In the bullpen

The warm up continues. Played both NLHM and PLO8 last night. Played too conservatively in both. Though I ended up just under a buy in in NLHE, I felt like I could have made more. I didn't make river bets/raises when I was pretty damn sure I had the best hand. Better to walk away with a profit that nothing.

Why can't I always flop a straight flush?

I have come to the realization that I don't necessarily play poker to make money. I play because I enjoy the game. I want to win and make money but that isn't usually my first motive when I sit down to play. I want to have a good time first, win second, and not lose a lot third.

I think that is why I have played more Omaha Hi Lo over the past year. I did lose a couple hundred learning the game playing at stakes I wasn't ready for. But I have begun to recoup those losses as I play. I do enjoy the game quite a bit more than hold em. But lately I find myself playing the two card game again.

I am a creature of habit. When Vegas is on the horizon I sit down and play NL Holdem more to shake the rust off. That is what I did yesterday on PokerStars. With the of the 40 Billionth had out there I thought I would play and take a shot of a nice bonus. I knew the bonus was going to happen as I logged in way too early and there were still 200 million hands to go. But play I did.

I was playing .25/.50 only as my bankroll is on low on PStars. I had two tables up. First hand I get in the BB is 3 5 diamonds. 3 callers and the SB completes. I check to see a flop of A 2 4, all diamonds. Holy Macaroni! I had to blink a couple of times to make sure one of them wasn't a heart. My eyesight was fine. Sure enough I had flopped a straight flush. Damn this game is easy! I made a min bet to see what would happen. At these stakes I know people are folding if they have face card and a diamond. Maybe someone else flopped a flush as well. I get raised by a player in MP. Sweet! The board pairs up the 4 on the turn. Not sure if that helps or hurts me. I check hoping some flopped a set and just improved. MP bets out again. This time I raise him back just a bit over the size of his bet. I feel pretty good that I won't scare him away. I don't as he come over the top. Just about a double on the first hand. So easy is this game.

I would go on to post a small profit on the other table as well. I am sure I made some mistakes as I played. But the goal is to be confident by March. I don't want to be the Mastodon they others are trying to take down.

Truckin

Pauly's latest issue of Truckin' is out. I don't have time for poker lately. But I will make some time to read Truckin'. I mean, there is a story about vampires. Vampires people!

February 2010, Vol. 9, Issue 2
Welcome back to the latest issue of Truckin'. I'm very hyper-excited about the second issue of 2010 which marks the return of Tenzin McGrupp. Remember that hack? We'll he's back with a speedy-story about a road trip out West. The Texas boys are anchoring the issue as per usual. Milton T. Burton shared a vampire story and Johnny Hughes is digging deep into the past and whipped up glimpse into his beatnik days. Michael Friedman channeled his inner dialogue for us this month. Ah, and I have a piece of L.A. fiction for you inspired by Raymond Carver and Thomas Pynchon.

1. Lymie Malibu by Paul McGuireShe was too whacked out to remember any lines and flubbed more and more auditions that we were both surprised when her commercial agent keeps sending her out. Kaya was the quintessential cocaine tragedy, yet somehow, she kept getting callbacks... More

2. From Beatniks to Hippies. The Early Sixties. A Memoir. by Johnny HughesThere was a tremendous amount of hustling other folk's dates, and it would rage all night. Eddie drank this syrupy Richard's Wild Irish wine. Yuck. The linoleum floor in his kitchen looked like a crime scene from the wine stains... More

3. Fangs by Milton T. BurtonHalfway through her second glass of wine, he was there beside her, a small snifter of brandy in his hand. Startled, she blurted out the first thing that popped into her mind. "You can drink?"... More

4. Thinking Out Loud by Michael FriedmanEventually my need to ask eternal questions led me to the conclusion that the only way to get out of purgatory was to flow with life instead of trying to isolate my many momentary lapses of reason on a regular basis... More

5. China Rider by Tenzin McGruppI told my nephew that his teachers and parents were lying to him and trying to turn him into a soulless zombie. He believes me. He's a good kid. He knows what's up. He knows the system is full of shit... More