Had our first "season" game. I started at short which I always like. We were at bat first.
Eric was up first. He has home run power, good speed, and is a very solid hitter. We would need it as we were against an "A" level team, one of the 2 teams that is probably to win the league. Sadly, he topped it and tapped back to the pitcher. Not an auspicious beginning. Emy would get us going, though. She is one of the best female hitters I have ever seen. She has excellent power, good directional control. Well, normally. This time she tapped out to 2nd. Next up was me. Anxious to get something going, I swung at a pitch I probably shouldn't have. Fortunately, it found a hole on the right side and I was aboard. Up came Becky, our left handed hitter. She lives down the right field line. Except this time she grounded out to short. Ouch.
Their first 2 hitters singled, their 3rd guy put it out. We were down 3-0 just like that.
Every now and again, the stars aline and I remember what it was like when I had talent. A couple batters later it happened. With a runner on first, a girl hit a line shot. I was moving before she swung based on her foot position and the pitch location. Sure enough she hit a rising liner over second off to my left. Step, step, leap...I did not even look at the ball, I needed every inch I could get and snow-coned it at the top of my leap. Thing is...it felt natural. I KNEW I was going to get it. But it was spectacular...even the other team oohed and ahed a bit. So I felt good about that. I did NOT feel good about the 4 spot we gave up...
Our next 3 hitters went down in order. 1. 2. 3. That included Steve and Kyle. Before the game I would have thought we would score 4 - 6 runs in our first 7 hitters. Instead we had 1 hit. Ouch.
I was on the bench the next 2 innings during which time we gave up 7 and 3 runs. We finally broke through for 1 when JJ singled, Sarah singled, and Kyle scored on a fielders choice. With runners on first and second, 2 out, I came up. First pitch was inside. It bounced almost at my feet and I was deeeeeep in the batters box, back from the plate. It was called a strike. Next pitch was closer to the plate and called a ball. I fouled off another inside pitch. Then he gave me a meatball...numbers high, outside half of the plate. A classic "mistake" pitch, right in my wheelhouse. And I came out of my shoes swinging at it. I had the happy feet swing.
And grounded to 2nd.
Best pitch I have seen all season. That was the one I could put out of the park if ever there is one and I weakly grounded to second? I suck.
Anyhow, bottom half of the inning I had one chance where with a runner on first they hit a hot grounder. Nick fielded it cleanly. His throw looked strange, I thought it might hit the runner but dragged my foot across the bag as I stretched and made the out.
And that was game. They 10 runned us after 4.
Tuesday
Saturday
Starving Crazed Weasels April 2008
11 players tonight. We broke down to tables of 5 and 6.
I was with the 5. Tom my left was Kenneth, to my right Tracy, to her right Phillip and to his right Rick.
First hand I checked in the big blind with 2/3. Flop came A/2/3. I bet, got 2 callers. Turn put a 3rd club on the board. I bet, they both called. River put a 4th club on the board. I checked, Phillip bet, Tracy called, I folded. Phillip had the 5 high flush, Tracy the Ace high flush. That set the tone for my night.
I won a couple small pots when I raised pre-flop and every one folded but for the most part I was bleeding. Tracy was hitting hard, meanwhile, including a pretty funny hand.
Rick brought up the time he beat my flopped full house with quad 2s. While we were discussing that hand the flop had a deuce. Turn had another deuce. At the showdown Tracy hat pocket deuces, giving her quads.
The other table was playing somewhat fast as by the end of the first blind level they were down 2 players. Rick was under 1000 at our table, I had a shade over 2400. Tracy had the lead, then Kenneth, Phillip was about with me.
Soon in the next level they busted out a third player so we collapsed to one table. I ended up not playing a hand in the entire blind level.
With blinds of 1/200 I was under 2000. I needed to hit a hand...and I think I played one, maybe 2 hands when I checked in the big blind. I was bleeding like mad but just picking up garbage hand after hand. I was short stack...but Kevin gave up all his chips in 2 hands and disappeared. Phillip came back from the dead a couple times. Pete had a HUGE chip lead, Robin had a lot, Tracy had a lot...I was looking for an all in hand.
Blinds went up to 2/400. I kept bleeding, fold, fold, fold, fold through the blinds, fold...it got all the way down to where I had 300 chips left before I saw something to play and it was nothing to write home about, K/6 suited under the gun. I went all-in for less than the blinds. Pete called, Robin called, Tracy folded, Kenneth checked. I had a K/6 suited. Flop came 6 high. I liked it...until Kenneth bet strong...and Robin called. Turn put a pair of 3s on the board. He bet...Robin called. I figured I was done. River was a King. Kenneth bet...Robin folded. I flipped mine up and he mucked, later saying he had I think Jacks. I now had 1100...less than 3 times the blinds.
Next hand Pete raised to to 1200 under the gun. Robin called. Tracy called. Kenneth folded from the small blind. I looked at an A/6. I figured one of them had to have an Ace so I was at best dominated, at worst way behind to a pair. But if I was "just" dominated I was getting 3-1. So I announced I believed I was dominated but pot odds demanded a call. I went all in. If I won I would have 4700...my high point for the night and the first time since the first hand I would have even as much as I started with.
The flop was gorgeous...A/A/9. I had flopped trips. Of course, if I was dominated...I was still in trouble. As it turns out, I WAS dominated...by Kenneth, who had folded an A/7 pre-flop. Pete bet the flop, everyone folded and it was his pocket 7s against my trip Aces. They held up and i was in business.
Next hand I picked up A/9, raised it, stole the blinds.
Back into fold mode.
Then Pete gave up most of his chips in about 2 hands including one bizarre hand. I had J/9o, thought about raising it but everyone had called and Pete was behind me. I weakly completed from the small blind and he checked. Flop came 3/4/q. I thought about betting to try and steal it, but checked. He went all-in. I knew he did not want a call, but I thought he had something like paired the trey or 4. I thought about calling...but Tracy called. Okay, I am beat, I folded. She flipped up the Queen as expected...and Pete flipped up a 2/6. Oops. No 5 arrived and he was left with 500.
Soon he was gone, then Tracy behind him and it was down to Ken and I heads up. I had taken down a couple nice pots from Tracy and was about 2.5-1 chip short. Kenneth had the lead and was playing super well.
He mentioned that 1 double up where we both caught at the same time and it could change. The next hand after I picked up A/J. He raised to 3K, I called. Flop came A/10/A, 2 spades. He bet, I went all-in, he called. He had K/Q Spades...he was on the flush draw. But I turned the Jack and he was drawing dead. I was now the chip lead.
But his lead had been so huge he still had like 9K left...he was not exactly in trouble and he is at least as good as I am. So this was a long way from over.
A few hands later I picked up Pocket Aces. We had been limping a lot so I did, he checked. Flop came 2/3/6. He looked at his chips and I started turning internal cartwheels. "You didn't catch any part of that" I said. He bet 2400. I went all-in. He called. He flipped up K/2. I flipped up my Aces. He said, "I thought you were just betting me not having anything."
Turn was a blank. River...well, he hit trip deuces to retake a slight chip lead.
Back and forth. he won a few hands, I won a few. We started occasional bets pre-flop. I picked up Kings with blinds at 500/1000, raised to 3K, he called, flop was Jack high, I raised, he folded.
A few other raises by me where he folded and a few he folded from the small blind gave me a slight lead.
Finally I picked up A/J again. He raised, I hemmed and hawed...I was actually debating re-raising but it came across as me having a marginal hand, apparently. Flop came J/rag/rag. He raised, I went all-in, he called...he had I think J/7 but never got help and I had come back from 300 chips to take the win.
Sadly, most of the tournament was not too much fun for me from the standpoint of...for almost 3 blind levels I looked for an all-in hand but did not play a single hand. I was folding to nothing. It was boring. On the bright side, it was a fun group, a fun game because of the joking around, so it was all right. And the huge comeback...I actually think Kenneth deserved the win tonight because he consistently played well. I had the 3 hand stretch where I got lucky, then with some chips to play with hit a few hands and he caught cards at the wrong times. Be that as it may...I will take it. I played an extremely patient game and it paid off.
I was with the 5. Tom my left was Kenneth, to my right Tracy, to her right Phillip and to his right Rick.
First hand I checked in the big blind with 2/3. Flop came A/2/3. I bet, got 2 callers. Turn put a 3rd club on the board. I bet, they both called. River put a 4th club on the board. I checked, Phillip bet, Tracy called, I folded. Phillip had the 5 high flush, Tracy the Ace high flush. That set the tone for my night.
I won a couple small pots when I raised pre-flop and every one folded but for the most part I was bleeding. Tracy was hitting hard, meanwhile, including a pretty funny hand.
Rick brought up the time he beat my flopped full house with quad 2s. While we were discussing that hand the flop had a deuce. Turn had another deuce. At the showdown Tracy hat pocket deuces, giving her quads.
The other table was playing somewhat fast as by the end of the first blind level they were down 2 players. Rick was under 1000 at our table, I had a shade over 2400. Tracy had the lead, then Kenneth, Phillip was about with me.
Soon in the next level they busted out a third player so we collapsed to one table. I ended up not playing a hand in the entire blind level.
With blinds of 1/200 I was under 2000. I needed to hit a hand...and I think I played one, maybe 2 hands when I checked in the big blind. I was bleeding like mad but just picking up garbage hand after hand. I was short stack...but Kevin gave up all his chips in 2 hands and disappeared. Phillip came back from the dead a couple times. Pete had a HUGE chip lead, Robin had a lot, Tracy had a lot...I was looking for an all in hand.
Blinds went up to 2/400. I kept bleeding, fold, fold, fold, fold through the blinds, fold...it got all the way down to where I had 300 chips left before I saw something to play and it was nothing to write home about, K/6 suited under the gun. I went all-in for less than the blinds. Pete called, Robin called, Tracy folded, Kenneth checked. I had a K/6 suited. Flop came 6 high. I liked it...until Kenneth bet strong...and Robin called. Turn put a pair of 3s on the board. He bet...Robin called. I figured I was done. River was a King. Kenneth bet...Robin folded. I flipped mine up and he mucked, later saying he had I think Jacks. I now had 1100...less than 3 times the blinds.
Next hand Pete raised to to 1200 under the gun. Robin called. Tracy called. Kenneth folded from the small blind. I looked at an A/6. I figured one of them had to have an Ace so I was at best dominated, at worst way behind to a pair. But if I was "just" dominated I was getting 3-1. So I announced I believed I was dominated but pot odds demanded a call. I went all in. If I won I would have 4700...my high point for the night and the first time since the first hand I would have even as much as I started with.
The flop was gorgeous...A/A/9. I had flopped trips. Of course, if I was dominated...I was still in trouble. As it turns out, I WAS dominated...by Kenneth, who had folded an A/7 pre-flop. Pete bet the flop, everyone folded and it was his pocket 7s against my trip Aces. They held up and i was in business.
Next hand I picked up A/9, raised it, stole the blinds.
Back into fold mode.
Then Pete gave up most of his chips in about 2 hands including one bizarre hand. I had J/9o, thought about raising it but everyone had called and Pete was behind me. I weakly completed from the small blind and he checked. Flop came 3/4/q. I thought about betting to try and steal it, but checked. He went all-in. I knew he did not want a call, but I thought he had something like paired the trey or 4. I thought about calling...but Tracy called. Okay, I am beat, I folded. She flipped up the Queen as expected...and Pete flipped up a 2/6. Oops. No 5 arrived and he was left with 500.
Soon he was gone, then Tracy behind him and it was down to Ken and I heads up. I had taken down a couple nice pots from Tracy and was about 2.5-1 chip short. Kenneth had the lead and was playing super well.
He mentioned that 1 double up where we both caught at the same time and it could change. The next hand after I picked up A/J. He raised to 3K, I called. Flop came A/10/A, 2 spades. He bet, I went all-in, he called. He had K/Q Spades...he was on the flush draw. But I turned the Jack and he was drawing dead. I was now the chip lead.
But his lead had been so huge he still had like 9K left...he was not exactly in trouble and he is at least as good as I am. So this was a long way from over.
A few hands later I picked up Pocket Aces. We had been limping a lot so I did, he checked. Flop came 2/3/6. He looked at his chips and I started turning internal cartwheels. "You didn't catch any part of that" I said. He bet 2400. I went all-in. He called. He flipped up K/2. I flipped up my Aces. He said, "I thought you were just betting me not having anything."
Turn was a blank. River...well, he hit trip deuces to retake a slight chip lead.
Back and forth. he won a few hands, I won a few. We started occasional bets pre-flop. I picked up Kings with blinds at 500/1000, raised to 3K, he called, flop was Jack high, I raised, he folded.
A few other raises by me where he folded and a few he folded from the small blind gave me a slight lead.
Finally I picked up A/J again. He raised, I hemmed and hawed...I was actually debating re-raising but it came across as me having a marginal hand, apparently. Flop came J/rag/rag. He raised, I went all-in, he called...he had I think J/7 but never got help and I had come back from 300 chips to take the win.
Sadly, most of the tournament was not too much fun for me from the standpoint of...for almost 3 blind levels I looked for an all-in hand but did not play a single hand. I was folding to nothing. It was boring. On the bright side, it was a fun group, a fun game because of the joking around, so it was all right. And the huge comeback...I actually think Kenneth deserved the win tonight because he consistently played well. I had the 3 hand stretch where I got lucky, then with some chips to play with hit a few hands and he caught cards at the wrong times. Be that as it may...I will take it. I played an extremely patient game and it paid off.
Monday
C-List Celebrities
Our last game and I goofed up the time. I felt horrible. Fortunately, Jess brought her Dad so we had 5: Kyle F, John, me for guys and Jess and Ashley for girls.
Now, all season I have been making the same mistake. Short-handed, I elect to conserve energy...so I go half-speed the entire time. As a result, I rebound very well because I am a smart rebounder, but otherwise I am useless. This game I decided to run full speed until I ran out of gas at which point I would just run out of gas.
I started strong. On our first 6 or 7 possessions I was 2 for 2 with my little drive into the lane, pull-up jumper. I was rebounding well and passing well. Unfortunately, our opponents, the Platypi, were shooting the lights out as well.
This trend would continue. Kyle was on fire, so was Ashley, John had several nice drives and Jess hit a few shots. We were all scoring and scoring well. And it was a close game, about 35-31 with under 2 minutes to go in the first half. They hit a mini-run to take a 44-37 lead at the half.
Now, early this season we had a couple games where we barely scored 40 all game. It was a team effort. I had a huge impact as I kept doing my little drive/stop & pop or distributed the ball. I have always believed I was better than average at pinpointing the open players and this game did nothing to make me rethink that. Again and again I got people wide open looks. Far and away the best game I have played in a while...and it was done while I was feeling sick.
Anyhow, a guy early for his next game offered to sub for us. I would have preferred not but the consensus was yes. So we let him in. And our passing promptly declined. Kyle was still red-hot, as was Ashley. I think I took something like 3 shots in the second half. One was early and I heard one of the refs and Platypi talking about how I was playing. But I stopped getting the ball. Made me sad.
Oh, well.
Kyle & Ashley largely carried us with timely contributions from John and Jess, the new guy scored a few. I blocked a couple shots. But they just could not miss from the 3 point line. By the end of the night we had 82 points, our highest output ever. But they had 95 and we still lost by a lot.
It was a lot of fun. I was a little disappointed to finish it on the bench but hey...I played well, had fun, and we finished strong. Good times.
Now, all season I have been making the same mistake. Short-handed, I elect to conserve energy...so I go half-speed the entire time. As a result, I rebound very well because I am a smart rebounder, but otherwise I am useless. This game I decided to run full speed until I ran out of gas at which point I would just run out of gas.
I started strong. On our first 6 or 7 possessions I was 2 for 2 with my little drive into the lane, pull-up jumper. I was rebounding well and passing well. Unfortunately, our opponents, the Platypi, were shooting the lights out as well.
This trend would continue. Kyle was on fire, so was Ashley, John had several nice drives and Jess hit a few shots. We were all scoring and scoring well. And it was a close game, about 35-31 with under 2 minutes to go in the first half. They hit a mini-run to take a 44-37 lead at the half.
Now, early this season we had a couple games where we barely scored 40 all game. It was a team effort. I had a huge impact as I kept doing my little drive/stop & pop or distributed the ball. I have always believed I was better than average at pinpointing the open players and this game did nothing to make me rethink that. Again and again I got people wide open looks. Far and away the best game I have played in a while...and it was done while I was feeling sick.
Anyhow, a guy early for his next game offered to sub for us. I would have preferred not but the consensus was yes. So we let him in. And our passing promptly declined. Kyle was still red-hot, as was Ashley. I think I took something like 3 shots in the second half. One was early and I heard one of the refs and Platypi talking about how I was playing. But I stopped getting the ball. Made me sad.
Oh, well.
Kyle & Ashley largely carried us with timely contributions from John and Jess, the new guy scored a few. I blocked a couple shots. But they just could not miss from the 3 point line. By the end of the night we had 82 points, our highest output ever. But they had 95 and we still lost by a lot.
It was a lot of fun. I was a little disappointed to finish it on the bench but hey...I played well, had fun, and we finished strong. Good times.
How You Doin'
1 pitch tournament. I almost did not go. But they were going to be short-handed so I went. 1 pitch tournaments or tough because you HAVE to hit whatever is heaved towards you. If it is a good pitch, great. But if it is bounding along the ground...still your one shot at it. Fortunately, I am a trash ball hitter. Unfortunately, I was having vision issues.
We were up first and it was not a good pitch to hit but I connected very well. Too well. Flew out to deep left center. Much deeper than I usually hit it as I like the Wee Willie Keeler "Hit 'em where they ain't" philosophy better than the hit it far type.
Defensively our team was on it for the first 5 innings. Ther was only one play I didn't make...a girl grounded softly to my right. I picked it clean but had to double clutch because the pitcher was in my throwing lane. With the double clutch my throw ended up being a step late and she beat it. Otherwise I made every play I should.
My other at bats were pretty good; took a chest high outside pitch to right for a clean double, singled back up the middle the other two times.
We had a big lead but gave it all back in the last 2 innings. going from 7-2 lead to a 9-8 loss.
It was fun but I felt horrible so we got a couple more guys and I went home. Good times.
We were up first and it was not a good pitch to hit but I connected very well. Too well. Flew out to deep left center. Much deeper than I usually hit it as I like the Wee Willie Keeler "Hit 'em where they ain't" philosophy better than the hit it far type.
Defensively our team was on it for the first 5 innings. Ther was only one play I didn't make...a girl grounded softly to my right. I picked it clean but had to double clutch because the pitcher was in my throwing lane. With the double clutch my throw ended up being a step late and she beat it. Otherwise I made every play I should.
My other at bats were pretty good; took a chest high outside pitch to right for a clean double, singled back up the middle the other two times.
We had a big lead but gave it all back in the last 2 innings. going from 7-2 lead to a 9-8 loss.
It was fun but I felt horrible so we got a couple more guys and I went home. Good times.
Friday
When asked why he said, "Couldn't find a porcupine"
Conflict is pretty much inevitable. It is part of the human condition. And there are many reasonable responses. Some people prefer to withdraw, give the situation some time. Some people like to engage in quiet, reasoned debate or negotiations. Some people like to throw hedgehogs.
I guess for my part I blame the "victim". How are you going to pick up welts and puncture marks from being struck with a hurled hedgehog? Check that...getting struck with a hurled hedgehog OF dooooooooommm!
I mean, I could understand it if you were struck with a porcupine projectile but a whirling hedgehog? I tell you, after filing that complaint he must of felt pretty wimpy.
And for the record, if you get in an argument with me, I don't fling hedgehogs or porcupines...no siree bob, if you argue with me, you better get ready for the elevated elephant because that is how I settle debates.
I guess for my part I blame the "victim". How are you going to pick up welts and puncture marks from being struck with a hurled hedgehog? Check that...getting struck with a hurled hedgehog OF dooooooooommm!
I mean, I could understand it if you were struck with a porcupine projectile but a whirling hedgehog? I tell you, after filing that complaint he must of felt pretty wimpy.
And for the record, if you get in an argument with me, I don't fling hedgehogs or porcupines...no siree bob, if you argue with me, you better get ready for the elevated elephant because that is how I settle debates.
Poker Home Game
7 people; I had Nick to my left, JJ to my right, John to his right, then Emily, then Ryan, and then Roman...so Roman 2 slots to my left, John 2 slots to my right...
I set the tone early. About the second hand I had medium pockets, raised pre-flop. Emily called. Pretty passive for her recent style. I put her on a decent Ace. Flop was great for me, only 1 over, an 8...I was not scared by that, I raised. She hesitantly called. Turn was another blank, I raised, she folded. I just threw out a possible, "Good fold, your Ace-Jack was no good." Shocked, she said, "How did you know?"
I didn't. I just knew a range of hands she might have had and picked one and got lucky. After I called a couple other hands I got in the heads of the people who didn't know me. When I can do that I like it because it establishes me as someone who has a good sense of what and how other people play...so it can intimidate them into laying down winning hands or not bluffing much.
Of course, then I went nuts and played rather poorly. I was playing too many hands. That has a tendency to sharply affect your chip stack and sure enough I was up and down a great deal. At one point I was chip lead but I bled them away playing too many hands.
Got down pretty low and was in the big blind with a not terrible 8d, 10H. Someone min-raised, I was getting 6-1 and decided to see what happened. Flop came 5/7/8, 2 spades. I had been short-stacked for a while and had seen a couple of expressions. They did not like the flop. I got a bit crazy and sent in the chips. Folded to John who said, "You hit the straight already?" and went into the tank for a long time.
When he said that I figured he didn't have the straight himself...if he did he would have called. He did not mention the flush draw but that was a definite possibility. However, the odds were not right for a flush draw as I had massively overbet the pot. I actually thought he had either 2 pair or medium pair, good kicker type thing, maybe top pair but I thought that was less likely. I was wrong...he had 8/Q but there is simply no way you can call 3/4 of your chips to someone who raised all-in on that flop. I could make the bet with my 8/10...but sure could not have called it! So aggression paid off, I took a nice pot and was in pretty good shape after I almost doubled up off Ryan a few hands later.
But Roman was hitting like a mother. He was taking down pots left and right. By the time we got to heads up I needed to double up about 6 times just to take the lead. I did double up a couple times. But when I picked up the Speed Limit I raised, he re-raised so fast I put him on a strong pair...maybe Jacks or better? It was obviously nothing he would lay down. A good player would have either folded or just called. I went all-in and he insta-called...with his 10s. He flopped a set and it was over.
Overall I played okay...my reads were awesome, I just played too many hands. But I had fun so I am fine with that. I like to play with a group like that and love to play a lot of hands. Overall, great evening and kind of re inspired my love of poker.
I set the tone early. About the second hand I had medium pockets, raised pre-flop. Emily called. Pretty passive for her recent style. I put her on a decent Ace. Flop was great for me, only 1 over, an 8...I was not scared by that, I raised. She hesitantly called. Turn was another blank, I raised, she folded. I just threw out a possible, "Good fold, your Ace-Jack was no good." Shocked, she said, "How did you know?"
I didn't. I just knew a range of hands she might have had and picked one and got lucky. After I called a couple other hands I got in the heads of the people who didn't know me. When I can do that I like it because it establishes me as someone who has a good sense of what and how other people play...so it can intimidate them into laying down winning hands or not bluffing much.
Of course, then I went nuts and played rather poorly. I was playing too many hands. That has a tendency to sharply affect your chip stack and sure enough I was up and down a great deal. At one point I was chip lead but I bled them away playing too many hands.
Got down pretty low and was in the big blind with a not terrible 8d, 10H. Someone min-raised, I was getting 6-1 and decided to see what happened. Flop came 5/7/8, 2 spades. I had been short-stacked for a while and had seen a couple of expressions. They did not like the flop. I got a bit crazy and sent in the chips. Folded to John who said, "You hit the straight already?" and went into the tank for a long time.
When he said that I figured he didn't have the straight himself...if he did he would have called. He did not mention the flush draw but that was a definite possibility. However, the odds were not right for a flush draw as I had massively overbet the pot. I actually thought he had either 2 pair or medium pair, good kicker type thing, maybe top pair but I thought that was less likely. I was wrong...he had 8/Q but there is simply no way you can call 3/4 of your chips to someone who raised all-in on that flop. I could make the bet with my 8/10...but sure could not have called it! So aggression paid off, I took a nice pot and was in pretty good shape after I almost doubled up off Ryan a few hands later.
But Roman was hitting like a mother. He was taking down pots left and right. By the time we got to heads up I needed to double up about 6 times just to take the lead. I did double up a couple times. But when I picked up the Speed Limit I raised, he re-raised so fast I put him on a strong pair...maybe Jacks or better? It was obviously nothing he would lay down. A good player would have either folded or just called. I went all-in and he insta-called...with his 10s. He flopped a set and it was over.
Overall I played okay...my reads were awesome, I just played too many hands. But I had fun so I am fine with that. I like to play with a group like that and love to play a lot of hands. Overall, great evening and kind of re inspired my love of poker.
Thursday
C-List Celebrities
Wow. Only myself and 4 girls showed up. Our opponents were even sadder...2 guys, 2 girls. Both guys were taller, faster, stronger, and better shooters than me...
I matched up with a kid about 6'6". Fortunately he was not real aggressive because had he posted up I would have had a tough time. Well...maybe. At least twice he tried to post me up. I don't have fast hands anymore...but I have smart hands. The first time I poked the ball away and when he reset he was outside his comfort zone, the second time I forced him into a bad shot.
Defensively Jess was playing awesome. I concentrated on boxing him out and she alertly was swooping in to grab the ball. I was not getting as many rebounds as I normally do but she, the shortest person on the floor but a good 4", was picking off every loose ball. Unfortunately, we were struggling to score at the other end. Once more we did not identify our advantages and get the ball to them.
I set about 10 screens and not one was used so I quit. Finally I decided to lurk on the blocks and see if I could get a few offensive rebounds. Got one when both their guys were right there. Went up strong and got swatted. Ball bounced right back to me. Ball fake, went up...and the other guy blocked it. Snatched the ball back, put it up...and got blocked a third time. Got it back, ball fake, spun and faded away...and hit the shot. Three shots blocked on one possession. When I was young and talented I would not get 3 shots blocked in a year. Oh how the mighty have fallen...
But they were just too fast and tall for us. One girl kept getting left open and nailed about 6 treys, their shorter guy hit a lot of threes and had a lot of fast-breaks...meanwhile, we could not out the ball in the bucket. By the end it was a blow-out, 62-38. We played almost 45 minutes and scored all of 38 points. I think I took 5 shots...something wrong with that picture. Oh, well, it was fun.
I matched up with a kid about 6'6". Fortunately he was not real aggressive because had he posted up I would have had a tough time. Well...maybe. At least twice he tried to post me up. I don't have fast hands anymore...but I have smart hands. The first time I poked the ball away and when he reset he was outside his comfort zone, the second time I forced him into a bad shot.
Defensively Jess was playing awesome. I concentrated on boxing him out and she alertly was swooping in to grab the ball. I was not getting as many rebounds as I normally do but she, the shortest person on the floor but a good 4", was picking off every loose ball. Unfortunately, we were struggling to score at the other end. Once more we did not identify our advantages and get the ball to them.
I set about 10 screens and not one was used so I quit. Finally I decided to lurk on the blocks and see if I could get a few offensive rebounds. Got one when both their guys were right there. Went up strong and got swatted. Ball bounced right back to me. Ball fake, went up...and the other guy blocked it. Snatched the ball back, put it up...and got blocked a third time. Got it back, ball fake, spun and faded away...and hit the shot. Three shots blocked on one possession. When I was young and talented I would not get 3 shots blocked in a year. Oh how the mighty have fallen...
But they were just too fast and tall for us. One girl kept getting left open and nailed about 6 treys, their shorter guy hit a lot of threes and had a lot of fast-breaks...meanwhile, we could not out the ball in the bucket. By the end it was a blow-out, 62-38. We played almost 45 minutes and scored all of 38 points. I think I took 5 shots...something wrong with that picture. Oh, well, it was fun.
How You Doin'?
Had our first softball tournament of the year, a "marathon tournament" where you play 2 games in one day. Yeah, I know...when I was growing up we would play 4 or 5 hours in a row. Makes me feel old. So did my performance...I missed the first game while doing taxes but showed up for the second game.
JJ put me at shortstop. I came up in the top half of the first with runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out. Despite having only swung a bat I think twice all year, I was able to do what I do...I went the other way into the gap in right, pulling in at second with a clean double and driving in our first run. I died on second, no big deal.
They promptly dropped a four spot on us. Not a huge surprise...the girl they had playing catcher is good enough to play short for us. So their worst girl is at least equal to our best girl...and their guys were all equal to or better than our guys. I had but one chance, fielded it cleanly and got them at first. Felt good about that, particularly since I was not wearing my glasses so was having a hard time picking the ball up off the bat.
Next time up I went the opposite way again but this time I got under it and flew out to right. One of our guys advanced from 2nd to third...then went crazy and tried to score. On a flyout. Did not make it. And not only did it kill the inning...we did not score again in the game.
Defensively it was a mixed bag. I was fielding the grounders well but my throws...well, Nick saved my bacon on about 4 throws. My arm is too dead to make that thrown anymore. Had one spectacular play going back to my right over the third baseman's head, caught it, and in one motion off my back heel threw a strike to home. I thought I got the runner but I guess the throw was late.
After they "mercied" us we played one more inning. This time I pulled to left and singled, then was out on a fielders choice. Defensively...well, I fell asleep. Almost literally. I was thinking about a conversation between innings and when a sharp grounder was hit to me I avoided it.
After that mess I was embarrassed...next batter popped it behind third. I took off with the ping of the bat. Laid out. Had the ball in the glove. Landed hard. Ball popped out...I dropped it. I suck. But I still paid the penalty because I drove my arm into the ground with all that 260 pounds of me. Stupid. Should have made the catch, I just dropped it, but in the process I pretty near blasted my arm to pieces.
Second game was better. I made every play except one errant throw where I did not have time to get the runner but tried anyway. He could not advance so no harm. Offensively...well, first time up I singled to right. Next time up they shifted, I tried to pull it and flew out. Third time up I doubled. Fourth time, tie game, no outs, 2 runners on...this is where I should shine. He gave me the perfect pitch....chest high, outside corner. I got happy feet, over swung...and popped out to shallow right. Some clutch hitting. I suck.
We ended up scoring 3 that inning but it should have been 5 or 6. My bad. It mattered because they threw up a deuce in the bottom half of the inning and had a chance to tie or win. We held on for the 6-5 win. Fun game.
Just from last year to this I can feel and notice the decline in my skills. My throws are worse, my swing terrible. Could be a long year.
JJ put me at shortstop. I came up in the top half of the first with runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 out. Despite having only swung a bat I think twice all year, I was able to do what I do...I went the other way into the gap in right, pulling in at second with a clean double and driving in our first run. I died on second, no big deal.
They promptly dropped a four spot on us. Not a huge surprise...the girl they had playing catcher is good enough to play short for us. So their worst girl is at least equal to our best girl...and their guys were all equal to or better than our guys. I had but one chance, fielded it cleanly and got them at first. Felt good about that, particularly since I was not wearing my glasses so was having a hard time picking the ball up off the bat.
Next time up I went the opposite way again but this time I got under it and flew out to right. One of our guys advanced from 2nd to third...then went crazy and tried to score. On a flyout. Did not make it. And not only did it kill the inning...we did not score again in the game.
Defensively it was a mixed bag. I was fielding the grounders well but my throws...well, Nick saved my bacon on about 4 throws. My arm is too dead to make that thrown anymore. Had one spectacular play going back to my right over the third baseman's head, caught it, and in one motion off my back heel threw a strike to home. I thought I got the runner but I guess the throw was late.
After they "mercied" us we played one more inning. This time I pulled to left and singled, then was out on a fielders choice. Defensively...well, I fell asleep. Almost literally. I was thinking about a conversation between innings and when a sharp grounder was hit to me I avoided it.
After that mess I was embarrassed...next batter popped it behind third. I took off with the ping of the bat. Laid out. Had the ball in the glove. Landed hard. Ball popped out...I dropped it. I suck. But I still paid the penalty because I drove my arm into the ground with all that 260 pounds of me. Stupid. Should have made the catch, I just dropped it, but in the process I pretty near blasted my arm to pieces.
Second game was better. I made every play except one errant throw where I did not have time to get the runner but tried anyway. He could not advance so no harm. Offensively...well, first time up I singled to right. Next time up they shifted, I tried to pull it and flew out. Third time up I doubled. Fourth time, tie game, no outs, 2 runners on...this is where I should shine. He gave me the perfect pitch....chest high, outside corner. I got happy feet, over swung...and popped out to shallow right. Some clutch hitting. I suck.
We ended up scoring 3 that inning but it should have been 5 or 6. My bad. It mattered because they threw up a deuce in the bottom half of the inning and had a chance to tie or win. We held on for the 6-5 win. Fun game.
Just from last year to this I can feel and notice the decline in my skills. My throws are worse, my swing terrible. Could be a long year.
Monday
C-List Celebrities
We had 8 players including 5 guys, 3 girls. We also had a double-header. Good times.
Kyle and I decided to run in and out for each other so he started and I was going to come in after about 6 minutes. It was a back and forth game as each team would build a 5 - 6 point lead, the other would go on a little run. Close game all the way. I was rebounding well, got fouled and badly missed the first free throw. Next one was money. Missed an easy put-back lay in. And when I say missed...well, I actually forgot how to shoot. Literally. Like, how to grip the ball, what motion to make...it was ugly. Then I did it again. On the bright side...I was getting easy looks off strong positioning and excellent rebounding. On the dark side...I could not shoot to save my life.
Ironically, at one point Kyle and I were on the court at the same time. I had the ball out top, flipped it to him on the left wing and cut to the basket. He passed back slightly behind me, I caught the ball in traffic and avoided 2 defenders to put in the toughest shot I took all game and it went in pretty as you please. Easy shots I can't make, but give me a difficulty 8.5 and I am all over it...
My next shot was a desperation 3 against the buzzer at the end of the first half. Airball. I suppose I could say it was time and a hand in the face...but the truth is, the ball was not in shooting position. It was as if I shot-putted it. I was embarrassed. But we were tied at the half.
Second half was more of the same. With 32 seconds left we had built a 5 point lead. They got the ball up court in 4 seconds, got a wide open trey and drained it. We got the ball in to Kyle. I was pretty happy with that. He is our best foul shooter. He was dribbling up court...and got picked clean. I have not seen that happen to him in years. So inside of about 10 seconds they had tied the game. We had last shot, though. With time expiring Kyle got hammered in the lane. I was pretty happy knowing he would hit at least one of the two and probably both...except they called nothing. Overtime.
In OT we built a small lead, they came back, but we pulled it out by 4 to break our losing streak at 9. Woo-hoo!
Game 2 we did not do so good on our substitutions, but we would not need to. We were clearly the better team and were scoring almost at will. They struggled from the field early and we built a 15 point lead. This was uncharted territory for us. They got it back to about 8, we built it to about 17.
I was worthless on offense, though defensively I was doing well on the boards.
Then, with Kyle, Nick and I on the bench they went on a huge run, got back within 6. Suddenly we could not find the rim and they could not miss. It was looking ugly. We built it back to 8, they got it to 6, we got a couple stops, and then with the 6 point lead and the ball Nick found Christina who hit the tough lay-up to give us the 8 point lead and they basically threw in the towel. Boo-yeah, 2 games won!
It feels good to win again. it feels bad to have suddenly gone from one of the better players on the team to clearly the worst. Very discouraging. I am getting more out of shape, having a harder time finding the hoop...might be time to pack it in. We will see what the next couple games bring.
Kyle and I decided to run in and out for each other so he started and I was going to come in after about 6 minutes. It was a back and forth game as each team would build a 5 - 6 point lead, the other would go on a little run. Close game all the way. I was rebounding well, got fouled and badly missed the first free throw. Next one was money. Missed an easy put-back lay in. And when I say missed...well, I actually forgot how to shoot. Literally. Like, how to grip the ball, what motion to make...it was ugly. Then I did it again. On the bright side...I was getting easy looks off strong positioning and excellent rebounding. On the dark side...I could not shoot to save my life.
Ironically, at one point Kyle and I were on the court at the same time. I had the ball out top, flipped it to him on the left wing and cut to the basket. He passed back slightly behind me, I caught the ball in traffic and avoided 2 defenders to put in the toughest shot I took all game and it went in pretty as you please. Easy shots I can't make, but give me a difficulty 8.5 and I am all over it...
My next shot was a desperation 3 against the buzzer at the end of the first half. Airball. I suppose I could say it was time and a hand in the face...but the truth is, the ball was not in shooting position. It was as if I shot-putted it. I was embarrassed. But we were tied at the half.
Second half was more of the same. With 32 seconds left we had built a 5 point lead. They got the ball up court in 4 seconds, got a wide open trey and drained it. We got the ball in to Kyle. I was pretty happy with that. He is our best foul shooter. He was dribbling up court...and got picked clean. I have not seen that happen to him in years. So inside of about 10 seconds they had tied the game. We had last shot, though. With time expiring Kyle got hammered in the lane. I was pretty happy knowing he would hit at least one of the two and probably both...except they called nothing. Overtime.
In OT we built a small lead, they came back, but we pulled it out by 4 to break our losing streak at 9. Woo-hoo!
Game 2 we did not do so good on our substitutions, but we would not need to. We were clearly the better team and were scoring almost at will. They struggled from the field early and we built a 15 point lead. This was uncharted territory for us. They got it back to about 8, we built it to about 17.
I was worthless on offense, though defensively I was doing well on the boards.
Then, with Kyle, Nick and I on the bench they went on a huge run, got back within 6. Suddenly we could not find the rim and they could not miss. It was looking ugly. We built it back to 8, they got it to 6, we got a couple stops, and then with the 6 point lead and the ball Nick found Christina who hit the tough lay-up to give us the 8 point lead and they basically threw in the towel. Boo-yeah, 2 games won!
It feels good to win again. it feels bad to have suddenly gone from one of the better players on the team to clearly the worst. Very discouraging. I am getting more out of shape, having a harder time finding the hoop...might be time to pack it in. We will see what the next couple games bring.
Starving Crazed Weasels League
What with Kevin & Cassie having a kid, then Kenneth & Stanica getting jealous so following their lead, we had not played in a while. Finally got it going again.
Started with Emily to my left, Kevin to her left, Cassie to his left, Josh to her left, Mark to his left, and Kenneth to my right. Not where I wanted to be...
Emily normally plays a solid game but when she is at the table I am at she becomes more aggressive because she is, by her own admission, "super competitive" with me. That means she makes out of character plays around me. That is tough for me because so much of my game relies on reading people as far as what is in character or out of character. When someone plays their own game I usually have a fair idea if I am ahead or behind. But when they play out of character it throws me off.
Kenneth is also tough for me for two reasons; first, I sometimes do the over-competitive thing with him and make dumb plays, second because he switches his game every time we play. One time he will be a rock, another he will be wild and all over the place. Sometimes he plays a conservative game, other times he pushes hard, verging on the maniac. He has a couple twitches which pretty much let me know how his hand strength is, but the nature of his game means I play fewer hands until I know how he is playing since he often will make non-standard raises at strange times. Also, he is a good player, so having him on my right is not where I want him...
Anyhow, on the way out there I wasn't "feeling" it and told Emily I would probably be the first player out. Early on I played pretty non-descript. Won a couple small pots, got out of a couple, then Mark mentioned he had, bizarrely enough, a late-night job interview. So we knew he wasn't going to play long and I stayed in a couple pots knowing he would be playing looser than normal. And got rivered. Twice. Now I was short-stack. Not in trouble...yet...about 1200 chips, blinds just 50-100. After that, Mark had to leave so we just pulled his chips.
By the time they went to 100-200 I had about 1600. Picked up Queens, a couple limpers, I went all-in hoping to just pick up the limps and blinds. Kevin went into the tank from the big blind. I put him on something like a medium pair, maybe a medium Ace. If he had the Rockets or Cowboys he would have beat me into the pot, if he had Big Slick he would have called pretty quick. Thus I put him on a more troubling call since, while it would not even remove him from the chip lead, it would still be 20 - 25% of his stack. Medium pair, maybe medium ace sounded about right.
Even there, I really did not want a call. If he just folded I would be over 2K with no risk. If he called, even if I was a 3-1 favorite over a lower pair, I would be at risk. Well, he did call...and flipped up the J/9. On the one hand I am happy...no overs so it takes 2 cards minimum to beat me. However, he can win in a lot of ways. He can pair them both or trip one, he can hit a straight, he can hit a flush. And sure enough, the flop brought a 9. But he got no more help, I survived and was out of danger with over 3500 chips. Picked up a couple more pots.
Then Kenneth got taken to the cleaners when he had the Cowboys but Kevin flopped 2 pair. He ended up having only 125 chips left and a couple hands later in a multi-way pot he got in with about 5-1 on his money, or as good as he was going to get, and I got lucky, hit a queen and mercy-killed him. For small risk I actually added about 15% to my stack since it was nearly a family pot.
Now Emily and Cassie were short stacked. Emily went all in, Cassie thought it over for a bit and then called, everyone else folded. I looked down at a 6/8 off suit. Now, normally I am just going to toss this away. But I did a quick bit of math. I was getting a little better than 3-1. I had cards that were unlikely to be dominated. I put neither of them on a pair, I thought Emily probably had something like a strong Ace and Cassie maybe a couple face cards, maybe anywhere from a strong Ace to a dry ace...so a wide range, yes, but most of the hands I could hit my 6 or 8 and possibly take TWO players out. At this point it would be about 20% of my stack...but winning would about double it. I called.
Emily was weaker than I thought...Q/3 hearts, and Cassie had K/Qo. So I was wrong about Em's strength but right about being behind but not dominated. Emily was the dominated one and Cassie had a big lead. Her lead got bigger when the flop gave us an A/J/rag. The turn was a blank. But the river was an 8 and I took them both out. I also gave myself a good deal of breathing room as now I was threatening the chip lead. But was it the right call?
That is something I need to work on. Statistically, was it correct to call there? Why risk my chips to take out people who probably have me beat? I was figuring I would PROBABLY lose...and I suspect if I crunch the numbers I was probably slightly worse than a 3-1 dog so in retrospect, probably I should have folded. Sure, this time it worked out...but in the long run it was a bad call.
Anyhow, now we were down to Kevin (big stack), Josh and I. Kev and I traded the big stack a couple times, then started one of those runs. I got Josh all-in. I had 2 pair, Aces and...Queens? He hit runner runner on me to nail a flush and doubled up. I got him all-in. He rivered me and doubled up.Now he and Kevin were the big stacks.
I came back, hit a few hands, he hit a few, Kevin took a couple beatings, I doubled him up, he lost a couple big hands and Josh put him away.
I think Kevin kept track and it was 8 times I doubled Josh up. I could not put him away. River. River. river. I rivered him once or twice as well so it was not all one way. But it happened so often it had become a running joke even before Kevin went out. Finally I rivered him one last time and had the win.
For the night I played fairly well most of the time. There was one case where I knew I was beat early on but paid 2 200 chip bets hoping for the 2 outer to hit and knowing I shouldn't. But on the river I let the 500 bet chase me and was upset with myself. I was chasing the bad math opportunity for 2 reasons; 1, I planned a bluff on the river and 2) I had not seen any sort of hand in a long time so when I got pockets, even though they were only 7s, I held them when the board only brought one over. This was poor play for many reasons:
1) 2 people called my pre-flop raise. They needed SOMETHING to call my first raise of the night.
2) Yes, there was only 1 over on the board, a Queen...but TWO people showed interest. I actually even put Kenneth on the queen. So knowing I was behind I still was chasing the miracle 2-outer. If I could reasonably pull off a bluff that might be okay but with 2 callers there is too little chance of the bluff working. Besides that, when he expresses interest in a hand Kenneth is almost impossible to bluff.
3) I was chasing because I did not want to lay down a hand I had raised pre-flop and on the flop. But that is a poor reason.
A couple hands where Cassie raised and I figured her to have me beat combined with this to put me on the short stack. So this play caused me problems.
But I countered that with shrewd short stack play. I waited...and waited...I was able to check into a hand from the big blind. I hit bottom pair, went all in, everyone folded so I picked up a few chips. It was a well-timed move because it was believable and I was pretty sure from the disinterest nobody else had hit anything.
And when Josh kept beating me on the river, that fact remained...he had to come from behind. I was ahead time after time so I was getting my chips in good.
So yeah, I played well enough to win and am happy with how I played. Much more importantly...I had fun.
Started with Emily to my left, Kevin to her left, Cassie to his left, Josh to her left, Mark to his left, and Kenneth to my right. Not where I wanted to be...
Emily normally plays a solid game but when she is at the table I am at she becomes more aggressive because she is, by her own admission, "super competitive" with me. That means she makes out of character plays around me. That is tough for me because so much of my game relies on reading people as far as what is in character or out of character. When someone plays their own game I usually have a fair idea if I am ahead or behind. But when they play out of character it throws me off.
Kenneth is also tough for me for two reasons; first, I sometimes do the over-competitive thing with him and make dumb plays, second because he switches his game every time we play. One time he will be a rock, another he will be wild and all over the place. Sometimes he plays a conservative game, other times he pushes hard, verging on the maniac. He has a couple twitches which pretty much let me know how his hand strength is, but the nature of his game means I play fewer hands until I know how he is playing since he often will make non-standard raises at strange times. Also, he is a good player, so having him on my right is not where I want him...
Anyhow, on the way out there I wasn't "feeling" it and told Emily I would probably be the first player out. Early on I played pretty non-descript. Won a couple small pots, got out of a couple, then Mark mentioned he had, bizarrely enough, a late-night job interview. So we knew he wasn't going to play long and I stayed in a couple pots knowing he would be playing looser than normal. And got rivered. Twice. Now I was short-stack. Not in trouble...yet...about 1200 chips, blinds just 50-100. After that, Mark had to leave so we just pulled his chips.
By the time they went to 100-200 I had about 1600. Picked up Queens, a couple limpers, I went all-in hoping to just pick up the limps and blinds. Kevin went into the tank from the big blind. I put him on something like a medium pair, maybe a medium Ace. If he had the Rockets or Cowboys he would have beat me into the pot, if he had Big Slick he would have called pretty quick. Thus I put him on a more troubling call since, while it would not even remove him from the chip lead, it would still be 20 - 25% of his stack. Medium pair, maybe medium ace sounded about right.
Even there, I really did not want a call. If he just folded I would be over 2K with no risk. If he called, even if I was a 3-1 favorite over a lower pair, I would be at risk. Well, he did call...and flipped up the J/9. On the one hand I am happy...no overs so it takes 2 cards minimum to beat me. However, he can win in a lot of ways. He can pair them both or trip one, he can hit a straight, he can hit a flush. And sure enough, the flop brought a 9. But he got no more help, I survived and was out of danger with over 3500 chips. Picked up a couple more pots.
Then Kenneth got taken to the cleaners when he had the Cowboys but Kevin flopped 2 pair. He ended up having only 125 chips left and a couple hands later in a multi-way pot he got in with about 5-1 on his money, or as good as he was going to get, and I got lucky, hit a queen and mercy-killed him. For small risk I actually added about 15% to my stack since it was nearly a family pot.
Now Emily and Cassie were short stacked. Emily went all in, Cassie thought it over for a bit and then called, everyone else folded. I looked down at a 6/8 off suit. Now, normally I am just going to toss this away. But I did a quick bit of math. I was getting a little better than 3-1. I had cards that were unlikely to be dominated. I put neither of them on a pair, I thought Emily probably had something like a strong Ace and Cassie maybe a couple face cards, maybe anywhere from a strong Ace to a dry ace...so a wide range, yes, but most of the hands I could hit my 6 or 8 and possibly take TWO players out. At this point it would be about 20% of my stack...but winning would about double it. I called.
Emily was weaker than I thought...Q/3 hearts, and Cassie had K/Qo. So I was wrong about Em's strength but right about being behind but not dominated. Emily was the dominated one and Cassie had a big lead. Her lead got bigger when the flop gave us an A/J/rag. The turn was a blank. But the river was an 8 and I took them both out. I also gave myself a good deal of breathing room as now I was threatening the chip lead. But was it the right call?
That is something I need to work on. Statistically, was it correct to call there? Why risk my chips to take out people who probably have me beat? I was figuring I would PROBABLY lose...and I suspect if I crunch the numbers I was probably slightly worse than a 3-1 dog so in retrospect, probably I should have folded. Sure, this time it worked out...but in the long run it was a bad call.
Anyhow, now we were down to Kevin (big stack), Josh and I. Kev and I traded the big stack a couple times, then started one of those runs. I got Josh all-in. I had 2 pair, Aces and...Queens? He hit runner runner on me to nail a flush and doubled up. I got him all-in. He rivered me and doubled up.Now he and Kevin were the big stacks.
I came back, hit a few hands, he hit a few, Kevin took a couple beatings, I doubled him up, he lost a couple big hands and Josh put him away.
I think Kevin kept track and it was 8 times I doubled Josh up. I could not put him away. River. River. river. I rivered him once or twice as well so it was not all one way. But it happened so often it had become a running joke even before Kevin went out. Finally I rivered him one last time and had the win.
For the night I played fairly well most of the time. There was one case where I knew I was beat early on but paid 2 200 chip bets hoping for the 2 outer to hit and knowing I shouldn't. But on the river I let the 500 bet chase me and was upset with myself. I was chasing the bad math opportunity for 2 reasons; 1, I planned a bluff on the river and 2) I had not seen any sort of hand in a long time so when I got pockets, even though they were only 7s, I held them when the board only brought one over. This was poor play for many reasons:
1) 2 people called my pre-flop raise. They needed SOMETHING to call my first raise of the night.
2) Yes, there was only 1 over on the board, a Queen...but TWO people showed interest. I actually even put Kenneth on the queen. So knowing I was behind I still was chasing the miracle 2-outer. If I could reasonably pull off a bluff that might be okay but with 2 callers there is too little chance of the bluff working. Besides that, when he expresses interest in a hand Kenneth is almost impossible to bluff.
3) I was chasing because I did not want to lay down a hand I had raised pre-flop and on the flop. But that is a poor reason.
A couple hands where Cassie raised and I figured her to have me beat combined with this to put me on the short stack. So this play caused me problems.
But I countered that with shrewd short stack play. I waited...and waited...I was able to check into a hand from the big blind. I hit bottom pair, went all in, everyone folded so I picked up a few chips. It was a well-timed move because it was believable and I was pretty sure from the disinterest nobody else had hit anything.
And when Josh kept beating me on the river, that fact remained...he had to come from behind. I was ahead time after time so I was getting my chips in good.
So yeah, I played well enough to win and am happy with how I played. Much more importantly...I had fun.
Texas Hold 'Em
Had not played for...well...a LONG time so decided to do so. Small crowd...11 people. I got sat next to Terry. Forgot how much I dislike sitting at the same table as him.
Was almost completely card-dead. So I was mostly just folding and watching. Danny has not changed his game, neither has Terry. Todd bluffs less but more effectively, the new guy bluffs and gambles...he likes to stay in on runner-runner flush draws, will bet if everyone checks, etc. Bill was playing a cautious game. I just wanted cards so I could snap off the new guy's bluff. He has blatant betting tells; if he is bluffing he eyes the pot, mentally counts it out and then bets that amount. If he has a strong hand he overbets the pot. Took me 3 hands to figure that out. Paid off, too.
From the big blind checked it with pocket 4s. Sadly, after over 20 minutes that was the BEST hand I had seen. Part of my theory of poker is to bluff successfully, people have to believe you catch hands at least occasionally. I was not raising the 4s because if I did and someone re-raised I was folding. Flop was ragged, 10 high. I bet. New guy and Terry both called. Turn was a 10. I bet...and he reraised a significant amount. Terry called, I folded. At the showdown Terry had the 10...he claimed he had it as well but Terry's kicker was better. He did not show so...maybe.
Finally won a hand from the big blind with A/10 when an Ace flopped. I bet it to the river against Danny and Terry. Normally with 2 callers I would be nervous but I have a great read on Danny and Terry is an eternal optimist. I put him on a low Ace. Sure enough, Danny had 2 nice connectors with long-shot draws and Terry had an A/6. So I was up about 25%.
Now I had chips and they had seen me play a hand. Picked up pocket 7s from the button. 2 limpers, I raised 3x the blinds. New guy took my 300 raise and added 750 more. Folded to me, Todd behind me. A quick calculation told me I was getting about 3-1. I had his hand narrowed to a good pair or a strong Ace and, based on a conversation he had just had where he expounded his Big Slick theory I actually weighted it pretty heavily towards the Slick. I had a decent read on him so decided to play the raise despite the poor actual odds figuring my implied odds were through the roof and, if he did not hit, I was going to semi-bluff him out of the pot...though I would figure I had the better hand.
Sadly, the flop was horrible for me mostly because it had a King. The only reason that bothered me was I figured him for the Big Slick so figured he had just left me 2 outs as the hands I put him on pre-flop that I was beating were now limited to a strong Ace. I briefly debated a raise but instead elected to check. He bet it strong enough that I believed he had it since it fit his profile of a strong hand. I folded, he showed...pocket jacks. So he had me beat beginning to end. But I was still okay with my play. When you are hitting nothing and get a chance to play a low-medium pair heads up with a bluffer for 3-1 chips...well, I will take that chance. Ironically, against nobody else at that table would I have called his initial re-raise. Sigh.
Back to card dead. Picked up a few chips here and there and at the break I was exactly where I started...3000. But the smoking had started and Terry was getting on my nerves. I thought about turning in my chips but elected to just wait and put them all in. I could justify the all-in because with blinds of 200/400 I had an M of 5. After I went through the blinds once without getting to play. 2400. Then Terry pulled one of his annoying things. I decided I was going all in next hand regardless. I was not even going to look at my cards. I was not having fun, the smoke was getting to me...it was time to go. But then I thought better of it and looked at my cards. A/J suited. Smurf. Who is behind me? Todd, Bill, bluffer. Terry had limped, Danny had folded. Send in the chips. I smiled internally to see the disgusted flip Terry did. I knew he would be folding.
Todd called pretty fast which did not worry me. He is pretty loose and will call with goofy hands...low suited connectors, that sort of thing. Of course, there was every possibility he woke up with a real hand but those are the chances you take when you go all-in with a mediocre hand like Ajax. Bill got out of the way and bluffer went into the tank. Finally he folded since Todd had called so it was heads up. Todd had deuces. Straight race.
Bluffer had folded one of my Aces but it was a weak Ace. Flop brought 2 7s and an 8. Turn was a Queen. I was down to 11 outs...thankfully, none of them hit. I would have been chip lead if it had and I was ready to leave. So yeah, I got beat by a pair of deuces...but hey, sometimes that happens.
Oddly, I feel like until I chose to go on tilt I played really, really well. I had solid reads on everyone. I got out of Terry's way when I checked in the big blind with j/5 and the flop came K/J/K. I put him on a King because of how he checked. Bluffer gave him a bunch of chips on that hand. But it was typical of the day that I knew when I was beat and got away from hands, made nice size bets when I was ahead and added to my stack...I just did not have enough fun to try and make my pile bigger.
On the other hand, my results were brutal. 8th out of 11th in a pretty weak field.
Was almost completely card-dead. So I was mostly just folding and watching. Danny has not changed his game, neither has Terry. Todd bluffs less but more effectively, the new guy bluffs and gambles...he likes to stay in on runner-runner flush draws, will bet if everyone checks, etc. Bill was playing a cautious game. I just wanted cards so I could snap off the new guy's bluff. He has blatant betting tells; if he is bluffing he eyes the pot, mentally counts it out and then bets that amount. If he has a strong hand he overbets the pot. Took me 3 hands to figure that out. Paid off, too.
From the big blind checked it with pocket 4s. Sadly, after over 20 minutes that was the BEST hand I had seen. Part of my theory of poker is to bluff successfully, people have to believe you catch hands at least occasionally. I was not raising the 4s because if I did and someone re-raised I was folding. Flop was ragged, 10 high. I bet. New guy and Terry both called. Turn was a 10. I bet...and he reraised a significant amount. Terry called, I folded. At the showdown Terry had the 10...he claimed he had it as well but Terry's kicker was better. He did not show so...maybe.
Finally won a hand from the big blind with A/10 when an Ace flopped. I bet it to the river against Danny and Terry. Normally with 2 callers I would be nervous but I have a great read on Danny and Terry is an eternal optimist. I put him on a low Ace. Sure enough, Danny had 2 nice connectors with long-shot draws and Terry had an A/6. So I was up about 25%.
Now I had chips and they had seen me play a hand. Picked up pocket 7s from the button. 2 limpers, I raised 3x the blinds. New guy took my 300 raise and added 750 more. Folded to me, Todd behind me. A quick calculation told me I was getting about 3-1. I had his hand narrowed to a good pair or a strong Ace and, based on a conversation he had just had where he expounded his Big Slick theory I actually weighted it pretty heavily towards the Slick. I had a decent read on him so decided to play the raise despite the poor actual odds figuring my implied odds were through the roof and, if he did not hit, I was going to semi-bluff him out of the pot...though I would figure I had the better hand.
Sadly, the flop was horrible for me mostly because it had a King. The only reason that bothered me was I figured him for the Big Slick so figured he had just left me 2 outs as the hands I put him on pre-flop that I was beating were now limited to a strong Ace. I briefly debated a raise but instead elected to check. He bet it strong enough that I believed he had it since it fit his profile of a strong hand. I folded, he showed...pocket jacks. So he had me beat beginning to end. But I was still okay with my play. When you are hitting nothing and get a chance to play a low-medium pair heads up with a bluffer for 3-1 chips...well, I will take that chance. Ironically, against nobody else at that table would I have called his initial re-raise. Sigh.
Back to card dead. Picked up a few chips here and there and at the break I was exactly where I started...3000. But the smoking had started and Terry was getting on my nerves. I thought about turning in my chips but elected to just wait and put them all in. I could justify the all-in because with blinds of 200/400 I had an M of 5. After I went through the blinds once without getting to play. 2400. Then Terry pulled one of his annoying things. I decided I was going all in next hand regardless. I was not even going to look at my cards. I was not having fun, the smoke was getting to me...it was time to go. But then I thought better of it and looked at my cards. A/J suited. Smurf. Who is behind me? Todd, Bill, bluffer. Terry had limped, Danny had folded. Send in the chips. I smiled internally to see the disgusted flip Terry did. I knew he would be folding.
Todd called pretty fast which did not worry me. He is pretty loose and will call with goofy hands...low suited connectors, that sort of thing. Of course, there was every possibility he woke up with a real hand but those are the chances you take when you go all-in with a mediocre hand like Ajax. Bill got out of the way and bluffer went into the tank. Finally he folded since Todd had called so it was heads up. Todd had deuces. Straight race.
Bluffer had folded one of my Aces but it was a weak Ace. Flop brought 2 7s and an 8. Turn was a Queen. I was down to 11 outs...thankfully, none of them hit. I would have been chip lead if it had and I was ready to leave. So yeah, I got beat by a pair of deuces...but hey, sometimes that happens.
Oddly, I feel like until I chose to go on tilt I played really, really well. I had solid reads on everyone. I got out of Terry's way when I checked in the big blind with j/5 and the flop came K/J/K. I put him on a King because of how he checked. Bluffer gave him a bunch of chips on that hand. But it was typical of the day that I knew when I was beat and got away from hands, made nice size bets when I was ahead and added to my stack...I just did not have enough fun to try and make my pile bigger.
On the other hand, my results were brutal. 8th out of 11th in a pretty weak field.
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Over the course of my life I have grown accustomed to winning, particularly at basketball. To be sure, the last couple of seasons of co-ed have had very limited success..probably dropping me to like a 95% win ratio for my life. But they have been fun. Except the last game.
I have lost a few games over the years. I have even lost a few by quite a few points. But there is one thing I had never really experienced before this last game and that was pure domination and humiliation.
The game started horrifically. By the time I came into the game we were down something like 20-4...and it wasn't that close! We were not getting good looks, we were passing terribly, our defense was porous.
For whatever reason the starters elected to go with a zone. I personally hate playing zone. I find it much more difficult to play correctly that man and so it proved yesterday. They were shredding the zone. They got so many easy, wide open looks from wherever they wanted that, just to make it somewhat of a challenge, they backed out to the NBA 3 line. That is...when we got back on defense. They were also playing a zone. The ball would go to the top. Weakside would be wide open...so we could pass strong side into the teeth of the defense. 3 - 4 seconds later their 3-1 or 4-1 fast break would be adding a bucket. I was keeping score at one point and it was so bad that at one point as they crossed mid-court on "just" a 2 on 1 fast break...where both the 2 were closer to the goal than the defender...I was already putting their points on the board. The ref laughed and said I should wait for them to actually make the shot...but we both knew.
Kyle and I had a couple things going and we broke the zone a couple times, he got me pretty easy looks. I made a couple, then missed one. But he reinjured his ankle and that little success went away. Somehow we managed to score 16 points in the first half. I don't think I have ever been on a team that scored just 2/3 of a point per minute in gym-league level basketball...that was horrific. We were down something like 30 at the half. And again...it wasn't that close.
Offensively I never did really contribute. I did not drive to penetrate the zone, settled for 3s which I was not hitting, and just basically was a non-factor. Not strictly true...I drove a few times but I was looking to pass because I was not hitting my shot. And I did have 6 or 8 assists if we were to keep stats. I also did a pretty good job on the defensive boards but my defense itself sucked.
Really there was only one player on the team who played well. That was Kyle C. He had the best game I have seen him play in quite a while. He was a force on offense. Of course, that term is relative...at one point he scored for about the 4th time in 5 trips and as we ran back down the floor, one of the other team said something like, "Man, he is just killing us" to which I replied, looking at an 76-39 score board, "Yeah, if you are not careful we might keep within 40".
Which we did. Mostly because they started goofing around, trying spectacular passes, stuff like that. But if they wanted they could have scored 100 and we would have been lucky to score 40.
I have been beaten on the scoreboard before, but being beaten down...that is a new experience. Did not like it much. Okay, hated it. Something has to change, there.
I have lost a few games over the years. I have even lost a few by quite a few points. But there is one thing I had never really experienced before this last game and that was pure domination and humiliation.
The game started horrifically. By the time I came into the game we were down something like 20-4...and it wasn't that close! We were not getting good looks, we were passing terribly, our defense was porous.
For whatever reason the starters elected to go with a zone. I personally hate playing zone. I find it much more difficult to play correctly that man and so it proved yesterday. They were shredding the zone. They got so many easy, wide open looks from wherever they wanted that, just to make it somewhat of a challenge, they backed out to the NBA 3 line. That is...when we got back on defense. They were also playing a zone. The ball would go to the top. Weakside would be wide open...so we could pass strong side into the teeth of the defense. 3 - 4 seconds later their 3-1 or 4-1 fast break would be adding a bucket. I was keeping score at one point and it was so bad that at one point as they crossed mid-court on "just" a 2 on 1 fast break...where both the 2 were closer to the goal than the defender...I was already putting their points on the board. The ref laughed and said I should wait for them to actually make the shot...but we both knew.
Kyle and I had a couple things going and we broke the zone a couple times, he got me pretty easy looks. I made a couple, then missed one. But he reinjured his ankle and that little success went away. Somehow we managed to score 16 points in the first half. I don't think I have ever been on a team that scored just 2/3 of a point per minute in gym-league level basketball...that was horrific. We were down something like 30 at the half. And again...it wasn't that close.
Offensively I never did really contribute. I did not drive to penetrate the zone, settled for 3s which I was not hitting, and just basically was a non-factor. Not strictly true...I drove a few times but I was looking to pass because I was not hitting my shot. And I did have 6 or 8 assists if we were to keep stats. I also did a pretty good job on the defensive boards but my defense itself sucked.
Really there was only one player on the team who played well. That was Kyle C. He had the best game I have seen him play in quite a while. He was a force on offense. Of course, that term is relative...at one point he scored for about the 4th time in 5 trips and as we ran back down the floor, one of the other team said something like, "Man, he is just killing us" to which I replied, looking at an 76-39 score board, "Yeah, if you are not careful we might keep within 40".
Which we did. Mostly because they started goofing around, trying spectacular passes, stuff like that. But if they wanted they could have scored 100 and we would have been lucky to score 40.
I have been beaten on the scoreboard before, but being beaten down...that is a new experience. Did not like it much. Okay, hated it. Something has to change, there.
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We started the game slow, having a hard time even getting shots off. So I elected to take a hand in the scoring. I started with a drive trying to break down their zone. I took a pretty good bump so threw up a shot. They gave me continuation and I sunk both free throws. It was our first 2 points of the game...and we were down something like 9-2. The next possession I got the ball left of the free throw circle outside the 3 line, drove to the lower foul circle and dropped that one in. This time I got clobbered on the shot but no call. Oh well, 4 quick points. Next possession I established post position but we went the other way with the ball. That was fine...they were playing a zone and when the center defender moved to defend Christina's shot that gave me good rebounding position which I used to grab the offensive board and score. A couple possessions later I drove the left side again for the pull-up jumper. By the time I went out of the game the first time we had 8 points...and were down 19-8. We struggled to score all game long. I only took 5 more shots the rest of the game, 2 of them off offensive rebounds. I ended with 14 points for the day. So offensively I had a nice game. Defensively we were average, giving up 65. We give up between 62 and 66 points almost every game. We struggled to score again, only dropping in 46.
Somehow we have to get that figured out. This team was playing a 2-3 zone. To me, that is perfect to get post position against. Have one person in the high post, have the 2 low post players set cross-screens for each other and wheel your shooters to the corners. Now you have flooded the zone and they can either defend your post or your shooter...not both. But we did not have people setting the backscreens so that was never established. Nor did we pinpoint what was working and go to it. All day I was able to penetrate the zone almost at will. This was particularly available from the foul line extended left outside the three line. It gave them a bad angle to defend. From there I was able to creat good looks for JC, Christina and Ashley. For some reason after the first 15 minutes or so nobody passed the ball to me in that position.
And that gets to the heart of the problem. We are a talented team...but not a good team. I have a good post-up game that should do a number on most teams we have played this year. I think twice in 8 games I have gotten an entry pass when I had position. I can break down the defense with penetration but never get the ball in a good place to do that. Which is fine IF we are scoring in other ways.
Both Ashley and Christina have the height and moves to be forces in the post game. We seldom get them the ball in those positions. Kyle C is a very, very capable rebounder and good hustle guy. But we don't help him with box-outs so he and I have to both box-out AND get the rebound. He has more height, strength, and agility than i do...but I have slightly better positioning and box-out skills. We do okay on the boards but if we are not both in there then the boards turn into a disaster zone.
JC is a good hustle guy with a decent mid-range shot but we seldom get him the ball when he is open.
I set a lot of screens...but they seldom get used or if they do it is only to move around the perimeter instead of breaking towards the basket.
We could score a LOT of points by posting up Ashley, Christina, and myself or by penetrate and kick moves. We do neither. We regularly ignore the hot scorer and fail to run again plays that got us easy looks the prior time. That has to change if we are going to become the sum of our parts. If we ever do we will win a lot of games. If we don't...well, we will spend a lot more time looking up from the wrong end of a 20 point blow-out. Teamwork beats talent. We have the talent...just not the teamwork.
Somehow we have to get that figured out. This team was playing a 2-3 zone. To me, that is perfect to get post position against. Have one person in the high post, have the 2 low post players set cross-screens for each other and wheel your shooters to the corners. Now you have flooded the zone and they can either defend your post or your shooter...not both. But we did not have people setting the backscreens so that was never established. Nor did we pinpoint what was working and go to it. All day I was able to penetrate the zone almost at will. This was particularly available from the foul line extended left outside the three line. It gave them a bad angle to defend. From there I was able to creat good looks for JC, Christina and Ashley. For some reason after the first 15 minutes or so nobody passed the ball to me in that position.
And that gets to the heart of the problem. We are a talented team...but not a good team. I have a good post-up game that should do a number on most teams we have played this year. I think twice in 8 games I have gotten an entry pass when I had position. I can break down the defense with penetration but never get the ball in a good place to do that. Which is fine IF we are scoring in other ways.
Both Ashley and Christina have the height and moves to be forces in the post game. We seldom get them the ball in those positions. Kyle C is a very, very capable rebounder and good hustle guy. But we don't help him with box-outs so he and I have to both box-out AND get the rebound. He has more height, strength, and agility than i do...but I have slightly better positioning and box-out skills. We do okay on the boards but if we are not both in there then the boards turn into a disaster zone.
JC is a good hustle guy with a decent mid-range shot but we seldom get him the ball when he is open.
I set a lot of screens...but they seldom get used or if they do it is only to move around the perimeter instead of breaking towards the basket.
We could score a LOT of points by posting up Ashley, Christina, and myself or by penetrate and kick moves. We do neither. We regularly ignore the hot scorer and fail to run again plays that got us easy looks the prior time. That has to change if we are going to become the sum of our parts. If we ever do we will win a lot of games. If we don't...well, we will spend a lot more time looking up from the wrong end of a 20 point blow-out. Teamwork beats talent. We have the talent...just not the teamwork.
Friday
XBOX 360 Day 1
I had been pondering the purchase of a new gaming system for quite some time. I still have and occasionally play ye olde N64 but it is definitely last-gen technology. I have played a few games on the PSP3 over at my brothers house and understand the appeal...the graphics just abuse the N64, for example...but it is not for me. The Playstation has a particular graphics theory that...well...I understand they are superior but I just don't like them. I actually prefer the inferior N64 graphics. I admit the graphics are inferior in capability...but I prefer the look. Well, with that in mind then obviously upgrading to the PSP was out.
A couple people at work have the Nintendo Wii and they LOVE it. I have always had a certain affinity for the Nintendo so when I heard Nintendo was releasing their next-gen system I was interested. And the games look interesting. And the people who own the system absolutely love it. D & S, they talk about it almost every day...what they bowled on it last night or what golf course they played, how they shot...they love it.
I, however, have a video game theory. When I want physical exercise, I go get it. I play softball in the spring, summer and fall, basketball during the fall and winter, run a bit, work out at the gym...but I don't want to exercise when playing a video game. I explained my video game philosophy to a friend.
"When I am playing a video game I want to be laying back in a bean bag chair, so relaxed it looks like I have no bones in my body...kind of a human jellyfish look...with nothing moving except my thumbs on the controller, maybe an occasional swipe at a chip or soda, and a bit of drool running out of my mouth..."
In other words, video games should require as little effort as possible. So the Wii was not an option.
At one point I had played the XBox 260 at my friend Alan's place, some boxing game. The graphics were sweet, the control easy to comprehend...I liked it. For years now he has tried to convince me to pick one up and I have always had a good reason not to...I did not have time when I was at University, I did not have time during the wedding planning, etc., and even if I had the time the cost was just prohibitive...I could usually afford either that or to go on dates, that sort of thing. I guess we all know what wins that equation :-)
Well, now that the Goose and I are settled into life together I have a bit more time and it is not as big a stretch financially since we date differently...more nights at home instead of on the town...so I finally pulled the trigger and picked up the 360.
After a great deal of research I decided between the Pro and the Elite. I knew the Arcade was a waste of money because to save games you need a certain amount of memory and to play some games it had to be more than the flash stick. But the 120GB of the Elite seemed like overkill since I don't really download much, I just buy the big 4 sports games, maybe a first person shooter, a racing game, and a fighting game and that is enough. So 20GB is plenty, and since we don't have the HDTV there was no point to buying the Elite for the cable or color...black, white, I don't really care.
Picked up one old XBOX game based on the Battletech universe and a used copy of MLB27K for a baseball game. Went to set the system up. It was pretty easy, just a couple cables and we were good to go...except there was no picture. Some sound, no picture. Tried the HD cable. Fuzzy picture bifurcated bizarrely. Tried different TV inputs. No luck. Getting frustrated. Reread the installation manual. Looked for and found the switch from HD to regular tv and was done with the setup...after having turned a 2 minute set-up into 10. Pretty funny.
Wanted to start with the Mechwarrior game since the graphics would be older and therefore inferior. Found out I missed part of my research because it is NOT, in fact, backwards compatible which I was convinced it was. Oh well. I only spent 3 bucks on the game so no big loss.
Fired up the baseball game. Unfortunately, I unwisely purchased it from Game Stop and it had no manual. The swing system is hardly intuitive. Actually, no part of the game is intuitive. There is no simple press A to swing, B to steal...no, you have lots to do.
First, you use the left joystick for the "Batter's Eye" where you try to guess where the pitch will be located. If you are pretty close to correct a little ball will appear and you will get bonuses to your player stats for that swing. Then, timed as closely as possible to the start of the pitcher's windup, you pull down on the right joystick. When you want to swing you THEORETICALLY release it...but if you want to influence a ground ball you pull down on it, to influence a fly you push it forward or to aim towards left or right field you twitch it left or right...uggh.
I thought I would be clever and play one of the best teams in the league against one of the worst so I selected the Red Sox and for my opponents I selected the Diamondbacks.
The top of the first was pretty smooth. I struck out the side on 12 pitches.
Bottom half...well, that is when I discovered why he had not swung once. Because I was BATTING, not pitching. That was me that struck out. Somehow I was the Diamondbacks instead of the Red Sox.
Pitching is interesting. The catcher suggests a pitch and location. But you don't put the target ball right on his glove...each pitch has a "break factor" that you have to factor in. So you move the baseball around. When you feel the controller vibrate you are where you want to be, so then you press the appropriate pitch button and the length of time you press it determines the speed and accuracy of the pitch. The longer you press it, the faster but less accurate the pitch.
Fielding is relatively intuitive...a blue circle shows you about where the ball will land if a fly or roll if a grounder, the computer picks the "best" guy to field it...more on that later'...and throwing to bases is easy, a button for each base.
My second time at bat I at least knew I was at bat so it went much better. I got a couple swings off. By the 5th inning I already had made contact...one foul ball. I walked once or twice but as often as not could not even figure out how to swing. I played 7 innings, was down about 9-0, and had 19 strikeouts. In 7 innings.Out of 21 chances.
So I was not liking it much. I made a couple changes to the settings to make the "Batter's Eye" less important so at least all I was doing was using the right joystick. I started a new game, Red Sox against the Cardinals.
My pitching was okay. I walked one guy but then I turned a slick 5-4-3 double play. I was liking the pitching and defensive controls. Bottom half of the inning, first batter, I went yard. My first hit was a good one, a home run. I got a couple more hits including a 2 run bomb. 2nd inning was more of the same, I gave up a walk and then, experimenting with pitching controls, managed to throw 3 consecutive wild pitches to score the run. I came back to get the next three guys. I scored another 3 spot in the bottom half. Maybe I adjusted the hitting to be too easy...
Nope. Next inning I could not connect. The control is still not intuitive to me. It was so bad that at least twice I swung and my guy crossed the plate...while the pitcher was in the windup. So there are some issues with the game, though I am sure they are mostly related to my videogame incompetence which is near legendary. I had similar problems pitching where I was trying to select a pitch and instead grooved them over the heart of the plate.
Well, I built a nice lead but then my defense fell apart. One play in particular stood out in my mind. There was a Texas Leaguer over the second basemans' head. The center fielder was just a little ways from the blue circle and I thought I could make the catch. However, he did not seem to be following my commands. Sure enough, the ball bounced about 2 on-screen inches from him without him attempting to catch it. And sat there. I finally figured out they thought the right fielder should have caught it...so I had run him AWAY from the ball. And the CPU did not switch it to the fielder closest to the ball so they got an inside the park home run on a ball that should have been caught and was never more than 2 or 3 on-screen inches from any fielder because I could not figure out how to switch to controlling the closest fielder. Good thing that wasn't frustrating...
I also could not figure out how to advance baserunners.
Overall it was a fun game, though. Ultimately I prevailed in the defensive struggle by the score of 17-14. I figured out some stuff on hitting, pitching and fielding, though none are anywhere near competent yet. And there are features that blow me away.
For example, I selected "light breeze" or something like that for weather...so you could see the wind blowing the fielder's shirts. That was fun...
Plan is to start a season knowing I will lose a LOT of games early on but will learn as I go, make a late-season run and hopefully sneak into the playoffs. Lots of Xboxing in the future...
A couple people at work have the Nintendo Wii and they LOVE it. I have always had a certain affinity for the Nintendo so when I heard Nintendo was releasing their next-gen system I was interested. And the games look interesting. And the people who own the system absolutely love it. D & S, they talk about it almost every day...what they bowled on it last night or what golf course they played, how they shot...they love it.
I, however, have a video game theory. When I want physical exercise, I go get it. I play softball in the spring, summer and fall, basketball during the fall and winter, run a bit, work out at the gym...but I don't want to exercise when playing a video game. I explained my video game philosophy to a friend.
"When I am playing a video game I want to be laying back in a bean bag chair, so relaxed it looks like I have no bones in my body...kind of a human jellyfish look...with nothing moving except my thumbs on the controller, maybe an occasional swipe at a chip or soda, and a bit of drool running out of my mouth..."
In other words, video games should require as little effort as possible. So the Wii was not an option.
At one point I had played the XBox 260 at my friend Alan's place, some boxing game. The graphics were sweet, the control easy to comprehend...I liked it. For years now he has tried to convince me to pick one up and I have always had a good reason not to...I did not have time when I was at University, I did not have time during the wedding planning, etc., and even if I had the time the cost was just prohibitive...I could usually afford either that or to go on dates, that sort of thing. I guess we all know what wins that equation :-)
Well, now that the Goose and I are settled into life together I have a bit more time and it is not as big a stretch financially since we date differently...more nights at home instead of on the town...so I finally pulled the trigger and picked up the 360.
After a great deal of research I decided between the Pro and the Elite. I knew the Arcade was a waste of money because to save games you need a certain amount of memory and to play some games it had to be more than the flash stick. But the 120GB of the Elite seemed like overkill since I don't really download much, I just buy the big 4 sports games, maybe a first person shooter, a racing game, and a fighting game and that is enough. So 20GB is plenty, and since we don't have the HDTV there was no point to buying the Elite for the cable or color...black, white, I don't really care.
Picked up one old XBOX game based on the Battletech universe and a used copy of MLB27K for a baseball game. Went to set the system up. It was pretty easy, just a couple cables and we were good to go...except there was no picture. Some sound, no picture. Tried the HD cable. Fuzzy picture bifurcated bizarrely. Tried different TV inputs. No luck. Getting frustrated. Reread the installation manual. Looked for and found the switch from HD to regular tv and was done with the setup...after having turned a 2 minute set-up into 10. Pretty funny.
Wanted to start with the Mechwarrior game since the graphics would be older and therefore inferior. Found out I missed part of my research because it is NOT, in fact, backwards compatible which I was convinced it was. Oh well. I only spent 3 bucks on the game so no big loss.
Fired up the baseball game. Unfortunately, I unwisely purchased it from Game Stop and it had no manual. The swing system is hardly intuitive. Actually, no part of the game is intuitive. There is no simple press A to swing, B to steal...no, you have lots to do.
First, you use the left joystick for the "Batter's Eye" where you try to guess where the pitch will be located. If you are pretty close to correct a little ball will appear and you will get bonuses to your player stats for that swing. Then, timed as closely as possible to the start of the pitcher's windup, you pull down on the right joystick. When you want to swing you THEORETICALLY release it...but if you want to influence a ground ball you pull down on it, to influence a fly you push it forward or to aim towards left or right field you twitch it left or right...uggh.
I thought I would be clever and play one of the best teams in the league against one of the worst so I selected the Red Sox and for my opponents I selected the Diamondbacks.
The top of the first was pretty smooth. I struck out the side on 12 pitches.
Bottom half...well, that is when I discovered why he had not swung once. Because I was BATTING, not pitching. That was me that struck out. Somehow I was the Diamondbacks instead of the Red Sox.
Pitching is interesting. The catcher suggests a pitch and location. But you don't put the target ball right on his glove...each pitch has a "break factor" that you have to factor in. So you move the baseball around. When you feel the controller vibrate you are where you want to be, so then you press the appropriate pitch button and the length of time you press it determines the speed and accuracy of the pitch. The longer you press it, the faster but less accurate the pitch.
Fielding is relatively intuitive...a blue circle shows you about where the ball will land if a fly or roll if a grounder, the computer picks the "best" guy to field it...more on that later'...and throwing to bases is easy, a button for each base.
My second time at bat I at least knew I was at bat so it went much better. I got a couple swings off. By the 5th inning I already had made contact...one foul ball. I walked once or twice but as often as not could not even figure out how to swing. I played 7 innings, was down about 9-0, and had 19 strikeouts. In 7 innings.Out of 21 chances.
So I was not liking it much. I made a couple changes to the settings to make the "Batter's Eye" less important so at least all I was doing was using the right joystick. I started a new game, Red Sox against the Cardinals.
My pitching was okay. I walked one guy but then I turned a slick 5-4-3 double play. I was liking the pitching and defensive controls. Bottom half of the inning, first batter, I went yard. My first hit was a good one, a home run. I got a couple more hits including a 2 run bomb. 2nd inning was more of the same, I gave up a walk and then, experimenting with pitching controls, managed to throw 3 consecutive wild pitches to score the run. I came back to get the next three guys. I scored another 3 spot in the bottom half. Maybe I adjusted the hitting to be too easy...
Nope. Next inning I could not connect. The control is still not intuitive to me. It was so bad that at least twice I swung and my guy crossed the plate...while the pitcher was in the windup. So there are some issues with the game, though I am sure they are mostly related to my videogame incompetence which is near legendary. I had similar problems pitching where I was trying to select a pitch and instead grooved them over the heart of the plate.
Well, I built a nice lead but then my defense fell apart. One play in particular stood out in my mind. There was a Texas Leaguer over the second basemans' head. The center fielder was just a little ways from the blue circle and I thought I could make the catch. However, he did not seem to be following my commands. Sure enough, the ball bounced about 2 on-screen inches from him without him attempting to catch it. And sat there. I finally figured out they thought the right fielder should have caught it...so I had run him AWAY from the ball. And the CPU did not switch it to the fielder closest to the ball so they got an inside the park home run on a ball that should have been caught and was never more than 2 or 3 on-screen inches from any fielder because I could not figure out how to switch to controlling the closest fielder. Good thing that wasn't frustrating...
I also could not figure out how to advance baserunners.
Overall it was a fun game, though. Ultimately I prevailed in the defensive struggle by the score of 17-14. I figured out some stuff on hitting, pitching and fielding, though none are anywhere near competent yet. And there are features that blow me away.
For example, I selected "light breeze" or something like that for weather...so you could see the wind blowing the fielder's shirts. That was fun...
Plan is to start a season knowing I will lose a LOT of games early on but will learn as I go, make a late-season run and hopefully sneak into the playoffs. Lots of Xboxing in the future...
Monday
C-List Celebrities
So we had the final game of our first season this weekend. We have had problems scoring all season so I decided I was going to come out shooting again. The last time I did that we built a 21-17 lead in the first 10 minutes before I came out. After I came out we only scored 27 points in the remaining 30-odd minutes of the game. It wasn't just my scoring...when I would penetrate the defense would collapse, giving me easy passes to open shooters. So I know I can still be effective. My game plan going in was to post up a lot, take a few drives from the foul line extended left for that pull up jumper that is all but unstoppable.
Got there, only 5 people showed up. Kyle F was in China, Ashley was not back from Seattle, JC was sick, Mason decided it was too physical and quit the team, John was sick...so we only had 5 people. Early on the pattern was set...if I dropped back on defense it killed their fast break. A couple possessions kind of illustrate it.
I posted up a few times and was able to draw the double team, kick to Kelly for the open shot, and move into prime rebounding position. She scored a few times, and twice I got the offensive board. The first time I scored pretty easily and we got back on defense, got set up. The second time I got the board, laid it up...and choked. I missed. It is not possible to get an easier shot. I just overlaid it, it came down on the far side of the basket, they got the rebound, quick outlet, we did not get back, and they scored.
That was the pattern. If I drove and kicked, if we made the basket all was well. If we missed we only were getting one person back...and other times none. So it made it unwise for me to go to the bucket even though I was able to penetrate at will and, while I was not shooting, I WAS creating open looks for my team.
That put me in a conundrum. I could provide offense OR defense...but not both. When I got back on defense against their fast break I was able to either create a turnover or at the least slow their break and give help time to arrive 1 in 3 times. Sure, 2 out of 3 times they still scored...but I created 3 or 4 turnovers, deflected a half dozen balls and they had to pull the ball back out a few times. So I was clearly a valuable asset on defense. Meanwhile, on offense Christina was just killing them. She was getting the ball on the blocks, making her move and scoring virtually at will. The few times she was stopped she was able to kick out to Kelly or to Jess for wide open mid-range jumpers. The offense was clicking just fine. I was basically standing at the top of the key or even closer to mid-court, an outlet if we needed to rotate the ball but really just in position to get back on defense.
On the one hand, it makes me happy that I am enough of a team player that it did not bother me that I surrendered my offense for the good of the team. However, there came a stretch in the second half where it mattered. We had a 7 point lead. Then they switched their defense, were double teaming Christina before she could even get the ball. We made a couple bad passes and suddenly they had a lead and we were struggling to score. But by now we are 40 minutes into the game, I have taken exactly 3 shots and am out of the offensive mind set. A couple of times I moved into the post which created open looks for the girls and they buried the shots. Still, by the end of the game we just fell short about 8 points.
Did I do the right thing? Looking back I think I did. Christina was in a groove. She was carrying the brunt of the scoring load, Kelly and Jess were chipping in just enough jumpers to keep the defense from completely concentrating on her and in that situation I was far more valuable dropping back to play defense. I think I had to play that game.
On a personal level I was a bit disappointed because I was looking forward to being a scorer again but that was not what we needed. At least, for most of the game it wasn't. It was only in the last 10 minutes or so that we ran out of steam offensively, otherwise we scored enough to win. For the game I played very well on defense, more or less controlled the defensive boards, and when I was in the offense did a good job of getting the ball where it needed to be. At some point next season I might play a little less defense and let someone else worry about it just to see what kind of impact I can have. For now, though, I have to be satisfied with helping keep us in the game with my defensive effort. Well, mine and Kyle C's. He was an animal on the boards as well, did a great job. Not to say the girls didn't...the other team played 4 guys, 1 girl for over half the game, we played 2 guys, 3 girls. They were taller, faster, and stronger...but we still gave them headaches all game long. Pretty proud of our effort in this one.
Got there, only 5 people showed up. Kyle F was in China, Ashley was not back from Seattle, JC was sick, Mason decided it was too physical and quit the team, John was sick...so we only had 5 people. Early on the pattern was set...if I dropped back on defense it killed their fast break. A couple possessions kind of illustrate it.
I posted up a few times and was able to draw the double team, kick to Kelly for the open shot, and move into prime rebounding position. She scored a few times, and twice I got the offensive board. The first time I scored pretty easily and we got back on defense, got set up. The second time I got the board, laid it up...and choked. I missed. It is not possible to get an easier shot. I just overlaid it, it came down on the far side of the basket, they got the rebound, quick outlet, we did not get back, and they scored.
That was the pattern. If I drove and kicked, if we made the basket all was well. If we missed we only were getting one person back...and other times none. So it made it unwise for me to go to the bucket even though I was able to penetrate at will and, while I was not shooting, I WAS creating open looks for my team.
That put me in a conundrum. I could provide offense OR defense...but not both. When I got back on defense against their fast break I was able to either create a turnover or at the least slow their break and give help time to arrive 1 in 3 times. Sure, 2 out of 3 times they still scored...but I created 3 or 4 turnovers, deflected a half dozen balls and they had to pull the ball back out a few times. So I was clearly a valuable asset on defense. Meanwhile, on offense Christina was just killing them. She was getting the ball on the blocks, making her move and scoring virtually at will. The few times she was stopped she was able to kick out to Kelly or to Jess for wide open mid-range jumpers. The offense was clicking just fine. I was basically standing at the top of the key or even closer to mid-court, an outlet if we needed to rotate the ball but really just in position to get back on defense.
On the one hand, it makes me happy that I am enough of a team player that it did not bother me that I surrendered my offense for the good of the team. However, there came a stretch in the second half where it mattered. We had a 7 point lead. Then they switched their defense, were double teaming Christina before she could even get the ball. We made a couple bad passes and suddenly they had a lead and we were struggling to score. But by now we are 40 minutes into the game, I have taken exactly 3 shots and am out of the offensive mind set. A couple of times I moved into the post which created open looks for the girls and they buried the shots. Still, by the end of the game we just fell short about 8 points.
Did I do the right thing? Looking back I think I did. Christina was in a groove. She was carrying the brunt of the scoring load, Kelly and Jess were chipping in just enough jumpers to keep the defense from completely concentrating on her and in that situation I was far more valuable dropping back to play defense. I think I had to play that game.
On a personal level I was a bit disappointed because I was looking forward to being a scorer again but that was not what we needed. At least, for most of the game it wasn't. It was only in the last 10 minutes or so that we ran out of steam offensively, otherwise we scored enough to win. For the game I played very well on defense, more or less controlled the defensive boards, and when I was in the offense did a good job of getting the ball where it needed to be. At some point next season I might play a little less defense and let someone else worry about it just to see what kind of impact I can have. For now, though, I have to be satisfied with helping keep us in the game with my defensive effort. Well, mine and Kyle C's. He was an animal on the boards as well, did a great job. Not to say the girls didn't...the other team played 4 guys, 1 girl for over half the game, we played 2 guys, 3 girls. They were taller, faster, and stronger...but we still gave them headaches all game long. Pretty proud of our effort in this one.
Wednesday
Apropos of nothing, really
I have long loved card games and have played a wide variety of them over the years. Some games are really good for large groups, not so much for small groups...such as I Doubt It, though I have seen probably a dozen names for this, most of them rather crude, perhaps referring to fecal matter. Great with a group, not so good with 2 people...
Cribbage, on the other hand, is an excellent 2 player game. It provides a fair amount of strategy yet there is enough luck involved that even the most incompetent player will occasionally win a game. I have had stretches where I had 5 consecutive hands of deadwood and no matter how I had played them the nobs did not help me. I have had other games where my toughest decision was choosing between throwing the J/5 in my crib and keeping the 7778 or being an idiot for 4 or 5 hands in a row. Still, overall there is enough strategy to allow the superior player to win 70-80% of the time.
500 Rummy is another very fun 2 player game. We typically dealt 11 cards and ruled you could not lay off on your opponent's scores until you had melded and to claim the discard pile you had to play the lowest card you were taking before you could take the others into your hand. I spent a lot of time playing this with an girlfriend in my younger days and have played a few times with Emily. This is a better strategy game as you have to consider what to discard and when, balancing your needs for keeping cards in your hand with their probable hands. If you have a good recall of the discard pile, by combining your knowledge of what they have taken with knowing what has been melded you often have a fairly specific knowledge of their hand. Woe betide the person who must choose between giving their opponent an Ace or a face card knowing either one will give your opponent a good scoring meld, but your own hand forces that discard. It is another game where skill plays heavily in the outcome.
At one point I played 2 handed Spades. Yes, there are rules for it...no, they are not as good as 3 or 4 handed. In fact, though this game is one that requires a great deal of skill as you strive to win the correct tricks to build your hand for the 13 counting tricks, it is not one of the best games. I did not like it much as, while there was a high skill factor, there was a low fun factor.
I have played Texas Hold 'Em heads up and find I do not care for it all that much. The nature of heads up means essentially every 2 cards are playable. As a result, too often it becomes "who is more willing to bluff" as there is really no effective means to consistently value where your hand stands in regard to your opponent. Good game multiple player, boring game once it gets down to about 4 players.
War is a classic but one I don't think all that highly of. It is the epitome of a skill-less game. As long as you can turn a card over and see which one is higher you have mastered the strategy. I am not a huge fan of games that revolve purely around luck.
Oddly, some of my favorite 2 player games I have not played in over 20 years. Way back when, in our house we were not allowed to have playing cards. However, because they were not associated with tarot as regular playing cards long were, we could use the Rook cards invented by George Parker. There were two separate games from that set I absolutely adored; Tennessee Over the Top and Kentucky something or other. It is amazing I remember that much of the name because I seriously have not played them since before Mom died. In fact, Mom was the only person I recall ever playing either game against.
And as good as I have always been at games, at those she was better. I would estimate I have won 75% or better of the cribbage games I have played and probably better than 90% of the rummy games I have played. For a long time I had a score book that I kept all the scores of all the games and it was pretty crazy. I would sometimes go weeks without a loss even when playing 4 - 5 games or more a night when we were babysitting the Allen kids.
Yet when it came to the Rook games, Mom was the master. I lost 80 - 90% of those games. Oh, she was good. On the last hand, no matter how many points she needed...if I bid 70, she bid 80...she could coerce me into overbidding, but I seldom could set her. She had a fine tuned sense of how much to bid. If she ever overbid she would inevitably get the cards she needed to make her bid from the middle. Oh, she was good. Her ability to bid exactly the right amount...she seldom went under but just as seldom went over...was so superior to mine...I seldom hit my bid exactly and left a lot of points on the table that way...was the difference between our records.
But I loved that game. I miss it still. Someday I am going to purchase a deck, find a group of friends and play some Rook. It just might be the best 2 player game around. Or maybe I just remember it that way.
Cribbage, on the other hand, is an excellent 2 player game. It provides a fair amount of strategy yet there is enough luck involved that even the most incompetent player will occasionally win a game. I have had stretches where I had 5 consecutive hands of deadwood and no matter how I had played them the nobs did not help me. I have had other games where my toughest decision was choosing between throwing the J/5 in my crib and keeping the 7778 or being an idiot for 4 or 5 hands in a row. Still, overall there is enough strategy to allow the superior player to win 70-80% of the time.
500 Rummy is another very fun 2 player game. We typically dealt 11 cards and ruled you could not lay off on your opponent's scores until you had melded and to claim the discard pile you had to play the lowest card you were taking before you could take the others into your hand. I spent a lot of time playing this with an girlfriend in my younger days and have played a few times with Emily. This is a better strategy game as you have to consider what to discard and when, balancing your needs for keeping cards in your hand with their probable hands. If you have a good recall of the discard pile, by combining your knowledge of what they have taken with knowing what has been melded you often have a fairly specific knowledge of their hand. Woe betide the person who must choose between giving their opponent an Ace or a face card knowing either one will give your opponent a good scoring meld, but your own hand forces that discard. It is another game where skill plays heavily in the outcome.
At one point I played 2 handed Spades. Yes, there are rules for it...no, they are not as good as 3 or 4 handed. In fact, though this game is one that requires a great deal of skill as you strive to win the correct tricks to build your hand for the 13 counting tricks, it is not one of the best games. I did not like it much as, while there was a high skill factor, there was a low fun factor.
I have played Texas Hold 'Em heads up and find I do not care for it all that much. The nature of heads up means essentially every 2 cards are playable. As a result, too often it becomes "who is more willing to bluff" as there is really no effective means to consistently value where your hand stands in regard to your opponent. Good game multiple player, boring game once it gets down to about 4 players.
War is a classic but one I don't think all that highly of. It is the epitome of a skill-less game. As long as you can turn a card over and see which one is higher you have mastered the strategy. I am not a huge fan of games that revolve purely around luck.
Oddly, some of my favorite 2 player games I have not played in over 20 years. Way back when, in our house we were not allowed to have playing cards. However, because they were not associated with tarot as regular playing cards long were, we could use the Rook cards invented by George Parker. There were two separate games from that set I absolutely adored; Tennessee Over the Top and Kentucky something or other. It is amazing I remember that much of the name because I seriously have not played them since before Mom died. In fact, Mom was the only person I recall ever playing either game against.
And as good as I have always been at games, at those she was better. I would estimate I have won 75% or better of the cribbage games I have played and probably better than 90% of the rummy games I have played. For a long time I had a score book that I kept all the scores of all the games and it was pretty crazy. I would sometimes go weeks without a loss even when playing 4 - 5 games or more a night when we were babysitting the Allen kids.
Yet when it came to the Rook games, Mom was the master. I lost 80 - 90% of those games. Oh, she was good. On the last hand, no matter how many points she needed...if I bid 70, she bid 80...she could coerce me into overbidding, but I seldom could set her. She had a fine tuned sense of how much to bid. If she ever overbid she would inevitably get the cards she needed to make her bid from the middle. Oh, she was good. Her ability to bid exactly the right amount...she seldom went under but just as seldom went over...was so superior to mine...I seldom hit my bid exactly and left a lot of points on the table that way...was the difference between our records.
But I loved that game. I miss it still. Someday I am going to purchase a deck, find a group of friends and play some Rook. It just might be the best 2 player game around. Or maybe I just remember it that way.
Monday
C-List Celebrities
So a couple friends had been after me to put together another basketball team and we elected to go co-ed since it is less intense. So I put it together, needed some people, posted on Craigslist, filled out the team, 10 people. The games are 2 twenty minute running time halves. As a result, you expend a LOT of energy. Most teams run 7-8 players, I like to run 10. 5 people start, play 10 minutes, come out, the other 5 finish the half, then do the same thing in the second half. Equal playing time for all, everyone gets rest.
Well, Friday 1 person said they had a new job and could not play, another one was out of town, another caught a bug, and I ended up thinking I would have just me and the Kyles. I posted again on c-list and had 4 people say they would show. Only one did but Jess, one of our early sign-ups I thought would not be there also showed so we had 5 people.
Now, when I was younger and...well, I have never been "in shape" but I could, when younger, play basketball for hours without a problem. Now I can play 6 - 8 minutes and the excess 50 - 70 pounds really wears on my wind, my knees, my ankles, and the sole of my left foot. I was not liking having just 5....
We started out okay. Jess is a little studette. I had 7 of our first 11, she had the other points. Took the Kyles a while to get going and C.T. never did get into the offensive flow. Meanwhile, the other team was really abusing the co-ed rule. See, a guy can't block a girls shot so they would work the girls inside then crash the boards with their guys. It did not help that their shortest guy had about 3" on our tallest guy who is about 4" taller than me. So we had height issues, personnel shortage issues, and had never played together while they were running set plays. This was not good.
Well, Kyle C started crashing the boards, creating some possessions, Kyle F took a few shots so we now had 4 people they had to defend. We were playing good initial defense but giving up too many 3rd and 4th shots. They were getting good rebounding position as we were A) playing man to man and B) a couple of our guys have never really been coached on boxing out. So we gave up a lot of points. Fortunately, 3 of us were scoring pretty well with Jess and I leading the way. But I ran out of gas about 8 minutes in and started resting at the defensive end for 2 and 3 possession stretches. When you run 4 on 5 offense and one of the guys won't shoot, that puts on a lot of pressure.
We were down 7 at the half. To slow their rebounding we switched to a zone for the second half. I took the foul circle, the Kyle's took the blocks and Jess and CT were out front. The idea was to prevent the girls penetrating for their short shots and simultaneously make the guys shoot from further out. Only problem was we were too tired to deny the entries and the girls just did not miss. We did essentially stop the rebound problems and in the last three or four minutes we picked off a few entry passes but Kyle C was really struggling with his shot, I started to miss and Kyle F was scoring better but not a lot. Jess could not carry us alone, though she was certainly our offensive star. We ended up getting crushed by 20+.
Overall I played pretty well. I am still able to get my shot off. I was getting hammered pretty good...it would have been helpful if it were getting called. In one stretch I took 4 shots in 8 trips down the floor, which was only not excessive because Kyle C got gun shy and would not shoot, Kyle F was only shooting intermittently, and CT was not shooting at all. Well, I made 2 and was hammered pretty good on both. I was hammered harder on two others and missed those. Not one of those did I get a foul call.
For the night from a scoring standpoint I did all right. I hit 2 threes in 4 tries, missed both of my favorite drive left, stop, pop from the inside free throw circle, had 4 put backs off of offensive rebounds, and a slashing reverse lay-up to go with a baseline jumper.
My passing was pretty crisp and I was finding the open people...they just seldom put up the shots.
Defensively I was not good. When we were in man I held my guy in check but I was not able to help on the boards. In zone I was too tired to make the moves I needed to deny the girls entry into the lane. With more energy I can use my still-fast hands to knock loose a lot of balls but this time I was a step too late and too many times was relegated to standing there with hands straight up just hoping they would miss. I should have made a couple of "purpose goal-tends" where I planted the ball back out to mid-court but I was too fatigued to get off my feet.
For the game I feel disappointed with my play. I scored well and shot okay but I did not make my team better and scoring is just a small part of the game. Oh, well, next week we should have more players so that will help with the fatigue. Additionally, I know more what we have in Jess (stud), I already knew Kyle C is a good board-crasher, and I know I have a little game left. Fischer will be in China which will hurt us because he is good at both driving and the little 12-15 foot baseline jumper. But we have the potential to improve.
Well, Friday 1 person said they had a new job and could not play, another one was out of town, another caught a bug, and I ended up thinking I would have just me and the Kyles. I posted again on c-list and had 4 people say they would show. Only one did but Jess, one of our early sign-ups I thought would not be there also showed so we had 5 people.
Now, when I was younger and...well, I have never been "in shape" but I could, when younger, play basketball for hours without a problem. Now I can play 6 - 8 minutes and the excess 50 - 70 pounds really wears on my wind, my knees, my ankles, and the sole of my left foot. I was not liking having just 5....
We started out okay. Jess is a little studette. I had 7 of our first 11, she had the other points. Took the Kyles a while to get going and C.T. never did get into the offensive flow. Meanwhile, the other team was really abusing the co-ed rule. See, a guy can't block a girls shot so they would work the girls inside then crash the boards with their guys. It did not help that their shortest guy had about 3" on our tallest guy who is about 4" taller than me. So we had height issues, personnel shortage issues, and had never played together while they were running set plays. This was not good.
Well, Kyle C started crashing the boards, creating some possessions, Kyle F took a few shots so we now had 4 people they had to defend. We were playing good initial defense but giving up too many 3rd and 4th shots. They were getting good rebounding position as we were A) playing man to man and B) a couple of our guys have never really been coached on boxing out. So we gave up a lot of points. Fortunately, 3 of us were scoring pretty well with Jess and I leading the way. But I ran out of gas about 8 minutes in and started resting at the defensive end for 2 and 3 possession stretches. When you run 4 on 5 offense and one of the guys won't shoot, that puts on a lot of pressure.
We were down 7 at the half. To slow their rebounding we switched to a zone for the second half. I took the foul circle, the Kyle's took the blocks and Jess and CT were out front. The idea was to prevent the girls penetrating for their short shots and simultaneously make the guys shoot from further out. Only problem was we were too tired to deny the entries and the girls just did not miss. We did essentially stop the rebound problems and in the last three or four minutes we picked off a few entry passes but Kyle C was really struggling with his shot, I started to miss and Kyle F was scoring better but not a lot. Jess could not carry us alone, though she was certainly our offensive star. We ended up getting crushed by 20+.
Overall I played pretty well. I am still able to get my shot off. I was getting hammered pretty good...it would have been helpful if it were getting called. In one stretch I took 4 shots in 8 trips down the floor, which was only not excessive because Kyle C got gun shy and would not shoot, Kyle F was only shooting intermittently, and CT was not shooting at all. Well, I made 2 and was hammered pretty good on both. I was hammered harder on two others and missed those. Not one of those did I get a foul call.
For the night from a scoring standpoint I did all right. I hit 2 threes in 4 tries, missed both of my favorite drive left, stop, pop from the inside free throw circle, had 4 put backs off of offensive rebounds, and a slashing reverse lay-up to go with a baseline jumper.
My passing was pretty crisp and I was finding the open people...they just seldom put up the shots.
Defensively I was not good. When we were in man I held my guy in check but I was not able to help on the boards. In zone I was too tired to make the moves I needed to deny the girls entry into the lane. With more energy I can use my still-fast hands to knock loose a lot of balls but this time I was a step too late and too many times was relegated to standing there with hands straight up just hoping they would miss. I should have made a couple of "purpose goal-tends" where I planted the ball back out to mid-court but I was too fatigued to get off my feet.
For the game I feel disappointed with my play. I scored well and shot okay but I did not make my team better and scoring is just a small part of the game. Oh, well, next week we should have more players so that will help with the fatigue. Additionally, I know more what we have in Jess (stud), I already knew Kyle C is a good board-crasher, and I know I have a little game left. Fischer will be in China which will hurt us because he is good at both driving and the little 12-15 foot baseline jumper. But we have the potential to improve.
Wednesday
9 minute man
I did not realize Bob was taking over the Lydias game, though I am ecstatic he has done so. I ran a few games, it was okay...but I am over it now. I imagine for the course of this year I will play 20 - 30 times or so and that makes it easier and more pleasant to do. Well, there were I think 15 people. I had my lap top in the car and was intending to write, being a bit non-plussed by the loss of my phone. But I figured I would write and use the lap-top to keep time. Instead, I was merely a player. I figured to play a few hands and be out early.
Starting with 2000 instead of 3000 is a huge change in philosophy. Smaller bets take a larger percentage of the stack so are harder to pull off. Also, you cannot really play chase hands because they are too costly. The table I was at loves to limp and then play post-flop. I don't. The very first hand would determine my evening.
I was about 4th to act and picked up A/Q. 2 or 3 people had limped, I thought I should raise to 200 since that drives people out and 150 doesn't. Instead I raised to just 150. Got 4 callers. Flop brought 2 diamonds, a heart, and a king. I raised 200, Dick called. Right there I put him on the King. Turn was another diamond, this one a king, I checked, he bet, I folded. I figured he had trip kings but he did not show.
Fold. Fold. Fold. Thought, "this is boring. I don't want to sit here folding." In the big blind checked a 2/9. Flop came 6,7,8. I thought, "Uh-oh. I am going broke on this hand. I should fold." Called a bet of about 200 since I was getting more than 3-1 real and HUGE implied odds. Turn was an 8. He bet again and I put him on trip 8s. I should have folded. I knew I should. But when he bet 300 I called anyway. And even when I did it I knew it was stupid. River was a 10, giving me a straight. He was so eager to put his bet out I put him on either a boat or a 9/j. Really nothing else explained his eagerness. He bet 500. That fit perfectly with either hand...both of which had me beat. So I did what any idiot would do and went all in. I cannot explain it. I put him on hands that beat me from beginning to end of hand and did it anyway. "Just a straight" I said and flipped it up. "Boat," he said and flipped up his cards. Fully explaining my disinterest, I did not even look at his cards and have no clue if it was 8/6, 8/7 or 8/10. I believed him and had my coat on almost before I said, "Figured. Told you I would be out early tonight."
I have no explanation for what happened there. I am too good a player to throw away 1950 chips when I know I am beat. Or maybe I am not since I did it. I never got my head in the game, admitting to boredom and playing a hand like that because I am bored is tilt, I knew it, and did it anyway. I never got my head in the game and paid for it. Of course, on the bright side I finished playing in 9 minutes and 2 hands, so...I guess there is something. I was able to go home and do some stuff I needed to do and that was definitely good for me.
On the dark side, I have finished 5th out of 7 and 15th out of 15. That is going to stop immediately.
Starting with 2000 instead of 3000 is a huge change in philosophy. Smaller bets take a larger percentage of the stack so are harder to pull off. Also, you cannot really play chase hands because they are too costly. The table I was at loves to limp and then play post-flop. I don't. The very first hand would determine my evening.
I was about 4th to act and picked up A/Q. 2 or 3 people had limped, I thought I should raise to 200 since that drives people out and 150 doesn't. Instead I raised to just 150. Got 4 callers. Flop brought 2 diamonds, a heart, and a king. I raised 200, Dick called. Right there I put him on the King. Turn was another diamond, this one a king, I checked, he bet, I folded. I figured he had trip kings but he did not show.
Fold. Fold. Fold. Thought, "this is boring. I don't want to sit here folding." In the big blind checked a 2/9. Flop came 6,7,8. I thought, "Uh-oh. I am going broke on this hand. I should fold." Called a bet of about 200 since I was getting more than 3-1 real and HUGE implied odds. Turn was an 8. He bet again and I put him on trip 8s. I should have folded. I knew I should. But when he bet 300 I called anyway. And even when I did it I knew it was stupid. River was a 10, giving me a straight. He was so eager to put his bet out I put him on either a boat or a 9/j. Really nothing else explained his eagerness. He bet 500. That fit perfectly with either hand...both of which had me beat. So I did what any idiot would do and went all in. I cannot explain it. I put him on hands that beat me from beginning to end of hand and did it anyway. "Just a straight" I said and flipped it up. "Boat," he said and flipped up his cards. Fully explaining my disinterest, I did not even look at his cards and have no clue if it was 8/6, 8/7 or 8/10. I believed him and had my coat on almost before I said, "Figured. Told you I would be out early tonight."
I have no explanation for what happened there. I am too good a player to throw away 1950 chips when I know I am beat. Or maybe I am not since I did it. I never got my head in the game, admitting to boredom and playing a hand like that because I am bored is tilt, I knew it, and did it anyway. I never got my head in the game and paid for it. Of course, on the bright side I finished playing in 9 minutes and 2 hands, so...I guess there is something. I was able to go home and do some stuff I needed to do and that was definitely good for me.
On the dark side, I have finished 5th out of 7 and 15th out of 15. That is going to stop immediately.
Tuesday
Starting 2008
My first time playing for the year...just 7 people. Let's take a look at each one as they .
Christine: Tight-passive. Seldom raises, she likes to limp, check, and call. However, she does so with better cards than most of the locals so if she is calling you, be careful, if she is RAISING you...get out. On the bright side, this is an EXCELLENT formula for going deep into tournaments and she regularly makes the final table. Unfortunately, unless she is hitting a lot of hands it is a terrible formula for actually WINNING tournaments because she will get blinded down to where she is basically all-in every time the blinds come around.
John: Tight-passive aggressive. Likes to limp, slow-plays a lot, occasional raises. Like Christine he limps but does so with better cards than the average player there. However, because he then raises for value and consistently raises the correct amount to price people in he consistently amasses enough chips to be a factor and with patience and skill is a threat to win every tournament.
Barbara: Tight-loose. Limps with literally any 2 cards...and will chase long-shot draws all the way to the river. When she is hitting the flop, very, very dangerous. When her long-shot draws hit she takes down huge pots because they are well disguised. They are also mathematically improbable. Even if she acquires a pile of chips you can always get them back. Get a medium to strong hand, raise every step, and raise again on the river if no draws hit. Boom, instant rebate.
Gary: Getting better. Actually bluffs on occasion now, though he lies about it. Has not been caught yet. Also getting better at getting out of the way when he is beat. Has perhaps even more tells than I do. He is a cautious-aggressive player. One of his biggest tells is when he has bottom or middle pair and thinks it is the best: if he is last to act, it is checked to him and he has middle or bottom pair he will say, "Oh, no. No checking here" and bet either the minimum or about double the minimum. On occasion he will make a desperation raise of more if he thinks he is beat but can make someone lay it down. Always trying to build an image of playing only the best hands by saying, "Good lay down" when he wins a hand this way.
Marykae: She got better when she was gone. The other day I actually saw her complete a straight without counting. She is also pretty easy to read. When she has a big hand she will grab her chips so she can bet as soon as it is her turn. If she has a monster she will just go ahead and bet out of turn. But she is more patient and plays better cards, too.
Danny: Very nice guy. He is a strange player. He will take any two over cards to the river even with flush and straight draws on the board. He will make bizarre calls on the river with hands like queen high. He gives away lots of chips but somehow seems to make them back. I have not yet figured out how he gets them back. His game has very little deception to it so pretty much everyone should know when he has something. He and Marykae both pretty much always let you know where their hand is.
Me: A virtual chameleon. If I want to win I am tight-aggressive...no, that is not true. Once I build a chip stack I remain aggressive but I become loose-aggressive, raising with some speculative hands. When the situation is right I will raise with any two cards...3/9 off, k/9, queens...it doesn't matter, I know I can win the hand whether I have anything or not. But that is only on nights where I set out to win. I establish the right image early, then go to work on people. If I just want to hang around for a while I will limp with good cards, then raise when I hit stuff. If I don't care I will limp with about any 2 cards and may or may not play them to the river.
So last night I was planning on the tight-aggressive, I would either raise or fold. If I raised it would be 3 times the blind + 1 blind per person who entered before me. I would put on pressure after the flop and make plays at a lot of pots.
While everyone was getting settled in there was quite a bit of talk. There is a lot of dissatisfaction with both the new people from the new league and also how some incidents were handled in my absence. The collective psyche is very delicate. Interestingly enough, at this point this post delves a bit into an arena that perhaps belongs on my main blog rather than here.
I used to be a hyper-competitive individual. I wanted to win. Badly. I played hard but fair. Anything legal I could do to win I would. I have been known to play basketball for hours on a sprained ankle because I was not willing to forfeit a game. That would be a game of 2 on 3 with my closest friends, not a game that meant anything. But it illustrates the depths of the competitive fire I have within. I hated to lose. When it came to chess I studied the game relentlessly. I acquired books detailing the games played by the masters, investigated their strategies, adapted them, and became one of the very best players ever to come through St. Helens...for the record, I lost not one local tournament game and only lost one game in State tournaments. There were more talented players naturally, but none who had the drive to study the game and become good at it.
That is true of any strategy game. Even pseudo-strategy. I have never lost a game of Diplomacy, perhaps the only game I have ever seen where luck plays no part whatsoever in the outcome. I have seldom lost Axis & Allies and can count on one hand the number of games of Risk I lost. These things all feed back into my competitiveness.
In other words, for many years the idea of letting people win was not a concept I ever considered. Nor would I play less than my best. If they could beat my best, nice work. If they couldn't...well, that is how it was. I was really too competitive.
As I have grown older I have mellowed quite a bit. I have learned to control that side of me. I have been known to let people beat me. I have even been known to play less than my best at various endeavors as I have developed into a person who takes into account other people's feelings "even" in games. How does all this apply?
Well, I took inventory of their mood. This group just wanted a relaxed game where the cards...not how they were played...just the cards themselves determined the outcome. They needed for poker to be fun for them. And if I came out firing, raising at will, making moves...well, since it is me they would not mind but they would not enjoy themselves as much as they would otherwise. So I made a decision. I was still going to try to win or at least do well...but I was going to do it their way.
That means I was going to limp into pots, raise very little, just let the cards determine things. Now, I know good and well this is not my best game. But it is the game that was needed. I would be tested early.
About the second hand I picked up A/K. That is a raising hand. And a strong raising hand. I was relatively late to act. I started to reach for 300 chips to raise out some of the limpers. I stopped...and limped. Score one for the nice guy side of my personality. I lost the pot to some low pair.
Right there I was sort of on tilt but sort of not. I knew I should have won the hand. Because I limped I lost it to a hand that would not have been there had I raised properly. On the other hand, I also knew it was good for the group as a whole to be able to play their style...so it was still the correct play as a person even if it was the wrong play as a poker player.
So a couple hands later I picked up K/10. Normally from early position that would find the muck. I might play it if I could enter with a raise from middle position and would definitely play it with the right image. But in this game I would never build an image so it becomes a trash hand. If a King hits I am afraid of their kicker and if a 10 hits there are lost of times they will hit a higher pair. Be that as it may I flopped 2 pair, though there were 2 spades on it as well. I decided to see if anyone was on a draw and made a pot-sized bet. Everyone folded so I showed. At least by showing I had bet a strong hand I could build a little image as someone they would need a hand to call. Then I killed that image with one hand.
I limped with pocket 3s from the button. Flop of course was ugly...a King, a 9, some other over card, I think a queen. Everyone checked to me. I raised it up pretty strong. Christine just could not let her hand go and called. John quietly folded. Gary whined for a while about the size of the raise, John pointed out it was just 3 times the blinds. Well, I had Chris on either middle pair or a couple overs. I bet again on the turn after she checked and she stayed with me. The river was I think a 9 or 6. She checked but I thought it might have hit her. With a King and Queen out there, a pair of 9s and a 6 on the board as well and a hand she would not let go I decided I had put enough chips in the pot and meekly checked behind her. She turned up an Ace/ten and my 3s dragged the pot.
That just about put Gary on tilt that I would bet 3s. He would have hit some nice hand, John claimed to have folded 9/6 (a full house by the river), and Gary just wouldn't let it go until finally I said, "What I am hearing is I made a great bet since without it I would have lost the hand."
That changed his tack to "Well why did you just check on the river?" Great question. And the answer was I think great as well. "Because there was no hand I could beat she would call with. I made as much off the hand as I could. If I bet and she-re-raised I would have to fold. If I bet and she didn't have me beat she would fold. So a bet could only hurt me."
Sadly, I think he learned from the experience because I saw some subtle adjustments to his play where he was going to bet the river and then didn't. Interesting.
I checked from the big blind with K/6. Flop came 6/9/10, 2 clubs. Checked to Gary who did his, "Oh, no, no checking" routine. I initially put him on the 10 but the bet was small and the more I thought about it the more I thought he had a vulnerable hand. I revised my estimate to him having maybe the 9 or 10 but more likely the 6 with a worse kicker. I thought about re-raising but decided to do it on the turn instead. Turn was a blank, according to plan I checked, and then...well, he checked. My plan was blown. River was an Ace putting a spade flush, an over card, and his reaction to it in favor of a fold. I checked, he raised 500...and inexplicably I called. I could justify folding or re-raising here...not so much calling. I thought he would fold to a big re-raise as I knew he had at best a marginal hand. By now I had put him firmly on something like J/6, so I would have him beat even if he called. His raise smelled like someone disgusted they had led all the way to the river only to be busted by an Ace. I am positive he would have laid it down. But I called...and I was wrong about the 6. He had a pair of 9s. Still, with a couple overs out there...I was pretty surprised by his play. very aggressive for Gary. And knowing what he had I am even more positive that a river raise or a check-raise would have won the hand, particularly after my exposition after the 3s hand.
Well, that took me down about 1/3rd of my stack. I went back into passive mode. Hit a couple hands to get up to about 3700. Then came a hand that really, really shocked me. I picked up pocket 10s, blinds were 1/200. Folded to Danny...who raised. What? So I instantly put him on Kings or Aces. There is no other hand I have EVER seen him raise with. I almost folded right there. But I thought I would try to take a cheap flop, see if I could luck into a set. I called. Christine, behind me, re-raised. WHAT? Danny called and I made the crying call. Flop had an Ace on it. Danny bet, I folded, Christine called. At the showdown Danny had A/J and Christine had A/Q.
Now, I do not feel bad about either of my calls nor my lay down. If I hit my set my implied odds are through the roof. I could easily have taken one or both out.
I DO, however, feel bad about my reads. Both of them acted out of character and I over-estimated the strength of their hands. I still was correct about the strength of their hands as compared to mine post-flop but they were weaker than I thought pre-flop. I was correct to call all the way around looking at it mathematically speaking when I retroactively apply the odds...but I was unable to put them on the hands they held because I was so shocked they would raise with those hands.
Well, after that I was thinking about raising but instead limped a couple times...hands like A/J. Took down a couple pots, lost a couple, was staying between 2 & 3K until the blinds hit 2/400. Took a couple losses where I limped with good hands and got beat by bad hands. Hit about 1400 in chips.
One reason playing a sub-optimal style is a bad idea is because poor play begets poor play. From early position I picked up A/4 clubs. That hand should hit the muck as fast as I see the cards in that position. First off, that is at best a speculative hand. If I hit my Ace I have kicker issues...I will end up playing the board for my kicker. If I hit my 4 I am afraid of the over cards that will be on the board by the river. So really I am playing for the nut flush (1 in 16 hands I will get a flush DRAW...and about 1/3rd of the time that will turn into a flush, so basically I want the 1 in 48 tries hand to hit) or a miracle flop...A/A/4, 4/4/anything, something like that. I am an idiot. If I were not limping with my good hands I would not limp with this one.
Well, sure enough the flop comes out with 2 clubs and 4 high. I was not a big fan of the 2/3/4 flop...but I liked the top pair/top kicker/straight flush draw. I went all in. Nobody called so I got away with it. Bad, bad play though...who wants to go out on a pair of 4s?
Well, the other problem with bad play begetting bad play is sometimes it works. So a few hands later I pick up A/10 off. I limp in. Flop comes pretty good for me, 10/6/2 rainbow. No straight draws, no flush draws. I pretty much ignored everyone else at the table. I was first to act, I decided to put pressure on. I was going to raise. However, any reasonable raise would be more than half my chips so I just went all-in. And Marykae got out her calling chips. Oops. She had pocket 6s...she flopped her set and I was basically drawing dead.
For the night I played horribly and finished poorly, 5th out of 7 people. Hardly an auspicious beginning. Yet the evening was a success. I think by choosing to allow them to play their preferred style I allowed them a long, relaxed evening where they could just enjoy poker again. Sure, my results are not so good...but that is a byproduct of choosing to play that way.
It also through poor John way off. He spent about 1-1/2 blind levels trying to figure out what I was doing. So I added deception to my game...it may look like (and have the results of) incompetence...but hey, whatchya gonna do?
Christine: Tight-passive. Seldom raises, she likes to limp, check, and call. However, she does so with better cards than most of the locals so if she is calling you, be careful, if she is RAISING you...get out. On the bright side, this is an EXCELLENT formula for going deep into tournaments and she regularly makes the final table. Unfortunately, unless she is hitting a lot of hands it is a terrible formula for actually WINNING tournaments because she will get blinded down to where she is basically all-in every time the blinds come around.
John: Tight-passive aggressive. Likes to limp, slow-plays a lot, occasional raises. Like Christine he limps but does so with better cards than the average player there. However, because he then raises for value and consistently raises the correct amount to price people in he consistently amasses enough chips to be a factor and with patience and skill is a threat to win every tournament.
Barbara: Tight-loose. Limps with literally any 2 cards...and will chase long-shot draws all the way to the river. When she is hitting the flop, very, very dangerous. When her long-shot draws hit she takes down huge pots because they are well disguised. They are also mathematically improbable. Even if she acquires a pile of chips you can always get them back. Get a medium to strong hand, raise every step, and raise again on the river if no draws hit. Boom, instant rebate.
Gary: Getting better. Actually bluffs on occasion now, though he lies about it. Has not been caught yet. Also getting better at getting out of the way when he is beat. Has perhaps even more tells than I do. He is a cautious-aggressive player. One of his biggest tells is when he has bottom or middle pair and thinks it is the best: if he is last to act, it is checked to him and he has middle or bottom pair he will say, "Oh, no. No checking here" and bet either the minimum or about double the minimum. On occasion he will make a desperation raise of more if he thinks he is beat but can make someone lay it down. Always trying to build an image of playing only the best hands by saying, "Good lay down" when he wins a hand this way.
Marykae: She got better when she was gone. The other day I actually saw her complete a straight without counting. She is also pretty easy to read. When she has a big hand she will grab her chips so she can bet as soon as it is her turn. If she has a monster she will just go ahead and bet out of turn. But she is more patient and plays better cards, too.
Danny: Very nice guy. He is a strange player. He will take any two over cards to the river even with flush and straight draws on the board. He will make bizarre calls on the river with hands like queen high. He gives away lots of chips but somehow seems to make them back. I have not yet figured out how he gets them back. His game has very little deception to it so pretty much everyone should know when he has something. He and Marykae both pretty much always let you know where their hand is.
Me: A virtual chameleon. If I want to win I am tight-aggressive...no, that is not true. Once I build a chip stack I remain aggressive but I become loose-aggressive, raising with some speculative hands. When the situation is right I will raise with any two cards...3/9 off, k/9, queens...it doesn't matter, I know I can win the hand whether I have anything or not. But that is only on nights where I set out to win. I establish the right image early, then go to work on people. If I just want to hang around for a while I will limp with good cards, then raise when I hit stuff. If I don't care I will limp with about any 2 cards and may or may not play them to the river.
So last night I was planning on the tight-aggressive, I would either raise or fold. If I raised it would be 3 times the blind + 1 blind per person who entered before me. I would put on pressure after the flop and make plays at a lot of pots.
While everyone was getting settled in there was quite a bit of talk. There is a lot of dissatisfaction with both the new people from the new league and also how some incidents were handled in my absence. The collective psyche is very delicate. Interestingly enough, at this point this post delves a bit into an arena that perhaps belongs on my main blog rather than here.
I used to be a hyper-competitive individual. I wanted to win. Badly. I played hard but fair. Anything legal I could do to win I would. I have been known to play basketball for hours on a sprained ankle because I was not willing to forfeit a game. That would be a game of 2 on 3 with my closest friends, not a game that meant anything. But it illustrates the depths of the competitive fire I have within. I hated to lose. When it came to chess I studied the game relentlessly. I acquired books detailing the games played by the masters, investigated their strategies, adapted them, and became one of the very best players ever to come through St. Helens...for the record, I lost not one local tournament game and only lost one game in State tournaments. There were more talented players naturally, but none who had the drive to study the game and become good at it.
That is true of any strategy game. Even pseudo-strategy. I have never lost a game of Diplomacy, perhaps the only game I have ever seen where luck plays no part whatsoever in the outcome. I have seldom lost Axis & Allies and can count on one hand the number of games of Risk I lost. These things all feed back into my competitiveness.
In other words, for many years the idea of letting people win was not a concept I ever considered. Nor would I play less than my best. If they could beat my best, nice work. If they couldn't...well, that is how it was. I was really too competitive.
As I have grown older I have mellowed quite a bit. I have learned to control that side of me. I have been known to let people beat me. I have even been known to play less than my best at various endeavors as I have developed into a person who takes into account other people's feelings "even" in games. How does all this apply?
Well, I took inventory of their mood. This group just wanted a relaxed game where the cards...not how they were played...just the cards themselves determined the outcome. They needed for poker to be fun for them. And if I came out firing, raising at will, making moves...well, since it is me they would not mind but they would not enjoy themselves as much as they would otherwise. So I made a decision. I was still going to try to win or at least do well...but I was going to do it their way.
That means I was going to limp into pots, raise very little, just let the cards determine things. Now, I know good and well this is not my best game. But it is the game that was needed. I would be tested early.
About the second hand I picked up A/K. That is a raising hand. And a strong raising hand. I was relatively late to act. I started to reach for 300 chips to raise out some of the limpers. I stopped...and limped. Score one for the nice guy side of my personality. I lost the pot to some low pair.
Right there I was sort of on tilt but sort of not. I knew I should have won the hand. Because I limped I lost it to a hand that would not have been there had I raised properly. On the other hand, I also knew it was good for the group as a whole to be able to play their style...so it was still the correct play as a person even if it was the wrong play as a poker player.
So a couple hands later I picked up K/10. Normally from early position that would find the muck. I might play it if I could enter with a raise from middle position and would definitely play it with the right image. But in this game I would never build an image so it becomes a trash hand. If a King hits I am afraid of their kicker and if a 10 hits there are lost of times they will hit a higher pair. Be that as it may I flopped 2 pair, though there were 2 spades on it as well. I decided to see if anyone was on a draw and made a pot-sized bet. Everyone folded so I showed. At least by showing I had bet a strong hand I could build a little image as someone they would need a hand to call. Then I killed that image with one hand.
I limped with pocket 3s from the button. Flop of course was ugly...a King, a 9, some other over card, I think a queen. Everyone checked to me. I raised it up pretty strong. Christine just could not let her hand go and called. John quietly folded. Gary whined for a while about the size of the raise, John pointed out it was just 3 times the blinds. Well, I had Chris on either middle pair or a couple overs. I bet again on the turn after she checked and she stayed with me. The river was I think a 9 or 6. She checked but I thought it might have hit her. With a King and Queen out there, a pair of 9s and a 6 on the board as well and a hand she would not let go I decided I had put enough chips in the pot and meekly checked behind her. She turned up an Ace/ten and my 3s dragged the pot.
That just about put Gary on tilt that I would bet 3s. He would have hit some nice hand, John claimed to have folded 9/6 (a full house by the river), and Gary just wouldn't let it go until finally I said, "What I am hearing is I made a great bet since without it I would have lost the hand."
That changed his tack to "Well why did you just check on the river?" Great question. And the answer was I think great as well. "Because there was no hand I could beat she would call with. I made as much off the hand as I could. If I bet and she-re-raised I would have to fold. If I bet and she didn't have me beat she would fold. So a bet could only hurt me."
Sadly, I think he learned from the experience because I saw some subtle adjustments to his play where he was going to bet the river and then didn't. Interesting.
I checked from the big blind with K/6. Flop came 6/9/10, 2 clubs. Checked to Gary who did his, "Oh, no, no checking" routine. I initially put him on the 10 but the bet was small and the more I thought about it the more I thought he had a vulnerable hand. I revised my estimate to him having maybe the 9 or 10 but more likely the 6 with a worse kicker. I thought about re-raising but decided to do it on the turn instead. Turn was a blank, according to plan I checked, and then...well, he checked. My plan was blown. River was an Ace putting a spade flush, an over card, and his reaction to it in favor of a fold. I checked, he raised 500...and inexplicably I called. I could justify folding or re-raising here...not so much calling. I thought he would fold to a big re-raise as I knew he had at best a marginal hand. By now I had put him firmly on something like J/6, so I would have him beat even if he called. His raise smelled like someone disgusted they had led all the way to the river only to be busted by an Ace. I am positive he would have laid it down. But I called...and I was wrong about the 6. He had a pair of 9s. Still, with a couple overs out there...I was pretty surprised by his play. very aggressive for Gary. And knowing what he had I am even more positive that a river raise or a check-raise would have won the hand, particularly after my exposition after the 3s hand.
Well, that took me down about 1/3rd of my stack. I went back into passive mode. Hit a couple hands to get up to about 3700. Then came a hand that really, really shocked me. I picked up pocket 10s, blinds were 1/200. Folded to Danny...who raised. What? So I instantly put him on Kings or Aces. There is no other hand I have EVER seen him raise with. I almost folded right there. But I thought I would try to take a cheap flop, see if I could luck into a set. I called. Christine, behind me, re-raised. WHAT? Danny called and I made the crying call. Flop had an Ace on it. Danny bet, I folded, Christine called. At the showdown Danny had A/J and Christine had A/Q.
Now, I do not feel bad about either of my calls nor my lay down. If I hit my set my implied odds are through the roof. I could easily have taken one or both out.
I DO, however, feel bad about my reads. Both of them acted out of character and I over-estimated the strength of their hands. I still was correct about the strength of their hands as compared to mine post-flop but they were weaker than I thought pre-flop. I was correct to call all the way around looking at it mathematically speaking when I retroactively apply the odds...but I was unable to put them on the hands they held because I was so shocked they would raise with those hands.
Well, after that I was thinking about raising but instead limped a couple times...hands like A/J. Took down a couple pots, lost a couple, was staying between 2 & 3K until the blinds hit 2/400. Took a couple losses where I limped with good hands and got beat by bad hands. Hit about 1400 in chips.
One reason playing a sub-optimal style is a bad idea is because poor play begets poor play. From early position I picked up A/4 clubs. That hand should hit the muck as fast as I see the cards in that position. First off, that is at best a speculative hand. If I hit my Ace I have kicker issues...I will end up playing the board for my kicker. If I hit my 4 I am afraid of the over cards that will be on the board by the river. So really I am playing for the nut flush (1 in 16 hands I will get a flush DRAW...and about 1/3rd of the time that will turn into a flush, so basically I want the 1 in 48 tries hand to hit) or a miracle flop...A/A/4, 4/4/anything, something like that. I am an idiot. If I were not limping with my good hands I would not limp with this one.
Well, sure enough the flop comes out with 2 clubs and 4 high. I was not a big fan of the 2/3/4 flop...but I liked the top pair/top kicker/straight flush draw. I went all in. Nobody called so I got away with it. Bad, bad play though...who wants to go out on a pair of 4s?
Well, the other problem with bad play begetting bad play is sometimes it works. So a few hands later I pick up A/10 off. I limp in. Flop comes pretty good for me, 10/6/2 rainbow. No straight draws, no flush draws. I pretty much ignored everyone else at the table. I was first to act, I decided to put pressure on. I was going to raise. However, any reasonable raise would be more than half my chips so I just went all-in. And Marykae got out her calling chips. Oops. She had pocket 6s...she flopped her set and I was basically drawing dead.
For the night I played horribly and finished poorly, 5th out of 7 people. Hardly an auspicious beginning. Yet the evening was a success. I think by choosing to allow them to play their preferred style I allowed them a long, relaxed evening where they could just enjoy poker again. Sure, my results are not so good...but that is a byproduct of choosing to play that way.
It also through poor John way off. He spent about 1-1/2 blind levels trying to figure out what I was doing. So I added deception to my game...it may look like (and have the results of) incompetence...but hey, whatchya gonna do?
Monday
An interesting situation
A friend was playing in his league's end-of-month tournament. On the line was free entry into a tournament at Chinook Winds. They started with I believe 20 people and were down to the final 6. He had 46K and the blinds were 3/6K. On the button, everyone folded to him. He picked up A/Q off suit.What do you do here?
I will argue there are several "correct" plays and they depend on personality.
1) Fold
This is for the "rock", the player who plays nothing except the absolute top hands. It is way too conservative. The person who would do this will seldom...most likely never... win a tournament. When it is folded to you on the button, A/Q figures to be a big favorite over the 2 random hands behind it. You have to do SOMETHING with it.
2) Call
This is a very conservative play, and probably correct for people with risk-aversion type personalities. I actually have one friend whom I consider a stronger player than myself who uses this strategy almost exclusively and has had excellent results with it. It has the positive aspect of disguising your hand. If you hit it on the flop you are likely going to pick up a nice bundle of chips because very few people will believe you limped with a strong Ace in that situation.
On the dark side, it opens you up to a bluff if the small or big blind is an aggressive player. I think A/Q is a good raising hand, not so good as a calling hand. If you raise with it and someone calls you can assume they have some sort of hand. Conversely, if you limp and the small blind raises they might have a real hand...including the disastrous A/K or pocket Aces or even pocket Queens...or they might have a 2/6 and sense weakness and just be trying to pick up a weak pot. Obviously, they might have that hand even if you limp...but you are more likely to know about it if you raise. In other words, one advantage of raising is it protects you against a trap. Sure, they will be out of position...but if the flop comes K/7/4 rainbow and they raise out of the gate, can you call with A/Q? So you are risking your chips (if you call) to find out nothing. So it works well against people whom you know whether they are bluffing or not...or people whom you are pretty certain won't bluff even in perfect circumstances...but carries a certain amount of risk.
3) Standard Raise
For people who habitually enter a pot with a raise, let's say the standard raise is 3 times the blind. I might argue that 4 times is a little better since it gives them a pot odds disincentive to call unless they have a real hand, but that is personal taste. This can win a couple ways. First off, it might win the pot outright. Picking up 9K adds almost 15% to your stack, a very nice pick-up and you will win with this raise often enough to make it worthwhile. However, what if you are re-raised? In this case, that would be 18K leaving him 28K...an M of just over three and if you get a re-raise all in, now you would be offered some nice pot odds: at the least you are calling 28K to win 67K, or 2.4-1 and A/Q is certainly strong enough to make that call. And that is if it is the small blind that re-raises you. Your odds are slightly better if it is the big blind. You have to be ready for this move because people are always suspicious of button raises in unopened pots.
But what if one or both simply call? Then you have options. You can play the pot, raising if it hits you (or if it looks like it missed your opponent) or even completing the oft-deadly stop & go where you raise regardless of the flop. Many players will call the all-in pre-flop but once they see the flop will fold if they miss even though their pot odds...and probably outs... are the same. So a raise lets you win one of three ways: they fold pre-flop, they call and the flop hits you, or they call, the flop misses you but you raise them out on the flop. This can backfire if you miss the flop, they hit it and that leads to their call where you are drawing thin. So you risk losing all your chips.
Of course, any time you enter a pot you risk losing all your chips. Is A/Q a hand you feel comfortable busting out on? In my case...yes. But I am a loose aggressive player when my M reaches that point.
3) Raise all-in pre-flop
This has the advantage of taking maximum advantage of your fold equity. If you raised, you probably aren't getting away from A/Q anyway pre-flop and if you will call a bet, my theory is you are (almost) always better off MAKING the bet. Put the tough decisions on your opponent.
It has the downside of allowing your opponent to call with a wider range of hands in this case if they have an awareness of tournament play. With 46K and blinds of 3/6, you have barely over M5 and blinds are going to go up. Therefore you are real close to the danger zone and good players will make moves from the buttons. They still aren't calling you with 3/9...but you might get a call with a dry Ace or something like K/10. You are actually hoping for the Dry Ace call since you have it dominated. But they can call with so many more hands because they KNOW your situation that if they are astute players you have an excellent chance of getting called by a weaker hand. That is a pretty strong argument in favor of the all-in...but the huge negative is they are also locked into the hand and if they miss the flop you can't get rid of them...and sometimes those hands river you.
If you have A/Q, they have something like a 7/8 suited...that is the type hand a lot of people will call with...if the flop misses you both they would probably fold to a bet. However, if the chips are all in the center they aren't going anywhere. Let's say the turn is also a blank...yes, they are way behind, about 6-1...but they do have those 6 outs so about 12 - 15% of the time they are still sending you home. That is the downside to going all-in pre-flop...sure, you get your double-up when you win but the flip side is you can't get rid of them before the river. Pros and cons each way.
Well, he elected to go all-in. I cannot fault his choice. I probably would do they same things because I am an aggressive player, I know I am very likely to have the best hand and only be called by hands I am at worst in a race with and more likely dominating. I expect to see an Ace in the hand of anyone who calls in that situation.
The small blind went into the tank for a long time before she eventually called. Personally, I think she made a huge mistake. She should have gone all-in herself rather than just a call. Her hand, as we will see, is the type of hand you really do not want to see multiple players. If the Big Blind has any hand at all he is now getting a nice price, about 2-1, to make the call...calling 46 to win 92. Essentially he is getting 3-1 on his chips and there are a lot of hands you could call with that. However, if she raises all-in his odds go down. If your hand is worth calling an all-in, it better be worth calling a re-raise behind you...and once one player is all-in, if you have a marginal hand you really want to isolate. I really dislike her play here.
The Big Blind folded rather quickly. Our hero flipped up his A/Q and she flipped up A/6 suited. He was almost a 3-1 favorite to double up. Personally, I like those odds and would take them every time. Of course, when you are a 3-1 favorite, 25% of the time they hit a 6 or, in this case, a flush and he was gone.
Later he said that looking back he should have folded the hand. I disagree. With his chip stack, position, and hand the very least he should have done was raise. He got in with a big advantage. The only other thing he might have done here was the stop-and-go, but that would leave the door open for the big blind to call based on pot odds if the small blind called, so then he would need to beat 2 hands instead of one. I will argue he played this hand correctly and simply ran into a mathematical problem...and one reason Hold 'Em is fascinating. If the better hand won every time people would play a lot fewer hands...and I would rake in a lot less chips from the people who often call me with trash hands like A/6 suited.
Of course, not being upset depends on being happy with playing better. If you are results oriented and think that someone sucking out on you when they should not be in the hand or should not have called then this is probably the wrong game anyway. The player who consistently gets in with the best of it will, in the long run, have more success, though there are certainly times when it seems like you should play incorrectly as you see K/3 beat A/K or some such brutality. But that is short term and over the course of several hours of play you will see the guy playing K/3 give his chips to the guy playing the A/K. Unless, of course, the guy playing the A/K lets the K/3 in cheap....
I will argue there are several "correct" plays and they depend on personality.
1) Fold
This is for the "rock", the player who plays nothing except the absolute top hands. It is way too conservative. The person who would do this will seldom...most likely never... win a tournament. When it is folded to you on the button, A/Q figures to be a big favorite over the 2 random hands behind it. You have to do SOMETHING with it.
2) Call
This is a very conservative play, and probably correct for people with risk-aversion type personalities. I actually have one friend whom I consider a stronger player than myself who uses this strategy almost exclusively and has had excellent results with it. It has the positive aspect of disguising your hand. If you hit it on the flop you are likely going to pick up a nice bundle of chips because very few people will believe you limped with a strong Ace in that situation.
On the dark side, it opens you up to a bluff if the small or big blind is an aggressive player. I think A/Q is a good raising hand, not so good as a calling hand. If you raise with it and someone calls you can assume they have some sort of hand. Conversely, if you limp and the small blind raises they might have a real hand...including the disastrous A/K or pocket Aces or even pocket Queens...or they might have a 2/6 and sense weakness and just be trying to pick up a weak pot. Obviously, they might have that hand even if you limp...but you are more likely to know about it if you raise. In other words, one advantage of raising is it protects you against a trap. Sure, they will be out of position...but if the flop comes K/7/4 rainbow and they raise out of the gate, can you call with A/Q? So you are risking your chips (if you call) to find out nothing. So it works well against people whom you know whether they are bluffing or not...or people whom you are pretty certain won't bluff even in perfect circumstances...but carries a certain amount of risk.
3) Standard Raise
For people who habitually enter a pot with a raise, let's say the standard raise is 3 times the blind. I might argue that 4 times is a little better since it gives them a pot odds disincentive to call unless they have a real hand, but that is personal taste. This can win a couple ways. First off, it might win the pot outright. Picking up 9K adds almost 15% to your stack, a very nice pick-up and you will win with this raise often enough to make it worthwhile. However, what if you are re-raised? In this case, that would be 18K leaving him 28K...an M of just over three and if you get a re-raise all in, now you would be offered some nice pot odds: at the least you are calling 28K to win 67K, or 2.4-1 and A/Q is certainly strong enough to make that call. And that is if it is the small blind that re-raises you. Your odds are slightly better if it is the big blind. You have to be ready for this move because people are always suspicious of button raises in unopened pots.
But what if one or both simply call? Then you have options. You can play the pot, raising if it hits you (or if it looks like it missed your opponent) or even completing the oft-deadly stop & go where you raise regardless of the flop. Many players will call the all-in pre-flop but once they see the flop will fold if they miss even though their pot odds...and probably outs... are the same. So a raise lets you win one of three ways: they fold pre-flop, they call and the flop hits you, or they call, the flop misses you but you raise them out on the flop. This can backfire if you miss the flop, they hit it and that leads to their call where you are drawing thin. So you risk losing all your chips.
Of course, any time you enter a pot you risk losing all your chips. Is A/Q a hand you feel comfortable busting out on? In my case...yes. But I am a loose aggressive player when my M reaches that point.
3) Raise all-in pre-flop
This has the advantage of taking maximum advantage of your fold equity. If you raised, you probably aren't getting away from A/Q anyway pre-flop and if you will call a bet, my theory is you are (almost) always better off MAKING the bet. Put the tough decisions on your opponent.
It has the downside of allowing your opponent to call with a wider range of hands in this case if they have an awareness of tournament play. With 46K and blinds of 3/6, you have barely over M5 and blinds are going to go up. Therefore you are real close to the danger zone and good players will make moves from the buttons. They still aren't calling you with 3/9...but you might get a call with a dry Ace or something like K/10. You are actually hoping for the Dry Ace call since you have it dominated. But they can call with so many more hands because they KNOW your situation that if they are astute players you have an excellent chance of getting called by a weaker hand. That is a pretty strong argument in favor of the all-in...but the huge negative is they are also locked into the hand and if they miss the flop you can't get rid of them...and sometimes those hands river you.
If you have A/Q, they have something like a 7/8 suited...that is the type hand a lot of people will call with...if the flop misses you both they would probably fold to a bet. However, if the chips are all in the center they aren't going anywhere. Let's say the turn is also a blank...yes, they are way behind, about 6-1...but they do have those 6 outs so about 12 - 15% of the time they are still sending you home. That is the downside to going all-in pre-flop...sure, you get your double-up when you win but the flip side is you can't get rid of them before the river. Pros and cons each way.
Well, he elected to go all-in. I cannot fault his choice. I probably would do they same things because I am an aggressive player, I know I am very likely to have the best hand and only be called by hands I am at worst in a race with and more likely dominating. I expect to see an Ace in the hand of anyone who calls in that situation.
The small blind went into the tank for a long time before she eventually called. Personally, I think she made a huge mistake. She should have gone all-in herself rather than just a call. Her hand, as we will see, is the type of hand you really do not want to see multiple players. If the Big Blind has any hand at all he is now getting a nice price, about 2-1, to make the call...calling 46 to win 92. Essentially he is getting 3-1 on his chips and there are a lot of hands you could call with that. However, if she raises all-in his odds go down. If your hand is worth calling an all-in, it better be worth calling a re-raise behind you...and once one player is all-in, if you have a marginal hand you really want to isolate. I really dislike her play here.
The Big Blind folded rather quickly. Our hero flipped up his A/Q and she flipped up A/6 suited. He was almost a 3-1 favorite to double up. Personally, I like those odds and would take them every time. Of course, when you are a 3-1 favorite, 25% of the time they hit a 6 or, in this case, a flush and he was gone.
Later he said that looking back he should have folded the hand. I disagree. With his chip stack, position, and hand the very least he should have done was raise. He got in with a big advantage. The only other thing he might have done here was the stop-and-go, but that would leave the door open for the big blind to call based on pot odds if the small blind called, so then he would need to beat 2 hands instead of one. I will argue he played this hand correctly and simply ran into a mathematical problem...and one reason Hold 'Em is fascinating. If the better hand won every time people would play a lot fewer hands...and I would rake in a lot less chips from the people who often call me with trash hands like A/6 suited.
Of course, not being upset depends on being happy with playing better. If you are results oriented and think that someone sucking out on you when they should not be in the hand or should not have called then this is probably the wrong game anyway. The player who consistently gets in with the best of it will, in the long run, have more success, though there are certainly times when it seems like you should play incorrectly as you see K/3 beat A/K or some such brutality. But that is short term and over the course of several hours of play you will see the guy playing K/3 give his chips to the guy playing the A/K. Unless, of course, the guy playing the A/K lets the K/3 in cheap....
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