Weekend Roundup
Recap…
Unfortunately, no grand milestones achieved this weekend. I did gain an entry to the $200 big tournament on Stars Sunday, but that proved to be less than climatic. In all honesty, I played a horrible game in that tournament. The run of cards was poor the entire time and I allowed it to severely affect my chip stack. Had I been on my game, I would have recognized what was happening and taken the appropriate action in key positions. Instead, I let the blinds eat me alive and ended up pushing with a mediocre hand and getting knocked out. I was very disappointed with my play.
The show must go on. After accepting my beating, I went on to play a few sit n go’s later that evening. Won a few, lost a few. At this point, I was in little mood to really give it my all, so I thought it best to call it a day. With that, I’m very anxious to get back I the mix this evening.
Overall, I did not play as much as I would have liked this weekend. Friday ended up “date night” which was long over due. My wife and I went to dinner and a movie with friends and saw The Da Vinci Code. Here’s the part where I play part time movie critic:
Movie Review…
I really enjoyed the book and went in to the movie Friday with fairly high expectations. Overall, I thought it was a very good movie. A little hokey at points, but I really enjoyed how closely they stuck to the book. The role of Silas was played very well. I even liked Sophie’s part. And while I enjoy Tom Hanks for the most part, I kind of felt he was just along for the ride reading lines when applicable. Good movie though all around. Highly recommend seeing this movie if you have read the book. I believe it to still be a good movie if you have not read the book, but knowing the deep details provided in the book really made for an enjoyable viewing.
The Da Vinci Code
8 stars out of 10
Heads up play on NBC…
Just curious as to how people have received NBC’s approach to poker. I caught a few episodes leading up to Sunday’s final show and had mixed feelings. I think I’m always a little more critical of poker broadcasts since I do try to stay up to speed with current tournament results. So, watching this, I already know of many key hands and winners. I think my biggest hang up though is similar to the same issue I have with ESPN. We all know they cut out 99% of the cards dealt, I get that. I also realize they want to make for the best television possible. But my biggest complaint is the sheer unprofessional play by play. Sure, crack a joke here or there, but don’t try to sway people’s perceptions with a biased approach to the match. While watching Sunday, I felt several inappropriate exchanges were broadcast between the commentators. I felt it was to the point where they really want to make villains and hero’s to increase viewership. And sure, this makes sense even. But I really think the direction was misguided. Just report the facts. In my mind, commentators should be there to bring forth the actions at hand, not provide snide comments. And that’s what really grinds my gears! (family guy reference)
Tells…
I Had an interesting conversation with a good poker buddy this weekend. We both were reading a posting on a poker forum concerning tells, how to identify them, most common tells, etc. The post we were reading went in to great detail on several “key” tells but then opened it up for discussion. My buddy really focused on how important ones facial expressions are at the poker table including eyes and mouth. While I agreed with him on several factors, I provided a counter point that while facial expressions are very important, it is even more important to properly read ones entire body language. More specifically, I explained that I really try to focus on ones hands. Reaching for a stack, screwing with your chips, tapping the table nervously, open palm, closed fist, etc. I went on to really dig in to just what these items really meant in forms of tells. It’s one thing to identify that you are viewing these behaviors; it’s another thing entirely relating them to important poker information and how this can bring you profit. And while we went in to great detail on each possible item, it got really interesting when we started to discuss “reverse tells”. In the end, it’s all a mind game which is why I love this game so much. I plan on bringing several items from this discussion in to my blog soon.
Tonight’s Plan…
Tonight I would really like to do well in the $20 MTT 180 person. I will probably hit a sit n go or two, but am really focused on smaller successes tonight before taking on larger action.
Until next time,
Adam
Technorati Tags: poker, hold em, tells, nbc heads up, Da Vinci Code
Unfortunately, no grand milestones achieved this weekend. I did gain an entry to the $200 big tournament on Stars Sunday, but that proved to be less than climatic. In all honesty, I played a horrible game in that tournament. The run of cards was poor the entire time and I allowed it to severely affect my chip stack. Had I been on my game, I would have recognized what was happening and taken the appropriate action in key positions. Instead, I let the blinds eat me alive and ended up pushing with a mediocre hand and getting knocked out. I was very disappointed with my play.
The show must go on. After accepting my beating, I went on to play a few sit n go’s later that evening. Won a few, lost a few. At this point, I was in little mood to really give it my all, so I thought it best to call it a day. With that, I’m very anxious to get back I the mix this evening.
Overall, I did not play as much as I would have liked this weekend. Friday ended up “date night” which was long over due. My wife and I went to dinner and a movie with friends and saw The Da Vinci Code. Here’s the part where I play part time movie critic:
Movie Review…
I really enjoyed the book and went in to the movie Friday with fairly high expectations. Overall, I thought it was a very good movie. A little hokey at points, but I really enjoyed how closely they stuck to the book. The role of Silas was played very well. I even liked Sophie’s part. And while I enjoy Tom Hanks for the most part, I kind of felt he was just along for the ride reading lines when applicable. Good movie though all around. Highly recommend seeing this movie if you have read the book. I believe it to still be a good movie if you have not read the book, but knowing the deep details provided in the book really made for an enjoyable viewing.
The Da Vinci Code
8 stars out of 10
Heads up play on NBC…
Just curious as to how people have received NBC’s approach to poker. I caught a few episodes leading up to Sunday’s final show and had mixed feelings. I think I’m always a little more critical of poker broadcasts since I do try to stay up to speed with current tournament results. So, watching this, I already know of many key hands and winners. I think my biggest hang up though is similar to the same issue I have with ESPN. We all know they cut out 99% of the cards dealt, I get that. I also realize they want to make for the best television possible. But my biggest complaint is the sheer unprofessional play by play. Sure, crack a joke here or there, but don’t try to sway people’s perceptions with a biased approach to the match. While watching Sunday, I felt several inappropriate exchanges were broadcast between the commentators. I felt it was to the point where they really want to make villains and hero’s to increase viewership. And sure, this makes sense even. But I really think the direction was misguided. Just report the facts. In my mind, commentators should be there to bring forth the actions at hand, not provide snide comments. And that’s what really grinds my gears! (family guy reference)
Tells…
I Had an interesting conversation with a good poker buddy this weekend. We both were reading a posting on a poker forum concerning tells, how to identify them, most common tells, etc. The post we were reading went in to great detail on several “key” tells but then opened it up for discussion. My buddy really focused on how important ones facial expressions are at the poker table including eyes and mouth. While I agreed with him on several factors, I provided a counter point that while facial expressions are very important, it is even more important to properly read ones entire body language. More specifically, I explained that I really try to focus on ones hands. Reaching for a stack, screwing with your chips, tapping the table nervously, open palm, closed fist, etc. I went on to really dig in to just what these items really meant in forms of tells. It’s one thing to identify that you are viewing these behaviors; it’s another thing entirely relating them to important poker information and how this can bring you profit. And while we went in to great detail on each possible item, it got really interesting when we started to discuss “reverse tells”. In the end, it’s all a mind game which is why I love this game so much. I plan on bringing several items from this discussion in to my blog soon.
Tonight’s Plan…
Tonight I would really like to do well in the $20 MTT 180 person. I will probably hit a sit n go or two, but am really focused on smaller successes tonight before taking on larger action.
Until next time,
Adam
Technorati Tags: poker, hold em, tells, nbc heads up, Da Vinci Code
