2011 Opens with a Bang!

I awoke Monday morning, the first working day of the New Year, at a very early hour. I had gone to bed the night before at a very early hour, like around 9 PM or so. I guess I can only sleep for seven straight hours before the need to relieve myself pulls me from a dead slumber. At least I woke up. Age is catching me, already. I decided it would be best for everyone involved, not only at the present time but also in the near future, if I just left M to sleep. Repercussions would follow for yours truly if I did not let her sleep until at least 6:30. These are the types of things it takes a person like me 20 odd years to learn.

Or, maybe it took 40 years to learn life is not all about me.

I quietly stole into the living room and switched on the tv. I also figured I would pay January's first of the month bills. So, after 10 minutes of that I was thoroughly disgusted. I'm not even going to waste energy bitching about it. Energy, it would appear, is extremely valuable.

While watching tv I learned about a flock of birds, about a thousand total, that died during a fireworks display. At least, that is one theory. The thinking is the birds were scared into shock by the loud blast of the fireworks. I guess that could have happened. I have to have doubts though when you consider there has never been a recorded incident of fireworks killing a flock of birds in all of history. At least, if there were an incident of it, and I guess now there will be one available to all at the click of the mouse, I have not yet heard of it.

I saw a lot of birds dead on the ground one time in my life. It was in upstate NY, near the golf course I grew up on, following a massive Microburst that wrecked the cart barn. We all thought it had been a tornado, and I suppose a Microburst is very close to a tornado, but it sent that cart barn all over the 18th green. Later that day, as I was sitting on the crapper and looking out the window, I noticed the birds.

There must have been at least a hundred lying on the ground in the cow field next to the house. The State said the deaths were caused by the ultra low pressure associated with the storm. That many dead birds makes a person think, for sure. The storm killed those birds is what we assumed, and the news agreed. Whatever, we had to postpone the first round of our Club Championship.

I decided to facebook because, really, the news pisses me off. Is anyone investigating the NYC union workers who decided to plow more slowly in order to make a statement against recent cuts and layoffs? I hope that is not true. Come on News folks, investigate on it, report on it, and even though you may put your own slant on the whole thing please give us the facts, at least. The level of investigative reporting in nearly all news media may be at an all time low.

I switched the channel to a one of those rated R, but are close to X, movies on one of the movie stations. Don't worry, I just kept facebooking, but at least the news was off. I looked for something on the military channel, or History, or NatGeo, or Sci-fi, or Comedy Central, but the movie offered the most potential.

Man, getting up early sucks. Maybe I should party more like the old days, or play poker all night, getting to sleep around 4 am. It's easy to sleep the day away after an all-nighter. Of course, again, I've learned things in 20 odd years.

I went back to bed around 6. M was warm, and soft, and smooth. I'm pretty fortunate. Since I had let her sleep earlier she was in a pleasant mood when she woke up. The day was going well.

The rest of the morning was pretty standard, and I've written about it before. I started to the poker room around 10:15. It opens at 10, but people are slow in showing up. I got into a full 5-10 No Limit game pretty quickly.

It was a pretty wild game. It was dominated by the play of one person, and his name is DP, or Double Penetration for long. He is an incredibly aggressive, and very knowing player. That, my friends, is an extremely dangerous poker player. There are a lot of people who try to play just like that.

People want to emulate that style of play because it is the most fun. You raise with any two cards, sometimes you make a good hand, but regardless you bet, bet, bet. At least, that is what it appears to be to the uninitiated.

Unbridled aggression will get snapped off by other players who are aware. The key is to be able to judge well enough as to when your opponents have a hand they are willing to take all of the way. By raising so often, and so much pre-flop, the pots become massive. If the pot becomes large enough, relative to the size of your stack, you are very quickly facing a decision for all of your chips.

DP can judge well. Others cannot. I make my money from others who cannot. Against DP I try to make a hand, and hold on for dear life. I don't play the same style as DP. It's too difficult and I have too many bills to pay. I guess I'm not good enough yet, or have a big enough bankroll to pull it off. Someday, maybe. I can dream.

I did make what appeared to be a horrible play. Of course, I ended up catching a miracle card in that hand to double up early. Here is what happened.

I had pocket queens, and I raised in early position, two people called, one of them the big blind. The flop came jack high with a spade draw.

The big blind checked. I bet 100. The third player called after thinking about it for a while, I thought he may have a jack, or maybe another pocket pair below queens. It didn't look like he had a flush draw, I thought he would have called quicker with the flush draw. It was now on the big blind. It's important to note that I dind't think this first caller had a flush draw, making it more likely the Big blind had the flush draw, if he played further that is.

I put this man, the Big blind, on literally any two cards but favoring either a pocket pair or some sort of suited cards in any range. He could also have a AJ, or maybe even KJ or QJ. I made this assumption as he was readying his play. He mumbled something to the player on his right, and moved all-in.

I thought about it for about 15 seconds, and called all of my chips with my pocket queens. I thought it was way more likely he had one pair, good kicker, or a flush draw with an overcard, then it was he had flopped a set. The third guy folded quickly.

Of course, the Big blind had flopped a set of deuces. But, thankfully a queen came on the turn, and then another queen on the river. Quads. Wow, that was very cool.

Everyone wanted to know how I didn't know that he had flopped a set. I didn't tell them out loud, but they've all played with him before as well. Now keep in mind, I have played with this man many times, and he is wild, wild, wild. If he flopped the set, then he had me. I've seen him move in with a draw, or a hand that is just awful, too often before.

After that I managed to play solid and not stick all of my money in drawing to just two outs. I flopped a full house against DP. He paid me off. He kind of has to because he knows I'm not a dip-shit. I know he could have a weak hand. If he checks to me I'm going to bet with marginal hands as well. He checked on the turn and I was lucky enough to have a monster. He had something because he called me down. I didn't ask to see.

I left before 5. I don't know how it all ended up. There was a lot of money on the table. DP can tilt, but I haven't seen it in a while. He probably busted them all. He plays too well. If he made any big hands at all, like two pair or better, then he got paid off.

Those other guys, the regulars in that game, don't like his style of play too much. They secretly want to play that way, but are unable for various reasons. I'm pretty sure they just don't like winners in their game. That makes me laugh. They like it if you play wild and loose, but you're not allowed to run over them. If you hit any hands while playing wild and loose then you are the devil.

They don't like how I play very tight and conservative. At least, that is my impression of their feelings. Just because I have headphones on does not mean I can't hear what's being said around the table, especially if I think you're talking about me, which I always do because this narcissism is still not completely cured.

So they don't like wild and loose, if you win. They don't like tight and conservative, if you win. They like players who play as they do, and lose while THEY win. I'm chuckling to myself as I write this because it is probably close to true.

Dinner was soup and sandwiches. Everyone seemed to like it. I know I did. How come I make and hour long dinner with two sides and some nice chicken or beef and the kids turn their nose up at it? I make soup and sandwiches and they eat like they were starving.

It was a good day.

Codsey out.