Dear Danny,
In poker, the decisions you make are often based on statistics or odds. You know how many cards there are in the deck, how many are exposed and you calculate the odds of a card helping or hurting you coming out. Basic odds are 30% chances of a flush hitting, 7% of an Ace coming out, stuff like that. And you can say the same thing Pre Flop. So AK up against JJ, the Jacks are favored 55% to 45%. You take into account the over cards, the straight and flush possibilities, etc.
So in today's session of poker, I missed every flush draw. I only won one coin flip (the 50/50 ones) and was constantly losing to 3 outers, such as AK vs AQ I lost, KQ vs K10 I lost, that sort of stuff.
A lot of you think I overuse the poker metaphor, but it's never more pertinent in life than in this concept. There are odds, there are assumption we can make, but in the end, they're all just odds. All that matters is what cards hit. It doesn't matter that I was a 93% favorite, the 7% hit and that's that. It stings and it makes you wince, but the sign of a real poker player doesn't let it affect his composure. Have a short pain memory and tack one more up to the mean poker Gods.
Because I'm a firm believer that after every downward spiral, after every slump is a redeeming upswing. As long as you keep fighting and keep making the right moves. And keep on playing.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
"I am Dejesus!"
Dear Danny,
Alex, aka Dejesus, aka Hypotron, has inexplicably changed my life tonight. Almost. To an extent. I can't sleep, so I figure, let's get a blog post out and make Danny happy. So earlier today I posted a very whacky poker hand. Lemme run it down for those of you who can't decipher all that poker jargin listed below.
It was a single table tournement, which means that 3 place in the money. There were 4 of us left, and the blinds were getting high. I had 2700 in chips, 3rd place had 2500 and 4th had around 1000. Look below for the exact amounts. But basically, I'm in the big blind and get AK of hearts. The short stack UTG open pushes for about 1000, then the button, the big stack reraises around 1700. THEN SB, 200 less than me, CALLS so what do I do? I have a short stack push, ok any range of ace or low pair, I can beat that. Then a big stack reraise, so ok he probably has a pair he wants to isolate, I'll go against that 50/50 shot. Then the other guy calls, not pushes, calls, meaning...he also has a pocket pair? Hopefully not Kings, so I repushraiseshove...then both calls. Everything is revealed to - UTG K5, Button 44, SB JJ me AK. So basically, I was right. I guess. I had a 30% chance to win out. Flop comes K45, and the rest is history...I came in second. The set of 4s, 15% chance to win, won out and won 1st. So I came in 2nd. Not bad, right?
So I ask Alex what I should have done. And then the world exploded. He didn't know. Alex by the way is basically a professional poker player. He does this everyday. And it bogged him for a while, and basically, it's such a unique and weird position, no one really knows what to do.
Read about it here - http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=163573
Anyway, the sheer concept of being a part of a hand that's completely mysterious, now that's something weird. It's like I saw a UFO or I went on this amazing trip where I was kidnapped by natives and somehow escaped. Like I was part of something bigger than I was. It might just turn out to be a poker story, and things like this happen every day...but it doesn't feel like that. At least not now. So in the future, this is going to be my AK experience. My big blind Ace King story. Let it be known.
Alex, aka Dejesus, aka Hypotron, has inexplicably changed my life tonight. Almost. To an extent. I can't sleep, so I figure, let's get a blog post out and make Danny happy. So earlier today I posted a very whacky poker hand. Lemme run it down for those of you who can't decipher all that poker jargin listed below.
It was a single table tournement, which means that 3 place in the money. There were 4 of us left, and the blinds were getting high. I had 2700 in chips, 3rd place had 2500 and 4th had around 1000. Look below for the exact amounts. But basically, I'm in the big blind and get AK of hearts. The short stack UTG open pushes for about 1000, then the button, the big stack reraises around 1700. THEN SB, 200 less than me, CALLS so what do I do? I have a short stack push, ok any range of ace or low pair, I can beat that. Then a big stack reraise, so ok he probably has a pair he wants to isolate, I'll go against that 50/50 shot. Then the other guy calls, not pushes, calls, meaning...he also has a pocket pair? Hopefully not Kings, so I repushraiseshove...then both calls. Everything is revealed to - UTG K5, Button 44, SB JJ me AK. So basically, I was right. I guess. I had a 30% chance to win out. Flop comes K45, and the rest is history...I came in second. The set of 4s, 15% chance to win, won out and won 1st. So I came in 2nd. Not bad, right?
So I ask Alex what I should have done. And then the world exploded. He didn't know. Alex by the way is basically a professional poker player. He does this everyday. And it bogged him for a while, and basically, it's such a unique and weird position, no one really knows what to do.
Read about it here - http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=163573
Anyway, the sheer concept of being a part of a hand that's completely mysterious, now that's something weird. It's like I saw a UFO or I went on this amazing trip where I was kidnapped by natives and somehow escaped. Like I was part of something bigger than I was. It might just turn out to be a poker story, and things like this happen every day...but it doesn't feel like that. At least not now. So in the future, this is going to be my AK experience. My big blind Ace King story. Let it be known.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Hand of the week
Full Tilt Poker Game #5783159395: $10 + $1 Sit & Go (44019783), Table 1 - 120/240 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:35:40 ET - 2008/03/25
Seat 1: Serioussnaps (7,280)
Seat 2: Moe Syslak (2,510)
Seat 7: movieman2g (2,740)
Seat 8: shockin (970)
Moe Syslak posts the small blind of 120
movieman2g posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to movieman2g [Ah Kh]
shockin raises to 970, and is all in
Serioussnaps raises to 1,700
Moe Syslak calls 1,580
movieman2g raises to 2,740, and is all in
Serioussnaps calls 1,040
Moe Syslak calls 810, and is all in
movieman2g shows [Ah Kh]
shockin shows [Kd 5d]
Serioussnaps shows [4c 4d]
Moe Syslak shows [Jd Jh]
*** FLOP *** [2s Kc 4h]
*** TURN *** [2s Kc 4h] [9d]
*** RIVER *** [2s Kc 4h 9d] [7c]
movieman2g shows a pair of Kings
Serioussnaps shows three of a kind, Fours
Serioussnaps wins side pot #2 (460) with three of a kind, Fours
Moe Syslak shows a pair of Jacks
Serioussnaps wins side pot #1 (4,620) with three of a kind, Fours
shockin shows a pair of Kings
Serioussnaps wins the main pot (3,880) with three of a kind, Fours
shockin is sitting out
shockin stands up
Moe Syslak stands up
movieman2g stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 8,960 Main pot 3,880. Side pot 1 4,620. Side pot 2 460. | Rake 0
Board: [2s Kc 4h 9d 7c]
Seat 1: Serioussnaps (button) showed [4c 4d] and won (8,960) with three of a kind, Fours
Seat 2: Moe Syslak (small blind) showed [Jd Jh] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 7: movieman2g (big blind) showed [Ah Kh] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 8: shockin showed [Kd 5d] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 1: Serioussnaps (7,280)
Seat 2: Moe Syslak (2,510)
Seat 7: movieman2g (2,740)
Seat 8: shockin (970)
Moe Syslak posts the small blind of 120
movieman2g posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to movieman2g [Ah Kh]
shockin raises to 970, and is all in
Serioussnaps raises to 1,700
Moe Syslak calls 1,580
movieman2g raises to 2,740, and is all in
Serioussnaps calls 1,040
Moe Syslak calls 810, and is all in
movieman2g shows [Ah Kh]
shockin shows [Kd 5d]
Serioussnaps shows [4c 4d]
Moe Syslak shows [Jd Jh]
*** FLOP *** [2s Kc 4h]
*** TURN *** [2s Kc 4h] [9d]
*** RIVER *** [2s Kc 4h 9d] [7c]
movieman2g shows a pair of Kings
Serioussnaps shows three of a kind, Fours
Serioussnaps wins side pot #2 (460) with three of a kind, Fours
Moe Syslak shows a pair of Jacks
Serioussnaps wins side pot #1 (4,620) with three of a kind, Fours
shockin shows a pair of Kings
Serioussnaps wins the main pot (3,880) with three of a kind, Fours
shockin is sitting out
shockin stands up
Moe Syslak stands up
movieman2g stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 8,960 Main pot 3,880. Side pot 1 4,620. Side pot 2 460. | Rake 0
Board: [2s Kc 4h 9d 7c]
Seat 1: Serioussnaps (button) showed [4c 4d] and won (8,960) with three of a kind, Fours
Seat 2: Moe Syslak (small blind) showed [Jd Jh] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 7: movieman2g (big blind) showed [Ah Kh] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 8: shockin showed [Kd 5d] and lost with a pair of Kings
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
test bracket
Click the Bracket Below to Enter or Update Your Bracket Picks
North Carolina
Play-in Winner
Indiana
Arkansas
Notre Dame
George Mason
Washington St.
Winthrop
Oklahoma
Saint Josephs
Louisville
Boise St.
Butler
South Alabama
Tennessee
American
North Carolina
Indiana
George Mason
Washington St.
Oklahoma
Louisville
Butler
Tennessee
North Carolina
Washington St.
Louisville
Tennessee
North Carolina
Tennessee
North Carolina
Memphis
UT-Arlington
Mississippi St.
Oregon
Michigan St.
Temple
Pittsburgh
Oral Roberts
Marquette
Kentucky
Stanford
Cornell
Miami (Fla.)
St. Marys (Ca.)
Texas
Austin Peay
Memphis
Mississippi St.
Michigan St.
Pittsburgh
Kentucky
Stanford
St. Marys (Ca.)
Texas
Memphis
Pittsburgh
Kentucky
Texas
Pittsburgh
Texas
Texas
Kansas
Portland St.
UNLV
Kent St.
Clemson
Villanova
Vanderbilt
Siena
USC
Kansas St.
Wisconsin
CS Fullerton
Gonzaga
Davidson
Georgetown
UMBC
Kansas
UNLV
Clemson
Vanderbilt
USC
Wisconsin
Gonzaga
Georgetown
Kansas
Clemson
USC
Georgetown
Clemson
Georgetown
Georgetown
UCLA
Mississippi Val.
BYU
Texas A&M
Drake
Western Ky.
Connecticut
San Diego
Purdue
Baylor
Xavier
Georgia
West Virginia
Arizona
Duke
Belmont
UCLA
BYU
Drake
Connecticut
Purdue
Georgia
Arizona
Duke
UCLA
Drake
Georgia
Duke
UCLA
Duke
UCLA
North Carolina
Texas
North Carolina
There are palm trees here
Dear Danny,
Sorry for not updating in a long long time. I do believe this is my first post of the new year. And it's March. A lot has been going on that I will update on periodically throughout the coming weeks. Right now I'm watching the produce guys unload grocery products into the deli next to Linda's apartment. I'll be out here for the rest of Spring break, so expect a long updated post early next week.
Until then, a short poker story. I was playing a $5 SnG with Danny and it had the most ups and downs we've ever seen in a measly little $5 SnG. At one point, with the blinds at, I believe, 150/300, there were 4 of us left. Me, Danny, and this other clown all had around 1500, while the other guy had around 6000. Somehow Danny survived to 3rd, and then it was me and this other goon. Blinds went to 200/400 and I had, I'm not kidding, 1300 in chips. Literally, every hand for the next, I'd say 7 hands, I pushed. And this goon folded, I'd say 6 of them. Then I doubled up, and suddenly had the chip lead. Then twice in a row when I had him all in and had a far better hand, he sucked out, putting me back to around 2000 in chips. Needless to say, I eventually caught back up and won. It was the most satisfying 17 dollars I've ever made.
Anyway, more later. Till then, push those aces and bet your draws, you never know when you're gonna suck out
Asher
Sorry for not updating in a long long time. I do believe this is my first post of the new year. And it's March. A lot has been going on that I will update on periodically throughout the coming weeks. Right now I'm watching the produce guys unload grocery products into the deli next to Linda's apartment. I'll be out here for the rest of Spring break, so expect a long updated post early next week.
Until then, a short poker story. I was playing a $5 SnG with Danny and it had the most ups and downs we've ever seen in a measly little $5 SnG. At one point, with the blinds at, I believe, 150/300, there were 4 of us left. Me, Danny, and this other clown all had around 1500, while the other guy had around 6000. Somehow Danny survived to 3rd, and then it was me and this other goon. Blinds went to 200/400 and I had, I'm not kidding, 1300 in chips. Literally, every hand for the next, I'd say 7 hands, I pushed. And this goon folded, I'd say 6 of them. Then I doubled up, and suddenly had the chip lead. Then twice in a row when I had him all in and had a far better hand, he sucked out, putting me back to around 2000 in chips. Needless to say, I eventually caught back up and won. It was the most satisfying 17 dollars I've ever made.
Anyway, more later. Till then, push those aces and bet your draws, you never know when you're gonna suck out
Asher
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