Splitting the Pot

Hi Nick, don't worry, this isn't about a party this time, hehehe...

Yesterday, at the regular Wednesday JG game, we finally had a comfortable venue which helped us escape the heat plus waiters to come to our beck and call. We had a great turnout of 40 players, old and new, so we were really excited since it made the pot fairly bigger (considering the buy-in is miniscule compared to other games), and of course, to make the sport of poker alot more competitive and fun.

As I patiently waited and made sure that the game ran smoothly, in time one table collapsed, then another and another till we were down to the final table. There were 9 players at the table... Let me gather my thoughts because I'm ready to burst with rage... phew... anyway, as soon as one player busted out, the WHOLE damn table made an agreement to split the pot! Here I am thinking, "Pot? What pot?? It's too small to matter!" They decided that the chip leader get the 2nd place pot, then the 7 of them split the rest evenly amongst themselves. For some reason, I felt insulted! We organized a nice tournament for everyone with a really great blind structure to boot to make the sport fair.. I felt that they just bastardized it.

Well, of course, knowing me and my uncontrollable mouth, I told them how I felt and one of them said, "Eh, well, we're all tired." But they continued to play for the 1st and 2nd place spots for seats to the championship game. Huh? Doesn't sound logical to me! Tired my ass. So... did they get greedy that they wanted to split the money?

Number 1> The chip leader was an idiot to agree to getting the 2nd place pot, if that was me I would've taken the 1st prize and let the rest of them split the rest. He ended up winning 1st place anyway so he was an idiot to agree, so, karma, he got what he deserved. He screwed himself over... wuss. You had the chip stack, use the power!!

Number 2> The buy-in for this game is only P300, we organize these games for the love of Texas hold'em poker, nothing more, we provide a service. So when it all got down to splitting the cash among the 7 of them, I gave them P800 each. WHAT.. A.. JOKE.. ! It wasn't even worth splitting for! Hell, if the pot was 1 million pesos, hey, I got no problems with that, that would be cool to split something significant, but for 500 pesos extra after all those gruelling hours, that felt like a personal slap to my face.

Number 3> In fairness, I did question my harshness of the matter, I leaned over to a friend and whispered, "Am I over-reacting by thinking that the whole final table raped everyone of their buy-in share?" He said, "Well, don't think of it that way, they didn't raped the buy-in, they raped everyone out of some final table action. Real poker players play for the glory." I stood corrected. Just because they did that, in my opinion, they killed the exictement for the rest of us.

And finally...

Number 4> Come on, the pot didn't really matter to these rich kids, they just felt that they were "being cute" for coming up with the idea.

Okay okay okay... I am being over dramatic and ultra sensitive about the issue, we poker players know that splitting the pot is a normal occurrence among pros and poker players in general. It is OKAY to do it, I have no qualms about it at all, I'm just upset at the situation and I did explain why. I'm a purist, at least I have the balls to play all the way til the last man stands... and as our group likes to yell out once in awhile, "For the glory!"

For me, whether it's a P100 buy-in or a P5,000 one, I'll play it like it matters. Play your best at all times. Because someone at that table, that P100 might mean it's his last money in his pocket and that he'll play his very best just to win it back. I'm not going to be that person at the table to treat the game like a joke because it may not mean as much. Give the players some respect and play like you mean it. And if you give the game the integrity it deserves, when that guy wins, that P100 will feel like a million bucks.

It's my Birthday!

It was as awesome time in Tagaytay I gotta say, also, kudos to Neil "Dirty Ice Cream" Arce who made it in the money at 8th place last weekend. Lots of good friends plus some new ones graced us at Miguel's house for some pleasant weather, great company and man's (and woman's) best friend, beer... mmmmmmm. Hey, thanks to the people who brought cases of beer and food, special mention to "Kustom Kowboy" Ken, Ariel, Sunshine and Atty Oly for the cerveza and pica-pica, plus Jardine for the table and chairs (which he hired a truck to transport it all the way to Tagaytay. [plus lunch at Viewsite, yum!]) and "Da Ryan" for the huge ass Jack Daniels he lugged to the party (and the special favor you did for me, muchas gracias, yup, you know what I'm talkin' about, wink, wink)... we didn't get enuff of da Jack! Hey, hoping for an encore appearance this weekend, why? Cuz it's my birthday!

Who's invited? If I don't like you, don't come, you know you are... hehehe (EVIL ME). Kidding aside, the awesome friends I made from playing poker, PLEASE come, I'll be expecting you, bring some poison to add to the merriment this Friday, it will be greatly appreciated, and consumed. ;) To those craving to meet and greet some new faces, I will be inviting my Frisbee buddies. They're cool party-goers, it's because of them that I'm a full blown alcoholic. There's going to be a poker table, cool sounds, grub and lots of hugging, courtesy of yours truly! Just expect a text from me, syempre, I can't mention the venue here, but what I can say is that it's on Friday the 26th at 8pm. If you don't have my number, text Miguel, I will get it, we're one unit... naks!

Warning, it always rains, on my birthday, without fail... Quite often, it's a typhoon. Still hoping to see you all there. Sob story coming up: Last year, my dad asked me if I wanted a party, or an iPod, I said party... big mistake... Out of the 50 people who promised and confirmed that they were coming, only 10 peeps showed... wawa ako. :( So yes, it broke my heart so I kinda, no wait, not kinda, I'm VERY wary of having another shindig. Heeeey, this is not a pity plea, just making you all think twice before you ditch my party, hehehe (EVIL ME AGAIN).

So girls, dress your sexiest; guys, you better smell your yummiest. I'll see you all this Friday.

Mwah!

Party, party, parteeeeh!

It's the big casino tourney this Saturday at Tagaytay.... personally, I won't be playing the game but Mav and I are hosting a party at his house there after the game.. so guys, come up to Tagaytay, if not for the tournament, then for the P.A.R.T...why? CUZ WE GOTTA! Bring booze, friends, swimsuit, whatever and let's drink. Make it a pre-birthday bash for yours truly.:) Clockwork's bringing poker tables so we can play on our own terms.

K, Tagaytay aside, I won 2nd place at the JG Poker Tour last night, at B&J. I made it a point to try out a new strategy, well, an "old" strategy that we all have forgotten to use... the Ultra Tight Method. I only played premium hands, never limped (that's wasting your ''bullets'') and pushed when necessary. And look where it got me. I only got a bad beat when it really counted, down to the last 2. Yehey! I have a seat at the final championship game that JG will be hosting, so keep logging in to keep updated on where and when the game will be.

Toodles, till then, see you at the mountains!

Betting the Pot

This is gonna be a short rant....

I hate it when players push all-in when the pot isn't even worth betting for! At a cash game, holding K-Q off suit, UTG I raised double the big blind pre-flop. Everyone folds except this guy on my right who calls. Mind you, I've played with him lots of times during the BBC days and I know he can't play, but he loves to talk... TOO MUCH! about how much he rocks at Texas Hold'em. Let's call him Rover.. I've taken his mulah before and he'd always go home empty handed. Anywaaaaay, the flop is a rainbow of J-4-2. He checked and I sensed he didn't hit anything, so I bet P1oo. He goes all-in for P3000! So I quickly fold. We had a newbie sitting with us really eager to learn more about the game so Maverick brings up the subject of betting the pot and that one shouldn't risk his entire stack just for a mealsey pot. So I join in the chat and say, "If I had pocket pair Jacks, I would've cleaned him out, it wasn't worth it." "Of course it was worth it," Rover exclaims, with his higher-than-thou American acccent, "I stole your P300, didn't I?" Then he then proceded to ramble on and on and on about how HE bets and that he's the shiznizzz....

By the way, the newbie that Maverick and I taught in just 30 minutes, cleaned out the ENTIRE table. Including Rover, who went home with moths flying out of his wallet.

I love how you can mix justice and poker together, voila! Instant Karma! Yummmmm..

Any Reason to Party

I was at an HIV event at Club Embassy last night and lo and behold... nothing about the Manila nightlife has changed. Just another reason for these half-witted, designer-totting, bulimic, Paris Hilton-socialite wannabeeeeeeessszzz, to self glorify each other about how good they looked in their photos. Ugh, pass me some free Chardonnay so that I can down one of my Vs to numb the disgust.

Come on folks, do you really think those people gave a damn about HIV or AIDS. Sick, but funny twist to the whole event... it was sponsored by Victoria Court! Promote the exchange of body ooze why dont cha! I would've understood if it was a local condom company or something but they might have as well given a key to one of their rooms and tell some guy, looking to hook up that night, to go pass his gonorrhea to a poor unsuspecting 19 year old waif. Geez.

I didn't see any fundraising going on, I just saw a gallery, filled with huge blown up b&w pictures of some local celebs wearing the HIV red bracelet. I asked about the bracelet and they said I could buy it on eBay... does that mean we're supporting the cause abroad than creating awareness here in our own country?? I would've looovvved the opportunity to introduce a "special" guest to the party-ers, have him shake everyone's hand, then tell them afterwards that he's HIV positive. Let's see the crowd slowly merge to one side of the room. (Take note, please don't get offended by my comment, I am aware that some people aren't like that at all.)

I just wish that people wouldn't take a serious issue and turn it into a party. Keep the sensitive topics out of the clubs, have a fundraiser or a charity event at a hospital where we can pick up and actually hold the babies that are born with this disease. Let's have some respect for the cause and not dance to it.

That's my 2 cents worth...

Is Ignorance Bliss?

Sometimes I forget that beginners at the felt aren't stupid, I always have to remind myself that they just don't know any better...

Perfect example, I raised on the button with a beauty of A-Q suited hearts, I get a caller on the big blind. I presume that everyone folded because they know I'm relatively tight. Flop comes, K-6-2 of diamonds, not the suit I expected, being cautious of the newbie, I checked right after he did. The turn, Q of spades, I hit my queen. The guy checks so I decide to make a feeler bet. He calls.... 'Hmmmm, could he have the flush?'. The river, I forget, but I'm guessing it didn't help either of us. He bets small relative to the pot, so I decide to call just to see what he had... K-5 of clubs. I'm thinking, "What da..??" So I told the guy, "You called my big bet with that junk?" (In a somewhat playful, unrudely manner) And he goes, "I'll play that hand all the way! It was suited!" And his friend on the right says, "Damn, I would've won that pot, I would've called with my Q-6 if it was suited." My head's bobbing like those wobble headed toys that you put on your dashboard... huh????

So, will ignorance really pay off in the end??

Last week, I totally new player won 1st place at the JGPT last Wednesday out of 32 players. She couldn't even remember the blinds every hand! She had to keep glacing over to the monitor just so she knew how much she had to put in. I dealt for the final table, and let me tell you, it's not a ball in the park when she keeps asking you how much the denominations are each and every single time, oi. She even won a tournament a few days before!

One thing Maverick said to me, "But we WANT people like that on the table, because of them, we can buy Starbucks everyday." I guess...

But really, would you rather be extremely lucky OR extremely skilled?

Case in point, Chris Moneymaker never played at an actual poker table, only online for a year an a half. The first time he ever played a real live tournanemt was at the WSOP 2003, he won it, out of 800+ contenders. Some people just really have it in them, they use their gut feel, plus their innate behaviour to take risks and to gamble when necessary.

I admire Donald Trump, he's the kind of gambler I wanna be. Not the casino type of gambler, but a business gambler. He wouldn't be who he is today if he didn't take drastic risks.

When I grow up, I'll try to be more like him, "The key...," he said, "...is taking calculated risks."

Maybe I'll be as lucky as him. ;)

It's about time!

I'm loooong overdue for starting a blog of my own, hoping I'm not too late since almost everyone who owns a pc has one. This is to document my adventures, not just on the felt but also with everyday encounters and the colorful people I meet. Expect more from me in the near future.

What I've learned so far?... Blogging is damn hard!