A Good Bad Day

-- Status Update --
2009 VPPs:	831,615
SNE Pace:	116,475 AHEAD
Currently Playing:	Aion (PC)

On Friday I put in my typical volume and ended up running only a little poorly from an AIEV perspective. It's funny that being out a buyin and a half in AIEV feels like running sick hot to me. Fortunately there were a lot of fish willing to stack off drawing dead today, so I actually won some pots.


Some hands below. Villains in all hands are some degree of retarded.

PokerStars Pot-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed)
BB ($100)
UTG ($129.10)
UTG+1 ($85.05)
MP1 ($100)
MP2 ($83.30)
MP3 ($104.75)
CO ($188.90)
Button ($100)
Hero (SB) ($105.25)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, K
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $1, MP1 calls $1, 1 fold, MP3 calls $1, 2 folds, Hero bets $6, 1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $11, 2 folds, Hero raises to $24, UTG+1 calls $13

Flop: ($51) 4, 3, 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $30, UTG+1 calls $30

Turn: ($111) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $51.25 (All-In), UTG+1 calls $31.05 (All-In)

River: ($173.10) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $173.10 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, K (high card, Ace).
UTG+1 had A, 8 (one pair, eights).
Outcome: UTG+1 won $170.10


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00 BB (9 handed)
SB ($200)
BB ($228.10)
UTG ($259)
UTG+1 ($158.95)
MP1 ($200)
MP2 ($219.05)
MP3 ($307.55)
CO ($240)
Hero (Button) ($220)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, A
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $2, 4 folds, Hero bets $10, 2 folds, UTG+1 calls $8

Flop: ($23) 6, 4, Q (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $18, UTG+1 calls $18

Turn: ($59) 9 (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $37, UTG+1 calls $37

River: ($133) 9 (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $100, UTG+1 calls $93.95 (All-In)

Total pot: $320.90 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had Q, A (two pair, Queens and nines).
UTG+1 had 9, K (three of a kind, nines).
Outcome: UTG+1 won $317.90


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed)
Hero (Button) ($121.05)
SB ($61.80)
BB ($15.50)
UTG ($16.05)
UTG+1 ($100)
MP1 ($51.75)
MP2 ($105.05)
MP3 ($109.10)
CO ($18.50)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, Q
UTG calls $1, 1 fold, MP1 calls $1, MP2 bets $5, 2 folds, Hero calls $5, 2 folds, UTG calls $4, MP1 calls $4

Flop: ($21.50) J, 8, 3 (4 players)
UTG checks, MP1 checks, MP2 checks, Hero bets $15, 1 fold, MP1 raises to $46.75 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls $31.75

Turn: ($115) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($115) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $115 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had Q, Q (one pair, Queens).
MP1 had Q, 4 (one pair, fours).
Outcome: Hero won $112


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed)
MP1 ($111.90)
MP2 ($100)
CO ($298.75)
Button ($95.85)
SB ($114.30)
BB ($96.95)
Hero (UTG) ($230.95)
UTG+1 ($116.40)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero bets $4, 6 folds, BB raises to $16, Hero raises to $32.50, BB calls $16.50

Flop: ($65.50) J, 5, 5 (2 players)
BB bets $64.45 (All-In), Hero calls $64.45

Turn: ($194.40) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($194.40) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $194.40 | Rake: $3

Results:
BB had K, 10 (two pair, Jacks and fives).
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $191.40

Outside of poker, Dion Phaneuf's monstrous hit on Kyle Okposo in a preseason tilt between the Flames and the Islanders has got me really excited for hockey. Such a sick hit. I finished FFIV: The After Years tonight, and enjoyed the final chapter a lot. The game had some downside in how it was presented along with some severe annoyances, but it had two major points of upside:
(1) lots of great nostalgia bearing characters
(2) didn't shit all over the plot/characters of the original (see Chrono Cross, etc.)

My girlfriend and I will be playing Aion, which launches on Sunday for those that preordered. We are looking forward to it. My new leather couch is also scheduled to be delivered on Sunday (for real this time, hopefully). If I'm lucky I'll be able to put in another successful poker session tomorrow, then follow that with a Sunday filled of football, a new couch, and a new MMO.

Nit City Nutpeddlers Open Season with a Big W

-- Status Update --
2009 VPPs:	821,274
SNE Pace:	117,094 AHEAD
Currently Playing:	FFIV: The After Years (Wii)

My fantasy football team (see title for team name) opened the year with a big win over fellow 100NL/200NL Stars reg and 2+2er Vinivici this weekend. The league is a $200 buy in and is run by Stars reg and legendary 2+2er ChicagoJoey (JoeIngram1 on Stars). Sticking with football, my team (Patriots) pulled off a miracle comeback in their season opener against the Bills that still has me excited.

I'd talked about getting on the wait list for Calgary Flames season tickets for quite some time, and I finally did so last week. I also managed to pick up good seats to the home opener vs the Canucks on Oct. 1st. Super excited about it. I expect to have seasons in the lower bowl to start the 2011-2012 season.

Poker has continued to suck. I'll very likely be able to break my record for number of BIs below AIEV in a month unless things turn around significantly. That said, it's tough to have a month that looks too bad on paper when I should have around ~$11.2k in rakeback/bonuses.

I've got too many video games to play. I still have more to do in Dissidia, and I've decided to be a near completionist with the FF4 sequel on the Wii, which requires a lot of grinding. On top of these, I still have Black Sigil for the DS untouched, my copy of Disgaea 2 for the PSP is ready to picked up at EB Games, and Aion launches in less than a week to fill the MMO void. Oh, and my roommate and I are mid way through a Secret of Mana playthrough on the Wii Virtual Console. Maybe I just need to start sleeping less and playing more.

W T F

-- Status Update --
2009 VPPs:	807,904
SNE Pace:	120,164 AHEAD
Currently Playing:	Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)

So I still run worse than anyone. I was ~6 BIs below AIEV when this hand happened, and made my session a lot better. I've played some pretty hilarious hands before, including one that I posted months ago where someone called off their stack with the nut low (23o) and no draw. This hand is so crazy just because we are SO DEEP. Villain is obviously a completely retarded megadonk. I know the flop check sucks, it was my attempt at pot control simply because I was so deep with the donk, and I didn't know that he was completely batshit insane. If he showed up to TJ I would have had some sort of major breakdown.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed)
BB ($100)
UTG ($99.75)
UTG+1 ($130.50)
Hero (MP1) ($267.30)
MP2 ($100)
MP3 ($100)
CO ($108.80)
Button ($361.45)
SB ($103.35)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with A, A
2 folds, Hero bets $4, 1 fold, MP3 calls $4, 1 fold, Button calls $4, 2 folds

Flop: ($13.50) K, 6, Q (3 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks, Button bets $17, Hero calls $17, 1 fold

Turn: ($47.50) A (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $18, Hero raises to $78, Button raises to $138, Hero raises to $246.30 (All-In), Button calls $108.30

River: ($540.10) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $540.10 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 2, 10 (high card, Ace).
Hero had A, A (three of a kind, Aces).
Outcome: Hero won $537.10

I believe this is my biggest pot ever at 100nl. I later finished the job by taking the last of villain's money ($60) with TPTK vs his 3rd pair.

Milestone #6 - The Final Frontier

-- Status Update --
2009 VPPs:	804,525
SNE Pace:	122,285 AHEAD
Currently Playing:	Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP)

On Saturday I crossed the 800k VPP mark, clearing what will be my final milestone bonus of the year. This one is worth $7,200, $8k minus the $800 worth of FPPs is costs to purchase.

Unfortunately, the month so far has been as bad a stretch as I've had in my poker career, including what I believe to be my worst downswing ever (or at best, in a tie for that honor). It would be really nice to occasionally get the money in as a 5:1, 10:1, or 19:1 favorite and win. I was able to get all-in vs fish with no pair no draw (max any of them had was an overcard, so 3 outs or less) five times on Saturday, and lost all five. It's so sick to see a fish flip over K9 on an AT2r board versus my TT and know I'm a huge underdog versus the back door straight draw.

My last hand before shutting down my session on Sunday, I got AA in vs QQ on an A high board (most of the money went in preflop, he was a 50bb stack and really couldn't fold any flop). Of course, runner runner perfect perfect quads meant I can't even win as a 989:1 favorite.

Outside of poker, I've been playing a lot of Dissidia lately and thoroughly enjoying it. There's a ton of unlockables to work towards, and I'm starting to get quite skilled playing Cecil and Terra, my two favorite FF protagonists (technically I'd argue Terra isn't the protagonist of FFVI, but I digress). I've still got Black Sigil for the DS waiting to be played, and Disgaea 2: Dark Hero days for the PSP will be coming out soon. On top of that, Aion will launch on the 20th, and will likely eat up a bunch of my gaming time. I guess I can't complain about lack of options.