The New Economy was an illusion

The Clintonites were wrong!

Is the American economy facing a lost decade? That is the wrong question to ask. The right question is this: Is the United States facing another lost decade? During the past 10 years, inflation-adjusted wages have stagnated or declined for working Americans; net job creation has been zero; and temporary, bubble-driven gains in the stock market have been erased.

This isn't what Bill Clinton and the other "New Democrats" of the 1990s promised us.

more... (via Salon.com)

How am I going to lose this one?

Bit of a losing streak this week, so moved up to chase loses. Is my luck about to change?

Edit: Yep, 1st place. Weeeeeeeeeee!

Almost fell into second place, until this hand happened. ez game, imo.

Poker Stars, $20 + $2 NL Hold'em Tournament, 27 Man MTT, 200/400 Blinds, 25 Ante, 3 Players

LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter



BTN: 17,152

Hero (SB): 17,187

BB: 6,161



Pre-Flop: (600) dealt to Hero (SB)

BTN calls 400, Hero raises to 2,000, BB folds, BTN calls 1,600



Flop: (4,400) (2 Players)

Hero bets 3,600, BTN calls 3,600



Turn: (11,600) (2 Players)

Hero checks, BTN checks



River: (11,600) (2 Players)

Hero bets 4,800, BTN raises to 11,527, Hero calls 6,727



Results: 34,654 Pot

BTN showed and LOST (-17,127 NET)

Hero showed and WON 34,729 (+17,802 NET)

Happy New Year!

Note to self: Do not bring home random hustlers you meet in Chinatown. That is all.

Well, wait, to clarify: I have discovered 100%, that, even though it's been a while since I've been with a woman, I am definitely not "on the down low."

And so, that is all. Weird night. Why don't I ever leave the house, again? Why don't I try to meet new friends? Oh right, now I remember. FML

Running hot and cold

My luck distribution is out of whack. I've been playing 27-man $11 and occasionally $5.50, and running meh overall. The games seem to run for me in three distinct variations.

a) I can't get any traction; just bleed away chips until I have to take a stand with a marginal hand and donk into the nuts.
b) I chip up OK, but eventually I'm all in on the flop, but can't dodge a 3-outer.
c) Win every single all-in, hit every draw, dominate the game, and get to the final table with 3/4ths of the chips in play, cruise control into first place.

I'd be happy to trade some of the luck in group (c) to group (b). Maybe I should just be careful what I wish for....

Counting Crows -- A Long December

Don't go broke in a limped pot

Note to self. That is all.

Watching Back to the Future II while waiting for my PT3 cache to update

It's weird to watch the second part of the trilogy on the cusp of 2010, since it is set in far-off 2015. To even imagine that in just five years, we could have flying cars, weather control, and a fusion reactor in every home.

And who knows: maybe by then my PokerTracker 3 cache will have finished updating. #$%^#$^

Just daring to dream!

Back from the wilds of Manchester

Hey folks -- I'm back from New Hampshire.

I finally figured out how to automate Tournament result importation into PT3. Doesn't quite work from e-mail, but with some cutting and pasting I can once again post a weekly graph.

Gee, I've really been slacking this week. But I'm off work all next week, so it's time to grind.

Merry X-mas everybody

Pac-man X-mas tree -->

$10 Sit and Go's are Free Money

Well, maybe not free money, but I figured if I included that phrase in my post title I'd increase my hit counter.

I had thought maybe it was just that Full Tilt was really soft. But I just cleared $69 in profit on PokerStars since my last post two hours ago: 2nd of 18, 3rd out of 27, and bubbled another 27 man.

I really think I've finally got stuff figured out. :-)

... To feel a wrath of the unruly awaking of a sleeping giant
(Very defiant), once I give you the pressure
And then I apply it and then your breathing is stopped and totally quiet (ssshhhh!)

The following video is Not Safe For Work!

Method Man featuring Busta Rhymes -- What's Happenin'

Donks are running good tonight

Oh come on....

PokerStars, 15/30 NO Limit Texas Holdem Tournament, 9 Players

Hand Converter by the Pokerhand.org community

Board:

Button: $3,070

SB: $2,970

BB: $4,030

UTG: $3,050

UTG+1: $2,210

MP1: $8,465

MP2: $3,310

MP4: $3,000

CO: $3,625

Dealt to: UTG+1

Pre-flop:

(1 folds), UTG+1 raises to $120, (1 folds), MP2 calls $120, MP4 calls $120, CO calls $120, (1 folds), SB calls $105, BB calls $90,

Flop:($720) (6 Players)

SB checks, BB bets $510, UTG+1 raises to $2,090 and is all-in, (4 folds), BB calls $1,580,

Turn: ($4,900) (2 Players)

River: ($4,900) (2 Players)

Results:

BB Showed

UTG+1 Showed

BB wins $4,900

I think I'll stick to SnGs tonight....

The Fall of Isildur

Clouds have formed over the match between Isildur and Brian Hastings, which resulted in the biggest winning day in online poker history, after ESPN reported that three Team Cardrunners pros, Hastings, Brian Townsend, and Cole South "conglomerated their hand histories, allowing them to study the mystery man's playing style."

Poker, of course, is not a team sport, and sharing hand histories so thoroughly and thus gaining an unfair advantage over an opponent is widely considered unsportsmanlike. On top of that, it explicitly violates Full Tilt Poker's Terms and Conditions (which is where all this high stakes action occured).

After Full Tilt Poker conducted what some are calling the fastest investigation of a T&C violation in the site's history (they are infamous for their slow if not lackadaisical customer service), FTP decided the only punishment would be that Brian Townsend, the apparent mastermind of the plot, would lose his "Red Pro" status for a month, meaning FTP would no longer pay him a kickback for playing on their site for that period of time.

However, the publicity shy Isildur1 has now come out in a PokerNews Exclusive interview and said he doesn't think that's good enough.

Quite the scandal, don't you think?

66.6% ITM today

For a grand total of... -$0.76. Placed 23rd/1000 in the 8-man $4.40 game so at least that is getting better.

The time sure does fly with these things. 4 1/2 hours of play is worth 6 bits I guess.

It's snowing here. We're supposed to get 10+ inches. When I bought my standard pint of rum at the packie, the clerk was worried I wasn't going to be adequately supplied, but I'm going to muddle through somehow.

Good luck at the tables everybody!

And if I sucked out on you today... I'm sorry!

R.E.M. -- So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)

Omeprazole is a heckuva drug

(I've been meaning to write this post for a few days now, and all the great feedback I got on my last health-related post late last night inspired me.)

For years I've been suffering with heartburn on and off, but it really took a turn for the worst last month. I decided getting up every two hours to pop Tums all night and chugging Pepto-Bismol just wasn't cutting it any more.

I did my research and stumbled on what I can only describe as a miracle drug -- the name brand is Prilosec, although I just got the cheaper generic Omeprazole, a six-week supply, courtesy of my local CVS pharmacy.

And then I stuck the $20 box in a drawer where it sat for a few weeks. But when my heartburn can back with a vengeance, I finally took a pill Monday morning, and, by that afternoon, I was shocked to discover a lack of pain in my belly that I didn't even realize I'd been carrying around.

So I've been sticking with the program; a pill a day. Any ulcers I've got should get a good chance to heal while the omeprazole inhibits the protein-pumps that were causing my agonizing acid reflux.

Although I have to wonder, are there any online pharmacies out there where I could purchase this drug even cheaper? Hmmm... I guess I'll never know.

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Merry X-mas Spam-bots!!

100% ITM today

OK, so I only played two tourneys, but still, considering I just switched from 50NL to tourneys on Sunday, not too shabby.

92nd out of 1000 in the $4.40. Was doing good, but two maniacs on my left (including the chip leader), and nits on my right for the whole middle game, and by the time I got moved to a new table I was only holding 10,000 chips == 10BB. Ran 99 into QQ and that was that.

87th out of 1246 in the $27.50 -- tried to slowplay AA in the Big Blind against guy in 3rd place, he flops a set of tens and checks it thru. He was never folding a pair pre- anyway, and he's definitely not folding after he turns a full house and I open shove. I'm happy though: at one point during the 7th level I was down to 825 chips, ~8BB and it was my blind. Four hands later I had chipped up to 13,490. Never give up, never surrender!

For a grand profit of.. carry the two... $42.71. Respectable for 3 1/2 hours work, imo.

I might not be coming back to cash for a while folks!

At least I had time left to go to the packie

Because if this had happened three minutes later, I'd have been doubly screwed....

PokerStars, $800/1600 NO Limit Texas Holdem Tournament, 9 Players

Hand Converter by the Pokerhand.org community

Board:

CO: $107,089

Button: $70,936

SB: $32,065

BB: $46,658

UTG: $43,203

UTG+1: $18,011

MP1: $23,480

MP2: $12,425

MP4: $45,747

Dealt to: SB

Pre-flop:

(7 folds), SB raises to $4,800, BB calls $3,200,

Flop:($10,400) (2 Players)

SB checks, BB bets $3,200, SB raises to $6,400, BB calls $3,200,

Turn: ($23,200) (2 Players)

SB bets $20,715 and is all-in, BB calls $20,715,

River: ($64,630) (2 Players)

Results:

SB Showed

BB Showed

BB wins $65,180

Only a 12 outer. But I like how it combines the themes of my last few posts:

[x]BvB blow-up (sorta)
[x]against BB with a monster
[x]shoving the turn with the best hand with a Pot Sized Bet
[x]and getting rivered.

Still, at least I placed this time.

PokerStars Tournament #239010863, No Limit Hold'em

Buy-In: $10.00/$1.00 USD
2744 players
Total Prize Pool: $27440.00 USD
Tournament started 2009/12/16 19:00:00 ET


Dear Conan776,

You finished the tournament in 181st place. A USD 30.18 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

I'm a driver, I'm a winner. Things are gonna change, I can feel it!

Beck -- Loser