Goodbye Macau

Any thoughts I had entertained of playing in high-limit Macau cash games were quickly laid to rest today with the continuing plunge of the Chinese stock market.

Several months ago I invested my bankroll in some speculative Shanghai high-fliers, but committed the cardinal sin of being over-leveraged. So not only am I busto (once again), but am facing margin calls to the tune of several 2/5 buy-ins.

I have spent the last 6 hours lying prostrate in front of the Buddha statue at the Aria, praying fervently for the speedy recovery of the Shanghai Composite Index.

Vignette V

2nd chance for tournament poker?

I have religiously avoided poker tournaments in favor of cash games for over 10 years now, thanks to a traumatic experience which I refer to here.

Truth be told, there has been no shortage of sporadic pain at the cash tables as well, so maybe it is time to re-evaluate my tourney embargo.

The only tournament books I have in my library are the outdated "Harrington on Hold'em (Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments, Volumes I and II)", and Sklansky's "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players". I am therefore looking to add some more recent literature, and to this end am considering "Kill Everyone". "Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time" (3 volumes) has good reviews, but I am more interested in live tourneys rather than online.

Is "Kill Everyone" worth the read, and does anyone have other recommendations?

Risitas reacts to the 2015 WSOP November 9

2+2 poster JoeDiego has made a great video about this year's November 9 :

Thick as a Brick?

Bellagio 2/5. I get it all-in heads-up pre-flop with KK, run into AA, and lose my stack. I'm quite used to this type of cooler, but still find the need to profer my usual polite, but sarcastic, "Thank you, dealer" to Kim from Hawaii.

Without missing a beat, she replies "You're welcome." Now either she's one dumb lady, or a very rude one.

Poker book

I've just ordered another book to add to my collection :

"Final Table Play" by Mark Newhouse.

Vignette IV

Vignette III

Why I stick to cash games

All is forgiven

I am pleased to report that I am no longer persona non grata at MGM. After heavy, nationwide behind-the-scenes lobbying by the National Coalition for the Homeless, MGM finally succumbed and revoked its ban. In addition, I will be paid full restitution in the sum of $200. The latter amount does not include any compensation for my tarnished reputation which, to be fair, was already tarnished long before the incident.

I would like to thank Pete P. Peters for his generous offer of legal representation, and to the others who offered moral support.

Banned from all MGM properties

I've been banned from all MGM properties due to an incident at the Aria the other night. I was all-in pre-flop for $202 with 77 against a bigger stack's KK. Before the board was dealt, I asked my opponent if I could keep 2 chips for the valet should I lose, to which he agreed. Then, with everyone concentrating on the cards in the middle of the table, I quickly pocketed the 2 red stacks of $100 each and substituted them with 2 black chips.

The kings held up, I pushed the 2 $1 chips towards my opponent, but withheld the 2 black chips, saying that we agreed that these were for the valet. Needless to say, all hell broke loose, the floor was called and didn't buy my argument that we never specified the denomination of the 2 chips that I could keep. Also, it didn't help matters that I don't own a car.

I shall be taking this up with the Nevada Gaming Commission as soon as I can find suitable pro bono legal representation.

Vignette II

Bellagio 2/5

Once again the conversation at my table had dried up. There were long, uncomfortable bouts of silence and it was time for my schtick :

Me : My missus kicked me out after she caught me measuring my cock.

Dealer : Really?

Me : It just reaches the back of her sister’s throat!

Bummer

Unfortunately I won't be able to play in the $500,000 buy-in Aria Super High Roller Bowl on July 2, as it clashes with my porn slapper job interview. To say I'm peeved would be an understatement.

Vignette

From a Twitter exchange today :

Dealer's choice

I've often wondered what dealers really think about poker players. I just started following @MeanPokerDealer on Twitter, and present a sample of some of his tweets for your enjoyment :

Top 10 Bestselling Poker Books of 2014

Following is an infographic showing the top 10 bestselling poker books of 2014, according to Amazon, which I found here. You may recognize or have read some of them. Interesting, but not surprising, to see Sklansky's 27-year-old classic topping the list.

Happy 10th Birthday

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of this blog. I started this little adventure thanks to the prodding of the late Bob Lassiter, a friend from a past life.

The deck was stacked against my reaching 1 year, let alone 10. I've never owned a computer or had internet access, and have relied on the good graces of the Clark County public library system. It was no easy feat playing a 6-hour session of $0.05-$0.10 NLHE in the halcyon days of pre-UIGEA online poker, when the time limit per user was a ½ hour. I wish to thank all the shushing librarians who turned a blind eye to my frequent loud and obscene outbursts which inevitably accompanied a bad beat or felting.

Las Vegas is not an employment friendly city, especially if one has no connections. As you know by now, I have been struggling on this front for many years, and hopefully the New Year will see a turnaround.

I wish to express gratitude to my fellow bloggers for their support and encouragement, and to my faithful readers for having to put up with my constant tribulations.

Here's to poetic license and the next 10 years!

Job search update

The past week was devoted to some serious job hunting. I participated in no less than 14 interviews, justifying my rental of a cheap suit. Out of the 14, 3 expressed minimal interest, 9 showed complete disinterest, while 2 tore up my handwritten resume even before I had left the room.

I would get my resume prepared and typed by a professional, but there is a limit to what can be crafted with my checkered work history. And next time I'll rent a decent pair of shoes as well, rather than relying on the suit pants to cover up my worn out sandals.

Take me back

I have no recollection of what happened these past 10 weeks, only what I see posted in my blog, allegedly by me. The aliens must have wiped my mind clean just before depositing me back.

Once again, I'm pounding the pavement looking for work. The bastards at Panda Express did not believe my story and fired me promptly upon my return. Real pity, because my promotion prospects there were looking extremely promising.

Meanwhile last night, in an act of desperation, I returned to the very same spot where I was abducted, hoping I might get snatched away again.