KJ-Technique

BBT5!

2010-04-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

The BBT5 will last six weeks, culminating in a Tournaments of Champions scheduled for Thursday, May 27th. The prizepool for the ToC is impressive: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers will each receive a $10,000 entry into the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event as well as room accommodations at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. 4th and 5th place finishers will receive a $2,000 Bracelet Race package good for many of the preliminary 2010 WSOP events

Visit Alcanthang for more info

I don't know how many events I will be able to play this year or how much blogging I will be doing here but I am pumped!

Once again big thanks to AlCantHang for another BBT!

Good luck!

My green jacket!

2009-04-12T16:34:00.001-07:00

Congratz to TuscaloosaJohn for a great heads-up battle that lasted more than 100 hands. It could have gone either way as we both gave up huge leads couple of times to suckouts. In the last hand (39k-14k blinds 1k-2k) I pushed my sevens, TJ called with Ax; no Ace (surprise, surprise) on the board and I am a winner.

Nice!

Dick move?

2009-02-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

We are playing a friendly .25/.5 cash game at Ugarles. Everybody is laughing, we are having a good time. Alceste, Mary and Dawn are playing. We haven't played together since Vegas. Ugarles' kitchen is now the last victim of Mary's Baconfest. I don't eat bacon. Everybody is having bacon except me. I am already denying any bacon-abuse allegations. Fun night!

Pokerwise, It was a great night for me. I was happy to be back to NYC live poker cash game action. (Last time I played in such games was back in October)

A fun night with one incident...

I am on my second buy-in. ~$33. I have KTo one off button. It folds to me I raise to $1 (min. raise was part of the "we were having fun" game). Button calls, BB calls as well. So, three players see a K9J two diamonds. BB checks, I bet $2 w/ top pair no diamond. Button raises to $6. SB folds. Now, Button was playing well enough throughout the night. So I am putting him on a big hand. J9, K9, Adragd, AK. (Couple hands earlier, I saw him grabbing some chips ready to raise big before I min. raised w/ 84dd, he thought for a while then flat called. He later won that pot with AQs., so him holding AK was quite possible). Q10? I hope not. AA, 99, JJ definitely not. I thought for a while but I am not good enough to fold top pair and a gutshot. I call. Turn is 8x which, I am thinking, gives me 4 more outs because I refuse to put him on Q10. Unless he goes all-in, I was very much ready to see the river card. I check. He bets small $6 leaving him with ~$15 and increasing the pot to $21. I rule-out the nut flush draw for him. Because I call his raise I don't see why he would bet again with a potential free card to come. Now, I am thinking if I call he might put me on a flush draw. I am of course still rooting for a Q and 7 to suckout or chop but any diamond card is good for me too. River 2d. There is no way I can win this pot without betting it. A check was out of question. If I check, he checks, I lose. If I check, he bets and I raise that would leave him pot-committed I think and he would have to call and I lose. So, I stick to my plan and I insta-push while the 2d was still in the air. He goes into the tank; I am trying my best to look as confident as possible. Over and over I am hearing him saying: "Really on a flush draw." I can see that he is very annoy/upset by the fact that I call with a flush draw. The longer he is thinking, the more upset he is getting. And I can feel him calling donkey in his head. I try to help the cause by giving my speech telling him that I will show him why I was calling him on "a draw". Half true statement. He folds K9 face up.

I showed my cards, hand was over and then... Dawn apologized to the host and to the button on my behalf. To me, it was a joke (maybe it was) but button was very quiet the rest of the game which makes me now believe that he was very mad at me showing my cards. I joked with Dawn on our way home that I rather being a dick than a donkey but I don't think showing my cards was that bad for a fun home game. For all I know I was trying to show him that I had every reasons to call his $4 raise and $6 bet and to push on the river.

Lesson of the day. TO NEVER SHOW MY HAND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. (I was told that many times but I never listen) So, next time you ask me if I will show, the answer will be NO!

2009 better loves me!

2009-01-16T09:18:00.000-08:00

Thank you 2008 for a great run in the spring and the summer. Thank you for letting believe that I was that great live cash game guy. I had a very long winning streak! You turned me into a better tourney player. Thank you for letting me win a BBT3 event and the shot at a WSOP seat that came with it, thank you for letting cash in my first poker big event at the Borgata, thank you for the bodonkey victory, thank you for my IHO and WSP wins and thank you for my Saturday at Pauly's victory in Omaha. That one was sweet. Also, I won't forget the many other friends you gave me. Thank you!

But mostly f*ck you for that miserable end of the year. I understand why my Kings were no good when I ran them into AA five different times but against AQ, JJ, 1010, and 55? Really?. What about the time you let that guy hits his two outer on me at the Borgata? How did you let me call his huge bet when I was drawing dead? I played like crap for a whole season but you could not stop me. 12th in the Poker gathering? Why not 81st? That same night you pushed a $600 to that stupid guy who made quads on the river against my flopped trips aces at the Mirage. One OUTER! f*cking Deuces! f*ck you!

Now 2008, you are gone. I don't need to pray to your gods anymore. It's another year. It's 2009. I am back! Stronger than ever.

It's poker right?

Back to blogging...?

2009-01-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

... Maybe.

Happy 2009 to you and your family!

Sorry guys...

2008-06-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Thank you Willie and Rick for a very good 2005, 2006 and 3/4 of 2007.

But we were not happy at all since then...

No hard feelings!

Story of my life

2008-06-07T15:28:00.001-07:00

Memphis00 SB 80

Columbo BB 160

iam23skidoo folds

TuscaloosaJohn folds

Scottc25 raises 380

pureprophet folds

swimmon95 folds

HERO raises 1660

corron10 folds, everyone else fold to Scottc25.

Scott25 calls

Flop 9h 10h 6h

Scottc25 checks

HERO goes all in ~2100

Scottc25 calls shows JhJc <- HERO stops breathing

HERO shows KhKc

Turn Js <- HERO punches laptop

River Ad <- HERO throws laptop out of the window.

Obama '08

2008-06-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

BBT3 finale

2008-05-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

Congrats Scottc25 for your victory and TOC seat!

I am very happy with my second place finsh in the Riverchasers Omaha8 last night. I feel great about my performance especially since I was a shortie for most of the tourney. I am starting to have a crazy feeling that I am probably a better Omaha player than I think. I might be even better at Omaha than I am at Holdem. I won about $1,2K last week alone crushing the Omaha hi cash games at Bodog. A scary situation since I learned the Omaha game only recently while I have been playing Holdem for 3 years now.

Ouuufff!!! I think I played my final BBT3 tourney. This is a good news for me and for the people orbiting around me. The end of three months of anti-social life for me. Now, I can be a normal citizen again. Special friend is in Israel for another week. I think it will be perfect time for me to catch up with old friends.

I am looking forward to the TOC next saturday. I think we will be playing NLHE. I won my seat via in OE tourney (Riverchasers, two weeks back). I don't know what are my chances for one of the two Main Event seats or the two 2k seats, but I will be taking some NLHE lessons from the famous Dawn Summers. NLHE is the only game she did not teach me. And i still have to do well palying this game. My comment section is opened to all for some suggestions and tips that might help for next saturday.

Sunday, I will be chez Dawn for this.

If I busted out early in the Thundersome, I may give the Big Game a shot.

Bodonkey WIN!

2008-05-20T21:59:00.000-07:00

I took down the bodonkey for my first online NLHE win of the year.

Congrats to RecessRampage. We played a great heads-up battle for at least 35 min. I thought it was over when I called his all in with aces. My Aces were no good (d'oh!) against his 88 as he flopped an 8. I managed a final comeback and closed the deal minutes later. Final hand... SB, I called preflop with A7s. (was looking for a raise). He checked. Flop J27 rainbow. I bet the minimum, he raised all-in. I insta-called. He showed K4 for a bluff. no king for him. And it was over.

I still have to make the top 18 in order to be qualified for the bodonkey finale for a Main Event seat. Only two or three more weeks to go in the bodonkey. I am waiting for the leaderboard update to see where I now stand. (I was 46 b4 this win.)

Oh... guess what? I have my last exam of the semester tomorrow. Actually in another 9 hours. Last time, friday, I scored a perfect 100 on my Anatomy/Physiology exam. School is great! Plus, life with the special friend is awesome!

I am running gooooooooooood.

Sweeee(ppp)ttttttt!

2008-05-18T20:59:00.001-07:00

The Mets (22-19) swept the AL East last place Yankees (20-23) last night at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. In the Bronx.

Look what I found...

2008-05-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

I am too tired to write much now. Plus, I have a final exam tomorrow.

Congrats to RNallin for a great run and a tough heads-up battle.

Thanks to everyone who root for me at the very end. (pokerenthusiast, lj, ...)

Funny thing was before the final table, while every other players were getting rooooot, I had that:

katiemother (Observer): julkeus took me out once with a really lame hand. I hate him. lol
pvanharibo (Observer): root for lucko
RecessRampage (Observer): but he would mean extra player in TOC AND he's in

Then, of course, after that we made love.

Julkeus: i love u Kat
katiemother (Observer): lol

I have 12 chapters of Anatomy/Physiology to study now.

This one is for ck and ftrain. Good luck guyz, WOOOOOOOOTTTTT!!!!

Kings no good.

2008-05-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

Something really crazy happened last night.

Don't get me wrong. KK is a great starting hand... but I just don't want them anymore. I am 3 in my last 14 when holding Kings. Two times I won with Kings, I made Quads. Once I was trailing against Mary's AA and the rest... go figure.

I am about 20% favorite when I have Kings. Twenty.

I final table in my first Bodonkey.

2008-04-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

This was my first tournament at the Bodonkey. I think I played my best poker for quite a while. One thing about this one was I played the whole tournament with only a few premier hands. For more three hours of play, I saw 2 big pairs. I doubled up in the second hour with AA, got no action with JJ, my 2 AKos and AQo. I mainly survived with hands like Q10s, J10o, KJo. I had an interesting hand at the end with Buddydank. Me and buddydank were litteraly playing for the fifth place that comes with a T$109 on top of your winnings. We both had about 6.5k with the blinds 6K/3K. I was SB, he was BB, action was folded to me. When I saw an Ace, I immediately went all-in (although any two cards would do it). He called (I was expecting to called with any two) with KK. Nothing on the flop. Turn was an Ace. WOOOOOT.

River... K. Lemmmmmooonnnn. I bubbled the T$109 and took down the big sum of $34.73.

I had a lot of fun playing the Bodonkey. I was mostly happy because for a long time I did not get suck out on, not even once. Two pros played, I was not lucky enough to sit at their tables and get a shot at the $100 bounty.

I thought with only 7 tournaments left and my luck in the Blogger tourneys, making it to the top 18 (a shot at the Main Event seat) was impossible. But now,

I think it might be quite possible. Thanks NA!!!

See you guys at the Mookie tonight!

H.O.R.S.E

2008-04-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

What Is Your Animal Personality?

Take this quiz!

Bring back Edwards

2008-04-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

I would vote for him just for this video.

Gone fishing... (2)

2008-04-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

Bodog has its own Blogger tournament!!!

My first tournament will be on Tuesday April 24, 2008. There should be a pro with a $100 on his head. Come out and play with me for a seat at the WSOP Main Event before it's too late!

If you don't have a Bodog account, you can download their software here.

Rare post.

2008-04-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

I am going to Philly with Dawn to watch the Mets-Phillies game on Saturday. This should be a fun game. I will have the chance to wear my road Mets jersey and to hear some booos from the home crowd. Of course, some so called-Mets fans are not going for the game but for some Philly Cheesecakesteak. Thanks to riggstad and the Asian Jew for the tickets. Ck won't be with us (sad) but I am looking forward to hang with the man who says that he canthang at all, Al.

I played the Wall Street Game last night. I was the Super Bubble Boy (I bubbled not once, but twice.). First tourney, four handed, my short stack was against three big stacks Jamie, Ken and Dawn. Dawn busted me out. In the second tourney, I got lucky and doubled up against Jordan. my A8o vs his AKo. Flopped x8x, turned another 8 that helped because a king showed up on the river. Eventually, Dawn busted me out again by dealing me a cooler against the big stack.

Poker online sucks! A 3rd place at one of the 12NL 180plyrs tourney in pokerstars. I thought my bad streak was over and went on to donate some money in their $10/$20NLHE (simply crazy!). I never played anything higher than $3/$6 online. I bubbled for the money last saturday's PLO (5 final tables in the last 6 tournaments at Pauly's/for only 2 cashes)... and Badbeat, badbeat, badbeat. In the BBT3, nothing to say here. My only goal now is trying to secure a seat for the TOC and then relax. This should be hard since timewise it is kind of hard to play in the BBT3 events now. I really suck at this online poker thing anyway.

Poker is really taking a back seat in my life. (which is a very good thing for me, I stop on being anti-social with my close friends, special friend and my bed.) I even say NO to a AC trip last week-end!!! It ended up being a good move since I did not have to suck out on or bust out Ms. Summers in her big payday. Final note. There is a rumor that I have many girlfriends and a wife. This is so not true. What's true, ladies, is that I am available this thrusday night and maybe friday night.

Santa? Nah. It's Johan

2008-04-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Meet the 2008 NL Cy Young winner

Santana (W, 1-0) 7.0IP 3H 8K ERA 2.57

Flop of the day.

2008-03-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

Of course, all the money went in after the flop.

Just short...

2008-03-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

Today, I defended my title at Saturdays with Dr Pauly. I finished 3rd out of 28. The way things went I could have been out 28th. I was card dead for most of the tournament, sucked out couple of times, I even won a pot with Ace high (all-in preflop). I stole couples of pots in the final table and folded my way to the third place. Just pitiful. Two or three big hands, the result could have been different. I will be there next week to reclaim my title.

BBT3. I cashed out in the last two tournaments events. I finished 8th (8 places paid) in the last Riverchasers PLO8 and 18th (18 places paid) in the last Mookie NLHE. Slowly but surely, things are getting back on track for me. My NLHE still need a lot of improvement, especially late in the tournament. I may need to play more online tourneys. Speaking of playing more often, guess who's back from Lent? yes, her.

The bad streak is over.

2008-03-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

Family Ice Wins Saturdays with Dr. Pauly.

I just took down my first Pot Limit Omaha tournament. More importantly my first '08 win.

Wow, this was such a tough final table. We played for at least 45 minutes with 9 players. There were no sick plays, only a few suck out, no shown bluff, just a very friendly and serious final table where at least five players were in the first place at some point.

Congratulations to Todd Draper for an interesting heads-up battle. He did all the dirty work by taking down most of the players. He had a 4 to 1 chip lead advantage at some point when we were heads-up. Then, the cards started to behave well for me. I was flopping trips, nut straight, good draws and a nice comeback.

This one is for Dawn.

She taught me the rules of the game a 4am morning at her apartment couple months ago. I also want to thank Dr. Pauly for hosting.

I already know what I will be doing next Saturday. What about you?

See you later!

UPDATE: Dr. Pauly wrote a full report for the tournament. I was too lazy to take down notes. Qd Js 8d 6c is the nuts.

Just words.

2008-03-07T11:45:00.000-08:00

I think that if all the finger-pointing between Hillary and Barrack continue till the convention, a Plan C named Al Gore could be a better option for the Dems this november. How would the republicans adjust to that?

Event #2 Monday at Hoy

2008-03-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

45 0ut of 102... If you are interested in my starting strategy for this tourney, you can have a pretty good idea from this screenshot... and yes, I was playing and active. I folded 20 hands in a row, the first 20 in the tourney. I saw my first flop on my 21st hand with KK, I could not keep the streak alive, I had to see the flop.

Playing tight sometimes pays off in this type of tourney. I managed to double up against Kattitude's 99. I had AKo, she raised to 350, I re-raised to 930 and she went all-in. (This is where I think my tight image on the table paid off. I thought that she was raising me out of the hand.) I thought for 5 seconds and decided to call with my remaining chips (I did not believe she had AA or KK). Ace on the flop - no nine, and just like I had about 6000 chips playing only three hands.

I don't know why but I changed my strategy a little bit, and started to play loosely. I was calling and raising more and I was caught bluffing two times. This brought my chips down to the starting 3500.

Things got better when Big Game Winner and Pro Scott Fischman decided to go all-in after losing 1/2 of his stack the previous hand... I could not wait to bust him out. I had the same exact AK when I double up, I insta-called. He showed 107o (duh!) and surprisingly like many many times in the Big Game, he did not suck out.

Refund is good, T-shirt is nice, but the joy I had to bust Scott Fischman was way better. Had he won the first tourney would have been a slap in the face for all poker bloggers. For the first time in my career, I felt a hand was more personal than business. (I was ready to call him with any face card.)

Back to about 7000 (16 out of 75), this is when Fulltilt decided to punish me... in a matter of two hands.

First I had JJ against 9d8d. He went all-in pre-flop. I called for half of my stack. Flush in the river, of course.

Then the very next hand, my KK could not hold against my table's chip leader AJ when he flopped his ace. No king for me. I was out again with the best hand.

As a poker player, I feel great about my performance. Now that I am still learning the game, I worried much more about the decisions I make playing and tend not really care too much about the bad beats.

...and It's Poker, right?

I have a lot of work to do. 53 tourneys to go for a dreamToCseat.

See you later!

Event#1 Blogger Big Game.

2008-03-02T19:45:00.001-08:00

I just finished 97 out of 105 in the 1st BBT3 Event. Before the tourney started, I said to myself if I can start playing very tight (patience and discipline) and get a chance to double or triple up early in the 1st 2-hour, I would probably have a shot at the final table. I did almost that. I did not make any stupid call or raise. I was playing very conservately when this happened...

This is how it went:
The previous hand someone lost with AA against KK. When I saw AA I decided to limp UTG for $100 hoping for a raise, Alcanthang raised UTG+1 $450, They all fold around to me, (not really sure about the strenght of Al's hand) I re-raised $1850, he went all-in for $7500 (enough to put me all-in). I did a Phil Hellmuth's and insta-called. The turn said no TOC for me, at least not yet.

This is the first time something like this happens to me while playing the blogger touneys, and I got to be honest it does not feel that bad... mainly because there are 54 other tourneys and also because my opponent was Al, the man who put this together.

....and it's Poker, right?

Guess who already sign in for event#2! You are reading right at him.

See you later.

Joke(?) of the day.

2008-02-28T11:19:00.000-08:00

Out fishing...

2008-02-28T08:59:00.000-08:00

two WSOP Main Event seats

five $2,000 WSOP preliminary events packages

and some extra cash.

Let's see if I can find some sort of equilibrium between the special friend, my Friends, studying for the MCAT and this!

Thanks Al.

CHAMPIONS!!!

2008-02-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

PreSuperBowl conversation at a Poker Table.

2008-02-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

Keith: KJ is betting against the Patriots with Dawn. He is betting whatever $ she loses or wins today.
CK: KJ, are you fucking out of your mind?
JD: The Giants will be crushed
J-Mord: Dawn, you can go all-in every hand if you want.
CK: KJ, are you fucking crazy? at least get some odds.
Dawn: That's why. I am freeeeee rolling. Rebuy!
CK: KJ, are you fucking retarded? Do you want to give her all your life savings.
CK's friend: Dawn, bet a thousand.
Dawn: I am all-in.
KJ (silent): ($$$$$$$$$)

NOW, DAWN PAY ME MY MONEY!!!

Picture of the day

2008-02-02T09:05:00.001-08:00

The "Professor" and Dawn

Cherry, Cherry, ......... !

2008-01-29T15:41:00.000-08:00

The Mets have traded for LHP Johan Santana from the Twins in exchange for four prospects, though the deal will only be official once a contract extension is agreed upon.

Update #2: Cherry! Done deal.

Update: The Mets will meet with his agent to discuss the contact extension.

I am the worst blogger ever.

2008-01-29T11:03:00.000-08:00

“With a couple new folks linking to this husk of a blog, I figure I should post something. Not wanting to relinquish my title as worst blogger ever, however, I will go with lazy poker bullet points once again” – Alceste

I never said any of this before, but somehow I feel like I was plagiarized when he made that statement. I am the worst blogger ever and I want the title, right here, next to my computer.

Things I need to say right away:
1. Happy Belated New Year to all my readers. I already wished the best to many of you in person, the rest I am doing it right now. I was very lazy this past trimester. I can easily lie and say that I was busy studying for my MCAT. Or, I was busy working. Even, I was too busy with my complicated relationships with people. But, I am not a liar; I am just the worst blogger ever.

2. Welcome back Dawn and Mary! You were missed. But Mary, we were all waiting for better results. Disposing of Dawn in Australia was a very good idea and a missed opportunity. Now, we all are going back to plan A – the swamps of New Jersey or B – the desert of Nevada.

3. Congratulations to Karol. I am glad to know that more than one thing can make you that happy in life. Now, tell Ari that the Happiness that she is looking for might there already.

4. Ari, look closer now and good luck.

5. Mazel Tov! Fisch. You made a decision that not many of us, especially me, are not ready for. I am very proud.

6. Stop the madness people. I hate fights.

7. It was great seeing many of you at the Blogger Gathering in Vegas. I am officially known as the black kid that Dawn found in Atlantic City (thanks Karol!). I also want to apologize if I was a little bit anti-social… (btw ck you owe me a shot for my birthday); spending this (way too much) amount of time playing poker in Vegas with all of these interesting people around was simply crazy.

8. There are many things to say about my trip to Vegas. One thing I could/should/must/have to say is that KAROL and DAWN are AWESOME.

Let’s hope that the time off from blogging was enough for me. You all should expect more activities (mostly about Poker, the Mets and my Peeps). This is my promise of 2008.

There will be more posts from the worst poker blogger ever!

Happy New Year!

Perfect*.

2007-12-29T22:10:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the New England Patriots for a (almost) perfect season 16*-0.

This newly converted Patriots fan wants the world to know that she had something to do with the Patriots recent success.

She also thinks that Patriots QB Tom Brady will one day father her child Dawn III. (there is no Dawn II by the way). I think she is Weird but she is Happy.

Congratulations Dawn, you went 4-0 as a Patriots fan!!! AWESOME!

Two different ways to celebrate a victory.

2007-12-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

You can celebrate like you have never done it before

...or like you have done it one too many times

Your choice.

A winning poker machine.

2007-12-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

The words of the legendary Dawn Summers: "...reliving the poker tournament which KJ and Ron Lad chopped last night, though KJ came first. That kid has been a machine since he started playing at my house, I think he’s made the final six every time. He’s like the anti-Fisch."

Why Am I the Anti-Fisch and not the Anti-Woody?

Wait... does Woody read my blog?

One more for AC Milan.

2007-12-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

European soccer champion and KJ#1 favorite AC Milan won the FIFA Club World Cup final, beating Argentina's Boca Juniors 4- 2 in front of a sellout crowd at Yokohama International Stadium.

Since I became a fan of AC Milan back in 1988, the team has won:

- 7 Italian Leagues or Serie A

- 5 Champions Leagues/Cups

- 5 European SuperCups

- 3 Intercontinental Cups

- 5 League SuperCups

... for a total of 25 titles in 19 years. During that same timespan my other favorite teams, the NY Mets, the NY Knicks and the NY Jets combined have won... NOTHING.

Congratulations to AC Milan!!! and Thank you Silvio Berlusconi for making me look good as a fan.

Oh no! Not Paulie!

2007-12-13T13:32:00.000-08:00

Ex-Met, Paul LoDuca, named in Senator Mitchell's steroid report.

They never liked the kid.

2007-11-30T12:13:00.001-08:00

Outfielder Lastings Milledge is traded to the Nationals for catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church.

One hand $6 + $0.25 Heads Up Sit & Go.

2007-11-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

Very first hand of the day:
Julkeus [As, Ad] 1500
ManuelK1986 [Xx, Xx] 1500
Julkeus bets 1500
ManuelK1986 calls 1500
Flop: Qs 6d Qh
Turn: 3c
River: Kh
ManuelK1986 shows [Js, Jc]
...
Julkeus wins the pot (3000) with pair of Aces and Queens

Based on a true story.

2007-11-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

Friday, Nov 16, 2007.

6:00pm: I receive couple of threatening phone calls. The accent of the caller tells me that this time it might be the Russians coming after me. "We are koming to get right now" -a female voice says. No kidding. They have mafia-girls now?

8:30pm: A suspicious green Honda with a driver and a passenger in the back parks in front my building.

8:40pm: Two women, one white and one black -both wearing mask, take me from my apartment, force me into the front seat of the Honda, and drive away to an unknown destination. I am asked to cooperate.

8:40:36pm I realize that I was being kidnapped by two women.

8:55pm: The driver, the white woman, makes a stop to drop something to some house. She leaves me in the car with the black woman who introduces herself. "Hi, my name is Dawn". ... a woman with a male name. Yeah right? I am Hillary. "I'm KJ, and... nice to meet you..., Dawnie." I seriously thought calling her like that would make more sense for a girl. But no...!

8:56pm She explodes, pulls something that I believe is a gun and says "You nigga do not call me that." "... a black woman calling me nigga. Good job MLK." she continues "my name is Dawn, I'm not black and yes I am very racist." very!!??.

9:15pm: The white woman finally comes back to car. I start to feel safer. In this strange world and time, the white woman might be the least racist person in the car right now. "Let's get moving, K. you are making us late for our business" says Dawn before she starts giving directions to another destination. so our white friend's name is K. and what does she mean by "our business"? killing me and dumping my body somewhere? I remain silent.

11:27pm: After two long hours of driving and two long hours witnessing them fighting over songs to play, we arrive to our destination, New Jersey, the town of Tony Soprano. "Who are these maniacs who seem very nice if not for the kidnapping". I am thinking. Since the black girl said she was not black, maybe the black girl meant that she was with the Italians.

11:35pm: We check in a nice hotel in Jersey City.

11:48pm: At the counter, the black girl accidentally shoots herself in one of her fingers. I tell her to go to a nearby hospital. ...or you can shoot yourself again. She is now very mad.

11:58pm: I am still wondering what they are going to do with me. We are heading to room to start the negotiation they said. I just follow them. ... but where?

11:59:57pm: The day is now over... To be continued.

Traitor!

2007-11-18T21:37:00.000-08:00

According to the Associated Press, Tom Glavine has signed a one year, $8 million contract with the Atlanta Braves.

What?

Life was good this past week.

2007-11-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

So, I had a good last week.

It all started last Sunday when I finally cancelled my Sprint contract. I paid about $600 to cut tie with them but it feels now good knowing that I will not have deal with their crappy service anymore. Ever. I hope AT&T will not disappoint me. I choose them only because I wanted the iPhone and their monthly plan with unlimited data can serve me well. I lost my 4.5 year-old phone number... RIP (347)6782329 but again I am very happy with my new iPhone.
I have been listening to a lot of new songs lately, a courtesy of Karol. I dropped my mp3 full of Tupac and Eminem for some new Kanye West, Jay-Z and reggae songs. I realized I am more relax and less tired in the morning than I used to be. I also had some very interesting conversations with Karol about Music, Politics, Sports and Poker. I realized how different a white conservative girl can be to a black liberal man. Our poker style is one of the few things that we have in common plus that special letter K that starts our beautiful names.
Baseball is finally over. Football is halfway there. (Yes, I'm a Jets fan). Basketball season is brand new. Go Knicks.
In my Chemistry lab, I stumbled on the recipe for cocaine. I am looking forward to work on that next week. Hopefully, I will not be expelled in my last semester in college. By the way, I just finished my last midterm. So life in school is really good.
I have been playing some interesting Scrabble games on facebook with Alceste, Dawn and some other friends. My current game with Alceste started with three Bingos in the first three plays. Alceste played martian and headnote against my gauntlet. We have played some great games before, so I am looking forward to give him a good fight. With Dawn, it is another story. Dawn is tough girl to compete with in Scrabble. She might be a master of the game or she might find a way to swap tiles from the bag when I am not looking. I made a successful challenge against her which I am proud of (whatever I can get). The score is now very close. When I was kid, I used to love playing Mario Bros. on Nitendo, and I still remember the day I finally beat the last master in his castle. Today, Scrabble is Dawn's castle. So beating her at least once would be sweeeeet. So wish me luck. I want to win both games so bad... They just don't know it but they created a monster. :)
American Gangster finally came out on friday. Denzel Washington is playing the black version of the "Godfather" (my favorite movie).
Then Poker. I had a good week playing NL online. I won a lot of money in cash games in Full tilt. This more than compensate for the amount of money I donked the previous week. It also paid my iPhone. I love knowing that sometimes I can have profitable days in cash games that are more than NL $1/$2. I played in the Mookie tournament Wednesday, I finished *21st, I will elaborate on that later. I cashed in a Daily $10 + 2 tournament where I finished 15 out of 1357. I was very close (4th) to the big prize of $2600 with 32 remaining (see pic below). After the fourth break in the tourney, the gods of poker turned their back on me. I kept on playing well but the cards were not cooperating at all.

Now, a long recap of my Mookie tournament experience. The Mookie tourney was one of the few tourneys I've played the entire month. I was enjoying the online cash games. I missed the HOY registration deadline by 3 minutes last Monday. So, to make sure this would not happen again, I decided to stay at my workplace and play the tourney there instead of going home. My special friend, let's call her LI, had a Halloween party to go to. When she invited me, I nicely declined by saying that I would stay at work to study for a big Chemistry exam that was coming on Friday and that I did not like the bunny ears that she got me for the party (they were hers). Part of what I said was true. There was a big exam coming up and the bunny ears were white and PINK. But, I had no intention of studying for my exam (at least not that night). So, after lunch, I went back to my workplace at about 7pm, I warmed up a little bit by playing a freeroll satellite tourney in which I came up short (5th out of 90) of a guaranteed seat to another $750, 000 guaranteedd satellite.

At about 9:30PM, I signed up for a chance for a trip to Australia. Many of my friends from the crackhouse were there. Karol, Alceste, CK, Mary, F-train and Jordan also signed up for the tourney. I never really played against the other bloggers on Fult tilt. So, I did not know what to expect. I did fold a lot of good cards when the blinds were still low just trying to get a feel of the game. I managed to stay at the average level in chips until the blinds went up 100/200. I was sent to another table. Alceste had been busted out of the tourney and I inherited his hot's seat. Before he left the room, I assured me that it was not the seat, but him. I did not believe him. Karol on my right was looking like an evil girl ready to eat my stack.

My job phone started ringing. At 10:30PM on Halloween night? When did people start trick or treat over the phone? As Financial Aid advisor at my school, I don't think I get paid enough to answer phone calls past 5PM. Still, I checked the caller ID. It was LI's number. "Hi, how is studying going?" -"good" "Party is over. I am by the school with my friend EM. She wants to say hi. I'll step by in 10 minutes." She said 10 minutes, they made it in 5. When she saw what I was really doing, she sarcastically asked me the same question again "So, how is studying?" I gave her a complete answer this time -"good, I am now in 13th place. Thanks for asking". She smiled and said: "You are not EVER going change" (whatever that means). She did a nice thing by bringing me food from my favorite Kosher restaurant -I did not even ask. They sat down, we chatted a little. I acted like I was taking part of their conversation but I was more focused on the game. F-train joined me and Karol to the table for a Crackhouse party with CK observing. I started to feel more comfortable in the tourney. I played better too. I only can remember couple major hands I had. Once, I raised 3.5times the blind with 10s in early position. I got the BB to call me. Flop was 3Q9 rainbow. I checked to BB. He went all-in for 1/2 of my stack. I did not blink and instacalled him. He showed A9 and did not improved. My 4timesblind raise AKo got re-raised all-in by a Q9 short-stack. I called for about 1/7 of my stack. Board was 7479K. Sweet river. I saw AA twice , both times I was BB. First, everyone fold!!! Second, I re-raised Karol to see her fold. "This is the last time KJ" she said. Then I told her about my bullets, she then said "oh... ok". Oh yeah... I had company.

We called a cab for EM at about 11:45PM. I asked LI if she wanted to go on that same cab because I might be there for at least one more hour. She said she would wait for me to finish my tourney. At that point I was thinking: "Wow, my special friend is cool." She started feeling very bored and tired. Plus, her parents were calling like crazy. Poor little bunny with Mr. pokermaniac on Halloween. For some reasons, I felt more like a jerk than an human being. At the second break, when I was 8th in the tourney with 39 players remaining about 2times the average, I decided to quit and took her home. She wanted me to finish the tourney but I insisted. For that, I received a free kiss and "you are the sweetest bf ever" speech.

We said goodnight at 1AM. 20 minutes later, when I finally got to my apartment and went back to tourney lobby, I found out I finished 21st, 3 spots from the money. My 12,000 chips last less than one hour. Karol was still playing, I think she finished 10th. She was happy by the fact that she busted F-train out. I really felt I was top of my best game. I could have easily reach table in the final table and who knows what might have happen. I just wish that party was not the shortest party in BK's history but at the end of the day I felt more like a person, not like an addicted gambler. I think I nicely represented us, men. KJ's words of advice: first to the ladies, men do care sometimes and are not jerks all the time. To the men, sometimes being single can take you to Australia. Trust me.

So life was good. Not great, but really good!

Mets Rumors.

2007-10-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Mariano Rivera, Mets new closer.
KJ says NO!

A-Rod, Mets new 3B, SS or 1B.
KJ says HELLLLLL NO!

Jorge Posada, Mets new catcher.
KJ says Maybe.

Joe Torre, Mets future manager.
KJ says No Problemo.

Conversation of the afternoon.

2007-10-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

Her: I hate my brother.
KJ: Why?
Her: He is a degenerate gambler.
KJ: huh?
Her: And he calls me ignorant.
KJ: Honey, you are.
Her (after 5 seconds): Now, I hate you.
KJ: Why?
Her: You think I'm stupid?
KJ: Not stupid, just ignorant.

The Rockies to win it all.

2007-10-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

The Rockies will try and continue one of the most impressive runs in recent memory when they open the 103rd edition of the World Series against the Boston Red Sox.

My Prediction: Colorado Rockies in six. Matt Holliday MVP.

An offer he could refuse.

2007-10-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

If Joe Torre's bosses were the Corleones, Joe would have received an offer he couldn't refuse. But... They were the Steinbrenners, so Joe received an offer he couldn't accept.

Instead of a year contract for 5 million plus some stupid incentives, The Godfather would have presented Joe with at least a 2-year deal, 7.5 million and a pistol on the table. Why? Only because Don Corleone, in his days, respected everyone- the rich and poor, powerful and humble (thus, the 2yr deal/7.5 million). And because the Godfather always wanted to be respected too (thus, the gun).

George Steinbrenner and his sons showed no class in Tampa by offering a single year contract to Joe Torre and a 30% cut of his previous contract. They even added a 3 million incentives (a bonus if the Yankees reach the World Series next year) to the insult. Guys, Joe is 62 and a proven winner. I am not too sure that he needs bonuses to motivate him. As a Yankees manager, Joe Torre has won 1173 games, 12 straight postseason appearances, 10 divisions titles, six AL pennants, four World Series and the respect of most Yankees fans (and a Mets fan).

I think that Joe is going straight the cooperstown as a Hall of Fame manager. I also think that the Yankees are going straight to the bottom of their division.

With the Corleone family in charge, Joe Torre would definitely be a Yankees manager in 2008. With a pistol to Joe's forehead, the Don would have assured the Yankees fans that either Joe's brain or his signature would rest on that contract. On the other hand, George Steinbrenner just proved that for most American families money/businnes comes first, especially before loyalty, decency and respect. The definition of the American dream.

Is Anyone Watching?

2007-10-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

I tried hard and I couldn't name more than four position players in the Colorado Rockies roster. That's not sad consider the fact that I only watched the final outs in their series against the Phillies and the Diamondbacks.

In case you are not watching (I wasn't until last night), the Rockies have now a 10-game winning streak, a 21-1 run and a ticket to their first World Series. They were two games back with two to play in the regular season. Down by 2 at the bottom of the 13 inn. against the career save leader Trevor Hoffman, they went on to beat the Padres in a one-game playoff. They swept the hot Phillies 3-0 and the Diamondbacks 4-0. All that with a tiny 54 million dollar payroll. (38 million if you take veteran Todd helton out of the equation). Putting that sum in perspective, that's less than half of 112 million and nowhere close to the 195 million spent by George Steinbrenner for his Yankees (A-Rod's 2007 salary alone is 28 million).

I guess money does not buy championships.

Perhaps after the World Series, I will be able to name couple more Rockies. So far, Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, ex-Met Kaz Matsui and that rookie guy, Tolusomething are my heroes.

Short Term Memory Failure or Big Hand?

2007-10-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

Reaserchers have found that an individual's Short Term Memory (STM) can hold up to 7 items for 30 seconds. The STM can only fail because of decay (after that 30 sec.) or interference (new info interfering with old info). Plus, with rehearsal (verbal or mental repetition), the info can easily transfer from the STM to the Long Term Memory.

So, next time you check your cards five or six times in a hand before you act, I will put you on a big hand and fold... unless I have the nuts or unless I feel that you are retarded.

3 Poker lessons about the Cowboys.

2007-10-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

Lesson #1: Pair of Kings is not the absolute best starting hand in poker.

Lesson #2: It is ok to fold a pair of Kings preflop, if you are being re-reraise by someone (especially by a tight player).

Lesson #3: A set of Kings can mean trouble after an unicolored flop.

A Class Act

2007-10-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

Karol: "KJ has a lot of minuses. He's a Mets fan, he's a Democrat and he was "discovered" by Dawn Summers who has notoriously terrible taste in people. Turns out, though, he's got a lot of plusses too: he "plays poker good" (we chopped a tournament on Saturday night), can keep up with me at the bar, has an adorable smile and, most importantly, reads and likes this blog. Ok, we'll keep 'im.".

Karol had a bittersweet Monday night. Her precious Yankees hit 3 home runs, lost and was eliminated. Her second favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys had six turnovers, won miraculously and stayed undefeated.

Please meet Karol.

Let's go(lf) Yankees...

2007-10-08T22:48:00.000-07:00

To: Karol, Ari, Ron and all other Yankees fans.

I am deeply sorry.

Sincerely,
KJ

Unintentional joke of the day

2007-10-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

CLEVELAND -- A group of Canadian Soldiers attacked Jacobs Fields during the latter stages of Friday's American League Division Series contest between the Indians and Yankees.

Who wants to go in Iraq now when you can attack Jacobs Field. Oh... Canada!!!

Lebron James Irks the local fans.

2007-10-05T10:24:00.001-07:00

Cavaliers superstar Lebron James showed up at Jacobs Field for the first Game of the Yankees-Indians last night wearing a New York Yankees cap!!!.

Being a Yankee fan is Crazy but Ok, Mr. James. But showing up in a stadium of ~45,000 people wearing the enemy cap in a city where you are called King is Crazy and Stupid.

Lucky for him he was at Jacobs Field. Imagine him employed by the Celtics with this same cap at the Fenway Park.

Ugly!

Quote of the Week...

2007-10-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

"...The Mets, this week-end, became the first team in baseball history to lose fifteen out of their last eleven games" -Mets fan Jimmy Kimmel.

Oh well...

2007-09-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

I guess this was not the Mets' year after all. There will be no October for the team that lead the NL East by seven games on Sept. 12. So weird. The Mets just completed the 2nd biggest team's meltdown in baseball history. Second only to the 2004 Yankees when they lost the ALCS to the RedSox after leading 3 games to n0thing.

This is an early time for Mets fans to say, "see ya next year".

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies for winning their first NL East crown since 1993. They obviously wanted it more than the Mets.

Let's hope that the front office took good notes. They will need to blow up the whole bullpen with Rick Peterson in it. Let Glavine walk (what a way to end your career, Tom!) and go after Santana. Also Delgado, LoDuca and Green should be replaced by some young bloods.

This is, ladies and gentleman, a very sad day for Mets fans.

Good bye!

Ya Gotta Believe...

2007-09-29T11:18:00.001-07:00

Let's Go Nats!

Let's Go Nats!

Let's Go Nats!

GameLive Update: Nats 4 Phillies 2, End of Game. Mets are tied with the Phillies for the NL East's 1st place. It's Tom Glavine vs Dontrelle Willis tomorrow!!!

Down to the wire

2007-09-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

With 4 games remaining, the Mets' lead over Phillies is 4. The Cards will be in town tonight and we will host the Marlins this final week-end. Phillies are playing the Braves for one more game and will spend the week-end playing the Nationals.

Someone in the Mets has a hitting streak going on. I won't write anything about it until the streak is over. I don't want to jinx it.

Don't worry fans, last year, the Cardinals finished the regular season in a similar way. They ended up winning it all.

Man of his Word (... not quite).

2007-09-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

If you remember or scroll down to my last post about poker, (and I am hoping no one does), you probably remember or see me saying this: "I will stop playing poker... for the month of September." Allow me to give you an update: KJ kept his word... until the 24th day of September.

Or maybe he kept his word period.

Since I have never been one to make empty promises and one to quit, I decided that the best course of action was to play poker for free at Pokerstars.com.

I hope that we all agree that when one says "I'll stop playing Poker" he or she actually means "I'll stop gambling". I was honestly desperate to see cards. Not to gamble. By the way, Mary, commenting on my last poker post found this:

I quote: "A study in the February issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry indicates that a new drug, Nalmefene, may help reduce urges in pathological gamblers. The drug is not yet approved for the treatment of gambling addiction." Nice work, Mary. Now, let's all go out and vote for Obama.

So, last night I finally decided to register to this pokerstars' $250 tourney. Admission was 10FPP (pokerstars points). I haven't played for more than 2 weeks. This tourney was kind of practice to me. I played like I was playing in the Main Event. I was watching chip average, pots, # of remaining players. I was bluffing, trapping, calculating odds and... winning. I was the chip leader of the whole tournament for a good 10 minutes too. I had forgotten that the best outcome possible was not $8,250,000 but only $35 (which is how much one would pay for a bus trip to AC and a snack).

After the second break, I had about 65,000 chips against the average 15,000. I was sent to this table with one of the chip leaders of the tourney (110,000). This guy was calling with anything. I couldn't wait to pick up a decent hand and to double up on him. I was finally dealt a pretty As10s. I was the button. Dude was BB. The action fold its way to me, I raised all-in. SB fold. Dude called. For the first-time all tournament I was on the brink of elimination. He showed Ac3h. I smiled. I got him dominated! That's not even a 3to1 situation. I could not ask for a better position.

However, I forgot one thing. THIS WAS STILL SEPTEMBER. In this september, I lost more money than I ever lose playing poker in a month. I am down $675 in the 9th month of the year. (+100,-40,-200,+50,-85,(+300,-800)). (Personal note for you: Keep track of all your wins and loses.) I could have been up more than a thousand and change if it was not for the month of September. In this same month, F-train was spitting on God's plan. Ck was trying to find what is worst than worst. Dawn, Alceste and Mary were literally fighting over the "least loser" title and all blame it on a 124.4pounds train.

In September.

As10s against A3off. Run it 10 times. or 100 times. Chances are A10 suited would won 90% of the time against A3o. Flop was 8d3h7s. I jumped on my keyboard looking for the button "print screen" which I could not locate. Turn: Ks. Now, I have a Flush draw. 13 Outs.

The Time was 12:55am. It was a new day, but not a new month.

River: Jc

F*$#@%

Then, I received this email from Pokerstars to congradulate for my great run at the tournament.

PokerStars Tournament #59554950, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: 10 FPP
3808 players
$250.00 added to the prize pool by PokerStars.com
Total Prize Pool: $250.00

Tournament started - 2007/09/24 - 22:40:00 (ET)
Dear Family Ice,
You finished the tournament in 202nd place.A $0.22 award has been credited to your Real Money account. Congratulations!

That $.22 represent where I might fail to keep my word. A definition of Gambling is to engage in any activity in which 'money is put at risk' (I did not put any $ at risk), for the purpose of 'making a profit'. ($.22). :(

So, am I a Man of His Word?

What a MESS!!!

2007-09-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

Ejections. Blown saves. Errors. Injuries. Mota and Sosa. The METS are turning into a MESS. Phillies are now 1 1/2 games behind with 10 to play.

“A lot of crazy stuff happening. Some of it, you can’t believe. We’ve lost every which way. It’s hard to believe it’s happening.” -Glavine

“Wish and hope and pray,” -Wagner

I am nervous.

Attention Mets fans...

2007-09-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

I am here to announce that the METS will finish atop the NL East this year.

Thank you.

I am thinking about quitting Poker...

2007-09-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

... and I am not kidding.

I spent the week-end in Atlantic City to learn two things: I am addicted to Poker and I will always be at the losing end whenever a bad beat occur (by bad beat... I don't mean the ones that get paid).

Addicted. More than 24 hours of shuffling between poker tables without sleep, and almost without food; To spend more than half of that time up by ~300 (that's $25/hr. and 2times the buy-in), and to continue to play regardless of physical exhaustion. The normal person would stop and call it a successful trip. To take two bad beats in a row and stick around. The normal person would curse the dealer and walk away. To re-buy for $200 after that.

That's just sick! I am not normal. Call a doctor.

Unlucky. I guess Poker... is not always about how you play the game; it is also how lucky you are. Although it may not have come as a big surprise to you that KJ takes his bad beats happily (part of his "don't show emotions on the table" theory), Saturday afternoon was another example of this attitude.

My recent sick beat journey included not one but two hands:

6 0r 7 players
MP, CO, SB, BB (~$210), UTG (~$100), KJ ($515)Preflop: UTG called $2, I raised $12 with AhQh, MP, CO, SB folded, BB called, UTG called Flop: ($37) 9c, Kh, Jh (3 players). SB checks, BB said "Check to the raiser" (to me). I felt that he had something however I still bet my straight/flush/straight flush draws $25. BB called. UTG went all-in. I am thinking that since UTG was low stack, he was probably ready to go all-in with a high pair or if he hit two pairs. I put BB on a straight draw or even a low flush draw and expected him to fold after I called. UTG surprisingly called. Turn: 2h (~$300 in the pot). I am nervous with my nuts flush. BB checks again to me. At this point, I thought BB was not on a flush draw or he will bet, and he was not on a straight draw or have a Q10 or he will fold before the turn. I put him on a set (99 JJ or K9). I bet $75 for almost all his chips. He raised all-in. I called. I asked him if he want to flip the cards over, he said no. I was very nervous. River: (~$300+~$180). "Don't pair the board" I said silently to John, the dealer. You think they listen? River was 9 of spades. BB showed Jd9d, UTG won the pot with KK. I mucked my cards. I was back about even to my buy-in.

1hour later, 2nd hand: I do not recall the action before the turn. I was against that woman who was playing strong poker all night/morning long. I had As2s. I hit my flush on the turn Jd8s6s5s the pot was about $20. I bet $20 at the turn, she called. The river was 9 of spades AGAIN. I was kind of happy because she might have a King high flush. Action to her, she said "Are you going to bet your Ace?" and she bet $5. "What?" I responded "No. but I will have to still the pot" and raised to $35. Next thing I know she said all-in. I did not take a look at the board and instantly called for all but 0ne dollar of my stack (~$250). I showed my flush. She showed 7 of spades and a Q. The dealer was about to push the pot to me when I heard her screaming at the dealer "I won". Moment of silence for me... I thought I won too. The dealer said "I am sorry, sir. SHE made a straight flush". I watched quietly the pot taking another route to his destination. I was left with a dollar. I was outplayed by her. I should have take a moment to analyze her story.

"All-in next hand" I said, with my trademark humor that I utilize to hide my anger and frustration when bad beats happen to me.

I re-bought for $200 which I lost about seven hours later.

I promise whenever I receive my MD degree. I will invent the drug that will help us all addicted of poker... myself first. I will stop playing poker... for the month of September. And, I am very confident that my "sick beat" journey will stop next month.

About title... I was just kidding.

Do the Math...

2007-09-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

David Wright hit his 30th home run of the season on Sunday! Wright became the 3rd Mets and 30th player and the 4th youngest in Major league history to hit 30 Homers and steal 30 bases in a year.

This year seems to be the Year of milestones in baseball. Sammy Sosa hit his 600*th career home run. Yesterday, Jim Thome joined Frank Thomas and Mr. "I will be cold in October" A-Rod as the '07 newest members of the 500 home runs club. Craig Biggio has now 3,000+ hits. And don't forget that Barry Bonds is now the home run king at 762* passing Hank Aaron 755 homers.

Wright's achievement means something special to me. The continuity of a pattern. With Pedro recording his 3000 strikeouts and Glavine winning his 300 games this year, the Mets new big number have to be 3 (if the Law of Exponents is true). 3000K/10 = 300W/10 = 30th to 30HR/30SB/10 = 3... The next number for a 3rd World Series for the Mets.

It's basic Math.

The Mets honor 9/11 city's emergency personnel.

2007-09-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

New York Mets players and coaches will wear special caps bearing the initials of different New York city agencies during tonight's game against the Braves at Shea. After the game, players and coaches will sign their caps and donate them to charity auctions.

The caps will be from eight different organizations: the FDNY, NYPD, OEM, NYSCO, EMS, Port-Authority Office, Police Department K-9 Unit and NYCBS.

Six year ago, the Mets and Braves played the city's first baseball game since the 9/11 terrorist attack. Mike Piazza hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning that lifted the Mets over the Braves 3-2.

Poker went broke on a Saturday night.

2007-09-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

Playing good poker requires a substantial mental effort. However, sometimes when you don't have enough information-processing resources (...because you are tired, stressed or if you just feel like playing badly) to execute strategies you can still perform well. Yes, you can be a donkey and still win. You can donk it up sometimes! This was my lesson learned from the KJ-Technique last Saturday night. Warning: This post contains a lot of donkey explicit language and play. Readers' discretion is advised.

Saturday night was my second WeHos tournament. Last month, I was in the money (4th out of 22). This month, I barely made it to the final table. I finished 8th place even though I was the short-stack after the first hand, the short-stack after my rebuy, the short-stack when I made it to the final table and before I went all-in. This is what happen when you play between the F-train and Mary Magdalene and when defending champion, Alceste and the one who finished with the biggest stack of the tournament, Jordan sit at your table. I was lucky to see AA once. I had of course no customers when I raised to 1200 (blinds 100/200), and with Adkd I went all-in (3700) when re-raising Jordan's raise of 900 (150/300). He of course made a nice call with his AcKc. Chop Chop. These were my only big hands of the tournaments. The rest of my hands varied between 72 and Q7. I won my biggest pot with 109o when I chased and hit my straight till the river. I spent/wasted a lot of time chasing cards: straight, flush, high pairs, high cards... I chased everything (~except the girls). Result: Short Stack for a long period of time. 8th place - it could have been worse if it was not for my pokermates who decided that Saturday night was the night when poker would lose and lose only.

"My 10s got cracked" someone said at the second table. "10s never get cracked" the F-train replied.

I smiled. I had a silly explanation for that comment. TT, JJ, QQ, KK AA never get cracked at the crackhouse. NEVER. Hands like 78, 83, 94 or J2 get cracked. If you happen to have KK and your opponents have 87, 75 or any low cards you can consider yourself underdog and lucky if you got out alive. Example (1): Dawn 87o almost got cracked by three callers (all all-in pre-flop, Dawn was last to act). They all went crazy. For the sake of sanity, I folded my Qs9s. The river gave Dawn a set of 7. The F-train lost with 75, his kicker was too low!!! MADNESS. (Poker loses big time). Example (2) Fisch got paid $1 by each player when playing 72. He raised all-in. We all lost an American dollar to another 72. (Poker loses again...) Example (3) Carol, the short-stack specialist who amazingly finished in the top 3 of the tournament, lost $20 playing high cards with F-train; her K versus his A (Wait... That's not even Poker, so Poker loses again). Example (4) F-train played couple hands with one card giving the other card to Fisch... with hands signals they decided to call/bet or to fold. They almost won a pot! (Poker went home broke.).

One of my strongest attributes is the ability to self-analyze after each tournament and look for improvement. I will incorporate something new to my game. To Play more loosely... not like a Donkey per se. but just to let other Poker players know that I am not a one-dimensional player. Let see what happen after my AC trip scheduled for friday night.

I was happy to see them all again. Dawn, Alceste, Mary, Karol, Ron, Ari, Gus and Phil. I enjoyed meeting for the first time Fisch, F-Train, CK, Jordan, Jesse and couple of others that I did not have a chance to chat with.

Don't worry Poker will survive.

Time to do some reading...

2007-09-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

Breaking News: I finally decide to read David Slansky "No Limit Hold'em: Theory and Practice".

I never read this book or any other poker book because reading them was against the theory behind the KJ-Technique which is to Practice ONLY and exchange notes with poker mates in order to develop your own style, one you are very comfortable with.

This time I'll make an exception based upon some reviews I've read. This book is highly recommended by many poker experts. So, if I am breaking the rules, I suggest you to do the same if you haven't read this book yet.

The next time the police will ask me to search my book bag without a warrant in the New York City mass transit system, they will find my MCAT books and David Slansky's NLHT&P.

A Tough combination!

Another setback for Carlos Delgado.

2007-09-05T19:09:00.000-07:00

Carlos Delgado will be sidelined for a week to 10 days with a strained muscle in his right hip. The Mets first baseman hurt himself on a awkward swing during an 11-7 victory over the Reds. In a -what I call- catastrophic season, Delgado was starting to go on a tear. He hit his 22nd homer Monday and has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, with four homers during that span.

In 2007, Delgado is only hitting .255. He started the season as the cleanup hitter and he struggled his way down to the 5th and 6th spots. Delgado is third on the team in home runs (22) and RBIs (80) behind Carlos Beltran's (27, 89) and David Wright's (26, 91).

Mets will probably play Shawn Green and Jeff Conine at first base while Delgado heals. The team will need a decent production from these two in order to protect their NL East lead.

New York leads the NL East by five games over the Phillies and 7 1/2 over the Braves. Mets will play the Braves and the Phillies. (I will be at the Shea watching both the series-finales wed. 12 and sun. 16)

Quote of the day...

2007-09-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

"Kearns blogs! And he's a Mets fan, so go give him the gift of traffic. Plus, he blogged about me and we're egotistical". -Dawn.

A special thanks to the IHO girls and Alceste for the support.

Congradulations Pedro Martinez...

2007-09-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

...on achieving your 3,000th strikeout. You are the 15th player to do so. Now, it's time for you and Tom (the 300 game-winner) to bring a World Series to the fans. Let's go METS!

The METS are back!!!

2007-09-02T23:48:00.000-07:00

After all, being swept by the Phillies was not that bad. The METS took it as a wake-up call and swept the Braves, pushed them back 7 1/2 GB and doubled their lead against the Phillies who is standing now 4 games back with 26 remaining.

More good news... I will not go to the Labor Day parade because PEDRO MARTINEZ will be on the mound for the METS. PEDRO who? Yes, him... The Ace of spade is BACK in the rotation as for Monday 1:35 PM. SWEEEET! With him back the METS rotation will be PEDRO, GLAVINE, El DUQUE, MAINE and PEREZ. No deck of cards I know has Five Aces. But imagine all them on top of their games.

It's time for prediction...
1. The METS will not lose more 6 games this september...
2. Playoff will be easier for the fans with PEDRO and El DUQUE.
3. a 3rd WORLD SERIES ('69, '86, '07)!!!
4. A World Series (of poker) bracelet for me in 2012.

The KJ-Technique

2007-08-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

Back in the late 1970’s, the US government commissioned a study to look at effective group decision making. In the study, they asked 30 military experts to study intelligence data and try to construct the enemy’s troop movements.

Each expert analyzed the data and compiled a report. The commission then “scored” each report on how well it reported the actual troop movements. They found that the average military expert only got 7 out of a 100 elements correct.

Each expert then reviewed all of the other experts’ reports and rewrote their initial assessment. The average accuracy for these revised reports was 79 out of a 100.
What was different between the first report and the second? The experts didn’t have any new information. All they had were the perspectives of the other experts. When they added those perspectives to their own, their accuracy increased ten-fold.

When they compared the all 15 teams’ results, they all had basically the same top items: Need to define requirements better; Need to understand the users better; and Need to have better communication with their design team. Originally published: May 11, 2004

This was called the KJ-Technique. I use this same Technique... in my poker world. How? What? Why?

A couple weeks ago in AC, I met a wonderful group of poker players that happen to live in my area. I played them for three straight hours in AC... I got very lucky that day. In one hand, Alceste, short-stacked raised me $12 with AA. I had a lot of chips in front of me, and I really liked my 77, easy call, let see the flop. Flop was J73. Alceste went all-in. I instantly called. I was surprised to see that I was against AA. I just got lucky. Dawn, on my left, was playing very loose poker and Mary, on my right, tight poker. They were doing very good. At one point, Alceste said he was up $1 for the day. That was good enough for me... he was taking a lot of bad beats. In one hand he thought he had the nuts... while the other guy had the nuts. YACK! So, the trio had different styles, they were different people and still they all play POKER well. I realized that day they were probably using the TECHNIQUE... the KJ-TECHNIQUE. NETWORK. FRIENDS. People playing together, mixing up their styles, helping each other, feeding off each other. If you want to be an expert poker player, you need to master the KJ-TECHNIQUE.

I was invited to a mini-tournament at Dawn's place, two weeks after. I was hoping that Alceste had forgotten that hand we played in AC. No he did not. The hand is now stored in his Long Term Memory. I was greeted by it. That night, I met other poker players from New York. Ari, Charles, the comedian, his wife, Jamie, who somehow reminded me of Jamie Gold, Karol, who lived in Haiti -where I was raised- for a couple of days, Karol's brother and some of his friends. Nice environment, very nice people. They even had a Birthday cake break for Jamie Gold. I finished sixth in the tournament. The hand that killed me was Karol's 44 going all-in with my AJ after the flop, flop was A4J. I will never call her all-in again. In another one, Ms. "I play poker loose" Dawn, made a straight on the turn with me flopping top pair 9. I had A9. Very bad call... I know. I made that call only because Dawn got away with 72o couple hands earlier. She got a big chunk of my chips. Not too bad, I did not want to boot her out of HER tournament either. My read... was that she is not that friendly when she loses a big hand. Pokerwise, I learned and learned a lot. I also really like the people I played with. One night. One tournament. It was much better than sitting home playing video games. I was initiated as a member of the Crackhouse (don't ask.) and I will be using a lot of KJ-TECHNIQUE.

Other reasons???

YES. My initials are KJ. I also like KJ, the hand. Some people call the hand TROUBLE. At least I like it better than 72, and recently better than AA. No kidding. Actually, I hate AA. I tend to push all-in everytime, so people can fold. Flops never like my AA. Once in AC, while I was playing one of my last hands... I saw AA. I was first to act. Oupps! Push, I said to myself. Some Stupid* called my AmericanAirlines and 9timestheblind ($18) bet with Q9o -his favorite hand I guess. Flop was T8J rainbow. I checked, he pushed all-in 3times the pot (about $105). It took me three seconds to fold. (...only because I was playing with AA). Stupid* showed me his cards, I was not surprised, deja-vu all over again. This F*** flop against my AA again?. I left that table couple hands after... I had Kd3d. (not KJ but close) 5 players including that Stupid*. No raise. Flop Qd7s5s. Someone bet $5, 2 folds, Stupid* and I called. Turn Ad. Check, Check, Check. River 2d. Check, Stupid* bet... $25, :)))))) I made a "this is my last hand" speech and raise to $75... I seriously thought I raised too much. Third player folded. and... Stupid* went all-in. :))))))))))))))))))))). I called. He showed QQ. (???) I showed my flush. (+$~150 in one hand). He could not believe it... Actually from his look, he thought he had me... Yeah right! I stacked my chips. I folded two other hands... and went back to BK.