Inevitable 'Rounders' post

‘Rounders’ was on BBC1 last night. I loved it first time I saw it, but then it was such a novelty. Watching it last night I realised how what a truly lame film it actually is. The characterisation is sketchy, elements of the plot (and some of the poker) ridiculous, the relationship between Mike and his girl completely incomprehensible.

I don’t really see Famke Janssen’s character being so hot for Mike either; she must come into contact with plenty of guys with plenty of folding in their pocket, and Matt Damon isn’t like a physical god. Heavens, some people tell me I look like him, which just confirms that comment.

Anyway, I think it is no surprise that the creators of ‘Rounders’ have now turned out a TV series that is getting so widely panned in the States. It amuses me, for some reason, to see a number of screen names on Party based around some combination of ‘matador’ and ‘tilt’.

I played last night for an hour and a half, and played very well indeed. Many judicious folds, good calls, and well-judged raises. I still lost four bucks though; the killer card never quite dropped for me when I built a nice pot.

I really, probably ought to move up at least a little. I am at the real crappy end of games, and have finally accepted that really I am a bit better than that. Of course, I have no qualms about beating up on rubbish opponents… I would just like to think I would win greater amounts a little higher up the food chain. An ongoing dilemma to mull over.

I am going to the doctor on Monday, as I am getting wrist problems whilst using my mouse at work. And, the bad news of the day, my fucking chips appear to have somehow gone missing from among the small crowd I used to play a regular homegame with. In other words, some areshole has decided to steal them, or at least that is how it appears until somebody says ‘Ohh I had them all along’. I spent quite a bit on those chips, and put trust in these guys to look after them while I was living out of town.

New Hicks biography alert alert

I haven’t been playing much poker over the last few days; only one night in the last three in fact. I am pleased with myself about this, since I haven’t been feeling lively or very awake. I’m dragging myself to work, but am still very tired and weak from this illness I’ve had.

Tuesday night when I did play, I played very well for just one hour. I think I have got a handle on the Party PLO8 games now. It has amused me leafing through the ‘Two Plus Two’ O8 forum, where people seem such… nits, I think is the poker word. They are so concerned with the ‘dollars voluntarily put in the put’ percentage and suchlike, and seem amazed that their databases show that some people playing relatively high numbers of hands are – gasp! - winning. It is almost as if there is more to the game than only playing one hand in eight!

Quit being so fixated on the easily-measurable, auto-rateable stats and try thinking through some of the actual situations you find yourself in, guys.

I guess I will never be a chronic multi-tabler because I do like to extract winnings from situations, rather than play more or less by rote.

Disclaimer: Many, though not all, those 2+2 posts relate to limit O8 rather than pot limit.

So, I bought some vitamin pills the other day as I stagger towards feeling better and looking after myself. I just noticed it says on the label ‘Not to be used as a substitute for a balanced diet’. Well duh, why else would I buy the damn things?

Irritation: All the clocks here are wrong. My phone says 1:13, my PC says 1:19 and its actually 1:11. I guess the trick is to arrive in the morning by my watch, and leave at night by the PC clock.

Visited ‘Borders’ at lunch, and discovered a new Bill Hicks biography has just been published. Had to buy it.

Movies movies movies

Still feeling absolutely lousy. I've not touched poker today, and it has been a rare pleasure to curl up and watch a DVD.

I watched 'Back to the Future 2' and almost all the extras. What a great film! I recall being disappointed when it first came out, but I can't imagine why as it is packed with so much invention and wit and clever design. The way it weaves around scenes from the original movie is quite breathtaking. A worthy sequel to a true classic.

Tomorrow night a film called 'Wonder Boys' is on TV. Its a movie with some emotional significance for me, as I watched it on video with the woman with whom I had an affair three or four years ago. We watched it naked, with champagne, cigarettes, dope - and strawberries which found their way into some interesting places. It was a very special night, though of course the memory is soured somewhat by the deceit that underpinned it and the pain that came later.

Anyway, for one reason or another I can't recall too much of the movie after the first half hour, so I will probably give it a watch.

Man flu

I'm not well, which has not been well-timed as its the four-day Easter weekend. Boo hoo.

England beat Northern Ireland 4-0 today in World Cup Qualifying. Poor opposition, but a very impressive performance. England are in the fortunate position of having players in many positions who are pretty much as good as anyone in the world. It remains to be seen whether cautious coach Eriksson will balls it up again by going defensive when it counts, in Germany next year.

So, I have now got Pokertracker's Beta version for Omaha. I only just downloaded it and imported my hand histories, so now I am trying to make sense of it all. The things that jump right out are:

- I have lost money on the button and won the same amount from the big blind. A bizarre stat, but I am only on a thousand hands. I've lost more in the cut-off.

- It is fascinating to see the split of winners and losers. Two losers for every winner.

- It is nice to see my rake totalled up for me, given the rakeback deal I have.

Overall, I haven't done nearly as well as I would like in this first week at Party. I think the biggest factor has been the lack of 6-max games. I caught myself during a losing session the other day playing as if it were 6-max, because I am so used to that. Sessions at my old site of 6-max have reminded me that I do prefer that type of game. Still, it is great to have options, two different sites with different strengths and weaknesses. I like to think that I am quite good at adjusting to different games and conditions, so I better prove it.

That is all I have time or energy for right now. I'd love to write more, or play more, but I really don't feel well.

PS Met my ex on Tuesday night, which was nice. Seems like I miss her more than she misses me, which is fine.