Poker last weekend wasn't terrible, which is more than I can say about any stretch so far this month. I still can't have a session where I catch my AIEV line, and it doesn't help when you have hands that put you 400+bbs below expectation like this one:
PokerStars Zoom No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed)
Button ($180.81)
SB ($28.88)
BB ($33.69)
UTG ($274.85)
Hero (UTG+1) ($736.89)
MP1 ($79.63)
MP2 ($249.23)
MP3 ($101.50)
CO ($187.82)
Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A♠, A♦
1 fold, Hero bets $3, 1 fold, MP2 raises to $8, 1 fold, CO calls $8, 3 folds, Hero raises to $26.55, MP2 raises to $45.10, 1 fold, Hero raises to $736.89 (All-In), MP2 calls $204.13 (All-In)
Flop: ($507.96) 9♥, 5♠, 7♥ (2 players, 2 all-in)
Turn: ($507.96) 8♥ (2 players, 2 all-in)
River: ($507.96) 2♥ (2 players, 2 all-in)
Total pot: $507.96 | Rake: $2.80
Results:
Hero had A♠, A♦ (one pair, Aces).
MP2 had K♥, K♣ (flush, King high).
Outcome: MP2 won $505.16
I've also been one outed six times (that I've noted, could be more) so far this month. A few of the "standard" set over set no good variety, a couple getting an overpair + FD in on a mono board against a weaker overpair that has one of its outs tainted, and finally once in a rare spot where a shorty with ~15bbs puts it in with AA preflop, I hold QQ and get 30bbs in pre against a fish with AQo, and said fish open shoves the 120bbs effective remaining on 763r, binking his one outer for the ~270bb side pot.
It seems that just about everyone is resigned to the inevitability of an NHL lockout that will kill some, if not all, of the upcoming season. In '04-'05, the league legitimately needed a significant change in its fundamental economic model, and after sacrificing a season the owners got very close to everything they wanted, and justifiably so. Now, eight years later several owners are once again crying poor. One such owner is doing so after dishing out two ninety-million dollar monster contracts this off season. Yes, the new CBA needs some tweaks to close loopholes created after the last lockout. However, the players don't need to have their share of league revenues reduced because some owners haven't taken Econ 101. Said owners seem to think they should be able to spend to the cap to try to win a championship regardless of their market situation, yet have no risk of losing money doing so. Thankfully the Flames brass do not fall into the above category.
Persona 4 Arena has been loads of fun, and after playing a bunch online I'm actually decent at it. Not legitimately good, but for someone who almost never plays fighting games I'm really happy with my skill level relative to my competition.
Guild Wars 2 comes out next week, which should keep me plenty busy as God knows MMOs can eat up time. It looks like it could be a gem, and I'm excited to give it a go as I haven't played the beta at all.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Missed the Memo
Poker has been terrible this week, but that isn't what I want to blog about.
Tuesday evening while doing some light internet surfing I stumbled upon a tweet from one of the staff writers at www.rpgamer.com mentioning a game called "Persona 4 Arena". From the context, it seemed that said individual had been playing it. This took me by extreme surprise as I had not heard of the game, and I am a HUGE fan of the Persona series - so much so in fact that like many others I consider Persona 3 to be the greatest video game of the past decade.
A quick trip to Wikipedia and I found that this game existed, had been released in Japan a week ago, and had been released in North America that day. I truly have no idea how I managed to be completely oblivious to its existence, but I picked it up at my local Best Buy the next day.
I'm not a big fan of fighting games in general - I enjoy a little Street Fighter 2 Turbo against friends now and then, but mastery of entries of the genre (see: Nanonoko) has never been an interest of mine. Regardless, the game has been exceptional, and better, it contains a story mode with ~20 or so hours of gameplay, the vast majority of which is in a graphic novel style (I guess you might not consider that "gameplay", but I digress). Without spoiling much, the plot brings together some of the cast of Persona 3 with the entire cast of Persona 4, adds a new character, and sets up the story of what I can only assume will be Persona 5.
Best surprise video game ever.
Tuesday evening while doing some light internet surfing I stumbled upon a tweet from one of the staff writers at www.rpgamer.com mentioning a game called "Persona 4 Arena". From the context, it seemed that said individual had been playing it. This took me by extreme surprise as I had not heard of the game, and I am a HUGE fan of the Persona series - so much so in fact that like many others I consider Persona 3 to be the greatest video game of the past decade.
A quick trip to Wikipedia and I found that this game existed, had been released in Japan a week ago, and had been released in North America that day. I truly have no idea how I managed to be completely oblivious to its existence, but I picked it up at my local Best Buy the next day.
I'm not a big fan of fighting games in general - I enjoy a little Street Fighter 2 Turbo against friends now and then, but mastery of entries of the genre (see: Nanonoko) has never been an interest of mine. Regardless, the game has been exceptional, and better, it contains a story mode with ~20 or so hours of gameplay, the vast majority of which is in a graphic novel style (I guess you might not consider that "gameplay", but I digress). Without spoiling much, the plot brings together some of the cast of Persona 3 with the entire cast of Persona 4, adds a new character, and sets up the story of what I can only assume will be Persona 5.
Best surprise video game ever.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
The 'ol 83o
Poker this weekend has gone pretty well. The games seem to have improved, and for a few hours both yesterday and today were legitimately good. Fingers crossed. There are a couple notable HHs below.
First, a funny hand from Friday where villain tries really hard to represent AK with the old 83o for 130bbs+. Even if he has AK I'm happily freerolling, but I was quite shocked when I saw his holding.
PokerStars Zoom No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed)
Button ($54.80)
SB ($138.35)
BB ($47.71)
UTG ($100.46)
UTG+1 ($203.43)
MP1 ($124.26)
MP2 ($101.50)
MP3 ($110.49)
Hero (CO) ($232.46)
Preflop: Hero is CO with A♥, K♣
5 folds, Hero bets $3, 1 fold, SB raises to $9, 1 fold, Hero calls $6
Flop: ($19) J♥, Q♥, 4♥ (2 players)
SB bets $10, Hero calls $10
Turn: ($39) 10♠ (2 players)
SB bets $20, Hero raises to $55, SB raises to $119.35 (All-In), Hero calls $64.35
River: ($277.70) A♠ (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: $277.70 | Rake: $2.80
Results:
SB had 8♠, 3♣ (high card, Ace).
Hero had A♥, K♣ (straight, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $274.90
A less fun hand from Friday which ended up being the difference between a good session and a great session. Regfish picks probably the worst hand possible to try to gin flop vs myself and the overcalling whale, and is rewarded.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $4.00 BB (9 handed)
UTG ($584.89)
UTG+1 ($1604.17)
MP1 ($396)
MP2 ($450.38)
Hero (MP3) ($575.36)
CO ($400)
Button ($239.36)
SB ($195.10)
BB ($252.20)
Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A♥, A♣
2 folds, MP1 bets $10, 1 fold, Hero raises to $40, 1 fold, Button calls $40, 2 folds, MP1 calls $30
Flop: ($126) J♣, 10♥, A♦ (3 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $84, Button raises to $199.36 (All-In), MP1 raises to $356 (All-In), Hero calls $272
Turn: ($1037.36) 9♣ (3 players, 2 all-in)
River: ($1037.36) 2♣ (3 players, 2 all-in)
Total pot: $1037.36 | Rake: $2.80
Results:
Button had 9♦, A♠ (two pair, Aces and nines).
MP1 had K♣, Q♦ (straight, Ace high).
Hero had A♥, A♣ (three of a kind, Aces).
Outcome: MP1 won $1034.56
I've put twenty hours or so into Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time for the PSP, a remake of an old game which never saw the light of day outside of Japan. It has been quite enjoyable thus far, though in some ways it really isn't a very good game. Let me elaborate: the visuals are completely meh outside of the character portraits, the soundtrack is utterly unispired, and the combat system is clunky and has severe problems with movement, which leads to extreme spikes in difficulty. All that stuff aside, the story is great and has a ton of branches in the plot depending on the choices one makes - including ~40 or so different endings, and it turns out that is pretty much all the game needs to be enjoyable, and in the end it is fun that matters and I'm having fun.
First, a funny hand from Friday where villain tries really hard to represent AK with the old 83o for 130bbs+. Even if he has AK I'm happily freerolling, but I was quite shocked when I saw his holding.
PokerStars Zoom No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed)
Button ($54.80)
SB ($138.35)
BB ($47.71)
UTG ($100.46)
UTG+1 ($203.43)
MP1 ($124.26)
MP2 ($101.50)
MP3 ($110.49)
Hero (CO) ($232.46)
Preflop: Hero is CO with A♥, K♣
5 folds, Hero bets $3, 1 fold, SB raises to $9, 1 fold, Hero calls $6
Flop: ($19) J♥, Q♥, 4♥ (2 players)
SB bets $10, Hero calls $10
Turn: ($39) 10♠ (2 players)
SB bets $20, Hero raises to $55, SB raises to $119.35 (All-In), Hero calls $64.35
River: ($277.70) A♠ (2 players, 1 all-in)
Total pot: $277.70 | Rake: $2.80
Results:
SB had 8♠, 3♣ (high card, Ace).
Hero had A♥, K♣ (straight, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $274.90
A less fun hand from Friday which ended up being the difference between a good session and a great session. Regfish picks probably the worst hand possible to try to gin flop vs myself and the overcalling whale, and is rewarded.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $4.00 BB (9 handed)
UTG ($584.89)
UTG+1 ($1604.17)
MP1 ($396)
MP2 ($450.38)
Hero (MP3) ($575.36)
CO ($400)
Button ($239.36)
SB ($195.10)
BB ($252.20)
Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A♥, A♣
2 folds, MP1 bets $10, 1 fold, Hero raises to $40, 1 fold, Button calls $40, 2 folds, MP1 calls $30
Flop: ($126) J♣, 10♥, A♦ (3 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $84, Button raises to $199.36 (All-In), MP1 raises to $356 (All-In), Hero calls $272
Turn: ($1037.36) 9♣ (3 players, 2 all-in)
River: ($1037.36) 2♣ (3 players, 2 all-in)
Total pot: $1037.36 | Rake: $2.80
Results:
Button had 9♦, A♠ (two pair, Aces and nines).
MP1 had K♣, Q♦ (straight, Ace high).
Hero had A♥, A♣ (three of a kind, Aces).
Outcome: MP1 won $1034.56
I've put twenty hours or so into Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time for the PSP, a remake of an old game which never saw the light of day outside of Japan. It has been quite enjoyable thus far, though in some ways it really isn't a very good game. Let me elaborate: the visuals are completely meh outside of the character portraits, the soundtrack is utterly unispired, and the combat system is clunky and has severe problems with movement, which leads to extreme spikes in difficulty. All that stuff aside, the story is great and has a ton of branches in the plot depending on the choices one makes - including ~40 or so different endings, and it turns out that is pretty much all the game needs to be enjoyable, and in the end it is fun that matters and I'm having fun.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Closing the Deal
As I'm sure the majority of folks who read this blog are already aware, the deal between Pokerstars and the US DOJ to acquire Full Tilt Poker is done.
We knew this outcome was likely for some time now, but to have everything confirmed and the drama over with is nice. That being said, not everything is necessarily positive. A few thoughts on how the deal will affect me personally and my concerns going forward:
We knew this outcome was likely for some time now, but to have everything confirmed and the drama over with is nice. That being said, not everything is necessarily positive. A few thoughts on how the deal will affect me personally and my concerns going forward:
- I should be getting my money back (along with all other "Rest of the World" players) within 97 days. I didn't have a lot of money on FTP like some people, but it is still a positive not to be stolen from.
- These events should hopefully help to kick start the redemption process for the reputation of online poker in the public eye. Frankly, I think this factor is probably underestimated significantly and is the biggest positive to come from the deal, unless you are Daniel Cates and have well into seven figures owed to you.
- US players are going to have to try to claim their money through the DOJ (from a pool of money paid to the DOJ by Pokerstars), rather than simply allowing Stars to pay US players their balances as they did after Black Friday on their own site. I believe this is partially because a repayment plan by Pokerstars could be in violation of UIGEA financial regulations. Still, it wouldn't surprise me at all if a lot of the money owed to US players ended up simply staying with the DOJ, or percentages were skimmed off the top as a "processing fee". I'm glad I'm not a US player.
- Pokerstars and the re-opened FTP will be using separate player pools, potentially further shrinking the player pools currently present on Pokerstars. With the state of the games currently, any further damage to the player pool at Full Ring cash would be devastating, but to be honest I'm not too worried about it. I don't think a significant number of recreational players moved from FTP to Stars after Black Friday, and for the few that did, who says they are going to move back? To be honest, I don't think it is out of the question that games could improve on Stars as a result of the FTP relaunch, as former FTP regs who prefer that site for whatever reason head back there.
- Pokerstars and FTP brands will be allowed to apply for US regulation at such a time as it is possible. This is obviously the biggest reason why Stars is coughing up the money to make all this happen. Unless the post-regulation US players are allowed back into international player pools (very unlikely) this won't help those of us elsewhere, but we can always hope.
- Finally, Pokerstars will extend what is already a near monopoly. I think this is by far the biggest negative to come from the deal. In recent history Stars has showed that it is more than willing to take from its regulars, and with virtually no significant competition why wouldn't they? Interestingly enough, it isn't completely unrealistic to speculate that the cash grab at the start of 2012 was to enable this deal. If that were in fact the case, the return of my FTP balance wouldn't come close to make up the decrease in my rakeback this year.
July Review - Return of the Doomswitch
Poker during the first week of July was legitimately pleasant, but the following three and a half weeks produced the longest stretch of run-awful I've had to endure since August of last year. I've had a couple two-week long stretches of nasty variance this year (the first two weeks of both February and March specifically), but this runbad has almost managed a full month in duration at this point which isn't fun to say the least, and resulted in a ~75k hand break-even stretch in the monthly graph. On the positive side, I ran well for most of last month and had a full month of godmode in November of 2011, so in the big picture I can't complain too much.
I did manage to put in a lot of volume this month, partially due to putting in a few extra hours due to the runbad. Mostly however, it was because I had 3-4 ZOOM tables going during all my sessions, and as a result ~70% of my volume was at ZOOM, which is pretty ridiculous. The Full Ring games outside of ZOOM were just awful on all but a handful of days in July, and I don't see this trend shifting any time soon. Hopefully the ZOOM tables stay similar to how they are now, else I don't think FR cash on Pokerstars will be worth playing period. I guess it is no coincidence that several FR grinders have been attempting switches to PLO of late.
The bottom line:
$6687.93 table winnings
+$1595.22 FPP value (28,486 VPPs * 3.5FPPs/VPP * 1.6c/FPP)
-----------------------------------------------------------
$8283.15 USD total profit.
Not a number I'm happy with, but 2ptBB/100 isn't a full blown disaster. Hopefully after August I'll be back on pace for 300k VPPs on the year - if that's the case I'll hit the 200k VPP milestone at the end of the month.
I did manage to put in a lot of volume this month, partially due to putting in a few extra hours due to the runbad. Mostly however, it was because I had 3-4 ZOOM tables going during all my sessions, and as a result ~70% of my volume was at ZOOM, which is pretty ridiculous. The Full Ring games outside of ZOOM were just awful on all but a handful of days in July, and I don't see this trend shifting any time soon. Hopefully the ZOOM tables stay similar to how they are now, else I don't think FR cash on Pokerstars will be worth playing period. I guess it is no coincidence that several FR grinders have been attempting switches to PLO of late.
The bottom line:
$6687.93 table winnings
+$1595.22 FPP value (28,486 VPPs * 3.5FPPs/VPP * 1.6c/FPP)
-----------------------------------------------------------
$8283.15 USD total profit.
Not a number I'm happy with, but 2ptBB/100 isn't a full blown disaster. Hopefully after August I'll be back on pace for 300k VPPs on the year - if that's the case I'll hit the 200k VPP milestone at the end of the month.
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