Troll Calendar - Day 15
Another "Just like that" egg. Fair enough...
A bunch of oddly shaped plastic parts, and a penguin sticker... Also some cardboard bit which is still stuck in the capsule.
The final result is this little contraption.
As you may have guessed, you can push down on that little lever to flick the penguin up. Do it forcefully enough, and the penguin flies off. Not sure if that's supposed to happen, but it's definitely possible.
So, there we go, we got a jumping penguin.
My first thought was, "Hey, penguins don't use toilets!"
(maybe they do, I've only ever seen them in zoos)
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
My first thought was, "Hey, penguins don't use toilets!"
(maybe they do, I've only ever seen them in zoos)
I think they use some of those:
Not a lot of poker recently, but I can give myself a little pat on the back for making it through my last football practice this year, without cheating or cutting corners or staying home whenever I wasn't feeling completely motivated.
I also got through my biannual dentist visit today - by which I mean that it happens twice a year. Looks like there is a fair amount of confusion when it comes to terms for "twice a year" and "every two years", to the point that "biannual" can kind of mean both. Same with "biennial", "biyearly" or "semi-annualy". Some say these terms are complete synonyms, some say one means one thing, one means the other, but apparently without broad agreement about which means which - at least I found conflicting information. Whatever, I go to the dentist twice a year, okay?
Just a little stuff left to do here and there, and Christmas can come. 
Troll Calendar - Day 16
Another "Good Luck" egg. I think there are two girly eggs left, though some are a bit ambiguous from the outside. I'm talking about the eggs that have a message on top, but are otherwise similar in design to the girly ones.
Whatever this is, it looks like it's riding a snowboard...
At least assembly was simple, with only two pieces to put together. There's our snowboarder. Any special functions?
The instructions explain it a little. You can kind of tilt it left and right as your pushing it around, but it's hard to demonstrate on photos.
Here it is from below. As you can see, it has a little wheel on the bottom to help it move, and some nubs to help keep it straight while also allowing some degree of movement to tilt the figurine to the side.
Just in time for our little rider to practice for the upcoming Winter Olympics, I guess, unless it chooses to boycott them.
Troll Calendar - Day 17
Another "NaToons" egg. I don't really see the purpose of announcing what you're going to get on the packaging, isn't the entire point of those eggs that whatever you're getting inside is supposed to be a surprise?
Wow, is that a wolf? 
It is indeed. I love wolves. In fact, I used to be one before I became a troll and changed my career to squirrel:
Old (2016) mouse-drawn cartoon of me playing backgammon somewhere in Arabia against a camel. I'm aware that the doubling cube is on the wrong side of the board, but there was no way to fix it without redrawing big parts of the picture - which is very cumbersome when you're using a mouse to draw.
Another mouse-drawn cartoon (from 2017, I think?) of me commuting to my internship in Frankfurt back in 2015, in the middle of a wave of train driver strikes. The lady working for the railway says "T... Tickets, please...", as the entire train is ready to vent their frustrations on her. I'm the wolf in the brown (Pokerstars branded, though it's not visible here) leather jacket, not the squirrel.
As for special functions, you can move the head of the wolf a little, as the instructions say. It doesn't move a whole lot, though at least you can make the wolf nod to whatever you're saying. I would have preferred if the tail was moveable instead (or in addition to the head), as this is what wolves often use to communicate. My wolf agrees, he just nodded.
I think this may have surpassed the fairy princess from day one as my favorite so far.
Originally posted by Harrier88
It is indeed.
One of the most important books I read growing up was "Steppenwolf" by Hermann Hesse.
Only a translation of course.
After I had take the 3rd German course I tried reading his "Magister Ludi" in German, but even with a dictionary beside me it was such a difficult task I eventually gave up. At that point I could read most newpapers, and got a bit cocky.
Would you have resisted drawing to a Royal Flush here?
When I hold a straight or flush draw which also includes a pair, I normally have the following policy:
- First, I ask myself if the pair is playable in this situation. If so, I'll draw to the cards from the pair, if not, I move on to the next step:
- I then ask myself if the draw is playable in this situation, If so, I'll draw to it, if not, I fold.
In most situations, this results in either playing the pair or folding, but there are exceptions. If there are a lot of limpers (or minraisers, when stacks are deep), your pair may not be good enough to play multiway, but your draw may be worth a try based on implied odds. More commonly, you may hold a really low pair that is not good enough to be played, but the draw could make for a good semi-bluff raising first in.
In this hand, despite my Jacks being playable, I was actually tempted to go for that potential Royal Flush draw, until I saw my opponent drawing 1 in front of me, at which point I decided to stick with my Jacks, thinking that there's a possibility that my opponent could be on a draw as well, in which case my Jacks could win unimproved if the draw misses.
This time, I was glad I did.
PokerStars, $1.32 + $0.18 - 5 Card Draw Pot Limit - 75/150 (15 ante) - 4 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat
UTG (Hero): 1,655 (11 bb)
BU: 1,885 (13 bb)
SB: 1,785 (12 bb)
BB: 3,675 (25 bb)
Deal: (285) Hero is UTG with K♣ T♣ A♣ J♦ J♣
Hero raises to 300, 1 fold, SB calls 225, 1 fold
Draw One: (810) J♦ J♣ J♥ 8♣ 9♦ (2 players)
SB draws 1, UTG (Hero) draws Kc Tc Ac
SB checks, Hero bets 450, SB calls 450
Total pot: 1,710
Showdown:
UTG (Hero) shows J♦ J♣ J♥ 8♣ 9♦ (three of a kind, Jacks)
SB mucks 3♣ 3♦ 7♠ 7♦ J♠ (two pair, Sevens and Threes)
UTG (Hero) wins 1,710
As for today's results, I would describe them as "not bad, but could have been better". 3 out of 5 SNGs cashed, but only one was shipped. Badugi finished 12th with modest bounties, right on the brink of the next pay jump, for $7.03. And then, of course, there was the Troll challenge where I got pretty darn close to securing ITM and a good shot at a very nice cash, but got outdrawn in a nasty way.
Slight winnings in the end, but it could have been a lot better.
Originally posted by Harrier88
Would you have resisted drawing to a Royal Flush here?When I hold a straight or flush draw which also includes a pair, I normally have the following policy:
- First, I ask myself if the pair is playable in this situation. If so, I'll draw to the cards from the pair, if not, I move on to the next step:
- I then ask myself if the draw is playable in this situation, If so, I'll draw to it, if not, I fold.
You're quite right about drawing to a pair multi-way.
Each other player is about 2.5:1 against improving, but the more players there are, the more likely it becomes that one of them will beat you.
So If I'm heads up, I draw to the pair, if multi-way, I draw to the flush.
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Each other player is about 2.5:1 against improving, but the more players there are, the more likely it becomes that one of them will beat you.
You yourself have the same odds of improving, of course, but it's best not to rely too much on that. Especially because you may improve to something worse than what your opponent improved to, in which case you're in even bigger trouble.
Position and having the best predraw hand can help immensely.
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
So If I'm heads up, I draw to the pair, if multi-way, I draw to the flush.
Apart from implied odds, which can also only do so much, I think a straight or flush draw is only worth it in Five Card Draw if you get some fold equity with it - which you often have if you raise before the draw.
With deep stacks early in a tournament, though, there are occasionally a few spots where you can also profitably call multiway.
Originally posted by Harrier88
Apart from implied odds, which can also only do so much, I think a straight or flush draw is only worth it in Five Card Draw if you get some fold equity with it - which you often have if you raise before the draw.With deep stacks early in a tournament, though, there are occasionally a few spots where you can also profitably call multiway.
I raise straight and flush draw BvB, and from BTN if there are tight players in the blinds.
A-high flush draws from any position if I have the big stack.
The downside to raising and drawing 1 vs a player drawing 3 is that you must CBet.
In FL the rule was "play it the same as trips" — draw 1 and CBet.
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
I raise straight and flush draw BvB, and from BTN if there are tight players in the blinds.
A-high flush draws from any position if I have the big stack.
I don't really stick to the blinds alone, but prefer to be at least in CO or later. From the earlier positions, I may not even play the A-high flush draws, though they do help a lot, especially if you have other high cards along with the ace. You may pair one of them up and get some showdown value, or possibly even win unimproved if you were up against another four-flusher (which I just recently learned is a general term for an untrustworthy person). Checking back would then be an option if you get your high pair, or even with A-high if your opponent drew 1. Not to mention that both of you may hit a flush, in which case the ace might be the key.
Originally posted by VorpalF2F
The downside to raising and drawing 1 vs a player drawing 3 is that you must CBet.
In FL the rule was "play it the same as trips" — draw 1 and CBet.
Yes, heads-up versus one guy drawing 3, there is not much point in not c-betting. In other situations, you may be able to simply admit defeat.
From what I can tell, the "play it the same as trips" thing seems to work pretty well in PL too. Bet sizing might be debatable, I usually try not to vary between value and bluff bet sizes. In later SNG or tournament stages, I may start reducing those sizes in general. Of course, if you are almost certain that you are ahead (drawing trip aces against a player discarding 3, or similar situations) and you know that your opponent will call all kinds of bets, then by all means, bet big.
Troll Calendar - Day 18
Another "Thank You" egg. Well, you're welcome. It's also one of those slightly ambiguous "possible girly egg" patters.
Ah, speaking of which... It looks like we got another one of those water splasher guys that previously made us wonder if the egg was intended for girls or not. That one came from an unambiguous girly egg, though, so I guess today's egg is one too.
But sure, it's the same guy as before, just colored differently and with other minor details being different, like those weird big eyes. He also has a different target to shoot at: While the previous guy appeared to be shooting in the backyard, this one seems to be messing around in the garage or so. Looks like it even has the monitor of an old 90's PC in there - don't go splashing around near that thing, there's a modding community out there for this stuff!
Here are both of our figurines, having a bit of a water fight. Admittedly, having a second figure makes this toy a bit more interesting, since they can now shoot each other instead of just paper targets, but I'm still not entirely sold. 
OMG enough with the flushes already! I didn't count how many times someone drew out on me with a flush today, but I can spontaneously think of six instances from my four SNGs tonight off the top of my head, there were possibly even more. It was getting old really fast.
Not surprisingly, results weren't great. There was only one cash in 2nd place. Those two close 3rd places I got won't help my bankroll at all, unfortunately (only two places are paid in these games, for those who don't know).
Troll Calendar - Day 19: Sunday Edition!
It's the fourth Sunday of Advent, so it's time to bring out our final Maxi Egg! And the one that's left is the one that has a picture of me on it.
Will we get a third cute foxy for our collection?
Wow... no, it seems like we got another girly egg - I didn't even know they had any for those Maxi Eggs. I know the egg was pink, but I still didn't expect that. There's a lot of "gender confusion" with those eggs this year, isn't there?
Here's our completely assembled little dolly. Some chick from Frozen again, according to the sheet that came with it - don't ask me who it is, I just know it's not the protagonist.
It also comes with this snowflake like stand...
As the instructions say, it doubles as a template of sorts for drawing. And it looks like there's some way to attach the doll to it. I think you need to somehow lock her heels in some kind of indentation, but I couldn't quite figure it out, I guess...
That's about as close as I got. It rests nicely in place, but it doesn't really attach to anything, the stand still stays down there when you lift the doll.
It's really cute, though, isn't it?
Whoah, how cute! This could be a little Prim (my hair is just shorter and more vibrant red).
Oh, and I just noticed that the doll can be assembled without the skirt too.
Looks nice and modern, but won't be able to stand on its own, which is why I had to add that half of the capsule.
I already saw how poorly our HORSE race in the Troll Challenges was going earlier. I witnessed how Prim could get hardly any hands to hold in her other games. Something told me that it might be better to skip tonight. I should have. Terrible results and tilt tilt tilt tilt tilt...
All three SNGs bricked. Losses in FL 5CD cash. Badugi bricked without bounties after a bad cooler. And two bullets bricked earlier in the HORSE too. Not to mention that there is still plenty of real life tilt muddying the waters. I urgently need a break from it all, Christmas really can't come early enough this year.
It will be interesting to look at the overall stats at the end of the month, but 5CD has been going quite terribly for about two weeks by now. The honeymoon phase with these games is surely over. My SNGs now only have an ROI% in the 20's. I don't think I will stop playing until maybe the end of January if things continue to go this way, but the updated stats will help my decision.
Nevertheless, tonight wasn't all doom and gloom, there were some bright spots too. $4.80 from a perfectly timed hand of The Deal came in handy (thanks again for the reminder on the forum, Vorpal). Also, our previous Troll Challenge where Prim and I dabbled in a FL Badugi SNG encouraged me to check out those FL Badugi cash games after all, even though I previously thought that I should best avoid them with my improper PL tournament habits. However, I had improved my understanding of ranges when I was studying them a bit during my big MTT downswing earlier this year, and I had gained some experience with other lowball games since my last attempt with them, and also did okay in that SNG. Maybe I could give them another try?
It went all right, really. Many ups and downs, but I left the table with $2.66 in profit. I left a bit sooner than I otherwise might have, because I thought that banking early profits could have a positive psychological effect when you're starting out with a new game. My last attempt was many years ago. By now, I have vastly improved tracking methods for my results, I think I could stick around for a bit and see how it goes. With Five Card Draw, I also probably wouldn't have thought much about my results last month if I hadn't had any way to look at the big picture. Maybe something similar could happen with FL Badugi cash.
