Although I much would have rather seen Ted Leo rock my socks (and perhaps more) off, having a $100 session on 1-2 isn't half bad either.

Weekend lineup:

Thursday: Casino Niagara (to lose my profit from tonight, lol)
Friday: Oktoberfest @ Canisius
Saturday: Radio Show then who knows what!
Sunday: THE SLACKERS! Good ska action! ¶ 11:11 PM |

An eventful day, at least. It was Amy's birthday, so obviously she didn't feel like doing any assignments she may have had. I will continue indoctrinating literacy and whatnot into her Thursday. I need more hours with the Transition Program as well, or else I won't get the 40 I need for SWK220.

After my WBNY buddies made fun of me for arranging to meet someone via Facebook("facebook date!" i hate you bill!), I actually did meet someone really cool. Her name's Toni, she drives a 96 Corolla, enjoys Sufjan Stevens, and, if I do say so myself, is rather attractive.

I need to meet more new people anyway, so whatever happens, happens. Hopefully I'll get to see her again sometime soon. Drag her to the Mountain Goats show on October 18th. Or vice versa, considering I don't have a car here.


Speaking of music, WBNY has recently become rather infatuated with this Hasidic Jew named Matisyahu, who sings beautiful spiritual songs, raps, and can do a beat-box like nobody's business. Oh yeah.

_______________

Played in a friendly $5 tournament with Andy and some people from Tower 4 tonight, including the rather slow-witted and defender of-his-Italian-heritage-to-the-point-of-hitting-me-for-making-an-Italian-joke --- Zach. He's never been great at poker, so it was more like a 5 person game plus his $5 into the pot.

I made it heads up with Andy, and pulled off what we both admitted to be an amazing move on the last hand -- I had a full house, ACES FULL OF KINGS on 4th street, to his pair of sevens. I made it look like I thought he had the Ace or King, and called to 5th street, where I proceeded to "bluff" by raising all-in. He called, and I won. $25 profit. Played in an Omaha Pot Limit tournament online tonight ($10) and won, getting another $50 profit, putting about 70 bucks back into my UB account, after dropping about 45 or so this afternoon. So overall a good day.


_____________________________


One thing I miss about home is the long walks I'd always take either by myself or with Laura, where we could just yap about literature or politics. Or going to the movies with Vince and goofing off. The last few good friends of mine in MD are few and far between, but that doesn't mean I don't think about 'em.

Looking forward to my dad coming up in a couple weeks. Not looking forward to my lame-ass dance appreciation test tomorrow that I didn't study for. ¶ 1:22 AM |

My good buddy James won $4500 Canadian tonight playing his favorite game -- Blazing 7's Double Jackpot slots. If there's anyone who deserves it (besides me), it's him. So I was happy and jealous (since I lost $20 on a table I was getting reads at left and right, stupid players, etc. A table I should have won money at, but couldn't catch a card and didn't make any bluffs).

Came back home and won $50 via Omaha on UltimateBet. So money-wise, no problem, but I could have had a lot better time. Cards seem to be the only thing that makes me happy anymore, and when I don't do well at it, well, it sucks.

But the new Coheed album makes me happy.

I went to a party on Saturday with Bill, and had an OK time. Nothing spectacular, but the hosts were super cool, and Bill has some pretty hot friends. It was a good chance to drink and not get totally smashed. Had a chocolate martini, which wasn't bad.

I have tests in Logic and -- Dance Appreciation (bwaha) this week. I need to study for both of them, believe it or not. ¶ 1:27 AM |

Before I start talking about cards, let me tell you all that the new Coheed and Cambria might just be my new #1 album of 2005, and that says a LOT considering the amount of music I put into my poor ears.

Tenspeed (of God's Blood and Burial) is my new favorite song. Jamiroquai's "Don't Give Hate a Chance" off their brand new Dynamite is up there as well.


Anyway, earlier today, I played in a $10 tournament on UB and won, recouping $50 of my $100 loss at Casino Niagara last night, where James ironically enough took most my money in one hand at a 1-2 NL ring game.

Tonight, I was playing 1-2 Limit on UB again, and --- the people playing there were God-awful fish that I would normally treasure to be at these tables, cause they just give you their money, practically.

But sometimes, they catch their cards. Their one and two outers -- they go from practically drawing dead on the flop to taking a $40 pot that should have been yours.

Observe:

Nailz16: -- --
pocks9: -- --
MuseumTower: -- --
HAWKEYE90: -- --
Kevnation: Qc Qh

Pre-flop:

Kevnation raises to $2. Nailz16 calls. pocks9
re-raises to $3. MuseumTower re-raises to $4.
HAWKEYE90 calls. Kevnation calls. Nailz16 calls.
pocks9 calls.

Flop (board: 5c 3s 2s):

MuseumTower bets $1. HAWKEYE90 calls. Kevnation
raises to $2. Nailz16 folds. pocks9 re-raises to
$3. MuseumTower calls. HAWKEYE90 folds. Kevnation
re-raises to $4. pocks9 calls. MuseumTower calls.


Turn (board: 5c 3s 2s Jc):

MuseumTower checks. Kevnation bets $2. pocks9
calls. MuseumTower calls.

River (board: 5c 3s 2s Jc 4c):

MuseumTower bets $2. Kevnation goes all-in for $.75.
pocks9 calls.

Showdown:

MuseumTower shows Qd Ad.
MuseumTower has Ad 5c 3s 2s 4c: straight, five high.
Kevnation shows Qc Qh.
Kevnation has Qc Qh 5c Jc 4c: a pair of queens.
pocks9 mucks cards.
(pocks9 has Th Ts.)


Hand #8515028-2323 Summary:

$1 is raked from a total pot of $43.75.
$1 is raked from the main pot of $41.25.
$0 is raked from side pot #1 of $2.50.
MuseumTower wins the main pot $40.25 with straight, five high.
MuseumTower wins the side pot $2.50 with straight, five high


Before, this, a guy caught a RUNNER RUNNER to get a straight.

That means he had a 7, and was all-in with 12 bucks, I had called all the way. I had top pair (aces).

The board had a 6 and an 8. Guess what cards came out?

4.

Then a 5. I nearly cried. And this was BEFORE the AQ hand.

I'm not broke, and am still up about $300 this year, but shit like this amazes me. It really does. I know that's what I get for playing low-stakes limit -- but my god.

Shit like this reminds me no matter how good I seem to be doing, it's possible to get hit hard in one night.

I don't let it faze me though. Only for a couple hours. When I go to the casino this weekend, I play my game the way I'll always play it. ¶ 1:33 AM |

Surprisingly had a good weekend, full of stuff.

Thursday night was party time, due to the fact that my Logic professor canceled class for Friday. Logic being my only class Friday, I had to go out....

So myself, James, and Adam ventured in their Cobalt to Irving NY where we stumbled upon the Irving Gaming Center. Not a Casino, just a place for old people to play slots, high stakes bingo, and for kids like us to play in a cold, tiny poker room cornered off for $1-2 NL Hold'Em.

I played well, accidently consuming non-decaf coffee -- and was high on life the whole night. Chatted up with nice guys from UB, laughed while we quoted Anchorman and Will Ferrel relentlessly, and still managed to rake in approximately $130 profit. This is seriously turning into a part-time job for me this year -- I've been keeping a very close eye on my actual wins and losses, so I really know how good my game is.

Got back around 3 AM, happy. I'll get back to Saturday, but tonight I was hanging out again with J&A at their apartment in Williamsville, playing a $5 game with Nick, Peter, and Andy. Lost heads-up to Nick, but whatever. We'll all steal each other's money anyway through gaming.

I was talking to Nick on the ride home, and some people don't realize how nerve-wracking having poker as your main hobby is. The realization that other people could be picking tells off you left and right, just waiting for a hand to take your money -- the realization that this a job where you may very well lose money.

I have set limits, but that doesn't stop the nerves I get from putting a $100 bill down, and getting it back in chips. After a few hands and maybe a pot or two I'll let up, but it's the adrenaline from a $200 pot and the ability to pay off a few bills through flipping up two cards that coincides.

Crazy, but I'm extremely confident I can keep up my game for the rest of the semester -- and continue having lady luck on my side if I'm behind in the hand.

_____________

Back to Saturday! I had a very fun (and slightly hung over but who cares!) night at a (mostly) superhero costume party on Rees Street. All my Sailor Moon friends looked great, and I had the pleasure of being "Tuxedo Mask," who was conveniently mistaken for the Phantom of the Opera every 5 minutes. I know I had a rose and everything, but c'mon people, didn't you watch sailor moon?

My buddy Bill had a full-spandex Mr. Incredible outfit, and there was everyone from Hugh Hefner, Spiderman, Jeff Fose as Curious George and the concept of "human filth." Love it.

Didn't try and "score," just drank Molsons, smoked cigarillos, and danced to Jamiroquai. Fun times.

The morning after was almost as good. I watched "Press Your Luck" while hung over, and burnt my hand with a brownie from a "Banquet" frozen dinner.

Next time I'm at a casino and I go all-in -- assuming I have the lead in the hand and don't want a certain card to come out, I'll keep yelling:

"NO WHAMMY NO WHAMMY NO WHAMMY ----- STOP!" ¶ 12:48 AM |

Things started looking up slightly today. Talked to my parents, which was nice.

I was able to line up some on-campus volunteer work for SWK220. I'll be the study partner (for lack of a better term) of a freshman student taking a very basic "Learning in College" course. She's a beginner reader, so I'll have my work cut out for me, but all the people I've met so far involved in the program have been incredibly nice and seem great. Huge thanks to my friend Niko who pointed this program out to me, and saved me from having to make a bus trip downtown once a week for decent volunteer work.

Received some assignments back in a couple classes, and I'm hovering around the A-, B+ range for most my classes so far where I've had graded work.


New Against Me! album is one of the best punk albums to be released in many moons.
New Harvey Danger is a refreshing change from a lot of stuff released this year.
New Death Cab has its ups and downs, but is overall a great album, much better than Transatlanticism.

Schedule for weekend looks like a possible Hold'Em game on Tremont for Thursday, a possible trip to the Casino on Friday, and a superhero party on Saturday, where I get to wear a....tuxedo mask. ¶ 12:29 AM |

I keep making decisions and keep taking incredible risks in all aspects of my life, and most of them have turned out favorably. There is, however, many more weeks left in the semester. Many more weeks to entirely compromise my morals and ideals, rather than just partially.

I won my friends' poker tournament the other day, and earned more money in a cash game, through one big hand of A-A. $200 profit overall, with another $50 earned today through the mathmatically enforced game of Omaha Hi/Lo. The key to that game is not playing like a fish, which I am so fucking tempted to do, cause otherwise online Omaha is the most boring shit in the world. But it's profitable.

I can calculate hands within a reasonable amount of time, and have my laptop in case of any difficulties. I know 7/9 of my hand by the flop, and I know exactly where I stand to win the hand or not on 4th street. I plan on playing 8/b for an hour or so tomorrow -- if I know what I'm doing, I'll have more profit at the end of the session.

This is all a reasonable income and success for a kid who's a novice poker player. And no matter in what way I'll manage to spend and lose money, I'm going to have a hard time ending this semester in the red, earnings wise.

________________________

In the rest of my life, nothing seems to be going quite as well. I've made bad choices and decisions, which I've yet to see the repercussions. I turn to God, and immediately feel horrible because for the past 3 months, I've only turned to Him in crisis.

A lot of people I know see therapists. Maybe I should consider one.

It's not all blackness, though. There's always hope and some sort of a goal to make. A lot of it involves getting my George Foreman grill to operate successfully, which was achivied with vigor this afternoon. It's a shame the cigar was bitter. But there's a lot more then that, I guarantee. And it's what keeps me going. ¶ 11:54 PM |

I've come to a striking conclusion that while I can still leave off the "desperately" attachment, I'm single and no longer loving it. I had fun the first week of school, plenty of drinking and gambling, but my classes have turned out to require much more work than last year.

And I'm really just sick of being single and going on one or two dates with people then not bothering, assuming it won't work or believing that the other person just isn't interested that much in me (it's certainly seemed that way multiple times). I haven't had an actual relationship since the end of high school, and it's kind of depressing.

On a lighter note, I had a good time tonight just chilling at my good friends' James and Adam's apartment. Big screen TV, beer, and they let me smoke their cigars. Even smuggled one back to my room (well, they gave it to me). Going back tomorrow night for a $40 poker game with (hopefully) 7-8 people. Preferrably 8.

I stopped drinking caffine almost one week ago. I still have stints where I'm really tired during the day, but I'm overall starting to get a lot more energy.

I technically haven't stopped completely (THANKS NIKO) cause I occasionally have chocolate milk or chocolate frosting (light!) on a small cupcake. But I've drastically reduced my consumption of sodas, and when I do have one, it's one of those uncaffeinated clear sodas.

Now I just need to work on the whole alcohol thing. I think I'll smoke my last cigar this weekend when I test out the new George Foreman with my awesome roommate Dave.

It was reported to me today that I'll get to train the "wee little pups" coming into WBNY this semester. I'll rip their taste in music to shreds. ¶ 1:54 AM |

Someone asked me the other day, "why are you so calm?" I wish I had an easy answer for that, but it did allow me to focus in on one of the few things which gets my adrenaline pumping, gets me focused and excited, occasionally scared, and that's at the poker table.

I've been feeling very confident in my game lately, and that feeling only escalated this afternoon when I proudly walked away from Casino Niagara with my buddy James up about $150 mostly through the 1-2 No Limit table. I only won a few major hands, but made some excellent plays and one hell of an amazing call.

I was sitting with Q-J suited (diamonds, baby) and raised it about 10 bucks before the flop. I had a few callers, making for a nice pot. The flop came down 10-K-Q, and I was left with nothing except an open ended straight draw in addition to my pair of Queens. Everyone checked after the flop, and the turn produced a rag, which led to a weak bet from Mr. Sunglasses, and folds around the table. I wasn't ready to give up this pot to a $5 bet, and stayed in.

The river came out with an Ace, giving me the ace-high straight. Unfortunatley, this also allowed there to be 3 Spades on the table, leaving the opening for a flush draw.

I didn't think he had the flush, so I opened up with a $25 bet, only to be raised all-in from Mr. Sunglasses.

I sat for about 2 minutes pondering the situation, finally deciding he didn't have the only hand that could possibly beat me (the flush) and called. He said "I have the straight," making me think it was gonna be a split pot.

But alas, his straight was simply 9 to K. He held the 9 and another card which gave him the straight, and didn't even realize the possibility for a higher straight. I took another $80 of his, making that pot the highlight of my stay at the card table.

I also had a pounding headache the entire afternoon, which didn't help matters. James unfortunatley did not do as well as I did, but he didn't seem too bothered, still being up in money from last week.

I'll have a semi-major test in another week in a (hopefully) 8-person $40 game I'm playing with some friends and acquaintences. Anything less than a win will certainly be dissapointing, but I think I can pull it off.


__________________

Off topic from my card games, I have 40 or so hours of volunteer work to do this semester, and I think I'm going to look into the Transitional Services Inc of Buffalo which helps with mentally handicapped individuals make the transition from a group home type of setting to independent living. It's a field of Social Work I wouldn't mind looking into for a career, so I think this would be a good choice for some experience in the field. ¶ 12:09 AM |