I'm in Sydney at the moment, spending some time with the family over Christmas. I'm sure I'll catch up with many of my Sydney friends while in town as well.
I've also got a few things happening over the next month ... two chess tournaments - one in Melbourne (the Canterbury Summer Swiss) & one in Sydney (the Australian Open) ... a poker homegame (let me know if you're interested in attending) ... as well as the Aussie Millions!
As far as the chess stuff goes, I would like to do some sort of blogging/podcast type thing around it. I suspect this may involve setting up another blog, though it might also end up here, but either way I'll let you know.
As for the 'you' ... there's been 8 downloads of the latest episode, which only went up about a week ago, so I suppose that means there's at least 8 people who read the blog & listen to the podcast (or perhaps fewer readers/listeners who have trouble downloading & need to download multiple times ... but I'll go with the optimistic numbers!) ... one would almost call it a following, although I think such terms should be reserved for times when you run out of fingers when counting.
As for the Deuces Cracked 50,000 hand challenge, I'm currently around 11,500 hands in and down about $40. I've been going in the right direction lately playing micro-NLHE, which has seen something of a recovery from my earlier efforts with Rush poker & limit holdem, where I ran horribly. At the moment, I think the leaders in the challenge are up around $300, so I'm not entirely out of the running yet, although the graph needs to keep heading in the right direction.
I'm sure I'll also be playing some poker while in Sydney & I'll let you know how it goes.
If I don't get around to updating beforehand ... have a great festive season!
Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Back in Melbourne ... back to the grind!
I'm back from the Sydney trip. Good to be home & sleeping in my own bed!
The Sydney trip was good for the most part. The Deuces Cracked meetup was great. It was good to catch up with my chess firends that I hadn't seen for a while. The poker, particularly at the casino, could have been better. I like the deeper stacks (you can now buy in to a $1/2 table up to $200), although deep stacks mean little when you continue to run bad ... such as an all-in pre-flop with KK v JJ for roughly $160 where my opponent did the usual & flopped a J & I couldn't catch up.
It was also good to catch up with the family ... my brother seems to be going OK with his studies & my parents are sti
ll doing fine.
ll doing fine. Now that I'm back in Melbourne, its back to the grind. I'm hoping to do some casual teaching to give me something of a regular income ... and of course hoping to turn the current poker run bad around! The next step for me as far as online poker goes is to not only continue to build my bankroll (I've gone off the idea of the self-challenge from a few posts back) playing limit & no limit holdem & mixed games, with the occasional tourney ... but also to build up my Full Till points so that I can have a watch (as seen on the left) shipped to my home.
Will see how it goes ...
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Sydney Deuces Cracked Meet
I ventured up to Sydney for a week (where I'm typing this post from) for, amongst other things, a Sydney meetup of Deuces Cracked members. There were a total of 6 of us who were on the felt at the Jade Tavern for an evening of 25/50c NLHE (which moved to Star City later on). Big thanks to Aus_dragon (Nathan) for organising it & good to meet Shuttle, Stanmore, Pink_dragon & PokerGnome Alicia (a semi-private joke for those that are wondering). The DC game ended in a small profit for myself, though the 'highlight' hand was one near the end of the night between Shuttle & PokerGnome. PokerGnome raised to $1.50 (or thereabouts - my memory is not precise with the following figures) UTG, Shuttle made it $4.25 on the button & PokerGnome shoved for his remaining $25. While Shuttle was thinking about what to do, PokerGnome offered to show one card & showed a queen ... which lead Shuttle to instanly say 'I call' & turn over K7o! Of course the king arrived on the flop, with a 7 on the river for the final kick in the nuts for PokerGnome.
Personally I found the game to be good, however I was more comfortable in it knowing that there were no spastic maniacs at the table, as seems to be so common elsewhere (although there were times when Shuttle & PokerGnome came close to such descriptions) ... and as a result I felt I played reasonably well for the most part.
Of course when I went to Star City, the crazy fish (and my poor timing) left me with a small loss for the evening. A sample of my poor timing included 4-betting a short stack with AK, picking up a caller with 88 & checking it down post-flop to see the short stack with JJ to triple up; a mate of mine who was short & open-shoved his last 10bbs where I had 99 & decided to call (yes, bad decision which only occured to me AFTER I had put the chips in the middle) where he had JJ & held ... and just a general lack of premium hands and spots to get chips easily (live players dislike folding, which makes bluffing somewhat difficult to do).
Personally I found the game to be good, however I was more comfortable in it knowing that there were no spastic maniacs at the table, as seems to be so common elsewhere (although there were times when Shuttle & PokerGnome came close to such descriptions) ... and as a result I felt I played reasonably well for the most part.
Of course when I went to Star City, the crazy fish (and my poor timing) left me with a small loss for the evening. A sample of my poor timing included 4-betting a short stack with AK, picking up a caller with 88 & checking it down post-flop to see the short stack with JJ to triple up; a mate of mine who was short & open-shoved his last 10bbs where I had 99 & decided to call (yes, bad decision which only occured to me AFTER I had put the chips in the middle) where he had JJ & held ... and just a general lack of premium hands and spots to get chips easily (live players dislike folding, which makes bluffing somewhat difficult to do).
Monday, July 19, 2010
A long trip home ... and some books
Finally back home after a long trip back from Vegas. The trip was Las Vegas --> Los Angeles --> Sydney --> Melbourne ... three flights, some sleep, lots of waiting, some reading & a few other bits & pieces in between.
Caught up with Theos Rippis again at the airport in Las Vegas. He had a decent time in Vegas, though I didn't get to spend much time with him during the trip (somewhat ironic as we were staying in the same hotel, albeit 9 floors apart). I hadn't seen him for about 5 years & it was good to catch up, albeit too briefly. I also saw Chuck Danielsson (my first Donkcast interviewee) & Jay Rosenkrantz of Deuces Cracked at the airport. The DC guys definitely made the trip more entertaining with their gatherings, whether it was poker, bowling or anything else. Definitely something I would recommend people do if they are heading to the WSOP in the future - although it is most definitely a poker trip, breaking it up with other activities & meeting new people is a definite plus.
The trip home allowed me to finish 'Treat Your Poker Like a Business' by Dusty Schmidt, which I had purchased on the trip. I found the book to be very interesting, primarily for the 'uncool' stuff at the beginning of the book where he examines (with small sections from Jared Tendler & his wife Nicole) the other side of poker - the stuff that happens away from the table. Although it may not have been entirely applicable to my situation, the thing it did was got me thinking about what I am doing with my life, why I am doing it & what I hope to accomplish as a result. Although I can't see myself spending hours online multi-tabling, the need to consider things away from the poker table is defintely something that I need to concern myself with. The strategy section was decent, though not outstanding, however it was the early material that I was most interested in. Something else I am definitely keen to see is the remaining episodes of the PartyPoker Big Game IV, which was recorded in London in April of this year. Not only is it intersting from a poker standpoint, and in particular the performance of David 'Viffer' Peat, but it also featured 20+ hours of commentary from Dusty Schmidt (after playing in the game early in the session).
Another fascinating book that I have started to read is John Fox's 'Play Poker, Quit Work & Sleep Till Noon'. I have only read the first few chapters, but its very much a book from before the era of political correctness, being written in 1977 (I have a printing from 1981), and has some absolute gems in the first few pages. In the chapter 'Who to play with, or how to spot the weakest players' come the following statements (written as main points, followed by a discussion, explaining the reasoning behind his classification):
4 - Do try to play in the same game with beautiful women
Discussion: Beautiful women tend to play badly themselves - even for women. They also tend to attract men into their game who are unfamiliar with it. Such men might come from a smaller game, or even from a totally different game such as lowball. Even if a man comes in from a higher game and possesses a higher level of skill then (sic) the average of the table, he will usually tend to play loosely or erratically in order to 'show off' and because the stakes are trivial to him. Finally, if a beautiful woman is in the game the concentration of all the men in the game will be lessened.
9 - Do play with women, particularly younger women
Discussion: Women are usually bad limit poker players. Contrary to what any other poker books or Sunday supplements may say, if you are interested in wining moneyyou should usually try to play against them every chance you get. Besides beating them personally, you can frequently use them to gain additional advantages over your male opponents. Women find it difficult to hold their cards correctly and frequently expose them.
10 - Do play against young people
Discussion: A player under twenty-five years of age just has not had time to get enough experience. Unless he is very tight, he stands little chance. For some reason, young, bearded, long haired types who you might think would be wild or radical players are frequently super tight.
14 - Do play against tattooed opponents
Discussion: Anyone foolish enough to allow themselves into getting tattooed should be well qualified to lose to almost anybody else.
16 - Do play against chain smokers
Discussion: Considering the state of medical knowledge of this day a chain smoker is obviously either stupid or compulsive. Both of these qualities are good to have in an opponent.
Of course I have to include my personal favourite form the list ...
13 - Do play against ghetto residents
Discussion: A general lack of educational opportunities and a milieu of ignorane and superstition give ghetto residents a handicap that extends even to the poker table.
Ah ... the days before political correctness!
Caught up with Theos Rippis again at the airport in Las Vegas. He had a decent time in Vegas, though I didn't get to spend much time with him during the trip (somewhat ironic as we were staying in the same hotel, albeit 9 floors apart). I hadn't seen him for about 5 years & it was good to catch up, albeit too briefly. I also saw Chuck Danielsson (my first Donkcast interviewee) & Jay Rosenkrantz of Deuces Cracked at the airport. The DC guys definitely made the trip more entertaining with their gatherings, whether it was poker, bowling or anything else. Definitely something I would recommend people do if they are heading to the WSOP in the future - although it is most definitely a poker trip, breaking it up with other activities & meeting new people is a definite plus.
The trip home allowed me to finish 'Treat Your Poker Like a Business' by Dusty Schmidt, which I had purchased on the trip. I found the book to be very interesting, primarily for the 'uncool' stuff at the beginning of the book where he examines (with small sections from Jared Tendler & his wife Nicole) the other side of poker - the stuff that happens away from the table. Although it may not have been entirely applicable to my situation, the thing it did was got me thinking about what I am doing with my life, why I am doing it & what I hope to accomplish as a result. Although I can't see myself spending hours online multi-tabling, the need to consider things away from the poker table is defintely something that I need to concern myself with. The strategy section was decent, though not outstanding, however it was the early material that I was most interested in. Something else I am definitely keen to see is the remaining episodes of the PartyPoker Big Game IV, which was recorded in London in April of this year. Not only is it intersting from a poker standpoint, and in particular the performance of David 'Viffer' Peat, but it also featured 20+ hours of commentary from Dusty Schmidt (after playing in the game early in the session).
Another fascinating book that I have started to read is John Fox's 'Play Poker, Quit Work & Sleep Till Noon'. I have only read the first few chapters, but its very much a book from before the era of political correctness, being written in 1977 (I have a printing from 1981), and has some absolute gems in the first few pages. In the chapter 'Who to play with, or how to spot the weakest players' come the following statements (written as main points, followed by a discussion, explaining the reasoning behind his classification):
4 - Do try to play in the same game with beautiful women
Discussion: Beautiful women tend to play badly themselves - even for women. They also tend to attract men into their game who are unfamiliar with it. Such men might come from a smaller game, or even from a totally different game such as lowball. Even if a man comes in from a higher game and possesses a higher level of skill then (sic) the average of the table, he will usually tend to play loosely or erratically in order to 'show off' and because the stakes are trivial to him. Finally, if a beautiful woman is in the game the concentration of all the men in the game will be lessened.
9 - Do play with women, particularly younger women
Discussion: Women are usually bad limit poker players. Contrary to what any other poker books or Sunday supplements may say, if you are interested in wining moneyyou should usually try to play against them every chance you get. Besides beating them personally, you can frequently use them to gain additional advantages over your male opponents. Women find it difficult to hold their cards correctly and frequently expose them.
10 - Do play against young people
Discussion: A player under twenty-five years of age just has not had time to get enough experience. Unless he is very tight, he stands little chance. For some reason, young, bearded, long haired types who you might think would be wild or radical players are frequently super tight.
14 - Do play against tattooed opponents
Discussion: Anyone foolish enough to allow themselves into getting tattooed should be well qualified to lose to almost anybody else.
16 - Do play against chain smokers
Discussion: Considering the state of medical knowledge of this day a chain smoker is obviously either stupid or compulsive. Both of these qualities are good to have in an opponent.
Of course I have to include my personal favourite form the list ...
13 - Do play against ghetto residents
Discussion: A general lack of educational opportunities and a milieu of ignorane and superstition give ghetto residents a handicap that extends even to the poker table.
Ah ... the days before political correctness!
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