Just woke up from a pretty decent sleep and feeling a little better from this morning's fiasco. Being by myself on the road can get lonely sometimes. Although I enjoy the freedom to do whatever I want whenever, it's nice to have someone you get along with for the ride, especially when you've had a bad day. Been playing Fieldrunners on my new iTouch before bed a lot after watching Q spend every free second scheming up new ways to defeat the game. It is quite addictive and I ended up lying there for another good hour with my eyes barely open just to make it a little further.

Oh did I mention Don Cheadle was playing at the table next to mine last night? I guess it's my first non-poker celeb experience in L.A. and it's funny because I just watched his new movie Traitor and Q was making jokes about pwning him at the tables lol.

Tomorrow is NYE and I must go to the mall today to at least get my nails done and try to pick up some more presents. As for poker, I will try not to get too lazy and stay long at a mediocre game when there is so much table selection. I will also be more wary of "special" situations and try not to come out a sucker.

Angle-shooting retardedness or simply too tired for good judgment?

Ok so after having breakfast at the sports bar with a pint and trying to resolve Tri's new year's dilemma, we both sat down at the same $1500 table. We decided we would try to keep the heads up matches grounded to only small pots since it is rather silly to gun for each other when there are so many other worthwhile opponents in the game. He was up to his usual antics in no time (uber LAG supremo), so I mostly stayed out of his way until I realized he was stuck in 6th gear and needed a kick in the nuts to play some better poker. Being up a few hundred bucks and realizing pretty much every player at the table was gunnin for Tri's money, I decided to get a table change and wound up beside the world's drunkest asian player (he would make Scotty Nguyen look like a gentleman). He made things quite uncomfortable as he constantly leaned inches from my face every hand whispering broken drunken Engrish, but because he said nothing but nice things and tried to offer me advice on how the only way to make money at poker is to play squeeky tight, I decided not to be a poor sport and complain to the floorman. The table fluctuated between decent action and weak-tight uneventfulness, so I thought many times about getting a table change and even asked the supervisor for one that never got responded. I understand they work on tips and believe me, I am very generous if they go out of their way to help me, but I want to see that they are proactive and would prefer to reward them only after they have granted my request.

Anywho, so after a couple of hours of creating pots for myself from being card-dead and being forced to fold everytime I get played back at when making a move, I am hovering around even until I catch myself having to work way to hard to win pots and calling river bets super light from not reading the board properly. That's definitely my cue to call it an even night, so I rack up my chips and was ready to leave when the guy to my right tells me I might as well see 1 more free hand. Meanwhile, a new player comes in at seat 1 (I am at seat 9), and appears to buy-in for $500. I recognize her as a dealer who often hangs out in the room after her shift, but have never actually seen her play before. On my last hand, LAG to my right blind raises, I call with 22 and 7 players end up in the $175 pot. Flop comes K72 all spades. I am not exaggerating when I say that within a span of 5 seconds, all 6 players check before I get a chance to process the board, at which point I had to announce to the dealer right when he was about to burn that I had not yet acted. At this point, the players who know what they're talking about defend me profusely as they make jokes about checking out of turn really fast so players before you won't get a chance to bet, while the donks who want a free turn tell me it was my fault I was not on top of the action. The floorperson gets called over, and even though the dealer chick apologized for checking out of turn and stating obviously that I had not acted, the retard who got trained by monkeys tell me it's my responsibility to act and to stop the dealer before the burn is peeled. Note that the turn isn't even out yet. I notified the dealer immediately when I realized he had skipped me (even he admitted this to be the floorperson and confessed it was his fault), and yet the 3 donks arguing for a free card get the benefit of the ruling. I am pissed and tell him he is ridiculously wrong, but am left with no contingency as he tells me the ruling is final. The turn is a brick 8. I replaced my rejected $100 bet into the pot and asian lady min-raises me to $200. Everyone folds around and I look over at her stack, still 3 piles of $5 for $300 and some change. I shove and she calls me with a flopped flush. River is a brick, and the dealer tells me I owe $600 something more. Before I could process what happened, she brings out a stack of white chips ($100's) she had behind on the other side and I am stuck for the night on this life-tilt hand. Then I hear comments from the players about how she is known for checking out of turn for info and angle-shooting to maximize. WTF>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I should have been more careful and made sure that she only had $300 left, but I was so heated and pissed off from all the donkey comments about me not being friendly and arguing to bet $100 on the flop that it did not even occur to me that she would have no other hand in that spot and did not realize how clouded my judgment was until it was all over. I stand up with a near empty tray welcoming myself to L.A. out loud as the guy to my right has the nerve to try to hit on me as I make my exit.

Gettin' cozy up in herrr

I enjoy the game at Commerce very much.

I began the day casually with a nice stroll around the nearby outlet mall searching for belated holiday gifts. Ate a delicious Hawaiin fish sandwich for breakfast (at 5pm) that tasted like a cross between a filet-o-fish and a classic patty-on-a-bun from a bakery around my middle school. I must say L.A. has the best food anywhere. From Mexican pho to authentic Mandarin hotpot, specialty restaurants are everywhere and on average, much better than anything that can be found back home. Since this was my first day alone in the city, beginning with a Starbucks Chai Latte was a must to incorporate some familiarity into the experience, and though I couldn't find any appropriate gifts at the shops, the complex made for a pleasant walk and I did manage to find a cute purple jacket, which I had been looking for in T.O.

Poker was pleasant as well as I turned a decent profit playing a couple of hours. I do realize, however, that I really need to put in more time at this game if I am hoping to play the $10-20 no max. game in a month.

Also confirmed New Years plans for Giant Maximus with a friend from school. I figure it's either that or part-ay with degen poker players during the countdown (again), so I guess I'll be off commission for a few days after the event :)

It begins again at Commerce

I'm hungry. Perhaps I will wait until after I am fed to divulge my most recent perspectives in this brand-new, completely public blog (as opposed to the emo-rant-infested personal journals I am accustomed to scribbling in). 

Ok so I have decided against a $50 crappy in-room meal for one because I think I've been too spoiled on this trip already and I have to recompose my grinding schedule. Thus, this introduction will have to be cut short so I can start the day at the infamous Commerce casino in California. A far way from the comforts of home, but that is a sacrifice to be endured as I look out the window at the limitless possibilities only the city of angels can offer. 

I have had a completely surreal two weeks in the company of some of the world's best poker players, but vacation time is over and I must get back to work to build my own foundation of greatness xD