Saturday, January 29, 2005

Poker Entry No. 7

January 28, 2005
Players: 8 (However, I showed up late and at least three others had gone out already.)
Entry Fee: $10
Rebuys: 0
Place: 5
Winnings: $0

We played at Clint Hyslop's house. I arrived late and sat down with my first and last buy in for $25,000. In seven hands, I had $84,000. Some of this was luck, some was good betting on my part. The only hand I regret was the hand I went out on. I have thought about it since and am trying to decide if what I did was correct. I don't think it was but let's go over it.
First mistake: I had A-9 suited on the button and raised pre-flop. Clint H. re-raised me another $4,000. He likes to re-raise with some goofy hands, so I called. The flop was 10-9-4. No spades. He checked and I bet $20,000. He raised $20,000 and I called quicker than I ever have. Should this have set any bells off in my head? Probably, but let's move on. The turn was an Ace. This was one of the worst possible cards that could fall for me, only because of what he held. He immediately bet all in, which was $37,000. I had $34,000. I called pretty quick. Should I have thought longer? Would I have put him on the hand I should have? This is why I am not a pro poker player. He had pocket 10's. Only an Ace would help me on the river. It didn't come.
Lesson: The lesson here is not quite figured out yet because it is what some would call a trap hand. I had a very descent (that was for you Clint) two pair. I had position on him pre-flop and he does raise with some questionable hands. However, something should have probably registered. I probably shouldn't have bet so much on the flop with middle pair. If I had bet less I might have been able to get away from it when he raised me on the flop.

Friday, January 28, 2005

Black Crack

My friends and I have started a forum for poker among our friends. At first it was started to give updates about the Tournament of Champions, but it quickly became a place for us to discuss poker, playing styles and everything encompassing the man's sphere.
Chad sticks to subjects like prison and corn holing. James usually throws out new topics trying to start conversation. I will go from making fun of Chad to how tilt throws me off my game.
It is a great place to be. We even have Josh Bishop, who is not in the Tournament of Champions, as a member. It is great. We have nicknamed it Black Crack because it is so addicting. The Clint is ignoring things at work just to post on the site. I have to go now. Someone might have posted something new.

Thursday, January 27, 2005

A Good Start

Chris Rock's eyes darted around the room, studying the chattering group of international print journalists. He licked his lips, clasped his hands ... and only dropped one F-bomb as they questioned him in a variety of accents.

With that said, how could the Academy Awards go wrong? With the Oscars being what they are, will comedian Chris Rock taint the ceremony and future of the award show with his abrasive style and colorful shtick? I think not.
Rock is a funny guy and huge among every nationality. He's no Bob Hope or Steve Martin, but I think he will do great. The man can't act, but his comedy is superb. I am excited, as you can tell, about the ceremony and will be counting down until the red carpet is rolled out.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

TOC Night Four

I'm tired and I want to go to bed.
Here are the standings:
James - 1 point
Matt - 2 points
Chad - 3 points
Danny - 4 points
Brent - 5 points
Clint M. - 6 points
Hector - 7 points

Overall Standings:
Matt - 14 points
Chad - 15 points
James - 15 points
Danny - 16 points
Clint H. - 16 points (bye used)
Brent - 18 points (bye used)
Clint M. - 20 points
Hector - 23 points

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

TOC Update

I got the news late last night. I was floored. Would things ever be the way they were before. In a matter of minutes my world had changed. Alan had dropped out of the Tournament of Champions. This could only mean one thing... scores would change. After three weeks of play, Alan was in first with six points, however he had used his bye last week. Yet, second place was myself and Chad with 12 points. Alan would've had to finish pretty miserably to lose the first place slot.
This is good news, right? No, because now we have to move people down who didn't beat Alan the first two weeks. In week one, Alan placed fourth and the three who beat him were Chad, Danny and me. In week two, only one person beat him...me. So, I will be gaining no points while Clint M. and Danny get a point shaved off for getting last when Alan played. Sucks for me, great for them.
The following are the overall standings:
Chad - 12 points
Matt - 12 points
Danny - 12 points
Brent - 13 points (used his bye)
James - 14 points
Clint M. - 14 points
Clint H. - 16 points
Hector - 16 points

It's Oscar Time

If you haven't quite figured it out yet, I love movies! I am partial to classics and films of substance. However, I enjoy a mindless action film just as much as the next guy. Well, it's time for the Academy Awards. While the Academy Awards is probably the most prestigious award ceremony, it's like the World Series, Superbowl and the other World Series all in one for me, it's to be hosted by comedian Chris Rock. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. I get extremely giddy around February, not because I take pleasure in black history month but because we find out what the best films of the past year were.
I will admit, sometimes the judges can be a bit snooty with their picks, but it's still better than the Grammies. Besides, they gave an Oscar to Eminem for "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile. They can't have too high of standards now can they. I'm just kidding. I actually thought his song was the best, but I didn't think they would give a rapper an Oscar. I also was biased for two other reasons. The first being U2 was nominated for "The Hands That Built America" from Gangs of New York. The other reason is Eminem didn't perform the song on Oscar night, which is customary, and I felt he didn't deserve the award for not caring about it.
Back on subject. Today was the date of release for the nominations of 2004. Leading the pack was Martin Scorcesce's The Aviator with 11 nominations. Just a few of the noms include Leonardo Dicaprio for Best Actor, Cate Blanchett for Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Picture and Best Director. Where it lacks is a Best Actress nomination which means it cannot win the Grand Slam Award which is what I call the winner of Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay (Adapted or Original), Best Director and Best Picture. Only three other films have achieved such an impressive feat througout history.Other nominated films are Ray, Million Dollar Baby, Sideways and Finding Neverland. I don't have any predictions as of yet, but I will keep you posted. I do have one favorite catagory I always feel very confident in and that is Animated Feature Film. I have guessed the winning film two out of the last three years. Spirited Away threw me for a loop in 2002. I went with Ice Age, which is a hilarious movie, but it didn't take home the gold. This year I would love to see The Incredibles win but it might be Shrek 2. Updates will be published.

Monday, January 24, 2005

Could SpongeBob SquarePants' Pants Be Bulged By Other Bobs?

Is the eternal smile on SpongeBob's face and the cheese lines he utters the fault of animators and writers or could he possibly be on the side of the rainbow force? This is what James Dobson is trying to push. He says, as founder of Focus on the Family, a video for the We Are Family Foundation is only trying to promote acceptance and tolerance of homosexuality.
The video is a remake of "We Are Family" using SpongeBob, Barney, Big Bird, Winnie the Pooh, Bob the Builder, the Rugrats and other cartoon characters. Dobson was quoted on Thursday as saying, "Their inclusion of the reference to 'sexual identity' within their 'tolerance pledge' is not only unnecessary, but it crosses a moral line."
I haven't seen the video and have only heard about this story from such sources as Corby "The Snake" Davidson and CNN so I cannot defend or deny the video's implications. However, I can say this sounds utterly ridiculous. It is not the first time children's television has come under the critical spotlight of the Christian coalition. In 1999, Jerry Falwell described Tinky Winky, the purse-toting purple Teletubbie, as a gay role model.
As with Teletubbies, the video and characters are targeted toward small children. The creators of SpongeBob have never considered him gay. His creator, Stephen Hillenburg, said though SpongeBob was an oddball, he thought of all the characters in the show as asexual.
Kids aren't thinking about whether SpongeBob is gay or not. They just want to watch him and his underwater friends get into oceanic hijinks. The accusation is absurd. Why can't we, and I use "we" as a reference to Christians all over the nation, stop worrying about telling people what to worry about and how to judge and try reaching out to the lost who are going to end up in hell.
Now, you may come back with the comment, "Matt, gay people will be in hell." You know what, they might be. Yet, can you tell me that their sin is greater than yours of casting the first, second or last stone. They are sinning, yes. They will pay for their sin, yes. Yet, so will you.
You will be judged for the exact same thing a gay man will be. Did you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If so, great. If not, you have problems bigger than is SpongeBob banging spongettes or not.
Ghandi once said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." This is so true. Christians, like James Dobson, give Christ a bad name. Dobson has done some good. He has led many to Christianity, however when he leads an insurgency such as whether a much loved cartoon character is gay or not it gives the religion as a whole a bad wrap. We are perceived as loathsome bigots.
Mr. Dobson, I ask you politely to stop trying to get your group in the news and leave cartoons to the toddlers.

Friday, January 21, 2005

Scenes From Substituting

Lately, subbing has been mundane and rather futile. I haven't had quite the pleasure I used to have when teaching, or babysitting, a class. However, today was a little different.
During my third period science class, I was able to watch, and mediate, a break up. Let me give you the rundown of what happened.
I was subbing a student I have had before. Her name is Britney Simpson and she isn't too keen on me because I gave her a referral. Today I found out it is her only referral she has ever received. Well, she was quite happy to see me today. She even let me read a note from a girl, named Kailey, to her boyfriend Drew. According to Britney, Drew and Britney were dating. He broke up with her to date Kailey. Then told Kailey he had feelings for Britney and went back to Britney. I wondered how she got the notes. Britney said Drew gave them to her.
A few minutes later in walks Drew. He gives Britney a note and then the fight starts. She asked him what was going on between him and Monster Nose (Kailey). Drew was at a loss for words and I decided to help the young lass out. I asked Britney if she was breaking up with him. She said yes and I told him to not worry about it because Britney is moving to Midlothian in a few weeks.
I also told Britney to calm down and let Drew explain whenever she started yelling at him. Drew liked having me there because I gave him a chance to refute the claims. However, he didn't do a very good job of it.
You might look down on me for letting a fight ensue in my classroom, but I must confess. I haven't seen a junior high break up since... well junior high. It was great. However lame you think soap operas are, intensify that by a thousand and you have a junior high break up. I wanted it to go on longer, but a teacher from another class came in and asked us to keep it down. I told Drew to leave and then had the class get back to work. What a wonderful quasi-job I have.

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

TOC Night Three

This was a night of some interesting play. A solid player, or so I thought, made a few questionable calls last night. He may have made some more but I wouldn't know, because I went out in dead last. That's right. Mark down an eighth place finish for me. Here are the standings:
Clint H. - 1
Danny - 2
Clint M. - 3
Chad - 4
James - 5
Hector - 6
Brent - 7
Matt - 8

Overall Standings:
Alan - 6 (used his bye)
Matt - 12
Chad - 12
Danny - 13
Brent - 13 (used his bye)
James - 14
Clint M. - 15
Clint H. - 16
Hector - 16

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Sorry For The Wait

I have been in Houston for the past few days. This is why I haven't posted anything in a week. I went with Joanna, James, Marcus and Marissa to Conroe, Texas for Korie's, my old roommate, surprise birthday. We spent Friday night through Sunday and had a good time.
Saturday we went to the mall and I did some rock climbing in the mall. It was fun. It reminded me of the old days in Nacogdoches. Korie, Marcus and I would go to the gym and do some rock climbing on Wednesdays. Then we went bowling. James and I put ten cents a point on each game. I won $1.90 off him in five games. It was a tight competition. Our best game was when he scored 164 and I squeaked by with 168. We pushed each other to play better. If I made a spare, James would bowl a strike and then I would have to answer back with a strike of my own.
I bought some new shoes for $10 at an outlet mall. They are a brand no one knew was in existence but I don't care. They are comfortable, normal looking and cheap. Then we ate at the Texas Roadhouse. I love their baked sweet potato with the loaded marshmallows and caramel. Mmmmmmm...sweet potatoes.
Then on Sunday we ate lunch at The Black Labrador. It is an English pub and reminded me of the Winchester in Shaun of the Dead. I had something like the English version of French toast. It was pretty good. Then we went to the museum district and saw two museums. The first was ancient artifacts and paintings from the Renaissance and other time periods before Modernism. At first I thought we were going to look at Expressionistic art which I have no interest in. Painting four lines on a canvas in a diagonal direction to make some diamonds isn't art. Anyone can do the exact same thing. Not every artist can paint a woman in a black dress and a smirk and have it sit in the Louve for 500 years. I still don't understand the fascination with the Mona Lisa, but I have the intellect to understand it takes talent to paint the thing. Crafting an explanation point out of marble and suspending the top piece from the ceiling doesn't take talent.
We then saw the Holocaust Museum. It was interesting and sad. The stories I read were unbelievable. I was moved by the objects on display from history, however I didn't cry. James says this is because I am a robot. Maybe? It was sad and I finally have a better understanding of what the Jews went through in the concentration camps, but I have no personal connection to those people. And I don't mean those people.
The weekend was fun and I was really glad I got to see Korie. He cracks me up and I wish he would move up to Dallas. He isn't happy in Houston, but Jessica's family is down there. She wouldn't want to leave them. I had a good time and enjoyed the weekend.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Oh The Shame!

James and I worked a Texas Hold'em Tournament tonight for our casino party company. We've heard they put their best Hold'em dealers at the first table and work their way down to the end. This made us wonder who would be ahead of whom. Jim Anderson is their number one dealer, so he was at table one. It took five more tables for one of us to have our names called. Drat! It was Jay (James' work name). James is considered a better dealer than me, but only by one. I was table seven.
However, one problematic event in the system did occur. They break the tables down as people lose and less people are playing. The last table remaining is table one. It is broken from highest table first and that dealer is then free to go home. Because of this arrangement, my table should have been broken down first. Yet, James' table was dispersed before mine. Does this mean I possibly moved to a higher ranking than James during the tournament? Have I proven myself to the administration of Fabulous Las Vegas Casino Parties? Could it be?
By the by, if you didn't know. This entry is purely for absurdity. I do not mean to offend anyone and am just joking about who the better dealer is. I really don't care. I get paid the same amount as Jim Anderson if I leave first or last. So why not be just good enough to be invited to the party to deal in the first place, but bad enough to be first to leave.

TOC Night Two

It's three in the morning, so let's keep this short. I reached 500 people tonight on my counter, won the second game of the Tournament of Champions and am in first place in the standings after two games. However, there are a lot of tournaments to go. We will see how I do. The following are the standings for tonight and after two games (remember, lowest score wins).
Tonight:
Matt - 1 point
Alan - 2 points
James - 3 points
Clint M. - 4 points
Hector - 5 points
Brent - 6 points
Chad - 7 points
Clint H. - 8 points
Danny - 9 points

Overall Standings:
Matt - 4 points
Alan - 6 points
Brent - 6 points (used his bye)
Chad - 8 points
James - 9 points
Danny - 11 points
Hector - 10 points
Clint M. - 12 points
Clint H. - 15 points

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

TOC Update

Tonight will be the second installment of the Tournament of Champions and with Chad taking an early lead things will be interesting. However, there is sad news in the poker world. Because of the bye system and the number of contestants we have, I may be forced to use my bye tonight. It is sad, I know. I will be on the sidelines while the Clints try to force a rally from a disappointing opening. Danny will have his eyes on the prize this week after being knocked out in a matter of moments of heads up action. While I sit at three points, when everyone thought I would be sixth with the chip stack I had, I will be forced to be a spectator tonight and wonder how things might have gone had I been in the mix.

Monday, January 10, 2005

Certain Modifications Need To Be Made To The Harley Davidson Motorcycle

While driving home the other night after dropping a friend off at her house, I pulled up to Fielder to make a right hand turn. I did not come to a complete stop however and fully check for any oncoming cars. I did more of what you would call a yield. Well, as I was rolling onto Fielder, all of a sudden I heard a quick and high pitched "beep." Without hesitation I applied the brakes and turned to see what had made the feeble noise. To my surprise, it wasn't a Dodge Neon or a Volkswagen Bug. It was a Harley Davidson motorcycle with leather-clad, handlebar mustache rider in tow.
I couldn't believe the mother of all motorcycles was manufactured with a horn that had the sound of a gazelle going through puberty. I was also disheartened by the poor lighting on the hog. I couldn't see the motorcycle when I pulled up to make my right turn. Although the necessity of a pitiful honk was my fault, it could have been avoided had Harley and Davidson put a higher watt bulb in the headlight.

Friday, January 07, 2005

TOC Night One

As "Chip" has already informed us through a comment on the previous post, Chad won the first round of the TOC. However, there are nine more tournaments for me to lock a playoff spot.
The following is the order of rank after one tournament (lowest score wins):
Chad - 1 point
Danny - 2 points
Matt - 3 points (woo-hoo)
Alan - 4 points
Hector - 5 points
James - 6 points
Clint H. - 7 points
Clint M. - 8 points
Brent - bye week

Thursday, January 06, 2005

ESPN (The Ocho) Presents Arlington's Tournament Of Champions

Our buddies have decided to hold our own Tournament of Champions. We are going to find out who the best of our group is. Tonight will be the first round of the tournament. The participants are Chad (Old Navy), Clint (Booyashakah), James (Doctor Arithmetic, the Calculator, Wisconsin, Castro - depends on the mood he's in), myself (The Arcade), Danny (Earmuffs), Alan (Pocket Kings), Brent, and Clint. We will find out who is the best and who needs to read Ken Warren's book again...Old Navy. I will keep everyone abreast of how the standings start after tonight.

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

A Profitable Trip

A new year is here and my cousin Clint and I are starting a new thing. We have decided to keep a ledger of our poker playing. It is something we should have been doing for a long time now, but it hasn't gone into effect until now. With the coming of 2005 we have started keeping tabs on how much we win or lose, what style of play we are trying, if it works for the type of game we are playing and how we are finishing in tournaments and cash games.
For the past two days I have been in Shreveport and I did quite well for myself. I sat down the first night with $110 and after losing that and rebuying for another $100 I left with $384. I grinded it out for seven hours to make $24 an hour.
The next day was a bit better. I sat down with $120 and after 20 minutes of a crazy rush of cards, I was over $400. If I wouldn't have had to sit around for 3 1/2 hours and a seat hadn't opened up next to Clint, I would have gotten up. I ended up with $500. In four hours, I earned $95 an hour. What other jobs can you earn $95 as an hourly wage. Of course, this is also an occupation you can come home with less money than when you left the house that morning.
I earned enough to put away some in savings and pay off a credit card. I had a good time and Clint and I had some good laughs. Another good road trip was had and next time I want Chad and James there so I don't have to hear them whine about how they didn't have any fun while we were gone.

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Happy New Year

I want to wish everyone a happy 2005. Much fun was had in 2004 and hopefully the new year will bring just as much enjoyment. I am looking forward to a Las Vegas trip in May and I'm sure there will be many other road trips along the way. In fact, I'm starting the year off right with an overnight trip to Shreveport tomorrow. Enjoy 2005 and take pleasure from knowing Jesus didn't come back last night.