A crucial error in judgement caused me to bust out of the tourney I played in Sunday. It was a $25 short stack tourney with unlimited rebuys, and a $25 add-on.
I made the mistake of going all in on a draw. I did this knowing I was beat.
I should know better than to do that in a tourney. In a cash-game, pushing all-in with a solid draw is more acceptable, but in a tournament, with all your chips at stake, it's really a bad play. Chalk it up as a donkey play. I've learned my lesson.
In the side tourney after the main game, I played a bit better and managed to get to the final three before chopping. So I made back some of the money I lost in the first game.
The alumni for my fraternity which was recently kicked off campus held a poker game to raise money for our bid to reanimate the house was Friday night. The ATO first ever poker tournament was a success. The prize pool was ridiculously small, considering we all dropped a bunch of money on rebuys and an add-on. But, some food was included and pretty much all the beer we could drink. So in that regard, we were all winners.
In the end I finished tied for 5th place. Although I feel I could've finished much higher if the blinds didn't get completely ludicrous. At one point the blinds jumped from $500-$1000 to $4000-$8000! After that any bet was essentially an all-in bet.
We all took home an ATO alumni shot glass, rejuvenated memories, and a thick heady buzz.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Poker lately
I've had one win, a couple bad beat eliminations and a couple second-place finishes in recent live tourneys. My play in these sit-n-go single table tourneys have been excellent, I must admit. I think I'm playing as good as I can right now. That's not to say the money has reflected my play unfortunately. Sometimes the cards just don't fall my way.
I'm resisting the temptation to tell a bunch of bad-beat stories right now. It's quite difficult. It can be stated that my eliminations from these tourneys were indeed ALL bad beats. All of my opponents had less than 5 outs when they drew out on me in the last five tourneys.
Honestly I don't feel a bit pissed off about them. A bit frustrated yes. But by no means am I Matusow pissed. Not remotely Otani pissed.
The last time someone bad beat Otani, he stomped around my house for a solid 2 hours fuming and name-calling. So he thoroughly deserved the new nickname I gave him when he drew out on me to win the latest tourney: Scott "Fluke-Ass, Dumb Luck" Otani.
That's as good-a poker nickname as he's gonna get playing the way he's been playing lately.
I will attribute some of my recent poker playing to Doyle Brunson's Super System 2's chapter on No-Limit play. He advocates an extremely aggressive style. He suggests playing strong draws extra aggressively and big hands cautiously. This style has it's risks, and will result in much bigger swings to your bankroll. It also tends to forces your opponents to take up a more defensive strategy because they'll have to adjust to your reraises. The system is similar to the style of play I already use, but reinforced some of my initial ideas about how to win.
I'll just say, I'll not be lending this book to ANY of my friends.
I'm resisting the temptation to tell a bunch of bad-beat stories right now. It's quite difficult. It can be stated that my eliminations from these tourneys were indeed ALL bad beats. All of my opponents had less than 5 outs when they drew out on me in the last five tourneys.
Honestly I don't feel a bit pissed off about them. A bit frustrated yes. But by no means am I Matusow pissed. Not remotely Otani pissed.
The last time someone bad beat Otani, he stomped around my house for a solid 2 hours fuming and name-calling. So he thoroughly deserved the new nickname I gave him when he drew out on me to win the latest tourney: Scott "Fluke-Ass, Dumb Luck" Otani.
That's as good-a poker nickname as he's gonna get playing the way he's been playing lately.
I will attribute some of my recent poker playing to Doyle Brunson's Super System 2's chapter on No-Limit play. He advocates an extremely aggressive style. He suggests playing strong draws extra aggressively and big hands cautiously. This style has it's risks, and will result in much bigger swings to your bankroll. It also tends to forces your opponents to take up a more defensive strategy because they'll have to adjust to your reraises. The system is similar to the style of play I already use, but reinforced some of my initial ideas about how to win.
I'll just say, I'll not be lending this book to ANY of my friends.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Monday, April 03, 2006
Bad Beat poker
10 players $30, no-limit freezeout:
My home game Friday night was the wildest game ever. Bad Beats galore. Almost every showdown ended in ridiculously improbably occurences. My KK got killed when Thumb's AQ turned trip Queens. Bootie's QQ caught on the river against ScottO's AA. The hooting and hollaring was at a maximum.
I feel I played a great game. Probably my best game. I had the Marinucci's on my left and right. Both guys are extremely aggressive and tend to throw my game off, but I was able to play well against them despite their hyper-agro style.
At the end the bad beats kept coming and The Bootie took down a fishy-win.
Game two went better for me. The bad beats continued while MMarinucci absolutely dominated the table. He unceremoniously dispatched every player at the table ending up with an incredible enormous stack of chips. I quickly double up heads-up against him and I was suddenly a contender. It came down to him and me, with Mike holding A5s and me going all-in with a pair of nines. He calls.
The flop comes down all blanks with two spades. The turn brought another spade and I was dead in second place.
I played as well as can be expected. I didn't tilt. I didn't donk. But in the end, LUCK was indeed a whore slut who's clearly not to be trusted.
My home game Friday night was the wildest game ever. Bad Beats galore. Almost every showdown ended in ridiculously improbably occurences. My KK got killed when Thumb's AQ turned trip Queens. Bootie's QQ caught on the river against ScottO's AA. The hooting and hollaring was at a maximum.
I feel I played a great game. Probably my best game. I had the Marinucci's on my left and right. Both guys are extremely aggressive and tend to throw my game off, but I was able to play well against them despite their hyper-agro style.
At the end the bad beats kept coming and The Bootie took down a fishy-win.
Game two went better for me. The bad beats continued while MMarinucci absolutely dominated the table. He unceremoniously dispatched every player at the table ending up with an incredible enormous stack of chips. I quickly double up heads-up against him and I was suddenly a contender. It came down to him and me, with Mike holding A5s and me going all-in with a pair of nines. He calls.
The flop comes down all blanks with two spades. The turn brought another spade and I was dead in second place.
I played as well as can be expected. I didn't tilt. I didn't donk. But in the end, LUCK was indeed a whore slut who's clearly not to be trusted.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Bluffin at Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu played in the $10 buy-in Negreanu Open last night and was seated at my table. I played one hand against Danny and played like a complete donkey.
I raise from middle position as the short stack and he called from the big blind. I know that A8o isn't a good hand, but I figured this would be my one chance to bluff a big name poker star. Flop comes down JKx. He checks, and dumbass me, I go all in, HOPING he didn't have a king. Alas he held KTo and instantly called. I failed to improve and finished 70th out of 120.
So much for trying to bluff one of the best players in the world.
In retrospect it was a stupid stupid play from a stupid stupid man.
I am hoping to play in next weeks tourney and hopefully I will have a chance to play him again.
I raise from middle position as the short stack and he called from the big blind. I know that A8o isn't a good hand, but I figured this would be my one chance to bluff a big name poker star. Flop comes down JKx. He checks, and dumbass me, I go all in, HOPING he didn't have a king. Alas he held KTo and instantly called. I failed to improve and finished 70th out of 120.
So much for trying to bluff one of the best players in the world.
In retrospect it was a stupid stupid play from a stupid stupid man.
I am hoping to play in next weeks tourney and hopefully I will have a chance to play him again.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Poker Brat
One of my ex-co-workers recently wrote an insightful article about the "poker brat" himself, Phil Hellmuth. Check it out in the Palo Alto Weekly.
Here's an eye-opening, but not-so-surprising excerpt from the article:
By the time he qualified to play in the World Series of Poker, which Hellmuth refers to as the "Holy Grail" of poker tournaments, he was 24 and had paid off all his student loans. Hellmuth's resolve to win was so strong he pledged celibacy.
"I hadn't had sex with a woman for like four years because I told myself, 'You're not going to do it. If you don't, you're going to win the 1989 World Series of Poker,'" he said. "Somehow I convinced myself if I could just wait ... I would win."
MmHm, Sure Phil, you PLEDGED celibacy for FOUR YEARS.... sure you did.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Weather Underground
Since my GF referred me to this site for my weather information needs, it's been in constant use.
Weatherunderground.com provides up to the minute weather analysis. So far it has been very accurate.
Monday, March 20, 2006
A History of Violence
A History of Violence
I finally got to see A History of Violence from Netflix last night, and I have to say, I loved it. The plot isn't complicated. This film is not pretentious. There's no twist. It isn't remotely intellectual. It's gritty, brutally violent and yet somehow maintains a sense of humor. The film is about family. About skeletons. About coming to terms with one's past and getting closure for our past deeds.
A History of Violence explores the violence which is within all of us. Even when we don't expect we can be capable of it. Human nature is in fact violent.
The movie did seem a bit short. It left me with questions. I suppose all good movies do, but somehow I felt it was incomplete. The villains were indeed villainous, but there is a lack of depth to their character development. I wanted to know more about who they were, what they did, and why they wanted Stall/Cusack dead.
All-in-all, I enjoyed the film immensely. I expect this film to be my all-time favorite Cronenberg films.
When all is said and done David Cronenberg has made a movie I would love to have made.
I finally got to see A History of Violence from Netflix last night, and I have to say, I loved it. The plot isn't complicated. This film is not pretentious. There's no twist. It isn't remotely intellectual. It's gritty, brutally violent and yet somehow maintains a sense of humor. The film is about family. About skeletons. About coming to terms with one's past and getting closure for our past deeds.
A History of Violence explores the violence which is within all of us. Even when we don't expect we can be capable of it. Human nature is in fact violent.
The movie did seem a bit short. It left me with questions. I suppose all good movies do, but somehow I felt it was incomplete. The villains were indeed villainous, but there is a lack of depth to their character development. I wanted to know more about who they were, what they did, and why they wanted Stall/Cusack dead.
All-in-all, I enjoyed the film immensely. I expect this film to be my all-time favorite Cronenberg films.
When all is said and done David Cronenberg has made a movie I would love to have made.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Fight Night
The fighting sports represent the most primal human competition. Since my first kung fu movie, through my first Tae Kwon Do lesson in 2nd grade, Kenpo lessons in sixth grade, watching my first Mike Tyson knockout, I have always loved fight sports. When The Ultimate Fighting Championship One appeared, It blew me away.
Mixed-martial arts represents fighting as a sport requiring the highest level of athleticism. Until recently California Athletic Commission had never legally sanctioned an MMA event. Last Friday night I went to the first one to be held in California. It also was the best attended MMA event ever in the nation. More than 18,000 people watched Cung Le fight in his first MMA event, defeating Brian Ebersol. Frank Shamrock beat down a Gracie legend Cesar Gracie in a 20 second knockout.
The crowd was pretty crazy. The HP Pavilion was packed. Every dude there looked like a fighter: Shaved head, thick neck. That would've been a bad night to go out looking for a fight.
Afterward, we got the VIP treatment at Studio 8, where the fighters were going to party. We crammed into their upstairs VIP section with a bunch of meat-heads and tried our best to mooch from the Red Bull and Ketel One at the booths. Soon the balcony was closed dude to meat-head overflow.
Sprinkle these drinks into my accout above: One double shot of Jågermeister, One pale ale, Three $8 Bud Lights, One single shot of Jågermeister, One Ketel One-Red Bull, and possibly another beer/cocktail?
In the end, fun was had by all.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Poker
I played in a three table $10 sit-n-go last night at Fullcontactpoker.com.
After playing pretty good poker and getting really lucky once, I won the damn thing.
$116 take home.
After that win, and and some positive results in this weekend's online games, I doubled my money at Fullcontactpoker.com.
Last weekend played in a $5 re-buy tourney, 200+ players, I finished 5th place and cashed $119.
I won a qualifying sit-n-go for a $100 buy-in tourney online. The winner got $12,000! With 450 players, paying out to 40th place, my odds weren't very good. I finished 202nd, $0.
Considering my buddies who've been playing online have all long since lost their initial deposits, I feel pretty good that I've only made one initial deposit, and otherwise only made withdrawals. Which means I've been a winning online player.
My bankroll took a couple dips last week due to live play losses. One huge losing session in Tahoe, and one losing session at Garden City. But otherwise I think my poker game is improving. I am gaining confidence, trying to minimize brain-farts, and generally trying to make better decisions at the table.
I will be gradually moving up in limits so I can properly compete at the casinos without putting my whole bankroll on the line each session.
After playing pretty good poker and getting really lucky once, I won the damn thing.
$116 take home.
After that win, and and some positive results in this weekend's online games, I doubled my money at Fullcontactpoker.com.
Last weekend played in a $5 re-buy tourney, 200+ players, I finished 5th place and cashed $119.
I won a qualifying sit-n-go for a $100 buy-in tourney online. The winner got $12,000! With 450 players, paying out to 40th place, my odds weren't very good. I finished 202nd, $0.
Considering my buddies who've been playing online have all long since lost their initial deposits, I feel pretty good that I've only made one initial deposit, and otherwise only made withdrawals. Which means I've been a winning online player.
My bankroll took a couple dips last week due to live play losses. One huge losing session in Tahoe, and one losing session at Garden City. But otherwise I think my poker game is improving. I am gaining confidence, trying to minimize brain-farts, and generally trying to make better decisions at the table.
I will be gradually moving up in limits so I can properly compete at the casinos without putting my whole bankroll on the line each session.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Walk the Line
Netflixed Walk the Line starring Walkeen Phoenix, aka, Leaf.
I wonder what the reason behind changing his name was. I mean, Leaf is kind of a funky name, but it didn't take anything away from his performance in Parenthood, which he was excellent in. Even back then you could see some real talent and inevitable stardom in his future.
Despite looking nothing like Johnny Cash, I think it was a good performance. NOT an Oscar worthy performance, but good. Convincing.
Overall, the movie wasn't quite as good as Lou Diamond Phillip's portrayal of Ritchie Valens in La Bamba, one of the best biographical movies made or Oliver Stone's The Doors with Val Kilmer. But it held my interest. My overall enthusiasm for Walk the Line waned at the end, when the film abruptly ends.
Reese Witherspoon was good. I'm not entirely conviced that she deserved an Oscar or her performance, but what can you expect from the Academy?
This film is worth a rental not much more than that.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Mezzanine
I recently purchased Massive Attack's Mezzanine (1998) for my GF who heard the song 'Teardrop' on the TV show House.
This album fills a huge hole in my Ipod lineup. I desperately needed some mellow electronica to round out the selection, and Mezzanine is perfect match.
This is my first voluntary exposure to Massive Attack's music. After buying the album, I realized I surely have heard their music in the past. It seems the entertainment industry LOVES Massive Attack. Their songs are featured on many films, television programs and commercials.
They've heavily influenced modern musicians from Madonna to Mos Def to Sinead O'Connor. I can understand why.
Mezzanine is haunting, infectious and moody. It's simultaneously electronic, reggae, hip-hop, blues, rock and roll.
Plus, I tripled my buy-in at a no-limit table on fullcontactpoker.com while listening to it, so it must be good.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Flightpoo
Flightplan
I caught Jodie Foster's latest movie Flightplan from Netflix this past weekend and was quite disappointed.
The movie started out interesting enough. A woman walks onto a plane with her child. After a nap, she discovers her daughter has disappeared. Somehow nobody remembers seeing the kid at all, and suddenly she's being accused of being crazy. That her child was never on the manifest. That she was delusional the entire time.
OR WAS SHE?!
The plot makes a drastic turn for the worst. It devolves into a ridiculous action plot complete with computerized 'Brucksplosions,' bullshit chase scene, idiotic conspiracy theory crap.
This movie sucked. Started out with potential and declined into typical Hollywood garbage.
This film is worthless and will ultimately be doomed to movie oblivion.
I caught Jodie Foster's latest movie Flightplan from Netflix this past weekend and was quite disappointed.
The movie started out interesting enough. A woman walks onto a plane with her child. After a nap, she discovers her daughter has disappeared. Somehow nobody remembers seeing the kid at all, and suddenly she's being accused of being crazy. That her child was never on the manifest. That she was delusional the entire time.
OR WAS SHE?!
The plot makes a drastic turn for the worst. It devolves into a ridiculous action plot complete with computerized 'Brucksplosions,' bullshit chase scene, idiotic conspiracy theory crap.
This movie sucked. Started out with potential and declined into typical Hollywood garbage.
This film is worthless and will ultimately be doomed to movie oblivion.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Black Widow
I found this little bastard in my garage, waiting for an unsuspecting critter to wander into it's poisonous fangs.
I promptly killed it with one squirt of "Bore Scrubber" which is as good at cleaning shotgun bores as it is at killing poisonous spiders apparently.
I promptly killed it with one squirt of "Bore Scrubber" which is as good at cleaning shotgun bores as it is at killing poisonous spiders apparently.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
The Horizon blows
I spent the weekend in South Lake Tahoe for Rauser's birthday weekend.
They rented an especially luxurious cabin. Hot tub, pool table, great kitchen, plasma, sound system, two decks. Very nice.
Then we headed out to the Horizon Casino to do a little gambling. Of course I headed straight for the poker room. Or 'poker corner' I should say. It was the most pathetic poker room I've seen yet. There are probably 6 tables. When I arrived they were only spreading 2-6 spread limit. A tourney was about to start, but the spread limit game looked mighty juicy, so I decided to stay there and play a while.
It was all downhill from there. * I spent the first few hours absolutely card dead. And I mean DEAD-DEAD. 9-2o, 10-2o, J-2o,... and every other combo of X-2o you can imagine. Then I get QQ, yes, a hand! I raise $6 from late position and get two callers. Flop comes A-6-2. First position bets out $6. I lay it down.
*Repeat for the next 3 hours.
Around 2am Chad came by and sat down at the table. What do you know I finally catch a hand. KK. Chad calls my pre-flop raise. Flop comes all small cards I bet, he calls. And what do you know, an Ace falls on the turn.
"That Ace is going to hurt you." Chad says makes a bet.
"I know it will, but screw you." I knew he had an ace. I knew it. But after 5 1/2 hours of getting kicked in the junk, I just couldn't let go of the Kings. River was a blank and sure enough he flips over A-J.
Last hand of the night. I get A-Q suited. I raise. One caller. Flop comes down A-x-x, I bet. One caller. Turn comes down an Ace. I make trip aces. I bet my last $3 all-in. He calls instantly and turns up K8 of hearts. The river comes down heart, giving him the nut flush. I leave PISSED, and $270 poorer.
It felt miserable logging in such a huge loss. I rarely play cash games, and when I do I don't typically play for those limits. This big loss totally destroyed my hourly rate. I'm going to have to really work to get my bankroll back to par.
They rented an especially luxurious cabin. Hot tub, pool table, great kitchen, plasma, sound system, two decks. Very nice.
Then we headed out to the Horizon Casino to do a little gambling. Of course I headed straight for the poker room. Or 'poker corner' I should say. It was the most pathetic poker room I've seen yet. There are probably 6 tables. When I arrived they were only spreading 2-6 spread limit. A tourney was about to start, but the spread limit game looked mighty juicy, so I decided to stay there and play a while.
It was all downhill from there. * I spent the first few hours absolutely card dead. And I mean DEAD-DEAD. 9-2o, 10-2o, J-2o,... and every other combo of X-2o you can imagine. Then I get QQ, yes, a hand! I raise $6 from late position and get two callers. Flop comes A-6-2. First position bets out $6. I lay it down.
*Repeat for the next 3 hours.
Around 2am Chad came by and sat down at the table. What do you know I finally catch a hand. KK. Chad calls my pre-flop raise. Flop comes all small cards I bet, he calls. And what do you know, an Ace falls on the turn.
"That Ace is going to hurt you." Chad says makes a bet.
"I know it will, but screw you." I knew he had an ace. I knew it. But after 5 1/2 hours of getting kicked in the junk, I just couldn't let go of the Kings. River was a blank and sure enough he flips over A-J.
Last hand of the night. I get A-Q suited. I raise. One caller. Flop comes down A-x-x, I bet. One caller. Turn comes down an Ace. I make trip aces. I bet my last $3 all-in. He calls instantly and turns up K8 of hearts. The river comes down heart, giving him the nut flush. I leave PISSED, and $270 poorer.
It felt miserable logging in such a huge loss. I rarely play cash games, and when I do I don't typically play for those limits. This big loss totally destroyed my hourly rate. I'm going to have to really work to get my bankroll back to par.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
4th place
Played in a $10 buy-in online Negreanu Open tourney last night at FCP. 126 players, no-limit, no-rebuys.
I made a huge all-in bluff on the first hand.
I held a busted straight draw. There was a good chunk of chips in the pot. He'd been calling my semi-bluffs and by the river I held only queen high. Since there was a straight and flush draw on the board, I decided to bluff at it. I'd put him on top pair or two pair. Since it was only the first hand of the game, I doubted he could call the rest of his chips even if he was 99% positive I didn't have it. I went ahead and pushed all-in. After a long time in the tank, he folded.
The rest of the tourney I was mostly card dead. Stole, stole, stole for a while and managed to make it to the final table. my name's at the bottom of the leader board.
At the end I expected to get at least to the final two, but this hand came up: With about average in chips. I held AA in the big blind. Made a good size raise. One caller. Flop comes J-10-blank. I bet. He raises. I go all-in. He calls. He flips over J-10 to make two pair. My hand does not improve and I am eliminated in 4th place. My take: $113.
I made a huge all-in bluff on the first hand.
I held a busted straight draw. There was a good chunk of chips in the pot. He'd been calling my semi-bluffs and by the river I held only queen high. Since there was a straight and flush draw on the board, I decided to bluff at it. I'd put him on top pair or two pair. Since it was only the first hand of the game, I doubted he could call the rest of his chips even if he was 99% positive I didn't have it. I went ahead and pushed all-in. After a long time in the tank, he folded.
The rest of the tourney I was mostly card dead. Stole, stole, stole for a while and managed to make it to the final table. my name's at the bottom of the leader board.
At the end I expected to get at least to the final two, but this hand came up: With about average in chips. I held AA in the big blind. Made a good size raise. One caller. Flop comes J-10-blank. I bet. He raises. I go all-in. He calls. He flips over J-10 to make two pair. My hand does not improve and I am eliminated in 4th place. My take: $113.
Monday, February 06, 2006
25 straight
SuperBowl weekend.
Since we didn't have any plans to party on SuperBowl Sunday, I set aside a few hours to shoot a few rounds of trap at Metcalf.
My first round, I shot terribly. I hit only 15 out of 25 from the 16 yard line. Dismal.
My second round I joined a squad shooting from the 20 yard line. Despite the increased distance, I hit 20 of 25. Improvement.
Round three, I returned to the 16 yard line. A fella on my right was nailing every shot. I hadn't missed either and by my 16th shot, I was getting nervous. A perfect score was within my grasp. I struggled eliminating the visualization of me missing my next shot. With a deep breath, concentration on just shooting the clay. No pressure, no pressure, this next clays was just like the previous ones...
I tried to calm down despite the thumping of my heart. I breathed deeper, opened my eyes wider, called "Pull!" and smoked the next target.
I made it to the last station. No dropped birds yet. I almost blew it on the 22nd clay, but managed to chip a chunk off of it. When I called for the last bird, I knew I was going to hit it. As soon as I pulled the trigger I knew I nailed it.
The guy next to me hit 25 too, but obviously he wasn't sweating it at all.
"You hit 25 too?" I asked.
"Yeah, but I've hit 25 many times," he said.
"That was my first." I said.
Another guy chimed in. "You'll have to lose that hat."
"What do you mean?"
"When you hit your first 25 straight, it's tradition that we get to shoot your hat," he informed.
They grabbed my hat, put 3 clays in it, lined all of us shooters up in a row, and tossed it high in the air, where between 12-15 of us shooters took a shot at it.
I think the 3rd or 4th shot nailed it and my hat was smoked.
So it was official.
I got some congratulations and gained some self-confidence. I also gained some pride in knowing that my $490 used Remington 1100 synthetic out-shot a bunch of people on the line with $3000-$5000 guns.
Since we didn't have any plans to party on SuperBowl Sunday, I set aside a few hours to shoot a few rounds of trap at Metcalf.
My first round, I shot terribly. I hit only 15 out of 25 from the 16 yard line. Dismal.
My second round I joined a squad shooting from the 20 yard line. Despite the increased distance, I hit 20 of 25. Improvement.
Round three, I returned to the 16 yard line. A fella on my right was nailing every shot. I hadn't missed either and by my 16th shot, I was getting nervous. A perfect score was within my grasp. I struggled eliminating the visualization of me missing my next shot. With a deep breath, concentration on just shooting the clay. No pressure, no pressure, this next clays was just like the previous ones...
I tried to calm down despite the thumping of my heart. I breathed deeper, opened my eyes wider, called "Pull!" and smoked the next target.
I made it to the last station. No dropped birds yet. I almost blew it on the 22nd clay, but managed to chip a chunk off of it. When I called for the last bird, I knew I was going to hit it. As soon as I pulled the trigger I knew I nailed it.
The guy next to me hit 25 too, but obviously he wasn't sweating it at all.
"You hit 25 too?" I asked.
"Yeah, but I've hit 25 many times," he said.
"That was my first." I said.
Another guy chimed in. "You'll have to lose that hat."
"What do you mean?"
"When you hit your first 25 straight, it's tradition that we get to shoot your hat," he informed.
They grabbed my hat, put 3 clays in it, lined all of us shooters up in a row, and tossed it high in the air, where between 12-15 of us shooters took a shot at it.
I think the 3rd or 4th shot nailed it and my hat was smoked.
So it was official.
I got some congratulations and gained some self-confidence. I also gained some pride in knowing that my $490 used Remington 1100 synthetic out-shot a bunch of people on the line with $3000-$5000 guns.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Stroker Ace
Here's a photo taken by Daniel Kokin aka Stroker Ace.
This image represents the way he sees his environment. They're moody, lonely images. Stroker's street photography captures the spirit of the city better than the glorified pictures of Lombard St., The Golden Gate, and Koit Tower ever could.
His website is a study in contrasts between street folk and yuppie city culture whcih defines San Francisco.
See more of his photos at DanielKokin.com
This image represents the way he sees his environment. They're moody, lonely images. Stroker's street photography captures the spirit of the city better than the glorified pictures of Lombard St., The Golden Gate, and Koit Tower ever could.
His website is a study in contrasts between street folk and yuppie city culture whcih defines San Francisco.
See more of his photos at DanielKokin.com
Thursday, February 02, 2006
coyote-1
Here's a picture of a coyote on a trail at Foothills Park last month. It was pretty much oblivious of us as we drove throught the park.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Salac's tourney
I played in a friend's poker tourney last weekend. The Salac's 2nd annual poker tourney was quite a production for a home game. 32 players battled for a $1280 prize-pool. Four tables were to play down to two players, at that point the final eight would all cash.
Starting with 10,000 in chips I caught pocket rockets on the first hand and nearly doubled up. From there I caught a run of shitty cards until I called two pair into a straight and was back to even. A little while later I defaulted into the final table when the two chip leaders went at it leaving Raul and I standing.
I was severely disadvantaged at the final table with 2nd to last in chips. Last place in chips got knocked out quickly, and though I was able to double up, I was crippled on a bluff, and was eliminated when my pre-flop all-in with A9h was crushed by a straight on the turn. In the end I ended cashing at least, so I can't complain. Plus I had an excellent time, and that's all that really matters.... isn't it?
Starting with 10,000 in chips I caught pocket rockets on the first hand and nearly doubled up. From there I caught a run of shitty cards until I called two pair into a straight and was back to even. A little while later I defaulted into the final table when the two chip leaders went at it leaving Raul and I standing.
I was severely disadvantaged at the final table with 2nd to last in chips. Last place in chips got knocked out quickly, and though I was able to double up, I was crippled on a bluff, and was eliminated when my pre-flop all-in with A9h was crushed by a straight on the turn. In the end I ended cashing at least, so I can't complain. Plus I had an excellent time, and that's all that really matters.... isn't it?
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