Welcome to the Poker Express

Here's a hand that demonstrates why tournament poker is such a roller coaster.  I'm the d0nk3yk0ng on Full Tilt, and this hand went down during a $3.30 KO multi-table tournament this past weekend:

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Seat 1: mox393 ($8,883) (38% / 8% / 1/ 16)
Seat 2: d0nk3yk0ng ($5,575) (6% / 6% / 0/ 16)
Seat 3: vacationgirl ($478) (21% / 14% / 1/ 11)
Seat 4: dewkisses2001 ($8,760) (20% / 0% / 0/ 5)
Seat 5: alex-p-68 ($12,514) - (21% / 11% / 2/ 16)
Seat 6: ninefinger9 ($5,326) - (13% / 13% / 0/ 16)
Seat 7: joey9966 ($9,431) - (17% / 6% / 1/ 16)
Seat 8: corvino77 ($15,063) (23% / 23% / 0/ 16)


PRE-FLOP:

ninefinger9 posts small blind $150
joey9966 posts BIG blind $300
Dealt To: d0nk3yk0ng


CALL corvino77 ($300)
FOLD mox393
RAISE d0nk3yk0ng ($900)
CALL vacationgirl ($453)
FOLD dewkisses2001
FOLD alex-p-68
FOLD ninefinger9
FOLD joey9966
FOLD corvino77
UNCALLED d0nk3yk0ng ($447)


FLOP:

Pot: $1656




TURN:

Pot: $1656




RIVER:

Pot: $1656


ANTE mox393 ($25)
ANTE d0nk3yk0ng ($25)
ANTE vacationgirl ($25)
ANTE dewkisses2001 ($25)
ANTE alex-p-68 ($25)
ANTE ninefinger9 ($25)
ANTE joey9966 ($25)
ANTE corvino77 ($25)


SHOWDOWN:
d0nk3yk0ng:

vacationgirl:


d0nk3yk0ng collected $1856 from main pot with four of a kind, Kings

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $1 Rake: $0

Final Board:


Seat 1: mox393 folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-25)
Seat 2: d0nk3yk0ng showed [Kh Kd] and won 1,856 with four of a kind, Kings - Net Gain/Loss: ($1378)
Seat 3: vacationgirl showed [Ac 9h] and lost with a full house, Aces full of Kings - Net Gain/Loss: ($-478)

Seat 4: dewkisses2001 folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-25)
Seat 5: alex-p-68 button folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-25)
Seat 6: ninefinger9 small blind folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-175)
Seat 7: joey9966 big blind folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-325)
Seat 8: corvino77 folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-325)


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Dust the blog off

Time to dust the blog off so I can log what transpires over the course of the next three weeks: CA World 2007, Microsoft Mobile and Embedded Developer's Conference 2007, and Wireless Enterprise Symposium 2007 (RIM, BlackBerry). The first two are in Las Vegas and the later in Orlando. I've got some of my top guys from Hyderabad coming over to do the shows in Las Vegas. I'm going to try to take lots of pics and keep a constant stream of content coming to the blog over the course of these three weeks. I know my sister over in Iraq is looking for something to read, and I'm going to keep this front in my mind while I'm taking in the upcoming experience. To anyone else who's reading, thanks for joining us!

Who Knows?

Not only is he unable to pronounce the word "nuclear" ... it seems our top administrator is unable to tell the truth about damn near anything.

Exhibit 1: He didn't know Jack Abramoff (courtesy of the AP):
“The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten everything, who knows,” Abramoff wrote in an e-mail to Kim Eisler, national editor for the Washingtonian magazine.

Exhibit 2: He didn't know about the plight of New Orleans for almost 2 days:
The earliest official report of a New Orleans levee breach came at 8:30 a.m., hours after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore. Word of the possible breach surfaced at the White House less than three hours later, at 11:13 a.m.

One things certain, perhaps we're just as dumb as he is, Who Knows?

Mmmmm ... Spicy Venue

Lunch yesterday was at the Spicy Venue with Venkat and Srinivas. The food there is wonderful! They earn their name as well - I left sweating profusely! One of the most interesting aspects of lunch there is the choice of music. I was treated to a large selection of 80's classics such as Boston's "Hooked on a Feeling." I find it entertaining that on the other side of the globe you'll be listening to American 80's music in a local Indian restaurant. Next post I intend to put some of my pics up.

I bid a fond adieu to Harrie from Funambol last night. He spent the day on the AP Tourism Office's tour of Hyderabad. His analysis you might ask? "An encounter." Well put Harrie. Godspeed on your trip back to Nurembourg, and I hope see you again soon! (Perhaps next time in Milano!)

Impeach Bush

I've consciously avoided straying into the political on my blog, but enough is enough. The more I think about where our country has been led, the less I can resist the urge to say something. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about oral sex. No one died, no one's civil liberties suffered, the nation didn't spend billions of dollars. As we all know, it recently came to light that the Bush administration called for domestic spying under the banner of "terrorist surveillance." I'm not sure what legal grounds they really think they can base this on (I know the argument about "war making powers" ... weak!) but it occurs to me that executive action in direct contravention of established US law is exactly why we have the mechanism of impeachment. Mr. Bush took an oath to uphold and defend the laws of this land. He's broken his oath. I don't think you can find an argument which would support his actions. It seems plain that congress is impotent to take any action on this issue. A sad commentary on the whole of our government now, but we elected them and until November we've got what we've got. We do have a recourse to address our grievances and that's in the state legislatures. Click the ribbon in the upper right corner if you're interested in learning more.

This isn't about leftist/rightist, conservative/liberal, democrat/republican. It's about whether or not we are a nation of laws. Reflect on that thought a while ....

-Michael

Tough Weekend in India

Wow, did this past weekend suck! It all started late Friday night when I was rudely awoken from my sleep with the sudden urge to worship the porcelin god. After a good couple of hours of praying on the bathroom floor, I crawled back to bed. It was at this point when I realized I was running a fever, and that another worship service might be in order. Given that I was a LONG way from home, I thought it wise to contact someone to let them know my plight. I called up my supervisor to get the ball rolling. When I called him I had one thought on my mind, when was the next flight back to Boston. He had different thoughts ... I'm sure he wanted to get the most value from this flight, and after all he's in his house with his family. He did a great job supporting me however ... people from the hotel and my company were calling to check on me no more than 20 minutes later. I had no interest in a trip to the hospital or a visit from a doctor. If it was a stomach bug, it would pass. The next day (Saturday) I awoke to find the fever was still hanging around, but the nausea had passed. Good thing I brought the Advil. I started eating those and they really kept the fever (and headaches) in check. By Sunday morning I was rid of the fever, but I started having chest pains! Let's see: Nausea, fever/chills, chest pains ... umm, can you say symptoms of a heart attack!!! That's right, now I'm freaking myself out thinking I might have had a heart attack, and I'm 9,000 miles from home. I finally decided the proper course of action was to take a visit to the hospital, which I did today. This is where the story turns: ECG, vitals, everything else - normal. Doctor's assessment: I'm having some anxiety issues from my issues at the beginning of the weekend. I love to hear the good news, but now I feel like a fucking hypochondriac. That's a tough pill for someone like myself to swallow. I don't go to doctors unless I'm really sick. This is twice in 3 months I've thought I'm having some cardiac related issues. I know I need to get in better shape, and I think that thought in my subconscience is shaping my self-assessment when it comes to issues such as these. I'm getting on the wagon and fixing the underlying issue here: I'm going to get in pisser shape. I'm also going to work on my meditation. I should've spent some time this weekend clearing my mind before I let it take control of me. Mostly, I need to get back home and make some turns on my snowboard. I've not had near enough of that thearpy this season, and I think it's really affecting me in other ways.

Back in Hyderabad

Well, I made it! I was surprised when I arrived to see that the Hyderabad airport had been remodeled a bit. The changes they had made were wonderful!! Last time I was here it took almost 2 hours to get my bags. This time it took less than 30 minutes to go from airplane seat to car seat and on my way to the hotel. Makes a difference after you've been flying for over 24 hours. The weather here is about as far from Boston as you can get. 90+F every day. The food is about as far from America as you can get as well. I'm trying to diet - this means cutting carbs and let me tell you, that's a real challenge in India. Rice is served (and I mean SERVED) with every meal. I've been good for the most part ... the exception being last night when I buckled and ordered the chicken fingers. They're just so good, yet so bad for me. I paid my pentence and did 15km on the exercise bike this morning. Then I had a breakfast that was almost 100% protein. Hopefully I'll be able to maintain my discipline tonight when it's dinner time.