This is going to be a fairly long post, so here are the cliffs:
- No binks yet, variance, fun times in the poker house
- Traveled to Taipei, ate lots of food (Pics below)
- Afterward, went to California, stayed by the beach (Pics below)
- Back home now in Vancouver, ready to grind
Quote:
Originally Posted by blakkman08
Yikes
It hurt, but to quote the great Rafiki...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Knittle
Sickoooooo
Quote:
Originally Posted by 7deuc3
damn aaron you have changed, an MTT reg now ;P
gonza such a crusher, being that deep in MU having the composure to pull out of it, man 1 word sums it up
glgl in the MTTS
Thanks!
Being a MTT reg kinda sucks. Obviously there's a handful of incredible days where you bink a big score (in theory :P), but the vast majority of days end in frustration. I'm still amazed/impressed by the guys who have chosen this format and been able to do is successfully (while maintaining their sanity) for several years.
Lots to catch up on since I last posted:
February Recap
Travel (Taiwan, California/San Francisco)
1) February Recap
Profit: $5900
Volume: 2299 games
**Graph isn't completely accurate but I included it anyways.**
Reached the volume goal I set for myself and finished in profit, so both of those are good things. The actual amount of profit is disappointing and I'm walking that tightrope many of us go through, where I'm fairly condifent in my game/ability but aware that not every downswing is because of variance. Basically, I'm reviewing a lot of hands, questioning 'standard' spots, and trying to earn as many Sklansky bucks as possible.
Did notice an interesting thing while filtering through my results -- I'm absolutely crushing games with smaller player pools and getting crushed in those with bigger ones (216+ players). Pretty sure that underscores the high variance of large field MTTs and while I'll be trying to play more smaller fields to decrease variance, I'm now in a fantastic time zone for peak hours so that might be difficult.
Non poker wise, February was a blast. Was in Bangkok for nearly the entire month and got to hang out with two of my horses when they weren't out meeting up with random Thai girls. We lived/grinded together in the penthouse and those two days were probably my favorite -- Just got to chill, cheer each other on, talk about spots, talk about life, etc. Or maybe my favorite time was when I took them to Soi Cowboy and they got to experience some "nightlife" in Bangkok.
Definitely want to meet up with more of my horses, each time has been a lot of fun, and I've got tentative plans to get a place somewhere in South America this year to do just that.
2) Travel Part I (Taiwan)
GF and I took a somewhat impromptu trip to Taipei. We had planned to be in California for my Mom's birthday but the flights from YVR-SFO were only $200 cheaper than the same flight with a layover in Taipei. So, uhh, we chose that.
For us, the main attraction was the food and more specifically, the night markets. Street food is apparently a huge part of Taiwanese culinary culture and we love snacking late at night, so this seemed like a perfect fit. And it would have been if our trip was a tad shorter. For the first few days, it was great -- We sought out some of the more notable spots and I liked nearly all of the stuff I got to try. Here are some of my favorites:
Fried Shrimp Balls -- I don't like "fish balls" or "shrimp balls" or any other sort of minced seafood but these were different. It was chunks of shrimp mixed with cabbage and other vegetables, hand rolled in front of us and then breaded/fried. Delicious.
Scallion Pancakes -- Was skeptical at first because I couldn't wrap my head around how green onions would work in pancakes, but these aren't western breakfast panckes, they're like crispy, soft, fluffy, onion-y, savory naan bread.
Somehow I don't have pics of the two things I liked best. First, the amazing Milk Tea, which actually had no tea at all. It's just fresh milk and caramelized "bubbles." Simple but holy moley, that was good. Also missing on the Black Pepper Bun from Rahoe Street Market but thankfully I found a stock photo. It's filled with green onion and black peppered minced pork. If you find yourself there, there are TWO black pepper bun food stalls, but the best one has a red velvet rope because the line is so long.
But by day three, I was kinda over it. Taiwanese food, or at least the stuff I had, was rather sweet and eventually, I wanted more savory/less carb heavy food. I'd still recommend visiting Taipei -- I'm hungry right now and thinking about the Black Pepper Bun, Milk-less Milk Tea and Fried Shrimp Balls has me wishing I was back there. Plus, there were a few cool spots we visited in between meals, such as the Houtong Cat Village and Maokong Village.
Houtong Cat Village: Weren't as many cats as I would like (Was hoping for it to be overran by them, like a zombie apocalypse but with cats) but was still a neat place to stop.
Shifuen Old Street: We had talked about lighting lanterns for a few years, but this was the first time we were able to actually do it. For one of the sides, we decided to draw each other. Thoughts on our artwork?
Maokong Village: Known for it's tranditional tea, we took the Gondola up to the top of the mountain. Could see all of Taipei from the top, but don't ask my GF because her eyes were closed the entire time.
Also, they had a photobooth.
I have two of these pics, so if anyone wants one, just shoot me a PM. Will clear my inbox because I'm sure it will be in such high demand.
3) Travel Part II (California)
Arrived on the 12th and successfully avoided jetlag. Go me. Spent half of the time in my hometown and the other half at a beach house near Bodega Bay. For those who haven't been to California -- beaches on the northern part of the state are fairly cold but that doesn't mean the views aren't as impressive.