Crawling From The Wreckage

Okay, here it is: my first official day of unemployment. All missions have been accomplished; the house is totally clean, all my paperwork is done, everything is repaired. It is time to go back to work. Okay, not really. I slept in, played some poker and did a little cleaning.

We had a great weekend in NY. It was cool meeting Garth, Jordan, Dawn and KATM at Sox's home game on Friday. I booked a modest win.

On Saturday, we had a great meal (see Sox's post.) I have two things to add to his description. 1.) The foie gras with eel custard was sublime. 2.) I felt like a juror on the Iron Chef panel, except less whiny. Best.Meal.Ever.

As Sox mentioned, we went off to a seedy card club after dinner. I made a nice chunk of change there. It was good to play live against a bunch of maniac donkeys (as opposed to maniac bloggers.) I am looking forward to playing live more often, now that I have time to find a game. The underground scene just doesn't seem to be happening here in Atlanta.

On Sunday we went to Dawn's home game (thanks for hosting, Dawn.) F-Train showed up later on. While no one likes watching a junk-kicking, it was good to see him again. I suffered a minor loss which offset the modest win from the Friday game (ignoring Weak Wife's losses.)

We went home on Monday. I stayed up late and slept late. That brings us back to today. I intend to get my poker world in order slowly, just like I am getting my house in order slowly. I need to map out my poker course, do some book keeping, fix my blog roll, respond to people who have been commenting here (in general, thanks y'all for the kind words.) It will take time.

Fortunately I have time.

It Is Going To Be a Good Day

I was feeling really out of sorts last night. I keep inventing reasons why I may be making a mistake in my "career" change. Yesterday was the defining moment; I have eliminated all of the obstacles in my path. I have my mind made up; I am going to tell them on Friday that my letter stands as written. It is still a major adjustment, and I am still nervous about it, but having removed that doubt and uncertainty has me feeling good today.

Also, I took first in one of those $15+1 turbos this morning. I played it more or less straight up (I might have called a few bets, sorry) a few players gave me their chips needlessly, and I out-played the rest. I also feel really good about my recent results after playing with the sharkscope filter. Looking at just the last three months at levels at or below $20, I am a shark! Good times!

Amusing Distraction

Last night I was feeling very anxious. It was the usual Sunday night thing. Except bigger because I am leaving my job, but have not yet given them my "final" answer. Gracie suggested that I try this: play a SNG, but don't call any bets. Raise or fold only. It seemed like an distracting concept, and I had nothing to lose. I chose a $15+1 turbo and away I went. The results were unexpected. I played like a maniac, but that is not that bad of a strategy in a turbo, it seems. Here are some really funny hands:

• I raise [Qc Tc] in late position. HU, the flop comes [4c 3c 8h]. EP bets out 120, I min-raise. I make my flush on the turn. He bets out 400, I go all-in. He calls with [7s 7c]. I take it down.

• With the blinds at 75 and 150, EP makes it 400 to go. I min-raise with [7c 7s]. (The shoe is on the other foot, now.) The flop comes [5c 8c Kd]. EP bets 500, I go all-in for 1758, he folds.

• With 100/200 blinds, I am UTG and I raise to 600 with [Ac Jh]. The button puts me all-in for 2858. I call. He shows [Ah 7c]. I take it down.
  

• Finally in HU play, 200/400 blinds, I pick up [Qs Js] The button makes it 800. I make it 1200, he makes it 2000, I make it 4591. The button calls and shows [Ah 2d]. I hit the flop and take it down. I take first place in this SNG.

I will definitely try this again. Perhaps it may actually be +EV in low level SNGs? If not, it sure is some righteous fun. Almost as good as a $3+R.