Firstly, congrats to Vanessa Selbst ("fslexcduck") - she won ~120k for taking down the Foxwoods 2k event. Coincidentally, I got here just as she won (or rather, just after). So that's pretty cool!
She's coming back with Adam (AAismyfriend) today, so I'll be able to see them before I head out.

Rolling back, since coming back on my flight:
I stayed at the Inn at Harvard an additional day. (That night 30th-31st) - the following day knocked out some errands and drove to Amherst. The idea was to get a U-haul there, pack up all my stuff that was left in Northampton (I drove the stuff there before going to Vegas, most of my stuff has been at GKA's parents house for nearly half a year at this point!)

I ended up watching some bball with Teddy (Tbach24, GKA's brother, a good friend of mine) then slept at Bach's parents house. Saturday the 1st I played some pickup bball (FTs are rounding back into form, but my range still isn't what it was a few months ago, but my form is getting back in place) and got the U-Haul/packed it up with all the stuff. Stayed another night there until I drove to Boston Sunday the 2nd.

Gene, a friend who drove all the way up from Philly, met me in Boston and we ended up moving all my stuff in the dark. It was pretty cool, and tough work, but we got it done. The original plan was to stay there and drive to Foxwoods Monday, but we decided to just say screw it, and drove in that night. (Which is the day Vanessa won the tourney)

So, it's ~7am here, and I suppose this is the 3rd day I've been here. I'm staying with Alex (Gary Stevenson) and Travis (Costanza_G) who drove down to meet us as well. It's been OK. I have played one session (+4.6k, yay, will talk about it below) and the poker is decent, but Foxwoods isn't close to Vegas. It seems as soon as 11pm comes around there's nowhere to eat. So that's brutal.

Actually, on the topic of Foxwoods, it's nice running into people. I've been able to see a student of mine, Dan, who I actually played with at 10/20; Shaundeeb, GobboBoy, and John the Lawyer. So in terms of people, I guess foxwoods has been nice. BTW, FW is in the middle of nowhere...

Sportsbetting update, kbfc/Assani/Asa and I have beaten the marketplace consistently. Obviously it's very early, but we're ~20 of 23 on beating the market. That is SICK. Our PD (point differential; when we've grabbed a line vs closing) is probably >2 at this point. FWIW, on a 5% vig, you beat the market when you have an average of a 1 point advantage. For us to have a minimum of a 2pt advantage (and we're pretty sure our line is closer to the true line) It's akin to putting money at a 49:51 clip while being 56:44 favorites. Of course though our sample size has been ultra limited (we've been pick) and due to some bad luck (variance is huge, and includes losing a recent CHA game by half a point!) I'm down about 4.5 units. Really nothing to worry about, clearly I'd rather be up though!

Kinda random as well, but I was thinking about it on my journey across Mass in the Uhaul, but I used to love (and still do) the Myth of Sisyphus.

It's worth a read for whomever has some spare time.

Other notes:
-Group Coaching will be kicked off soon. Some people have confirmed then reneged on it, so I need to get people to lock down and confirm. It does look like both groups will run at full capacity, which is great.
-Isura and I tried to do the video commentary today, but there was a problem with the Skype program we were using. Apparently I haven't done a video in a WHILE, so this 2parter should be some nice rejuvenation. Anyway, this is the top of the priority list.
-Along that vein, probably going to leave Foxwoods late tonight. (Or tomorrow, depending on how you measure a day!) Just have way too much to do in terms of getting my apartment setup.
-Going to buy a new bed. It's unbelievable. Wanted a temperpedic, but I think I found an even better bed. Sleeping is important!

~~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeowFbvpu0U

- King Without a Crown (Matisyahu)
- Mrs. Potter's Lullaby (Counting Crows)
- #41 (Dave Matthew's Band)
- Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead)

I only got into Radiohead this past year; I kinda ignored them for whatever reason, and now I have every CD of theirs (except Amnesiac). They probably are my favorite band - they're just great.
So, what story to link with this? Two little shorties:
1. Green Plastic (GP) he of cardrunners stardom based his name on this song. I don't know GP aside from sparring with him in 2 or 3 posts on strategy dating back years on 2p2, but the fact he based his poker handle on this song makes him pretty cool in my book. If only I had the foresight to be pick KARMA_POLICE or something instead of Zelijostocko! (Not that I mind my name, I like it quite a bit, it just lacks aplomb )
2. My roommate last year, Dave Tufts, got me into Radiohead. So, I am thankful he did, since I really, really got into them. Not much of a story but a human element, since we were able to share music tastes, which made living with him a bit better. I missed the opportunity in August to see Radiohead in Boston, but hopefully I don't miss them next opportunity!

So I was a little bit rusty playing poker. It had been a while since I had last played, and further my last live session didn't go well (@AC). I sat in a 5handed 10-20 game which unfortunately ended up filling fairly quickly. Aside from one guy who I'm 92% positive nailed a few hands on me, I torched everyone. (But that one guy made a decent amount from me! Always had a hand, 2 spots on my right) The table was playing fairly tightly postflop, which I think I was able to take advantage of. I made a few plays I consider spewy (in a vacuum) but given the reads I had on the table felt suited the table. Here are a smattering of any hands worth mentioning:

vs the guy that seemed to get the best of me...
My very first hand in the 5 handed game, there is a 5k cap and I had pulled out ~4k in cash, a guy limped and this ~kid (mid 20s? overweight from what he told me Tampa later) raised to 100, I made it 325 with AJo from the SB (so I suppose my 2nd hand!) and he 4bet me 650 more. It seemed really weird that I would get 4bet the first time I play a hand, and I was tempted to do a nonstandard thing for me which is spaz shove, but I think (and I hate isolating HH frequencies to such a degree) but his 4bet is AK 95% of the time. So after asking him his name, and where he was from, I mucked my hand. Some people would just flat here, and whether that is correct depends on a ton of other factors. This hand though led me to the (incorrect) assumption that this guy was highly aggressive; afterall, it's rare to see 4bets live off the bat unless it's an online player!

When it had filled to 6 or 7 handed, he raised an UTG limp to 100 and I CCed the btn with 86o. We were 5k deep, fwiw. Limper overcalled, and 3way we took a A T 7r flop. Check, pfr bet 225, and I called. This is what I call a weak passive gamble with an option of floating; it isn't a necessary float, but 86 is a stronger peel then say 67 or 44. I would much rather have J9 or whatever, but my other option was to fold, and I wasn't convinced at this point he was super straightforward or anything. The limper folded. Turn was an 8, putting 2 clubs on the board, and he checked. I normally act fast, and on this card it's typically more correct to check it back, but I decided to bet 525 into ~750+. Much to my surprise (I was NOT expecting it) he checkraised 975 more. Well, after hemming for a minute (trying to talk myself into doing anything other than folding) I mucked. Still, it's a weird checkraise, since I can't assume anyone is doing that with a 1pair hand 250bb deep. Again, in retrospect, 82% sure he had a hand.

My 3for3 failure against this dude was when the game was now 8 handed, (possibly 9 with someone sitting out) and 2nd seat he made it 75. (Seemed to be his standard) I CCed 2 seats on his left with 98, and the blinds came along. This hand was certainly a mistake, I think, but I was a tad rusty. Flop was 4 3 3 w/ 2 diamonds and it was checked through. Turn was a 8 putting up 2 hearts, checked to him and he bet 225. So strange, it's a spot where it doesn't make reasonable sense for that to have improved him, and it's weird to delay cbet air if you didn't think a cbet would be profitable on the flop, it's not good into 3 opponents on the turn. Further, I thought (atleast in the small sample vs me, where I wasn't sure if he did in fact have hands or not!) that on that board I couldn't see bigpairs checking the flop. HU or whatever, sure, because you have everyone crushed, but there is too reasonable a chance someone peels any pair etc to lose out in value. I thought it made sense if he picked up diamonds, but it's not a great plan to raise there w/ 2 people to act technically overrepping my hand. (A raise is a bluff) River was an offsuit 6, and he checked. Given my thoughts, I thought I could sneak a value bet into this ~750$ pot. The draws missed; if he had ace high, why couldn't he look me up? Especially if he thought I was getting frustrated. *Worth noting I do not get frustrated, but people assume you do if you win a few pots repeatedly from them. I bet 575, thought it was a good size, and he called me quickly. He did show me an ace, but he had another ace to go along with it, for a weirdly played (and imo not optimally, although coincidentally optimally) aces. What sucks is I was pretty close to just checking it back on the river. boo me.

So, even though I went 3-3 in losses to him (aside from 3 or so successful 3bets vs him, he didn't call a single 3bet and didn't 4bet me again) I actually was able to win quite alot from everyone else. So that's nice! The highlights:
-Folded to me in the CO, game is 9 handed now, I open to 80 with Q2dd. Button called me. Flop comes KQ4 w/ 2 spades and a diamond, I bet 150 into ~190 and he called. Turn (490) was an offsuit 4, I checked he bet 300 and I called. River (1090) was a K, I checked he bet 700 and I called, he showed JTo.
-2 limpers to me OTB, and I popped and locked with 76dd to 125. I got a blind calling as well as the limpers. Flop (525+) came beautiful, Qd6x5d. Checked to me, I bet 350. Guy on my immediate right was the only caller, leaving himself about 1250ish. Turn (about pot bet left behind) was an offsuit 3. Man a million outs. He checked, I bet 825, he shoved the rest in, I called. River was a dud. I waited for him to turn his hand over, and he said the magic words, "I missed," and revealed A3dd. Woot! Unfortunately the game was def. playing tight and so forth, since this was the largest pot of the night.
-4 limpers including Dan on the button to me, in the BB i had black queens. I made it 200 total. Only Dan called. Flop came 7 5 3 all clubs, which is obviously very interesting, but I bet 350 and he made the hand not interesting by folding. Given we were eff. 5k, or maybe 4.5k, I really am not sure what I would do if I got action. I doubt I can fold, truthfully, but I really wouldn't like it.
-Spewy play A (or potentially spewy) but I liked it given the table dynamics - 2 EP limpers, I had KTo in MP, I made it 125. In a normal game I would overlimp, but not in this game. I got 2 callers behind me (the blinds) and the limpers called. Flop came 8 6 2r, which obviously is not my preferred flop. But it was checked to me. Here's the deal. When games are tight postflop, the way to exploit matchups is to simply lay yourself a good bluffing price in terms of frequency a "big hand" is out vs price you're laying yourself. The fact that I likely wouldn't play a big hand in the same style is totally irrelevant; I bet 555, which I was fully confident would discourage anyone from peeling anything less than the nuts. "the nuts" being 86 or a set; it is just that sort of table where people are just trying to make the nuts. In a normal setting I just bet less. But it was a 1 and done situation... everyone mucked fast.
-Spewy play B (but again, felt right) UTG opened to 100. He had been talking about betting sports, MNF was playing and he was commentating on all the props he was using. Kid who got the best of me cold called. I had A9o and made it 425. Again, I rarely do this, it's a nut/air fallacy. UTG called without thought - the type of no hesitation call that really discounted a big hand. Kid got squeezed out in the middle. Flop came 5 4 2 w/ 2 spades (I had the As) which actually was one of the better flops, obviously. He checked fast, and I tanked... Decided I had to bluff here, so I did, 640, and he folded slamming his cards in the muck. Another spot I don't love bluffing, or being in there in the first place, but both spewy A and B plays that aren't my norm were brought upon due to table conditions.
-Full ring, MP opened to 80 and I called OTB with KTo. Flop was A K 3r, check check. Turn was a 6 putting 2 hearts, he bet 175, I called. River paired the 3, he bet 300, I called. Just a spot if someone owned me with an ace, fine, esp. since my calling range normally is an ace in which case they're splitting "at best". Anyway he mucked.
-2 limpers, I made it 125 with KQo. Both called. Flop was Q 8 4r, one of the limpers only had ~1800 after limp calling me (he started with 100bb) was a dude looking to gamble, check called my bet of 225. Turn was a 6 putting 2 clubs, he checked and tanked when I bet 550. (Obviously I was goign to stack him on the river) So sucks he got away.

Hopefully I didn't forget any hands... Def. was rusty, and regret some of my bet sizes/actions, but I am happy with results obviously.