Thursday, June 29, 2006

Colt .45

My dad has planned to sell his house here in San Jose to move to Shanghai full time. They're already spending 6 months out of the year there, so why no dump the $4000 a month of commitments they have here to live there at a fraction of the cost? It does suck to think that we'll officially have no "home base," at least until I buy a home somewhere (who knows when that'll be?)... and that the folks won't be here to take any future children off our hands if we want to go to the movies or something.
But on a lighter note, since he's going to be showing his home for sale, and eventually will need to liquidate all his property prior to his moving, he gave me one thing of his I really want: His Colt 45.

looks just like this

So now, I've acquired his lightly used, slightly scratched matte black Colt M1991A1 Series 80, .45 ACP semi-automatic, bad-ass-muthafuckin pistol.
It's pretty awesome. I took it out yesterday afternoon and put a box of shells through it. The boy has some kick to him. This gun ain't for no sissies, that's for sure. It shot well. I'm not totally happy with the fixed sights on it, but overall, the gun is accurate, and reliable. And it looks damn good. Except for a big nasty scratch my pops put on it.

But to all you burglars and home invaders,... watch yo' ass. And stay the fuck away from my house... lest you get a cap in yo' dumb-ass.

Monday, June 26, 2006

no WSOP for me

So while the World Series of Poker starts up this week, I've opted to stay around town and work at my job rather than wreak havoc amongst the top players in the world. I know they will all be appreciating my absence, since that automatically kicks everyone up a notch on the winner's board. They all must've sighed a collective sigh of relief when the news that I wasn't attending hit Vegas.
I've also decided that next year, I'll make a concerted effort to play in at least one event at the WSOP. That means dedicating a chuck of my bankroll to playing satellites. Initially I planned on doing it this year, but since my multi-table skillz are at an all time low, (I haven't cashed in any big tourneys in a long-long time, (actually haven't played in many either)), I'm a bit rusty at keeping my motivation, discipline, focus for any period of time.
My sit-n-go skillz are still good though. I've been taking a lot of bad beats lately, which is a good sign. It means I'm playing well and getting my money in with the best of it.
That's all I can do. Hopefully that bitch named "Luck" will be on my side again soon.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Earth hottest it's been in 2,000 years

We're all gonna die.

I remember having some political argument with a conservative republican a couple years back. Somehow we got onto the topic of global warming. I actually thought that the theory of global warming was pretty much fact. I had no idea that conservatives considered it bullshit theory. I understand WHY they'd want to believe that; because big energy NEEDS there to be low restrictions on air pollution so they can further gouge the regular people who depend on their overpriced product, and since the GOP is making sweet lovies with energy companies, it only makes sense to give energy companies a break. After all they barely squeak profits every year (that's sarcasm).
Well now there's proof, sort of, of global warming.

Now EVERYTHING you think has officially been proven wrong,... is it time to rethink the direction of the future of our once beautiful country?

Thursday, June 15, 2006

PittRounder

Most small time gamblers dream of playing the highest stakes and winning huge bucks. The truth is, big time gamblers go through massive swings in their bankrolls that would make normal people shit themselves. It's well known that often times pro poker players go broke, after having won millions of dollars. In Theo Tran's blog, Pittrounder, though he posts rarely, he goes from a millionaire poker player to being nearly broke. I can't wait to see if he makes it out of his funk.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

poker

I've finished 1st place in my last 4 out of 5 sit and go tournaments lately. In my home game last week I took a 2nd and a 1st. I took 1st two 6-handed online sit and go's and won a 9-handed sit and go. BUT, I lost in two consecutive heads-up matches against ScottO.
The heads-up losses were a real blow to my ego. I consider ScottO no-competition. Bottom line, though he has placed in the money in many of our recent tournaments, I feel I play a tougher game than he does. His play is very straight forward. His big hands are obvious. It's obvious when he is drawing. He tilts easily.
But one aspect of his game seems to get me every time. Once he starts having fun, that is, once he starts raising and calling without looking at his cards, he catches cards. So here I am with a relatively big hand heads-up, let's say K10. He raises in the dark. I call. I catch top pair on the flop, with two rags. He bets in the dark. I raise. He calls in the dark. Turn comes, he checks in the dark. I bet. He calls in the dark. River, blank. He checks in the dark. I bet. He looks at his cards and calls. I show top pair. He shows 7-5 off suit and makes two pair.
FUCKING BULLSHIT.
I can't tell you how many times that has happened.

The shitty thing is, he has beat me in the past, but when he has, he has drawn out on me with three outs or less. No joke. The only way he can beat me, is by sucking out.
All in all, I dominate his ass. I just wish the poker gods didn't favor his loud mouth and terrible attitude.
Payback is a bitch.

Friday, June 09, 2006

Tao of Pauly

Dr. Pauly is probably the most psuedo-famous of all the poker bloggers. Not famous like Wil Wheaton or Jen Tilly. His blog is consitently witty, articulate and fearlessly candid. Over the past week or so, he's honored us with an autobiographical blog posting in five parts which has had me glued to my screen each morning. It's a fascinating look into his interesting life and journeys.
I an envious of his ability to put thoughts into words and words into gracefully told narratives.

Check it out

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Ferd-Jane and poker in Tahoe



Ferd's wedding in Tahoe was a much needed end-of-the-week treat. The Thursday event effectively stretched our weekend to 4 days. I totally left my coworkers behind and didn't feel one bit bad about it.
The drive up was gorgeous. The mountain tops above 7000 still had snow on it, but it was obvious that camping is definitely possible anywhere below that.
Let the backpacking season begin.
We arrived at the Cal Va Rado Motel, a dive motel recommended by the marrying couple. They said it's cheap, clean, accepts dogs and is conveniently located across the street from all the casinos. It meets my criteria. The motel is cheap, yes ... Clean? Not so much. But adequate.
The wedding went off without a hitch. With the gorgeous Lake for a backdrop, the happy couple exchanged vows surrounded by friends, family and co-workers. Local news personalities were in attendance including Raj Mathai, Lisa Kim and Diane Dwyer from KNTV11.
The reception was fun. The buffet style set up was sort of refreshing. It gave us a chance to eat as much as we wanted. And the food was damn good. It also made the event less stuffy and formal. The guests sort of let their hair down. The TV people were quite rowdy, hootin' and-a hollarin'. They made us frat boys look like choir boys. People didn't seem to be in the dancing mood though and after the obligatory couples dancing, the party seemed to slip away.
The after party was held at the former Caesar's Tahoe, now called Mont Bleu. We stuck around for a few hours playing some Blackjack and a bit of roulette. But my heart was set on playing some live poker. The only casino with any action was Harvey's. So I ditched the wedding party to go fishing at the poker room.
They were spreading $3-6 limit and $2-3 no-limit.
I opted for the safer $3-6 limit. Bought in for $80. Then proceeded to fold for about 45 minutes. Dude to my right: and overly aggressive young Filipino dude. He was raising live-blind every hour or so, bluffing at too many pots against really crappy players and probably a tough opponent when not getting cold-decked. To my left, a non-existant player slowly bleeding his stack. Next an older gentleman playing tight solid. Then the fish: a group on a bachelor party weekend. First the most experienced of them, playing tight, talking shit about how bad the other two were. Next, a dude who has never played poker before. He was slowing the game down every round, "What's the bet?" "Can I raise?" "What's the raise?" "Who raised?" This guys was as clueless as anyone I've ever played against. The guy after him, also had never played. But every decision he made took a lifetime. He'd mad dog every raiser and muck. Or he'd call to the river with King high. Bottom line, These guys were the fish. There's a famous saying,"If you don't know who the sucker at the table is, It's you." Well I knew I wasn't the sucker at this table. And despite my fatigue, I was determined to stay at this table until they left. These guys were +EV in a big way. Following the fish was another middle aged dude, playing weak-loose, very fishy. Then a young guy wearing sunglasses and playing tight. I probably needed to have a hand against him, but he'd be bluffable when out of position.
I figured as long as I played tight and only against the weak opponents I'd be guaranteed to win. My patience paid off. I got away from all the shit hands, and got action on all my huge hands. After about 3.5 hours of play, the fish got up to leave. I immediately called it a night as soon before my blind, up $103.
I wandered back to the motel and crashed for about 3 hours before the dehydration woke me up. We were back in San Jose at 4 p.m.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Gene Bieker RIP


Gene Bieker RIP
Originally uploaded by Joe_13.
Gene Bieker RIP

I just got a call from Janice informing me of the death of an old friend. Gene Bieker, a classmate at SJSU died of an apparent cardiac arrest while on a Europe vacation.
I pulled this pic of him off a myspace site of a band he was once part of.

He was a true artist.