"911 does not provide a babysitter, ma'am"
It's phone calls like this (true story via Romenesko) that make me question efforts to increase voter turnout through lotteries and whatnot.
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It's funny because it's true. Slim and I feel like characters in a Beckett play, Waiting for FIOS.
Tuesday night poker
Great night at the weekly 2-5 NLHE poker game I go to once or twice a month; when I made stupid mistakes, I was able to cut my losses to $5-$50 instead of a few hundred; when I got hit with a bad beat (lost to a two-outer on the river in one hand against T4s; had to give up KK v. AK when AQ3 flop hit in another; lost AK v. 43 when the short stack called my big raise from the big blind), I was able to avoid going on tilt, and turn around and take the money back from the same person with a big hand, almost always because the other player was overaggressive.
Example: 6-way pot that had been raised to $25 by the big blind, there was no question I was going to stay in with my 99 small blind. Flop comes J98, two spades. I check; middle position goes all in for $87; cutoff reraises all in for $180 total; I call and everyone else folds; the other two both show KJo, and I win back the money I lost when 43 had doubled up through my pre-flop AK raise a couple of hands earlier, even when the case J comes on the river.
Example #2: lots of limpers, I'm in the small blind with KK, I raise to $71 to clear out the riff-raff, get one caller on tilt. Grrr: flop comes ATA, I bet out so I don't have a chance to get bluffed out, he calls all-in with QJ and is drawing dead.
The game was unusually passive pre-flop, so I ended up limping in a lot of awful hands with tremendous implied odds that paid off with good draws, such as the several hundred dollars I won on 53s (called sizable bet on turn with implied pot odds and 9 outs, third 5 came on river, I get a call on my $150 check-raise), 54s (flush on river) and 65s (two pair on flop, boat on turn, A on river to encourage A6 to go all in).
Big hand of the night: I'm on the button with 77; it's six-way action after middle position raised to $20. Flop comes 573, but all clubs. Checked around to me, I bet $100, original raiser calls, everyone else folds. Blech, I figure I'm beat. Turn, 4 of diamonds. Relatively big stack middle position checks, I'm not putting new money into this hand if I don't have to, so I check. River 3 of diamonds. Middle position all in for $400+. I call instantly, he turns over KQ clubs, and my second-nuts boat takes the pot. Very lucky he misplayed that.
Another lucky hand: I had QQ under the gun, limped, raise from early position, couple of callers, all-in from the small blind, who was capable of doing that with 44 or higher, so it was an easy decision to call that bet, and the original early raiser also called all-in, and I took a big pot when my hand held up against AK and JJ.
Example: 6-way pot that had been raised to $25 by the big blind, there was no question I was going to stay in with my 99 small blind. Flop comes J98, two spades. I check; middle position goes all in for $87; cutoff reraises all in for $180 total; I call and everyone else folds; the other two both show KJo, and I win back the money I lost when 43 had doubled up through my pre-flop AK raise a couple of hands earlier, even when the case J comes on the river.
Example #2: lots of limpers, I'm in the small blind with KK, I raise to $71 to clear out the riff-raff, get one caller on tilt. Grrr: flop comes ATA, I bet out so I don't have a chance to get bluffed out, he calls all-in with QJ and is drawing dead.
The game was unusually passive pre-flop, so I ended up limping in a lot of awful hands with tremendous implied odds that paid off with good draws, such as the several hundred dollars I won on 53s (called sizable bet on turn with implied pot odds and 9 outs, third 5 came on river, I get a call on my $150 check-raise), 54s (flush on river) and 65s (two pair on flop, boat on turn, A on river to encourage A6 to go all in).
Big hand of the night: I'm on the button with 77; it's six-way action after middle position raised to $20. Flop comes 573, but all clubs. Checked around to me, I bet $100, original raiser calls, everyone else folds. Blech, I figure I'm beat. Turn, 4 of diamonds. Relatively big stack middle position checks, I'm not putting new money into this hand if I don't have to, so I check. River 3 of diamonds. Middle position all in for $400+. I call instantly, he turns over KQ clubs, and my second-nuts boat takes the pot. Very lucky he misplayed that.
Another lucky hand: I had QQ under the gun, limped, raise from early position, couple of callers, all-in from the small blind, who was capable of doing that with 44 or higher, so it was an easy decision to call that bet, and the original early raiser also called all-in, and I took a big pot when my hand held up against AK and JJ.