StudioGlyphic

This says it all:

The rest can be summed up in three hands:

Cracked the hammer with pocket nines early on with a nine-high flop. The runner-runner seven deuce only gave my opponent two pair to my set.

Limped with KJ spades under the gun. Flop was all rags with two spades and I put out a bet hoping to take it right there, but Iggy smooth-calls me. The turn is a K and I bet out again. This time Iggy puts in a big raise. I re-raise him all-in for a little bit more and he calls. I miss my flush and my top pair is no good against his set of threes.

Doubling Iggy up left me with less than a starting stack, but still a lot of breathing room. Still, I got impatient with folding and when the SB raised my BB twice in a row, I pushed with A7. Of course, he calls with AJ. Oops. Flop holds both a J and a 7 and I’m out in 94th out of 109.

Not content with simply being a losing tournament player, I decided to lose two buy-ins at the cash tables, too, giving back my prior three days of winnings at Full Tilt.

Poker as a procrastination tool can be so -EV.

The Whisky Store has a great illustrated description of “The Making of Bourbon Whiskey.”

And here I thought it was simply a gift from God.

Just as I finished the last post, my turbo freeroll started up.

It’s nice to be chip leader after your first hand.

Update 3:24 PM: Came in second out of 857. $12.50! These turbos are a total crapshoot, but that’s kinda what makes them fun (especially when they’re free).

I’ve probably mentioned that I can’t stand tournaments–multi-table tournaments, sit-n-goes, whatever. There’s something about putting in your chips while you have the best of it, suffering a brutal beat on the river, and getting knocked out after investing your buy-in and 1-4 hours of your life with nothing to show for it that just doesn’t appeal to me. In a cash game, you tag the idiot, re-buy, and wait for him to make another mistake. In a tourney you don’t have this option.

Still, there’s something to be said about being able to multiply your buy-in by a factor of 10, 20, or more. I think if I played a lot more tournaments, that luck factor would be reduced substantially. As they say, you will find the same group of men and women at the final tables time after time. More practice might also help me suck less.

But practice costs money; or does it?
Read the rest of this entry »

You have one day left to register for the next stage of the World Poker Blogger Tour:

Wednesday, March 30, 9pm ET
PokerStars
$20+2 buyin, NLHE tournament
Password: thehammer
Listed under the Private Tournaments tab.
Open to bloggers and readers.

So far there are only 17 registered players. Probably our weakest one-day-before showing yet! Get up off your duff and register already.

As usual, I will pass on the tourney due to academic considerations.

If you live in the LA area, especially the Westside, I recommend you check out Uncle Darrow’s restaurant in Marina Del Rey. They primarily serve Cajun/Creole food, but I go there for the Chicken Supper: three crispy, meaty wings served with a side of red beans and rice, potato salad, and hush puppies spiced with bits of jalapeno. Not necessarily the best fried chicken I’ve ever had, but really flavorful and light on the grease factor. Friendly people, too; tonight I sped home from campus to try to catch them before they closed, but only managed to sneak in the door as they were printing out their receipts for the day. Suck. I must have looked hungry and pathetic because they graciously offered me some jambalaya and red beans on the house.

The second in a series of random iTunes lists in lieu of actual content.

The White Stripes - I Can Learn
The Shins - Fighting In A Sack
Boards Of Canada - Olson
Grandaddy - AMMO
David Holmes - Higher Ground
The Dandy Warhols - (It Dosen’t Take A) Genius
David Bowie - Fame
Cyril Neville - Gossip
The Verve - Star Sail
Mazzy Star - Disappear
Cocteau Twins - Pandora
Portishead - It’s A Fire
Komeda - Curious
Cocteau Twins - My Truth
Ivy - Kite
U2 - The Wanderer
Stereolab - Fuses
Luke Vibert & BJ Cole - Nice Cave
Placebo - Blue American
Blur - Sing
The Sad Chicken - Leroy & The Drivers

Poker break time! Sit down at Full Tilt Poker, open up two .50/1 $100 NL Hold’Em tables and play for about 30 hands on each.

Straight 1, Table 1:

Kd Qc on the button. Serial raiser raises it from MP right after I noted he raised Q9 in LP. I call and so does the SB. Flop comes 8h Td Jh. It’s checked to me, so I bet $8 at the $10 pot on a semi-bluff. SB min-raises to $16. Preflop raiser folds. I’m getting 4:1 to call, but probably more than the requisite 5:1 in implied odds if I get my straight. I call. The turn brings the Ac, making my straight. I’m wondering how much I should raise when the SB bets all in. I call. The river is the Js. No flush, but possible boat. He shows Jd Kh for trips, and I take down $162.50.

Straight 1, Table 2:

Td 8d in the BB. 3 limpers including the SB. Flop comes 3s 6c Qd. Checks all around. Turn is 9d. Ooh… flush and straight possibilities… and straight flush! But I can’t call a huge bet here. Checks all around. River Jd. Straight flush! SB checks, I bet $2 into the $3.80 pot and take it down when everyone folds. I show and no one says a goddamn thing. Ingrates.

Straight 2, Table 1:

5c 6s in the CO. 3 limpers ahead of me, SB completes, and BB checks. Flop comes 3h 7s 4h. Woah. SB bets $2 into the $5 pot. The BB and one of the limpers calls. Well, this just won’t do at all. I raise another $5. SB calls. Turn comes Js. I bet the pot ($23) and SB calls. SB must have something more than a flush draw. Maybe something very strong. River comes 9d, eliminating flushes and boats, and I don’t fear a higher straight (I even check to make sure the flop didn’t have any promising higher draws). I just pot it again for $69 and get called once again. I show my 7 high straight and the SB shows a flopped set. I take down the $204 pot.

Straight 2, Table 2:

Well, I’m up quite a bit… better call it a day soon. 6c 3s in the BB. 3 limpers, 1 poster, and the SB completes to make it a 6-way flop. The flop comes 4s 5s 2d. Wow. Again?! I decide to come out strong and bet the pot ($6).

First limper raises to $12. Everyone else folds.
Glyphic raises to $25
First limper raises to $38
Glyphic raises to $92.40, and is all in
First limper calls $54.40

I’m getting paid! I show my straight and he shows his set of deuces. Turn is the 2h and all of a sudden I’m broke. The river is the As and I look around the table to see the 2s safely tucked away in his hole cards. First limper takes down $187.80 and I type in the note that he’ll risk his entire stack with bottom set. Not the worst mistake in the world, but… ask the SB from Straight 2, Table 1 if his set was worth 95% of his stack.

…

All of this is too much for me. I close my tables, note the bankroll status in my spreadsheet, and decide to get back to work. After blogging it, of course.

Questions:

Doesn’t some of the play above seem to indicate that the FTP $100 NL games can be quite juicy?

Isn’t getting four straights in the course of 30min / 60hands a bit unusual?

Should we be worried that the difference between a losing session, a winning session, and an amazing session is one hand? Isn’t that why my roulette junkie self plays these games?

Shouldn’t I get back to work?

The first in a series of random iTunes lists in lieu of actual content.

A Fascinating Musical Experience - The Monster from David Holmes Come Get It I Got It
Cat Stevens - The Wind from Various Artists As Seen on TV Songs From Commercials
Da Lata - Beija Flor from Thievery Corporation DJ-Kicks
Pulp - Do You Remember The First Time? from Various Artists Popsuperstar
When The Cows Come Home from Blur Modern Life Is Rubbish
The Weight Of My Words from Kings Of Convenience Quiet Is The New Loud
The Deverell Twins from Black Box Recorder The Facts Of Life
Lonely Boy - V. Gallo from Buffalo 66 Soundtrack Buffalo 66
A Silhouette Of Doom from Ennio Morricone Kill Bill, Vol. 2
The National Anthem from Radiohead Kid A
Zither from R.E.M. New Adventures In Hi-Fi
Great Divide from The Cardigans First Band On The Moon
Chico’s Groove from The Chemical Brothers Exit Planet Dust
Policy Of Truth from Depeche Mode Violator
Renaissance Affair from Hooverphonic Blue Wonder Power Milk
Indra from Thievery Corporation The Mirror Conspiracy
Black Night Crash from Ride Tarantula
The Funeral Party from The Cure Faith
Singing Softly To Me from Kings Of Convenience Quiet Is The New Loud
On Your Own from Blur Blur

It’s gotta be a sign. The study area of this year’s comprehensive exam is the area abutting the north side of Hollywood Park.

A site visit this weekend is highly recommended by the exam’s administrators. Could any analysis of the study area be complete without some field research on the operations of the neighboring casino?