trof and I'm doing the same thing. Once I have him beat in chips, I just lay on the pressure. In one hand, Trop raised 150 after the flop and 150 after the turn. I folded after the turn, to which fluxer said, on the private IM, "Why'd you fold! He bet 150 before the flop and you calle d it." I replied, "If I folded, I was beat." I don't remember the hand specifically, but I called post-flop with crap, hoping to catch an overpair or something or to see an opportunity to steal. But when the turn came, I didn't want to pay anymore. In these cases, you really want to keep your chip lead and wait for the hand where he is frustrated and pushed with 66 and you can call his all-in with 99 or even KJ, secure that if you lose you aren't out of the tournament.
So, I won. In the end, I was up a little less than $5 in the 4-p HU SNGs (after vig) and down $10 or so overall (after losing the $10 10-p SNG and $5 on Titan playing .25/.50 NL. It's funny. I lost $10 and I was happy. I had fun and $10 isn't anything to worry about.
I got an email from Roose that Hole is having a home game tonight. I didn't intend to play, but wifey Kim will be out with the girls, so I'm heading over to the Hole-y Land for some Hot Poker Action. Wish me Luck!
Last night, at about 12:30 am, lying in bed in my parents' house I turned on the TV to see the AFI Top 100 Movie Quotes. Most I didn't know, but it brought a smile to my face. I'm running out of movie quotes to pokerize. With that said...
"You had me at 'Hi/Lo'."
posted by Jordan @ 2:08 PM,
1 Comments:
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At 4:14 PM,
said...
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oops...i signed up under the test template...disregard...
