An Open Letter....
Thursday, February 25, 2010
.......to nobody in particular or to anybody that still stops by here from time to time.
If you've read here lately, you'll remember my absolutely UN-glowing review of Rush Poker. It's down the page just a little bit, feel free to jog down there and read it first, it won't take a minute.
Here's the follow-up:
I've been playing more Rush Poker lately, mainly to try and clear that damn bonus and because I still want to play poker. Rush poker is actually a great game for my particular (non)skill-set. I can fold for hours and with Rush Poker, it never seems like hours. I can literally fold 23 hands in a row and still feel like I'm not playing that tight. The sheer numbers of hands played in a 30 minute or hour-long session was unfathomable just a few short weeks ago, at least by somebody that could not and would not tile 124 tables of $25 NL.
What I've found in Rush Poker is something that I've talked about here in the past plenty of times. I'm just not that good at Poker. There, I said it. Again.
I could bore you with story after story of getting it in ahead only to watch the inevitable runner-runner suck the pot away. That's not a dollar that I owe you as I did not call out any of the hands.
Anybody ever see this one during a Rush Poker session? I've folded for 46 hands in a row, been the small and big blind 23 times during those 46 hands and look down at A-K s00ted, again, in the big blind. Magically, I get a walk. Or, after folding for those same 46 hands, I get 8-9 s00ted in the cut-off and think, you know, I'd like to see a flop with this hand. Raise, re-raise, jam and, of course, I meekly fold.
The beats have been bad, but no worse than one would expect when playing so many hands in such a short time. I don't think the blind-assigner in the software is fair, but I'm probably not paying close enough attention. I think a straightforward game should and would make consistent money on these tables, if one can stand the inevitable bad beats. For me, it starts to snowball. I never get enough value from my good hands. It's like the other players can see my cards. My value bets are met with insta-folds and my blocker bets are met with insta-jams.
Here's another typical scenario that happened last night. I've moved over to the Omatard tables and I call a raise with J-J-10-9 double suited. I flop top set and a straight-flush draw on this flop - J-spades, 8-spades, 4-diamonds . The pre-flop raiser bets the pot and I re-raise the amount of the pot. He uses up his time and calls. The turn card is the 7 of hearts, completing my straight, he checks, I bet the pot and again, he calls after a lengthy delay. The river is, of course, another 7 and he checks again, but this time, I've wised up. I already know that this sonofabitch has 7-7 in his hand, so I check behind and, of course, he shows 7-7 and takes down a good-sized pot. (Yes, that's a bad beat story, but if you want your $1, you have to come to Okie-Vegas)
What's the moral of this story, you ask?
Apparently, I am really bad at poker and cannot win a hand to save my life. Oh, I'm going to continue to play because I like to play, but I'm done even remotely considering myself any good. In fact, I might just start jamming every draw I have and see what happens. It certainly works for most of the other retards out there.
Until next time, if I check-raise you, go ahead and call, I guarantee you'll get there.
G
posted by GaryC @ 4:19 PM,
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M.D.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Muscular Dystrophy
Overview
Muscular dystrophy is a group of disorders that involve muscle weakness and loss of muscle tissue that get worse over time.
Symptoms
Symptoms vary with the different types of muscular dystrophy.
All of the muscles may be affected. Or, only specific groups of muscles may be affected, such as those around the pelvis, shoulder, or face. Muscular dystrophy can affect adults, but the more severe forms tend to occur in early childhood.
Treatment
There are no known cures for the various muscular dystrophies. The goal of treatment is to control symptoms.
Most of you that have known me for a while or that have read here for a while, know that I don't have much of my family left. I have my wife, my daughters, my Mom and my Mother-In-Law. That's it, as far as immediate family.
You might also remember that my Mom comes from a large family and on that side of my family, I have a ton of aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousings and third cousins, literally too many to name.
We got a call last week that one of my little 3rd cousins, G, had been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. They have their first appointment at the MDA treatment center, here in Oklahoma City, this week.
My cousin, D, is the grandmother of this little one and her daughter, N, the mother of G, is my second cousin. She is in the same group of great-granddaughters of my Nanny, that my girls are in. When I first got the news, relayed from my Mom last week, I didn't know exactly how to handle it. I've dealt with health issues of loved ones more than most, but it was always adults, not kids. This isn't supposed to happen, at least not at 7 years old.
I'm still not sure what, if anything, I can do to help, other than being there for my family and helping them out with anything at all that they need help with. I've certainly prayed more in the last few days than I have in a while, hoping for some type of help from above.
I'm writing this down for you today to ask for your help. If you believe in God, pray for my little 3rd cousin. If you believe in another type of almighty, please, by all means, pray to him/her/it for some type of help from them. And, if you don't believe in any type of God, please, send your good thoughts and vibes toward the middle of the flyover state this Wednesday. I know little G can use all the help he can get.
Thanks for reading,
G
posted by GaryC @ 4:01 PM,
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RIP
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Rest in peace Dad.
I love you and miss you a little more every day.
Gary
posted by GaryC @ 3:40 PM,
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