Just Don't Make Me Walk Up Any Stairs
Well I'm having an excellent start to my vacation. Yesterday a friend got free tickets to a comedy show at the Improv at Zona Rosa and invited us to join her. So we suddenly had spontanteous Friday night plans. We found a fourth, had a nice dinner, and enjoyed the comedy of Christian Finnegan. You may know him from VH1's Best Week Ever. Ask me about the "spank bank" sometime.
It meant a short night's sleep, but that didn't stop me from getting up this morning and joining the century club. I joined the Johnson County Bicycle Club for the Lone Star Century--my first 100 mile ride. I found some excellent people to ride with who mostly pulled me--I tried to take my turns as I could--to a very fast pace. We rode from southern Olathe to the Lone Star Lake south of Lawrence and back. Burgers for lunch at the turnaround. The only real negative is that I didn't eat anything at our last SAG (Support And Gear) stop and bonked during the last 10 miles. Luckily I had a granola bar in my pocket and was able to make it in.
I've been resting for a couple of hours now and will soon be leaving for a night of poker at the Sturginator's. So far a most enjoyable weekend.
posted by Degolar @ 5:22 PM
11 Comments:
So did anything unexpected happen after I left?
Did anything unexpected happen while you were there?
No, other than the fact that I was the 6th (out of 8)to lose my $20. The Sturgeonator's brother was way to good. Unless something wierd happened he made out with around $250.
Yep. He ended up taking all the chips. He was a generous winner, though, giving $20 back to the second place player and $5 to everyone who stuck around to witness his victory.
You got second place right? That guy was way too experienced for that group. He was obviously a much better player and he wasn't about to play a friendly game, he was aggressive from the start.
I'm not pleased with my performance at that game. That guy was way too good. It makes me suspect collusion on the part of him and the other guy. I suspected it then, but, of course, can't prove it.
And I'm not saying that because I'm a sore loser, but because Chris, Matt, and I have all played against harder opponents.
My conclusion:
I don't think that there was any collusion. I met Mike's cousin before the game and he seemed alright.
Here is what I think happened: Mike's extremely experienced brother played us all for fools. During the game I thought he was just a pretty good player who made some good moves and got lucky. Once I got home I began to think about some of the things he did throughout the night and I really think he had complete control of the entire game. He made it seem like he was an average player but in reality he was just taking us like a bunch of suckers.
Because of where Scott and Matt were sitting I don't think Mike's cousin or brother would have been able to do anything without one of them noticing something definate. What could they have really done to give Mike's brother such an advantage short of sharing cards? And even that wouldn't have given him such an overwhelming advantage. I think everyone just played into his hands.
Here's my understanding of Mike's brother's poker playing experience: He does not, like he said, play in bars every once and awhile. Mike has said in the past that his brother plays frequently in tournaments and tons online and usually places in the top few.
Yeah, it's hard to say just based on one night when I wasn't even paying that much attention, but he was steadily the best all night long. I lost bunches to him early and ended up as the short stack, but started being more cautious and was able to stick around until the end. But I don't know that I ever got any of my money back from him. For example, I complained all night that he always raised when he was one of the blinds so that no one got a cheap flop, but that's actually a good strategy on his part. We'll have to try playing again with them sometime to see if it's the same result.
I'd love to play again but not with him. I'm pretty sure the result would be the same.
Hadrian suggested that we should get a group together with me, you, Scott, Hadrian, David, and another person or two.
I'd be fine with another poker outing. I talked to another guy who was there, and he felt a little suspicious too. One guy doesn't just win all night long. I thought I saw some strange deck things going on when the brother was shuffling, but I overlooked it.
For another to confirm this just stinks. I won't be playing over there again.
Fool me once..
Interesting. Yeah, whether or not anything funny was going on I won't be playing with the brother again. I have to admit that his early play did seem a bit funky, but I thought it was more experienced aggression than anything else. It just didn't feel like a "friendly" game.
Post a Comment
<< Home