closing out march

a bit bored right now...i should be doing some work but i'll just ramble here.

poker has been pretty sour lately, lost about 10 bi in 2 days and havent played since. you'd think i'd be used to the swings by now but it's still frustrating. not winning any flips and playing like total shit is a nice recipe for losing money. doh. i plan on coming back in april and cutting down to 4 tables and seeing how that goes. i had the mentality of 'omg i need to play 8 tables so i can get my $ back and THEN i'll do 4 tables to cut it down'...idiotic. i just sometimes lose perspective on the fact that poker is about the long run and these little downswings (however significant/insignificant they may be) don't matter that much. it all evens out in the end (hopefully).

i have a few pics up from spring break.



south padre was a fun time. the beach was nice, weather was pretty solid (for the most part). the drive down there and back was pretty bad overall and i got a ticket (still have to call in for that bullshit). enjoying the last trip that all of my friends and i have before everyone enters the real world was fun.

i recently went to a 1999 themed party and dressed as a chigga. we ran streets in beer pong and i probably pissed off about 30 people.

as i've said in the past, i am always seeking a balanced lifestyle. alec torelli made a pretty cool post on his blog HERE where he is fighting the same problem(s). while i make nowhere near trahoe i think all of us as poker players can understand the constant battle of floating in and out of reality. on one hand we are making great money, well above the average for our age. making 6 figures in this game in a year is only predicated off work ethic (typically) and how many hours you put in. if many of us had to do 8 hours a day on poker, 40 hours a week, we'd probably all be millionaires (ok not true but you understand where i'm getting at). as poker players, we grow accustomed to our lazy ways, disregarding price tags and living a life that frankly not many live.

we lose touch with reality. we think about how much we can make, what we can do to increase our winrates or find passive income such as rakeback deals/staking/etc. like any hobby or profession that takes over one's life, poker can be such a habit. i think being balanced is something all of us strive to do. i know that i have a few hobbies that i'm either partaking in now (rock climbing, scuba diving) or want to try in the future (learn to cook, do more outdoors stuff like hike/etc).

anyways, time to sign up for classes now. i think i'm taking some history, spanish (fuck), an education class and an elective. seems simple enough i think. bah.

POKER IS A WHORE

that is all. FU POKER

updates

sorry haven't updated in a while. i went down to south padre, TX for spring break this past week which was a blast. no real pics up, maybe in the future. the drive there/back sucked dick and i got a $220 ticket. lead foot yee was going 12 over and fucking texan bastards wrote me a ticket.

i haven't played much poker this month (go figure). been busy with some school stuff, spring break i took a week off as well. probably up like nothing this month but whatever. meh.

school has been going alright. i think i'm probably resigning myself to a D in history of jazz. i just need the credit. at this point i'm content with doing shitty in those classes that i just need credit for. call it senioritis or something, i dont know. i probably should try marginally but i just find it so boring and gay. i have to sign up for some classes next semester, probably looking towards U.S. military history and a history of China class.

i also enrolled into a scuba class, not sure if i mentioned it here. i'm pretty excited for more experience with scuba diving...we had one class and it's a load of fun. i need to finish this class and then do some open water dives to be certified. i still haven't figured out some of my summer plans (more on this later), so we'll see then.

as far as exercise/diet/etc has been going, i've decided to cut back on some of the carbs that i normally enjoy. i started this yesterday and am anxious to see the results (probably won't come for quite some time). for instance, instead of eating 3 slices of bread and making a chicken sandwhich, i just ommitted the bread (same with tonight). i normally eat a shitton of carbs in general and i think cutting back on some of them will allow me to both gain muscle and lose body fat faster.

i haven't lifted in forever. i'm at the point in my life where i don't really care about lifting as much, at least exclusively. mountain climbing is a great work out and i feel that i'm already getting stronger from that. but as far as going in the gym and lifting weights, meh. i might do it every once in a blue moon but i doubt it. i still don't mind running and probably will interchange cardio/climbing throughout the week.

it feels good in general to work out again after spring break. i'm not sure what i'm going to do this summer when i'm unable to climb...maybe just do pushups/situps. i'd love to continue climbing though and i'm afraid that all strength i've built will be lost. (which would suck dick).

this summer i have mapped out for the most part. this thursday i think i'm going to go book my ticket, or at least discuss it. i'm going with two other friends, both poker buddies from nebraska. i've heard many stories on thailand and the place itself seems like a blast.

i don't know what i'm really doing in may. i wanted to initially go somewhere. i may or may not just take a 2 week vacation somewhere and spend the other 2 weeks getting all my shit organized. i have a fair amount of work to do in the next month or two...i have to find a place to live next year, find a solution (since i'm only doing 4 months of school, doing a full yearly lease sucks). i also have to get all my tax stuff in order because taxes are coming up (ughhh).

2 weeks somewhere sounds fun. i'll figure it out.

fucking planet of the apes

so today i decided to go to the horseshoe for some 1/3 and 2/5 action. i find live poker pretty fun in general, though i don't really go very often. the horseshoe was pretty busy today as it's the weekend and the degens have to find some way to gamble their paychecks away.

anyways, i float from 1/3 for a bit until a 2/5 seat opens up. i don't really play many (or any) hands. i am lodged between a guy who looks like ****ing uncle rico-
and this super ****ing mammoth of a fatass. good lord i smelled him from a mile away.

the casino tried starting another table but none of the retards showed up. the lineup was an old retard, a gayrab lady, and a fatass lady. i proposed we play 4-handed but all of them declined. i was forced to go back to 1/3 and donk around there.

the 2/5 called me not too long after and i sat. the game looked pretty good...there were some definite retards sitting.

first orbit i open A:club:Q:heart: to $20 after a limper, a guy to my direct left who looked exactly like :


did his best gus hansen impression and reraised me to $110. i folded without much thought.

anyways, i run pretty ****ing cold the first hour or two. zero cards. all pps miss, i raise a few scs and get called a few ways, then am forced to just c/f when flops like KKQ hit when it's 4 way action. i limp a few other marginal hands in position and don't hit. i'm down a few hundred pretty quickly just from reloading. there was one retarded situation where two limp in front, i bump up KQ, one call (the two limpers fold). the flop is T67 and the douche donks into me. i fold and show my neighbors the KQs (the two people that limped were to my direct right) and they both said they limp/folded AQ. LOL RETARDS.

fat arab lady next to me starts talking with me. it appears her husband is at the same table as her and he's definitely not all there. the guy was an old retard and super super laggy...he would make bizarre plays (pretty much the prefect description of live play) and spaz alot.

anyways, i opened AA UTG, gayrab calls, a few others call. flop is Q92. i bet $60 into $80, gayrab lady makes it $160. she has like $400 total so i just jam the rest in and she tanks. she starts talking to herself and i'm like "oh **** this lady is about to get raped". then she says "if you have queens then oh well, i call" and i **** a brick. she flips red deuces and i'm drawing pretty much dead. i reload to $500.

by this time i'm down about $900...i only brought $1.5k (maybe a bit too little, i didn't expect to lose this quickly lol). overall i've ran pretty ****ing bad at the horseshoe with all things considering. i can remember hands from a while back where i always either ran into the top of someone's range and/or got sucked out on as a decent favorite. anyways, enough crying from me...

i witness a bizarre hand later...super super azn nit to my direct right (who plays literally like 2 hands an hour, he l/f-ed AQ earlier) limp/calls AQo again. the PFR was from MP, who had been pretty active and bad. the SB comes along as well (so it's EP limps, MP raises, SB calls, EP calls).

flop is A 7 6 and sb donks like full pot. EP (tight azn) tanks for a minute or two while staring into SB's heart. this fat**** tard with a big stack and a UFC hat calls time on the azn. the azn gets super pissed off and eventually folds (while showing me)/MP folds. SB proudly shows black TT and scoops.

the direct next hand, the azn sits there preflop and asks the fat**** if he wants to call time on him again. the fat**** says it wasn't anything personal. the azn continues to talk **** to the fatass and the fatass spazzes and runs off/calls the floor.

another hand i call a raise with 56 in position from gayrab's husband, the table maniac. a few others call as well.

flop is 667. maniac bets $20 into $100, tightish guy who has been running like the sun calls $20. i raise to $70, gayrab lady cold calls $70 behind me, all else fold.

turn K i bet $120 and she folds. mustve been some idiotic 89 or spades.

you see some of the dumbest **** in live poker...man...it just amazes me how retarded people can get. i saw this one hand earlier when the gayrab lady and this other fat butch went at it...limped pot, flop is 9T2...sb bets $10, gayrab JAMS for $150, fat butch tanks forever and calls with QJo, saying she had pot odds. i wanted to start smacking her over and over but didn't. (QJ eventually did hit a straight so what do i know, maybe she's a potripper ffs).

anyways, not really too many other interesting hands. i slowly build sortve a stack with $750 or so after i raise KJo, maniac husband calls along w/ a few others. flop Qxx, cked around. turn K i bet maniac calls, river x he c/fs.

there was another hand a little later where i open JJ UTG and get like 4 callers. this other old monkey makes it $40 from the SB and i'm ****ting a brick, but call obviously. everyone else calls as well. i'd seen him spaz out earlier where he b/c the turn w/ TT on 4438 board in a limped pot (when it was obvious the other person had a 4) and then c/c-ed the river in a spazzy fashion. anyways, on this JJ hand, the pot was super super bloated ($40 pf like 6 ways).

flop Q23r, old nit bets $50. i called, though in retrospect i should have folded probably. seeing him overvalue his hands earlier mightve led me to call this time (as he might be doing this with TT/99, but then again, he doesnt do this pf with those hands, so FML). a few others call. turn is 9, he bets again and i fold, the table maniac calls. the river is a brick and old nit jams, the maniac tanks for a bit and folds (LOL he had to pay like $100 more in a $500-600 pot).

there was a string raise later in a hand i wasn't involved in. azn nit opens to $30 pf after some limpers, old ass on the other end of the table makes a string raise to $120 (but was only allowed to rr like $50 more due to his string bet). old guy starts to argue a bit and the azn nit spazes. old guy eventually says "ok ok ok, whatever. you are only here to help i see". azn points at him and shakes his head, eventually saying "i am not here to help" (in super broken english)..."i'm here to take your ****ing money". old guy nods.

flop is Axx, old nit checks and folds to azn's all in (folds KK faceup). azn nit continues to grumble.

anyways, overall, a pretty ****tastic night. i lost about $800 when it was all said and done, ****ing pathetic if you take into account my opponents. i ran super damn cold, probably didn't play optimally in all spots either. oh well, maybe next time. at least i had some delicious country fried steak and a massage at the poker room.

playing like shit

last few days have been pretty rocky. i've been playing pretty pisspoor, getting it in pretty bad. tilting + PLO is a fast way to lose money and lord i know it. i haven't been winning the 45/55s and vice versas either. I think i'm typically getting myself into good spots (ie. getting the money in good against his estimated range). though it's frustrating running into the top of everyone's ranges.

i'm not even really down as much, its just frustrating to break even like this, going up/down several buyins every session and not make anything.

the games also have become more aggro with the inception of more regulars. there are a few pretty good plo players at the 1/2 limit and at times the games remind me of a NL cash game...with 4 regulars and 2 fish. when this happens the money goes flying all around with 3-betting/4-betting/getting it in mega light/etc. at one point the other day i was losing and winning 2-4 stacks every 10 minutes.

self analyzation is the best key when playing bad. i think i'm also going to take a day or two off to clear my head. pretty sure i'm going to go home and might go play in the casino tonight, though i'm not sure. even though some of you might think that casino doesn't really = break from poker, i feel that it's typically pretty fun and relaxing.

to update on some life stuff, i met with my adviser and it's ok if i get a D in my class. i just need the credit for the class(es)...i'm mainly talking about history of jazz and geology, both classes are retarded. i always do piss poor in classes that i find boring (which is alot of them). i also was able to enroll into scuba diving, some person dropped so i was allowed in. i'm hoping to get certified before thailand and it's looking pretty good now.

still haven't figured out where i'm going in may, if anywhere. also our spring break trip to south padre is back on so i'm looking forward to that (probably will be leaving this coming friday for a while). this is sort've our last hurrah as seniors and the last time we'll have a opportunity to do this together i think.

hope everyone is running better than i am...

climbing/summer plans/etc

I think I've gotten most of my summer plans taken care of, still have some things to smooth over.

I get out of school on May 9thish. I have a month or so before I do anything/go anywhere and am still mulling over if and where I should go.

June 9-18th I think I'll be in Seattle with family. I might have a night or two though to meet up with anyone there.

June 26th- July 10th I think I'll be at the WSOP during the main event. I'm hoping to get staked for this thing, or maybe just put up half and sell the other half of myself. I dunno, I guess I'll decide when it gets closer. Probably going to be in a house with a few friends so that should be fun.

July 16th-August 16th- I'm fairly sure I'm going to go to Thailand during this time. Still deciding on actual plans (how long to stay in either Phuket/Bangkok, etc), but the general consensus between a friend and I are where we will be staying. Still have another friend or two semi interested in this so that should be fun.

As stated I'm still on the fence on what to do for the first month. Most of my friends will probably be getting real jobs soon and going into the real world (fuck that lol). I guess I have a few months to decide.

I've been climbing alot recently. I did a 5.9 yesterday after some trouble (but eventually made it to the top after falling a few times). I feel that I'm getting alot stronger (especially in forearms/fingers/wrists/shoulders). I still plan on hitting up a school-sponsored trip to Kansas for a day for bouldering sometime in April.

I've also decided that I'm going to learn scuba diving and try and get certified. I've called around and looked at some local places. The process takes about 2 weeks or so, sounds sort've like a bitch. But I think it's going to be well worth it, especially when I head down to Thailand. The class I called in about cost about $400, I'm debating doing it later in May in Omaha where it'll both probably be cheaper and when I have more time.

I guess I've never been SUPER extreme outdoorsman for the latter part of my life. In my years in Gainesville, I was out all day every day (and I'm sure it's the same way for everyone else when they were younger). Though since High school onwards I've been pretty much an indoors person, not really doing a whole lot of camping/hiking/etc. Perhaps it could be because Omaha/Nebraska doesn't have many great outdoors stuff (large bodies of water, mountains, etc) but meh. I do want to get back into doing some other outdoors stuff though, like I did in the past.

Anyways, hope everyone has some cool summer plans coming up. I'm still not 100% sure on my spring break trip to South Padre as logistics problems have arisen. If that falls through I'll probably be going to Tahoe to visit with carrotfish/terp/starkwired/Snipe and a few others. Might go visit my cousins in Alameda as well, we'll see.