The Rev is dead

Jimmy Sullivan, also known as the Revered Tholomew Plague, is dead. So disappointing.

I have always maintained that the Rev was an alien that came here from outer space. And having other-worldly talents, he could have done whatever he wanted to in this world, so he chose a life that would be the most fun - being a drummer in a rock band.

In all seriousness, the Rev - a person whose existence I had no knowledge of just two and a half years ago and have never met or seen in person - has had an impact on my life. He got me inspired to play the drums again. A7x is the first band that I've liked as much as the bands that I used to listen to since...the back when I used to listen to those bands. Jimmy was a huge part of that band - more than just a drummer in a rock band - he wrote entire songs, brought concepts to the table, and did some singing.

What an incredibly creative and talented person. His approach to rock drumming just blew my mind. The concepts that he would come up with were just different, and everything he did was just interesting. It was interesting to listen to. It was interesting to figure out. It was interesting to try and figure out how and why he was doing certain things. Nothing was haphazard. Everything was well thought out, but not with rigid calculus. It was inspiring.

Except for Strength of the World, which is just a bad song.

When I talk about "his approach", I'm talking about a lot of things. One of the most creative guys on the double bass without a doubt. Not just machine-gunning 16ths or triplets, but breaking it up and making it groove and making the songs "crackle". He could also machine gun them with the best of them. Songs 2, 3, and 5 on City of Evil are quintessential Rev. The other thing he was good at was incorporating interesting sticking patterns. Some of the double ride/hi-hat stuff was pretty intricate. I wonder how he picked up that stuff. Some of that stuff I know how to do from doing marching band and some of the rudimentary stuff that I used to work on for drum lessons. I wonder how he picked up on that stuff.

I honestly wonder what the Rev did in his youth to get that good. What bands did he used to listen to? What approach did he take to their songs? What did he used to work on when he sat down at the kit? From the videos on the band, it just seemed like Jimmy was homeless from middle school on. He was a weird dude who wore kimonos and shit to school. Lived in vans or in buildings that were under construction - wherever he could find a home. And in all this, he became an incredible musician - truly original in so many aspects of his life, and music.

When I hear him play now, there is a tinge of sadness. The most disappointing part about it is that we will never be able to hear what he was going to do next. That is what I was looking forward to the most. It's like a beautiful, gifted light in the world has just suddenly been switched off.

I wish for good things for the band, although I think they're done and I think they think they're done. The band was all good friends through high school. You don't make those type of connections later in life. If they get a new drummer, it will sound mechanical. It will just be a guy playing drum parts. Jimmy helped mold the A7x sound.

Ideally, I'd like to see a guy like Vinnie Paul step in and take over. I think the bands had/have a lot in common, and musically, they're good fits. Each entity is missing what the other has. I think there'd be a mutual respect. But the generation gap I think is just far too wide. And I'm not sure Vinnie would have the motivation to learn all the A7x stuff (that is, if he doesn't know it already). Vinnie could always play crushing metal-grooves and has sick double bass skills.

Ahhh...we call can dream I guess. It was nice to be able to enjoy music, especially metal music, the way I used to enjoy music. There had been a sonic void in my life for such a long time. Unfortunately, it's here again. RIP REV.

Sick Hand

Full Tilt Poker Game #17090328461: Table Bomber (6 max) - $0.01/$0.02 - Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 23:48:54 ET - 2009/12/25
Seat 1: actzeng ($2.23)
Seat 2: Honda KnN ($0.89)
Seat 3: maktheknight ($2)
Seat 4: laaked in ($4.27)
Seat 5: M8KUPAY ($2.82)
Seat 6: oOoztoneoOo ($1.96)
Honda KnN posts the small blind of $0.01
maktheknight posts the big blind of $0.02
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to actzeng [Ac 7s Th Kc]
M8KUPAY folds
oOoztoneoOo calls $0.02
actzeng calls $0.02
Honda KnN calls $0.01
maktheknight checks
*** FLOP *** [9c 6s Qc]
Honda KnN checks
maktheknight bets $0.08
oOoztoneoOo folds
actzeng calls $0.08
Honda KnN folds
*** TURN *** [9c 6s Qc] [Tc]
maktheknight bets $0.24
actzeng calls $0.24
*** RIVER *** [9c 6s Qc Tc] [Jc]
maktheknight has 15 seconds left to act
maktheknight bets $0.72
actzeng has 15 seconds left to act
actzeng raises to $1.44
maktheknight has 15 seconds left to act
maktheknight raises to $1.66, and is all in
actzeng calls $0.22
*** SHOW DOWN ***
maktheknight shows [8c 3d 2c 7c] a straight flush, Jack high
actzeng shows [Ac 7s Th Kc] a Royal Flush
actzeng wins the pot ($3.78) with a Royal Flush
maktheknight is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $4.04 | Rake $0.26
Board: [9c 6s Qc Tc Jc]
Seat 1: actzeng (button) showed [Ac 7s Th Kc] and won ($3.78) with a Royal Flush
Seat 2: Honda KnN (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: maktheknight (big blind) showed [8c 3d 2c 7c] and lost with a straight flush, Jack high
Seat 4: laaked in is sitting out
Seat 5: M8KUPAY didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: oOoztoneoOo folded on the Flop

Still not making progress

Ok, so my $10 bonus got paid out, but it coincided with a pretty big SNG down swing. I lost a whole bunch in a row and then started playing HU PLO and then losing there too. In the end, I'm about even after last night.

I made $11 last night for finishing 7th in a 180-man tourney. Pretty disappointing, although I was probably lucky all in all to have even gotten that far. I won a couple flips late for my tournament life. Midway through the tourney I lost two huge pots with QQ to another guy's AA AIPF, and then a couple hands later I called an all in with A9 and the other guy had AQ, but I had him covered by a bunch. I was able to come back from those and make a late surge up the money ladder. I eventually busted out with AK to QQ. I was close to some real money, but even if I had won that flip, I still would have been a long shot.

I thought I played pretty focused poker. My laptop has shit out on me, so that I pretty much can't do anything on it but play poker. Instant messaging doesn't work, the internet locks up. Even the sound comes and goes. Given that, I have to pay a little more attention to what's going on. Definitely not good to play this way when trying to do other things, but if I'm just sitting down to play poker, it's not a bad way to go about it.

I've got a taste for the MTT now. Hope I have time to take one down this weekend.

A little better

Pokerwise, things have gone a little better. Started to gain momentum in some SNGs and then even when that started to tank, I made up for it with PLO cash winnings (for once). I ended up just having one of those sessions where I flopped a set every time and hit all of my flush draws. I guess it's bound to happen if you're just used to getting beaten over the head.

The SNGs this weekend were pretty soft, at least softer than usual, due to SNG madness. I think people end up playing more tables than they're used to, so on any given table, there are at least a couple pushbots who either soar or implode within the first 20 hands or so. I won a couple, but it should have been more. There was at least a $5 that I should have won, but ended up in second because of less than optimal play on my part. I didn't win anything in the raffle, but I did win an entry into a freeroll that takes place late Saturday afternoon. It's open to people who won two SNGs over SNG madness. First place is a little less than $5k, and there are about 16,000 entrants, with 3000 or so getting paid. I will just be happy to cash of course. We'll see how it goes. Tough to say I'm due.

The MTTs have not been going as well lately, but I don't think I've played as many. I'm trying to get the FTP holiday bonus. FTP's first deposit bonus is really the best because they give you a lot of time to generate money to get paid back some bonus money. These current offers only give you 30 days, which, at the stakes I play, pretty much gives me a chance to win the first incremental payout, which is $10. I'm at about $8.60 or so with 10 days left, so I'll hit it. Probably this weekend.

Then, it will take a portion off my rakeback, I know. I feel like I should do something with the bonus money though - like put it into a satellite, or even just roll it into an SNG. I rarely take those shots though, and when I do, I've usually been drinking and the results are disastrous. For whatever reason $10 SNGs hate me. I've won a $20 before, but never a $10, I don't think.

Disappointing Thoughts

Well, let me start by saying that I won the case on Wednesday, but not the way I thought. When I got in, a lot of things took place that I didn't think were going to take place, and once everything got sorted out, we made the right decisions and got the victory. It wasn't as satisfying for me to do it this way, on a personal level, but getting the victory is always nice. Kind of like playing heads up for massive money, and hitting a couple two outers to win it. Kind of. Not really though. Because when I hit the 2 outer, I feel like it's owed to me for all the bad beats.

But the disappointing thoughts lately really stem from that run in the daily dollar. I reviewed the hand again and it's clear that I flat made the wrong decision. for the amount of chips it was worth, I had clearly just made a snap decision while being really tired and after having a couple cocktails. A friend was over and we agreed to split half our winnings with each other, and it's clear to me that my play probably disappointed him more than me, since he was eager to get his hands on his $5 share of the amount I actually won.

I should post the hand, although it's like if someone pissed in your coffee, recorded you drinking it, and then put the video of it on youtube. Basically, I had 500k chips at 600/1200. Reeeediculous for me call an all in on the flop - or any flop - without the absolute mutha f'n nuts.

I think to myself if I was in the main event of the WSOP (which had a smaller field size than the tourney I was in) would I make the same play? I say no. Because you actually have to physically move the chips in, which takes much more deliberate action than just button clicking.

Even if I had simply walked away from the keyboard and just played aces, I probably could have finished in the teens.

I think about the moments in retrospect all the time, but of course for whatever reason, I keep doing it when I get into the moment. Just not able to find the fold button. Something is wrong with me, I think. I get into a moment where I get impulsive and do not act totally rationally. I need to work on this.

More MTTS

My bankroll has been slowly dwindling, but mostly because of some bad luck combined with the fact that I'm playing more MTTs. I went really deep in the daily dollar on Saturday into Sunday and finished a disappointing 73rd out of over 10k participants. I was put to a decision for all my chips holding top pair top kicker with AQ on a Q high flop. I could have and ultimately should have folded it to his AA. I did not sit out and really think about it, which is my biggest problem playing online. I saw Hachem talk about a hand almost exactly like this that he laid down back in the 2005 main event. I just focused on whether he'd make that move with KQ and how many chips I would have had if I was able to hit. It was a long grind. I feel like if I do it enough, I can make it back there.

The next day, I signed up for a $2.25 MTT and also cashed finishing 40th or so out of 700 people for basically a min cash. The bustout hand was my 99 shoved into AQ and I was good until he rivered an inside straight. The Q would actually not have helped him since it would have given me a straight. So he hit a 7 outer, which was disappointing. I did not think I did anything wrong in the hand - possibly the only thing I would have done different was call and shove any flop, but there were lots of people to act behind me, that I didn't feel safe just calling his raise. It is encouraging though to see some results out of it.

I pleaded a kid out in court today for whom I had beaten all of his previous cases. I have very mixed feelings about this for a lot of reasons. One being that what started off as a really good deal turned into a meh deal, and that he will likely find a way to end up doing a sentence. The kid is personally at a pretty volatile stage in his life and I hope him the best. The other reason I feel bad about pleading him is the fact that I felt like I could beat the case, but the kid wanted it all over and done with so he could walk. But for how long is the real question?

Pats lost yesterday. Whatever. I trust Belichick, even though he's getting skewered. He's seen his defense let him down so many times. I really can't fault him for making the call, even if it turned out to be wrong.

All of these things are really tough decisions. You have to weigh unknowns, probabilities that cannot be determined with 100% certainty. I think it is always interesting to be in those types of situations, although it is not always an enviable position to be in. Ultimately, those are the things that make life interesting I think. A bit scary at times depending on what's at stake, but interesting nonetheless.

Anyways - trial Wednesday. At least I get a chance to stand up and fight. Winning (at least SOMETHING for ONCE) is always nice though.

Old news

So I won $90 in a $2 tourney for finishing in 5th. So ridiculously disappointing. I was in control and blew it when I couldn't lay down KK to an A high flop. No question I should have folded. Weird because I was laying hands like that down the entire way, and just fucked it up when we got to the final table - when it really matters. When moving up in the money actually means something to my bankroll. OOOOOOHHHH WELLL, right? Since I make it to final tables all the time, then no regrets!!! Get 'em next time! (SARCASM)

So I decided to try and see if I could run the money up. WTF, right? At the stakes I play, I'm sitting on a pile of dough. My recent cashout made almost no difference in my bankroll compared to the stakes I play. So I played a $5, lost. A $10, lost, and a $30 HU game and lost when I was all in pre-flop with a hand that was dominated. Oh well.

Been reading Dan Brown's new book lately, so I haven't been playing a lot of poker. Brown's books are always very fast paced, interesting, and easy to sink into. It's a mix of real science and a frantic, significant, fictional story. Funny that during the most suspenseful parts - much like a person shielding their eyes from a horror movie - I find myself reading over the words faster just to get the gist of it. I don't think any of his books will be as good as Da Vinci Code, only because of its subject matter, but this one's REALLY good so far, and I'm about half way through it. I find it interesting that the subject matter of this book is an extension of the the most interesting non-Holy Grail topic of Da Vinci Code.

Reading his books always makes me wonder about how great pieces of artwork from the past "become" great works. A painting, is a painting, right? Paint on canvas. But we give it significance. It's one thing to say that a picture "looks" good. We have photos now that are everywhere that almost universally, people can look at a picture and say it "looks" good. But the truly great pieces of art are held in such reverence, and why? I can't figure it out. I just chalk it up to the fact that I don't know enough about the subject matter, which is probably true to a certain extent.

Shakespeare, Mozart, Da Vinci - we have held on to these works, and hold their works in the highest esteem. Dan Brown would suggest we do this for a reason other than that it "looks good". Anyways, some meta-relfection here - How will the future look at Dan Brown's books?

Obviously, it's not a historical document. It's basically fiction. Will history pass it off as a sign of the times? Or is his work something that will endure, and if it does, for what reason? His books are enormously popular, but popularity does not necessarily mean they will be timeless.

Anyways, I enjoy them.