Having scored a relatively large tournament win so early in my poker routine I found myself contemplating upon the extra money, which of course I put into the poker fund. Having an extra $1200 creates an easy vibe for relaxed poker play because I can participate in 12 consecutive tournaments without a score and find myself back to even. However, I am estimating the probability of not cashing in 12 consecutive tournaments to be 25%, which is higher than I would like it to be because I don't think I would feel good seeing $1200 dribbled away during a one month poker drought. Although I love the challenge and psychological intensity of poker, my financial status in society is at the bottom of the barrel, monk level, loser, etc, so I cannot easily shrug off paying $1200 for a hobby. $1200 for a monk is 16 weeks food and leisure, or the full transportation costs for my recently completed SE Asian adventure. $1200 is too large a percentage of my net financial worth to be putting into play on the poker felt and so a reasonable conclusion is a monk should not play poker at the stakes offered in casinos. Poker, like chess and life, is all about making sound decisions based on logic, calculation, experience, and intuition, so the best decision I can make at this point is to drop poker as a hobby and choose one which is easier on a monk's budget.
So today I walked to the bank and deposited $2000 cash into my account and felt good about it because that amount buys an additional eight weeks time off from having to work wage jobs. What I will do with my free days before having to return to wage work is not yet determined but that is a task which will be pleasant to ponder.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Poker Session 4
Played a $100 buy in today and made the final table but was knocked out 10th, 3 away from the money. Had very few playable hands during the final hour of play and I had to shove 5 7 suited with 26,000 left with blinds at 6000 3000, could not spike a 5 or a 7 and after 5 hours of play it is tough to get up from the table with nothing to show for all of that play but still a very fun time. Am exhausted, similar to how I feel after a tough tournament chess loss. Have to shake it off and come back another day with positive and fresh energy.
The most noteworthy hand was during the 2nd hour of play I had 2 red aces in early position and raised to 800 and the button and big blind called, The button was an older fellow who won first place in the recent main event at Hammond for a 6 figure score. Flop came Q 7 4 with 2 diamonds. I bet 2500 and the button called, big blind folded. Turn brought the 10 of diamonds and I decided to push all in. The button thought for 2 minutes before deciding on a call with KQ offsuit, no diamonds, so I was in good shape and when the river brought a 4th diamond I doubled my stack and knocked out the main event champion.
Was planning to play tomorrow but will have to see how my energy is because I may not be able to recover quickly after today's good run but tough loss.
The most noteworthy hand was during the 2nd hour of play I had 2 red aces in early position and raised to 800 and the button and big blind called, The button was an older fellow who won first place in the recent main event at Hammond for a 6 figure score. Flop came Q 7 4 with 2 diamonds. I bet 2500 and the button called, big blind folded. Turn brought the 10 of diamonds and I decided to push all in. The button thought for 2 minutes before deciding on a call with KQ offsuit, no diamonds, so I was in good shape and when the river brought a 4th diamond I doubled my stack and knocked out the main event champion.
Was planning to play tomorrow but will have to see how my energy is because I may not be able to recover quickly after today's good run but tough loss.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Poker - Session 3
My Lucky Card Protector
(a gift from my airbnb host in Chiang Mai)
Hard to believe I have had a tournament success so soon, I placed in a 3 way tie for 1st this afternoon out of 67 entrants and won $1588, after subtracting the tournament fee of $130 and the $20 dealer tip and the $20 bubble boy fund, I won $1415 profit which I can add to my poker fund.
Tournament started at 12:15pm and I collected my prize at 6:30pm, which is a perfect amount of time for poker play, any longer and I tend to get sluggish and my body rebels from sitting too long.
The tournament started out normal for me, lots of folding and watching others gaining big hands, although in the first 90 minutes I picked up AK 3 times and ended up losing a 2000 chip pot with it early on so I had to be careful to conserve my chips after that, no cold calling raises with speculative hands. The third time I picked up AK there were 3 limpers before me so I decided to shove all in for 7500 and pick up their chips so that I could get back to 10,000 with little risk, everyone folded so my plan worked and it felt good to be back at the starting chip point.
Soon after I picked up AQ in middle position and called an utg raise for 500, the utg raiser was a guy I played with 2 days ago and he likes to play many pots, limping and raising with a wide range of cards, had I known it was him who raised utg I would have 3 bet but he had just been seated a few hands before and I did not realize who it was so in one sense it was a mistake, but it worked out in my favor because if I 3 bet he would have surely called and that would have been very bad because he raised with 5 7 suited and flopped the nut straight so I would have lost more than 500 chips. The player with 5 7 loves to talk and he had a table mate who complemented him so there was constant poker banter going on and of course I mostly remained silent but that type of table dynamic can be tricky to navigate because people who get into pots with the talkers usually join the conversation and because I play very few hands early in a tournament I was one of the few at the table who was not participating in the poker talk. I tried my best not to let the social isolation affect my positive energy or my strategy to play only good starting hands. It can be easy to fall into a strategy of seeing many flops so that I can fit into the table dynamic but I was good about staying in my comfort zone and thus I was pretty much invisible for the first 2 hours of the tournament.
The first major hand I played I was dealt KK in late position and made a standard raise, the small blind 3 bet and I knew he was strong because I had not seen him get out of line but with KK it was an easy decision to push all in and after a few moments indecision he called off his stack and he showed down AQ....
Before going into flop details I want to mention that for the past year I have had the recurring thought as follows - "whatever I fear will be drawn close, whatever I desire will be pushed away", this is a pessimistic view of reality but it resonates with my experience so throughout today's tournament that thought was a constant refrain during especially stressful hands where I found myself drifting into desire or fear - desiring a certain card or fearing a card which would help an opponent - after repeating the refrain my mind and emotions flow into acceptance of external outcomes rather than trying to influence them in some kind of peripheral way. Whatever card comes so be it and it was liberating emotionally to be able to accept the whimsical decrees of the poker gods.
...and so I went into acceptance mode, fear and desire in the background of memory and I dodged the ace and almost doubled my stack to over 20k. I should mention that before getting the KK the talkative guy was transferred to another table and this helped me to relax a bit. Certain strong or negative personalities appear to have the ability to influence not only the outcome of the cards but also the decisions people will make and when I notice such a personality influencing my decision making in a negative way I have to struggle to retain balance and control.
Just before the table broke I was in the big blind with Q9 clubs and there were two limpers so I let the action go and the flop was a good one for my hand, 2 clubs and I paired my 9. Not knowing the ranges of my opponent's hands I decided to bet out hoping to take down the pot without resistance but the small blind, who checked to me, re-raised all in. He had around 7000 chips so if I called and did not improve (I guessed that I was behind but that my outs would justify a call) I would still have over 10,000 chips so I called and the small blind shockingly showed down AA, I can see why he played it the way he did, he was trying to trap and disguise his hand so that someone would overplay a single pair but my hand was better than that and after the cards were shown the table chastised the guy with AA saying he should have raised pre-flop because then I would have folded and when the turn brought another 9 and the river a blank, my chip stack was now close to 30k.
When the table broke we were down to 27 players and within a few hands I was on the button with A10 offsuit and when it folded to me I raised and both blinds folded but the small blind was a man with a very strong personality and he loved to talk and appeared to enjoy verbal confrontations, both for enjoyment and for the chance to get into the head of his opponent, a sort of sophisticated poker trash talker, and as I was scooping the blinds he said to me "so what, you know how to play poker, congratulations", in a manner which was subtle with anger and contempt. I have been practicing to always keep a neutral expression on my face, never to express any type of negative emotion with facial features, so I showed him my A10 as a way to break down the perception that I was simply raising to steal the blinds and said nothing and expressed nothing. I stayed in my own head and decided I would try to avoid playing hands with him due to his large stack size and my experience of getting burned with bad beats when I play head to head against a negative/strong personality and for the rest of the tournament I was fortunate not to play any large pots with him.
After an hour I looked down at AJ offsuit from utg and decided to raise, hoping my image as only showing down strong hands would make everyone fold but a player in middle position called and the big blind called, the flop came down 9 5 7, all diamonds, and I took another look at my cards and saw that I was holding the A of diamonds so when the small blind checked I put out a raise, middle position folded and the small blind announced call but appeared to be intending to raise all in because he had only 5000 behind but the verbal declaration forced him to just call my bet, the turn brought another diamond giving me the nuts and the small blind checked and I bet enough to put him all in and the small blind did not look like he wanted to call but realized with only 5000 behind it was practically forced, I noticed his hands trembling when he reached for the last of his chips and he turned over JJ and the guy to my left, the strong personality, gave advice to the small blind "you should have shoved pre man, he would have folded AJ," which was true but now he was drawing dead and I scooped a nice pot and my stack was now healthy at 45000 chips, slightly above average.
Thirty minutes later I am dealt AQ offsuit from the cutoff and raise and the small blind goes all in, a guy I played with two days ago who crippled my stack when I held QQ and he shoved all in preflop with 67 offsuit and ended up making a straight. He told me on break that I was unlucky with all-ins as if it was definitive so he must have been feeling confident when he shoved all in because if he could beat my QQ with 67 offsuit he surely could beat me with his 10 10 but his theory of me being an all-in loser did not hold up because I flopped a queen and won a healthy pot and now had over 80,000 chips as we went to the break.
Soon we were down to the final table and the tournament paid seven players. I was in good shape with over 100,000 chips so I had a decent chance to make the money. When we reached eight remaining everyone put in $20 to pay the bubble boy, who would be the next person to bust out, and soon after we paid the bubble boy and it felt good to be in the money and it felt even better to look down at 2 black aces. I raised from middle position and the button, who had the same amount of chips as me, called, as did the big blind. The flop was A 9 3 rainbow, I flopped gin and after the big blind checked I studied the board for about 10 seconds and decided to check. Without much thought the button announces all in and I can't think of a better feeling in poker when someone shoves all in while I am holding the nuts. The big blind folded and when I insta called the button, who was a confident and competent player, knew that he had made a big mistake and it was confirmed when he showed down 10 10, someone said they held a 10 so he was drawing dead and I was now close to being the chip leader with 250,000 chips.
I was able to ride out the ups and downs of the final table without too many losses and when we were down to four players I raised from utg with 88 and the big blind, a successful tournament veteran, shoved all in. If I called and lost my stack would be cut in half and I may end up going out in 4th but I decided that I was most likely a slight favorite and was willing to gamble with 88 and was pleasantly surprised to see him turn over 66 and my 88 held and I was now chip leader with 3 players remaining.
After 20 minutes I lost a bit of my stack and all 3 of us were fairly equal in chips so we decided to chop for the 3 way tie for 1st.
A great day for me, I was lucky, played competently in most instances, and had a lot of fun.
It feels nice to have a big bump for my poker fund, the goal is not to make money from poker but to play for as long as I can and today's win gives me the opportunity to extend my poker playing days -
Thanks to the Poker Gods for looking favorably upon my efforts today.
| 03/23/19 | $130 buy in Tournament. | Result – 1/67 - $1588 |
| $698 -130 – 20 – 23 – 3 + 1588 = $2110 | ($20 bubble fee/$23 dealer tip) | |
| Total fee - $170 | ||
| $1/$2 cash game -$3 loss |
Friday, March 22, 2019
Poker - Session 2
Took the shuttle to Hammond and contemplated playing in the $320 buy in bounty tournament but the entry is too high relative to my poker funds so I decided to sit in a $1/2 game for a few hours and ended up +$51 for the session. My string of poor cards continued but I did have 2 big hands which netted me wins for my small session profit.
In the first hand I had AA in the small blind and decided to call a $10 raise from the button to disguise the strength of my hand because if I 3-bet the fact that I was playing few hands would probably fold everyone out, MP calls and original raiser calls. Flop comes A J rag I check MP bets $10 button min raises to $20 and I call and MP folds. Turn brings a J so I fill up with a lock on the hand, I check button bets $20 I call. River a blank I bet the rest of my stack, $38, button reluctantly calls and shows AQ so I double my stack and that is why I ended up $51.
Second hand I called a $7 raise from middle position with J10 unsuited and flop top 2 pair but the board is all spades, I call a $10 raise with 2 others in the hand, turn bricks and it checks around, river brings another 10 so I fill up and lead out for $25 and get no callers. Other than those 2 hands it was slow going, other than the AA I had 88 twice, 55 once, no flopped sets.
The hand which caused the most intensity was when I picked up AK unsuited utg and raised to $8, it folded to the button who 3 bet to $24. The button was a young man who looked competent and aware so he knew I would not be raising utg light, which meant he was likely 3 betting with a strong hand. Blinds folded and I had to decide how to proceed, at this point my stack was $175 up from a starting stack of $75, button had me covered so I knew I might be playing for my stack with this hand. I took my time and had to decide first if I should raise, and if so, how much. The absurd idea of pushing all in flashed into my mind and I dismissed it quickly, I would be risking $175 to win $20, not a good strategy. If I raised to $65 I would be left with $100. If button calls I am out of position and if no A or K on the flop and I check I will get the pot taken from me and if I c bet most of my stack would be gone. I did not like the option of raising and folding did not seem correct although maybe a fold with AK out of position against a competent player who was holding a strong hand may have been fine. However, I decided to call the $24 and saw a flop of J 5 3 rainbow. I took my time and studied the board, if I checked to quickly it may give the button confidence to c bet with a hand like AK or AQ, by going slow I give the button time to sow seeds of doubt in his mind, after checking the button checked and we saw a turn of the A of spades. I hit my card and decided to lead for $35 and the button called. If the button were to re-raise I had decided to call but fortunately the pot was not getting overly bloated and I still had over $100 in my stack. The river was a 3, so I now had AA33 with a K kicker, a strong hand and I guessed the button was holding AQ or AK with a slight possibility of a monster JJJ33, I decided to check so as not to get re-raised for my entire stack and was willing to call off a large river bet and after the button bet $60 I called with the idea that we were most likely chopping and the button showed AK for the chop. He gave me a slight smile and I was relieved not to have lost my small profit for the session and soon after left to go home.
The way I ran today is average for me, my wins are usually small and I have to know when to quit when I am running bad so that my losses remain on a similar level to the wins, I do not want to be what Tommy Angelo calls "a player who eats like a bird and shits like an elephant." So the small win feels good because it increases the poker funds and allows me to play another day.
I plan to play the $130 buy in tomorrow if my energy is good. Felt sleepy at the table today, probably because I woke up at 5:00am and walked 6 miles along the Lake Shore Path
In the first hand I had AA in the small blind and decided to call a $10 raise from the button to disguise the strength of my hand because if I 3-bet the fact that I was playing few hands would probably fold everyone out, MP calls and original raiser calls. Flop comes A J rag I check MP bets $10 button min raises to $20 and I call and MP folds. Turn brings a J so I fill up with a lock on the hand, I check button bets $20 I call. River a blank I bet the rest of my stack, $38, button reluctantly calls and shows AQ so I double my stack and that is why I ended up $51.
Second hand I called a $7 raise from middle position with J10 unsuited and flop top 2 pair but the board is all spades, I call a $10 raise with 2 others in the hand, turn bricks and it checks around, river brings another 10 so I fill up and lead out for $25 and get no callers. Other than those 2 hands it was slow going, other than the AA I had 88 twice, 55 once, no flopped sets.
The hand which caused the most intensity was when I picked up AK unsuited utg and raised to $8, it folded to the button who 3 bet to $24. The button was a young man who looked competent and aware so he knew I would not be raising utg light, which meant he was likely 3 betting with a strong hand. Blinds folded and I had to decide how to proceed, at this point my stack was $175 up from a starting stack of $75, button had me covered so I knew I might be playing for my stack with this hand. I took my time and had to decide first if I should raise, and if so, how much. The absurd idea of pushing all in flashed into my mind and I dismissed it quickly, I would be risking $175 to win $20, not a good strategy. If I raised to $65 I would be left with $100. If button calls I am out of position and if no A or K on the flop and I check I will get the pot taken from me and if I c bet most of my stack would be gone. I did not like the option of raising and folding did not seem correct although maybe a fold with AK out of position against a competent player who was holding a strong hand may have been fine. However, I decided to call the $24 and saw a flop of J 5 3 rainbow. I took my time and studied the board, if I checked to quickly it may give the button confidence to c bet with a hand like AK or AQ, by going slow I give the button time to sow seeds of doubt in his mind, after checking the button checked and we saw a turn of the A of spades. I hit my card and decided to lead for $35 and the button called. If the button were to re-raise I had decided to call but fortunately the pot was not getting overly bloated and I still had over $100 in my stack. The river was a 3, so I now had AA33 with a K kicker, a strong hand and I guessed the button was holding AQ or AK with a slight possibility of a monster JJJ33, I decided to check so as not to get re-raised for my entire stack and was willing to call off a large river bet and after the button bet $60 I called with the idea that we were most likely chopping and the button showed AK for the chop. He gave me a slight smile and I was relieved not to have lost my small profit for the session and soon after left to go home.
The way I ran today is average for me, my wins are usually small and I have to know when to quit when I am running bad so that my losses remain on a similar level to the wins, I do not want to be what Tommy Angelo calls "a player who eats like a bird and shits like an elephant." So the small win feels good because it increases the poker funds and allows me to play another day.
I plan to play the $130 buy in tomorrow if my energy is good. Felt sleepy at the table today, probably because I woke up at 5:00am and walked 6 miles along the Lake Shore Path
| 03/22/19 | $1/$2 cash game +$51 gain | |
| $647 + $51 = $698 |
Poker - Session 1
To replace chess I have decided to pursue playing poker for my enjoyment and satisfaction. I plan to use the savings I have accumulated during my 4 month SE Asia trip (under budget by $1850). So my goal in playing is not to make money as an end in itself, but to play poker as long as possible with the starting poker fund of $1850. I might last 1 week, 1 month, or 1 year, luck and my decision making will determine the outcome.
Played my first session yesterday, playing in the $130 buy in with 10,000 chips. There were 28 entrants and I got knocked out in 7th, not a bad start. An hour before the tournament started I sat down in a $1/$2 NL game and bought in short because I have discovered from past experience that I tend to run badly when I first sit down at a table. The bad run could continue for the entire session or turn around after a couple of hours but the first hour is usually bad news for me so by buying in short I minimize the damage of bad beats and bad cards. True to form I did not have a single playable hand for the hour I played so my losses were minimal, -$23. To contrast my run of bad cards with others at the table, a man sits down and his first hand is dealt AA. A young white man within a span of 15 minutes wins over $250 in 3 hands, in those three hands he flopped a set of 7's, flopped a set of 3's, and flopped top two pair. When I see things like this, how one person gets a spectacular run of cards, while my own hands are 10 3, J 2, & 9 4, never seeing a pocket pair or even an A, it makes me think it is this unpredictable, mystical side of poker which fascinates me. I don't mind getting bad cards while others are getting great hands, I just make the decisions that are appropriate to my own card fate and live with it, accepting the inevitable.
Not being surprised by my run of bad cards in the cash game, I was, however, confident that even if I had bad cards in the tournament I would have decent odds of doing well because past experience has shown that tournaments tend to be a blessing for me because I have cashed with a better than average percentage.
The tournament was a continuation of my run of bad cards but I was patient and waited while I watched others flopping sets and getting high pocket pairs. I was not complaining to myself, though, because some of those high pocket pairs were losing to inferior starting hands thus crippling some of the players while I myself simply blinded off a thousand in the first hour.
Played my first session yesterday, playing in the $130 buy in with 10,000 chips. There were 28 entrants and I got knocked out in 7th, not a bad start. An hour before the tournament started I sat down in a $1/$2 NL game and bought in short because I have discovered from past experience that I tend to run badly when I first sit down at a table. The bad run could continue for the entire session or turn around after a couple of hours but the first hour is usually bad news for me so by buying in short I minimize the damage of bad beats and bad cards. True to form I did not have a single playable hand for the hour I played so my losses were minimal, -$23. To contrast my run of bad cards with others at the table, a man sits down and his first hand is dealt AA. A young white man within a span of 15 minutes wins over $250 in 3 hands, in those three hands he flopped a set of 7's, flopped a set of 3's, and flopped top two pair. When I see things like this, how one person gets a spectacular run of cards, while my own hands are 10 3, J 2, & 9 4, never seeing a pocket pair or even an A, it makes me think it is this unpredictable, mystical side of poker which fascinates me. I don't mind getting bad cards while others are getting great hands, I just make the decisions that are appropriate to my own card fate and live with it, accepting the inevitable.
Not being surprised by my run of bad cards in the cash game, I was, however, confident that even if I had bad cards in the tournament I would have decent odds of doing well because past experience has shown that tournaments tend to be a blessing for me because I have cashed with a better than average percentage.
The tournament was a continuation of my run of bad cards but I was patient and waited while I watched others flopping sets and getting high pocket pairs. I was not complaining to myself, though, because some of those high pocket pairs were losing to inferior starting hands thus crippling some of the players while I myself simply blinded off a thousand in the first hour.
I made it to the
first break and was happy about that, I believe I played 2 or 3
hands, all from the small blind in limped pots. My main goal in any
tournament is a simple one, to last as long as possible, if I am
successful in lasting a long time then it gives good chances to place
in the money.
After the first break I found pocket 10’s and raised from utg +1 and my image of not playing any hands convinced everyone to fold. I was continually counting my stack size and was surprised that I was still close to the starting point of 10,000. I found AK unsuited in the big blind and the hijack min raised to 400 and I decided to end the hand by raising all in because we were still early enough in the tournament where I do not want to play big pots post flop with a drawing hand, if I raised to 1200 and he called and I miss the flop I’d be out of position and I either give up or pray he hit nothing and c-bet and if he calls I just lost half my stack. Not wanting to face this situation an all in raise would net me 700 chips with little risk, the odds of him having KK or AA being small due to his raise sizing and position so I knew there was little chance of a call and the player was not happy about my all in raise, he started talking and complaining about it and wondered why I would bet that much and I knew then it was the right play, people get angry with bet sizing when it puts them out of their comfort zone and forces them to lose a bit of control of the situation and as I took in the small pot he showed A6 unsuited and after this I had gotten into his head, someone who seemed timid had shown a propensity for high risk and he had no idea what to make of me.
After more folding I was down to 6000-7000 chips in the big blind and when it folded to the small blind she raised to 1200 and I looked down at QJ unsuited and decided to move all in due to my stack size dwindling and the current size of the blinds, the older woman hesitated for 30 seconds and decided to call and showed A10 off suit, which was good for me because I had live cards and I got lucky when a J hit on the flop and it held up for a double up and now I was set for while.
I made it to the second break with about 20,000 chips and soon after was at the final table and ended up busting out to the big stack when I had pocket 10's and he had pocket Q's. I believe I made my only major mistake by calling his all in bet. I raised from UTG to 5000, leaving me with 15,000 chips, not very much, but still relatively healthy in comparison to the other remaining players, and when the big stack raised me all in from the hi jack I knew he had me beat with a bigger pocket pair or was equal to me with AK, either way I was not going to be in great shape and I miscalculated my stack size and decided since I had already put in 5000 I was committed to call because I might not see a hand better than 10 10 for a long while, but since I knew I was beat the right decision should have been to fold and wait for a better spot to get my chips in. I did not suck out and I was thus out in 7th place, I felt good about my performance and loved the intensity of playing once we got down to 14 players, the energy level of the game was high and this is why I like tournament poker, cash games do not have a comparable sense of rising tension.
After the first break I found pocket 10’s and raised from utg +1 and my image of not playing any hands convinced everyone to fold. I was continually counting my stack size and was surprised that I was still close to the starting point of 10,000. I found AK unsuited in the big blind and the hijack min raised to 400 and I decided to end the hand by raising all in because we were still early enough in the tournament where I do not want to play big pots post flop with a drawing hand, if I raised to 1200 and he called and I miss the flop I’d be out of position and I either give up or pray he hit nothing and c-bet and if he calls I just lost half my stack. Not wanting to face this situation an all in raise would net me 700 chips with little risk, the odds of him having KK or AA being small due to his raise sizing and position so I knew there was little chance of a call and the player was not happy about my all in raise, he started talking and complaining about it and wondered why I would bet that much and I knew then it was the right play, people get angry with bet sizing when it puts them out of their comfort zone and forces them to lose a bit of control of the situation and as I took in the small pot he showed A6 unsuited and after this I had gotten into his head, someone who seemed timid had shown a propensity for high risk and he had no idea what to make of me.
After more folding I was down to 6000-7000 chips in the big blind and when it folded to the small blind she raised to 1200 and I looked down at QJ unsuited and decided to move all in due to my stack size dwindling and the current size of the blinds, the older woman hesitated for 30 seconds and decided to call and showed A10 off suit, which was good for me because I had live cards and I got lucky when a J hit on the flop and it held up for a double up and now I was set for while.
I made it to the second break with about 20,000 chips and soon after was at the final table and ended up busting out to the big stack when I had pocket 10's and he had pocket Q's. I believe I made my only major mistake by calling his all in bet. I raised from UTG to 5000, leaving me with 15,000 chips, not very much, but still relatively healthy in comparison to the other remaining players, and when the big stack raised me all in from the hi jack I knew he had me beat with a bigger pocket pair or was equal to me with AK, either way I was not going to be in great shape and I miscalculated my stack size and decided since I had already put in 5000 I was committed to call because I might not see a hand better than 10 10 for a long while, but since I knew I was beat the right decision should have been to fold and wait for a better spot to get my chips in. I did not suck out and I was thus out in 7th place, I felt good about my performance and loved the intensity of playing once we got down to 14 players, the energy level of the game was high and this is why I like tournament poker, cash games do not have a comparable sense of rising tension.
| Starting Bankroll - $800 | ||
| 03/21/19 | $130 buy in Tournament. | Result – 7/28 - $0 |
| $1/$2 cash game -$23 loss | ||
| $800 – 130 – 23 = = $647 |
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Day 114 - part I
Final Morning in Chiang Mai
I got up at 6:30am, packed and walked to the R3 Airport bus stop a few blocks from where I was staying, I had 20b in my pocket and nothing else, fortunately the 20b got me onto the bus and the driver dropped me off at the airport and I checked in and received both boarding passes. The flight to Taipei was 3 hours, nothing out of the ordinary except the way I began my journey returned to remind me of a job well done - the flight had a movie and it was At Eternity's Gate, the movie I saw a day or two before my flight to Chiang Mai back in late November. I wrote a long entry about Van Gogh, just before leaving on my trip, about how he influenced the direction of my life and I wrote that during this journey I would be wandering around with the thought that Van Gogh might be at my side from time to time, enjoying the sights seen through my eyes. I did not think too much about Vincent during my journey so the film today reminded me that perhaps he did indeed enjoy some of the things I saw. Upon arriving in Taipei I wandered around the airport, one of the nicest I have been to, and discovered a library where I found a book about Vincent and I sat down to gaze at some of the things he saw during his journey through life.
Day 114 - part II
The final entry of the travel journal, 114 days. I will continue to write entries now and again but the day by day entries will come to an end with this entry. To preserve how I organized and planned the journey, here is the checklist which I created -
Checklist
Phase 1 - complete
Passport - - need to renew __X___ (need passport sized photo 2”x 2”)
cost = $110 (application sent 4/26/18, passport received 5/12/18)
Photo Paper _X__
10 2”x2” Digital Photos (white background) ___X__
cost = $110 (application sent 4/26/18, passport received 5/12/18)
Photo Paper _X__
10 2”x2” Digital Photos (white background) ___X__
Electrical wall 2 prong - buy on amazon ___X__
Lenovo laptop portable SD card reader __X__
Phase 2 - complete
Accumulate $22925 in savings ___X___ (achieved 11/26/18)
Finalize initial travel destination ___X____ - Chiang Mai Thailand
Purchase airline ticket ____X_____purchased 7/29/18 - $729 rt to Chiang Mai - EVA airlines
Thai Visa application (need to apply in September) ___X____
(pay with money order, get from Chase Bank, in amount of $40. Visa approved 9/21/18)
(pay with money order, get from Chase Bank, in amount of $40. Visa approved 9/21/18)
Make arrival Airbnb/hotel reservation ___X____
Take digital pics of drivers license and passport and store on google drive ____X_____
Photocopies of passport ___X____
Dual bank accounts ___X___
Opened Chase checking/savings acct on 8/10/18. $500 bonus.
Opened Chase checking/savings acct on 8/10/18. $500 bonus.
Get new visa card before leaving ___X___ (current card expires Feb 2019 - received 8/25)
Buy fast dry underwear/socks/running shoes ____X____
Make a laminated Bhat/dollar conversion chart ______X______
Call Schwab and Chase to alert about foreign travel plans _____X_______
Phase 3 - complete
Basic Itinerary - total days of trip = 16 weeks = 114 days
Depart Monday, Nov 26th, 2018, arrive Tuesday, Nov 27. -
get 60 day visa stamped. Time 1 day. __X___ must leave Thailand by January 26.
Stay 7 weeks (49 days) in Chiang Mai (Walter/Ohm’s AirBnb) ____X_____
Leave Chiang Mai on January 16. _____X______
Take plane to Bangkok on January 16 ___X___(AirAsia Flight FD3438, 8:25am)
Stay 10 days in Bangkok Airbnb with Evan, 1/16-1/25 . ___X_____
Apply for Vietnam evisa for Feb 22, 2019 entry _______X______
(applied 12/15/18, approved 12/18/18)
Vietnam Visa approval, make print out of pdf approval form ______X_____
Register for HD Bank Vietnam International Chess Tournament ___X_____
Leave Bangkok on January 25 _____X_____ (visa expires on January 26)
Take plane to Bali on January 25 (AirAsia Flight FD396 6:00am) _____X______
Stay 28 days in Sanur, AirBnb with Eka, 1/25-2/22 . ____X____
Leave Bali on February 22. ____X_____
Take plane to Ho Chi City on February 22 (AirAsia Flight QZ558, 8:55am) ____X___
Take plane to Nah Trang on February 22 (VietJet Flight 690, 8:00pm) ______X____
Stay in Azura Hotel for 3 nights, 2/22-2/25. ____X_____
Stay in Nha Trang Home Vu Airbnb from 2/25-3/4. _____X_____
Take plane to Ho Chi Minh City on March 4 (VietJet Flight 689, 10:55am) ____X___
Stay in Camellia Loft Air Bnb for 11 nights, 3/4-3/15._____X____
Pay $77 on March 7th, 2019 for HD Bank Chess Tournament ______X____
Play in HD Bank Chess T 3/7-3/15 ______X____
Take plane to Chiang Mai on March 15, (VietJet Flight 891, 11:25am) ____X____
Stay in Chiang Mai, Sam’s AirBnb for 4 nights, 3/15-3/19____X____
Take plane to Chicago on March 19 ( EVA BR258, 11:30am) ______X____
Arrive Chicago on March 19, 8:45pm ______X_____
END OF SE ASIAN JOURNEY! ______X_____
Depart Monday, Nov 26th, 2018, arrive Tuesday, Nov 27. -
get 60 day visa stamped. Time 1 day. __X___ must leave Thailand by January 26.
Stay 7 weeks (49 days) in Chiang Mai (Walter/Ohm’s AirBnb) ____X_____
Leave Chiang Mai on January 16. _____X______
Take plane to Bangkok on January 16 ___X___(AirAsia Flight FD3438, 8:25am)
Stay 10 days in Bangkok Airbnb with Evan, 1/16-1/25 . ___X_____
Apply for Vietnam evisa for Feb 22, 2019 entry _______X______
(applied 12/15/18, approved 12/18/18)
Vietnam Visa approval, make print out of pdf approval form ______X_____
Register for HD Bank Vietnam International Chess Tournament ___X_____
Leave Bangkok on January 25 _____X_____ (visa expires on January 26)
Take plane to Bali on January 25 (AirAsia Flight FD396 6:00am) _____X______
Stay 28 days in Sanur, AirBnb with Eka, 1/25-2/22 . ____X____
Leave Bali on February 22. ____X_____
Take plane to Ho Chi City on February 22 (AirAsia Flight QZ558, 8:55am) ____X___
Take plane to Nah Trang on February 22 (VietJet Flight 690, 8:00pm) ______X____
Stay in Azura Hotel for 3 nights, 2/22-2/25. ____X_____
Stay in Nha Trang Home Vu Airbnb from 2/25-3/4. _____X_____
Take plane to Ho Chi Minh City on March 4 (VietJet Flight 689, 10:55am) ____X___
Stay in Camellia Loft Air Bnb for 11 nights, 3/4-3/15._____X____
Pay $77 on March 7th, 2019 for HD Bank Chess Tournament ______X____
Play in HD Bank Chess T 3/7-3/15 ______X____
Take plane to Chiang Mai on March 15, (VietJet Flight 891, 11:25am) ____X____
Stay in Chiang Mai, Sam’s AirBnb for 4 nights, 3/15-3/19____X____
Take plane to Chicago on March 19 ( EVA BR258, 11:30am) ______X____
Arrive Chicago on March 19, 8:45pm ______X_____
END OF SE ASIAN JOURNEY! ______X_____
Monday, March 18, 2019
Day 113
The SE Asian Journey is coming to a close and unless something drastic happens
in the next 48 hours I should be under budget for the trip. Here is the break down :
in the next 48 hours I should be under budget for the trip. Here is the break down :
11/26 - 3/19 - Thailand/Bali/Vietnam/Thailand
Estimated - transportation costs (airfare - $1200; bus/rail - $100) = $1300
Actual cost - 729 + 33 + 136 + 118 + 57 + 97 = $1170
Total 16 weeks transportation Costs = $1170 (under budget by $130)
Estimated - weekly apt cost - $175 x 16 = $2800
Actual Cost - 595 (Chiang Mai) + 382 (Chiang Mai)
+ 186 (Bangkok) + 561 (Bali) + 397 (Vietnam) + 137 (Chiang Mai)= $2258
+ 186 (Bangkok) + 561 (Bali) + 397 (Vietnam) + 137 (Chiang Mai)= $2258
Total 16 weeks rent = $2258 (under budget by $542)
Estimated - weekly food costs - $70/week x 16 = $1120
Estimated weekly misc - $20/week x 16 = $320
Estimated total 1120 + 320 = $1440
Actual cost - $970
Total 16 week food/misc expenses = $970 (under budget by $470)
Estimated - unexpected travel costs - $820
Actual cost - $77
Total unexpected travel costs - $77 (under budget by $743)
Visa/Passport costs - $40 (Thailand) + $26 (Vietnam) = $66
16 week estimated total - $1300 (transportation) + $2800 (weekly living expenses)
+ $1440 (food/Misc) + $820 (unexpected) + $66 (Visa) = $6426
16 week actual total - $1170 (transportation) + $2258 (weekly living expenses)
+ $970 (food/misc) + $77 (unexpected) + $66 (passport/visa) = $4541
Total actual 16 week SE Asia Trip Cost = $4541 (under budget by $1885)
And the final week of the budget -
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Day 112
Woke up at my normal hour of sunrise and the mountain was shrouded in smoke and smog and I walked to the gardens and exercised on the bars and when I finished I walked to 7/11 and bought a chocolate milk and sat on the steps of the store and drank it with pleasure and of course a smile creased my face. In the afternoon I did not do much, took a long nap with dreams and when I woke I sat at the table and gazed at the city from the 8th floor windows and reflected on my journey and what is to come next.
Saturday, March 16, 2019
Day 111
Woke up at 6:00am and ran 8 loops (4 miles) at the Pharmacy Gardens which seemed almost effortless, a drastic difference from when I began running at the gardens 100 days ago when running 4 laps took a large effort. The smokey haze in the city hangs like a thousand spider webs which one has to pick through carefully, taking each breath with care. I desired to run 12-15 laps but the air toxicity was just too much to take.
After eating breakfast I took a long nap and when I woke I noticed that the mountain could at least be seen so I decided to take an evening walk through the old part of the city. I was struck by the lack of people on the streets, few tourists and even the locals are staying indoor and after the ant colony which is Saigon I felt like I had the world to wander in solitude and silence. I discovered that the R3 bus runs to the airport for 20b, so in order to spend the remaining amount of bhat I have before leaving in a few days I decided I could spend a bit more on food. I also considered spending it on other things but I saw that my habit of spending little is not out of physical necessity but rather I simply don't need what money can get, other than food, clothing and shelter. If freedom does exist I can't imagine what else it would be other than the habit of needing nothing. I passed an Indian restaurant and knew I could spend more than usual on a good meal so I ordered take away and walked home under orange smokey dusklight, a character in a dystopian future novel which happens to be now.
The intense satisfaction I am feeling from this almost complete journey creates a nice atmosphere inside my mind, the completion of a project years in the making.
After eating breakfast I took a long nap and when I woke I noticed that the mountain could at least be seen so I decided to take an evening walk through the old part of the city. I was struck by the lack of people on the streets, few tourists and even the locals are staying indoor and after the ant colony which is Saigon I felt like I had the world to wander in solitude and silence. I discovered that the R3 bus runs to the airport for 20b, so in order to spend the remaining amount of bhat I have before leaving in a few days I decided I could spend a bit more on food. I also considered spending it on other things but I saw that my habit of spending little is not out of physical necessity but rather I simply don't need what money can get, other than food, clothing and shelter. If freedom does exist I can't imagine what else it would be other than the habit of needing nothing. I passed an Indian restaurant and knew I could spend more than usual on a good meal so I ordered take away and walked home under orange smokey dusklight, a character in a dystopian future novel which happens to be now.
The intense satisfaction I am feeling from this almost complete journey creates a nice atmosphere inside my mind, the completion of a project years in the making.
Friday, March 15, 2019
Day 110 - Chiang Mai
Got up at 6:00am and lay in bed because I did not have to leave the studio until close to 8:00am, showered, packed, locked the 2 gates and placed the key into the safe and walked 2 blocks to the 152 bus stop, 15 minutes later I get on the bus and pay 5000d and it drops me at the airport, attempt to get my boarding pass and I finally get stung by the bag police, am told either check the bag or pay $30 to bring it with me because it is 2kg over the max allowed. I opt to pay $30 because I am still under budget for transportation costs and the last thing I want to do is hand my bag over to someone and trust that they will get it back to me with nothing stolen, lost, or damaged. I am not sure how much I would have paid, $50, $60? I carried my bag over to the passport window to get stamped out of Vietnam and while waiting for gate 10 to open I updated my budget, accounting for
the new cost of the plane ticket, from $67 to $97, I am still satisfied
with how things have gone with the budget, I am a traveling monk,
spending nothing is as simple and refreshing as breathing or drinking a
glass of cool water.
Flight was typical and safely landed in Chiang Mai after 2 hours in the air, I recognized the airport exit and saw the ATM machine where I first withdrew Bhat at the beginning of my journey more than 100 days ago which made me feel satisfied and I walked out into the hot, smutty afternoon, the air quality horrible, one of the worst cities in the world for air toxicity, yet I continue to breathe and look for a tuk tuk and am surprised when I see a couple of red trucks and I guess that if one agrees to take me to Nimman Road I can pay half what a tuk tuk driver would want and luck was with me because the driver said yes to Nimman Road and wanted 60b so I got into the back of the truck and soon after an old Frenchman hops in and sits across from me and tries to make small talk but I was hyper-focused on the task at hand which was to make sure I had all of my essentials still in my possession and to review where I was going and how I was to get there. I soon rang the truck bell and hopped out near the Pharmacy Gardens and walked around for a few blocks, not lost, yet not knowing where the condo building was and after 20 minutes of walking in the heat I find the building and retrieve the key from the open mail slot and unpack and organize the living space and then I walk to Tops for water, food, and supplies.
Having just finished my meal I look out from the 8th floor balcony and observe the smog and the smoke obscuring the mountain. Tomorrow I plan to run at the Pharmacy Gardens although I most likely won't go far due to the heavy toxicity of the air.
Flight was typical and safely landed in Chiang Mai after 2 hours in the air, I recognized the airport exit and saw the ATM machine where I first withdrew Bhat at the beginning of my journey more than 100 days ago which made me feel satisfied and I walked out into the hot, smutty afternoon, the air quality horrible, one of the worst cities in the world for air toxicity, yet I continue to breathe and look for a tuk tuk and am surprised when I see a couple of red trucks and I guess that if one agrees to take me to Nimman Road I can pay half what a tuk tuk driver would want and luck was with me because the driver said yes to Nimman Road and wanted 60b so I got into the back of the truck and soon after an old Frenchman hops in and sits across from me and tries to make small talk but I was hyper-focused on the task at hand which was to make sure I had all of my essentials still in my possession and to review where I was going and how I was to get there. I soon rang the truck bell and hopped out near the Pharmacy Gardens and walked around for a few blocks, not lost, yet not knowing where the condo building was and after 20 minutes of walking in the heat I find the building and retrieve the key from the open mail slot and unpack and organize the living space and then I walk to Tops for water, food, and supplies.
Having just finished my meal I look out from the 8th floor balcony and observe the smog and the smoke obscuring the mountain. Tomorrow I plan to run at the Pharmacy Gardens although I most likely won't go far due to the heavy toxicity of the air.
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Day 109
Last full day in Saigon, got up at 6:00am and walked to Tao Dan Park
and when I arrived I saw the runner who I had a conversation with
yesterday and he stopped to shake my hand and we talked a little more
and then he continued on with his run while I walked around the park.
Trying to make it out of Vietnam without having to visit an ATM again, I am down to my last 80,000d, 15,000 of which I am carrying with me for tomorrow's bus ride to the airport which should cost 5,000d, but I always like to have a little extra for unexpected chaos. I am currently sitting in the general science library and when I leave here I plan to buy a pack of sushi and a coke, that should leave me with 10,000d, not sure how to spend it, maybe a bottle of water and a snack of some sort.
I read today that 5g phone networking is starting in Chicago in April, before leaving on my trip I watched as each street corner was filled with mini cell towers. I believe I am sensitive to the radiation waves which is emitted from wifi routers and towers and 5g is going to increase the load of those waves. When I was first exposed to a wifi router my ears began ringing and they have ever since, it is a poor way to live but nothing I can do will stop the ringing. I was also frequently waking up in the middle of the night and my energy levels were lower than they should have been, sure it is partly because of old age but I also think it is partly caused by all of the radiation in the atmosphere. Since coming to SE Asia, which does have wifi, for whatever reason my sleep has been uninterrupted and my energy and health higher and better. I therefore am not looking forward to returning to a 5g enabled city. If I notice my health deteriorating during the first few months of 5g I will plan to move out of Chicago when my lease ends in November, 2019.
Spent the same amount of money this week as last, one reason being I wanted to see if I could avoid making a trip to the ATM and it looks like I succeeded, I have 20,000d left to spend, 5,000d should get me on the airport bus and the rest I can donate to someone at the airport.
Trying to make it out of Vietnam without having to visit an ATM again, I am down to my last 80,000d, 15,000 of which I am carrying with me for tomorrow's bus ride to the airport which should cost 5,000d, but I always like to have a little extra for unexpected chaos. I am currently sitting in the general science library and when I leave here I plan to buy a pack of sushi and a coke, that should leave me with 10,000d, not sure how to spend it, maybe a bottle of water and a snack of some sort.
I read today that 5g phone networking is starting in Chicago in April, before leaving on my trip I watched as each street corner was filled with mini cell towers. I believe I am sensitive to the radiation waves which is emitted from wifi routers and towers and 5g is going to increase the load of those waves. When I was first exposed to a wifi router my ears began ringing and they have ever since, it is a poor way to live but nothing I can do will stop the ringing. I was also frequently waking up in the middle of the night and my energy levels were lower than they should have been, sure it is partly because of old age but I also think it is partly caused by all of the radiation in the atmosphere. Since coming to SE Asia, which does have wifi, for whatever reason my sleep has been uninterrupted and my energy and health higher and better. I therefore am not looking forward to returning to a 5g enabled city. If I notice my health deteriorating during the first few months of 5g I will plan to move out of Chicago when my lease ends in November, 2019.
Spent the same amount of money this week as last, one reason being I wanted to see if I could avoid making a trip to the ATM and it looks like I succeeded, I have 20,000d left to spend, 5,000d should get me on the airport bus and the rest I can donate to someone at the airport.
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