The story of "The Home Game" - TL;DR
12-18-2016
, 10:43 PM
Quote:
I'd be interested to hear any thoughts you have on current real estate conditions, especially West Coast from SF on up to Vancouver, and all the Chinese money flooding in. Most of us here know the basics, so I'm referring to historical context or comparisons.
This thread shouldn't be derailed, it's too good for that, maybe in another venue?
This thread shouldn't be derailed, it's too good for that, maybe in another venue?
If you want my opinion on it without having lived there, I can give you that?
12-18-2016
, 10:51 PM
Trouble in Paradise
In late June, Willy caught a charge of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and along with that, his dad was in rough shape. He came to me asking to deal, and as long as I was watching over, I didn't see the harm in letting him make a few hundred bucks and take a break from dealing an all nighter. That night I let Sally get on the books for $400, but it didn't matter because that weekend we were going to Disney with her husband and Nicole. Her husband had prepaid everything and it was a nice 3 bedroom condo right near the parks with a private studio suite. The $400 covered gas, 3 nights there, and some comps from the hotel. If you have ever been to Disney, half the time they are just trying to get you to buy a timeshare in the building or at another property they own. Most timeshares are not worth it unless you really like the convenience of not having to look for a place to stay.
On Thursday, I got a text from Mike about the game that night at Vito's, and responded with "take me off the list". Just the sight of his phone number would tilt me unless I had a real reason to talk with him. We waited for Sally and her husband Jim to pull up in their minivan, and we headed up I-75 towards Tampa. The easiest way to Orlando is taking 75 to I-4, which intersects just East of downtown Tampa, and from that exit, you can see the tower that is Hard Rock. From here, it is about an hour to Disney, but it can be over 2 hours depending on the time of day, week, year. We hit nasty traffic and were trying to pass the time while including Jim in the conversation. Jim was a very nice guy, but unless you wanted to talk about the good old days, guns, or complain about things, it was hard to have a conversation with him. I was probably his only friend as I am a social person and he always ran gun purchases by me first. I couldn't even talk about the good times at Hard Rock because I didn't know how much Jim knew about the late nights Sally and I were there, and sure didn't want Nicole knowing about that either.
I had multiple reasons for going on this particular trip. Since the home games had started, I felt a mental disconnect from the outside world, and felt I had to normalize part of my life in order to keep that connection and my own sanity. Doing things like going to Disney, spending time with Izzy, Sally's granddaughter, was very therapeutic to me. It was a thin line, however, as Izzy had become very attached to me, and had asked me to be her dad on multiple occasions. I did not want a 4 year old to be confused about who her parents were. I tried my best to give the child a father figure without crossing those boundaries. She had started to enjoy having me come over with Nicole and it was starting to become somewhat of an issue.
We finally got there after an hour delay on I-4, dropped our bags, and I hopped instantly into the jacuzzi just because it looked so damn nice. I found some bubbling salt stuff, and I couldn't even remember the last time I even took a bath instead of a shower. I had to get ready to head out to the park for the afternoon and evening activities, and figured I would relax for a bit. Nicole and Sally were hanging outside on the balcony, and I heard a banging on the door and it was Izzy.
"Liam, can I come in? I want to show you a game I found here."
"I'll be right there, I have to get out of the bath."
I proceeded to watch the deadbolt bang back and forth and she was trying desperately to get in and I was trying to get out to play. I was covered in this bubbling soap which was getting out of control and overflowing onto the tile. I finally got a grip on the edge of the tub and I heard the card click from the other door and Nicole, Sally, and Izzy had come in. By this time I had gotten myself out of the tub and tried to hide in the shower, falling and busting my ass covered in this bubble crap. They all started laughing and I could barely get up and into the shower, I had busted my knee pretty bad and it wasn't a good start to the trip. I ended up limping around Magic Kingdom pretty badly before calling it an early night. Izzy had been wanting to spend most of her time with Nicole and I and it was apparent that this was affecting Sally.
Friday we went back and finished what we hadn't done at the same park, and we left early before dinner and all of us ended up passing out. I woke up and went outside to find Sally on the patio drinking coffee with a cigarette in her hand.
"You know, since the time we passed Hard Rock, I really wanted to make a trip there for the night. Jim doesn't want to go back out, and Izzy is a mess, she's too tired. I want to go down and play." I was not expecting to hear this from her, but I was totally game to get away and play for the evening. I went and talked to Nicole, and she wanted to come along. She seemed a little irked that it was Sally's idea, but it wasn't as if Nicole was going to ask if we wanted to go to Hard Rock. Sally managed to pawn Izzy off on Jim, and we headed out in the minivan, bound for the big guitar in the sky. We got there around 8pm after I took a few detours, and there were two 5-5PLO games running, and I got a seat after 15 minutes. I carried black chips with me in my laptop case and put down 10 on the table and got change for half of them. I took down a few flops with a raise and c-bet, and 30 minutes in, I picked up A
A
Q10 in the CO and was facing a limp, raise to 40 and two callers. I put in two black chips for a raise and this Middle Eastern man in EP who had limped asked if that was a raise. He had been asking questions and acting out of turn, tanking, and it was really getting on my nerves.
"No, it's a raise," I said in a sarcastic tone. I am very friendly at the table, but when my patience wears thin with obvious stupidity, I can't help myself.
"Okay I go all in then." He had 1050 effective so the bet was really @745, but it folded to me and I slid my two stacks across the line and proclaimed, "Now you go all in."
He put it in and tabled KK38 badugi, and my aces held for a $2100 pot. He said something about it being a cooler, and my best guess was that he was new to the game.
15 minutes later, as I went out to smoke, Sally was there telling me about how her gutshots were coming in better than her open enders. She was up $400 at 1/2 and she asked if she should play 2/5.
"That's entirely up to you. The skill level is not that much greater there, you could min buy and get a taste of the action. Then again, there's always a seat at my table." I said it with a smile and knew that Sally hated Omaha, though I had taught her the basics.
"Well can I sit on your lap?" She asked with an even bigger smile, Nicole was playing the slots and even though it was tempting, I was there with my girlfriend, and we were on a trip with her husband. I said something to the effect that I don't want to lose focus, and she said she'd be right there. I headed back to the table to get my stack back in action.
Sure enough, with my seat facing towards the back of the room, I never even noticed Sally's presence until she had sat down with two stacks of red and a stack of green, her winnings from 1/2. I was a little shocked, but she wanted to gamble and I wasn't going to stop her. She seemed a little taken back when she saw that the game was often 200 to see the flop, and it was affecting her play. I had taught her the basics, and I think winning her Omaha flips really gave her confidence. She had called a number of $40 raises only to check fold out of position. On a smoke break I told her position is so important, and she had to keep her foot on the gas with big hands. As we sat back down she caught the button and had to be reminded to straddle for 10, she was unfamiliar with mandatory straddles (though it wasn't mandatory, it was looked down upon). I raised 5
67
9 UTG+1, and got immediately 3-bet to 200 and it folded around to Sally. She looked for 5 seconds and said "all in" though she had like 30 behind. The dealer had to tell her to stop putting the last red chips in because the max bet was less than her stack. I fold, the 3-bettor goes all in, she calls and she tables ragged aces, and after the flop, the 3-bettor showed two pair. Sally had a defeated look on her face until a nice red A hit the river and she wasn't even sure if she won. It was probably the biggest pot she had ever played, and excitement hit her face. She tipped the dealer $25 and he was shocked as well, as most PLO players were really ****ty tippers. Sally had fallen in love with the game as she stacked a few black chips and she had this smile glued to her face.
While we were outside smoking, Nicole walked out and found us. She hit a $298 nickel slot jackpot and was smart enough to cash it out and had just been hanging out on her phone. She said she would be ready to go in about an hour, so I put out the cigarette, walked inside and sat back down to make the most of our time there.
In late June, Willy caught a charge of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and along with that, his dad was in rough shape. He came to me asking to deal, and as long as I was watching over, I didn't see the harm in letting him make a few hundred bucks and take a break from dealing an all nighter. That night I let Sally get on the books for $400, but it didn't matter because that weekend we were going to Disney with her husband and Nicole. Her husband had prepaid everything and it was a nice 3 bedroom condo right near the parks with a private studio suite. The $400 covered gas, 3 nights there, and some comps from the hotel. If you have ever been to Disney, half the time they are just trying to get you to buy a timeshare in the building or at another property they own. Most timeshares are not worth it unless you really like the convenience of not having to look for a place to stay.
On Thursday, I got a text from Mike about the game that night at Vito's, and responded with "take me off the list". Just the sight of his phone number would tilt me unless I had a real reason to talk with him. We waited for Sally and her husband Jim to pull up in their minivan, and we headed up I-75 towards Tampa. The easiest way to Orlando is taking 75 to I-4, which intersects just East of downtown Tampa, and from that exit, you can see the tower that is Hard Rock. From here, it is about an hour to Disney, but it can be over 2 hours depending on the time of day, week, year. We hit nasty traffic and were trying to pass the time while including Jim in the conversation. Jim was a very nice guy, but unless you wanted to talk about the good old days, guns, or complain about things, it was hard to have a conversation with him. I was probably his only friend as I am a social person and he always ran gun purchases by me first. I couldn't even talk about the good times at Hard Rock because I didn't know how much Jim knew about the late nights Sally and I were there, and sure didn't want Nicole knowing about that either.
I had multiple reasons for going on this particular trip. Since the home games had started, I felt a mental disconnect from the outside world, and felt I had to normalize part of my life in order to keep that connection and my own sanity. Doing things like going to Disney, spending time with Izzy, Sally's granddaughter, was very therapeutic to me. It was a thin line, however, as Izzy had become very attached to me, and had asked me to be her dad on multiple occasions. I did not want a 4 year old to be confused about who her parents were. I tried my best to give the child a father figure without crossing those boundaries. She had started to enjoy having me come over with Nicole and it was starting to become somewhat of an issue.
We finally got there after an hour delay on I-4, dropped our bags, and I hopped instantly into the jacuzzi just because it looked so damn nice. I found some bubbling salt stuff, and I couldn't even remember the last time I even took a bath instead of a shower. I had to get ready to head out to the park for the afternoon and evening activities, and figured I would relax for a bit. Nicole and Sally were hanging outside on the balcony, and I heard a banging on the door and it was Izzy.
"Liam, can I come in? I want to show you a game I found here."
"I'll be right there, I have to get out of the bath."
I proceeded to watch the deadbolt bang back and forth and she was trying desperately to get in and I was trying to get out to play. I was covered in this bubbling soap which was getting out of control and overflowing onto the tile. I finally got a grip on the edge of the tub and I heard the card click from the other door and Nicole, Sally, and Izzy had come in. By this time I had gotten myself out of the tub and tried to hide in the shower, falling and busting my ass covered in this bubble crap. They all started laughing and I could barely get up and into the shower, I had busted my knee pretty bad and it wasn't a good start to the trip. I ended up limping around Magic Kingdom pretty badly before calling it an early night. Izzy had been wanting to spend most of her time with Nicole and I and it was apparent that this was affecting Sally.
Friday we went back and finished what we hadn't done at the same park, and we left early before dinner and all of us ended up passing out. I woke up and went outside to find Sally on the patio drinking coffee with a cigarette in her hand.
"You know, since the time we passed Hard Rock, I really wanted to make a trip there for the night. Jim doesn't want to go back out, and Izzy is a mess, she's too tired. I want to go down and play." I was not expecting to hear this from her, but I was totally game to get away and play for the evening. I went and talked to Nicole, and she wanted to come along. She seemed a little irked that it was Sally's idea, but it wasn't as if Nicole was going to ask if we wanted to go to Hard Rock. Sally managed to pawn Izzy off on Jim, and we headed out in the minivan, bound for the big guitar in the sky. We got there around 8pm after I took a few detours, and there were two 5-5PLO games running, and I got a seat after 15 minutes. I carried black chips with me in my laptop case and put down 10 on the table and got change for half of them. I took down a few flops with a raise and c-bet, and 30 minutes in, I picked up A
AQ10 in the CO and was facing a limp, raise to 40 and two callers. I put in two black chips for a raise and this Middle Eastern man in EP who had limped asked if that was a raise. He had been asking questions and acting out of turn, tanking, and it was really getting on my nerves."No, it's a raise," I said in a sarcastic tone. I am very friendly at the table, but when my patience wears thin with obvious stupidity, I can't help myself.
"Okay I go all in then." He had 1050 effective so the bet was really @745, but it folded to me and I slid my two stacks across the line and proclaimed, "Now you go all in."
He put it in and tabled KK38 badugi, and my aces held for a $2100 pot. He said something about it being a cooler, and my best guess was that he was new to the game.
15 minutes later, as I went out to smoke, Sally was there telling me about how her gutshots were coming in better than her open enders. She was up $400 at 1/2 and she asked if she should play 2/5.
"That's entirely up to you. The skill level is not that much greater there, you could min buy and get a taste of the action. Then again, there's always a seat at my table." I said it with a smile and knew that Sally hated Omaha, though I had taught her the basics.
"Well can I sit on your lap?" She asked with an even bigger smile, Nicole was playing the slots and even though it was tempting, I was there with my girlfriend, and we were on a trip with her husband. I said something to the effect that I don't want to lose focus, and she said she'd be right there. I headed back to the table to get my stack back in action.
Sure enough, with my seat facing towards the back of the room, I never even noticed Sally's presence until she had sat down with two stacks of red and a stack of green, her winnings from 1/2. I was a little shocked, but she wanted to gamble and I wasn't going to stop her. She seemed a little taken back when she saw that the game was often 200 to see the flop, and it was affecting her play. I had taught her the basics, and I think winning her Omaha flips really gave her confidence. She had called a number of $40 raises only to check fold out of position. On a smoke break I told her position is so important, and she had to keep her foot on the gas with big hands. As we sat back down she caught the button and had to be reminded to straddle for 10, she was unfamiliar with mandatory straddles (though it wasn't mandatory, it was looked down upon). I raised 5
679 UTG+1, and got immediately 3-bet to 200 and it folded around to Sally. She looked for 5 seconds and said "all in" though she had like 30 behind. The dealer had to tell her to stop putting the last red chips in because the max bet was less than her stack. I fold, the 3-bettor goes all in, she calls and she tables ragged aces, and after the flop, the 3-bettor showed two pair. Sally had a defeated look on her face until a nice red A hit the river and she wasn't even sure if she won. It was probably the biggest pot she had ever played, and excitement hit her face. She tipped the dealer $25 and he was shocked as well, as most PLO players were really ****ty tippers. Sally had fallen in love with the game as she stacked a few black chips and she had this smile glued to her face. While we were outside smoking, Nicole walked out and found us. She hit a $298 nickel slot jackpot and was smart enough to cash it out and had just been hanging out on her phone. She said she would be ready to go in about an hour, so I put out the cigarette, walked inside and sat back down to make the most of our time there.
12-19-2016
, 07:30 PM
12-20-2016
, 06:33 AM
12-21-2016
, 01:44 AM
Trouble in Paradise - Continued
I hopped back in the game, paid my dues and got back in right in time for the button. With $10 dead and $10 live, I felt it was my civic duty to play the next hand, especially with my stack and position. That very hand, I was dealt 78910 and that feeling when you get aces in hold em came upon me. With premium broadway rundowns I would usually just raise/call raises because they tend to flop so well and often have decent showdown value. With middling double suited rundowns, I would get super aggressive preflop and felt because of their equity against even decent aces I would try and get heads up and isolate and not play multiway pots. UTG+1 opened to 40 and next to act called, and MP potted to 180. Two more callers and I was faced with calling or raising, there was no version of me folding. I did not want to see this flop 5 ways, my suits are often no good and I could be up against a higher rundown and be dominated. After about 15 seconds I made it 800 to go and the blinds snap fold. UTG+1 thinks for a while, he looks like he wants to fold but goes all in for $1575. There is some tanking but the other players fold, leaving $600 dead in the pot. I stick another stack and a half of green in for the call and he shows AA23 single suited. The flop comes rainbow with an 8, but the board paired and I was drawing thin. The river was a K and I ship over two-thirds of my stack to him. This was all over $20 I had invested in the pot and the need to light money on fire. Sure enough, an orbit later I get aces in versus good queens and hit the felt when a Q hit the turn.
I get up from the table and see Sally looking at me with these eyes that are wide as if it were the end of the world. She had come back in the middle of the first hand to stare at the stacks in the middle and wondering why I was playing a $4200 pot with 10 high. Normally I would be really pissed that I lost over $2k in two orbits, but I got it in behind, I didn't get lucky, end of story. I wasn't even tilted, I was checking my phone on the bench outside smoking and somehow fell asleep with a cigarette in my hand. Nicole had woken me up after about 20 minutes, she won more and as happy as I was for her, I didn't need her becoming a slot whore, so I told her to cashout her tickets and we went walking around. She asked me how much I had cashed out for and I told her I lost and she didn't understand - she thought it was always a positive game.
"There is an element of luck in this game you cannot control." I have tried to explain this numerous times to several people but they have watched too much TV to understand this isn't chess, you don't have complete control over the outcome based on your skill level. She was shocked as $1000 was a lot to her right now, she was getting stiffed by her ex for money and thought I was being reckless.
"Let me make this crystal clear Nicole. This is my passion, I have dedicated endless hours over the course of many years to try to become a better player. I don't need someone who just watches the game to tell me what is a good and a bad idea. I appreciate your concern, but if you are trying to move me away from the game, it's just not happening."
She took this as an ultimatum, and that I wanted to break up with her. She broke out in tears and I tried to explain that I was being firm but I had dealt with this in the past and I wasn't going to get judged anymore. As we had finished talking, Sally was walking out from the hall to the poker room and lit up a cigarette with a smile on her face. She had spun up $200 into $900 and felt like she had played in the big game. I was proud of her, she was learning or getting lucky, and both were good at the moment. We got back in the minivan, crept down the garage off ramp to the interstate, and in 15 minutes I was asleep. We finally got home around 2am, and Jim had this look on his face most women get when they want to know where their husband has been.
"Don't worry, I'm the only one that lost, the girls were winners." I went right into the shower and jumped into bed face first and fell asleep that way. The following day, a dynamic occurred that would change the relationship that I had with Sally. Izzy was gravitating towards Nicole, and it was getting on Sally's nerves. She finally lost it in the Haunted Mansion and grabbed Izzy from Nicole and said "YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" and made Izzy cry. I honestly don't know what got under her skin, but it made the rest of the trip very awkward. By the time we had gotten home, Nicole and Sally were no longer friends, and Sally told me Nicole was not welcome at the house anymore. I knew she was hormonal but this seemed a little excessive. I asked what had happened and was told that it was unhealthy for a girl that age to have a new mother figure to come into her life. Sally was not the perfect mother herself, as shown with her own daughter, so it was especially insulting. In the future, I was going to have to choose between hanging out with Sally or Nicole, but not both at the same time. It would prove to be a tricky time in the coming months for both my relationship and my sanity.
I hopped back in the game, paid my dues and got back in right in time for the button. With $10 dead and $10 live, I felt it was my civic duty to play the next hand, especially with my stack and position. That very hand, I was dealt 7
8910 and that feeling when you get aces in hold em came upon me. With premium broadway rundowns I would usually just raise/call raises because they tend to flop so well and often have decent showdown value. With middling double suited rundowns, I would get super aggressive preflop and felt because of their equity against even decent aces I would try and get heads up and isolate and not play multiway pots. UTG+1 opened to 40 and next to act called, and MP potted to 180. Two more callers and I was faced with calling or raising, there was no version of me folding. I did not want to see this flop 5 ways, my suits are often no good and I could be up against a higher rundown and be dominated. After about 15 seconds I made it 800 to go and the blinds snap fold. UTG+1 thinks for a while, he looks like he wants to fold but goes all in for $1575. There is some tanking but the other players fold, leaving $600 dead in the pot. I stick another stack and a half of green in for the call and he shows AA23 single suited. The flop comes rainbow with an 8, but the board paired and I was drawing thin. The river was a K and I ship over two-thirds of my stack to him. This was all over $20 I had invested in the pot and the need to light money on fire. Sure enough, an orbit later I get aces in versus good queens and hit the felt when a Q hit the turn. I get up from the table and see Sally looking at me with these eyes that are wide as if it were the end of the world. She had come back in the middle of the first hand to stare at the stacks in the middle and wondering why I was playing a $4200 pot with 10 high. Normally I would be really pissed that I lost over $2k in two orbits, but I got it in behind, I didn't get lucky, end of story. I wasn't even tilted, I was checking my phone on the bench outside smoking and somehow fell asleep with a cigarette in my hand. Nicole had woken me up after about 20 minutes, she won more and as happy as I was for her, I didn't need her becoming a slot whore, so I told her to cashout her tickets and we went walking around. She asked me how much I had cashed out for and I told her I lost and she didn't understand - she thought it was always a positive game.
"There is an element of luck in this game you cannot control." I have tried to explain this numerous times to several people but they have watched too much TV to understand this isn't chess, you don't have complete control over the outcome based on your skill level. She was shocked as $1000 was a lot to her right now, she was getting stiffed by her ex for money and thought I was being reckless.
"Let me make this crystal clear Nicole. This is my passion, I have dedicated endless hours over the course of many years to try to become a better player. I don't need someone who just watches the game to tell me what is a good and a bad idea. I appreciate your concern, but if you are trying to move me away from the game, it's just not happening."
She took this as an ultimatum, and that I wanted to break up with her. She broke out in tears and I tried to explain that I was being firm but I had dealt with this in the past and I wasn't going to get judged anymore. As we had finished talking, Sally was walking out from the hall to the poker room and lit up a cigarette with a smile on her face. She had spun up $200 into $900 and felt like she had played in the big game. I was proud of her, she was learning or getting lucky, and both were good at the moment. We got back in the minivan, crept down the garage off ramp to the interstate, and in 15 minutes I was asleep. We finally got home around 2am, and Jim had this look on his face most women get when they want to know where their husband has been.
"Don't worry, I'm the only one that lost, the girls were winners." I went right into the shower and jumped into bed face first and fell asleep that way. The following day, a dynamic occurred that would change the relationship that I had with Sally. Izzy was gravitating towards Nicole, and it was getting on Sally's nerves. She finally lost it in the Haunted Mansion and grabbed Izzy from Nicole and said "YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" and made Izzy cry. I honestly don't know what got under her skin, but it made the rest of the trip very awkward. By the time we had gotten home, Nicole and Sally were no longer friends, and Sally told me Nicole was not welcome at the house anymore. I knew she was hormonal but this seemed a little excessive. I asked what had happened and was told that it was unhealthy for a girl that age to have a new mother figure to come into her life. Sally was not the perfect mother herself, as shown with her own daughter, so it was especially insulting. In the future, I was going to have to choose between hanging out with Sally or Nicole, but not both at the same time. It would prove to be a tricky time in the coming months for both my relationship and my sanity.
12-21-2016
, 06:55 AM
12-21-2016
, 09:57 AM
12-21-2016
, 06:33 PM