I had a bunch of my friends over last night to celebrate Leggo's B-Day. I originally wanted to my first blog post after the 17th to be a year in review of sorts, but I have the urge to write about this topic instead. I am sure there will be plenty of references, anyway.
So I ordered a birthday cake for the party, and when I brought it out to serve to the guests I decided to say an impromptu thank you to my roommates of last year. I told each of them individually (3 of them) how they were helpful in the start up of Leggo, and how they were good friends to me throughout.
When I spoke last year in front of some class at Wake (I had been invited to speak and share my thoughts about owning a business), I was actually on a panel of 3, with the other two "entrepreneurs" being complete jokes; the first one's business consisted of selling homemade postcards door to door at Wake Forest dorms and the other's was raising awareness about low-grade water in her home town. I mean no disrespect to these girls, but that's not quite in the same league (although, I am taught in one of my classes that whenever you say the word "but" you actually mean nothing before it and everything after it ). So naturally, most of the questions were directed at me.
One student asked me how difficult it was to start a business, and, in addition to replying with the historically physically difficult angle, I made it a point to emphasize how mentally draining it was. How you have a vision and there are roughly 600 reasons why that is not going to happen, and you wish you could clone 100 of you and get it done because no one could ever (and rightfully so) understand exactly what goes on in your head as good as you. I talked about how a million hurdles constantly arise and you must clear them and continue running at full speed (or hit them, fall, and then get up and keep running very quickly). I talked about how this affects you mentally and emotionally -- I was sharper with my roommates, and they very realistically had to "tolerate" me due to something that was completely out of their hands. So, in addition to offering their opinions and fields of expertize, they suffered from the stress *I* was under. Hardly fair, right?
As I was complimenting my roommates yesterday, I flashed back to a scene I will never forget. It was early in the spring semester of '08, and I had made the decision to withdraw from school until the overbearing workload of Leggo + everything else could be tamed. We were going out to a last supper of sorts, and my three roommates were downstairs while I was upstairs taking everything in. In the emotionally overwhelming moment, I started to cry (as I write this, I am sure my eyes will start to tear up any second now...). I slid into the kitchen hoping to regain control before my roommates came upstairs, but of course that didn't happen. They showed up and there I stood, with water-filled eyes and tributaries of tears running down my cheeks. I looked at them blankly for a moment, and then said "Guys, I'm sad," and continued to cry. Craig, saying nothing, walked up to me and gave me a big hug. Kyle and Reid then followed with a caring pat on my back.
It was a moment of true beauty, and one of epiphany. This is what friendship is about. It's about 4 guys who's physical interaction in the previous 3 years had been high fives and bro-hugs coming together for a group hug. It's about me telling them "I am vulnerable" and, without a single word spoken, their response of: "it's ok to be vulnerable in front of us."
As I continued to speak about friendship, I saw a few heads silently nodding in agreement. Your friends shape you, and are invaluable as a support group. Conveniently, being a good friend yourself is one of the most rewarding things out there. Seems like a win-win to me.
This is a hilarious lesson in "always watch what you say because you never know who is listening."
I am currently watching a bootleg of the Jets Patriots game on the NFL Network on some broadcast my friend told me about. There is an accompanying chat box which I didn't see because I originally had the picture maximized.
When it kept freezing, I had to switch to the smaller version with the chat box. There are about 700 people watching this "channel" and all of the sudden I see a user 'jjprodigy' chatting. I figured it was him but read over some of the things he said to confirm it was. It obvious it's him due to his "poker lingo."
For those that do not know, jjprodigy was one of the original MTT multi-accounters who were caught and banned. He had been playing online since 14, and at some point there were some "strange" pictures released of him and friends that made it seem like he was homophobic. FWIW, I have nothing against homosexuals and have some friends that are openly gay.
I have pasted some of the his chat and the true ownage that followed:
jjprodigy:Holding FTW
jjprodigy:I've got a 10 inch cock and you don't see me bragging about it so STFU
jjprodigy:I've seen Mayos peeenus
jjprodigy:It's a joke
jjprodigy:like 6 inch max
jjprodigy:17/M/LA 10 inch peeeenus
jjprodigy:Srsly, have you guys ever wondered what a cock in your mouth would feel like?
jjprodigy:Not being able to touch your penis with your mouth is a hudge beat
jjprodigy:AFAIK Black people can't be ghey
I didn't plan on saying anything, but it was hilarious when he got called out on it by some guy!
scottymofo:jjprodigy is a broke poker cheat
scottymofo:dont listen to him
After this he went silent for a long time, and finally responded in some attempt of wit; then, he stopped talking altogether.
lawl
PS The Jets are playing decently and will solidify the AFC East with a win!
PPS LMAO someone just said "Belecheck yo self before you wreck yo self." Classic!
Just one week after a historic election the Poker Players Alliance is pitted in a fight to keep anti-Internet poker regulations from being enacted and we NEED YOUR HELP!
The current Administration is hastily finalizing a number of “midnight rules” before they leave office and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is on the list. See the 11/06 story in Dow Jones. Just like UIGEA was snuck into legislation in the dark of night in 2006, our opponents are again trying an 11th hour sneak job. We need you to help us expose and stop this reckless rulemaking.
Please call the U.S. Federal Reserve and tell them not to approve the UIGEA regulations -- Consumer Complaints, 888-851-1920 or Public Affairs, 202-452-2955.
Tell them:
* The federal agencies responsible for our nation’s economy should not be focused on Internet poker regulations.
* Finalization of the UIGEA rules will add additional burdens on our already crippled financial systems.
* Internet poker is a game of skill and form of recreation for millions of Americans; it should be exempted from the UIGEA.
* Please do not finalize the UIGEA regulations until their impact on our banking systems and average Americans has been fully studied.
Your call will make a huge difference and will add the public’s voice to these last minute policy decisions our government is poised to make. We can’t stand idly by while they make decisions that will impact our right to play America’s card game. PLEASE CALL TODAY!
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More not as important person updates to come in a couple days .
I am down a lot in the past week or so and it is frustrating.
I just finished a disappointing session against "Anssi Vari" who makes poker very difficult for me because he runs like Jesus and also plays well against my style so I face a ridiculous decision every 5th hand. I think he has a decent edge on me 300bb deep which we got to the last two times we played.
I am going to put in a ton of hours this week and grind like a mother****er... the results may or not be there, but it needs to be done.
I am going to also be more selective with who I play. When variance strikes you in the face and makes you play less than your A game, it's important to play in some lower variance spots even if it reduces your hourly rate.
The good news out of this little downswing has been that I have discovered a significant leak in my game! It's going to be really tough to patch it up because it will necessitate a lot of theory-based fixing, but I feel as though I do not take advantage of certain mistakes my opponents make enough and are not balanced enough in the specific situation.
Anyway, here are the big hands from the -5BI session tonight (all 25/50, all the HU is vs Anssi but I managed to run like crap at 6m also).
We'll start off with the losers; be sure to check out hand 17 where I call a 3x overbet shove with middle pair! I'm posting these for entertainment -- I realize I didn't play well in every one and don't really want to discuss my thought process in any of them.
Results: $4,800 Pot ($0.50 Rake) Hero showed T 7 (a pair of Queens) and LOST (-$2,400 NET) BB showed Q J (three of a kind, Queens) and WON $4,799.50 (+$2,399.50 NET)
Pre-Flop: J 5 dealt to Hero (BB) SB raises to $150, Hero raises to $600, SB raises to $1,400, Hero raises to $2,450, SB raises to $22,505.50 and is All-In, Hero folds
Results: $4,900 Pot SB mucked and WON $4,900 (+$2,450 NET)
Pre-Flop: 4 T dealt to Hero (SB) Hero raises to $150, BB calls $100
Flop: ($300) 5 6 T (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $250, BB raises to $750, Hero raises to $1,850, BB raises to $9,521 and is All-In, Hero calls $7,671
Turn: ($19,342) Q (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: ($19,342) 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: $19,342 Pot ($0.50 Rake) Hero showed 4 T (a pair of Tens) and LOST (-$9,671 NET) BB showed T A (a pair of Tens) and WON $19,341.50 (+$9,670.50 NET)
River: ($5,400) 9 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero bets $4,145 and is All-In, BB calls $4,145
Results: $13,690 Pot ($0.50 Rake) Hero showed K Q (a pair of Kings) and LOST (-$6,845 NET) BB showed 9 8 (two pair, Nines and Eights) and WON $13,689.50 (+$6,844.50 NET)
Pre-Flop: 4 4 dealt to Hero (SB) Hero raises to $150, BB raises to $500, Hero raises to $5,674.50 and is All-In, BB calls $5,174.50
Flop: ($11,349) A J 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: ($11,349) 8 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: ($11,349) 7 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: $11,349 Pot ($0.50 Rake) Hero showed 4 4 (a pair of Fours) and LOST (-$5,674.50 NET) BB showed A K (a pair of Aces) and WON $11,348.50 (+$5,674 NET)
Pre-Flop: K A dealt to Hero (SB) Hero raises to $60, BB raises to $180, Hero raises to $488, BB raises to $2,199.50 and is All-In, Hero calls $1,711.50
Flop: ($4,399) 5 8 3 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Turn: ($4,399) 8 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
River: ($4,399) 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)
Results: $4,399 Pot ($0.50 Rake) Hero showed K A (a pair of Eights) and LOST (-$2,199.50 NET) BB showed T T (two pair, Tens and Eights) and WON $4,398.50 (+$2,199 NET)
I have been playing a little bit in the past few days, and I guess I'm up around 60k I *think* so far in October. The main point is that I'm calling a 200k month. Of course, the Corporation is in full swing now, so I'm playing small stakes compared to that .
I'll post some hands in the next couple days. My montage video is almost perfected; I just want to edit the table a little bit. Look out for it!
My parents are here for the weekend because it's the official baseball families weekend at Wake and my brother plays on the team. We are headed to a game today and then some picnic afterward. Little do they know I'm going to nom the hell out of all the hot dogs and cheeseburgers.
). So naturally, most of the questions were directed at me.
.
6
A
Q
(2 Players)