WBCOOP

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.

Registration code: 526523

2009 - A Year in Terrible Quality iPhotos

This is my first mobile photo of 2009.  It's Princess, @onetimeforpop's Rottweiler.  And I'd recognize that rug anywhere - that's the SHOP.  No other place that I know of where people can play poker with an adorable dog putting her head in your lap. (1/2009)

Though I don't get to see my Dad all that often, he does consult in DC from time to time.  I am the frequent beneficiary of some yummy, expensive dinners when he is in town. This was taken at a very yummy steakhouse at the new National Harbor complex, next to the scenic Anacostia River (/sarcasm). (1/2009)

In for $200, sitting on $603 at the apt (Feb 2009)

Someone might be a little tilty...look at that chip pile! (Feb 2009)

Check out those racks of pink....too bad they were worth a fraction of their value at this game...  I don't remember the rotation, but this was a night of stupid poker at the apt.  (March 2009)

Now, these pinks OTOH are face value.  I crushed the pink o8 game at ATLARGE at the Taj in AC this year.  Repeatedly. (March 2009)

Most of the month of March, I lived at the Showboat in AC (no really...I was there every day in March except for 8).  I got to know the bartender at the videopoker bar right next to the poker room pretty well.  My sis frequently stopped by to have some drinks after work. (March 2009)

One of my cousins got married in Tucson.  A few days after the wedding, my sister, her boyfriend, and I went on a trail ride in the desert.  We rode horses, but I felt obliged to take a picture of the donkey. (Apr 2009)

In May, one of our favorite bartenders at the Turtle concocted a special drink, just for me, @onafolddraw, and @bmorebilly.  @onafolddraw named it the "girly man" b/c it is bright pink.  It is however, delicious.  Vodka, Redbull, pineapple juice, grenadine.  

At the Rio in Vegas for the WSOP.  @onafolddraw and I got this super pimped out suite.  Note that it has a globe.  We decided that the new standard for suite pimpage is "Globe? Yes/No" (June 2009)

At the end of July, I made a spontaneous pilgrimage to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.  I drove there straight from NJ, stayed overnight, drove home the next day. (July 2009)

This bit of hilariousness was in my motel room in Cleveland. (July 2009)

Anne finally took me to go to the Baltimore Aquarium, which I had never gone to before...after living in this area for 13 years. (July 2009)

In July and August I went on a 3 week-long boat trip with my parents from Alaska, through British Columbia, and then around Washington state.  It couldn't have come at a better time and was very relaxing. (August 2009)

Went to a labor day party with my sister and her boyfriend.  Our contribution to the party were a million different flavors of jello shots. (August 2009)

Some time in September (a month where I spent all but 12 days at the Borgata for the Borgata Poker Open), I played my first pink o8 game at the Borgata. (Sept 2009)

And, I also played my first session of PLO at the Borgata.  In for $200, cashed out over $1k this session. (September 2009)

In the middle of the Borgata Poker Open, I detoured to Foxwoods for FARGO 2009.  I had a blast and made a lot of new friends.  SOOOOOO glad I went.  (Sept 2009)

September also saw me detour to Philly after a trip to AC to spend time w @uaegreg and his new law school friends.  At one point during this night, Greg and I both looked at each other and said..."we're 30 year olds, and we're at a house party." (September 2009)

In October I detoured to Philly again for a poker game @uaegreg set up with his law school buds and an open bar night.  I spent a lot of time on the road in 2009. (October 2009)

October also saw more pink crushage at the Borgata. (October 2009)

@alcanthang got this pimped out suite (alas no globe) at the Taj and I snapped this pic of the Borgata and Harrahs. (November 2009)

Thanksgiving (and my 31st bday) dinner. (November 2009)

December saw me travel to Vegas for the WPBT.  Shots of Soco at the Geisha Bar with the bloggers FTW. (December 2009)

And upon my return home, I was greated with a freak snowstorm, dropping 24" of snow in my front yard, and snowing me in (literally) thwarting my lunch plans with @spidurman and my last trip of 2009 to the Borgata. (December 2009)

Closed off 2009 with another few weeks on my parents' boat.  Mom and I ended up getting stuck in Vancouver for the last week of 2009, and this shelf (and gchats with a select few) helped cure massive boredom. (December 2009)

My Retirement Plan

At WPBT I shared my retirement plan with @realdawnsummers and generously told her that she could be a co-author.  You see, I have this idea that if I get a book of terrible-but-OK-sounding poker advice published, then not only will I have royalties, but people will play worse.  It's the perfect storm of money-making, right?  ;)

So at WPBT Dawn and I were constantly saying things like "Oh, that's chapter 5..." whenever someone at our table said something idiotic (full chapter list forthcoming).

This morning I awake to see this on Twitter:

realdawnsummers

@caitycaity "No, no, you gotta play for them gutshots, you gotta. If you fold, they hit." -Genius to my left: Chapter 13

Perhaps this can be a two-part chapter, or maybe we can have a whole section on gutshots and how to play them because we have to include a discussion of the "gutflush."

The "gutflush" is something made famous by MD Poker's own Rockin' Moroccan, Ali.  The very first time I played with Ali, I flopped top set on a board with a gutshot draw.  We get all money in, his gutshot gets there...  This was several years ago, before I got divorced, and when I still used to berate bad play at the table.  So Ali's gutshot got there and I start asking him WTF.

He looks me dead in the eye and says very seriously: "Well Katie, I had a gutflush."

"WTF is a gutflush, Ali? THERE WAS NOT A FLUSH DRAW ON BOARD."

"No, no...a gutflush is when you have a gutshot draw and you feel it is going to get there...in your gut."

This stunned me into silence.  Not an easy feat.

These days, Ali and I joke about the gutflush, and honestly, when he is betting big in PLO, I usually give him credit.  But the gutflush definitely has to be in The Book.

A Belated Christmas Gift

It's been a long time since I've been at a table where someone was just trying to gift wrap their chips for me $200 at a time.

Last night, depressed about my lack of NYE options, I went to the Edgewater casino in Vancouver for some poker.  Their poker room is separate from their main casino (which, frankly, is not very nice), and their seating system is very bizarre.  Call-ins get first priority.  (They also have NO ALCOHOL in poker room!)  However, after about 30 minutes of waiting, I got a seat at a new table.  Max buy was $200, which I actually generally like as I have found it encourages action. (Side note: I have found that my biggest hits at 1/2 have come at places with <$300 max, MGM in Vegas, Foxwoods back in the day, Florida...it just turns people into shove monkeys and that is a good thing.)

The first orbit at this table, my mind was blown.  I have not seen such terrible poker playing in MONTHS...maybe not even all year.  Several people at the table were ATC shove monkeys, and the other ones were WAY too tight.  There was only one guy at the table I knew I had to be wary of.  In AC, or even in Vegas, there are certainly people who play badly, but it's not usually the whole table making moves like calling with Q-high no draw for their stack (Yes, I did see that at this table).

I ended up in the ten seat, and the guy in the one seat was bullying the tighter players.  More power to him, but he should have known better than to bully when some of the shove monkeys were in the hand.  Twice in the first two orbits he made a giant bet on the river and then mucked without even showing after he was called.  The one time he had the nuts, he bet much smaller on the river.

After about 30 minutes at the table, I got dealt QTcc on the button.  There had been a standard pf raise by the one seat bully to $10, which was called in NINE spots (also standard at this gift of a table).  I decided I might as well jump in with odds like those. 

Flop came Q62, rainbow (one club).  Bully guy bet out $15 into $90 and everyone folded except one of the rocks immediately to my right and me.  We both flatted.  Turn brought the 5c.  Hmmmmmm...  Bully bet out $25.  Tight guy flatted. I raised to isolate...I wanted rocky guy to fold.  Bully just called my raise, and tight guy did the speech muck.  YES!

River came 3h.  One seat immediately bet out $100, which was the vast majority of my remaining stack.  I thought for a minute.  Did he have a four?  Possible but not likely.  He had been seriously under-betting when he was strong.  Every time I had seen him make a big bet on river, it was a bluff.  He had either a busted draw or some small pair.  Plus, I had basically folded every hand I got for the first 30 minutes, so I figured I was a prime target for push around the nit.  

After my 30-second analysis, I called.  He turned over 76o.  Wooohoooooo!  I was sitting on a little over $400 at that point.  In the next orbit, I managed to snap him off again, with a similarly average hand, and that time when I raised on the river he just instamucked. 

Shortly thereafter, he went bust and did not rebuy again.  I was sitting on $600, and looked around the table.  Suddenly we were 6 handed, with me and a bunch of old nits all sitting on $100 or less.  I had only been playing for an hour, and decided to get up.

While happy with my profit, I found something not very satisfying in taking that money.  It really was like shooting fish in a barrel.  Too easy.  :p

Dunno if I'm headed back there tonight.  Still two days left in Vancouver. 

Me and New Year's Don't Mix

I kinda dread New Year's Eve every year.  It seems like the best laid plans always get thrown by the wayside and NYE instead ends up with a giant clusterfuck of a problem.  As a matter of fact, the only year that I can remember having a NYE that was good was 2007/2008 when I was in Vegas and I went on the biggest heater of my life playing $100/hand blackjack.  Now THAT was a good NYE.

I could literally tell you about 15 "wow my NYE got really screwed up" stories...the worst one was probably the year that my friend John and I got stood up by the guy we were supposed to hang out with (who was 21...we were not).  So after getting stood up, we decided that it would be a good idea to drive to Canada, where we could legally drink, and then spend some time at Casino Niagara.  I think this was NYE 1997/1998.  Everything went to plan until we got in a serious car accident in the middle of nowhere after running into a Buffalo storm on the way home the next day.  Car got totaled, we almost got totaled....I guess the good news is that both John and I are still alive.  LOL

And, so, I should not be surprised when my NYE this year looks like it will be spent stuck in Vancouver with my mom who does not drink.  :p

April, Come She Will

April, come she will

When streams are ripe and swelled with rain;

May, she will stay,

Resting in my arms again.

June, she'll change her tune
In restless walks she'll prowl the night;

July, she will fly,

And give no warning to her flight.


August, die she must

The autumn winds blow chilly and cold;

September I'll remember.

A love once new has now grown old.

~Simon and Garfunkel

I still owe a WPBT review.  It is forthcoming.  

In the meantime, I've had these thoughts about life swimming around in my head pretty much ever since Vegas.  I want to record them so I can remind myself of this step on my journey, and when times in the future may not seem quite so rosy. 

[Warning: brutal honesty ahead...]

The past few years have been pretty bad for me.  Supposedly, divorce is one of the most traumatic life events one can go through, and mine was not even that bad.  However, there was a lot of stuff leading up to it, and a lot of stuff after it that was a lot worse than negotiating the actual divorce.  

But what is a bad year, really?  A bad day might be you waking up on the wrong side of bed, being cranky, getting some bad news and dwelling on it.  But a bad year?  At that point, it's time to take some responsibility and admit that at least part of it might be your own fault, or at least your own attitude and choices.  That maybe you should stop seeking short-term fixes to long-term problems.

I have always thought of myself as a supremely independent person.  I like to do things my way.  I like to do things without help...even at times when it would really benefit me to swallow some pride and ask for some.  The past few years I've come to realize that I never really knew what independence was.  I went from pretty much being my parents' child to being my ex-husband's wife.  I never learned how to cope with some of the stresses of life by myself.  I always had someone there to help me.  The past year especially has been a bit rocky as I have learned to live more independently...how to find happiness from within myself, instead of happiness in others.  After six months of really and truly living alone without another person as my crutch, I think I've finally started to find some of that independence.  Happiness within myself.  Acceptance of being alone instead of always running from it. 

The low point in the past year was most definitely New Year's Eve 2008/2009.  I spent most of that night crying, and I was so seriously depressed that I literally had to be pulled out of bed.  I bailed on a New Year's Party that I paid $200 to attend because I couldn't get myself in the shower, let alone into formal wear.  From that night and over the course of the year I (re)learned the lesson that some people who you think might be your friends might not actually be there for you when the chips are down.  I'm definitely ending 2009 with a different group of people I consider to be my closest friends, but you know what?  They were the people who were there for me over some difficult times.  They were the people who stepped up when I had the courage to say "I need help" instead of the people who ran away or outright said no.  Most importantly, I've learned to ask for help when I need it and not fear getting "no" as an answer.  So many things have gone wrong in my life over the past two years and I've gotten through every single one of them.  The sun still rises the next day, and I am still here in one piece.  I have new-found confidence that I *can* get through whatever life throws at me.  Confidence that, even alone, I'm going to be OK, because I learned how to be there for myself.  I can pick up my own pieces and put them back together for myself.  And, more importantly, I've really come to understand that some of these problems have been my own fault (or at least exacerbated by my own actions).  As someone said to me: "when your hand gets sucked out on, yeah it sucks, but if you played it terribly, you have yourself to blame too."  AMEN.

So, the past week, I've been reflecting on all of this, and I'm feeling really good about my future, and really positive about my life, even though I don't have a job, and don't have a lot of direction right now.  I'm feeling so much better about myself as a person, and I think most of that has to do with the fact that I've found new confidence in my own abilities.  I know I can face and survive pretty much anything life can throw at me, so an unknown future is a lot less unnerving.

How's that for some brutal honesty?

Happy almost 2010, peeps.  I hope it's a good one for all of us.  But if it's not, know that I am prepared to be there for those of you who got me through 2009.  And I'm prepared to be there for myself too.  :)

WPBT!

Well, I'm sitting in the airport waiting to get on my flight out to Vegas for the WPBT.  I missed check in on my actual flight by 5 minutes, but ended up getting rebooked on a direct flight which is fine with me.  I was just chatting with @bmorebilly and he said: "Don't use up all your run good at the airport!" Yeah, I hope I don't! 

But I am treating this trip like a vacation and not a work trip, so I'm hoping to have fun no matter how I'm running at the tables. 

I've been a poker blogger forever, but just met up with Al at the Borgata Winter Open this past January.  From there I met people during the Series like CK, Jen, and Dan.  I'm looking forward to meeting people like April and Maigrey, who I've talked to on twitter for the better part of a year, for the first time.

And, well, my parents read this blog so I'll keep the rest out of here and on my twitter feed, but I'm slightly nervous that I might not be able to hang with the likes of Al for 5 days.  24 hours?  Yes, no problem.  5 days.... wow.  Wish me luck.  LOL