tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32484062012-02-04T00:42:10.078-05:00Rhymes with JokerThe Broken-linked, Broken-art Temporary Home of RhymesWithJoker.comLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comBlogger2501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-35111060247606416432008-06-11T23:50:00.002-04:002008-06-12T01:30:43.886-04:00This Probably Counts as News about My Life
And so far, it's bad news, although I'm not reacting badly to it, at least yet.
About six months ago, I said something on a craps table that got me in trouble. Specifically: My boxperson and floorperson were both women, and were both complaining about how cold they were. I suggested that if they make out, they wouldn't be cold. Neither of them was LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-25282956268893666502008-05-01T10:54:00.002-04:002008-05-01T13:43:54.484-04:00They Named It Twice
Warning: No poker content here.
No, instead this is to be a trip report of a different sort. Over the last three days, my father and I drove to New York and back in order to see our Tigers beat the Yankees, and see Yankee Stadium in its final year.
I learned after my part of the trip was already planned that it was the last year for Shea Stadium also. I didn't buy tickets LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-64568449676281864932008-04-21T18:26:00.000-04:002008-04-21T18:27:22.532-04:00Greatly Exaggerated
It appears that I'm dead. At least, someone decided to post that I was, and since I haven't been updating this blog, his version stood. I have a fair guess who it was, and it was kind of funny, particularly since (with my computer down) I couldn't really respond, even after Iggy phones Gil out of the blue to ask what the hell.
Frankly, I haven't been updating the blog since LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-41495378117609308072007-09-06T22:04:00.000-04:002007-09-07T22:11:38.345-04:00A Month in the Life of a New Casino
There have been a number of good points for me to write this post. But at no point was there really a time where something earth-shatteringly interesting which demanded to be blogged. So, here we go: A rambling, disjointed post with dozens of marginally interesting points. Good luck.
When last I wrote, I had finished my first day of actual dealing, dealing LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-30628436762850129922007-08-03T14:19:00.000-04:002007-08-03T15:42:54.175-04:00Survival of the Fattest
I expected to write this yesterday.
After writing my last post, with opening-night jitters, I expected to write yesterday that everything went okay. But I never dealt a hand on Thursday morning.
During the afternoon and evening of August 1, the casino was open for various special audiences: The tribe in the afternoon, and VIP's in the evening. Then, at midnight, the LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-30936358521248685672007-08-01T16:19:00.000-04:002007-08-01T18:06:20.322-04:00Less than Twelve Hours
Okay, I admit it: I'm nervous as hell.
I know intellectually that I have nothing to worry about. I'm not the only break-in dealer. There are in fact a whole freakin’ lot of break-in dealers on my shift. And I'm as comfortable as I could be, with the game(s) I expect to deal tonight. (Read: I'm no expert.)
I even know that whatever mistakes I make tonight will be expectedLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-59607197670298566132007-07-23T20:18:00.000-04:002007-07-23T22:26:31.341-04:00On Myriad Things: An Update
There's actually going to be very little about me in this post. Mostly, it's going to be about the continuing saga of the opening of Four Winds Casino.
With the casino opening to the public only a little more than a week from now (midnight, the night of August 1), people are scrambling to get things ready. In truth, they have a little less than a week, because there LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-72124015978825082562007-06-30T08:58:00.000-04:002007-06-30T09:14:20.876-04:00Weekend Update
We were officially hired by the casino this week. In fact, we had two days of orientation at the New Buffalo high school, a group of about 75 of us. Although we did the normal stuff, filling out of forms and such, they also had an eight-hour timewaster about how we're a team, and give great customer service, and don't sexually harass anybody. They made it as entertaining as LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-21599020613640034662007-06-02T00:12:00.000-04:002007-06-02T00:12:42.704-04:00Tournament Strategy and the Prisoner's Dilemma
Bob Ciaffone's article in the May 23 CardPlayer magazine got me thinking.
Briefly, Ciaffone relates a letter from a player who had five big blinds left in a home-game tourney and was debating whether or not to call an all-in raise with JJ. He offers a lot of analysis of the situation, much of it wrongheaded, but he makes it clear that in this LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-28401850048077562472007-05-16T09:22:00.001-04:002007-05-16T15:16:40.627-04:00Low-Limit Preflop Quiz: Ed Miller
I haven't done a poker strategy post in a while. But Ed Miller recently put up on his blog this post which recaps an old post of his at 2+2 from 2004, with a list of preflop questions for low-limit players. Since he doesn't post answers (I presume those are coming), I thought I'd take my crack at it to see what I understand. (As far as attribution, the prologue LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-67356637127002572172007-05-10T06:58:00.000-04:002007-05-10T09:45:02.827-04:00A Return to the Light
Now, in my defense, I did say that the blog was going to go dark for a while. I expected it to be a couple of weeks, and I expected that once I was online I'd go back to blogging as irregularly as ever. It didn't work out that way, but only because I didn't actually write anything. Stuff continues to happen.
I'm in dealer school for the new Four Winds Casino in New BuffaloLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-3707855799742520942007-04-07T13:07:00.000-04:002007-04-07T13:25:35.345-04:00Things are Happening
Every time I look at my site, after that last post, it's all messed up, where the various text boxes are and so forth. I haven't changed my code at all, the template for the web site, so I'm not sure what the problem is. (I've been meaning to do a general update of the site for a while, but it hasn't happened yet.) Hopefully, this post will reset the web site to normal.
My LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-71482568209229797602007-04-01T18:30:00.000-04:002007-04-03T13:58:19.691-04:00A New Direction. Sort of.
Fresh from the adventures I spoke about in my most recent post, Gil pointed out that not only was Blue Chip Casino hiring poker dealers, but the future casino in New Buffalo, Michigan, was beginning its hiring. Early last week, I submitted online applications to both.
At Four Winds, the name of the new casino in New Buffalo, they had openings listed for both "dealer" LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-83454495117093311732007-03-26T12:24:00.000-04:002007-03-26T12:25:08.114-04:00A Bad Week
I'm overdue for a post and/or update.
But this time, it's not wholly my idea.
I've been treading water with my play, mostly; I'm relying on turning previously earned points at Full Tilt and PokerStars to enter tournaments with cash prizes, or more commonly, which award seats into other tournaments (typically, on Stars, the Sunday Million). As I've done before, when I win a seat intoLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-3893467949265870872007-02-19T00:08:00.000-05:002007-02-19T05:31:15.529-05:00Poker is Still Being Played
I checked my Email today to notice more than one "Where the hell have you been?" message in my box. Since I've returned from Vegas, my computer has been online pretty much constantly, and apparently enough people added me to their "friend" lists on Yahoo and MSN chat that they missed the reassuring presence of my name in boldface ("available").
But lately I haven't LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1169770210165990872007-01-25T17:55:00.000-05:002007-01-25T19:10:10.186-05:00An Update, and a Couple of Thoughts
Did I say update? There really isn't much of that. Poker is chugging along. I had a horrible December, but January is (so far) coming along okay; I'm not rich but I'm not broke, either.
After winning a satellite to the Sunday Million today, I sold PokerStars Tournament Dollars (T$) for cash for the first time. I used PSmoney.com, one of the sites that spammedLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1168443554072428792007-01-10T10:35:00.000-05:002007-01-10T10:39:14.090-05:00Does Poker Keep Getting Harder?
For all those hoping for a new update on my own poker travails, this isn't it.
This is a short post, because I wanted to highlight (not least for myself) Ed Miller's article, "Does Poker Keep Getting Harder and Harder?" If you read it, don't stop before reading the comments, because (as is common on Miller's site) there's good stuff in the comments, too.
I need LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1166349744870476552006-12-17T04:52:00.000-05:002006-12-17T05:02:24.886-05:00Windows Update Sucks
For various reasons, I'm most commonly using my computer at night, often in the wee hours of the morning. For thoroughly dissimilar reasons, that's when Microsoft most commonly publishes updates to Windows for all the Windows machines in the universe to download automatically. It did so tonight.
After it's done downloading and installing, then about every fifteen minutes a LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1166345071185930322006-12-17T03:24:00.000-05:002006-12-17T03:44:31.200-05:00This Isn't A Real Post
. . . it's just a quick note. I've had comments on for a couple of recent posts, and it was just brought to my attention that I had comments set to "team members only." Well, that's fixed. (I still don't plan to turn comments on for every post. If you have something to say, Email me, because … well, I talked about why a long time ago at the beginning of this post. LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1165900818192214692006-12-11T23:49:00.000-05:002006-12-12T00:20:18.216-05:00Why I Lose at Poker
The last day and a half of online poker has consisted of five or six tournaments with a single minor cash, so generally downward. But that's not the point of this post. Neither is it going to be as morbid as my last post. In fact, it's actually going to have some poker content.
I've been struck many times over the last year, mostly live, that I usually know more about the LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1165750752338153572006-12-10T06:59:00.000-05:002006-12-10T06:39:12.373-05:00On Poker and Death
After posting my last update, I promptly had one of my worst days in the last couple of weeks, barely breaking even in cash play, and then playing a number of tournaments and not getting past the first break in any of them. But after all of that, I had another final-table cash, a sixth-place finish for $700. Then I slept, for only a couple of hours, and Gil and I went down to LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com50tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1165619859513398972006-12-08T17:06:00.000-05:002006-12-08T18:17:39.553-05:00In the Future, There Will Be Robots
How's that for a headline that has nothing to do with anything, whatsoever? In any case, people have got on me lately for a lack of updates. Although I preemptively apologized for any lapses when I (re)started this blog in 2004, I find myself doing so again. Why this is bad is that I continually find blogs on the internet, and not only poker blogs, which spendLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1164207988007351222006-11-22T09:31:00.000-05:002006-11-22T10:06:28.036-05:00The Personality of a Poker Player
A book that hasn't impressed me much (Larry W. Phillips, Zen and the Art of Poker. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1999) has been relegated to my bathroom reading. In the midst of such unique advice as "don't tilt," I found this gem (pp.146–147), which somehow appeals to me:
(I'm re-editing this so that what is a long paragraph in the book is a numbered list LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1163762988013567622006-11-17T06:29:00.000-05:002006-11-17T06:29:48.033-05:00Leaving "Leaving Las Vegas"
Actually, I never saw "Leaving Las Vegas," despite its critical acclaim and at least ostensible Vegas connection. But "Leaving Canadian Lakes" might be a little too obscure a title. Suffice it to say that the place I came to when I left Las Vegas, plans are being put in place to leave in turn, so that, indeed, I am “Leaving ‘Leaving Las Vegas.’ ”
I spent much of my LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1163422622855972862006-11-13T07:56:00.000-05:002006-11-13T07:57:02.886-05:00Finally an Update (such as it is)
I've been taken to task for not updating lately. So:
As poker goes, I've been playing a lot of small-buyin tournaments. I've come to realize how thin the edge is that you have to walk, being aggressive without going over into stupidity. I find I often don't get it quite right, and cross the line with more frequency than I should. This isn't "tilt" per se, but LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1161613844920591922006-10-23T10:28:00.000-04:002006-10-23T10:47:29.546-04:00The Sunday Million: Live Blogging (sort of)
This is my attempt at some "live blogging," as I've won a satellite for this week's "Sunday Million" at Pokerstars (Tournament number 33275546), and that starts shortly. I use the phrase "live" loosely, because I don't intend to post this until after the tournaments; the formatting required for what might turn out to be three things going at once mightLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1161152352418394682006-10-18T02:13:00.000-04:002006-10-18T02:19:41.126-04:00Movement in a Different Direction
PokerDogg, in his own career search, found an ad for someone looking for a poker blogger. Really. So, I've sent them a note, and perhaps I'll join the ranks of those who've turned their blogging into a paying gig.
Continuation
Playing tourneys is, mostly, working. It's not been so great today, but I've had enough minor cashes that I'm breaking even. And, I've LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1160986317848825602006-10-16T03:09:00.000-04:002006-10-16T04:11:58.330-04:00Finally, Success at Something
It seems I've written this post before.
Frustrated by a string of defeats at (insert my current "main" game here), I've tried (insert something different here), and had some early success. Therefore, I'm going to continue to do (new thing) for a while, until (insert unreasonable goal here).
In this case, the defeats have been at limit, where my game continues to LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1160776608314392072006-10-13T17:55:00.000-04:002006-10-13T17:56:48.336-04:00Update
It's been a while since I updated, so here it is:
It's not working.
To the extent I could do casino bonuses, bonus whoring mostly worked out great. I lost principal at a couple of sites, but this was more than balanced out by the sites where I cashed out significantly ahead due to bonus.
But I'm starting this at the wrong time. Even before the Safe Ports Act and the resultant "illegal LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1159200942691834402006-09-25T11:01:00.000-04:002006-09-25T12:52:44.440-04:00Yay!
This is, I believe, the sixth time this has happened:
Texas Hold'em $1-$2 (real money), hand #1,048,687,004 [PokerRoom.com]
Table Chicago, 25 Sep 2006 09:49 AM
...
Seat 6: LordGeznikor [Q♣,A♣] ($35 in chips)
...
Seat 8: [Villian] ($97.80 in chips)
...
ANTES/BLINDS
[SB] posts blind ($0.50), [BB] posts blind ($1).
PRE-FLOP
[UTG] folds, [EP1] folds, [EP2] folds, [MP1] folds,
LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1158940563823144972006-09-22T08:03:00.000-04:002006-09-22T11:56:03.903-04:00Other Things I Do Sometimes: Star Trek
I admit it: I'm a Trekker. I immensely enjoyed The Next Generation, I liked Deep Space Nine, Voyager had its moments, and there were even some episodes of Enterprise that I liked. When I started looking back on the episodes of the original series, I found that some of those were excellent, as well.
One thing that Star Trek fans have in common, is that we LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1158926594591456032006-09-22T07:30:00.000-04:002006-09-22T08:03:14.620-04:00Progress
Oddly, mere days after complaining that I can't beat $1/$2 to save my life, it's not only become my regular game, but I'm beating it about as hard as I was beating 50¢/$1. 2900 hands in at PokerStars, I'm beating $1/$2 for over 4 BB/c. At the time of my complaint, I was working off a bonus at Royal Vegas Poker (a Prima site), so I conclude that the game quality is a lot tougher at PrimaLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1158480870114302242006-09-17T02:18:00.000-04:002006-09-17T04:14:30.210-04:00Moving Backward
Looking at some of the blogs I last read with any regularity, over a year ago, I'm struck with one thing:
Everyone's moved beyond me.
People that were at 50¢/$1 at the same time I was, three years ago or so, are now playing $10/$20, $15/$30, or higher, and beating those games. I topped out at $3/$6 as my regular game, with occasional—usually disastrous—forays higher. And now I LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1158400479551587162006-09-16T05:32:00.000-04:002006-09-16T05:54:39.950-04:00Things Continue
Hrmm, "things continue." It seems like there's something pretty Zen in that headline.
Anyway, it's been a little while since I've updated, and the bonus-whoring plan seems to be going well. It's slowed down, some, since I've added poker bonus whoring back into the mix, because it takes forever to earn out the appropriate number of raked hands at the low stakes I play ($1/$2 in aLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1157778591981721132006-09-09T00:32:00.000-04:002006-09-09T01:09:52.053-04:00Onward!
I've started doing some bonus whoring, and thus far it's been reasonably successful. Not as successful as it should be, mathematically, but I've still cleared about $450 in the last three days. At someone's suggestion, I've done a good chunk of it at casino sites, playing straight-up "Basic Strategy" blackjack. They tend to have obscene play-through requirements—as high as twenty-five LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1157304994878556832006-09-03T12:34:00.000-04:002006-09-03T13:36:40.803-04:00Identifying a Leak, Two Years Later
A conversation with PokerDogg led me to look at the PokerTracker stats I incorporated into a couple of posts. Afterward, I looked at this one, from March 2004. There weren't even 10,000 hands in the database at that time, but when I look at the data, one line jumps out at me:
Preflop: 9887 possible actions, raised 7.02% of the time, called 14.39% of the time
LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1156902955471281222006-08-29T21:54:00.000-04:002006-08-29T21:55:55.486-04:00Several Random Points of Musing
I'm about halfway through the Krieger book that PokerDogg recommended (Krieger, Lou and Sheree Bykofsky, Secrets the Pros Won't Tell You about Winning Hold'em Poker. New York: Kensington Publishing, 2006). Although the advice in the book is good, I'm still underwhelmed.
If the learning curve has a number of plateaus, what I've read is below the plateau that I'm LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1157314877360134102006-08-26T22:34:00.000-04:002006-09-03T16:21:17.470-04:00
The 75% Rule
[This is a re-edit of part of the previous post, chopped into its own post for easier linking from my "Archive Highlights." I've also turned comments on for this post: Do I really have something here?]
There's a particular sort of player that Gil has long found vexing, that I ran into this weekend in Chicago. I was nailed a couple of times by this on what was otherwise a very LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1156641359576224562006-08-26T21:15:00.000-04:002006-09-03T15:58:51.306-04:00The Weekend
I mentioned that Gil and I were planning on playing in the tournament being held at Soaring Eagle in Mt.Pleasant. We got to the casino at about 2PM Thursday to register for Friday's tournament, only to find that all the seats had been sold by 11:30 that morning. Still, we were there; we played a little $3/$6 and—shock of shocks—we both made money.
Gil's business is now, at the end LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1156369076928509642006-08-23T17:37:00.000-04:002006-08-26T21:17:58.846-04:00On Second Thought
In the light of day, last night's idea seems not to be a very good one. I wouldn't mind going to Vegas to play a bit, but the stated reason—try to talk Harrah's into a dealer audition—seems so tenuous that really doesn't make much sense to base an entire trip around that.
So, I'm back to my original plan, which is: nothing. I'm exaggerating—a plan of sorts is coming LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1156311431810603562006-08-23T01:35:00.000-04:002006-08-23T01:37:11.833-04:00Sometimes Things Work Like They're Supposed To
I don't know how to post this without sounding like I'm bragging, and I really don't mean to be.
Gil and I went to Manistee for their no-limit tournament on Tuesday, which is either today or yesterday depending on how you look at things. It "feels" to me like it was "yesterday," since I took a four-hour nap when I got back, and "yesterday" LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1156231633821020262006-08-22T03:25:00.000-04:002006-08-22T03:27:14.036-04:00In Pursuit of Happiness
I mentioned in my "back in Michigan" post a few weeks ago that a shrink was administering the Briggs-Myers test to lead her to some suggestions as to what to do with my life. I scored out as ENTP, the only surprise (to me) being that I scored as far to the "extroverted" side as I did. She provided a chapter from one of her books which had suggestions as to what I might doLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1156052892292812332006-08-20T01:47:00.000-04:002006-08-20T01:48:12.313-04:00Oops
It has been pointed out to me that I didn't in fact fix my
Email address on the right, I merely attempted to fix it, and my
Email address was thus, essentially, half-fixed. I've changed it
now (or at least I intend to when I post this; I'm composing it
offline), so if you sent me an insightful analysis of my
previous post, and the Email bounced, then you can send it again
now.
LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1155861659418482672006-08-17T20:40:00.000-04:002006-08-20T01:51:36.030-04:00Poker Strategy 202
I'm going to stretch the bounds of "fair use" quite badly and post an entire problem hand from a
book a borrowed from Gil (Jacobs, Byron with Jim Brier, How Good Is Your Limit Hold'em.
Hassocks, West Sussex, UK: D&B Publishing, 2005), which he purchased at the Gambler's General Store
last time we were in Vegas together, about this time last year. I'd provide links for LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1155170321608890692006-08-09T20:29:00.000-04:002006-08-09T20:38:41.663-04:00R.I.P. Otto, 1992–2006
I mentioned to someone, in passing, one day at work that I was sort of thinking about getting a cat, and in less than a week she showed up on my doorstep with a black-and-white cat she called "Oreo."
My roommate at the time already had a cat, which presented problems for making sure that the cat I had rechristened "Otto" got fed. After a couple of days of Otto simply LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1154854949222595372006-08-06T05:00:00.000-04:002006-08-06T05:02:29.240-04:00And, in Other News . . .
My last post isn't, of course, everything there is to tell about being in Las Vegas. I think I covered the high points (or low points) pretty well, but I expect other things to slip into future entries that came from my time there. Things like "The buffet at the Mirage is OK but not worth full price, however, the buffet at the Wynn is absolutely worth the (high) asking LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1154769019786895012006-08-05T05:09:00.000-04:002006-08-05T05:10:19.796-04:00He's Baaaa-aaack!
Word has gotten around a bit that I'm back from Vegas. In fact, I've been back for a couple of months. I've had a number of requests to tell my tale, and I've finally started to write this down now that I have some distance on the situation.
I wrote up a couple of posts for the blog while I was out there, intending to post them, but without a net connexion I never did, even byLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1154768987965927182005-11-05T05:08:00.000-05:002006-08-05T05:11:09.316-04:00
Settling into my rut
A month into this move to Vegas, I'm not rich, but I'm not broke. I did need some parental help, as I'll get to, but I'm starting to settle in to where I know I'll end up being all right here.
When I wrote the last entry, I believe (I haven't reread it yet, but I sort of remember ending it when I got tired of typing instead of any natural ending spot) I was waiting to LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1154768840199541592005-10-06T05:01:00.000-04:002006-08-05T05:08:33.033-04:00
The Move is Made
I don't know when I'll be able to post
this, as I have no internet connexion here
yet. But I'm writing this on October 6, so
I'll probably backdate this to then, whenever
I post it.
I applied to some other jobs in Las Vegas
online, from Michigan. None of them were
great jobs, but they were indeed jobs. One
of them called me the next day (Thursday,
Sept. 30). I was LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1127367011282486922005-09-22T01:07:00.000-04:002005-09-22T01:30:11.290-04:00Tournaments
A short note, crowing a bit maybe. After less than excellent days at Soaring Eagle on Sunday and Monday, I went to Manistee Tuesday for their No-Limit Holdem tournament.
As I mentioned, I won this about a month ago, which provided the cash to head out to Vegas last week. (Gil won the next week.) This Tuesday, Gil figured that being out of the office all day might be bad, since LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1126922841800294992005-09-16T21:29:00.000-04:002005-09-16T22:09:54.913-04:00(There's a Vegas trip report below. Scroll down, umm, two headlines.)
Hiatus, of Sorts
I've been asked several times why I haven't been posting lately. Since I do have news, I've also been asked why I haven't blogged about specific events.
Upon reflection, the reason I haven't been posting is that the asshole factor in my comments is quite high. I thought my skin was thicker than that; I LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1122911188628259282005-08-01T11:57:00.000-04:002005-08-01T11:46:28.716-04:00Still Dreaming about Poker
I had another dream about poker last night. This time, at least, I wasn't being bad-beat. I had something like Queen-Ten suited, flopped the broadway straight, and rivered the flush, and got paid off in two places.
This was in a limit game at the Orleans in Las Vegas, apparently. It didn't look like the Orleans, but with dream-logic, that's where it was. So, yet LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1122457035314569252005-07-27T04:09:00.000-04:002005-07-27T05:37:15.373-04:00Schoonemaker's Attributes of a Winning Player
Iggy posted, from Felicia, from "Dr. Al" Schoonemaker (which almost certainly means from 2+2), the attributes of a winning player. I believe I'm above average on all but one of his attributes, which ordinarily I'd have a long discussion with someone in chat to discuss, but it's after 4AM, so not very many people are available to chat. And, chat LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1122252543602453102005-07-24T20:33:00.000-04:002005-07-24T20:49:03.610-04:00I'm Even Dreaming about Bad Beats
In the midst of poor performance online, I've taken to dreaming about bad beats.
Oh, this isn't truly a bad-beat story, more like a bad-luck story, and it isn't real anyway. I'm playing in a room that looks like someone's library, and in my mind it's a tournament, but it doesn't have to be, we're simply heads-up. My opponent is middle-aged and skinny, not LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1122081364528044932005-07-22T21:09:00.000-04:002005-07-22T21:16:04.533-04:00A Non-Über Post
"Johnny Chan, the guy featured in the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck ode to poker, Rounders, busted out early on."
-from this article at AsianWeek.com
Funny, I missed Ben Affleck in that . . . or are we assuming any movie with Damon must have Affleck in it, too?LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1121363288109914852005-07-14T13:59:00.000-04:002005-07-14T13:48:08.166-04:00Drowning in the Little River
When Gil offered to stake me for some live poker on Sunday, I readily accepted, especially when he suggested that we go to Little River Casino in Manistee, Mich., which is still my favorite room even if it isn't the closest, and doesn't offer the best game selection. Time and again I was reminded why.
As we usually do on the way up, we called when we were 45 LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1120942617803391532005-07-09T16:58:00.000-04:002005-07-09T16:56:57.810-04:00Noble Poker: A First Impression
I ended up abandoning Full Tilt's deposit bonus as too difficult to work off at the limits I was playing; I may return later when I can play higher.
Iggy advised me that Noble Poker's deposit bonus (100% to $700 or to $800 thru Iggy) was easier to work off, and in theory, it is. Every hand you're dealt into at $1/$2 blinds or higher earns you four "crowns," LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1120561819876162782005-07-05T07:08:00.000-04:002005-07-05T07:17:27.166-04:00Full Tilt Poker: A Second Impression
At first I thought I wouldn't like Full Tilt Poker. But who can complain about a 100% initial deposit match? Well, I can complain, it turns out, but my overall second impression of the room turns out to be positive. (My first impression was some time ago, before they even offered real-money games, I think. But I don't really remember anything about that, LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1120435795404129612005-07-03T20:34:00.000-04:002005-07-03T20:09:55.436-04:00Still Crazy after All These Years
While I'm broke, the blog is up at its old Blogspot URL. This breaks most of the art and a lot of the links, but hopefully it's temporary ... the next couple of months probably.
I'm still broke. But getting a job here still depresses me to the point that I'd rather hang myself than do that. (Actually, I'd take a job here dealing in a casino ... but the LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1121991292486809742005-04-28T19:53:00.000-04:002005-07-21T20:14:52.496-04:00[Note: This was originally posted at Iggy's blog before I semi-resurrected my own. You can find the original post here. (I could swear I've seen that weird building he appends to my entry. Downtown Toronto, I think.)
Broke, and Broken In
Iggy tells me people have asked about me lately. Great: I'm 34 years old and I'm a "whatever happened to ..." guy.
I'm not sure whether my site is even upLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1107203379562929532005-01-31T15:26:00.000-05:002005-01-31T15:29:39.563-05:00Sage Advice
"Dude, you do NOT have what it takes to play poker for a living. Everyone who reads this blog knows that."
That's a line from the comments to the previous post. Along with other advice there, it strongly encourages me to get a job here rather than move out west with my last few dollars.
If I were anyone else, that would be the sensible option. But I truly don't see getting LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1107121999920791192005-01-30T17:22:00.000-05:002005-01-30T16:53:19.920-05:00A Full Weekend of Poker
I mentioned last time that I had entered the Little River Casino's biggest tournament to date, 90 people at (essentially) $150 each plus juice. It ended up being a full weekend of poker.
To many people, the most interesting thing in this whole part of this post may be that I found Super/System 2 at Barnes & Noble on the way up; apparently it's in stores now. I'm LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1106891530579429612005-01-28T00:24:00.000-05:002005-01-28T00:52:10.580-05:00Does a Cash in a Poorly-Structured Tourney Still Count?
The Michigan readers among the throng already know, and I've mentioned before, but the Little River Casino in Manistee, Mich., deals 50-man limit holdem tournaments every Monday and Tuesday. I've sat this tournament in the past, and probably I wrote it up, but I don't feel like looking for the old article; suffice it to say I wasn't LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1106408918597223912005-01-22T11:06:00.000-05:002005-01-22T10:48:38.596-05:00Reload Bonus
For those who care about such things, PartyPoker has made a 20% to $200 reload offer: Here is the link. It's good from January 21 to 26, and makes me wish I had $1000 sitting in my checking account.
Not So Much “Soaring” As “Plummeting”
Despite the good things I said about Motor City Casino, it's still twice as far away as the closest casino, Mt. Pleasant's Soaring Eagle. LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1106198779601684942005-01-20T00:26:00.000-05:002005-01-20T00:26:19.600-05:00Black in Action
Thanks to any readers who are left after the site took a two-month hiatus. It was kind of the final step of the crashing-and-burning that began last summer and is so well documented on this site. The debit card my ISP was billing was frozen while my checking account was overdrawn, and during that period of frozenness, the card expired anyway. But now, they have the new card,LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1100108382259302452004-11-10T12:18:00.000-05:002004-11-10T12:39:42.260-05:00Two (basically)
A quick note as I wait for Everquest II to install and patch.
I went up to Little River in Manistee yesterday (Tuesday) partially for their tournament, but more for the post-tournament cash games. I finished the day $18 to the good, which counts as a positive result as much as a day $18 to the bad counts as a negative result, and my "streak" had several of those results.
LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1099937108078854322004-11-08T13:05:00.000-05:002004-11-08T13:05:08.080-05:00Yay, me!
This is, I believe, the fifth time this has ever happened:
***** Hand History for Game 1154113788 *****
$2/$4 Hold'em - Monday, November 08, 12:40:42 EDT 2004
Table Bad Beat Jackpot #971356 (Real Money)
Seat 6 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 7: LordGeznikor ( $164.75 )
Seat 6: Kaboomy ( $146 )
Seat 10: VIIXIXXI ( $64 )
Seat 1: play___moni ( $81.5 )
Seat 8:LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1099934012285968562004-11-08T11:58:00.000-05:002004-11-08T12:13:32.286-05:00One ... and One ... and One
The streak of poor results in live play has ended. Then, the new streak of positive results in live-game play ended at one, as did the next streak of negative results. The upshot is a positive weekend of live play marred only by large swings.
We already knew that Gil wouldn't want to play on Saturday. At least, he wouldn't be able to; he had a gig. I LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1099652055524064862004-11-05T05:46:00.000-05:002004-11-05T05:54:15.523-05:00On Politics
Well, Bush won, by enough that his victory seems outside the margin of litigation. I'm sure fraud still occurred, but it seems not to have affected the outcome of the election. I'm a little disappointed, though, that a conversation didn't develop on my idea for ending fraud in elections. It would work in eliminating fraud (I think), but it's so radical that there would surely beLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1099419949166936682004-11-02T13:24:00.000-05:002004-11-02T13:25:49.166-05:00They Haven't Counted the Vote Yet
I had a thought this morning. No matter who wins the election that is taking place today, I am going to have zero confidence that the results are not manipulated by fraud. Even if there weren't concerns about fraudulent voter registrations, or poorly-designed ballots, or people improperly removed from the voter rolls, the people who count the votes are humanLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1099099761258061342004-10-29T09:16:00.000-04:002004-10-29T21:29:21.260-04:008ight
The streak stands at eight live-play losses in a row; I did in fact go to Manistee on Wednesday and blew $240, or 30BB. Although I made some mistakes, I made no huge mistakes, and in fact the biggest tale of the night was that two bad players and one loose-aggressive but decent player put a number of beats on me with unlikely holdings that just happened to be the stony nuts. (Okay, I LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1098876040888565432004-10-27T07:20:00.000-04:002004-10-27T07:20:40.886-04:00On Being a “Professional”
I just noticed this quote from Iggy, who is himself quoting someone named "AJ":
I'll probably make the jump to [playing poker] full-time Jan 1 but we will see. For those of you who care I am starting a new category - I will call myself a "full-time poker player" rather than a professional poker player. I don't belong with the likes of the true professionals ... LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1098452916662770892004-10-22T09:33:00.000-04:002004-10-22T09:48:36.673-04:00Another Good Day
Another good day, more than $400 to the good, finally let me do a significant withdrawal from PartyPoker, for the first time in a long time. I was playing $2/$4 BBJ, so that's over 100 big bets, if you're counting. For all I've whined about those tables being bad to me, I've had only one losing day in the last week, which I more than made up the next day.
Now, when I'm LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1098290624356060362004-10-20T12:41:00.000-04:002004-10-20T12:43:44.356-04:00This Headline Intentionally Left Blank
You know, some people are like Slinkies: They aren't really good for anything, but you just have to smile when you see them tumble down the stairs.
His Bedtime Conventionally Hefts Tanks
DegenDanny wanted me to mention that he isn't really that much of a liberal, really, he just doesn't like George W. Bush. Actually, in all seriousness, our points LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1098177720250602842004-10-19T05:07:00.000-04:002004-10-19T05:22:00.250-04:00An Odd Dream
Have I mentioned that I dream about poker now?
I know I've had dreams about being in Vegas, and I can kind of recall one where I was trying to get to the poker room at the Mirage. I think Cactus Dave was there, but the part before I woke up was basically like walking around outside and then through a big mall.
But last night I had another dream. I was playing in the Big LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1098098728429092612004-10-18T07:40:00.000-04:002004-10-18T07:25:28.430-04:00Almost a Casino Win
Gil staked me again in Mt. Pleasant yesterday, to their $3/$6 game, meaning $100. There was a seat open on their Stud game when we got there, so I took that, and got out to a quick couple-buck profit. Then a couple more seats opened, and Gil sat to my left, and promptly blew $50. My suspicion is that he was a little looser than I was, or a little prouder of (for example)LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1098017788970870332004-10-17T09:01:00.000-04:002004-10-17T08:56:28.970-04:00A Good Day ... Again
It's been a couple of weeks since that 39¢-into-$250 day at DoylesRoom, and since then I've mostly been treading water. A little up this day, a little down that day, treading water. I'm down to a few bucks at DoylesRoom, but hovered around $200 at PartyPoker for a long time.
Most of my play has been at $1/$2, to build bankroll, although this has gone surprisingly LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1097910774414963202004-10-16T03:12:00.000-04:002004-10-16T03:12:54.413-04:00Comments
I just turned off the Haloscan comments in favor of Blogger's own Comments system, mainly because Haloscan deletes the comments after a couple of months anyway. The biggest downside of this is that the comments to my recent posts appear to be lost (they aren't, really, but they are for all practical purposes). I did read your comments, and I appreciate them, so nobody think this hasLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1097907475379296622004-10-16T02:38:00.000-04:002004-10-16T02:17:55.380-04:00Thoughts on PartyPoker's Bad Beat Tables
I can't be the first person to think of this, but I don't know if any of the blogs have covered it. I'm not caught up on the blogs, not by a long shot.
In any case, my point is this. It seems that the bad-beat tables on PartyPoker are ripe for setting up a consortium to win it. With the rules set as they are at the moment, where 8888 or better LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1097755973086186822004-10-14T08:10:00.000-04:002004-10-14T08:12:53.086-04:00A Big Fat Report About Nothing
I chatted with Iggy last night, and he decried the lack of recent posts by me. So, onay, here's a post.
The main reason there haven't been posts is that nothing of consequence has been happening. Well, okay, that's not wholly true, but nothing of serious poker consequence has been happening.
I started a new job this week. I'm doing something I did in theLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1097050250633209062004-10-06T03:54:00.000-04:002004-10-06T04:10:50.633-04:00Where the Hell Have You Been?
It's only partially true that I haven't been posting. Blogger ate two posts, one about the free $100 that PartyPoker has given me (I've run it up a bit but my online game seems to be very rusty) and one about the adventures of Dave in computer-fixing-land. So I've been posting, but Blogger hasn't allowed you to read it.
I got an interesting Email today, and LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1096863769884442572004-10-03T23:20:00.001-04:002004-10-06T04:15:54.363-04:00How to Fix a Computer, by Dave
Wow, this has been an amusing weekend.
Friday, Cactus Dave brought his computer over to play a couple of games, but while we were at dinner we decided that since his computer was so unstable, it would make sense to wipe the hard drive and re-install the operating system. So, after dinner, we went to Circuit City. Dave didn't like that Windows XP cost $200, LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1096290500786435232004-09-27T09:03:00.000-04:002004-09-27T10:30:36.616-04:00Whoa, There
There are some hard words in response to my last post, all telling me, basically, slow down there: you might have run yourself up to $250, but it's still only $250, you aren't "back" by any means, get a job, manage the bankroll well.
I don't disagree with most of what was said. I wasn't crowing about "wow, I've got $250," because I understand that in the poker world $250 isn't LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1096035600324977362004-09-24T10:19:00.000-04:002004-09-24T10:20:00.326-04:00$25941
Remember that five bucks I said I had built my bankroll up to?
I've improved it.
I had 39¢ when I started playing, which we'll say was 10:00 Thursday night. This was after placing second in one of their freeroll multitables which pay a $2 total prize pool.
But their minimum buyin for their lowest-stakes game, 2¢/4¢, is 40¢, ten big bets. And I was a penny short. So, I signed LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1096006415490863542004-09-24T01:47:00.000-04:002004-09-24T02:13:46.080-04:00Some Poker Occurs ... sort of
First, this article from MSNBC on the possible proliferation of ’bots on the various poker sites, including a quote from the creator of WinHoldem (who takes an interesting point of view):
Are poker ‘bots’ raking online pots?
Second, on my life, I'm still not employed. I expected to be interviewed by Soaring Eagle Casino for a dealer position this week, but LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1094686998267470142004-09-08T18:01:00.000-04:002004-09-08T19:43:18.266-04:00No Poker Occurs
A couple of people have commented on my lack of posts over the last couple of weeks. I thank you for your concern. Really.
The few dollars I had left in my PartyPoker account are gone, so I'm flat busted. I've been looking for a job, maybe not hard enough, but looking, and thus far am still unemployed.
So I've withdrawn from the world a bit, or maybe a lot, which is LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1093181525012463682004-08-22T08:30:00.000-04:002004-08-22T09:32:05.013-04:00Poker Occurs
Not many posts of late as my poker play has been sharply curtailed. My bankroll is so close to zero as to basically be zero, leaving me only an occasional opportunity to play a sit-and-go, perhaps. Some of those have gone well, some haven't.
But I did make it to Manistee yesterday, because Gil wanted to go and he offered to stake me. I'm glad I went.
The room is the same LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1092450960720763252004-08-14T00:25:00.000-04:002004-08-13T22:36:00.720-04:00The Word of the Day ...
The phrase of the day seems to be deus ex machina, Latin for "the god from the machine," which today generally means (from Webster's Tenth) "a person of thing (as in fiction or drama) that appears or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly and provides a contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty." When Spock was blind for the entire episode, and then LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1092445222286402302004-08-13T20:57:00.000-04:002004-08-13T21:00:22.286-04:00Notes from Readers on the Six Month Wrapup
The tale of woe I posted last night has drawn some good comments from longtime readers. Haloscan deletes messages after three months, though, and I think there's a lot here to respond to, and to learn from. So I thought I'd do it in another main post.
From "dankhank":
LG,
I have been reading your blog for your entire pro career, and it is LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1092360575436028872004-08-12T11:58:00.000-04:002004-08-12T21:29:35.436-04:00Six Months Later: A Tale of Despair
I promised a total taking-stock six-months-in post, and this is it.
I'm not sure how long it's been since I've posted my numbers. Weeks 23 and 24 were both up $450ish, which is fine, even if I need a couple of $1000 weeks. Then I kind of went into the crapper: up $200 in week 25, up $300 in week 26, and down $450 in week 27. So, three weeks of zilcho LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1092254737911212572004-08-11T14:10:00.000-04:002004-08-12T11:57:54.580-04:00Other Things I Do Sometimes: The Chaos
Unlike the last time I published a poem, this is not of my own design. But m7 recently put up a list of oddities about the English language, and it reminded me of a similar (longer) thing that showed the same thing. It is attributed to "Charivarius (G.N.Trenité)," and I found it in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, by David Crystal, ©LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1092061143350568292004-08-09T10:03:00.000-04:002004-08-09T10:19:03.350-04:00Tourney Victories, and Tourney Losses
Congratulations to BadBlood for his 10th-place finish in Sunday's morning $5+$1 tournaments. It was only worth $65, but that is thirteen buyins, and they started going up quickly at that point. That's why I wonder if his shoving in with Ace-little after several limpers was a brilliant move, because every place he moved up at that point was worth several LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1091972441222392702004-08-08T09:05:00.000-04:002004-08-08T09:40:41.223-04:00LordGeznikor = bust, therefore Midwest Blogger Open = bust
Notes from Halverson left it clear he wasn't going to arrive at the Trump in Gary before Saturday, and recent downswings have left me again shortstacked, so I scotched my original plan of going to play Friday night and staying over.
Instead, Gil and I left Grand Rapids on Saturday morning, arriving at the Trump a bit before noon LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1091875920815107202004-08-07T06:38:00.000-04:002004-08-07T06:52:00.816-04:00Coming Soon
I haven't updated in a couple of days, but most of the neat things that are happening haven't actually happened yet.
—I'm heading in an hour or two down to the Trump Casino outside Chicago, there to meet a couple of fellow bloggers. Gil should also be coming, but not Cactus Dave. I should have a trip report early next week.
—Week 26 of my pro career has passed, half a year,LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1091590207138805772004-08-03T23:30:00.000-04:002004-08-03T23:30:07.136-04:00No-Limit: LIVE! (part II)
A winning week assured, I returned to Little River on Monday for the no-limit game I was sure would be dealt after the day's tournament. My intent was to burn off some comp points and stay at the casino, and play the same game Tuesday.
The drive up was an adrenaline rush. The weather was hot and humid when I left the house, but basically clear. However, I drove LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1091436866792510942004-08-02T02:24:00.000-04:002004-08-02T04:54:26.793-04:00Lossed, Victories, and a 32" Color TV
No, I don't know why there's a 32" color TV in that headline. Why do you ask? Well, then, screw you too!
Now that I've worked off tonight's quota of random statements and a borderline challenge, I can continue by talking about the last few days' play.
Tuesday's $3/$6 play left me down almost $300, mostly through my own stupid play. I paid off whenLordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1091079889246966032004-07-29T01:21:00.000-04:002004-07-29T01:44:49.246-04:00By the Way, If It Wasn't Obvious ...
... those of you who are interested in Nomic (my post from a few days ago), should visit the Nomic forum. We're in the "constitutional convention" stage, basically, choosing how we'll start the game.
I think I have a couple of associates of Gil's daughter (and perhaps Gil's daughter herself) who may be interested, and once our game is a going concern, LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1090997203399081192004-07-28T00:59:00.000-04:002004-07-28T02:46:43.400-04:00Introducing the RhymesWithJoker Fora!
(from the introductory post:)
These fora are presented as a service of (and extension of) RhymesWithJoker.com, a blog about poker and my progress in the game.
I don't actually expect these fora, this one particularly, to be very high-traffic: The "Comments" field to my posts represents a good way to make your thoughts about my play or my posts known.LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1090862707811716662004-07-26T13:20:00.000-04:002004-07-26T13:25:07.813-04:00Quick Casino Notes
I spent the weekend in Manistee, playing poker, of course. Saturday night was brilliant, one of the softest live games I've ever been in, with a couple of action players and a couple of calling stations. I took that game for $500, and stayed in town to play Sunday again.
Sunday I did inteed play again, but the lineup was tougher, and my cards were cold, so I bled away LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3248406.post-1090647843408758302004-07-24T01:30:00.000-04:002004-07-24T01:47:07.136-04:00Other Things I Do Sometimes: Nomic
That's Mel Brooks as Moses. You know, from "History of the World, Part I;" the bit where he presents the Fifteen—Oy!—the Ten Commandments, as they became known after Moses dropped the third tablet. It all makes sense, really it does, because it's sort of about the law, while retaining the "joker" theme of the image at the beginning of my posts.
Nomic is LordGeznikorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08794671008549971857noreply@blogger.com0