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Basketball game is picking up

Last Wednesday, we had our second game of the season. I played better, but our team played better also. We beat a pretty solid team and we did it with good play from everybody. We were a lot more aggressive, confident and accurate and it showed as the game wore on. Personally, I had a better game with two fastbreak layups and a 3-pointer. Next week, we have a game that we should easily win, but we’ll see.

I also played today after work and I had a pretty good day. I’m still getting pretty winded sometimes, but I’m hoping it’s just that I’m out of shape. I’m a tiny bit concerned that I may have some kind of asthma or something, but I’m going to give it more time. Today, I did most of my work from inside, making nice passes and playing very aggressively near the hoop. I also got some tough boards and had some nice defensive plays.

Unfortunately, I picked up a nice little injury, too. A big (very big) guy on the other team was dribbling about 15 feet from the hoop. I snuck up on him and when he spun towards me, I stole the ball. I tapped the ball towards my basket and took off after it. But as I stepped by him, he cut me off with his leg. His knee went directly into my thigh and gave me a pretty nasty charlie-horse. I can barely straighten my leg, and standing up and walking are both very painful. I’m a little concerned that I may not be able to play on Wednesday, but I’ll have to wait and see.

It’s good to be playing again and I’m pretty excited about my team in the league this year. We’re pretty good and it’s really fun to play with these guys.

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$50 poker tourney

I played in a $50 poker tournament tonight. There weren’t many memorable hands, but the one that busted me was very memorable. No, it wasn’t a bad beat. I simply donked off my last chips. Here’s what happened:

There are 13 players left of 40 entrants. We’re 7-handed and I’m in the cutoff (CO). Blinds are 500/1000 with a 100 ante. I have right at 7000 chips. The table is playing pretty tight. Both the button and the Small Blind (SB) have been playing very tight. The Big Blind (BB) is one of the chip leaders, but I think it’s mostly because he’d been catching cards (the players at the table were talking about that). My table image is pretty tight.

I’m going to raise to 2500 with a decent Ace, any pair, any two big cards, any two suited connectors from 87s on up. Everyone folds to me and I look down at A2s (two spades) and make my raise to 2500. Everyone folds to the BB who looks at me, counts my chips, then calls. Pot is now 6200.

The flop is J85 with two spades. The BB bets out 2000. I have 4500 left, I figure the best he can have is a Jack, which leaves me with 9 outs to the flush and 3 outs for an Ace (assuming he doesn’t have AJ, in which case I assume he would’ve moved in on me before the flop). 12 outs means I’m about 48% to catch a winner by the river. Right now, there’s 8200 in the pot, so I’m definitely getting odds to call here getting 4.1:1 on my money. Of course, calling will leave me with a measly 2500 chips and I’d be pot committed. I decide to raise all-in, which means I’m betting 4500 to win 8800 plus his call of 2500 more. I’m betting 4500 to win 11300, which is almost 3:1 (assuming he calls). He calls.

He turns over 89o (9 of spades), which means I’m actually 42.5% to win because he has one of my outs. I flip over my A2… And realize I’m not suited after all. I actually had the Ace of spades and the 2 of clubs. I was actually 16.9% to win and his hand held up. I’m not entirely sure why he called with 9-high getting no implied odds, but like I said, he was catching cards.

So, I totally misplayed the hand and busted out after playing 4.5 hours of very solid poker. Here are the mistakes I made on the hand:

  • If I’m going to play A2s in this spot, I need to raise all-in pre-flop.
  • I misread my hand (I’ve never done that before)*

*I think I misread my hand in part because we were using cards with the “jumbo” index. I should’ve made sure to get a good look at the suit on both cards before I played. That’s no excuse, but it’s a lesson learned.

So, I was stupid and I busted 13th. Other than that, made a nice bluff early by playing position. It was a small pot, but I had Jack high and won the pot. I made a good laydown with AK in the SB early when UTG+1 open-raised 2x BB, the button re-raised to 24x BB; button later told me he had KK. I won a race (AK vs. 44). Made a nice button steal when 3 people limped and I raised to 5x BB with KTo. I had AA and KK, both in early position and neither got any action when I put in small raises. My best hand all night was a pair of Aces (that includes any hand where I saw the flop, turn and/or river).

I played well until that last hand. I should not have busted with A2o. My live tourney performance has been terrible lately. I’m definitely starting to doubt myself.

Afterthought: It’s been two days since the tournament. I was thinking about this hand again today at lunch and I realize why it was such a big mistake to raise to only 2500 rather than moving all-in (for about 7000) before the flop: My raise to 2500 made the pot 4700 (1500 blinds, 700 antes, 2500 for my bet) and the BB only had to call 1500. That means he was getting over 3:1 odds on his call and he was one of the chipleaders at that point in the tournament. 1500 chips was nothing relative to his stack, and calling with 89o wasn’t a mistake according to Sklansky’s Fundamental Theorem of Poker.

Against any other player at the table, I think my 2500 raise would’ve been the proper play. Everyone else was playing tight, solid poker and not gambling it up. My raise would’ve been about the standard raise at the table and most players had been respecting that raise amount unless they really had a hand. I was prepared to let the hand go for a big re-raise (the pot would’ve been 8700 and I would’ve had to call 4500, so I would’ve been getting less than 2:1 facing a re-raise from a hand which would certainly have my hand dominated) and to re-evaluate the hand after the flop if I got called.

I didn’t take enough into account before I made my play. I should’ve seen who was in the BB and adjusted my play accordingly.

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Another basketball league season begins

Well, the winter league has begun and our team started off with a win this year. But really, when I say “our team”, I’m referring to one dude who scored 30 of our 40 points. I’m pretty sure dude played ball at Texas A&M and he still plays a few days a week around Dallas.

The rest of our team was pretty mediocre on offense. I think we played very solid defense, holding the other team to only 27 points. I think our defense will be the thing that carries us for the first few games and I’m glad we have it to fall back on. I think our team is solid, we just need to get in shape. We’re going to be pretty good.

I personally have a lot of work to do. I didn’t score tonight and I had a few wide open shots. I did have a couple steals and I picked up some ticky-tack (read: bogus) fouls. I had 4 with about 9 minutes left. I really felt the refs just had my number, but I made a couple silly plays too. But I typically start seasons off slow and pick it up after a couple games. I hope that holds this year.

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Unrequited love

It seems to me that unrequited love may be one of the most intense feelings there is. Although intangible, it seems to be a real force that should be respected and is best understood only through objectivity. Obviously, I know what I’m talking about. As a sometime reveler in more platonic relationships than real ones, I know that this phenomenon is at once liberating and confusing. On one hand, it allows us to act freely while explaining our behavior with conveniently elusive nonsense such as “You wouldn’t understand.” On the other hand, it drags us from our cozy little cocoons and out into the forest, where we’re vulnerable, naive and driven to stupidity.

But the best part of unrequited and platonic love is how ridiculously transparent it is to every human being except the one experiencing it. Of course I know I couldn’t be writing this right now if I was deeply involved in a platonic relationship, but I’m experiencing a between-crush moment of clarity. Unfortunately, it seems that the “between-crush” portions of my life seem to be blending into one long “non-crush” lifestyle. I often wonder if I’ve simply given up, or if maybe Cupid has seen his folly and abandoned me completely. More often, I wonder what sort of ludicrous odds must describe the chances I’ll find another crush, she’ll actually reciprocate, and I won’t prove to be either totally undesirable or absolutely insane.

This blog is turning into a real downer.

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Where am I?

I really have no idea. I guess the bigger question is, where am I going? I’m living in Plano, working as an engineer and hardly enjoying it. The paycheck is nice, but that’s one of the few perks. My ideal of me isn’t a guy who works a mediocre job just because it provides a nice paycheck, but isn’t that who I’m supposed to be? I feel unfulfilled, but I have a greater feeling of ungratefulness.

I’ve always felt like everything I do should have a purpose and I don’t feel that I have much purpose right now. And certainly, if my purpose is just to go to work and get paid every other Thursday, then I don’t want any part of that. It’s boring and seems like a waste of time in the grand scheme of things. I understand that money is important and all that, but I also know that working as an engineer who rarely uses his education is only one of many ways to earn it.

I think it’s time for a change, but I don’t know what kind or how drastic. I think I’m going to look into acting again, but the odds aren’t in my favor on that one. Tone is sometimes difficult to convey and I’m pretty sure the tone of this post is pretty whiney. But how I’m actually feeling is more uncertain and a little melancholy. Anyway, it’s time to start getting ready for bed, I have to be up early for work.

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Texas is good

I figured they were a decent team, but I was blown away by their performance tonight. There’s no doubt that Vince Young is one of the best quarterbacks in the game and he answered all questions about his passing ability tonight.

This year’s Rose Bowl was definitely one of the best football games I’ve seen in a long time.

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Back in DAL to ring in the New Year…on my couch

I made it back without any trouble. I spent a little while playing poker (more on that below) and then made the short drive to Dallas. On the way, I used my super freaky psychic powers to predict the exact location of what may be the only Cracker Barrel between here and Shreveport. Before I started driving, I decided I was in the mood for some of their Chicken Fried Chicken and I wasn’t going to be stopped.

After driving 50 miles or so without seeing a Cracker Barrel, I said to myself, “You are stupid and you’re almost out of gas. Just stop at the next exit with a reasonable food selection and a gas station and give up on Cracker Barrel before you get stranded…” But then I saw a sign that told me it was only 36 miles to Tyler, TX and I said to myself, “Tough it out! If there’s a Cracker Barrel in Texas, it’s in Tyler, Texas! You have enough gas to go a measly 36 miles, wimp. If Kramer had the guts to see how far he could go after he hit empty, you can push it a few more miles to score some Chicken Fried Chicken.”

Sure enough, Tyler had a Cracker Barrel and several gas stations. One a side note, I got 450 miles on my last tank of gas, which means I got 25 mpg. That’s pretty stinkin’ good in my car. Maybe the hail damage has improved the aerodynamics or something. Golf balls have lots of dimples, just lot my car. What am I talking about?

Today’s poker recap

I played $1-2 No Limit for about three hours today. The lady from yesterday (with the reliable tells) was back, but everyone else was new. Here are the hands I remember:

Not long after we started, I got QQ on the button. There were 2 limpers and I raised it to $12. Both blinds called, everyone else folded. The flop came KTx, the lady bet out $10, BB called, I thought for a while and folded. I knew there was no way I was ahead here and I was right. The lady had flopped a set of tens and I think the other guy had a K. The turn was another ten, and the lady took down a big pot with quad tens. I gave myself a little pat on the back for making good reads and not getting married to the queens.

A bit later, I got K6s in the BB. Two people limped and I checked the option. Flop came down K67 rainbow. I bet out something like $8, everyone folded to the button who called and the SB called also. Turn was the 5 of hearts, putting two hearts on the board. SB checked, I bet $15, button folded, SB check-raised me all-in (for about $65 more). I thought for a while and mucked my two pair face-up. SB told me he had 34h for a turned ignorant end of the gutshot straight to the 7. My turn bet was a little small (assuming the 5h didn’t make someone a hand), but it was more of a feeler bet with “value” overtones. I’m still thinking about whether I could’ve played this any differently, but so far it looks like the answer is “no”.

A few orbits later, I got K9s in the BB (I didn’t catch cards for a while… this seems to be a theme for me lately. I don’t know if I’m running bad, just imagining things or playing too tightly.) with, as usual, 3 limpers. The flop came down QcJsTs, giving me a straight to the King, a King-high flush draw and a gutshot straight-flush draw. I bet the pot, UTG and Hijack called. The turn was a red Queen. I didn’t like this card, but I also needed to protect my hand in case someone had a bare Queen or maybe an Ace. I also felt that I needed to find out where I was at in the hand. I bet about half the pot. This was also a value bet since, assuming no one had filled up or flopped a higher straight, I was a big favorite to win the hand with my straight or a flush. Again, both players called. Now, I’m concerned. The river was a blank, non-spade. I checked, UTG bet a little more than half the pot, Hijack called (!!), I thought for a while and, again, mucked my K-high straight face-up. Both opponents turned up AKo for a flopped broadway and it turns out I was behind from the beginning. I was pretty surprised that neither player raised on the flop considering there were many cards that could come to either counterfeit their hands or flat-out lose them the pot.

About this time, my $100 buy-in has dwindled to $33. I’m UTG+1 and I have AJs. I raise it to $12 and everyone folds around to the BB who calls (this is my buddy who turned a gutshot to the 7 with 34 earlier). Flop comes three low cards, BB bet out $12 and I fold. He hadn’t bet out like that since he sat down and since he was playing trash most hands, I gave him credit for at least a pair.

Next orbit, I have QJo in MP1 and I limp (this was uncharacteristically loose for me, but I only had $21 left so I was looking to gamble it up, I guess). Several other players limp behind. There weren’t many pre-flop raises at this table, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have tried limping here. Flop came down JTx rainbow. It was checked to me and I got one caller who held J9s. My Queen kicker held up and won the pot of about $45.

Two hands later, I picked up AQs UTG. I raised it up to $12 and get 2 callers. Flop came AK9. It was checked to me, I moved in for my last $33 and it was folded around to the lady. She studied me for a while, so I did a little acting and mostly stared blankly at the table and occasionally looked up and away from her stare. By now, I knew she probably had Ax (she probably limped into 75% or more of the pots at this table) and I definitely wanted a call. She mumbled a call and said, “Do you have Ace-King?” This pretty much sums up the action at this table. It seemed like it never occurred to her that I might have AQ, AJ, AT or A9, which would all beat her A8o. She had called 6BB cold in middle position with A8x, and then called an all-in from an early position pre-flop raiser (I was also known to be tight as one of our dealers and another player had been joking about that earlier). Anyway, the turn was a K, leaving her drawing to an Ace or King for a split and my Queen kicker held up to win a $115 pot.

I left not too long after that because I’d been playing for three hours and it was time to get back to DAL. To sum up, I was down to $21 thanks to some bad beats and a tough beat, but then more-than-doubled-up twice in three hands to go up for the session.

I write too much about live poker sessions. I need to get a life or a muzzle… for typing.

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Headed home a little early

I was getting bored in ATL, so I figured I’d just head back to DAL a little early. I left this morning at about 11:30 and rolled into Shreveport about 8:00 tonight. I went and played a little $1-2 No Limit Hold ’em and made a little more than $40. There weren’t too many notable hands, so I won’t bother re-capping very extensively. My big hands were:

QQ (I was in the BB) and I took it down on the turn with very, very aggressive betting. No overcards hit the board and everyone folded to a $45 bet.

Later, I got TT, but folded on the river. I was in the CO and raised to $12 pre-flop. I got 2 callers and the flop came King high. It was checked to me, I bet $15 and got 2 callers (I had position on both of them). The turn put a 3-straight on the board (457) and we checked around. The river was an 8. First to act bet $20, next player folded, I thought for a while… counted out the $20 as I considered calling, then I saw the bettor show his cards to the player on his right. I figured there was no way he’d pick his cards up and show a bluff to his neighbor, so I mucked my tens face-up and knocked the table. I should note that I don’t think he knew I saw this tell. In fact, there were two later hands that I felt confirmed my read. One hand, he picked his cards up similarly to what he did before and eventually showed a strong winner. A few hands later, he didn’t pick his cards up after a river bet and he was called on a bluff. All in all, I’m very, very confident I made the correct laydown. He also had a tendency to slow-play top pair by checking the flop and betting the turn. I think his check on the turn was a trap and that’s why I didn’t bet to block

Later, I got AQs UTG and raised it to $12. Only the BB called. Flop came Q28 (8 of clubs), BB checked, I bet $10, BB called. Turn was the Jack of clubs, BB checked, I bet $15, BB called. River was the 9 of clubs, giving me the A-high flush, BB checked, I bet $20, BB thought and called. BB showed Q2o for a flopped 2-pair. Turns out I was lucky.

I also made a couple decent bluffs at small pots. One was against a lady who had a couple reliable tells. It was easy to tell when she was drawing and when she had a made hand that she was betting for value. Obviously, I bluffed when I knew she’d been drawing and the turn didn’t help her. Mostly, I was just using position and I turned K8o into a winner.

I think I’ll play a few more hours (either $1-2 NL or $4/8 Limit) in the morning. Then I’m off to DAL.

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Hail is bad

I guess this is basically common knowledge, but after driving through a couple hail storms today, I’ve decided I don’t like hail. Upon further review, my car isn’t a fan either. First, I was driving a little south of Macon, GA when a little hail storm broke out. I figured the best thing was to get out of the way, so I took the next exit and sat under a gas station overhang for a bit. When the coast was clear, I hit the road again.

I drove about 20 miles before I got to the end of the Macon bypass. Then, the sky opened up and spat freakin’ ice rocks all over my car. I thought maybe I should stop under the overpass, but there was no room in the inn. I pulled past the overpass and off onto the shoulder, but it seemed kinda’ silly to just sit there and take that kind of abuse, so I slowly continued moving north. A couple minutes later and the sky cleared and it was smooth sailing to Atlanta.

Turns out I was supposed to just stop on the side of the road and ride out the hail storm. I kinda’ figured there wasn’t much difference between sitting there and moving two or three miles per hour up the highway. Maybe that was stupid, but I’m pretty sure I got outta’ that hail storm a lot faster than those dudes parked on the shoulder. I am dumb.

Anyway, I didn’t inspect my car until I got to Atlanta, and I wasn’t as disappointed as I thought I’d be. Looks like there are only about 10 dings on and most of them are on the hood. My guess is that the hood is made of a different metal than the rest of the car; I can’t think of any reason that there are hardly any dings on the drunk or sides. In fact, the hail seemed to be coming from behind me, so I would expect most of the damage to be to the rear of the car. I guess this is further evidence that I am dumb.

So, I get to look forward to filing an insurance claim and giving my car up to the dealer indefinitely while they fix it. Super.

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Florida Basketball up to 11-0 for the best start in school history

That’s a pretty big deal. First, Corey Brewer gets the first triple-double in school history. Now, the team has set the record for best start. That’s pretty great, especially considering that two of those 11 wins were against Wake and ‘cuse on back-to-back nights. It’s awesome that the Gators are a real contender this year instead of a team that’s “rebuilding”.

Having fun in Florida

I’m in Jacksonville and things are going well so far. I spent the day doing my Christmas shopping and meeting various people for meals and such. I’m here in Jacksonville for several days this Christmas, so I think I’ll be seeing a lot of my friends and family.

My space on MySpace isn’t my space

I’ve set up a phantom account on MySpace so I can spy on people. Another friend put me up to it and I’m weak, so I went along with her plan. I’ve mostly been checking in on people who went to my high school. I have also been checking out profiles for friends of friends of friends because I need to know “what’s wrong with him?” or “is that so and so?” (it’s usually not).

So far, I’m pretty underwhelmed by MySpace, but that’s probably because I’m stupid and I just don’t get it. Maybe I’ll come around eventually.

This is probably the lamest blog ever

If there’s a lame blog award, I want it. I’ve earned it and it’s rightfully mine. Don’t try to keep it from me or give it to some other not-quite-as-lame blog.

Speaking of lame, Blogger seriously needs to work on their spellchecker

I just spellchecked that last blog entry and Blogger’s spellchecker flagged the word “blog”. I like Blogger and I think they provide a good service, but I think maybe it’s time to upgrade the spellchecker. Also, it flagged the word “underwhelmed” and suggested “underwhelming”; I guess Blogger has preferred tenses for certain verbs or something. It also doesn’t like the word “spellchecker”. I’ll concede that I may have made that one up, although Dictionary.com says it’s legit.