Good to have you back at the tables @SR23. As someone who has never suffered from depression or anxiety this thread has been a real eye opener. Best of luck with the BR challenge.
Got knocked about a bit tonight. The two biggest pots I played I lost. Had 70% and 85% equity respectively when all the dough went in. Ooh, I also got massively slowrolled - and I mean massively, at the very last second - for 100 bigs by AA after I 5b jammed AK. Some other cool stuff happened. This was all at 20nl. Plenty of good stuff happened though and I played quite well in spots and quite badly in others. I know: insightful.
Perhaps it's not the wisest of ideas to be playing 5/6 tables of 20nl with a starting bankroll of £150 but (a) I genuinely can't think of anything to put here in my defence and (b) nope, nothing to put here, either. I can always reload, I suppose, and this was never going to be a brm ftw diary anyway.
This hand was a humdinger.
Player
Action
Cards
Amount
Pot
Balance
styx50
Small blind
£0.10
£0.10
£9.66
SR23
Big blind
£0.20
£0.30
£46.89
Your hole cards
6
4
jondice
Raise
£0.40
£0.70
£41.71
XXX
Call
£0.40
£1.10
£9.26
Carlosh84
Call
£0.40
£1.50
£11.44
SMARTGOAT
Fold
styx50
Fold
SR23
Call
£0.20
£1.70
£46.69
Flop
3
7
5
SR23
Check
jondice
Check
XXX
Bet
£1.28
£2.98
£7.98
Carlosh84
Call
£1.28
£4.26
£10.16
SR23
Raise
£5.95
£10.21
£40.74
jondice
Fold
XXX
All-in
£7.98
£18.19
£0.00
Carlosh84
Fold
SR23
Call
£3.31
£21.50
£37.43
SR23
Show
6
4
XXX
Show
8
7
Turn
4
River
6
XXX
Win
Straight to the 8
£20.42
£20.42
Starting roll: £150 Roll: £136
Gross run-out but, on the plus side, I thought you played the turn perfectly .
John Lennon quotes - there are so many, he had such a wonderful way with words.
That line in Strawberry Fields Forever takes some beating.
"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see"
There are so many others too.
Those of us who were part of the Beatles generation were so fortunate, we had something no other generation ever had or will have.
Yep, I imagine the 60s were pretty, um, far out but I think bmx-ing and breakdancing mid-1980s followed by going to raves as a teenager from 1990-1992 knocks it into a cocked hat*, as far as times to grow up. Suppose it's a generational thing and most generations probably see their childhood years as nutted.
*what is a cocked hat, btw? I imagine if anyone on this forum knows, it's you.
Sorry to hear about your health problems the mind is a very powerful foe when it's working against you, I have a few demons but keep them in check usually by screaming obscenities at the top of my voice in the car I'm sure people seeing me must think I'm mad they may well be right. Do not do this when your five year old son is sat in the back who you forgot about, what I have found is you can be happy if only one person in the world loves you and that person is yourself. Took me about twenty five years and a lot of alcohol to work that one out and now and again we fall out but we make up. Don't look at what you haven't got look at what you do have and appreciate that a bit more, well that's my therapy for the day over look after yourself easy said but don't get to down on yourself. PS not that it bothers me but a couple of years ago you called my aces with a bag of spanners and hit and cleaned me out, not that it bothers me it doesn't really it doesn't lol. PPS you are a good player if you stick within your bankroll you will make money and good luck at the tables just not against me with a bag of spanners.
Thanks for popping by, DB, really appreciate the comments - the bolded in particular stood out. It has echoes of James Openheim's , "The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise man grows it under his feet."
Ah, yes, bags of spanners. Yep, love calling with them.
looking forward to reading this SR23. which poker mag did you write for?
Cheers Engy - I wrote "An Idiot's Guide to Poker" for Unibet (roughly 90 columns) and another 60 or so columns for NordicBet. Lots of the mags were folding/scaling back just as I began my poker writing "career" and I didn't get to write for any actual print publications. Sad times.
There's money to be made online too. I used to be a freelance writer and many of the online sites will pay you £50 or so for a good pitch. It's not much but if you can pump them out it adds up. Some of the more prestigious places pay more. Can think of at least a few that would be interested in stuff about poker. Colson Whitehead wrote a really great series about his time at the WSOP on Grantland 10-odd years ago. They had a great oral history of the Moneymaker WSOP too. I think places like Deadspin, Daily Dot, Buzzfeed, etc would all go for poker stuff too depending on the pitch.
I wanted to shop a write-up of the Galfond challenge around recently but I've forgotten how to write non-academic stuff.
Funny you should mention Colson Whitehead - I've just finished reading the Underground Railroad. Will definitely check out some of his poker stuff.
Funny you should mention academic writing, too. I've been doing a fair bit of report writing over the last couple of years and have gone from staring at academic papers in bewilderment to really digging them. Especially love some of the tauter, muscular, more colourful (and arch) stuff in Science/Nature - those dudes have talent coming out of ... their everywheres, really. Sorry, blathering on a bit and I (perhaps) should know this, but presumably you're an academic, then ... ?
Have been meaning to read Underground Railroad literally since it came out. I barely read books anymore unfortunately. He's a fantastic writer though, I've been reading his articles for years.
I'm getting a degree in Education at the moment and previously studied Linguistics. Totally agree about the quality of writing in academic work; there's a lot more room for freedom of expression than many people seem to think. I read one research article on representation in children's TV recently that was downright funny.
Studying linguistics sounds the nuts. Was it?
I loved studying Linguistics. I've been fascinated with language ever since I read this article in the New Yorker in my early 20s about an Amazonian tribe with a very unique language. It has only eleven phonemes and mostly relies on tone and stress to create meaning. It also has no numbers, no grammatical recursion, no words for colours and loads of other weird features that escape me right now. I was absolutely hooked by that and decided to go and study it for no reason other than I wanted to.
It turned out to be a bit of a wasted effort as I dropped out in the first year so I could move to the U.S. with a woman I had met but it was still a worthwhile experience.
New Yorker links are most welcome here dude. Totally love it. Totally used to think I was going to write for it. Still totally might. Totally almost certainly won't though. Going to have read of that piece in a sec once I get fed up of being stacked - thank you.
Good to have you back at the tables @SR23. As someone who has never suffered from depression or anxiety this thread has been a real eye opener. Best of luck with the BR challenge.
Cheers Goat, really enjoying playing at the mo even though for the last month or two it's been a bit of (well, a lot of), "log on, lose money slowly over five or six hours, then lose money quickly for a bit, log off"
Got knocked about a bit tonight. The two biggest pots I played I lost. Had 70% and 85% equity respectively when all the dough went in. Ooh, I also got massively slowrolled - and I mean massively, at the very last second - for 100 bigs by AA after I 5b jammed AK. Some other cool stuff happened. This was all at 20nl. Plenty of good stuff happened though and I played quite well in spots and quite badly in others. I know: insightful.
Perhaps it's not the wisest of ideas to be playing 5/6 tables of 20nl with a starting bankroll of £150 but (a) I genuinely can't think of anything to put here in my defence and (b) nope, nothing to put here, either. I can always reload, I suppose, and this was never going to be a brm ftw diary anyway.
This hand was a humdinger.
Player
Action
Cards
Amount
Pot
Balance
styx50
Small blind
£0.10
£0.10
£9.66
SR23
Big blind
£0.20
£0.30
£46.89
Your hole cards
6
4
jondice
Raise
£0.40
£0.70
£41.71
XXX
Call
£0.40
£1.10
£9.26
Carlosh84
Call
£0.40
£1.50
£11.44
SMARTGOAT
Fold
styx50
Fold
SR23
Call
£0.20
£1.70
£46.69
Flop
3
7
5
SR23
Check
jondice
Check
XXX
Bet
£1.28
£2.98
£7.98
Carlosh84
Call
£1.28
£4.26
£10.16
SR23
Raise
£5.95
£10.21
£40.74
jondice
Fold
XXX
All-in
£7.98
£18.19
£0.00
Carlosh84
Fold
SR23
Call
£3.31
£21.50
£37.43
SR23
Show
6
4
XXX
Show
8
7
Turn
4
River
6
XXX
Win
Straight to the 8
£20.42
£20.42
Starting roll: £150 Roll: £136
Gross run-out but, on the plus side, I thought you played the turn perfectly .
Ha, ikr? Skill game, mush. I have lost an extortionate amount of hands recently with 95% (+!) equity when all the money has gone in on the flop/turn but I'm not going to go on about it. Except for now. And probably a bit later, too. And after that.
looking forward to reading this SR23. which poker mag did you write for?
Cheers Engy - I wrote "An Idiot's Guide to Poker" for Unibet (roughly 90 columns) and another 60 or so columns for NordicBet. Lots of the mags were folding/scaling back just as I began my poker writing "career" and I didn't get to write for any actual print publications. Sad times.
There's money to be made online too. I used to be a freelance writer and many of the online sites will pay you £50 or so for a good pitch. It's not much but if you can pump them out it adds up. Some of the more prestigious places pay more. Can think of at least a few that would be interested in stuff about poker. Colson Whitehead wrote a really great series about his time at the WSOP on Grantland 10-odd years ago. They had a great oral history of the Moneymaker WSOP too. I think places like Deadspin, Daily Dot, Buzzfeed, etc would all go for poker stuff too depending on the pitch.
I wanted to shop a write-up of the Galfond challenge around recently but I've forgotten how to write non-academic stuff.
Funny you should mention Colson Whitehead - I've just finished reading the Underground Railroad. Will definitely check out some of his poker stuff.
Funny you should mention academic writing, too. I've been doing a fair bit of report writing over the last couple of years and have gone from staring at academic papers in bewilderment to really digging them. Especially love some of the tauter, muscular, more colourful (and arch) stuff in Science/Nature - those dudes have talent coming out of ... their everywheres, really. Sorry, blathering on a bit and I (perhaps) should know this, but presumably you're an academic, then ... ?
Have been meaning to read Underground Railroad literally since it came out. I barely read books anymore unfortunately. He's a fantastic writer though, I've been reading his articles for years.
I'm getting a degree in Education at the moment and previously studied Linguistics. Totally agree about the quality of writing in academic work; there's a lot more room for freedom of expression than many people seem to think. I read one research article on representation in children's TV recently that was downright funny.
Studying linguistics sounds the nuts. Was it?
I loved studying Linguistics. I've been fascinated with language ever since I read this article in the New Yorker in my early 20s about an Amazonian tribe with a very unique language. It has only eleven phonemes and mostly relies on tone and stress to create meaning. It also has no numbers, no grammatical recursion, no words for colours and loads of other weird features that escape me right now. I was absolutely hooked by that and decided to go and study it for no reason other than I wanted to.
It turned out to be a bit of a wasted effort as I dropped out in the first year so I could move to the U.S. with a woman I had met but it was still a worthwhile experience.
New Yorker links are most welcome here dude. Totally love it. Totally used to think I was going to write for it. Still totally might. Totally almost certainly won't though. Going to have read of that piece in a sec once I get fed up of being stacked - thank you.
Heh, same! I used to be somewhat friendly with some editors there and was constantly trying to come up with a good pitch for them. Haven't written a word for years now and I think those days may be permanently behind me.
I could quite easily pop about 60 New Yorker articles I've read over the years in this thread. Used to save articles I liked on a bookmarking site and I read the New Yorker religiously.
Mad skills @NOSTRI, thank you very much for the links - really looking forward to reading them.
I got really fortunate pitching early on in my writing career - perhaps in part because I didn't know what on earth I was doing - and the first pitches I sent for features to the Guardian, Independent, Maxim (!) and so on were snapped up. "You, beginner luck," as Mr Miyagi said and it was all a bit downhill from there. Well, you know, up and down.
Wired magazine was the toughest: sent off a really fleshed-out pitch, they liked it and wanted more, I gave them more, it's nearly there, they said, but what about this, this and this and so I gave them this, this and this and then they said no. Somewhat maddening, especially as the story was about the rise of firms like Cambridge Analytica and the perils of private firms using military-grade psychological warfare techniques on civilian populations.
This was back in 2010, when I worked (somewhat) in group behaviour change. The editor at the time was a "futurologist". Go figure.
Got it in on a 874 flop pretty much first hand of the day earlier and lost to JJ. Then lost KK to AK aipf for 200 bigs. Bricked after 3b-jamming on Td9d6s w/QJdd for a 460bb pot. Actually felt I was about 46/47% there rather than 42% vs a set. Must do more maths. Some cool stuff did happen though and also some uncool stuff like the below which just managed to squeak me over the opening bankroll balance.
Thoughts? My thoughts are it's a bit of a mess but I don't mind showing hands that are a bit of a mess. Don't completely hate pre and could get along better with that flop bet if I barrelled the turn but then I just kind of hem and haw and check the turn - AH, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TRICKY TURN DECISIONS I MENTIONED IN THE OPENING POST. Genuinely just realised. As played, that seems better, right?
Wired magazine was the toughest: sent off a really fleshed-out pitch, they liked it and wanted more, I gave them more, it's nearly there, they said, but what about this, this and this and so I gave them this, this and this and then they said no. Somewhat maddening, especially as the story was about the rise of firms like Cambridge Analytica and the perils of private firms using military-grade psychological warfare techniques on civilian populations.
This was back in 2010, when I worked (somewhat) in group behaviour change. The editor at the time was a "futurologist". Go figure.
I'm the same as you. Never had a pitch refused until I pitched the New Yorker. I sent them 4,000 words of drivel and they quite rightly asked me to work on it some more and I just never got round to it.
Trying to figure out who you're talking about. Wired magazine or Wired online? Nicholas Thompson is the only editor I can think of that I knew from that time period but I never thought of him as a futurologist. Chris Andersen?
Wired magazine was the toughest: sent off a really fleshed-out pitch, they liked it and wanted more, I gave them more, it's nearly there, they said, but what about this, this and this and so I gave them this, this and this and then they said no. Somewhat maddening, especially as the story was about the rise of firms like Cambridge Analytica and the perils of private firms using military-grade psychological warfare techniques on civilian populations.
This was back in 2010, when I worked (somewhat) in group behaviour change. The editor at the time was a "futurologist". Go figure.
I'm the same as you. Never had a pitch refused until I pitched the New Yorker. I sent them 4,000 words of drivel and they quite rightly asked me to work on it some more and I just never got round to it.
Trying to figure out who you're talking about. Wired magazine or Wired online? Nicholas Thompson is the only editor I can think of that I knew from that time period but I never thought of him as a futurologist. Chris Andersen?
Ben Hammersley was who I dealt with - can't remember if he was acting ed, features ed or something else.
John Lennon quotes - there are so many, he had such a wonderful way with words.
That line in Strawberry Fields Forever takes some beating.
"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see"
There are so many others too.
Those of us who were part of the Beatles generation were so fortunate, we had something no other generation ever had or will have.
Yep, I imagine the 60s were pretty, um, far out but I think bmx-ing and breakdancing mid-1980s followed by going to raves as a teenager from 1990-1992 knocks it into a cocked hat*, as far as times to grow up. Suppose it's a generational thing and most generations probably see their childhood years as nutted.
*what is a cocked hat, btw? I imagine if anyone on this forum knows, it's you.
Yes, I suppose we all think we grew up in the nut generation. Those who experienced their adolescence in the 60's really did though.
I won't insult your intelligence by trying to use Mr google to explain what "knocked into a cocked hat" means, as in truth, whilst there are numerous theories there's no real evidence. Whilst searching though I came across this absolute gem.
Another example, from just a few years later, in the New York State newspaper, The Rural Repository, 1837 is also worth including as it conveys the apparent ferocity intended with the use of the phrase:
'Blood and vengeance!' exclaimed Boniface, 'get out of my house, you varmints, or I will knock you into a cocked hat, and gormandize you!'
Like most of us, I've been called some dreadful things by online trolls and in poker chat boxes, but the first assailant who describes me as a varmint" or who threatens to "gormandize me" is going to win some sort of prize. Abuse of the very highest quality, that.
John Lennon quotes - there are so many, he had such a wonderful way with words.
That line in Strawberry Fields Forever takes some beating.
"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see"
There are so many others too.
Those of us who were part of the Beatles generation were so fortunate, we had something no other generation ever had or will have.
Yep, I imagine the 60s were pretty, um, far out but I think bmx-ing and breakdancing mid-1980s followed by going to raves as a teenager from 1990-1992 knocks it into a cocked hat*, as far as times to grow up. Suppose it's a generational thing and most generations probably see their childhood years as nutted.
*what is a cocked hat, btw? I imagine if anyone on this forum knows, it's you.
Yes, I suppose we all think we grew up in the nut generation. Those who experienced their adolescence in the 60's really did though.
I won't insult your intelligence by trying to use Mr google to explain what "knocked into a cocked hat" means, as in truth, whilst there are numerous theories there's no real evidence. Whilst searching though I came across this absolute gem.
Another example, from just a few years later, in the New York State newspaper, The Rural Repository, 1837 is also worth including as it conveys the apparent ferocity intended with the use of the phrase:
'Blood and vengeance!' exclaimed Boniface, 'get out of my house, you varmints, or I will knock you into a cocked hat, and gormandize you!'
Like most of us, I've been called some dreadful things by online trolls and in poker chat boxes, but the first assailant who describes me as a varmint" or who threatens to "gormandize me" is going to win some sort of prize. Abuse of the very highest quality, that.
This has inspired me to start up a "List of people to gormandize". Really struggling to figure out if I love or hate "The Rural Repository" as a newspaper name. Probably both.
I met Ben Hammersley when he came and gave a guest talk at Lancaster Uni in 2012. I only mention that really because it makes me sound a lot younger than I am.
PS You mentioned a charity?
Would like to know more about the motivation for that and where your plans are up to.
Another hat tip to the Manics reference. Gold Against The Soul is a massively underrated album.
If you patch a few leaks (I say no more ) you should be able to smash NL10 / NL20 the way the games are at the mo.
Ha, yeah, I can be pretty leaky. I kind of know what needs plugging but I've kind of fallen in love with some of my leaks - a sort of poker Stockholm syndrome.
There's some absolute belters on Gold Against the Soul. I was really into the Manics around the time of the Holy Bible and leading up to Everything Must Go and saw them a few times (inc supporting The Stone Roses on their "comeback") but bar liking a lot of their singles since then I don't think I've listened to a whole album. Perhaps I should be doing ...?
Anyway, cheers for dropping by dude, appreciate it.
I met Ben Hammersley when he came and gave a guest talk at Lancaster Uni in 2012. I only mention that really because it makes me sound a lot younger than I am.
PS You mentioned a charity?
Would like to know more about the motivation for that and where your plans are up to.
Hey, great to have you here.
How was Ben's talk? Did he mention rejecting my pitch?
The charity thing is pretty embryonic and lacking focus at the moment beyond setting up something locally in the next year or two to help people who are a bit lost. Or a lot lost. Or in danger of getting lost. I know: unfocused. But I am starting behind the scenes work.
Managed to carve my bankroll almost in half in less than an hour earlier. Remember getting it in w/QQ v AK and thinking, "If I lose this one I'm going to snap-quit my diary, then immediately walk to the nearest monastery and spend the rest of my life chanting and growing vegetables."
Actually, that sounds idyllic - might do it anyway despite winning that flip.
Comments
*what is a cocked hat, btw? I imagine if anyone on this forum knows, it's you.
Ah, yes, bags of spanners. Yep, love calling with them.
I could quite easily pop about 60 New Yorker articles I've read over the years in this thread. Used to save articles I liked on a bookmarking site and I read the New Yorker religiously.
Here's two I reckon you'd be into:
- The God of Gamblers: Why Las Vegas is moving to Macau (2012)
- Mail Supremacy: The newspaper that rules Britain (2012)
I got really fortunate pitching early on in my writing career - perhaps in part because I didn't know what on earth I was doing - and the first pitches I sent for features to the Guardian, Independent, Maxim (!) and so on were snapped up. "You, beginner luck," as Mr Miyagi said and it was all a bit downhill from there. Well, you know, up and down.
Wired magazine was the toughest: sent off a really fleshed-out pitch, they liked it and wanted more, I gave them more, it's nearly there, they said, but what about this, this and this and so I gave them this, this and this and then they said no. Somewhat maddening, especially as the story was about the rise of firms like Cambridge Analytica and the perils of private firms using military-grade psychological warfare techniques on civilian populations.
This was back in 2010, when I worked (somewhat) in group behaviour change. The editor at the time was a "futurologist". Go figure.
Thoughts? My thoughts are it's a bit of a mess but I don't mind showing hands that are a bit of a mess. Don't completely hate pre and could get along better with that flop bet if I barrelled the turn but then I just kind of hem and haw and check the turn - AH, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TRICKY TURN DECISIONS I MENTIONED IN THE OPENING POST. Genuinely just realised. As played, that seems better, right?
Trying to figure out who you're talking about. Wired magazine or Wired online? Nicholas Thompson is the only editor I can think of that I knew from that time period but I never thought of him as a futurologist. Chris Andersen?
Yes, I suppose we all think we grew up in the nut generation. Those who experienced their adolescence in the 60's really did though.
I won't insult your intelligence by trying to use Mr google to explain what "knocked into a cocked hat" means, as in truth, whilst there are numerous theories there's no real evidence. Whilst searching though I came across this absolute gem.
Another example, from just a few years later, in the New York State newspaper, The Rural Repository, 1837 is also worth including as it conveys the apparent ferocity intended with the use of the phrase:
'Blood and vengeance!' exclaimed Boniface, 'get out of my house, you varmints, or I will knock you into a cocked hat, and gormandize you!'
Like most of us, I've been called some dreadful things by online trolls and in poker chat boxes, but the first assailant who describes me as a varmint" or who threatens to "gormandize me" is going to win some sort of prize. Abuse of the very highest quality, that.
If you patch a few leaks (I say no more
PS You mentioned a charity?
Would like to know more about the motivation for that and where your plans are up to.
There's some absolute belters on Gold Against the Soul. I was really into the Manics around the time of the Holy Bible and leading up to Everything Must Go and saw them a few times (inc supporting The Stone Roses on their "comeback") but bar liking a lot of their singles since then I don't think I've listened to a whole album. Perhaps I should be doing ...?
Anyway, cheers for dropping by dude, appreciate it.
How was Ben's talk? Did he mention rejecting my pitch?
The charity thing is pretty embryonic and lacking focus at the moment beyond setting up something locally in the next year or two to help people who are a bit lost. Or a lot lost. Or in danger of getting lost. I know: unfocused. But I am starting behind the scenes work.
Actually, that sounds idyllic - might do it anyway despite winning that flip.
Starting roll: £150
Roll: £114