112373353054991762

Two-week update

It’s been quite a while since I wrote anything here. Why? I’m lazy.

Ok, so what’ve I been up to? Well, I’ve had two basketball games since my last post and I’m finally starting to play pretty well. Last week, I had 12 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting. This week, I had 10 points–2 3-pointers, an 18-foot jumper and a couple freethrows. Those are decent point totals since this league plays a 36 minute game with a running clock and a 2-minute half time. Our team is averaging somewhere in the low 30s per game. We lost both games, but against decent teams and both games were pretty close. Last week, we just couldn’t hit our freethrows and this week, we basically didn’t have an answer for their big man.

Poker

Well, I have played for about a year online and have seen moderate winnings. Mostly, I’d been playing to get experience and learn more about the game. Recently, I decided to try and grind out some actual steady money, so I started playing Limit Hold ’em cash games. I started at Micro Limits–$.5/$1, 4-tabling–and am gradually moving up. My win-rate was just over 4BB/100 hands for almost 6,000 hands. I just moved up to $1/$2 Limit and I’m up, but I’ve only played a couple hundred hands. Anyway, I’ll play $1/$2 until I’ve won about 300BB, then I’ll jump to $2/$4. Slow and steady.

Reading

Since I returned from Europe, I’ve been reading a lot. Mostly, I’ve been reading books on poker, but I’ve also read some good fiction. Right now, I’m reading David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day. Sedaris is just a great author with a unique perspective and writing style. It’s just fun to read his stuff. Next, I think I’ll move on to John Irving’s latest book, but first it has to come out in paperback.

Work’s been rough

That about says it all. When I returned from Europe, I assumed the responsibilities that had previously been two peoples’ jobs. Actually, it seems I’ve taken on even more responsibility than that. Anyway, I’ve been ultra-busy and it’s been keeping me from pursuing acting like I want to. I know I should continue pursuing acting, but my schedule at work is very demanding and volatile and I don’t want to over commit myself. Hopefully, things will calm down by the end of the year and I can get back on the bus.

Headin’ home for football

I will be going to Florida to see the UT vs. UF football game next month. Really, I’ll be hoping to see the game since I don’t have a ticket. Basically, I plan to fly into Orlando, rent a car, drive to G-ville and start hunting for a ticket. I’ll be getting to G-ville on Thursday afternoon, so that’ll give me almost two full days to find a ticket.

I really should find something more interesting to write about.

112252716706382590

Mom’s in town

My Mom is in town for an annual conference that she always attends. Of course, she’ll be spending most of her time at the conference, but I got to spend some time with her yesterday. We went to Kathleen’s Art Cafe, which is probably my favorite local place for getting really good food. The atmosphere is also really great. I think Mom liked it a lot.

After dinner, we went to Starbucks for some coffee and she finally got to see all my pictures from Europe. There are about 1,000 of them, so we just kinda’ skimmed most of them. All in all, I had a super time and I’m glad I got to spend some time hanging out with my Mom.

Another basketball win

Last week, we got our first win (I think we started 0-3 this season). I don’t really remember it, but I think we played a pretty good game. This week, we got another win, but in a very unusual way. First of all, we only scored 33 points. Second, one (of six) of my teammates scored 22 of those points. Third, we won by one point in Double Overtime. In this league, Double Overtime is “Sudden Death”. That’s right, I said “Sudden Death”. But I should go back a bit before the end of Double OT.

Just before the end of regulation, the other team had possession with 1:18 remaining. They got it across half court and then the Point Guard said, “One shot! One shot!” A team will usually go for “one shot” if there’s approximately one shot-clock worth of time left in the game. We don’t have a shot-clock, but 1:18 is a lot longer than the shot-clock in any league. Fifty seconds later, they finally decided to go for a shot and their Point Guard made a nice 3-point play (in our defense, it’s tough to defend for 50 seconds and still get a stop). Our super scorer immediately answered with a 3-pointer and we went our first OT.

We made it through the first OT without scoring. Neither team could score and no one was hitting free throws. It should be noted that OT was only 2 minutes with a running clock, so there weren’t really many scoring opportunities. We began the second OT looking about as well as we began the first. With very little time remaining, their big man got two free throws. He missed the first. Then made the second. But wait! He also stepped over the stripe for one of the few “lane violations” I’ve ever seen called. It was a good call, but a pretty unusual one. We got the ball back, used a couple time outs and took it up the floor. On what looked like a broken play, one of our guys pulled up for a three-pointer and intentionally double-clutched to try and draw contact. Lucky for us, he succeeded…at drawing the contact, at least. He connected on the second free throw attempt and that ended the game (remember, we were playing sudden death).

So, that was probably the most bizarre ending to any basketball game I’ve ever played. That is all.

112122872967805707

A root canal? Are you freakin’ kidding me?

I guess that says it all, but here’s how it all went down:

I showed up to my dentist appointment about 20 minutes late today, so we were short on time. “We’re running a little late, so we’ll have to see what we can get done before we close”, says the assistant lady. This is the semi-annual appointment where they do x-rays and a cleaning, so there was much to be done.

First, we do the x-rays. That’s the part where I stand with my face in the weird robotic contraption that swings around my head, buzzing and beeping itself to a better understanding of whether my teeth are rotting out of my head. Next, we start the cleaning. The assistant lady grabs the dental tools and starts scraping away. A few minutes later, she says, “Your oral hygiene is very good. There’s really not anything for me to clean in here. We shouldn’t have any trouble finishing before we close.” Well, that’s good news! The teeth are in great shape and we’ll finish everything up this visit. Score!

So, we finish up the cleaning and then I just have to wait for the dentist to come in and tell me that everything’s great and he’s so proud of me for taking such great care of my teeth. Piece of cake, right? Of course not. “How are you doing?” “Pretty good.” “Well, that’s good, but we have a bit of a problem.” I figured he was just kidding. He wasn’t. “Your gonna’ need a root canal.” “Seriously?” “Yeah, the third one from the back on the top over here is pretty bad. There’s a cave in there.” He shows me the x-ray and he’s right, of course. There is a cave in there. He’s already got people on the phone, booking spelunking expeditions and some camping trips to the cave.

So, I’m going back Thursday morning, taking time off work and spending almost $900 bucks (yes, I have insurance and, yes, that’s just my out of pocket) for a freakin’ root canal and crown. I say, “Is there anything I could’ve done to prevent this?” “No, sometimes these things just creep up on you.” So what you’re saying is it doesn’t matter, all this flossing and regular brushing? Super.

That was my day. How was yours?

112105309439485175

Finding Neverland

Several people have told me that I should see this one and since I recently spent some time in Hyde Park, I figured I’d give it a go. Turns out, it’s a super movie and I really enjoyed it. It’s easily one of the best films written about writing. It really seems to capture the writing process and, of course, it’s interesting to see how Peter Pan may have come to be.

Jazz in the Park

Last night, some friends and I went to see a jazz concert in Addison. It was pretty cool and I was glad to get out. I haven’t listened to much jazz and I was reminded that I should definitely go out and get some. It’s great music and it’s refreshing to hear something so different from most of the music I typically listen to. I also think listening to some jazz would give me a little more to work with when I’m trying to write.

Reading, but nothing exciting

I’ve been reading through some poker books lately, but that’s about all. I need to get ahold of some good fiction, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. I started reading One Hundred Years of Solitude on my way to Europe, but I just couldn’t get into it. That’s probably because I’m very shallow and not very cultured.

112088315413602357

Where have I been?

Right here, of course. And I’ve been here doing absolutely nothing exciting. I’ve been playing a lot of basketball, reading a lot and being a slacker. July 4th weekend was a long one for me–we got a four-day weekend–but I was pretty bored before it was all over.

Basketball has been ok, but we’ve been getting worked. We’re now 0-3, but I guess we’re showing improvement. I don’t really wanna’ talk about why we stink, but we do. Now that we’ve got guys showing up, I hope we start to learn how to play together (I don’t know some of the guys on our team).

I’ve mostly been reading poker books. It’s not the most entertaining reading, but I’ve been improving my game, so it’s worth it. I would like to read some good fiction, but that’ll have to wait.

I’d like to go to Florida soon, but I’m afraid it won’t work out until September when I hope to get back to Gainesville for the Tennessee game. I will definitely be getting back for that one, but I’d like to get back at least once before then. I’m just kind of playing it by ear (read: waiting for really cheap plane tickets to fall into my lap). I’ve really been craving Newberry Backyard BBQ.

I really wish I had something else to say…anything…but I don’t. I really need to jump back into acting.

111976162939959230

First Final Table

Well, I made my first Final Table in a poker tournament tonight. The irony is that it was in a Pot Limit Omaha tournament. I’ve never played PLO before, so I wasn’t expecting to do too well. I have played some Omaha and O/8, but I’ve never played any Pot Limit stakes.

I turned $5.50 into $40, so that’s nice… but I’m frustrated because I probably could’ve busted 7th or 6th instead of 9th and made another $40 to $60. I just overplayed a second-best hand and busted earlier than I should’ve. I was very short-stacked, but that’s not an excuse.

Anyway, I’m glad I made the final table, but I wish I’d not busted on a stupid play.

PokerStars Tournament #9111688, Pot Limit Omaha
Buy-In: $5.00/$0.50
471 players
Total Prize Pool: $2355.00
Tournament started – 2005/06/25 – 21:15:00 (ET)
Dear Josh,
You finished the tournament in 9th place.
A $40.04 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

111958749153078895

Sorta’ bored

Since I got back from Europe, I’ve felt a little down. Nothing serious, but I just haven’t felt spectacular. I can think of a lot of reasons for this, but I think a big one is I’m just kinda’ bored. I feel like life is good in Dallas: I have a good job, a good paycheck, some good friends, and I’m comfortable. But all that’s the same every day and I think it’s wearing on me.

For one, I feel like it’s time to continue pursuing acting. I haven’t done much since the short film in February (which I should be getting a copy of soon) and I’ve been putting it off for some reason. I think, mostly, I’ve been waiting on a few other things to settle out before I move forward. I’m good at multi-tasking, but I’ve always preferred to take things one at a time if I can get away with it. I think the next thing I need to tackle is this acting thing.

I don’t generally experience a lot of emotion, but I’ve been experiencing a bit lately. Nothing serious, but I definitely feel a bit of a quickening and I’m paying close attention to it. I’m not sure what’s up. Maybe it’s nothing.

Another basketball whoopin’

We got worked last night. Our first problem was that only 3 of our teammates (of 8) showed up before game time. We were able to recruit a random guy to play with us, so we didn’t have to forfeit, but that was little help. Our fifth guy showed up a few minutes into the game, but we’d already spotted the other team 7 or 8 points and it was downhill from there. I can’t remember the final score… probably because I don’t want to remember it.

111921985987552878

Big Tournament = Huge Letdown

I got no cards for about 120 hands. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a run of cards that bad, but I guess it had to happen some time. Here are my statistics from the entire tourney:

120 hands played and saw flop:
– 2 times out of 14 while in small blind (14%)
– 4 times out of 14 while in big blind (28%)
– 7 times out of 92 in other positions (7%)
– a total of 13 times out of 120 (10%)

Pots won at showdown – 2 out of 5 (40%)
Pots won without showdown � 1

The two pots won with showdown were AQ vs. AT, KQs vs. KJs. One pot won without showdown was AKs and I just stole the blinds and one limper’s call. The three losses at showdown were a check-down on a flush draw I missed, AQ vs. 22 (both short-stacked and all-in before the flop) and then the following hand with A6 vs. K3.

I was unable to steal blinds because of my table. They were very loose/aggressive and most of the stacks were showing a lot of variance. The up-side was that if I caught a big hand, I could easily double up. Unfortunately, my biggest han was 99 and the flop came TJK with two hearts.

I ended up busting 1180 of 2497. Considering I was handcuffed by the cards, I’ll take that. Hopefully, I’ll be able to win a seat to this tourney again soon and actually do some damage.

That’s poker.

111921059387413808

Getting ready for a big tournament

In an hour, I’ll be playing in the highest buy-in tournament I’ve played yet. It’s $200+15 and there are thousands of dollars at stake. I’ve seen first place in this tournament pay as much as $150,000. Of course, I’ll need all my skill and a lot of luck to make the money, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

The best part is I’m basically free-rolling in this tournament. I won my seat for $9 earlier this week. So, if I make the money, I’ll get a minimum of $215, with an investment of $9. That’s a pretty decent ROI.

I feel pretty prepared as I’ve been playing lower-stakes tournaments this week and I’ve done pretty well in them. Of four tournaments, I made the money twice, bubbled once (finished 115 when 99 paid) and busted the first hand with KK vs. 32. In all four cases, I busted with the best hand. My last tournament, I busted with AQ vs. AT when AT flopped a straight. Anyway, I’ve been playing well and I think I can make the money today. But, even if I don’t, at least I had a shot at a ton of money for a $9 investment.

What else?

If it seems like I haven’t been doing much lately, that’s because I haven’t been doing much lately. I’ve done some reading, written some things on the guitar, written some things on paper and played a lot of basketball. We lost by 17 on Wednesday to a good team that has played together for a while. This Wednesday, I think we’ll do better, but I guess there’s no guarantee.

Work has been going well as I’ve had a lot more responsibility and I think I’ve handled it very well. Things are going very smoothly even though I’ve recently taken on the responsibility that was previously covered by two people.

That is all.

111870837594403790

Bad luck with poker

What a great contrast to last night. I figured I played well last night, so I’d take a shot at today’s PokerStars $10+1. There were 1385 people registered. This is literally the first hand of the tournament:

PokerStars Game #1893303229: Tournament #8870985, Hold’em No Limit – Level I (10/20) – 2005/06/13 – 19:45:00 (ET)
Table ‘8870985 80’ Seat #2 is the button
Seat 2: Tanzz (1500 in chips)
Seat 3: Lou_C (1500 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 4: Josh (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: allLiving (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: harleybum68 (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: Rocawear101 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: johnnydude (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: jmonnett (1500 in chips)
Lou_C: posts small blind 10
Josh: posts big blind 20
jmonnett is connected
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Josh [Kh Ks]
allLiving: raises 1480 to 1500 and is all-in
harleybum68: folds
Rocawear101: folds
johnnydude: folds
jmonnett: folds
Tanzz: folds
Lou_C: folds
Josh: calls 1480 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [Jh 6s 4d]
allLiving said, “no 5”
allLiving said, “gotta go”
*** TURN *** [Jh 6s 4d] [5h]
allLiving said, “****”
*** RIVER *** [Jh 6s 4d 5h] [9h]
allLiving said, “lame.”
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Josh: shows [Kh Ks] (a pair of Kings)
allLiving: shows [3d 2s] (a straight, Deuce to Six)
allLiving collected 3010 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3010 Rake 0
Board [Jh 6s 4d 5h 9h]
Seat 2: Tanzz (button) folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 3: Lou_C (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: Josh (big blind) showed [Kh Ks] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 5: allLiving showed [3d 2s] and won (3010) with a straight, Deuce to Six
Seat 6: harleybum68 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 7: Rocawear101 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 8: johnnydude folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 9: jmonnett folded before Flop (didn’t bet)

To sum up: I busted out on the first hand with KK vs. 32o. I was an 85% favorite to win this hand (it doesn’t get much better than that). Normally, I wouldn’t put my whole tournament at risk nearly this early, but if I knew I was an 85% favorite, I’d play this hand this way every time. This was the first time I’d ever been the first person to bust out of a tournament. Hopefully, it’ll be the last.

The astute poker players reading this (I doubt there are any) will say, “What if he had AA?” And to that I say, “Odds are, he doesn’t. And if he does, more power to him.” But the real answer is that he moved in the split-second it was his turn to act and he was first to act. I had to figure he was going to move in with any two cards, so I was up against a random hand and a huge favorite.

That’s poker.