It ain't gambling!

The trip to Houston was good. I got to eat at El Tiempo, Café Adobe, Zydeco's and Kiran's. Most importantly, I got to play in the Thursday night O/8 game at Greene's.

All of the usual suspects except for Hugh were in attendance. As expected, the banter was non-stop and the play was fast (I mean that both literally in that people acted quickly and also that the betting was heavy and early.) Several people bought in about $300, so the small $0.50-$1.00 game quickly turned into a big game. Just about every pot was north of $100, and once or twice per orbit, we'd play for one bigger than $300.

I got dealt some terrible cards. The two biggest losing hands were both "boat over boat" situations. I lost one to Beau (circa $300 loss) and one to McAndrew (about a $200 loss). I also lost with a big hand to Chris. The only good that came out of these hands is that I slowed down and check-called, which saved me about $100.

With all that action, it's amazing that there weren't any huge winners or losers (biggest was around $300). I lost $120. I'll call that immaterial given that it is less than what I have already spent on babysitters this holiday party season.

I spent the night nursing a glass of an 18-year old Islay single malt whisky, and McAndrew sat there pounding wine coolers.

I think we have a new phrase for the phrasebook - "to get Bairded". To get Bairded means to step into a pile of shit. In poker, it could mean betting with a full house into an opponent that has quads. The phase is a double entendre, as Baird stepped into a pile of shit a few times during the course of the poker game and he also stepped in one in Greene's backyard.

Pinion asked me how my shoulder was. My reaction could have been pleasure that somebody cares about my well being, but my initial reaction was, "I can't believe somebody actually reads this blog." I am not sure if I gave a complete answer on Thursday, so here it is:

A week from Monday, I get an MRI. They will stick a needle in my shoulder and put some dye in there. Since my blood is burnt orange, I think they'll use crimson to provide contrast. They'll be able to tell from the MRI if my ligaments are torn, detached or simply stretched. Either way, they will probably do surgery, which will cutting into there and tying it all back together again. I will also get a cool looking scar out of it.

I've dislocated my shoulder 15 times, and the 14 previous times typically put me on the bench for a matter of days. This one is completely different. It still hurts like a bitch. I really hope they can fix me up.

I also told the poker dudes that Jane and I are expecting a baby boy (May 17). When the first kid is conceived/born, there is a lot of pomp surrounding the announcement. Being the youngest kid in my family, I can tell you that it isn't surprising that #2 gets announced on this blog buried in the middle of a post about other things.

The loss on Thursday and the loss on the previous Sunday combined for $285. This was a good wake up call to me, as it came on the heels of a winning streak in the Poker League that dates back to January and it was on the same night that I got paid the balance of the $800 I won in one of my college football pools. Wake up call received.

DeWitt gave me a lift home. He told me that my post about Elise having Down syndrome made an impact on him. After the initial reaction of "I can't believe that people read this blog", I realized something else. I realized that everybody we know, even people I hardly know, think about Elise. She has served as quite the inspiration for a lot of people. I haven't figured out how to articulate it, but something about knowing that someone is completely vulnerable makes us realize how fortunate we are.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the poker game. Man I love O/8. I like it quite a bit more than Holdem. If I were better at it, I'd play it exclusively. I feel like Michael Jordan whose dream was to play baseball but batted .202 in the minors. The analogy kinda falls apart when you compare his basketball skills with my Holdem skills. He never dominated the way I do!

One reason why I love Omaha is the way hands develop. You can flop a set, turn a straight and river a flush with the nut low. That just doesn't happen in Holdem. Since it also happens to your opponent, it is very hard to put your opponent on a hand. In Holdem, I am rarely surprised as to my opponent's hand, but In Omaha, it happens all the time that I am surprised. I am sitting there thinking my opponent has A2, and it turns out that he has quads. Because it is so hard to put a man on a hand, you don't have to exert much effort trying to disguise your own hand. I like that.

Good to see y'all in Houston. Maybe I'll be able to do it again over Christmas.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

3 Comment(s):