Home game #1. . .

I am not a huge fan of live poker. I used to think the social benefits of live poker made it a nice break from grinding online, but the last two times I have played live at a club, I haven't really had that much fun, and after about an hour both times I kind of started wishing I had just stayed in and gone to bed early. The last time I played live, though, was in January, so when Matt suggested getting a small home game, I liked the idea. Bran was supposed to come last night, but he didn't end up making the drive, so we played three handed 20-40 rotation at my place. We used it as an opportunity to play games other then limit holdem, which is basically what we all play 95% of the time. After an hour or two we added $5-$5 bling pot-limit rotation with a $400 max per person in a pot. We never had a three-way capped pot, but we did have several heads-up hands that were maxed out. Here are some game notes. . .

-The worst play of the night was made by none other than myself. Playing 20-40 badugi (the best hand is A234 of four different suits. Anthony raised on the button, I called with a three card draw to an 8, Matt 3 bet, and we both called. We all drew one. I made an 876A badugi. I checked with the intention of check-raising and standing pat, but Matt bet and Anthony raised. Since it was the first draw, I folded. Matt went on to win with a 5 badugi - basically the nuts 99.9% of the time. However, I told them what I folded and the Matt and Anthony shared a deep hearty five minute belly-laugh. I realized the error of my ways (esp. since a 235 badugi draw has 5 outs to beat me, but whatever this was like the the third hand ever of badugi I played. . . ), but it probably helped me take down a pot or two uncontested later on in the night. . .

-I thought I was the one of the laziest people ever when it comes to life's basic yet trivial responsibilities, but I have to hand that title to Anthony. We were talking before about stupid lazy habits we have - i.e. I still have my garage door opener from my last apartment and have yet to receive the deposit; I still have my old cable box, have been charged for it, and haven't got around to returning it, etc. When we were playing, though, Anthony wasn't burning cards when dealing(burning = before laying out the flop, turn, and river, it is customary to take a card off the top of the deck and turn it face down. I said, "Do you not usually burn cards?" He said, "I can if you want, but I'm just lazy. . . "

-This game is probably going to get a lot bigger when we adjust the cap accordingly to the pl games.

-5 card draw triple draw high is fun, except when you get all-in with aces up vs a pair of queens, and after the second draw, you hear someone pinch the cards and say "third queen. . ."

-Anthony wears early 80's gray sweatpants. . .

-Matt got more annoyed than I have every seen anyone get when I did a simple free showdown turn raise on him in $40-$80 holdem: "That is so dumb why don't you just call the turn and river?! You know you are getting 3-bet by anything that beats you!!! Bran does that all the time, and I tell him he's an idiot!!!!" I am anticipating the next time I raise the turn I may be getting three bet no matter what. I hope I have something. . .

-This game should clearly take place on a weekend, so I never find myself in the situation where I should go to bed at 12:30 a.m. right as someone calls pl 2-7 triple draw, and so I don't have to get up early the next day. . .

Round 2 to follow in time. . .

Almost famous. . . .

It was a toss-up - go camping at Pierre's parents 300 acres in Rhode Island or do nothing and be lazy. Despite the fact I usually don't like sleeping outside, I went for it. I figured the next day I would shoot down to Foxwoods and check out their new poker room. . .

I get out of the car and immediately see a familiar face - Alex's friend Andre I met like four years ago in NYC. Most of Alex's friends are French, and they all went to a French elementary school in Manhattan. He was with two other people. We all set out for the woods. I asked if they knew where we were going. There were frogs croaking all around. She said, "Just go where the frogs are getting louder." This was humorous on many levels - mainly that the term "double entendre" itself is french. . .

I saw tiki torches and a lot of people. I wore nice shoes, but I brought sneakers so I wouldn't ruin my new nice ones. Of course as soon as I saw Andre I just wanted to see Alex and then change, but that didn't happen. Instead, I had muddy leather shoes and was surrounded by tiki torches, tons of people, and a 90 pound pig. At that moment I knew I would have to start an alliance sooner rather than later. I saw tons of people I hadn't seen in years, and it was fun. I talked to Pierre for about an hour about Berlin, where I'll be going in two weeks. He suggested we skip Dresden, and maybe that will happen. . .other notable things that happened that night:

-I was chatting with Pierre and Yousef when four girls called me over and told me to sit down in a chair. They explained that I was going to be a participant in "camp speed-dating." They told me I had 5 minutes to impress this woman who was sitting in the chair next to me. Now, I had no interest in this situation and I felt like I had been put in an uncomfortable situation. So, I decided to fight fire with fire - I just sat there and looked like I was about to say something without saying anything. Then I would stop and make it look like I was thinking. Then I would open my mouth like I was going to say something, but I wouldn't. . . .After about two minutes, the girls said "Wow Glen, you're doing a terrible job here. . ." I said nothing. Then the other contestant in this really fun game said "Yah, you're not doing a good job." After about four minutes, I asked "Did you like Pulp Fiction?" She said, "I've never seen it." I said nothing for the next minute and that was that. . . she kind of just walked away and Pierre sat down and we started talking about his real estate job. . .

-Two months ago, Pierre said the Strokes would be there. It turned out they were still gonna be on tour and Pierre knew his brother wouldn't be there for a long time, but I had thought the possibility of an improv acoustic song or two by the campfire might happen. Instead this random dude had a guitar (there's always one). He played the Nirvana cover of the Meat Puppet's "Lake of Fire." Alex started to sing it a little to himself, but he was struggling with the words, so I took over and still struggled with the words. It was a vocal rendition that could be aptly described as a "crime against humanity."

-At the end of the night I went to camp out in my car. I followed a path and stumbled upon a massive puddle. I tried to circumvent it, but I ended up back at the site of the cookout. I said "Fuck it, I'll just hang out some more." I sat down and started talking to Lucienne. Lucienne had the bottle of whiskey I brought and said, "I bet you didn't know I had this." I said, "I didn't, I thought it was in my bag." The party had %100 beer and a few bottle of twisted tea. He said, "Ha, yeeeaaahh, well here I'll give it back." I opened my bag and there was another bottle of Jack Daniels - both were about half-empty. He looked at me with a puzzled expression. I was puzzled as well, but I just said, "I learned that one from David Blaine, sir. . ." and headed to bed. I still have no idea how that happened, but I'm going to pretend I really did do some magic. . .


Alex et Yousef. . .









-I woke up when the sun hit my windshield and turned my car into an oven. I didn't know who was up, and I needed to get some water and breakfast, so I just hit the road for Foxwoods. I drove with just socks, too, which I have never done but it feels like walking barefoot on the beach, in a mechanical sort of way. I got to Foxwoods, where I haven't been since Matt took his legendary bad beat to Mark Seif on the bubble about six months ago. Without getting into the story, I was sweating him earlier in the day when he was playing at a table on the edge of the room. Then he got moved to the middle of the room - to a table with Mark Seif and Billy Gazes on his left and Kathy Liebert and Andrew Black on his right. It was not good - objectively speaking. Since it was day 3, they don't let people drift around the room, so I just went to our room. Anyways, about thirty minutes later I get a text message that says "We are leaving right now - pack your bags." It may be hard for some people to understand, but if I were to say "Do you mind if I just take fifteen minutes and cash my big chip in and get cash?" I would probably get the same reaction if I (insert whatever here) . . . you get the idea. Sooo. . . Foxwoods has a new room. I figured I would check it out and maybe play some 40-80, since I hear they have it. I haven't played live in four months, and maybe I would see some people I know etc.
I show up and go to the board. $20-$40 is the biggest game they have. . . sigh - typical Foxwoods. It's really ridiculous that the biggest poker room on the east coast doesn't have a bigger game than that, but that's how it is. I put my name on a $40-$80 interest list. I am the third name on the list. I ask the guy, "Will this game go soon you think?" He looks at me and says, "It depends on whether the list fills. . . " He seems angry that I even asked the question, but then again, all foxwoods employees seem miserable in general.
I drift around the room to see if I see any familiar faces. All I do is look at tables of yellow chips. There is an asian woman from AC that both Matt and I both have played with a bit on pokerstars named "Kieu." She is very attractive - early 40s I think but she could pass for 30. She is married and has 3 or 4 kids, I believe. Matt introduced us a year ago, and now whenever I see her she calls me, and everyone for that matter, "baby." I saw her in Vegas last summer and said hello. She said "GLYNIS, hi baby!" (GLYNIS is my pokerstars handle). Anyways, once Matt was playing $20-$40 at foxwoods, and she came over to say hello. Matt said, "Kieu, grab a seat!" She immediately declined and said, "Noooo, the red chips hurt my eyes!" This is funny for a couple reasons: her husband is a wealthy high-limit player, so she doesn't really care about money; thus, she makes decisions about what limit to play based on how aesthetically pleasing chips are to her eyes; also, it can be true for everyone to some extent for a different reason.
I decide to get some lunch even though I'm not that hungry. The employees at the 5th Street Cafe seemed miserable as well. I get chicken fingers, sit down, and watch espn highlights of Schilling's 200th win. Then a guy at a table next to me says, and rather loudly, "how are you doing?" I give him an "are you talking to me?" look. He senses this and kind of backtracks, "No, I'm just saying. . .have you been playing poker?" "No I'm just on a list," I say. Then I figured it out. I knew what was coming, yet I can't explain why. I KNOW that this guy is going to ask me if I have been on tv. One minute later. . ."You're a pro, right?" Before I can think and formulate a question as to what exactly he considers the criteria for a pro, he says "I know I have seen you playing big games here, with tons of big chips". . . etc. I don't really know what to say, so I just think about why this happens to me so much. "What do you play $20-$40? (in the foxwoods bubble, $20-$40 players are extremely well respected. . . ) Honestly, I don't play live much, but the last four or five trips I have taken, at least one person has asked me if I have been on tv or if I am a known professional, and I have no idea why. I don't really look like any famous pros at all; in fact, the best way I could describe myself with regard to who I ressemble on the WPT is that I am half Erick Lindgren and half pigpen from Charlie Brown. In any case, he got up and told me there was a $75-$150 stud game going on, so I semi-laughed and said, "Ty sir, and good luck out there (in the battlefield of weekend warrior degenerates)" I walked over to the list. The $40-$80 interest list was still three people. I decided to just leave. On my way out, I saw a mall-style photo booth. It seeemd so random that I decided to stop, sit, and get a picture taken. I knew it would only sit on my bureau as a reminder of Foxwoods and my day. I put a dollar in. An 8.5" x 11" portfolio for a picture came out. Pwned. I hate this place. I walked another twenty feet, put the portfolio in the trash, went down the elevator, got in my car, and that was that. . . I drove home and listened to the last three songs on my live Jounrey tape that I bought at a truckstop years ago over and over. If I were in highschool in the late 70's I would have loved that shit. Faithfully is great, the solo at the end of "Who's crying now?" is tight, "Any way you want it" rocks" and "When the lights go down on the city" is also excellent. When I got to Rhode Island I realized I forgot to cash in my 5k chip. Sigh. . .

no excuse. . .

http://www.pokerhand.org/?350777

Yeah, what can i say, I must be in a nervous state of mind for not 3-betting the river. . .

http://www.pokerhand.org/?350791

why did his river check-call seem weird? is it a reflection of me or him?

http://www.pokerhand.org/?351743

No more Oz. . .

I finished watching all of Oz on netflix, which is probably good, since it has started giving me nightmares. I had two in a row. Two nights ago, I watched an episode where a prison guard got a cocktail consisting of four assorted bodily fluids thrown in his face. I actually visited a maximum security prison while working on an expansion at the prison in Concord, MA about five years ago. I was walking around with my boss and some "hacks," as the guards are referred to on the show. I was about twenty feet behind when they turned a corner. I thought they went left, so I drifted down an aisle of maximum security cells, which actually have an empty holding cell in front of their actual cell. So, I'm like walking and twirling my hair (one of my bad habits) when I hear "Yo Nnnniiiiiiiigggggggggahhhh! See that FUCK! Throw some piss on him!!!!" I quickly decided to run out of aisle and find my groups. One of the hacks told me to be careful, as the inmates actually piss in bedpans and throw it on anyone they can. Thanks for me telling me that beforehand, buddy. Anyways, last night I was dreaming that I was extremely agitated and telling everyone to "get the fuck away from me!" and "don't fucking touch me!" etc. . .No one was actually doing anything. They were just walking by and I perceived it as an invasion of my space. Then when four people confronted me and said, "What's your problem? No one is doing anything to you. . . " I said "I can't take it anymore," and I pulled a syringe out of my pocket (obv heroin) and tried to shoot up, just like everyone in Oz (except they snort it). It didn't do anything, though, which made me even more mad (probably because it was a dream, and I have never nor will ever do heroin, so I have no idea what it's like anyways) - and then I woke up all startled. In any case, I need a new dvd show to watch, so I would appreciate any recommendations. . . .

A couple party hands from the week:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?344927 = :)

http://www.pokerhand.org/?346016 = :)

http://www.pokerhand.org/?348768 On this last hand I asked Glenn what he thought of not raising anywhere in the hand, and he replied: "GP, this is partypoker. partypoker, GP" So I said, "He bet into 5 people on that flop - 5!" He said, "How about just thinking, "This is partypoker, and I have top pair on the flop, so I will raise?" Meh. . .

Strippers?

One Friday after work, Chris, Brian, the other Chris, and myself were talking about fireworks. Every Fourth of July, Brian and Chris each have a party (not the same party) and get donations from friends and buy around a thousand dollars worth of fireworks. Once Brian drove back from North Carolina with probably enough fireworks in his trunk to warrant a five year jail sentence, made several deliveries to different people, and for what?. . . . for the pure enjoyment of watching little explosions in the sky. (It should go without saying that Brian is also in a bowling league - the obvious sport of choice for people that like to smash things and watch explosions). They asked me to come to the party this year. Chris said he bought an ice luge last year. The cost? $300 for a block of ice. I had to say that I would rather spend $300 on a block of ice that people drink from than get $1000 worth of fireworks for $325. In other words, I think the value of both is about zero, and watching fireworks blow up is like watching money burst into flames and ice luges are like money slowly melting into vapor. I think strippers fall into the category of fireworks and ice luges. The reason that I have to place strippers a notch higher is that, when I think about it, I would much rather be looking at attractive naked women than not looking at attractive naked women. So, last night was Szymaszek's roommate's 28th birthday, and some people came over and they got strippers. . .











(The Ultimate Party Photo! front: Bran, Jamie, Anthony "Dreamclown" back: Mike, Matt)

At one point, Matt says, "GP, please get on the floor I HAVE to see that. . . " So, I did. I had a nice buzz from the Johnny Walker Blue I had been drinking courtesy of Bran. (tyvm Bran, I shipped some $$ to stars for you. . .) I had two strippers jumping around all over me. I saw money raining over me. Then all of a sudden, I got really ticklish and started laughing - I couldn't help it. After like five minutes, one of the girls asked, "Are you having any fun?" "Umm, yeah that was great." I resumed my vertical position and began socializing again. I know you're not supposed to take pictures of strippers, but how could I not take this picture of Bran?











"Do you guys wanna turn the tv off?" "No."

The original Back to the Future is on tv now. I like this movie for a few reasons, but I realized the best part seeing it for the tenth time: One of the guys that rolls with Biff in the 50s is wearing these huge, white squarish glasses - they look like the original 3-D glasses they handed out at Jaws 3, but like 4 times bigger.

Be careful with Cialis in Border's. . .

So there's two dudes named Chris at my work. The one that works in construction administration is Swedish, and if you say his first initial and last name, it sounds like "cialis." I asked him if I could call him that, and he said "Only if you see me walking around with a 24-hour rocket. . . " He still plays in a competitive adult hockey league and is a tough guy, but since he is only about 5'-7", some people can be fooled. Anyways, some guy in Border's is on his cell phone. Chris is reading a magazine. Instead of saying, "Excuse me, could I squeeze through?" the guy tried to wedge himself through, talking on his cell the whole time. Cialis glares at him. After about five seconds, the guy says, "You got a problem?" Cialis responds, "Why yes I do?". . . "Well what is it?". . . "This is a public place, buddy. If you're gonna squeeze through, you might want to get off the fuckin' phone and say 'excuse me.'" So the only guys starts in with "Well you. . . " Chris sensed his whiny tone and cut him off right there with a big "FUCK YOU!" right in his face - a true 'in your face disgrace.' Everyone's jaw dropped in the new hardcover book section, including the guy's, who decided to just slowly turn and walk away. Later he said, "Yah I knew he didn't really want a piece or he would have got off the phone before he started to talk back, so I just let him have it" -- expert.

Maxing out the passport renewal fees. . .

I needed a passport fast. I lost my old one, but I have my first one from when I was like 15. On Friday, the lady at the post office tells me I need a birth certificate. On Monday, the guy tells me they stop passport applications at 4:30. Bah. So today I rolled in. Everything was all set. . . "Do you need to see my birth certifcate?" "Nope (t cost $18). I just need a check." Well, I didn't have my checkbook. For some reason I didn't bring it today like I had for the last few days. "Do you take debit cards?" "Yes." Great, I opened my wallet only to discover I probably left it in an atm AGAIN - THAT'S LIKE THE 4TH TIME I'VE DONE THAT THIS YEAR. Seriously, over the past two years I have probably averaged 3.2 trips to the atm per debit card left in the machine. (I am sure I lead the Sovereign Bank League that statisical category) Maybe I am such a space-cadet that I don't even hear the loud beep when one doesn't take the card back, or maybe I am so fidgety that I am already half a block away when it beeps - I don't know. So, I had to take a cab home and back, which cost $19 total, pay $60 for expedited service on top of the $67 renewal fee. Pay a $30 post office fee. The expedited service means 2 to 3 weeks. Since I am leaving in three and a half weeks, I decided not to chance it and get express mail both ways for another $28.80. . . something's gonna go wrong anyways. I can't figure it out, but I am guessing I will have to sign for it, and the usps will leave notes at the door I never use. Then, after 3 days they will return it, and I won't be able to go to Europe. Anyways, the closer it comes to the day I leave will be proportional to the likelihood I decide to actually just eat those special european cafe brownies they have over there. . .

UB hand results/Music and Film Review part 2. . . .

I would like to thank a few resident experts for the comments. Now for the results: Fahigulqwua called with 4s5s with a few seconds left to take it down with two pair. When I saw the hand, I thought "(apply Cartman voice) Oh Jesus Fahigulqwua, you're breakin' my balls. . . " In reality, he probably was just confused a little and had no intention of folding, but didn't want to just make it look like he was paying off my set. As for the hand, Ike is right that there is no shame in check-calling the flop, but I just felt since Fahigulqwua didn't raise, I thought I might as well build the pot and use that to define the strength of my opponents hands. When Solid just called and now Fahigulqwua did the flatcall/reraise line, it defines his hand in my mind as a big draw that doesn't mind getting money in but could also use a free card. I can't see him not raising the flop with anything but a draw, as there were already 13 smal bets in the pot when it was his action. So, when he 3 bet, I tried to exploit Solid's probable weakness by just capping the betting right there. I led the turn hoping that Solid would fold and I could get heads-up with Fahigulqwua and possibly win if no draws get there; or, better yet, river a spade and get a bet/3 bet in there. Anyways, when they both called on the turn, and the river was the innocuous non-spade 5, I slung the $100 out there. When Solid folded and Fahigulqwua raised, it presented an interesting situation. When I told Glenn the hand, he said "oh yeah that's fine (the insta-3 bet), he can't have anything there. . . " Ed Moncada, who some of you may seen taking down the pot-limit holdem event last summer on espn reruns all year, said "why 3 bet if you claim he is a bad player??....i can only understand this if you put him on a last ditch effort to steal pot when you actually believe he has a missed draw." I think it's close between calling and 3-betting. Following through the whole hand with a missed draw is something I rarely do. I have to think if I 3 bet he wouldn't put me on a missed draw ever; in fact, he is probably going to put me on a minimum of flopped top two. However, if he just had a pair - even if it was 4sxs, he would not raise the river, he would just call - esp since the pot was enormous at this point - 16 big bets to him on the river. His river raise would either be a bluff or something he is not folding. There are only a few hands he might be capable of laying down to a river reraise that I do not beat - AT and AK come to mind, where he would 3 bet the flop to try to get a free shot at his gut shot/overcard(s) that may be good, esp since Solid just called flop check-raise. This play is much more common heads-up, but I have seen it more frequently from players like Fahigulqwua in short games lately in the past few months. The small possibility that he might lay down a pair that he tried to raise as a last-ditch effort against someone he clearly does not like (G.P.), and that he may have bluff-raised a hand that beats me (AK or AT) made me 3 bet. thinking things through, though, just calling to snap off a non-paired flush draw or KT or T9 may have been better. Also, when an opponent loses a few hands to you in the recent past, and you exchange some verbal jabs, they become less likely to try to steal pots without the goods. In this hand, however, it seems like that logic would be foiled, since he obviously had a plan and it spiraled out of control. Then he found himself on the river heads-up after Solid folded with 16 big bets in it. These are the times where I make a lot of mistakes - simply unable to make the best decision in the heat of battle, so that had to be factored in as well. In any case, hands like that are not bad for one's image - one just has to adjust quickly to similar situations that follow. Interesting hand anyways. . .

I'll throw in a bonus hand, for no other reason than it made me temporarily feel like Will Ferrell in Undeclared, when he was demonstrating his awesome video game skills while strung out on speed:

"I call this move "Farewell my Concubine." Ok, now side, right, left, right click click click then left, ok, then I sneak up from behind (intense use of body english). . . . and THEN I PAUSE, ok. . . . . . . . and THEN I BLUDGEON!"

Also, I won the hand off Lee, so I want to post it because it is my blog - I won the hand, and it is my blog. . .

http://www.pokerhand.org/?334800

Ok the bludgeon is not a real bludgeon (would need a T on riv for that), just a little re-suck on river. Maybe he was inspired by the last hand I posted, but the flop 4 bet was probably spewage - he would take it down, though, if I had overcards with no diamond that I decided to get a little crazy with with the flop 3 bet. . .



Music and Film review Part Deux:

First off, I have to apologize to Johhny O and George, who had left valuable comments in the first segment. I did not even see them, though. I thought I changed it so I would get an email when new comments were submitted, but for some reason I found them in the edit blog section, and they were emailed to me after I put them up (sigh). Anyways, I'm obviously gonna get the Jens Lekman disc. Also, I'm gonna get the There's Nothing Wrong with Love CD, Johnny. Speaking of Elliott Smith (which I suppose we weren't, but anyways. . . ), the only song I know off that CD is Car, and Elliott Smith covers it here:

http://lido.binaryops.com/

That site has a ton of other good stuff too, as you will see. Ok now let's get into it. . .

Stephen Malkmus - Face the Truth. (25) This is the best Malkmus solo album. His lyrics complement his music better than anyone I think. He writes extremely catchy, smart songs, and you'll find yourself singing stuff like "Upstairs mama's making some crepes, yeah From a fancy recipe book. To me they just look like tortillas. Boy, that mama can cook. . . ." while walking to the coffe machine at work. Brian, Chris, and myself once sat at the bar for about an talking seriously considering whether we could pull off doing the title track acapella for open-mic night at Brian's local dive bar - not just the words, but all the guitar solos and drums too. We would probably have to bring a smoke machine. It would probably be the most ridiculously awesome open-mic performance ever. We could even get someone to play the Malkmus' fictional villian Leather McWhip, who I suppose would probably be dressed up like the gimp from Pulp Fiction, but he would also have a cape and a stun gun. Maybe we still will, who knows. . . A-

Akron/Family. (6) I only listen to this when I play cards. It's too folky for me listen to otherwise I think - too many extended samples of running water, birds chirping, etc. It's like hippyish new age music for people under 30 (edit: wait, ok it's better than that description, as a lot of it is really good) - like how Neil Diamond is like heavy metal for people over 50. B- (I am listening to it as I write this, and I upgraded it from a B- to a B+ due to some excellent tracks)

The Bourne Supremecy. (2) Not a fan of action movies, but I like Matt Damon, and this movie has an overall great cast. Jason Bourne may be more effective than Jack Bauer if he were wired to perform his missions. Also, the guy that played Max Fisher's principle at Rushmore is in it. B (probably near the top of action movie scale for me)

King of Comedy. (1) An old Scorcese flick with Robert Deniro playing a delusional comic. Sandra Burnhard plays his sidekick. This stands the test of time, and has a great ending. It's refreshing to see Deniro play a non-tough guy in his prime. B+

Uncle Tupelo - 89/93 An Anthology. (12) Maybe it's personal preference, or the fact that I am a Wilco fan, but I just can't really get into the non-Tweedy songs. Farrar is not the singer or songwriter Tweedy is imo. Chuck Klosterman (who is now an expert espn page 2 contributor) wrote some good material on the country music scene, and Uncle Tupelo is one of the original "Alt-Country" bands:

"The problem is that guys like Farrar embrace a reality that's archaic and undesirable; the only listeners who appreciate what they're expressing are affluent intellectutals who've glamourized the alien concept of poverty. The lyrics on a track like Screen Door off No Depression have the texture of something old and profound, but they're not; techincally, those lyrics are more modern than anything off Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine. And more important, they're only viewed to be profound by people who've never had the experience described in the lyrics. Truly depressed people don't need depressing music. I don't think I would have any interest in hearing lines like, "Down here, where we're at / Everybody is equally poor" when I was sixteen, sitting in my parents basement in rural North Dakota, only vaguely aware that I (and everyone I knew) had no fucking money. I probably would have thought Jeff Tweedy was whining. Oddly (maybe too predictably), I love that song today. But that's because the lyrics no longer apply to my life. I would guess the average Uncle Tupelo fan earns around $52,000 a year and has two VCRs. I would also guess they don't shop at Walmart, which is where mainstream country music sells like Pokemon."

Tweedy does write great songs, though, and I do like all the songs that Farrar sings about drinking oneself into a whiskey oblivian. Black Eye is probably my favorite song because I like to pretend it was written from my point of view, even though it would not even be accurate if it had been. So, basically, I own 2 dvd players, and would recommend this cd to everyone. George, you should try to learn Black Eye on guitar. That would be something. . . B+/A-

I'll add to this, but for the time being, I would just like to note the inclusion of two friends' Flickr pages. They just take pictures when they travel around, and a lot of them are great. . .

UB hand. . . .

UB doesn't auto-import hands into pokertracker, so I don't have the actual hand history, but here's the hand:

I had been playing for like a half hour. I initially sat in the 80-160 and made the game 7-handed. I was up a decent amount when the game started to get short again. In this hand the game was 4-handed and I was in the small blind. The guy that posted the big blind I did not have a history with, but he is a fairly regular 80 player, and he seemed very solid. The button, on the other hand, I have done well against in the past. He whines a lot, especially after taking bad beats, but I don't think he plays very well. A couple of nights earlier I 3-bet his 8-handed utg raise from the button with AQs, rivered a flush, and he showed his A7o pair of 77s that I snapped. The fact that he even showed the hand there says a lot. He doesn't like me in particular as I have often responded comically to his verbal jabs at me. I will call him "Fahigulqwua." I will call the big blind "Solid"Onto the hand. . .

The cutoff folded. Fahigulqwua raised. I 3 bet with As7s. Solid now caps. (Note: I would guess he has a wide range here, since I had 3 bet the button a few times in the past few orbits - maybe taking down two pots uncontested, showing down a winner, and one where I folded to a flop raise. In the session, however, I was up maybe 40 bbs at this point, and had been playing a lot of hands in the last 30 or 40 hands or so, so I may have seemed loose-aggressive and in isolation mode). Fahigulqwua calls two more and I called.

Flop: Qs Js 4d. I checked, Solid bet, Fahigulqwua called, I check-raised, Solid called, Fahigulqwua now 3 bet, and I capped. Both called.

Turn 2c: I bet. Solid called. Fahigulqwua called.

River 5c: I bet. Solid folded, Fahigulqwua raised, and I insta-3 bet. . . .

Thoughts?

1st time I see Cowboy. . . . uh oh.

grudge revisited. . .

up 1800 will update. . . .

update: meh, game filled. I won 2k at stars, and I won 1k playing 2-7 triple draw. Now, this dude that gives me music recs - his name is Lee, and he beat me up heads-up two nights ago at 2-7. Tonight, however, i made a few too many hands (and he paid off my river raises with 9s etc) and won my money back from him. He wanted the beating from earlier to be mentioned in my blog but now it will simply not happen. I will, however, give him props for recomending the following album to me - Tortoise, Standards.Lee also confesses to having a man-crush on a poker player who is not Patrick Antonious: http://www.europeanpokertour.com/images/badenftpatrikwinner.jpg

hmmmmm. . . . .

Grudge match. . .

I had an old friend over last night. We were just hanging out. I was in 2 stars 30 games - up a fair amount - like $2500-$3k. Then I sit in a short stud8 game and immediately get sucked out, brick, lose, what have you for like 4 or 5 hands in a row. Then this guy I really dislike, and a guy who has run well against me in the past, showed me a bluff when I folded the river in a big pot. He capped 3rd street and 4th street, so when he raised fifth I put him on a big pair instead of a low draw on 3rd because he caught two bricks. (well this was not an exact thought process obv., but this was a strong possibility. . .) I had a pair of 44s. Anyways, he shows a pair of 22s only after I folded the river. Game on. My bud went to the store. I asked him to pick up a pack of smokes for me. He comes back with Marlboro Red 100s. . .waaaaaa? Bad omen? I was even again, and it was getting heated. I received the following email. . .

"Hello GP,

We have received a complaint regarding some things you said in chat at our tables. I have reviewed the chat log and did find some of your comments to be inappropriate.

Our goal at PokerStars is to be a fun place to play, where everyone can feel comfortable. Foul language and abuse of other players takes away from everyone's enjoyment, and therefore cannot be permitted.We must ask you to refrain from using this type of language in the future, or we will be forced to remove your chat privileges. . . ." etc.

After I was up about 4k on him, I bluff-raised the river with king high. He folded, so naturally I showed him. About a minute later I won a $1700 pot, and he paid off my river 3 bet with jacks up. He was so tilted it was great. I felt like the big brother that holds his younger brother's head while he keeps swinging away at the air in front of him. I ended the night up about 8k. Grudge matches are fun to win. . .

Music and film review of the past year. . .

When downloading music became popular, I stopped buying CDs. I would just burn everything I wanted. I probably bought maybe 5 CDs in a four year period. This year, however, I have bought prob like 75 cds and maybe 30 dvds. Since work is kind of slow today, I will be reviewing some of these throughout the day. . . .what I will do is list the name and title, followed by the approximate number of times I have listened to it in parentheses, then write a small blurb. . .

Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (4): As Brian from work noted, "her voice is almost too perfect - it makes me uneasy." I agree with this. It's a good album, but she lacks the raspy soulfullness of a Beth Orton or the raw attitude of classic Liz Phair. B+

Love is All - Nine Times the Same Song (3): This is a fun, energetic, pop rock album. (edit: extra points since I just found out they are swedish. I don't know why, but that's me like them more - more real I guess. . . ) B+

Built to Spill - Ancient Melodies of the Future (8): I should have got into these guys a long time ago, and I'm not sure why I didn't. The lead singer was friends with Elliott Smith, and I like everyone he was ever friends with. I got a text from my friend Alex last night that their new album is the best album he has heard in a year. I already ordered it, and it should be arriving today. . .Woo hoo! A-

Liz Phair - Somebody's Miracle (3): The only thing I can say about this album is that I feel like a big pussy when I listen to it (excuse my vulgarity, but I can't think of any other way to put it.) I gave it three chances, but I don't think I can ever rationalize putting this one in over the previous four albums. C-

Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (.16) As soon as I got this someone told me they sucked and are on the OC soundtrack or something, and I got 7 other CDs with it, so I really didn't give it a chance. I just read this review and now I want to go back to it: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/b/bright-eyes/im-wide-awake-its-morning-digital-ash-in-a-digital-urn.shtml

Jim O'Rourke - Insignificance. (6) I just got this. It is a very solid 7 songs. He used to be in sonic Youth and has produced Wilco, Stereolab, Smog, and Beth Orton. His album art is great also. I need his other albums. A-

The Books - Thought for Food. (9) I previously promoted The Lemon of Pink about a month ago. I can't quite put my finger on why I like The Books so much. It's two guys that use samples and play the banjo and it works. I was listening to the sample. . . "You have no mother and father... they left, they went somewhere else." Then a little kid is yelling "No they didn't." The song title. . . "Motherless Bastard". Expert. My inability to critically articulate why I like certain albums is really exemplifying itself in full force here, but come on - banjo, samples, awesome album?. That should be a hook to go out and buy this album if you don't already have it. A

Lou Reed - Transformer and The Definitive Collection. (6) I am a big Velvet Underground fan, but I never got a Lou Reed solo album, so I decided to buy his first and his greatest hits. Not nearly as good as the best VU stuff, but I have always been a huge fan of "Perfect Day" and "Walk on the Wild side" is great too. I crack myself up when I sing Wild Side to myself and replace "babe" with "buddy." . . ."Plucked her eyebrows on the way. Shaved her legs and then he was a she. She says, Hey buddy. Take a walk on the wild side. . . " Ha. B+

Big Star - #1 Record: Radio City. (4) They have some good songs. Elliott Smith and Wilco have both covered the song "thirteen," which is an excellent song about being in love as a kid. They also sing the original song that was redone and became the theme song for "that 70's Show." I need to listen to it more, but it's a solid classic rock album. B

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. I think it's time to include a movie on the list. I bought this dvd on ebay for ten bucks (4.99 + 4.99 for shipping). Sandler's Mr. Deeds is a good movie, I think, as far as post-Happy Gilmore Sandler movies go. . . This was fun to watch, for the new one mirrored it almost scene for scene. Gary Cooper was great, but the Babe Bennett was no Wynona Ryder - maybe I'm just not into 1930's women's hairdos and fashions. The movie, overall, is not so dated that it isn't entertaining or comical. It's worth seeing, especially if you've seen the Sandler version. If you haven't seen that, watch the 1930's version first, then watch the remake. B+

David Bowie - David Live (2 discs). (2) The bottom line is, Bowie at the Beeb is so fucking good that I still can't get past it. I'm sure this double disc would get a rave review if I just bought this alone, but since I bought at the Beeb, I have to give this a mediocre review. Right now I am listening to Suffragette City on the first disc, and it's not close to as good as the Beeb version. . . B.

Undeclared - the Complete First Season. I netflixed Freaks and Geeks, and it was so good, that I just bought this instead of just netflixing it. I have no idea why the guy that did these shows is not making more. Ok, both F & G and Undeclared were cancelled after one season. This show is like a 90210 for intelligent people. Both shows have an excellent cast, and a lot of the cast overlaps both shows a la Wes Anderson. Seth Rogan from 40-Year-Old Virgin is in both, and has a better character in both. . .anyone else seen either of these. Let me know what you thought. . .

The Russian Futurists - Let's Get Ready to Crumble. (5) I liked this the first time I listened to it. I liked it a little less the second time. By the fifth time, I started to get that crawling out of my skin feeling that one gets when they pick up their food at the drive-through, and then get home only to discover that they put mayonnaise on your burger when you told them not to. . . Maybe I was just super-antsy that day, which describes about 73% of my days, but I'm sure this is not a classic - just listen to "The Matador's Theme" and you'll see what I mean. . . C.

News Flash: Everything British people say is funny. . . from the Ricky Gervais show, talking about the true meaning of the expression "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones:" "Well. . . don't be chuckin' stuff about if you're surrounded by glass and what not. . . "

The Life Aquatic Soundtrack - (30) All Wes Anderson soundtracks are expert in my opinion. This one is no exception. The overriding theme is the Bowie covers sung acoustically by Seu Jorge - all of them good. In addition, Bowie's Life on Mars and Queen Bitch work perfectly to compliment them. The Mark Mothersbugh (of Devo fame) stuff is excellent as usual - he composed the music for Royal Tenenbaums. I looped the Ping_Island Lightning strike Rescue when I played 80-160 last year at the Belaggio and decided that is the best way to get in the zone. Iggy Pop's Search and Destroy is on it too. I would give this soundtrack and A-, but it also contains a Joan Baez song that may be the most annoying song of all time - omg it's SFannoying. B+/A-

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies (8) This may seem random, but you know all those irish songs that rock and that people love to drink beer to? I usually don't like those songs - at least I would never buy an album by someone like Flogging Molly or whoever. Something about this album reminds me of those songs, but I really, really like this album, and I really, really don't like the one's I just referred to. Destroyer is waaay better. While most would consider his (Dan Bejar's) voice to be excellent, and someone like Stephen Malkmus's to suck, I would rather listen to Malkmus than this guy for an extended period of time. In any case, Bejar writes songs that are very well crafted without falling into standard formulas. I like the 10 minute title track and "Painter in your Pocket" the most right now. The first half of the album is clearly better than the second. I would appreciate if someone that has heard this album to leave a comment on what they think. A-

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos. (10) None of the songs that made it on the album are nearly as good as their masterpiece counterparts. In any case, for hardcore Wilco fans, all of the alternate version give insight into how the songs final form came about through experimentation, creation, and then ultimately destruction. Tweedy said during the recording process. .."We're deconstructing things right now. There's no reason not to destroy it, and that's liberating and exciting." A few extra tracks make this nice little bootleg even better - "Cars can't escape" (or "rhythm" as it is also known as) and "Magazine called Sunset." The original YHF would get an easy A, but I have to give this an A- just because it's just part of the development. . .