Visual Aid

I feel the above image accurately captures the results of my foray into Sit N Goes.

Enough!

Fuck SNG's. I played them pretty solidly for about 3 days, and made like 14 bucks. Obviously, there is a learning curve that I must overcome, as there is definitely a specific correct way to play them, but frankly it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for me to try and do it right now. I'm moving across the continent in 3 weeks, and to dick around and try to experiment with something new is asinine. I should just grind away at the ring games and mtts, where I know I'm profitable. Yesterday, I decided to go back to boring old $50 nl, played for like 3 hours and made about 2 buy ins pretty easily, so that's probably where I'll be devoting most of my time for the next month or so - gotta just grind away and save some cash.

As far as the journey west, I'm pretty sure I have an apartment lined up, but more importantly, I have a travel partner! I sent out a bulletin on MySpace looking for someone to make the drive with me, and the one serious response I got was from one of my best friends from high school, Mike. He and I hadn't really kept in touch that well, and I was a bit nervous at the thought of spending a week on the road with someone I hadn't spoken to in years, but once we spoke on the phone, it was just like old times. In fact, I'm actually even more excited to go now than before, since he has made the trip before, and knows of some great sights to see along the way. Also, Mike is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting people I've ever met. Foremost, he's an artist, and a phenomenal one at that. I'm not sure as I'd be able to describe his work properly, but let's just say it's H.P. Lovecraft meets Clive Barker meets George Romero. Try to imagine that sort of imagery seasoned with anti-establishment politics and smart social commentary. Fucking amazing. He does a ton of artwork for punk and metal bands, and has actually made quite a name for himself internationally, and makes a living off of his work - I'll try to post an example or two in my next entry. He is also one of the most experienced travelers I know, and at just 28 years old has spent a ton of time in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa and has already amassed a lifetimes worth or stories and experience. Oh, and did I mention he is Vegan and Straight-Edge? This means he does not ingest meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, alcohol, tobacco, or drugs of any kind. All things that I've consumed while writing this entry. I jest, of course, but his principled lifestyle, coupled with my laid back lunacy should prove to be quite the combination, and I predict world domination by Day 3.

Monday

No real news, aside from the fact that I'm running like absolute garbage. I've decided to try grinding Sit N Goes, and haven't seen this many horrendous beats in such a short period of time ever. I suppose it should be expected, though, as I'm playing the micro limits ($6 turbos), and the players are just so horrendous that they are totally incapable of laying down a hand. I can't even count how many times I've gotten a mid-strong pair all in vs one over and lost. QQ vs A6 all-in preflop? I'm drawing dead. Its pretty sick. Nevertheless, its this kind of dogshit play that makes these such easy money, so I just have to suck it up. The great thing about these is how formulaic they are - I've been going over Sheets' vids on PXF, and it's interesting to learn that there is basically a clear cut correct play in most of the situations you encounter, which is odd for NLHE - In ring games, for example, there may a few choices you can make, with varying degrees of profitability, and the one optimal play. Although the optimal play is obviously best, many of the other choices are not necessarily incorrect, thy just happen to be sub-optimal and less profitable in the long run. In SNG's however, you get so short so fast, that there is essentially one correct play for most of the situations you encounter. The real trick is learning perfect Push-Fold strategy so that you are making these decisions easily and are able to grind out a steady profit. Needless to say, I'm not there yet, but with the amount of learning material there is out there (the PXF videos are amazing) I feel it's just a matter of time.

On an unrelated note, I made an awesome quinoa salad today with cilantro and jalapenos. Its pretty awesome, and I'll post the recipe once I've perfected it.

No Country for Young Jerkoffs

Finally back in NJ - It's pretty bizarre how different my life is here than back in Nantucket. I actually have some semblance of a social life here, and although it's been great seeing all of my friends and all, I feel that for these next few weeks, it's essential that I really buckle down and grind. I'm moving out to Vegas in late Feb, and I really have to save as much cash as possible before I go. It's pretty sick to think that in a few weeks I'll be living in such an insane city, knowing practically no one. Fuck it, you only live once, right?

As for poker, I finally got to play a bit yesterday for the first time in 4 days or so, and it went pretty well. Played in like 5 mtts and final tabled another PLO $10r. Took 4th for like $530, which pretty much made me sick, as I really felt like I had a strong chance at taking it down (for 2k). On my bustout hand, I got it in as a 3-1 favorite against some donk who went on to totally piss away his chips heads up. So it goes.

Also, if anyone is looking for a good read, I just finished No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, and recommend it highly. Its essentially a crime novel, but delves into some pretty deep themes, and is really well done. Not exactly uplifting, but pretty engrossing and definitely enjoyable. Check it out.

Time to play.

"Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light"

OK, I guess the title is a bit melodramatic, considering my day wasn't really that hellish, but it happened to come to mind, so there you have it. Played tourneys all day, and was really pleased with the was I was playing, but lost some key pots and didn't get deep in anything. It seemed as if the day would be fruitless, until, low and behold, my old standby the 11:15 $10 PLO mtt came along. I ended up taking 2nd for $700 and felt better about my day. The low limit PLO mtts are so soft its amazing - I really should be playing them as often as possible.

Million Bust

^^This is how I went out of the one Sunday Million satellite I played - it paid out 8 seats and ended up taking 17th (with plenty of chips) to this horseshit. Pretty terrible.

25K Bust

^^Here's how I busted in the 25K guaranteed. I'd say this falls in the "cooler" category :)

OK, enough tough beats - this is something that I really felt the need to post. I'm in an poker tourney discussion group with about 40 other players worldwide, and we're always giving each other advice and railing each other and whatnot. Well today, one of the members sent us the details of a 3-way chop he made - here's the email he received from Stars:

Hello Devil42,

Congratulations on your finish in tournament #72644211!
You agreed to a deal at the final table to adjust the payouts as
follows:

Official New
Player Payout Payout
========= ======== ======
Devil42 #1 $ 3432.51 $ 3467.84
Holdem_Turk #2 $ 1963.40 $ 1619.23
GUARDANG #3 $ 1263.17 $ 1572.01

When the tournament ended, you were automatically credited with
the official 1st place payout of $3432.51.

The difference between this amount and the amount to which you agreed
in the deal is $35.33, and this amount has been credited to your
account.
You will find this transaction in the cashier history at this time.

Good luck in your next event, and thank you for your participation.

Best Regards,

PokerStars Support Team

The two players he dealt with were so eager to make a deal that they actually gave him MORE THAN FIRST PLACE MONEY to chop right there!!! Do you realize how insane that is? Chops are usually not a great idea for the short stacks involved, but to sacrifice even more equity and give the chip leader MORE THAN THE TOP PRIZE is out of fucking control! So look at the guy who took 3rd, he basically gave up any chance he had (however remote it may be) at even 2nd place money for a mere $300 more than he is guaranteed anyway - He just decides to take the $1572 (when he has $1263 locked up anyway) and throw in the towel. Possibly the greatest thing I've ever heard. Devil42 owns. Goodnight.

Stagnation

Not a whole lot of news - played like 1200 hands today and made like 20 bucks. I got pretty unlucky in some crucial spots, and frankly could have played better. A few sets were flopped against me, but I feel that I'm capable of making decent laydowns, and really haven't been doing so in my cash sessions. I guess its just that the players are so weak, that its hard for me to give them credit for big hands. I've made a few hero calls that were pretty sick, but a few of them backfired into just insanely ridiculous spews. One in particular that stands out was my fucking atrocious call with 22 on like a A 10 7 5 3 board (Id post the link, but would definitely vomit if I had to look at the details again) - I really felt like he had a missed draw, and called pretty quickly with my fucking underpair. Missed draw? Nah, more like top set - ship the pot to that guy over there, please. Pointless. I feel like I do that shit much more often than I should - "well, he knows that I know that he thinks..." and I make a move that is just totally unnecessary (and costly). I just gotta get my shit together and keep things as straightforward as possible. The players at this level are weak enough where I should be beating the game pretty easily with ABC poker.

Yesterday, I played tourneys instead of cash games, and it was just a totally brutal day. I played ok, but lost some huge races, took some brutal beats (monster two outer on the bubble in the 50k), and was left with nothing but hatred for my fellow man. Its funny, I actually didn't drop that much in buyins (less that $200) but it was just such a long and disappointing day, that it felt like it took way more of a toll on me than some of my rough cash sessions. Whatever, life rules :o)

Nantucket, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down

The title says it all - we've had a good run, but I gotta get the fuck off this rock.  I've had an unnecessarily dramatic last couple of days, and I've only left my house two times, one of which was to pick up burritos.  I decided to go out for drinks last night, which was a total drag - ended up putting up with useless bullshit, dealing with local drama, and spending money that I could be using much more productively.  I go to these bars and I see the apathy in these people and it makes me sick.  Maybe not sick as much as sad.  To me, it's sad that these people have never cared enough about anything to pursue it with their entire being and try and do something great.  Or if they do recognize their passion, they are too afraid to put their ass on the line and just go for it, and settle for living within these imaginary boundaries that society has established.  Its total dogshit.  People are capable of so much, yet so many settle for such an average, unsatisfying lifestyle, and it really blows my mind.  Paint a portrait, write a novel, run a marathon, take up scuba diving...find whatever it is that makes you happy and fucking do it!  Christ, life is so short - do what you love.  Ok, enough preaching - here endeth the sermon.

So yea, as far as poker goes, things are going well.  I've been trying to put in as much time as possible in the cash games, while still trying to play a few mtts when possible.  I won a seat to the Sunday Million today, so I'll definitely be playing in that tomorrow, along with a few other assorted mtts.  As far as the cash games go, here are my results for the past couple weeks or so:


Nothing crazy - I'm actually not thrilled with the results. 8bb/100 hands is beating the game pretty badly, but there were one or two sessions thrown in there where I really feel I didn't play my best.  I'm  sure if I keep my shit together, I can get my winrate up a bit.  Honestly, I feel the most interesting stat on there is the rake.  In just under 15k hands, I paid $825 in rake!  Thats pretty incredible, and makes me think that its probably time to start playing on a smaller site where I can get a good rakeback deal.  Overall, though, I'm finding the cash games to be incredibly boring, and really hope that I'll eventually be in a position to play mtts full time. Hopefully I'll take down the Sunday Million tomorrow and I'll be all set.  Ok, I have to get some sleep - Stephanie (my Dad's girlfriends' granddaughter - totally rad 7 year old) has her first swim meet tomorrow, and I have to be there to threaten the parents of the other kids.  Goodnight.

2008

Well, another year is in the books, and I must say I'm thrilled about it.  2007 was amazing for me on many levels, and I'm really looking forward to what lies ahead.  I've learned so much about myself, my game, family, friends, and life in general, that I feel the past year has easily been one of the most exciting and important of my life.  However, as important as the past 365 days have been, I feel the ones that lie in store for me are going to be incredible.

In all honesty, I don't really have a clear cut plan as to what I'll be doing or where I'll be in the coming months, but I'm kinda ok with that.  I have a few opportunities to weigh, one of which is moving to Las Vegas for a few months.  I've been toying with the idea for a long time, and this winter seems like the perfect chance to go for it, although when it comes down to it, I'm not sure if moving out there is the best idea right now.  As much as I know I would love it out there, I have to do what is best for my career, and right now that could very well be staying on the east coast and playing mostly online.  I've done really well online the past few months, and the flexibility and volume of playing online just can't be beat.  The thought of moving across the country in order to play in ring games (one table at a time) that I could play in AC just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.  I'll have to ponder a bit more and talk things over with the fam again before any decisions are made.

As for the immediate future, my next (and last) day at work is this thursday, and I couldn't be happier about it.  I'll probably be on the island for another 2 weeks or so, and intend to spend as much of the time grinding as possible.  Its fucking 7.30 am, I gotta go to sleep.

Peace