Obama and the Series So Far

I've got a little admission to make. Even after 3 years of law school, I'm not very political at all. I've never even voted. It's hard to get me too excited over the presidential races especially. In my opinion, the president has very little power to affect meaningful long-term change. And usually they're not really trying to do much. It's like the Who sang... "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss."

But this year seems kind of different to me. Obama has clinched the democratic nomination (I've pretty much lost a bet I made with Gavin Smith when Clinton was way ahead on intrade). I'm pretty happy about it. This is the first time I think we're in a position to actually see some meaningful change as the result of an election.

I'll get real with you... I don't think Obama would really change the US that much. After his term would be over, the US will probably be pretty identical to how it is now. If there are big changes, it's more to the credit or fault of the senate and house. But there is one thing that will change if Obama is elected. Twenty years from now when some black kid is being taught in school that he can do anything with his life, they'll point at Obama and the kid will believe them. It would also be a very big step and perhaps one of the final steps towards racial equality here in our country. I like McCain just fine... but I want to see our country have a black president. It's that simple.

Joey and I have been talking about what we can do to help see Obama elected. I registered to vote. I donated a bit to the campaign (also donated to Ron Paul... would have been really cool to see an Independent have a shot at the office). I went online and ordered three Obama tshirts, and have been wearing them around town and to some of the WSOP events.

But today we did something really cool. A bit ago, Joey wrote a song about Obama and today we did a little demo with Joey on acoustic and vocals, my buddy Danny on lead guitar, me on keyboard, and Joey's girlfriend Sara on drums. It's a little rough, but it doesn't sound half bad really. Joey wants to do a cleaner more professional version... I want to mix in an Obama speech over the beat somewhere... and we're thinking of a video on Youtube. But it is what it is... we have a demo of the song. Click on the picture to download, listen, spread.



The series hasn't been going well. Have played an event almost every day and still haven't even cashed. But I feel like I'm playing well and things are going to change. I've never had a down series since I've started coming out here to Vegas every sweltering summer. We can cash. Yes we can.

Poker - WSOP 2008 - 啤牌

I'm gearing up for the WSOP... super stoked. Starts this upcoming week. I'm planning on playing everyday and I'll try to update the blog as best as I can. For those of you who want more up-to-the-minute updates, I have a Twitter account. If you haven't checked it out, basically it lets you write mini-blogs by sending a text message to a number. It's the future of the blog, man. You heard it here first.

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我准备好2008年" Poker"联赛;。 我是非常激动的。 它开始这个星期。 我在使用计划每天，并且我将设法更新博客，最好我能。如果您想要更新，我有一个慌张帐户。 如果您避风港没拜访的慌张公司的域名，您通过寄发正文消息基本上写博客到数字。 它是博客的未来。您首先听见了它这里。

---- 荷兰 Boyd ----


我准备好2008年" Poker"联赛;。 我是非常激動的。 它开始這個星期。 我在使用計劃每天，并且我將设法更新博克，最好我能。如果您想要更新，我有一個慌張帳戶。 如果您避風港沒拜访的慌張公司的域名，您通过寄发正文消息基本上寫博克到數字。 它是博克的未來。您首先聽見了它這裡。

---- 荷蘭 Boyd ----

Suggest a better translation. Email dutchboyd (at) tmail.com.

Welcome Home Dutch

My trip back home to Columbia has been a real pain in the ass. Me and my buddy Tepen got into a fight on my first night back... well, it wasn't so much a fight as a beatdown. Some dude at this bar called Sky High decided it'd be a good idea to snag my doorag from my head... while I was sitting in the passengers seat with the window down driving away. I got out and he started dancing around like a butterfly boxer. I kinda gave him this weird WTF look. Then Tepen got out of the car and the guy started throwing punches at Tepen (who hadn't even said a word to the guy).


I snagged my doorag from the parking lot where he threw it and then looked back to see Tepen taking way the worst of the fight. He didn't even get a punch in, which surprised me because he's been in a lot of fights. To his credit, he was pretty drunk at the time. The dude swinging punches had a bunch of friends with him, so I decided it would be a better idea to just get into the car and scoop Tepen and drive away. So I jumped into the driver's seat and yelled at Tepen to hop in. But he was pretty stunned and his face was all bloody, and he just kinda stood there in a daze. So then this dude tries to come in from the passenger's side to shake my hand I guess... I wasn't having it. So I popped that bitch in reverse and clipped him with the open door. Problem was one of his buddies' SUV was parked right behind me and I creamed it pretty good. The dude and all of his friends except the guy with the SUV took off in a hurry when they heard the crunch.

My first instinct was to take off too, so I yelled at Tepen to get into the car. But then I looked behind me and saw the damage to the SUV and saw the dude's friend on the phone... figured he was calling the police and that I'd end up in deep trouble if I left the scene. So Tepen and I waited a couple minutes and two cops came out to sort the mess out. They told me that we could file charges against the dude, but that it would fall under misdemeanor assault and the only thing that would happen to him is he'd get a little ticket. (Which is complete bs, btw... there is a big distinction between assault and battery. Assault is if you scare someone... battery is when you actually hit them... so it should fall under some sort of battery law. Figure the cops just didn't want to deal with it...) So anyway, we told the story and swapped insurance info with the dude's friend. The really bad beat was that Tepen, since he's had so many DUIs and accidents, only has liability only. The repairs to his Cadillac would have to come out of my pocket. We took it into a shop the next day and got an appraisal... $3800 to fix the thing. I looked up the bluebook value of the car and it was only $3150. So I told Tepen he was out of luck and that I wasn't about to spend 4k to fix a 3k car. He got all bent out of shape. Then I asked him how much he bought the car for... 3k. From a used car dealer in Bowling Green. Anyway, I offered to give him my Sebring which bluebooked at over 4k and 5 hundo. Thought that would be a good result, since it'd give him a good car and put some money in his pocket (which he really needs right now). He turned it down, and instead made me give him the bluebook value in cash and then he spent it to fix the car. I guess the $3800 estimate he had was to also fix the dent in the door from where I clipped the dude. And the true cost to get it running again was more like 3k.

Anyway, what a pain... the trip back home got even worse.

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So a couple days go by... I had packed in a hurry leaving from Vegas and had accidentally left my BiPo meds back in my room. So I was off the pills for a couple of days. Started acting a little loopy and gave off some of the early warning signs of a manic episode :

- Sighing a lot;
- Excessive spending; and
- Magical thinking.

So I told my brother that I saw a weird pattern in a domain name spreadsheet for domains being sold in the upcoming T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference in Orlando this week and that I thought someone was trying to use the zone files and the registries to send anonymous messages. He told my mom. She came over and told me that I had to go to the monkey house. I told her no way. I knew I wasn't far enough along for anybody to force me to go... you pretty much have to be a danger to yourself or others for them to forcefully hold you. And I wasn't anywhere near psycho-manic... just a little past hypo-manic. But she was so worried... so I told her that we could go the next day and I'd voluntarily admit myself for a few days while they got me back on the meds.


The Mid-Mo nut barn is a really lame place. They don't let you smoke. The food really sucks. They won't let you bring in most of your stuff (like my acoustic guitar). They wouldn't even let me outside for FAB (fresh air break). Everyone is crazy in there and a lot of them are on AP (assault precaution). I've been getting good at doing my time in places like that... I've learned the tricks to avoid getting beat-up in the bathroom and the tricks to avoid getting put into seclusion or put into restraints (the worst feeling in the world, imho). So the time went by quick. They gave me some new prescriptions and I'm now trying this med called Risperdal Consta, which is a really good drug that you can take as a shot so you don't have to worry about taking pills every day. I was in for less than 48 hours... which really really sucked and it felt like a week. But I got out and am back to my normal < hypo-manic self.

But the whole episode made me miss the New Orleans circuit events, which sucked. I was really planning on making some marks out there. I've got some POY prop bets and really need to get my shit in order so I don't lose too much. Every tournament matters and the difference of a few dozen points could potentially mean a lot of money one way or the other.

Another rub was that they fed me really fattening food for those two days. I made a prop bet about a month ago with Cantu and I need to get down to 182 lbs by the first day of the main event of the WSOP. I can't afford to lose. I've been doing pretty good and still have plenty of time to shave off the pounds. I'm confident that I'll do it. I was at 235 in December and 217 when we made the bet in April. So that's a 53 pound swing. If I can pull it off I'll probably write a little weight-loss book called "The Degenerate Gamblers Guide to Losing Weight Fast". Look for it at a retailer near you soon! ;)

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So here's another bad thing that happened. My next-door neighbor found this really cool turtle. He had the coolest markings on him. She didn't know what she was going to do with him and when she showed him off to us she asked if I wanted him (or her?)... "Hell YEAH I want a turtle!" So she gave him to me. I named him Herbie. I put him in this cardboard box and went to go get an aquarium for him at Wal*Mart. I decided I'd get him a friend too... a Betta fish that I named Vonnegut. I also got some silverdust plants to spruce up his home. When I got back, Herbie had escaped from the cardboard box. I spent an hour looking for him... figured the search radius had to be small. It's a turtle after all.. they move slooooow. But that little guy is crafty and he pulled a Houdini. Now it's just me and Vonnegut. I miss Herbie. At least I didn't have him long enough to get too attached.

Name.Pros

As some of you might know, I've been doing a little domain speculating since college back in the 90s. Somewhere I saw a quote from Bill Gates saying something about how domain names were the fastest growing commodity in the history of the human race. That got my attention.

So I registered PokerSpot.com, PokerSpot.net, and PokerSpot.org. I didn't know what I was going to do with them. It turned out that the whole business model got a little screwed up, but no use crying over spilled milk. I registered some more domain names and walked away to focus on getting better at poker.

Now I am slowly making my way back into the domain name industry. It's an exciting industry that reminds me a lot of the early days of the online poker industry. Except there is vastly more money in the .name sector than in the .poker sector. A bunch of cowboys running around making gobs and gobs of money that they know will soon run out. Professional domain name analysts that hedge millions in .property commodities arbitrages. Cons that try to hijack the names. Pros and cons in everything.

Most of my life, I've always felt like I was a big fish in a little pond. That was until I played the WSOP main event for the first time. If you can make it in poker, you can make it in anything. I truly believe that. And trust me girls and guys... there is a lot more money behind that rake box than there is on our side of the table.

Adapt!
-DB
-NP

ps - I'm selling DollarPoker.com as my first premium domain name sale. I am offering an appraisal contest at NamePros.com.

Random Ramblings

So for those who haven't been keeping up with the news in poker, latest thing you might be interested in is that Harrahs and ESPN are changing the format of the $10k main event. This year they'll be trying something completely untested... they'll be playing down to the final table and then delaying the final table for three months, at which point it will be played out from where it stopped on live TV.

When I first heard about this, I thought it was just a rumor... a lot of those fly around about changing the buyin or changing the structure or what not. But credible sources (e.g. Daniel Negreanu) have been talking about it like it's fact, so I'm assuming it is until I hear otherwise.

I hated it. But then I started thinking about it. For three months, those nine finalists are going to be rockstars. They could potentially be more famous than Survivors or American Idols. They'll be able to tour, get on talk shows, hell... they could write a book and promote it by the time the final table goes. It's going to be one hell of a circus in 2009 if it plays out like I think it could. And best of all for the players, it gives every finalist three months to shop around for logo deals... which could potentially attract corporate sponsorship at a level that we've never seen.

I'm really hoping that this year will usher poker into another upswing. If you've looked at poker trends in the last 10 years, it's pretty much gone like that. One thing happens that triggers a big upswing... then a general decline until the next big thing. First it was Rounders. Then it was online poker. Then it was WPT and holecard cams. Then it was 2003 and Moneymaker and ESPN. Since then there really hasn't been anything new that's cause an upswing like those four triggers. This might be that next thing.

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The Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) is going on in Costa Rica this month. I really wanted to head out there with Devo and Cantu, but my passport expired earlier this year and I haven't gone to get one. I know that's a sorry excuse... my friend Lexy told me that you could pay like a hundred dollars to get a passport within 24 hours. Is that true?

I think poker is going to start expanding globally at rates we're not really expecting. The money is drying up in the American and European markets, and the online giants are going to be expanding where they have the least resistance. But this time they are coming in with super deep pockets. I'm expecting the LAPT to do big things.

I've decided I'm going to translate my blog into Spanish. If anybody out there has done translation work like that and wants to make a few bucks, hit me up.

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Here's an interesting ebay auction.




Scott Neuman

Been awhile... good to see you.

I know I haven't blogged in a long time. Almost a year. I'm going to give it another shot when the series comes around, which is happening pretty quick. The first event is May 30th. Between now and then I'm going to try and revamp my site and write a lot of interesting posts that will hopefully entertain and help your game. Please stay tuned. In the meantime.... sit back, relax, and listen to my playlist. And while you're at it, leave a comment and let me know you still check up on this little blog every once in awhile.

The Series So Far

It's kind of a circus at the Rio. There are so many people playing every event and the registration lines are hours. People are waiting hours and then giving their chips away.

I got into Vegas at 9:30am on Wednesday morning. I couldn't check into my hotel room until later, so I headed over to the Rio and decided to play a little nooner tournament. I got fourth. All day I was tangling with one of the house dealers and I spotted a little tell. It finally got four-handed and there was this spot where I could have used it, but didn't pull the trigger. We were the middle stacks and he raised all-in for a little more than I had. The blinds were huge at this point... like 20% of our stacks. I look down and see K9o. Normally, it would be a fold... but there was something that told me he was on a complete steal. I folded anyway, figuring that at best I was 2:1 and I'd be better off just shoving against his blind. I asked him to show a bluff, and he turned over 54o. I'd really regret not calling that bet when two hands later I shoved with KJo and he called with AQ. No help. I picked up a few hundred dollars for my trouble.

The first WSOP tournament I played was the $5k Mixed Limit and No Limit event. It was a new structure where we'd play half an hour at no-limit, then half an hour at limit. My first table had John Friedberg, Neverwin, and Doug Lee... with Todd Brunson getting moved to the table pretty early. I had to work just to stay even and never really got a good start. Then I got moved, which can be the kiss of death in a tournament. My new table was no better... Jeff Madsen, Josh Arieh, Freddy Deeb, and Sam Grizzle. But there were worse spots. A few tables over, Johnny Chan, Phil Ivey, and Daniel negreanu were right next to each other.

I continued to struggle to stay about even, then the following hand came up in the limit round that I should have been able to get away from. I had KQs from early position and brought it in for a raise. Mistake #1. Should have just folded to begin with. Freddy Deeb in the SB re-raised. I called. The flop came out K95. He fires out. I call. Turn comes a J. He fires out again. Now there aren't too many hands I can put him on that I can beat, except a pure bluff with something like AQ or 67s. But I decide to look him up. Mistake #2. The river came another J. He fired in again. I called again. He turns up AK and I'm pretty short-stacked.

Then the NL round came around and I made an open push with ATo. Freddy Deeb called in the BB with 88s. The flop came out with a ten and an eight. Ouch. Turn was an eight, river was another ten... so I ended up making tens full versus quads. But that is kind of a sidenote, since the money went all-in preflop. So that was it... my end of the first tournament at the WSOP.

The next day was the $1500 NL event. It started an hour late because of all the people trying to get in. Early on I got a pretty nice chip lead at my table with 6000 by sucking out. I raised with 87s and the SB called with 55. The flop came 875 and we got it all-in. The turn came a 7 and I was saved from an early exit.

The same player worked up his small stack back to about the 3000 we started with and then got his revenge. With the blinds 50-100, I raised to 300 with KK from second position. A player calls and the kid from before makes it 1100. I reraise all-in. The guy in the middle folds and the kid thinks for a second before declaring that he's caught and calls his last 1900 off with Q7s. The flop was Q72. So then I'm back down to where I started. I hung around for awhile longer, then with the blinds 100-200 I raised for 600 with A8s, got called with QJo, and got it all-in on the flop with two hearts and a Jack flopped.

Today I play another mixed tournament... this time Omaha/8 and Stud/8. I have to buckle down and not make any mistakes. I think it's a real leak to be a smoker. I start to really crave nicotine about an hour into the two hour sessions between breaks. I've got to focus today... take my time and not give any bets away. Every bet counts in a tournament.