Email grubby or grubette (unless you specify otherwise, emails may make it into future grub posts)
Look for grubette at...
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.
A friend gave me the lowdown why she'll never again eat Chinese food.
A couple years ago, she and her boyfriend were foolin' around in the dumpster area behind a Chinese restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia.
The backdoor opens and a guy wearing an apron exits.
He doesn't see them.
He picks up a rock and removes a slingshot from his apron pocket. He aims it at a tree and shoots. A crow falls to the ground.
The guy picks up the still-moving crow and goes back into the restaurant.
She told me this while I was eating Chinese.
While I was aghast at her story, I still enjoyed my hunan chicken.
Although it did taste a little gamey.
— —
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Vegas trepidation
For the first time, I'm back from Vegas with no desire to return and no desire to gamble or even play poker.
This is not normal.
It could be lack of sleep talking or an overfed belly of all varieties of shrimp (shrimp cocktail every day, capped the final day with a delicious jumbo shrimp soaked in lemon at my favorite all-you-can-eat sushi joint at Green Valley Ranch), but I'm still feeling the after-effects of experiencing the underbelly of the town and if it weren't for a few friends to cheer me up, I probably would've hated the trip or gone home early.
More on that later, once this feeling wears off.
On the bright side, one of the funniest people I know is out doing time in the LA trenches and is not writing comedies but dramas and science fiction. We're in touch sporadically with tongue-in-cheek notes and phone calls, then go incommunicado for months at a time.
Seeing as how I'll soon be joining at least the rail of those trenches, her timely email helped me define what a play is exactly and how to write one. And I thought I'd share our correspondence from last week:
subject: Is this thing still on?
Hi-dee-ho. Hopefully, this address still works. How are you? I'm fine.
blah, blah, blah. Just pitched on "The Shield." Did well. Glen really
liked my pitches. Pitched them to Shawn. Got a pass. Was up for Boston
Legal. Made it to the only four candidates. They didn't hire a staff
writer because they were having some other concerns. Won the Fox
Fellowship. And well, that's nice. Don't get me started on features.
Hollywood's a tough broad to seduce. She likes to flirt but damn, is
she frigid.
So I'm coming to you for advice. My agents have suggested I write a
play or some other original piece of crap, I mean, work. And I thought
of you - the award-winning playwright. I was wondering a couple of
things. What is a play? No, actually. How do you sit down to write a
play? What the process? What constitutes a one-act play versus say, a
10 page play or full-length play? What are the downfalls? What are the
stupid mistakes someone like me would make? Basically, what's your
advice to someone considering writing a play?
Hope you are well and writing subversive, irreverent, funny shit, uh,
work.
Best,
...
My response:
Thanks for the quick catch-up, you sound the producer part, but I demand
my free three-martini lunch at the Marmont.
What, no reality shows in your pitches?
re: plays --
Jeez, how the hell should I know, Connie!
10 min.: you can get away with a sketch/scene, every word counts
one-act: introduce a theme but don't provide a solution... Steve Martin
only really writes one-acts
full-length: get said theme and regurgitate in the superfluous second act
What to write about:
Comedies are for movies. Plays are all about tragedy.
What not to do:
Don't start with an outline or structure.
How to write a play:
Just begin with two or more characters in conflict, keep it at dialogue
with minimal stage directions, have them blab about some unseen person or
object or addiction that happens to appear at the end of the first act.
Then the second act that unseen person or object or addiction threatens
the relationship of the two or more characters but in the end serves to
bring them closer. Or kills them (but that's more opera and avant-garde
and puppet show).
When you're stuck, toss in a cute live animal or some gratuitous nudity
(audience and male spousal units will like you for that -- aww what a cute
pussy, et al.) and voila, there's your play.
Don't forget to thank me at the Tonys with a check when it's adapted into
a screenplay by Ron Bass, Inc.
Yours,
...
p.s. Buy Viacom.
Thing is, even though I was joking there's also some truth in that.
(She responded with, "Viacom is so MGM.")
— —
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Slot closure
Nine months later on Poker Grub's one-year anniversary, we give birth to another...
Sunday, Nov. 21 at 9 p.m. ET $10 no-limit hold'em (with rebuys & add-on) at Paradise Poker for blog writers and readers
Trophy for first place! Added prizes! Bounties!
Mystery guest (maybe... if not for that damn annoying publicist of Ben Affleck)!
If you haven't added Paradise to your knapsack of poker sites, please consider signing up through this link to help defray prize costs.
The tourney is listed in the "Private" section of "Tournaments" under grublog and registration begins two hours prior.
I'll update the main page once I get back.
§
Alas, I won't be able to play unemployed midget iggy's tourney from Vegas. Found out someone I know is going for the first time... and coincidentally, she's on my flight! That she's tall and blonde and gorgeous has nothing to do with it. Maybe I can impress her by withholding the fact that my first-class upgrade was obtained through frequent flier miles. I plan to send some mimosas her way on the trip over (particularly if the inflight movie's bad), then we'll do some low-stakes gambling (she's never gambled or been to a casino before), hit a cheesy buffet, and check out RAIN at The Palms. Ugh. I have grubby clothes, not clubby clothes. Somehow in all that, I also hope to meet a group for dinner with Tommy Angelo.
But never fear -- grubette will represent the grub name in iggy's tourney. And she plays to win, but you knew that.
This trip's focus is theaters, poker tourneys, the Luxor slot tourney, and (now) corrupting this poor girl whose favorite musical is Tommy. Despite the new Lara Croft slots that should be launched by the time I return and despite Luxor calling with another tempting offer (a weeklong cruise for two to the 50 people who play the most in Nov./Dec.), I'm using the Luxor slot tourney as my swan song to slots and blackjack. Now when I tilt, it'll be in higher limit poker.
My last trip to Vegas (Aug. 4-10), I posted about the Binion's tourney on my last day and scribbled various notes about other days but for some reason never pulled it together to edit it to anything above incoherent rambling.
I decided to post the snippets as is, if only to serve as a reminder to me: money management, a.k.a., don't spend everything in one day.
So be thankful you're not my editor, and see y'all when I get back (next Wednesday).
(P.S. No one's yet guessed the Hand of the Week correctly... feel free to change your guesses.)
Arriving in Vegas is always a thrill. Then the excitement wears off (after losing my entire stake the first day, it wore off quicker than usual), it gets tiring, and by the time I'm ready to go and heading to the airport I don't want to leave.
The past few trips I've arranged morning arrivals, which gives me the option to insanely stay up all night playing online and sleep on the plane... as long as I don't miss the flight.
As I suspected, the CTI code at Dollar did nothing for me like it did for others receiving $15 off per day (off their already low rates of $14.99 per day before taxes and fees). My reservation was deleted when I arrived late, and the guy re-entered what was on my email confirmation. Yet when I returned the car, I was charged an extra day. This marks my second complaint letter to Dollar requesting a refund.
I was prepared to pay the regular amount, which was still cheaper than previous trips. But $15 off times 7 days would've been a nice bonus to ease my losses.
...
I had negative vibes at Golden Nugget's poker room my last time, but was drawn to their nightly tournament. Particularly after losing fast and hard in slots and blackjack, I needed a good poker tournament to throw the rest of my dead money at.
This one was $125 buy-in for 2000 chips (plus $5 for the dealers and 500 chips), one $100 rebuy for 2000 chips, and one $100 add-on for another 2000.
$330 into this small field of 39, and I lasted 5 1/2 hours. Top 5 paid, you can already guess where I placed. Still, on an hourly basis I lost much less here than in slots and bj.
I picked my all-ins correctly and built up enough chips each round to last the blinds and antes. Two other stacks were smaller and they moved in with luck:
AQo vs. AA (Q on flop... and Q on turn)
88 vs. 99 (8 turns; 99 guy says, "Good hand, I don't mind losing to that")
J8o vs. AQ vs. AK (J flops)
I was playing tight and folded ATo UTG at the final table. It ended up folding to the blinds, and they checked the flop of ATx. I also folded KJo UTG and the flop was KKx. Along with 9To and the flop of 78J. I feel good about these folds, they're horrible hands to play early and are easily dominated by better kickers.
The most incredible bluff push had one guy check-raise the chip leader. The bluffer went all-in with 79o and chip leader called with AK. The guy gets lucky and hits a 7, and he's doubled up.
If any of these players had gone out, I would've made the money.
Instead, I busted out on the bubble in 6th place with A9o.
I have enough chips to last one more orbit. Six people left. I'm on the button. Blinds are T1500/T3000 with T100 ante.
The 79o guy is UTG and raises T7000. He did this the previous hand and took down the blinds.
I have A9o and decide to make a stand. "Why not," I say, and throw in the last of my chips. Just the BB would be enough to take me in, and I had precious few more hands that could be worse than A9.
The BB asks the dealer if he called (which would put him all-in) and lost, would he still make 5th place. He debates calling and finally mucks. That gave me hope for the 79o raiser to have nothing.
I flip over my A9o, ready to make a break for it. The raiser says, "I just got cheese" and slowrolls KK. People who say things like that and show one of the top hands get under my skin, and now I'm praying for an Ace to make him take back that remark.
I say, "Good game." He says it's not over yet. But he doesn't know my luck.
Nothing on the flop. C'mon, Ace!
The turn: K.
I don't need to see the last card. I shake the raiser's hand. Despite the cheese remark, he played a good game. The 79o push was a wild bluff that paid off, and I respected him after that. Then he lost my respect when he slowrolled.
Though I lost, I felt I gave 5 1/2 hours of solid play and rewarded my grumbling stomach with the special at Golden Gate (always with the 99 cent shrimp cocktail) for my few remaining dollars.
There's always an ATM for the next day.
Alleged angler at The Orleans (Aug. 6)
At The Orleans, their tourneys have become so popular that they've added 12 tables outside the poker area. They had to remove all the slot machines that were there, so you know The Orleans management is grumbling.
203 players for a $60 buy-in + $3 dealer's + $40 rebuy.
The only problem was being outside the poker room, we couldn't hear the pre-recorded bell and voice indicating an increase in blinds. We also couldn't see the TV monitors indicating this increase.
I look down at pocket AA. The first big hand of my trip and I make a critical mistake. It could have been angling, but I see UTG take a stack of chips in his hand and plunk down an amount. I assume this is a raise. The 3seat (him) and 9seat (me) on 11-handed tables are like a football field apart. I call, intending to reraise the flop. But I assume I'm calling a raise and not limping along.
I must have missed the blinds going up, because his action appeared as if he had raised. Had he limped, I would have raised. But my limping brought along one other limper not to mention the BB.
And as soon as I limped, I knew my Aces were doomed. You never, never want to limp with Aces. It will hurt you more often than help.
The flop brings a low pair. The alleged angler bets, I raise, and now the BB goes all-in. I call "Time" and assess him -- he's a rock as any other, with the white hair and scraggly beard. I look him in the eye and he stares right back.
I muck my rockets face down. I considered showing them, but that would've revealed too much and I would've been taken advantage of later on.
I do not make a habit of ever slowplaying Aces because of the trouble it causes. Had I not seen UTG with his stack of chips in his hand call, I wouldn't have been in this mess.
That sorta thing doesn't happen online!
Later on after the second break, I'm getting low in chips and have to make a move. I see ATs early and push. The guy to my left had just been moved and considers for a long time, then finally calls with 10-10. Folded around, and the button insta-calls for good measure with AQ.
I was third, my Ace and 10 were dead. Pocket 10s wins and almost triples up, and I'm out. (If it were me, 10-10 is an easy call with no hesitation.)
I shake his hand, both of us nodding in agreement that there was nothing else I could do, and I go play the new Used Cars penny slots where I start with $20, triple that in the bonus round, then run it all back through to $0. I'm starving but need some alcohol in me, so I play enough blackjack till my pina colada arrives, and then leave The Orleans about even thanks to a good blackjack run that took care of the tourney buy-in and slot loss.
...
arrived late (traffic) at Caesars and heard Elton John in mid-performance (casinos want you in and out fast, so they start on time). In front of me was a couple who was also late. Guy comes out, asks them if they like to dance and does a little jig. They say yes, he directs them to seats in the front row. During "Saturday Night" several audience members jump onstage and dance in front of Elton's red piano.
terrific show but worth $250? pahrump is cheaper.
...
fell asleep during Cirque du Soleil's Mystère (not bored, just tired) but the backstage tour was fascinating. Saw a brief rehearsal of the bungee cord opener with a new Russian girl (who couldn't have been more than 18) who just joined.
break room has computers, foosball, big TV, and vending machines. They pay 75 cents for sodas and 50 cents for snacks.
sat next to a girl and her grandmother. they lived in the NW section. friendly and cute, but she couldn't have been more than 19.
...
This Vegas trip was just average. Losing everything the first day was a definite downer, but gave me an opportunity to enjoy the vacation vs. feeling I had to play. Knowing there was much play ahead of me to get my Luxor room comped was enough to make me sick, so I hung around downtown, made smaller bets with my $400 ATM withdrawal, ate cheap food, and caught a movie (The Bourne Supremacy -- excellent). Also went apartment hunting in the Henderson/Green Valley/Seven Hills area. At two properties, when shown to apartments, we hopped on golf carts. One of the models was stocked with soda, and I spilled a Coke all over me. No shock absorbers in golf carts. I was sticky the rest of the day and hadn't even visited any strip clubs.
...
I ended up playing all night at Luxor and straggling back to the room at noon the next day, where I found a room service cart with ham, turkey, and tuna sandwiches, little bottles of Pepsi and water, and a beautiful pyramid gift basket containing chocolates, sausage, crackers, cake, cheese, cookies, etc. I had a bit of concern that the sandwiches with mayonnaise were sitting out for a full day, but I ate them anyway. And I ate them again the next day before checkout!
This was my first free food and gift, and it was nice enough that I didn't even bother requesting to get my one deli order taken off my bill.
The room was in the West Tower with a terrific view of the pool.
And I actually ended up ahead somewhat for the day. Hitting $500 on one of the penny slots (Solstice Gold) helped tremendously, and I gradually gave it back across the other slots. Just the witch slots I played through at least $2K. Alas, I lost everything downtown at the other place I was staying (Fitzgerald's), but at least I gave Luxor enough action to perhaps generate another offer.
And, I lost my cell phone while slot hopping. They said to check security, and I expected the worst, but there it was! That was better than any win, lemme tell ya.
...
It was good to hang out with the grub clan, which going up against mamagrub means preparing myself for lots of slot play.
For grubette, it means playing craps and pai-gow. I again didn't get to play poker with her, though we played in the same room (Mandalay).
A drunk guy was playing the penny slots and betting one penny per pull. He had 19 cents in the machine. He asked for a cigarette and offered his bankroll of 19 cents for it. I said he didn't have to pay, but I didn't have one. grubette did, but she was stuck at the craps table.
The drinks were coming fast and furious until he showed up. He didn't have enough to tip the cocktail waitress, so he gave her a mardi gras necklace that he said was worth $12. When she finally returned (30 minutes later), she wasn't wearing it.
grubette crapped out and gave him a cigarette and politely refused the 19-cent offer.
He was a friendly drunk and offered his hand, introducing himself. I shook his hand and said my name was George from Chicago. He asked which part. I said Evanston. He said oh do you know such-and-such, I said it was my favorite place and I go there often.
When he finally left (he said he was going back to the Golden Nugget, but mamagrub spotted him at the Cal Club), he shook my hand twice. mamagrub later offered a handiwipe.
The slot machine he was playing was a new one to me, and I needed to play that one to complete my trifecta x 10 of sorts, but there was a big wet spot on his seat. It wasn't water.
...
How I play slots: I buy-in for $100 and play the max for a couple pulls, hoping to get lucky. Then I reduce that to my standard 20 max lines/5 credits for penny slots ($1 per pull). On nickel slots I'll do 9 max lines/3 credits ($1.35 per pull). These increase here and there.
I will also play for the bonuses, hit them, then move on.
If I get to $20 or so, I'll cash out and buy-in again for another $100.
It's fun to see mamagrub get excited by the new slots ("Have you seen Quackers? Easter Island? The new penguin?"). My favorite is playing Cops and Donuts and seeing her rub the cop's belly during the bonus round ("Eat more donuts! Eat more donuts!"). She has a new "strategy" stop stop the reels spinning. With the random number generator that continually spits out numbers even without playing, it's predetermined what you'll win/lose whether you stop the reels early or let it run. Stopping the reels is a ploy by the slots to make you feel in control, when in fact you're just losing money faster.
I seldom play video poker because I don't have royal luck and I find the machines boring and the clicking brings back disturbing memories of that clickety-clack sound of a bicycle wheel going round and round.
...
I played the NL game badly at the Horseshoe, thinking a guy was bluffing with his raises. Earlier I had Q10o, many people to the checked flop which had Q9x. Turn was 4. I bet, he raised, I called. River was 6. I check, he goes all-in, I call. He has 69o!! So the next time I was up against him he raised $20 preflop. I then raise all-in with KQs. He calls, shows KK, and I lose.
Last day in Vegas (Aug. 10)
The last day of a Vegas trip is always somber and sobering to me. Usually if I've survived till then, I'll have lost everything and am looking forward to going home.
This time I had lost my bankroll ($1100) the first day of my trip, replenished at the ATM the next day ($400), and miraculously little by little regained all of it and was back to dead-even at $1500. Even ahead, if you count food and other things I bought and paid with cash.
I'm feeling good this time and decide to take it easy. I still had 10 more hours in Vegas, what could happen?
A $900 loss in blackjack downstairs, all at $25 bets. It started innocently with my standard $200 buy-in, which went quickly. Then another $200 when I had to dig out $100 from my wallet to split 88 (against a 6) and then double-down when a 3 and a 2 hit on each 8. I don't get 21 on either hand, but the dealer does.
That's $500. I should stop and leave. Which I do after two more $200 buy-ins.
Just incredible. I was right back to my first day. I'm woozy and feeling rejected by Lady Luck.
Make it to Golden Gate and get the shrimp cocktail ($.99) plus their stuffed shells and meatball special. Delicious as always. This trip, I think I had the shrimp cocktail five times.
Then play blackjack there and win several times in a row on $10 and $15 bets, with the dealer saying, "You just can't lose!" Not much consolation from earlier, but she wouldn't know. A drunk smelly guy was to my left and was being your basic drunk yelling, "Payday!" every time he wins, so I color up at $180, flip the dealer a chip tip, and head to Binion's. It'll always be Binion's to me.
I'm down further, having lost count exactly how much other than knowing I began the day with $1500. But oddly enough I feel good from playing well in the tournament.
Head back to Fitz and seek to conquer my nemesis.
Sit at a fun table and am up $200 pretty fast, then lose it gradually. I'm left with five one-dollar coins. Every time I played for the dealer, I'd lose, so I tell him this time we'll play five in a row and then I was done.
Five times in a row, I put out $25 with the $1 for the dealer. I lose four times and tie the fifth.
We shake our heads incredulously, and I toss the dealer $5 for being friendly. I leave $50 ahead for that session.
Along with some consolation that the pit-boss watched the whole time and may perhaps up my rating (a few bets were above $25 when his eyes were on me). Which at downtown Fitz, wouldn't be much more in comps since I already get free rooms there.
I check out of Fitz and explore Henderson some more, now armed with a Walgreen's map. The apartment complex I have my eye on is in the Seven Hills area, and if I head north on Eastern Ave. or Pecos Rd., it backs right into Tropicana. So if 215 is backed up or I'm looking for a, uh, scenic route, I can always take those as back-roads.
Across the street in walking distance is a Blockbuster, which I would make use of with their new monthly rental fee and two DVDs out per day. I had noticed this the first time, but I'd wanted to see what else was nearby.
The apartment complex has a home theater setup, so I could take advantage of the amenities they offer and perhaps meet other residents who might enjoy a free indie flick or two. I could rent a foreign film without being bothered by the tiny subtitles.
Several strip malls bunched together with many of your average chain stores (including a Wendy's a mile or so away). Nothing thrilling, but would suffice for the fast-food existence that I'm too familiar with. But ahem, would like to break out of one day.
I decide to grab dinner at Ellis Island, home of a terrific steak, baked potato, green beans, soup of the day (split pea), and a $5 matchplay coupon, all for only $4. Karaoke night, and some so-awful-they're-good crooners. A few months ago Ben Affleck stopped by Ellis and was onstage giving his best Sinatra impression. No Ben sightings tonight.
The server offers horribly slow service but was nice enough, and I tip him $6.
Still 2 1/2 hours before my flight, which I kill on their single-deck blackjack. Matchplay coupon, after all.
I buy-in for $100, use the coupon, and lose my first bet. I continue my bad run on $10 bets.
Take out another $100, $15 and $20 bets later it's gone.
My final $100 lasts longer but it also disappears.
Throughout the dealer was shaking his head and saying in a Russian accent, "Crazy game." Again, not his fault. Just how the cards were falling.
And I didn't have my Ellis player's card with me. Though I didn't care about being rated there, as I had no interest in a free room, I still enjoy receiving offers in the mail.
This single-deck blackjack is deceptive because you think single-deck and the low house edge, but they've decreased blackjack payouts to 6:5, so on a $10 bet you only win $12 vs. $15. That's on the Strip, which is getting more and more common and is the norm now even at Binion's.
Here at Ellis, it's a single-deck shoe, but blackjack payouts are even money (Super Fun 21 is the game). This effectively pushes the house edge to 2.77 percent. On a standard six-deck shoe with 3:2 bj payouts, the edge is 0.63 percent. With 6:5 payouts, the edge is 1.45.
Blackjacks (as well as splitting and doubling-down) are the only edge the player has over time. Killing this is killing blackjack.
Thinking of that $4 steak dinner as a $300 steak dinner (and still arguably worth it), I go back to the somber mode that usually resonates every other last day in Vegas.
It's 10:30 p.m. My flight leaves at 11:55 p.m. and I still have to return the car. I briefly think about the ATM once more to give Ellis a piece of my mind, but sometimes a whipped dog should just go home.
I drop the car off at Dollar and they overcharge me by a day (a mistake by the guy who re-entered my info), which my arguing falls deaf despite my printed proof, but there's nothing I can do as they're getting ready to close. Good thing I arrived at 11 p.m. My flight's at 11:55 p.m.
The shuttle gets me to the airport fast enough, and my bag is searched at security because they didn't like the nail clippers (I packed the clippers because time was so short I wasn't able to cut my nails and just threw the clippers in, not thinking of the post-9/11 era).
The nail clippers made it fine from DC, but from Vegas they're deadly.
They say I can check it in as baggage or ship it to myself. I tell them to go ahead and keep it with all the other nail clippers they have in their collection. At least the security girl was cute.
I skip the airport slots, the redeye goes off without a hitch, and I sleep through most of it, getting home in time for a shower before heading into work with the $100 I have left.
And all the while, I can't wait to return.
— —
Monday, October 18, 2004
Grubby's Hand of the Week #22
I'm running bad. Way bad. 100BB in 10/20 bad. Kick-the-cat-during-a-botched-vasectomy-getting-hit-by-an-uninsured-truck-carrying-asbestos-and-killer-maggots bad. I know this will correct itself eventually, but it's difficult to keep up the spirits when getting beats, missing draws, folding winners to heavy action (KK and two raises to me with an Ace on the flop... turned out the aggressor had 99 and took it), and losing things like KK vs. AA (rag flop, K on turn for me, A on river for him... and every street capped by the unsuspecting grub UTG... he can't possibly have AA, methought, as I'm sure he also didn't put me on KK).
Let's start with a good hand. 10/20 6max. I have AA and raise preflop. One caller. Flop is rags. Turn is a rag. River is an Ace. I bet the whole way, he check-calls the whole way with A4o. I don't begrudge him playing A4o (we're shorthanded), nor calling a raise with it. But going past the flop and turn? It's this type of caller that kills many a QQ and KK hand that I had previously, as he draws for that Ace. It's why I pump the flop and turn, making them pay for the draw... which backfires into making the pot more attractive to continue calling.
And now the bad.
Ring and tourneys alike, seemingly every strong hand this weekend also hit someone else -- usually with a flopped set. I'm sometimes able to fold if reraised here; only problem is, I bet big on the flop which commits me to see it through. One of my leaks is paying people off, but perhaps that's just inevitable for the times they don't hit their set of 2s when I raise 8x with AA.
Worse was the dreaded head-shaking one-card flush or straight made on the river. One hand flopped me a set and the river brought a 4flush... the winner had a 3 of that suit (a Jack was his other card, and no Jacks on the board). Lord knows why he even called a raise (he was in the blind) and chased a Jack and one-card flush, but such is online poker. I even check-raised the flop and he called to the end. At least he had the decency not to raise the river.
In ring games you can make notes and use that information for future plays, hoping they stick around enough for you to get your money back before they give it away to other people.
With SnGs, once you're out, you're out. At a few tables, people apologized for taking me out with lesser hands (that they saw fit to call my all-in with anyway). One hand I had AA and reraised someone all-in preflop. He typed, "I have AQ," and then called, hit two Queens, and said, "sry." We weren't shorthanded at this point. The worst is when people tell him "nh" or say "wow." Worse still is when he's a sore winner and types "lol" or "hahahaha." Fortunately I'm already out of the SnG that prevents me from tilting.
Each time I've withheld saying anything back in chat. I don't curse, I don't lash out, I don't table coach. I don't even say "nh." I just make a note and keep playing.
My current ROI for SnGs is still 1 percent. Pathetic.
Barring slots & bj, I'd been running good the first couple weeks thanks to that TGC multi and playing ring (why can't 7.49BB/100 hands be sustainable?!), so I knew this was coming. I didn't expect it to happen to the SnGs, but the ring games couldn't possibly stay at that high BB/100 rate. This happened with SnGs last month, where I began the first 100 at a high 56 percent ROI before ending the month with an average 29 percent.
Perhaps I should only play at the beginnings of the month.
I need to steel myself during this downturn and just keep putting in the hours; one or two or three losing sessions don't affect me, but a string of them over the course of a weekend rattles the ol' bones. And it may not be over yet.
I dropped a hint within the HoW ("...would probably have stayed straight to the end"). Oh how tricky we can be when we amuse just ourselves.
I had 3 6.
To recap:
I'm in MP, I call (questionable, but I'll sometimes play these shorthanded when the table's been passive), and the flop is 7 5 8.
SB bets, I call, button calls.
Turn is K.
SB bets, I raise (on the straight and flush draw, representing a King, and to knock out the Button who may have overcards), Button folds, SB calls.
River is no help to me at all -- J.
SB checks, I bet (nothing I can do but maintain my bluff), and SB folds!
Hdouble was right on the mark with his analysis:
Ok, I'm thinking you had a draw on the flop, and the turn helped your hand... aggressive Grubby would have raised the flop if he had a pair AND a flush draw, rather than waiting for the turn. A set or 2 pair is possible, but just doesn't feel right.
My spidey sense is telling me that someone got hit with THE HAMMER... but not exactly. 72h is my guess.
He seems to know best how I play. Perhaps it's time for another heads-up match, HD?
I put SB on medium or bottom pair -- I don't know anyone on Party who will drop top pair no matter what the kicker, and no matter getting check-raised.
My turn-raise was the only way I could signal to him I had a hand. People rarely check-raise the turn on anything but a made hand. If I represented something strong, I could possibly have gotten him to laydown a smaller pair, which is what he did. Then again, he could also have been on a draw.
Still, I doubt my 6 high would've won the pot on showdown.
Grubby's Hand of the Week #22
for Monday, October 18, 2004
Prize: $25
I'll be in Vegas next Monday, so this one will have to tide you over for two weeks. The first person to correctly guess my hand before the Monday after next wins. Suits may or may not matter. One guess per person, please. Winner will be declared here that Monday. If there's no winner, $5 will be added to the prize pool.
This week's HoW is sponsored by Party. We still like you, Party, even if you give us action flops, we get sucked out on the river, and we get stuck holding crappy AA cards that come in third at showdown. If you'd like to keep these hand-reading quizzes going, please consider signing up using this link. You'll get a 20 percent bonus up to $100 on your first deposit, plus if you're the winner, the prize is tripled for you.
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: (8.20 BB) A (2 players)
grubby bets, CO calls.
Final Pot: 10.20 BB
Main Pot: 10.20 BB, between grubby and CO.
What did CO have? Hint: he had one .
Also please write "X-Box" or "PlayStation" (or "either" if you don't have a preference). A survey I'm doing, but completely unrelated to HoW. Details soon...
— —
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Slots and nonsense
A day later and no slot or blackjack play. Just in case you're keeping track.
I had a flight booked to Vegas last weekend. The focus was to check out UNLV and the smaller, local theaters (40-99 seats). I've heard theater in Vegas isn't too exciting, but I wanted to see for myself. I also wanted to see if I might fit in with that scene, perhaps even investigate whether there was room for another nonprofit, nomadic theater to perform in their plentiful Mormon churches. Was there the talent, though? What was the audience like? How many showed up? What was the demographic? Avenue Q and Phantom of the Opera are coming to Vegas next year (practically everything else is Cirque du Soleil), but where were the smaller shows? Could tourists be lured into a cheap alternative? Would they want one?
One theater company seems much in line with my sensibilities -- a hole-in-the-wall, avant-garde type in the downtown Arts Factory area. I organized my trip around seeing a new play they were producing by one of their artistic directors.
Another theater was having a play reading, and another theater was producing a play adapted from a favorite children's book of mine.
I was looking forward to all of these, and my weekend was booked.
Apparently Vegas locals are flaky regarding times and schedules. Vegas' idea of a New York Minute is to not show up if they don't feel like it. One of the actors in the new play wigged out and they cancelled the run.
I was bummed and still planned to go anyway, but when I received a brochure from Luxor advertising their Halloween-themed slot tournament Oct. 21-23, I began considering a change in plans.
Because also that weekend, that theater had Charles Busch's Psycho Beach Party -- a play I've never been able to but always wanted to see.
It's easy to toss these slot mailers every time I get them, because there has to be some catch, and the idea of mashing worn, faded buttons for an hour hoping for lady luck isn't my idea of a fun time in Vegas. (My idea of fun is lady luck pushing my buttons, but I digress.)
As many slots as I play, I've never played a slot tourney and I was tempted.
Bob from Luxor then called and discussed details.
I would get a free entry to the tourney with a $100,000 prize pool, a Saturday night awards banquet, three free nights at Luxor, and a guaranteed $30 for each of the three rounds. He had me at "free food."
The prizes for each of the three individual rounds:
1st place $100
2nd place $75
3rd place $50
The highest scores of the combined three rounds win the following:
1st place $22,500
2nd place $15,000
3rd place $10,000
4th place $8000
and on down to $1000 awarded to 9th, 10th, and a random person.
The maximum number of entrants is 250.
Not bad, eh?
I never play the lottery, but this lottery is a 1-in-250 shot at winning something big. With a minimal $90 payoff, food, and accomodations for everyone.
All for pushing a button with wild abandon.
Coming off a weekend of the worst loss I've had in slots and blackjack that keeps escalating the next time I say that, anything to do with gambling left me cold. I took a few days off from playing last week to reassess this whole gambling nonsense.
Here, however, was an opportunity to use this tournament to finally flip an eff you to the cursed reel machines forever.
(Or am I in denial and looking for excuses again?)
Luxor gets something out of this, of course. They hope you'll continue playing over the course of three nights. If each person lost $1000 (what I'm guessing is the average loss for these 250 players), that'd be an extra $150,000 for Luxor on an otherwise slow weekend.
Every time I'm comped somewhere I feel obligated to give the casino a certain amount of play. I shouldn't feel this way, people tell me, because the comps are what you've already earned from prior play, even if the slot hosts (who look nothing like Vanessa Marcil) don't treat it as such. Still, if I don't play at all I won't earn future free rooms.
But who needs free rooms anymore? This time, I won't have the need to chase comps and will instead head straight to the poker room after the slot tournament.
Here also was a chance to take advantage of Luxor comps and not provide any action whatsoever... even if I win something in the slot tourney.
More and more this tournament was shaping up to be the perfect coup de grâce and antidote for a painful October beginning. A reward for bad behavior, sure, but a farewell as well.
So I paid the penalty and cost difference to switch my flight to next Thursday, where I'm staying through the following Tuesday (switching hotels on Sunday, where I will also not give any action).
This coincidentally puts me in Vegas for the Friday's WPT taping at the Bellagio, which I'll attend if it doesn't conflict with the slot tourney.
If it doesn't become a hassle to lug around, I'm hoping to bring my laptop to not miss iggy's blogger tourney that night. No wireless access at the Luxor, but I have a brand new green Ethernet cable all coiled and ready.
Win the slot tourney, win the blogger tourney, and I'll be back in business.
I'd better go read David Sklansky's Slots for Advanced Players, aka Sklansky's SAP.
— —
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
September SnG wrap-up wrap-down
"Try as I might, I will also restrain to cold turkey all casino play this month in an effort not to be tempted into more tilt-induced forays."
--grubby, 9/8/04
I'd been avoiding posting this, but here goes... just a warning, though: it ain't pretty. I have tremendous empathy for Lord Geznikor, whose blog I've been following closely since he left his job and went pro. I wish he would continue posting even when not playing poker, because I want to know how he's doing and how he's surviving. Where his discipline waivers, mine is all out shot. He takes his shots at higher limits, I play games of complete chance despite saying the contrary. Knowing this about myself, how can I ever expect to do this full-time without going broke in a month? The one thing I have going for me is money management and the fact that I haven't touched my living bankroll. But once the gambling roll is depleted, I'd have no choice but to combine the two.
Prepare for a Geznikor-ish post.
Last Wednesday was the second biweekly payday that I forced to pay myself. I'm trying to maintain a semblance of consistency and discipline, even though a cashout hurts the bankroll (see below). I had thought about skipping this payment to myself or making the amount less than what it was two weeks prior, but how will this ol' grub learn new tricks if I redefine my goals on the fly? Losing a chunk of bankroll is hard enough; losing it to a withdrawal is sacrilege.
And thus, the twisted mind of a gambler. Can people who don't play ever truly understand? Would they want to?
Playing mostly SnGs made September a successful month in poker. Atlantic City and other things afterwards took up the bulk of September's end and I didn't reach the full 400 SnGs I had hoped for; I'm not too concerned with this, I'll just know to use this as a basis for future months of SnGs.
Here's the dope, warts and all:
307 SnGs (50+5)
23 days
76.75 hours (assuming 15 minutes average, 3-4 tables at a time)
3.34 hours per day
(the high 4th finishes look like I'm making plays to place rather than sneaking into the money, which I'm fine with because it propels me to more 1sts than 2nds... the high 10th finishes, however, are inexcusable except that a few of them had me losing with sets and AA cracked with all the money in preflop)
longest streak without cashing: 16
longest streak with cashing: 9
ITM: 41.7%
ROI: 29.1%
daily rate: $213.70
hourly rate: $64.04
rate per SnG: $16.01
total buy-in + fee: $16,885.00
fee spent: $1535.00 (no rakeback, what a waste... the rakeback would've been $383.75, or an additional $5/hour, a not insignificant amount... this will change very soon)
net amount: $4915.00
This was all played at Party with a starting bankroll of $1300. If you're looking for a good game with low variance, head to the SnGs and put in the hours. I'm pleased that my ROI in the 50s was more than that of the 30s (16 percent, which makes me want to return and concentrate on the 30s because surely the 50s can't be easier). I'm also pleased that my hourly rate was higher than my 5/10 6max game, which has much higher variance and requires a bigger bankroll.
I'm not yet about to go celebrating, however, as it's too small a sample to draw any conclusions. I'd like to get a sample of 2000 SnGs logged before I feel comfortable defining my rate.
Also mixed in last month were 26 multis, which produced a string of 22 noncashes yet kept me in the black ($411.50) because of that one cashing at Paradise. Also another $497 in ring games (including the Borgata) and other 30+3 and 100+9 SnGs. These were all outside of the 23 days or concurrent with the main 50+5 SnGs.
So all total for September: $5823.50.
This does not include slots and blackjack. Is there ever a win with slots and blackjack...?
Three days in October
What makes presenting this data less thrilling (and the reason why the report's coming late) is that it was brought down by slots and blackjack, enough to wipe away any fond memory of a good month.
I had dabbled relatively little in these games for most of the month, losing less than $1000. Which, because of being up in SnGs, I didn't mind. Then Atlantic City, where blackjack and slots came out about even.
Returning home, I received some seemingly innocent and harmless enough free money birthday offerings from various online casinos. No deposit required on most, just a certain playthrough:
$15 at Be the Dealer (lost all three bets, didn't bother looking up the playthrough)
$10 at Brandy Casino (ran it up to $115, then lost it all when I found out 4x playthrough couldn't be done in blackjack)
$150 at The Gaming Club (no playthrough at all, ran it up to $500 before Atlantic City, then lost it all after I returned)
£10 at Spin Palace (on a £100 deposit, which NETeller converted to $184.74, lost it all in an awful streak)
This should be enough to learn me, right?
Beating myself up for being taken in by Spin Palace, I jumped into Pokerroom's casino end. I have a $150 bonus to clear, which I usually work off in blackjack. Throughout September when I had the urge to play blackjack, I had run my $1000 deposit up to $1500 in multi-hand and thought I could regain that $200 pretty quickly. Playing multi-hand (five spots) saw the dealer hit a natural blackjack three times in a row. That $1500 was quickly history, as I cursed up a storm in chat with accusations of it being rigged. I play at Pokerroom under a female name, and Pokerroom doesn't censor their chat. I'm sure players never quite saw language as foul as mine uttered from a seemingly innocent lass. I left in disgust, the bonus still over halfway uncleared and I'm uncertain whether I'll go back and make a deposit to finish it off (they give you 60 days).
Okay, so that should be enough losses to prevent me from continuing my slide, right?
That nefarious Lucky Nugget offered a $1000 bonus on a $1000 deposit ($20,000 playthrough, blackjack doesn't count), which didn't help matters. I was already hurting from the previous night and wanted nothing more to do with casinos, but in the back of my head wanted to win back that $200... now $1700 (although I should, I'm not including any of the birthday money losses, which I consider found money).
I spoke with a friend about the expected value and standard deviation playing 20,000 $1 hands in pai gow. We figured it was so minute that I couldn't possibly lose any of my own $1000. And the most I could lose from the $1000 bonus was $450 or so... and that was being generous. All I wanted, I told him, was to win at least some part of that bonus money.
Winning anything, however, would presume I played pai gow in the first place.
Nugget knows my tendencies enough that I can't turn down a great match bonus like that. They base bonuses on your previous month, where my playthrough was $360,000, and it was the largest I've received.
Once I started with Nugget, it led to an even greater downfall at the beginning of October, ultimately taking down in a few days what I'd built up in one month.
I deposited $1000 and lost that before they'd credited me the $1000 (this is another ploy they use, to get you antsy into playing before the bonus... I've written countless times about not playing until the bonus is credited, and here I go playing before the bonus).
I deposited another $1000. They credited me, and I set to work clearing the $20,000 playthrough. They've got me by the balls here, because I cannot cashout anything until meeting the playthrough. As discussed with my friend, pai gow was the best option.
But there's no action, and I'm a confessed action junkie. I play shorthanded and thrive on heads-up, for goodness sake!
I chose to work it off in slots at $4.50 a pull and despite winning one jackpot of $750, I never made it past a $5000 playthrough before busting out.
And never once did autoplaying pai gow cross my mind.
It didn't end there.
Nostalgia is always good for a quick buck because of their fast NETeller withdrawals, so I headed to them for a fast recovery, which would instead be a fast bleeding.
$500 deposit, played bj, lost it in 14 minutes. Deposited another $500, lost that in 3 minutes. Unbelievable. Then decided one more $1000. Bet $100 hands, ran it up to $1500, then lost it all.
During that whirlwind session I'd built up $21 in comp points (meaning playthrough of $21,000), and I didn't bother to cash it out.
And then back to Nugget the next day, presumably after I'd sobered up. In a few hours I dropped several more thousand playing slots and $100/hand blackjack amongst the most frenzied, jaw-dropping beats I've ever seen. Throughout each of these deposits, I was never up. I was always trying to get back to even, which at this point was hopeless.
And I probably would've kept going, if I had anything left in NETeller.
Notice no links for these sites, by the way -- please don't follow my bad example. Play only poker. Do not join me in this addiction. It's not a good place to be.
To sum up, I won $5823.50 in poker and lost $4028 in slots and blackjack (there was other nonpoker play through last month) for a net September of $1795.50.
Those first three days of October, however, I've lost $6736.70.
A heck of a steep climb I have ahead of me.
Now that I'm keeping track of where the money's going, I clearly see I give everything back in -EV games and I cannot hold onto anything in NETeller.
NETeller is cleared out. I do have money in a couple poker sites, and since then have regained a good chunk of what the black days of October took, which is the only reason I can bear to look back on this without vomiting.
This is a consistent enough pattern that has plagued me since I started doing well in poker (strike that -- it was a problem even before poker). Whatever winnings I have are donated back to slots and blackjack.
For some reason that I haven't fully explored, something in my psychological makeup causes me to sabotage good things. Relationships, writing, money... it could be that by doing so, I feel in control and prevent myself from being in a position to lose, to feel vulnerable.
Say, having lost once (more than once), I don't want to suffer that pain again.
I can do this --
if I'm the one who shuts down in a relationship and don't hold up my end...
if I don't finish (or even start) a play to prevent it being judged against the success of prior plays...
if I'm the one to dump money so that I have a financial excuse not to do this or that...
I therefore don't get emotionally attached in the first, have no obligation to maintain expectations in the second, and can revert to the same doldrum life I've led in the third.
One of my favorite movies is Joe vs. the Volcano. Yes, really. It contains themes and symbols that hold up and enlighten future viewings. Trust me on this. If you like Poker Grub, you'll like this movie (or at least appreciate it). My prized collector's item laserdisc is still Joe vs. the Volcano. The plays of John Patrick Shanley have also been an influence on my own writing.
At the end of the movie, Joe is forced to take a leap of faith. There are other connotations involved depending where you are in your life when you're seeing the movie, but literally he's taking control. Up till then, he'd been a cog in the work machine. Doing what people told him, what people expected of him. His death sentence causes him to wake up and become alive, which in turn grants him a pardon to live his life.
The mere thought of attempting to alter a big part of my life causes me to shed everything I can to make it difficult to entertain the possibility.
Change is hard.
I want to move. If I don't have the financial means to do so, I won't be able to and it's not my fault.
I want to be a successful writer. If I keep reworking a scene, I never finish the play and it's not my fault.
I want to be in a relationship. If I drift off or start petty fights, I won't be in a relationship of their volition, and it's not my fault.
This masks my own responsibilities, and it tricks me into avoidance when deep down it's entirely my own doing and fault.
As simple as that.
That's one thought, anyway.
Another thought is that I get depressed and throwing away thousands of dollars in one feverish weekend takes my mind off of that. And certainly the weekend before last I was feeling down. Gambling took my mind away for a brief moment, but win or lose it's still there. And if the latter, it only makes things worse.
And another thought is that I just enjoy playing slots and blackjack.
But that's a load of shit, and I know it.
Let's make a deal
Two bright spots:
One, I haven't touched my living bankroll, though it was getting very close a week ago. Perhaps this is a problem because I don't view the gambling bankroll as real money. Withdrawing every two weeks was an effort to secure part of it from my tilting sessions.
Two, by posting this I hope it sways at least one person from thinking about blackjack or slots. Because you won't win. Lord knows I'm still apparently unconvinced.
Okay, so I'm tired of going through these costly ruts, you're tired of reading about them, so I'll make you a deal. I'm hitching back to the tail-end of the slut & bj wagon. If I fall and play slots or blackjack online from here on out, I'll add $100 to the Hand of the Week as your gain and my penance.
I must mention "online" as the caveat because in order to maintain comped rooms in Vegas, I need to maintain a level of rated play... and poker doesn't cut it.
My level of play live is much, much less than online. So that shouldn't be a problem at all. 'Course, if I just paid for the damn rooms, I'd be better off in the long run. With any luck, my live slot and blackjack play will also diminish greatly in the next couple months.
Tomorrow's post will be decidedly more upbeat, I promise.
— —
Monday, October 11, 2004
Grubby's Hand of the Week #21
Congrats to the winner of the Gift of Grub (a $25 chain restaurant gift certificate and a beer from grubette) from Hand of the Week #20!
I knew what her hand was going into it, but I guessed incorrectly what she'd do, thinking she'd raise all-in. Good going, grubette! Or should I say, good going not drinking three more light beers to influence your thinking.
From grubette:
This was a tricky one.. how the heck would you know what I had?
I had pocket 9’s.
All-in raiser had A-3
Button had K-Q
Since this really was going to be my last hand, I felt $15 was a reasonable raise for what I had. Sometimes I say, “This is my last hand” because people will think you stay in on anything, so you can draw them out if you actually have something good (last night I did the same thing, ended up with the Hammer, folded, left). The all-in guy was just trying to get the most of his remaining chips, so I figured he had no hand. The button had lots of chips, period.
I counted my chips because my buy-in was $100. If I had called another $45, I would then have $96, making me a loser even if button checked the rest of the way and I lost.
I showed the guys to my right and left what I had, and laid it down. They both groaned in unison.
Lucky thing, since all-in guy made trip 3’s on the flop. What should I have done? What I did. I can’t lose what I don’t put in the pot right! And I didn’t want to leave a loser. Instead, I dropped the $15 and left $41 ahead (from that table anyway).
So no one really came close to guessing ALL the answers (though they were GREAT answers.. I was thoroughly amused), so I give it to Hdouble because
1. He guessed A exactly right
2. B was off for me because I only had 2 ½ light beers man!.. I was not yet inebriated enough to push all in over the top of an all in guy and a lucky button
3. C was yes, what would be statistically best to do, call and see the flop.
4. He lives the closest and I actually could buy him a beer if we’re in, say, Hollywood Park.
Congrats, HD!
Wanting to work off some bonus money and brush up on shorthanded again, I've returned to my favorite haunt of 5/10 6max at Party. It's as soft as ever, I'm happy to report, and despite numerous "how could you call a raise with that?" beats, I'm doing okay.
Find the right table, and these are very good games.
From the bad karma files, I thought I'd share two hands from a rather bad and easily tilting player.
We'll move backwards.
To set the scene, here first is the hand that I lost, where Tilty is sitting UTG (warning: bad beat ahead):
Final Pot: 10.20 BB
Main Pot: 10.20 BB, between grubby and Tilty.
Pot won by Tilty (10.20 BB).
grubby has K Q (straight, ace high).
Tilty has 2 A (full house, aces full of twos).
Outcome: Tilty wins 10.20 BB.
Hmm... did AlCantHang eavesdrop on the table and secretly root for Tilty? That would be the only explanation.
Figuring that Tilty would probably have stayed straight to the end (and I would certainly have capped the turn if I could, as well as raised the river once), I reckon I saved at least 4BB by him being all-in.
What shameful thing did I do to anger the poker gods?
The following is probably the hand in question, in which I played Tilty (sitting in the SB) half an hour earlier, and which coincidentally is also HoW #21:
Grubby's Hand of the Week #21
for Monday, October 11, 2004
Prize: $20
The first person to correctly guess my hand before next Monday wins. Suits may or may not matter. One guess per person, please. Winner will be declared here that Monday. If there's no winner, $5 will be added to the prize pool.
This week's HoW is sponsored by Party, just because we you Party! If you'd like to keep these hand-reading quizzes going, please consider signing up using this link. You'll get a 20 percent bonus up to $100 on your first deposit, plus if you're the winner, the prize is tripled for you.
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.
Final Pot: 8.50 BB
Main Pot: 7.50 BB, won by grubby.
Pot 2: 1 BB, returned to grubby.
Hey, I won a hand!
This time your task is to guess what I held. (Sorry, grubette, you're disqualified since you know the answer.)
You know how I play by now... survivors ready! For $20, what did grubby have? A hint: it wasn't The Hammer (what, you think I play that trash? ).
— —
Thursday, October 07, 2004
My kingdom for a date
The first time I saw her, I was instantly attracted to Natalie (not her real name, but she looks like Natalie Portman, whom I've had an uncomfortable crush on since LolitaLéon). Aside from Portmanly looks, I was also immediately attracted to her sense of humor (namely, she laughed at my lame jokes and volleyed a few back herself). I met her several months ago, but for a variety of reasons we didn't finally get together until Saturday.
Well, okay, truthfully that "variety of reasons" boiled down to my asking her out and her saying she couldn't that night, and that was the end of that. I typically don't follow the Disney fallacy of constant stalker pursuit in the face of "no" to win over someone...
(an aside... if the roles were reversed in Sleepless in Seattle, with Tom Hanks going after Meg Ryan... secretly watching her play with her kid... calling in to radio shows pining over a voice... wouldn't it have been a horror movie instead of a romantic comedy... Stalking in Seattle?)
I take the hint if I'm shot down like that and they don't keep open the possibility such as, "Sorry, I'm washing my hair that evening, but how about April 2007?" That would at least give me some hope.
I moved on, then she emailed me a couple months later, and we exchanged a few emails. Then she asked me to her birthday party that I couldn't make, but I jumped on the opportunity for a second rejection by asking for a raincheck birthday chocolate cake and drinks.
She agreed.
Earlier last week I asked about Saturday and she said she "had plans" but that she could maybe afterwards. To me and my low grub-esteem, hearing the word "plans" is code for "date with some other guy who isn't you."
And the last thing I needed was for me to be sitting in the restaurant and seeing her arrive... with her date.
But she came back and said she was cashing in her birthday present of a spa and massage earlier that day, eating dinner at her parents' house, then going to the opera where she had two tickets and would I like to go.
Opera.
Urp.
Better than ballet. I'll give you that.
But opera: not one of my favorite forms of entertainment. I enjoy the themes and spectacle and big emotions (with everyone dying at the end if all goes well), but I'm frequently disappointed in the execution. Even from a lauded company as Placido Domingo's Washington National Opera.
When it comes to food, I'm very easy to please. If you cook it, I love it. If it's free, I love it. I'm satisfied with Wendy's, how big a cultured palate can I have?
When it comes to works of art, particularly plays and movies, I'm overly critical. Rather than thinking what the artist's intentions are and accepting it for that, I think how I would do it myself.
It's a narcisstic weakness that also causes me to constantly reevaluate my own plays, wondering how they can be better. And, in most cases, this prevents me from finishing them. Many a first act of a play and screenplay lie at the bottom of the sock drawer.
When Natalie said she wasn't a big fan of opera but the tickets were free, I mentioned the same but that I was up for going. She then emailed saying she could ask her mother if I didn't really want to go and we could get together another night.
She gave me a two-outer, but I would've been a fool to fold and take her up on it.
As a friend mentioned later, "You were pot committed."
But whether the opera or (shudder) the ballet, I was happy to do anything with her.
All of Friday and Saturday I was very bad (you guessed it -- slots & blackjack). I was surprisingly unaffected by the loss; looking forward to seeing Natalie was enough to carry me forward.
I must really like her because I combed my hair, slapped on cologne, dusted off a suit jacket and dress shoes, tucked my shirt in, and ironed my clothes. Not in that order. No tie, mind you -- a grub's gotta be stylish.
The last time I've been this dressed up was at a wedding or funeral. I don't even dress up for my plays; the best thing about being the playwright is you can wear whatever you want. A few years ago a playwright friend wrote a terrific first play and she wore a Batman t-shirt to opening night. I don't quite have that chutzpah, but I do wear jeans.
We decided to meet at the Kennedy Center. I parked in the garage (an outrageous $15, but a pittance compared to the cumulative loss gambling silly games) and waited by the big JFK head across from the Opera House.
The Kennedy Center houses several large and small theaters, and I always enjoy seeing the mingling of tuxes and jeans and old and young. Several years ago, a friend and I were at the KenCen for Beauty and the Beast. Very casual. I was a bit distracted when she showed me her belly button piercing during the show, but that's a different story. During intermission, we walked down the main hall and ran into opening night of the opera, also at halftime. Hillary Clinton and her Secret Service henchmen (all dressed up) passed by. We helped ourselves to the free champagne flutes.
Natalie arrived wearing dark slacks and a tan top revealing much cleavage. It was difficult not staring, and I think I successfully stole a few glances without her noticing. I was nervous and tripped over words, substituting the wrong words in simple phrases. All articulation vanished in front of her. But she didn't seem to mind.
The seats were orchestra and I admit I was happy to see that Andrea Chénier clocked in at under 2 1/2 hours with only one intermission. I was happier when we both agreed on not understanding the opera.
And yes, they died in the end.
I tested the waters to see if she was still up for dessert and drinks, and she said yes without hesitation. Her car was parked at the Watergate (next to the Kennedy Center) and I thought I could take mine, we could swing by Watergate to see what time they closed (they don't), then head to Georgetown.
Because of construction and detours and the general layout of D.C., it took us 20 minutes to drive from the KenCen to the Watergate, when it would've been a 5-minute walk.
We took back roads through Foggy Bottom, passed the new World War II Memorial (much bigger than I'd expected), then eventually made it to the restaurant.
Conversation flowed nicely. Pauses were comfortable and not awkward.
I like this girl.
A couple days prior I received an email from Carter about his birthday Saturday night, with a planned stop at Camelot, a gentleman's establishment. I regretted being unable to go, but I also never thought about Camelot once, even after saying goodbye to Natalie. (Though as I write this now, I'm thinking I could've squeezed it in.)
Natalie knows about my poker playing and gambling, but she doesn't know the extent. At the opera when the surtitle mentioned something about girls and gambling, she gave me a little nudge. At the restaurant, she knew I would order the drink called Monte Carlo (complete coincidence, really). I probably need to downplay this gambler aspect, but it's difficult when it's so much a part of my life. From her joking about it, I can tell she doesn't entirely accept it.
When she asked why I had a Vegas cell number, I debated whether I should say anything, and settled on telling her that I was thinking about moving, even though it's pretty definite.
The look on her face and our conversation afterwards saddened me completely, because I realized I can't even begin a relationship with her. Because if I were to start something with her, it would only end in the next couple months when I plan to move.
I will already miss this town and the people. Adding a significant other would only be harder.
But you know, I haven't felt this way about anyone since Rachel (her real name) who, like BG's ex, moved to England... to get married.
True, it's only one date and I don't know Natalie well enough yet. For all I know, it could already be over before the second date.
In a way I'm secretly hoping it doesn't work out, so I'm free and clear to move to Vegas without complications. (My relationships tend to last 2-3 months anyway.)
But on the other hand, wouldn't it be great if it did?
And if I met someone who became that important to me, then of course I wouldn't move to Vegas. I would want to be close to her.
And if gambling became a big issue, I would give it up without hesitation.
I would even give up poker.
Wouldn't you?
— —
Monday, October 04, 2004
Grubette's Hand of the Week #20
Congrats to Pengy for winning $20 in HoW #19. He joins AgentLace in correctly guessing two HoWs. Collusion!
For this week, a bit of a change...
Grubette's Hand of the Week #20
for Monday, October 4, 2004
Prize: A Gift of Grub (a beer with grubette at Hawaiian Gardens
+ $25 giftcard to a Brinker Int'l Restaurant --
Chili's, Macaroni Grill, Maggiano's, Big Bowl, etc.)
To commemorate 20 of these things, for this week we're changing it a bit by asking WWGD (What Would Grubette Do)?
grubette emailed this to me last week and I responded with what I thought she did, and I thought it would make a good HoW.
The first person to correctly guess her hand and what she did will win the gift card and grubette will buy you a beer next time you're passing through Hawaiian Gardens. If there's no correct answer, grubette may choose one she likes best (the more thoughtful your guess, the better) or carry over the prize to the next HoW.
One guess per person, please. The winner and what grubette had and did will be posted next Monday.
This week's HoW is sponsored by Paradise Poker. Yes, Paradise. The next best thing to Vita-Meata-Vegamin. If you've never checked out Paradise and would like to support more of these quizzes and beer for grubette, consider using that link. And if you enter the bonus code of GRANNY you'll get an extra 50 percent bonus on your first deposit up to $100 (vs. the normal 25 percent up to $50). If you're the winner and you sign up through this link, the prize is doubled for you (which means two beers from grubette).
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.
Good luck and good skills,
Not much of anything by grubette
I didn't do anything at all at work yesterday.. didn't really talk to anyone, so I decided to go to HI-G. Lost won lost, in that order.
Down $125, went to NL even though I had sworn it off.
Anyway, Doug said I had to be home by 8 after extending my previous deadline of 7. The table was fairly conservative so there wasn't much action. When time was nearly up, on my last hand I announced pre-deal that, "This will be my last hand" and it was 7.45pm.. I was right after the BB so I raised it to $15 (blinds are $2/3).
I was then re-raised all-in to $60, and the button called (he had about $500 total). Then back to me, the pot has $140 in it. I count my remaining chips, I have $141.
The board was Q-3-3-J-2. Suits don't matter.
a) What did grubette have?
b) What did she do?
(and a bonus c) What should she have done?)
Again, remember: grubette likes psych games and at this point she had consumed two and a half light beers.
For the prize of a Gift of Grub, WWGD?
— —
Friday, October 01, 2004
Twelve-year innocence lost at Hustler by grubette
We’ve been on a little hiatus from poker, so Doug and I decided to go to meet a friend we haven’t seen in awhile that has recently taken up poker. She plays at Hustler Casino in Gardena. We’ve never been and a new place is always lucky! I was so excited to go I thought about it all day at work. I couldn’t wait! The whole place was impressive and classy, a huge contrast to the drabness of the city it was in. Cushiony velvet lined walls, framed plasmas everywhere. It was quiet and subdued. They had a sushi bar and a smoking room.
Doug went to sign up for $100-300 buy in no limit and I went to $4/8. I got a seat immediately and began winning and drinking. It’s nice to win at a new place, almost as if they let you win so you’ll return. I was having a great time. Still winning after an hour, Doug came over and sat at my table, not being able to secure a NL seat. Then I began to lose. I left him to play $6/12, back to winning again. Then my name is called for NL and I moved. My first or second hand was A 2. I was in the $5 blind, so I checked. Everyone else did too. The flop is A-A-2, the best I could hope for. I was first to act but really I had the strangest feeling about this hand, kinda like I should have folded. Odd. I pushed $200 all in. The guy next to me was pondering, a long time. After too long, I said, “Look guy, I have a full house.” He didn’t believe me. I said, “No really, I have a full house.” He said he would have to call me. We turned over our cards, his A-8 making him grimace when he saw my full boat on the flop. “Ah,” he said, “you got me! The only thing I could win with is an…” then the dealer dealt the turn, “eight,” and there the eight was, on the turn. He cheered, then immediately felt bad and apologized. I was so stunned I just sat there. Then went to the ATM.. and that was the start of my downfall.
I saw a couple of guys from Hawaiian Gardens there. One guy of them, David, was sitting next to me and asked me if I saw the players in the corner. I said I didn’t, but I went over to Doug’s table, which is closer and checked them out. I immediately saw Gus Hansen, then Phil Ivey. I went back to my table and told David who I saw and he said, “Didn’t you see Johnny Chan?” Cool. Playing in a small casino corner in not-so-upscale Gardena, some of the best poker players in the world. Amazing.
Six light beers later and I’m still losing. Doug too. Last call came and went and it was 3am. I had $40 left on my NL table so I picked up and left rather than go all-in on a “I’ve gotta go anyway” hand. When I got up, I could barely walk. I was admittedly trashed. Bollocksed. On light beer? I drink light beer when I don’t want to get drunk and here I was, like a foo foo girl with no tolerance to carbonated water with a few hops in it.
Doug drove home and I fell asleep. I woke up when he passed the house on the way to a 24 hour Carl’s Jr. I protested and told him I was going to vomit. A dry 12 years without upchucking and I was going to hurl. We drove home, I ran in to hug the porcelain king and heaved (but it was just a little).
And that’s what I’ll always remember about my first Hustler Casino experience.
by grubette
Grubby's Hands of the Week
What is The Hammer?
6
5
.
(3 players)
).
by grubette
I saw a couple of guys from Hawaiian Gardens there. One guy of them, David, was sitting next to me and asked me if I saw the players in the corner. I said I didn’t, but I went over to Doug’s table, which is closer and checked them out. I immediately saw Gus Hansen, then Phil Ivey. I went back to my table and told David who I saw and he said, “Didn’t you see Johnny Chan?” Cool. Playing in a small casino corner in not-so-upscale Gardena, some of the best poker players in the world. Amazing.