Double Trouble with Prim and Harrier - Poker, Sports, Cooking, Gardening, Mixed Drinks and more

Better things to do.... :f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly:

Okay, I would go "boo hoo" now, cause we got rivered twice in the Free to play and bubbled once in a little satty. But I prefer to say: Oh man, I just lost my patience! We got rivered twice in the Free to play by a total "maniac"-fun player with appearently no fold button and in the 0,1 $ satty we played, we were just pretty much card-dead! Afterwards, I decided that I have better things to do .... :f_biggrin::f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly: Well to be honest: I was fed up with those "donkeys". :f_ugly::f_ugly::f_ugly: On the other hand: What on earth can we expect? Those are freerolls! I just notice that after about 2 hours (which is exactly my time limit for CG!) I just have enough.... Of course you cannot just get up and leave when you play an MTT (actually you can, but that´s not my style). Anyways, Bowser jr. and I had enough after bubbling and loosing to a lucky fun player who hit their miracle card and busting AQ < KQ.

We had that maniac perfectly trapped with top two, were happy that they jammed turn ..... just to see them hitting their lucky card on the river! The same Villain called our all-in from the BTN with KQ, while we held AQ... just to see hitting them their lucky K on the flop. Yeah yeah, it´s statistics, I know, but in such situations I use to think that I have better things to do in my free time ...

Wow, I can snow...

PokerStars, $1.96 + $0.24 - 2-7 Triple Draw Limit - 300/600 - 4 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat

UTG: 6,000 (10 bb)
BU: 10,400 (17 bb)
SB: 19,150 (32 bb)
BB (Hero): 22,050 (37 bb)

Deal: (900) Hero is BB with 2♥ 2♣ 4♦ 2♦ 7♦
UTG raises to 1,200, 2 players fold, Hero 3-bets to 1,800, UTG calls 600

Draw One: (3,900) 2♥ 2♣ 4♦ 7♦ J♣ (2 players)
BB (Hero) draws 2d, UTG draws 2
Hero bets 600, UTG calls 600

Draw Two: (5,100) 2♥ 2♣ 4♦ 7♦ J♣ (2 players)
BB (Hero) stands pat, UTG draws 2
Hero bets 1,200, UTG folds

Total pot: 5,100
BB (Hero) wins 5,100

Originally posted by Harrier88
Wow, I can snow...

Fun, isn't it? 😂
Great hand for this, since there is (almost) no way the opponent can have a #1

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Great hand for this, since there is (almost) no way the opponent can have a #1

That was the idea behind it.

Appropriately, the above hand was from a satellite for the Snow Fest, a weekly $22 Triple Draw tournament. I won a seat, and just finished 19th with 11 ITM in the target tournament, so a decent run, but unfortunately nothing to slow down the big downwards trend. I think it was mostly those rough pat 8's that did me in tonight - tough to find a fold, especially against opponents drawing two.

Quite frankly, poker is going crap at the moment.

All right, that's it - if I keep failing to cash in a Stud Hi-Lo MTT until the end of next week, I am going to drop those games. Not necessarily forever, but definitely for the time being.

Originally posted by Harrier88
All right, that's it - if I keep failing to cash in a Stud Hi-Lo MTT until the end of next week, I am going to drop those games. Not necessarily forever, but definitely for the time being.

Taking a break is usually a good idea

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Taking a break is usually a good idea

Pokerstars seems to agree. I just registered for a FLO8 satellite, and didn't get any tables to open when the satty was supposed to start. Clicking on "Take My Seat" resulted in this:

Finally, restarting Pokerstars or my PC itself would eventually yield this message after trying to register again and waiting for a minute or so:

Does anyone know where you can check all recent transactions in your account? I didn't pay attention to the balance, but I would like to make sure that I am not getting charged for this, and especially not for every attempt I made at registering. I requested a history of my last 10 tournaments, not sure if that even helps, but I didn't see any emails about this yet either.

Also, I'm still regged in the Stud Hi-Lo which is supposed to start later, let's see if this one works.

Originally posted by Harrier88
Also, I'm still regged in the Stud Hi-Lo which is supposed to start later, let's see if this one works.

Well, I left the lobby for that one open, looks like it didn't run either - compare the time from my system clock in the bottom right to the scheduled starting time in the lobby.

For this game, I can at least confirm that I got my buy-in back.

Maybe other players had similar problems and we didn't get the required amount of registrations.

Looks like no poker today, unless the issues have been resolved in time for tonight's Badugi. I wish I would have known in advance, so I could have made other plans.

Originally posted by Harrier88
Looks like no poker today, unless the issues have been resolved in time for tonight's Badugi.

Update: Badugi ran, I hope the problems are fixed in general now. No idea what was going on yet again...

Big cooler relatively early on, with $2 in bounties already secured. Could have been a very good run, but I was unlucky enough to hit so well here:

PokerStars, $3.92 + $0.48 - Badugi Pot Limit - 40/80 - 4 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat

UTG: 3,419 (43 bb)
BU (Hero): 7,950 (99 bb)
SB: 10,384 (130 bb)
BB: 2,185 (27 bb)

Deal: (120) Hero is BTN with 4♠ 4♥ 7♥ 9♠
1 fold, Hero raises to 160, SB calls 120, 1 fold

Draw One: (400) 4♠ 7♥ 2♣ 3♦ (2 players)
SB draws 1, BU (Hero) draws 4h 9s
SB bets 400, Hero raises to 800, SB raises to 2,800, Hero raises to 7,790 (all-in), SB calls 4,990

Draw Two: (15,980) 4♠ 7♥ 2♣ 3♦ (2 players, 1 all-in)
SB stands pat, BU (Hero) stands pat

Draw Three: (15,980) (2 players, 1 all-in)
SB stands pat, BU (Hero) stands pat

Total pot: 15,980

Showdown:
BU (Hero) shows 4♠ 7♥ 2♣ 3♦ (a Badugi: 7,4,3,2)
SB shows 7♠ 2♦ A♥ 3♣ (a Badugi: 7,3,2,A)
SB wins 15,980

I didn't plan to do any Trollympics this week. All I wanted to do was to hit the pool and maybe try to crawl like 200m, in order to develop a feel for it again. But guess what - one of my lifeguard colleagues from the bathing lake was filling in as the pool attendant today, and he also happens to be another Trollympian. After chatting at the edge of the pool for a bit, I decided that I might as well have him time me, while we're at it.

25m Freestyle (Speed)

Bronze: 35.00 seconds
Silver: 26.50 seconds
Gold: 18.50 seconds

Not an Olympic event.
Olympic Record for 50m Freestyle: 21.07 seconds by Caeleb Dressel (USA) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, August 1st, 2021.
World Record for 50m Freestyle: 19.90 seconds by Jordan Crooks (CYM) at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Budapest, December 14th, 2024.
Trollympic Record: 19.06 seconds by Primrose6789 (PS) at the 2024 Trollympics, July 5th, 2024.

Harrier's time: 20.01 seconds

I didn't expect much at all, but while today's performance is still about a second behind last year's record set by Prim, it was actually a new all-time PB for me, beating my old one of 21.45 seconds by a comfortable margin. It would have been cool to crack the sub 20 milestone, of course... and I was only 0.02 seconds off.

My lifeguard friend pointed out that he saw room for improvement - potentially enough, in his opinion, to even attack the Gold time. He noticed that my entry into the water was remarkably flat, which likely slowed me down. So I tried again later, after a break, aiming for a better angle. I seemed to get it, but it made me lose my optical swimming goggles. I knew that they had a loose fit, but I didn't know that I was doing attempts today, or else I would have brought another pair.

When I did get around to having another go, I only managed to get 22 seconds flat. I already realized during the swim that my previous attempts tired me out a little.

Decent time, not bad for a quick attempt on the spur of the moment.

New "Medal Table":
3,000 Meter Run (Stamina): Gold
Medicine Ball Throw (Strength): Silver
Standing Long Jump (Strength): Gold
100 Meter Dash (Speed): Silver
25m Freestyle (Speed): Silver

Current Progress
Stamina: Gold (3,000 Meter Run) - 3 points
Strength: Gold (Standing Long Jump) - 3 points
Speed: Silver (100 Meter Dash) - 2 points
Coordination: -

8 points in total, 11 points are required for Gold.

That wasn't all, though...

Time to beat: 4:43 Minutes
Current PB: 4:56 Minutes

Today's Time: 4:37 Minutes
GOAL REACHED!
NEW PB!

I had some energy left for a 200m attempt after all, and at least did decently enough to beat my old time from the beginning of the year, and to reach my goal, thus breaking the "Novice" level time as defined by SwimmingLevel.com.

What I consider one of my weaker sports is suddenly not looking so weak anymore after all, especially considering that those weren't the best conditions today.

Keep on keeping on... and how about 4:20 as our new goal?

Harrier seems to be unstoppable!! ♠_cool:♠_biggrin:♠_thumbsup: Well, I personally got "stopped" by achillodynia and at the moment by a common cold. On Wednesday I went to physical therapy and my therapist remarked that I always let my body work extra-time, always let it work overtime. Yes, that my be true, I was competing A LOT in tennis this year. Too much, to be honest. Next year, I will definitely compete less and swim more instead.

Well now: Just let´s recover properly!

Originally posted by Primrose6789
Harrier seems to be unstoppable!! ♠_cool:♠_biggrin:♠_thumbsup:

Well, unstoppable is something else. The times are good by my standards, but Gold in any aquatics event is still relatively far off.

Watch out, though - my lifeguard friend estimated that a better entry could easily make up for about half a second. If I then manage to improve my swimming just a tiny little bit too... I may be coming for your time.

Some nice improvements in swimming today, but there is another weak area that could do with some improvement, which is poker, or more specifically Stud Hi-Lo.

I managed to get another final table today, which only had 4 places ITM this time, due to a low number of participants. I started out short, but got into a 4th place position later on, when I entered this situation. Seat 3 next to me, who was the bring-in, happens to be a known player from Badugi, who tends to be extremely aggressive, and remarkably lucky, in my experience. He inflated the pot a little here, but then got out after all, probably realizing I likely had the better low draw.

4th street was good, the rest... not so much. But it's not like my opponent hit anything better, until the end. Should I have pushed harder? My opponent seemed cautious enough as well, after catching bad, but would they have found a fold? I personally don't think so... but regardless, I just didn't have the heart this time, I guess.

Seriously, though... how lucky is that guy in Seat 3? (MP here)

Again... (BTN here)

All right, exit hand... I'm in last place on the bubble, and our aggro friend (BTN again) works his magic once more after I call with my decent low one-gapper. I have a lot of catching up to do by now, and I know that I have a decision to push or fold now - my opponent would make sure I can't see the board cheaply. Should I have gotten out, hoping the aggro player gets reckless and misses this time? I doubt he would have continued the way he did if I had folded as the shorty in this spot. Let's just see how it played out:

Bad run-out, both of us out, with me finishing on the bubble again. Bad decision to go for it here? Maybe, but I was getting out of options, and if I had hit my low, ideally with a high hand like a straight as well, I wouldn't be Monday-morning quarterbacking about it later. And if I had gotten out, causing my opponent to fold as well, I may have ended up blinding out and berating myself for not taking the chance here.

So we got two "whine hands" in the middle without my involvement, but what do you think about the other two, the first and the last one? Maybe I really should have pushed on 5th in the first hand.

If you think it was loose to draw to a 9, then stand pat and even call a raise after the third draw with it, just wait what my opponent had...

PokerStars, $4.90 + $0.60 - 2-7 Triple Draw Limit (8-Game) - 500/1,000 - 3 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat

BU: 10,840 (11 bb)
SB: 9,069 (9 bb)
BB (Hero): 11,958 (12 bb)

Deal: (1,500) Hero is BB with 3♦ 5♣ A♦ Q♣ A♣
BTN calls 1,000, 1 fold, Hero checks

Draw One: (2,500) 3♦ 5♣ 5♦ 8♠ 9♣ (2 players)
BB (Hero) draws Ad Qc Ac, BU draws 3
Hero checks, BTN checks

Draw Two: (2,500) 3♦ 5♣ 8♠ 9♣ 6♠ (2 players)
BB (Hero) draws 5d, BU draws 2
Hero bets 2,000, BTN calls 2,000

Draw Three: (6,500) 3♦ 5♣ 8♠ 9♣ 6♠ (2 players)
BB (Hero) stands pat, BU draws 2
Hero bets 2,000, BTN raises to 4,000, Hero calls 2,000

Total pot: 14,500

Showdown:
BU shows 2♥ 2♦ 2♣ T♦ T♥ (a full house, Twos full of Tens)
BB (Hero) shows 3♦ 5♣ 8♠ 9♣ 6♠ (9-8-6-5-3)
BB (Hero) wins 14,500

The above was from the Mini Octopus, a daily $5.50 8-Game tournament. Previously, I played several $0.55 satellites for it, assuming they could be good practice. As it turns out, however, they change the game format every two minutes, as opposed to every four minutes like in the target tournament, so I don't think it's very useful for practice purposes at all. I figured I might as well try the target tournament, with its affordable $5.50 buy-in.

After today's game, I have second thoughts, having folded my way through almost the entirety of the second game rotation. I could pick up some good hands later on and get back to an above average stack, but ended up finishing with neither a cash nor a bounty. I don't believe this is a game to grind. Maybe I should even stay away from 8-Game entirely.

Stud8 wasn't running, not enough entries this time. No luck trying to qualify for the Boogie, despite a good stack in one of the satties, but I failed to adapt to my opponents' aggression, it seemed. I decided to skip the regular Badugi too.

Folks, it's not looking good at all recently. I have already prepared some stats and graphs to look at the bigger picture, maybe I can post them tomorrow already. If things continue the way they did in the last few weeks, however, some games definitely have to go, I'd say.

Originally posted by Harrier88
Folks, it's not looking good at all recently. I have already prepared some stats and graphs to look at the bigger picture, maybe I can post them tomorrow already. If things continue the way they did in the last few weeks, however, some games definitely have to go, I'd say.

The entire purpose of poker is to have an excuse to keep statistics and make graphs.

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
The entire purpose of poker is to have an excuse to keep statistics and make graphs.

You may be on to something...

Before I get back to working on those stats, I actually got busy earlier today:

Time to beat: 26:00 Minutes
Current PB: 26:24 Minutes

Today's Time: 26:44 Minutes

No improvement, what was to be expected after not running for a while, but at least I managed to stay just below the alleged "Novice" time from RunningLevel.com of 26:45, which was the previous target. As long as I can maintain such a level, I guess it's not all that bad, but maybe I can still improve, if I can find the time to run more regularly.

That runout was interesting, especially for people who like triplets.

PokerStars, $2.94 + $0.36 - 7 Stud H/L Limit - 300/600 (120 ante) - 4 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat

Seat 1: 14,177 (24 bb)
Seat 2: 3,350 (6 bb)
Seat 3 (Hero): 10,500 (18 bb)
Seat 6: 3,195 (5 bb)

Third Street: (480) Hero is in Seat 3
Xx Xx 7♣ BI bring-in 180____BI 3-bets to 1,800____BI calls 600
Xx Xx A♠ UTG folds
Xx Xx 8♣ CO raises to 600____CO 4-bets to 2,400
9♥ Q♥ 9♣ Hero raises to 1,200____Hero calls 1,200

Fourth Street: (7,680) (3 players)
9♥ Q♥ 9♣ 9♦ Hero bets 600____Hero calls 230
Xx Xx 7♣ 7♥ BI raises to 675 (all-in)
Xx Xx 8♣ 8♠ CO raises to 830 (all-in)

Fifth Street: (10,015) (3 players, 2 all-in)
9♥ Q♥ 9♣ 9♦ A♥ - Seat 3 (Hero)
3♦ 3♠ 8♣ 8♠ 8♥ - Seat 2
6♣ 4♥ 7♣ 7♥ 5♦ - Seat 6

Sixth Street: (10,015) (3 players, 2 all-in)
9♥ Q♥ 9♣ 9♦ A♥ K♣ - Seat 3 (Hero)
3♦ 3♠ 8♣ 8♠ 8♥ 5♠ - Seat 2
6♣ 4♥ 7♣ 7♥ 5♦ J♥ - Seat 6

Seventh Street: (10,015) (3 players, 2 all-in)
9♥ Q♥ 9♣ 9♦ A♥ K♣ 4♦ - Seat 3 (Hero)
3♦ 3♠ 8♣ 8♠ 8♥ 5♠ 3♣ - Seat 2
6♣ 4♥ 7♣ 7♥ 5♦ J♥ A♣ - Seat 6

Total pot: 10,015

Showdown:
Seat 2 shows 3♦ 3♠ 8♣ 8♠ 8♥ 5♠ 3♣ (HI: a full house, Eights full of Threes)
Seat 6 shows 6♣ 4♥ 7♣ 7♥ 5♦ J♥ A♣ (HI: a pair of Sevens; LO: 7-6-5-4-A)
Seat 3 (Hero) shows 9♥ Q♥ 9♣ 9♦ A♥ K♣ 4♦ (HI: three of a kind, Nines)
Seat 2 wins 5,163
Seat 6 wins 4,852

Baby Peach cashes, ticket for Bowser jr.!!

Our beloved Koopa-freeroll challenge is back!! Yaaaay! This time a more intense session! Bowser jr. started with the "free to play around the clock" and somehow we managed to win a 0,22 $ ticket for some Mystery Bounty qualifier - do not know what that is, but hey, let´s try it! Why not? We take ALL opportunities to qualify for bigger tournaments (they´re fun!). No success in the PLO "free to play" today for Baby Peach, but I have to admit, that THIS was not our best poker. Guess Baby Peach and me would have needed a nap - as I am also back at the tennis court. Well, carefully! I don´t run yet, but I re-started tennis-practice. Still got my skills after 3 weeks off the tennis court, but of course, as soon as I´m healthy, i gotta build my speed and endurance up. I still get physical therapy.

So, anyway, back to poker: 11th place for Baby Peach in the 0,33 $ PLO8 PKO and +0,65 $.