Still Running Good

Return of FLOTW

Even though it's difficult to wager online these days, I decided to continue my Football Lock of the Week. Every week I'll post my free pick of one NFL, CFL and NCAA game.

[brag] I was 21-13-1 picking football for the 2006 calendar year, and I'm currently 3-0 for the 2007 calendar year. [/brag]

Here goes: (No NFL games this week.) CFL, Montreal @ BC Lions (-3.5). As Joe Smith goes, so goes the Lions. NCAA, Tennessee (+6) @ Cal. The Vols crushed the Bears last year and I don't think Cal has improved, polls be damned. [YTD 3-0.]

Technical Difficulties Redux

It's been a week of replacing components. First Pop's CRT monitor finally died, showing only blue monochrome. We removed the monstrosity and purchased a 19" LCD wide screen. I was half expecting the old monitor to pipe up, "Would you like to play a game?"

Our wireless router also bit the dust after 4 years of faithful service. I just replaced it yesterday. I had been plugging in my 50' Ethernet cable as a temporary solution, playing at very odd times. I'm thankful wireless is back as my sleep patterns are all disturbed.

Not much else to report - PLO8 full ring is going very well, still gaining in positive territory. NLHE tournaments are cold as ice, but one day you'll pay the price, I know.

OK, enough 80's references.

Back In Black, Bitches!

I'm hoping the downswing is over. My play is much tighter. Apparently PokerEV must think I'm the luckiest dude alive, as my showdown$ and Sklansky$ lines grow apart.

Played several MTT's this week with zero cashes. Maybe I should just stick to ring games.

Off to Buffalo this weekend for a little fun. Go have some fun yourself!

Be Careful What You Wish For.....

Ever have a fantasy about Jessica Alba?

Perhaps you've had a mad crush on Derek Jeter?

Well, reports are circulating the internets that Jeets gave Alba the herpezoids.

Ewwwww, on so many levels. Maybe hooking up with these dream dates isn't such a dream.

Recent Results & Random Observations

I decided to take the time and analyze my results of the daily grind. For the last two months, I've been playing two tables of PLO8 every day (for about 2 hours). I've kept a PT database, and plugged all of the HH's into PokerEV, with the following chart as a result:



Notice the downswing right about 11k hands. I had a tilt session on my birthday, of all days. I played back against a couple of LAG maniacs with bad results. BAD results. It took a few days to untwist my game but things are right again. So up to the moment I'm playing -1 PTBB/100 for full ring PLO8. This does NOT include rakeback or rewards. I expect to get back to positive ground soon.

I find the PokerEV chart quite interesting. The green line is (of course) my table winnings. The red line are my Sklansky Bucks, which you earn by betting into a pot with +EV, regardless of the outcome. The blue line are my showdown winnings = my profit on hands that went to showdown.

It is the general consensus of the PokerEV forum that if the blue line is above the red line, you are running "luckier" than normal. While this might apply aptly to HE, IMO it doesn't represent PLO8 well. Split-pot poker is about scooping (hi and lo), and I have been quartered on many pots I was the favorite to scoop or split. This is the reason my blue and red lines went up while my green line was going down.

The PokerEV forum also suggests a low green line vs. a higher blue line suggests lack of aggression. I tend to agree with this assessment, but aggression in PLO8 usually involves pre-flop re-raises or post-flop raises.

I will be more comfortable throwing chips around when the bankroll is a little thicker. I practice very conservative bankroll management, so I need to improve my risk taking a little bit.

To sum up: I'm playing pretty good (although slightly in the red), and need to find a little more aggression. Thoughts or suggestions welcome.

Some other random observations:

-I suck at NLO8 and short handed PLO8. I know this and will stay away for now.

-I suck at almost all forms of HU poker. Probably the only exception to this is MTT NLHE, when the blinds are huge. I excel at pushfests.

-I'm mildly addicted to Wise Sweet Pepper Tortilla Chips. They are uber yummy with a unique flavor. Try some.

-The Toronto Blue Jays are not giving me a reason to buy tickets next year. Unless they continue to throw at A-Rod.

-For AlCantHang: I think I won the Blogger Dead Pool. Between Lord Geznikor and Maroon, I've got at least 2 of the 5 on my list not playing online anymore.

The Stupid Tax & My Boys

Someone just tilted off a couple of buy-ins to me. It wasn't a bluff or a suckout, I just had the mortal nuts on two occasions, I pushed and they called. Some people call this the stupid tax.

This got me thinking about the bigger picture of online poker and the UGIEA. Is this why the government is trying to abolish online gaming? To protect bad players from making bad decisions? It doesn't make any sense to me.

Legislating "protective" morality is such a slippery slope. If a person spends his/her rent money on an unnecessary item (recreational drugs, clothes, bling, etc.) do we legislate personal spending? If someone eats too many cheeseburgers, do we legislate their diet? If someone makes a bad investment, do we force them to invest in only insured securities?

If someone knows the difference between good and bad, and knows their choices have consequences, they should be allowed to make their own decisions. I'm smart enough to know the difference between a +EV poker game and -EV blackjack or video poker. I'm smart enough to know eating cheeseburgers everyday will harm my health. I'm smart enough to keep my (meager) funds in an FDIC insured bank.

I feel that anyone who studies the game of poker, plays with rakeback and practices good bankroll management will be a long term winner. This is part of what makes online poker great. Yet the powers that be want to ban online poker, while live poker exists all over the USA with a high rake that's very hard to defeat.

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I was thrilled to see My Boys return on Monday. Jordana Spiro is still yummy. "He puts the frickin' lotion in the basket!" made me el-oh-el. It's definitely going into the table chat rotation.

As for the show itself, is PJ going to sleep with every single "my boy" (except her brother)? We know she hooked up with Bobby, she kissed Brandon (and dated him in college), and in one episode it was stated she dated Kenny. That only leaves one more to complete the set.

I'd like to see an episode with sex as the central theme. It would be interesting to see the conversation dynamic as PJ discusses sexual acts with her boys. I think women and men discuss sex quite differently.

Next week one of the greatest supporting characters in TV today returns - Trouty! He is hilarious! I can't wait.