Gugh

Ok, it's amazing what two brilliant people can come up with over beers on a Wednesday night.

DumbBlogger1: We should do an April Fool's joke.
DumbBlogger2: Yeah we should.
DumbBlogger1: Wouldn't it be brilliant if we did it two days early? Nobody would suspect anything.
DumbBlogger2: That's fucking brilliant.

See how we think? I know what you're thinking. Brilliant doesn't describe it. You're wrong. It was brilliant.

In all seriousness, we both love Otis like a brother. I'm not sure he could say or do anything to change that either.

And how 'bout that Dick Fuckin' Tracy of a sleuth Chilly? He scours the intarweb for comments and lays down a completely rational explanation as to why this was a joke. Nothing gets past you, man. Nothin! :)

Down For Poker

(Note from Blood:  G-Rob has decided to take up residence here and be a regular contributor to this blog rather than his former location.  This is his first post.)

RADIOACTIVE MAN (and fallout boy)

I hope you've noticed my absence at Up for Poker.  I doubt many of you true poker players actually read the site, but "Otis" has grown a pretty devoted following among the semi-literate and sedated.  CJ has readers because he shares the site.  More than a year ago, close to two really, I joined them in a silly poker blog that wasn't unlike this one.  In fact, that's how I met BadBlood, though poker blogs in G-Vegas.  Now I've joined his site.

I love poker.  I started playing after my frisbee golf buddies talked it up for years.  After some brief initial sucess, it went from part -time hobby to full-time obsession.  Hopefully a few of Blood's readers followed the jouney with me.  Actually, Blood was pivotol in my development.  We started playing weekly, then bi-weekly, then several times a week.  My style is a perfect foil for his conservative but aggressive play.  

Meanwhile, Otis became a problem.  

"Otis" and I were good friends, at least I always thought we were.  Really we were drinking buddies thrown together by a common workplace and hobbies.   Our different personalities were bound to clash.  Last Friday was the last straw.

Blood and "Otis" had been feuding for months.  It started on our last blogger trip to Vegas.  Blood had a pretty rough time, a few bad beats and, to be honest, he didn't play his best.  When he explained that to Otis, Otis replied, "A lot of people who are good at their home game get a reality check here.  It happens to a lot of people."

I'll give him this, that's GENERALLY true.  But anyone who reads this site regularly, and anyone who's played with Blood online, knows he's an outstanding player.  Worse, telling someone in the middle of a tough run that, essentially, they're losing because they suck and they're too arrogant to admit it...is a dick thing to do.  Especially when it's patently false.

They've been at each other's throats for weeks now, refusing to play at the same homegames.  It's been wierd for me, being friends with both, until I realized "Otis" wasn't my friend either.

FRIDAY

Friday was "TheMark's" birthday.  He hosted a $33 (his age) NLHE touney to "mark" the occasion.  I got there late for the cash game and both Blood and "Otis" played.  When I walked in, about midnight, they were drunk as hell and at each other's throats.  "Otis" accused Blood of peeking at other players cards and Blood asked Otis to "step outside" 3 times.  Otis, being a pussy, refused.  I know Otis didn't really think Blood was cheating.  Nobody who knows EITHER player would believe it.  But we were playing with a dozen new players and some of them DID.  It was surreal.

I tried to calm things down which, if you know me, isn't really my stlye.  Both people have been friends of mine, however, and I wanted it to blow over.

It didn't.  After the tourney (Otis chopped for 2nd place) Otis joined the rest of us in the $100NL cash game.  That's when he started in on me.  Really it was the same shit he's been digging on Blood but more personal with me.  He called me a "hack ass writer" for my contributions to "UpforPoker" and said my play was "laughable".

I'd be the first to admit I'm not that good, but the shit talk went too far.  Mostly because he obviously MEANT IT.

Then he started the fat jokes.

Then the wife jokes.

Then, he insulted my kids.

I threw the first punch, and the last.  As I said, "Otis" is a pussy.

He stayed at the game and Blood and I left.  It was kinda sad really because we were playing with Blood's chips, forcing everyone to cash out.  The other players, unaware of the fighting, gave Blood shit for "taking his chips and going home" but we couldn't stand another minute.

I love poker but I hate that shit.

SO?

Here I am.

I'm the new addition at "BadBlood (and G-Rob) on poker."  It's long overdue.

I hope those of you who read this site will welcome me.  I hope the people who read me there will follow.

And...FUCK OTIS.

Up A Notch

I mulled it over for about 5 minutes and thought “WTF?” and hopped right into two-tabling the $200NL game on Stars.

Some thoughts:

The play was not discernibly different than the $100 game, which really wasn’t too surprising.  Of course the sample size is idiotically small to make any sort of real judgment, but any time I jump up in stakes my first instinct tells me I’m wandering into a den of sharks.  However, this first testing of the waters didn’t give me any indication that I was.

Two-tabling was perhaps a mistake.  With each jump in limits, player profiling becomes more and more important.  Sure, you can get away with simple ABC stuff and most likely drag in a profit; but the probability of encountering solid players who counter that style successfully increases with the rising limits.  So you do need to be able to mix things up in a deceptive manner.

Being a donkey hurts twice as much.  I had AK in LP and played it very straightforwardly.  A player in the blinds who called my pre-flop raise, led out post flop on an AJx board.  My tactical plan was to raise that lead out such that if he came over the top of my raise, I could lay the hand down to a suspected two-pair or set.  So when I raised and he came over the top……I called.  Donkey move.  A set of Jacks took down the pot and I regretted making the call.  Not because I lost money, but because I played the hand with every intention of getting away from it if my opponent indicated that I was beat.  My opponent told me in the most glaringly obvious way, and I ignored my initial read.  Donkey.

On my other table, I had AA cracked all-in pre-flop.  On Stars, since the hands aren’t flipped right away, I never know what to hope for on the flop in these cases.  When the board was played out and read 9-high, I was confident that my Aces were good against QQ, KK, or even JJ.  Wrong.  Pocket 9’s doubled up then hit-and-ran.

After an hour, I was down, but not out.  I watched House with the Mrs. as per our agreement.  Sadly, I’ve grown to like the show.  “You’re risking a patient’s life!!”

Where was I?  Oh yeah, so after the show was over and everyone was tucked nicely away in bed, I resumed my attack on the $200 game.

But this time, I took it one table at a time.  I paid better attention to the play styles of the various players and was able to bust someone else who couldn’t get away from TPTK when my flopped OESD hit on the turn.

That table soon broke and I wandered to another one, encountering an overly aggressive player who loved to call many a pre-flop raise and then betting ragged flops very forcefully.  I’m not ashamed to say I sucked out on him with a straight vs. his flopped two pair.  What’s funny to me is when aggressive players hit their hand and then bet soft.  They don’t realize that they’ll get paid off based on their table image and this time unfortunately for him, my hand got there.

So after one measly night and two hours of playtime, I took the first step into moving up a level – even without “beating” the $100 game.  The confidence is a minor notch higher thanks to not getting obliterated.  I do know that I could get my ass handed to me at any new level, but I hope to continue to play smart and focused.

Thanks again to all the replies from yesterday.

I'll Keep Digging

One of the main reasons I keep this poker blog is because I like to look back at old entries to analyze my own thought patterns and hopefully see some progress in my game.  It’s difficult to be objective when you’re analyzing the previous “you” playing poker; but nonetheless, I feel it’s important to do so.

In looking back over the two years, there is one aspect of my poker play that stands out:  the stakes have slowly, but steadily increased.

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I may be stretching things, but I liken the fear of losing in poker to some form of mental anxiety.  Look back at your own play over the years.  Put yourself back in your own shoes from a year ago and think about the stakes at which you used to play.  When I do that, and then think about losing at those stakes, there is no fear, no anxiety.  Over time, humans adapt to adverse mental conditions by desensitization.

Desensitization or graduated exposure therapy is what allows us to eventually move up in stakes and play the game the same successful way.  But it certainly isn’t easy.  At least for me, it takes time to overcome the natural tendency to fear losing such that my play is unaffected.  Different people require different periods of time in order to overcome the jump; and I believe that it’s mainly due to their mental capacity for re-training themselves.

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In order to actually overcome this type of poker-based anxiety, you do eventually have to make that jump; you can’t just magically ignore the impact of playing at the higher limits.  Successful reconditioning requires some form of progressive exposure.  For me, this type of exposure was repeated attempts at moving up in limits, each time feeling less and less effected by the swings.

Just like the person with an irrational fear of snakes or spiders can manage their fears through the desensitization processes, so too can poker players overcome the same irrationality driven by playing at increased levels.

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With that said, I have a question.  Part of the process in moving up requires at least some form of self-confidence that you can beat the game at the new level.  To do this, you obviously must be able to beat the game at your current level.  But what defines “beating the game?”

I ask in the context of NL cash games, because I’m sure the answer is different for tournaments and limit cash games.  If your comfort level dictates you have 20 buy-ins in your bankroll, then moving up when your bankroll has doubled may be one answer.  But what if your bankroll is inflated by recent success in other games, like a MTT win or running hot at PLO8?

Late last year, I moved up from the $50NL game to the $100NL game.  Granted, it took several attempts to desensitize myself to the inherently larger swings, but what drove my jump in limits was “beating the game” for roughly 50 buy-ins.  So far this year at the $100NL game, I took an early beating and dropped about 10 buy-ins; but have since made that back.  But with the bankroll where it is now, I theoretically have more than enough to jump to the $200NL game.

But I’m just not confident yet that I’m beating the $100 game.  Which is why I’ll stay where I’m at for now until I gain that confidence.  Feel free to reply with your thoughts on what constitutes your definition of beating the game and what gives you the impetus to finally make a move upwards in limits.

All In Good Fun

Thanks again to the railbirders (Derek, Pauly, bdiddie, Gracie, etc.) and for BiggieShake for setting these up. Mucho tired-o.

  

The Four One One

Couple of things:

Tonight, PotY tourney organized, setup, and made to flourish thanks to biggieFries.

Later this summer, the WPBT Summer Classic, organized, setup, and made to flourish thanks to LSUHaterNumber1.

I'm still waiting to get the results via email, but theMark's 33rd annual donkfest tourney was held on Friday night. Once I get the standings, I'll update the G-Vegas PotY stuff too.

Sweet Deal

So some bloggers have found themselves with invites to the Playboy Mansion.  That is some seriously good stuff.  Who said bloggers are gay?  Maybe it was blogs are gay.  I don’t know.

As a fun exercise, I asked mrsBlood what her response would be if I found myself in the fortunate situation of being able to go.  

“Hmm…,” she said, “I guess I’d say ‘yes’ because I’d hate to be that wife who said no.  But I wouldn’t like it.  All those girls would be rubbing themselves all over you.”

I responded, “You’d have nothing to worry about.  Trust me.  I have no money.  There will be NBA players there, Snoop Dogg, and so many other people with mega-millions that I’d be lucky to be served a drink.”

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Were I to attend, I can imagine a conversation among Playmates that would go something like this:

Playmate #1:  “Hey, see that bald guy over there flexing to nobody in particular?  I hear he’ll give you a ride in his ’97 Saturn.”

Playmate #2:  “Really?  Do you know if it’s an SL1 or SL2?”

Playmate #1:  “Not sure, but does it matter?”

Playmate #2:  “No, good point.  What do you think it would take?  A quickie in the grotto?  A hummer?”

Playmate #1:  “I hear you only need to walk close by and inadvertently brush up against him with one of your breasts.”

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Have a blast guys.  Those of us whose weekend entertainment will be taking their kids to soccer games want plenty of pictures and stories.  Mainly pictures.