gonores
09-03-2004, 09:44 AM
I have a lot of farmer blood in me. I am just one generation removed from pure-bred country hicks. And we’re not talking modernized, semi-hip farmers here…we’re talking rotary phones and butter churns. “What the heck is this internet thing all about anyways” farmers. I was the first one from either side of the family to go to college, (much less actually graduate), and to this day, I and my parents are still questioned are still questioned by my grandparents on why they let their able-bodied boy waste four years of his life in the city at college while I could be working the fields and doing chores. Suffice to say, my grandparents and most of my extended family can’t really catch on to this whole poker thing, so I fudge a little when they ask what I am doing (a question usually asked with unmasked abhorrence for my “soft lifestyle”). I tell them I am an Internet Financial Consultant. That usually throws them off the career questioning track. My response is vague enough that they allow themselves to make the assumption that I just make a career out of screwing honest, hard-working people out of their money, just like every other big-city suit. Of course, in reality where my career is "professional poker player," nothing could be farther from the truth /images/graemlins/tongue.gif.
Anywho, I had a point to that last paragraph. I carry a lot of my grandpa’s genetic traits, one of which is being a very light sleeper. Up until this summer, I have never been able to sleep much past 7am. While I was squatting this summer at a buddy’s place, I slept in a room with no windows. That finally did enough to scramble my internal clock hard enough to allow me a more poker-friendly schedule of getting to bed at 5am and waking up around 10am, with an early evening nap often thrown in as well. However, now that I am in my new place, I am back on my old sleep schedule of 1-7am. No matter what I do, I can’t sleep past 7. I haven’t played a hand of poker after midnight during the entire challenge. You would think that missing out on the evening games would be detrimental to my goal…maybe it still will. On Day 4, I ran out and got a simple sleeping mask (like big sunglasses, only made out of cloth….ok, ok, it’s made out of silk. Feel free to belittle me). Man…if you ever feel like having your manhood questioned by your friends, I highly recommend purchasing one of these devices.
Day 3 continued the heater. I was up $2135 after the first few session. My late session (which happened to be my first session over 1000 hands) was full-on disaster for a while before I managed to claw back to -$167 for the session, bringing me to +$1967.50 on the day. I cancelled my late night session because I hit my target number of hands. I decided to drink heavily and watch Swingers with a few friends.
Day 4: More and more hot. I spent most of the day shaking off a hangover, but I’m loving the hour-long sessions. $294, $1014, $461, $467.50, $78, and $744 sessions for a grand total of $3058.50. I sorta scaled back my target nmber of hands due to my hangover, so I ended up with a little over 1800 hands today. Save a 20 minute, -$600 swing in session #5, it was basically smooth sailing. I picked off a ton of bluffs today. I’m to the point where my aggression level is so high that when the inevitable downswing occurs, I know it’s going to be incredibly painful. One of the hardest things to do in poker is to ratchet down your aggression properly, because the places where you naturally start to look toward in terms of backing down are the exact wrong places to be ratcheting down your aggression. I’m wondering whether or not it’s healthy to live in continual fear of the dreaded downswing.
Obligatory pack of hands:
Hand 1: The new standard party bluff line. (PT missed this hand #, so this is from memory). Dealt ATo and open from the CO. SB and BB call. Flop comes 559, suits unimportant. Checked to me, I bet, SB calls, BB folds. Turn is a J. SB bets out. I stop thinking about the hand…easy call down for me. I look over at my roommate, who was sweating me, and I offer him an even money $20 bet that my opponent is bluffing. He requests 2:1 odds. I wuss out and decline. He bet the river again and showed an unimproved Q6.
Hand 2: Disjointed line. CO (new guy…little reads other than not too out of line preflop) open-raises. Button (calling station) cold-calls. I 3-bet from the SB with black TT. BB folds, both call. Flop comes 367 with 2 hearts. I get caught up in another couple hands on other tables, and I bet out with about 10 seconds left. As I did this, CO entered into the text box “u still there?” He proceeded to raise my bet, Button calls 2 cold, and I call, planning to checkraise a safe card. Turn is the 2h, completing the flush. I bet out again, CO calls, Button folds? River is the Qh. Clark says to bet, so I bet. He folded. I win.
On the spoon front, I went to Panera Bread on Day 3 and got chicken soup in a bread bowl. Didn’t even think to steal the spoon, even though I had a clear line to the door with no security problems. I smacked myself once out the door, and then wandered over to the grocery store and bought a 4-pack of teaspoons. I’m flat out pissed off at the way I handled this situation.
Trip report on the sleep mask in the next edition.
Day 3 – Goal: 2500 hands, 10/20 6m
Results: 2465 hands
+$1967.50
Day 2 – Goal: Overcome hangover. Vow not to get smashed again during challenge
Results: Had another drink at midnight. Did not get wasted. Played 1844 hands
+$3058.50
Cumulative results
Goal: 150000 hands (secret modified hand-scoring system)
Days 1-4: 9411 hands (extrapolated: 141165 hands)
Goal: $60000
Days 1-4: $10354.50 ($6354.5 ahead of pace, extrapolated: $155317.50)
Anywho, I had a point to that last paragraph. I carry a lot of my grandpa’s genetic traits, one of which is being a very light sleeper. Up until this summer, I have never been able to sleep much past 7am. While I was squatting this summer at a buddy’s place, I slept in a room with no windows. That finally did enough to scramble my internal clock hard enough to allow me a more poker-friendly schedule of getting to bed at 5am and waking up around 10am, with an early evening nap often thrown in as well. However, now that I am in my new place, I am back on my old sleep schedule of 1-7am. No matter what I do, I can’t sleep past 7. I haven’t played a hand of poker after midnight during the entire challenge. You would think that missing out on the evening games would be detrimental to my goal…maybe it still will. On Day 4, I ran out and got a simple sleeping mask (like big sunglasses, only made out of cloth….ok, ok, it’s made out of silk. Feel free to belittle me). Man…if you ever feel like having your manhood questioned by your friends, I highly recommend purchasing one of these devices.
Day 3 continued the heater. I was up $2135 after the first few session. My late session (which happened to be my first session over 1000 hands) was full-on disaster for a while before I managed to claw back to -$167 for the session, bringing me to +$1967.50 on the day. I cancelled my late night session because I hit my target number of hands. I decided to drink heavily and watch Swingers with a few friends.
Day 4: More and more hot. I spent most of the day shaking off a hangover, but I’m loving the hour-long sessions. $294, $1014, $461, $467.50, $78, and $744 sessions for a grand total of $3058.50. I sorta scaled back my target nmber of hands due to my hangover, so I ended up with a little over 1800 hands today. Save a 20 minute, -$600 swing in session #5, it was basically smooth sailing. I picked off a ton of bluffs today. I’m to the point where my aggression level is so high that when the inevitable downswing occurs, I know it’s going to be incredibly painful. One of the hardest things to do in poker is to ratchet down your aggression properly, because the places where you naturally start to look toward in terms of backing down are the exact wrong places to be ratcheting down your aggression. I’m wondering whether or not it’s healthy to live in continual fear of the dreaded downswing.
Obligatory pack of hands:
Hand 1: The new standard party bluff line. (PT missed this hand #, so this is from memory). Dealt ATo and open from the CO. SB and BB call. Flop comes 559, suits unimportant. Checked to me, I bet, SB calls, BB folds. Turn is a J. SB bets out. I stop thinking about the hand…easy call down for me. I look over at my roommate, who was sweating me, and I offer him an even money $20 bet that my opponent is bluffing. He requests 2:1 odds. I wuss out and decline. He bet the river again and showed an unimproved Q6.
Hand 2: Disjointed line. CO (new guy…little reads other than not too out of line preflop) open-raises. Button (calling station) cold-calls. I 3-bet from the SB with black TT. BB folds, both call. Flop comes 367 with 2 hearts. I get caught up in another couple hands on other tables, and I bet out with about 10 seconds left. As I did this, CO entered into the text box “u still there?” He proceeded to raise my bet, Button calls 2 cold, and I call, planning to checkraise a safe card. Turn is the 2h, completing the flush. I bet out again, CO calls, Button folds? River is the Qh. Clark says to bet, so I bet. He folded. I win.
On the spoon front, I went to Panera Bread on Day 3 and got chicken soup in a bread bowl. Didn’t even think to steal the spoon, even though I had a clear line to the door with no security problems. I smacked myself once out the door, and then wandered over to the grocery store and bought a 4-pack of teaspoons. I’m flat out pissed off at the way I handled this situation.
Trip report on the sleep mask in the next edition.
Day 3 – Goal: 2500 hands, 10/20 6m
Results: 2465 hands
+$1967.50
Day 2 – Goal: Overcome hangover. Vow not to get smashed again during challenge
Results: Had another drink at midnight. Did not get wasted. Played 1844 hands
+$3058.50
Cumulative results
Goal: 150000 hands (secret modified hand-scoring system)
Days 1-4: 9411 hands (extrapolated: 141165 hands)
Goal: $60000
Days 1-4: $10354.50 ($6354.5 ahead of pace, extrapolated: $155317.50)