Hey, I never ask anyone to do anything in this blog but I'm asking you now to help out here. If you scroll down on the right you'll see a widget I added from Barack Obama's voteforchange.org. Rumor has it that Mr. President elect plays a mean game of poker. I'm asking you to take a few minutes of your time and help support the cause for getting online poker's status changed.
It seems silly to me that the NFL has a carve out to keep Fantasy Football legal (which is actually gambling), as well as Interstate Lotteries ( which is serious gambling if you look at the odds of winning), and Horse Racing (um, you guessed it....gambling) but online poker is made out to be the big bad wolf on the internet.
There is more skill involved in poker than randomly picking some numbers on a lottery sheet, or guessing which quarterback is going to light it up this week. So out of all the gambling games mentioned above we have exemptions for the ones that a monkey could do and your odds of winning would be the same.
Now let's say the monkey was playing $1/$2 No Limit Texas Hold Em with $200 and had Ac,Kc pre-flop and is up against a player who plays 40% of his hands. He bets $10 and the monkey calls. He's already a 66% favorite against the other guy's range of hands. (Examples below, courtesy of Poker Stove)
Text results appended to pokerstove.txt
765,399,888 games 1.562 secs 490,012,732 games/sec
Board:
Dead:
equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 66.445% 64.70% 01.74% 495236094 13336967.50 { AcKc }
Hand 1: 33.555% 31.81% 01.74% 243489859 13336967.50 { 44+, A2s+, K2s+, Q4s+, J7s+, T7s+, 97s+, 87s, A3o+, K7o+, Q8o+, J8o+, T9o }
Let's take it further. Suppose the flop comes up Ah 5c 8c and the monkey is faced with an all in bet from the opponent. Should he fold? If he does he is making a critical mistake since he is now a 91% favorite in the hand.
Text results appended to pokerstove.txt
372,240 games 0.046 secs 8,092,173 games/sec
Board: Ah 5c 8c
Dead:
equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 91.213% 90.59% 00.62% 337208 2325.00 { AcKc }
Hand 1: 08.787% 08.16% 00.62% 30382 2325.00 { 44+, A2s+, K2s+, Q4s+, J7s+, T7s+, 97s+, 87s, A3o+, K7o+, Q8o+, J8o+, T9o }
The point of this is to let you non-poker playing readers know you can calculate your odds of winning a poker hand in any situation by reading your cards and seeing what kind of odds the pot is offering you. If the price is wrong you fold. If it is right you must play the hand because, if you've done your homework on the game, mathematically you'll win in the long run by making sound decisions.
Poker is the only game on the UIGEA list where this is possible.
December 27, 2008
December 22, 2008
Omnivore's 100
Here's something for you all to try.
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile - nope, but I've had alligator
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho OMG yes. This is awesome!
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle - not that I know of but I'm dying to.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - not a whole one
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee Absolutely!
100. Snake
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile - nope, but I've had alligator
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho OMG yes. This is awesome!
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle - not that I know of but I'm dying to.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - not a whole one
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee Absolutely!
100. Snake
November 8, 2008
It Happened Again
If you're a reader here you'll remember my moment of genius in this post. I really need to watch wtf I'm doing when opening up tables at Bodog because it happened once more without even knowing it.
It could've been disastrous but maybe these guys aren't that good? Or I'm just on the better side of variance. I played about 50 hands before I realized I wasn't on a play table and managed to win 10 Big Bets at a $5/$10 Heads Up cash table.
Maybe watching all those Death Donkey HU videos at Deuces Cracked is paying off because I never felt out of control during the (short by choice) match. Or, more than likely, since I didn't know I was playing for real cash I just focused on the opponent's style and how to expoit it? At any rate I think I'll pause for now.
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.
It could've been disastrous but maybe these guys aren't that good? Or I'm just on the better side of variance. I played about 50 hands before I realized I wasn't on a play table and managed to win 10 Big Bets at a $5/$10 Heads Up cash table.
Maybe watching all those Death Donkey HU videos at Deuces Cracked is paying off because I never felt out of control during the (short by choice) match. Or, more than likely, since I didn't know I was playing for real cash I just focused on the opponent's style and how to expoit it? At any rate I think I'll pause for now.
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.
November 5, 2008
Changing Colors
11-5-08
I love
the autumnal season
with the leaves
changing their hue,
and how
the political landscape
has gone from
red to blue.
I love
the autumnal season
with the leaves
changing their hue,
and how
the political landscape
has gone from
red to blue.
October 29, 2008
A Different Kind of Poker Challenge
I participated in a unique challenge that was posted in a thread here and it was really interesting to say the least.
The rules are: (copied from the post)
1) You must play at one table 100 continuous hands.
2) You must see the flop 100%.
3) You must attempt at least one pre-flop raise (PFR), if possible. We're going for 100% PFR on PT stats, so open raising and calling a 3B is fine. If it is capped to you, your PFR may not be 100%.
4) You can only buy in for 50 Big Bets.
(Stakes $.02/$.04. - 50 Big Bets = $2.00 buy in)
I played this at a Limit Hold 'Em, $.02/.04 Full Ring Table (9 handed) at Poker Stars . The reason being is this challenge is something I didn't feel comfortable with. I don't play loose at all pre-flop and this would get expensive if I tried it against players at my normal stakes. Once people adjust to your style their opening range will widen because you look like a spew monkey to them.
I tried this twice and had two totally different results. The first attempt had me busto in 28 hands (I won a $5.00 prize for this as the player to bust the quickest).
I felt frustrated raising hands like 62 off-suit and/or having to call a player's 3-bet after I open raised in early position. I knew I had little value and didn't like throwing away 3 small bets pre-flop and check folding flop after flop, or donking with a small pair and folding to raises on later streets. It wore on me pretty quickly.
The next attempt was better as I started hitting flops and running good. The table also got shorter after a few people commented on how stupid my style was and left.
Overall I got more comfortable with this sort of retarded style of playing. It clearly is a losing proposition in the long run and I don't advocate anyone consistently playing like this. But for a short stretch it opens your eyes to the value of post-flop play. That's where the most money is won in this game. Making a small mistake pre-flop is OK if you don't compound it on later streets. You must be able to hand read and know how your opponents will react to you play.
I posted the stats of this challenge below from Poker Tracker. You'll notice in the second row that my pre-flop raise (PFR) number is below 100%. In a couple of hands the play was folded around to the Small Blind who folded instead of having to call another raise from me, the idiot, in the Big Blind.
Stats :
Session 1
Hands played - 28
VPIP - 100%
Pre-Flop Raise - 100%
$ Won ($2.00)
BB/100 - (178.57)
Session 2
Hands Played - 100
VPIP - 99%
Pre-Flop Raise - 100%
$ Won - $1.53
BB/100 - +38.25
If anyone else is inspired to try this please let me know how your results turned out and what you learned from it. I'd be interested to hear.
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand..
The rules are: (copied from the post)
1) You must play at one table 100 continuous hands.
2) You must see the flop 100%.
3) You must attempt at least one pre-flop raise (PFR), if possible. We're going for 100% PFR on PT stats, so open raising and calling a 3B is fine. If it is capped to you, your PFR may not be 100%.
4) You can only buy in for 50 Big Bets.
(Stakes $.02/$.04. - 50 Big Bets = $2.00 buy in)
I played this at a Limit Hold 'Em, $.02/.04 Full Ring Table (9 handed) at Poker Stars . The reason being is this challenge is something I didn't feel comfortable with. I don't play loose at all pre-flop and this would get expensive if I tried it against players at my normal stakes. Once people adjust to your style their opening range will widen because you look like a spew monkey to them.
I tried this twice and had two totally different results. The first attempt had me busto in 28 hands (I won a $5.00 prize for this as the player to bust the quickest).
I felt frustrated raising hands like 62 off-suit and/or having to call a player's 3-bet after I open raised in early position. I knew I had little value and didn't like throwing away 3 small bets pre-flop and check folding flop after flop, or donking with a small pair and folding to raises on later streets. It wore on me pretty quickly.
The next attempt was better as I started hitting flops and running good. The table also got shorter after a few people commented on how stupid my style was and left.
Overall I got more comfortable with this sort of retarded style of playing. It clearly is a losing proposition in the long run and I don't advocate anyone consistently playing like this. But for a short stretch it opens your eyes to the value of post-flop play. That's where the most money is won in this game. Making a small mistake pre-flop is OK if you don't compound it on later streets. You must be able to hand read and know how your opponents will react to you play.
I posted the stats of this challenge below from Poker Tracker. You'll notice in the second row that my pre-flop raise (PFR) number is below 100%. In a couple of hands the play was folded around to the Small Blind who folded instead of having to call another raise from me, the idiot, in the Big Blind.
Stats :
Session 1
Hands played - 28
VPIP - 100%
Pre-Flop Raise - 100%
$ Won ($2.00)
BB/100 - (178.57)
Session 2
Hands Played - 100
VPIP - 99%
Pre-Flop Raise - 100%
$ Won - $1.53
BB/100 - +38.25
If anyone else is inspired to try this please let me know how your results turned out and what you learned from it. I'd be interested to hear.
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand..
October 6, 2008
Update
One of the parameters set in 2+2 of doing this 15 Big Bet Challenge is to complete it in 3 hours and see how far you can make it up the ladder. That doesn't work too well for me as I may be interrupted with work, which was the case today. But I'll try to stick to the requirements and see how it goes.
I finished off the .05/.10 level in 144 hands. I was really card dead for about 6 orbits and saw a ton of action being thrown around. Needless to say, I was licking my chops and eager to see some hands come my way.
Most of the players are so weak passive it isn't even funny. Patience is key and you'll get paid off with your good hands like this one. I was hoping for some more action after seeing the other guys' hands, but alas.....
Thanks to Deuces Cracked for the hand history converter.
Poker Stars $0.05/$0.10 Limit Hold'em - 6 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter
Pre Flop: (1.4 SB) Hero is MP with 9
9
1 fold, Hero raises, 1 fold, BTN calls, SB calls, BB calls
Flop: (8 SB) 3 9
9
(4 players)
SB bets, BB folds, Hero calls, BTN calls
Turn: (5.5 BB) 8 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, BTN calls, SB calls
River: (8.5 BB) 2 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets, BTN calls, SB calls
Final Pot: 11.5 BB
BTN mucks Qd Qh
SB mucks Jc As
Hero shows 9s 9h (four of a kind, Nines)
Hero wins 11 BB
(Rake: $0.05)
So I'm on to the next level after playing a little over an hour. I'll be back at it later this evening and hopefully have some good news to report.
Run Good
I finished off the .05/.10 level in 144 hands. I was really card dead for about 6 orbits and saw a ton of action being thrown around. Needless to say, I was licking my chops and eager to see some hands come my way.
Most of the players are so weak passive it isn't even funny. Patience is key and you'll get paid off with your good hands like this one. I was hoping for some more action after seeing the other guys' hands, but alas.....
Thanks to Deuces Cracked for the hand history converter.
Poker Stars $0.05/$0.10 Limit Hold'em - 6 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter
Pre Flop: (1.4 SB) Hero is MP with 9
91 fold, Hero raises, 1 fold, BTN calls, SB calls, BB calls
Flop: (8 SB) 3
9 9 (4 players)SB bets, BB folds, Hero calls, BTN calls
Turn: (5.5 BB) 8
(3 players)SB checks, Hero bets, BTN calls, SB calls
River: (8.5 BB) 2
(3 players)SB checks, Hero bets, BTN calls, SB calls
Final Pot: 11.5 BB
BTN mucks Qd Qh
SB mucks Jc As
Hero shows 9s 9h (four of a kind, Nines)
Hero wins 11 BB
(Rake: $0.05)
So I'm on to the next level after playing a little over an hour. I'll be back at it later this evening and hopefully have some good news to report.
Run Good
October 5, 2008
A Micro Limit Challenge.......
Since I'm focusing more on Limit Hold 'Em I'm doing a challenge I read about on 2+2 in the Micro Limit Hold 'Em Section called the 15BB challenge.
You start with 15 Big Bets at a very low level. Once you make 15 BBs you move up to the next level. I'm starting at the .02/.04 level with $.60 and I'll move up to .05/.10 once I have $1.50. From there I'll move up to .10/.20 when I have $3.00, and so on and so on.
I just finished the .02/.04 level on Poker Stars in 38 hands playing some 6-max (my normal game now) and will continue tomorrow during the day. I actually did it in 15 hands after flopping quad 10's and getting action from 3 players but sadly didn't sit out before the Big Blind hit me.
Four hands later I cap AK pre-flop against a complete maniac. The flop comes 2, 7, 6 and he smooth calls, as well as doing the same on the turn and river (the turn is a 6 and the river is a 10). He beats me with the mighty power house hand of 92 soooted.
I'll keep updating my progress and see how far the 60 cents can take me. I'll post some interesting hand histories that come up.
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand...........
You start with 15 Big Bets at a very low level. Once you make 15 BBs you move up to the next level. I'm starting at the .02/.04 level with $.60 and I'll move up to .05/.10 once I have $1.50. From there I'll move up to .10/.20 when I have $3.00, and so on and so on.
I just finished the .02/.04 level on Poker Stars in 38 hands playing some 6-max (my normal game now) and will continue tomorrow during the day. I actually did it in 15 hands after flopping quad 10's and getting action from 3 players but sadly didn't sit out before the Big Blind hit me.
Four hands later I cap AK pre-flop against a complete maniac. The flop comes 2, 7, 6 and he smooth calls, as well as doing the same on the turn and river (the turn is a 6 and the river is a 10). He beats me with the mighty power house hand of 92 soooted.
I'll keep updating my progress and see how far the 60 cents can take me. I'll post some interesting hand histories that come up.
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand...........
September 28, 2008
A Quick Quiz For You.
Is there really any difference between what this person says here
And what Sarah Palin says here?
Watch CBS Videos Online
I rest my case.
And what Sarah Palin says here?
Watch CBS Videos Online
I rest my case.
September 16, 2008
The First Step.....
Linked from pocketsfives.com, this could be the first step towards ensuring online poker is considered legal. Way to go, Barney Frank! Keep up the effort!
Link
Link
September 15, 2008
More Rodrigo y Gabriela- Captain Casanova
I can't get over how awesome these two are. If they come to a town near you GO! I'll be at the next Atlanta show since I doubt they'll make it to B'ham. They are releasing a live album in October so be on the lookout for it.
September 13, 2008
September 10, 2008
September 3, 2008
You're Never Going To Believe This...
If anyone still reads this blog let me apologize for not updating in a while. I'll try to do a better job of posting and thanks for reading.
So anyway, I've recently made Deuces Cracked my new home for poker training and it's an awesome site! Their videos are top quality and they offer a free 7 day trial so you can sample their product. They feature a different way of doing videos that really focuses on getting you to the next level of poker, whether it be in Limit, No Limit, or even Pot Limit Omaha. By the way this is an unpaid advertisement. I just believe in their site so much and think anyone interested in bettering their game should sign up there.
Now to the unbelievable part of the thread. As you may know I decided to focus more on Limit Hold 'Em now and it's going OK. I've watched a series on 6-max Limit at DC and am reading the tables better and grinding out some profits. I'm also trying out some new concepts from there for Heads Up Limit, but only on free chip tables at Bodog.
So I sit down at a 5/10 HU Limit table and see there's some guy sitting with 300 chips. I match his total and we start playing. He immediately starts raising on the Button which doesn't happen too much in free chip play. I figure I'll add more chips to cover him and that'll make me feel better. Well, we play some more and he's very passive when he's Out Of Position (OOP) so I float him a few times on the flop and start check raising him on the turn. He starts folding and I'm getting a good read that he can be exploited in early position a lot, and he''ll give me a lot of respect.
We play for about 20 minutes and all of a sudden he sits out, saying I play too slow.
Now here is where it gets interesting. I tell him, "Sorry, I can only play as fast as the cards are dealt, so maybe it's just that I'm a better player than you are."(trying to keep him at the table)
His response is that we should compare bankrolls if I think I'm better - common trash talk between players - and I retort that we should go sit a $500 Sit and Go and that I can't believe he's so bent while sitting at a play chip table. I mean come on, brother, it's play chips. What's the big deal? He says, "Am I really at a free chip table?" Is this guy dense or what?
So I reply, "Well the last time I checked you're sitting on a play chip table, aren't you?"
"Again, am I really?" he says yet again.
And then it dawns on me. Maybe I should check the lobby to see. It turns out I'm sitting at a 5/10 real money table!
Talk about the ultimate mis-click! I put my whole bankroll on the table and didn't even realize it! As it turned out I won about $40.00 and I'm thankful he sat out.
Next time I'll be sure to stay away from that guy and those stakes until I'm ready for them. Or am I that good already? Yeah, right!
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.......
So anyway, I've recently made Deuces Cracked my new home for poker training and it's an awesome site! Their videos are top quality and they offer a free 7 day trial so you can sample their product. They feature a different way of doing videos that really focuses on getting you to the next level of poker, whether it be in Limit, No Limit, or even Pot Limit Omaha. By the way this is an unpaid advertisement. I just believe in their site so much and think anyone interested in bettering their game should sign up there.
Now to the unbelievable part of the thread. As you may know I decided to focus more on Limit Hold 'Em now and it's going OK. I've watched a series on 6-max Limit at DC and am reading the tables better and grinding out some profits. I'm also trying out some new concepts from there for Heads Up Limit, but only on free chip tables at Bodog.
So I sit down at a 5/10 HU Limit table and see there's some guy sitting with 300 chips. I match his total and we start playing. He immediately starts raising on the Button which doesn't happen too much in free chip play. I figure I'll add more chips to cover him and that'll make me feel better. Well, we play some more and he's very passive when he's Out Of Position (OOP) so I float him a few times on the flop and start check raising him on the turn. He starts folding and I'm getting a good read that he can be exploited in early position a lot, and he''ll give me a lot of respect.
We play for about 20 minutes and all of a sudden he sits out, saying I play too slow.
Now here is where it gets interesting. I tell him, "Sorry, I can only play as fast as the cards are dealt, so maybe it's just that I'm a better player than you are."(trying to keep him at the table)
His response is that we should compare bankrolls if I think I'm better - common trash talk between players - and I retort that we should go sit a $500 Sit and Go and that I can't believe he's so bent while sitting at a play chip table. I mean come on, brother, it's play chips. What's the big deal? He says, "Am I really at a free chip table?" Is this guy dense or what?
So I reply, "Well the last time I checked you're sitting on a play chip table, aren't you?"
"Again, am I really?" he says yet again.
And then it dawns on me. Maybe I should check the lobby to see. It turns out I'm sitting at a 5/10 real money table!
Talk about the ultimate mis-click! I put my whole bankroll on the table and didn't even realize it! As it turned out I won about $40.00 and I'm thankful he sat out.
Next time I'll be sure to stay away from that guy and those stakes until I'm ready for them. Or am I that good already? Yeah, right!
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.......
August 11, 2008
Sears can KMA!
We lost both garage door openers when we were struck by lightning so we went to Sears to purchase some new ones. We had a problem with them 3 years ago when we purchased one for Mrs. whodat that took a month of us bitching to get some results and they eventually deducted the installation charge, so cool for us. We thought it was just a fluke and we'd give them another chance since we're back in the market.
Well we went back to Sears yesterday to get our money back. We never received a call from their install team after 9 days and Mrs. whodat was hopping mad and I can't blame her. When the economy is in the dumper lke itis right now you'd think Customer Service would be a priority, but not at Sears.
After getting our refund, and Mrs. whodat giving the employee some sage advice we called my friend who manages a Lowes, went in there and bought what we needed. 5 minutes later someone calls me from Lowe's to get some more info and to confirm our address. They tell us we can expect a call fromthe install crew in about 2 days. Nope. Didn't happen. It was 3 hours and they're installing tomorrow morning!
Never again will I shop at Sears. They can KMA!
Well we went back to Sears yesterday to get our money back. We never received a call from their install team after 9 days and Mrs. whodat was hopping mad and I can't blame her. When the economy is in the dumper lke itis right now you'd think Customer Service would be a priority, but not at Sears.
After getting our refund, and Mrs. whodat giving the employee some sage advice we called my friend who manages a Lowes, went in there and bought what we needed. 5 minutes later someone calls me from Lowe's to get some more info and to confirm our address. They tell us we can expect a call fromthe install crew in about 2 days. Nope. Didn't happen. It was 3 hours and they're installing tomorrow morning!
Never again will I shop at Sears. They can KMA!
Gambool It Up, Baby!
I played some live poker at the pool hall Saturday night. It was for something called FinalTableTour.com. It doesn't cost anything to play. There is no gambling involved. I had a lot of fun playing and adjusted to the structure rather quickly so I felt I had a huge advantage.
They are basically 10 handed single table tournaments with 100-200 starting blinds. You start with a stack of 2500 and the blinds go up every 10 minutes. Now here's the catch. The pool hall runs drink specials and every beer/mixed drink you buy earns you more chips. I never started with 2500 chips :) If you win your STT you get a certificate to play in the Championships held in September. If you win that I think they'll sponsor you for one/some real money tournaments at a casino of your choice. I don't know enough about that part yet. This thing just started in Alabama but is pretty big in Florida.
The games were ridiculously soft, as expected. One guy directly to my right raises UTG with KT off-suit on the second hand and shoves with air on the flop. People routinely limp/calling with any Ace rag hand. So it's a fish fry on a Saturday night. Time to gambool it up!
I open-raised to 4X BB in 5th position on a full table with AT sooted in level one, the Button calls and I have him covered. I flop top two pair with 2 to a flush showing. I shove because it's basically a pot sized bet and I wanna fatten up my stack and I have 3 beers in front of me and no more drink holders are to be found! The button eventually calls with a low pocket pair and he raps the table when he doesn't improve.
About 6 hands later I get involved in a hand with a player who seems competent. He did 3-bet one time from late position and showed AK after a flop c-bet. In the hand with him I open raise 3X BB from the Button w KT (clubs) and he smooth calls quickly in the Big Blind. The flop comes Kh, 3c 8c and he donks into me for the minimum so I shove. He tanks for what seems like 3 minutes and the dealer asks if I want to call the clock on him. I decline the option and start drinking one of the previously mentioned beers. He finally calls me with.........Ace 4 off suit, no club!
Now I'm comfortably stacked and can concentrate on my beer - er opponents - without worrying about the structure so much. The table gets 4 handed soon after and I open raise UTG w/77 and get shoved on by the short stack who apparently thought K5 off-suit was a venrable power house hand. I insta-call as it's only 300 more chips and I hit my set on the flop. Next hand I shove from the BB and show 94 off-suit after everyone folds. The woman to my right moans in disgust at this, says nothing, but is clearly impressed with my play ;)
I eventually get to Heads up with her and on the first hand I open shove with a slightly better, like T9 or something and show it again. I see her jaw clench and she's shaking her head and has this grimace on her face like she's gonna peel off my skin or something. Mind you, I haven't said a word to her. So I'm thinking she's only gonna play back at me soon thinking I'm a donkey,which I am, and a drunk one at that. I ease up for about 2 hands and fold one Small Blind, check my option in the BB and check fold a flop. Next hand I get A7 diamonds and open for 3X BB and get smooth called. The flop comes up all low cards and 2 diamonds. She check-calls my shove with KJ off-suit, hits a J on the flop and smiles at me until the diamond falls on the turn.
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.
They are basically 10 handed single table tournaments with 100-200 starting blinds. You start with a stack of 2500 and the blinds go up every 10 minutes. Now here's the catch. The pool hall runs drink specials and every beer/mixed drink you buy earns you more chips. I never started with 2500 chips :) If you win your STT you get a certificate to play in the Championships held in September. If you win that I think they'll sponsor you for one/some real money tournaments at a casino of your choice. I don't know enough about that part yet. This thing just started in Alabama but is pretty big in Florida.
The games were ridiculously soft, as expected. One guy directly to my right raises UTG with KT off-suit on the second hand and shoves with air on the flop. People routinely limp/calling with any Ace rag hand. So it's a fish fry on a Saturday night. Time to gambool it up!
I open-raised to 4X BB in 5th position on a full table with AT sooted in level one, the Button calls and I have him covered. I flop top two pair with 2 to a flush showing. I shove because it's basically a pot sized bet and I wanna fatten up my stack and I have 3 beers in front of me and no more drink holders are to be found! The button eventually calls with a low pocket pair and he raps the table when he doesn't improve.
About 6 hands later I get involved in a hand with a player who seems competent. He did 3-bet one time from late position and showed AK after a flop c-bet. In the hand with him I open raise 3X BB from the Button w KT (clubs) and he smooth calls quickly in the Big Blind. The flop comes Kh, 3c 8c and he donks into me for the minimum so I shove. He tanks for what seems like 3 minutes and the dealer asks if I want to call the clock on him. I decline the option and start drinking one of the previously mentioned beers. He finally calls me with.........Ace 4 off suit, no club!
Now I'm comfortably stacked and can concentrate on my beer - er opponents - without worrying about the structure so much. The table gets 4 handed soon after and I open raise UTG w/77 and get shoved on by the short stack who apparently thought K5 off-suit was a venrable power house hand. I insta-call as it's only 300 more chips and I hit my set on the flop. Next hand I shove from the BB and show 94 off-suit after everyone folds. The woman to my right moans in disgust at this, says nothing, but is clearly impressed with my play ;)
I eventually get to Heads up with her and on the first hand I open shove with a slightly better, like T9 or something and show it again. I see her jaw clench and she's shaking her head and has this grimace on her face like she's gonna peel off my skin or something. Mind you, I haven't said a word to her. So I'm thinking she's only gonna play back at me soon thinking I'm a donkey,which I am, and a drunk one at that. I ease up for about 2 hands and fold one Small Blind, check my option in the BB and check fold a flop. Next hand I get A7 diamonds and open for 3X BB and get smooth called. The flop comes up all low cards and 2 diamonds. She check-calls my shove with KJ off-suit, hits a J on the flop and smiles at me until the diamond falls on the turn.
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.
June 30, 2008
I DOn't Want To Go Off On A Rant Here...
... But this is really stupid of the government, I think.
Mrs. Whodat calls me and lets me know our Economic Stimulus Check arrived in the mail. Sweet! It was only scheduled to get here in May, but because we filed electronically and took some normal deduction we would have to wait until "around July 4th" to receive the funds.
So all is forgiven until Mrs. Whodat opens the envelope and discovers there isn't a check in there. Instead, what we got was a letter informing us that, (these are my words and not the IRS' words at all, but you get the gist of it, I'm sure) 'this isn't the actual check you were expecting but a letter telling you that it's in the mail, and here's how we calcualted everything and blah, blah blah'. Look, I dont care how you killed the cow. Just bring me the steak already.
Now, I love and appreciate bureaucracy as much as anyone because it has such redeeming societal qualities that everyone should embrace (I hope your sarcasm level is set to high right now). But do you really want to stimulate the economy? Here's a novel idea that may work. Stop sending stupid letters that say you are getting a check and actually send the check. There. You just made a 50% savings on your postage expenditures because of me. Multiply that by the millions of these things you sent out and invest that into tax incentives for small businesses.
I know, I know. It's too simplistic of an idea to implement but it would work. If the IRS is reading this and likes the idea I hope they pay me for my genius. I'll be waiting by the mailbox for that check too.
Mrs. Whodat calls me and lets me know our Economic Stimulus Check arrived in the mail. Sweet! It was only scheduled to get here in May, but because we filed electronically and took some normal deduction we would have to wait until "around July 4th" to receive the funds.
So all is forgiven until Mrs. Whodat opens the envelope and discovers there isn't a check in there. Instead, what we got was a letter informing us that, (these are my words and not the IRS' words at all, but you get the gist of it, I'm sure) 'this isn't the actual check you were expecting but a letter telling you that it's in the mail, and here's how we calcualted everything and blah, blah blah'. Look, I dont care how you killed the cow. Just bring me the steak already.
Now, I love and appreciate bureaucracy as much as anyone because it has such redeeming societal qualities that everyone should embrace (I hope your sarcasm level is set to high right now). But do you really want to stimulate the economy? Here's a novel idea that may work. Stop sending stupid letters that say you are getting a check and actually send the check. There. You just made a 50% savings on your postage expenditures because of me. Multiply that by the millions of these things you sent out and invest that into tax incentives for small businesses.
I know, I know. It's too simplistic of an idea to implement but it would work. If the IRS is reading this and likes the idea I hope they pay me for my genius. I'll be waiting by the mailbox for that check too.
When It Rains It Pours
What a start to our summer. Went to the lake with friends last Sunday and had an awesome time. Monday Mrs. whodat's AC went out in her vehicle (anyone believe in omens?). So there goes a nice chunk of change right before our vacation. Wait,if I remember correctly didn't something like this happen last year too?
Two days later we had some nasty little pop-up storms - you know, the kind that just pop up out of nowhere - hit us pretty hard and we get this lightning damage courtesy of Mother Nature (pictured below). Joy of joys :0)
This oak tree stands at least 35 feet tall and provides a good amount of shade from the afternoon sun. There was debris scattered all over the back deck and in the backyard approximately 50 feet away from the tree.
I have some sheet rock damage in the dining room from the concussive force of the strike and have lost my desktop computer, a garage door opener, our TV we bought last year, DVD player, a sweet Keurig coffee machine, and some damamge to some outlets in the house. We're still finding little things every day.
The funny thing is my computer is on the same surge protector as my scanner, paper shredder, and monitor and they are fine. Same thing with the TV and DVD; they're hooked into the same protector as the stereo and CD player, which they work fine.
Here's a close up of part of the bottom of the tree. This strip is 10 inches wide and runs from the ground to about the 10 foot mark. Here's hoping the insurance company truly is a "good neighbor".
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand..
Two days later we had some nasty little pop-up storms - you know, the kind that just pop up out of nowhere - hit us pretty hard and we get this lightning damage courtesy of Mother Nature (pictured below). Joy of joys :0)
This oak tree stands at least 35 feet tall and provides a good amount of shade from the afternoon sun. There was debris scattered all over the back deck and in the backyard approximately 50 feet away from the tree.
I have some sheet rock damage in the dining room from the concussive force of the strike and have lost my desktop computer, a garage door opener, our TV we bought last year, DVD player, a sweet Keurig coffee machine, and some damamge to some outlets in the house. We're still finding little things every day.
The funny thing is my computer is on the same surge protector as my scanner, paper shredder, and monitor and they are fine. Same thing with the TV and DVD; they're hooked into the same protector as the stereo and CD player, which they work fine.
Here's a close up of part of the bottom of the tree. This strip is 10 inches wide and runs from the ground to about the 10 foot mark. Here's hoping the insurance company truly is a "good neighbor".
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand..
June 21, 2008
Sweat Session
Um, no, I didn't work out although I need to start again. I had a sweat session with LaffyTaffy22 from Poker Dynasty and it went really well. I think he hit on some key areas where my game has improved already since I really haven't played No Limit (NL) in a while. Most of these things may be small but when you're rusty and your confidence is shaky it's good to hear them coming from a really good player.
Within a few hands we changed tables to target some bigger fish which I've been trying to do more frequently as table selecction (and seat selection for that matter) is extremely important nowadays.
My blind stealing attempt percentage has improved. The theory that if your opponent isn't going to 3 bet you when you're stealing means you can use any two cards for it and shut down when he plays back really paid off.
I've never really been a big fan of check raising flops in NL since I tend to c-bet almost every single pot I open raise but Laffy found a few spots to do this and it boosted my stack a bit. We also talked about ramping up my aggression in post-flop spots where I would normally shut down. Another important thing that came up was to not let myself get in marginal situations to reduce some of the variance that happens in this beautiful game. Oh, and I "obviously need to run better" as shown in the hand below. This guy was a huge calling station with stats of 57/8/.5
Here's the Poker Stove analysis on the turn:
Text results appended to pokerstove.txt
44 games 0.032 secs 1,375 games/sec
Board: Qc 5s 3c Th
Dead:
equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 81.818% 81.82% 00.00% 36 0.00 { 5c5d }
Hand 1: 18.182% 18.18% 00.00% 8 0.00 { Tc6c }
Clearly the only time I'm folding here is if my internet connection disconnects me :)
LaffyTaffy, thanks again for helping out a lowly donk like myself and I hope we can do something like this in the future. Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.
Within a few hands we changed tables to target some bigger fish which I've been trying to do more frequently as table selecction (and seat selection for that matter) is extremely important nowadays.
My blind stealing attempt percentage has improved. The theory that if your opponent isn't going to 3 bet you when you're stealing means you can use any two cards for it and shut down when he plays back really paid off.
I've never really been a big fan of check raising flops in NL since I tend to c-bet almost every single pot I open raise but Laffy found a few spots to do this and it boosted my stack a bit. We also talked about ramping up my aggression in post-flop spots where I would normally shut down. Another important thing that came up was to not let myself get in marginal situations to reduce some of the variance that happens in this beautiful game. Oh, and I "obviously need to run better" as shown in the hand below. This guy was a huge calling station with stats of 57/8/.5
Here's the Poker Stove analysis on the turn:
Text results appended to pokerstove.txt
44 games 0.032 secs 1,375 games/sec
Board: Qc 5s 3c Th
Dead:
equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 81.818% 81.82% 00.00% 36 0.00 { 5c5d }
Hand 1: 18.182% 18.18% 00.00% 8 0.00 { Tc6c }
Clearly the only time I'm folding here is if my internet connection disconnects me :)
LaffyTaffy, thanks again for helping out a lowly donk like myself and I hope we can do something like this in the future. Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.
June 12, 2008
Rack 'Em Up!
Well, it's that time of the year again. The Birmingham APA City Championships are this weekend and my team - Quit Talkin' Start Chalkin' - made it again. We start play on Saturday morning and if we're fortunate enough we'll play 3 more matches Sunday and go to the APA National Team Championship in Las Vegas for chance at the $25,000 prize . Over 85 teams will compete this year and if I'm not mistaken 5 go to Vegas (could be 4, not entirely certain). Hopefully we're one of those teams. I'll try to take some phots and write something about this tournament after it's all done. Here's a vid to get you in the mood from Johnny Lang. You'll see a photo of Minnesota Fats in here at the 1:44 mark and again at the 3:19 mark. Also, the Duchess of Doom is pictured at the 2:15 mark.
Why Limit?
I was going to respond to Flamm in the comment section but thought it would be better in a post.
There are a few reasons why I'm going with Limit right now.
It's easier to play when I'm at work. My connection isn't stable the whole time and I'd hate to have 50 BBs invested in a hand and have the connection drop. I don't play at work all the time but right now business is really slow and I can get in a couple hours of play easily.
Most of my mistakes are post-flop and those mistakes lead to losing stacks (100 Big Blinds) in NL. By playing Limit I'm controlling the amount I lose when I make mistakes. I'm also keeping my bankroll alive as I've been on a bad swing for a while. I want to get this back up to a comfortable level.
I've done a few session reviews on 2+2 in the Micro Stakes Limit section and it's a really good way to improve one's game. These session reviews are something I think would work very well in the Mini Masterminds at Poker Dynasty. You get to see what works and what doesn't against different types of villains, and there are a lot more hands that go past a pre-flop raise and a c-bet.
There are a few reasons why I'm going with Limit right now.
It's easier to play when I'm at work. My connection isn't stable the whole time and I'd hate to have 50 BBs invested in a hand and have the connection drop. I don't play at work all the time but right now business is really slow and I can get in a couple hours of play easily.
Most of my mistakes are post-flop and those mistakes lead to losing stacks (100 Big Blinds) in NL. By playing Limit I'm controlling the amount I lose when I make mistakes. I'm also keeping my bankroll alive as I've been on a bad swing for a while. I want to get this back up to a comfortable level.
I've done a few session reviews on 2+2 in the Micro Stakes Limit section and it's a really good way to improve one's game. These session reviews are something I think would work very well in the Mini Masterminds at Poker Dynasty. You get to see what works and what doesn't against different types of villains, and there are a lot more hands that go past a pre-flop raise and a c-bet.
I'm also re-reading Small Stakes Hold Em by Ed Miller. It seems at the levels I am grinding the opponents play too many hands are really straight forward in their playing style. Not many villains know how to value bet strong drawing hands/combo draws and I think I have an advantage there.
Oh, here's the larger scale picture of the macro from the previous post too. Almost for got to add this. Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand
June 7, 2008
It's Been A While
So glad to see people care enough to wonder why I haven't posted anything in looonng time (Flamm). Thanks to anyone out there who still drops by. Poker-wise, I've decided to play Limit Hold 'Em to make Iron Man at Full Tilt for their mid year bonus. Free money really intrigues me and if they're giving it away I might as well grab it.
Phot0-wise I'm loving my Canon Powershot S3 IS and the Raynox DCR-250 Macro lens! Here's some I took a few minutes ago while out on the deck. I'll show the macro first and follow up with a post showing you the full picture. The shot below is, as I usually do here, full framed and un-cropped. Make some guesses as to what you think it is, and you'll have bragging rights for a while.
Phot0-wise I'm loving my Canon Powershot S3 IS and the Raynox DCR-250 Macro lens! Here's some I took a few minutes ago while out on the deck. I'll show the macro first and follow up with a post showing you the full picture. The shot below is, as I usually do here, full framed and un-cropped. Make some guesses as to what you think it is, and you'll have bragging rights for a while.
April 20, 2008
Marvelous Macro
Here's a better example of what the Canon S3IS with the Raynox DCR-250 Macro add-on lens. The picture below was taken late Saturday night beneath the light on my deck. It was taken through the Raynox at 8x optical zoom and he is about 3/4 of an inch in length. Both of these shots can be clicked on for a larger image view without taking up your whole screen. Thanks to Terry Fletcher for his tutorial on how to implement thickbox.
This is the same insect taken at full magnification (12x optical, 4x digital) and I focused on where the antennae connect to his head. This Raynox lens gives such great detail! Hope you like these. Please leave a comment if you do.
This is the same insect taken at full magnification (12x optical, 4x digital) and I focused on where the antennae connect to his head. This Raynox lens gives such great detail! Hope you like these. Please leave a comment if you do.
April 17, 2008
Peacock Feathers
This was taken at my daughter's birthday party at a petting zoo from about 20 feet inthe air. Full framed, uncropped shot at full magnification (12x optical, 4x Digital).
April 8, 2008
No Poker Today, But Some Cool Pics I Took
So this past Sunday I'm relaxing on the deck and chatting with Mrs. Whodat and this little anole comes running by. Luckily I had my camera handy.
He's sitting there doing what looked like push-ups, and then shows off his dewlap to attract females (can't say that I blame him...it's a beautiful day and I'm sure the lady anoles are cruising as well)and defend his territory.
They're about 9 inches long and this particular reptile is the only one native to the U.S. They're commonly confused as chameleons as they have the ability to turn brown also. There was actually a brown one on my deck. I almost caught a shot of him grabbing a bug but it wasn't meant to be.
Below is a closer shot of him taken with full maginifcation on my Canon S3 IS (12x optical, 4x digital)
The shot below was even closer as he scurried to another beam on the deck. All these shots are full frame and no cropping at all. Hope you enjoy these. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
He's sitting there doing what looked like push-ups, and then shows off his dewlap to attract females (can't say that I blame him...it's a beautiful day and I'm sure the lady anoles are cruising as well)and defend his territory.
They're about 9 inches long and this particular reptile is the only one native to the U.S. They're commonly confused as chameleons as they have the ability to turn brown also. There was actually a brown one on my deck. I almost caught a shot of him grabbing a bug but it wasn't meant to be.
Below is a closer shot of him taken with full maginifcation on my Canon S3 IS (12x optical, 4x digital)
The shot below was even closer as he scurried to another beam on the deck. All these shots are full frame and no cropping at all. Hope you enjoy these. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
April 3, 2008
Poker, Poker, Poker
In a recent post I talked about losing focus on what games I wanted to concentrate on and I think I've come up with an idea that will work. I'm going to stay with NL 6-max for the most part on Full Tilt Poker and Bodog. I'm also going to drop down a level at FTP to work out some of my leaks. But I'll be playing 6-max Limit on Poker Stars since my bankroll is quite smaller there. Playing limit will give me something to do at work during the slow times (semi-brag, I guess).
There's a new site that I would like you to try out called The Poker Basement run by one of my mini mastermind members, Flamm. He's a successful player who's turned $84.00 into well over 4 digits and is really generous with his time. His site is very good to get your feet wet if you like playing online poker but just don't know where to begin.
He has some great articles for beginners, bank roll building, reviews of training sites, books and software, and if you get stuck in a hand you can email the hand history to him and he'll analyse it for you. Kind of like having a personal coach.
So now you're thinking, 'great, but what's the catch'? That's the best thing about The Poker Basement. There isn't one because it's a FREE SITE. Please check out his content and leave him a comment. His site will be huge one day and you can say you were there in the beginning. Until then, good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.
There's a new site that I would like you to try out called The Poker Basement run by one of my mini mastermind members, Flamm. He's a successful player who's turned $84.00 into well over 4 digits and is really generous with his time. His site is very good to get your feet wet if you like playing online poker but just don't know where to begin.
He has some great articles for beginners, bank roll building, reviews of training sites, books and software, and if you get stuck in a hand you can email the hand history to him and he'll analyse it for you. Kind of like having a personal coach.
So now you're thinking, 'great, but what's the catch'? That's the best thing about The Poker Basement. There isn't one because it's a FREE SITE. Please check out his content and leave him a comment. His site will be huge one day and you can say you were there in the beginning. Until then, good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.
March 20, 2008
Bradford Pear Blooms
These are the blooms from a Bradford Pear tree in my neighbor's yard. This particular bloom had 4 or 5 flowers on it and was no larger in diameter than a silver dollar coin. Each individual flower is about the size of a U.S. nickel.
Below is a magnified version of one of the flowers to show the stamens up close. These are hand held shots and are also uncropped.
Below is a magnified version of one of the flowers to show the stamens up close. These are hand held shots and are also uncropped.
March 12, 2008
Wednesday
I've been bouncing back and forth recently between playing Limit Hold 'Em (LHE), Full-Ring No Limit Hold 'Em (NLHE), and 6-max NLHE and seem to be losing focus. I like all three games, as they each have their own merit, but by playing all three I'm seeing a lot of variance now. I think I need to pick one and stick with it and hopefully it'll be soon. I've been talking to NeonBlack about this and he's given me some good advice on Full-ring if I decide to go back to that game, so thanks for that, Neon. Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand.
Yesterday My daughter was excited to pick the first flower from the phlox plant on our deck and I wanted to get some shots of it with the Raynox lens before it wilted. This is a sign that warmer days will reamin constant, since this perrennial is usually the first to bloom down here. The first shot is kind of close up to show scale. That is whodat's thumb in the top left of the frame. These are all full framed, uncropped shots.
This second one is shot with full 4x optical zoom and 12x digital zoom to get closer.
The third one is taken with 21x digital zoom. The Canon S3IS is capable of 48x digital zoom, but this photographer isn't steady enough to get a good shot. Yet. Hope you enjoy these and leave a comment if you like.
Yesterday My daughter was excited to pick the first flower from the phlox plant on our deck and I wanted to get some shots of it with the Raynox lens before it wilted. This is a sign that warmer days will reamin constant, since this perrennial is usually the first to bloom down here. The first shot is kind of close up to show scale. That is whodat's thumb in the top left of the frame. These are all full framed, uncropped shots.
This second one is shot with full 4x optical zoom and 12x digital zoom to get closer.
The third one is taken with 21x digital zoom. The Canon S3IS is capable of 48x digital zoom, but this photographer isn't steady enough to get a good shot. Yet. Hope you enjoy these and leave a comment if you like.
March 2, 2008
Macro Monday
So I'm playing fetch the ball with my Golden Retriever to wear her butt out and I spy this weed coming up in the lawn. The flowers looked pretty cool so I thought I'd give it a look through my Raynox lens to get up close. This lens allows you to really get inside the subject, almost like having a microscope. The flower you see below is slightly larger than a grain of rice, so imagine how small the bug is that's sitting on the top here. This is a full frame, hand held shot using the magnification (21x) from my Canon S3 IS.
As always, you can click on the thumbnail for a larger image. Comments welcome.
February 27, 2008
Incredible Billiards Video
Anyone who enjoys playing pool will love this video of Semih Sayginer. He's a world class 3 cushion billiards player and it's unreal what he does in this video.
New add-on lens for macro shooting
I'm getting used to my Raynox DCR-250 macro lens and wanted to share a shot here. I'm trying to find interesting things to shoot for a macro feature here so this is the first in what will be a semi-regular thing.
This is a hand held, non-cropped, full frame shot at 21x magnification with my Canon S3 IS. I'll reveal what this actually is after a few people take some guesses. As always, I'm using thickbox so you can click on the image for a larger view.
February 25, 2008
Sat. Night Home Tourney
Went to a friends house for a semi- regular tournament this past Saturday night. 8 runners showed up for the $30.00 buy in tourney. There were 2 players I had no experience with so my strategy was to play this like a Sit & Go; tight early playing only premium hands with some c-bets thrown in to keep the weak passives/donk bettors honest.
The blinds started at 1/2. First hand I'm in the Big Blind and was running late so I didn't get to play it. Next hand, in the SB I get 77 and raise it up to 7 and get 2 callers. The flop comes Q 9 6 which doesn't help me and I check. Normally this is a spot I c-bet when playing in cash games but I know one of the players likes to bet (usually 1/2 pot or less) with any piece of the flop so I check with the intention of calling. No such luck as it's checked around. The turn brings me a 7. The card is great for my hand but brings a possible straight so I protect my hand by betting 2/3 pot and I take it down. Nice start.
I pretty much sat back from there and waited for opportunities to come up to gain some chips. Most of the hands I played I opened in the CO or button and would take it down with a strong c-bet. The general feel I got was that my aggression was going to pay off in the right spots. Most of the players don't really have a good concept of how to properly bet, or assess their opponent's ranges except NeonBlack whose always dangerous in terms of poker play.
A good example was one of the unknowns is in middle position. UTG opens to 4, and he min. raises to 8. All fold except the opener who is getting great odds here with any two cards. Flop comes Axx with a flush draw out there. Unknown openly groans and starts shaking his head. I knew right away he had KK. So UTG leads for a bet and Unknown calls. Turn comes a deuce and UTG leads again. Unknown shoves and loses when UTG shows A2. He's not happy but if he raises more pre-flop he gets him to fold.
So I noticed that the UTG guy will be susceptible to some light 3-betting since I'll have absolute position on him. I get to do it to him twice. One time he outright folds pre-flop. Next time he calls and checks the flop. I had like QT off , miss the flop completely and give him a stiff c-bet. He tanks for a few minutes and stares at me saying "I know you have AK. I don't think I can call though." Thanks. You just told me you have maybe mid pair with a weak kicker. If you call here I'm double barelling you 'cuz I know you're folding that weak sauce. Too bad he folded.
Nothing else really happened except when we got to the bubble. 3 places pay. 3rd place gets their buy in back and 2nd gets double that. I have a nice stack after earlier knocking out NeonBlack, who was getting pretty low on chips. He shoves in early position and I'm on the Button w/ 77 again. I know he needs chips and will shove a huge range here so call, as the blinds were on life supprot and hanging on for dear life. He shows KQ spades and I send him to the pool table when he doesn't improve.
The chip leader has a giant stack so my play now is to avoid him for the most part and punish the shorties. Thanks to Ryan's Sit & Go videos and my Mini Mastermind group at Poker Dynasty for improving my bubble play a lot. I knock one of them out and am in the money. I get it to Heads Up and start shoving any 2.
The blinds are now 20/40 and I have right around 11 or 12 BBs so I'm not folding much. I get no action when I shove. We go back and forth for a few hands until he finally open shoves. I know he doesn't have a pocket pair, as he LOVES to trap people with big hands. I figure I'm a 60/40 with my T9 os and call. He shows A7 os. Just about what I figured he have. I hit a T on the flop to take the lead. If this holds up I'll be in great position to win my third tourney here. ( I've won twice and placed in the money 4 out of 5 times ). Sadly an ace hits the river. I'm sure I a case could be made for folding the hand since my M was right at 11 and my calling range should be really tight. I went with my read here so I'm not worried too much about it.
I did stack him in the cash game that followed, although he only bought in for 10BBs. What is that weak sauce buy in after winnig the lion's share o fthe money? LOL. We played 1/2 NL. I bought in for 30 BB and was one of the biggest stacks on the table. Most everyone else bought in for 10- 20BBs I had 88 UTG+1 and raise it to 6, get one caller (10BBs). I hit my set and lead/ call his shove for the win. The cash game didn't last too long though and I made a little bit more so all in all it was a good night.
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand....
The blinds started at 1/2. First hand I'm in the Big Blind and was running late so I didn't get to play it. Next hand, in the SB I get 77 and raise it up to 7 and get 2 callers. The flop comes Q 9 6 which doesn't help me and I check. Normally this is a spot I c-bet when playing in cash games but I know one of the players likes to bet (usually 1/2 pot or less) with any piece of the flop so I check with the intention of calling. No such luck as it's checked around. The turn brings me a 7. The card is great for my hand but brings a possible straight so I protect my hand by betting 2/3 pot and I take it down. Nice start.
I pretty much sat back from there and waited for opportunities to come up to gain some chips. Most of the hands I played I opened in the CO or button and would take it down with a strong c-bet. The general feel I got was that my aggression was going to pay off in the right spots. Most of the players don't really have a good concept of how to properly bet, or assess their opponent's ranges except NeonBlack whose always dangerous in terms of poker play.
A good example was one of the unknowns is in middle position. UTG opens to 4, and he min. raises to 8. All fold except the opener who is getting great odds here with any two cards. Flop comes Axx with a flush draw out there. Unknown openly groans and starts shaking his head. I knew right away he had KK. So UTG leads for a bet and Unknown calls. Turn comes a deuce and UTG leads again. Unknown shoves and loses when UTG shows A2. He's not happy but if he raises more pre-flop he gets him to fold.
So I noticed that the UTG guy will be susceptible to some light 3-betting since I'll have absolute position on him. I get to do it to him twice. One time he outright folds pre-flop. Next time he calls and checks the flop. I had like QT off , miss the flop completely and give him a stiff c-bet. He tanks for a few minutes and stares at me saying "I know you have AK. I don't think I can call though." Thanks. You just told me you have maybe mid pair with a weak kicker. If you call here I'm double barelling you 'cuz I know you're folding that weak sauce. Too bad he folded.
Nothing else really happened except when we got to the bubble. 3 places pay. 3rd place gets their buy in back and 2nd gets double that. I have a nice stack after earlier knocking out NeonBlack, who was getting pretty low on chips. He shoves in early position and I'm on the Button w/ 77 again. I know he needs chips and will shove a huge range here so call, as the blinds were on life supprot and hanging on for dear life. He shows KQ spades and I send him to the pool table when he doesn't improve.
The chip leader has a giant stack so my play now is to avoid him for the most part and punish the shorties. Thanks to Ryan's Sit & Go videos and my Mini Mastermind group at Poker Dynasty for improving my bubble play a lot. I knock one of them out and am in the money. I get it to Heads Up and start shoving any 2.
The blinds are now 20/40 and I have right around 11 or 12 BBs so I'm not folding much. I get no action when I shove. We go back and forth for a few hands until he finally open shoves. I know he doesn't have a pocket pair, as he LOVES to trap people with big hands. I figure I'm a 60/40 with my T9 os and call. He shows A7 os. Just about what I figured he have. I hit a T on the flop to take the lead. If this holds up I'll be in great position to win my third tourney here. ( I've won twice and placed in the money 4 out of 5 times ). Sadly an ace hits the river. I'm sure I a case could be made for folding the hand since my M was right at 11 and my calling range should be really tight. I went with my read here so I'm not worried too much about it.
I did stack him in the cash game that followed, although he only bought in for 10BBs. What is that weak sauce buy in after winnig the lion's share o fthe money? LOL. We played 1/2 NL. I bought in for 30 BB and was one of the biggest stacks on the table. Most everyone else bought in for 10- 20BBs I had 88 UTG+1 and raise it to 6, get one caller (10BBs). I hit my set and lead/ call his shove for the win. The cash game didn't last too long though and I made a little bit more so all in all it was a good night.
Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand....
February 11, 2008
Sweet Emotion....
I’ve been listening to the P.O.T.U.S. ’08 channel on XM Radio lately (I know, politics is boring) and heard an interesting piece during the news segment that got me thinking a bit about poker. Okay, I think about poker quite often so this was another excuse.
Since I’m in sales I know that a lot of purchases are based on emotion. If you can get your customer emotionally involved in the product you’re presenting your closing rate shoots through the roof. In the news piece, the reporter was talking about a study that was done to see how emotion can affect your spending habits. They showed a control group a short movie about a boy and his mentor where the mentor dies horribly in the end and found that customers -feeling very distraught after the show- were willing to purchase bottled water at 4 times the normal rate. Another group was shown a different movie and they refused to pay such an exorbitant price. Their reasoning skills weren’t affected by their emotions at all while the other group clearly was.
What does this have to do with poker? Since we play this game for money it means everything. If you can’t control yourself after someone hits a 4 outer on the river to beat you it will cost you more money than the hand you just lost. I’m guilty of it and I think we all are to some extent.
Think of it this way. You just lost a little on that hand. How much more do you want to lose because of it? Let your emotions fly and you’re guaranteed to lose like no other. Reign them in, stay focused and patient, and the money begins to flow your way. Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand…..
Since I’m in sales I know that a lot of purchases are based on emotion. If you can get your customer emotionally involved in the product you’re presenting your closing rate shoots through the roof. In the news piece, the reporter was talking about a study that was done to see how emotion can affect your spending habits. They showed a control group a short movie about a boy and his mentor where the mentor dies horribly in the end and found that customers -feeling very distraught after the show- were willing to purchase bottled water at 4 times the normal rate. Another group was shown a different movie and they refused to pay such an exorbitant price. Their reasoning skills weren’t affected by their emotions at all while the other group clearly was.
What does this have to do with poker? Since we play this game for money it means everything. If you can’t control yourself after someone hits a 4 outer on the river to beat you it will cost you more money than the hand you just lost. I’m guilty of it and I think we all are to some extent.
Think of it this way. You just lost a little on that hand. How much more do you want to lose because of it? Let your emotions fly and you’re guaranteed to lose like no other. Reign them in, stay focused and patient, and the money begins to flow your way. Good luck on the felt and may the good cards hit your hand…..
January 23, 2008
Wow! Some Amazing Guitar Work! (Rodrigo Y Gabriela)
This song is from Rodrigo Y Gabriela's latest CD and it's titled Tamacun. Watch the way Gabriela strums the triplets here. She is creating all the percussion sounds you hear by hitting the strings and the face of the guitar. If your toes aren't tapping to this tune you have no soul. Enjoy.
January 8, 2008
A Belated Resolution
One of the things I really want to work on this year is improving my patience. Not just in poker where it is absolutely essential for success but also in my personal life. I've been trying to focus more on this recently, like not yelling (too loudly) at the idiots that seem to go 10 mph slower than the speed limit every day on my way to work, and learning to let the minor irritants that happen every day just slide off. I don't think this is something I can master in a few weeks but it is really something I need to address to improve myself. I'm sure a lot of other people do as well.
I think patience is a very important trait to have while playing poker also. Being impatient has cost me dearly. One way has been by reacting to opponents bets and not thinking through the situation clearly. That leads to bad decisions, which we all know is the start down the road to ruin. Another way for me personally is by trying to force action with less than strong hands. I play a pretty tight game so the mistakes I make after the flop hurt a lot more since I don't play 24-28% of my hands. Patience and sound reasoning will vastly improve my play so I'll start now. One thing I'll try to remember is "don't sweat the small stuff.... because it's all small stuff."
Thanks for reading and may the good cards hit your hand...
I think patience is a very important trait to have while playing poker also. Being impatient has cost me dearly. One way has been by reacting to opponents bets and not thinking through the situation clearly. That leads to bad decisions, which we all know is the start down the road to ruin. Another way for me personally is by trying to force action with less than strong hands. I play a pretty tight game so the mistakes I make after the flop hurt a lot more since I don't play 24-28% of my hands. Patience and sound reasoning will vastly improve my play so I'll start now. One thing I'll try to remember is "don't sweat the small stuff.... because it's all small stuff."
Thanks for reading and may the good cards hit your hand...
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