Never Play Cards With a Man Called Doc

WPBT 09 - Trip Report - FINALE

2009-12-18T16:45:00.000-08:00

Alas, WPBT memories are fading fast. I'm sure some of that is from the alcohol, but it's also due to the time. I'm mostly left with the pleasant afterglow you get from a really good romp. Still, there are some additional thoughts I'd like to get out here for posterity.

I failed to mention a couple people in my first post. Let me correct that here. I had a fantastic conversation or two with Katkin, both before and after he was snogging with The Wife. If she's got a thing for Spielberg lookalikes , who am I to get in her way? I also chatted a bunch with my fellow doctor in crime, Dr. Pauly, who really tries to make time to not just talk with everyone, but have real substantive conversations. There just isn't enough time, but bless him for trying. Iggy is the same way and I always enjoy talking to the little guy (even after finding out that The Wife really wants to pet his hair).

As many of you know, The Wife is a bit of a hedonist. It's not a sexual thing (mostly), she just loves touching and petting (yes, kissing too). I'm not the jealous type (mostly), but from all her interactions, one of my favorite was watching her cuddle on the couch with an equally hedonistic CK. They didn't mind the attention. Frankly, I don't think they cared who watched. Let me say this - I know I wasn't the only one taking a mental snapshot of the two of them for later "use."

There were so many other things:

-I deperately wanted a seat at the famous Table 16, but I was only able to snap a picture of the devil (AKA The Mark).

-Walking into Lagasse's and seeing Yestbay chowing on a massive pizza. I was going to ask for a piece, but after repeatedly pounding on him in the tournament it didn't seem right.*

-Watching Galaga competition from the sidelines. That's my game!

-Being summarily dismissed from an intimate conversation between The Wife and Kat.

-Massively overtipping the Geisha bartenders, for zero extra service.

-Forgetting my pants.

-Running back through the Bellagio because The Wife forgot everything in the safe (on our way to the airport no less!)

-Rehashing college memories with my buddy Colin (best line of the day was from Colin. "You got more pussy with that guitar than an ugly guy like you has any right to.") Agreed, buddy.

-Hitting a drive on #10 so far that no one else even bothered to hit.

-Chatting with the lovely Caity about life, her PhD and poker.

-Watching The Wife and Drizz as she took her lumps in the lost prop bet.

-Getting a hug from surprise guest therealdawnsummers.

-My horrible tournament, where I played like a pussy and folded AJ and AQ to pressure, even though I'd committed a significant portion of my chips.

-Seeing the reaction from F-Train when I handed him my bustout prize (an Army cap I wore in Iraq). Priceless.

AAAAAAH! There's so much more, but you know that. You were there.**

I love you guys. Bring on #wpbt2010

*I didn't pick on him nearly as much as F-Train, but I was probably more noticeable sitting immediately to his right.

**Unless you weren't, in which case, why not?

WPBT Trip Report - Winter 2009

2009-12-14T08:32:00.001-08:00

Once again, another World Poker Blogger Tour gathering has come to a close. This trip was notable for many things. The Wife and I realized as we headed for the airport that she didn't spa, we didn't see any shows and we didn't do any fine dining. That's a first for us. The upshot is that it allowed us to spend more time with good friends. That's what this weekend is all about.

Some highlights:

Having a real conversation with Drizz at the Geisha Bar. This din was at riotous levels, yet he was able to hear me just fine, even when he wasn't watching my lips move. That meant we could have a conversation on a much deeper level and it was awesome. DQB!

Hugs, hugs and hugs. I'm pretty sure it got to groping levels with Maigrey, Kat, Pebbles and CK. They didn't seems to mind. In turn, I think I got groped by Falstaff and BamBam, but at least there was no man-kissing this time. Well, at least not on the mouth.

Golfing in the bloody cold with my college roommate Colin and the assembled (mostly Canadian) bloggers. Blogger mobneys are the best mobneys!

Shooting pool with Special K and Da Rooster at Lagasse Stadium while we watched the bacchanalia. I would have run the table but for scratching on the 8-ball in my first game with Rooster. I still got mad skillz.

Huge thanks to Pokerstars for their insanely generous addition to the prize pool. Why are you playing anywhere else?!

Another shout out to Lagasse Stadium. If there is a better man cave out there, I've never seen it.

Steel Panther. What can I say? If you were there, you know. If you missed it, don't let it happen again.

Watching The Wife, resplendent in her purple regalia, take her lumps with pride and dignity. Well, maybe not dignity (she did show her purple panties to anyone who asked).

Taking a group pic in the bathroom at Lagasse Stadium. Mirrored ceilings in the crapper FTW!

Getting apologies from Otis and Rooster. Multiple times. None of which were necessary.

Twitter. When I first started coming to these gatherings, Twitter wasn't even invented (you know, back in the day). Now I can't imagine going without it. It's amazing how witty people can be in 140 characters. Plus, it's a great way to see where everyone's at. If you doubt it, search #wpbt and just read along.

Really getting some quality time with new and old friends including my buddy Josh and his friend Dan, as well as Law Chica, F-Train and Oh Captain. You too, Peaker.*

Saying goodbye to Kat. 'Nuf said.

Leaving with more money than I started with.

But most of all, I enjoyed spending some real quality time with The Wife. Yes, I know much of that time was spent watching her snogging with just about everyone who came within range, but who am I to get in the way of her fun (especially when the snogees were of the bendy or luscious variety)? The Willis sandwich was hysterical and will be talked about for ages (see: Steel Panther). And despite all the nonsense, she still comes home with me. Beat that!

WPBT 2010. Are we there yet?

* I'm still watching you...

WPBT 2009

2009-12-09T23:40:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. It's time for the World Poker Blogger Tour. This will be my 4th winter gathering. It would have been 5 but for that little Iraq thing. I've sure come a long way from the shy poker blogger who didn't realize until too late that you really could walk up, sit down and just hang with all these superstars. Don't be that guy.

Stay tuned here for trip reports and other nonsense if I manage to survive to the other side. My liver enzymes are primed and ready. Anticipation meter is pegged. Boarding pass is printed.

Bring it on!

Quick Notes

2009-12-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

Just got back from Chicago and the largest meeting of it's kind, the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Those of you following me on Twitter may have been a bit confused, but one of my tweets actually won me a $25 lunch. Twitter pays!

Speaking of pay outs, you probably know (and are most likely joining us) that The Wife and I are headed to Vegas for a little poker tourney called WPBT and the various nonsense that surrounds it. Huge thanks to Pokerstars for their "little" add on to the prize pool of two grand. Also thanks to the bloggers who helped arrange it.

Finally, I was just hitting balls in preparation for the golf tourney in Vegas (hit like crap). In the parking lot were 8 Porsches, two Land Rovers, tons of Lexi, an Aston Martin Vantage and a Tesla Roadster.

Gotta love a municipal course in Palo Alto, CA!

PLO - Part II

2009-11-20T22:28:00.001-08:00

Or this one?

PLO

2009-11-20T22:22:00.001-08:00

Running well in PLO, although I have no idea what I'm doing. This is a good starting hand, right?

Security!

2009-11-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

I sat down last night in my new favorite place, Freddie's at Fife. They are getting a semi-regular 8/16 LHE game and there is a perfect mix of rocks, pros and idiots to keep it profitable.* There can also be a high variance.

My first buy-in was gone on the 3rd hand I played. No worries - he hit his set of 9s on the river when I flopped two pair with my AQ. I want him drawing all the way there.

Well, I had ordered dinner some time during my second hand. When it arrived (a nice appetizer of bacon wrapped shrimp with Bearnaise sauce - 1/2 price for poker players!), I decided to take an out button while I finished my meal. When it was done, I got up to wash my hands. Now keep in mind, there is no money in front of me. I told the dealer to hold my seat and I got up.

When I came back, my seat was still vacant, but the receipt for my dinner was gone. Had someone paid it? Odd, but whatever. I looked around for Diana (the hot waitress with the really impressive cleavage), but she wasn't around. As I was sitting back down, I noticed two huge security guys coming my way. I didn't think anything of it as I reached into my wallet for the next buy in.

I happen to glance up as I'm pulling out my cash. I see the guards. They see me. We freeze for a moment.

HOLY CRAP. THEY THINK I WAS GOING TO STIFF THE TAB!

Just then, Diana comes back out of the kitchen. As she comes around the guards I asked her about the tab. She stammered something about not knowing if I was coming back. I was in disbelief!

I tipped her generously and went back to the game (finished up over $500 for the night).

And to think, I could have gotten away with it.

*Not sayin' which one is me.

Razz vs. PLO8 / Cash vs, Tourney

2009-11-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

After receiving all my mobneys from the prop bets, I decided to parlay them into big bucks. Since I'm a masochist, I fired up two Razz cash games and an 18 player PLO8 SNG at the same time.

I've always felt Razz is my best game (some day I hope to be as good as this guy), but tonight it kicked me in the junk. Repeatedly.

PLO8 is not my best game, but I do love the tournaments. I also love being the dominant chip leader for most of the game.

I also like this:

Thoughts on Veteran's Day

2009-11-10T09:33:00.000-08:00

First off, I had an absolute blast on FT last night with blogger mixed games. We played a 7-game rotation with MHG, Penner, Matt C. and yours truly (sorry for the lack of linkage, but I'm in a rush. See the full write up here). Blogger mobneys are the best mobneys!

***
Now to answer a question I've received a couple times already. No, I did not know the Ft. Hood shooter personally. That said, the Army doctor community is pretty small, and I'm literally surrounded by doctors who knew and trained with him. There is no new insight I can add to what is already in the media - this just brings it home a little extra for me. It's especially disconcerting because I was stationed at Ft. Hood from 1987-1988 and I'm having flashbacks to a similar massacre out there in 1991.

***
Pres. Obama will be attending the services. Good. That said, he probably should be in Berlin. Instead he sent Hillary. That decision was made a while ago and it was a mistake. The military funeral will provide a nice cover as to why he isn't there in Germany.

***
Finally, as I've said many times before, I did not serve in the Army for 16 years for your thanks, but to those of you who have thanked me in so many ways, YOU'RE WELCOME!

I Am the Fish

2009-11-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

Congrats again to The Wife for her 10th place cash in the big tournament. Once again, you prove that your tournament skills are light years beyond mine.

***

Omaha is not my best game, but I do love it. When I busted early from the tournament, the cash game started right up and it was dealers choice. There were several good players at the table and just enough newbies to keep it interesting. The newbies were easy to spot. Regulars bought in for $100 -$200 using $100 bills. Newbies bought in for $20 or $40. Sometimes with $1 bills.

The game is PLO8 with no cap. I'm on the button with AA34 suited in clubs. It's raised to $6 by the uber aggressor in early position and there are 4 limpers before it gets to me. Mistake #1 was not re-potting it here. Both blinds call.

Seven of us see a flop of 10s-8s-6c. Not the best flop for my hand. Blinds check. Uber dude bets pot. MP1 calls, MP2 calls all in. MP3 calls. Now it's on me. I have about $150 behind. There was $42 in the pot before the betting. Now there are 4 more bets of $42 each making the pot $210.

What do you do?

Saying Goodbye

2009-11-04T10:58:00.001-08:00

No poker here. If you are looking for my response to the last post, I put my comments in the comments section. In case it wasn't clear, he had QJ and we chopped.

***

Last night I said a final goodbye to an old friend. It was far more emotional than I expected.

I met her a short 5 years ago, back in 2004. She was a little older and showing her age, but still beautiful. Seriously, people would see her and couldn't help staring. Little kids would comment! You ever meet someone that was so uniquely attractive that you felt obligated to say something? It seems awkward after the fact; "Has anyone told you how beautiful...?" If you are the recipient of such a compliment, how do you react? She always responded with silence, but I could tell she was beaming inside and out.

High maintenance doesn't begin to describe her. You know some women who are so naturally beautiful that they don't need make up? Yeah, that wasn't her. In fact, I know she had over $70,000 in surgery just to stay beautiful. Unlike Michael Jackson, every dime spent made her better.

She began wasting away from the inside about 5 months ago. With barely any substance left, she gave up the rest last night. As I lay there saying goodbye, I reviewed all the great times we had together. It is with sadness and love that I said goodbye.

Then I turned off the lights for the last time on Casa Chako, Federal Way.

Another Interesting Hand

2009-11-03T09:36:00.001-08:00

Had a profittable session again last night. I could get used to this. I tried to sabotage it by playing 4/8 while waiting for a 3/5 NL seat. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I was on my 3rd rack (or was it 4th?) before I got called.

Well, I got me seat immediately to the left of a very straightforward player who has a little wider range of preflop calling hands and is pretty much a calling station after that.

I have AQ UTG and raise to $20. Yes, you could make an arguement to fold or raise higher, but I chose $20. Deal with it.

One random MP caller and BB also calls $15 more. Pot is $63.

Flop: Q-3-3

BB checks. I bet $45. MP folds. BB flat calls. $153 in the pot. We are heads up.

Turn: 6

I lead out again for $80. BB thinks a while and flat calls again.

River: 3

BB checks again. What do you do?

Level 3 Thinking

2009-10-25T23:04:00.001-07:00

Here's another interesting hand from my 3/5 NL game tonight.

It's my last hand of the night. I'm comfortably up (a nice change). UTG, I limp with A-3 off-suit. 5 callers is typical for this game and it doesn't disappoint. BB checks and we see a flop:

Ks-3s-3d

Sweet. I check my trips. It checks all the way around to the BB who bets $20. I call. Everyone else folds.

Turn: Qh

First off, let me tell you about BB. He's a better than average player. I watched him extract maximum value on a previous hand against another decent player. He's tight and aggressive. (Edit: He checks here) I bet $30 into this pot of $70. BB now check-raises to $90. We each have about $600 behind. What do you do? Before you answer, what do you put him on?

I elect to call. Before you call me out, I know this is a bad move. At this point, it's push or fold.

River: 6s

Now the board is paired and there is a spade flush out there. I check.

BB now bets $250. What do you do?

Batshit Crazy

2009-10-23T08:41:00.000-07:00

Poker content: I played last night. Lost $20. Watched a drunk suckout-artist run up $1000. At 4/8 LHE. I need another break. What the hell am I doing playing 4/8 LHE anyway?!

Life content: This morning on my way to breakfast, I encountered one of the IT techs in the hallway. He's normally a little quirky, but today was different. Today he was talking to people that weren't there. He kept asking, "Why is it so quiet?" It would get louder. Then he'd twitch. At one point he recognized me and smiled sheepishly. Then he started singing. I had a feeling the singing was a feeble attempt at trying to mask the fact that he was acting crazy. See, I wasn't talking to myself. I was just singing this song. Not crazy at all. Move along. Here's the weird thing - I've done that.

I bet you've done that, too.

Define the Problem

2009-10-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

(Editors Note: This is how I decide to spend my 700th post?)

Actual conversation I had with The Wife this morning:

Dr. Chako: Ahh! I threw out my back in the middle of the night!

The Wife: You should try my stretching exercise where I lay on the ground and lift weights.

Dr. Chako: That won't work! I need a small Asian woman to walk on my back.

The Wife: Well, we don't happen to have any small Asian women just walking around the house.

Dr. Chako: And that's been the problem with our marriage from the beginning, if you ask me.

The Wife: ...

So yes, I get to spend my son's 7th birthday and the day of my 700th post limping around like and old man and gasping in pain whenever I look down. This does not bode well for golf. Or my ability to attract small Asian women for that matter.

Tip of the Day

2009-10-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

I heard this tip the other day and it's brilliant in its simplicity. I fly all the time between Seattle and Palo Alto and I always park at the Thrifty lot, but I can never remember the space number. Now all I do is snap a photo with my handy phone camera. Problem solved.

You're welcome.

Millionaires

2009-09-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

Despite what you all may think, The Wife and I are not millionaires. We will be (someday), but when is anyone's guess.

I was thinking about millionaires as I jogged through our neighborhood here in Palo Alto. Depending on how you look at the numbers, every single one of my neighbors is a millionaire. So how can a doctor and VP with no debt be the poorest people in the area?

The answer of course is "home value." The smallest home on my street is about 1700 square feet and right now Zillow lists it around $1.5 million. It's an older home, and I'm assuming the people that live there own it outright. It's not an unreasonable assumption. It's a beautiful area with very little moving in and out. So why are they driving a beat up 1990s Toyota and not a Ferrari? Well, some of them are, and I bet it's not because they are independently wealthy. It's because banks wouldn't hesitate to give them loans. See, on paper, they are worth a mint. The bank sees that home as collateral of a million+ and it's free and clear.

What they failed to account for was two fold:
1. No one could or would buy that house if the bank took it as collateral.
2. It's a bit overvalued*

If you want to see what's wrong with home values in America, it's right here in this photo. And on this street. Maybe we're not so poor after all.

* A "slight" exaggeration - home prices here are about $800 to $1000 a square foot. 15 years ago they were about $100 to $150 a square foot.

On Bicycles

2009-09-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

I fancied myself a bit of a daredevil when I was a kid. We used to ride bicycles around the neighborhood looking for things to jump off of. Or over. It got worse when Billy Wenz started getting paid to ride his bicycle. He was amazing. The kids would all gather around and watch him do tricks. There was a low hill with a hedge on it and he'd ride straight up into the hedge, flip-turn his bike 180 degrees and come back down smooth as silk. Sometimes all the kids would lie down in the street and he'd jump right over us. No ramp needed. This was circa 1976, before anyone ever heard of X-games.

There was a big hill behind the cemetery which backed up to my house. We called it the sky jump because you could jump off it and land in a pile of soft dirt. The short free-fall was quite the rush. One day, I had the hare-brained idea to see if I could jump my bicycle off it. Of course, all the kids gathered round (see, even then I loved being on stage), mostly to see the carnage. It was worse than you think. The jump and free fall were great, but I gauged the landing wrong. My back tire hit too hard, forcing my front tire hard into the hill. It must have hit a rut because the handlebars spun 180 degrees and I went right over - face first into the one spot on the hill with no soft dirt. I think part of my face may still be embedded in that hill.

Fast forward to 2009. I'm no longer the daredevil I once was. I am; however, a 42 year old doctor who let himself get out of shape over the last year. Recently I took up Dacia on her offer of some company during a short 13 mile trot around Napa. That means I have to get into some semblance of shape. My runs have increased in distance and speed, and this morning I ran for 46 minutes. I still had some energy, so what did I do? Out comes the mountain bike!

I got some clip on shoes that nearly killed me before I figured out that you could loosen the clamps. It's been a while, but how hard can it be? It's like riding a bicycle, dammit.

Long story short - I fell off my bicycle while still clamped in. I was on a foot bridge over Highway 101 and landed hard into the fence rail, hurting my left thumb and bruising several ribs.

I'm a daredevil again!

Vegas (Photo) Trip Report

2009-09-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

Just back from another amazing trip to Vegas. This one started out as a guys trip with my good friend Dr. Moist. It's not the best nickname, but he sweats a bit so I guess it makes sense. He's also one of the best trip planners EVAR and no one has ever had bad time on a trip from Moistman Tours.

(Note: Because I'm still a blogger newby, these photos are out of order. I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Tough noogies.)

If you know me, you know that no trip to Vegas would be complete without a glass of Macallan 18 which I raised in your general direction.

He we find your hero ready to brave a tiny helicopter. It was certainly the highlight of the trip, although I may have fallen asleep (ala Steel Panther) due to my 6 am previous session of poker. The flight was smooth as silk and the views were breathtaking.

We landed right in the grand canyon (about 30 minutes after takeoff) for a picnic lunch. Here I am with Dr. Moist and his non-identical (but scarily similar) brothers. Moisty is the one with hair.

This was simply amazing. This is a view of the Hoover Dam as well as the partially finished bypass bridge. If you've ever been to the dam, you get an idea of the scale of the bridge. It's awesome.

Lake Meade from the heli as we swing towards the canyon.

Earlier in the day we drove out to the dam, so we had the chance to see it from the ground (and the inside on the tour) prior to seeing it from the air. Highly recommended approach.

This is a view of the bypass bridge from the dam (which is behind me to the left).

Yes, I know this was very touristy. I refuse to feel guilty. I played plenty of poker and even germinated a new business (details in a future post). I also saw Penn & Teller, Ka and ate fancy food. All totaled, this was one of the best non-blogger Vegas trips I've ever had.

Now I'm extra ready for Steel Panther and some bloggery goodness. I may even stay awake this time.

Collusion

2009-09-21T23:40:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the short version of my collusion post.

After waiting a good while, I finally got my dream seat. I was one to the left of a Crazian I've played with once before. He's only got one gear and I love it. In this particular hand he limped and I raised in MP with 8c-7c. The flop smacked me in the face: 8h-6c-5c. Top pair with OESFD.

He bets out. There are three players behind. What do you do? Answer before you read on.

***

I chose to raise, and here's why. It was a very loose table, and while I really like the drawing potential of my hand, this is a draw-heavy board and I probably have the best hand right now. No need letting a nekkid Ace of clubs hang around.

As soon as I raise, a quiet TAG Asian player (who knew there was such a thing) in the 8 seat says to the dealer, "I want to see all hands." The only reason he says this is because he suspects I'm colluding with the Crazian.

The turn improves my hand - it's another 8. Crazian now checks. I bet out. Everyone folds and I drag the pot.

Here's the question for the blogosphere: Do you show TAG (and the rest of the table) your cards in order to dispel the accusation of collusion, or do you keep them guessing?

More Ferrari

2009-09-21T16:09:00.001-07:00

I could care less if my Ferrari fetish bores you. It never gets old for me.

The Bay Area seems to be a mecca for Ferraris. I would see one occasionally in the Seattle area, but not often. Here I see them on a daily basis. This color combination (Grigio Silverstone with Cuoio interior) is the absolute best of the 430 IMHO. In the 360, I still prefer Rosso Corsa (Red) with the tan interior.

Truckin' is Out!

2009-09-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

Another issue of Truckin’ is out. Go read it while I'm working on my next post about collusion. I would have posted it already, but I'm tilting from losing with AA, KK, QQ and JJ in one damn session (no, I won't pay you a dollar).

-DrC

September 2009, Vol. 8, Issue 9

Welcome back to the September issue of Truckin’.

1. Tangerine Rockets by Paul McGuire
Lennie was an international legend. His father walked away from a plane crash and passed along some of those good luck genes over to Lennie…. More

2. The Red Pill by Sigge S. Amdal
She dropped the face and began to cry, as tensions rose around me. The waiters stopped waiting tables, people stopped talking; they were just exchanging knowing glances and judgmental comments… More

3. Fine Tuning by Milton T. Burton
He looked perplexed. I slipped my hand beneath my coat, came out with the little silenced .22 Magnum auto, and shot him right in the center of the forehead. The hollow-point bullet exited the back of his skull, making a colorful little jet of blood and brains as it went… More

4. On Scoring by Human Head
One look at the eyeliner, eyebrows, gold hoops and herringbone chains, and I knew this was the Angel we were supposed to see. As she drew closer to the door, the tattoo’s left little doubt. She didn’t say anything. She just looked at me… More

5. The Joys of Gambling by Johnny Hughes
Saratoga Springs, New York in August was the gambling capital of America in the 1920s, with the horses, the spa waters, large and ornate casinos, and America’s wealthiest citizens in a gilded age, when money and wine were treated like water… More

What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been…

From the Editor’s Laptop:

The September edition of Truckin’ marks the return of the Human Head after a four year hiatus. I’m enthralled to have him back in the mix. Everyone’s favorite Norwegian word wanker, Sigge, returns for a second month in a row. We also have a couple of Texan scribes in Johnny Hughes and Milton T. Burton. And of course, I have a story inspired by a recent trip to Colorado.

California's Great Adventure

2009-09-13T11:03:00.001-07:00

As amusement parks go, this one was pretty good. It's bigger than Wild Waves (which was 2 miles from our house in Federal Way, WA), and it's got some pretty cool rides. Their wooden roller coaster (The Grizzly, I think) was so rickety I thought I'd have blood in my urine this morning. It reminded me a lot of the Cyclone at Coney Island.

The kids had a great time. It's a good thing, too. Season passes were only 5 dollars more than the regular day pass, so we have something to do for the rest of this year and all of 2010.

Of course, no day at the park would be complete without an injury. Mine came due to a viscous blind sided attack... by one of the horsies on the carousel.

Guess What I Did Today?

2009-09-04T15:15:00.001-07:00

Alas, I'm still dreaming at this point. This dealership is only 8 miles from my new home. Omen? I think so.

What Would You Do - The Reveal

2009-09-04T01:44:00.000-07:00

I love strategy posts like this one because, 1. it let's me see how ya'll think right before we go to Vegas, and 2. I actually know the outcome of this hand.

For those who need a little catching up, start here. I feel like I gave you enough information to arrive at a decision.

I'm pretty proud of the fact that I didn't to anything too hasty. That's a big leak in my game. In this case, I deliberately replayed the hand in my head. Yes, he pre-flop raised. Yes, he's been very tight. No, I had not seen him get out of line in the 2+ hours we played together.

I actually asked him, "Will you show me if I fold?" I seriously have no idea what information I'm supposed to get from this question. I see pros ask occasionally (heck, Lee Jones asked the same of me after a PLO8 hand), but I'm not sure if it helps me make a decision here. Does anyone else use this tool?

In any case, he said that no, he would not show me. In the end, I heard Doyle Brunson ask me, "Is this where you want to get in all your chips?"

I mucked.

I really enjoyed the analysis from everyone who commented. I got responses of insta-muck, raise all-in and even call.

Well, guess what? He actually did show me his hand. He flopped a set of aces. Yay me!

In the end, though, it doesn't matter. That's results oriented poker. The decision was sound, and like MHG said, if he showed me AK, I'd still be happy with my decision. As for BLAARGH, it sounds like you won the hand you described (with your set of 3s), so I'm a bit confused. PoH, I can't help you. Drizz, MHG, Shawn and BadBlood, I want you on my left. Shrike and Hoy, I want you on my right. PoH and BLAARGH, I want you anywhere at my table. :-)