Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Seriously Media Stop
I know we made a huge deal when Barack Obama said this because now that an inexperienced, sexy 42 year old woman is running and she tells jokes instead any talking about any real policy matters, it might offend people.
I will give this to Republicans. They are brilliant at running campaigns. They play perfectly to the fears of the ignorant base in the United States. This campaign should be a 70-30 lock by the Democrats after 8 years of failed governing that have led to a recession and economic crisis. They are almost up in some polls because they just flat out lie. How can you win a campaign based on pushing for the "Bridge to Nowhere" then in the next campaign claim you defeated it.
This campaign I'm extremely sick of it, and I wish the media would just report real news listed below.
1. Policy proposals
2. Polls once every month
3. Debate topics
4. Records of those running
Everything else is sludge that is usually just a giant lie. One side lies more than the other because they desperately have to in order to win.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Some Political Wisdom
When I was 5 years old, I had a President book. I studied this book day in and day out. I was simply fascinated by all the white men over the years of history that represented this country in its most important office. I learned about their wives. I learned about their cats. I learned about their big accomplishments and the records they held. I even knew most of their middle names. George Herbert Walker Bush was President at the time although my book only took me to Reagan. I liked knowing their political parties, and when I asked my parents what political party they voted for, I would never get a straight answer. They voted for the candidate that they thought was best. While I'm sure they leaned certain ways on some issues, I thought that was a reasonable response. I remember holding a mock election in 2nd grade where we voted for Perot, Clinton or Bush in the 1992 election. Of course, my friend Mike Z. led one mob chanting "Ross is the Boss" leading Perot to victory in our class. We couldn't tell you the first thing about the issues or Perot's ideas. We just wanted to be a mob. As I watched tonight, I couldn't help but think the same thing about the Republican party. In a convention night that heard several "USA" chants along with "Drill baby drill!" chants, I couldn't help but be embarrassed by a party that understands itself about as much as a 12 year old girl first experiencing her period.
I'll tell you flat out that I'm not going to bash the Republican party in this post anymore than they deserve. In fact, on many issues, I flat out agree with the Republican party. Free trade, limited government, and a balanced budget are among the strong Republican ideals I support. Wait a minute. The Republican party has done nothing of the sort over the last 8-15 years. The idea of a balanced budget and limited government has fled the main party platform for newer and fresher birds. Believe it or not Republicans, the last true patriot of the balanced budget was Bill Clinton. Don't believe me? See what Alan Greenspan says in book "The Age of Turbulence." It doesn't bother me all that much anyway that Republicans use this tenant as part of their fundamental ideology. What bothers me is that the Republican mob doesn't quite realize it. What bothers me is that there is not a single ounce of accountability in the Republican party. When McCain's ads pop up on TV, I think they are Obama ads. They say things like Washington is broke. John McCain knows that. Well if he knows that, where the hell has he been for the last 20 years? I'm so confused by the political process. We can no longer get an honest response from a politician about anything. Anytime a politician tries to give an honest response, we write it off as insecurity. When Obama tries to answer complicated questions with thorough responses that aren't 4 word answers, he's written off as indecisive or inexperienced. The fact that maybe some of his ideas are worth considering is out of the question. How can this Republican party still try to get away with a complete lack of non-partisanship? My main truth here is that Republicans essentially bash Democrats for raising taxes and increasing spending, but they just lower taxes and increase spending. So what is better for the long term health of the economy? I'll take the latter. What needs to happen in Washington is both parties have to agree on balancing the budget (an idea proposed at the beginning of W's term, but flatly rejected for the broad range of tax cuts that spiraled our government from surplus to deficit).
Now, my next qualm relates to the experience issue. I basically laugh the idea of the experience issue off most of the time. If someone has the leadership ability and potential to win a main party Presidential primary, then he or she has the ability to lead the country. You can't win the primaries without thorough support from major players across your party. These major players, superdelegates or major endorsements, don't give you support if you can't come across to them as knowledgeable about an array of topics and as a leader. How can you really prepare someone to be President of the United States anyway? The only real way is to have someone super close to a previous effective President. So by that notion Al Gore should have been super experienced. Was he? Probably not. Experience is just a word thrown around in a slogan. Just because you are old doesn't mean you are experienced either. An effective Senator doesn't necessariliy make them ready to be President. This goes for both Obama and McCain.
Now on to Sarah Palin. Let me first say that I'm excited that both genders are or have been represented in the primaries and now the main ticket. I'm also proud that both parties decided to put someone up other than a white guy. It makes me think that actual progress is taking place in our society. I would also like to say that it's not by mere chance that women or non white males had a chance. It was by knowledge, vision and well-run campaigns that caused both Hillary and Obama to be in the hunt. So let me tell you why Sarah Palin is on the Vice Presidential ticket. She's likeable. She's likeable. She's likeable. Since the Republicans have brought forth nothing of real value or substance over the last 8 years, it only makes sense to win back the masses through likeability. McCain is likeable. I mean I have liked the guy since he ran against George W. Bush in the primaries. I've liked him even when he was a huge proponent of the Iraq War. Who doesn't like a POW war veteran? Palin proved it again tonight when she spoke. She's likeable. The speechwriter made sure of it through everything she said. The GOP knows they are in trouble. They are up against a candidate that people are finally passionate about, Obama. This isn't John Kerry and this isn't Al Gore. It's someone that inspires not only Democrats, but Americans. That's why the GOP needed to announce a shocker after Obama's stellar acceptance speech where he didn't just attack Republicans, he laid out a vision for a greater United States of America. The Republicans don't offer that to people. Instead, they speak to only the people that see the world as a big globe of good vs. evil. They speak to the mob of people that will believe anything they say despite what the last 8 years have truthfully brought forth. You won't balance the budget Republicans. You haven't done it in 8 years. You have dragged our country down by failed policies right after 9/11. You have made it only possible and feasible to lump together support of country, support of war, and support of troops.
I can't remember who said this tonight at the convention, but it stuck with me. He said that the American people know that the Republicans are correct and strong on social values, but they have lost it on economic policy. He was truly correct about his second statement. As for the first statement, I don't think you can argue that abstinence-only education is correct. I don't think a debate will ever be settled in America about a women's right to choose. Despite the continuous scientific findings regarding the fact that the Earth is well over 6000 years old, we may never all agree on that. We probably won't all agree on what should be taught in schools creationism or evolution even though we should teach actual science. We won't agree on the right or wrong of homosexuals (even though I'm certain in 100 years, it will be a far better picture as all civil rights battles need to be fought). I quite frankly don't think that the majority of these "social values" even matter in the long term of political progress. What does matter is that the Republican party wakes up to the reality of its principles. Limited governemt and conservative economic policies can pretty much define what this party means politically. As for the other stuff, it should probably be sorted out on Sunday, or in the privacy of a worship group and family or with one's own personal conversation with God before bed. If we voted simply on what candidate's message is being the most honest, a value that I think everyone admires in a person, this race wouldn't even be close.
I'll tell you flat out that I'm not going to bash the Republican party in this post anymore than they deserve. In fact, on many issues, I flat out agree with the Republican party. Free trade, limited government, and a balanced budget are among the strong Republican ideals I support. Wait a minute. The Republican party has done nothing of the sort over the last 8-15 years. The idea of a balanced budget and limited government has fled the main party platform for newer and fresher birds. Believe it or not Republicans, the last true patriot of the balanced budget was Bill Clinton. Don't believe me? See what Alan Greenspan says in book "The Age of Turbulence." It doesn't bother me all that much anyway that Republicans use this tenant as part of their fundamental ideology. What bothers me is that the Republican mob doesn't quite realize it. What bothers me is that there is not a single ounce of accountability in the Republican party. When McCain's ads pop up on TV, I think they are Obama ads. They say things like Washington is broke. John McCain knows that. Well if he knows that, where the hell has he been for the last 20 years? I'm so confused by the political process. We can no longer get an honest response from a politician about anything. Anytime a politician tries to give an honest response, we write it off as insecurity. When Obama tries to answer complicated questions with thorough responses that aren't 4 word answers, he's written off as indecisive or inexperienced. The fact that maybe some of his ideas are worth considering is out of the question. How can this Republican party still try to get away with a complete lack of non-partisanship? My main truth here is that Republicans essentially bash Democrats for raising taxes and increasing spending, but they just lower taxes and increase spending. So what is better for the long term health of the economy? I'll take the latter. What needs to happen in Washington is both parties have to agree on balancing the budget (an idea proposed at the beginning of W's term, but flatly rejected for the broad range of tax cuts that spiraled our government from surplus to deficit).
Now, my next qualm relates to the experience issue. I basically laugh the idea of the experience issue off most of the time. If someone has the leadership ability and potential to win a main party Presidential primary, then he or she has the ability to lead the country. You can't win the primaries without thorough support from major players across your party. These major players, superdelegates or major endorsements, don't give you support if you can't come across to them as knowledgeable about an array of topics and as a leader. How can you really prepare someone to be President of the United States anyway? The only real way is to have someone super close to a previous effective President. So by that notion Al Gore should have been super experienced. Was he? Probably not. Experience is just a word thrown around in a slogan. Just because you are old doesn't mean you are experienced either. An effective Senator doesn't necessariliy make them ready to be President. This goes for both Obama and McCain.
Now on to Sarah Palin. Let me first say that I'm excited that both genders are or have been represented in the primaries and now the main ticket. I'm also proud that both parties decided to put someone up other than a white guy. It makes me think that actual progress is taking place in our society. I would also like to say that it's not by mere chance that women or non white males had a chance. It was by knowledge, vision and well-run campaigns that caused both Hillary and Obama to be in the hunt. So let me tell you why Sarah Palin is on the Vice Presidential ticket. She's likeable. She's likeable. She's likeable. Since the Republicans have brought forth nothing of real value or substance over the last 8 years, it only makes sense to win back the masses through likeability. McCain is likeable. I mean I have liked the guy since he ran against George W. Bush in the primaries. I've liked him even when he was a huge proponent of the Iraq War. Who doesn't like a POW war veteran? Palin proved it again tonight when she spoke. She's likeable. The speechwriter made sure of it through everything she said. The GOP knows they are in trouble. They are up against a candidate that people are finally passionate about, Obama. This isn't John Kerry and this isn't Al Gore. It's someone that inspires not only Democrats, but Americans. That's why the GOP needed to announce a shocker after Obama's stellar acceptance speech where he didn't just attack Republicans, he laid out a vision for a greater United States of America. The Republicans don't offer that to people. Instead, they speak to only the people that see the world as a big globe of good vs. evil. They speak to the mob of people that will believe anything they say despite what the last 8 years have truthfully brought forth. You won't balance the budget Republicans. You haven't done it in 8 years. You have dragged our country down by failed policies right after 9/11. You have made it only possible and feasible to lump together support of country, support of war, and support of troops.
I can't remember who said this tonight at the convention, but it stuck with me. He said that the American people know that the Republicans are correct and strong on social values, but they have lost it on economic policy. He was truly correct about his second statement. As for the first statement, I don't think you can argue that abstinence-only education is correct. I don't think a debate will ever be settled in America about a women's right to choose. Despite the continuous scientific findings regarding the fact that the Earth is well over 6000 years old, we may never all agree on that. We probably won't all agree on what should be taught in schools creationism or evolution even though we should teach actual science. We won't agree on the right or wrong of homosexuals (even though I'm certain in 100 years, it will be a far better picture as all civil rights battles need to be fought). I quite frankly don't think that the majority of these "social values" even matter in the long term of political progress. What does matter is that the Republican party wakes up to the reality of its principles. Limited governemt and conservative economic policies can pretty much define what this party means politically. As for the other stuff, it should probably be sorted out on Sunday, or in the privacy of a worship group and family or with one's own personal conversation with God before bed. If we voted simply on what candidate's message is being the most honest, a value that I think everyone admires in a person, this race wouldn't even be close.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Oh Obama
I thought the Democratic National Convention was a big success for Democrats. I think we picked the right candidate and given the circumstances of the Republican's main attacking point (national security), I think we picked the right Vice-President in Biden. I don't really have that much to say on the convention other than the speeches were moving and watching this convention made me feel closer to the United States of America. We do all get bogged down in our daily lives to realize there is more out there than we are accustomed to in our everyday lives. Being a professional poker player probably distances me further from that reality in a lot of ways because working from home online limits contact with people other than friends or family. Going to tournaments and playing gives some contact to people, but not that often to people that struggle in the world. Not that often are there that many people that are even pleasant to be around. In fact, most of the people I enjoy being around in the poker world play online most of the time. Stories of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan serving the country and coming back to poor treatment is flat out wrong on so many moral and human levels its disturbing. I know that I am truly lucky after hearing a lot of this. I'm lucky enough to play a game and make good money doing it. Only professional athletes and people on stock exchanges can usually say the same thing. Either way, I'm looking forward to the election.
One more big mention is that if you care at all about online poker, the Democratic ticket is really the only way to go. McCain is a staunch opponent of online gambling most likely to please the conservative base. Several members of the PPA, democrats and republicans alike, demanded that the Republicans strike language from the RNC platform regarding the prohibition of online gambling. When the RNC agreed and removed it, it was put back up shortly after by the McCain train. The only sound argument that can be put forth by Republicans is that gambling is bad, immoral and ruins society. While we only hear about the extreme cases related to gambling, Republicans often forget that they support gambling on horse racing and state lotteries. You can't have it both ways. Please write your Senators and Congressmen. If you are too lazy, go to this website http://capwiz.com/pokerplayersalliance/home/. They have a letter all set for you and will even tell you all the representatives that matter. It takes two seconds, but politicians do eventually listen. The PPA has made good progress. They haven't made great progress until online poker is legalized and regulated.
As for me and poker, I came back to Vegas and have been pretty happy with how I'm doing so far. Since being back, I've had some good results including a $3000 win on Ultimate Bet in their 30 rebuy. I got 2nd in the Absolute Sunday tournament for $10k. I had another small second on Absolute. I also got ninth in the Pokerstars daily with a disappointing finish. To be honest, I've actually probably ran a little below average at these final tables as well. I've had consistent deep runs in tournaments, but I feel like my tournament game continues to improve. I know I have a long way to go until I become the best, but with hard work and more dedication, I believe I can get there. On a negative note, I had one poor high stakes cash session at $50/$100 HORSE. I played this game because of my success at lower limits in the past month. After playing for a while, I believed that I had a little edge over my opponents. Whether that was the case or not, the results didn't show for it. It will be a while before I try another experiment like that. Playing consistent multi-table tournament schedules with a lot of focus has been paying off this year, and I want to keep that going.
One more big mention is that if you care at all about online poker, the Democratic ticket is really the only way to go. McCain is a staunch opponent of online gambling most likely to please the conservative base. Several members of the PPA, democrats and republicans alike, demanded that the Republicans strike language from the RNC platform regarding the prohibition of online gambling. When the RNC agreed and removed it, it was put back up shortly after by the McCain train. The only sound argument that can be put forth by Republicans is that gambling is bad, immoral and ruins society. While we only hear about the extreme cases related to gambling, Republicans often forget that they support gambling on horse racing and state lotteries. You can't have it both ways. Please write your Senators and Congressmen. If you are too lazy, go to this website http://capwiz.com/pokerplayersalliance/home/. They have a letter all set for you and will even tell you all the representatives that matter. It takes two seconds, but politicians do eventually listen. The PPA has made good progress. They haven't made great progress until online poker is legalized and regulated.
As for me and poker, I came back to Vegas and have been pretty happy with how I'm doing so far. Since being back, I've had some good results including a $3000 win on Ultimate Bet in their 30 rebuy. I got 2nd in the Absolute Sunday tournament for $10k. I had another small second on Absolute. I also got ninth in the Pokerstars daily with a disappointing finish. To be honest, I've actually probably ran a little below average at these final tables as well. I've had consistent deep runs in tournaments, but I feel like my tournament game continues to improve. I know I have a long way to go until I become the best, but with hard work and more dedication, I believe I can get there. On a negative note, I had one poor high stakes cash session at $50/$100 HORSE. I played this game because of my success at lower limits in the past month. After playing for a while, I believed that I had a little edge over my opponents. Whether that was the case or not, the results didn't show for it. It will be a while before I try another experiment like that. Playing consistent multi-table tournament schedules with a lot of focus has been paying off this year, and I want to keep that going.
Monday, August 18, 2008
9. Win the Sunday Night HORSE tournament on Full Tilt.
Goal number 9 for 2008 is complete. In a thrilling comeback victory, I won the Sunday Night HORSE tournament on Full Tilt.
Here is the first hand heads up chip counts.
Seat 2: kice32 (106,800)
Seat 8: Diego Cordovez (469,200)
Diego Cordovez posts the small blind of 5,000
kice32 posts the big blind of 10,000
I have 10 BB's to his 46BB and end up coming back to win. I was thrilled. Not to mention I get the $200 pro bounty and t-shirt as Diego Cordovez is in red on Full tilt. It was a little over $10,000 for the victory giving me a decent Sunday as I played fewer tournaments. I had a great weekend with my girlfriend and family and this topped it all off.
I'm heading back to Las Vegas tomorrow to get back to business for a while. I'll hopefully have more good poker updates. The FTOPS is over and I don't think I cashed in a single event. Despite this victory, everything else over my break in Cleveland really didn't go that well. I plan to have a great WCOOP. I'm playing tons of games well and should be playing a good amount of events.
Here is the first hand heads up chip counts.
Seat 2: kice32 (106,800)
Seat 8: Diego Cordovez (469,200)
Diego Cordovez posts the small blind of 5,000
kice32 posts the big blind of 10,000
I have 10 BB's to his 46BB and end up coming back to win. I was thrilled. Not to mention I get the $200 pro bounty and t-shirt as Diego Cordovez is in red on Full tilt. It was a little over $10,000 for the victory giving me a decent Sunday as I played fewer tournaments. I had a great weekend with my girlfriend and family and this topped it all off.
I'm heading back to Las Vegas tomorrow to get back to business for a while. I'll hopefully have more good poker updates. The FTOPS is over and I don't think I cashed in a single event. Despite this victory, everything else over my break in Cleveland really didn't go that well. I plan to have a great WCOOP. I'm playing tons of games well and should be playing a good amount of events.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
It's time for a sports blog
It's been a while since I talked about anything but poker, so it might be healthy to get some good thoughts out there about Cleveland sports and the Olympics. I've been playing poker at a minimum lately. I've basically been following the FTOPS main events around when I have time to and playing cash games when I'm bored here in Cleveland. This has giving me some good time to watch some Olympics and enjoy the games all day, while hardly ever exercising and typically eating too much.
Cleveland Cavaliers Trade
Cleveland hit the trade market hard again acquiring Mo Williams from the Bucks. We finally have our point guard. I can't say I know very much about Mo Williams because I really don't. If Mo Williams is even a slightly above average point guard who can play a lick of defense, it will make this team better. Damon Jones is only a loss if you enjoyed laughing at him over the past few years. I would like to thank him though for that shot in the Washington series three years ago. It was one of the most exciting moments in Cleveland and all Amon Ones ever did (NO D and No J) was want to be good. I hope that one play was enough. Joe Smith was the real loss. He provided solid depth at the big man position throughout the playoffs. He was a guy who did everything right. I think the best thing about losing him is it gives a chance for all the younger guys to develop into that role. It does leave a small hole in our front man rotation. If our old players (Z or Wallace) go down, we might be in trouble. My only other big concern about Mo Williams is that I've read a few places that he might be a selfish player. We don't need another Larry Hughes, so our coaching staff better be very direct with how they coach Mo Williams. He better be ready to work and win titles or you can kiss LBJ good bye in two years.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns are going to be good this year. How good? 10-6 again good. Our record range will be 8-8 to 10-6. I don't see this team going any different than that range of records. Our offense is probably in the top 4 in the NFL. I can think of NE, Indy, and maybe Dallas as those that our ahead of us. We just have weapons in every area. We have two all-pro receivers and Braylon Edwards is still underrated. We have one of the best receiving tight ends in the league in Winslow. Lewis looks pretty solid and behind the best offensive line in the AFC North, we'll win the division. Expect to be playing at home in round one of the playoffs against a team like Jacksonville or Denver. I expect a fall out in Pittsburgh this year. I think the team will hurt bad after losing Alan Faneca at guard.
Olympics
We need to check China!!!! China is really showing the dichotomy of its messed up nation. It puts on this unreal display at the opening ceremonies following a decade of unbelievable growth, yet it's partially fake. They leave out the fact that they put up a 7 year old girl prop in place of the real singer who was deemed to ugly for TV. How many 7 year olds are really ugly? Let's be honest. It's impossible to be ugly at 7 unless you are one of those 7 year old gymnasts on China's team. I really have a growing dislike for gymnastics because I think it's rigged and finally realize it is. China is not following the rules, and they would have never lost the gold at home. The USA would have never lost the gold at home in '96 either.
One thing I love about the summer Olympics are the great sports you never watch but are absolutely awesome come Olympics time.
1. Swimming--I would never watch this sport, but it's fun come Olympics time because medals are cool and the USA is usually dominant. Watching Michael Phelps has been real fun this Olympics, and I expect him to win all 8 golds. He will for sure win the two individual races barring lots of drugs injected into some crazy Chinese athlete. Can you even trust anything China does? They just went 1-2 in the 100M Butterfly. Is there any doubt they weren't drugged up like Marion Jones and Barry Bonds son?
2. Beach Volleyball--Fun to watch, but more fun to play. I love this sport and USA is sweet at it. Not to mention that I love the name Karch.
3. Track and Field--I watch this all the time when it's on, but your average American doesn't. This is going to be exciting this Olympics. You can't miss the 100M dash with Tyson Gay from the USA. He recently sprained his hamstring in the trials, so it will be interesting to see him compete against Jamaica's top dude. The 400M is going to be my favorite race with Leshawn Merrit and Jeremy Wariner. Here is there race from last Olympics, but since then Merritt has beat Wariner. This is the best race on the track hands down.
4. Table Tennis--Watch it live for NBCOlympics.com
5. Handball--See number 4
The worst sports at the olympics include women's sabre, anything involving rowing, trampoline and rhytmic gymnastics. Can't we seriously put golf in place of one of these? I have another idea. Let's make the PGA Championship travel to the Olympic city once every 4 years and play it there. It will be both the PGA Championship and the Olympic event. It will give the world a chance to see the biggest chokes out there including but not limited to Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.
That is all for now. I'll be back with more later.
Cleveland Cavaliers Trade
Cleveland hit the trade market hard again acquiring Mo Williams from the Bucks. We finally have our point guard. I can't say I know very much about Mo Williams because I really don't. If Mo Williams is even a slightly above average point guard who can play a lick of defense, it will make this team better. Damon Jones is only a loss if you enjoyed laughing at him over the past few years. I would like to thank him though for that shot in the Washington series three years ago. It was one of the most exciting moments in Cleveland and all Amon Ones ever did (NO D and No J) was want to be good. I hope that one play was enough. Joe Smith was the real loss. He provided solid depth at the big man position throughout the playoffs. He was a guy who did everything right. I think the best thing about losing him is it gives a chance for all the younger guys to develop into that role. It does leave a small hole in our front man rotation. If our old players (Z or Wallace) go down, we might be in trouble. My only other big concern about Mo Williams is that I've read a few places that he might be a selfish player. We don't need another Larry Hughes, so our coaching staff better be very direct with how they coach Mo Williams. He better be ready to work and win titles or you can kiss LBJ good bye in two years.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns are going to be good this year. How good? 10-6 again good. Our record range will be 8-8 to 10-6. I don't see this team going any different than that range of records. Our offense is probably in the top 4 in the NFL. I can think of NE, Indy, and maybe Dallas as those that our ahead of us. We just have weapons in every area. We have two all-pro receivers and Braylon Edwards is still underrated. We have one of the best receiving tight ends in the league in Winslow. Lewis looks pretty solid and behind the best offensive line in the AFC North, we'll win the division. Expect to be playing at home in round one of the playoffs against a team like Jacksonville or Denver. I expect a fall out in Pittsburgh this year. I think the team will hurt bad after losing Alan Faneca at guard.
Olympics
We need to check China!!!! China is really showing the dichotomy of its messed up nation. It puts on this unreal display at the opening ceremonies following a decade of unbelievable growth, yet it's partially fake. They leave out the fact that they put up a 7 year old girl prop in place of the real singer who was deemed to ugly for TV. How many 7 year olds are really ugly? Let's be honest. It's impossible to be ugly at 7 unless you are one of those 7 year old gymnasts on China's team. I really have a growing dislike for gymnastics because I think it's rigged and finally realize it is. China is not following the rules, and they would have never lost the gold at home. The USA would have never lost the gold at home in '96 either.
One thing I love about the summer Olympics are the great sports you never watch but are absolutely awesome come Olympics time.
1. Swimming--I would never watch this sport, but it's fun come Olympics time because medals are cool and the USA is usually dominant. Watching Michael Phelps has been real fun this Olympics, and I expect him to win all 8 golds. He will for sure win the two individual races barring lots of drugs injected into some crazy Chinese athlete. Can you even trust anything China does? They just went 1-2 in the 100M Butterfly. Is there any doubt they weren't drugged up like Marion Jones and Barry Bonds son?
2. Beach Volleyball--Fun to watch, but more fun to play. I love this sport and USA is sweet at it. Not to mention that I love the name Karch.
3. Track and Field--I watch this all the time when it's on, but your average American doesn't. This is going to be exciting this Olympics. You can't miss the 100M dash with Tyson Gay from the USA. He recently sprained his hamstring in the trials, so it will be interesting to see him compete against Jamaica's top dude. The 400M is going to be my favorite race with Leshawn Merrit and Jeremy Wariner. Here is there race from last Olympics, but since then Merritt has beat Wariner. This is the best race on the track hands down.
4. Table Tennis--Watch it live for NBCOlympics.com
5. Handball--See number 4
The worst sports at the olympics include women's sabre, anything involving rowing, trampoline and rhytmic gymnastics. Can't we seriously put golf in place of one of these? I have another idea. Let's make the PGA Championship travel to the Olympic city once every 4 years and play it there. It will be both the PGA Championship and the Olympic event. It will give the world a chance to see the biggest chokes out there including but not limited to Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.
That is all for now. I'll be back with more later.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Cleveland
I've had a lot of fun so far in Cleveland with my family and friends. I've finally been able to golf since I haven't had a golf partner in Vegas. I've gone perch fishing on Lake Erie. We even made a trip downtown over the weekend that was a fun night overall. I'm heading to the Brown's preseason game on Thursday, so expect a pretty in depth Brown's blog coming up as I know we have some Cleveland fans reading out there.
On the poker front, I had my worst day of the entire year on Sunday financially, but I'm not all that upset about it. I had a pretty standard tournament buy in schedule and probably played too many tables. I think on Sundays, I'm going to limit the max tournaments I'm in to 6 at one time. I might even think about moving down to 4. The only problem with going to 4 is that I don't get a chance to play a lot of the lower buy ins that attract huge fields. These tournaments like the 11 rebuy I won can really help out a bankroll if you are consistently playing every big buy in on every site every Sunday. I have also had a mixed record in the cash games since being home. While I've beat the 2/4 pot limit omaha game, I dumped it all back in one horrendous session at pot limit omaha 3/6. Furthermore, I've had a couple of 25/50 PLO sessions where I went in short stacked with 1k and failed to do much. When this stuff happens all on Sunday, it compounds. Take away the Sunday and I'm actually up since I've been home playing a limited amount of tournaments and mostly different cash games.
The tentative future schedule of big things to come is
August 6-18. Full Tilt Online Poker Series. I'll probably be playing about 6-10 events depending on what is going on at home. When I'm at home with the family, it's often tough to make committments to play tournaments.
September. WCOOP. This is the Pokerstars big annual tournament series. I never have been able to commit to playing a lot of these events, but I'm planning on playing more this year. I know there will be a few Sundays though that I will miss in here for a wedding and of course Browns games. My Borgata plans for this year won't be coming to fruition. I love the tournaments there, but it will just have to wait for a different time.
October--Aruba??? We'll see if I can satellite into the tournament. WSOP Europe. We'll see if I can satellite into the tournament.
Other than that, I had a great comment about my personal poker leaks. Leaks are flaws in poker strategy that players should all strive to "plug up."
I decided I'll try to identify a leak in each blog and how I can fix it.
In my tournament game, I think that lately there have been times where I felt it was necessary to gamble when the optimal strategy at the time was to continue to play small ball poker. One example comes to mind when I was deepstacked with about 40,000 in the 100 rebuy on Full tilt. This is a shorthanded tournament where I was steadily picking up chips without winning too many big pots. Most of my confrontations were in pretty good shape preflop or small pots after the flop. I had KJ of hearts and called the under the gun raiser for 2100. He had 35,000 chips. When the flop came 8h 7h 7d. He bet out 4k. Now at this point, I just decided I was going to play for it all no matter what, so I put a good raise in, he reraised all in, I called and he showed QQ. I was then cripped and out shortly after. A similar hand came up in the 2k at the WSOP with KdQd on a two diamond board against a pretty large stack who had AA. Both times I missed and regretted my decision after. Let me first say that I think this play is sometimes optimal. Picking up a big draw has lots of value when you can get your opponents to fold their hands. Playing aggressively is almost always better than playing passively in poker. At times though, if I feel I'm in pretty good control of my table image and position at the table, I think it can be a big leak to just be ready to get in there and gamble. Poker is ultimately a strategy game. One component of strategy though is the propensity to gamble. Varying factors will contribute to how much a player should consider gambling in a tournament including stack sizes, relative skill levels, blind structure, payouts, etc. There are times though where I think it's a leak in my game when I take these situations where I'm in good control of lots of factors of play and waste them by gambling in possible 50/50 spots.
I hope that explanation is a good one and thanks for the questions/comments as always.
On the poker front, I had my worst day of the entire year on Sunday financially, but I'm not all that upset about it. I had a pretty standard tournament buy in schedule and probably played too many tables. I think on Sundays, I'm going to limit the max tournaments I'm in to 6 at one time. I might even think about moving down to 4. The only problem with going to 4 is that I don't get a chance to play a lot of the lower buy ins that attract huge fields. These tournaments like the 11 rebuy I won can really help out a bankroll if you are consistently playing every big buy in on every site every Sunday. I have also had a mixed record in the cash games since being home. While I've beat the 2/4 pot limit omaha game, I dumped it all back in one horrendous session at pot limit omaha 3/6. Furthermore, I've had a couple of 25/50 PLO sessions where I went in short stacked with 1k and failed to do much. When this stuff happens all on Sunday, it compounds. Take away the Sunday and I'm actually up since I've been home playing a limited amount of tournaments and mostly different cash games.
The tentative future schedule of big things to come is
August 6-18. Full Tilt Online Poker Series. I'll probably be playing about 6-10 events depending on what is going on at home. When I'm at home with the family, it's often tough to make committments to play tournaments.
September. WCOOP. This is the Pokerstars big annual tournament series. I never have been able to commit to playing a lot of these events, but I'm planning on playing more this year. I know there will be a few Sundays though that I will miss in here for a wedding and of course Browns games. My Borgata plans for this year won't be coming to fruition. I love the tournaments there, but it will just have to wait for a different time.
October--Aruba??? We'll see if I can satellite into the tournament. WSOP Europe. We'll see if I can satellite into the tournament.
Other than that, I had a great comment about my personal poker leaks. Leaks are flaws in poker strategy that players should all strive to "plug up."
I decided I'll try to identify a leak in each blog and how I can fix it.
In my tournament game, I think that lately there have been times where I felt it was necessary to gamble when the optimal strategy at the time was to continue to play small ball poker. One example comes to mind when I was deepstacked with about 40,000 in the 100 rebuy on Full tilt. This is a shorthanded tournament where I was steadily picking up chips without winning too many big pots. Most of my confrontations were in pretty good shape preflop or small pots after the flop. I had KJ of hearts and called the under the gun raiser for 2100. He had 35,000 chips. When the flop came 8h 7h 7d. He bet out 4k. Now at this point, I just decided I was going to play for it all no matter what, so I put a good raise in, he reraised all in, I called and he showed QQ. I was then cripped and out shortly after. A similar hand came up in the 2k at the WSOP with KdQd on a two diamond board against a pretty large stack who had AA. Both times I missed and regretted my decision after. Let me first say that I think this play is sometimes optimal. Picking up a big draw has lots of value when you can get your opponents to fold their hands. Playing aggressively is almost always better than playing passively in poker. At times though, if I feel I'm in pretty good control of my table image and position at the table, I think it can be a big leak to just be ready to get in there and gamble. Poker is ultimately a strategy game. One component of strategy though is the propensity to gamble. Varying factors will contribute to how much a player should consider gambling in a tournament including stack sizes, relative skill levels, blind structure, payouts, etc. There are times though where I think it's a leak in my game when I take these situations where I'm in good control of lots of factors of play and waste them by gambling in possible 50/50 spots.
I hope that explanation is a good one and thanks for the questions/comments as always.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Some WSOP Thoughts
After getting away from it for a week and from poker in general, I thought it might be a good idea to give some final World Series of Poker thoughts.
I came into the WSOP with a specific bankroll planned that was essentially out of my yearly winnings. It was a number that I basically decided was going to keep me comfortable at all times. I wanted to play around 8 events including the main event, but if I did well early and made a big score, go for player of the year. While I know I'm not deeply experienced in every single game, I don't think the average player is either. With my online experience in every game, I felt pretty confident with this plan.
What began was a 1500 PL Hold 'em event where I immediately realized our chip stacks aren't going to allow much play, and with a couple of set up hands I was out. This kind of left me flustered as I didn't really know what to do. Should I keep taking small shots at these or play the bigger buy ins/rebuys? I decided against rebuys because I don't feel comfortable without 8k in the 1k rebuy to go. I don't even feel comfortable in the 100 rebuy half the time because I'm not ready to go off for 800 on any night in one tournament against a field of tough players.
After that, I played the 2000 No Limit Hold 'em and played considerably well. An AA vs 99 vs 88 all in hand crippled me when an 8 appeared on the flop.
Still after two events, I felt I played considerably well and did my best.
Then came event 3. It was a shorthanded event, 1500. 3000 chips in a shorthanded event can go awfully quick especially when you don't have the correct mentality. In retrospect, this was my worst tournament by far. I made several untimely plays. I wasn't patient when short stacked, and I just kind of failed at concentrating.
I came back later that night to try my hand at the 2500 Omaha Hi/Lo /Stud Hi/Lo mixed event. I got off to a great start. I cracked 10k fairly early from the 5k starting chip stack. The deck ran so super cold after level 4 that I had to kind of think through my hands again to see if I played bad or not. I think I played fine, but really ran extremely unlucky in Omaha Hi/Lo. This is a game where when dealt certain starting hands and hitting certain flops, you just won't be able to fold until the river if at any time. I had similar situations here and am happy with how I played.
So a quick poor start had my spirits dampened. If not for a 21k score online followed by a second place in the heads up championship on Pokerstars, I would have been phased just a little.
Another 2k event where I again played great poker up until a critical mistake before dinner. I got moved to a new table. Getting moved is sometimes a curse and sometimes a blessing as any player knows. Moving from my previous tables were both curses. I had a good understanding of several online players from playing against them online. I don't think they knew who I was giving me a significant edge. The other players weren't all that tough. I had a good image and everything was fine. When I got moved, I immediately caught in a bluff for some chips killing my image. Then I made probably the biggest mistake of my entire WSOP. I raised it up with 8 9 suited and was called behind. The BB moved all in for what was 4600 total I think after I put in a 1600 raise. I just called where I should be pushing all in all day to isolate. If I'm going to call, I might as well just take a shot. I think this was the only point where I made a critical mistake. If I shove here, I win the pot outright with all the dead money increasing my stack to an above average pretty close to the money. This situation can give me some good bubble opportunities. Either way, aside from that big mistake, I played well. In the end, it came down to me not winning a race 66 vs AQ.
The biggest disappointment of the whole series was the 3000 HORSE for me. I played both the 1500 and 3000. In both tournaments, I ran so incredibly bad that I left demoralized and shaking my head. In the 1500 event, it's tough to recover from running bad. The 3k HORSE though is an event that I should be able to find good spots. It's just frustrating when nothing go rights in games that I typically do very well at online.
Two more 1500 tournaments and losing races along with losing the 5 6 vs QQ after the 6 5 2 flop with the Q hitting the turn card were both crushing.
Then came my first cash ever. 53rd in the 2k event following a crushing beat of A10 vs A8. This tournament was a lot of fun in retrospect. It was really what it was all about. I felt great throughout. I made a couple of aggressive plays and thinks just went my way. I hit a couple of big river flushes on big draws that propelled me. Other than that though, I tended to get my money in very well. What hurt me in the end was the KQdd vs AA after the two diamond flop and I missed. I couldn't have felt worse about winning 11k. While this would guarantee a main event seat within my bankroll, I really felt that if that A10 holds against A8, I'm a lot richer right now.
The Main Event is an unbelievable experience. This was my second main event. I was not half the player I was 2 years ago when I played. I'll probably think the same thing in 2 more years about how I played now, but the gap is just so much farther. My ability to control the situations at my table this year was what I was most proud of. Even after getting short stacked early, I fought back with a nice 44 vs AK after a 4 10 K flop. The end of Day 1 saw me make an outstanding fold. Go read about it if you haven't yet.
Day 2 was a great experience. I had two tough internet players, an absolutely wild table, and I fought hard all day. I was up and down and up and down. I really and truly grinded through this day. I went into Day 3 feeling strong. I also had the possibility of being on TV with a 2 hour featured table stint. That's still to be determined even though I hope I don't end up on the cutting room floor.
Day 3 couldn't have gone worse. I couldn't get any hands. I couldn't steal a single pot preflop. I patiently waited and waited and eventually made a move that I think was fine with A9 suited, but was overcalled by a player with little experience with AQ off (even though I saw he finished pretty deep). I was really devastated after losing. All my goals and dreams for the entire year were shattered. I felt that I lacked a sense of validation and still do today. After all, my live cashes have no been impressive. I've made far more money online than I have in live tournaments. To be completely honest with my live play, I think it's been just a matter of not catching the right breaks at the right times. Every deep appearance usually ends by something out of my control. What a lot of people don't understand about poker is that many of the people they see on TV as the big time money winners and big time players wouldn't last over thousands of tournaments. Several of them don't have a dollar to their name. Some of them have tons of talent, but no money. Some of them have very little talent and lots of money. There are tons of ranges of skill levels and success stories. Where a player falls along the spectrum relies on both talent and luck. If you have the best luck though in your 10 dollar online tournaments, you won't be on TV, you won't be made of millions. If you have your best luck in one 10k event, you win a million and are instantly respected. When going to play with players that are considered big time, you can't go in thinking they are fabolous players. I've made this mistake before. You need to go in and evaluate exactly how they are playing and make your decisions accordingly. Sometimes it's just easier playing against players you don't recognize because your blueprint of their play is drawn in from scratch.
One final thought. To win any poker tournament where several good players are entered in the field, you need a few things. You need to get free chips. Free chips occur when the deck sets you up with them. You need to have good table draws. You need to have a thorough understanding of every stage of the tournament. You can only control one of those things. There are expanses of concepts in the thing you can control and learning more and always striving to learn is the best way to succeed in this game. The luck will even out in the end and I have no doubt that with the proper amount of tournaments played at the World Series or in live play, I'll have my victories.
Again, thanks for the support from everyone throughout. The next few months are big online months. An FTOPS and WCOOP are in August and September. These are just like live events like the WSOP with various games and such, but usually a better structure. I'll be playing lots of events in both. I think I'm due for a big victory in one of these. Let's hope it's soon.
I came into the WSOP with a specific bankroll planned that was essentially out of my yearly winnings. It was a number that I basically decided was going to keep me comfortable at all times. I wanted to play around 8 events including the main event, but if I did well early and made a big score, go for player of the year. While I know I'm not deeply experienced in every single game, I don't think the average player is either. With my online experience in every game, I felt pretty confident with this plan.
What began was a 1500 PL Hold 'em event where I immediately realized our chip stacks aren't going to allow much play, and with a couple of set up hands I was out. This kind of left me flustered as I didn't really know what to do. Should I keep taking small shots at these or play the bigger buy ins/rebuys? I decided against rebuys because I don't feel comfortable without 8k in the 1k rebuy to go. I don't even feel comfortable in the 100 rebuy half the time because I'm not ready to go off for 800 on any night in one tournament against a field of tough players.
After that, I played the 2000 No Limit Hold 'em and played considerably well. An AA vs 99 vs 88 all in hand crippled me when an 8 appeared on the flop.
Still after two events, I felt I played considerably well and did my best.
Then came event 3. It was a shorthanded event, 1500. 3000 chips in a shorthanded event can go awfully quick especially when you don't have the correct mentality. In retrospect, this was my worst tournament by far. I made several untimely plays. I wasn't patient when short stacked, and I just kind of failed at concentrating.
I came back later that night to try my hand at the 2500 Omaha Hi/Lo /Stud Hi/Lo mixed event. I got off to a great start. I cracked 10k fairly early from the 5k starting chip stack. The deck ran so super cold after level 4 that I had to kind of think through my hands again to see if I played bad or not. I think I played fine, but really ran extremely unlucky in Omaha Hi/Lo. This is a game where when dealt certain starting hands and hitting certain flops, you just won't be able to fold until the river if at any time. I had similar situations here and am happy with how I played.
So a quick poor start had my spirits dampened. If not for a 21k score online followed by a second place in the heads up championship on Pokerstars, I would have been phased just a little.
Another 2k event where I again played great poker up until a critical mistake before dinner. I got moved to a new table. Getting moved is sometimes a curse and sometimes a blessing as any player knows. Moving from my previous tables were both curses. I had a good understanding of several online players from playing against them online. I don't think they knew who I was giving me a significant edge. The other players weren't all that tough. I had a good image and everything was fine. When I got moved, I immediately caught in a bluff for some chips killing my image. Then I made probably the biggest mistake of my entire WSOP. I raised it up with 8 9 suited and was called behind. The BB moved all in for what was 4600 total I think after I put in a 1600 raise. I just called where I should be pushing all in all day to isolate. If I'm going to call, I might as well just take a shot. I think this was the only point where I made a critical mistake. If I shove here, I win the pot outright with all the dead money increasing my stack to an above average pretty close to the money. This situation can give me some good bubble opportunities. Either way, aside from that big mistake, I played well. In the end, it came down to me not winning a race 66 vs AQ.
The biggest disappointment of the whole series was the 3000 HORSE for me. I played both the 1500 and 3000. In both tournaments, I ran so incredibly bad that I left demoralized and shaking my head. In the 1500 event, it's tough to recover from running bad. The 3k HORSE though is an event that I should be able to find good spots. It's just frustrating when nothing go rights in games that I typically do very well at online.
Two more 1500 tournaments and losing races along with losing the 5 6 vs QQ after the 6 5 2 flop with the Q hitting the turn card were both crushing.
Then came my first cash ever. 53rd in the 2k event following a crushing beat of A10 vs A8. This tournament was a lot of fun in retrospect. It was really what it was all about. I felt great throughout. I made a couple of aggressive plays and thinks just went my way. I hit a couple of big river flushes on big draws that propelled me. Other than that though, I tended to get my money in very well. What hurt me in the end was the KQdd vs AA after the two diamond flop and I missed. I couldn't have felt worse about winning 11k. While this would guarantee a main event seat within my bankroll, I really felt that if that A10 holds against A8, I'm a lot richer right now.
The Main Event is an unbelievable experience. This was my second main event. I was not half the player I was 2 years ago when I played. I'll probably think the same thing in 2 more years about how I played now, but the gap is just so much farther. My ability to control the situations at my table this year was what I was most proud of. Even after getting short stacked early, I fought back with a nice 44 vs AK after a 4 10 K flop. The end of Day 1 saw me make an outstanding fold. Go read about it if you haven't yet.
Day 2 was a great experience. I had two tough internet players, an absolutely wild table, and I fought hard all day. I was up and down and up and down. I really and truly grinded through this day. I went into Day 3 feeling strong. I also had the possibility of being on TV with a 2 hour featured table stint. That's still to be determined even though I hope I don't end up on the cutting room floor.
Day 3 couldn't have gone worse. I couldn't get any hands. I couldn't steal a single pot preflop. I patiently waited and waited and eventually made a move that I think was fine with A9 suited, but was overcalled by a player with little experience with AQ off (even though I saw he finished pretty deep). I was really devastated after losing. All my goals and dreams for the entire year were shattered. I felt that I lacked a sense of validation and still do today. After all, my live cashes have no been impressive. I've made far more money online than I have in live tournaments. To be completely honest with my live play, I think it's been just a matter of not catching the right breaks at the right times. Every deep appearance usually ends by something out of my control. What a lot of people don't understand about poker is that many of the people they see on TV as the big time money winners and big time players wouldn't last over thousands of tournaments. Several of them don't have a dollar to their name. Some of them have tons of talent, but no money. Some of them have very little talent and lots of money. There are tons of ranges of skill levels and success stories. Where a player falls along the spectrum relies on both talent and luck. If you have the best luck though in your 10 dollar online tournaments, you won't be on TV, you won't be made of millions. If you have your best luck in one 10k event, you win a million and are instantly respected. When going to play with players that are considered big time, you can't go in thinking they are fabolous players. I've made this mistake before. You need to go in and evaluate exactly how they are playing and make your decisions accordingly. Sometimes it's just easier playing against players you don't recognize because your blueprint of their play is drawn in from scratch.
One final thought. To win any poker tournament where several good players are entered in the field, you need a few things. You need to get free chips. Free chips occur when the deck sets you up with them. You need to have good table draws. You need to have a thorough understanding of every stage of the tournament. You can only control one of those things. There are expanses of concepts in the thing you can control and learning more and always striving to learn is the best way to succeed in this game. The luck will even out in the end and I have no doubt that with the proper amount of tournaments played at the World Series or in live play, I'll have my victories.
Again, thanks for the support from everyone throughout. The next few months are big online months. An FTOPS and WCOOP are in August and September. These are just like live events like the WSOP with various games and such, but usually a better structure. I'll be playing lots of events in both. I think I'm due for a big victory in one of these. Let's hope it's soon.
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