Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Great Dane...

2/17/09

The Great Dane...

Not talking about the dog, but Gus Hansen's book called
"Every Hand Revealed". It's his book that came out last
year, detailing the hands he played (or hands he did
not play), on his way to winning the Aussie Millions in
2007.

I guess you could say, it's not your typical poker strategy
book - meaning you do step A, then step B and then step C,
if doing those things in order, you will end up in the
money. It's more of a diary or journal of key hands that
he was involved in during the tournament and how he played
them. For example, he talks about playing Ace/King in
different situations. I think some books just plainly
say to raise that hand preflop to filter out the junk
hands. If you happen to get called, bet (or raise) on
the flop if you hit your hand, if not, let it go. Gus
goes into better detail on what he plans to do with that
type of hand, what his reads are on the opposing player
(or players) in the hand with him and what he believes
what type of reaction he will get from the other players
before he commits any further action in the hand.

That's probably why I like the book and that it did not
take me that long to get through reading it. It really
gave me a picture of how he played through the tournament
and what went on in his mind during that time.

If you like the A, B, C's type of poker books, this one
ain't for you. But if you like to truly delve into the
mind of one of the world's best players (and probably
gambling degenerates, just kidding Gus) - this is probably
the book for you.

V-Day Weekend...

2/16/09

V-Day Weekend...

My girl came down from the Bay this weekend for Valentines
Day, on Friday. It feels great to see her after a what seems
a long 3 weeks of seeing her last in Vegas.

We had dinner at this Italian restaurant Onda, located at
the Mirage. It seemed like I didn't have to get reservations,
as they accomodated walk in customers at the time. But it is
better to be safe than sorry, especially during this weekend.

We both opted for their set Valentine's menu. We first
started with a salad and ravioli. The entree we both picked
was the ribeye steak. We only got thru about a third of it
each. Like true Filipinos, we got it boxed for baon later.
Dessert was a caramel like flan for me, she picked the
strawberry gelato with chocolate syrup and ligonberries.
Not a bad deal for a 3 course meal.

The atmosphere was a pleasant surprise. A slight clean Euro
bar entry area, which opened into their larger dinner area with
a Tuscan feel. There are a ton of restaurants in the Mirage,
so kudos to them for giving each of them a nice and different
architectural feel to all of them.

We weren't in the party mood, so we opted to watch "He's Not
That Into You" at the Brenden movie theatres at the Palms.
Pretty much my fave movie theatre on the Strip (and the only
one I've ever gone to in Vegas). I thought the movie was
pretty good - not essentially a chick flick, but a good
comedic relationship movie. It's funny, because the storyline
was chock full of truths, in different perspectives. I guess
you can really relate to movies when you've experienced the
same kind of things.

Anyway, I'll get back to chillin' with my lady at SB's...

Also got to think about my strategy going in to the Venetian
Deep Stack NLHE tourny I may play this upcoming week. Some
of the homies from the Bay will be coming in this week as well
to play. If I don't get to play, I'll probably put up some
money for somebody's buyin for a share if they happen to cash.
Got to get in the action somehow, hehe.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Basketball In The Bay...

2/13/08

Basketball In The Bay...

Through thick in thin, the only NBA Team I've been a fan of
are the Warriors. Lovin' it when Floyd was Sleepy, TMC was
runnin' thangs, and seeing our perennial drafts of the first
round fizzle out (re: Vonteego Cummings, where is he now?).
Oh yeah, I forgot some of the funky contracts we signed
players like Jason Caffey and Adonal Foyle to (but hey,
he will probably make a great diplomat or international
political figure in the future - when was the last time we
saw an diplomat lead the NBA in rebounds and blocks, hmmm?).

It was great seein' things pick up for the Warriors in the
last couple of years. Gettin' Baron Davis was a steal. He
made his time at Oracle, feel like the Showtime days of the
Lakers with Magic. Wow, so that's what a playoff atmosphere
feels like. I almost went a third of my life not knowin' if
the City would make it back to the postseason.

Then back to this season. What if Ellis was healthy at the
beginning of the season? What if Baron Davis stayed in the
Bay? I hate asking those questions to myself and my fellow
Warrior fans. But it has sure looked pretty good lately.
Some nice wins against West Coast playoff tier teams.

We can still win.

We will win.

Keep hope alive.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Back In The Piker's Lane...

2/5/08

Back in the Piker's Lane...

Are you a Piker? Waiting for the whistle to blow, tellin'
you when to get off work...

Whew...work is not that mentally demanding, but clockin'
in day to day has some getting used to. Well, after
6 or 7 months of dealing with the green felt, it can be
a life change. Early retirement was not for me, hehe.
Being a contractor is not so bad for now. Being paid
every week, makes it a little easier on the wallet from
Uncle Sam.

Anyway, it's all good. I will save my UI for when I
really need it. Interacting with people at work, other
than poker degenerates seated around a leather and felt
bound oval table, can be reassuring in a social sense.
I still have that rapport with all walks of life. Does
that make sense? To me it does, I guess. Hehe. Maybe
that's what makes me a better than average poker player
(in my own mind, lol). A good sense of what people feel,
before they act. Hmmm, I guess poker is like life, huh?

I do miss playin' though. It's been a few weeks.
Starting to get withdrawal symptoms - I'm beginning to
shuffle chips in my sleep. The Venetian Deep Stack Series
is goin on now - but I may just have to wait until some of
the poker crew from the Bay is in town in a couple of
weeks. I'll have to do a couple of warm up tourny's in
the meantime. I guess, I haven't completely retired from
the poker life, hehe.