Hugo's Blogspotting: 7 February

House For Sale

In a post that has generated over eighty comments Bluescouse has now decided to bite the bullet and sell his house. And why not? He bought the said domicile with poker money so naturally he’s going to sell it for poker money too.

“bar my final £600 i've bust everything i've been lent.... so i've decided to sell the house. it's something that's been on my mind for awhile. whenever i'm broke it always seems stupid having money invested in the house but having nothing to play with.”

Mike Caro once famously wrote that you should never spend your bankroll and I guess buying a house would be spending a large chunk of one’s bankroll. Could Rembrandt work without paint? Pele without a football? Tiger Woods without his clubs?

It seems that the idea of owning one’s own home in Britain is so strong and pervasive that Ed’s decision to sell his house for bankroll purposes has horrified many of his readers. While many of the commentators and advice-givers are no doubt right I find it interesting that they feel so compelled to weigh in and tell this kid what to do. I’ve got news for you lot – Bluescouse ain’t listening.

There is one voice amidst all the shouting that talks sense. From w.stranger,

“I've got no advice for Ed. Nor would I even begin to try to give it. I will say he offers a true, sometimes painful look into the lifestyle of professional poker…”

Bluescouse, like many, many people before him (and after too) is only going to learn poker’s (and life’s) lessons the hard way.

Cirque du Bluff

Brandon Adams has written some good blogs for Always Bluff lately chronicling the high stakes clique and their recent (mis-)adventures in Australia and so on. For his latest he sends us a communiqué from Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.

“So Guy Laliberte bluffed me in a big pot and it put me on such tilt that I had to book a flight immediately.”

Ouch. It’s one thing getting outdrawn by the donator in the game, but when they pull off a bluff against you it must mean you’re not really playing your best. I won’t repeat the hand history here as you can read it yourself, but basically poor old Brandon out-thunk himself (as they say) in a hand of $1k - $1k blinds PLO.

I do like how Adams sums up Laliberte’s motivation for bluffing:

“In other words, he has a billion and change and just decided it was time to push. We were thinking about things a little differently.”

Never mind Brandon, you’ll get him next time. In the meantime there’s always sports and proposition betting:

“I have a bet with Patrik…. around July 10, we are going to play golf for 100k straight up and tennis for 100k straight up. Beating Patrik in tennis might be my biggest goal in life at this point. Patrik is a first class athlete and I am very average. Right now, he beats me about 6-1 in tennis and I beat him in golf by 18 shots.”

Wow, I look forward to reading about that. Seeing as Antonius has not been shy about the fact that he is about $450k in the hole at golf I’m sure the results of these two matches will be written about somewhere.

Doyle Goes to Bellagio

For more on Guy Laliberte, the blog to turn to is Doyle Brunson’s. From the Saturday, February 3rd entry:

“We finally had a game at Bobby's Room at the Bellagio. Guy Laliberte, the owner of "Cirque du Soleil", and listed by Forbes as the 562nd richest man in the world, came to town from Canada and sparked the local pros because Guy is an action person. Not only that he makes almost two million dollars each and every day from his shows, he can play as high as anyone wants and it doesn't matter to him.”

Doyle goes on to write a rather amusing illustration of Laliberte’s ridiculous wealth:

“I saw his automobile when I parked on the valet. It was a Bugatti, or something like that. The engine was open in the back of the car; it looked like an airplane engine. This car is supposedly the fastest car in the world and there are only like 50 of them. When I got inside, I asked Guy how much did that thing cost. He told me $1,400,000! I asked him what happens if something goes wrong with the car. I know it has to be a big problem getting it serviced. He replied, "Oh, I bought two of them so I would have a back up". LOL.”

Apart from that being an amusing story I have to add that what really tickles me about the above quote is Doyle typing out “LOL”. I’m not trying to imply that the great man/Godfather of Poker/legend and icon etc is some old fuddy duddy, but I guess it’s just the incongruity of Brunson, with the stature and gravitas he has in the poker culture, using such a banal and, alright I’m gonna say it, modern internet abbreviation that comes across as quite funny.

Anyway, it seems that Brandon Adams took a leaf or two out of the great Texas Dolly’s book when he made the decision to quit after Laliberte had bluffed him. Doyle may well have done the same thing himself – here’s his account of the game in Bobby’s Room:

“The game was great but I still don't feel up to par, so I took my own advice "If you aren't at your best, you shouldn't play." I quit $60k loser, but had mixed feelings about my decision to quit. Games like this one don't come along everyday. The pots were huge and everyone was really gambling, but you gotta do what you think is best. If you don't, you will never survive in high stakes poker.”

Wise words indeed, wise words.

Danish Wisdom

More wisdom can be found at Gus Hansen’s new site ThePlayr.com which of course features a blog from the Great Dane himself. Gus has been playing online recently:

“Last time you heard from me I had just won $1 Million online. Unfortunately it didn't take me a long time to get back on the losing track.”

As you would expect Gus is not afraid of being critical of himself and has no problems recognizing when he is playing badly.

“My level of play had definitely deteriorated. I was bullet proof, cocky, impenetrable. I thought I couldn't lose, and if there ever was a recipe for disaster in poker it is too much self-confidence - too much ego.”

Just think how many players could do with keeping their egos in check. I’m sure for a player like Hansen the technical side of the game is almost automatic. But when it comes to the psychology it is a never ending battle. Our friend Bluescouse could do with thinking about the next passage I have chosen to quote:

“In poker it is very easy to throw away money with ill-timed decisions and much, much harder to re-build.
As my good friend Chip Reese once said: "Building a bank-roll is a slow and steady process, while tearing it down can be done swiftly and quick in a matter of seconds."

Yes, how true; we're all of us one hand away from going skint.... 

Hugo 'Chimney Sweep' Martin

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