A Rant

WTF is up with everyone using the term "drop" to mean when something is released? E.g., sentence I just read on another blog: "We're never shy about touting an open-source, highly-extendable browser, so feel free to try it out when it drops." That has to be the most retarded slang I've ever seen. And I keep coming across it everywhere -- new albums don't get released anymore, they "drop." WTF is wrong with this world?!?

On a slightly more important note, I am pretty bummed about this Prop 8 nonsense in California. What a juxtaposition--we elect our first multiracial President on the same day that this piece of codified bigotry gets passed. It never ceases to amaze me how close-minded people can be. Who the fuck cares if your church defines marriage as between a man and a woman? Go hang out in your intolerant little church, then. But don't push your religious views onto the rest of society and the government. And don't tell me you or your church are accepting of gay people even though you voted for prop 8, as if merely acknowledging their existence is some great accomplishment of tolerance. If you were accepting of gay people, you certainly wouldn't be asking the government to deny them the same rights as you or me. And, no, same rights does not mean "the right for a man to marry a woman." It means the right for one person to marry whichever other damn person they wish. Consenting adult & consenting adult. This is not rocket science, guys. It's basic human decency. You want to tell someone else who they are allowed to marry? Seriously. Say that to my face.

OK, that topic gets me a bit riled up. I guess I'll save my poker thoughts for later.

The Power of Obama

Full Tilt was running a 3x points special for election night, so I put in a solid NLH session for the first time in several weeks. I guess my luckbox and my NL skills are a bit rusty. I may have set a personal record for number of times I bluffed into the nuts. Someone needs to remind me that I do better as a nit.

Obama is making his victory speech now, though, and I can't stop smiling. What's a couple of buyins on a night like this? (although, in retrospect, I definitely should have gone down to Grant Park for the celebration and skipped the poker grinding--results oriented thinking much?) It's all pretty amazing, though. If someone had asked me a couple years ago when there would be the first non-white President, my estimate would have been a few decades from now. But apparently America is a better country than I gave it credit for. I'm proud. I'm excited to see what President Obama will accomplish. And, most of all, I can't wait until we look back on Obama as one of the greatest presidents in US history, and my mom has to admit that she is the worst judge of character in our family. I'm going to bed smiling, dammit. I'll worry about my stupid poker leaks later.

Omaha is fun

I can't seem to find any hand history converter that works for omaha. Bah.

Full Tilt Poker Game #8540077646: Table Monte (6 max) - $0.25/$0.50 - Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 0:32:45 ET - 2008/10/18
Seat 1: famouslastwords ($94.30)
Seat 2: AceHogan ($127.50)
Seat 3: SOPHIE13 ($24.70)
Seat 4: GustavoCPA ($50.20)
Seat 5: FTrusdell ($139.80)
Seat 6: Chmielarz ($49.25)
GustavoCPA has 5 seconds left to act
GustavoCPA stands up
GustavoCPA has timed out
FTrusdell posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to famouslastwords [8h Th 7s 9d]
Chmielarz folds
famouslastwords raises to $1.50
AceHogan calls $1.50
SOPHIE13 calls $1.50
FTrusdell calls $1
*** FLOP *** [8s 7h 2c]
FTrusdell bets $6
famouslastwords has 15 seconds left to act
famouslastwords raises to $18
AceHogan folds
SOPHIE13 calls $18
FTrusdell folds
*** TURN *** [8s 7h 2c] [8d]
famouslastwords bets $24
SOPHIE13 calls $5.20, and is all in
famouslastwords shows [8h Th 7s 9d]
SOPHIE13 shows [6d Ad Qs Ac]
Uncalled bet of $18.80 returned to famouslastwords
*** RIVER *** [8s 7h 2c 8d] [Ah]
famouslastwords shows a full house, Eights full of Sevens
SOPHIE13 shows a full house, Aces full of Eights
SOPHIE13 wins the pot ($55.50) with a full house, Aces full of Eights
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $58.40 | Rake $2.90
Board: [8s 7h 2c 8d Ah]
Seat 1: famouslastwords showed [8h Th 7s 9d] and lost with a full house, Eights full of Sevens
Seat 2: AceHogan folded on the Flop
Seat 3: SOPHIE13 (button) showed [6d Ad Qs Ac] and won ($55.50) with a full house, Aces full of Eights
Seat 4: GustavoCPA (small blind) is sitting out
Seat 5: FTrusdell (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: Chmielarz didn't bet (folded)

Full Tilt Poker Game #8540155305: Table Monte (6 max) - $0.25/$0.50 - Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 0:38:44 ET - 2008/10/18
Seat 1: famouslastwords ($67.85)
Seat 2: AceHogan ($123.50)
Seat 3: SOPHIE13 ($104.95)
Seat 4: ShipIt26 ($50.20)
Seat 5: FTrusdell ($83.95)
Seat 6: Chmielarz ($48.50)
FTrusdell posts the small blind of $0.25
Chmielarz posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to famouslastwords [7h 5d 8c 9h]
famouslastwords raises to $1.75
AceHogan folds
SOPHIE13 calls $1.75
ShipIt26 folds
FTrusdell calls $1.50
Chmielarz folds
*** FLOP *** [5s 5c Qc]
FTrusdell checks
ShipIt26 is feeling happy
famouslastwords has 15 seconds left to act
famouslastwords bets $4.50
SOPHIE13 folds
FTrusdell calls $4.50
*** TURN *** [5s 5c Qc] [4s]
FTrusdell checks
famouslastwords bets $12.50
FTrusdell calls $12.50
*** RIVER *** [5s 5c Qc 4s] [Qs]
FTrusdell checks
famouslastwords checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
famouslastwords shows [7h 5d 8c 9h] three of a kind, Fives
FTrusdell shows [Js Kc 8s Kd] a flush, Queen high
FTrusdell wins the pot ($37.80) with a flush, Queen high
famouslastwords adds $0.90
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $39.75 | Rake $1.95
Board: [5s 5c Qc 4s Qs]
Seat 1: famouslastwords showed [7h 5d 8c 9h] and lost with three of a kind, Fives
Seat 2: AceHogan didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: SOPHIE13 folded on the Flop
Seat 4: ShipIt26 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: FTrusdell (small blind) showed [Js Kc 8s Kd] and won ($37.80) with a flush, Queen high
Seat 6: Chmielarz (big blind) folded before the Flop

Full Tilt Poker Game #8540224989: Table Toy (6 max) - $0.25/$0.50 - Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 0:44:11 ET - 2008/10/18
Seat 1: dbanner14 ($206.75)
Seat 2: bluefalken777 ($30.05)
Seat 3: Chmielarz ($49.25)
Seat 4: AceHogan ($50)
Seat 5: Yoinkavich ($40.20)
Seat 6: famouslastwords ($102)
Yoinkavich posts the small blind of $0.25
famouslastwords posts the big blind of $0.50
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to famouslastwords [Qc 4c Qd Kc]
dbanner14 has 15 seconds left to act
dbanner14 calls $0.50
bluefalken777 folds
Chmielarz folds
AceHogan folds
Yoinkavich calls $0.25
famouslastwords raises to $2
dbanner14 calls $1.50
Yoinkavich calls $1.50
*** FLOP *** [Ah Qh 9c]
Yoinkavich checks
famouslastwords bets $6
dbanner14 raises to $24
Yoinkavich folds
famouslastwords has 15 seconds left to act
famouslastwords raises to $78
dbanner14 raises to $204.75, and is all in
famouslastwords calls $22, and is all in
dbanner14 shows [2c Ad 6h As]
famouslastwords shows [Qc 4c Qd Kc]
Uncalled bet of $104.75 returned to dbanner14
*** TURN *** [Ah Qh 9c] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [Ah Qh 9c 8c] [Kh]
dbanner14 shows three of a kind, Aces
famouslastwords shows three of a kind, Queens
dbanner14 wins the pot ($203) with three of a kind, Aces
famouslastwords adds $50
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $206 | Rake $3
Board: [Ah Qh 9c 8c Kh]
Seat 1: dbanner14 showed [2c Ad 6h As] and won ($203) with three of a kind, Aces
Seat 2: bluefalken777 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: Chmielarz didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: AceHogan (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: Yoinkavich (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 6: famouslastwords (big blind) showed [Qc 4c Qd Kc] and lost with three of a kind, Queens

I totally misplayed that last hand. Double bah.

Hulu.com

I must be out of the loop, 'cause I just found out about this site and apparently it's been around since March. Anyway, it has a bunch of TV shows and even some movies that you can stream on it. Very clean layout, works well, has every episode of Arrested Development. I am never going to get any work done again ever.

I have been rocking the heads-up games lately on Pokerstars. Er, rather I would be rocking them if I didn't keep getting stacked in hands like these:

Poker Stars, $1/$2 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 2 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

Hero (SB): $375.25 (187.6 bb)
BB: $605.15 (302.6 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is SB with Qs Qh
Hero raises to $6, BB raises to $22, Hero raises to $72, BB raises to $210, Hero raises to $375.25 and is all-in, BB calls $165.25
Flop: ($750.50) 7h 5s Kh
Turn: ($750.50) 2d
River: ($750.50) 3h
Results: $750.50 pot ($0.50 rake)
BB showed Ah 4s (a straight, Ace to Five) and won $750 ($374.75 net)
Hero mucked Qs Qh (a pair of Queens) and lost (-$375.25 net)


Other than hands like that, and some random what-the-fuck-was-I-thinking hands (which obviously bother me way more than the bad beats, since it's my fault the money ain't shipping my way), HU has been fun, and I'm slowly but surely getting better at it. I wish I could say the same for PLO, which is just ugh. Still very much an omaha fish. Maybe someday I'll get it.

P.S. Another cool thing about hulu.com is they allow you to embed their videos on your own site. Here's my favorite episode of Arrested Development, "Pier Pressure":

Plz hold one time!

Also, is there a Darwin award category for business ideas? If so, I think this guy deserves a nomination. Quote from article:

Gioia would unwind by playing poker online in his hotel room at night. But that was very different from sitting at a table with other players and handling real cards.

For example, his three-of-a-kind and full-house hands frequently got topped.

“I even got beat with a straight flush by a higher straight flush — things I’d never seen at a real table,” Gioia said. ...

And so he started Gioia Systems LLC. His biggest challenge was how to differentiate his site from the fast-growing number of popular Internet poker sites.

“The answer was almost instantaneous: Play with a real deck of cards,” he said.

The funny thing is, people are so dumb that this might just be the perfect marketing angle for online poker. And think of the type of players this site would attract -- my god, I might have to sign up myself!