Spock's Brain

It's a conundrum of sorts. If you're out to make the best decisions, you need access to the correct data and a process to filter it, manipulate it, and correctly choose from a well-defined set of options. You don't want to guess. Guessing involves hope. Guessing is a conscious effort to ignore some of the data. Why would you ignore valid data? Because it leads you to a conclusion you simply don't want to be true.

Spock would be a great limit poker player. Decision after decision based purely on his logic-driven conclusions. No-limit? He might be pretty good at that as well. He wouldn't tilt, that's certain. His success would be based on his ability to read other players and their emotions while hiding his own. We know he can do the latter, but only the true Trekkie would know about the former. After all, he's no Troi.

I battle with myself each poker session. I make an attempt to train myself to ignore emotionally-driven feelings at the poker table. The lament of a crushing bad beat. The disappointment of a 5th straight losing session. The martyrdom of inevitably getting it in bad and not sucking out like your luckbox opponents seem to always do. All of those things, if they occupy any of your mental energy, detract from your ability to make the best decision.

Lately, I sure as hell know what the worst decision is.

Call.

It's horrible. In theory, I want a smooth call by yours truly to frighten my opponents. But lately I've been calling too much and you can't scare everyone with a call when your frequency is so high.

Back to the conundrum. When can you take emotion completely out of your game? For one, by lowering the stakes. If you play at stakes far below your norm, your interest in the results go down. You've eliminated the negative emotions associated with losing when the magnitude is irrelevent.

But unfortunately, you've also eliminated the positive emotions of winning. And there's the catch. Why do you play? Do you play to win, or simply be right? Because you can be right and lose. A lot. So if you get no satisfaction from being right, then you're going to run into situations where the reason you're playing gets lost and the negativity of the results has no positive counterbalance.

Each action at the poker table is like a question on a test. What's the right answer? Can you figure it out? Why are you taking the test? To get a good score, or because it's an opportunity to learn?

Poker for me is a dichotomy of searching for that satisfaction of being right which requires me playing at stakes that mean something and the quelling of emotions that cloud my ability to make the best decision.

I need risk to feel the reward, but I don't want the feel of the risk to effect my ability to earn that reward.

Crazy game.

Late To The Party

There are those that set trends. There are those who follow them. Then there are those who wait until the trends become tired and then act on them with a vigor proportional to their level of cluelessness.

To wit: I now possess two Affliction T-shirts.

If that didn't convince you, how about this?

Otis is heading to Vegas next Wednesday. So is TheMark, GucciRick, and a whole host of other G-Vegas denizens. Me? I just got back from vacation and can't go because of work obligations. I'd love to go. It's WSOP time. Hell, I'd even play in an event for the first time ever.

But sadly, that won't be the case.

Instead, and here's the subtle genius of being me, I've booked a trip to Vegas arriving the DAY THE WSOP IS OVER. Hopefully, some of the gang covering the event will be able to hang around until the weekend is over.

If not, well, 4 days of raging solo, here I come!

Happy Father's Day

Wish I knew who the real father was....

This Post Requires No Words

Masters of the Craft

I read the 3rd paragraph of this post and felt like I have more work to do here.

Thrash. It started in the Bay Area with the likes of Metallica, Exodus, Overkill, Slayer. Since then, metal's evolved into other various, yet seemingly similar forms. Today's new wave, which includes the Lamb of God's, the Shadows Fall's, even the Killswitch Engage's, owe their roots to the original masters. Even the Extreme and Death metal varieties can't say they weren't influenced by Thrash's early years.

(I'm convinced that Cliff Burton's spirit helped form the Gothenburg Sound when he tragically passed in Sweden.)

Today, some bands keep Thrash alive. Here's one. Lazarus A.D. The ingredients may be the same, but they're mixed rather perfectly.

Not Good

I would surmise that this news is not what I would call "good."

Web's Poker Winners Face Delays in Collecting

U.S. Deals Blow to Online-Poker Players

Group: Feds have frozen $30M of online poker winnings

All reputable sources.

Late Sunday is Still Early Monday

First off, much thanks again to the folks over at Pokerlistings for allowing me to play in the Run Good Challenge. This week, there were 25 entrants vying for 2, count 'em, 2 seats to a $1500 WSOP event. Congrats to the TripleJax and Matt Showell for their wins.

Played some live poker on Thursday at what I affectionately call The Donkey Game. Man, all I can say is that this week, it was LOUD. So much so that I had trouble concentrating and when I dropped my first buy-in, I called it quits. Friday night at Falstaff's, however, made up for it. I always enjoy riding up there to play. Win or lose, the gang up there is simply so likable that the poker is at times inconsequential.

Saturday night was low key. The wife was out for a belated birthday dinner and I was stuck with the kids. And by stuck, I mean taking them to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then buying the Metallica Guitar Hero and World Tour drum kit. Having my kids wake up on Sunday to say that "Sad But True" is their favorite song is a nice feeling. It was only eclipsed by Sunday's dinner when miniBlood said, "Dad, I think I like Seek and Destroy better." As Al would say, Old Shit > New Shit.

So, in the spirit of Metal Mondays, I leave you with these two links. Listening to XM's Liquid Metal is great, especially when I hear about new bands I'd not heard of before. I believe the following band is from Denmark. Somewhere I saw a link calling them Elvis Metal. Works for me. Get yer groove on with Volbeat:



Then, throw the horns, Hallelujah Goat!

Linkage

Alrighty then. It's Saturday, I had yesterday off and had an enjoyable evening at the virtual felt while the wife was out gallivanting the streets of G-Vegas. I had no problem drinking alone, waiting for her to get home, hopefully slightly inebriated herself.

Today, there's the Run Good Challenge that the guys over at Pokerlistings are running. Sadly, I probably won't be able to play because I'm meeting a few degenerates from Charlotte (re: Falstaff, Jim the Knife, and Brian the Red) for a pre-homegame sushi mean downtown.

This will be a home game that is quite rare. Otis is in town but can't make it. I suppose he has a valid excuse.

So to everyone Running Good, good luck and may that $1500 WSOP seat be yours.

Had a couple of sessions of successful live poker last week. Booked a nice G-bar+ profit at the GucciRick game on Monday, then traveled North to Asheville to play in a Lee Jones home game this past Saturday.

There's a quiet conglomeration of home games going on. There is a smaller stakes G-Vegas game every now and then hosted by yours truly, a Charlotte game at casa de Falstaff, and the aforementioned game in Asheville. All three groups are in moderate driving distance of each other and each group has a few members willing to make the drive.

It's turned into a perfect blend of socializing and poker. I'm not sure there's anything else I enjoy more. Mix in some winning play and I'll suffer life's burdens a bit easier during the week at work.

The Mrs. continues her walking ways. She gets in about 7 or 8 miles in a day, which although sounds like it's a lot, still isn't even 1/3rd the total she'll walk on her marathon. Again, much thanks and appreciation go out to all who've donated to her charity.

The kids are growing up faster and faster. My 11-year old daughter wants to "go out" with this cute boy in school. Uh. No. My 9-year old son, when asked about a girl whose birthday party he was attending, responded, "Dad, I don't like-like her." When did he start to know the difference?

This coming weekend, I will be displaying my running aptitude at a G-Rob work-based event called the "M & M Bowl" Good thing the field is not on an incline nor paved. Still, I wouldn't guarantee that I won't get hurt.

This evening before poker, I hope to meet Otis at the sushi joint where the red-headed waitress shows off her personally trained self in tight black clothing. Not that either of us has noticed.

And finally, in the interest of Metal Monday, here's a band called Luna Mortis. Combine some Euro-speed, clean/guttural vocal alternation, female-fronted thrash and you have the song "Ash." Enjoy.