Blog : The Yukon, Paris, Vietnam and beyond...
02-16-2015
, 10:39 AM
What Dreams are Made of
When I was a kid, I wanted to play for the NHL (National Hockey League) when I grew up. Imagination is limitless when you are a youngster and on Canadian soil, dreams of scoring goals for a living are shaped on the ice, on the radio, in front of your tv on Saturday evening, or basically through every Canadian's passion for the game.
As far as my Dad's youth and for a French Canadian in 1940s and 50s went, dreams started and ended with Les Canadiens : after all, what other form of emancipation was there in a society where we were still told to "Speak White". Hockey was to us what boxing was to Ali or baseball to Jackie Robinson : the only light at the end of dark and limited career possibilities.
Times have since changed. Myriads of opportunities lay ahead of most young western lads today, to the extent where dreams are sold cheaply (but that is another subject all together...).
In my late teens, it became writing. The idea of roaming the world, scribbling some words along the way and drinking wine at day's end, held an appeal like no other. I would go on to visit many countries and start - but never quite finish - writing 4 novels. The dream was nice, but alas!, elusive.
In my late 20s, enters poker and the obsession to beat the game... I knew that the monies would eventually make its way into my pockets, since I possessed an unshakable determination, a strong sense of logic and a ton of heart. The first few years were bumpy (profiting in my first year in the limit games with a basic understanding of the advantages of playing snug, to then drop some considerable coins when I adopted a LAG/maniac style in NLH...). Fortunately, I beat the deadline that I had fixed for myself by binking a live tournament and using this new found bankroll to beat the cash games.
What are dreams made of? A desire to escape the monotonous destiny of being a regular Jack? Dreams of Grandeur, of highs and vertiginous lows? Of emancipation from the mold?
Dreams are the horizon beyond which we fix our own limitations, me thinks. But within a capitalist society where we have been made believe since a young age that everything is achievable/consumable, delusions are often formed... Consequently : dreams are oftentimes crushed, reshaped, abandoned and yes, at times attained. This said, where do ambitions fit in a third country world, like the Philippines, for instance?
Is it viable to have dreams of grandeur in a country where your next meal is not always guaranteed? Since basketball is the national sport and there is no Filipino in the NBA, sports do not seem like a promising avenue... Careers, celebrity status or national spotlights? Well, the education is divided into private and public, the latter almost a literal dead end, while the former often leads to more recognizable overseas opportunities... There are certainly some liberal professions within the country, yet I cannot imagine one dreaming of becoming a politician here
As far as women go, I believe that most of them would picture a career of singing or modeling over the standard nursing or teaching...
When I asked my gf the same question, she was silent at first, pondering her childhood days, before materializing the images into vocal words... To the extent where I thought she was ignoring me, but then she replied :
- "Nobody wanted to care for my grandmother during her last, agonizing, tuberculus days.". She stops talking, lost in her thoughts/images... Silence can also be naturally welcoming when you are having a picnic by the beach and the waves and wind hold a more profound echo than us...
- "...I did not like her, but I still pertained to her needs...".
...
..
.
- "... I wanted to work in the medical field when I was child... I just wanted to help others.".
Beautiful. Maybe dreams is not that place beyond our own limitations... Maybe dreams start with others...
Life update :
- Apparently, the rake in India reaches atrocious highs : 3-5% capped at 80$
If this is the case, Goa is out of the question. I have started a travel thread on possible destinations for live poker ; if any of you have any feedback or ideas, it would be helpful...
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/92...onths-1511206/
- We will be doing a 3 day meditation retreat starting after tomorrow. We will prepare basic meals in advance, warn our entourage not too interrupt and silently slip deeply within ourselves for 10h of vipassana/day.
- Really enjoying my latest poker upswing of 7 weeks. Was never technically on a downswing (only had 1 losing week in the past 5 months), but certainly was running significantly under EV.
- It is Chinese New Year, hence us getting hit by a wave of Chinese and Korean tourism :
Alona Beach, 8 pm
This is where we hide out in the daytime, at the tip of the island.
Run good all
When I was a kid, I wanted to play for the NHL (National Hockey League) when I grew up. Imagination is limitless when you are a youngster and on Canadian soil, dreams of scoring goals for a living are shaped on the ice, on the radio, in front of your tv on Saturday evening, or basically through every Canadian's passion for the game.
As far as my Dad's youth and for a French Canadian in 1940s and 50s went, dreams started and ended with Les Canadiens : after all, what other form of emancipation was there in a society where we were still told to "Speak White". Hockey was to us what boxing was to Ali or baseball to Jackie Robinson : the only light at the end of dark and limited career possibilities.
Times have since changed. Myriads of opportunities lay ahead of most young western lads today, to the extent where dreams are sold cheaply (but that is another subject all together...).
In my late teens, it became writing. The idea of roaming the world, scribbling some words along the way and drinking wine at day's end, held an appeal like no other. I would go on to visit many countries and start - but never quite finish - writing 4 novels. The dream was nice, but alas!, elusive.
In my late 20s, enters poker and the obsession to beat the game... I knew that the monies would eventually make its way into my pockets, since I possessed an unshakable determination, a strong sense of logic and a ton of heart. The first few years were bumpy (profiting in my first year in the limit games with a basic understanding of the advantages of playing snug, to then drop some considerable coins when I adopted a LAG/maniac style in NLH...). Fortunately, I beat the deadline that I had fixed for myself by binking a live tournament and using this new found bankroll to beat the cash games.
What are dreams made of? A desire to escape the monotonous destiny of being a regular Jack? Dreams of Grandeur, of highs and vertiginous lows? Of emancipation from the mold?
Dreams are the horizon beyond which we fix our own limitations, me thinks. But within a capitalist society where we have been made believe since a young age that everything is achievable/consumable, delusions are often formed... Consequently : dreams are oftentimes crushed, reshaped, abandoned and yes, at times attained. This said, where do ambitions fit in a third country world, like the Philippines, for instance?
Is it viable to have dreams of grandeur in a country where your next meal is not always guaranteed? Since basketball is the national sport and there is no Filipino in the NBA, sports do not seem like a promising avenue... Careers, celebrity status or national spotlights? Well, the education is divided into private and public, the latter almost a literal dead end, while the former often leads to more recognizable overseas opportunities... There are certainly some liberal professions within the country, yet I cannot imagine one dreaming of becoming a politician here
As far as women go, I believe that most of them would picture a career of singing or modeling over the standard nursing or teaching...When I asked my gf the same question, she was silent at first, pondering her childhood days, before materializing the images into vocal words... To the extent where I thought she was ignoring me, but then she replied :
- "Nobody wanted to care for my grandmother during her last, agonizing, tuberculus days.". She stops talking, lost in her thoughts/images... Silence can also be naturally welcoming when you are having a picnic by the beach and the waves and wind hold a more profound echo than us...
- "...I did not like her, but I still pertained to her needs...".
...
..
.
- "... I wanted to work in the medical field when I was child... I just wanted to help others.".
Beautiful. Maybe dreams is not that place beyond our own limitations... Maybe dreams start with others...
Life update :
- Apparently, the rake in India reaches atrocious highs : 3-5% capped at 80$
If this is the case, Goa is out of the question. I have started a travel thread on possible destinations for live poker ; if any of you have any feedback or ideas, it would be helpful...http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/92...onths-1511206/
- We will be doing a 3 day meditation retreat starting after tomorrow. We will prepare basic meals in advance, warn our entourage not too interrupt and silently slip deeply within ourselves for 10h of vipassana/day.
- Really enjoying my latest poker upswing of 7 weeks. Was never technically on a downswing (only had 1 losing week in the past 5 months), but certainly was running significantly under EV.
- It is Chinese New Year, hence us getting hit by a wave of Chinese and Korean tourism :
Alona Beach, 8 pm
This is where we hide out in the daytime, at the tip of the island.
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 02-16-2015 at 10:49 AM.
02-17-2015
, 01:31 AM
02-17-2015
, 10:58 AM
Thx Hank, much appreciated.
I read a couple of Osho books when I was in India and thoroughly enjoyed them. In fact I spent 3 weeks in jaisalmer Rajasthan where I through a mattress on the rooftop of the highest standing hotel (asked the owner and they let me do it for 3$/night) and would fall asleep to the sounds of the evening (mainly barking dogs) in the open air. In the daytime, I would spend 3-5 hours meditating and reading Osho in the peaceful desert.
Google Pic. I unfortunately don't have any pics of when I was in India as I was too lazy to get my films developed (before the digital age)
Osho is quite your controversial character. He benefitted from "the Beatles effect" that glamorized the whole coming to "India on a spiritual journey thing" and offered to the hippies what they wanted : liberation through hedonistic ways. After all, who wants to hear about the boring ways of meditation and liberation from your sensory desires when you can indulge in dancing, laughter, crying and even sex (The Osho centre in Pune is known for offering controversial means for shaking the ego. Instead of observing ones desires, he encourages to indulge in them in order to create a rupture...).
Osho also led a suspicious life : he moved to America in the 80s where he became an instant sensation. People would come in waves to get his teaching. Now what did he do with this influx of money? He bought a ton of Roll Royce, almost enough to satisfy his quirky ambition of using a different Roll Royce for everyday of the year!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh
He also took an awful lot of valium, presumably to emit this Zen-like calmness, I imagine... And had numerous people donate the totality of their worth to him... I think it is safe to say that Osho is one of many fake Gurus that came out of India and benefitted from the West turning towards the East for answers. All this being said, I still think that his writings are somewhat enlightening and offer an interesting insight.
Well, I will log out for 3 days now. I will say this : I have never experienced a bigger challenge then sitting in stillness for hours on end... It is the single-biggest physical and emotional painful experience in my life to not move for hours at a time, yet the liberation that comes out of transcending this pain is unmatchable.
Peace
I read a couple of Osho books when I was in India and thoroughly enjoyed them. In fact I spent 3 weeks in jaisalmer Rajasthan where I through a mattress on the rooftop of the highest standing hotel (asked the owner and they let me do it for 3$/night) and would fall asleep to the sounds of the evening (mainly barking dogs) in the open air. In the daytime, I would spend 3-5 hours meditating and reading Osho in the peaceful desert.
Google Pic. I unfortunately don't have any pics of when I was in India as I was too lazy to get my films developed (before the digital age)
Osho is quite your controversial character. He benefitted from "the Beatles effect" that glamorized the whole coming to "India on a spiritual journey thing" and offered to the hippies what they wanted : liberation through hedonistic ways. After all, who wants to hear about the boring ways of meditation and liberation from your sensory desires when you can indulge in dancing, laughter, crying and even sex (The Osho centre in Pune is known for offering controversial means for shaking the ego. Instead of observing ones desires, he encourages to indulge in them in order to create a rupture...).
Osho also led a suspicious life : he moved to America in the 80s where he became an instant sensation. People would come in waves to get his teaching. Now what did he do with this influx of money? He bought a ton of Roll Royce, almost enough to satisfy his quirky ambition of using a different Roll Royce for everyday of the year!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh
He also took an awful lot of valium, presumably to emit this Zen-like calmness, I imagine... And had numerous people donate the totality of their worth to him... I think it is safe to say that Osho is one of many fake Gurus that came out of India and benefitted from the West turning towards the East for answers. All this being said, I still think that his writings are somewhat enlightening and offer an interesting insight.
Well, I will log out for 3 days now. I will say this : I have never experienced a bigger challenge then sitting in stillness for hours on end... It is the single-biggest physical and emotional painful experience in my life to not move for hours at a time, yet the liberation that comes out of transcending this pain is unmatchable.
Peace
02-27-2015
, 09:32 AM
Reminiscing
Thx bob. I as well am excited about my next whereabouts - and wherever they may lead - following a brief stopover in Montreal and 2 months layover in Dawson.
The retreat was soothing, painful and relieving and, at times, all of these simultaneously. After we broke the seal of silence and shared our inner experiences, my gf and I promptly jumped on the motorbike and made it to town for a meal. It is disconcerting to be suddenly exposed to an overload of sensory stimulations after having as sole distraction the inner turmoil of our mind... perhaps comparable to the estranged feeling one can have on psychedelic drugs when in contact with a sudden, unexpected flow of events ... It also brought back some reminiscences of leaving for the first time the Northern Canadian sanctuary for the Babylonian city of Montreal...
December 2001, Montreal. Rue St-Denis, as lively as always, with an influx of people storming out of the sliding doors of Metro Mont-Royal... A few blocks away, on the West side, stands the sole mountain in Montreal, le Mont Royal, tall and proud, with the sun to its back on this golden day. I tangle along with the crowd, anonymously making my little way down the street... Yet, I don't belong... I am a stranger at home... self conscious, overly aware and possessed by an uncanny feeling... Fortunately, I am not left pondering these thoughts too long before a tv reporter and a cameraman abruptly interrupt me.
- "Excuse me" he hails me over from the sidewalk. "May I ask you a few questions?". Now I might be somewhat distressed within the metropole, sure, yet I will not pass up the opportunity for something as unexpected and fun as being on tv...
- "Yeah, no problem man" I respond, intrigued by the whole situation.
- "Have you ever seen this skier before?" he asks, showing me a picture of a Canadian Olympian medalist...
- "Hummmm... maybe" I say, somewhat lost and oblivious to most world events, having been on the road for the majority of the past 3 years... He laughs, seemingly happy to have caught a fish on camera and someone the viewers would get a good laugh from (this French television show was 1 of the most popular at the time in Quebec). He goes on to ask my opinion on the price tag of her ski outfit ; I answer something outrageously low and disconnected from reality ; he laughs it off, tells me the real price and lets me go on, happy with the insight he got into a dazed stoner's mind
I walk it off, puzzled and feeling even more alienated - yet amused - by my experience on urban soil... I walk into a pizza shop, buy myself a couple of slices and a soda to rinse it all away. As I am sitting there, munching on my thoughts, I hear a terrorizing scream behind me :
- "GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR!!!" roars an authoritative voice.
I abandon my food, my thoughts and instinctively jump to the floor... A few nanoseconds later, I question myself... "wait a second", am I the only one that jumped to the ground. I turn around and notice everyone effectively lying down... I scrutinize the doorway, fully expecting to see an armed robber but am agreeably surprised to see 4 cops, handcuffing a black dude nailed down to the floor
Holy crap, the power of authority!!! All of us hit the ground without a moment of hesitation, even if it was solely directed at the black dude!!! Anyhow, I get back up, finish my pizza slice while wondering to myself if the city has always been this crazy (this all happened within my first day back)...
Hope you guys enjoyed this little story!
Hands of the week
Hand 1
I have kept in my poker schedule a few of my favorite tournaments and higher ROIs ones, of course. One of them being the 33$ Deepstack on Stars.
It is a small field of 75-145 players (remember, I am on Asian time, not the more juicy Eastern Canadian time... sigh
), yet still takes about 6-9h to complete 
This next hand demonstrates what great luxury we have in opening up our 4-5betting range.
Final table, down to 3 handed, 65bbs effective with the shortstack and 95bbs with the chip leader
It has been some very active 3 handed play and considering we are all fairly close in skill level, the variance has been high (I got it in 60bbs JJ vs 1010 and held up) despite our deepstacks.
Blinds 2k-4k
Button opens to 8k, Hero 3bets to 21165 in SB with A10o, BB (guy who GII with 1010) 4bets to 40k, I 5bet to 95564, villain folds.
I ended up binking this tourney after just over 2h of intense HU battle Really love the structure.
Hand 2
This next hand might be somewhat standard for online cash regs, yet I still need to intentionally push myself to execute it (as opposed to clicking buttons as a standard).
Zoom 50 NLH
I open-raise A
A
to 1.50$ UTG, button calls (reg 23/16/9) as does BB (another reg 23/18/8)
Flop (4.75$)
Q10
4
I remember being quite involved on other tables when this hand occurred, hence me firing away an auto-pilot cbet thinking that I am HU and not 3 handed (even HU, I think betting and checking are pretty close and maybe checking is better OOP...). Button calls.
Turn (10.75$)
Q104 9
I decide to fire again, this time 6$ (we are 200bbs effective and I don't see many hands raising me here, especially since I am holding the A) ; villain calls.
River (22.75$)
Q104 9 7
I check, villain tank-fires 12$, I raise to 34$, villain folds.
We should probably bluff-raise river with the A near 100% in this spot, yet it is still not natural for me... I am nevertheless presently quite comfortable with deepstacking zoom and am not shy to pull the trigger when the situation warrants it, thank God.
Run good all
The retreat was soothing, painful and relieving and, at times, all of these simultaneously. After we broke the seal of silence and shared our inner experiences, my gf and I promptly jumped on the motorbike and made it to town for a meal. It is disconcerting to be suddenly exposed to an overload of sensory stimulations after having as sole distraction the inner turmoil of our mind... perhaps comparable to the estranged feeling one can have on psychedelic drugs when in contact with a sudden, unexpected flow of events ... It also brought back some reminiscences of leaving for the first time the Northern Canadian sanctuary for the Babylonian city of Montreal...
December 2001, Montreal. Rue St-Denis, as lively as always, with an influx of people storming out of the sliding doors of Metro Mont-Royal... A few blocks away, on the West side, stands the sole mountain in Montreal, le Mont Royal, tall and proud, with the sun to its back on this golden day. I tangle along with the crowd, anonymously making my little way down the street... Yet, I don't belong... I am a stranger at home... self conscious, overly aware and possessed by an uncanny feeling... Fortunately, I am not left pondering these thoughts too long before a tv reporter and a cameraman abruptly interrupt me.
- "Excuse me" he hails me over from the sidewalk. "May I ask you a few questions?". Now I might be somewhat distressed within the metropole, sure, yet I will not pass up the opportunity for something as unexpected and fun as being on tv...
- "Yeah, no problem man" I respond, intrigued by the whole situation.
- "Have you ever seen this skier before?" he asks, showing me a picture of a Canadian Olympian medalist...
- "Hummmm... maybe" I say, somewhat lost and oblivious to most world events, having been on the road for the majority of the past 3 years... He laughs, seemingly happy to have caught a fish on camera and someone the viewers would get a good laugh from (this French television show was 1 of the most popular at the time in Quebec). He goes on to ask my opinion on the price tag of her ski outfit ; I answer something outrageously low and disconnected from reality ; he laughs it off, tells me the real price and lets me go on, happy with the insight he got into a dazed stoner's mind
I walk it off, puzzled and feeling even more alienated - yet amused - by my experience on urban soil... I walk into a pizza shop, buy myself a couple of slices and a soda to rinse it all away. As I am sitting there, munching on my thoughts, I hear a terrorizing scream behind me :
- "GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR!!!" roars an authoritative voice.
I abandon my food, my thoughts and instinctively jump to the floor... A few nanoseconds later, I question myself... "wait a second", am I the only one that jumped to the ground. I turn around and notice everyone effectively lying down... I scrutinize the doorway, fully expecting to see an armed robber but am agreeably surprised to see 4 cops, handcuffing a black dude nailed down to the floor
Holy crap, the power of authority!!! All of us hit the ground without a moment of hesitation, even if it was solely directed at the black dude!!! Anyhow, I get back up, finish my pizza slice while wondering to myself if the city has always been this crazy (this all happened within my first day back)...Hope you guys enjoyed this little story!
Hands of the week
Hand 1
I have kept in my poker schedule a few of my favorite tournaments and higher ROIs ones, of course. One of them being the 33$ Deepstack on Stars.
It is a small field of 75-145 players (remember, I am on Asian time, not the more juicy Eastern Canadian time... sigh
), yet still takes about 6-9h to complete This next hand demonstrates what great luxury we have in opening up our 4-5betting range. Final table, down to 3 handed, 65bbs effective with the shortstack and 95bbs with the chip leader
It has been some very active 3 handed play and considering we are all fairly close in skill level, the variance has been high (I got it in 60bbs JJ vs 1010 and held up) despite our deepstacks.Blinds 2k-4k
Button opens to 8k, Hero 3bets to 21165 in SB with A10o, BB (guy who GII with 1010) 4bets to 40k, I 5bet to 95564, villain folds.
I ended up binking this tourney after just over 2h of intense HU battle
Really love the structure.Hand 2
This next hand might be somewhat standard for online cash regs, yet I still need to intentionally push myself to execute it (as opposed to clicking buttons as a standard).
Zoom 50 NLH
I open-raise A
A to 1.50$ UTG, button calls (reg 23/16/9) as does BB (another reg 23/18/8)Flop (4.75$)
Q
104I remember being quite involved on other tables when this hand occurred, hence me firing away an auto-pilot cbet thinking that I am HU and not 3 handed
(even HU, I think betting and checking are pretty close and maybe checking is better OOP...). Button calls.Turn (10.75$)
Q
104 9I decide to fire again, this time 6$ (we are 200bbs effective and I don't see many hands raising me here, especially since I am holding the A
) ; villain calls.River (22.75$)
Q
104 9 7I check, villain tank-fires 12$, I raise to 34$, villain folds.
We should probably bluff-raise river with the A
near 100% in this spot, yet it is still not natural for me... I am nevertheless presently quite comfortable with deepstacking zoom and am not shy to pull the trigger when the situation warrants it, thank God.Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 02-27-2015 at 09:56 AM.
Reason: I love editing...
03-01-2015
, 03:31 PM
03-01-2015
, 06:30 PM
03-02-2015
, 06:25 AM
03-02-2015
, 01:33 PM
03-09-2015
, 04:08 PM
Anda (or the Art of sunbathing)
We decided to leave our beachside apartment for a weekend getaway for the promise of... yet another beach
It took 3h to get there with a decent scenery along the way
Morning sunrise in Anda. For the record : pic taken by gf (I was still sound asleep)
She did try to shake me awake, but to no avail
This crab obviously never played Mario Bros as he would know that all crabs are red!!!
And now, for a deeper look into the sea...
These pics were taken by my old Landlord, who also is a dive instructor
Not all fish in the Filipino sea are pretty, apparently...
I haven't been diving since The Great Barrier Reef in Australia, back in 2000
We will go diving pretty soon over here, as soon as my gf feels more comfortable with deeper depths
Still looking into my options for next year, but it is pretty hard to find a deepstack 2-5 near an area I would like to spend 6 months+... (especially in Asia). But for the time being, we need to find another apartment for the next 3 months... sigh
It all started about a week about, when this entitled-old-men-neighbor of ours, took pleasure in complaining about our supposedly loud activities!!! Now, for the record, my gf does teach English on Skype, but it is not as if she screams into her laptop, ffs. Nevertheless, the tension peaked yesterday night when he sent his Filipino lover to complain at 7H30 pm I simply lost it on the old man. And his Filipino lover. To the extent where the Filipino charged me after I told him to shut the **** up (they are a gay couple (not that it matters, but he is yet another annoying/obnoxious foreigner here, him being 75 and his lover like 22 or something) ; anyhow, the old man stopped his lover from assaulting me at the last minute while I stood ground and observed the action. Haha, kind of an entertaining evening (I do have a tendency to get into trouble to seemingly kill boredom
even though I am an extremely nice fellow, I do butt heads (with my French stubborn side refusing to let go, at times...).
Anyhow, we find ourselves looking for a new place, because I sure as hell will not let this intrusive old man disrupt our comfort zone (sucks that it is the high season though...).
Da Pokerz
Being stuck at 50 Zoom for the past few months has been somewhat disheartening (well, still am playing 100 NLH on Party and some nice MTTs on Stars-888), so gave Rush a try yesterday, testing the waters as they have offered me a 250$ bonus. First impressions of 50 Rush :
- I thought limpers were a forgotten and extinct species!!! God is it ever refreshing to see some players limp-call 50% of their range
- My 3bet and 4bet tendency has decreased significantly, as the Rush players are more passive then their counterpart Zoom players. This has the double advantage of lowering variance and potentially increasing my win-rate.
- Adapting to new software can take a few hands (haven't played on Tilt in a few years...).
- I will evaluate my win-rate after 1 month of Rush and then most likely move up to 100 (and hopefully 200 before the end of the year). This will also decide on my outcome of my next whereabouts, but right now, on Asian time, my hourly is not sufficient to my liking (and I am not ready to switch my sleeping schedules to be on the more juicy EST time).
- It will feel like a failure if I do not beat 100 NLHE for a decent win-rate soon (3bbs+/100). The beauty of online poker lies in the freedom it provides of playing from the comfort of your home anywhere in the world, yet I find - this year - the Asian time zone combined with drier games on 888 quite detrimental (hence the need of adding Tilt and a 2-5 live game at proximity as a safety net).
Poker Hands of the Week
Rush 50
Playing deeper for the past couple of weeks, has led to some interesting dynamics...
Villain (reg 25/19/0) has me covered and opens SB to 1.25$, I make the call with A8 250 bbs deep.
Flop (2.50$)
A
7A
Villain bets 1.75$, I decide to raise to 5$ (a call looks nutted), he makes it 11.75$ to go, I call.
Turn (25.50$)
A7A 9
Villain bets 15$, I call.
River (55.50$)
A7A 9 K
He checks as do I
. Luving the deepstacks, but don't think I would of found it in me to call if he bet a third barrel...
Hand 2
A reg villain (21/15/9) opens to 1.50$ on the button, I make the call in the BB with AJ ; I find AJo to be my 3bet borderline hand : too good to simply call, yet not strong enough to raise confidently for value with. So it becomes very villain dependent.
Flop (3.25$)
A58
I check, villain bets 1.50$, I call.
Turn (6.25$)
A58 K
I check once again, he bets 1.50$, I call. I suppose a raise would also be good, but I suspect him to have a weak A rather than a fd...
River (9.25$)
A58 K 8
I continue my story by checking, he bets 2$ and I decide to try to fold out a chop or perhaps even get called by a K by betting 8$. I don't like my sizing and wished I had made it something like 10$, making sure not to price in villain to call for a chop
Run good all
)We decided to leave our beachside apartment for a weekend getaway for the promise of... yet another beach
It took 3h to get there with a decent scenery along the way
Morning sunrise in Anda. For the record : pic taken by gf (I was still sound asleep
)
She did try to shake me awake, but to no avail
This crab obviously never played Mario Bros as he would know that all crabs are red!!!
Spoiler:
And now, for a deeper look into the sea...
These pics were taken by my old Landlord, who also is a dive instructor
Not all fish in the Filipino sea are pretty, apparently...
I haven't been diving since The Great Barrier Reef in Australia, back in 2000
We will go diving pretty soon over here, as soon as my gf feels more comfortable with deeper depths
Still looking into my options for next year, but it is pretty hard to find a deepstack 2-5 near an area I would like to spend 6 months+... (especially in Asia). But for the time being, we need to find another apartment for the next 3 months... sigh
It all started about a week about, when this entitled-old-men-neighbor of ours, took pleasure in complaining about our supposedly loud activities!!! Now, for the record, my gf does teach English on Skype, but it is not as if she screams into her laptop, ffs. Nevertheless, the tension peaked yesterday night when he sent his Filipino lover to complain at 7H30 pm
I simply lost it on the old man. And his Filipino lover. To the extent where the Filipino charged me after I told him to shut the **** up (they are a gay couple (not that it matters, but he is yet another annoying/obnoxious foreigner here, him being 75 and his lover like 22 or something) ; anyhow, the old man stopped his lover from assaulting me at the last minute while I stood ground and observed the action. Haha, kind of an entertaining evening (I do have a tendency to get into trouble to seemingly kill boredom Spoiler:
Anyhow, we find ourselves looking for a new place, because I sure as hell will not let this intrusive old man disrupt our comfort zone (sucks that it is the high season though...).
Da Pokerz
Being stuck at 50 Zoom for the past few months has been somewhat disheartening (well, still am playing 100 NLH on Party and some nice MTTs on Stars-888), so gave Rush a try yesterday, testing the waters as they have offered me a 250$ bonus. First impressions of 50 Rush :
- I thought limpers were a forgotten and extinct species!!! God is it ever refreshing to see some players limp-call 50% of their range
- My 3bet and 4bet tendency has decreased significantly, as the Rush players are more passive then their counterpart Zoom players. This has the double advantage of lowering variance and potentially increasing my win-rate.
- Adapting to new software can take a few hands (haven't played on Tilt in a few years...).
- I will evaluate my win-rate after 1 month of Rush and then most likely move up to 100 (and hopefully 200 before the end of the year). This will also decide on my outcome of my next whereabouts, but right now, on Asian time, my hourly is not sufficient to my liking (and I am not ready to switch my sleeping schedules to be on the more juicy EST time).
- It will feel like a failure if I do not beat 100 NLHE for a decent win-rate soon (3bbs+/100). The beauty of online poker lies in the freedom it provides of playing from the comfort of your home anywhere in the world, yet I find - this year - the Asian time zone combined with drier games on 888 quite detrimental (hence the need of adding Tilt and a 2-5 live game at proximity as a safety net).
Poker Hands of the Week
Rush 50
Playing deeper for the past couple of weeks, has led to some interesting dynamics...
Villain (reg 25/19/0) has me covered and opens SB to 1.25$, I make the call with A
8 250 bbs deep.Flop (2.50$)
A
7AVillain bets 1.75$, I decide to raise to 5$ (a call looks nutted), he makes it 11.75$ to go, I call.
Turn (25.50$)
A
7A 9Villain bets 15$, I call.
River (55.50$)
A
7A 9 KHe checks as do I
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
Hand 2
A reg villain (21/15/9) opens to 1.50$ on the button, I make the call in the BB with A
J ; I find AJo to be my 3bet borderline hand : too good to simply call, yet not strong enough to raise confidently for value with. So it becomes very villain dependent.Flop (3.25$)
A
58I check, villain bets 1.50$, I call.
Turn (6.25$)
A
58 KI check once again, he bets 1.50$, I call. I suppose a raise would also be good, but I suspect him to have a weak A rather than a fd...
River (9.25$)
A
58 K 8 I continue my story by checking, he bets 2$ and I decide to try to fold out a chop or perhaps even get called by a K by betting 8$. I don't like my sizing and wished I had made it something like 10$, making sure not to price in villain to call for a chop
Spoiler:
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 03-09-2015 at 04:38 PM.
03-17-2015
, 07:19 AM
Just moved into our new place ; it is overpriced (750$/month for a 1 bedroom house), but I was nonetheless more than willing to pay extra for peace and privacy (it is high season here in touristy Bohol and prices have been jammed!!! For instance, what was once 200PHP for a 1h massage by the beach (my gf is a hard negotiator and got a 150PHP discount) is now 400PHP with the same ladies. Out of principle, we stopped going to see them).
The house is Filipino style : roof made out of straw and walls out of bamboo... Makes me think of a funny song from my teenage years :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtffv9bpB-U
Our backyard. I am happily trading off being by the beach + having a ton of foreigner neighbors, to the roaming chickens and goats + Filipino families next door.
Living Room. Missed having a decent flat screen tv.
Laptop + monitor setup. I get the living room for the grind, gf gets the bedroom.
This bed is the definition of comfort : a water mattress doubled by a soft mattress!!! Makes getting up in the morning that much harder...
Kitchen. Haven't seen a microwave since Canada. But, TBH, I would trade it in a heartbeat for a more practical oven...
Washroom. Definitely not a Filipino shower
Have a couple of buddies chilling out by a Himalayan Nepalese lake town. Sounds exactly what we are looking for
I could dig a mountainous little Buddhist town. Finding a solid connection is a different story though... (I have spent a couple of months in several areas of the Hilmalayas over a decade ago ; I doubt they have since installed cables going through the mountains...).
Apparently the games were quite juicy in Kathmandu in 2010 (and some players were talking about them a couple years back in Phnom Penh) and offered higher stakes. I will check it out, but living in a small town 1-2h away from Kathmandu sounds like a viable option...
Utilizing blockers
This next one is a strange little hand, especially the river action.
50 Rush
100bbs effective
Nitty SB (12/7/4) opens to 1.50$, I defend with Q10 in BB.
Flop (3$)
88Q
Villain bets 1.50$, I make the call.
Turn (6$)
88Q 9
SB bets 3$, I call. I am not sure if my Q is good at this point, but will reassess on the river...
River (12$)
88Q 9 7
Villain bets 3.50$ and now I do not think my hand holds enough showdown value. I instinctively decide to utilize my 10 nut str8 blocker and raise to 11.50$. The problem with this line, is that I would of most likely raised turn with 8x or 10J, thus relinquishing my 10 blocker to irrelevancy. That was probably villain's thought process when he made the call
I have been averaging 4bbs/100 + at Rush for 20k hands and have since moved up to 100 NLHE. Don't think I will look back anymore. Next step, 200 NLHE (but that is still a few months away, me thinks...).
Run Good All
The house is Filipino style : roof made out of straw and walls out of bamboo... Makes me think of a funny song from my teenage years :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtffv9bpB-U
Our backyard. I am happily trading off being by the beach + having a ton of foreigner neighbors, to the roaming chickens and goats + Filipino families next door.
Living Room. Missed having a decent flat screen tv.
Laptop + monitor setup. I get the living room for the grind, gf gets the bedroom.
This bed is the definition of comfort : a water mattress doubled by a soft mattress!!! Makes getting up in the morning that much harder...
Kitchen. Haven't seen a microwave since Canada. But, TBH, I would trade it in a heartbeat for a more practical oven...
Washroom. Definitely not a Filipino shower
Have a couple of buddies chilling out by a Himalayan Nepalese lake town. Sounds exactly what we are looking for
I could dig a mountainous little Buddhist town. Finding a solid connection is a different story though... (I have spent a couple of months in several areas of the Hilmalayas over a decade ago ; I doubt they have since installed cables going through the mountains...).Apparently the games were quite juicy in Kathmandu in 2010 (and some players were talking about them a couple years back in Phnom Penh) and offered higher stakes. I will check it out, but living in a small town 1-2h away from Kathmandu sounds like a viable option...
Utilizing blockers
This next one is a strange little hand, especially the river action.
50 Rush
100bbs effective
Nitty SB (12/7/4) opens to 1.50$, I defend with Q
10 in BB.Flop (3$)
8
8QVillain bets 1.50$, I make the call.
Turn (6$)
8
8Q 9SB bets 3$, I call. I am not sure if my Q is good at this point, but will reassess on the river...
River (12$)
8
8Q 9 7Villain bets 3.50$ and now I do not think my hand holds enough showdown value. I instinctively decide to utilize my 10 nut str8 blocker and raise to 11.50$. The problem with this line, is that I would of most likely raised turn with 8x or 10J, thus relinquishing my 10 blocker to irrelevancy. That was probably villain's thought process when he made the call
Spoiler:
I have been averaging 4bbs/100 + at Rush for 20k hands and have since moved up to 100 NLHE. Don't think I will look back anymore. Next step, 200 NLHE (but that is still a few months away, me thinks...).
Run Good All
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 03-17-2015 at 07:42 AM.
03-18-2015
, 01:51 AM
03-18-2015
, 07:40 AM
03-25-2015
, 06:32 AM
Casualties of Travelling, Part 1
March 2000, Calgary International Airport, Alberta, Canada. After 10 intoxicated blurry months in the Rocky mountains, the Lake Louise-Calgary greyhound bus has dumped me in front of the airport, leaving all that haze behind me ; the abuse of mushrooms and alcohol has indeed made my past - and present - an indistinct collection of sparse memories, as the world seems more of a reverie by the fleeting moment...
I go through the mechanical motions of going through my jacket pockets to grab myself a smoke, when I unexpectedly put my hands on a ziplock bag... WTF I already know what it is, but nonetheless pull it out, stare dumbfoundedly at the eighth of magic mushrooms 
(having been the sole provider in Lake Louise, I casually had a ton of ziplocks portioned in 1/8 kicking around). FML. I mean, how much of a basket case am I, ffs 
Sweating despite the chilly Albertan winter, I discretely sneak inside the airport, find a somewhat secluded washroom and go through my bags unnoticed... I find 2 more ziplocks
. Jeezus freaking Christ, how spaced out am I, Mother of freaking God!!! Learn and move on, I guess (or at least I try to tell myself...).
I finally check my bags through customs and find a comfortable bench upon which I put my crushed soul to sleep...
It is only once sitting in the airplane that it hits me : there is still a bag of weed hidden in my luggage... Holy fuccckkkkkk!!! I had indeed lost it a month ago and can now visualize exactly where it is in my backpack
I sweat the LA customs search of my bag, yet somehow manage to divert their attention towards my illegal camp stove ; they confiscate it and, feeling satisfied, put an end to their examination... Saved!!! Or at least I thought...
It is the year 2000 and while the world is busy turning a symbolic millennium corner, I am celebrating my 23rd year of passage on this earth with my first overseas solo adventure (I had been on the road for 2 years already). Being somewhat of a noob and all, it does come as a surprise when they announce through the airplane speakers that the possession of drugs in Malaysia (where I have a 24h layover before ultimately reaching Australia) can net you the death penalty... WWHHHHAAATTTT!!! FML!!! I am sweating balls, as the memories of me and my gf in Montreal are dissipating behind the image of a Malaysian prison cell
The Malaysian customs would go on and let me pass scott free, while the Australian custom would promptly investigate my bags to no avail (my paranoid mind had imagined a location for my previously vanished baggie of weed... sigh). Ironically, this would not be the last time I would go through customs while packing junk on me...
So you want to pick up your backpack and hit the freedom of the road, do you... Fine, but know that it comes with a degree of risk...
Thieving :
This is your most obvious one and even if a somewhat experienced traveler will relegate this run bad to being a travelling noob, the law of averages catch up to the best of us ; if you spend enough time on the road, you are bound to be the victim of scams/robbery.
Scams :
Call it thieving 101, but every poor country comes with its dose of leveling. Thankfully travel guides like The Lonely Planet or online sites like Trip Advisor, will clearly spell out for you the potential pit falls. And they are many. To the extend where a travelling noob will rarely go through his first week in a third world country without losing some sort of possession. Here are a few examples of the DO NOT DOES :
- Leaving coveted items unattended in your hotel room : Hummm, it will go missing. Especially a brick of $$$ bills. Do you think that housekeeping will care to lose their jobs if they find a year's worth of $$$ up for grabs!!!
- Getting robbed in the streets : If these 3 conditions are met, you are in for a bad beat : being drunk and alone late at night. It is quite common to have a herd of local thieves simply surround you and squeeze the money out of you. Have experienced it twice, got away once when I manage to ruse/sneak my way out of a forming circle of 8 individuals (the other time, they took my phone + money).
- Falling prey to targeted scams : In Vietnam, it was spiking somebody's drink and following them when they leave the bar. In Cambodia, snatching your bag when you are in a Tuktuk. In Guatemuela, sneaking up on you when you are hiking alone or in a small group and threatening you with a machete. In India, it was a ruse of bringing you to the wrong hotel by whichever conspiracy and thus keeping you at a titanic inflated rate. Whatever the scam, it has been rinse-repeated so many times that they are nowadays easily googable (yet many suckas exist for these ruse to subsist).
Will continue this post next week, as it is getting a bit too long to my liking...
Hand of the weak
Pokerstars 33$ MTT
When we were down to 3 players and since we were dead even chips (and had been the 3 strongest players at the FT), I offered a deal that was declined by the player I would ultimately finish HU against. This is the tail end of my grinding session, to the extent where I have shut down my cash tables and am single tabling this final table (am tired and all I keep thinking about, is getting a relaxing massage by the beach), yet there is no way I will not squash this villain!!!
He is a Supernova and I can tell by his constant aggression that he probably crushes the weaker competition ; this said, he has a ton of leaks. One of them is having a Cbetting of 100% over 200+ hands, which is most likely highly profitable in a full ring setting, but does poorly HU vs a reg that knows how to counterfeit unbalanced aggression. So by X/R a few flops (with air) and letting villain barrel vs my value hands, I have chipped out from a 2 to 1 chip deficit back to even. I have only 3bet once (with 34o and took it down), favoring a small ball approach.
25bbs effective.
I open AA to 2bbs from the button ; villain makes it 5bbs to go. I flat (4betting will get him off his air with which I can see him barreling a few streets with little to no equity).
Flop (10.2bbs)
45K
Considering villain's tendencies, this is a great flop for us, as he most likely will use the K as a LAG excuse to barrel, thus getting us to fold all of our middling pairs. Villain bets 2.5bbs, we make the call.
Turn (15.2bbs)
45K 6
Another scare card. When villain checks, we want to get the money in right away, but shoving 18bbs seems spewy... So I bet a smallish 5bbs to induce ; villain obliges by shoving 18bbs ; I snap call. River is the 3
Run good all
March 2000, Calgary International Airport, Alberta, Canada. After 10 intoxicated blurry months in the Rocky mountains, the Lake Louise-Calgary greyhound bus has dumped me in front of the airport, leaving all that haze behind me ; the abuse of mushrooms and alcohol has indeed made my past - and present - an indistinct collection of sparse memories, as the world seems more of a reverie by the fleeting moment...
I go through the mechanical motions of going through my jacket pockets to grab myself a smoke, when I unexpectedly put my hands on a ziplock bag... WTF
I already know what it is, but nonetheless pull it out, stare dumbfoundedly at the eighth of magic mushrooms (having been the sole provider in Lake Louise, I casually had a ton of ziplocks portioned in 1/8 kicking around). FML. I mean, how much of a basket case am I, ffs Sweating despite the chilly Albertan winter, I discretely sneak inside the airport, find a somewhat secluded washroom and go through my bags unnoticed... I find 2 more ziplocks
. Jeezus freaking Christ, how spaced out am I, Mother of freaking God!!! Learn and move on, I guess (or at least I try to tell myself...).I finally check my bags through customs and find a comfortable bench upon which I put my crushed soul to sleep...
It is only once sitting in the airplane that it hits me : there is still a bag of weed hidden in my luggage... Holy fuccckkkkkk!!! I had indeed lost it a month ago and can now visualize exactly where it is in my backpack
I sweat the LA customs search of my bag, yet somehow manage to divert their attention towards my illegal camp stove ; they confiscate it and, feeling satisfied, put an end to their examination... Saved!!! Or at least I thought...
It is the year 2000 and while the world is busy turning a symbolic millennium corner, I am celebrating my 23rd year of passage on this earth with my first overseas solo adventure (I had been on the road for 2 years already). Being somewhat of a noob and all, it does come as a surprise when they announce through the airplane speakers that the possession of drugs in Malaysia (where I have a 24h layover before ultimately reaching Australia) can net you the death penalty... WWHHHHAAATTTT!!! FML!!! I am sweating balls, as the memories of me and my gf in Montreal are dissipating behind the image of a Malaysian prison cell
The Malaysian customs would go on and let me pass scott free, while the Australian custom would promptly investigate my bags to no avail (my paranoid mind had imagined a location for my previously vanished baggie of weed... sigh
). Ironically, this would not be the last time I would go through customs while packing junk on me...So you want to pick up your backpack and hit the freedom of the road, do you... Fine, but know that it comes with a degree of risk...
Thieving :
This is your most obvious one and even if a somewhat experienced traveler will relegate this run bad to being a travelling noob, the law of averages catch up to the best of us ; if you spend enough time on the road, you are bound to be the victim of scams/robbery.
Scams :
Call it thieving 101, but every poor country comes with its dose of leveling. Thankfully travel guides like The Lonely Planet or online sites like Trip Advisor, will clearly spell out for you the potential pit falls. And they are many. To the extend where a travelling noob will rarely go through his first week in a third world country without losing some sort of possession. Here are a few examples of the DO NOT DOES :
- Leaving coveted items unattended in your hotel room : Hummm, it will go missing. Especially a brick of $$$ bills. Do you think that housekeeping will care to lose their jobs if they find a year's worth of $$$ up for grabs!!!
- Getting robbed in the streets : If these 3 conditions are met, you are in for a bad beat : being drunk and alone late at night. It is quite common to have a herd of local thieves simply surround you and squeeze the money out of you. Have experienced it twice, got away once when I manage to ruse/sneak my way out of a forming circle of 8 individuals (the other time, they took my phone + money).
- Falling prey to targeted scams : In Vietnam, it was spiking somebody's drink and following them when they leave the bar. In Cambodia, snatching your bag when you are in a Tuktuk. In Guatemuela, sneaking up on you when you are hiking alone or in a small group and threatening you with a machete. In India, it was a ruse of bringing you to the wrong hotel by whichever conspiracy and thus keeping you at a titanic inflated rate. Whatever the scam, it has been rinse-repeated so many times that they are nowadays easily googable (yet many suckas exist for these ruse to subsist).
Will continue this post next week, as it is getting a bit too long to my liking...
Hand of the weak
Pokerstars 33$ MTT
When we were down to 3 players and since we were dead even chips (and had been the 3 strongest players at the FT), I offered a deal that was declined by the player I would ultimately finish HU against. This is the tail end of my grinding session, to the extent where I have shut down my cash tables and am single tabling this final table (am tired and all I keep thinking about, is getting a relaxing massage by the beach
), yet there is no way I will not squash this villain!!! He is a Supernova and I can tell by his constant aggression that he probably crushes the weaker competition ; this said, he has a ton of leaks. One of them is having a Cbetting of 100% over 200+ hands, which is most likely highly profitable in a full ring setting, but does poorly HU vs a reg that knows how to counterfeit unbalanced aggression. So by X/R a few flops (with air) and letting villain barrel vs my value hands, I have chipped out from a 2 to 1 chip deficit back to even. I have only 3bet once (with 34o and took it down), favoring a small ball approach.
25bbs effective.
I open A
A to 2bbs from the button ; villain makes it 5bbs to go. I flat (4betting will get him off his air with which I can see him barreling a few streets with little to no equity).Flop (10.2bbs)
4
5KConsidering villain's tendencies, this is a great flop for us, as he most likely will use the K as a LAG excuse to barrel, thus getting us to fold all of our middling pairs. Villain bets 2.5bbs, we make the call.
Turn (15.2bbs)
4
5K 6Another scare card. When villain checks, we want to get the money in right away, but shoving 18bbs seems spewy... So I bet a smallish 5bbs to induce ; villain obliges by shoving 18bbs ; I snap call. River is the 3
Spoiler:
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 03-25-2015 at 06:54 AM.
04-05-2015
, 12:32 PM
Changes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn1WbBaWTdc
"I know we can't stay here forever
So I want to write my words on the face of today and they'll paint it"
Change, Blind Melon
Saw Blind Melon live on there debut album tour. The singer, Shannon Hoon, would die from a coke overdose a couple of years later. Ironically, he passed away a few weeks following his 28th birthday, shortly after happily proclaiming that he had made it through the curse of a rock star's 27th year of existence...
I think I will be posting less frequently in this blog, probably cutting down to monthly or bi-monthly entries. I do plan on keeping it alive and going for hopefully years to come, yet do not want to force myself in posting frequently, especially if it interferes with the substance of the content. Will also be starting a PG&C thread in June (I will link it eventually ITT) featuring a Dawson challenge : 25k in 3 months.
Have been seriously contemplating Florida for a 2-3 months stint from November-January. Really am not a big fan of that part of the world, but can nonetheless see myself grinding the 2-5 and 5-T game while spending time with my folks there (they are snow birds), before going down to Mexico for the winter (probably in a small less touristy beach town like Higuera Blanca or the likes...).
In other news, this pitiful looking dog showed up on our doorsteps :
I mean, this puppy was on the verge of dying
It seems like he had nothing left in him - no feistiness at all -, to the extent where he did not bulge when I approached him (even if he shows signs of having been bullied repeatedly). I am glad to see that he has since found a home on our patio, although the stinky bugger sneaks inside the house when we leave the door open
Have a poker/tennis buddy that is coming at the end of the month for a couple of weeks, which means that we will go grind the 1-3 deepstacks in Cebu (even though he hates holdem).
Hand 1 : favorable runouts
Party Poker, 100 NLHE
Hero 202$
Villain 134$ (34/24/9)
Villain opens in CO to 3$, I defend with 57 in BB.
Flop (6.50$)
2103
I check, villain bets 3$, I call. Pretty standard. I did not write down his cbetting %, but do remember he would barrel flop + turn too frequently, and then give up on river.
Turn (12.50$)
2103 Q
I check, villain bets 8.91$, I raise to 26$, villain folds. The Q was just what the doctor ordered to X/R semi-bluff our flush draw, as it narrows down villain's range to 22, 33, 1010, AQ, QQ, KK or AA which, considering his barreling tendencies, has a ton more of air in it.
Hand 2 : unfavorable runouts
Rush poker, 50 NLHE
villain 100$
Hero 107$
CO (21/16/6) opens to 1.50$, I 3bet to 4$ with AA, he 4bets to 10.50$, I tank-call. We are 200bbs effective and I definitely do not want to dissuade villain from continuing. I believe that a 5bet would of narrowed my perceived range down to Axs and KK+ while a call keeps me wide enough.
Flop (21.75$)
J72
Good flop for us and am happy to call when he fires 8$. I put villain on JJ+ and possibly some air and AK.
Turn (37.75$)
J72 K
Horrible turn card. Of course, I still make the call when bets 14$ and plan on calling most rivers.
River (65.75$)
J72 K Q
FML. The nut worse river. When he shoves for 67.50$, I swear at the poker gods, curse at my monitor before inexorably admitting defeat... sigh.
Run good all
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn1WbBaWTdc
"I know we can't stay here forever
So I want to write my words on the face of today and they'll paint it"
Change, Blind Melon
Saw Blind Melon live on there debut album tour. The singer, Shannon Hoon, would die from a coke overdose a couple of years later. Ironically, he passed away a few weeks following his 28th birthday, shortly after happily proclaiming that he had made it through the curse of a rock star's 27th year of existence...
I think I will be posting less frequently in this blog, probably cutting down to monthly or bi-monthly entries. I do plan on keeping it alive and going for hopefully years to come, yet do not want to force myself in posting frequently, especially if it interferes with the substance of the content. Will also be starting a PG&C thread in June (I will link it eventually ITT) featuring a Dawson challenge : 25k in 3 months.
Have been seriously contemplating Florida for a 2-3 months stint from November-January. Really am not a big fan of that part of the world, but can nonetheless see myself grinding the 2-5 and 5-T game while spending time with my folks there (they are snow birds), before going down to Mexico for the winter (probably in a small less touristy beach town like Higuera Blanca or the likes...).
In other news, this pitiful looking dog showed up on our doorsteps :
I mean, this puppy was on the verge of dying
It seems like he had nothing left in him - no feistiness at all -, to the extent where he did not bulge when I approached him (even if he shows signs of having been bullied repeatedly). I am glad to see that he has since found a home on our patio, although the stinky bugger sneaks inside the house when we leave the door open
Have a poker/tennis buddy that is coming at the end of the month for a couple of weeks, which means that we will go grind the 1-3 deepstacks in Cebu (even though he hates holdem).
Hand 1 : favorable runouts
Party Poker, 100 NLHE
Hero 202$
Villain 134$ (34/24/9)
Villain opens in CO to 3$, I defend with 5
7 in BB.Flop (6.50$)
2
103I check, villain bets 3$, I call. Pretty standard. I did not write down his cbetting %, but do remember he would barrel flop + turn too frequently, and then give up on river.
Turn (12.50$)
2
103 QI check, villain bets 8.91$, I raise to 26$, villain folds. The Q was just what the doctor ordered to X/R semi-bluff our flush draw, as it narrows down villain's range to 22, 33, 1010, AQ, QQ, KK or AA which, considering his barreling tendencies, has a ton more of air in it.
Hand 2 : unfavorable runouts
Rush poker, 50 NLHE
villain 100$
Hero 107$
CO (21/16/6) opens to 1.50$, I 3bet to 4$ with A
A, he 4bets to 10.50$, I tank-call. We are 200bbs effective and I definitely do not want to dissuade villain from continuing. I believe that a 5bet would of narrowed my perceived range down to Axs and KK+ while a call keeps me wide enough.Flop (21.75$)
J
72Good flop for us and am happy to call when he fires 8$. I put villain on JJ+ and possibly some air and AK.
Turn (37.75$)
J
72 KHorrible turn card. Of course, I still make the call when bets 14$ and plan on calling most rivers.
River (65.75$)
J
72 K QFML. The nut worse river. When he shoves for 67.50$, I swear at the poker gods, curse at my monitor before inexorably admitting defeat... sigh.
Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 04-05-2015 at 12:51 PM.
04-07-2015
, 01:00 PM
04-07-2015
, 04:14 PM
04-07-2015
, 04:59 PM
04-14-2015
, 02:33 PM
Rant :
Taxes succkkkk As a Canadian citizen, you need to pay taxes if you gamble professionally (not as a rec player). I have been honest about it and paid my dues in 2012. This said, being out of the country and all, I have since neglected the taxman. Unfortunately, my negligence has not gotten unnoticed
I now have to send in the declaration of 2013 and 14. Fortunately, since I have been out of the country for the past few years, I will most likely get a non-resident clause and get a tax exemption.
Is there anyone more miserable in the Western world then government employees!?! I mean, I was stuck with this miserable fucckk on the phone!!! A brick wall, I tell you : no way through, no way around. Pretty ironic how some of these people have a more than decent salary, a pension plan, security, this insurance and that insurance, yet are some of the most miserable people to walk this planet
Anyhow, end of rant.
Taxes succkkkk
As a Canadian citizen, you need to pay taxes if you gamble professionally (not as a rec player). I have been honest about it and paid my dues in 2012. This said, being out of the country and all, I have since neglected the taxman. Unfortunately, my negligence has not gotten unnoticed I now have to send in the declaration of 2013 and 14. Fortunately, since I have been out of the country for the past few years, I will most likely get a non-resident clause and get a tax exemption.
Is there anyone more miserable in the Western world then government employees!?! I mean, I was stuck with this miserable fucckk on the phone!!! A brick wall, I tell you
: no way through, no way around. Pretty ironic how some of these people have a more than decent salary, a pension plan, security, this insurance and that insurance, yet are some of the most miserable people to walk this planet Spoiler:
Anyhow, end of rant.
04-25-2015
, 09:02 AM
Nanoseconds
Alright, before I start my little story, lets just say that I am unmistakingly a carefree fellow and quite nonchalant : despite being a hardworking guy, I take the purest of pleasure in indulging in laziness
Anyhow, since I am leaving the Philippines in 2-3 weeks for Montreal, we decide to go to the city
A) to fax my income tax declaration (fax did not work).
B) type in an agreement in order to finalize the sale of our motorbike.
I drop my off my gf at the registration office and promptly head to the mall... AAAAHHHHHH, the art of being unorganized : I haven't declared my taxes in the past 2 years, my bike is not registered and my travel insurance and driver's license are expired... so when that sinister little voice in my head tells me not to stick around, I see no reason to tempt it...
After meeting up at the mall, we only have 45 minutes to hurry back for my gf's course, so after I make a supposedly illegal left turn and get pulled over by a traffic officer, we are left with 2 options :
1- abiding by the rules and facing the possibility of losing the bike for nothing on top of a potential hefty fine or...
2- Making a run for it!!!
So I obviously opt for the cheapest and more exciting option 2, maximizing my fold equity in the process by utilizing a more aggressive line, as I see an opening on the right side of the traffic lady and instinctively gun for it... Unfortunately, she shuts down my escape route. I give it another try, alas!, to no avail
Maybe I should of check-folded flop on such a wet, action-inducing texture, but I decided to go with the one-and-done approach of an overbet... I have been in this precarious situation a handful of times, yet still somehow prefer the enticing path of aggression...
She is not a happy camper
Not at all. 20-30 people gather around, listening, staring with those glaring eyes... The majority of it occurs in Visayan, which makes my gf an active participant and me a simple observant... But things are definitely not looking on the up and up...
I am the villain. The entitled foreigner. The arrogant stranger that can buy his way out of any undesired situation. I embody all the injustices, the cruelty in the world... The daily hardships encountered. But more importantly, I am the medium through which their angst is canalized...
Yet I do not feel bad with my play... This serene feeling follows me in the police station where I feel overly comfortable (as if I am holding the nuts), yet act like a beaten dog
.
I have been in this situation before. Numerous times, I have felt the pressure of a river check-shove... yet remained calm while staring down my opponent... Reading his soul, inch by inch... I call
Even after threats of deporting me, of filing a case of assault (the lady is exuberantly claiming that I tried to kill her), they let us go with a simple fine a 30$. My gf claiming that we rented the motorbike and pleading ignorance as to the location of the registration, is simply golden (she brought her A+ game!!!). My sincere apology to the lady did also sway in the final say of the decision. Haha, what a funny experience
Run good all
Alright, before I start my little story, lets just say that I am unmistakingly a carefree fellow and quite nonchalant : despite being a hardworking guy, I take the purest of pleasure in indulging in laziness
Spoiler:
Anyhow, since I am leaving the Philippines in 2-3 weeks for Montreal, we decide to go to the city
A) to fax my income tax declaration (fax did not work).
B) type in an agreement in order to finalize the sale of our motorbike.
I drop my off my gf at the registration office and promptly head to the mall... AAAAHHHHHH, the art of being unorganized : I haven't declared my taxes in the past 2 years, my bike is not registered and my travel insurance and driver's license are expired... so when that sinister little voice in my head tells me not to stick around, I see no reason to tempt it...
Spoiler:
After meeting up at the mall, we only have 45 minutes to hurry back for my gf's course, so after I make a supposedly illegal left turn and get pulled over by a traffic officer, we are left with 2 options :
1- abiding by the rules and facing the possibility of losing the bike for nothing on top of a potential hefty fine or...
2- Making a run for it!!!
So I obviously opt for the cheapest and more exciting option 2, maximizing my fold equity in the process by utilizing a more aggressive line, as I see an opening on the right side of the traffic lady and instinctively gun for it... Unfortunately, she shuts down my escape route. I give it another try, alas!, to no avail
Maybe I should of check-folded flop on such a wet, action-inducing texture, but I decided to go with the one-and-done approach of an overbet... I have been in this precarious situation a handful of times, yet still somehow prefer the enticing path of aggression...
She is not a happy camper
Not at all. 20-30 people gather around, listening, staring with those glaring eyes... The majority of it occurs in Visayan, which makes my gf an active participant and me a simple observant... But things are definitely not looking on the up and up... I am the villain. The entitled foreigner. The arrogant stranger that can buy his way out of any undesired situation. I embody all the injustices, the cruelty in the world... The daily hardships encountered. But more importantly, I am the medium through which their angst is canalized...
Yet I do not feel bad with my play... This serene feeling follows me in the police station where I feel overly comfortable (as if I am holding the nuts), yet act like a beaten dog
Spoiler:
I have been in this situation before. Numerous times, I have felt the pressure of a river check-shove... yet remained calm while staring down my opponent... Reading his soul, inch by inch... I call
Even after threats of deporting me, of filing a case of assault (the lady is exuberantly claiming that I tried to kill her
), they let us go with a simple fine a 30$. My gf claiming that we rented the motorbike and pleading ignorance as to the location of the registration, is simply golden (she brought her A+ game!!!). My sincere apology to the lady did also sway in the final say of the decision. Haha, what a funny experience Run good all
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 04-25-2015 at 09:32 AM.
05-06-2015
, 04:29 PM
05-06-2015
, 10:06 PM
"Bahala na" kinda like "Life on lifes terms", sometimes it's real easy to get caught up trying to force things to fall into a certain pattern.
Love that song, I can remember when Matisyahu hit the airwaves in 2000 what a great album that was....
Just looked at his wiki, born not too far away from me in West Chester PA. Wasn't aware he shaved the beard in 2011 and had something of a shift in his religious & spiritual views, I like him even more now!
Did some guided meditation last night using something found on Youtube, it was great and very helpful. It was a little intimidating to try and start on my own but there are lot's of resources just waiting to be tapped into.
I'm getting ready for some big changes myself, time at the recovery house is coming to a close and the road is calling me not sure what to do but short of getting struck by lightening this psychic change is going to require some work. Gotta rest my mind more and meditation seems like a very efficient way of doing that.
Got high hopes for your north american travels, fun to live vicariously through other travelers!
Off to ride my bike along the river and meditate at high speed
Love that song, I can remember when Matisyahu hit the airwaves in 2000 what a great album that was....
Just looked at his wiki, born not too far away from me in West Chester PA. Wasn't aware he shaved the beard in 2011 and had something of a shift in his religious & spiritual views, I like him even more now!
Did some guided meditation last night using something found on Youtube, it was great and very helpful. It was a little intimidating to try and start on my own but there are lot's of resources just waiting to be tapped into.
I'm getting ready for some big changes myself, time at the recovery house is coming to a close and the road is calling me not sure what to do but short of getting struck by lightening this psychic change is going to require some work. Gotta rest my mind more and meditation seems like a very efficient way of doing that.
Got high hopes for your north american travels, fun to live vicariously through other travelers!
Off to ride my bike along the river and meditate at high speed
05-07-2015
, 05:07 AM
05-11-2015
, 02:57 PM
Tokyo airport, Japan. I've got a 16h layover. Leave it to me to butcher a flight schedule :
Cebu - Manila : 6h layover in Manila
Manila - Tokyo : 16h layover, not too mention that I need to switch airports in the morning, the other one being 2h away!!!
Tokyo - Vancouver : 8h layover, which will be spent entirely at the Riverrock casino, grinding
Vancouver - Montreal
Haven't calculated the time of the trip, but an estimate of 50h doesn't seem that off (with the layovers, of course), which will give me ample time to finish a post I have been working on.
Back soon...
Cebu - Manila : 6h layover in Manila
Manila - Tokyo : 16h layover, not too mention that I need to switch airports in the morning, the other one being 2h away!!!
Tokyo - Vancouver : 8h layover, which will be spent entirely at the Riverrock casino, grinding
Vancouver - Montreal
Haven't calculated the time of the trip, but an estimate of 50h doesn't seem that off (with the layovers, of course), which will give me ample time to finish a post I have been working on.
Back soon...
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 05-11-2015 at 03:04 PM.
05-14-2015
, 04:34 PM
Finally made it to Montreal, some odd 50 hours later... Got to hit the Riverrock for 4h in between flights, where I was the only white guy with 9 other Asians at the table (including the dealer) ; God I love Vancouver and that feeling that I never left Asia
I want to talk about 1 hand and particularly having a range advantage, but first, for contextual feedback, lets flashback a few months back to a hand played online.
Hand 1 :
100 NLHE on Party
Villain appears to be a TAG (only have 21 hands on him), yet seemingly on the weaker side, which I decide to exploit by 3betting to 9$ with AJo in UTG1 after he opens to 3$ UTG.
Flop (19.50$)
KQ5
I fire 13$, villain calls. I have a huge range advantage here ; after all, I still posses all top sets in my range, as well as AK, KQ or AA, while villain holds only a few of these combos at best... I bet 13$, villain calls.
Turn (45.50$)
KQ5 8
This is when I butcher the hand : this is the easiest triple barrel spot in the world ; after all, my range crushes him, while villain's range is capped at AQ 99-JJ (with some slow played hands, sure); if I am going to check turn and not triple barrel (like the fish that I was), then I might as well of have checked flop as well...
After I check back a blank river, villain scoops the pot with AQ (which would of most likely folded to a triple barrel...), sigh...
Hand 2
That was then, this is now : applying pressure with a range advantage has since become a standardize line for me. So after I raise a MP limper with AQ in CO and see a KdJd flop, I do not hesitate to start emptying the barrel :
Flop (33$)
KJ8
As in Hand1, I have a tremendous range advantage here, with villain almost never holding KK, JJ, 88 or AK, so when I bet 20$ and villain slowly calls, I see no obstacles in my plans to conquer the world (his range consists of plenty of Jx, some Kx and a ton of A10, Q9, 79... gutters).
Turn (73$)
KJ8 5
When the turn bricks off, I continue my world dominance plan and fire 35$ ; villain tanks-calls. At this point, it is quite easy to narrow down his range to Jx or a weak Kx, most of which will fold to a river.
River (143$)
kJ8 5 A
Gin He rarely has any combos of AK or AJ, so I feel pretty comfortable to put in a small value bet of 55$ (even if a bigger bet would increasingly polarize my range to missed draws and made hands, I feel that a smaller bet entices more frequently a call
He tanks, says "you missed your flush draw?" as he pushes his 55$ forward. He blames the outcome on luck, as he was ahead until the river... Of course I ran good in this hand, but little does he know that luck has nothing to do with it, outside of the short term variance... Little does he know about the benefits of exploiting a range advantage in order to conquer the world... God I love live poker
I want to talk about 1 hand and particularly having a range advantage, but first, for contextual feedback, lets flashback a few months back to a hand played online.
Hand 1 :
100 NLHE on Party
Villain appears to be a TAG (only have 21 hands on him), yet seemingly on the weaker side, which I decide to exploit by 3betting to 9$ with AJo in UTG1 after he opens to 3$ UTG.
Flop (19.50$)
KQ5
I fire 13$, villain calls. I have a huge range advantage here ; after all, I still posses all top sets in my range, as well as AK, KQ or AA, while villain holds only a few of these combos at best... I bet 13$, villain calls.
Turn (45.50$)
KQ5 8
This is when I butcher the hand : this is the easiest triple barrel spot in the world ; after all, my range crushes him, while villain's range is capped at AQ 99-JJ (with some slow played hands, sure); if I am going to check turn and not triple barrel (like the fish that I was), then I might as well of have checked flop as well...
After I check back a blank river, villain scoops the pot with AQ (which would of most likely folded to a triple barrel...), sigh
...Hand 2
That was then, this is now : applying pressure with a range advantage has since become a standardize line for me. So after I raise a MP limper with A
Q in CO and see a KdJd flop, I do not hesitate to start emptying the barrel :Flop (33$)
K
J8As in Hand1, I have a tremendous range advantage here, with villain almost never holding KK, JJ, 88 or AK, so when I bet 20$ and villain slowly calls, I see no obstacles in my plans to conquer the world
(his range consists of plenty of Jx, some Kx and a ton of A10, Q9, 79... gutters).Turn (73$)
K
J8 5When the turn bricks off, I continue my world dominance plan and fire 35$ ; villain tanks-calls. At this point, it is quite easy to narrow down his range to Jx or a weak Kx, most of which will fold to a
river.River (143$)
k
J8 5 AGin
He rarely has any combos of AK or AJ, so I feel pretty comfortable to put in a small value bet of 55$ (even if a bigger bet would increasingly polarize my range to missed draws and made hands, I feel that a smaller bet entices more frequently a call Spoiler:
He tanks, says "you missed your flush draw?" as he pushes his 55$ forward. He blames the outcome on luck, as he was ahead until the river... Of course I ran good in this hand, but little does he know that luck has nothing to do with it, outside of the short term variance... Little does he know about the benefits of exploiting a range advantage in order to conquer the world... God I love live poker
Last edited by Dubnjoy000; 05-14-2015 at 04:49 PM.