Dammit... the odd time when i accidentally delete something from a blog entry, i could have recovered some how had i clicked on "Recover post", unless that means that it will just open a previously saved blog draft... regardless... on with the show. I wrote a lot about poker in this blog, but as a favor to any reader out there that doesn't care about my poker-babble, i have moved it to the bottom of the blog. Golf Gaffaws I golfed 2 rounds this weekend, and both times i couldn't put a decent game together. The first round was far worse than the second, simply because the course and it's patrons were unruly. I made no good shots or memorable puts. I just remembered losing many a golf ball to the trees, and conceiding 3 holes. The next day was much better for golf, and i made a few memorable shots, but never a memorable hole... I reminded myself after of my new year's goal of reducing my golf game by 10 strokes. Since i seem to be averaging 120 (a terrible score), i know it's attainable. Based on yesterday's performance alone, if i didn't goof off on 2 holes, making silly shots, and the few times i 2-putted when i could have done it in one, i know it's something i can achieve by the end of summer. Being devoured by mosquitos was very unpleasant, and i know now that they will go through clothing, since i did have muskol on my arms and legs. The only forseeable way of getting around this is by using Irish Spring in the shower, which repells mosquitos somehow, prior to a round of golf. I don't have the drive to improve my game greatly, but if i took my time more often before rushing a shot, i'd be better off and closer to my goal. Comparing it to my gusto for poker, which consumes a lot of my mental space, i know what i want to get out of golf, and what i want out of poker. Poker Intermission Having gone on tilt online, i decided to take a break and write a long overdue blog entry. My typing speed has diminished a bit so maybe i won't be able to spit out as much as i wanted to originally. Luck Disgustingly enough in a pot limit cash game, i got pocket Aces twice in a row, and held up both times (the second time was marginal, because i wasn't betting them as aggressively, and the stupid flop came down with a pair showing). I was enjoying the stint of luck, and found myself staring at AT suited, and flop comes down A, J, T. Just like the KT situation, i will get the two pair, but the potential for a straight is always there, and for some reason, always finds me when i flop the two pair. So i push my luck, raise it to put a guy all in, and he has AJ. That put me on tilt, and then i am dealt a pair of 7s. I push all in, and flop comes down, with a 7 showing. I didn't think i was made yet though. The poker karma was closing in on me, and by the time river hit, i saw i lost to someone who had made a set of queens. I like the duration of the ring games now. The sit and go tournaments greatly shortened my patience, and made me want to see action all the time, but playing in ring games has taught me to pick my spots better, and even more, learn to draw people into pots more. In a stint of rage, i played a TURBO Sit and Go, and found myself short stacked. Then, all of a sudden, I hit quad 4s. Then i hit quad Jacks. Then in the heads up i say "why not" and play 7/8 OS, considering i was lucky enough to get there, and then i make a full house with the 8s. Next hand is J/4, and flop comes up 9, 8, 4. My opponent pushes all in, and i said again, "to heck with it", and had him beat with his 4/7. There is such an imbalance between the two styles of play, and it is good to change it up once in a while. I got so pigeon holed into thinking that tourneys were the one and only way to go, but then a couple of great runs at the ring games taught me something i had totally neglected since i first played for "play money". I made my first $30,000 in ring game play money games, and then just switched to tournament tables for the change of pace, and just neglected them for a long time. Maybe now i won't fear the casino tables. Return on Investment First off, my poker achievement of the weekend. I FINALLY managed to make a money finish in a poker tournament. Last night i managed to finish 20th out of a field of 305. Let me tell you, it was a great feeling. Several highs and lows, topping myself at 14th place early on in the tournament, but just had to really be careful with the spots i picked. I called one bad hand that offset me for a while and cut my stack in half, but i stayed within the bubble. It was a side of poker i had yet to experience. I had never played when the stacks, blinds, and pots made every hand that much more critical, with short stacks being able to double up a lot easier, and the monster chip leaders just having to sneeze at their chips to make the short stacks think twice if that is the spot they want to go to war on. In general, i picked my battles wisely enough, maybe regretting a handful of calls that i made that i really didn't have to. I got sucked in a lot with AQ, having received it as my hole cards almost 4 times consecutively. The upside is that you can sit for quite a while until you get a playable hand, as long as you don't squander your chips on unnecessary draws. I saw a lot of weak two pairs get knocked out near the end, not because they ran into a set, but because the board would pair higher and render their kicker useless. After the $800-$1600 blinds ripped through me, i found myself with $1000 in chips left on the button, and i see AT suited. My all-in is meaningless to the rest of the table, but because of the level people didn't want to call with anything, fearing any sort of re-raise and just not wanting to play marginal hands, i got all but 1 caller, who was sitting on kings. i lucked out, drawing a set of 10s on the turn, and i thought i'd be able to last a bit longer. My next hand i get Jacks, and even though i just doubled, i had to play them... i knew i was at the bottom of the finishers list at that point, and figured that getting blinded out at that point wouldn't change my money finish. I ran into aces, but upon my elimination, i realized i made the second level of pay outs (top 40 got paid), and left the table by typing in "woohoo!". As fun as it was, the money earned was not worth the 2.5 hours i lasted. on a $5 buy-in, i got back $20. That same buy-in at a sit and go short-handed, i can earn 17.50 in 15 minutes. The losses hurt a lot more frequently, running into sketchy short-handed play, but the earning potential is still good. The first place finisher just made over $300 in the tournament, but it's a long way from 20th to 1st. The hands i wish i played (or didn't) Early on i caught KT, and flopped two pair, but i had folded pre-flop. This is something i always see when i get KT, but then thought to myself "I probably would get out drawn", and that would have been right, with someone holding AQ, and a Jack hitting the turn. Near the end, i had Q9, and two short stacks went all in, and i had them covered, but was fearing the non-money finish, even as the BB, couldn't call. I would have drawn the nut straight, and the hands they called with were extremely marginal. I had 7/8 off suit, and a short stack sits in at the table, goes all in, and i fold with no question under the gun. I would have flopped the set and cracked his aces. Considering over all the number of hands I played, having only 3 hands that i wished i had played is a good thing. I would easily trade those times i played the AQ for these 3 instances, but overall, i was proud of my play, and felt i achieved something in my poker education.

Source: The Pebble Says...