I'm a first-time uncle. My nephew, named Oliver (seen above in the arms of his maternal grandmother), was nearly two weeks overdue before making a loud appearance into the world the morning of December 30th, and he was a hefty 10 lbs 7 ounces. Both he and her mother (my younger sister) are doing fine after a stressful delivery and a tense couple of days.
I have to admit, this makes me reconsider my stance not to become a parent (let's ignore all the necessary intermediate steps for that to happen! I'm indulging in sentimentality). I'm very proud of everyone involved.
Sadly, I didn't get to go to the WPBT this year. I had so much fun last year in my first appearance, that I was really gutted that I couldn't make the trip. However, family duties prevented a weekend in Las Vegas.
Oddly enough, I did manage to play some online poker hands and my own personal Ferguson experiment is going well (I've turned $5 into $250 during the past two weeks). I've been steadily crushing the low-stakes mixed games, with some occasional time put in at the micro-stakes PLO tables. Here is an example of the latter, where I actually hit one of many redraws on a nice freeroll opportunity:
In the second hand, I scooped a nice Stud eight-or-better pot (by far my most profitable game in the 7-game mix) and spent five minutes in chat baiting an apoplectic victim who didn't understand why I capped the betting on fourth street vs. multiple opponents ...
Limit Stud H/L
*** 3RD STREET *** Dealt to Noobitronix [4s] Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah] Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad] Dealt to Brizzy23 [3h] Dealt to KGB_05 [8d] Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h] [7d] Brizzy23 is low with [3h] Brizzy23 brings in for $0.05 KGB_05 folds PirateLawyer calls $0.05 - I want to see a flop cheaply with many opponents in the hand Noobitronix folds Lefty_Two3 completes it to $0.20 DJrabibit calls $0.20 Brizzy23 folds PirateLawyer calls $0.15 - I can still see a flop profitably three-handed at this price *** 4TH STREET *** Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah] [7c] Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad] [6c] Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d] [6h]- boom! time to get busy with a disguised OESD; this is now quite a scooping hand opportunity Lefty_Two3 bets $0.20 DJrabibit calls $0.20 PirateLawyer raises to $0.40 Lefty_Two3 raises to $0.60 DJrabibit calls $0.40 PirateLawyer raises to $0.80 Lefty_Two3 calls $0.20 DJrabibit calls $0.20 *** 5TH STREET *** Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah 7c] [Jc] Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad 6c] [3d] Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d 6h] [Ks] Lefty_Two3 checks DJrabibit checks PirateLawyer bets $0.40 Lefty_Two3 calls $0.40 DJrabibit calls $0.40 *** 6TH STREET *** Dealt to Lefty_Two3 [Ah 7c Jc] [As] Dealt to DJrabibit [Ad 6c 3d] [9s] Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d 6h Ks] [4h] - Eureka! Lefty_Two3 bets $0.40 DJrabibit calls $0.40 PirateLawyer raises to $0.80 Lefty_Two3 calls $0.40 DJrabibit calls $0.40 *** 7TH STREET *** Dealt to PirateLawyer [8h 5h 7d 6h Ks 4h] [Qh]- bonus flush! Lefty_Two3 checks DJrabibit checks PirateLawyer bets $0.40 Lefty_Two3 calls $0.40 DJrabibit has 15 seconds left to act DJrabibit folds *** SHOW DOWN *** PirateLawyer shows [Qh 8h 7d 6h Ks 4h 5h] a flush, Queen high, for high and 8,7,6,5,4, for low Lefty_Two3 mucks PirateLawyer wins the high pot ($3.63) with a flush, Queen high PirateLawyer wins the low pot ($3.62) with 8,7,6,5,4 *** SUMMARY *** Total pot $7.63 | Rake $0.38 Seat 1: Lefty_Two3 mucked [Kh Kc Ah 7c Jc As Tc] - HI: two pair, Aces and Kings Seat 2: DJrabibit folded on 7th St. Seat 3: Brizzy23 folded on 3rd St. Seat 4: KGB_05 folded on 3rd St. Seat 5: PirateLawyer showed [Qh 8h 7d 6h Ks 4h 5h] and won ($7.25) with HI: a flush, Queen high; LO: 8,7,6,5,4 Seat 6: Noobitronix folded on 3rd St.
I'm sure those of you who went to Vegas had a lot more fun than I did, but I had to make lemonade with the lemons I was dealt. I'm anxiously awaiting all the trip reports to hear about all the debauchery I missed out on.
I guess it's time for my monthly poker post. I certainly hope to revitalize this blog, once I get the time to decide what topics I'd like to focus writing about in this space. For now, a mildly interesting poker hand history will have to suffice in the interim.
I recently began dabbling in microstakes mixed games online, as I haven't had much time recently to hit the local cardrooms for any live play. So far, the results have been very good even though the profits are trifling in magnitude. I've enjoyed experimenting with alternate strategies and practicing hand reading fundamentals against a lot of really bad players.
I decided to get tricky here with a premium hand. Comments? (For all four of you LHE enthusiasts still reading this blog, do you think the line I took here was good exploitive play against an unsophisticated villain (it certainly wasn't optimal!), or was it a fancy play which I should purge from my arsenal?
Edit: Bonus material
Hand #2 (pure brag):
I wish this hand had been at higher stakes! It's nice to get paid off on the proper side of a cooler for a change.
I came within five seconds of scoring four tickets to the premiere event of the Olympics, the gold medal men's hockey game. Sadly, a five-second delay as my computer froze was just enough time for the window of opportunity to close on the #$!% online lottery and I had to settle for the consolation prize, the bronze medal game.
I haven't blogged about the Olympics much, and that is going to change significantly as Vancouver is gearing up for the mayhem that is going to ensue.
Be it resolved that: the upcoming Winter Olympics will, inevitably, be a fiscal disaster of monumental proportions for the city of Vancouver.
The city has already lost a big lawsuit to displaced businesses who were harmed by three years of bad planning, dishonesty, and awful decisions relating to a major construction project which tore up a main artery of the city. Many businesses relocated or failed because of the delays ... and the courts quite properly found the city to be at fault. As you might have guessed, the decision is under appeal, but the defendants have had to pay interim damages.
And don't get me started at what the province chose to do in upgrading the Sea to Sky highway. A much more progressive, efficient, and greener option was ignored: build a traditional rail line to Whistler which goes right to downtown Vancouver. As an avid skier, I can swear that the convenience offered by this option would have been embraced by many during the winter months, reduce traffic on the picturesque but dangerous highway in adverse driving conditions, and would not have been more expensive than the final bill for the highway upgrades that BC taxpayers will be responsible for.
All this being said, I'm honest enough to admit that had I won tickets to the men's gold medal hockey game, I would probably feel the pain of future tax bills a little less keenly.
I'm sure that the author whose gothic novel inspired this webcomic would have been taken aback by this pastiche. After all, in 1931 even H.P. Lovecraft's zany imagination didn't conceive of stories featuring a protagonist who was a troubled young mother with supernatural powers who bore a child out of wedlock and who worked as an auto mechanic. But he would have recognized a lot of the other elements populating this homage.
If you're a fan of the Cthulhu Mythos, this comic is a must-read. And if you're not, you should still check it out.
I have to admit, this makes me reconsider my stance not to become a parent (let's ignore all the necessary intermediate steps for that to happen! I'm indulging in sentimentality). I'm very proud of everyone involved.
