When it’s going bad…

Story of my night… (sigh)

We got it all in on the flop.  I’m a 9-to-1 favorite.

BBT5.1

Well that was about the worst tournament that has even happened to me.  The coolers don’t get much worse than what I ran into tonight:

QQ – flop xQK – Miami Don holds KK (the only hand that would have been ahead)

5 hands later:

AK – All in – Call by L Johnson with KK

I’m in Germany so it’s 1 in the morning.  It took 20 minutes for me to bust out. I’ll ry again next week.  G’night. 

Sorry

A friend who will remain nameless (just because he would rather I promote his shit) is participating in a spoken word performance in a couple of weeks.  The theme is “Sorry seems to be the hardest word.”  He already has some work on his blog and plans for more.

I don’t really count myself as a writer.  I have several friends who’s blems I’d be happy to call my own.  I can sting a sentence together and get a point across, but it usually lacks for timing or wit or the creativity that makes reading a pleasure.  That reflects a big part of my personality.  I’m usually more on the logical, straight ahead side.  But on the inside, my brain makes some connections in very odd ways.  Sometimes I get some really cool ideas and look brilliant.  Most times the result is garbage and is tossed before it ever starts the journey out of my mouth.  Other ideas pass the smell test and make it out only to melt into the stinking pile of poo that they are.

All that is leading up to an attempt to see what comes out when I try to put the ideas around the word ‘Sorry’ in this post.

Can hard be easy? Does say equal mean?

So easy and fun getting getting there

So easily seen.

Don’t see sorry coming

but easy to avoid

‘So sorry’ doesn’t lower us enough

Regrets sail into the void between us and float away

Apologies are much too long and I lose track

Insincere, sorry is the sledge in the old one two

Impossible to drop my guard and give it true

only for lack of try

True sorry need not be said

Sorry, not right now.  Too hard.

I wish it was better.  Sorry.

Casino Reports – Germany

I’ve spent the last couple of nights in Germany casinos.  It has done untold damage to my already frazzled sleep pattern, but such is my dedication to you, my loyal readers, to bring you the story.  In short, Germany casinos are very different than what I’m used to.

Baden-Baden

To start off, I had to get to the first casino.  I chose the most famous casino in Germany, the Speilbank Casino in Baden-Baden.  Getting there was a treat, probably better than actually being there, because the route from Heidelberg to Baden-Baden whet straight down the Autobahn.  I hit 200 Kph (about 125 Mph) once and cruised at 160 (100) which is probably being overly safe, but it’s still a hoot to look down at the lights to see 200 shining back at you.

I had been warned through my research that getting in wouldn’t be a simple as going into a Vegas shop.  For starters they have an entrance feel  I had to pay 3 € to enter.  Some of the better casinos have a strict dress code.  B-B is among the most strict requiring a jacket and tie on all the men.  I didn’t bring that type of clothing on this trip, but they had jackets and ties available to rent.  I cost me 11€ for jacket and tie. I also knew I’d be paying 4€ for parking, so I’m down 18€ before I even get in the door.

It was a very nice door.  Elegant is the word that comes to mind.  From the high artistically painted ceilings to the huge chandeliers, to the art covered walls and the plush carpeting, this place oozed class.  Also unlike Vegas, this place was very quiet.  There was no yelling.  No loud machines.  No music.  They had a stately atmosphere that reminded me of the early James Bond flicks.  Unlike the Bond flicks, there was an almost total lack of drink service. 

There was also far to little room for playing.    Seems to be for the rich, not the masses.The limits were high, but not outrageously so.  There were 4 French roulette tables (one zero), 2 blackjack tables (one 5€ min and one 10€ min), 3 poker tables (though only 2 in operation), and one ‘ultimate hold-em’ table which really seemed out of place.  There was no baccarat.

The blackjack table were very odd.  Each station had three  circles and rectangular ‘twins’ bet area.  I quickly learned that spectators can bet with player by placing their chips in one of the circles.  The twins bet hit when the player got a pair on the first 2 cards.  It pays 6:1 (ouch).  I couldn’t believe how many players played it.  Here is the closest I could find to this layout:

Players can’t split pairs and apparently can’t hit hard 17.  Every time I got to 17 or more, the dealer wouldn’t even ask if I wanted to hit and went on to the next player.  Dealer stands on all 17s and blackjack pays the standard 3:2.  Each table had at lease 15 railbirds at all times.  They could have filled 3 times the number of tables than they had.  A lot of folks were happy to bet on other players.

I had to wait an hour for a seat. Once seated with about 20 min bets in front of me, I did okay.  I played profitably for about an hour.  Then a new dealer came to the table.  He took 4 of the next 5 hands.  5th was a push. I was back to even and stood up at that point.

The two poker tables that were in operation were both 5-10€ no-limit tables, way too high for my roll.  They were both back in the glass enclosed smoking room.  This room also held on blackjack table and the ulitmate texas holdem table.  The poker tables were also behind a velvet rope, so you couldn’t even watch the action very well.  I just moved along.

The biggest surprise was the overwhelming popularity of roulette.  This is only a marginally better game than the total rip-off american version (5.26% v. 2.7% house edge) because they have one zero on the board in this version instead of 2 for the american version.  Half of the tables in the casino were roulette table and they were busy.

Bad, Bad Durkheim

Last night took me to Bad Durkheim, only about 45 minutes from my hotel.  This casino had a much more relaxed feel, though it was tiny compared to American versions.  The whole place was only 5000 square feet with another 1000 square feet closed off for renovation.  They had 3 big roulette tables, 2 blackjack tables, and 3 poker tables.

The roulette tables each had 4 tux clad men running the table: two chip pushers, a wheel spinner, and a boss man in a raised chair.  I kept thinking that the boss man was ready to shine some shoes by the looks of the chair.

The blackjack layout was more normal with no twins bet and a single rectangle in front of each player.  However, this square did the same job as the circles in B-B.  Spectators were reaching over players’ to put money on one of the four corners of the rectangle with the middle reserved for the players bets.  It was a mad house.

Since two of the poker tables were 2-4€ no limit (yea, not 2-5 as we are used to), I was able to entertain the hope of playing.  I put my name on the list and was #5 for the low limit game.  It took an hour and a half for me to get my seat and that only left 2.5 hours in the evening with which to play.  The closed the gaming at 2 am.

I sat down with 300€ and proceeded to have an epic fail of a run of cards.  I won 2 hands in the 2.5 hours, neither of which were at showdown.  It was a small miracle that I left with any chips at all.  I probably wouldn’t have had I known about the closing time.  It was still fun and I get my european poker cherry busted.  Winning can wait for next time.  I’ll need to learn my German numbers before I try that again.

Even they speak German at the table, they still use the English terms for most everything in the game including big blind, small blind, flop, turn, river, and donkey.  Okay, I made up the last one.

That will be it for my casino visits for this trip.  It was worth it even if my luck was somewhat mixed.

This one is BIG

I’ve already pimped it once, but this is too big to leave it at that.  The Battle of the Bloggers Tournament 5 (BBT% for those who can’t use the shift key correctly) starts today.

Actually, for me it starts tomorrow.  Because I am in Europe, the start time of 1900 EDT translates to 0200 Germany time.  Oh the sacrifices I make for the blogger community.

I’ve written to him personally to say thanks to AlCantHang, but Mr. Hang deserves public adulations for this one.  I’m sure that over the next few Sunday’s, Monday’s, and Wednesday’s that my dreams of playing in the WSOP will die horrible deaths.  I still plan to enjoy the ride.

Morning Stroll in Heidelberg

I am so freaking spoiled that I get to do this just for working.

 

This guy is holding a mirror asking “See the Monkey?”

View from the Castle

Looks like the guy from Monopoly as a gargoyle.

Favorite restaurant (Vetter), my hotel (Hackteufel) and the iconic bridge.  Sweet setup.

 

Note the pattern in the sidewalk in front of the Cafe Gundel.

Ever wonder what happens when you blow half a tower off then let it sit for a hundred years? 

 

BBT5

Tournament: Poker From the Rail
When: Monday, April 19th through May 24th starting at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $24+2 (or token)*
Password: 2010WSOP

Tournament: The Mookie
When: Wednesday, April 21st through May 26th starting at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $10+1*
Password: vegas1

*Winner also receives ToC entry

Tournament: Battle of the Blogger Tournaments Invitational
When: Sunday, April 18th through May 23rd starting at 19:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: Restricted freeroll**

**$2,000 Prizepool + 1st and 2nd place receive ToC entry

Tournament: Blogger Battle Royale
When: Sunday, June 6th starting at 14:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: Freeroll for BBT participating bloggers

(Thanks EasyCure… like I asked)

It’s almost time. ‘nuff said.

I don’t know if I’m a-gonna go…

I guess that title would refer to going home on time now that the volcano has blown.  It seems that a little volcano has popped up between me here in Germany and home in North Carolina.  Flights are spotty at this point.  For instance, my return flight, US 705 ran on time yesterday.  Today’s flight is cancelled.  I’m not schedule to get out of here until next Saturday and everything could be all clear by then.  Last time this volcano blew it kept blowing for a year.  So maybe it won’t calm down before next weekend.  You can be sure that I’ll be following it closely.

That begs the question: If I do get a forced vacation here in Europe, what should I do?  I would expect that I would have some time to put around, but can’t go too far from the Frankfurt-Mannheim area of Germany.  Think day trips.  I could take some time off and go further afield if there was something really interesting.  I’d be in big trouble is I went down in to Italy without Dr. K, so that is out.  I’d get in trouble in Greece for the same reason.  I’ve been to Paris and don’t have any reason begging me to go back.  I’ve also been to Amsterdam and London.  My job requirements would keep me from enjoying Amsterdam fully anyway.

Monte Carlo sounds like it might be worth a look-see.  One thing I would be looking for would be good pictures.  I did bring my good camera with me, so picture taking would be my primary task/recreation.  Finding a good poker game would be a big plus.

Well those are the parameters.  Any ideas are welcome.

I guess I will perhaps also have to think about exit strategies in case flights from here going west still look bad in another week.  Thoughts that have popped into my head include flying back via Moscow or Madrid, or catch a cruise out of England.  They do still have trans-Atlantic cruises, don’t they?

This is shaping up to be another adventure.  I sure am glad I’m on my employer’s dime.

The lines in my Face(book) keep getting clearer

I’ll just warn you up front, this is going to be a long navel-gazing post, and if you weren’t affected by the situation, you probably won’t be interested in this story.  Of course, you may be interested in how small a world it can by and how people are connected.  Facebook really brings that last point out.  But to tell my tale, I have to supply some background and that starts with who I was in high school, a bit over 30 years ago.

BTW, I changed all of the names in this story. I think that those involved will recognize their character.

I was a little kid in the 9th grade.  Little as in small.  My late blooming caused my time in junior high to be a living hell.  I had started liking girls, but with one or two exceptions they had not started liking me.  My athletic record was pedestrian at best.  I didn’t take getting picked on very well.  I was an average kid in a lot of ways and a geeky looser in others.  I thought a lot more of myself than that and really didn’t understand why everyone else didn’t see it, too.  It put a bit of a chip on my shoulder and sure didn’t give me any training for handling success.

So I arrive in high school and things start going better almost immediately. I had grown a good bit over the summer.  I made a ton of new friends when classes began.  Before long I had a car and had been on a few dates.  I really started enjoying the social scene.

In the spring, I switched out of running distance races in track and tried a sport that had fascinated me for as long as I could remember, pole vaulting.  Turns out I was really good at it.  It was at Big G High School when I really took off (pun intended) increasing my best height by 2 feet and taking 2nd place in the meet. I became the best new pole vaulter in the county that year.  I followed up that success with a run for the junior class council.  I not only won, but was voted class president.  I was flying higher than any time in my life.  Needless to say, I wasn’t ready for it and messed up a few things in the following year.

I had started dating a girl, we’ll call her Allison, which I had known from church since I was 4.  She was and is a wonderful person and I was really lucky that she liked me in return.  We dated through the summer in into our junior year, she at Big G H.S. and me at the Big I.  My status change got the best of me that year.  As I got the opportunity to start seeing other girls, I did, but I didn’t tell Allison.  Just before Christmas I met Jenny at school.  She was nice and young and cute.  The two girls went to different schools and had no way of meeting, so what’s the risk.  Right?

That went just fine for a while, so well, in fact, that when I got the opportunity, I started dating a third girl, Lynn.  There was nothing wrong with the first two girls’ looks, but I think everyone would agree that Lynn was stunning (probably still is).  She was tall and thin with long blond hair and delicate features made her one of the most beautiful girls I’d ever known.  The fact that she AND Jenny both went to the same school was a risk that I decided to take.  I can’t say what I was thinking because I just wasn’t.

There was nothing more serious with any of these relationships than first base with maybe an occasional attempt to steal second, so I wasn’t doing anything physically dangerous, just really callous, selfish, and downright stupid.  Those were fun times, but it didn’t take long before the stress and the lies turned the whole situation sour.  I ended up breaking up with all three shortly thereafter.  In one particularly callous move, I told Lynn when we arrived at school one morning and left her crying in the car with a request to “lock it up when you are through.”  Jerk just doesn’t go far enough to describe me that day.  My breakup with Jenny wasn’t any better.  I think I just stopped calling Allison.

That was a really long setup about things that happened a long time ago.  Now fast forward to 2009 and the rise of Facebook.  It' has been great fun connecting with a lot of folks that I haven’t seen or heard from since high school.  I reconnected with Jenny and her sister Linda almost right away.  It was a while after that, but I eventually reconnected with Allison.  Until this past week, I’d not been able to track Lynn down, but I found her husband and he’s been kind enough to pass my connection info along to her.  I’ve yet to hear from her and won’t pursue it any further.  Of course, given the story so far I wouldn’t blame her for not writing.

That brings us to the Facebook lines where I started.  As soon as I friended Allison, I got a real surprise.  It said that we had 2 friends in common even though I had not friended anyone that I thought Allison would know.  One of those friends was Linda, Jenny’s sister.  I just had to find out how this connection was made.  It turns out that Allison and Linda shared a suite in college.  What are the odds?  I came clean with this story to both sides and we all had a good laugh, including Jenny.

I thought that would be the end of it.  However, this past week I was looking around the internet to see if I could find Lynn.  I’ll poke around for folks I used to know.  I probably thought of her for some random reason, a song maybe.  I knew her married name and the town she lived in a while back, but still couldn’t get a lead on her whereabouts.  So I tried finding her husband and found Tom on Facebook.  That’s when I got a real shock.  It said that we had a mutual friend, and that friend was Allison.  That was too weird and something that I’ve not had the chance to share with anyone.   It turns out that Allison and Tom were friends and classmates at Big G High School (recurring theme).  Unbelievable!  It is a small world after all (couldn’t resist).

I have always been disappointed in myself for that whole situation in high school.  I would say that Allison, Jenny, and Lynn, and I ended up with pretty good lives since those days.  Our paths crossing and my mistakes were part of that path and I wouldn’t change my destination for anything, so I would never say that I wish it hadn’t happened.  I hope they all feel the same.  To say that I’m sorry it happened is a bit of a contradiction, but I am. 

It is funny and weird that Allison would end up connected to Jenny (once removed) and now Lynn (also once removed).  and Jenny and Lynn went to school together, so they probably remember each other at least a little.  It took Facebook to reveal it.  Turns out everybody knows everybody.  Well, almost.

Bad Beats

Sure, charge me a dollar.  I’m just playing with play money in Rush Poker, just killing time until it’s time to call home to the wife, but damn.  That’s all of the commentary I’m going to give.  Just look at the hands, particularly the fact that all of these hands come in a stretch of 9 hands:

this one got all-in on the turn:

This one, I got pot committed on the turn:

I got all-in on the flop here:

I got all-in on the flop here, too:

The last one particularly stung.  That one was 92% to win.  Guess it’s time to call home.

On the road again

Actually, in the air again would be more correct.  I’m currently recovering from the overnight flight, sitting in my hotel room in Heidelberg, Germany.  I’m pretty excited to be here.  I love the location.  This hotel has one shop between it and my favorite restaurant in Germany, the Vetter.  They have a plate of sausage, kraut, and potatos that is to die for.  I’ve posted the plate and pictures of the restaurant on this blog before, but in case you don’t want to go looking for it:

Oh yea, they have bier, too.

In fact, if I had taken this picture from the other side of the street, my hotel would have been visible through the gate, but I think it gives you the idea.  I will definitely have to get out and around this town as much as possible this week.

The transition from one continent to another is the most difficult part of the trip.  At least this time my host and ride aren’t expecting me to work until tomorrow.  On one of my trips here, I was not only kept at work with no ride and nothing to do, but I was kept there until after 7 pm which meant I was up for about 36 hours.  Needless to say I’ve avoided that situation and letting that person set my schedule on arrival.

Well, it’s time to head to the Vetter for dinner.  Maybe I’ll try something different this time.  Naaaaah.

Saturday Night Poker

Another night of hanging with friends, drinking a few beers, talking, laughing, and crying quietly to myself, a.k.a. playing the poker home game.  The faces were not much older, but were very familiar.  I arrived on time to find that 6 had gotten there before me.  There was T, Uncle Phil, Jim the Knife, Dr. Lou, Little Nick, Tom S., Brian the new guy, and Falstaff.  The conversation was lively.  Some examples:

• Anybody but Duke (NCAA Final Four)
• Homer and the Greeks
• New basketball rules
• Trip to Vegas just past (me, Jim)
• Upcoming trip to Vegas (T)
• My PS2 is just a Blue-Ray player

At the end of the night, I gotten shut out of being dealt or flopping great cards.  I remember getting QQ once and JJ once that had to be tossed quickly.  I saw Q10 too many times to count and lots of trash.  I picked up enough orphans and caught a river or two and managed to only lose $30.  If that’s a bad night, I’ll take it.

One line in a news story

In today’s Charlotte paper (on-line version), there is a story about an ex-girlfriend who ran into a house where her (presumably) ex-boyfriend was staying.  That is not normally a huge deal, except for the fact that the girl was driving at the time.  She later ran into the boyfriend’s truck while said boyfriend was driving to the courthouse to get a restraining order.  She then stabbed a female passenger of the truck in the back.  It was the next line in the story that got my attention:

“The woman was taken to Carolinas Medical Center but is expected to survive, police say.”

So what exactly is supposed to happen to folks who are taken to CMC?  I expect that line will be edited shortly.  Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/07/1361960/stabbing-shuts-old-statesville.html#ixzz0kR9t2LdO.

Fenway Update

Fenway went into the vet this morning.  He still has a couple of spots of skin infection on his leg so the vet won’t operate on him.  The risk of infection to the knee is too great.  So we will get him back later today just as he left.  Maybe we can get him on the road to recovery next week.  Thanks for the well-wishes.

Fenway’s Knee

Dr. K and I decided a long time ago that there would be no little Ks running around the K estate. Instead, we have 2 children that most people call dogs. Dr. K named the dogs Fenway and Wrigley. You can tell she is a baseball fan.

Both dogs are from the same kennel and both are golden retrievers. That is about where the similarities end. Fenway is the older of the two. He is male, smart, beautiful, playful, demanding, and a bit of a loner when everything is well. When he doesn’t feel well, he demands attention to the point of being clingy. Here is a recent picture of our boy:

Wrigley is the sweetest dog you will ever meet. She doesn’t have the classic good looks of Fenway. She is not very bright, can’t track, doesn’t play, loves to sleep, and is totally devoted to Dr. K. She can be funny as hell though she doesn’t mean to be. But as far as being loyal or a good pet, she is awesome.

We’ve been having a problem with Fenway over the past week and a half. Fenway blew out his knee. He was running in the back yard and snapped his ACL. I was outside with him and heard it pop. I didn’t know dogs did such things. A quick search of Bing shows that they do.

Today, Fenway is undergoing surgery to repair his leg. For the next 12 weeks we have to keep him from running or playing as he loves to do. He won’t be able to go out without being on a leash. That part means that Dr. K and I will be going out with the dog in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

I’m no parent, but watching the dog go through this has been heart-breaking. We are hoping for the best. I’ll post updates, and maybe some gross post-op pictures, here soon.

Side Boob

I’ve noticed that posting a picture of a hot lady showing ample side boob increased the viewership of my podcast site.  Case in point: http://gtpodcast.com.  I’ve also noticed that mentioning such posts also increases traffic.  This may become a regular feature.

Overdue Vegas Trip Report

No excuses.  Let’s just get to it.

This trip ran from March 7-10.  There was a plan where I could be stopping in Vegas at the end of February.  That trip was cancelled when a customer I was to visit pulled the plug. When my next planned trip (end of March) fell through, I hooked up with Brian the Red and crew and headed out with the gang.

The digs on this trip were the suites of the Venetian.  Thanks to Papa Skoon, I had a bed for one night and a sofa for 2 (which I didn’t use much).  I’ve not stayed at the V before.  It is the location of the best poker room in town so I always stay close.  I doubt I would fork over $200+ per night when other good alternatives exist for under $80, but it was very nice to be so close and in such a nice room.  Thanks, Skoon!

Now for the bottom line.  I was in Vegas about 70 hours and played poker for 34 of them.  More importantly than that, I won at poker.  I didn’t realize it until I double-checked the numbers.  Here it is in graphical form:

The red line on the chart above is the running net for the trip.  I actually thought I had lost a bit less than $200, but either my math was off or I lost more in random machines and roulette than I remembered.  You will notice that I peaked on Monday with an 8th place at the Venetian Noon tourney, then had a horrible time until Wednesday morning when a furious run brought be back above water.

I got a couple of interviews for the podcast while in Vegas and laid the groundwork for more in the future.  Those interviews are planned for show #012 to be released on Sunday. 

We did visit Aria and City Center.  I’m not real impressed.  It would be spectacular anywhere else I’ve ever been, but so are many resorts on the Vegas Strip.  The poker room was OK, as was the decor.  The staff was polite without being overly enthusiastic.  I’ll probably go back sometime, but I can’t think of a good reason right now.

I’m not sure when I will get back to Vegas.  There may be a trip to AZ in a few weeks, so maybe I can schedule a stop-over then.  I’ll definitely be making a trek out in October for my birthday.  Anyone who wants to party is welcome to join (almost certainly Oct  22-25, maybe one or two more days).

There’s been lots else to write about in the past few weeks.  I’ll get that out shortly.

Conservative Values

Let me be one of the first to condemn the actions and reactions of some on the right to the passage of the healthcare reform act(s).  The shattering of windows and threats of violence against anyone involved (especially the President) are acts of treason against this country and the conservative movement.  Those actions do much more harm than good.  Stop it!  You get no support, only scorn, from the vast majority of republicans, libertarians, and conservatives.  Grow up.

When a poker tourney gets raided, the players hope it is the police.

That has never been more clearly illustrated than at the EPT Germany.  Check this article by MSNBC:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35744551/ns/sports-other_sports/

Robbers made off with the prize pool of over a million dollars.  I’m sure my friends in the poker media are already far ahead of me and MSNBC already. 

When the raid happens, if the raiders are the police, the players usually face loss of the money in the game and a ticket.  If the raiders are robbers, people can be killed.  I’d take the police every time.

US Gov’t Poisoned Citizens?

I found this story very interesting in light of the current debate over health care in this US.

http://www.slate.com/id/2245188

Zealots of every stripe are very dangerous.