Miscellaneous Stuff

I’ve created a new method of accomplishing small tasks. I break each hour down into 5-minute intervals, then assign 12 small tasks to complete. I know it sounds absolutely bonkers and ridiculous, but 5-minute tasks are not overwhelming. In fact, they’re easy to accomplish. This may be the trick to completing larger projects that take me forever to finish. Like home remodeling. Screenplays. I’ve turned tasks into games. I’ve always used a version of this method, but I’ve never broken things down into such small units before. So far it’s worked. I’ve getting things done, even ugly things. 5 minutes is nothing.

I played around 5-6 hours of poker over the weekend. I’m noticing in my cash play that I sometimes sabotage my stack by making ridiculous bets, hoping my opponent will fold. However, it’s clear my opponent has a hand. This happened yesterday when I had AK on a TT8 flop. I had raised prefop and the bb called. The bb bet out and I raised all in. I was pretty much drawing dead as he had AT. I did that again the day before when I had AJ and the board was 679J. I pushed all in and was called by a set. Horrible. I really need to erase that play from my game plan. The only hands calling me are hands that beat me. At any rate, even though I made a few horrid plays, I still managed to win $50 for the weekend. I’m down about $130 total since playing cash games this month. I’m playing very low limits (.25/.50), and finding that when I play four tables at once I do better than playing only one. Perhaps it’s because I play more disciplined. I’m not playing a hand if I don’t have to, especially since playing four tables can get real crazy. The downside, of course, to playing four tables is you miss a lot of information. The game is so easy when the cards fall my way. I’m getting better at picking up weakness. Most of the players at this level will advertise exactly what they have. A big all in push almost always means the nuts. I’m growing less inclined to make this play because it’s so obvious. One play I’ve been doing a lot is betting around half the pot on the river with what appears to be the nuts. If I’m raised, I’ve lost and will fold. It’s a good protection type bet that has actually won me lots of pots when I had nothing.

I leave for Seattle and Calgary in a few days. My current cash flow situation is pretty bad. I need to win a poker tournament at some point because I’m running out of money to pay for things. I’ve reconsolidated my credit card bills so I have one more year to earn a big payday. With the information I’m learning from PokerXFactor.com, I’m hopeful I’ll one day score that big win. Luck sure plays a big part in poker tournaments though. I have been somewhat unlucky with my major holdings (last night my KK lost to QQ when a Q hit on the river...this has been happening to me with great frequency this month). Everything evens out in the long run though.

Screenwriting. I have not been devoting much time to screenwriting, but that is about to change. I have a new script I’m writing with Chris (our romantic comedy) and Don’s Making a Prophet script which I feel absolutely no confidence in tackling. But I am determined to complete the assignment (even though it’s two years overdue). This is where my 5-minute assignment game can really make a difference, I think. I hope. I need to get that script monkey off my back (the way I was able to get Grandudes off my back).
I’ve done it before, and I’m in a good place to do it now.

A Little of Everything

Tonight I play poker at Craig’s. It’s the second week of a 21-week season. I haven’t cashed at Craig’s in about two months. Overall, my cards have been very cold and it’s really affected my tilt factor. When I lose consistently my confidence plummets. I don’t want to see myself as a hard luck case. I can get lucky, but lately I get sucked out more often than not. At two sng’s over the weekend, I had QQ to an AA and KK. Then I had TT to a KK and JJ. That’s just bad luck. At the same time in a cash game, my AA got cracked to 87 when the idiot hit his straight on the river. All the money went in post-flop. My luck in cash games is very shaky. I do seem to get my money in with the best of it, though.

I’m hitting my poker studies hard this weekend with 12 hours of PokerXFactor videos to review. I may as well watch all of them since I paid for the service. I sure would like to see some kind of return on my poker studies.

Last night, Chris and I began work on our next script, a romantic comedy about a woman who keeps going out with the same guy in hopes that he falls in love with her. She goes out on the same first date with him. Chris came up with the idea and I think it has lots of play. It’s like Groundhog Day, only different. Could have great potential.

Lately, I’ve been very motivated and geared toward work. My To-Do list tricks have been working very well. Lately, I’ve developed this scheme whereas I assign myself 5-minute tasks, 12 of them, and do them. I try and finish before the hour is up. In the meantime, I get an hour’s worth of chores finished. Pretty neat!

I had dinner with Becky last Sunday and afterward she told me she just wanted to be friends. Wow, it’s like a broken record. There must be something very wrong with me because I meet these women who share so many of the same interests I share, yet there’s never any mutual chemistry. How sad. I think I may be single forever. I sure don’t want to be, but I may as well get used to it. My prospects don’t look good and I’m not getting any younger.
At any rate, that’s all for now. No big tournament wins and no one’s calling me up to read my scripts. I’m ready to change that though.

Reading, Medi(p)ocre

I didn’t make the WSOP Main event this year and I’m disappointed, but also doubly determined to make it next year. I feel I have a ways to go to get good at this game. I’m starting to come to the conclusion that I’m really quite average and not nearly as good as I’ve led myself to believe. My reason for thinking this is my recent no limit play at the .25/.50 table. I’ve losing badly at these tables and I’m not sure what to do about it. I feel as though I’m getting out-played. People are pushing back at me and I either can’t make the call or make the call and have a much worse hand. It’s frustrating. Yes, I’ve taken some bad beats as well, and run into some impossible situations, but still, isn’t poker about overcoming these unfortunate situations and still managing a profit? More and more I’m finding myself rooting for luck to temper my losses. That can’t be good poker. I don’t know why, but I really seem to suck on the internet.
I’m reading more these days, trying to read 200 pages every two days if possible. I have so many books at home that I haven’t read. Right now I’m finishing “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man,” Ian McEwan’s “the comfort of strangers,” Jim Cramer’s Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World,” “Good Mood,” and No Limit Theory and Practice, the Concepts section, which I’m writing out in Word. I’m enjoying reading five books at once. I may start doing more of this because it’s simply how I think, how I am.

High Energy, Bad Cards

I get on these incredibly unrealistic kicks that throw my entire schedule out of kilter. I’m toying with the idea of reading all six Harry Potter books in order to be ready for the 7th and final installment July 20 at midnight. That is simply crazy. And yet, why not become part of the most unbelievable publishing event in history. It would be a lot of fun. I would need to read roughly 170 pages a day from now until the 20th. Okay, that’s fine, I could do that, but what about my poker, which I need to crank up and win money on before my credit cards come due in August? And what about my investing, and the other books I have to plow through. It makes more sense to read through those first, and then read the Harry Potter books. The reality is I have projects to finish first before tackling something so ridiculously impractical and time-consuming. Besides, Harry Potter is not really part of my world. I have movies to watch and other books to read. Okay, perhaps another time.
I went out with Becky last night to see Knocked Up. This was our fifth “date” together. I enjoy her company and have been taking things slow with her. She’s a very sweet woman with strong opinions. So far I like her. We’ll see what develops.
I managed to submit an application to the Disney Fellowship last week. I was happy I did that. It took a bit of effort to complete. I now need other contests to submit my work to.
There are weeks when I have tons of energy, and weeks when I have no energy at all. I have a lot of energy this week. I hope it lasts.
Over the weekend, I spent an entire afternoon and evening with Richard. We really hadn’t spent time together in months. I picked up a few books after listening to him talk about them. They are “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” and “Armed Madhouse” by Greg Palast. I’m about 50 pages into “Confessions” right now. Very interesting.
I played about 30 minutes of poker Friday night and lost $50 on very loose play. I lost about $175 playing no limit holdem. I worry that I’m really horrible at this game. When I lose, my confidence goes way down. I seem to be losing a lot and don’t really know what to do. I guess I could tighten up a bit and only play hands in position. Most of the time I get in trouble when I’m out of position with a good starting hand. It’s tough to play out of position, especially on the turn.Turn play needs improvement. I plan to read my Sklanski book tonight and really work on improving my turn play. I’ve watched all the cash game videos at pokerxfactor and now need to practice what Rizen preaches. I wish I were a better player though.

Dating Again

I met a woman named Becky a few weeks ago through the online dating site called Chemistry. I liked her right away. I thought she was warm, pleasant to speak with, and very beautiful. Our first meeting was at a bookstore/café in San Francisco called Crossroads Café. We talked for two hours and seemed to hit it off. We had a lot in common. We both enjoyed books, classical music, writing. I enjoyed my time with her. We agreed to meet again the following week. Our second date was at a Peruvian restaurant in San Francisco called Mochica. Our second date was really terrific. We talked for three-and-a-half hours. The conversation was effortless and easy. I was really smitten that night, and said so to her the next day. Mistake? Maybe, but I can’t help it. If I like someone, I say so. Save the games for the poker table. She travels a lot and wasn’t available to get together until the following week. We met for breakfast in Oakland at one of my favorite breakfast establishments called Lynn & Lu’s. The energy and enthusiasm was noticeably down a few notches. She had flown back to SF from Chicago the night before and looked a bit weary. Her energy picked up during breakfast and she told a few family-related stories. We also talked about personality profiles. Apparently, she’s taken many personality tests for work. She said she was an I and a J, but didn’t know for sure what the others were. I found the information helpful. After breakfast we walked around Grand Ave., and Lakeshore Ave. She made a few work-related calls and answered a few of my silly questions. I couldn’t help but feel some of our second date magic had disappeared. I just sensed it. She wasn’t asking any questions of me and seemed ready to go. We talked back to her car and I asked when I could see her again. And then she told me where things stood. She said she was really busy the next few weeks and didn’t think we could see each other until things settled down a bit. Having heard this many times in life, I knew what she was saying. It was a very nice way of saying she was not interested. I’ve said the same thing myself. What I had perceived to be a match especially after date two was just another misfire. I told her to give me a call if she wanted, and she said she’d email me. We hugged a friend of platonic friend hug, and that was that. Perhaps we weren’t right for each other after all. But I’ll always have the magic of that second date. It really was a great night. And Becky really is a wonderful woman. I hope she means the man of her dreams and lives happily ever after.

Confidence

My attitude toward SNGs online is radically different now that I understand the math behind them. As “Sheets” said, SNGs are not poker. I understand what he’s saying. They’re math problems, especially at the bubble stage. I would need a 58% advantage when calling a push on the bubble in a SNG. I didn’t realize that, but it’s true, so the strategy is to push a lot more than call. Pushing is good, calling is not if you don’t have a hand. That means in many situations folding KQ to an all in is the right play on the bubble. Doesn’t make sense, but it’s true.
I’m learning how much I need to learn in this game, and wondering if I have the abilities to become a good player. Doubt is creeping in. The reality is my long-term stats are pretty average. They’re just not that good it seems. I’ve played about 50k hands online and I’m up only $1,200 or so. That’s just horrible. At some point I have to think my bad ROI has more to do that simply bad luck. It is true that I feel horribly unlucky in poker. That may hurt my overall results. I’m constantly worrying about getting drawn out, sucked out and rivered. I may actually be folding more hands than I should as a result. The tough breaks take their toll on my psyche. I’ve been on edge this week and not very happy. The voices that berate me have come again, and it’s difficult not to engage or succumb to them. I’m very much aware of the importance of attitude in poker. It’s crucial. You have to believe you’re the best at the table and deserve to win. It helps my game a lot when I play with confidence, but for the past couple of weeks my confidence has been shaky at best.
So I guess this is my big poker push, learning the game and becoming the best I can be. If it’s a game of good decision making and taking the math and emotional components of a hand as a whole, I think with experience and practice I will continue to improve. Look what I did with racquetball.

Study

In over a week of study with PokerXFactor, I’ve learned more about poker than I would have thought possible. My head is spinning with all the new knowledge. I’m amazed at the depth and complexity of this “simple” game of Texas hold’em. When I played in Sit-n-Go tourneys, I really had no idea about Independent Chip Modeling or bubble play computations. I knew getting knocked out 4th was not a good thing to do in Sit-n-Gos, but I really didn’t understand the math involved in determining a stack’s effective value relative to the number of chips in the stack and the other stacks. It’s all very interesting. On PokerXFactor.com, the SNG guro is a guy named “Sheets,” who has several lectures on sit-n-go strategy. I’m learning them to improve my game.
I’m amazed how many young 20-something online poker pros there are who are gambling for tens of thousands of dollars. It’s incredible. They’re very good players. I’ve been reading their blogs, which read like testosterone-laden Masters of the Universe describing their various successes and victories in the online battlefield. They buy Bentleys, take trips around the world, and play a hell of a lot of poker each day.
There is a lot of math involved in online poker, and I guess that’s what I’m bringing to my game. A lot of the math. I’m absorbing the material slowly but effectively. One of my favorite online pros is Eric “Rizen” Lynch. He’s a smart player and an accomplished writer. I like his approach to the game. I see him becoming one of the top players in the game before long.
In taking my game to the next level, I see how important it is to practice and analyze my own playing and decision-making. I’m getting better at taking my time when making decisions. I’m also trying to be patient with myself about what to expect in the short term. With two weeks remaining in acquiring my WSOP seat, my chances are certainly increasing, but it’s still going to be a big crapshoot. The game of online poker is much different than it was just one year ago. People know how to play this game. There are no more easy wins. This has been my experience in the month or so that I’ve focused on my game.
Since watching “The Secret” last weekend, I’ve been paying attention to my general attitude and mood, which has not been very good. Being unhappy seems to fallen with my comfort zone. How interesting. I have such a fantastic life, and yet I’m unhappy. Why is this? Perhaps because I am so focused on what I haven’t done, don’t have, can’t achieve, etc. The film rings true...I focus so much on what I don’t have and who I’m not. I’m shifting that energy to focuse on what I DO have and who I am. That’s where my focus on poker comes into play. Poker is an activity that I respond to because I enjoy competition and like making good decisions. I’m also disciplined and patient, and can control my emotions fairly well (though the game certainly tests my patience every now and then). By focusing on the attributes of good poker players, I can become a stronger, healthier person. It’s weird to think a game that carries with it so many negative attributes is actually the perfect way for someone like me to sustain a mentally healthy lifestyle. I’ve certainly never felt more alive than I have this month. It’s as though I’m in college again. The PokerXFactor is fantastic!
My goal is to win a seat at the 2007 WSOP! I want this. I can achieve this. I believe I have the potential to make it happen. Let’s do it!