High On Poker

Oh, I’m in too. Apparently Poker Stars is having a freeroll tournament for bloggers only. So, when I get home from work today, I’m going to use PSO (referral code: HighOnPoker) to sign up at Poker Stars and enter their freeroll. Unfortunately, to use PSO, I’ll need to deposit $$ and the only money easily accessible is from my UB account, which has a paltry $50. At least this will be a start. Maybe I’ll withdraw from Noble and move that money to PokerStars once I’m done.

HOLD THE PRESSES! Upon a review of PSO, I realize that they do not have a promotion for Poker Stars. This is actually GOOD. Now I’ll just sign up at PokerStars and not deposit anything. I’m still entering the blogger-only freeroll for a chance to win a seat to the Poker Stars Carribean WPT event worth $12,000 ($8K buy in, travel, and spending $$). Also available are LCD TVs, X-Box 360s, and iPod Nanos (which would make mu PSO Quest for an IPod irrelevant). I can smell success already, and it oddly smells like an everything bagel with cream cheese.

In other poker news, I have reached my September goal of $500 online. This is an amazing achievement for me, for several reasons. (1) This is the 2nd goal accomplished in a row, after my $400 by Sept. 1 goal; (2) I was way behind of my target not long ago and made up those losses quickly; (3) I’ve effectively multiplied my $50 buy-in times 10!

The funny thing is, I beat it nonchalantly and only realized my accomplishment a half hour later. Last night, after a long day of work, I finished my NJ homework, went to Kinkos to copy and mail it out, went out to pick up dinner, did my laundry, shaved my head and beard, showered, packed for the honeymoon, cleaned the apartment, and a couple of more odds and ends necessary before my Sunday nuptuals. All of this, and I finally had 10 minutes to relax at about 11pm. I signed on to Titan and played some 2/4. In no time, I was up $24. I was reading players perfectly and eventually beat the table into folding submission. It felt great. But fiance Kim wanted to spend some time together (as did I), so I signed off in under 20 minutes. 30 minutes later and I’ve realized that I hit my goal.

I mentioned this to fiance Kim, who was already in bed at that point waiting for me. The conversation went like this:

“You know what?” Me of course.
“What?” Fiance Kim, in all her glory.
I thought twice. We are about to get married. Poker isn’t that important. “Nevermind. It’s stupid.”
“No. Tell me now.”
“Okay, but it’s poker related. I just realized I reached my goal of having $500 online. I made it all from $50.”
“You have $500?! Online? That we could use? We need money?”
Shit. I should’ve kept my big mouth shut. Damage control, bring in the roundabout logic.
“Yeah, honey, but you are missing the big picture. I made it all from $50. That is 10x the money I started with. I still see it as $50 right now. And I’m going to build it to $1000. And the real goal is to hit $2000 and buy a new TV.” I just locked myself in to depleting my bankroll. Ug.

Fortunately, the converation stopped there. We’ll see what happens when I hit $2000. Of course, I really want a new TV, so I would like to withdraw at some point. But in poker, money begats money, and I want to get to the point where I can live off of my poker money. Or at least live partially off of it. This is a long term goal. Very long term. But it’s a goal nonetheless. And goals got nothing on me.

Final note. I will be returning to the Genoa Club tonight, for some 1/2 NL. I’d like to play their $40, 1 rebuy tournament, but I’d have to arrive by 7:30 and I still have some odds and ends to tie up. Wish me luck.

Poker, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the blogger HighOnPoker.

When I told fiance Kim late at night about reaching my goal

I just got an email from GCox about the possibility of a blogger get together. When I read about the blogger events, I always felt a sense of envy. I was missing out on these big get-togethers. When I met Pauly, Joaquin, F-Train, Derek and a few other bloggers a while back at a NYC game, I got a good vibe from the group. I was a newbie blogger and didn’t know anyone’s blog except Pauly’s and F-Train (by name only). But I could feel the sense of community.

Since then, I’ve missed out on a bunch of blogger get-togethers. I felt envious, but I also felt, in my own antisocial way, that I didn’t belong anyway. Most of these guys don’t know me or my blog. I’d be riding solo with a bunch of people who really knew each other. I have no reason to really feel this way. It could be my antisocialness, shyness, low self-esteem (haha), or whatever. Regardless, I knew that those trips weren’t for me, necessarily. I’d probably still go if I could, because as long as there is poker, I’m cool, but I didn’t make any effort to jump in on the plans.

Enter a conversation less than a week ago via IM with GCox. Life has been hard lately, with class, work and the wedding coming up. I’ve been stressed out and bitching and moaning constantly. G has heard a lot of it and he’s been supportive. Hell, a lot of the reader/bloggers have been, and I appreciate that. Through the Limit Challenge, I met DNasty and SteelerJosh. Through the SNG Challenge, I became better acquainted with DNasty and Steeler, and met GCox, TripJax, and Kipper. Finally, with the Heads-Up Challenge, I met Mourn, Will Wonka and DoubleAs.

I know these guys. I “speak” to some of them more than some of my groomsmen. That’s not to say that I’m not tight with my groomsmen. I’m very lucky to have such good friends. It is to say that I really like these blogger guys. They are good people. We share similar values, senses of humor, and, of course, hobbies (read: poker).

So, I’m IMing with GCox. Remember? And I’m realizing all of this. I’ve spoken to GCox’s wife and kid even for a moment, until visions of my parole officer danced through my head…um…ignore that. So I typed, “Dude, we have got to hang out in person some day.” “Definitely.” But the problem was, I’m too fucking busy right now and I’ll be broke and out of vacation days by the end of the month. So, it’ll have to be far in the distance.

That doesn’t stop us from planning. GCox has recently been on a brainstorming blitz, posting about a 2006 blogger get together non-stop. Looks like the place will be Oklahoma, which excites me to no end! I’ve never been to OK. Shit, I don’t even know where it is! But that’s cool. And so, in my head and on his blog, I was down for the trip.

Enter self doubt. What about fiance Kim? She won’t have fun if I’m gambling the whole time. I won’t have fun if she is waiting around the whole time. But we’ll be newly weds still (I think…doesn’t that last for a year?) so a vacation without her seems out of the question. Plus, we want to go to Europe together, so a lot of funds will be going in that direction.

I got an email from GCox with possible dates. Most are in the summer of 2006. I sheepishly picked up the phone. I couldn’t wait any longer.

“Honey, you know I have a blog right?”
“Sure.” Fiance Kim sounded distracted.
“And you know I am friends with other bloggers, right?”
“Sure.” Was she even paying attention? Here goes.
“Well, we might be having a get together sometime next summer. You wouldn’t be interested in going would you?” I set up my chess pieces.
“Bloggers? Um, no. But you can go and have fun.” Fiance Kim is the best woman ever. I defy you to challenge that. And if you do, I will stomp on your chest until you heart squishes out and messes up my shoes.
“It’s going to be in Oklahoma though.” I had to disclose everything.
“Oklahoma?! I want to go to Oklahoma.” SKREEEEEEEEEEEECH! Hold on a sec.
“Um, I’m going to be gambling the whole time, so I don’t know if it’ll be any fun.”
“Hmm. No problem then.”
“I can go?”
“Of course.”

So there you have it G. Your answer. Fiance Kim gave me “permission.” And for all single guys laughing at me for asking permission, you can suck it. Because asking for permission is a sign of respect and love, AND NOT a sign of weakness, you turds. Do I sound defensive? Good!

OK is OK with me. I just hope I’m OK with OK.

Okie-Vegas here I come!

I’m really too busy to be typing this, but here goes:

I went to the Genoa Club last night. Roose and Hole joined me there at 7:30pm for the $40 freezeout. The game started with only one table of 10 people. As players showed up late, they were placed as alternates, filling seats of busted players. Each time, Roose would grumble about the game never ending. I proceeded to tell him to shut up. Late entries with the same starting stack = shortstacked dead money.

Early on, Roose, Hole and I were the three shortstacks. I made a big hand when I raised pre-flop with 3s4s in MP. Two other players were in the hand. The flop was 3XX with one spade. I bet out 300, about the size of the pot, knowing that the table was tight. One folded, one called. I was out of position. The next card was a spade. I now had a spade draw. I bet 500. The starting stack was 2000, but I was there to gamble. He called. The river was another spade. I thought for a bit. I tried to look desperate. I pushed all-in. He called with his remaining 500, and was taken out by runner runner flush. Someone at the table said, “I think he was ahead of you on the turn.” I replied, “I knew he was ahead of me on the turn.”

Unfortunately, not too long after, Hole was taken out when his QQ faced KK. The same hand would screw me later. Roose held strong for a long time, and went out 5th out of 15. Only the top 2 spots paid, so I was excited when it was down to three. Me, some lucky large guy who was playing his big stack well, and Joe, the proprieter. We suggested splitting 2nd place between Joe and I. It would net me $90 ($180 for 2nd, $420 for first), for $50 profit. But at that point, Joe and I were about even and I felt like playing for it. I was playing well and I was confident with my shorthanded and shortstacked abilities.

You Decide #17

I still think playing for it was the right move. Unfortunately, I went out 3rd. Blinds were huge (500/1000) and I was in the BB with 4T. Joe on the button folded. BigStack called. I checked. The flop was 348, with two diamonds. I liked my 4s and was ready to push. Instead, BigStack raised $2000. I had about another $1500 on top of that, so I thought for a moment. I read my opponent, and I liked what I saw. It was nothing specific. He didn’t want to look me in the eye. He wasn’t acting because nothing was over the top. I knew that I was ahead in this hand. He had a 3 or maybe a draw. I called, and he showed his flush draw. He hit it on the turn. He hit it again on the river. Without a diamond, I was out.

So, was that a bad time to push? I didn’t have much left in chips and I thought he had the flush draw, but is it smart to call there? I think I had the pot odds, but when you are on the bubble, should you discount the pot odds.

And finally, should I have chopped 2nd. Is $50 profit better than playing for $40 loss or $140 profit? I was confident in my abilities and I was about even with the other “shortstack”. I still think it was the right move, but I’d like your input.

They can take our lives, but they can’t take our POKER!!

I played some big boy poker tonight, and whooped some serious ass. To me, “big boy poker” = anything I can play at a casino. No micro limits. And, sadly, that means 2/4 limit. But hey! I won! That is key. In fact, I won $60, which felt like a lot more before I typed it. This is probably because I lost $10 earlier today and $5 in a Maui SNG. So, really, I won $75 in my session. Booya!

So, what was it that made me a winner? I think it came down to individual bets and raises. I started with one table, getting a feel for the players. When I was comfortable, I started a 2nd table (well, actually, the table finally openned up once I got comfortable). I started the SNG next, but once that was done, I went to another 2/4 room.

My reads were great, which to me is the key in these things. More importantly, I followed my hunches. This led to some key laydowns, that, at times, I may not have made. We all (“we” being lower limit players) have a tendency to get married to our good hands. We call someone down thinking, “He has me beat, but my TPTK is a good hand!” Well, buddy, your TPTK is only as good as the next guy’s cards. And when he calls you down the whole way and leads off with a bet when that river hits, you better think twice.

That’s what it is all about. Saving a bet here. Value betting there. Keeping notes on players help a lot, too. Nothing extensive. But if someone is playing like a newbie, I type “fish.” If they put on moves, I’ll type “good player.” If they are plodding calling stations, “stupid.” It’s a very scientific system.

Here is another thing. I try to play tight, but I can’t help but raise here and there with A9o. It’s not the best hand, but in a short-handed 6-person (or less) game, it gets a lot better. So maybe my looseness is good. I’d like to think so. So would my bankroll.

Tomorrow, if all goes well, I’ll be playing at the Genoa Club with Roose and Hole. $40 NL freezeout, with 15 minute levels. I’ll have to play loose because of the quick blind increases. This will be an experiment to see if changing my style for a tournament’s set up makes sense. On paper, sure. But in reality, as Chris Ferguson said in a Full Tilt email, if you play your best poker, the tournament structure won’t matter.

That’s it for tonight. See you all tomorrow, bright and early.

You want the poker? You want the poker? You can’t handle the poker!!

It’s another epic day in Fuckjordan Land. It seems like it is coming from all ends. The sum of it all is that I technically don’t have time to write this, but it actually is quite cathartic.

The bossman has rightly pointed out some changes that need to be made in certain documents and general actions. The problem is that I am bad at taking criticism. That, and I get no guidance. Usually, there is just a skeleton crew here, of which there is little in the way of substantive advice. Bah humbug!

I have to do two status reports on huge cases today. In one of the cases, I barely did anything but research, so it will take an excrutiatingly long time

I also have a doctor’s appointment at 9am today. I’ve been feeling under the weather (a severe cold, really), but fiance Kim had the same problem last week and got on some antibiotics. By the grace of gods, the doctor is in the same building as my office, so I shall discretely go and waste as little time as possible.

I also have the pleasure of doing an ass-load of homework for the NJ CLE (continuing legal education) mandatory classes. New Jersey, you suck!

And poker. I want to play poker. Titan and Noble were not working last night, so I deposited money on UB finally. After a loose 1/2 limit table, I left down .50. Good for me that I won $1.25 in bonus! Yeah, small victories will have to sustain me for the time being.

Wednesday looks like a prime day for poker. Fiance Kim will be on LI doing wedding stuff, so I’ll either be online or at card room. Genoa Club here I come! They have a $40 freezeout that looks interesting. The only shortcoming is the 15 minute blinds. By the end of the first hour, it looks like I’ll be shortstacked unless I make some moves. I’ll have to change my strategy if I decide to go for the tourney.

The doctor awaits. Please wish me luck with everything. Lord knows I could really use a 2 week vacation in Tahiti right about now.

Poker’s up!

A while ago, I mentioned that Moneymaker, in his book, makes a very interesting point concerning luck. Everyone knows Moneymaker as the winner of the main event of the 2003 World Series of Poker. He is also a fine author, and if you get a chance, read his book. It gave an interesting perspective on the man and the WSOP.

A lot of people see Moneymaker as one lucky SOB who sucked-out his way to winning the WSOP. Once you read his book, you’ll see that he did have his fair share of suck-outs. However, he also earned his suck-outs by amassing chips enough that he could take a chance.

Moneymaker’s comments regarding luck were particularly interesting. The best way to explain it is to use an example from the WSOP (and his book). Thank you DP for setting me straight on the hand history. I was way-off originally. But the principles are there, so bare with the errors. Chris Moneymaker (“CM”) held pocket AQ. He was the chipleader or thereabouts. Phil Ivey (“PI”) held 99. There was a lot of betting pre-flop. The flop was QQx. CM and PI bet back and forth. A third player in the hand laid down his cards (allegedly pocket JJ). The turn was a 9. CM bet and PI went all-in. The river was an A, and Moneymaker won the hand with a higher fullhouse.

People think Moneymaker was lucky. But as Moneymaker put it, they were both lucky. He was just lucky last. Ivey had a slim shot of hitting his 9 on the turn. He got lucky when he hit it. In the exact same way Moneymaker was lucky to hit his A on the river. In the end, people see Moneymaker as getting lucky. But that was not the whole picture.

While Moneymaker does not go into depth on the subject, another aspect that is overlooked is that Moneymaker put himself in a position to get lucky. He had a chiplead and a table image, and was willing to push his hand. Had be been timid, or shorstacked, or whatever, he woudn’t have made it to that point.

So, I guess the moral of the story is that luck is definitely as aspect of the game. However, you have to put yourself in a position to get lucky, so to speak.

On that note, I was extremely lucky this weekend. I almost saw it as a pre-wedding gift from the poker gods. I hit quads on three occassions. I flopped full houses, nut straights, and flushes. I could do no wrong. Seems that the same thing is happening to GCox too. Sometimes it makes you wonder.

I have too much to do, and I’m under the weather, and blah blah blah.

So, go poker youself.

On Thursday, I flew from NY to FL for my grandmother’s funeral. It was a weird, surreal experience, one that I may write about in the near future, but not right now. I just wanted to ask for everyone’s patience over the next 3 weeks. I spent a lot of time writing and building this humble blog, and being away from it for this sad moment in my family’s history, followed by an upcoming 2 wk hiatus for a happy moment, my wedding and Tahitian honeymoon, made me realize that this blog may get the short shift for a while. I know that none of you will fault me for this. But you may read some other great blogs (see the links on the right) and forget about the Highness of Poker. Well, don’t. Because there is lots of exciting poker and non-poker content in weeks and months and years to come.

On the poker front, I’ve been trying to clear my PSO bonus (referral code: HighOnPoker) at Titan, and much like Noble (of which the two share the same players and tables) it has been going well. I’ve been making lots of hit-and-run sessions at .25/.50 NL, and have been winning consistently. I’m up from $240 to just short of $300, with an additional $120 or so gathering dust at Noble. The cards have been good to me, and the other players have been bad for themselves. In my first hand today, I’m the BB with JJ. A player in EP/MP raises to $3.50. Everyone folded to me except for a player in EP yet to respond to EP/MP. I raised to $6.50. EP folds. EP/MP pushes for another $4 or so. I called. He had TT, and I was up a quick $10. That’s how it has been going. Let’s hope it continues.

On the live poker front, I plan on playing Thursday and/or Friday. Thursday will likely be a game at Robbie Hole’s. Otherwise, I may play in a $40 freezeout at an underground club in the city called Genoa Club. They have a tourney on Friday which is $40 with one rebuy, which also may be the way to go. I’ve never played in a tourney with a set amount of rebuys, and I’m curious if it changes playing style. I guess it means that players will be loose until they rebuy, at which point they’ll be tight. This is of course just a hypothesis, based on how a player ought to play. But as we all know, most players don’t play rationally.

On that note, I was thinking about the difference in playing at a NYC underground club and an AC casino. Without much to back this up, I believe that NYC players are probably better and therefore more aggressive. The logic is this: any player can go to AC to play some poker. There are going to be a range of players. At my lower limits, there are also going to be a fair share of newbie players who play like scared kittens. I love these players. At NYC rooms, scared kittens are, frankly, too scared to play or even approach the room. The players who do come are probably people who are very into poker. There will be some foolish gamblers, willing to push with ATo, preflop. These players are there because they love any type of gambling and see poker as another way to toss a coin and win money. But there are also players who are students of the game (or worse, professors). These players love poker so much that they’ve probably read a bit on the subject. They also probably have more experience, as, presumably, they didn’t learn the game at the underground club. So, there is my theory.

Now, I know some people, such as DP, have more experience than me at these clubs. So, please let me know if you think my theory is accurate.

That’s it for right now. As I typed this, my luck has turned and I lost a chunk of change. That just goes to show that blogging while playing is trouble.

Take care of yourself, and your poker.

I must make this quick. I was thinking about skipping the tourney yesterday because of my grandmother. I didn’t do it though. As a result, when I returned from my class, I rushed to the computer to take over for Roose, my stand-in. I played with focus. Fiance Kim was a little upset when she hit the sack that I was still at the comp. I think I played for mostly one reason. Poker allows me to block out the things around me, for better or worse. I’m a thinker. My pledge name in my fraternity was Playdoh, half a riff on my boyishly round head with then-dyed-blond-hair and half because of Plato the philospher. The philosopher part came first. (Note: I used to tell the girls they called me Playdoh because no matter how much you play with me, I won’t get hard.) Well, poker helps me dampen out all of the things around me. It relaxes me, while cranking up the adrenaline, if such a thing is possible.

I didn’t have to think about the loss when I found out yesterday. I was concerned for my mom, and at the office, and had to go to a mandatory class afterwards. As time is wearing on, I’m thinking about it more. It’s sad. But this is life. I just hope that she was happy before she passed. Happy and accepting. I know when it is my time, I want to be able to smile at the fun I’ve had. I want to be able to accept that death is part of life, and should not be feared. Hell, I don’t even know if I want to be mourned, per se. I want to be cremated rather than stuck in a box in the ground. I don’t want money spent on my husk of a body. But my mother, whom I love dearly, wouldn’t have that. God forbid I pass, she wants to be able to visit me. And cremation isn’t exactly Jewish (not that this is a heavy factor for me or mom).

Well, I guess this wasn’t what I intended to blog about. What I wanted to mention was that I’m actually looking forward to the completion of the Heads Up Challenge. Gcox v. TripJax in an all out battle for HU supremacy.

I have a proposal to all comers. I am willing to make a side bet for $25 that Gcox will be victorious. I called Gcox to win this thing a long time ago, and I’m sticking to my story. I particularly invite other members of the HUC to take up my side bet (I am offering it to the first taker, though). Trip has a solid record (9-3 to GCox’s 7-3) and even beat G twice already. If a member of the HUC is interested, then leave a comment. The loser will pay the winner’s entry fee to the HUC (i.e., will send the $25 to the ultimate winner on behalf of the side-bet winner).

Any takers?

I’m making this short, because I have to leave for work. Your humble author placed 19th out of over 60 bloggers and readers. I was in good shape until I played a stupid hand against the chipleader. I won’t go into it now, but I will have to remember in the future that you do not intentionally play against the chipleader. Once that wiped me nearly out, one all-in with K9 from UTG (I would’ve had to go all-in on the BB, so K9 was looking good), was enough to do me in. The chipleader held KQ, and the flop had a Q. The rest was academic.

Unrelated, my grandmother passed away yesterday. I’ve debated discussing it here, but there doesn’t seem much harm to mentioning it. My grandmother was one of the big reasons I got interested in cards in the first place. As a kid, we used to play blackjack and other games. She and my grandfather lived with us for the summers growing up. I guess I was blessed to have so much contact with her. I don’t know what else to say. This is all so new and surreal for me.

I’ll be going to Florida tomorrow and Friday for her funeral. Don’t expect a post. The AC Bachelor Party Mayhem finale will hopefully get done today. If not, it’ll have to be on backburner. Besides, I got to the good stuff.

Have a good day. Enjoy it.

The group all met at the bar to decide the next step in the bachelor party mayhem. Jefe, J-Dub, Dre and soon-to-be-bro-in-law Marc had brought enough alcohol to drown a herd of elephants. We transfered the assorted booze to the party room…my room…and filled the tub with ice. After some hanging around, Robbie Hole, Randy, Roose, Ilan, Marc, bro Keith, bro David and I headed to the buffet for some much needed sustenance. We also were able to sneak a salt shaker, lemons, a bunch of small cups, and some larger cups so that our makeshift bar was complete.

With some time to kill before the musical theatre (read: strippers), Marc and I decided to play some craps. Or, more accurately, craps played us…again. Fucking craps! If it wasn’t so much fun, I’d stop playing all together. Marc and I finished up at blackjack, where I lost the mesely amount of money left from the craps donations.

Once done, we headed upstairs. The entertainment was due to arrive in a half-hour, but meanwhile, stragglers of the group were already pre-gaming in the hotel room. Tequila is my shot of choice, and fortunately, my friends know me well. I cracked open my first beer of the day, and a shot was ready in no time. After a couple of rounds, I was ready for some action, but this time it wasn’t poker action.

When the girls arrived, I noticed immediately that Jasmine wasn’t with them. Jasmine was the girl on the company’s website. She was supposed to appear specifically, but the two stand-ins weren’t bad. Noel was a tall girl with large bazoombas (read: eyes) and bad curly blond hair. She was acting the part of the headliner, but I was more interested in Stripper #2, whose name I never got. #2 was a brunette, with a nice set (read: three-of-a-kind) and a cute face. She had personality, and pretended like she was interested a lot better.

The details are better left unsaid. There were lapdances and whipcream and lollipops in bad bad places. I kept dressed, for the most part, and did a fine job of blocking out the 15 guys surrounding the action. At the end of the soiree, we were all with empty pockets. But guys being guys, the idea of private lap dances came up. The only thing accurate in “private lap dances” is “private”. I knew the guys had something planned. It was fairly obvious with my group. What they didn’t realize was that they hired the wrong girls (or at least the wrong time). No extras from these girls, especially since they had other appointments. No wheeling or dealing worked, and the guys were resigned to see me embarass myself in public without the added hilarity of going into the private room for god knows what. Humorously, Noel (the bitch!) said to me, while grinding away (read: playing super-tight for a small profit), “I’m preparing you for marriage.” Then she announced it was time for them to go. I replied, “Damn right you are preparing me for marriage. You get me all hot and bothered and won’t put out!”

The truth of the matter is, I was super glad that nothing happened. I don’t even think that it would be much of an issue with fiance Kim, believe it or not. Rather, I’d enjoy myself for 10 seconds of climax (read: all-in with the nuts) and then immediately feel remorse and want to muck those chicks out of there. I’d also be several hundred dollars broker. No. My mistress is lady poker. She might be a whore, but I haven’t gotten any diseases yet…if you don’t count the gambling addiction.

More to come…Patience….