Mind on Poker
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Maybe it was being turned away from the live game at Straddle last night. Maybe it was cashing in two 60+ person tournaments recently, or my two cashes in my recent single-table SNGs at Full Tilt. I don't know what it is, but I'm dying for some poker.
It's been a looooooooooong day, not by time, but by momentum. It's just dragging. Tonight, I plan on hopping a train to Queens for a Robbie Hole homegame. I love these games, mostly because it is a laid back atmosphere, and I am poker king there. There are some good players. Roose is a solid player for sure, and I don't like to tangle with him too much, if I can avoid it. Robbie Hole is one of, if not THE, trickiest players to get a read on. He's as likely to hold AA as K2s in a given hand. Notice I didn't say AA or 27o. It's not that he plays every hand. It's just that he has an interesting range, and I just can't put my finger on it. Aside from those two, there is Randy Hole, who is also an enigma like cousin Rob. The rest of the crew are a random assortment, but overall, I have a good idea about how each of them play.
I also get respect there, mostly from two players who are pretty green in their play, Peter and Scotty. Pete recently won his first tourney at the Hole home game, and was as excited as a kid on Hannukah. His play could still use some work, but he is there to have fun. Scotty is a red-headed Santa Claus, both by looks and by generosity. His play has vastly improved from his original game, but he still is able to keep it light. He's a recreational player, like most of the Hole players, so when I'm there, I'm usually having fun.
Scotty even offered to partially stake me in a WSOP event in the future, based on, as he put it, the fact that I am serious about the game. It'll have to wait until the 2006-2007 WSOP Circuit starts, but once the schedule is out, I'm going to sit down with a calendar and ledger and plan my first foray into big time poker. Of course, I'll be starting with a $500 event, but that is still 5x the amount I'd normally be willing to spend in a live tournament. If I can get Scotty to bankroll me a hundred, that'd cut down on my exposure and force me to play smarter. The bottom line is that I need to play an event like that, because it's time to really think about where this game is taking me.
I need to make a step up. My bankroll is hovering at $800, but not long ago, it was hovering at $300, so I'm greatful about the improvement. I've been a $300 bankroll guy for so long, I almost don't know what to do with myself. I suppose playing $20 single-table SNGs isn't unreasonable. The only problem is that I am so damn comfortable at $10 SNGs. I think, ultimately, I'll start to mix in some more $20s, but stick with a majority of $10s. Hell, it wasn't too long ago that I was at the $5s. Now, they feel like chump change. OOH YEAH! I'm the big man on the poker campus now!
Tomorrow is Round 1 of the Heads Up Challenge 3. I was the original creator and commissioner of the HUC 1 and HUC 2. This time, I passed the Commissioner title to Veneno, a Heads Up enthusiast. She originally asked me to plan the HUC3, but with the 45-Player SNG Challenge going, I didn't think I had the time. I asked V to do it, and she has just blown me away! Not only has she set up clear brackets, along with an interesting structure, but she also is having a special card protector made for the ultimate winner. My match is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday, March 23) at Full Tilt at 10pm. It's a 4-person HU elimination tournament with the winner moving on to Round 2. Lucky me, my bracket consists of Veneno herself, along with Todd Commish and L'Artiste. Heads Up poker is not my strong point, but I'm not too shabby either. I look forward to using my awesome smack talking, card showing personality to win the day. The winner of our bracket, dubbed the TiltMonsters (presumably after my mean skillz), will face the winner of the Squirrels bracket, which consists of TripJax, FairNBalanced, DrewsPop, and Aussie Dave. I'm hoping Trip wins it. Easy pickin's in Round 2!
I have to commend Mookie99. I didn't know of the guy when I heard that he was holding private blogger tournaments weekly. But I saw him at DADI events, and I look forward to making it to one of his Wednesday games. This poker blogging thing is really about community, and this community loves itself some private tournaments. That's why Trip and I started the DADI events, and that's why Mr. Wheaton's events are so damn fun. If you don't know what I'm talking about, play in one of these aforementioned events. It's a place where competitiveness is encouraged and good poker play is the standard. It's the closest thing to live poker you'll find online too. Just read my last post for those details. Plus, I have to admit, I still get a smile when former Star Trek the Next Generation star and all-around good guy Wil Wheaton said, "High On Poker is here" when I popped into his room during the WWdn event.
Trip is also working overtime to set up the next DADI event. I have to admit that I am out of the loop a bit. I mean, DADI was my baby and Trip and I have raised her together. I know that she is in good hands though. Without a doubt, this one is going to be the biggest DADI ever, and when it happens it will be due mostly to Trip's hard work. So, to that, I say kudos Trip. I'd love to announce some of the surprises in store, but I'll leave that to my comrade.
So, let's recap. If you want to play poker with fellow bloggers/readers, you have several options. You can await the next DADI event, which will likely be scheduled for the last week in April. You can play on Tuesdays, at 8:30 EST on Stars in the WWdn events (password: monkey). You can play on Wednesdays in the weekly Mookie events (see his site for passwords). You can play in the Thursday night WWdn events, which I believe start at 11:30pm EST (it's a West Coast-heavy event). Or you can keep an eye out for another one of my Challenges.
Poker, poker everywhere and not a drop to think.
posted by Jordan @ 5:37 PM,
1 Comments:
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At 9:19 AM,
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Good luck in HUC3 tonight. I'm sure I won't last too long, but who knows, maybe I am on the good side of variance right now.
