Random Thoughts 05-24-05

(Note: If you don’t like poker, skip to the bottom where there are some “Random Thoughts”)

Sometimes, it’s just not your night.

I’m sure that a lot of my current state of mind has to do with the 284 consecutive days without seeing the sun (OK, that was just a rough estimate. It’s more like 6), but yesterday was just a lousy all-around day.

I work a 9-5 job that I generally enjoy. Yesterday, I did not. Leaving work, I nearly got into two different accidents when people tried to change lanes without looking – once on the interstate, once on a 1-lane road. But it was all forgotten once I got home, because I had something waiting for me that I’d been looking forward to for weeks…

Paradise Poker’s Masters Week. Yes, I realize how sad that sounds.

Anyone who had already registered for the Paradise Poker Masters II event this Saturday also got a free entry into five tournaments running this Monday-Friday at 7PM. First place got a WSOP package, 2-10 got an entry into the Masters III event in a few months.

As part of the WSOP package that I won back in April, I got a Masters II entry, meaning that I was entered into all of these freerolls as well. Of the 1550+ people registered, maybe 500 showed up, so I had a pretty decent chance to do some damage, especially with Paradise’s rules for players who are not actually active. (They’re forced to fold to any raise, meaning that you can often buy blinds without a hand). At one point, there were 8 inactive players at my table, and one player who was active but not very good. I bought off blinds for almost an hour, knocking out 8 players and adding almost 7000 in chips.

When I finally got moved to a fully active table, I switched back into normal mode, only playing premium hands and doing some serious damage to those around me.

With 102 players left in the tournament, I was #1 overall with 58,000+ in chips. #2 had about 33,000. I had been playing absolutely perfect poker, never outdrawing people, slow playing when necessary, and bluffing at just the right times. Then came the last four hands of my night.

I’ve spoken here before about how I wonder if online poker is fixed. I hate to bring it up, because it makes me sound like a sore loser. But after last night’s 4-hand stretch…

I was in the Big Blind with A-10 suited clubs. There was a raise from 800 to 3200. One call, and I did the same. The flop hit 3-10-6 rainbow. I checked, the original raised moved all-in for about 4500, and only I called. He had K-10. The turn hit a king. Bye-bye 8000 chips.

The next hand, I had 10-10 in the small blind. After two callers, I raised from 800 to 2400, and both players called. The flop hit 10-A-7, and I bet out 4000. One guy folded, the other moved all-in for about 12,000. I called – he had A-10. The turn was a blank, the river was an Ace. Bye-bye 15000 chips.

Next hand, I had K-10 suited spades on the button. There was a raise from 800 to 2400, which I called and so did the Big Blind. The flop hit K-10-2. One guy checked, one bet out 1600, and I raised to 4000. The Blind folded, and the other guy moved all-in for 6800 or so. I called, and he showed pocket 8’s. The turn was an 8. Bye-bye 9000 chips.

Finally, I was one spot behind the button and got A-8 suited diamonds. There were three callers at 800, and I decided to keep it cheap to the flop. Five players saw the flop with 4900 in the pot. The board showed Kd-Ac-7d. I hit top pair and 4-flush. After two checks, one guy bet out about 3500 chips. There was a call, and I raised to 12000 – scaring away the blind and one of the other players. The first bettor raised all-in for almost 25000 chips (I only had about 27000 left), and the other caller re-raised all-in to about 40k. I called.

The first bettor had A-7 off-suit, and had flopped 2 pairs. The other guy (who had me covered) had K-J off-suit – just a pair of Kings, and was basically drawing dead. All I had to catch was any 8 or any diamond, and I was back on top of the pile. And if not, I needed to avoid another king or running Q-10 to stay alive.

The turn was the 3 of clubs. The river was the King of spades. Not only did I not hit my hand, but the guy who was “basically” drawing dead ended up taking the entire pot (almost 100k) and knocking me out.

I finished #100. #1 overall with 102 left, and I finished #100. And I still look back and can’t figure out where I played a hand incorrectly. Maybe that’s my problem – I play the hands the right way, but I can’t get away from them. Maybe I should play more hands, if only to take more chances and try and outplay people.

Or maybe I should just give up the game altogether – play on Saturday in the Masters, play in July in the WSOP, and then walk away.

Yeah, like there’s any shot of that happening.

Random Thoughts while preparing for “Kurtopalooza III: Revenge of the Geeks”

n No, I haven’t seen the new Star Wars. No, I don’t want to know about it. No, this does not make me any less of a geek. Actually, wait…

n NBA Draft Lottery tonight… what are the chances that the Knicks magically end up with the #1 overall pick, just so they can blow it on Andrew Bogut?

n Ugly basketball game last night. Yes, I actually watched part of it. Anytime a team relies on Shaq & Dwayne Wade, and they get that kind of performance out of them, it doesn’t look too good for them…

n Speaking of good TV… This show looks to be possibly the greatest reality show ever. I wish I’d known it was being cast – I’d be a shoe-in as one of the geeks… (Yes, I’ll look past the fact that the trailer starts with the words “From the daring mind of Ashton Kucher”, simply because the women involved actually say stuff like “I think my IQ is probably about 500”) I can’t believe no one thought of this before The W - freakin’ - B.

n All this talk in Boston about Edgar Renteria being a waste of money, and being washed up, and that he needs to be benched in favor of Hanley Ramirez… STOP! It’s a 45-game sample from a guy who has never played in the AL before. He’s used to the small-ball, speed game of the NL, not the “take some pitches, wait for the 3-run home-run” style of the American League. Renteria will be fine – he’s not getting benched, he’s CERTAINLY not getting traded, just relax.

n 2-for-2 on DocSports.com… take a look later today when my second article will be posted. Here’s a scary thought – apparently my first article (Super Bowl Odds – Post Draft Adjustments), where I said that there was no way in Hell that the San Diego Chargers should be 30-1 to win the Super Bowl, had a bit of influence with the good people at www.BoDog.com (the preferred sports betting site of DocSports). Within a day of my article, BoDog dropped the Chargers from 30-1 to 8-1. The Vikings also dropped, and the Eagles (who I picked as my most overrated team) went up from 11-2 to almost 7-1. I guess my words do have some pull - too bad I couldn’t get anything in on the original lines…

Meh, I guess that’s all I got today. Thought I had more. Maybe later this week.

posted by Big D @ 9:25 AM