One of Those Rambling Posts
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
There is not much to write about today, but since I'm feeling like blogging, you'll have to suffer through it anyway. Let's go with a classic, "Last night I..." post followed by the ever faithful, "This week, I plan to..."
Last night I...played three HU SNGs and won them three in a row. The first one was a $5 SNG on Poker.com. I really love that site for HU SNGs because the blinds go up based on the amount of hands dealt. Because of this, I'll often gladly fold the SB and the BB to raises for the first 20 or so hands, in an effort to race to blinds that really matter. I don't give up on good hands. Hardly. But I am super happy to fold my J6o to a raise in the SB. The reasons are fairly obvious, but quite useful once laid out. By folding a lot early on, I get to the blinds (10/15-yawn, 15/30-whatever, 25/50-ka ching!) where stealing actually matters. By then, I've folded enough to condition my opponent to keep betting at me. I then start re-raising and winning 150 easy (he raises 3x the BB after I limp; I raise and he folds). That 150 easily covers the folds at the 10/15 level and after a few more moves like that, I'm usually the chipleader going into the all-important 50/100 and 100/200 blind levels.
I played a $5 SNG because it was the only one ready to go. As I've said before, I like the mental position of being the guy who strolls in and plays, rather than the guy waiting around for someone. It gives me the feeling of control early on, even if it is illusory. On a side note, I feel the same way with live games. I hate arriving early (or when others arrive late, delaying the game), because I get anxious while I wait. I am definitely part action-junkie, so I can feel that crave build in me. A lot of the time, I also feel an urge to flee, because I recognize that the action junkie in me is taking over. I may be a fun-time guy and an action player, but I don't like starting a game with the feeling that I have to start mixing it up right away.
Whatever the case, I made quick work of the guy before jumping into an open $20 match. I really used my early-fold, late-check-raise strategy, to a silly extent. By the time we were at 50/100, I'd limp, he'd raise and I'd push, knowing full well that he was full of shit (and I usually had solid holdings). It pissed him off to know end, and near the end, he typed, "r u ****?" I racked my brain trying to figure out what was censored. "r u shit?" makes no sense. Neither does, "r u fuck" or fuck in any of its forms. Is retarded censored, because that might make sense. All I could do is respond, "??," but he didn't say anything else until the end of the game, when I wrote "gg" and he wrote "go fuk yourself". Seeing that he was pissed, I quickly added, "rematch?" but he was apparently gone by then.
I headed over to FT next, where I played a HU SNG for a $26 token. These things confuse me, because I querry how smart they are for the player. Its essentially a cointoss for a token. If you win, you get in to a $26 event for half-off, but if you lose, you end up paying $39+ for that $26 game (assuming you then buy in with cash). If you lose the HU SNG and try another one, you are still making a bad play, essentially trying to "break even" by winning a $26 token by spending $27. But whatever. I guess they are there as a quick satellite. Whatever the case, I won after a long battle, but overall didn't enjoy myself as much. FT has great software, but I still like Poker.com's HU SNGs better. Its a shame Poker.com doesn't have more traffic.
Later in the night, I played one more HU SNGs, and lost. It was a brutal series of ridiculous suckouts that sealed my fate in the $20 match on FT, but I have to accept that variance will kick my ass every once in a while. Variance reminded me by screwing me in the $20 HU PLO SNG I played next.
After that, I took a break. Wifey Kim and I watched some TV, including How I Met Your Mother, which is easily the funniest sitcom on television. We then watched Heroes, and I was impressed by how the show fit a ridiculous amount of storylines into one episode. Let's count (semi-Spoilers, but nothing really other than broad plotlines): (1) Mohinder works with the Company, (2) Mohinder and Parkman reprising the roles played by Tom Selleck and Capt. Mahoney in Three Men and a Baby, (3) Nikki and Micah are out and about, (3) Hiro in Ancient China, (4) Ando in Japan, (5) Peter in Ireland, (6) Claire being boring, (7) Sylar back in play, (8) the Powertwins continue their journey to the US, and I'm sure there are a handful more that I'm forgetting right now. The show is still great, as it suffers through the usual difficulties facing a show in its sophomore season. Still, they are keeping things interesting, Peter specifically, and hopefully the softer parts of the show (anything with Mohinder, the Claire love story) will actually be worthwhile.
After it was over, wifey Kim wanted to watch The Hills in bed. I wanted to play the Hoy with my new token, but it was too late to sign up. Instead, I played the aforementioned losing HU SNGs, and then turned off the computer. I made my way to join wifey Kim and bed and for the first time in a while, we actively went to bed at the same time (instead of her falling asleep with the TV on and me staying awake due to my aversion to being unconscious).
This week, I plan to...make it through work and get to the weekend in AC. I'm freaking chomping at the bit in anticipation for the end of the week. Work is doing well, except for one project that is the very definition of round peg, square hole. But the Bossman wants me to make it work, and I'm nothing if not a sycophant, my gloriously wonderful readers. Meanwhile, I'm also gearing up for poker tonight at the Wall Street Game, and a possible appearance at the Financial Game tomorrow, contingent on whether it is happening or not. It's a bit too much poker, but I really love the Wall Street Game, and wifey Kim is busy on Wednesday anyway, so I might as well play at the profitable Financial Game. This all leads into the weekend, in which Dave Roose and I head to AC. I've already scouted out the Saturday tournament schedule. Friday and Sunday are scheduled cash game days, so I can keep the cheapo poker room rate at the Trop ($99 and $129). I have to play 4 hours per day in the cash games. How will I ever do it? Teehee!
Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 12:06 PM,
4 Comments:
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At 7:13 PM,
lj said...
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i think you meant hiro is in ancient japan...
you are not the first person to rave about how i met your mother, i may have to check it out one of these days! -
At 9:31 PM,
Wolverine Fan said...
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Hey, if you are planning on playing the PokerStars Blogger World Championship at 3PM Sunday, how about investing $5.50 and playing the British Bloggerment 30 at 4PM Sunday at PokerStars? It is open to all bloggers and password is Donkament. It is good fun. This is another chance to play against Bloggers. There is some excellent poker and good fun in the chat box.
Let's see if we can't bring this trophy back to the U.S. of A. -
At 9:41 AM,
CC said...
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"...the softer parts of the show..." Did you write this, or did Wifey Kim hack into your account?
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At 11:17 AM,
Jordan said...
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My bad, LJ. All those Ancient Asian civilizations seem the same to me.
Wolvie, I'd love to come out and play, but I'm not going to be around Sunday. Instead, I'll be in AC. But if you can remind me for next week, I'll try to make it and try to pimp it.
CC, that's all 100% original J-man. HAHA.
