Monkey Musings

Just read Daniel Negreanus' blog on CardPlayer. Funny shit. I have a feeling that if/when I win a big event finally, me and Danny are gonna end up being good buddies. I'm already pretty good friends with one of his buds, Kirk Morrison. That is one cool, laid back dude. He was going off about this chick who is selling her virginity..bids are now up to 3.8 million bucks.

It was a funny take, and one that I completely mirrored. How funny. This chick is going to prostitute herself for ONE NIGHT...and make more money in that ONE night than every hooker in that Bunny Ranch will make in a lifetime of whoreing! Pretty sad.

This girl was trying to raise money to go to law school. Law school? 3.8 million? Why bother? I promise you...that skank is NOT going to law school. She will be following the path of other great Americanistas like Paris Hilton. Lovely. She's not even good looking. Yep, just like Paris! Spare us all, please.

Me and Squirrel have discovered new technology. I bought her a new laptop for Christmas. Her first that isn't a hand me down from me. And it has a webcam. If you open up AIM...and initiate a chat conversation with someone on your buddy list...and you BOTH have a webcam...you simply click on VIDEO and BOOM, you can both see each other. Pretty cool. Good for those long road trips when um....well, you know. And bad for those cheating husbands whose wife wants to see who is in his bed with him!!!! Technology is amazing.

TUNICA. Who is going? I wonder what kind of field they will get. I am guessing not very big. Not with Borgata going on, and Venetian and LAPC coming up, and not just NOT very much to do up there. And its so damn cold up there. I have no desire to go up there. That and I'm stuck here in Seattle for another ten days. But to those of you going up there , good luck to ya!

Eventually I am going to get over to the new casino and try out their poker room. They don't spread 1-2 no limit. But they do spread 2-5. Kind of strange. They spread 2/5 nl, and 2-4 LIMIT. Hmmm. The bring on the 2/5 is $100 min, $300 max. Interesting. Could make for an interesting session. They don't run any tourneys worth a crap, so I will be playing online mostly.

Oil has been getting clobbered again. Never thought I would see the day when I was mad to see gas prices going down. I wish when my stock spiked to $37 last week, that I had sold it all...then turned around and bought it back this week at $30 where it is now. Would have made a quick dime. Oh well, no biggie...it cant stay this low for long. My question...why is gas still $1.65? And why is it $2.10 out here in Seattle? Stupid. Should be $1.00 based on the oil price.

Brandon Jarrett. I have no idea how we became buddies. All of a sudden he is blowing up my Facebook. Then we start talking at the IP event. Now, all of sudden, I am his chief counsel! He had a great weekend at the Beau...and wasn't going to play the Main Event. Drove back to Atlanta. Calls me on the way home...wants to talk about the virtues of having a backer.

We talk about a lot of the other players who have backers. About a few of the players that people are talking about...who rumor has it, are broke, or going broke. It was a good conversation. Interesting. He went to his desk at work Monday. At his very good job. And felt empty. And completely detached. I understand that. He wants to play full time. But has a wife and three kids, and a great job. Its definitely a real choice. When the passion is there to play poker full time, it is very hard to push that to the back burner. But there is a lot to be said, too, for stability, especially with a family, and especially in this horrible economy.

He ended up caving in and driving back to Biloxi to play the Main Event. Called me right after he busted. Said he didn't like how he played. Said he had some holes in his game. I already look at that response by him as a sign that he is potentially going to be great. If you can find your mistakes, you can improve. And in most cases WILL. He is a good player. He never even PLAYED tourneys until August, and has been tearing it up.

Its very hard to make that transition though, from cash game player, to tourney player. I firmly believe that you cant do both and be good at either. I think you have to commit yourself to one or the other. Gabe Costner...another buddy of mine who I think has a LOT in common with Brandon, is a guy I think should decide WHAT he wants to be in poker. If you want to be recognized as a great poker player, a great tourney player...then I think you have to just QUIT playing cash game....commit yourself to tourneys. Make a schedule of what you plan to play, and stick to it.

It is impossible to have any point of relevance when you are buying into a $300-$500 tourney to try and win $20k to $50K when on a daily basis you are buying into $10-$20 games and higher with $5k to $10K to try and win that same amount. I sit down in tourneys and spend my time determining which players at my table are cash game players. Why? Because I know their level of patience and discipline, and will therefore know just how to play certain hands against them.

We talked about backers. He thinks he wants a backer. But he tells me he has 100K in his poker bankroll. And to that...I said, "why in the hell do you want a backer!?" He doesn't NEED a backer! Not if he is a good money manager, which I think he probably is. ON the other hand...if he could find a backer for JUST 10K events...that would be perfect.

Pull off of the big cash game. Dedicate yourself to playing $300/$500/$1000 tourneys...trying to satellite into the $1500/$2000/$2500/$5000 events...buying in relatively small, to win decent prize pools. Letting a big staker put you in 10K events for a 60% take. Very good way to go for a guy with 100K in his bankroll.

Brandon is a good guy, a really good guy. Very entertaining too. I like him, and think we will be friends for a long time. I hope he decides to do whatever is best for him and his family, and that if its poker, that his wife supports him. I think he could be one of the best. But if he keeps his job, and just plays once in awhile, I respect that decision too.

If you are a guy out there with a LOT of money to invest in 10K event players....I think Brandon is a good guy for you to put your money on. Well, that's if you don't put it on ME! I, of course, am always shopping for 10K backers! And my current backer knows it! She gets 10% of anything I get backed in that she's not in on. Monkey shares the wealth!

This whole cash game deal...mmmm. There is a good damn reason why I totally shy away from it when I am in the middle of a tournament run. Because it fucks with your game. And a lot of it I think....is that it becomes this big ego thing. The other night when I made the final table of the 2nd chance...we are playing for $11k for first.

ON a break I walk over to say hi to Clint Shafer, who is playing a big omaha game. At the table is some cocky little prick from I dont know where. And that old, tall skinny crazy guy from Tunica, who I busted after he had moved in on me three times. Remember reading about that crazy old loon? Well he was there. I was into about my 5th Snapper...and while talking to Clint...this old guy and then the young asshole, try to shoo me away, as if I am some piece of lint that has gotten stuck on his shirt.

I see that a lot, guys get into these big cash games, have 5 to 20K in front of them...and suddenly they think they are gods gift to poker. At what point does it become a battle of WHO HAS MORE MONEY vs. WHO IS A GOOD POKER PLAYER? I used to get intimidated by these guys. Not any more. Those guys are mostly miserable. And if they win that night...who knows? Who cares?

We just look at poker differently I guess. I want to be successful for a lot different reasons than
just to make money. I think guys like to play the high dollar cash game when there is a big-name player at the table so he can tell everyone he beat so and so. Who cares? Make a final table and beat that player. That is impressive.

Getting your 3-3 to beat someone's AA for their whole stack isn't impressive. You were just willing to gamble and get lucky and not care if you lost. Because you can rebuy if you lose. Can't rebuy in a tourney when you make that stupid play and lose like you are supposed to do! So what? We are all supposed to worship you because you managed to felt a big time pro with your stupid call and subsequent suck out?

Another reason....for why, when/if I win my first MILLION DOLLAR tourney...you will NOT see me in a big cash game. So these pricks can go run around telling all their buddies and putting it on these stupid forums about how they stacked The Monkey in a 5/10, 10/20 game? Screw that. When I play cash game...its 1/2 or 2/5 and with a very limited cap on my losses.

I wonder how many of you are reading this and saying..."Monkey is a fucking idiot" and what percentage are saying "Monkey is totally right." I wish I knew. It would be interesting. Another reason I LOVE POKER....so many opinions! Well, hope you enjoyed mine!

I'm going to go eat now...and get online and try to steal some dead money!

MONKEY
http://www.gulfcoastpoker.net/