About Time

After running cold for a while, barely breaking even, I finally busted a few people this morning. I woke up around 5am and drank some tea and wasn't feeling sleepy afterwards, so I decided to see how the tables were lookin' on Absolute. Sometimes I'll go on there in the middle of the week and see 5 rocks sitting there, and will just say "fuck it" for the time being. But the game looked really loose, so I sat down. I was quickly in the hole almost $40 but made it back on the aforementioned hands, and then some.

The $380 pot had me holding a set of jacks on a AJT board. I got it all in on the turn and the river was a frightening K, but the pot came my way. I was about to be sick if he had some garbage like AQ.

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I haven't been posting much of late, dunno why. I suppose I have had less to say about poker. Or I've been lazy.

I've just noticed that I've had far more fun reading other peoples blogs for a change. I seem to go through cycles where I will write an entry every single day for 2 weeks, then I'll just sit around and read other blogs and comment on them. I sorta wish I had intelligent interesting things to say on a daily basis, but I don't.

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I've noticed that quite a few fellow poker bloggers have been having a really hard time with poker lately. I don't want this to come off as sounding like I'm happy that they're struggling, but it's nice to see some good players going through ups and downs, as I have been for a while. Makes me feel less like the poker gods hate me, and more like they hate everyone (aside from Tuan Le and Danny Nguyen) equally.

I wish them all the best of luck breaking out of the downswings, I know what they are like, and how it can mess with your head.

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Speaking of lucky players, I watched the repeat of the WPT event where Tuan Le wins his first event. I forgot how sickening it was to see him suckout time and again.

I remember reading Negreanu, I think?, defend Tuan Le...saying something along the lines of "since when did it become a crime to suckout." Fair enough. No crime there, everyone gets lucky from time to time in poker. But I know this much, that anyone who got THAT lucky at a final table, would most assuredly win as well, regardless of how poor of a player they were. In all honesty, I don't think I could get my money in as such a dog so repeatedly if I was trying my best to lose.

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I've also noticed that I'm enjoying the WPT a lot less these days. A LOT less. I remember watching the 2003 season with final tables full of top notch pros playing smart tactical poker. I still like some of the old episodes the best.

This past season has been mostly a crapshoot. I don't particularly care to see a bunch of weak players donkey it up against each other to determine the winner. I don't care about 'all ins' and I don't give a damn if an amateur Cinderellas himself a WPT Title. I know enough about the game of poker to know that anyone on any single given day can beat the very best, and that's just the nature of the game.

I'm sure it does kudos for the growth and popularity of the WPT tournaments though. Everyone and their brother wants to get into one of these events because they see idiots like themselves littering the final tables and occasionally winning. Hell, I can do that!

What's perhaps the most humorous about all of this is the sick delusions garnered by some of the unlikely winners. I think Danny Nguyen said he was gonna play professionally after his win. LOL. Humorous might not have been the right word, maybe the word I'm looking for is sad. To play in most of the big buy in events throughout the year as a tournament professional can cost somewhere in the neighborhood of half a million dollars. I think Nguyen won almost exactly a million dollars for his victory. Probably 1/3 of that will go to taxes...give or take. Say he has $700,000 after that.

Now this poor bastard...I think he used up all of his luck to win that one event, I don't foresee him winning any more. In fact, his cashes will be few and far between, if I had to venture a guess. Meanwhile he's paying for travel and accommodations, and most tourney pro's play in side games as well. How long till his million dollar victory is completely erased?

That probably depends on his money management skills, but he looks like a gambler to me, so I give him 3 years tops, and in all likelihood...much much sooner.

I'll probably never be able to find out, unfortunately. If nothing more, it is an interesting experiment. Any fellow bloggers/readers who by chance run into him sometime, do some snooping! Paul Phillips, if you ever come across this, find out how good he's doing on your next WPT event please!

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I've been getting into Omaha8 lately. I started reading a book on strategy by Mike Cappelletti. It's not the greatest poker book, but I'm learning from it. The good thing about learning a new game is that books can actually help you again. I felt like every Holdem book I read was just rehashing of the same stuff for beginners. DoubleA's has some really good posts on serious NL strategy for intermediate+ holdem. Things that books just don't talk a lot about for some reason. Perhaps most poker authors don't want to give away their secrets and would rather make an easy buck offering rehashed advice for noobs. Who knows? I wish someone would write a serious NL (nontournament) strategy book. Ted Forrest or Phil Ivey need to write a book damnit.