A Day in the Life
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Work has been slower than usual at the office, to the point that I actually find myself looking for work by the end of the day (and sometimes at the beginning). I'm in an interesting situation with my career. I really enjoy my firm. I have a good amount of autonomy, they don't overwork us, and the pay is good. But I can't help but feel like it is my job to be a good soldier, i.e., I follow the order of those higher in the hierarchy and do so without complaining. This, overall, is a good thing. But when this good soldier lacks work to do, he gets antsy. I'd rather be in deployment then resting easy.
With that in my head, at about 5:30 yesterday, I looked at the calendar and saw that today would be an interruption-free day, for better or worse. Late in the day, however, a new client was coming in, so I seized the opportunity. The head honcho was nearby and I asked, "Can I join you on the client intake tomorrow?" "Sure. Any reason?" I leveled with him, "Nothing in particular, but my workload is lighter than usual, so I wouldn't mind picking something up." I returned to my office, but mere moments later, Honcho popped his head into my door. "Would you mind coming in for a minute?" I joined him in his office. "So, work is light?" "Lighter than usual. I think I'm used to having a bit more." "Litigation is like that. It's like a rollercoaster of highs and lows. You have to enjoy the lulls."
Just then, my Team Leader entered the office. He needed to speak to the Honcho. As I stood up, they asked me to shut the door. I was back in my office at 6 pm. I'm not used to leaving before 6:30, but I took the Honcho's words to heart. "Enjoy the lulls." I got my ass out of there before Honcho's door could reopen.
That's how things are going in the office. Its all good, fortunately, but having free time during the workday is something I'm not generally comfortable with. When I left the office, I opted to skip the Salami underground game in favor of heading home. Salami wouldn't start for over an hour, and I wanted to relax. Wifey Kim is gone on a speech conference, so I had the place all to myself. I set up the laptop and nuked some leftovers from last night's dinner. I busted in two MTTs and a $8.70 Token race within an hour. Later on in the night, I'd face my first bout of negative variance at the 2/4 LO8 tables (and 3/6 for about 20 minutes) before calling it quits as a loser. The apartment was a mess. I got little sleep. I ate crappy food. Thank god wifey Kim will be back on Wednesday. I'm a freakin' slob without her.
While I'm here, let me take a moment to discuss the Big Game. I'm hesitant to try for the next one, mostly because I found it so intense. I played the Big Game like I should always play poker. I minimized distractions, insisting that wifey Kim watch one of her programs that disinterested me. I kept away from the booze and narcotics. I focused on the play, watching my PokerTracker stats and how the table was generally playing.
In short, I played poker like it was supposed to be played, and aside from my bonehead plays late in the game, borne out of necessity more than desperation, I was very proud of my play. This is what makes the Big Game different from the rest, and I would suggest, better. For all of you who wrongly complain that blogger events are full of donktastic play, this is the game for you. I have to imagine that most of the players, if not all, had the same mentality. Here was a tournament where you could win over a grand by outlasting last than 50 players. Concentration was well worth that price. The fact that the players were common to blogger games was also a boon for the Big Game, since there is even more accountability. Winning this event meant stating to the blogosphere that you could play big poker when necessary. It meant padding our bankrolls in a big way with a near free buy-in. It meant that knowing your fellow blogger was a real benefit, and knowing how to adapt to what others knew about you was too. Here was a game where all the reads mattered because everyone had the same thought in their heads: $1000.
You could argue (I won't, but YOU could) that in the other blogger events, people are not playing for that 1st prize as much. They are playing to socialize and donk around, and play crappy cards like the hammer because its all in fun. But you can't say the same for the Big Game, even though a lot of the socializing and fun is there too. When someone plays the hammer at the WWdn, it's because they are having fun and showing off. When someone plays it at the Big Game, it's because they are making a very ballsy steal and trying to tilt players.
Maybe I'm making too much of the difference, but it was how I felt. So, in closing, I guess I might be playing the next Big Game. I'll definitely be playing them into the future as well. Don hit something big here, and I, for one, am very greatful for it.
And while I'm at it, why don't we also all play in the next DADI event.
Until next time, make mine (Big Game) poker!
posted by Jordan @ 11:05 AM,
9 Comments:
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At 1:47 PM,
said...
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Any examples you can still recall?
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At 2:21 PM,
Jordan said...
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Yes, examples would be appreciated. The thing is, DP, even if people made individual bad plays, they did it probably because they made a misread or had some other roundabout logic. You are going to see individual bad plays everywhere. I made a few. Woffle went off about CC's push with a mid-pair and flush draw. That will happen. But overall, I'd assume that most players tried harder in the Big Game than in most.
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At 6:35 PM,
Iakaris aka I.A.K. said...
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With you 100% on that J.
I had tough tables with at LEAST 6 or 7 us clearly bent on taking it down the whole way through. Then I final tabled and met someone hellbent on laying waste to the entire table. I'd hardly call it a donkfest.
In other words, Fluxer, your experience was not mine. Moreover, I play about 10 MTTs a week and I can Full Tilt Guarantee you that the play here was a hell of a lot more solid than you'll routinely find. -
At 7:09 PM,
Poker4peace said...
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Good point about playing the hammer.
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At 8:42 PM,
SirFWALGMan said...
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I found the MTT to be the normal mix.. the 75$ pricetag did not make any players not play or better players suddenly all show up.. It was pretty much the same as a WWDN..
Even though I did not like CC's move it wasnt horrible.. Just a wrong guess.. but you saw alot of the same over aggressive moves that are disguised as poker all throughout the tourney..
When your stupidest move is going to win 1 of 4 times or so then why the hell not play like a moron and take something down on pure luck.. -
At 8:52 AM,
said...
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Well that's a backhanded compliment if I've ever seen one. Do you always steam this bad, sirfwalgman?
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At 9:37 AM,
Jordan said...
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Maybe the issue is that Woffle (and to a lesser extent, Fluxer) only got to see the early hands. Also, they may've started at the same table. Astin, for instance, is an action player, so I'm not entirely surprised to hear that someone cites him as playing wildly. That's his style. But I can pretty much guarantee that he was still focusing. As to the call on Fluxer/DP, it may have been that your all-in looked suspicious and he figured he was ahead with a pocket pair. If so, he was right. It may have just been that he played that hand poorly, but overall was playing a focused, intentional game.
Whatever the case, I know what I saw, and at my tables, most players were playing cautious, smart poker. I laid down hands on more than one occassion, and made some strong re-raise steals as well. All in all, it was a great experience. Good game to all of you. -
At 10:05 AM,
said...
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DP's all-in bet behind two limpers looks weak. To me, it says "I have a susceptible hand so I want to steal these limps and blinds and have the hand be done with right here."
Once you reach that conclusion, it's a matter of calcing out your equity to decide if calling with a smallish pocket pair is a good decision.
A skilled player lays down and waits for a better spot to get that many chips in the middle. The lesser skilled player is more willing to get into races for chips since he/she isn't going to be a very good post-flop player.
Just my $.02 fellas. -
At 11:53 AM,
said...
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Very true. You have a good poker mind, though. I'm just now starting to realize a fraction of the finer points so I'm sure the opinions I throw out there have some flawed thinking and rationale behind them.
