Hands – only put my money in bad one time in eight hours….

In my second WSOP event, I went in prepared. I’d been in Vegas for exactly 48 hours. I’d played maybe six hours of poker total in that time. I wanted to be fresh mentally…I wanted to not be handicapped by thinking about poor cash game play, or too many beverages, or lack of sleep. I’d already registered the night before so no worries about rushing over there. In fact, one of my cohorts got shut out of the 2,781 person event. 4,500 in chips. I worked up my stack nicely early on thanks to the following couple of hands: (25-50 round) UTG makes it 150, and there’s four callers ahead of me, I’m the button and heck, let’s go with my weak A,10 offsuit. Maybe I’ll spike two pair, or flop a straight. Flop comes, A,K,8, two hearts (I have the Ace of hearts). Preflop raiser makes checks and it checks around to me….I’m very weary of the – I mean I have very big suspicions.  C’mon, no one hit?  I check.  Turn brings another heart and again, it checks around to me.  With 750 in the pot, I bet 350.  Preflop raiser calls, everyone else folds.  With 1,400 in the pot, I’m now prayin’ for a heart….woohoo, a heart comes on the river.  Check, and I bet 700….UTG folds his AA (for a set) face up.  Guess he shoulda bet out his set eh?

Round four (100-200), four to the flop, I have A,10 (again), this time in the BB, and it’s a limped pot.  800 in the pot and flop comes J,J,7.  I bet out 300 on the paired board, one caller.  Hm.  Turn, a J.  I bet 500 again.  He calls.  River a blank.  I bet 1,500…he hims/haws and finally folds saying he had a mid pocket pair.

A disgusting ending to my 2009 WSOP event, NL$1,500

Round 8 (300-600 blinds, 75 ante; average chip stack 18,000+, 600 players left, tourney pays the top 297) I’m on the button and pick up two black jacks. Folded around to me and I raise to 1,600 which is fairly standard at this point. I’ve not been perceived as getting out of line at all at this table; I’ve been a fairly tight player (perceived anyway).

Big blind who has about 60,000 in chips, makes it 5,100. I now have a decision. I could fold my JJ to the table captain, and have about 16K. However, there’s now about 7,700 in the pot, costing me 3,500 (or about 20% of my remaining stack. I really believe I’ve got the best hand. I mean, only QQ, KK, and AA beats me and AK, AQ is a coin flip. Five hands. I decide quickly I’m not laying it down, and then even quicker that I cannot just call. Blinds are going up to 400-800 (100) in 10 minutes. I shove. I’m saying, hey “I’ve got the goods 10’s or higher”…..”…. There’s fold equity (I believe) as it’d cost him 13K (about 25% of his stack. He thinks about 10 seconds and calls. I’m praying he’s got AK, AQ, but moreso 10,10. He’s got 9,9. Ok….now it’s just to just hold up. 81% favorite. Flop looks good initially….Q,5,4….however three hearts (are you kidding me????)….turn a black blank, and river……….a King….a red…..HEART. C’mon!!!!!!!!!!!! You’ve got to be kidding me.

Perfect poker for eight hours…gone, done!  Sick, sick to my stomache.  Eight rounds, eight hours of play, lasting 10 hours (including breaks).  I win that pot and I have about 39K or so in chips, more than 60 big blinds, and average chip stack, 18-20K.  I’d have been 3^rd in chips at our table.  Table captain, would have been knocked down to about 40K.

All for naught….  In hind-site, I played one of my best sessions of poker ever actually.  I don’t regret in the least shoving my JJ.  Luck,…bad luck got in the way, this time.  Unlike last year when nerves probably played a little role in my undoing…this year, I felt confident; I felt as if I was one of the top three players at every table I played.

Next year!!!

My Sam’s Club Candid Camera Moment…

…bought some stuff at Sam’s and then went to the counter to get some food.  Ordered a hotdog and Coke and after paying waited while the guy got my dog.  There’s a woman in line behind me, upper 40s who takes one of the samples of pretzel bites off a sample plate left for patrons.  I quicklyblurt out, “what are you doing, that’s mine!!!”.  She spits out the pretzel into her hand and I’m dumbfounded.  I look at her and say, “I am SO sorry….I was just kidding…”.  She looked stunned!  I figured she’d just give me a look and I’d then say, just kidding.   I apologized again, and bought the woman a hotdog….but only after telling her, “sorry, again, but it was funny!”….

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it’s off to Disney we go…

Gotta walk before you can run.  Heading to Disney today for four days and I go from one Disneyland to another only a week after I get back as I’m off to Las Vegas on the 25th to play in the World Series of Poker.  Definitely looking forward to trip number two, but as I sit here at the White Plains airport, I’ll admit going down to Disney with both your boys is pretty darn special.

A slam dunk sale right? Um, not so much.

This should have been an easy sales process and super easy commission for a furniture sales person.  Seriously.  Min and I walked into a Bob’s Furniture store Saturday evening to purchase two theater chairs, a TV stand, and boxspring and mattress for Shane.  We knew exactly what we were buying and just needed a salesperson to write up the order.  I perused the store and found three saleswomen chatting up a storm and simply walked up and said, “who’d like to sell me some furniture?”.  One woman, a more mature big haired frumpily dressed woman chimed in within 5 nano-seconds, “I will!”, much to the chagrin of the other two saleswomen.

Off we went.  Judy was her name.  Judy had a thick City accent and immediately put her salesperson act on and asked me my name and what I was interested in purchasing.  I started with some chit-chat about whether they worked on commission (she affirmed) and I inquired as to whether she thought the other two sales clerks would likely be upset that she chimed in first.  Judy didn’t care and proceeded to put down one of the clerks, Eileen, calling her a b-tch.  Not very nice, flattering, and certainly not professional to put down another salesperson…especially one working in the same store!!  I didn’t care….I just wanted my four pieces of furniture and get the heck out of there.

Two theater chairs please.  “What a great choice!  I sold four of these the other day!  You’re going to love’em, did you know they have a massage feature?  They’re so comfortable!  You’ll probably want the goof-proof 5 year on this right?  Everyone gets it, it’s only $100, just $50 per chair!  It’s a great deal, really it is…………………………………….”  And on she went.  I stopped her in mid-sentence finally.  If you could just write it up, we have to get the little ones home.

She wrote up the console and then we moved on to the box spring and mattress, a relatively inexpensive piece, just $199 that Min pointed out.  Judy pointed to the $299 one but Min corrected her once again.  Ok, on we went to the computer so Judy could get her commission (I mean, so she could type up our order).  Bob’s has cookies, candies, coffees and icecream, but because of the late hour they must have taken them away and yet, we’d promised Shaner a cookie.  We asked Judy if they had cookies left (thinking she’d go to the back room maybe and check), but she said, “well, there’s a ShopRite next door…..”.  Nice customer service.  Min took the kiddies next door and then the fun happened.  I kid you not…here’s the conversation:

Judy:  Ok, how do you spell your name?

Me: F-R-E-D-R-I-C…………………………….she types, “FREDERICK”….I correct her and she types “FREDRICK”…I correct her again…she type in FREDERIC………..at this point, I state “I though sales people are supposed to be good listeners.”  I was teasing but she had no remorse and finally gets the spelling right.

Judy: Ok, your last name, is it Richard?

Me: Huh?  Um, no, STOCKFIELD.

Judy: Oh, ok.  So you wanted that protection right on the theater chairs?

Me:  I’ll take it on the one for $50.

Judy:  For one it’s $69.99.

Me:  You said it was $50 per chair.

Judy:  No I said it was $99 for two, but it comes out to $50 per chair.

Me:  No take it off.

Judy: But it’s a great deal.

Me:  Um, no, it’s not, take it off.

Judy:  Everyone gets it.

Me:  Can I get a new salesperson please?

Judy calls over a computer clerk walking by to complete my order.  Judy finally walks back by and I feel a little bad for snapping a little.  I apologize and she states, “I accept your apology”….which simply just ticked me off more, and I state, “…and I accept yours for not listening to me”.  She says nothing.  I just want to get out of there.

We go to check out….and wouldn’t you know the goof proof warranty is on there….oh and the theater chairs that were ‘in stock’ five minutes prior, are now on back order.  Ugh.  I finally check out and get the heck out of dodge.  Mindy’s in the car and we take off finally.  We talk about what a hassle that was, but at least we were happy with the theater chairs and console, and got a decent boxspring and mattress for Shane for just $299.

$299????  What?  Judy wrote up the wrong bed!  Ugh.  U-turn.  I go in, cancel the full order, go to Eileen and ask her if she’s in tomorrow.  We reordered today through Eileen.  How Judy botched that whole order and lost a sale as easy as ours I have zero idea.

Rudeness vs. Kindness

Thank you.  You’re welcome.  Please.  Excuse me, pardon me.

What’s happened to people being nice?  Does it take that much to simply hold a door open for someone…or when you hold the door open for someone that they say ‘thank you’?  Or is it commonplace to become a door person upon going in or out of a store/restaurant/mall etc.  People walk down the street, aisle etc.   You move, they don’t.  They don’t say ‘excuse me’ or acknowledge you moved for them. 

People flick their lit cigarettes out of their moving cars, they blow smoke your way, they cough, burp, fart, etc. in your direction.  You make eye contact, they give you a dirty look.  I don’t get it.

Are things that bad out there?  Maybe.  But I don’t see a better economy making people nicer.  I do see my kids however growing up to be polite, courteous, and gentlemen.

Soon to be an alum, Shaq at Syracuse

Shaquille O’Neal, Syracuse University.  Has a nice ring.  Would have been a lot nice than the guy going to LSU many ions ago.  Instead, Shaq is headed back to Syracuse to the Newhouse School to take a broadcasting class.  Wonder if perhaps he has any eligibility left?

Slow to post…however, Joan Rivers over Annie Duke???

Donald, Donald, Donald.  Never thought you were the type to succumb to public pressure.  You actually selected Joan Rivers over Annie Duke as the champion of the Celebrity Apprentice?  Now, the person that knows me perhaps thinks I am siding with the poker player (Duke) over the overrated persona of Joan Rivers.  Don’t get me wrong,…Ms. Rivers is actually quite amusing, and talented for that matter.  However, the selection of Rivers over Duke made absolutely no sense whatsoever – not when you think about his past selections.

Annie played the game very well.  She played like a true business person.  She raised by far the most money (from history, a huge determinant of past winners), and really just outwitted the competition.  The fact that on the last task, Rivers made the event planner quit and 3 of the 5 areas to be scored were based on these (the event) pretty much crushed Duke.  It was Rivers’ poor business-sense and inability to interact with others more talented than her which should have led her to an overwhelming loss.

Instead, Trump succumb to public pressure and selected Rivers….for what reason, I still don’t have any idea.  Rivers’ name calling, her unprofessionalism, her whiny-ness and attempted demoralizing and character bashing apparantly worked.  How it did…I have no idea.

The $800 one-outer…

…same Thursday game.  Loose horrendous, too aggressive player in seat one UTG comes in for a raise of $15, I call with a meager K,5 diamonds and player behind, makes it $45….call by original raiser and I reluctantly come along for the ride.  Flop, a pretty 6d,9d,10c.  Check, check, and then button bets out $60, call, and with now about $200 in the pot, I call.  Turn, 7d, bingo.  Oddly enough UTG now goes all in for about $250.  I just call (hoping to bring the button along), but he folds.  I announce flush and UTG announces, “I’ve got outs”.  The words weren’t even out of his mouth when the 10d hits the river!   Homey, had pocket 8’s with the 8 of diamonds and hit his straight on the turn.  But a smart player would’ve put at least one of us on the flush draw.  Plus, I had the 5 of diamonds, one of his straight flush draw outs.  The ol’ 2%!  For a tidy $800 pot!

And the worst part is I know those chips would never leave the table with him….they’d be spewed through the remainder of the table within the next sixty minutes.  Just plain Yuck!

Stubbing my toe – card-wise

Weekly Thursday game.

Early in the evening played a hand, poorly.  Late position forcing the action with QJ suited, raised to 12.  The table had been tight.  Two callers including the villain, a 300lb guy we’ll call a penguin.  Penguin calls.  He supposedly is a millionaire in real life so money has zero value to him, and you can tell he prides himself on being a good player and prowing on people’s weaknesses. 

Flop, nada, just 9 high.  Check, check.  Turn, a Q.  Check, I bet 30.  He calls.  River, he checks the 2, and I bet out a value bet of 45.  He instacalls and I turn over confidently my QJ.  He flips AQ.  I should have figured he was calling with something on the turn.  Suppose my bad.

I wound up having a poor session dropping two buy ins.  Card dead a little, but had at least three of my bluffs called down.  I’m thinking perhaps I may be bluffing a little much.  Something to consider.