monday at the hoy

off to an awful start. i flopped top pair (w/ decent kicker_, only to have my feeler bet re-raised 4x and called by four people! i folded after the turn, thinking gracie had to have a set or me beat, but who knows. there was a flush draw out there also. i picked up AQ on bb and called a raise, checked flop when it came 669 two hearts, and gracie made a strong cbet. i thought about re-raising, but don't want to get too crazy early on. i came to play!

then i folded a decent flush draw to a bet and re-raise, and wouldn't have hit. phew. for some reason full tilt keeps erasing my comments, though, and it's kinda pissing me off!

paging clinton and obama

http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/2007/04/29.html#a2237

chasing ghosts

just a quick plug -- my friend paul's book, chasing ghosts, is coming out in paperback tuesday. it's basically a must read, imho -- it won't take too long, and he offers a unique perspective on the iraq war. he served there in 2003 and wrote a book about his experience. upon his return founded a non-partisan organization called iava-iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. buy here.

mattress ps and other thoughts

i was going through some old posts and realized i haven't discussed my new mattress at all. i had no idea how shitty my old one was until i started sleeping on my new one. i also picked up some of these nature's rest pillows, and armed w/ the firm one of those and my new rhapsody mattress, i am in HEAVEN. it is sooooo comfortable. my sides no longer hurt when i'm sleeping, and i've been getting the best nights of sleep in years.

i'm also digging my new couch. it's not as modern or trendy as my old orange couch, but it is waaaay more comfortable, and given the size of my apartment and how rarely i entertain, i'm ok with that. mike says it's bachelorish (bacheloretteish?), and maybe it is moreso than my orange one, but i think once i finish my living room it'll just look cool and comfortable. chloe enjoyed it last night while we extremely cheesily watched high school musical. omg, did i just admit that? ok, for real. it is way over the top and horribly acted, but damn are some of those songs catchy. it would have been a dream come true for me back in junior high, and i can see why it's the most popular disney movie ever. i did go out for a trendy dinner, so it's not like my saturday night was a totel nerd-cheese fest.

friday night i saw year of magical thinking w/ vanessa redgrave. no doubt she is a great actress, and didion is a fantastic writer (btw, david hare, the director, was the author of stuff happens, the play that used one of my photos last year), but i did think some of the parts felt forced, and i was totally confused about what order things occurred with her daughter. i thought it was cause i dozed off a bit in the first 45 minutes, but my mom stayed awake the whole time and told me she was confused also. no matter, considering it was a one-woman monologue, it kept my attention far better than i would have dreamed.

i was about to say that i'm off to watch brothers and sisters and the last two eps of 30 rock, but then a screen popped up reminding me that i'd registered for the 10:45 token frenzy. oops.

meant to post about alec baldwin earlier in the week, but as per usual work was so stressful and time so limited that i never got around to it. that voicemail was awful, but i just strongly believe that i should never have heard it. hard to ignore when howard stern and other sirius channels are playing it constantly, but generally i think stuff like that shouldn't be released. i'm as curious about celebrities as the next person, and i'll devour an us weekly when it's put in front of me, but that doesn't make it right. when i hear someone like lindsay lohan say that she'd be scared if the cameras weren't following her and she'd say why aren't you following me anymore (i'm paraphrasing here), i want to puke. but i digress. basically i do feel like the media has just crossed a line somewhere, and that domestic squabbles of that particular ilk are not my (or anyone else's) business.

but...seeing as it's out there, whatever i think of alec baldwin personally, he just cannot, under any circumstances, leave 30 rock. HE IS 30 ROCK. DON'T DO IT ALEC. sounds like nbc isn't gonna let him go anywhere, and they are extremely smart for that. if anything (sad as this is) it may even garner new viewers for the show who will finally see what the fuss is about. if you are one of the millions who hasn't checked it out yet, rent it, download it, tivo rerun it, whatever. just watch it.

NOOOOOOOOOO

OMG. i finished second. second!!! so one spot away from $1500 and a seat at the wsop. fuck fuck fuck. i got SUPER lucky when we were down to four, and picked up aces against sevens and fours. that put me in contention, and almost even in chips w/ brdweb. but, of course, i screwed it all up. i raised double bb w/ A4s, and he came back over. we then checked it down. flop came K87 then rag, then either an 8 or 7. if i'd bet i might have taken him down but no i weak checked and he picked up the pot w/ fives. after a few more terrible hands, i pushed w/ 8s, he had KK, caught a SET and then it was done. i think heads up lasted about five minutes. it was pitiful. i mean, i'm psyched to have made it as far as i did, but so bummed to get so close and get NOTHING. i mean, not even a hundo for my efforts. brd says he's giving 1% of his wsop tourney, and he's pretty solid, so maybe that'll net me a little. : )

it was so sad to see $232 in my ftp account, only to see it whittled away to nothing again.

well, i am going to keep plugging away at these blogger tournaments anyway. this finish showed me that i can hang (since al can't, he he) w/ the best of them, even though i can't seem to come through w/ any $$ to show for it. i realized after chatting w/ one of the women at the table that i actually read her blog, and had totally spaced, that was kinda funny. i feel a bit like a voyeur since i read everyone's blog and feel like i know them, even though i don't really.

blogger bracelet race

with fourteen players left i'm in first. only first prize gets the bracelet, and i think it's fair to say that despite all my ego, i have a feeling i'll find a way to fuck up any shot i have of winning. i'm probably the only person at the table who would rather just have the top seven get paid out. oh well. i'll give it my best shot, obv, but the competition is pretty damn stiff! and i'm pretty sure they all think i'm a total donk. i'm gonna try to use that to my advantage.

hose

so i took a leap and bought in for 24 bucks to the HOSE satellite to FTOPS 5. and of course, i took second. there were only nine of us, and i liked my chances. i had the chip lead for awhile, but i got nothing for a long stretch in the middle, doubled up a shorty not once but twice, and started heads up w/ about 3k less in chips. i couldn't catch a hand, and erica s caught a full house and then trips in omaha to put me out of my misery. booooooooooooo.

what goes around...

ok, i have to admit, for all my bitching, i just had the most RIDONKULOUS suckout on some poor guy on ftp. with one caller i raised w/ K10 suited in sm blind. bb calls, as does other caller. i had gut shot on flop and bet out half pot, bb re-raises almost all in, and in stupid, stupid fashion, i called. turn is an ace, which still gives me nothing and he goes all in for his last 500. i can't very well fold, even though i'm SUPER embarrassed to show the table my hand, and the river is a beautiful, unfuckingbelievable queen, making me a straight and him two pair (he had top pair on flop w/ QJ). crazy.

suckouts galore

unfortunately, i'm not the one getting the suckouts. i've blocked out all of hte bullshit hands that fuckwads on full tilt have taken for me over the past week, but i'm gonna have to take a break from cash games. the only example i can think of is the time i flopped top two pair, get the other guy all in, he calls w/ A3, NOTHING, and hits runner runner to make a straight. i was dumbfounded. this happens over and over, and maybe i'm misplaying, but each time someone calls me w/ nothing, and hits runners to make sick beats over my far better hand. i can't handle it anymore. i finally won an ftops super satellite, but i've had a few more final tables in regular satellites only to go out fourth or fifth. i need to tighten up my endgame, clearly.

on the bright side i played a local freeroll this morning and chopped first for 365. not bad for no investment, right! the first time i ever played i rebought twice and added on, and since then i haven't spent a cent. if i go out early on, oh well. generally it just means i'll get done working that much sooner. last week i made it to the final table only to finish eighth. three hours down the drain, and i was at work till past midnight.

tonight i'm gonna try my luck in the blogger bracelet race, but sadly i'm not expecting much. full tilt has been horrible lately, and i think i may need to break for awhile. i've been going through buy ins left and right and it's starting to piss me off!!

riverchasers final table

yay!!!!!!! i made a final table. too bad i sucked it w/ a pair of fours and went out in ninth. ugh. folded threes the hand before to a raise and turned out he had QQ. so then i pick up 44 in sb, go over the top of original raiser, who had AK and flops an A.

someone else went out a few hands later w/ 22 against AK.

i don't think going over the top w/ fours was a horrible play, but i had enough money to see another few rounds of blinids and pick a better spot to double up. yet again, i fuck up at the final table. argh!

my favorite hand was early on and i was in the BB w/ Q7off. the sb calls and the flop comes QJ5 w/ two diamonds. There's 320 in the pot, and he leads out for 800!!! i just couldn't imagine what hand he had that he was trying to protect that badly. i had top pair w/ a crappy kicker, but jut didn't believe it. so i went over the top for 2400 and he folded. huh? i admit i actually thought i might be losing to two pair to someone just trying to protect potential flush/straight draws. weird.

worst hand of the night? I had about 18k chips and a smokkee goes all in for about 6k, he's got KJo, I've got AKo, dominating, right? nope, he catches a J and that was the beginning of the end. and he made it to the final three!

satellites

i forgot to mention. i again made it to the final four in a satellite, this time to the HOSE FTOPS event (i believe it's #5). it was 8.80 and i was doing fantastic. unfortunately only first prize got a seat, and nothing to the losers (like my bracelet race where i pulled third but no back up prize. boo). i kept my head in it, and didn't feel like i necessarily played badly, but i got unlucky on a few late hands, and the blinds are so high that it's really anyone's game. i ended in fourth (possibly third, i admit i was so tired when it ended that i can't really remember). the downfall for me in trying to satellite into all these is that i play for hours, make it to the final table, and then don't even see anything for my efforts. given my final table showings in bracelet races and satellites i'm thinking i need to set aside some time and play some more mtts, but ones that pay cash!! cause my bankroll really needs it right now. it's not like i don't have some disposable income to throw down on internet poker, but i know i'm a good player, and wish i could start making money consistently. i may need to give cash more of a try, but i think i need to educate myself a bit more before i try that route for any amount of money. i've been doing ok in live cash games, but have never really been successful on the internet.

da mookie

damn, those bloggers are an aggressive group. my early exit last night was partially my own fault, prompted by a silly decision to call a friend back five minutes before the tournament started. an hour later my tournament entrance and exit had come and gone, but i was still on the phone. lesson learned. nearly every pot was raised pre-flop, and i seemed to get a lot of small pairs that didn't hit. the few times i re-raised i got people out of the pot, so there is definitely some serious cbetting and bluffing going on (i think). i'm gonna give riverchasers a try tonight -- third time is the charm, right?

i know i've been a bit remiss in my posting, but work has been insanely busy and stressful, and by the time i get home to sit down and play some sngs or watch tv i'm just too tired to post, even though i've got tons of links on my delicious that i mean to blog about.

i finally watched the last third of friday night lights, and man is that show awesome. you know, i'm not even sure which network it's on (nbc?) b/c i usually tivo jericho and download fnl, but clearly they're not doing a good enough job marketing the show. they haven't built up the buzz that the show needs and deserves, and it will be a travesty (in as much as anything related to tv programming can be a travesty) if they cancel it. the characters are so unique yet relatable. i've said it before, but i think tyra is one of the best youngish female characters ever to grace television, and adrianne palicki kicks serious ass. grrr. i always forget i can't post links in safari. will have to link to her imdb page later when i have time to re-do in firefox.

meanwhile, where the hell is men in trees? thursday tv was so sweet, with office, ugly betty, 30 rock, and men in trees!! i cannot even believe how boring survivor has been this time around. i think i've seen 4 of them and quality definitely varies, but i've never been this disinterested in the show and the characters. oh well. spring's finally supposed to start this w/e, and given that all of my limbs are in relatively working order, i plan on spending lots more time outside. warm days make me miss amsterdam and riding my bike, though, i need to do something about my biking situation here.

late tournament play

it's my total downfall. it was the case in a'dam, and it's still the case now. i just play stupid when we're getting down to the money/prizes. the other night i was playing in a sunday satellite to the horse tournament. i was virtually guaranteed a spot. we were down to four, i was a massive chip leader, and i could have folded my way into the final two. so what do i do? double up the two medium chip stacks, and end up out in fourth. it was just terrible, terrible play. no matter how good my hands were, i should have just been folding and letting them battle it out.

then last night i was in a 9 person sng, medium chip stack w/ four left, and i called the BB w/ AJ. stupid, shoulda just folded since massive chip leader was in BB, and then when he re-raised me all in it should have been an easy fold. there was a guy to my left who was barely staying alive. but i called, he had jacks, and i didn't improve. out in fourth.

my goal from now on is to stop. and think. before i do ANYTHING. from now on no play gets made without thinking chip stack, proximity to prizes, etc. i really need to play more strategy, especially late in tournaments, and i've been really frustrating myself lately.

gonna try my hand in the mookie tonight. my first blogger tournament didn't go so well, but i've got high hopes for tonight. i keep reading about all these bloggers getting their bracelets, and huge wins in mtt, and i wonder -- when is it gonna be me? what do i need to do? what am i doing wrong? i wanna see some results!!

final tables

well, i can make the final tables, i just can't finish things off. after an abominable performance in the token frenzy trying to win into tonight's big blogger tourney, i used a $24 token for an 18 player sng. i usually do pretty well in the $8 ones to capture the token, so i thought moving up a level could be a good idea. when we were down to six it got folded around to me in the sb. i pushed w/ 98off, and the bb finally got a backbone and called me w/ A4 (it was a horrible push, i had a whole round to pick up some pots, and i might have easily cruised into the top five. ugh. he had me covered by about 200, hit two pair, and i was out in 6th place for $57 bucks. i bought into the big blogger tourney, but it's gonna be lots of cheap sngs for me if i don't miraculously manage to win some money. i'm against some really amazing players, so i'll be happy just to last through the first break.

7th place

I came in seventh in a bracelet race last night. not as close as my third place, but still nothing. i had a good feeling when i sat down, but i had the most unlucky night ever. EVER. i had one guy that sucked out bad beats on me in at least five hands. i ended up cleaning him out in the end, but it didn't matter. i don't play a lot of limit, and i guess the structure encourages sucking out b/c it's so much cheaper, but omg!! i would get all in w/ a higher pair or two pair, or a set to his straight draw, and EVERY SINGLE TIME he sucked out on me. twice i had two pair to his one pair, and he makes two pair on the river. then against another guy, actual the eventual winner of the 2k package, I had J10 to his J9, got all in on the turn with both of us having top pair but my kicker ahead, and he spikes a nine on the river. then i had a pair of fives, flop came A33, ended up he flopped a full house w/ A3. Then I got trip kings on the flop, and he catches flush on river.

i've been playing more satellites lately and it's draining my bankroll. i never really started off with anything solid, but i'm probably spending too much time trying to win a seat rather than build what little bankroll i have.