Sgt Rock- Can You Hear Me Now? 3/3
Sgt Rock
Already talked about how some guys, when they get any kind of a piece of
a flop, just can't let go. They'll chase you down with any pair,
gutshot or back-door draw, odds be damned. I mean, I may call one bet
to take off a card on the flop if the odds are right, and if there's
little or no danger of a raise behind me. But these guys will go to the
end and try to get lucky with no regard for what it costs them.
Collectively, I think of these guys as "Fido," because they remind me of
the tenacious dog that wants to play tug-of-war with you, and just won't
let go of the stick in his mouth.
I'm in middle position with Td Th, but loosey-goose UTG raises and gets
two callers before the action reaches me, so I just call. Then Fido
calls right behind me, and both blinds fold, so we see the flop five way.
Board comes: 9s Jc 4s, Ks, Ah
Original raiser bets out on the flop, and both guys right behind him
just call. I'm not liking it much, but I feel like I have to raise, and
try to knock Fido out and buy the button. That way I can bet what I
hope will be a small turn card, and check the river, having meanwhile
held on for dear life and prayed a lot. At least that's my plan at this
point. The knockout attempt fails, of course, and EVERYONE calls my raise.
The turn is checked to me and I just hate to bet now, thinking that I'm
probably THROWING MONEY AWAY. I bet anyway, and only the guy on my
immediate right folds; everyone else calls.
When that Ace hits the river I just know I'm screwed. If the guys in
front of me don't have me beat, Fido surely must. It's checked to me,
and I can't bet now, nor can I call a bet, but then Fido checks too!
Still, I'm sure that it's someone else's pot.
But wait! The clueless UTG raiser shows Qd 9h for a pair of nines, and
the guy behind him mucks. I show my tens, and Fido throws away! Then
some asshole at the table— not me; it was a different asshole— asks to
see Fido's hand, and the dealer exposes his 2c 4c.
I think this hand serves as a good illustration of the evolution of
"common" limit play. When Mr. Sklansky published his first Hold 'Em
book, the game was probably something like 1% as popular, or as well
known to the general public, as it is today. That was before my time,
so I'm only guessing, but everything I've read or heard suggests that
play was usually a lot tighter back then. The book correctly teaches,
for instance, that AQ is an inferior starting hand, and talks about
when AQ should be folded to a preflop raise.
By the time Mrs. Rock and I started playing $10/20 and up, around '95,
things were changing. The poker popularity EXPLOSION hadn't occurred
yet, but lots of new players, good and bad, were entering the poker
scene. It was just single or double digit annual growth, not like the
triple digit growth we've seen over the last couple years.
Along with all the new players came inexperience, and that changed the
basis of the game. Because these new players played "differently,"
(looser) the very definition of "winning play" changed as well.
Seasoned but overconfident veterans who stubbornly refused to "adjust"
their play didn't do so well, and wondered what was wrong when they
stopped winning.
One time around '96 I somehow got into a 20/40 game at the Horseshoe
where EVERYONE was playing tight ABC poker strictly by the book.
Unfortunately I didn't have enough knowledge or experience at the time
to exploit the opportunity.
I'd still fold AQ to a preflop raise— sometimes— but nowadays I find
myself sometimes reraising instead. Depends. I hate to just call with
AQ, and would almost never do so headsup, but maybe multi-way.
=============
Multiplexing
I remember the first time I tried to play two online games at the same
time. I guess that's what a panic attack is like. At first it seemed
impossible, or at best ill-advised, but it's surprising how quickly I
got comfortable with it. Occasionally I briefly played three games,
like when transitioning from one table to another. Mrs. Rock often
plays three on Party, but I usually don't like to do more than two.
Couple nights ago I was in the $40/80 "main" game at Paradise, when two
other games filled up and boasted promising lineups. I got into the
second game, then (gulp) into the third.
Then it just happened that I got into runs of big, or otherwise playable
cards in each game, and kept getting involved in concurrent, intense
battles on all three tables. After a while of this, it just became too
much! $1,500 later, even though all three remained "great games," I had
to back off and fall back to two. I could play 3 or even 4 "on
autopilot," but to pay adequate attention to what these other guys are
doing, I can't handle that many. When you bet your top-pair/best-kicker
on the turn, and get raised, you really need to quantify the raiser's
MF. That's what I call it: Misrepresentation Factor. I guess that's a
polite way to describe how often he's full of shit versus how often
he'll have the goods. Some guys never raise on the come, and some
always do. You and I, of course, would carefully pick our spots, and do
it "sometimes." :-) But the point here is that it sure seems difficult
to play multiple games online and still maintain a good handle on the
opposition.
-------------
Pounce
Online poker multiplexing reminds me of another game we used to play,
way back when. My friends called it "Pounce," but I called it "Think
Fast." Four players at a bridge or any square table, each playing
standard solitaire in front of them self with their own deck. Thing is,
you can play a card off on anyone's game. Say you have a 7d to get rid
of. If another player has a black 8 at the bottom of a column, or a 6d
at the top of a pile, you can reach across and play your card-- unless
someone else gets there before you do. With this structure it's a lot
easier for at least one player to "go out" (get rid of ALL their cards)
and it becomes rather a frantic chaos, with everyone trying to pounce on
opportunities faster than their opponents can. It may sound stupid, but
I dare you to try it sometime.
=============
Sarge the Maniac
Mrs. Rock walked up to the table just as I was dealt this hand, saw it,
watched the play, and thought I was nuts. I could hear and almost feel
her gasping with surprise as I was shoving chips in. What she didn't
see was the behavior of these guys for the preceding half hour.
I'm dealt As, 9h in the BB, two guys limp in, and MT (Majorly Tilted),
the real maniac in the SB, raises. I'd usually have a hard time calling
here, but MT is on tilt so bad he can hardly sit in his chair.
The board comes: Kc Jc Ac, 3h, 3c
MT bets out on the flop and I raise, but Fido, one of the limpers,
calls. MT says three, and I, more worried about Fido than about MT, say
four. They both call.
MT bets out again on the turn, and I raise again. Fido calls, but MT
folds. See what I mean? MT just burns off chips trying to run over the
game.
Having put Fido on a big Club (among those remaining) I of course hate
that river, but he checks behind me, and it turns out he has KJ for two
pair, so my better two pair wins.
Even after seeing that I was behind until the river, I have no regrets
or second thoughts about my play here. MT's wont to put in lots more
chips than he should, combined with Fido's passive calling-station
nature seemed to indicate that a win, however tentative, might net more
than it should. I felt like that justified, if not mandated, the play.
I explained all of this to Mrs. Rock on the way home. She listened
carefully, then said she still thought I was nuts.
===========
( Off Topic: This final section of my report includes no poker content
whatever. )
Getting Kinky
I first heard about my new hero, Richard "Kinky" (Big Dick) Friedman, on
NPR (National Public Radio) last Summer. He was described as former
leader of the Country (but not really) band, the "Texas Jewboys," and
author of nearly twenty mystery (but not really) novels, who was
preparing to run for Governor of Texas in '06. I guess I heard mention
of that band on NPR a few years ago-- the name *does* get your
attention-- but didn't take note of the leader's name. Until recently.
So I drop into the public library a week after hearing this radio piece,
but can't find him on the Mystery shelf. I hadn't been in the library
for so long that I went looking for the card catalog. It wasn't where
it used to be. In fact, it turned out they don't even have a card
catalog any more; it's all served up on workstations now. Imagine that.
Also turned out they had three of his titles on the Fiction shelf, so
I checked out "The Mile High Club."
Wow. This guy's writing is like, is like, well, is like no other. He's
in a category all his own. I won't even try to describe it, but will
just say: Check him out. Bill Clinton is quoted as saying "Kinky, I've
read all your books. Please, more. I really need the laughs." George
Dubya would probably make a similar comment, if he read books. Both
have hosted Kinky at the White House, and he claims to be proud to have
"slept under two Presidents." He is also said to have offered Clinton a
Cuban Cigar (smile) and when the Prez pointed out how that was illegal,
Kinky told him: "Don't think of it as supporting their economy. Think
of it as burning their fields."
Few months back he formally announced the candidacy on MSNBC, and he's
not kidding. He says that choosing between Democrat and Republican is
like choosing between paper and plastic (think about that a while...),
and is running as an Independent. That means he has to get a whole ton
of signatures AFTER the primaries from registered voters who didn't vote
in those primaries, and that will be quite difficult, especially in a
state where Republicans hold down pretty much every major office.
Still, he has some support, and a really interesting platform.
Determined to "do away with political correctness and reverse the
wussification of Texas," he says he's actually running for Governor
because "...I really need the closet space...," and if elected says he
will reduce 55 MPH speed limits to 54.95, and will appoint his good
buddy Willie Nelson to head the Texas Rangers (move over Chuck Norris.)
Kinky also counts among his close friends people like Bob Dylan, Don
Imus, and the late Abbie Hoffman and Mike Bloomfield.
I've really come to know and love this guy, having read twenty or so of
his books in the last year. If I weren't afraid of Killer Bees I might
move to Texas just to sign the petitions and vote for him. As it is,
though, all I can do is post this piece with the hope that if just one
Texas voter reads it and is motivated to check the guy out, then winds
up voting for him, well, I will have helped him by proxy. Or something.
Netflix subscriber? Check out the "Kinky Friedman" DVD in their catalog.
---
See ya!
Sgt Rock
http://sgt.rock.home.comcast.net
mail2:
sgt DOT rock AT
comcast DOT net
tonygreco
Thanks for reminding me about Kinky....nobody writes songs like Ride Em Jewboy,
Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed, and the Ballad of
Charles Whitman anymore.
Kinky in '06!
> http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/
>
> Netflix subscriber? Check out the "Kinky Friedman" DVD in their catalog.
> ---
> See ya!
>
> Sgt Rock
> http://sgt.rock.home.comcast.net/
>
> mail2:
> sgt DOT rock AT
> comcast DOT net
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Stephen Jacobs
"Sgt Rock" <m...@here.net> wrote in message
news:m76dnUBtZJN...@comcast.com...
..............
> Getting Kinky
>
> I first heard about my new hero, Richard "Kinky" (Big Dick) Friedman, on
> NPR (National Public Radio) last Summer. He was described as former
> leader of the Country (but not really) band, the "Texas Jewboys," and
> author of nearly twenty mystery (but not really) novels, who was preparing
> to run for Governor of Texas in '06. I guess I heard mention of that band
> on NPR a few years ago-- the name *does* get your attention-- but didn't
> take note of the leader's name. Until recently.
>
> So I drop into the public library a week after hearing this radio piece,
> but can't find him on the Mystery shelf. I hadn't been in the library for
> so long that I went looking for the card catalog. It wasn't where it used
> to be. In fact, it turned out they don't even have a card catalog any
> more; it's all served up on workstations now. Imagine that. Also turned
> out they had three of his titles on the Fiction shelf, so I checked out
> "The Mile High Club."
>
I know some mystery writers: he is a major league hero to them. But a
warning is in order: his most recent book, "Ten Little New Yorkers," should
not be the first or even second of his mysteries that you read. It's
genuinely a great book, but without background you'll miss all of the
points. I recommend at least "Spanking Watson" and "The Prisoner of Vandam
Street" first (really, all of them, but this is SO good that it seems a
shame to put it off longer than necessary). And of course, any reader of
mysteries ought to be familiar with the half-dozen-or-so best Sherlock
Holmes stories.