High On Poker

After running my online bankroll from~172 to over 300, I felt like I was moving in the right direction for the Summer Bankroll Challenge – Southern Hemisphere edition. I had been playing the $16 PLO H/L SNGs almost exclusively, alternating between the 18-person version and the 9-person version. I would generally start with one or two games and once I made headway, would start up a third and then a fourth. I tended to notice a pattern emerging. I started off with a couple of losers (usually, they were shaping up to be winners, but a late bad hand would set me on a different course), consider giving up, and then win whatever games I had left or had just started up.

As far as patterns go, it wasn’t a bad one to have. Literally, it felt like I was making my nut last minute, but at least I was making it.

Sometime this weekend, that scenario fell apart. My worst online poker days seem to be the days when I have the most free time. If I’m home with hours to kill, I’m playing online poker. And unfortunately, I am not playing particularly well. The result. I went form $300+ to a little over $120. Not good.

While that sucked, I kept slugging away. Thanks to a couple of wins last night, I’m back in the black, hovering around $190. I’ve begun to add more PLO Hi Double or Nothing games into my rotation. These things are easier, insofar as the real strategy is to play very tight; they are harder, insofar as I hate playing tight and the payouts are low, so if you win one and lose one, you are a net loser (thanks to rake). In comparison, if you win one (1st or 2nd) and lose one of the PLO H/L SNGs, you are in the black and potentially very profitable. Regardless, I think bringing in the other game (Double or Nothing) will hopefully keep me from playing on auto-pilot.

I have an opportunity to play in a live game tonight at the Comedy Club, thanks to an invite from Alceste. I had considered playing, but I’m on the fence now. The game starts at 8pm, which leaves me an awkward amount of time between work and play. I can stay at the office late, but I’m not particularly in the mood for that, and regardless, I left my poker cash at home. If I head home, though, I’ll be home for maybe 30-45 minutes before I have to head out for poker. To make matters more complicated, I don’t like playing too late on weeknights (11pm cutoff, usually) and there is a facility fee that may cut into profitability. Woe is me! I’m glad I have access to another game, since that was my goal in the new year (play more poker), but now I need to get out of this lackadaisical funk and actually play.

On a somewhat related note, I am incredibly excited for the LOE tournament at the Borgara Winter Open. It’ll be my highest buy-in event ever at $400, just slightly higher than the WSOP Circuit Events I played in AC in the past. The game, though, is the key. Maybe I can even get the Tuna Club to host an OE tournament for warmup.

The plan right now is to head to AC with Davey Roose. Roose is riding on my dime, since I pretty much just want the company. Naturally, Roose is also recruiting amongst his poker-playing pack, since Roose always rolls deep.

The room rates in AC are actually pretty reasonable, so it isn’t so bad. The tournament starts at noon on Saturday, so the plan is to take the bus out there Friday night to allow me a decent amount of rest. I’m not talking a full 8 hours here. I’ll be lucky if I can squeeze in a solid 6 hours. But its all for the poker.

Damn! Do I need to go to the Borg on Friday night to register? Anyone have any advice/tips? I’ve gone to register the day-of before and it can be a madhouse.

If all goes well, I’ll be playing the tournament for all of Saturday, stumbling back to our hotel that night and then picking up again at 2pm on Sunday.

The tournament is first and foremost in my mind. If I can actually have a good showing, it will put my year on the right path. If not, I’m likely starting in the hole. But poker is a looooooooooooong term game.

Until next time, make mine poker!

*** WARNING: NO POKER CONTENT ***

It’s a well known fact that as hot as most Swedish girls are, there’s is an odd form of beauty. It’s the law of diminishing returns as applied to Swedes. Simply put, they may be hot at first, but stay with a Swede long enough and they just become boring.

But really, this is my take on Tiger Woods: Who gives a shit/Who gives a fuck. I mean, really. I understand that he is an athlete, and potentially the biggest profile athlete playing today. I get that he is paid the big bucks and that he is the face of an entire sport, not to mention that he also has put forth a squeaky clean image that is actually probably the cause of his downfall. But in the end, isn’t this just the same story as John Edwards and David Letterman and Michael Jordan and countless other celebrities and athletes. Famous people can get poon on tap. Can and will.

What really blows my mind, though, is the way Tiger is just being an absolute pussy. Call me old fashioned, but if my wife found out that I was cheating on her with 13+ females throughout the course of our marriage (there was never a time that Tiger wasn’t cheating, according to reports), I’d see the revelation as the perfect opportunity to split from the wife. I mean, it’s not like he will ever be able to reach a point where everything is back to normal. So, instead, the affairs were revealed to your wife, you took your lumps (both literally and figuratively) and when the dust settles, you can escape the marriage that you clearly do not want in the first place. This is opportunity knocking, Tiger. She knows you like the strange, so now go get some with absolute freedom. Don’t be a puss and crawl back, quit your job and beg for forgiveness. Forgiveness in this case is a short-term plan and will be followed by a sexless, frigid marriage. Fuck that!

I am not condoning what Tiger did, but I definitely do not condone how he is handling it. Have the courage to follow your convictions, Tiger, even if those convictions involve dirty sex with pornstars and wannabe models.

Final thought: I heard a rumor that Tiger stood to lose upwards of $300 million if he and Elin get a divorce. First off, the man has a pre-nup agreement that will avoid such a loss. But more importantly, $300 million is nothing to Tiger. Divorce is hard for the guy working as a plumber making $40k a year as the sole bread winner in his household. That guy is going to lose 50% of everything plus more, along with longterm alimony and child support. Poor Tiger, however, will still have over $400 million, even if he has to give Elin $300. In fact, Tiger is in the small group of people where the financial implications of divorce are nil. So, enough of, “What an idiot! This will cost Tiger $300 million, just to get laid!” He can afford it and thensome.

Until next time, make mine poker!