Monthly Archives: March 2004

Google on my Mind: A recent article in Newsweek about Google has gotten me thinking. It has substantially changed my life. I cannot count how many times someone asked me a question on the phone and I immediately answered their arcane query because I searched Google. I get kudos for being smart, but I store more and more of my knowledge online, accessible through some well placed quotes, hyphens and other boolean artifacts. My site gets lots of referrals from Google, and I know that many sites depend on traffic from them for their very existence. Granted, I could care less if I am well indexed (even though I am #1 and darn proud of it), and in some cases I would rather NOT be available. But these are the risks we take when we blog under our own, rather unique, name. One final point; Anyone who knows me knows that if you ask me to go rollerblading I will slap you silly. Inline skating is fine. A brand is not a verb, and such colloquilaisms dilute the brand to the point that it becomes public domain. Just ask the makers of yo-yos, aspirin, escalators, and cellophane. So you do not “Google” me. There is no googling. You search me or query me. Get it right or patent lawyers shall descend upon you like a pack of hungry vultures. But if you searched me and got here from Google, welcome to my site. I hope you enjoy my banal ramblings. I have a feeling there are a few interested parties who will be “querying” me in the near future.

I am back at work and have a huge load of things to get done, so I will keep this brief. Yes, I went out on the first day. I was probably the 40th out of 270 on the first day due to poor cards and a few poor plays. Here is the view from my seat:

Intimidating, no? I will try to get more posted before too long, but I have a lot of work to do.

Party Poker! This may not make much sense to you non-poker folks…

Well, it looks like I will not be coming back a millionaire. Here is how my day went in the Party Poker Million:

First, I was seated at a table with Chris “Jesus” Ferguson directly on my left. I also had Dan Supa(?) in the 10 seat. Dan was at the final table last year if you recall. I lasted until the fourth level, 200/400 limit. I saw exactly 7 pocket pairs:

44: Flopped a set and crushed Dan Supa’s KK.

99: Folded on the flop

99: Folded on the flop

99: Folded on the flop

99: Paid off the nut flush

99: Won on a 10 high board

99: Folded on the flop

I think we have discovered the new “Ammbo!” Just call me “pocket nines.” There were an awful lot of overcards on each flop that I folded.

Other notable hands:

Hand 1: All fold to the SB. I am in the BB with QcJc. SB raises, I call, assuming a blind steal. The flop comes Jack high. He bets, I raise, he reraises. Hmm… I called him down only to see his AJ. This was right before the first break and put me in a bad way.

Hand 2: Second position raises from the other side of Chris Ferguson. He is a wild player who has raised with JT, 55, and a variety of other hands. I am on the BB with Qh9h. I decide to call (UGH!). We check on the flop, the turn is a queen. He bets I raise, he calls. He shows down QsTs. Ugh again.

I am UTG with only enough to post my blinds. Desperation time. I see AK and raise all in. BB calls with Q4 off. I survive my blinds. Next time around the table, I am on the SB with AK and raise all in. MP has QQ and I get no help.

All in all it has been a blast so far. I met (or saw) Andy Bloch, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Gus Hansen, Eric Seidel, Men Nguyen, TJ Cloutier, Maureen Fedunaik, Humberto Brenes, and a bunch of other pros. I have made more than $100 in the 4/8 sidegames, too.

This one goes on my resume… I BEAT PHIL HELLMUTH! He was the second person eliminated!

Matthew is playing in the second group, today. Last I saw he is up a little bit, playing tighter than I did in the early rounds.

More to come!

Leaving… On a Jet Plane… Tomorrow morning I am off to seek my fortunes on the high seas. I will be playing in the World Poker Tour’s Party Poker Million III (I hate sites that resize your browser) for my shot at a ton of money. I hope to turn my $25 lark into a $1 million windfall. Wish me luck, and I will be posting updates here from the ship!

Application Well, I have oficially submitted my application to the MBA Program at the Johnson School of Business at Cornell University. All I can do now is wait. It is my assumption that I will be Googled by admissions representatives at the Johnson School, and since this site is unavoidable when searching my name on almost any search engine, I welcome you to my personal site. Feel free to browse around and learn more about me. Just bear in mind that this is a personal site and does not necessarily reflect upon my professional capabilities. I guess this is the point at which I should give myself a perfunctory plug: I am a straight-shooter with upper management potential. A born decision maker who exhibits strong leadership qualities in high-pressure situations. Should I mention when I am available for the interview or would that be too assumptive? OK, enough of the shameless self-promotion. I will let my frequent commenters extol my virtues. *ahem* That is your cue, guys!

Money Matters All kinds of transactions this weekend. We bought a new camcorder, the Sony DCR-HC30:

I have no idea why it is pictured with a shaving brush. I also got a speeding ticket near Ithaca. I have no idea how much it is, but i was doing 65 in a 55. Doggone cops. So those two things account for the flow of money away from me. How about the flow of money to me, you might be asking. Well, I played some poker online this weekend. I won nearly $1000 in one tournament and another 300 in another. So I think I am ahead for the weekend. Hooray for me! I am getting really nervous for the cruise this weekend. I just hope that passes as soon as I sit down. I will keep this thing updated as I play. You will be the first to know if I win the million!

If you were a tree… My first interview. One of the poker books I am studying led me to the site of Matthew Hilger, InternetTexasHoldem.com. His book is quite possibly the best poker book I own, and I own a lot of them. I have become a frequent poster in the forum on his site, and I recently got my very own Forum Member Spotlight! Go me! Incidentally, Matthew will be on the Party Poker cruise with me, so I hope to play him at the final table for a million dollars. Or I can be first out and watch him win. Either way I shall have fun! Incidentally, if you want to play poker online, sign up through his site for whichever site you want. You will get a free copy of his book, worth its weight in poker chips!

Lost in Transportation: I had a very interesting experience last night. My brother (the infamous Noble from the comments postings) was to fly into the city last night. Rather than come into Laguardia or JFK, he caught a last minute flight into Islip on Long Island. This is about an hour plus from the city by train. No problem. I went out there to pick him up from his 10:30 flight. Unfortunately, someone *ahem* told me that I should get off the train at the Islip station, after I read that I should get off at Ronkonkoma. I trusted this unnamed person and got off of the train at the Islip station. No airport. I asked a guy and he said I had f***ed up and I was f***ed because I had made a big f***ing mistake. No joke, it was every other word. However, he said to come along and he gave me a ride from Islip to the airport, about 15 minutes away. Upon arriving at the airport, the fog was so thick that nothing could land. I waited for a half hour before they confirmed that Noble’s plane had been sent back to Chicago. Well, Tom (my ride) had heard an announcement that planes were diverted so he parked and came in to check on me. I think he was operating under the assumption that I was mildly retarded or completely clueless. He offered me a ride back to the station. There was no train at the Ronkonkoma or Islip stations until 2 in the morning, so he drove me an additional 10 miles out of his way to the Babylon station, pointing out all the best strip clubs and dive bars along the way and relating a bawdy story about each. I insisted that he at least let me buy him some food or give him some beer money (which seemed to be a hot-button for him). He finally agreed to a big mac. All said and done, Tom offered me well over an hour and a half of his time shuttling me around Long Island while Noble circled overhead and then went back to Chicago. I must say, this is one of the biggest gestures anyone has ever done for me, and he had zero ulterior motives, something I was concerned about at first. So the next time you see a grubby looking contractor guy with a heavy jersey accent who proclaims that he has his f***ing license suspended, tell him thanks for me. He is one of the finest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Noble will be in sometime today, by the way.

Robb insists, I post. It has really become rather robotic. You guys clamor for an update to fill your mundane lives, I comply with the details of my mundane life, and we share in our… mundanity(?). I figured two very thoughtful posts would hold you guys for a while. I guess not. Christine was down this weekend. We went to the Intrepid Museum and looked at warplanes. I got to see a real live A-12 Blackbird! I then continued my downward spiral into sickness and could barely talk by Monday. And you thought the story would end nicely! I just got a new camera phone, too… the Sony Ericsson T610. I finally outgrew Nokia! I love having a camera phone in New York. Why? This is why:

So that when the very drunk bum on the train next to you falls asleep on your shoulder you can take a picture of him to amuse the lady and her daughter who are laughing at you. And I amuse myself, of course. And it was funny. Happy, Robb?
And for Jared and all of the other folks, poker has been a little bit over break even this week. Rather frustrating when that happens. I have begun looking over Mike Caro’s Video Tells to improve my live game. I used some of this in a tournament I played for practice on Monday and finished fifth. I may be obsessing too much, but this tournament is dominating my conciousness for the time being.