Full of Myself

Yeah, I know I’m not supposed to do this, yet it’s Halloween and it’s Poker Academy, so what the hell.

I’m playing 20NL with one of my appropriately rolled nicks. The table has a couple regular higher buy-in nicks playing (slow night, not many rooms open) and some newbies of varying styles. There’s a chap two to my left who likes to open up for 10 x BB with anything so I limp early with KK. True to form, he bets $2, gets a caller, and I type “Raisy daisy!” and make it $13.60 to go. Wild guy raises and goes all-in with his last $12.65, his caller kicks in his last $14.50 and I call. 9s7d7s4hJc. The wild one has 3hKh and the lemming has J 10o. I’m sitting pretty.

Nine hands later I get slipped Aces in the hole. One player limps from early, the lemming follows, as does another player, so I raise it to $1.60. Lemming calls. 7h9h4s and I bet $4.20. The lemming calls. 3h. I should have jammed the flop as my Aces are black, but I go ahead and bet $6.30. Lemming calls. 6c on river and I put Lemming all-in. He shows pocket fives, hitting a runner-runner gut shot. Granted, he shouldn’t have seen the turn, and granted, I could have played 4th and 5th better but I go ahead and type:

“In the words of our dear MAJOR, keep playing that way.”

“LOL meaning that I will lose it all eventually?”

“Let me put it this way: You don’t want me to make you my special project.”

“Enemy or mentor?”

“Your choice.”

“Mentor”

To be continued.

A special day

Okay, I’ll get this out of the way immediately: today is my birthday. I’m 54 years old, born in 1954. Maybe that means something. Maybe it’s just numbers. Numbers align just like stars, and cancel each other out.

I’m still ill. I thought I was getting better yesterday, did some work until I couldn’t, took a nap, went back to work until well after midnight, and at the end of it all decided to play some poker before bed. Just a few hands, which in poker parlance can be any number between 25 and 150.

After sustaining multiple hits, I have dropped down to the 10NL games in an effort to rebuild with my meager eight buy-ins. I have determined that the style of play with which I am most comfortable, ironically enough, is a loose game. Ironic because my big pocket pairs kill me. I loaded up two tables that looked pretty good and set to work.

Table One had a particularly crafty player who managed to slowplay both pocket Aces and Kings and keep me drawing to no avail. He kept the pots small, so no serious damage was done. Eventually someone did the same to him and wiped him out when he paired an Aces and the other hit his set of Kings. Action died for most every other player on the table was Poker Listed as a Mouse. (I’d never seen s many at one table.)

When I sat down at Table Two, I could tell it had some history to it as there was a couple players who had some sizable stacks. And those players were using them to push the table around and also to see a lot of flops. I’m playing about 20%.

PokerStars Game #21611561573: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/30 3:09:09 ET
Table 'Una' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: bastinptc ($10.20 in chips)
Seat 2: thebigfalex ($7.25 in chips)
Seat 3: VictoryYG ($10 in chips)
Seat 4: lostboarder ($5.70 in chips)
Seat 5: butcher822 ($18.75 in chips)
Seat 7: MimoPeto ($8 in chips)
Seat 8: mad_ horse28 ($26.50 in chips)
butcher822: posts small blind $0.05
MimoPeto: posts big blind $0.10
France81: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [4c 4s]
mad_ horse28: calls $0.10
bastinptc: calls $0.10
thebigfalex: raises $0.40 to $0.50
VictoryYG: folds
innocents1 joins the table at seat #6
lostboarder: folds
butcher822: folds
MimoPeto: folds
mad_ horse28: calls $0.40
bastinptc: calls $0.40
*** FLOP *** [Kc Ah 4d]
mad_ horse28: checks
bastinptc: bets $1.90
thebigfalex: folds
mad_ horse28: calls $1.90
*** TURN *** [Kc Ah 4d] [6s]
mad_ horse28: checks
MimoPeto is sitting out
bastinptc: bets $7.80 and is all-in
mad_ horse28: calls $7.80
*** RIVER *** [Kc Ah 4d 6s] [3h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
mad_ horse28: shows [7c As] (a pair of Aces)
bastinptc: shows [4c 4s] (three of a kind, Fours)
bastinptc collected $20.05 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $21.05 | Rake $1
Board [Kc Ah 4d 6s 3h]
Seat 1: bastinptc showed [4c 4s] and won ($20.05) with three of a kind, Fours
Seat 2: thebigfalex folded on the Flop
Seat 3: VictoryYG folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: lostboarder (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: butcher822 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: MimoPeto (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: mad_ horse28 showed [7c As] and lost with a pair of Aces

I was surprised at Mad_Horse’s call. How he could think a crappy Ace was any good is beyond me. And to call off two-fifths of his stack with it…go figure.

PokerStars Game #21611637304: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/30 3:17:48 ET
Table 'Una' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: bastinptc ($19.80 in chips)
Seat 2: thebigfalex ($9.70 in chips)
Seat 3: VictoryYG ($10.50 in chips)
Seat 4: lostboarder ($7.30 in chips)
Seat 5: butcher822 ($16.15 in chips)
Seat 6: innocents1 ($1.95 in chips)
Seat 7: MimoPeto ($8 in chips)
Seat 8: mad_ horse28 ($15.75 in chips)
Seat 9: France81 ($1.75 in chips)
MimoPeto: posts small blind $0.05
mad_ horse28: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Kc As]
France81: folds
bastinptc: raises $0.40 to $0.50
thebigfalex: folds
VictoryYG: folds
lostboarder: folds
butcher822: folds
innocents1: folds
MimoPeto: folds
mad_ horse28: calls $0.40
*** FLOP *** [Qd 5h 7d]
mad_ horse28: bets $0.60
bastinptc: folds
Uncalled bet ($0.60) returned to mad_ horse28
mad_ horse28 collected $1 from pot

I could not rule out AQ or KQ for MH’s hand. This hand came up shortly after the set of 4s, but also figuring this guy might be out for revenge, I wasn’t going to push my luck. I could wait.

But MH couldn’t. I watched him as he remained aggressive, eventually adding to his stack. He must have been playing about 50% and pushing the Mice around.

PokerStars Game #21611733273: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/30 3:28:58 ET
Table 'Una' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: bastinptc ($18.85 in chips)
Seat 2: thebigfalex ($16 in chips)
Seat 3: VictoryYG ($10.35 in chips)
Seat 4: lostboarder ($4.80 in chips)
Seat 6: innocents1 ($6.60 in chips)
Seat 7: MimoPeto ($8.15 in chips)
Seat 8: mad_ horse28 ($17.90 in chips)
Seat 9: France81 ($1.50 in chips)
France81: posts small blind $0.05
bastinptc: posts big blind $0.10
JuliaAtLove: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [7h 8h]
thebigfalex: calls $0.10
VictoryYG: folds
lostboarder: calls $0.10
innocents1: raises $0.30 to $0.40
MimoPeto: folds
mad_ horse28: calls $0.40
France81: folds
bastinptc: calls $0.30
thebigfalex: folds
lostboarder: calls $0.30

I knew I was playing it a bit loose here, for me anyway, because these types of hands just don’t pan out enough, yet there were already two players in, and twenty cents more was not such a big deal, especially if one other limper came in, and lostboarder obliged.

*** FLOP *** [3h 2h 5h]
bastinptc: checks
lostboarder: checks
innocents1: bets $0.80
mad_ horse28: calls $0.80
bastinptc: raises $2.20 to $3
lostboarder: folds
innocents1: calls $2.20
mad_ horse28: calls $2.20

I was happy to see the flop, yet with two cards to come, the opening bet and the call told me that I wasn’t out of the woods and thought it might be better to take it down right there, I wasn’t surprised so much to get called by innocents1 as I was certain he had a big pair and now, more than likely, one was a heart. Yet, I guess I should be surprised by MH’s call either, now getting “odds” with Innocents1”s call. I was going to have to keep the heat on.

*** TURN *** [3h 2h 5h] [6c]

I was quite pleased with the turn. If someone had been playing a straight draw, or if MH already had the wheel, I was getting paid. Still, I was sure there was at least one bigger heart out there.


bastinptc: bets $8.10
innocents1: calls $3.20 and is all-in
mad_ horse28: calls $8.10
*** RIVER *** [3h 2h 5h 6c] [5c]

OK, now I’m a little worried. I think: Perfect, just my luck someone will have a set. I was dodging bullets through this hand and now I’m dead. What the heck, I’m all-in.

bastinptc: bets $7.35 and is all-in
mad_ horse28: folds

Ha! Revenge denied.

Uncalled bet ($7.35) returned to bastinptc
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [7h 8h] (a flush, Eight high)
bastinptc collected $9.30 from side pot
innocents1: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $19.40 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $30.15 Main pot $19.40. Side pot $9.30. | Rake $1.45
Board [3h 2h 5h 6c 5c]
Seat 1: bastinptc (big blind) showed [7h 8h] and won ($28.70) with a flush, Eight high
Seat 2: thebigfalex folded before Flop
Seat 3: VictoryYG folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: lostboarder folded on the Flop
Seat 6: innocents1 mucked [Kh Kd]
Seat 7: MimoPeto folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: mad_ horse28 (button) folded on the River
Seat 9: France81 (small blind) folded before Flop

It’s been ages since I’ve tripled up at a table. Happy Birthday to me!

My dear wife has made a dark chocolate cake with German chocolate frosting. She also gave me a new fishing rod. Today, life is good.

There’s Something in the Water

I’m ill. There’s more fuzz where my brain should be. Maybe it’s an extended hangover from the mescal, yet more than likely it’s a contagion from the woman who woke up coughing after the mescal debauch. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m not the only one sacked out on the couch for a couple days. Can’t really blame her though. I had this coming.

Not long after I arrived back home from the buzz-fest, I went to bed. I was exhausted and had two pressing engagements on my mind: I was supposed to go fishing the next morning, bright and early to the money hole to catch on more Summer Steelie before the end of the season; and I had a shitload of research and writing to do for my client, due in two days. The plan was to go fishing, come home and work until the wee hours, get some sleep and put in another full day Tuesday, today.

I think I was in bed by 7 o’clock, always a dangerous thing to do, for no matter how tired I was, there is no guarantee that I will sleep through the night. I was wide awake at 11:30 PM. There was no way I was falling back asleep at that point so I went down to my dungeon to write the blog and a new boiler plate for my client and accomplished both. I readied my fishing gear and had an hour to go before I was supposed to “officially” wake to my alarm, so I laid down. No avail. Breakfast, reheat some coffee, kiss my dear wife goodbye and head over to Steve’s. I was tired again but thought I’d be okay as Steve was supposed to be driving today. I could catch a nap in the car. Nope, Steve’s car was blocked in and I was driving.

Steve may be my best friend out here. Why? Because I spend more time with him than anyone else, we connect in a lot of ways, and several other reasons that are not meant to diminish the friendships that I have with others, nor the qualities of the their characters. As we’re packing the truck, he says, “Oh, Dude, here. Happy birthday.” My birthday is a couple days away and he has gotten me a new reel. It’s beautiful. And it is already loaded with his favorite ten-pound test line, perfect for steelheading. “Rig it up and use it today.” I comply.




Adult Male Steelhead. Adult Female Steelhead.


I put on my float, weights and hook and try to reel in the slack. As I do, more line comes off of the reel. I initially attribute this to the fact that the guy who loaded the reel at the sports shop had put too much line on it. I de-rig, pull off a bunch of line and re-rig, with the same results. It takes a minute to sink in: the guy had spooled for a lefty. “No problem.” Steve says, “We can stop in Hebo and get the other spool loaded correctly.

So off we go, loaded with coffee and hopes, to the money hole.

Steve has only brought his fly rod. The October Caddis Flies are out in force and he is convinced that the Sea-Run Cut Throats and Steelies will be hitting them like candy. Steve is an avid fly guy, and as such, sometimes his rhetoric gets a little lofty. “Yeah, I decided that I was getting to be too much of a bait fisherman. I want to bring a little bit of skill back to my fishing.” Stuff like that. Never mind that I am using bait. And when I use spinners and spoons, I hear the same. Never mind that he borrows my spinners sometimes. But I understand because I’m an understanding kinda guy. He’s excited to be out fishing. Sometimes rhetorical sensitivity gets lost in enthusiasm.


Caddis Fly

By the time we get to our hole, the sun is up high enough that we can see through the water. Steve has decided that he will put on his waders and walk up the river from where we have to park, fishing along the way. I will head straight to the hole. “Dude, I forgot the net. How’d I forget the net?”

I say, “That’s OK. Any Cutthroats have to be put back, and if we hook into a Steelie, we’re taking it home anyway. We can just tire it out and drag it up to shore.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

So, off we go. The walk to the money hole is cold. The wind is blowing pretty hard and the road is still in shade. The hole itself is down a steep embankment, so it is mercifully less windy. I bait my hook, adjust the depth on my float and start methodically hitting every aspect of the hole. About my fourth cast my float disappears in the exact manner it should when a steelie takes the bait, and I set the hook. It is a monster!

Except the fish dives low into the deeper water, not the action of a Steelhead. A steelie comes out of the water and tries to shake the hook. Huge fish diving deeper equals a salmon. Sure enough, I catch a glimpse of the fish, and it is a salmon, and I judge it to be about a thirty-five-pounder. I am shaking with excitement. With all of the fishing I have done in my life, I have never caught a fish this big before. And here I am with 10-pound test on a 9-foot medium-light action rod. I set my drag accordingly and settle in for a long fight.

The hole isn’t all that big: maybe seventy-five feet long and twenty-five feet wide. As the clocks ticks on, I get several opportunities to examine the fish. I can tell by the markings that it is a Chinook. It still has some color to it, so it might be a fall fish. The salmon that came up in the spring would be darker. It didn’t have a beak on it like the spring male salmon would have, not was it beat up, so it is either a female spring or either sex in the fall run. But a spring run salmon wouldn't have taken my bait, would it?

Adult male Chinook




Adult female Chinook

After about fifty minutes I have the fish tired to the point that I am able to bring it up close to the bank. I sit down to get ready to grab it, and as I do, my shoe touches my line and it breaks. I make a quick grab for the fish’s tail and haul it on shore. It weighs a ton!

I decide to put it on my stringer instead of dressing it right then and there. I wanted Steve to see it. Plus, in that this was my first mature salmon, I had lingering doubts about it being a spring or fall fish. I took a quick picture of the fish and then tethered my stringer to a tree over the water. The fish was able to be completely submerged.

Most people know something about the life cycle of salmon. They make the long trek from the ocean back to where they were born solely to breed and die. Fish late in this process have expended themselves to the point where they are nearly inedible. Their flesh turns from a bright red-pink to white. If this fish had been in this stream since May, it would not be a good catch. If I could keep it alive until Steve made his way up to the hole, then we could figure it out together.

Steve was excited to see the fish, yet he was little help. Therefore we decided to err on the side of caution and put the fish back. Steve went down to removed the stringer, and as he did so, blood started to flow from the fish’s gills. “Dude, she’s gonna die anyway now, so you might as well keep her. She might be a fall run. You won’t know until you dress her.” I went ahead and slit her gills more so she would bleed out more quickly.

Steve went to the head of the hole with his fly rod and I baited up again. Steve was having a gas catching the little cuts and I was drowning bait. We would be leaving soon as the salmon would have to be put on ice soon and we had none with us.

When the time came, I pulled the salmon back up onto the bank. She was not quite dead, so I hit her on the head with a knife club I have just for such an occasion. Steve was already up the bank by the truck as I slit her gut. “It’s a female.”

“Lots of eggs?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, mature eggs.” I felt horrible. “Now what?”

“What color is the flesh?”

“White.”

“Well, you could take her home and use her for compost.”

“Nah, I’m going to leave her here to feed the river.” I put her in the deepest part of the hole. Although I couldn’t see the fish proper, I could still see her bright red roe through the tannin-stained water.

We got into the truck and drove up the road. Steve wanted to check out a couple other holes. I just wanted to go home. And after a couple stops along the way, Steve could see that I had lost all interest in fishing anymore that day.

“Dude, the same thing happened to me when I caught my first big Springer. You just don’t want to let go of a big fish, but you have to. Now you know.”

“I just feel so rotten about it.”

“Yeah, you will for a couple days.”

The lack of sleep was catching up with me so I had Steve drive home. As we headed back over the mountain, the splattered Caddis flies began to accumulate on the windshield. I drifted off.

I woke up just outside of Salem. My first thoughts were of the fish. I dropped off Steve and I couldn’t get out of there quick enough. I wanted the day behind me…all of it.

It has been twenty-four hours since I got home. I have been asleep for twenty of those hours, alternating from hot to shivering, no blankets, not enough blankets. I have a headache that won’t go away.

As I am writing this, my dear wife calls me. “I have a title for your next blog: The Curse of the Female Salmon.”

“Yeah, I’m already writing it. I have a title, but that’s certainly what I’m writing about.”

Is it a curse? To answer that, I’d have to back up a bit. As I was fighting the fish, a thought crossed my mind: If I indeed was able to land this fish, a price would have to be paid. I would get wet when I didn’t want to, I would fall and twist an ankle, something would go amiss. I had seen it happen before, and it was the price I would have to accept.

While I was away this last weekend I called my dear wife to tell her that I had finally figured out what I wanted to do for my birthday. I wanted to take a drive with her to show her the money hole and share the natural beauty that surrounds it. We were to make the drive today after I put the finishing touches on my client letters. Well, obviously I’m too sick for any of that to happen. Besides that, the money hole will never be the same. That is the price.

Wuzzy Fuzzy? Yes.

It was a square bottle. I should have made note of the brand, but I could barely bring myself to look at the damn thing this morning, that bottle of mescal with 1/2-inch of golden liquid left in the bottom.

No, I wasn’t the only one drinking it. I believe there were four of us. And I really didn’t think I had drunk a lot. I was pacing myself. So, I was surprised when I poured my last bit, using the campfire for illumination, and saw just how much was left. I remarked as much, and a few of my words had a hard time getting past my palate.

Then it hit me hard. I sat my glass down. Holy shit, I was hammered. I guess I wasn’t the only one, either, because soon thereafter I was the sole keeper of the flame.

There was still a pretty good fire, so got up from the log I was sitting on, headed for a lawn chair, one of those folding numbers with the attached foot rest, grabbed a blanket someone had left, steadied the chair and fell to the ground. (That may be how the back of my hand got scratched. I really don’t know.) I hadn’t been this drunk in ten years, and I didn’t like it.

I eventually navigated the chair, and just as I got comfortable, ML called from the house, “We’re going to bed.”

“I’m not.”

“Lock the door when you come in then, OK?”

“If I make it that far.”

The mescal buzz is different, my head crammed with people instead of cotton like other liquors. That’s all I remember, besides thinking that I had a blog entry in the making.

I woke up cold. It was still dark, and the fire was embers. I made my way into the house (locked the door), unrolled my sleeping back and fell back asleep in front of a cold wood stove. If I had been more sober, I perhaps would have had a worse night’s sleep.

I have not drunk mescal for 25 years. The last time was at my brother’s bachelor party. We were lighting the shots, blowing them out and throwing them down. After a few of these, I thought it might be interesting to try and drink one while still aflame. I still remember my brother laughing as he patted out the fire on my face with those two big mitts he had for hands.

We slept in my mother’s front yard that night. It seemed like the right thing to do. The next day I would be the Best Man with half of a moustache.

Autumn

The starlings are late this year. Yesterday they were doing their synchronized flying routines. Today they are sitting in the Douglas Firs, chattering away. There are lots of over-ripe apples still on the trees ready for the pecking.



The slate colored juncos have returned in great numbers, feeding on the crumbs of old duck food outside of the coop, flashing the outer white feathers of their tails as they fly away at my approach.



The flickers have made their winter nests under the eaves of the barns.



Song sparrows are having a field day in the rye grass.



Goldfinches have lost their summer yellow and are perched on the dead sunflowers.



For some reason the bluebirds are still hanging around. There were four in the spring. Now there are eight.



The Steller’s jays are harvesting the last of our filberts. One sits in the myrtle and gives me grief.



We are fogged in today and the dew is thick. Our ducks remember that slugs are good-eating.



Soon the towhees will come out of the woods across the street and forage under the dead leaves in our yard.



And we will not see the sun for three months.

Exhibit A

The three last hands.

PokerStars Game #21445710000: Tournament #116072608, $1.00+$0.10 Hold'em No Limit -
Level V (75/150) - 2008/10/24 0:25:23 ET
Table '116072608 1' 10-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: 23 J TRAIN (2990 in chips)
Seat 2: grtidea (700 in chips)
Seat 3: dazza25 (1375 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 5: Allah_In2 (2785 in chips)
Seat 6: LeechIII (3010 in chips)
Seat 7: bastinptc (1565 in chips)
Seat 9: dboat1019 (1525 in chips)
Seat 10: 34t 5h1t (1050 in chips)
23 J TRAIN: posts the ante 15
grtidea: posts the ante 15
dazza25: posts the ante 15
Allah_In2: posts the ante 15
LeechIII: posts the ante 15
bastinptc: posts the ante 15
dboat1019: posts the ante 15
34t 5h1t: posts the ante 15
dazza25: posts small blind 75
Allah_In2: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [3h 3d]
LeechIII: folds
bastinptc: calls 150
dboat1019: folds
34t 5h1t: folds
23 J TRAIN: folds
grtidea: calls 150
dazza25: folds
Allah_In2: checks
*** FLOP *** [Kh Th 3c]
Allah_In2: checks
bastinptc: checks
grtidea: bets 535 and is all-in
Allah_In2: folds
bastinptc: calls 535
*** TURN *** [Kh Th 3c] [Qc]
*** RIVER *** [Kh Th 3c Qc] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [3h 3d] (three of a kind, Threes)
grtidea: shows [Kc 2c] (a flush, King high)
grtidea collected 1715 from pot


PokerStars Game #21445722183: Tournament #116072608, $1.00+$0.10 Hold'em No Limit -
Level V (75/150) - 2008/10/24 0:26:08 ET
Table '116072608 1' 10-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: 23 J TRAIN (2975 in chips)
Seat 2: grtidea (1715 in chips)
Seat 3: dazza25 (1285 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 5: Allah_In2 (2620 in chips)
Seat 6: LeechIII (2995 in chips)
Seat 7: bastinptc (865 in chips)
Seat 9: dboat1019 (1510 in chips)
Seat 10: 34t 5h1t (1035 in chips)
23 J TRAIN: posts the ante 15
grtidea: posts the ante 15
dazza25: posts the ante 15
Allah_In2: posts the ante 15
LeechIII: posts the ante 15
bastinptc: posts the ante 15
dboat1019: posts the ante 15
34t 5h1t: posts the ante 15
Allah_In2: posts small blind 75
LeechIII: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Ac Qh]
bastinptc: calls 150
dboat1019: folds
LeechIII said, "wow"
34t 5h1t: folds
23 J TRAIN: folds
grtidea: folds
dazza25: folds
Allah_In2: calls 75
bastinptc said, "pretty funny"
LeechIII: checks
*** FLOP *** [Ks Ah 8h]
Allah_In2: checks
LeechIII: checks
bastinptc: bets 700 and is all-in
Allah_In2: folds
LeechIII: folds
Uncalled bet (700) returned to bastinptc
bastinptc collected 570 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 570 | Rake 0
Board [Ks Ah 8h]
Seat 1: 23 J TRAIN folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: grtidea folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: dazza25 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Allah_In2 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: LeechIII (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: bastinptc collected (570)
Seat 9: dboat1019 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 10: 34t 5h1t folded before Flop (didn't bet)


PokerStars Game #21445731994: Tournament #116072608, $1.00+$0.10 Hold'em No Limit -
Level V (75/150) - 2008/10/24 0:26:45 ET
Table '116072608 1' 10-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: 23 J TRAIN (2960 in chips)
Seat 2: grtidea (1700 in chips)
Seat 3: dazza25 (1270 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 5: Allah_In2 (2455 in chips)
Seat 6: LeechIII (2830 in chips)
Seat 7: bastinptc (1270 in chips)
Seat 9: dboat1019 (1495 in chips)
Seat 10: 34t 5h1t (1020 in chips)
23 J TRAIN: posts the ante 15
grtidea: posts the ante 15
dazza25: posts the ante 15
Allah_In2: posts the ante 15
LeechIII: posts the ante 15
bastinptc: posts the ante 15
dboat1019: posts the ante 15
34t 5h1t: posts the ante 15
LeechIII: posts small blind 75
bastinptc: posts big blind 150
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [9h Jc]
dboat1019: folds
34t 5h1t: folds
23 J TRAIN: folds
grtidea: folds
dazza25: folds
Allah_In2: folds
LeechIII: raises 150 to 300
bastinptc: calls 150
*** FLOP *** [9c Th 7s]
LeechIII: checks
bastinptc: bets 600
LeechIII: calls 600
*** TURN *** [9c Th 7s] [Jd]
LeechIII: bets 1915 and is all-in
bastinptc: calls 355 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (1560) returned to LeechIII
*** RIVER *** [9c Th 7s Jd] [3d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
LeechIII: shows [4d 8s] (a straight, Seven to Jack)
bastinptc: shows [9h Jc] (two pair, Jacks and Nines)
LeechIII collected 2630 from pot


Of course, then I won the next three tourneys.

Make that 4.

OK, make it 6 out of 8.

I would like to than God, my mother and Yakshi....

Gotta laugh

Checking my Site Meter tracking, I see that someone found my blog by googling "poor poker players."

I must be getting a reputation.

Shhhhh. Before you protest that I'm better than "that", consider that my roll is now down to... what? I'm afraid to look. Just so many times one can sit there all-in and get Aces cracked or have Kings against Aces. Statistical anomaly?

It’s Tuesday’s Pub Tourney. Who wants to be featured in my blog?

Don’t be shy. Step right up. Or watch your step. Yes, you there, sir, so drunk that the bar rail is the only thing between you and the floor. Good save!

For a second it looked as if he had been assigned to the table I was sitting at. “”Roger, you’re over here, table 3.” Whew.

By the add-on, Roger had half of the chips at his table. Play enough poker and you see this sort of thing. Just like beginner’s luck. Call anything and hit. Roger’s broken record: “Anybody could have won that hand. I’m just here to have fun. How much is the bet? What color do I put out? How many? What are my cards? I have twenty-one! Blackjack! I’m just having fun.”

For those of you who don’t know… oh, wait a minute, all of my twelve readers already know that I live out in the middle of nowhere, next door to almost the middle of nowhere that boasts a population of 7700 residents. God bless them, for half of them appear to be closely related to each other.

Roger is Jim’s brother who is Trudy’s father and Trudy is married to Rick. And now that I look closely, I can see the resemblance between Trudy and Glory who works at the local liquor store. They’re all in attendance, and a matter of fact, they’re all throwing them back like there’s no tomorrow. Roger just has a good head start on the fun.

Good old-fashion fun and four minute hands with 15 minute rounds. Not surprising that by the final table everyone was gunning for him. I left when he was heads up with a 2 to 1 chip lead against Skunk. (If Skunk takes it down, we’ll hear about it for 3 weeks and he’ll expect a fist-bump each time he tells the story. I hate the fist-bump as much as when greeting someone, they ask “Whassup?” Tell me when I start sounding like Poker Grump.)

Let’s see…what else? Oh, I got to see a woman’s butt crack. It looked just like a plumber’s ass. You know, flat and all smooshed together, no shape at all. Just a thin line of demarcation between two hemi (and I do mean hemi) spheres. Come to think of it, it was Trudy’s intrusion on my delicate aesthetic sensibilities.

I had my chance to put a sizable dent in Roger but missed it. I had 67o in the SB, the blinds were 2K and all other players at the final table had limped. I decided to fold as I only had about 10K behind. Of course the flop had 45 and the turn was an 8. By the river the pot was around 35K. Roger won with TPTK. Shortly thereafter I was down to one BB, hit the second best pair on the flop and called my dear wife to say I would be home soon.

When I get home, she asks, “I’m never go to see the inside of that bar, am I?”

“No, I don’t think so, honey. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Livid a Loca

Determined to redeem myself after the debacle I related in yesterday’s post, I gathered up what was left of my bankroll and headed back to the 25NL games at Stars. Third hand I see is JQc on the Button. Sklansky says limp with hidden good hands like this. The turn gave me a flush and got into a raising war with the SB, who had the nut flush. Didn’t believe him.

Reload. AA, calling station to my right doubles me up. KK, followed the advice of all those who know better than me and had it all in before the flop against a $12 shortie with his AA in the hole. “nh” “been there” “We all have.” Calling station leaves, table clears.

I bounce around a few tables in 25NL and 10NL. Cardgrrl (see blog in sidebar: Raise or Fold: A tera of Risky Business) is on Skype regaling me with tales of her new adventure playing poker for a living. I find a juicy table. Unbelievably juicy. And I was catching cards. (I must have had pocket Aces four times last night.)

With that said, that is, I had a juicy table and I was catching cards, it wasn’t a walk in the park. When I had a made hand, loosey-gooseys were nowhere to be found after the flop. I had AA in late position when an early position player raised it up 5 x BB. I did what I have seen dear Mr. Gumpo do and raise it up to $7.50 or so, and got a fold. Also, I was missing 11, 12, 14 and15-outers while others were catching their 6 and 9 outers against me. Runner runner flushes, a better 2 pair hit on the river, that sort of thing. Ask Cardgrrl, I was very frustrated, fed up, pissed off, bitching and moaning, ranting and raving as I watched my paltry winnings from earlier in the evening disappear. I was playing strong poker, had a great read on these players, knew their ranges and tendencies and I was losing just as readily as I had donked off the previous session.

Then this:

PokerStars Game #21343541858: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) –
Table 'Amalia' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: mobtheman ($24.90 in chips)
Seat 2: yaf7 ($25 in chips)
Seat 3: saapo ($4.50 in chips)
Seat 4: excanuck ($48.50 in chips)
Seat 5: rapid0 ($25 in chips)
Seat 6: bastinptc ($22.45 in chips)
Seat 7: real maded ($26.15 in chips)
Seat 8: Burkinator99 ($38.85 in chips)
Seat 9: alessio 73 ($35.70 in chips)
excanuck: posts small blind $0.10
rapid0: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Ad As]

I’m a bit excited. “Sis, I have pocket Aces UTG. (I call Cardgrrl “Sis,” as it seems we were separated at birth.) I’m limping, just like Mr. Gumpo does. Somebody raise! Please, somebody raise!”

bastinptc: calls $0.25
real maded: folds
Burkinator99: folds
alessio 73: raises $0.25 to $0.50

“One of my calling stations just put in a min-raise.”

Perfect. Not a big raise from this guy, yet he is one of my calling stations. Knowing that his range could be anything and everything (I had seen him 3-bet UTG with A4o), I wasn’t too excited. He might shut down if I go big, or suck out. He could always suck out.

Sis gives her advice. “Go all in.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, sure. See what happens.”

It made sense for two reasons: the bad beats I had received. If this guy had been paying attention, he’d have to think I was tilting, frustrated with having the best hand time and again, only to see it go for naught. And if he hadn’t been paying attention (admittedly, just as likely) he might think his hand is good enough and go for it, no different, really than his usual call-to-the-river if he catches anything that remotely resembles a hand.

mobtheman: folds
yaf7: folds
saapo: folds
excanuck: folds
rapid0: folds
bastinptc: raises $21.95 to $22.45 and is all-in

He goes into the tank. “Call! Call! Call!”

alessio 73: calls $21.95

*** FLOP *** [Ac 8c Qc]
*** TURN *** [Ac 8c Qc] [Qh]

Glory halleljuah!

*** RIVER *** [Ac 8c Qc Qh] [9s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [Ad As] (a full house, Aces full of Queens)
alessio 73: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $43 from pot

Sis says, “That’s how you play the micros! If you had raised it just a little and he called, he wouldn’t have gone past the flop with that Ace there.”

Good point. Thanks, Sis.

Mr. Fancy Pants

I have no excuse. I had been holding my own, playing a decent game, up on both tables, yet I knew I was on a hair trigger.

I had just lost a fairly good-sized pot when my trips lost to a flush. It wasn’t a suck-out or bad beat. The guy played it correctly and I lost the minimum amount possible. I was a bit irked, but since I had played it correctly as well, I was able to still feel good about it and play on.

It was another player at the table, a certified calling station that lit the fuse. I had been able to keep him in his place up to this point, yet it always doesn’t work out that way.

PokerStars Game #21314834412: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/10/19 4:24:38 ET
Table 'Rosalia' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: myerss64 ($19.10 in chips)
Seat 2: jokajon00 ($12.80 in chips)
Seat 3: Silver666666 ($20.75 in chips)
Seat 4: okutai ($25.80 in chips)
Seat 5: MELBORPON ($12.45 in chips)
Seat 6: royman0785 ($25 in chips)
Seat 7: felagund86 ($14.05 in chips)
Seat 8: image_guenni ($30.60 in chips)
Seat 9: bastinptc ($21.60 in chips)
royman0785: posts small blind $0.10
felagund86: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Qc Ah]
image_guenni: folds
bastinptc: raises $0.50 to $0.75
myerss64: folds
jokajon00: folds
Silver666666: calls $0.75
okutai: calls $0.75
MELBORPON: folds
royman0785: folds
felagund86: folds
*** FLOP *** [2s Tc 6s]
bastinptc: bets $1.50
Silver666666: calls $1.50
okutai: folds
*** TURN *** [2s Tc 6s] [3c]
bastinptc: bets $3.25
Silver666666: calls $3.25
*** RIVER *** [2s Tc 6s 3c] [9h]
bastinptc: bets $7
Silver666666: calls $7
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [Qc Ah] (high card Ace)
Silver666666: shows [Td 5d] (a pair of Tens)
Silver666666 collected $24.85 from pot

It just shouldn’t have happened that way. That’s the way I felt at the time. And that should have been my clue. I jumped into “I’m gonna git you sucka” mode.

PokerStars Game #21314854152: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/10/19 4:26:35 ET
Table 'Rosalia' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: myerss64 ($19.10 in chips)
Seat 2: jokajon00 ($11.05 in chips)
Seat 3: Silver666666 ($33.10 in chips)
Seat 4: okutai ($25.05 in chips)
Seat 5: MELBORPON ($15.35 in chips)
Seat 6: royman0785 ($25 in chips)
Seat 7: felagund86 ($13.70 in chips)
Seat 8: image_guenni ($30.35 in chips)
Seat 9: bastinptc ($25 in chips)
image_guenni: posts small blind $0.10
bastinptc: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [9c 2c]
myerss64: folds
jokajon00: folds
Silver666666: calls $0.25
okutai: folds
MELBORPON: folds
royman0785: raises $0.75 to $1
felagund86: folds
image_guenni: folds
myerss64 leaves the table
bastinptc: calls $0.75
Silver666666: calls $0.75

More stinkin’ thinkin’. I knew that if I called from the BB, Silver would call as well. If I hit some miracle flop, I could beat him at his own game. Nevermind that royman had demonstrated that he knew what he was doing. He wasn’t my target; he was just the vehicle.

*** FLOP *** [6d 4c 8c]
bastinptc: checks
Silver666666: checks
royman0785: bets $1.75
bastinptc: calls $1.75
Silver666666: folds

Well, shit. He folds. So much for my plan.

*** TURN *** [6d 4c 8c] [Tc]

Well, shit again. Looks like I made my flush! I may come out of this smelling like a rose, even if it is at the expense of a good player. Sorry royman.

DarkPokerTut joins the table at seat #1
bastinptc: checks
royman0785: bets $2.75
bastinptc: raises $2.75 to $5.50
royman0785: raises $4.75 to $10.25
bastinptc: raises $4.75 to $15
royman0785: raises $7.25 to $22.25 and is all-in
bastinptc: calls $7.25 and is all-in

*** RIVER *** [6d 4c 8c Tc] [Kc]

With the Kc, what I suspected, I now knew for certain: I was dead.

*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [9c 2c] (a flush, King high)
royman0785: shows [Qc Ac] (a flush, Ace high)
royman0785 collected $48.60 from pot


addendum: So, okay, I know one can’t bluff a calling station off of a hand. It was a bad day all around, and playing poker wasn’t going to help. Funny thing was, I had just finished reading an essay at Poker Listings about this very thing. Play when one’s head is clear of externals. Poker is enough of a jones and potential emotional roller coaster by itself to expect it to make one feel better. And I went ahead and played anyway. I got slapped hard and really shouldn’t

3rd Friday of the Month

R called to remind me that tonight was poker night. I hadn’t forgotten, yet I was a little ambivalent about going. I’m feeling a bit of pressure with all of the work I see coming down the pike from my client, and getting ready for the meeting with the gallerist Monday. Still, I enjoy this group of players so much that I decided to go. I was glad I did.

By the time I arrived, R was out of the tourney and so was M. M and I stood outside and chatted while he smoked a cigar and we waited for a fourth. As the tourney was already past the add-on, we didn’t have to wait long. S and P were soon felted and we fired up a cash table.

M was to my left, which I wasn’t too crazy about. He’s pretty loose and I’d prefer to act after him. Shortly after we started, the tourney ended and I had F to my right. Both guys will play nearly any two cards that are paint, suited or connected… connected being a loose term. For that matter, so will P. We ended up with eight players, the remainder playing pretty standard poker (myself included).

We played .05/1.00, as usual, and I bought in for $50. Most everyone else bought for $40. I figured this was my roll for the night, even though I had another $100 in my pocket. I knew I might need it, for even though these guys buy in for $40, after another beer or two, they start pulling out twenties, ready to play deep stack poker.

Because M, P and F play a loose style, the deep stack play favors them, yet they actually have a hard tie adjusting to my tight aggressive style. I find myself feeling like I overbet the pot, yet I am always amazed that I get callers. I will give you three examples:

In middle position I pick up AQo and limp with several other players. The flop brings a Q and I make a 3/4 pot-sized bet. M calls. The turn is a blank and I bet 1/2 of the pot. Again M calls. The river is a blank and I value bet 1/4 of the pot. M is perplexed. He asks aloud, “What could he have?” and after thinking about it for a while, he calls. He has Q 10.

The game goes on for quite some time before I am in another hand. In the meantime, I have folded some monster draws preflop, that had I played as the usual suspect do, I would have cleaned up. Yet, we all know that this is a form of “stinkin’ thinkin’” and after a few unsuccessful attempts, and a loss of 2/3 of what I had gotten from M, I pulled myself back into TA. I folded for an eternity, except for when I had 6s in the hole and called a small raise. Nothing.

Back to folding until I had Qs in the BB. M, UTG, raises to $4 and has 3 callers before it gets around to me. I have a decision to make: smooth call and hope for a set, or bump it up. I put in a $20. M calls, S folds, P calls and F folds. The flop comes with a Q and I jam with my last $40. M & P fold. M shows me KJh and asks to run them. Two fives. S says he folded pocket fives. (The only reason I mention S in this hand because of a bad beat he put on me the last time I played with him ten months ago. I had 10s on the button and raised. He called after a limp. The flop came J 2 10. He bet and I smooth called. The turn was another J. He bet and I called again. The river was another 2.)

The very next hand I pick up Aces in the SB. Everyone, all six players besides me and the BB limp. I raise it to $10 and everyone folds. “Nines?” M asks. This is the flaw in their game, at least as far as I see it. This is not the first time I’ve played this way, obviously, yet they refuse to give me credit for big pocket pairs in these situations.

Now, I realize that I cannot continue along this same trajectory, for these guys are not dumb and will soon figure out a way to play against me, or not give me any action at all. I have to work on a way to play a little more loosely in certain situations in order to pull down the types of pots that say, P does. I doubled up for the night, so I won’t complain; yet at the same time P and F, especially P, tore it up with some serious coolers. They are playing deep-stack.

Some longer-term readers will remember that R has a new girlfriend and there was talk from the get-go that she might be moving in. Well, the time has come, evidenced by a non-minimalistic bathroom. Was our game in jeopardy, as I had feared? G, the gf was in Portland for the evening with friends, so tonight’s game was safe. And what was this talk of her learning the game, perhaps our game’s salvation? Supposedly, yes. Maybe we will not be banished to the barn quite yet.

R’s phone rings around midnight and it is G. She is on her way home. Now, mind you, R has been dozing between hands for the last hour and this has phased no one. I’m up $50 at this point and I get to thinking that this is good enough for the evening. M has busted out and gone home, S has done likewise, so I say, “I’m going to call it night soon.”

R, even though he has been threatening to go all-in and go to bed for 30 minutes (and doubling up with his pittance) asks why and I say, “Because my mother raised me right.” Others take the hint and a few orbits later, it’s over.

Truth be told, I’m not so crazy about playing a home game into the wee hours. One or two o’clock in the morning and I’m ready to go home, kiss my dear wife on the cheek as she sleeps, pour a scotch to unwind, head down to my hole that is the basement, and recap.

That other questionable avocation (not farming)

I am meeting with a gallery owner Monday, over coffee, to take a look at my work. I already know that I am not a “fit” for her gallery, but that is not why we are getting together. This is the same gallerist that lined up the installation project I did last May, and is in charge of sales for the work in the Mayor’s show from this last July. This woman is a dynamo, knows everyone, and she’s really nice to-boot. I know she likes my work. In fact, I believe she is working on another installation project for me, and if I understand her correctly, the piece is to be permanently installed. So, I also know that she is thinking of me. I am hoping that the meeting will spark some ideas about whom I should approach for exhibits, or have some ideas about what to do otherwise to get my name out in the region.

In preparation for the meeting, I am compiling a lot of video work for her to glean and trying to get final edits done on the photos from “Burn Season.” Because I had scanned them at a lower resolution the first time, I was up most of the night re-scanning. The “mistake” offered me a chance to review the photos in a format larger than the original slides, so I was able to start editing which pictures I wanted to work with further. I went from 35 images to 20. This was a good thing, for rescanning at 4000 dpi instead of 2000 dpi took considerable time.

I was able to play some poker while scanning, yet because I was multi-tasking, I played a fairly tight, very math-based ABC game. Let’s just say that I was able to take advantage of a Dupe and was rivered by another, essentially breaking even for the night. I also sweated our dear Mr. Gumpo, who quadrupled up in one room. But I should let hime tell that story.

Enjoy the pics.

More 45 degree latitude burns

I seem to remember a while back writing about doing some photo work during the field burning season here. I started scanning the photos last night (only to discover today that I had the resolution down on my scanner, so I have to do them all over again, silly me). I thought I'd share a couple.

The clouds of smoke rise to impressive heights, perhaps 20,000 feet. Afterwards, what is left is a black field, making for some striking contrasts.

Metaphors and Parallels

I’ve been having a recurring dream. And now that I have remembered it, it will cease.

Ever since I started playing, I have had dreams about poker. I don’t particularly care to have them, for often enough, and perhaps not surprisingly, they are bad beats. Or I wake up before the river. I don’t know much about brain chemistry, but I’d say mine has been altered by this infernal game, my drug of choice. Hence, some synapse occasionally fires off a poker dream, and I have had another one for two nights running. However, these dreams are a little different. There are no cards.

The cards were replaced by words, specifically ad copy. This really shouldn’t surprise me, for I’m now spending more time writing and researching for my client than I am playing poker. Still, poker with copy? Why not? Stakes are involved.

The inquiring reader will want to know: Was I winning? In short, I believe so. Yet, the dreams go much deeper. For one, the “feeling”, the adrenaline rush of a made hand, the flirtation with the precipice as I three-barrel a bluff and the longing of a draw were all present. In writing copy that “sells”, I know when I have written a remarkable call-to-action, an opaque, verisimiltudinous, but hopefully effective piece of bullshit or a closing paragraph that sums it all up with another call-to-action. Yet, what is missing in these dreams is the showdown. Writing of this kind is a waiting game: Will they bite?

I tell a joke about my career as an ad copywriter. You see, I removed myself from this arena several years ago. I was fried. Here’s the joke: I used to be in advertising, and then I decided that I wanted to go to heaven. End of joke. It always elicits a chuckle. Now I have to stop telling the joke. Since asbestos has fallen out of favor, what is an acceptable fire retardant?

It is said that God does not answer prayers about the lottery or the stock market. It seems the same would hold true for poker, despite people’s incessant references and calls to the poker gods. Nor do I pray to write effective copy. I’m on my own here, and let the chips fall where they may.

Ah, fatalism.

Nah, not really. More like a rhetorical mask for some performance anxiety. I play the lottery on occasion, especially when the pot gets up over $55,000,000. Why that amount? Let’s just say that I have my reasons. And until recently, I was doing pretty well with the stock market. Yet, the decline didn’t wipe us out. Due diligence is effective, and when the air clears, I’ll get back in and hopefully hit a couple 100%ers again. Poker is another story, yet eerily parallel. The swings are traumatic, yet not fatal. Perhaps more due diligence (reading) is needed.

That leaves copywriting.

A lot has changed in the eight years since I wrote for a living. In that time the Web has become a behemoth of content. Buzzwords for key industry concepts have changed: Opt-in; viral marketing, bundling…the learning curve is pretty steep, yet I’m handling it. I am beginning to see yet-unexploited trends to strategize around. And this is where the dreams come in. My brain is reconfiguring for the new challenge, and so far I’m feeling positive about the prospects. I know I have a pretty good hand; I’m just waiting for the other players to show.

Washing me down

Barbie asks, “bastin, did all of your tomatoes freeze?” It’s pub tourney night. Barbie and I have drawn the same table.

“No. We have them in a hoop house.” I’m short-stacked, dealing, and I’ve dealt myself two Aces. Four of the seven players have limped in so I jam with my last 5 x BB. The blinds fold, as does the UTG. “The frost we had earlier this week didn’t get them, so we’re still eating them.”

We’re still eating ours too. We saved some.” Barbie calls. “They’re so yummy. I just can’t get enough of them. I’m going to miss them. Nothing like home grown tomatoes. What kind do you grow?” She turns over AKd.

“Several varieties, mostly heirloom.” 2d3d4c “There’s your diamonds.”

“Well, what kind? Martha Stewart had a show where she talked about heirloom vegetables.” Qc “I can’t remember any of the names of the tomatoes. And how about Jerusalem Artichokes, have you ever had them? My grandpa used to grow them. We peeled them, mashed tem up and they were yummy.”

7d

“Thank you, bastin. I mean, I know I shouldn’t say thank you when I win but I don’t win very much, and when I lose I don’t say anything but I get so excited when I win.”

“We grow Jerusalem Artichokes. I’ll bring you some when we harvest them.”

“Oh, thank you. TY That’s what I type when I win a hand at WPT. YW That’s what others type back. I don’t play for real money. Except me and Tracy, we went to the casino once…”

“Re-buy!” STFU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tgm7v284JI

1,000 Hits

I crossed that threshold today here at “bastin”. I want to thank my 12 dedicated readers, and those people searching for paintings of Chihuahuas playing poker, signs that read “Trespassers will be composted, “ have problems with Bull Thistles, and, most curiously, looking for “places that burn at 45 degrees latitude.” I must have multiple fingers on the pulses of a variety of cultural movements.

Of course my taste buds are firmly planted against my cheek. And inasmuch, my tongue has convenient proximity to the sore tooth to which it is always drawn. (Thanks to Mark Twain for that oft-repeated imagery.)

In the course of the last three months of writing this blog, I have probably read 20,000 entries on others’ blogs. I have laughed, been moved to tears, sometimes encouraged to post a comment, and built friendships. Among my readership, you folks know who you are. So, as I move forward to 2,000 hits (hopefully a bit quicker than the first 1K, and with a few more readers that can offer me a job covering poker tournaments and the like) I want to thank you, my readers, my friends.

Oh, and I love my dear wife.

P.S. I will be burning a big brush pile in the next week or so at 45 degrees latitude. Get your tickets now.

(Edit) P.P.S. Tracking on Site Meter, some curious reader must have done a search for the 45 degree thing. So, I did the same, just to see. Turns out it's a quote from that old trickster Nostradamus. Go figure.

I’ll say it again

http://www.giantsand.com/

We saw this band last night. If you haven’t already checked out the site, and you take upon yourself to do so, scroll down to the videos. Many of the songs they performed are there. I call it “Snake Bite” music. And, on that little vid-scroll that You Tube has, look to see if the Bonnie Prince Billy piece is still there. Amazing lyricist.

Tore it up on Stars tonight. Yippers.

http://www.giantsand.com/

Going away for a couple days, so I thought I’d leave y’all with this:

PokerStars Game #21100524796: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/10/11 4:26:39 ET
Table 'Circinus II' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: Macros909 ($7.10 in chips)
Seat 2: cimeria ($24.75 in chips)
Seat 3: YugoJesus ($36.40 in chips)
Seat 4: pikachu808 ($24.70 in chips)
Seat 5: angus1966 ($15.25 in chips)
Seat 6: bastinptc ($28.50 in chips)
Seat 7: ciDoR ($5 in chips)
Seat 8: lucascorso13 ($23.65 in chips)
Seat 9: Ashaman16 ($18.20 in chips)
Macros909: posts small blind $0.10
cimeria: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Ac As]
YugoJesus: folds
pikachu808: folds
angus1966: folds
bastinptc: raises $1.25 to $1.50
ciDoR: folds
lucascorso13: folds
Ashaman16: folds
Macros909: folds
cimeria: raises $9 to $10.50
bastinptc: raises $9 to $19.50
cimeria: raises $5.25 to $24.75 and is all-in
bastinptc: calls $5.25
*** FLOP *** [Ts 3c 9d]
*** TURN *** [Ts 3c 9d] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 3c 9d 3s] [Jc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
cimeria: shows [Ad Ah] (two pair, Aces and Threes)
bastinptc: shows [Ac As] (two pair, Aces and Threes)
cimeria collected $23.60 from pot
bastinptc collected $23.55 from pot

And I know y’all have heard this one before:

PokerStars Game #21100625614: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/10/11 4:36:45 ET
Table 'Circinus II' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: Macros909 ($6.75 in chips)
Seat 2: cimeria ($24.25 in chips)
Seat 3: YugoJesus ($28.70 in chips)
Seat 4: pikachu808 ($24.20 in chips)
Seat 5: angus1966 ($17.10 in chips)
Seat 6: bastinptc ($26.75 in chips)
Seat 7: ciDoR ($4.65 in chips)
Seat 8: lucascorso13 ($23.65 in chips)
Seat 9: Ashaman16 ($24.70 in chips)
Ashaman16: posts small blind $0.10
Macros909: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Kh Kd]
cimeria: folds
YugoJesus: folds
pikachu808: folds
YugoJesus said, "good night"
angus1966: folds
bastinptc: raises $1 to $1.25
ciDoR: folds
lucascorso13: folds
Ashaman16: calls $1.15
Macros909: folds
*** FLOP *** [3c 9c 5c]
Ashaman16: bets $2
bastinptc: raises $2 to $4
Ashaman16: calls $2
*** TURN *** [3c 9c 5c] [3d]
Ashaman16: checks
bastinptc: bets $5.25
Ashaman16: raises $14.20 to $19.45 and is all-in
bastinptc said, "nh"
bastinptc: folds
Uncalled bet ($14.20) returned to Ashaman16
Ashaman16 collected $20.25 from pot

And then there was a mighty roar:

PokerStars Game #21100717236: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/10/11 4:45:38 ET
Table 'Circinus II' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: Macros909 ($10.95 in chips)
Seat 2: cimeria ($25 in chips)
Seat 3: christhanh ($14.60 in chips)
Seat 4: pikachu808 ($25 in chips)
Seat 5: hombs ($7.75 in chips)
Seat 6: bastinptc ($24.25 in chips)
Seat 7: ciDoR ($4.30 in chips)
Seat 8: lucascorso13 ($42.80 in chips)
Seat 9: Ashaman16 ($28 in chips)
lucascorso13: posts small blind $0.10
Ashaman16: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [3c 3s]
Macros909: calls $0.25
cimeria: folds
christhanh: calls $0.25
pikachu808: raises $0.50 to $0.75
hombs: folds
bastinptc: calls $0.75
ciDoR: folds
lucascorso13: folds
Ashaman16: folds
Macros909: calls $0.50
christhanh: calls $0.50
*** FLOP *** [8d Jd 3h]
Macros909: bets $1
christhanh: calls $1
pikachu808: calls $1
bastinptc: raises $4.25 to $5.25
Macros909: calls $4.25
christhanh is disconnected
christhanh is connected
Ashaman16 leaves the table
christhanh: folds
pikachu808: folds
*** TURN *** [8d Jd 3h] [4s]
mirk191 joins the table at seat #9
Macros909: bets $4.95 and is all-in
bastinptc: calls $4.95
*** RIVER *** [8d Jd 3h 4s] [2c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Macros909: shows [4d Ad] (a pair of Fours)
bastinptc: shows [3c 3s] (three of a kind, Threes)
bastinptc collected $24.50 from pot

Almost a tale of woe. Almost. The line is so fucking thin.

No Poker Content?

Nights are getting cooler and the house isn’t holding the heat from the sun as much as it was a few days ago. At this latitude, while we have longer days during the summer, the days grow shorter much more quickly than a little further south. The sun doesn’t climb quite so high in the sky, so everything cools off quicker. It is time to use the wood-burning stove.

Last night I fired it up for the first time this season. It was good to have it back, to feel its heat and to see the soft orange glow that spreads across the living room through the stove’s windows. But, of course, I didn’t make an evening of it. As most nights, I was in the basement playing poker.

Well, not all night. I did do some research for my client before I hit the tables. Part of that research involves reading blogs that deal with the industry. My goal is to find posts and articles apropos to my client’s niche, establish a cordial relationship with a writer or an editor, all the while making the PR pitch. Knowing that the relationship is built on shaky premises, it is an awkward road for me to travel, especially when I am called upon to be persistent in my pursuit.

Along the way I have come across some brilliant writers who obviously not only know their industry inside and out, yet also show evidence of a passion for much more of what life has to offer…or throw at them.

I came across one such post last night. A very influential author and prominent industry figure, he had posted a 5th wedding anniversary greeting to his wife, recalling a moment from their wedding, and expressing how much love he had for her. It wasn’t until the third paragraph that the reader could glean that the love of this man’s life had passed away. It was dated yesterday.

Under normal circumstances, my next step in the process would be to send an email pitch to the prospective and write something along the lines of “I read your article on blah blah blah and it struck a chord. My client…” Instead, I posted a comment, first briefly explaining why I was reading his blog, and concluding with “I am moved by your pain and joy…and the depth of your love.”

I may not ever contact this person again. Nor do I expect him to respond. The way I look at it, the relationship got off on the wrong foot, the good foot. And that’s OK.

I wasn’t going to write about this when I first sat down to post. Instead I was thinking about the overall gist of my own blog in light of the title of this post. Occasionally a poker blogger will start off a post with that disclaimer: “No Poker Content.” I can’t imagine why one feels the need to give such notice. When I contemplated starting this blog, I knew that even though I was passionate about poker, there were so many other things in my life that were equally important, and given my high level of self-disclosure, I knew that it would be difficult to edit them out. In fact, I may have gotten away with the subtitle, “Questionable Avocations,” poker being one about which I would frequently write, and left it at that.

Yet, with that said, I understand that the writer of a poker blog would expect his audience to be poker players, and some very dedicated and/or knowledgeable players at that. The blogger becomes an ad hoc authority. Oh, the pressure! As if the game does not exert its own power over that writer…

Last year at this time I was one year into learning Hold ‘em. Learning? Yes, but it was so much more than that. I was enthralled, and always surprised. I was hooked, so much so that I spent perhaps twice as much time at the game than I do now. As for the wood stove back then, there were many nights I would emerge from the basement to find the fire nearly extinguished. Not good. Although initially it was with some difficulty, I resolved myself to moderation. In essence, I sought to rediscover lost passions, one of which was writing.

There are people behind those hand histories, and stories to be told to set up the hand. And just as one session does not make or break a player, a person who blogs about poker is a writer who, in order to communicate effectively, must utilize his or her five senses, emotions and intellect to do the work justice. I suspect this utility is engaged elsewhere in that person’s life as well; and just as one “reads” another player at the table, in effect, identifying certain characteristics, a recognition takes place, a parallel established. Likewise, poker bleeds over into other aspects of one’s life, and vice versa. We learn by making these connections, these metaphors. There is, ultimately, no division that can be maintained, no subject matter that can live in isolation. And that’s OK.

Where We Find Our Hero Taking One Step Forward

I thought I had found a good room when it showed 86% participation and a seat open. Anomaly. Maybe one soft player. The rest were sharks or rocks. I stayed maybe two rounds, however long it took me to find another room that looked promising. I found one.

Before I go any further, I have a small confession to make: I went back to 25NL. Yes, it is a small confession, maybe one not even worth mentioning, along the lines of “I ate the last bite-size Snickers bar.” (I still have two left; it’s just the first thing that popped into my head in that the bag is sitting in front of me.) I looked at the 10NL rooms and, as Mr. Gumpo has noted, there just weren’t enough rooms to go around for those who wanted to play at that level. Plus, I had just come away from tripling up in 200NL at Poker Academy, bringing the nick “bastin” up to an all-time personal best. I was feeling feisty.

One knows a good table when the same 3 or 4 players seem to be in every hand, no matter the lead out bet or position they have at the table. Maniacs and calling stations. The remainder of the players are there to take advantage of this situation, all the while hoping to keep their apple cart upright.

I didn’t have the most auspicious start. I slow-played trip tens from the BB and got nailed by a halfway decent player who caught a straight on the river. He was an otherwise fairly aggressive player, yet there was something about him that I knew I could use to my advantage should the time come. (But he wasn’t my primary target.) I reloaded. When a flop was flushy and I min-raised him, he called to see a three flush on the turn. I let him have the pot. A few hands later he led out with 4 x BB and I called with 45s from the BB. The flop gave me a gutshot and backdoor flush, a rather weak situation but I min-check-raised him again anyway. It gave me a free turn card. The river gave me a five and came three to a flush in a suit I didn’t have, so I jammed with crap. He folded and I got all of my money back. I figured he knew I was looking for payback, and I figured he would figure that I got lucky on the river. Go figure.

Yet, as I said, he wasn’t who I was after. The hand displayed below kinda sets it up.

PokerStars Game #21074172866: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/10/10 4:18:17 ET
Table 'Theotes' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: bastinptc ($24.25 in chips)
Seat 2: kuszo ($24.30 in chips)
Seat 4: jmsamson ($16.45 in chips)
Seat 5: lupus213 ($28.50 in chips)
Seat 6: Ranok ($15.40 in chips)
Seat 8: pvnuts ($19.90 in chips)
Seat 9: TheCrazyBull ($25.15 in chips)
jmsamson: posts small blind $0.10
lupus213: posts big blind $0.25
alheocmo: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [8d 8h]
Ranok: calls $0.25
pvnuts: folds
pvnuts leaves the table
TheCrazyBull: folds
bastinptc: calls $0.25
hoffito leaves the table
kuszo: folds
jmsamson: calls $0.15
lupus213: checks
*** FLOP *** [4d 4s 8s]
jmsamson: checks
lupus213: checks
Ranok: bets $0.50
bastinptc: calls $0.50
jmsamson: calls $0.50
lupus213: folds
*** TURN *** [4d 4s 8s] [4c]
jmsamson: bets $1
Ranok: calls $1
bastinptc: calls $1
*** RIVER *** [4d 4s 8s 4c] [2d]
jmsamson: checks
Ranok: bets $1
bastinptc: raises $1 to $2
jmsamson: calls $2
Ranok: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [8d 8h] (a full house, Eights full of Fours)
jmsamson: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $10 from pot
jmsamson said, "8"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $10.50 | Rake $0.50
Board [4d 4s 8s 4c 2d]
Seat 1: bastinptc showed [8d 8h] and won ($10) with a full house, Eights full of Fours
Seat 2: kuszo (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: jmsamson (small blind) mucked [9c 8c]
Seat 5: lupus213 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: Ranok folded on the River
Seat 8: pvnuts folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: TheCrazyBull folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Who am I after: jmsamson or Ranok? First let me say that this was a hand that I thought could backfire with the case 4. It could happen, especially to me. Now, I wonder if I could have gotten more from jmsamson. In that he smooth called my raise, probably not.



PokerStars Game #21074382756: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/10/10 4:41:38 ET
Table 'Theotes' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: bastinptc ($32 in chips)
Seat 3: vbanm ($14.80 in chips)
Seat 4: jmsamson ($11.40 in chips)
Seat 5: lupus213 ($26.10 in chips)
Seat 6: Ranok ($21.60 in chips)
Seat 7: alheocmo ($3.95 in chips)
Seat 8: Asta92 ($24.75 in chips)
Seat 9: TheCrazyBull ($25 in chips)
nAAziKK will be allowed to play after the button
vbanm: posts small blind $0.10
jmsamson: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [As 4s]
lupus213: folds
Ranok: calls $0.25
alheocmo: folds
Asta92: folds
TheCrazyBull: folds
bastinptc: calls $0.25
vbanm: folds
jmsamson: checks
*** FLOP *** [4c 2s Ad]
jmsamson: checks
Ranok: bets $0.25
bastinptc: raises $1.25 to $1.50
jmsamson: folds
Ranok: calls $1.25
*** TURN *** [4c 2s Ad] [Ts]
Ranok: checks
bastinptc: bets $4
Ranok: folds
Uncalled bet ($4) returned to bastinptc
bastinptc collected $3.70 from pot

There’s your answer: Ranok. Well, he was the primary target. There were a couple others with smaller targets on their foreheads, for at least they played paint. I bet so much because, even though I had two pair, it is just two pair, and with his guy’s willingness to call, call, call, if he was going to hit, he would have to pay to do so. If you think I priced him out too quickly, consider this hand:

PokerStars Game #21074465211: Hold'em No Limit ($0.10/$0.25) - 2008/10/10 4:50:42 ET
Table 'Theotes' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: bastinptc ($33.45 in chips)
Seat 2: nAAziKK ($10 in chips)
Seat 3: vbanm ($17.90 in chips)
Seat 4: Kamu1337 ($5 in chips)
Seat 5: lupus213 ($27 in chips)
Seat 6: Ranok ($20.05 in chips)
Seat 7: alheocmo ($5 in chips)
Seat 8: Asta92 ($24.40 in chips)
Seat 9: TheCrazyBull ($25 in chips)
vbanm: posts small blind $0.10
Kamu1337: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Ad Qc]
lupus213: folds
Ranok: calls $0.25
alheocmo: folds
Asta92: folds
TheCrazyBull: folds
bastinptc: raises $0.50 to $0.75
nAAziKK: folds
vbanm: folds
Kamu1337: folds
Ranok: calls $0.50
*** FLOP *** [3h 4s As]
Ranok: bets $0.50
bastinptc: raises $1.50 to $2
Ranok: calls $1.50
*** TURN *** [3h 4s As] [3c]
Ranok: bets $1
bastinptc: raises $2.25 to $3.25
Ranok: calls $2.25
*** RIVER *** [3h 4s As 3c] [7d]
Ranok: bets $1
bastinptc: raises $2.75 to $3.75
Ranok: calls $2.75
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bastinptc: shows [Ad Qc] (two pair, Aces and Threes)
Ranok: mucks hand
bastinptc collected $18.90 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $19.85 | Rake $0.95
Board [3h 4s As 3c 7d]
Seat 1: bastinptc showed [Ad Qc] and won ($18.90) with two pair, Aces and Threes
Seat 2: nAAziKK (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: vbanm (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: Kamu1337 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: lupus213 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Ranok mucked [4d 5h]
Seat 7: alheocmo folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Asta92 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: TheCrazyBull folded before Flop (didn't bet)

No, I’m not going to go crazy with top pair.

Calling Stations are an odd breed. First of all, they seem to have money to burn. Second, they are either action junkies or completely clueless to the finer points of the game. Yes, they will nail you with a 2 outer and then you have to sit back and watch someone else take your money from the CS in a later hand. Not fun. Yet, the great thing about them is that they rarely know when they are beat, which allows one to get maximum value from a hand. In an attempt to improve my ability to find a soft table, I have started a list of calling stations on my “Find a player” feature.

After this hand, Ranok had enough and left. There were a couple more players at the table who seemed to think K 10 off was a strong enough hand preflop to call an all-in from a KJs (as if KJs is an all-in hand). I would have loved to stay and mix it up with these two, yet it was late and the room was starting to fill with those who had been patiently circling to get in the game. Cue music.

A loose table and a looser rhyme

Fishy, fishy in the brook,
Daddy catch it on a hook.
I get my line out of the way
And watch someone else get paid.
I flop a set and a mouse comes along
but then the board pairs and he's gone.
I look down at Aces and limp UTG
A LAG raises it up and I re-raise times 3
He thinks for a second and throws it away.

Fishies, fishies everywhere on a hook
But my cards just hit the muck
Calling Stations come and go broke
I shut her down and go to bed, WTF.

The Circle Game

“Good morning duckies!”

A beautiful fall day. The sun is shining and the temperature is 55°F. The ducks are anxious to go outside. They always are. “Quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack, let us out!” I open the coop door. “Quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack quack, must eat slugs and bugs and worms and spoiled tomatoes!”

I usher them out into the pasture. It’s a pretty long walk through one field, down a little alleyway between our property and the neighbors’ and out into an area we refer to as “Paddock Six”, their stomping grounds. One of the Magpies has a limp. She’s had it for several weeks now, and it seems to come and go on a whim. We’re monitoring it.

As the ducks and the guinea are settling into their hunting and foraging routine, a Peregrine Falcon flies over and lets out a squeak or two. Our birds all stop what they’re doing, cock their heads to one side (most birds, besides owls, do not have stereoscopic vision), watch it for second and take a precautionary step or two toward the lean-to. The falcon lands in a Douglas Fir about 100 yards away and, since the food chain apparently isn’t in any danger of moving up for the time being, the ducks resume looking for tasties.

The falcon starts to make a ruckus, flying up, squeaking, and diving at an adjacent fir. Up flies a bigger bird, probably a Red Tail Hawk. Our birds don’t miss a beat and beat feet to the lean-to. No sitting ducks, they. But the hawk flies off to the southeast, the falcon returns to the top of the fir, and our birds come over for a drink of the fresh water I just put in their buckets.

Although it seems to me that they’d be easy pickings, we’ve never lost a duck to a bird of prey; and I’ve seen Red Tails, Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles circling over their paddock (knock on wood). Must be some great thermals coming up from that little area, and maybe they prefer gophers.

“Have a great day, kids, and be safe.”

As I’m scrolling through tables at Stars last night I see a room that has 86% participation rate and one seat open. I pounce on it. The first hand I play I am on the button with 5s. A mid-position player raises 3 X BB, the CO calls, as do I. The flop is Q 10 5, two clubs. The opening player c-bets, the CO calls, and I double the pot. The opener folds and the CO calls. The turn is a King and the CO jams with his last $12. A straight? A set of kings? I have $6 left. I have a sinking feeling as I call. I pray the board pairs and it does with another King, and I am momentarily relieved, until he turns over two 10s.

I reload, and the very next hand I pick up 5s again and a set on the flop. I make about a buck on the hand. A few hands later, a set of sixes on the flop. No takers. Meanwhile, the guy with the bigger boat is playing almost every hand I cannot be in, and taking it down. His avatar is blonde in a bikini. She has a boob job. It is too difficult to describe, yet somehow I feel like I am being mocked. He comes in with a min-raise from the CO and I call with Q 10. The flop comes with all small cards coordinated. He makes another 2 X BB bet and I fold. He shows 79 off, has paired his seven and is open-ended.

I limp off for the safety of Poker Academy. I triple up in twenty hands.

Change in the Weather

Last night was tough. I had a writing assignment that was due, was almost finished, yet needed a few finishing touches. Getting it right is important, not only so the client is happy, but also because the material could be used as a boiler plate for other needs I would have in the future, saving me a lot of time and making my tasks more efficient.

The assignment was complicated a tad by the fact that I had been out fishing for a good portion of the day. The weather was perfect with a low pressure system and a steady drizzle. However, we didn’t catch any fish, as it seems the salmon were more interested in getting upstream to prepare for spawning than they were for the laughable baits we dangled in front of them. We knew their priorities ahead of time, yet the prospect of one of our hooks finding its way into the mouth of a 30-pound Chinook kept us in the water for seven hours. Walking upstream in a swift current is a good workout, yet it is also exhausting (as is the swimming, to be sure). Add to that, anticipating a following day of fishing, I didn’t sleep so well the night before. By the time we trudged up the bank and to the rig, I was exhausted.

There was an email from the client waiting for me when I got home, asking to talk in the morning about my progress. I wanted to have it all ready to go before I spoke with him, so I had no other option. The writing needed to get done now.

Coffee.

Writing for clients and their audience is considerably different than writing for myself., or for the readers of this blog (bless your hearts). Both require a strategy of sorts, yet it is one thing to motivate with a following call-to-action, and quite another to inform and entertain to keep the reader engaged. Therefore, I go over the assignments with a fine-tooth comb, making sure that each word is exactly what is needed and the flow is “pitch” perfect. We’re talking about 3 or 4 rewrites, at least. My blog entries get one quick rewrite and they’re done. Writing for clients can be a bit stressful, and although it pays the bills, it is not nearly as enjoyable as communing with my readership.

To alleviate this stress, I take frequent breaks. I’ll get my mind, or at least my eyes off the subject matter, and then come back refreshed. I can then usually spot a few more things to tweak. Last night my distraction was a few hands of poker.

I didn’t stay at Stars long. I found a good table and got it in good. Drawn out on.

Back to writing copy.

After another couple hours of writing, it was time for another break, I thought it might be a better idea to see my pals at Poker Academy and play a few hands there. It’s always a pleasure playing and chatting up friends. It’s not always fun to lose half a buy-in while doing so.

Back to writing.

My last break came during those magical hours at Stars when the dupes come out to play. A $5 stack sits down to my right and immediately raises his first hand. I have AKo and position at the table and re-raise. Flop come AKQ rainbow. He checks, I bet, he goes all-in. Of course I call and he has J 10h. A few hands later my trips get flushed out on the river.

Back to writing.

Eventually, the caffeine wore off and I made my way to bed. It was late. Very late. As I drifted off, I listened to the rain, which had increased from a drizzle to a good soaker and began to focus on a steady drip, drip, drip off of a portico. I thought about the draining off of all of that I had accumulated in the last couple days at Stars. And I thought about the paycheck I would receive for my writing. My Stars account is a pittance in comparison to what I will make with this client. I cannot let a little variance bother me.

When I woke up this morning, it was still raining. I had some breakfast, poured a cup of coffee and readied myself for my client’s call. Even though slightly sleep deprived, the call went well. I received a little more direction and was confident on how to proceed. I celebrated with a nap before it was time to put the ducks and guinea out to pasture for the day. (There was no hurry as it was still a little on the cool side and the guinea didn’t particularly need to get rained on all day.)

My dear wife woke me an hour and a half later. I had slept more than I planned, yet I was refreshed. And the sun was shining! I got dressed and immediately went outside.

We live on the eastern slope of a large valley. We have mountain ranges to our west and east. On a clear day we can see the western range, but because of an ever-increasing elevation to our east, we only see the weather in that range. Today, the western range was hidden by big, low-lying cumulus clouds. The same type of clouds were to the east. In fact, we were completely surrounded by clouds, and in the middle of this circle the sun warmed my back.

“Good morning duckies!”

Another $10

Nice set of twos.

And speaking of twos, get in cheap with J 9s on the button, and with two tens on the flop, catch my flush on the turn when the two of spades hits. I raise it up and guy to my left comes over just a tad. Figure he's protecting his trips, not ruling out a higher flush. River is another two and he's all in. I type "Nice river" and fold. He shows pocket tens.

Nice river indeed.

Things Are Coming Together

I have to make this quick…

A client has me doing research so I can make pitches to publications to write an article about one of his clients. I am re-tooling a bit, the hours and days spent bending the learning curve hopefully leading to more work, but more importantly, making it so that I know what the hell I’m talking about when editors start asking questions. This is where the degree in philosophy comes in handy: there is little I read, aside from math, that I can’t conceptualize in order to get the gist. As Walter Brennan (“The Real McCoys” and “The Guns of Will Sonnet”) used to say, “No brag, just fact.”

I wrapped up late last night, and in that I still had a good coffee buzz going, I went to Stars for a few hands. What a beautiful 10NL table! It soon became apparent to me that all three players to my right were crazed calling stations, doing battle with each other more often than not. Almost immediately I picked up Kings from mid position and already one of the dupes (New name for donks, fish, etc. See yesterday’s post.) had raise 3 X BB with one of the other dupes calling. I made it $1.70 to go and the initial raiser called. The flop came with a Q, she bet and I put her all in. She had Q9o. I doubled up.

One down, two to go. The rest of the table was pretty innocuous, except for one player across from me who seemed to be playing only big cards. He was getting his fair share as well, and I determined that I would pretty much stay out of his way.

There was a lot of limping at this table, and when there was a raise, one or both of my dupes were sure to call. They were having the variance time of their lives. I had 33 on the button and limped. A 3 on the flop. The dupe immediately to my right bet, and in that he was now relatively short, I put him all in for 4 more dollars. He called and set up on the turn. I was a bit irked but maintained, for I knew, given another chance, I would get it back. And in fact, pocket Jacks did the trick. Bye-bye.

Two down.

Number three was a little more difficult. He had a bit more game than the other two, and one really didn’t know what he was holding at any given time, limping with Aces and Kings, hitting two pair with K4o, etc. I was pretty much card dead when he was working, but it was fun to watch him spar with another player who seemed to have a bone to pick. The problem was that the bone picker was so passive that even though he often raised preflop, after going in the tank for the maximum time allowed, Dupe #4 rarely stayed around for the turn, so I turned my attention to him. Man, semi-bluffing with bottom pair and a draw is a lot of fun when the other player folds.

When I first logged in this table showed a 36% players in a hand stat and had one seat open. Within a short while, four players were waiting for a seat. I had lucked out, to be sure. Yet, as players left, the expected rocks, bombs and sharks took their places. As long as I had position on Dupe #3, I wasn’t going to leave just yet. However, I found another room that looked juicy, was first in line to sit, looked up the player’s skill levels, sat down and made some money.
Just a little, but it was getting late and I had a lot of writing to do before I went fishing on Monday. I was up one buy-in for the night, again. And even though I was up the same amount 100 hands before, I could live with the results.

One final note: Playing at this level, as pitiful as it may seem, has been a good change. Now with 17 buy-ins, I am more comfortable with the inevitable variance. Granted, it’s going to take me a bit longer to get where I want to be, yet the worry is gone. Well, almost, but I’ll take it. The same can be said for the writing gigs. After the less-than-auspicious run at farming, it’s nice to have a horizon of financial latitude again.

Giddyup

Day Two of 10NL and I must say that I am enjoying myself, and learning a few things along the way. Well, maybe not learning, but developing some impressions that might stand the test of time: Table selection, while still necessary, is not as critical due to the marked difference in skill levels between 10NL and 25NL; and, play at this level is remarkably like playing the 50NL at PA. Players often play absolute shit hands, like to chase, and as I pointed out yesterday, often have no clue when they are beat. I would imagine a large portion of the shoddy play is attributable to the low buy-in, meaning that the skill level is deficient, or the play is purely recreational gambling. With that said, one still has to pay attention.

I played two tables, getting comfortable in one room and adding a second shortly thereafter. As pathetic as it may seem, I have yet to fully adjust to this “multi-tabling.” Yet, it suits my style to keep the number of tables low, as I spend quite a bit of time watching the play as it progresses.

The first table I sat at had a fairly high percentage of players in a hand, and I soon discovered why. One player, davidupe, seemed to be running all over the table, had a $40+ stack and was playing almost every hand. Initially, I was a bit intimidated to see such a large stack at the table, yet he was three to my right, so at least I had some position on him.

Almost immediately I was involved in a hand with him. I don’t remember exactly the hand, and it was beyond the 100 hand history limit I could request from PS this morning, yet I believe I was in the BB with J 10 off. Dupe had limped, the flop came with a Jack and I bet. He called. The board was coordinated and flushy, so I kept the pot small. The river made straights and a flush possible so I checked. The pot was probably about $1.25 and he bet $4.50. I laughed to myself and folded. Let the games begin.

PokerStars Game #20912605536: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/04 2:31:15 ET
Table 'Minkar V' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 2: davidupe ($41.55 in chips)
Seat 3: pokerlkdh ($9.85 in chips)
Seat 4: tahoeboyd ($4.60 in chips)
Seat 5: bastinptc ($9.30 in chips)
Seat 6: ffpmdon ($7.40 in chips)
Seat 7: Balu282 ($10.95 in chips)
Seat 8: organico ($16.50 in chips)
Seat 9: Congobob ($11.50 in chips)
organico: posts small blind $0.05
Congobob: posts big blind $0.10
NYCbuddha: sits out
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Ac Qh]
davidupe: calls $0.10
pokerlkdh: folds
tahoeboyd: folds
bastinptc: raises $0.40 to $0.50
ffpmdon: folds
Balu282: folds
organico: folds
Congobob: folds
davidupe: calls $0.40
*** FLOP *** [4c Qc Ts]
davidupe: checks
bastinptc: bets $1.30
davidupe: calls $1.30
*** TURN *** [4c Qc Ts] [8s]
davidupe: checks
bastinptc: bets $2.30
davidupe: calls $2.30
*** RIVER *** [4c Qc Ts 8s] [8d]
davidupe: checks
bastinptc: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
davidupe: shows [4s 7h] (two pair, Eights and Fours)
bastinptc: shows [Ac Qh] (two pair, Queens and Eights)
bastinptc collected $7.95 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $8.35 | Rake $0.40
Board [4c Qc Ts 8s 8d]
Seat 2: davidupe showed [4s 7h] and lost with two pair, Eights and Fours
Seat 3: pokerlkdh folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: tahoeboyd folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: bastinptc showed [Ac Qh] and won ($7.95) with two pair, Queens and Eights
Seat 6: ffpmdon folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Balu282 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: organico (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Congobob (big blind) folded before Flop

I laughed again when I saw what he was holding. His big stack had him mesmerized and he was looking to cooler.

PokerStars Game #20912782580: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/04 2:46:47 ET
Table 'Minkar V' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: NYCbuddha ($20.70 in chips)
Seat 2: davidupe ($22.90 in chips)
Seat 3: pokerlkdh ($9.80 in chips)
Seat 4: tahoeboyd ($2.45 in chips)
Seat 5: bastinptc ($19.65 in chips)
Seat 7: Balu282 ($10.65 in chips)
Seat 8: organico ($21.15 in chips)
Seat 9: Congobob ($14.05 in chips)
davidupe: posts small blind $0.05
pokerlkdh: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Kc Ac]
tahoeboyd: folds
ffpmdon leaves the table
bastinptc: raises $0.40 to $0.50
WTA50100 joins the table at seat #6
Balu282: folds
organico: calls $0.50
Congobob: folds
NYCbuddha: folds
tahoeboyd leaves the table
lbndev joins the table at seat #4
davidupe: calls $0.45
pokerlkdh: folds
*** FLOP *** [Kd 3s Th]
davidupe: checks
bastinptc: bets $1.30
organico: folds
davidupe: calls $1.30
*** TURN *** [Kd 3s Th] [9d]
davidupe: checks
bastinptc: bets $3.20
davidupe: folds
Uncalled bet ($3.20) returned to bastinptc
bastinptc collected $4 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $4.20 | Rake $0.20
Board [Kd 3s Th 9d]
Seat 1: NYCbuddha (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: davidupe (small blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 3: pokerlkdh (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: tahoeboyd folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: bastinptc collected ($4)
Seat 7: Balu282 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: organico folded on the Flop
Seat 9: Congobob folded before Flop (didn't bet)

You will note that his stack size has been depleted between the first hand and this one. His luck had turned but he hadn’t given up yet. Still, I knew that it was unlikely I would be getting any big money from this guy. This type of player will call any flop bet to see the turn, and then fold if nothing comes to help his hand. Yet, this guy apparently was not clueless, for a bit later when I had another big hand and put out a sizable bet preflop after he had limped, he folded immediately. I owned him.

And how did he lose a good portion of his stack? Below is the sad, sad tale:

PokerStars Game #20912708611: Hold'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10) - 2008/10/04 2:40:12 ET
Table 'Minkar V' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: NYCbuddha ($10 in chips)
Seat 2: davidupe ($39.30 in chips)
Seat 3: pokerlkdh ($9.90 in chips)
Seat 4: tahoeboyd ($3.90 in chips)
Seat 5: bastinptc ($12.50 in chips)
Seat 6: ffpmdon ($4.45 in chips)
Seat 7: Balu282 ($10.75 in chips)
Seat 8: organico ($21.30 in chips)
Seat 9: Congobob ($11.25 in chips)
Balu282: posts small blind $0.05
organico: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bastinptc [Th 9h]
Congobob: folds
NYCbuddha: calls $0.10
davidupe: calls $0.10
pokerlkdh: folds
tahoeboyd: calls $0.10
bastinptc is disconnected
bastinptc has timed out while disconnected
bastinptc: folds
bastinptc is sitting out
ffpmdon: calls $0.10
Balu282: calls $0.05
organico: checks
*** FLOP *** [Jh 3h Kd]
bastinptc is connected
Balu282: checks
organico: checks
bastinptc has returned
NYCbuddha: checks
davidupe: checks
tahoeboyd: checks
ffpmdon: bets $0.30
Balu282: folds
organico: folds
NYCbuddha: calls $0.30
davidupe: calls $0.30
tahoeboyd: folds
*** TURN *** [Jh 3h Kd] [Ah]
NYCbuddha: checks
davidupe: bets $0.70
ffpmdon: raises $0.70 to $1.40
NYCbuddha: raises $2.60 to $4
davidupe: calls $3.30
ffpmdon: folds
*** RIVER *** [Jh 3h Kd Ah] [9d]
NYCbuddha: bets $5.60 and is all-in
davidupe: calls $5.60
*** SHOW DOWN ***
NYCbuddha: shows [7h 6h] (a flush, Ace high)
davidupe: mucks hand
NYCbuddha collected $21.05 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $22.10 | Rake $1.05
Board [Jh 3h Kd Ah 9d]
Seat 1: NYCbuddha showed [7h 6h] and won ($21.05) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 2: davidupe mucked [Kc Kh]
Seat 3: pokerlkdh folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: tahoeboyd folded on the Flop
Seat 5: bastinptc folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: ffpmdon (button) folded on the Turn
Seat 7: Balu282 (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 8: organico (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 9: Congobob folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I was not laughing.