Your Mom Goes to College

BS23 posts small blind [$25.00].
hokuspookus posts big blind [$50.00].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to gamblegambel [ Ac 5s ]
JonyKillfinger folds
gamblegambel raises [$100.00]
BR23 folds
hokuspookus calls [$50.00]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Td, 3d, Jd ]
hokuspookus checks
gamblegambel bets [$131.00]
hokuspookus raises [$350.00]
gamblegambel calls [$219.00]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4d ]
hokuspookus bets [$400.00]
gamblegambel calls [$400.00]
** Dealing River ** [ As ]
hokuspookus checks
gamblegambel bets [$650.00]
hoouspookus folds
gamblegambel wins $1723.00 from main pot

Pic

Three Thoughts

Something about new years eve really gets my blood going. I mean I always enjoy hosting get-togethers, but there is something magical about nye. I think about decorations and music and drinks and invite lists for months in advance and it is all a labor of love.

I am leaving next week for a visit to Chicago followed by a long weekend in Vegas for the Five Diamond tournament at Bellagio. I managed to get a free hotel for four nights at the Palazzo and 25 dollar food coupon and 50 dollar table game money all comped from this summers craps experiment. Win win.

Three days ago was my worst day ever in poker. It bothered me when it happened and nearly turned 2009 into a meager year, but no more than a few days later I have gotten about 30% back and feel pretty darn good about just nearly everything.

My Garden

Wise Words from Garth

"It's like people only do things because they get paid and that's just really sad."

HH

nL_Dagon posts small blind [$10.00 ].
gamblegambel posts big blind [$20.00 ].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to gamblegambel [ Tc Kc ]
wilfiedr folds
twst o cane folds
LeVerbena folds
pumelfee123 folds
nL_ragon raises [$40.00 ]
gamblegambel calls [$30.00 ]
** Dealing Flop ** [ Ac, 5d, 7c ]
nL_Dagon bets [$57.00 ]
gamblegambel calls [$57.00 ]
** Dealing Turn ** [ 4d ]
nL_Draon checks
gamblegambel checks
** Dealing River ** [ 8h ]
nL_Drgon bets [$125.00 ]
gamblegambel raises [$250.00 ]
nL_Drgon raises [$250.00 ]
gamblegambel raises [$243.00 ]
nL_Draon folds
gamblegambel wins $961.00 from main pot

Balloon Art

I've been a tad creative the past few days...

Sketch

Sketch

Wise Words from Mahatma Gandhi

"An eye for an eye, and soon the whole world is blind"

Findings

I play a lot of games and I love analogies. Lately I've been trying to beat Punch Out again (haven't taken down the big guy since I was no more than 13 years old). Heads up poker and a boxing match are two peas in a pod. It usually starts off with small pots and some feeler jabs; no one looks for a knock out blow early. Ultimately the only way to get an edge on your opponent is to counter what he is doing. Once you start forcing blows and get out of rhythm it is game over. One thing that really caught my attention the other day was this graph I stumbled upon when looking up some NFL stats. It basically plots the likelihood of an onside kick's success against the odds your opponent thinks you will do an onside kick. Bottom line is the less they are expecting it the higher the success rate. There are so many examples of this in poker where a play is profitable as long as your opponent doesn't think you are doing it. It's a tricky balance to do something every single time it isn't expected.

HH

plzlemewin posts small blind [$25.00].
hamer_6161 posts big blind [$50.00].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to gamblegambel [ Qs 8s ]
philanmike folds
phouder raises [$125.00]
gamblegambel calls [$125.00]
plzlemewin folds
hamer_6161 folds
** Dealing Flop ** [ 7c, Ah, Jc ]
phouner bets [$150.00]
gamblegambel raises [$300.00]
phouner raises [$349.00]
gamblegambel raises [$398.00]
gamblegambel wins $1320.00 from main pot

HH

A pretty interesting hand from a heads up cap battle. A general rule of thumb for optimal poker strategy is to not change game plans mid hand i.e. turn a value call into a bluff on a later street. The following is what I would consider a rare exception.

Seat 2: gamblegambel ( $9826.75 )
Seat 5: bemyguestbd ( $6192.00 )
bemyguestud posts small blind [$25.00].
gamblegambel posts big blind [$50.00].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to gamblegambel [ 7c Js ]
bemyguesbud raises [$75.00]
gamblegambel calls [$50.00]
** Dealing Flop ** [ 5h, 7s, Ah ]
gamblegambel checks
bemygustbud bets [$135.00]
gamblegambel calls [$135.00] A seven figures to be good here.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Qd ]
gamblegambel checks
bemguestbud bets [$375.00]
gamblegambel calls [$375.00] This is a marginal call, I'd probably vote fold 70% of the time.
** Dealing River ** [ 4h ]
gamblegambel bets [$890.00] The four of hearts is pretty much the money draw card. Considering I reraise most big aces pre and fold most sevens on the turn this card drills my double check call range and is a great bluff card despite the general rule of thumb that changing value calls into bluffs is a bad play. There is some value to check/deciding, but I believe this bluff is much better.
bmyguestbud folds
gamblegambel wins $1219.50 from main pot

Sage Wisdom from the GF

A cup of hot tea a day will help keep the H1N1 virus away.