First semester in the books

Hey everyone,

It's been a while since I have posted and I have to say that I am so glad that finals are over and the semester is done. Though, I do have to say that I am so highly disappointed not to be able to spend time with all the people I have become so close with in my tower. What a lucky situation I get to be in. Everyday, I get to wake up knowing I am surrounded with people who are just amazing. I can't explain it much more than that, I don't think.

My friends have given me one big piece of advice. Be active. Don't just sit there and let things come to you, go out and get them. I think that this school is HUGE on that concept and I must work harder to let that become my mantra, my spirit. Maybe I don't agree with all the students and professors here, but those who are active will do better.

This vacation has some real potential to be a boost for my poker life. I am unemployed, and will have some ample time on my hands. I realize that I am not supposed to be talking about the game, but I think I can get some serious volume in if I can keep my focus on continue to improve my game. My poker mentor said that I could become a winning player at NL400 by the time I get out of college, and I want to surpass that. As supplemental income, this game could be wonderful for me. Last night, I watched some WPT episodes while playing a session and that really inspired me. I also got a massive boost from a girl in my tower who doesn't even play the game. She just told me to follow my passion and just let it take me where it will. She is the first person who doesn't understand the concept of check-raising to tell me this and it was such a boost for me. I don't want to let her or anyone else who supports my growth in this game down. My focus is renewed.

Baltimore's win over Dallas may have killed the Pats chance to make the playoffs...Fuck the AFC WEST!!!

One more thought...I wish I had a cooler poker screen name. I am "ghostwizard"...but man if I could change that, I would. Some thoughts on a cooler handle:

• The Vig Show
• A-bomb
• SKdragon
• StoHoFoSho

If you have any other suggestions, leave them...

Some thoughts...

Hey,

I'm a little under the weather today, right now I'm supposed to be working another shift at the world famous Trim Dining Hall at Babson College, but it is in no one's best interest for me to be there. I have been thinking a lot about what it is that is flooding my brain with all kinds of thoughts and feelings and while much of those thoughts and feelings are far too personal to be revealed to anyone at the moment, I thought I could get a few things off of my mind.

I really should never blog about anything related to poker again until
a. I have reached a level where my influence on the game is powerful or
b. I have something interesting to say about the industry in general
I have played a bunch of live poker this week, and while I did not even come close to being a winner for the week, I have realized that it does not matter what my results are. My opinions on the game seem to infuriate people or cause them to mock me. It is in no one's best interest to read what I have to say. Thoughts of quitting the game for good and cashing out my account on Pokerstars have come through my head, but I do love the game and won't give it up that easily. There are people in the world who would do anything for the small bankroll I have to buy groceries and other essential needs, so it has been bothering me when I lose my money playing poorly or in an exploitable manner because I think of those who are far less fortunate than me.

I should probably not reveal anything emotionally about myself either. It goes without saying that subjects like family and friends are going to be heavily censored, but I also feel like I should dial down the tone of my writing so as not to come off as to emo or something. Actually, the way this post is heading, I am going to sound like a total wreck, but whatever. I think the larger point I am trying to get at myself is to voice opinions about a certain subject or industry instead of myself. The reason that people can blog about themselves is because they are a subject worth reading about.

So, where does that leave me? I don't really know at this point. I don't watch TV to heavily and I don't really read. I'm not particularly enthralled by anything besides poker at times, but as I have already stated, I'm not writing about that. That leaves me in the most awkward spot of all. Having a voice, but nothing to say. I'm not trying to complain about striking myself with the creative shaft, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that I don't really have a specific place in the world.

Business school is a nice place to be, but I have found myself increasingly baffled and awestruck by how littered that world is with corruption and this weird reverse karma where selfish decision-making seems to be rewarded more often than not. Maybe I should have gone to an engineering school and test my "Asian" math skills in a realm that may not be the sexiest in the world but might have been more satisfying for me. It's hard to say. I marvel at how the entrepreneurial spirit has emblazened itself in so many students here. My hope is that some of these ideas will turn out to be something truly useful for the world and not just another pretentious clothing company who thrives off a modernistic clothing label and some idiotic ideals that no one with an annual income of under $10 million would understand. Sadly, I find that this spirit will simply not enter me. That leaves me good, but less interesting options should I follow through with my education and put it into direct use. After watching what big corporations are doing to hard-working people by either giving them the axe or shipping their jobs to foreign lands, I find it hard to believe that I will want to work somewhere where I am simply a number in a bigger machine. Smaller firms in assorted industries seem cool enough, but my fear is that they will simply crumble under the weight of their bigger brothers. Maybe I should be more hopeful about that. I still dream of working for a Boston sports team even if it was in an office job. Because I was not blessed with the athletic gifts of a Big Papi or KG, this would certainly be the next coolest career path for me. This dream lives on, but the pressure to start building up a competitive resume is really starting to hit me hard. It isn't enough for my good friends to tell me that I will make something of myself, but it comes down to me actually doing it.

Hmm...I'm reading this over and I allowed my emotions to flood onto the page again. Ehh, I'm just a voice talking into the wind, who's gonna listen anyway?

Dream within a dream/ venting

Hey everyone,

Yesterday I experienced what might be the coolest effect possible in an unconscious state, the dream within a dream. If there is a technical term for it, I don't know it. But anyways, I remember taking a nap and in the midst of some portion of the sleep cycle, I was startled awake by my alarm...or lack thereof in this case. I awoke to the horror of being an hour late for work. As I started to scramble to get my work clothes together and sprint out the door, I "woke up" or so I thought. It is possible that I was actually awake and checking my clock to see that I had only been asleep for like half an hour, but I am actually sure that I dreamt about sleeping in too late, then startling myself in my dream only to go into a state of sleep where I can't recall my dreams, somewhere before my REM cycle. Again, there lies the possibility that I am clinically insane and that all of this didn't happen...I don't know. Maybe I should sign in to one of those sleep clinics, I hear they pay well.

Anywho, I played the .10/.20 game with the peeps here at school. My friend Connor got this insane sound system over the break and I couldn't hear myself talk when it was only at about 3/4 its power. Apparently, it can max out at the sound level of a plane engine...sweetness!!!
The poker itself was kinda shitty for me, mostly because I kept trying to make idiotic moves in bad spots to bluff, anywho, here are some highlights...

Weird moment of night.
Game is in the first hour, 7 handed. Henry opens for 3x UTG, some kid I will call R23 3 bets to $2 total. In the BB, someone else we will call SK cold calls the 3 bet and Henry calls as well.
Flop: T53 two spades
SK donk leads for .90, Henry folds, R23 makes it $3 to go, SK makes it $6, R23 tanks the calls, leaving about $2.5o behind.
Turn:5
SK shoves, R23 tanks again, then calls it off
The hands...
SK:54hh
R23:QJss
...I'm not even gonna bother revealing the river, if I made this a guessing contest, no one who didn't play in the game last night would have figured this one out.

My highlight:
Late into the game, I call an EP raise OTB after Henry flatted in the Co with 10-5 cc from someone we will call PT3.
Flop:542
PT3 leads for 1.50, Henry folds, I make it 3.60, PT3 calls
Turn: Q
Check, check
River: T
PT3 leads for 3.50 and I snap it off. PT3 announces A hi, and I manage to catch what we all believe is biggest bluff he has ever attempted. Other than that, this should illustrate what a slow night it was for me.

Low moment of night
I open for .80 in the HJ and get flatted by a nit named Paskorn in the CO and Connor in the SB.
Flop QT3r
c/c/c...I'm not going to explain why I did anything this hand and you will see in a second
Turn 2
I bet 2.50, Paskorn makes it 5.50, Connor folds, I tank, then shove for around 19 more.
Paskorn freaks out (as he usually does in big pots like this), then tanks. I am pretty sure he is on some kind of two pair hand and is considering a fold...then Connor says, "I think I know what you have"...He looks at Paskorn's hand and confirms he is correct. When I see that I'm thinking "crap he has..."
Paskorn rolls over 2-2 as he is still "tanking".
He then says, "Well, I beat you with this last time, I think I can do it again, I call" in a voice that makes me 100% sure he realized he was good 5 minutes ago and wanted to milk my soul.
I just muck in disgust and get my rebuy together.

Let it be known, Paskorn, I have a vendetta against you. You can't be going around thinking you can get away with that bullshit without consequences. I have officially declared war on you...

Peace be with you, everyone (except Paskorn)

hello again

Hey everyone,

As usual, my blog comes at a seemingly random day, as I didn't feel like writing until today. I promised I would show some hand histories and embarrass myself about how badly I play, so I will...I'll even analyze my thinking, so if you're reading this, well, I'm probably gonna get owned next time I play with you, so enjoy.

PokerStars Game #22452855602: Hold'em No Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008/11/28 21:06:33 ET
Table 'Ilse IV' 6-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: wm007 ($48 in chips)
Seat 2: ghostwizard ($102.65 in chips)
Seat 3: Richard2912 ($58 in chips)
Seat 4: jordo69er ($43.90 in chips)
Seat 5: Toxophilite ($49.90 in chips)
Seat 6: maceiras ($63.10 in chips)
jordo69er: posts small blind $0.25
Toxophilite: posts big blind $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ghostwizard [Ts Ks]
maceiras: calls $0.50
wm007: folds
ghostwizard: raises $1.50 to $2
Richard2912: folds
jordo69er: calls $1.75
Toxophilite: folds
maceiras: calls $1.50
*** FLOP *** [Th Js 9h]
jordo69er: checks
maceiras: checks
ghostwizard: bets $4
jordo69er: folds
maceiras: calls $4
*** TURN *** [Th Js 9h] [Td]
maceiras: checks
ghostwizard: bets $11
maceiras: calls $11
*** RIVER *** [Th Js 9h Td] [Ac]
maceiras: bets $46.10 and is all-in
ghostwizard: calls $46.10
*** SHOW DOWN ***
maceiras: shows [Jh Tc] (a full house, Tens full of Jacks)
ghostwizard: mucks hand
maceiras collected $125.70 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $128.70 | Rake $3
Board [Th Js 9h Td Ac]
Seat 1: wm007 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: ghostwizard mucked [Ts Ks]
Seat 3: Richard2912 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: jordo69er (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 5: Toxophilite (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: maceiras showed [Jh Tc] and won ($125.70) with a full house, Tens full of Jacks

So, pretty much, preflop is standard, I isolate limpers a ton and the first limper was pretty fishy in my estimation. The flop is pretty decent for me to continue on. I expect the villain to continue with heart draws, all kinds of pair and straight draw type hands...I feel he will be peeling so wide that I am ahead of his range.

Turn was real nice, I don't think my opponent is ever folding a jack, and will still continue with pretty much any combo draw.

The river shove was so weird here. What could my opponent have? At the time I just felt like maybe this villain was spaz bluffing for no reason...but in retrospect, there is no way I am good here. The villain was fishy, but certainly not clinically insane. My opponent probably saw that he still had a full house and thought I was strong and shoved to get paid off...silly me went along with it...*sigh. Lesson learned.

So...yea presentation tomorrow, finals in two weeks, and I still have no idea where I am going to work this summer...four days back from break and I'm already at the point of stress that I was in before I left.

I'll post something about the .10/.20 game if we have it this week.

Peace

obama, downswing, and vacation

Hey guys,

As usual, it has been a few days since my last post...I know, it's really annoying and inconsistent. Anyway, this post is coming from the house of my only official follower so far, THE HAWK!1!1!1...thought I would throw out that shout out before I got this shit started.

So last time, I talked about why I am kind of mad at the people who are ripshit over Obama screwing over the upper class. First of all, if you are in the upper class to begin with, then why are you worrying about your financial situation? Hopefully, if you are fortunate enough to be in that financial situation in the first place, you either know how to handle your finances or you can hire somebody who will. Why do I have to feel sorry for you when I am working my ass off to do well in school, get a good internship, and eventually get a good job so I can get to a higher position in MIDDLE class. This week I was at home at my mom's house for break from school. It was freezing in there, but I wasn't going to turn the heat any higher than 50...why? Because my mother practices a little thing called moderation. She is somebody who demonstrates the fact that it is entirely possible to stretch the dollar really, really far if you are willing to think and learn how to stretch the dollar. I heard at least one person ask why their parents should "give back" the money they rightfully earn. There is no reason to be sorry for you...so Obama is taxing your family more money...deal with it, it is a part of being in a higher tax bracket. Try to stretch your dollar a little bit and stop bitching and moaning about how shitty your financial situation is. I also heard someone talk about the idea of a flat tax...bullshit. The only thing a flat tax accomplishes is depleting the fiscal resources of the government because it taxes less money from the upper class. I mean, I could go on and on, but I won't try to be a political pundit until somewhere around September of 2012.

I have been on a pretty hard downswing lately in poker, online and live. I got owned a bunch in some smaller tournaments live with my friends in Stoneham. When I reevaluated my play, the pattern of the tournament was accumulating chips early, punting a lot of them away on a really marginal spot, then getting owned hard in at attempt to steal blinds late. Oh well, my friend, THE HAWK, took one down, and my friend Mike Sod took down 2 tournies and come back to become more of the degen gambler that the Stoneham kids fell in love with back in the day. I almost convinced that kid to play a $100 buy in at Seabrook the other day even though those tournies are so bad. Online, I have been playing really badly lately...I looked at a few hands, which I will post in a later date, which made me cry because they were played so horribly. My br was at around 1300, but now im at like a little over 1100 now...Oh well, poker isn't supposed to be a smooth ride to the top, so I'm not all that worried about it, I just have to remember to keep thinking deeply...Always think deeply, kids.

Vacation has been really, really relaxing. I am not really looking forward to going back to the grind at Babson, but there won't be much more time before winter break. Besides, I probably need to make an appearance at my .10/.20 game. I love playing that game... So, tonight, a guy threw this party, and specifically did not invite a lot of my good friends back at home. Long story short, like 10 of us went down to the kid's house and we just got in his face and made him try to confront us about why none of us were invited. His best excuse was that there were people who just moved in next door and he didn't want to disturb them...Right, I'm sure you're being so considerate...what a piece of shit...This really isn't my situation, but I felt like I'd throw that in there for some spice in my work. I will be happy to answer inquiries about said situation.

Anywho, I want to throw out another shout-out to cavallere.com. You guys are just cranking out a lot of different articles and they are good entertaining reading. It is making me kind of regret not being a part of their site, but if you guys are reading and you want a guest piece or something, I will be more than happy to debate about sports with their resident writer. Sports and arguing about crap are two things I love. I think that is all for now...Yeah, I'll remember to post some hand histories and explain why I suck at poker.

So, vacation has been very relaxing for me.

some thoughts about life and tom brady

I had an IM conversation with a good friend a couple of nights ago and he told me this story (I'm going to use a made up screen name so my followers don't start stalking him on AIM):

T-Pain (11:56:53 PM): last night im fuckin around with some roomates and a couple friends (one of which has dealt at the game, little columbian kid)

T-Pain(11:57:26 PM): so we are just fuckin around at the poker table and i get bored

T-Pain(11:58:04 PM): so columbian kid, CK we will call him, was dealing

T-Pain(11:58:17 PM): CK deals a hand, and i state, "I am bored who wants to flip for money"

T-Pain(11:58:34 PM): everyone declines, CK says i will (which was weird, he is poor and doesnt gamble)

T-Pain(11:59:00 PM): he says okay, ill do whatever i have in my wallet

T-Pain(11:59:02 PM): he had 5$

T-Pain(11:59:08 PM): i say okay, get ak out of the deck

T-Pain(11:59:19 PM): he Decilines and says no, he will use hi s current hand

T-Pain(11:59:30 PM): I ask him if he knows what his current hand is, cuz i dont want to flip against AA

T-Pain(11:59:33 PM): he says he hasnt looked

T-Pain(11:59:46 PM): i ask him again, "You swear you haven't looked?"=

T-Pain(11:59:54 PM): he says i havent looked

T-Pain(11:59:56 PM): i say run it

T-Pain(12:00:01 AM): flop is A 7 A XX

T-Pain(12:00:03 AM): he flips up AA

T-Pain(12:00:06 AM): OMG!!!!

T-Pain(12:00:09 AM): omg!!!

T-Pain(12:00:20 AM): end story

Let's not even bother talking about how obvious this looks like CK is cheating. The point I want to bring up is what we talked about after. It's weird, but filthy rich people and dirt poor people are eerily similar when it comes to money. Filthy rich people are never satisfied with the insane amounts of money in their possession already and will stop at nothing to make more and more money. People who are dirt poor are just as desperate for money and will often times stop at nothing to accumulate any sort of wealth, albeit they do it more out of necessity. When you hear about people going from "rags to riches" , it's just someone who was dirt poor, but became filthy rich. The person is not any different, because the engrained mindset does not have to change. I heard a lot of people talk at school about how Obama is screwing over the upper class with his new tax policies. It saddened me that people would be so selfish and so quick to dismiss this man as just a Robin Hood politician, a socialist. Rich people who are going to be affected can look at the increase in percentage in taxes and just think of how it will hinder the will to become wealthy...you know what, this topic deserves more attention in another post...let's move on to the other question I wanted to bring up.

I watched Skip Bayless argue with the Stewart brothers on First and 10 this morning and the following question came up...

Should the Patriots trade Tom Brady?

I'm not kidding, this was the most heated topic of discussion on the show. Now if you are wondering why on Earth such a seemingly stupid question came up, think about this:

• Matt Cassel has proven he can be a viable quarterback as he has matured rapidly after Tom Brady went down.
• Cassel is a young talent who can be molded and signed for much less money than Brady, therefore, the financial leverage gained from trading Brady can mean draft picks and money to throw around in free agency to improve the Pats horrid secondary.
• Tom Brady is 31 years old coming off a knee surgery that leaves questions about how effective he will be upon return
• Another unrelated thought: Bill Belichick's ego might drive him to prove that the success of this team is about his system and not Tom Brady

One of the Stewart brothers said this topic could definitely pick up steam into the winter, I would have to agree...

sry for the delay

Hey everyone,

It's been a little while since I wrote in this, so for that I apologize. I want to take the time to do a little plug for a blog called Cavallere.com. A bunch of friends of mine started this thing up a with a test version and they launched into full gear a couple of days ago. At one point, I was invited to be a writer for this website. Essentially, I would be paid to spout my mouth off in the same way that I am doing right now. The reason why I eventually declined this offer is because of the rigid manner in which articles must be generated. Those of you (and I implore all my readers to begin looking at the site regularly and bookmarking it) who decide to read this website will see topics that should fill up very fast as the writers for this site must produce articles at a good steady clip. I just don't like that kind of rigid schedule, but I wish everyone involved with the site the best of luck and I am sure that you guys will do great.

I haven't played much poker lately, aside from a couple of 5 dollar sit and go's which I lost in miserable fashion. I also watched the ME final table for the first time tonight. I think they really painted Dennis Phillips as the favorite to root for at home. This is perfectly fine and good, Phillips story about his lucky coin is actually really, really cool, but I wish that they had done more of a story about Peter Eastgate, since, you know...he won. I also found it hilarious how nerdy Scott Montgomery is. Damn, that guy really makes the game look so bad...not to mention how criminal it would have been if he was rewarded for punting 50bbs away with A9dd (like how he was rewarded for the two outer he peeled on Paul Snead). Still, it must have been quite the remarkable production to put the show together with ONE DAY turnaround.

I am also watching some season 1 WPT episodes. It's pretty scary how far the game has come around in 5 years, at least in tournaments...cash games also run much tougher. The way you hear the commentators talk about poker is so much more advanced today. I admit I am not a tournament player, but I feel like I can understand a lot of the play back in season 1, even though Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten get flustered by Gus Hansen making a button steal with 10-3 suited. Basically, I'm mad bored today and I am way too lazy to do anything.

All right, I'm gonna sesh for a little now. I'll try to be better about my writing.