El Passoverado
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Hola, mi amigos. In case you are an infidel, you may like to know that we are currently in the throws of Passover, the Jewish holiday commemorating our freedom from enslavement by the evil Pharoah. Granted, what came next was 40 years of wandering through the desert, but at least we no longer had to carry huge stone slabs.
Passover Seder last night was held at Mama High's house. The family gathered together for traditional Hebrew food, such as Matzoh, and Chili. Whlie there was definitely Manischewitz in the house (a kosher wine), the drink of choice was Sangria. Yep, the High Family sure loves their Jewish holidays, replete with dishes very un-Jewish. I even lobbied for my mother's amazing baked ziti (another Jewish-holiday staple at my house), but bread and pasta are not allowed during Passover, although somehow the breaded chicken cutlets got a pass. Sure, we are Jewish, but for me, it feels more like I'm Jewish by ethnicity moreso than religion. Ah, what the hell. I'm just fortunate that me and God get along so well.
On that note, God seemed to award me with a third place finish (and $5 profit) in Mookie's Big O NCAA Pool. I didn't fair so well in Miami Don's pool, but then again, I literally chose my picks for Don's free pool by tossing a coin. I figured it was worth an experiment to see if my semi-guessing picks (Mook) could beat the decision making skills of a metal disk (my picks in Don's pool). Score one for the human brain!
Unfortunately, I missed the MATH last night due to the Passover holiday. I also see that out of the picks made by me, Al and Wolf in my individuals bets against both players, the highest placing player, and therefore the leader in our sidebet, is Columbo followed by the bane of my existence, Bayne. I don't have full leaderboard information, but it doesn't look good for our hero. Fortunately, there are 39 other events to go.
As for that side bet, it's definitely a losing proposition for me. That's why I capped the action. I have $30 riding on my picks, and I still feel confident that I can succeed. I tried to choose players who played often (or were likely to play often) and/or were known for their ability to cash regularly.
Hoyazo was my lead pick. He actually wanted to get in on the bet, but I had to reject him since I wanted to pick him. Hoy is clearly a regular, and while he doesn't seem to think that he cashes regularly, a look at the MATH leaderboard (with Hoy squarely on top) proves otherwise. Since he is one of the organizers, its safe to say he'll play most events too.
Next up is Fuel55. I actually won a prop bet a month or more ago, when I bet that Fuel would money after seeing his performance 20 minutes into a MATH tournament. I won. Fuel is a consistent casher, and while he claims he doesn't play in these events that often, I know he likes a challenge and I've seen him around enough.
Third pick went to Lucko. He's a helluva player, so skills-wise, I'm confident. When I noticed that he commented on the Battle of the Blogger Tournaments website, I knew he'd be game to play in many of the events. So, Lucko, to me, was another strong pick
Finally, I considered the SNG Machine, aka Tony Soprano, aka CracknAces, as my final pick. This guy seems to final table big tournaments on a daily or weekly basis. However, he hasn't been around in the blogger events lately (that I can tell), so I jettisoned him from my picks. I'm glad that Al and Wolf didn't pick him up though.
Instead, I went with GCox. I don't know if that pick will appear weird to anyone. It shouldn't. I obviously have an affinity for the guy, but since I've known him, I've respected his game a ton. He plays the opposite of me, often uber-tight, but its made him a consistent winner in online poker. Recently, he ruled the RiverChasers tournaments, which are part of the Battle. Also, I know that he is likely to play a lot of these events.
So, there you have it, my Frightful Four. Now, boys, get to work and win me some money!
Looking at the calendar, its tricky for me to play in a lot of the Battle events, but I'm going to try my darnedest. I need to make sure that I don't let online poker eclipse my attention, as I've made strides in balancing poker and my home life. However, I want me a Wii and wifey Kim wants a Nintendo DS, so I'll be playing the Mookie while watching Lost this Wednesday if all goes according to plan. I even "redeposited" about $150 online, thanks to a fellow blogger and a transfer from PayPal. Thanks to that guy, as this is the second time in recent months that he has helped me out (if I'm remembering correctly). I'd mention him by name, but I'm not so sure he wants it public in case other people want to use him to get money into their online poker accounts.
Live poker is looking light. I lost the Salami tournament on Friday, after making some great plays early on. Once the rebuy period was over, though, most players were still in big-bet mode, myself included. I ended up busting a few hands after the rebuy period when I semi-bluffed against a calling station. I had seen him make laydowns to constant pressure, but alas, his top pair, shitty kicker would not fold. In the end, though, the lesson is mine. Not only should I not bluff a calling station, but I also need to play a bit smarter. The river all-in was the real fuck up, and it was done because, while I missed my draw, I hit a pair and had seen him call down with 33 and 44 underpairs. Alas, I didn't have to make this play.
That's all for today. Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 12:36 PM,
10 Comments:
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At 2:26 PM,
Pokerwolf said...
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It's going to be fun seeing who actually wins our bet. I have a feeling it's going to be quite a rollercoaster ride. =)
I thought about picking Cracknaces, but it seems he's going your route and is playing more live poker. I wanted more of a quality/quantity balance so he was out.
I obviously have an affinity for the guy
So gay. Total closet buster. Just admit it already. -
At 7:13 PM,
bayne_s said...
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You will rue the Day you skipped player #3 on MATH leader board!
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At 8:37 PM,
Jordan said...
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I already rue it, Bayne. You have been on a tear recently, and you were one of the players I had to think about for my picks. I already regret my decision, but its a marathon, not a sprint.
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At 11:14 AM,
Hammer Player a.k.a Hoyazo said...
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J, I will certainly be playing in most of the BBT events, that is a guarantee. Still not sure why someone would want to pick me other than my performance in the Hoy specifically (where I am consistently better than the Bayne of your existence, might I add), as my Riverchasers and Mookie results have been beyond awful and this over quite a long period of time. But I will definitely be in as many events as anyone, and I most definitely am motivated to try to win. If I'm going to keep losing to donkeys with my AK allin preflop like happened early at the MATH on Monday, though, then you're in for a long bet me thinks.
Best of luck and honored by the vote of confidence. Happy Passover my fellow MOT. -
At 12:37 PM,
Jordan said...
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Hoy, you were high on the WPBT leaderboard last year, you play consistently, and you have skillz. That was enough to make you my lead pick. Add the fact that you are one of the BBT organizers, and it was that much easier to choose you. I'm surprised you are downplaying yourself so much, but hey, whatever floats your boat.
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At 1:13 PM,
bayne_s said...
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A pompous poker writer once wrote:
"Sometimes blindly following pot odds in allin decisions leads to the wrong conclusion in a poker tournament." in his Feb 21, 2007 post.
If you believe this author is the donkey move calling the all-in with AK or pushing with TT? -
At 2:10 PM,
Jordan said...
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Bayne, I don't know the situation exactly, so I can't say. Damn that's a cryptic comment. I think we can all agree that stack sizes matter, since calling an all-in with 15 is different than calling an all-in with 15,000. But assuming normal sized stacks, neither is a donkey move. There is more to calling with AK and pushing with TT than pot odds. It also depends on perceived range, and your overall strategy.
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At 3:41 PM,
bayne_s said...
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Thought I posted this already.
Neither play is a donkey play.
Hoy posted on 2/21 that pot odds should not be strictly followed in a tournament situation, I decided to test him on it.
After 3 or 4 limpers Hoy from button decided to try to take down pot with 300 bet. From BB I was sure my TT was ahead so I bet all but 1 chip (~1474) which I believe is the Hoy move to represent a big pair.
He took on race and called me a donkey.
I will have to make effort to make more of the 6:00 start time blogger tournies now. -
At 5:39 PM,
Jordan said...
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Bayne, in that case, my analysis stands. Let's not be too hard on Hoy. After all, his statement is still true. I doubt his decision was based solely on pot odds. He probably also factored in the benefit of doubling up or going home early.
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At 2:00 PM,
KajaPoker said...
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I love Passover. You eat matza all week and fart dust.
