Weak-Tight

Nicholas Angel: All right, what about this guy? Ask yourself, why has he got his hat pulled down like that?
Danny Butterman: He's fuck-ugly.
Nicholas Angel: Or, he doesn't want you to see his face.
Danny Butterman: 'Cause he's fuck-ugly.

"Hot Fuzz"

The Distraction and I managed to get ourselves into an advanced screening of "Hot Fuzz" over the weekend, and I have to say it was one of the funniest movies I have seen in a very long time. I can't remember the last time I came out of the cinema and been so impressed with a movie. I was quoting some of the better lines 5 seconds after they were uttered.

I'm glad some better movies are coming out now as we head into the US peak season. It was pretty dry for us last year and we seemed to leave the cinema disappointed more often than not. As I have said a few times, even "The Departed" left us disappointed, and nothing else was a real stand out from that, only perhaps "The Prestige". Now we have 300 out soon as well as all the good sequels coming, hopefully a few more good trips are ahead.

Poker has been more frustrating of late, as Friday night's game left me down nearly $30. I was down $130, so that wasn't too bad of a come back. Early on one player was hitting everything no matter what he had. When he limped, he would flop the straight and when he tried to draw, the river gave it to him. Nothing you could blame him or yourself for, the cards were just falling his way.

I was having a rough time of it when Aces got beaten by 83s (8 on the flop, 3 on the turn). When I finally got to winning some decent sized pots, I took them all of one player, who just happened to be the other short stack so I didn't really get paid for those hands. I let a lot of pots get away from me though when I knew the bluff move one of the players would make, but I was too scared that the one time I would call him on it would be the one time he was not bluffing. I never did call him, and I think he bluffed for a decent pot maybe four or five times.

As a side effect of playing a little too cautious, I did make some decent lay downs when it came to putting all my chips in. The first one was with KJ on a rainbow KJ98 board. It was the player whose bluff I wanted to call, but this time it wasn't the same move, it was a re-raise over the top of me for all my chips. I decided to let it go and he showed 99. The next one was against a different player who had tried to tighten up his game (for the better) and had me in real trouble. I was playing some garbage like 58s I think, and on a board of QJ967 I had hit my straight on the river. He was first to act so he put in a modest $3.50, and I said raise. Before I could move any chips, he had gone all-in. I'm glad he did, because I was going to raise more than the minimum but now I was being forced to raise just $3.50 and then have a think about the rest of my chips yet again.

While he was so eager to get everything into the middle says "nuts" to anyone, he had raised pre-flop and I had called him before when he had misread the hand and was strong but not a lock on the hand. Also, 3 times tonight he had hit a set with JJ and got paid off each time, I thought there was a chance he had hit a set again (perhaps even JJ) and got a bit over excited about it. I just didn't think he would raise pre-flop with KT, maybe if it was suited? It was that type of game where people would call with anything suited pre-flop. In the end I decided the bet was too big and too eager to be anything besides the nuts, so I had to let go of my little straight. He was kind enough to show me I was correct, not that I really had a big choice in hindsight. I was lucky to get off that cheaply.

After this I managed to get in front for the first time in the night, by $7 at the most before I lost a few more bets, mostly when I couldn't call the bluffs. It has been a frustrating year so far with few good sessions and mostly just hovering above even or maybe a buy-in up. What makes it more frustrating is watching other players having great sessions, $200 and $300 in the positive at the same time against the same players without making the hard lay downs that I am being forced to do. I guess it just goes that way some times.

I have also left one online room for the time being for another, as I think I am just being out matched by some of the players there. I can not get a hand and when I am weak it must be far too easy to read because everyone is able to bet over the top of me and I am left with too often 0 hands won from 40-50, which is no way to look after a buy-in. Maybe a change of scenery and a few new faces will help some. Who knows? But so far 2007 is no where near as good as 2006.