Sports Betting Impressario
Monday, January 23, 2006
It's 11:15am and I have yet to post. Part of it is because of my $100 loss at the tables this weekend. I thought I was running bad, after several rivered suckouts at 1/2 limit. I changed it up to NLHE, which is obviously the wrong move if you are running bad, but logic has no control over me! After losing it all, I sat there staring at the screen trying to discern what the hell happened. I thought to myself that I just got unlucky, over and over again. That is somewhat true, but in hindsight, I see that the lack of luck was really not as ridiculous as I first thought. Most of my big losses in NLHE were to coin tosses, preflop, or other hands where I was ahead slightly, but by no means a lock. For instance, my QQ all-in preflop, after raising and re-raising, was not that far ahead of my opponent's AK. I should not be shocked that my JJ all-in pre-flop would lose to an A7, even though I'm the favorite. That's poker. So maybe my play didn't suck? Maybe it did though. Because, after all, as a self-proclaimed good player, does it make sense to put myself at the hands of fate like that? OR should I be playing in a way that doesn't allow fate to decide. Should I not push all-in preflop with JJ facing a re-raise (assuming I know I'm ahead), if I can call and see the Ace flop and then fold? Should I lay down the QQ vs. the AK with the thought that later I can bust the guy with a dominating hand? Hell, I don't know. But at least I'm starting to ask the right questions.
I tried C-Mitch's Step Heads-Up Challenge, playing 2 NL HE games for $5 and winning. I then moved up to $10 and lost. I can't stand that damn challenge! If you don't win 3 in a row, you get zilch for your efforts. But I guess it is like and MTT. You will get zilch most of the time, but when you hit, you can hit big.
Veneno and I are playing a mixed-game HU Challenge against each other. The first player to win 3 heads up games gets a poker-related item from the other player. I can't wait to see what I get. After all, I took the first NLHE game and the second Razz game. I'll be a gentleman and let her choose what's next. All games have been taking place on Full Tilt, the new favorite site of High On Poker.
Excuse me for being lazy, but I have yet to choose a date/time for the i-PokerTable WPT Satellite Swarm. I do see, however, that they have a $9+1 freezeout satellite, which will be our game of choice, since I-PokerTable will refund our whole buy-in after the fact. If you want to do this without waiting, feel free. Just email HighOnPoker@i-pokertable.com to request your refund. As a reminder, that is an i-PokerTable email and NOT MINE. I got them to set up the promo, but I'm not working for them and I don't get ANYTHING for any referrals.
Who woulda thunk it? If you know me, you'd know that I was never a sports nut. In fact, I barely know jack about sports in general, and I have the athletic skill of a 5 year old girl...in traction. But I do like gambling, so, using the techniques in Blink (i.e., just choosing something from a gut feeling), I put $10 on the Steelers +3.5 and $10 on the Seahawks -3.5. I won both. Bro-in-law Marc piggybacked off of my bets and took down some dough too, so this made me doubly proud. Oh, and for the record, I did it all on i-SportsBook, through i-PokerTable. The next step is to take my original $20 and put in on the Seahawks. My reason? I just have a gut feeling.
That's it for now. I have a busy work week ahead of me in preparation for AC on Wednesday night to Friday. I can't wait!
posted by Jordan @ 11:13 AM,
7 Comments:
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At 1:24 PM,
said...
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I was able to score off the Seahawks and Steelers myself, though rather than the "Blink" approach, I took the "slow percolation" approach. By Thursday I felt Steelers and Seahawks, and bet accordingly. The line I saw this morning had the Hawks at +4, which seems nice. But I am still percolating.
Not sure if I will declare who I backed, as my best mate's girlfriend and her friends are rabid Steeler fans - and since I will most probably be in their company for the Big Game, I will be putting my life at risk if I a) back the Seahawks, b) announce this fact, and c) the Seahwawks win. And let's be honest, I am not man enough to deal with the torrent of abuse and gloating that would occur if the Steelers won.
I think this is what they call "scared money". -
At 4:18 PM,
said...
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In cash games, I always like to see flops with hands like JJ, QQ, KK to see if overcards come and then continue betting strong if the flop is safe. If overcards come, it's read dependent.
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At 4:58 PM,
said...
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That sounds like a very wise suggestion DP. I note, however, that when I placed 4th out of 1008 or so, not too long ago (all though it feels like forever), most of my big winning hands was from getting all-in preflop with QQ or KK. So, I would suggest that your rule works well for cash games and SNGs, but maybe not so with MTTs.
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At 7:46 PM,
said...
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Yeah, that's why I said "In cash games" =) You're absolutely right.
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At 1:20 AM,
said...
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That's exactly right, as I said "In cash games" as my advice is not fit for tournament play.
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At 1:20 AM,
said...
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Dude, what the fuck is wrong with your comment system. Damn it.
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At 3:39 AM,
said...
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Don't count your chickens before they hatch! I'll be ready and waiting for game 3.
