Nuclear Apathy

So my ex-wife thought it would be cute to post some comments about me in my last blog entry.

The Ex Wife said... Since you make over 100k a year why is so hard for you to help pay 60 dollars toward your daughters karate? You post poker winnings on this blog but can't come up with 60 dollars? Shame that you expect me to pay 50/50 when you make a ton more than me. How is that fair for me to struggle to pay for her activities while you fly to china every two months to visit your girlfriend? Keep posting your winnings and I will keep asking you for your help - 60/40 is not asking a lot. $20 makes a difference on my salary - not yours. Real Sad Obie!

Well, if you want to do this in a public forum...that is fine with me.

I already pay you $1000 a month for child support which makes our income pretty even. I agreed to pay 50% of the cost for Belle's karate lessons which are close to $100 a month.

You refused stating that you want me to pay 60% of the cost.

It's not $20, its a $10 difference and if that really makes a difference in your salary, maybe you should cut back on your trips to Atlantic City, Cruises to the Caribbean, and stay away from Poker Stars, peanut.

No Nirvana for Nirav

Now that I am settled into my new place, I decided to start hosting a regular game again at my house. So Friday nights we kicked off a new season of the Obie Poker Tour (OBT). Check out the Leaderboard.

I think I am starting to figure out why I am such a terrible cash game player. Most of my winnings, and I am up overall since I started playing poker on a regular basis, have come from tournament wins. I just play better in tournaments, play tighter, and really limit my mistakes. At the cash table, I’m a donkey.

Well since I busted out of the tournament early, QQ vs KK. I was playing the cash game for the rest of the night and this hand comes up:

Pretty wild, we were playing loose and clowning around and having fun in a $.50/$1.00 home game. John K. is SB and I am BB. There are about 6 or 7 at the table.

Nirav limps from early position. John calls and I check with 5 7 off-suit. Pot = $3. Before the flop, John checks in the dark. Not to be outdone, I quickly bet $3 in the dark. The flop is Q – 3 – 4 rainbow.

Nirav raises my blind bet to $6, John folds, and I look at the flop for the first time and see a gut-shot straight draw.

For a $3 call I can win $15, so that is 5 to 1 on my money. There are only 4 cards out of 47 that can make my straight, that is less than 1 in 10, so even at 5:1, I don’t have odds to call.

Of course, that doesn’t stop me. I put him on a steal because of the bind action before the flop, I think he is just trying to take the pot away. We’re having fun, slinging chips, and $3 isn’t that much. I just bet that much blind on the flop. I call, hoping to get lucky, or steal the pot back with a bet on the turn. Pot = $15.

Turn is a blank and I bet out $6 to try and take it down right here. If he was on a steal he will fold now.

He was not on a steal, he raised me $9 up to $15. So now I have to donk off another $9 to win $45, still getting 5:1 on the money and still only have 4 outs. Of course, I call.

The river is a 6, I hit my 4 outer. I push in the rest of my chips for $77. Now Nirav starts to unravel. He says he can’t lay this down, he sees the straight draw out there, also now there are 3 diamonds on the board.

But unfortunate for Nirav, he calls and turns over Q-3 of hearts for 2 pair. I was way off on the read, and I sucked out on him to rake in a $199 pot.

That was the suck-out of the night.
I now see why I always lose at the cash game.

A Dangerous Wheel

I was invited over to my friend Deneen’s house for New Years Day. She was having an open house, with folks coming and going all day. Deneen is a regular in the V-Vegas circuit around Fredericksburg, and has hosted many of my tournaments while I transition to the new house.

Since people were coming and going, we only played a cash game to accommodate the constant flux of players. I was starting the new year off pretty well, tripled up from my original buy-in, causing Deneen to re-buy twice. Then the following hand:

I am dealt A5 off suit and call an un-raised pot. The flop is 2 – 4 – K rainbow, Deneen bets the minimum and gets two callers, including me on the gut-shot wheel draw. Turn is a 2 and everyone checks around. River is the money card for me, a 3, I hit my straight.


Deneen bets the pot and I double it with a raise. She pushes all-in and I of course call. Before I can scrap the pot, Deneen turns over pocket two’s for Quad two’s….ouch!

Dem’s QUADS Beeitches!!!


Oh, well I was back down to my original buy in and she had most of the chips.
So much for starting the new year off on a winning note.