High On Poker

When I was a young kid in school, I realized that I did things a lot different from the rest of the class. While they were all studiously paying attention in 8th grade math, I was doodling and wondering what they were all writing in their notebooks. In high school, I tended to dress a bit…different. I wore a trench coat before it was a symbol of murdering your fellow classmates. When it came to homework assignments and reports, I always worked the angles, making the rules bend just enough to make it work for me but still fit the professor’s parameters. In my senior year of high school, when I had to do a report and presentation on Virginia Wolff’s “To the Lighthouse,” I chose to do a multimedia presentation, showing how Wolff used diction (i.e., chose specific words and wording) to color her story, and compared the works to the art of impressionist painters. It was more of an art project than an English project, but it fit the assignment’s criteria. In college I took Medical Ethics in the 90s and then applied to the Registrar to have it count as a Science. The most scientific thing happening in that class was an existential conversation on the merits of cloning.

Yeah, I am a bit out there, always looking at things in a different light and working on ways to do the typical in an atypical fashion. Frankly, I just think my brain works a little differently. It’s part of what makes me a contrarian and why I gave myself the Devil’s Advocate of Poker Bloggers moniker, of course in half-jest.

So, excuse me if I came off as a bit chagrined when I was responding to comments on the most recent You Decide post. Where I analyzed the problem one way, the vast majority of you seemed to read it in a very different light.

If you commented on the You Decide but did not get a chance to read the most recent comments, please take some time out. NewinNov was kind enough to respond to my request, so he read the hand history and commented on what he was thinking during the hand. Clearly, he took some time out to give his explanation, so I’m very greatful. Also, its rare when you get both sides of a hand. Its the closest we can get to complete information.

Also in comments, PokerWolf asked me to elaborate about the difference between slowplaying and stringing your opponent along. The difference lies in your intentions. When you have a strong hand, like a flopped fullhouse or nut straight with no flush draws, you may decide to act like you missed the flop completely. When you are doing this, you goal is to get your opponent, who probably missed the flop, to either bluff into you or stay with the hand and hit something weaker later (or bluff later). Here is an example:

You are in the BB with A3h, and there is one limper before the SB completes. You check and the flop is Q72 of hearts. You have the nuts, and nothing can happen in the next card to change that. The chance of you losing the hand is very slim, but if you bet out, you might get no action. So instead you check after the SB checks, hoping to slowplay your nut flush. The limper decides to raise pot, and you only call. You are slowplaying, with the intention of raising late in the hand, hopefully after a big card hits for the limper.

In a situation like this, your goal is to get your guy to make a move on you, mostly, or at least to have him believe that you are weak so that when you pop it big later in the hand, he might call you (once that turned Ace hits his AKo, for instance).

On the other hand, you will face situations when the only way you will get any money from your strong (but ironically, vulnerable) hand is to price your opponent in. In a lot of situations like this, the prefered (and often correct) move is to bet big to push your opponent off of his draw or make him pay too high a price for his draw. However, it makes little sense to push an opponent out of a hand when the pot is too small to care about. First, he will likely fold since there isn’t anything worth playing for. Second, if he does call and that scare card comes, you will be in a tough spot playing for a decent amount of money.

In a situation like that, your best move is to keep your opponent in the hand on your terms. So, how can we do this? By betting amounts that will tempt any player in your opponent’s position. I’ll refer to You Decide #44 and NewinNov’s description of his thought process to illustrate.

After the flop, I have a set. I don’t know if New or the other guy have anything, but I do know that I’m ahead. I need to give a price that would get a call from a K-high hand, since thats the most likely way that they connected with the hand and would still be willing to call (i.e., 23o would connect with bottom pair but would never call a bet on the 3KA flop). With a pot of 60, there is only so much I can bet. It’s really 20, 40 or 60. 60 is pot, so I consider that too high to rope in a weak hand. 40 is 2/3 of the pot, so I decided on 20. This will keep it cheap for him AND me. Once the turn comes, I am still ahead and the pot is 100, so I need a price that will still keep an inferior hand in. 60 is a good number because its small-ish, but will continue to build the pot. On the river with 220 in the pot, 120 also seems harmless to someone on a marginal hand with no more cards coming.

Essentially, I’m trying to figure out what someone with a pair of Kings on a AK3/4/J board would be willing to call. It’s got to be low compared to the pot, otherwise he’ll just decide it isn’t worth it. I’m looking for a number where the K-high hand says, “Eh, why not?! It’s just $____ and he is betting weird so he might be bluffing or weak.”

Now, for all you people who missed it, this is what NewinNov had to say (excerpts taken from his comments):

“The flop bet of 20 is very suspicious. Alarm bells. You want to keep me around. You probably have an A with a better kicker or maybe a K but I sense you are playing around…Calling 20 to a 80 pot, 4:1, still very reasonable” Great! I’ve given him a broad range and a WTF play, so he is unsure, but willing to call a small bet.

“Any more than a $40 bet on the flop would have seen me fold.” Therefore, I lost 20 on this particular part of the hand, but I was correct that I had to bet small to keep him in (with an A20).

“The bet of 60 should have been my clue to leave as it was now getting expensive. But I didn’t because of the strange betting pattern and your loose image…your nice sized value bet made me want to continue for the implied odds…Anything more than 60 and I would have folded.” So, I priced this one perfectly. I couldn’t have gotten a single cent more from him. He knew it was high to call with his hand, but he called anyway because my bets were suspicious and confusing and it was just 60.

“With a clear head now, I don’t know why I called (the river bet of 120) except that the betting pattern confused me and the bet amount was just enough or the amount that someone would use with a King.” So, I complete the hand by making another suspicious bet that was cheap enough to call without crushing his stack.

Now, NewinNov also mentioned that at the end, he was willing to make the call because it would also advertise to the rest of the table that he was loose if he lost. I didn’t think of that at the time, but it makes perfect sense. In that regards, if I bet 220 (pot) or even 200, I think he would’ve folded. Maybe I could’ve gotten 180 instead of 120.

In total, then, I left about 80 chips on the table (20 from the flop, 60 from the river) at most. To me, slowplaying is like setting up a trap. Stringing your opponent along is more pro-active. On every decision, you have to figure out the most he will call, because you are never planning on springing a trap. You are merely leading them and their chips in the wrong direction.

Now, if an Ace came on the river, I was also golden, so there was an element of trapping/slowplaying involved. But I wasn’t going to give him an opportunity to check it down if he didn’t get his golden card. The key was to get the money while it was available to me.

I hope this helps out somewhat. Maybe I’m makign too much of the distinction, but I think that the two concepts are fairly distinct. Thanks for reading folks.

Until next time, make mine poker!

Now that I’ve received a decent amount of responses to You Decide #44, I would like to provide insight into why I made plays (i.e., what I was thinking at the time) and also provide the answer to what NewInNov had (by the way, he won the Hoy, so congratulations to him). In general, I got a lot of negative responses to my play. I’ve read all of your suggestions, but I think for the most part, playing the hand too hard would push out NewIn, when I really wanted him to keep calling with inferior cards. Hence, I priced him in the entire way, keeping the pot small in case he hit and allowing me to fold if I felt that he did, in fact, make his hand. Keep reading for my blow-by-blow anayises. All of my added comments will be Bold and Red.

It’s been a while since my last You Decide. The hands I choose are largely hands that cause me to reflect on a particular style of play. Often the hands involve questionable plays, but this one is a bit different.

I was playing in the $20+2 Mondays at the Hoy last night, and we were still in the first level (10/20). I had not played a hand yet, and still sat at 1500 chips. I’m in middle position at a 7-handed table when I am dealt 33. Everyone before me has folded, so I decide to limp. The SB, NewInNov, calls, and the BB, Biggestron, checks.

The flop is 3h Ah Ks. NewInNov and Biggestron check, and I min bet 20. New calls, Biggestron folds. Now, here is the thing. The only players in this hand are the SB and BB. Neither have a strong Ace. So, at best, I’m facing a baby Ace, more likely I may be facing someone who hit the King, but realistically, I am probably facing two players that missed the flop altogether. Even if I am facing a King or weak Ace, a significant bet would scare away my opposition and leave me with a net profit of 40 after flopping a set. So I decided to make a min bet, because it looks fishy, I have a loose image, and I want to get a caller with Kx or a weak Ace. If a scare card comes, I’m still in position, and I’ll act accordingly. However, if my opponent hits a set by turning an Ace or King, then I have them beat to a full house. I WANT them to call and “get lucky.” Otherwise, if that flush card comes, I can fold if it looks to be going that way. I’m not worried about the straight because it would have to be an inside straight draw like 24, QJ, QT, etc.

Some people say I should have bet 3/4 or more of the pot. I ask you why? Do I really need the 60 pot? Certainly not. So I want to keep him in the hand. That’s all I wanted to do. So, I bet small, in this case, a min bet ONLY because the pot is so small. Also, min bets look weak. Maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll raise.

The turn is a harmless 4d. New checks again, and I bet 60 into the 100 pot. New calls. Next verse, same as the first! So far, I know that he has something on this board. My guess was the King, but a flush draw or a low Ace are possible. I still want him in this hand, because I know 100% that I am ahead. The pot is 100, so again, there is little appeal to winning the pot right now. Also, I’ve only invested 40 into the pot, so folding to a rivered heart won’t hurt too much. I need a bet that will make me look weak, like I’m on a steal. If I bet 100 (pot), it might look like a steal, but it also might scare him off, like I’m saying, “Okay, bud, I have a good hand, and NOW I’m ready to get you off of your flush.” If he’s willing to call 100, he’ll be willing to call 60, but if he is going to fold to 100, he still might call a weak looking 60. Also, on a psychological level a 2-digit number looks less threatening than that black chip 3-digit number. I’m investing 100 in the pot so far, and I’m still willing to fold to a rivered heart if at the time I read him as a flush. More likely, if he hits, he checks to me because I’ve been betting out, and I can check it down.

The river is a Jd, and New checks again. This time I bet 120 into the 220 pot and New calls once again. I win 460 from the pot when he mucks. A great card for me. Hopefully, he just hit two-pair. The flush didn’t come. I’ve already ruled out the straight, but I’m slightly cautious. The pot is 220, and if he missed his flush, he’s folding to ANY bet. If he had the weak Ace or a King, then he’s only calling when he sees weakness. Once again, I COULD bet big to appear like a bluff, but I might be pricing out those weaker hands. Instead, I bet 120, a seemingly innocuous number. Maybe he thinks its my last weak bet at the pot with my underpair. Maybe he thinks I have it, but for 120 he’s willing to find out. Now go to the bottom to find out what he had.

Now, as I wrote this, I originally included my though process throughout the hand. I also included NewInNov’s cards. But I’ve cut both out and I will add it back later in the day because I don’t want to merely justify my way of playing the hand. What I really want is someone else’s perspective as to what the optimal play was. For me, this was really about getting the most value from my hand, but some people might see it different, or may have had a different way/read that would help them maximize their hand.

Comment away! Until then, make mine poker!

As it turns out, he has A2o. I don’t think he would’ve called some of those larger raises. I knew I was ahead, and I was right. I value bet the whole way, conscious of the fact that if the board got scary, I’d have to rely on my analysis and reads to work through it.

Some of you think I played this too passively. I would really like to get NewinNov’s opinion, and I’ll hit up his site and ask him. Frankly, the answers, with the exception of Woffles, though about this hand in a way that was 100% different than what I laid out. Honestly, the fact that Woffles gets what I was doing doesn’t surprise me. The fact that no one else understood it does surprise me a bit. But then again, I definitely play my own brand of poker.

So, with my explanation, hopefully some of your opinions have changed. I do think I made some potential errors. In hindsight (always 20/20), I may’ve been able to bet higher on the river or the turn. Maybe even bet 40 instead of 20 on the flop. But overall, I’m confident in my play. I’m not results oriented, but in this case, my decisions were based on a particular goal, and that goal was met. Thanks for commenting. Feel free to drop more, while you are at it.

Until then, make mine poker!

ALL INFORMATION IS TENTATIVE PENDING THE CREATION OF A FORMAL BANNER.

WHERE: Full Tilt
WHEN: Thursday, November 16 at 9 PM
WHAT: Short-handed No Limit Hold’em, $10+1 Buy-in
WHY: Because we can!

EXTRA PRIZES: To be announced. Soliticitations are welcome.
PASSWORD: pokertrust

I’m going to work on a banner tonight (for my own amusement), but in the meanwhile, let me announce that Miami Don has come up with a great idea. On Sunday, October 22, at 9:30 pm on Full Tilt, Don will be hosting the Blogger Big Game, a $75 buy-in NLHE deep stack tournament. You can enter the event via a $75 token from FT, so expect me to be playing token races in anticipation for the big day.

Also in Blogger tournament news, the PokerTrust is currently working on the next DADI event. Details will be forthcoming!

AC was a no-go this weekend, due to two impending trials, most of which have landed on my impressive shoulders. Its an interesting thing, prepping someone else’s cases. It’s kinda like clothes shopping for another person without any input. You might know what looks good to you, but invariably, you find that your target’s tastes are different. The only way that it’s unlike clothes shopping without input…I can’t just hand over a gift receipt. Shit, I even have to do the tailoring myself.

So, I’m in the office on a Sunday, but I was able to salvage my Saturday thanks to Bradley at Ship It Fish. I was originally locked out of the game, due to space, but was able to get in. Unfortunately, I was unable to secure a seat for Mikey Aps, who was kind enough to agree to go to AC before work reared its ugly head. Sorry Mikey.

When I arrived at the game, I was about an hour late. The game had an early noon start time, and I was waiting for the cable guy until about 12:30. Fortunately, the trip to Bradley’s (aka SIF’s) is really close. In fact, it’s the closest homegame to me thus far, so I was delighted to be able to gamble without a ridiculous commute.

The thing with SIF is that he’s clearly a poker nut, accent on the word nut. Now, to some that may seem like an insult, but I assure you that it is not. In fact, its a high compliment. See, some people are NLHE players. Others are just Hold’em players. But SIF, he’s a Poker player. Hence, we weren’t meeting to play NLHE or even LHE. SIF’s game was all about the mix.

When I arrived, I looked at the game chart. The games played were (approximately in this order): NLHE, Limit 2-7 Lowball Tripledraw, PL Omaha, Limit Stud 8 or better (i.e., Hi/Lo), PL 5-card Draw, and Limit Omaha 8 or better.

Looking over that list, I can assure you that the only one I have played live is NLHE, and perhaps a PLO8 tournament (not one of the games, but close) and a few donkerific hands of Stud 8 or better. So, I was going to be learning on the fly, but poker comes very natural to me.

Out of all of the games, I have to admit that I really enjoyed Pot Limit 5-Card Draw. I had played a decent amount of 5-Card draw on Paradise Poker a while ago when I was clearing my VPP or PSO bonus (I can’t remember which). It’s a fool’s game, really, with minimal complexity, but like most games of poker, there are more layers than meets the eye. I made one of my biggest hands late in the evening, when I bet pot preflop with a 4-card flush draw, raising from 1 to 5 (the NL and PL games were 1/1, and the limit games were 4/8). When I hit my flush, I bet out pot again, hoping to appear semi-week, as though I had a solid two-pair. A friend of the host was kind enough to pop me back pot after he drew 3 cards, so I had him on a set. Sure enough, when I push back, he called and I was paid. Really, the hardest part of the game is avoiding the situation that the host’s friend found himself in. You don’t want a solid hand, like a set, when you are potentially facing a higher hand. It’s just too damn hard to fold, since 4 out of 5 hands, a single pair will take it down, and players will get aggressive with any two-pair on up.

2-7 Limit Triple-Draw was probably my weakest game. I had made some headway, up to $288 or even above $300, starting with $200, when I hit the wall at Triple-Draw. Any game that let’s you draw, draw and draw again is like a…well….drawing drug. In fact, I think I may’ve pissed off Maigrey (we were butting heads the whole day when figuring out what the pot was for Pot bets in the PL games) when I called a $4 raise from the BB in Triple-Draw, and then defiantly drew 3 cards…then two…then standing pat. Sure, I was goofing around, but I eventually ended up with a 76432 low, ensuring a big pot win. For those uninitiated, the equivalent is essentially calling a raise in LHE with 35o, hitting bottom pair and calling, and turning a set, all against an unimproved high pocket pair. But hey, thems the breaks when you have me gambling it up.

The opposite happened too, you know. I played horribly AND got my come-uppance. I went from over $300 to about down $265 or so over the course of a miserable two hours. By the end, I’m staring at the table and the players’ hands, blocking my view of their faces with the brim of my hat, trying to determine when I’m leaving, since I’m pretty much leaving stuck. I was sorta steaming, but in the back of my head, I had to remind myself that this was the realities of poker. I could still turn it around and win back a sizeable portion of my stack. I was merely card dead.

Luckily, my card deadedness did turn around. I think the PL Draw hand, mentioned above, was the start of my real turnaroun. I also won a nice hand of PLO against Bradley, after he re-raised to isolate me, protecting me from my constant enemy and compatriot Dawn from I Had Outs. By that point in the hand, I was ahead of Bradley, and I was fortunate to double up.

Really, it was a rambling, long game, so details will have to go by the wayside. I will say that I’m damn excited for the next game. The mixed games make things fresh again, and while I agree that they are nowhere near the greatness of Hold’em, which has a beautiful balance of information and strategy, variety is the spice of life.

Really, this is why the WSOP needs to reconsider its Hold’em obsession. Players WILL take to these other games, the same way they took to Hold’em when most only knew stud or draw. But if it’s unavailable, then they will remain ignored, and the legion of ‘aging’ NLHE fans will have nowhere to go when they are feeling burnt out.

I really feel like I didn’t get out what I wanted to in this post, but I just don’t have it in me. It’s been a tough week, and I doubt the next one will be much better. Until then though, make mine poker!

I don’t do this that much, but I’ve got to dedicate an entire (albeit minimal) post to Hoyazo, aka HammerPlayer. Not only is this guy a MTT machine, but he probably puts out the BEST posts about in depth poker thinking and strategy. Its rare that you can read someone’s poker posts and actually feel yourself getting smarter. So, Hammer Player, this posts for you!

Oh, and while we are on this topic, don’t forget about Mondays at the Hoy, a $20+2 weekly private tournament on Mondays at Stars at 10pm.

The Mookie is always a fun tournament. However, its on Wednesdays, and now that Lost is back on the air, I’ll be taking a hiatus from the Mook pending the end of this truncated season (6 weeks, then picking back up in February). If you are a Lost fan, I hope you enjoyed yourself. I’ll just quickly throw out a theory, one which, I’m sure, will eventually be refuted by the program. However, for the sake of getting it on record, here it is: the Others are holding Jack in the cell until they are sure he does not have the illness everyone fears. When they are ready, they’ll accept him into their society in some capacity. Sawyer and Kate, however, are criminals, and will remain in the zoo as criminals.

Oh, and the fact that AlCantHang IM’ed me before the Mook to let me know that he was playing, well, it made me think twice, but Lost still wins out over poker, especially with my new outlook.

Speaking of TV and poker, does anyone watch the Wire? If you don’t, it’s a show that takes place in Baltimore, and focuses on politicians, cops, and the illegal drug industry. Fantastic show, but I mention it here for another reason. The show is all about poker lately. An up-and-coming drug dealer plays in an underground poker room for hundreds of thousands of dollars, usually losing, and the mayoral candidate hosts poker parties so his donators can “lose” to him, thereby circumventing donation laws.

Oh silly TV, you sure love that poker!

On that note, one odd side effect of not playing as much online poker…I’m starting to actually watch poker on TV again. There is a natural progression in this obsessive past time, where players devour televised poker, but eventually grow tired of it, especially when they can actually play the game online. Take away the online poker (in my case, a self-imposed temporary exile) and televised poker gets interesting again. So, will WPT ratings go up if online poker shuts down? Possibly. But let’s remind ourselves, online poker is not going anywhere.

I played about $5 worth of Chinese Poker last night with slb. After losing my $5 buy-in, I noticed that I’m entirely busted at Nine, where I exclusively play Chinese Poker. The truth is, the game is more Chinese than it is Poker, so I consider last night another poker-less night. I’m mentally gearing up for the weekend, when I’ll hopefully be going to AC Saturday night. I’m somewhat hesitant, now that Bradley‘s game is going to take place. However, I really need to get more time in a casino, especially since the December to Remember is coming up.

What, praytell, is it a December to Remember? Why, its because Jordan is popping his WSOP cherry, albeit with a $300 Circuit event at Harrahs. In case you are interested in Railbirding, I’ll be playing the Saturday, December 9th event, and possibly the $300 Sunday, December 10th event. I’ll also be staying in the beautiful Mardi Gras-themed (sans flooding and racist undertones) Showboat, the official AC Casino of High on Poker.

I’ll be with Dave Roose, as he and I have the same backer, Nice Guy Scotty. Dave Ruff may also attend, purely because of his poker degeneracy. All I know is that I’m hella excited.

If things go well, I’ll be playing the final table of the Sunday event on Monday, December 11, or playing in the Monday $500 event. Of course, that’s also my birthday, so I’m feeling extra optimistic. As for wifey Kim, she’s encouraging my little trip; just another reminder that in the Hold’em game of life, wifey Kim is uncrackable pocket Aces.

Later that month, I’ll also be continuing the HoP tradition of spending Christmas in Atlantic City. I don’t remember where my reservation is at, but I’m thinking Caesars, merely because of some superior rates. Sure, the Showboat, with its super poker room, is my place of choice. But when it comes to AC lodging, my rule of thumb is to choose the cheapest place with a casino.

Roose’s Vegas bachelor party is also slowly building. We’ve booked rooms at the Excalibur for about $400 for Thursday through Sunday. I don’t know if its a great deal or not, but $200 per person is easily doable, and that’s all that matters. Next up, we have to book flights, a daunting task with our now 13 participants. Some want to go Jet Blue, but the airfare for most Sundays are tres expensive’. I, personally, will take the Sunday red-eye and skip work on Monday, but you know people…

Sure, this is a rambling post with no direction and even less interesting content. But looking forward to future poker-filled fun is like a quick 5 minute vacation. Once I’m done here, I’m back to the grind. The office has been busy as all hell, and I’m just glad that I have people looking out for me here. Time’s up folks, so I best be going.

Until then, make mine poker!

I had my first day off from online poker last night. I barely missed the bitch. My plan is to finish up my pending bonus on Stars and then withdraw everything but $400-500. The rest will go toward a new computer, one that hopefully will keep me occupied with some lowbrow video games. Before online poker, my obsession was Grand Theft Auto, in its various incantations. Sure, its also a time-suck, but at least I don’t get crabby when I make a bad play, and the cheat codes really work.

In the meanwhile, I’ve decided to get back into cash games. The plan was to play at SoxLover‘s homegame on Saturday night, but he lacked the requisite players, due in large part to a new mixed-game homegame hosted by Bradley over at Ship It Fish. I had played with Bradley before at Dawn‘s homegame, I figured, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. So, I emailed Dawn and she contacted SIP, and I got me an invite…sorta.

As it turned out, SIF was having some troubles gathering players as well. I was a bit hesitant about his game, since the stakes are generally higher ($1/1 NL, and $4/8 limit) and the mixed games are even a bit much for me to handle (Badugi??). So, when I found out that his game was tentative, I decided not to put all of my chips in one gamble, and decided to see what other opportunities were available.

Enter, Matty Ebs. Ebs left a comment in a previous post in which he nonchalantly mentioned that he would be in AC this weekend. Now, Ebs was my little brothers friend growing up and I used to babysit for the guy, but he’s a fine poker player and a fellow degenerate, so I saw an opportunity. I called him up, only to discover that he is sharing 2 rooms with 9 people, most of which were also friends of my brother. Super! Now I have a place to crash…albeit on a crowded floor.

Now, to get to AC. Enter, Mikey Aps. Aps is a fellow degenerate that I grew up with. He actually largely started my interest in poker, so he was an obvious choice. I called him this afternoon, and his response, “Now, that’s what I’m talking about.”

The current plan is to head to AC on Saturday with Aps. We don’t have a room, and I’m not expecting or counting on Ebs and company, since they are crowded enough and I don’t want to intrude. However, we will probably find some fleabag hotel near the Boardwalk just enough to sleep for a few hours (and/or sober up) for the ride back Sunday.

I’m AC bound baby!

Next up, resusitating the NY home game scene, and getting back to Salami Club. Until then, make mine poker.

I’m still not saying that the alleged anti-online poker legislation will actually affect the ability of US players to play poker online. After all, the law is really directed at banking institutions, and states that they are not allowed to assist in the transfer of funds for the purpose of gambling. Neteller is my cash transferor of choice, but they are a European company. Do you know what that means? It means the US government has no jurisdiction over them. Final thought on the subject, worrying about the demise of online poker in the US is like worrying about Y2K. Sure, it’ll give you something to talk about and fixate on, but nope, the world is not going to end. It isn’t even going to change much.

All that said, I just had an epiphany as I sat here in my office on a poker and wine hangover. Last night was wifey Kim and my first anniversary, and for the day, while the wifey was working (on Yom Kippur!) I was doing nothing, just like the Lord intended. Of course, I eventually fired up the computer and played some pokah!

I don’t feel like going into too much. I played fairly well. However, I made one HORRIBLE play (something about playing a J-high flush draw in PLO8 against an A-high flush draw, when the draws hit), where I lost $200 in one hand…just as wifey Kim rang the doorbell.

My heart was beating with anxiety and despair when I openned the door. I said to myself (internally) that I had to keep on a happy face. It was our anniversary, and one hand, albeit, worth $200, should not ruin my mood. I got it under control, and we had a great dinner at Sparks Steakhouse in NYC (not as good as Ruth’s Chris, no matter what you say). The cost of dinner for 2 was $250, and all I could think was that I lost an additional $200 earlier in the night.

So, what’s the epiphany. I think I might join you fearmongers out there and withdraw most of my money from online poker. I have wanted to buy a new laptop for a couple of weeks now, mostly for poker, ironically. Now, I am thinking that I need to re-evaluate my choices.

I did not need to be playing poker yesterday. I did not need to be playing $200 max PLO8 in an attempt to run through a bonus. I did not need to cast a shadow over my evening because of a game of chance.

What do I need? I need to play more live poker. It’s clearly where I’ve done the best. Maybe it’s a small sample size, maybe its good enough. All I know is that out of my approximate $1400 winnings for the year, $1000 or more is from live play.

The live games are not easy to find lately, but if I was playing less online, maybe I’d make it happen. Salami is still open, and as long as I avoid the late nights (when robberies are most likely to occur), I can play there at least once a week. Roose still has his weekly homegame too. Mikey Aps might have a homegame still as well. The ladies from I Had Outs seem to be having more games, and even Brad from Shit It Fish might be starting one up.

Online poker is fun, but I’m starting to re-evaluate, and I think I need to cut down. I play nightly, for an hour or more. I’ll stay up later than I should. It’s also terribly antisocial. In truth, it is akin to a videogame, and its just sucking up too many hours.

So, what does this all mean for Jordan and HighOnPoker? Not much, really. I’ll probably withdraw 50% or more of my roll. I’ll stick with $10-$20 tournaments and MTTs. I’ll also stick to $50 NL games, and less so the $100. I’ll also try to limit my play.

You’ll be reading more about live games. That’s a good thing. Hopefully, this will be a shift in my odyssey. Otherwise, it may just be a blip, and I’ll be back to my usual antics soon enough. Whatever the case, I think Frist and his silly legislation may have done something great for me. Perspective is everything, and I was just losing it from the poker trenches.

Dear Mom:

Thank you for sending the cookies. They looked really nice, and Butchie loved them. I’m really starting to get the hang of things around here. They wake us up at 6:30 every morning. We do laundry most of the day. I met a couple of guys at work. They have some really cool tattoos. During most meals, we play a game of Hold’em using cigarettes. I’m won 1 and 1/2 cartons last week in a dinner mtt, but gave it all back in the cash game against some donkey Neo Nazi.

Tell wifey Kim I love her, and to take all my money from the online sites that still exist. She’s been aiding and abetting by sitting by while I play, so she’s going to need that money to get out of the country. I hear Britain is nice, and they have licensed online sites. Sounds like paradise.

Anyway, its time to shower, so I best be going!

Love,

Jordan
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