Email grubby or grubette (unless you specify otherwise, emails may make it into future grub posts)
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I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.
But no cigar, because my opponent inexplicably held K 7 when he called me down and my J kicker won. I fully did not expect to take this pot. Another reason to keep betting and showing strength. If I had checked and he bet, I would've folded the winner (and I would've folded, too -- how could I expect to win with King high?).
Rather than bump up this week's prize by $5, we'll double it because it's a particular doozy and because HoW is off next Monday for Labor Day. If scheduling works out, I'm shooting for a quick trip to Atlantic City next Monday to play in the Borgata WPT satellite on Tuesday.
I haven't really let up on the playing this week, only taking off perhaps a day and a half. My excuse? The PPM.
Okay, not a terribly great excuse, but there you go.
At the end of this week, I'll be playing the four 210+16 PPM semis for the cruise in March. My plan is to win two -- one for the cruise and one for the money. Not too lofty a goal, eh?
Party likes rewarding their volume players with extra chips in the bigger tourneys (PPM and the $1M tourneys), which I don't think is fair if everyone pays the same entry fee. Not wanting to be at a disadvantage, this means playing a heck of a lot this week in an effort to get those additional chips for the PPM, particularly if I'm playing all four of them. You can get up to 2000 chips per semi, so to collect 8000 extra chips I'll need 8000 raked hands.
So a raincheck for my break. I can always take a break when I sleep.
Fortunately, extra PPM chips are awarded for SnGs (100 chips for every win), so that's where the bulk of my table time has been and will be (all 50+5s, with the occasional 100+9). Though I do have one foot in the bad beat jackpot door (which they increased to quad 8s beaten, a 50 cent jackpot rake, and 2/4 table minimum... the greedy bastids)... with my gambling tendencies, how can I stay away from a potential jackpot of over $200K?
Onto this week's hand, worth considerably less than $200K...
(Debbiedimmit, I just checked and the extra chips deadline is Tuesday. I've already collected 3600 chips, but there's no way I can play 4400 raked hands or win 44 SnGs by Tuesday. I might have to play a bunch of the 10+1 SnGs to get them over with quickly. Ugh, is it worth it? I can only hope they don't seat me at a table where everyone else has the extra 2000 chips.)
Grubby's Hand of the Week #16
for Monday, August 30, 2004
Prize: $50
The first person to correctly guess my opponent's hand before the Monday after Labor Day wins. Suits may or may not matter. One guess per person, please. Winner will be declared here that Monday. If there's no winner, the prize will go to $30.
If you sign up to Nostalgia through that link, the prize is doubled for you. Yeah, it's a casino. But it's one with no wage requirements and a 100 percent match bonus (up to $300) which they give you to play with upfront. They will remove this bonus upon your first withdrawal, so be careful. The trick to playing this is to bet big (if you can afford it, bet your entire deposit + bonus) on one hand of baccarat, craps, or roulette and then cashout (your withdrawal will hit NETeller within minutes). The longer I play, the more I lose. I do, however, have success using this hit-and-run method at Nostalgia whenever they offer reload bonuses.
Leave your guess in the comments section below. You can be Anonymous without registering through Blogger, but do include your name so I know whose guess is whose.
If you don't include contact info and you're the winner, email me after the quiz is over.
Preflop: grubby is MP3 with Q Q 2 folds, UTG+2 raises to t1600, MP1 raises to t3695 (All-In), 4 folds, SB calls t3295, BB calls t2288 (All-In), UTG+2 folds.
Flop: (t12078) 7 6 9 (3 players, 2 all-in)
Turn: (t12078) J (3 players, 2 all-in)
River: (t12078) 6 (3 players, 2 all-in)
Final Pot: t12078
Main Pot: t10864 (t10864), between MP1, SB and BB.
Pot 2: t1214 (t1214), between MP1 and SB.
Sometimes you have to take risks in poker. I do so when I'm short-stacked or when in position. Doesn't really matter what cards you have in that case, if you've seen the players to your left are capable of folding and it's folded to you.
However, I'm less likely to call big raises than I am to make big raises.
This hand is still early in a 200+15 multi. Early in the sense that we still have a couple hundred players to go before cashing (I didn't).
One person raises 2x the BB and MP1 doubles that to all-in when it gets to me. An AK minimum out there, maybe even AA or KK. My ho's didn't stand a chance and I kicked 'em to the curb like Rebecca Romijn-Stamos-O'Connell.
Oh how I wish I were first to bet. I would've pushed without hesitation and not have to think.
I felt better about my decision once two people after me also called this raise. Although, this could have meant all the big cards were shared and QQ would've been free and clear. At the time I didn't think it was worth the risk. I didn't take into consideration that I was shortstacked with barely 5x the BB. It's pathetic that I didn't call.
The initial 2x meek raiser folded.
Three players (two all-ins) to a whopping 15BB pot. No splits; I'll tell you who won next time.
MP1 had A K.
SB had K J
What did BB have?
— —
Sunday, August 29, 2004
The Monty Memorial tournament
Out in 40th (of 77).
Which was much, much better than I'd expected, considering I lost the first few hands and fully expected to pick up the boobie prize (a big fat nothing) for being dead last.
I had to go into work and wasn't able to race home in time, so just loaded up the tourney on my work machine.
At my table were uaeb, Hdouble, h8vegans, Kahrhoff, 8Daddy8, h0trod11, and jerge88. Blast those 8-handed tables! I was seated to HD's immediate right, and I'd have preferred to be on his left.
I didn't take notes, so from my fading memory...
My first hand found me with JJ. Raised 5x BB in early position (UTG) and had one caller in the BB. The flop was 2-2-7. uaeb checked, I bet, he called. I was worried about The Hammer. Normally I'm all-in here, but it was extremely early still and not worth the risk. Turn and river I went against my instincts and checked (or perhaps that was my instinct). Besides, I'd be able to gain some information to see what uaeb calls a big raise with. uaeb flips 2 5. A later hand I wasn't involved with also had uaeb with 22 on the Button and a checked flop, turn, and river. River was a 2 for his set, but he didn't bet. I think something similar happened when he had 10-10 and hit a 10 on the river. He later said he had only been playing 3 months after Kahrhoff table-coached him (bad, bad Kahrhoff -- hope no lessons at other tables), who had a questionable hand himself by playing Q2s (or maybe Q5s) and calling a big raise with medium pair and crap kicker.
I surely would've paid off uaeb by betting his hand, and I'm glad I didn't waste any more chips.
Because I'd need 'em to waste on the next hand -- blind with 10 J. It was raised just 2x or 3x, and I called to see a flop of two s (I don't remember the flop exactly, but it was something like 6-7-x). I think I was up against Kahrhoff, who bet, I raised, he called. Turn gave me more outs with a double gutshot. Kahrhoff checked, I bet, he called.
River I completely froze. It paired the 6 and my 21 outs (counting my overcards) were nowhere to be seen. I wimp out and check, he checks and shows A 7.
One more hand with 8-8 in the blind and many callers. I call to see if I can get away from the flop, which is 10-10-x (4 or something like that). 8Daddy8 bets, I raise, others drop, he calls. Turn is blank, he check-calls. River is blank, now he tosses out T100. This is suspicious, and on Party I'm going all-in. Here I wasn't so sure, plus I'm very low in chips at this point. Something doesn't seem right. I just call. He has the slowplayed AA. No raise preflop from him, which could've spelled disaster since someone could've limped with a 10.
I pushed the next few hands I was involved in -- one with KQ (KJ called) that I won. Three or four others that went uncontested (JJ, 77, AQ, and one other I don't recall).
And the final hand. h0trod11 raises the equivalent of me all-in (I think T895), I call with JJ. Hdouble raises all-in with 10-10. I think one other person calls. h0trod11 calls with QQ.
And Hdouble more than quadruples up when the board gives him a set! HD invoked the name Varkonyi for Kahrhoff's early luck and running over of the table, but he ended up with magic 10s (a previous hand where he doubled up had him push with 9-10, a caller with KQ, and he hit a 10). Here's hoping he 10s all the way to the top.
Okay, back to work. Man, I'd much rather be playing poker...
update: it's now 10:40 p.m., and a quick peek shows the final 10 (of course, with two tables of 5 each, as per Pacific's odd 8 fetish). No one from my table ended up cashing (HD out at 21). Oh well. And send your warm wishes to poor Chris Halverson, who bubbled at 11th.
— —
Friday, August 27, 2004
Fun with rivered stack overflows
As much as I whine when people catch their two-outers, with math behind me, I can also suck out with the best of 'em.
So 'twas my turn last weekend. And if I'm gonna do it, do it with style. Noted poker authority Ed Miller would be proud. Unfortunately, I didn't keep the history and the hilarious chat afterwards because I was also involved in some SnGs and when I finally requested the history, it only captured the SnGs.
But as best as I can recall...
I was at a Party bad beat jackpot table, which has been hitting at least once per day since they reduced what you had to beat to Aces full of Kings.
These are wild games because people play any suited and any pair, hoping for their straight flush and quads. Because of this, many more people do hit these hands. If any hand is played to the river, you'll eventually hit something more than the crap you're starting with (quite a few times I've folded small pocket pairs and would've flopped quads -- at a bad beat table, I'm playing every pair to every preflop raise). If you play four of these tables constantly when the jackpot is over $20K (last night it hit at $41K), I think one of those tables will eventually hit the jackpot, and everyone seated would get a minimum of a few hundred bucks. Good deal!
You'll pay for it eventually, because they rake an extra 25 cents. On low limit tables, this gets expensive. Bad deal.
It was a 1/2 full ring table and I'm blind with 4 6.
A folding hand. Well, UTG opens for a raise and six people... six people... call. Talk about odds, so I rap the virtual felt and call along with the rest of the groupers. Admittedly, because of this many people in the pot, I would make this call even if it weren't a bad beat table.
Eight people see...
The flop: 3 4 10 (one )
Relative rags. I do have medium pair with bad kicker, plus I could backdoor into a flush. Maybe even the straight flush! And who else is playing these crap cards to a raise?
UTG throws out his hard-earned buck.
We lose a couple people, but still four callers to me.
I consider raising, but I want to keep people in, when my 4 or 6 comes. Then I could trap everyone between UTG and me with a more expensive raise on fourth street.
The turn: 5 (no )
A double-gutshot. UTG bets, two callers this time, and now it's time for a raise.
In the history of my playing online, I have seen this board many times. I don't believe Party or any poker site is rigged for action, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen some combination of 2-3-4-5 on the board with someone holding an Ace and someone holding a 6.
This time, I was glad to have the 6 because I knew someone had an Ace. Maybe two someones.
My raise knocks out one person and brings two callers to a river of...
The river: 2
A beautiful 2. Rather than check-raise, I lead with a bet (hoping one of the Aces raises), get both callers, and I take the 25BB+ pot.
Those two were the most upset -- UTG said he had pocket Aces; the other said he had pocket 10s (which I don't believe unless he always slowplays his sets; and, given two callers on the river he should've folded because one of us had to have an Ace).
They scream how I could call a raise with 4-6, that the place was rigged, that I must work for Party, that they have no chance, that I must be a bot.
I defend myself by saying: "STACK OVERFLOW ERROR 321591"
That got them riled up some more.
They say how can they talk to someone who doesn't even speak English. They say they've added me to their buddy lists and exchange winks to each other.
I repeat a few times: "/ERR 321591"
And then I leave the table.
— —
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Mie N Yu and a dog named Morocco
When I'm not poker playin', I'm bargain huntin'. File this under the money-grubbin' side of Poker Grub.
Hurry on these offers, as they can expire unexpectedly.
Went to withdraw from Bugsys Club. Over six months ago I'd deposited $500 for their 40 percent deposit bonus ($200). It was easier and less expensive selling your soul there (what players there are, are not just rocks but tricky rocks), so I decided to cut my losses, skip the bonus (and hope it would stick for future play like other sites), and withdraw.
With this poker break, most of the sites I had money in I've removed and consolidated to NETeller, but I hadn't yet touched Bugsys. I do like their table layout -- simple and elegant and not as busy in appearance as other sites. They were really hoping we could have a blogger tourney there, which was in the back of my mind.
Well, no more. I tried to withdraw my remaining $361 (yeah, I lost) and they came back saying I would have to pay a $27.22 fee to do so.
Because in order to withdraw, I must play 60 BBPs per $100 deposited. That would be 300 BBPs (raked hands), of which I've cleared half. This was outlined in the terms and agreement, which I obviously overlooked or else I would never have deposited to begin with. Not only that, but by withdrawing I will also lose the $200 bonus.
On Party, 150 more raked hands can be multitabled in half an hour. On a site that hardly has any traffic but tight players, it's more like three hours.
And to be responsible for a fee that most other (more popular) poker sites take care of coming and going? Heck, even Absolute offers weekly reload bonuses and gets hit hard in fees with everyone depositing $1000 for the bonus, then withdrawing it all a couple days later to lie in wait for the next deposit offer. That's what I've done, and I have over $1200 in bonuses waiting to be worked off.
No thanks, Bugsys. I will play out the remaining BBPs and then say good night, Gracie.
And to spite them, I will go for the bonus even if it takes me eleventy-seven hours and will cash out not 1 BBP over. Here's hoping I don't lose $27.22 more in the process.
§
A friend was in town last weekend and we caught a late Spider-Man 2 show (we seem to be in the minority and didn't particularly care for it -- what happened to you, Sam Raimi?) at the year-old Georgetown theaters that were built around a classic 175-foot brick smokestack that used to act as an incinerator. If this theater offered more in the way of art-house fare, it would be a suitable replacement for the old sorely missed Biograph and Key theaters. The types of people it attracts (all dressed in black, even in summer) and the general look and attitude of it reminds me of movie theaters in New York. And that means fondly. Except the price to go with it: $9.50.
Afterwards we walked along M Street for food. It's about midnight at this point, and D.C. restaurants tend to shutter at 11 p.m. even on a weekend. The last time I really walked Georgetown (it's too touristy devoid of personality on the main M St. drag) was when True Lies was being filmed and I got to see a stunt actor for Gov. Schwarzenegger pretend to run in a trenchcoat. I also wound up on the set by accident, as I moseyed around back of Dean & DeLuca and saw their alleyway had been converted into a pseudo-carnival. Many trailers taking up space, and a gentleman with a giant platter of hush puppies. Why, I didn't know, Ahnold.
We began our restaurant crawl at the end toward Key Bridge and the Exorcist stairs (still as spooky as ever and gives me vertigo whenever descending) and found the general chain restaurants, then a small Indian restaurant, then a Greek restaurant, then passed through a line of people waiting to get into a bar (dance club?) next to the Old Glory watering hole where many a Georgetown University student goes to practice being Republican.
In the window looked to be a restaurant with some unique architecture and designs and a fountain, so we charmed the bouncer, cut through the line, popped through the curtain (bar & restaurant are the same), and surveyed the menu.
Menus that just print the dollar amounts in an elegant font are a bad sign.
My friend is a poor struggling grad student at The Actors Studio starting her third year on hefty student loans she could buy a house with, and I'm an underbankrolled poker player and gambooler who's used to eating Wendy's and Ramen noodles.
But we looked at each other, looked at the fabulous decor, and looked back at each other with puppy dog longing and said, "Table for two."
We were hungry for something new (stomach and mind), snatched the table pictured below, and placed our orders before the kitchen closed.
What followed was the most decadent eating I've had since the buffet at The Bellagio.
The server brought about bread in a huge basket. He described each, we pointed, and he tonged them onto our plates with a boat of dips (whipped butter, oil & vinegar, and a heavenly mashed edamame that I'd never seen before, and you know how much I love edamame). I had a sudden thought -- what if we're charged for the bread? I've been to Indian restaurants before where they asked if you'd like bread or rice with your meal, and it ends up costing extra -- which I quickly pushed iaside.
No worries, we were here to splurge. After a consumerist flick we wasted $10 on when we could get the two-DVD set next month for $15, we had to counter with Tunisian fusion. If we saw Maria Full of Grace, we'd be eating McDonald's afterwards.
Starting us off was a banana pesto hummus appetizer with Indian and pita bread and fried plantains. I've never had better Indian bread (chapatti?) -- perfectly crispy and salted, and well complemented with the hummus.
Next was crab-encrusted scallops on the halfshell. Only three, and we split it right down the middle. We made sure no one was looking, then licked the clams clean.
I grew up on Friday night Roy Rogers' burgers & fries & strawberry shortcakes (actually biscuits with strawberries and what passed for ice cream), Shake & Bake, spaghetti, and Sunday night Chinese takeout (we were too cheap to tip the delivery guy, so we always drove to pick it up). We even drank powdered milk (just add water) because it was cheaper than the real thing.
My friend had a champagne and caviar upbringing, and her tastes are much refined (a.k.a. snobby). The first time I had dinner with her was at her place and I searched high and low for a good bottle of wine. The wine guy at Rodman's (I think a DC-specific store) assured me the one he selected was good despite the expense. When I got to her place, I proudly displayed the wine, and I could see her eyes casually dismiss it. I felt like someone rivered my set of Aces with a gutshot straight lo those years ago.
If she enjoyed this place, you knew it had to be good.
And she didn't just enjoy it, she raved about it. While we were there. Her ravings far paled mine in comparison. We out-raved the ravers on the dance floor.
Next we shared the halibut entree (a tad dry but perfect carrot sauce to make up for it), a couple mixed drink concoctions, and for dessert we moved to a sultan- and Godfather-like area where we overlooked the entrance and people walking by in an enclosed canopy enveloped with pillows:
Dessert under the tent was creme brulee, served in four dishes of white Godiva chocolate, mango, peach, and chocolate chambord. Then the fondue pot came, with various fruit (my one healthy moment) and cakes with warm chocolate in the center atop a flame.
The dessert wine that they recommended to go with it (Taittinger?) was delicious even at $16 a glass.
Pure heaven. We lounged as long as we could until we had to go back to the cruel world.
I always like to check out bathrooms in new places. To me, a solid bathroom is the piece de resistance of a restaurant. If they've spent this much time and effort in the design, they'd better not skimp on the commode. At the Main Street Station in Vegas, the men's room has urinals attached to part of the Berlin Wall, complete with German graffiti so you can say you ich bin peed on the Berlin Wall. That's the type of bathroom I want, one with character and pissing rights.
My friend went on the mission first. She returned with her jaw on the ground and said I have to check out the bathrooms.
I did.
It's a community restroom with individual toilet rooms on either side of the various faucets and barrels in the center. You wash your hands through intricate wooden tubing, all over flat rocks. I was transported to a different world.
Then you see an ATM machine in the corner, and you're brought back to Earth. Menus without prices and ATM machines in the restrooms = this place is too fu-fu for you.
When the bill came (just a standard arrival, not set aflame or anything -- they need to work on that), I tried not to think that we weren't a party of 10 and sucked it up with a good tip. Poker winnings are meant to be spent... reluctantly, anyway... and if I can lose $1500 in Vegas (heck, $1500 in one bad 10/20 session), surely I can pay for a lousy ol' dinner.
The only downside is the name. On their logo it looks like Mien Yu, which is okay and semi-exotic. But it's actually Mie N Yu. As in, Me and You. As in, pretty godawful because I think of Barney and Free to Be You and Me.
But the name is something quickly overlooked when you see the place and then eat the food. Just calling it food is too pedestrian.
It's been a long time since I've had a really good meal in an elegant setting that didn't require dressing up (goodness knows I hate wearing ties). If they franchised to Vegas, I'd invest.
More photos are on their website, which actually does the restaurant justice. If you're ever in DC and want to buy me dinner...
— —
Monday, August 23, 2004
Grubby's Hand of the Week #15
Congrats to AgentLace, who correctly guessed CO had A-10o (he guessed suited, but wins anyway) in Hand of the Week #14. A.L., shoot me an email with your address and I'll get your $20 to ya.
I have a ton of interesting hands stockpiled, so even though I'm on a break (see yesterday's post) I can still dig into the vault for the head-scratchers. I don't expect my time off to last longer than the next Hand of the Week, but you never know.
Because I'd like to continue these weekly, please consider signing up to a poker or casino site through one of these links. I've started a couple promos offering various bribery (cash, DVDs, PokerTracker, other prizes) in exchange. I could also extend a similar offer if you sign up to Party, Empire, Absolute, or The Gaming Club. Take a look at the grub prize closet, see if anything strikes your interest, and perhaps we can make a deal. This will also act retroactively, so if you've already signed through me to one of the above sites and would like one of the prizes, your raked hand count will begin as soon as you email me and let me know.
Grubby's Hand of the Week #15
for Monday, August 23, 2004
Prize: $20
The first person to correctly guess my opponent's hand before next Monday wins. Suits may or may not matter. One guess per person, please. Winner will be declared here the following week. If there's no winner, the prize will roll over to next week plus $5.
Leave your guess in the comments section below. You can be Anonymous without registering through Blogger, but do include your name so I know whose guess is whose.
If you don't include contact info and you're the winner, email me after the quiz is over.
River: (7 BB) A (2 players)
grubby bets, BB calls.
Final Pot: 9 BB
Main Pot: 9 BB, between grubby and BB.
(Speaking of PokerStars, has anyone ever signed up to them through me? I have no signups at all and I'm wondering if the link is faulty.)
Here's an interesting bluff hand. Keep in mind it's Stars, which has better players. Better meaning less calling stations but more playing back atcha. These lower limits actually play like higher.
At least, that was my hope for this particular hand. I had been at this table for about 15 minutes, and play was pretty standard and tight. Rarely was it folded to the blinds without a raise.
This was one of those rare hands. KJo, while not the best of starters, plays well heads-up. When I raised and BB reraised, I suspected BB was thinking I was trying to steal and was protecting his blind. Party is more straightforward, playing your cards. Stars is more psychological, playing the player (which is why I believe multi-tabling can only work successfully on Party). If this hand were on Party, he would definitely have something and I could let go if the flop didn't help. Here on Stars, I couldn't be sure.
I decided to see if I could outplay him, and with the rag flop, the best way to take it down uncontested was to check-raise. Particularly if he was on a flush draw. And if he was, he'd probably reraise and I could drop.
Surprisingly, he just called. And called. And called.
I had no idea what he had (and of course, the rivered Ace was scary), but I had put myself into a predicament and could only hope he'd fold at some point. Because if he didn't, I was dead.
What do you s'pose BB had?
— —
Sunday, August 22, 2004
"Greatest comeback ever"
Alas, not by me. By some guy in a 50+5 SnG who got lucky eleven straight times and wrote the above in chat. He didn't get a "gg" from me.
I took two people out simultaneously and was chip leader with T9966. The third guy was left with T34.
Blinds were 200/400.
I should be able to take him out pretty easily from here, eh?
From then to the end, he caught an unbelievable amount of cards (not even good ones) to win the title right from under me eleven hands later.
A chip and a chair.
Whatever skill level you are, it don't mean nothin' if you don't gots the luck.
I know I have a long way to go in learning this game, and I don't begrudge losing AA to other high pocket pairs or AQ or AK that happen to get lucky, but the ones who stay with bottom pair or Ace high and keep calling big bets and the ones who call preflop all-ins with incomprehensible cards and catch... grrr... that's enough to drive a grub to straight bourbon.
That was my week and weekend -- many 4th place finishes (I fight for 1st, not to cash) in SnGs and losing in the regular ring games. I was definitely outplayed in the 100NL ring games (lost $200 to QQ calling my AA -- thanks, Pauly), which I shouldn't be playing, but even there I was getting rivered despite making it terribly expensive for people to call with bottom pair or Ace high.
Time and again I would push preflop with AA, KK, QQ, JJ... and get called by a smaller pocket pair... that hits for their set. Party even likes to play with your emotions by placing that last card on the river. One hand I had AA vs. another AA vs. KK. All-in preflop, and we split the pot because the board makes a straight.
Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if my bad luck cloud even extended to iggy's blogger tourney, which inexplicably went kaput (yep, I was signed up but going incognito).
I try to justify this bad run from playing multiple tables and multiple hours. Of course I'll run into a significant amount of beats, just from playing many more hands than at a live casino. It's just mind boggling how frequent they seem. A friend watched me in a Party multi with this the final hand. I was doing well, up to T30,000 when two suckout hands cut me down to size. Note that everyone is playing tight because we're on the bubble:
Preflop: grubby is SB with A J 1 fold, UTG+1 calls t1500, 6 folds, grubby raises to t6459 (All-In), 1 fold, UTG+1 calls t4959.
Flop: (t14418) J 9 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)
Turn: (t14418) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)
River: (t14418) K (2 players, 1 all-in)
Final Pot: t14418
Main Pot: t14418 (t14418), between grubby and UTG+1.
Pot won by UTG+1 (t14418).
grubby shows A J (one pair, jacks).
UTG+1 shows K J (two pair, kings and jacks).
Outcome: UTG+1 wins t14418.
UTG+1 had no business calling, even if he suspected I was bluffing and playing the bubble. The tourney lobby said 131 people remained (top 130 place), but I ended up 129 and enough for a refund of my buy-in (but not my 3+ hours, ahem!). Some consolation.
Two hands later, the same guy (now BB) made this play with my chips (apologies, the converter gets a little screwy when you're not in the hand):
Yup, definite calling station. Or maybe his wife was calling him hither and he had to leave right quick. Just a shame he had to do it on my hand and suck out.
Beats hurt. In ring games they hurt, but you can get it back (volume volume volume, playing multiple tables).
In SnGs they hurt, but you make a note and move on to the next.
In multis, they hurt most of all, because you'll never get the tourney or the time spent back.
So I'm again discouraged. On the one hand, I'm heartened that this bad play is still happening in abundance, but on the other, it's having a browbeaten effect when it seems focused on me.
I play too darn much. Every day, some 4-6 hours or so into daybreak when I hear the plonk of the newspaper hitting my front door. My bankroll is fine, but I'm prone to tilt on blackjack and slots. All that I've won from poker go into this dangerous -EV alternative pasttime, and it ain't good. I mentioned new Belle Rock slots to GrannyMae, and she said she hated me for telling her about them, but of everyone, she and mamagrub are the only ones who share my love for those little bonus reels.
On the Howard Stern show last week, KC Armstrong made a revelation that he won over $320,000 on Let It Ride online. He moved into a bigger apartment in NYC, bought a big TV, and was ready to pay off his debts. Within the next few days, he lost it all. All before he could get the first check (which he said would be doled out at $4000 per week).
The troubling thing is I can see myself doing the exact same thing. I would hope I'd have the mindset to sock away at least half, but the gambler in me would say otherwise. Whenever I have a few thousand sitting in NETeller, I waste it away on blackjack and slots.
I'm also troubled by Lord Geznikor's last few posts about his bankroll being precariously close to $0 since he began poker full-time six months ago. This could very easily be me, with poker being a sole source of income. I haven't achieved the Maslow level of poker enlightenment, and every time I get a beat it affects me enough that I have doubts I could pull off a living from this game.
Through all my complaining about being unlucky, however, I do very well in poker where luck is part of the game. I don't do very well in blackjack and slots, where luck is all of the game. Lately I've been spending too much time and money in blackjack and slots.
This leads up to some desperately needed mental health days.
Time for another extended break from playing, to get some nonpoker things done (like laundry), and to read noted poker authority Ed Miller's new book cover to cover (which I took to Vegas but still remains unread). And to watch some Netflix DVDs that I've had sitting here unwatched for the past three months. Under the dirty laundry.
I might need sunglasses, I don't know how bright it is outside in the sun.
I'll still be posting, you'll just have to go to Hellmuth's site for further bad beat whining.
— —
Monday, August 16, 2004
Grubby's Hand of the Week #14
If you find yourself in a tournament with me and I go all-in, you might consider calling because I probably have a high pocket pair and you'll be able to outdraw me with whatever you have.
This happened consistently enough this weekend that I've come to expect it. AA vs. QJ (straight). QQ vs. 33 (set). JJ vs. KJs (flush). KK vs. 9-10 (two pair). In each hand I was all-in preflop, making for some jaw-dropping (draw-dropping?) calls by players not even shortstacked who should know better but probably know enough that their luck will help them out. I think that mirror I cracked a few years ago is still having an effect.
Here's a hand from a 100+9 SnG. I don't have the hand history because I shut off the computer in disgust, after I screamed loud enough to wake the baby in the apartment down the hall two floors down.
I must work on managing this anger. I recall getting upset when losing a game of Payday or Uno with grubette. We'd play for money (no playing for sport in the grub household), I'd lose, and I'd throw down the cards or flip up the game board and pieces and storm off in a huff. I even kicked a hole in her bedroom door, I'm ashamed to admit. I had a wee bit of an excuse then: I was 12.
Fortunately, I don't display this aggression in person. I'm calm and cool and never take anything out on the dealers.
At home alone, though, cover your ears.
Here's the hand...
It's down to four people. Top three pay. I take shots at the 100+9 SnGs every now and again. I haven't noticed any significant difference in play from the 50+5 SnGs (except, uh, my placings), so I'm likely to continue.
I'm UTG, see KK, and go all-in. I'm medium stacked, and another stack with slightly less chips calls with AQ. The chip leader is sitting pretty, and the fourth player is the shortstack.
I'm chanting, "No Ace, No Ace, No Ace."
The flop: 2-2-2.
No Ace, No Ace, No Ace.
The turn: K.
Yesssss!
The river: 2.
WTF?!?
This beat was a new one on me, and I thought I'd seen it all. I chalk it up to my silly luck. I can't blame it on the AQ player, because shorthanded like that I would've called all-in as well.
What gets my grub are the players who call my high pocket pair all-ins preflop with 22-99 and end up hitting their set. I'd like to think it balances out in the long run, but I can't think of an instant this weekend when I made the push, was called with a smaller pocket pair, and their pocket pair didn't catch their set.
Surely this means my luck is about to change.
I experimented with playing 6 tables at a time, which was more than I could handle. Four is a good number; six requires the other monitor, and it's a challenge to crane my neck back and forth. Certainly keeps my attention, though.
Played about twenty-five 50+5 SnGs and placed first in one out of four. Alas, I gave it back in blackjack and video poker, -EV games I need to cease and desist immediately. I also hit a royal flush for $2000 but gave that back in slotplay... yep, I know I have a problem. I have a difficult time keeping ahold of money.
Did The Gaming Club/Prima's 100K tourney on Saturday, which was malfunctioning because players weren't being moved. Tables weren't balanced and played out like 39 SnGs. Once one table dwindled to one player, that player was moved. Prima made an announcement that they were aware of the problem, yet let the game continue. Top 40 players paid, and when they reached 51 they finally cancelled it and refunded players' buy-ins, rebuys, and add-ons (one player at my table rebought 10 times... he must've been thrilled).
When players caught wind of what was happening, the majority of them began soft-playing and folding blinds to keep their table in the game. They wrote in chat and confirmed their collusion agreement that they would post and fold blinds to each other until the tournament was fixed.
My table was behaving until I was bumped. Then a deal was made, and the remaining players also began post-and-folding.
I was knocked out around 70th, but wrote an email long before that expressing how poorly they were handling this tournament. Many conspiracies abounded -- they still continually get few people signing up (even less, now that they've upped the buy-in to $100+10) and have to put up a significant amount to meet the 100K guarantee. The main theory was that Prima did this purposely when they saw they would be losing too much money; after all, their 3000-player freerolls go off without a hitch. Why should their biggest money tourney with 380 players have this many problems?
I don't believe in Area 51, and I don't subscribe to this, because they've already been losing tens of thousands of dollars every Saturday and Sunday with these 100K and 75K guaranteed tourneys. Why would they sabotage their tournament and risk players abandoning their site, as well as bad-mouthing them?
This tournament has the best overlay anywhere, and though I'm now a little leery of playing it next Saturday, I'll still be there every time they offer it.
I also won seats into two of Party's 250K guaranteed tourneys. They had enough signups that each had pools of over 325K.
My final hand on one of them was AA, which I went all-in after a player raised. That player had KK. You can guess what flopped, and I was out. Again, just bad luck. There's no way KK is dropping and it's just the luck of the cards at that point.
Played a few $32 SnG satellites to the Party Poker Million semis. This is a great little SnG because first place gets the seat and second and third place get entries to another $32 satellite. I only bought into this SnG twice, and after placing 3rd and 2nd giving me two more chances, I won two seats. I hope to win two more, so I have four entries to cover each of the semi days Sept. 2-5. The more chances, the better. And I really want to be on that boat, hobnobbing with Shana Hiatt who by my calculations should be divorced by next year and ready for a rebound.
Oh, but you're not here to read about my weekend of beats, you're here for the Hand of the Week!
Congrats to NemoD, who won $30 for correctly guessing Hand of the Week #13 when my opponent had A8o. Way to go, NemoD! Hope to join you at another final table soon.
The prize has been reset to $20 and off we go!
Grubby's Hand of the Week #14
for Monday, August 16, 2004
Prize: $20
The first person to correctly guess my opponent's hand before next Monday wins. Suits may or may not matter. One guess per person, please. Winner will be declared here the following week. If there's no winner, the prize will roll over to next week plus $5.
Leave your guess in the comments section below. You can be Anonymous without registering through Blogger, but do include your name so I know whose guess is whose.
If you don't include contact info and you're the winner, email me after the quiz is over.
Turn: ($44) T (2 players)
grubby checks, CO bets $25, grubby raises to $47.2 (All-In), CO calls $22.20.
River: ($138.40) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)
Final Pot: $138.40
Main Pot: $138.40, between CO and grubby.
A word about these NL ring games: always bet your hand and don't check when a 3flush or straight draw develops. Once you check, these sharks will smell that weakness and take advantage. Likewise, you'll be able to take down many an uncontested pot with nothing, simply being in late position.
I had dabbled in NL ring last year but for some reason never stuck to it. I returned after trying it out in Vegas and liking it (despite losing) but mostly because if I fancy myself a good SnG NL player, I should be able to do well in the live NL ring counterpart (besides which, it's the best place to work off bonuses as practically every hand is raked).
The jury's still out whether I'll continue or whether I'm any good. I try to play like I'm playing a NL SnG, with the money just chips. Reads are next to impossible, removing much of that psychology. Though more chatter to make up for it.
Maybe this hand will help to decide?
This was a $100 maximum buy-in, 1/2 blinds. Very different from the 50NL, which rarely has preflop raises. The 100NL is a bit more aggressive, but similar in that everyone is call-call-calling waiting for their hands. It's up to you to make it expensive for them and if you don't and they get their card, it's all your fault.
I had no reads on this table, other than most people were calling and calling with crap. I suspected perhaps a flush draw or a Q with medium kicker, and I was hoping I could shake CO out of the hand by check-raising him all-in, but nope (and yes, he was committed at that point and my short stack was giving him a discount to call and see the river). His call probably meant no flush draw. And meant at least a Q... or did it?
What did CO have?
— —
Thursday, August 12, 2004
"He ain't got no flush, man!"
On my final day in Vegas playing the 2 p.m. daily tourney at Binion's (it'll always be Binion's to me), six tables are silent but for the sound of chips shuffling. Then someone yells, "He ain't got no flush, man!" and all six tables erupt in laughter.
I should have been playing this game every day. Not that it was terribly soft, but it was a very good mix, the buy-in was low but not too low ($60 + 10 dealers + one 40 rebuy), and there were just enough players (66 -- six 11-handed tables).
I saunter into the Binion's poker room only on my last day. It looked dead otherwise. Sit down at the $100 minimum NL ring game. That's minimum -- you could buy-in for as much as you wanted to. "Even a million," the dealer said. I stick with $100 for now, the small stack of reds made smaller when second at the table and the other player had $500. It was just getting started, with others who had played the game the past few days. At first I thought they were regulars, but they were tourists like me who got to know each other or already did know each other and were traveling together. I think you can tell the regulars by the white hair.
We start 3-handed (no rake) and gradually grow to a full table. I take off a small pot with a complete bluff after folding too much. Now 4-handed, any pair was good so I begin calling more (blinds were 1/2) to try outplaying post-flop. My skills after the flop are better in tournaments, as I'm still not as successful divorcing chips from their actual monetary value. I play QTo in the SB and the flop is Q97 (rainbow). I check, it's checked around. The turn is a 4. I bet $10, I'm raised $20 by the big stack, I call (bad move). River is a 6, I check, big stack goes all-in, I call (bad move, but I wanted to see). He has 69o. I lose and rebuy.
Table is 6-handed now. Big stack opens with $20 and is gloating from a previous hand against his friend where he turned a straight but big stack turned a flush. I see KQs. I suspect he's bluffing or has a big Ace and think I can move him off. I raise all-in. He shows KK. I lose and rebuy.
$200 down in 15 minutes and I'm not even drinking. It's just like blackjack.
I then win a small pot with a turned straight, though I think I could've gotten more money if I hadn't bet out on the river (the guy flopped a pair, checked it through, then rivered two pair).
I have a good vibe from this table and good reads from the players, but the tournament is about to begin so I cash out (about $180 down, which is what I won earlier at Golden Gate playing blackjack after eating the delicious shrimp and stuffed shells with meatballs). If I bust out of the tournament early, I'm headed right back to the NL. If not, I'll check out of Fitzgerald's and head to the Strip.
Nice to see dealers know what they're doing. The complete opposite of the new dealers still in need of training at Golden Nugget.
While in line to cash out, I discover a woman in front of me had won this tournament the past three days in a row. "Going for a fourth?" I ask. She smiles. She has more chips than I do.
I make it through the second break, where it's so cold inside that I gladly step outside in the 108-degree heat and pick up a mocha Funky Monkey (chocolate & banana flavor) on ice and do my best monkey impression as I trip on grate next to the cart. Back to Binion's, and I'm looking forward to a good bluff raise, as I had just posted the SB and am now the button. But our table breaks and we draw for seats. Too bad.
I'm at the final three tables with the threepeat woman to my right. Luckily I'm one from the button, and shorter stacks get in the way of the blinds. One by one they're picked off and replaced by players, albeit a little too slowly (at one point we had six players, and another table had nine).
Chip challenged, I can only push or fold, and no one calls my pushes (the first time a bluff, the next two times AKo), enabling me to build up a medium stack with blinds and antes. I also raised all-in when the threepeat woman raised the button. Raising all-in for me was just raising the minimum, which she put in anyway figuring she could knock me out. My AK beat her J7o with a K on the flop and a J on the river.
As people busted, they'd give the threepeat woman $20 and their raffle ticket (a drawing is held an hour after the tournament to give 5 percent of the pool to one of the ticket holders) as part of their last-longer bet from previous days playing with her. This happened twice, and the woman looked on her way to winning a fourth time.
UTG, I get 99 and push again. Blinds coming up, I would only last a few more orbits, and I didn't care about squeaking into the money. I needed to double up fast. Some apparently tough folds from the way people were hem-and-hawing, but they ultimately folded. Then SB asks how much I have. I immediately show my chips and count it down, wanting him to see my eagerness and fold. I want him to fold, but know that 99 is a good a hand as any and I should be good as long as no overcards fall or he doesn't have a bigger pair.
He counts out the chips and calls. He has a bigger pair (QQ). I lose, shake his hand, and wish the threepeat woman luck.
I head out of Binion's and see my old NL game full now. The big stack still has the biggest stack, and though I outlasted him in the tournament by a good hour, he's about $400 up, half of which was donated by me.
lunch:
2 slices of mushroom & feta pizza
1 slice of mushroom & red pepper pizza
1 slice of Hawaiian pizza
1 slice of pepperoni & tomato pizza
1/2 ginger cookie
Lay's Potato Chips
Tootsie Roll
3 Diet Cokes
1 Cherry Coke
dinner:
...
— —
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Greetings from Vegas
(I'm in Vegas at a place on W. Charleston, hurrying to type this because I only have an hour.)
After getting a sterling half an hour of sleep Monday night, I worked late Tuesday to get things finished before my trip. Thought I could get in a good sleep, but there was still laundry to do.
The string of events, as best I can remember:
I get home at midnight. My flight is at 8:55 a.m.
I wind up playing 10/20 (you know, testing that "luck" theory before any Vegas trip)
I win.
I lose.
I lose some more.
I win.
I lose.
I lose again.
I lose still more. One of the losing hands: UTG raises, I reraise with KK. BB calls. Flop is Q8x. Raiser checks, I bet, BB and UTG call. Turn is x but puts a 3flush out there. UTG check-calls. River is 8. UTG check-raises. Should be a good fold for me, but I call and he shows A8o.
It's 5:30 a.m.
I do laundry.
I decide to stay awake and sleep on the plane.
I fall asleep at the computer.
I wake up with a start.
It's 7 a.m.
I get an email from Lucky Nugget saying I had $220 in my account from the monthly loyalty bonus last month. I'm steamed and fire off an email because the 1 percent cashback is supposed to be 1.25 percent. I login to Lucky Nugget and lose the entire $220 betting $20 hands. Why do I play blackjack again?
I shower.
I pack, just throwing dirty clothes into my bag. It's not enough, I'll have to buy clothes in Vegas.
I dash downstairs and call for cab.
It's 8:07 a.m.
My laundry is still in the dryer. I might add that this is a community, shared dryer and the chances of my clean whites still being there a week from now is about the same as my winning a tournament.
I'm waiting outside for the cab, calculating and balancing if it's worth the risk to run up, get the laundry, and throw it on my couch. Calculating pot odds is easier.
8:10 a.m.
I need new underwear and socks anyway.
8:15 a.m.
I realize I left a new toothbrush and other toiletries in the bathroom. Do I have time to run up for that?
8:17 a.m.
If I had time for that, I'd have time to save my laundry from the clutches of apartment dwellers.
8:22 a.m.
The cab arrives, I tell him "Step on it" (always wanted to say that). He gets me there at 8:30 a.m. and I tip him $5.
The America West kiosk says the flight is restricted.
I go to the main booth and they say the flight is restricted because it closes 15 minutes before the flight. She's nice about it and hunts down another flight by way of Phoenix.
The movie is Garfield. They made Garfield look like Bill Murray. I make it until Jennifer Love-Hewitt, then fall asleep.
Eat a Great Steak which wasn't so great at the Phoenix airport.
The flight to Vegas was delayed while still onboard before takeoff. In DC, I called Dollar to push my reservation by four hours. They said I didn't need to because it was still in the four-hour window.
I arrive in Vegas, hop the shuttle, and they don't have my name.
At the Dollar office, they also don't have my name. I had my confirmation, which they entered.
This is the first gamble lost, because Dollar has a CTI code which is $15 per trip. However, many people have been using it and getting $15 off per day. This has been going on for months, and Dollar has not yet closed the loophole.
Using this CTI code vs. another code brought my price up a few more dollars, but it was a good gamble to take.
I've already lost $15 x 7 days.
I pick up a PT Cruiser.
It's 4:30 p.m. at this point.
I miss the WPDG meeting, which I had planned on attending and then head to Laughlin to meet Felicia and Glenn and play in the NLHE tourney.
Felicia emailed that she had to go out of town, so I wouldn't be meeting them, but I thought I'd visit Laughlin anyway. With the tourney starting at 6:30 p.m., there was no chance.
I check in to Fitzgerald's.
I play slots to ensure future free rooms.
I lose $340 on nickel slots, at 27 nickels (9 lines, 3 coins) per spin.
I lose $20 on video poker.
I lose $300 on blackjack, at two bets per hand at $15 each. Every time I think online blackjack is rigged, I play live blackjack and experience similar beats.
I only brought $1200 with me.
I call grubette to commiserate, then decide to steam off the rest in a NLHE tourney at Golden Nugget at 7 p.m.
$125 buy-in for T2000 chips. Extra $5 to dealers for T500 chips, which practically everyone used.
One $100 rebuy for T2000. One $100 add-on for another T2000.
39 people entered. Top 5 places pay. I'm already out $330 for this tourney.
And I'm out of time at this Internet kiosk. More later, perhaps within the week or when I return.
— —
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Memorial Day Vegas
After some steady SnG wins the past few days, I had a brutal night with 10/20 6max (two tables) that lasted to 8 o'clock this morning (and I had to get up at 8:30!) and found me down $1445. Yikes. I was haunted by this figure all day as I hallucinated about it in a half-daze, but in the end realize it's bankroll and normal fluctuations will happen. Studying some hands, there's clearly room for improvement -- my aggression needs to increase tenfold (why don't I 3bet preflop?), I should move tables if I feel players are getting a read on me, and I shouldn't be so quick to fold, particularly shorthanded. It stings, but it soothes my ass-rivered behind if I put it in that perspective. It wasn't my largest loss in one night and probably won't be the last. Fortunately, the bankroll still exists and I will be playing SnGs to rebuild so I can take another shot at 10/20. The games are good. Good thing I already purchased tickets to Elton and Mystere.
Can I make $1445 in Vegas? Not bloody likely, and the thought won't cross my mind and I'll instead start fresh. Because I play -EV games to ensure room comps for future trips, I've never come out of Vegas a winner. This time will be much daily poker play to see how I fare playing poker for a living (for a week).
I'm debating whether to bring the laptop. Seven days offline will be tough, especially if Belle Rock offers their reload bonuses this first weekend of the month like they usually do and that usually expire the following Monday/Tuesday. Last month was a cumulative $600 for $600 and 10x deposit + bonus (not to mention their loyalty bonus). My last bonus was last week's $200 for $200 but for the first time, blackjack was excluded. Yep, looks like the crackdown on bonus whores has even extended to people who playthrough over $200K a month (wish that could translate into some good wins, but it mainly means many deposits). With Lucky Nugget's Bucks to Bid promotion also a fond memory and finding I'm not treated any differently than when I playthrough $10K a month, I'm done with online casinos completely.
An early morning flight tomorrow and I should be packing and doing laundry (wait, strike that, reverse it) but I thought I'd reminisce about my previous trip to Vegas on Memorial Day Weekend (May 29-31) while in my half-hour sleep stupor.
(Warning: here lies a long, rambling trip report devoid of any substance as per usual...)
For someone who doesn't (usually) believe in luck, I enjoy playing a good cramming session of poker before a Vegas trip to test the waters. This time I was also playing for a first-class upgrade, which America West offered for $150.
Played six 30+3 SnGs and lost them all -- the cost of more than the upgrade. I didn't play my best; people were taking a long time to act and I was getting impatient and falling asleep... four hours before my flight was to leave.
Already in the hole before my trip, I decided if the upgrade was available from their kisok (you can't upgrade online), I would snag it anyway. The cost of the roundtrip flight was a bargain $258 and being sandwiched in the middle seat for 5+ hours isn't fun or funny, and I felt I could just win it back in Vegas. Why not go into the belly of the beast stylin'?
As "luck" would have it, I got the last first-class seat. By the window even. It was better than being in the coach middle seat, yes, but in front of me were two screaming 5-year-olds and to my left was a woman who spilled her mug of coffee all over the seat. Excuse me, where are the celebrities?
Enough passengers walked back and forth to the first-class restroom that an announcement was made to fasten seatbelts and discourage the flagrant use of our private facility. And where were the hot nuts, hot towels, and choice of red/white wine?
For an extra $150 tax included, I can be pretty freakin' elitist.
The movie was Welcome to Mooseport, which I tried to walk out of but there was the problem of decompression. If you haven't flown in awhile, most airlines have adopted the standard headphone jack. Skip the $5 and bring your own headset to mooch some free tunes. Better yet, bring an eyemask so you're not forced to watch Ray Romano feign a romantic lead. Jimmy Stewart he is not.
I didn't take advantage of drinks, sticking to my Diet Coke ("Diet Pepsi okay?" which, yeah, I'm getting used to). The meal was breakfast -- cereal, fruit, a croissant, cheese, crackers, and fruit dip.
At first I spooned the dip, thinking it was yogurt. Not that I could really tell anyway. But I is first class now, realized my mistake, and quaintly dunked the fruit into the dip before chowing down.
My last trip to Vegas, I printed out Mean Gene's Phil Hellmuth post and Wil Wheaton's "Lying in Odessa" three-parter. Both I had shared with my seatmate (he read Wheaton's report backwards) and left in the seat pocket to enlighten future poker players and blog fans.
This time I brought the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind script. While on vacation a couple years ago, the maintenance staff entered my apartment to change filters, check the smoke detector, and leave unflushed objects in my toilet. They left a note saying I was in violation of my lease, as my apartment was a fire hazard from all the boxes in the way of an easy exit (wait'll they see the couch in the kitchen). I had a week to shape or ship. The solution was to stack the boxes against the wall. My dining room is now filled with stacked boxes (boxes which are now damaged because of the convector unit flood), and I was given a reprieve from being kicked out.
Inside these boxes are tons of books, videotapes, laserdiscs (sigh), and magazines (that I still swear I'll get to when I retire). But primarily they're unread movie scripts. Some are drafts of produced movies, others are friends' scripts, and most are optioned but unproduced scripts waiting in purgatory like abandoned puppies at the pound (Pretty Woman 2, Kevin Smith's Six Million Dollar Man, etc.).
A few years ago I attended a conference where one of the panelists was Bryan Singer (after The Usual Suspects and before Apt Pupiland X-Men). He mentioned he was considering a movie based on a popular comic, though he couldn't reveal what it was. The way he hinted around it, I thoughtBroom Hilda (and I still think it was). He has a close circle of friends and decided to give the writing job to a friend of his from high school. Singer knew the guy wasn't a good writer, yet he also knew the friend could use the money ($100K), and he would then bring on Christopher McQuarrie to rewrite.
When McQuarrie was later asked the best way to break into the business, he said, "Go to high school with Bryan Singer."
Okay, that doesn't make my point about the scripts that I've collected, but I thought it was a fun anecdote.
Far better than any book, the unproduced scripts by name screenwriters are the best teacher for screenwriting mechanics and the types of things studios are interested in enough to option. And I can't bear to let them go.
I'm now going through them methodically, trying to soak up (literally now post-flood) what I can, and then tossing when finished.
For this Vegas trip, I brought the Eternal script. It's different from the movie, and I think they made good choices in the changes to the screen.
All of this is to say while retrieving it from my bag, it gave me the biggest papercut I've ever had. It was a bleeder, opening a gash like something out of what a David Cronenberg/Georgia O'Keeffe collaboration might've looked like, and it was positioned on my index finger in such a way that every time I handled something I could feel that stickiness released as it began to bleed.
My finger felt like it was giving birth.
Had a nice nap through the end of Mooseport, and picked up the car rental with no problem at all. Thank goodness for Dollar's Fastlane program. You deplane, hop the shuttle, pick your car, and you're outta there. Last time I had the Dodge Neon, this time I went with the Hyundai Accent. Small and white, with overdrive, and I could squeeze into any parking space.
I was completely worn out by the six hours in the tournament. I'd intended to hop right into the 7 p.m. limit tourney, but I couldn't do it. While you do lose many details, playing tourneys online can whip through these things much faster with far less complaining. Players seem better in live tournaments vs. online. And better in online ring vs. live.
I know this much is true: online or live, I love tournaments.
Luxor: craps and blackjack with grubette & co. I saw Doug playing blackjack and each time I ran into him he was sitting at a different blackjack table downing a shot of something. I didn't see him stand once.
Mandalay Bay: grubette's favorite joint, now part of the mega multi-billion MGM complex (they're gonna need more connecting walkways) if the anti-trust doesn't stop it because of Harrah's/Caesar's alliance (think Steve Wynn has anything to do with this? Hmmm...). grubette and her friend called ahead and got seated in 4/8 after a 30-minute wait. I put my name down for anything, then wandered off to play the awful slots, returning every now and again to see how she was doing. Mandalay would be more my favorite if not for the smoking.
I haven't used it to its full ooga-booga yet, but I offered my childhood hippo to grubette for luck. It didn't work.
I never used a card protector before; I am confident this hippo will lead the way to intimidation and the World Series of Poker win. Or at least a qualifier.
Alas, never got to play a hand with grubette and she left early the next day.
Fitzgerald's: my home for the brief two nights. Comped from previous slot frenzies. I've taken a few nights from Fitz and they always send more.
Fitz has a free 5-piece set of leather luggage if you rack up 1000 slot points in three days. All you do is pay a "nominal" shipping charge.
First rule of thumb about comps: do not chase.
Well, I did. I didn't intend to, but as I got closer and closer I decided I needed that dang luggage. I did put in several hours in between playing blackjack, and much to my chagrin that rated play didn't count toward my points.
So back to the slots I went -- losing horribly, I might add, but always with visions of that elegant luggage dancing in my head. What I won in blackjack went back to slots. What I won in poker went back to slots.
I finally reached 1000 right before I had to leave.
They give you a flier (color Xerox with a unique number stamped in the corner) and you're to mail it in with a check for $20 (!!) and the company will ship the luggage to you.
The idea of leather luggage and even the picture looks rather swank, but when I got home and checked eBay for the same brand and set, people were selling it between $20 and $40. And they were charging under $20 for shipping.
So if you're thinking about jumping on this luggage offer, you're probably better off going the eBay route to buy a similar ripoff.
Golden Gate: shrimp is still 99 cents and still delicious and cheap even at the $2.99 jumbo shrimp price. I sat at the $1 minimum blackjack table and felt like high-roller Nick Nolte in The Good Thief betting $10 and $15 hands. Soon the table was full (only two tables were operating) and we were drawing a crowd. I have too much of a poker face for this game, and even getting a blackjack I show no reaction. Someone had just turned 21 and it was her first time playing, and the third time she took a card when the dealer showed a 6, I left.
Golden Nugget: a recently reopened poker room, I found it dark and quiet with extremely slow drink service (but at least nonsmoking). The brush made no effort at remembering my name or helping me get on the 4/8 waiting list. Sat comfortably in 2/4 with one loose-aggressive and had some fun until he left. We waited half an hour to be able to order drinks, then another 20 minutes before we received them. I doubt I'll go back. Ended up $6 after two hours.
Green Valley Ranch: met a friend in Henderson and we apartment shopped at a couple places she used to live. Beautiful landscaping, pools, workout room, private movie theater, just heavenly. And then back to square one when I read some negative resident reports. We went to GVR by way of the mall-in-progress which is your typical outdoor number but they're hyping it to be the west coast version of NYC's SoHo. In the Bizarro world, that's probably true. I really like GVR, it reminds me of a museum with its delicate elegance. My friend showed me the center bar so I could see the white leather outfits the waitresses were wearing. Couldn't ogle too much, and we headed to a Japanese place that offered all-you-can-eat sushi for $27 between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Not your typical sushi buffet, you could order anything on the menu, have it served, and order as many times as you wanted. Naturally we picked off the most expensive items on the menu and went from there. I had and ate four orders of edamame, cooked to perfection. It was my one meal for the day.
After Henderson, it was 8:30 p.m. and my flight was right before midnight. Time for some poker! I headed to Mirage (still have never been there), then made a U-turn to Excalibur. Then I thought of Monte Carlo with the jackpot hands and the short-term parking right in front of the casino/poker room and how on my first visit I won the straight flush jackpot ($400), so I went there.
Monte Carlo: Only one table of 4/8 (half kill). I got on the list and waited for half an hour while losing to slots.
Including the Wheel of Fortune quarter progressives. I'm on my second $20 and have yet to hit the Spin the Wheel. A woman sits down next to me and not only does she get the Spint the Wheel on her first try, but it lands on 1000 ($250). When does that wheel ever hit anything but 25 or 30? I guess it isn't rigged after all.
Fortunately my name was called before I could strangle her.
While seated, we waited another 10 minutes.
One guy was impatient and complaining that another player was sitting out because she didn't want to play shorthanded (rather, 7-handed). Then another player sat down, the woman sat down, and Impatient Guy was appeased.
I watched IG, because I figured if he was that impatient to stand up and vocalize, he wouldn't be able to fold hand after hand. And sure enough, he played most hands. He won some suckout pots but eventually lost all of his $100 buy-in. His last hand he was all-in, which I don't think I played optimally:
JJ in middle position. Half-kill. IG calls 3, solid player raises to 9, and it's to me. I'd planned to raise, but now I'm calling to see how scary the flop is. Another call and the flop comes 8-10-Q (rainbow).
IG bets 6, Solid calls, we all call. I didn't think anyone had a Q and put IG on a pocket pair and Solid on AK. I had outs and odds, so I went along.
Turn is A (8-10-Q). More outs. IG bets 12, Solid calls. I revised what Solid had and now put him on the pocket pair with IG holding a Q or an A. I had no idea what the guy calling after me had. But a double-gut and pot odds were enough to keep me fishing.
River is the beautiful K (8-10-Q-A). IG bets 9 (all-in), Solid calls the 9. I try to glance to my left to get a read on what the caller was going to do, but I couldn't see without being obvious. I went ahead and raised 12 to 21. Caller folded, Solid folded.
I show my nuts and IG throws down his K-10o in a huff and storms out.
There was only one hand someone who raises could have, and people would be a fool to call. If I had just called, perhaps I could have snagged the player after me into another 9. Sometimes calling is better than raising.
I played a few more hands and asked for a setup to some sighs around me. I've never before asked for a setup, but in this case I marked the Queen of spades with my still-bleeding finger.
Within a half hour, the *other* table had two high hand jackpots -- quad 5s and a royal flush. The royal wasn't clubs, which would've been almost $5K. Instead she got $400. Live poker is RIGGED!
Monte Carlo, though still smoking, is a very comfortable poker room to me. The dealers know what they're doing and referred to me by name when it was my action. He only overheard it when I gave my name to the waiting list. A class act all around.
Ended up $90, headed directly to McCarran, deposited that much into the Money Storm slot machine, and slept on the redeye.
— —
Monday, August 02, 2004
Mystere final table
Just finished playing a $1500 freeroll, 236 people. Came in 4th for $120. My final hand was JJ vs. QJ. I raised all-in and was called. Board gave a Queen and I was gone.
My total concentration was on this game, I wasn't even playing any other SnGs or ring. At the beginning I was making some wild plays, frankly hoping to get knocked out so I could get some work done (I went into work to do work and am still at work at 2 a.m. -- spooky being the only one here). I even entered the game half an hour late, pretending I was Phil Hellmuth but mostly because I forgot.
And four hours later...
I think I'm beginning to see that wild and loose is how these freerolls should be played, though with caution. You always want to be the one to open-raise. And a big raise after a few limpers will take down the pot. If you double up, great. If not, move on to the next one. Playing against good players who are able to fold certainly helped.
I made some big raises and reraises often enough in position that it cultivated an image enough for people to call me down, making me chip leader for most of the tourney until there were six left when I raised all-in with 99 and was called by AJ. He caught an Ace and I doubled him up, while severing me to shortest stack.
I fought back the best I could into third position, then went out in fourth with JJ.
First place was $400, and everyone was playing exceptionally well and tight. At first I was bummed about the placing. Not because I went out on JJ (I would raise this hand all-in every time shorthanded), but because of the lowly $120.
Still, putting it into an hourly perspective, at 4.25 hours that comes to $28.24 for a whole lotta folding.
Not bad. I'm still spoiled by the huge amounts (and swings) from 10/20 6max and need to be satisfied with the smaller wins. $120 certainly pays for my Cirque du Soleil Mystere ticket and backstage tour, which I just purchased.
The rest of the weekend was also surprisingly positive (I have the Elton John ticket to prove it!). While I did run into some ugly beats (including losing seven 50+5 SnGs in a row), my "luck" turned and I won a few to break even and then into the black.
A couple weeks ago, the bankroll was in sorry shape because of the 10/20 stints. I had to redeposit into various sites and pull money and consolidate from other sites. Happily, it's slowly climbing back up. If I can just stick to the SnGs, I'll be fine. I have to keep repeating that to myself. My in-the-money and return-on-investment numbers are solid for the SnGs, contrary to the general negative feeling I have about them.
If I can win $150 more, that'll pay for a first-class upgrade.
Usually the few hours prior to departing for Vegas finds me in the negative (I like to test my "luck"); here's hoping this weekend and tonight is a sign of better things for this trip.
Grubby's Hands of the Week
What is The Hammer?
7
(3 players, 2 all-in)
5
