davidjacob

Obama, Nobel Peace Prize, seriously?

2009-10-09T19:15:52Z

The guy is even attacking the moon!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091009/ap_on_sc/us_sci_shoot_the_moon

WSOP Main event trip report

2009-07-14T21:37:16Z

So, the WSOP Main event. This is my third year in the main event, and fifth year at the WSOP, which has seen the preceding four years have me cash-less in the tournaments I've played. I spent a good deal of time thinking about the game leading up to this event, specifically how to adjust to the much much deeper structure (we started with 30,000 chips, and blinds of 50-100).

In reading the online updates, and knowing how the Series can get, I expected to see a lot of fast play in the early going, and I was planning to be quite patient. My starting table was all unknowns until Justin Bonomo (the infamous multiaccounter ZeeJustin from online) showed up. Our table had one horribly over aggressive player who was playing every hand and bluffing most of them, while the rest seemed pretty tight.

In level 1, I caught the bluffer with my KK early and got myself up to around 50K, and beat ZeeJustin in a pot where I raised with AK, he called with AQ, flop xxx, ch ch, turn A, I check he bets I call, river X I check he bets I call. I basically stayed around there for a while, until ZeeJustin (for all intents) busted the bluffing maniac right before the dinner break.

Post day 1 dinner break didn't go very well for a long time, and I was down to around my starting stack again, when I raised with 77 and was called by one guy. Flop came down an acceptable 775. I bet and he called. Turn was a 4, I checked, he bet and I called. River was a 6, I checked, he bet, I raised, and he folded. The rest of the play for the day was uneventful and I ended day 1 at 51,275, with average stacks around 45,000.

Day 2 started off great, with no names at my table, and most people playing pretty tight. This was unfortunate in one spot where I raised in MP to 1500 with 88, and was reraised to 5000. I called and flopped 866. I checked, he bet 6000, and I pushed in for his last 24K. He stood up, went through the whole "this is my tournament life" song and dance, and finally folded QQ face up.

I ran myself up to 70K pretty quickly, then ran myself right back down to 35K when I made a good read but couldn't win the coin flip; I raised to 3600 in late with KTo, and the BB who had been playing pretty tight but shortstacked, pushed all in for 20K. I gave it some thought and decided he didn't have a monster and called to see his 33. Unfortunately, 33 ended up being the winner.

Shortly after, I was actually all in with much the worst of it. Some big stack raised from the middle and I called on the button with 65s. The flop came down a theoretically awesome 552, and after a few raises, we ended up all in, and I was licking my chops about my obvious double up against his overpair until he flipped over A5s! The turn paired the 2 and I managed to chop and stay alive.

I sort of hovered around there for most of the rest of the day and was down to about 22K when I was moved to a new table. I opened with AQ for 2200 with blinds at 400-800, and a big stack raised enough that I was going to be all in if I elected to play. I didn't see a huge option here and went for it all. To my surprise, the big stack was just making a move with K4o and I held to double to the mid 40s. Shortly after, I raised with AJ, and a short stack pushed in for about 15K from the BB. I called and sucked out on his JJ with a flop of AAx, leaving him without even his one outer to sweat. Thus, I ended day 2 with 57,100, with average about 95,000.

Day 3 started like both other days, with a mini rush from me (seems like most people didn't really wake up that sharp and I was able to steal some pots early). Quickly up to 70K, but then back down to about 50K through various loose calls and overaggressive moves. Then I finally got a double up; some french pro named Thomas Fougeron open raises in early, one caller, and I call on the button with 7s5s. Flop is AQ9 with two spades. He bets half pot and I call. Turn is a little spade, making my flush; he checks and I bet 3/4 pot and he calls. River is a K and he instantly bets all in. I have only 25K left and the pot is 150K+ so I figure if I'm out flushed, I'm outflushed. I call and he has JTo for the straight and goes on some tilty french rant as he pays me off. So, finally, I have a decent stack!

I immediately start donking away chips and am quickly down to like 130K when another big hand comes up. EP raises, one caller, and I call in the cutoff with Qd9d. Button (super tighty) calls, one blind calls. Flop is an intriguing Td8s6s, giving me a double gutter. Blind bets out, original raiser folds, I call, tighty on the button calls. Turn is a 3d giving me a flush draw with my double gutter. Now blind checks and I bet it up pretty hefty; like 25000 if I remember correctly. Tighty on the button surprises me by calling, and blind folds. River is absolutely perfect, the Jh, giving me the nuts. I bet 40,000 and tighty on the button starts moaning and groaning about how he should have just moved in on the flop and finally folds AsTs face up; yeah, I'd say moving in on the flop was good! So, now I'm up around 200K or whatever.

Tighty busts and is replaced by another tighty. A little while later, I raise with KTo in the cutoff and this tighty pushes on me for like 40K more. Feeling a little gambly I call and face his 88, which again I cannot defeat. My table broke shortly after and I was moved to a table with Dennis Phillips. With about 190K, and 15 minutes left in the day, its folded to my SB. I look at the BB who has 48K, and figure he's going to fold just about anything, so I move in with 98o. He instacalls with AQ and we both whiff the board entirely. End day 3 with 123,000, with average at about 245,000.

At this point, we are down to 789 players, with money at 648. I'm in about 550th place so I could probably fold into it if I really desired, but I decided to just keep playing normally and see what happened. I checked my table draw and it was obvious we were going to break very quickly (we were table 89 of 89) so not much happened at my first table. I then got moved to a new table where things seemed quite friendly. On my second orbit, I am in the BB with T7o, and its folded to the SB who has about 250K and limps. I check, and see a flop of J98. After some raises, we get all in and he has J9 for two pair. He fails to suck out and now I'm pretty much going to cash unless a negative disaster happens.

Shortly we are in hand for hand, which takes nearly two hours to bust five players. All short stacks are grimly hanging on, and any all in requires ESPN's presence and direction of the dealing of the hand. I liked two announced hands during the hand for hand; shorty is all in with AA vs KJ, board goes KJ4-2-2, and he stands on a chair and screams "IM STILL IN IT" to all of us, and another shorty all in with AA vs AJ, which led the whole room to start chanting "Jack! Jack! Jack!". Anyways, finally somehow the bubble bursts with some dude all in for like his 600 ante or whatever, and I'm $21,000 richer!

The payout structure was incredibly flat (to give an example, 648th was worth $21,365, while 227th was wroth $32,963 - 400+ spots for another 10K) so I knew it was going to be fast and furious after the break. My plan was to pick up some aces or kings and double up a few times. Instead, I immediately spewed off 60K on a ridiculous move against some Scandanavian (he opens in MP, someone calls, I call in the BB with 65o, flop 222. I check he bets 17,000, I raise to 42,000, he calls. Turn J, I give up and check, he touches one of his chips and I fold). This took me back down to the low 100s. Meanwhile, all you are hearing all over the room is "all in and call" and our table is right by the prize window, and there's literally a 10 person lineup there at all times.

We reach the break and I have something like 103,000, with average pushing 450K, and coming back to blinds of 3000-6000, ante 1000. Still plenty of play but getting short undoubtedly. I'm also feeling the effects of 30 hours of live poker in 4 days, which exceeds my last one year of live poker played. Thomas and Melina tell me to stop being a little bitch and get in and fight, so back I go.

Shortly after restart, I open on the button with KTo and am called by the BB. The flop is AKK, and after some raises, I'm all in, once again surprised to be facing his KJ. I request a queen for a chop, and I hit exactly that card on the river. While disappointed, he does concede that I deserve it because I was not "greedy - you only asked for a queen, and not a ten".

I then immediately get moved to a new table, with two of the top ten leaders. I manage a double up fairly early when a MP raises to 17000 and I push for 95000 with 88. He doesn't install call so I know I have a chance at least; he finally makes the call with QT and my eights hold up for the win, getting me back to 200K.

Finally, my bustout hand of the tourney. I am in the BB of 6K and UTG (who has 2.2M) raises to 15K. Another monster stack (1.4M) cold calls. I have seen UTG splashing around in a lot of pots already, and the other big stack trying to take some flops with him, so I'm not seeing either of them as monstrously strong here. I look at Tc7c, and think, ok, 18K in the pot preflop, plus their 30K, makes it 48K that I have to call 9K for. I figure its a fairly obvious call and call. The flop is AK4 with two clubs. I check, unsure how I want to play this, and the chip leader immediately bets 27,000. The other big stack elects to slowly call, and I now see the pot as 111K, and I have 174,000 in my stack, exactly a perfect size to jam with (since I will put in the 27K to call, and raise 147K more, basically one full pot size bet). I further think that there is no really bad result unless one of them has a set. Bigger clubs are going to have a really tough time calling, and even top pair will have to think about it. To be honest, I didn't even think either of them had top pair! In any event, if they both fold, I get a risk free 50% addition to my stack up to 300K, and if one calls, I will have to hit my flush which I will do more than 1/3 times, after which I'd have 450K and be average stacked and in position to maybe do a little something.

As it stood, UTG raiser instantly folded to the other big stack's laugh and comment "you evil man", and he started thinking about whether or not to call me. He asked me what I had, and I said 147,000. He gave it a fair bit of thought, seemingly leaning towards folding, but then visibly realized there were two clubs on board and starting figuring I might have a flush draw. Finally he elected to call with his AdTd, and I couldn't hit the flush, and was eliminated in 430th place for $27,469.

davidjacob @ 2007-04-21T19:24:00

2007-04-22T01:25:20Z

Today, I took part in an exhibition match against the world's top rated chess player, Viswanathan Anand, having paid a pretty penny on eBay as a charitable donation in exchange for the privilege

Sadly, I missed my chance to score, making the wrong choice between two attacking lines.

[Event "Charity Simul"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.04.21"]
[White "Anand"]
[Black "Me"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. e4 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bd4 Nxc3 13. Qxc3 Bh6+ 14. Be3 Bxe3+ 15. Qxe3 Qb6 16. Qxe7 Be6 17. Qa3 Rfd8 18. Ba6 c5 19. Qa4

This was the first move out of theory for me. I was well aware of an old Kasparov-Topalov game that had proceeded 19.Be2. Although I knew Kasparov won that game, the maneuver Ba6-e2 seemed utterly ridiculous to me and I was willing to face it. The move played was new on me (and a database search turns up nothing), but I didn't really see the point of it. As it loosens the defense of the queenside, I decided to go straight for the jugular.

19...Rdb8 20. b3 Qc7 21. Rd2 Rb4 22. Qa3 Rab8 23. c4 Qe5 24. Qb2 Qe3 25. Rd1

Here is where I had to make my choice. I was seriously considering 25...Rxb3 26. axb3 Rxb3, and debating whether he would play:

1) 27. Qxb3 Qxb3 - I wasn't sure what his next move would be here. Obviously he's immediately threatened with Qa3+, and I'm not sure I see any very good defense to it. Fritz considers 28.Rb2 Qc3+ 29.Kb1 Bf5+ 30. Ka1 to be white's best, where I have at minimum a perpetual with Qa3-c3-a3-c3, etc, but Fritz thinks I should play for more, based I imagine on the fact that white simply has no good moves. I analyzed this variation very poorly during the game, and likely would have gone for 25..Rxb3 if I'd realized how tied up white is in this spot.

2) 27.Qa2 - a move I didn't really expect him to play, thinking 27...Ra3 would give me a very good position. This is probably ok, but Fritz puts 27...Bf5 as even stronger, taking control of the c2 square and allowing black to retake the long diagonal with Qc3+ next, as well as leaving the haunting threat of Rb1+ at some future moment.

Fritze evaluates both of these positions as solidly in my favor. However, having misevaluated most of these positions quite poorly, I actually thought I saw something even better..

25...R4b6 26.Kb1 Qg5 27.f4 Qe7 28.Bb5 a6 29.Bd7 Bxc4

This was approximately what I had looked at, thinking he would be very tied up, as I threaten sacrifices on b3, or simply to retreat my bishop and play c4, opening him up further. His move as played came as a big surprise.

30.Qe5 Bxb3

At this point I thought I was actually getting somewhere and that I'd have him in trouble - and really, how often do you get to offer the world #1 a queen sacrifice? The main point, obviously, is 31.Qxe7 Bxd1+ 32.Kc1 Rb1# Joel Benjamin on the live audio broadcast indicated that I definitely had a lot of cheapo potential but that he thought it probably was not going to work "but it's close".

31.axb3 Rxb3+ 32. Ka1

I just about fell off my chair when he played this, as I immediately saw 32...Qxd7 33.Rxd7 Ra3# !! A moment of sober reflection and I noticed 32..Qxd7 33.Qxb8+! and I lose. Lord, how I was wishing I could make my c5 pawn evaporate into thin air at this point. The rest of the game is a fairly efficient consolidation and mopping up.

32...Qf8 33. Ba4 Ra3+ 34. Ra2 c4 35. Qd6 Qg7+ 36. Qd4 Qxd4+ 37. Rxd4 Re3 38. Rd1 h5 39. f5 gxf5 40. Bc6 Rb6 41. Bf3 h4 42. h3 Reb3 43. Rc1 c3 44. Ra5 Rd6 45. Ka2 Rb2+ 46. Ka3 Rdd2 47. Rxf5 Ra2+ 48. Kb3 a5 49. Kxc3 a4 50. Ra5 a3 51. Kc4 Rd8 52. Kb3 Rb2+ 53. Kxa3 Rdb8 54. Rc8+ {Black resigns} 1-0

Going into the game, I was hoping I didn't get blown out and that I'd at least make him sweat a bit. I think I probably did (a little bit), so I'm kinda happy, but I really wish I'd played the Rxb3 line :)

davidjacob @ 2007-01-12T20:42:00

2007-01-13T03:10:52Z

As most family and close friends know, I recently suffered a bit of a health scare.

Things began on Friday December 29, when I got to work and felt utterly wiped out. I got through the basics of what I needed to do for the day, then packed it in and went home. I spent Friday and Saturday on the couch, and was a little more lively on Sunday. However, I couldn't stay up until midnight - I was still very fatigued, and part of my forehead was very tender; I can only really describe it as feeling like it was bruised. I assumed it was just from spending too much time lying down, and went to bed.

I woke up the morning of the first with a monster headache, and the tender/sore feeling all over my scalp and forehead. I knew now this wasn't right, and we went off to CIMA hospital, a private hospital here in San Jose. The doctor we saw could tell there was something not right, and he ordered blood tests and Xrays - my suspicion is that given the location of the problem, he thought it was sinusitis, and ordered the Xray which would have shown it. The blood tests came back indicating a definite infection - my white blood cell count was about double what it should be, but the Xrays of my head (bada bing) showed nothing. His diagnosis: you have an infection of some sort, but it's not clear what it is. Go home, rest and take lots of fluids and if it gets worse, come back. I was fine with that, as the hospital is only about a 10-15 minute drive away so if something went wrong, not a big deal.

I went home and took a lengthy nap, but by 3 pm, I was feeling even worse. My whole upper face and scalp was tomato red, and burning. Back we went to the hospital, where the doctor was originally quite concerned, as he was worried it might be meningitis. However, a quick exam relaxed him (and us!) a great deal, as he said it was clearly an aggravated case of cellulitis. Cellulitis is, according to online medical web sites "a skin infection caused by bacteria. The infection extends into the tissues below the outer layer of skin (subcutaneous tissue). It most often develops anywhere the skin has been broken—often from a cut, burn, or an insect bite. The infection spreads from the skin to underlying tissues. In severe cases, it can spread quickly, within hours or days.". The doctor gave me a cursory exam to find a sign of how the infection got under my skin, but was unable to. He wasn't that concerned with the cause, but rather with the treatment, which he indicated was simply strong antibiotics. He put me on an IV of antibiotics for 2 hours, then released me and said to come back in 24 hours for the same treatment.

We left the hospital optimistic that at least we knew what it was, and that it didn't appear to be serious. After some panicky internet research, we felt much better, and I went back to bed until the next morning. However, the next morning, I woke up looking like this:

Obviously, it was back to the hospital again, where there was a new attending doctor in the ER, who looked over my chart and asked me if things had improved since yesterday. I choked back a sarcastic response, and said simply, no, they have gotten worse. He checked me over, and then basically said that I would have to be admitted to the hospital, but that he was going to call in a consultation from another doctor in the hospital, under whose care I would be. He did stress that this was not dangerous per se, but that given the area of infection and the severity, it would be better to be careful; the risks in this area are for the infection to get to my brain (which would end in meningitis) or into my eyes (which would also not be good). The consulting doctor came and gave me a thorough checkover, and answered many of our questions and was generally excellent. We felt quite relaxed checking in, even though I looked horrific.

I thus was checked in on Tuesday, and put on a combination of multiple extremely powerful antibiotics for many many hours per day. On Wednesday, I looked like this:

That actually represents how much I was able to open my eyes that day - my forehead was so swollen, it felt like someone putting 10 pounds of playdough on it, which was pushing my eyelids down. However, the burning was much better, and I could feel like things were getting better. A long night of IVs, blood tests, and antibiotics, and I woke up the next day looking much better:

You can see my eyes are starting to open a bit more, but you can also see that my skin has totally dried out. As I understand it, the antibiotics and the infection waged a war across my forehead, and used up every resource they could to strengthen themselves, which meant drying me out totally. We continued with the antibiotics and a vat of moisturizing cream, and by the next day, my skin had rehydrated quite a bit, and the redness gone. Of course, my head was still swollen to Charlie Brown like proportions:

However, I could now see light at the end of the tunnel. It was clear I was getting better and would be back to normal soon enough. We continued with antibiotics, and I was now given cold compresses to put on my face as much as possible to reduce the swelling. By the next day, I was feeling almost back to normal, though still fatigued. My face swelling had reduced, and I was graced by a visit from my little son:

By this point, the doctor was starting to make noise about me being able to leave and I was chomping at the bit to get out. More antibiotics and cold compresses and blood tests, all of which showed the infection almost gone. Another day in the hospital and I was finally released on Saturday, with instructions to return each day for antibiotic treatment, as well as pills to help fight off a recurrence. On Wednesday, we had a final doctor's appointment where he declared me clear, and I was finally able to return to work on Thursday, looking completely back to normal once again.

So, that was my new year's health scare. Happy new year.

And at last something new...Week 10

2006-11-10T01:32:57Z

Game 1: Denver -9 vs Oakland - I think this one is kinda silly. Oakland cannot score against even mediocre defense (see MNF). Denver has been putting up 30pts per game their last couple. Denver's coach also has a long standing grudge against the Raiders as they fired him, unjustly in his opinion, years ago. He can and will run up the score on them.

Game 2: Indianapolis -12 vs Buffalo - I think Indy may just romp through Buffalo, a team with nothing positive going for it, and who ruined several fantasy teams of mine by allowing their star RB to have his ribs broken. Only exception is if the weather in Buffalo goes to hell.

Game 3: Batltimore -7 vs Tennessee - Tennessee occassionally shows flashes, but Baltimore has a fast and tricky defense, the kind that eats young QBs like Vince Young alive.

Game 4: *Sanchez of the week!* New Orleans +5 vs Pittsburgh. Seriously, for gods sake. How much more evidence do the books need that Pittsburgh is just a bad team? Their D can't stop anything but the run, and New Orleans is all about the pass. New Orleans is going to win this game outright (I have this as New Orleans as a 1 point favorite) and the New Orleans straight up win at +185 is the "Sanchez of the week". Let's get those upper lips dirty.

Game 5: Jacksonville -10.5 vs Houston. Carr was benched last week and I think will fall apart mentally. Jax seems to be rallying with their new QB and are looking good.

Week 9 for posterity

2006-11-10T01:29:33Z

1) Denver +3 vs Pittsburgh - I swear this must be the first time in history a team that is 5-2 is an underdog to a team that is 2-5. But then, the 2-5 team did look good in losing to Oakland last week. I have Denver as an 8 point favorite.

---> It turned out I was a genius. Duh!

2) Indianapolis +3 vs New England - I'm not sure why people continue to underestimate Indianapolis. They only beat Denver last week on the road as well as Jacksonville and the Giants this year. New England counters with wins over Buffalo, the Jets, Buffalo, Miami...and a solid loss to Denver. I have Indy as a 3 point favorite. This is the first time the #1 and #2 teams in my rankings have ever met.

---> Love them Colts!

3) Atlanta -5 vs Detroit - Detroit is bad. Atlanta is reasonably good. I have Atlanta as a 10 point favorite. The home field is minimal as Atlanta is built to play in Domes like their home, and Detroit plays in a dome.

---> I dunno what the heck happened here. I think Detroit may be getting Martz's system...

4) Minnesota -5.5 vs San Francisco - the same San Francisco who was down 24-0 after one quarter is allegedly going to stay within 2 field goals of Minnesota? I think not.

---> Minnesota really disappointed me in this game. They looked awful.

5) Cleveland +12 vs San Diego - San Diego remains a choke team - all the talent but they somehow don't quite live up to it. Cleveland finally got their running game on track last week, and this week (for real) San Diego loses their #1 defensive player.

---> Hooray for the garbage time cover! And this time, Merriman really didn't play!

Week: 3-2
YTD: 22-21-2

NFL week 8 just for posterity

2006-11-10T01:27:52Z

I kinda slacked off posting my picks to LJ, but I do continue to make them each week...for posterity's sake here is how I've been doing.

Game 1: Jacksonville +6.5 vs Philadelphia - uh no. Philly has shown a wonderful tendency to choke away games, and to get scored on a lot. I actually have Jacksonville as a solid favorite in this game. Jax has been a little up and down this year, beating ok Dallas and Pittsburgh and nearly beating Indy to start, but losing to Washington and Houston. Philly has powered to a 4-3 record on the strength of wins over the terrible three: Houston, San Fran, Green Bay along with a win over Dallas. They have lost to the Giants, New Orleans, and Tampa. When they face a good team, they lose.

--> I called this one perfect!

Game 2: Seattle +6 vs Kansas City - the books are way way overreacting to the loss of Hasselbeck. Their backup has been in the system for years, and should be able to come in and give a decent performance. Alexander also may be back. Its hard to base much of their past performance due to injuries. KC is 3-3, but two wins have come against San Fran and Arizona, while they are a measly 1-3 against decent teams (Cincy, Denver, Pitt, San Diego).

--> Sweet lord did this game hurt to watch. I had no idea that 1) KC would remember to hand the ball off to LJ 40 times and that 2) Seattle was utterly incapable of stopping that plan.

Game 3: Baltimore +2.5 vs New Orleans - New Orleans owes me some fucking money, and they are going to start paying it back right now by getting whomped by Baltimore. Baltimore is 4-2, but is 2-2 vs good teams (Tampa, San Diego, Denver, Carolina). New Orleans is somehow 3-1 against good teams but this is the week it all comes crashing down. No matter what they do, they'll always be the "ain'ts".

--> My worst analysis of the week, but it came through like gold baby!

Game 4: NYJ +2 vs Cleveland - how the hell can Cleveland be a favorite over anyone? NYJ are the better team by a long ways. Cleveland is 1-5 this year, having beaten only Oakland. The Jets are 4-3, albeit with a weakish schedule (wins over Tenn, Buff, Miami, Detroit to compare with losses vs New England, Indy, and Jax). Right now, Cleveland has proved they suck. NYJ have at least a chance that they are good.

--> The Jets proved they suck. NYJ can't stop the rush, which is great for a somewhat green QB.

Game 5: St Louis +9 vs San Diego - San Diego is another choke team and have just had their best defensive player suspended. San Diego has managed to beat Oakland, Tennessee, San Fran this year (and Pittsburgh), while losing to Baltimore and KC. I think this game is essentially a pick'em, so 9 points is like stealing.

--> Merriman played and had 5 tackles and 3 sacks. Whoops!

Week record: 2-3
YTD 19-19-2

davidjacob @ 2006-10-23T22:25:00

2006-10-24T04:28:18Z

> Game 1: Giants +3 vs Dallas - bla ha ha. I have Giants as a nine point favorite.

Very very easy win. WIN

> Game 2: Denver -4.5 vs Cleveland - PLEASE. PLEASE! The Brownies have nothin. They are from Cleveland for god's sake.

Denver really needs to get their offense going. Still easily enough to whomp Cleveland and cover though. WIN.

> Game 3: Jacksonville -9.5 vs Houston - Houston sucks and I contend they will always suck.

WTf. I hate Houston. LOSS.

> Game 4: New England -5 vs Buffalo. New England gonna roll over these Buffafools.

Another no sweat win. WIN.

> Game 5: Carolina +3 vs Cincinnati. Another one where I have the underdog as the favorite to win outright.

An uneventful push; Carolina had the chance to win this game so not bad. PUSH.

> Minnesota +6.5 vs Seattle is the only other strong line that I would bet.

Bonus pick would also have been a win!

Much better week, 3-1-1, YTD 17-16-2.
Edited to correct typo in my favor :p

davidjacob @ 2006-10-19T13:45:00

2006-10-19T19:45:49Z

Game 1: Giants +3 vs Dallas - bla ha ha. I have Giants as a nine point favorite.

Game 2: Denver -4.5 vs Cleveland - PLEASE. PLEASE! The Brownies have nothin. They are from Cleveland for god's sake.

Game 3: Jacksonville -9.5 vs Houston - Houston sucks and I contend they will always suck.

Game 4: New England -5 vs Buffalo. New England gonna roll over these Buffafools.

Game 5: Carolina +3 vs Cincinnati. Another one where I have the underdog as the favorite to win outright.

Minnesota +6.5 vs Seattle is the only other strong line that I would bet.

Week 6 in review

2006-10-17T09:03:05Z

> 1) NYG +3 vs Atlanta - I think the Giants win outright.

Hooray for me! If I was a betting man, it's possible I might have won for the week because I would have bet a substantial amount on NYG straight up to win. WIN.

> 2) Houston +13 vs Dallas - Me, picking Houston? Can't be! Dallas is on the verge of a team implosion (who didn't see THAT coming).

This one was tied at the half and I thought I was gold. No idea what happened in the 2nd half! LOSS.

> 3) Denver -14.5 vs Oakland - I foresee multiple Denver RBs getting 100yds rushing and we get our first look at Cutler.

I may have to re-evaluated Denver; it's odd that when Schottenheimer plays it conservative and protects a lead, its "Martyball" and choking. When Denver gets ahead by 7 and sits on it, its "winning football". What a horribly dull game. LOSS.

> 4) Buffalo -1 vs Detroit - Buffalo I think is surprisingly good, and Detroit is bad, and under heavy injury review.

I still don't get this one. Detroit had a couple of players have their career days and they still only won by 3. I still like this bet, but..LOSS.

> 5) Washington -10 vs Tennessee - They won't find the water so warm against Washington, and I suspect will have trouble generating 100 yards of offense in the game.

Goddamn Washington and their good one week, bad next week tendency. There's some real big problems there. LOSS

Terrible week, 1-4. YTD 14-15-1

NFL week 6

2006-10-12T09:59:39Z

First team named is my pick.

1) NYG +3 vs Atlanta - I think the Giants may be somewhat underrated around the league right now. Its clear they are struggling a bit but they still have elite talent. Vick sucks. I think the Giants win outright.

2) Houston +13 vs Dallas - Me, picking Houston? Can't be! Dallas is on the verge of a team implosion (who didn't see THAT coming). The matchup is ok and Houston usually plays well against Dallas.

3) Denver -14.5 vs Oakland - Oakland is already mailing it in. I foresee multiple Denver RBs getting 100yds rushing and we get our first look at Cutler.

4) Buffalo -1 vs Detroit - This was the "WTF" line from my gut review. Buffalo I think is surprisingly good, and Detroit is bad, and under heavy injury review. My system spit out a line of -7 but I think it should even be higher.

5) Washington -10 vs Tennessee - Tennessee, last week's surprising stand up against Indy notwithstanding, is a bad bad football team. Indy is very vulnerable to the rush, and that's all Tennessee can do. They won't find the water so warm against Washington, and I suspect will have trouble generating 100 yards of offense in the game.

davidjacob @ 2006-10-09T19:04:00

2006-10-09T19:09:09Z

> 1) Pittsburgh +3.5 San Diego - Pitt has had an extra week to get Rothlingsberger right, and I think its about time Rivers is shown to be the rookie he essentially is.

So wrong. Whatever's wrong with Rothlingsberger, its gonna take more than a week to fix. Rivers looked excellent.

> 2) Tampa -6.5 New Orleans - I still don't believe in New Orleans. Tampa is another team coming off the bye and I think Gruden spent the bye week saying to himself "running game. running game. running game." which was the cornerstone of their success last year.

A win - New Orleans lucked out a win here on a miracle punt return. Tampa had 187 yards rushing.

> 3) Washington +4.5 NY Giants - The Redskins, after a horrible week 2 performance, scored an impressive week 4 win over Super Bowl contender Jacksonville. I predict the Giants lose again and their season spirals down the toilet.

Washington is insane. One week they look awesome, the next week horrible. This was a horrible week. Loss.

> 4) Vikings -6.5 Detroit - They finally get to play a bottom feeder and I think they bust out to romp to a sizable win.

Minnesota is gonna screw up my rankings all the time with wins like this. They scratch and claw to a horrible looking win, and cover thanks to a miracle last second INT return for TD. A win is a win I guess..

> 5) Indy -18 Tennessee - Of course, Indy may have covered by the end of the first quarter.

One of the most shocking results all year for me. Loss.

Another pretty bad week overall, 2-3 and one of the wins was just pure luckiness.
Year to date: 13-11-1

NFL week 5

2006-10-06T11:59:33Z

1) Pittsburgh +3.5 San Diego - difficult one to pick. Pittsburgh is coming off a kinda ugly looking loss, but at the same time, San Diego's offense was a bit exposed by Baltimore last week. I'm thinking that after the bye, Pitt has had an extra week to get Rothlingsberger right, and I think its about time Rivers is shown to be the rookie he essentially is. I also think Schottenheimer is losing the team as evidenced by some of the comments made by SD players after their loss to the Ravens. I actually believe Pitt will win this outright.

2) Tampa -6.5 New Orleans - I still don't believe in New Orleans. Tampa is another team coming off the bye and I think Gruden spent the bye week saying to himself "running game. running game. running game." which was the cornerstone of their success last year.

3) Washington +4.5 NY Giants - I find this line a bit shocking. The Giants are in utter turmoil right now with huge locker room strife and some real fugly losses this year. They could easily be coming into this game 0-3 but for their miracle comeback against Philly. The Redskins, after a horrible week 2 performance, scored an impressive week 4 win over Super Bowl contender Jacksonville. I predict the Giants lose again and their season spirals down the toilet.

4) Vikings -6.5 Detroit - As always, the Vikings are on this list. I think they are still being heavily underrated an as such, that they will handle Detroit easily. The Vikings are 2-2 and have played 4 pretty tough teams (the only possible exception being the Bills, who appear to be surprisingly tough this year). They finally get to play a bottom feeder and I think they bust out to romp to a sizable win.

5) Indy -18 Tennessee - damn right! Who doesn't want to lay 18 points! In reality, in my rating system which is now being run for the 20th week, this is the biggest mismatch that has ever occurred. Indy is ranked #1 in the league, Tennessee #32. The only think Peyton has trouble with is an aggressive pash rush, and Tennessee just lost one of their starting interior D-linemen. The only danger is that with Vince Young in, Tennessee is gonna play this one out the whole time and may catch up in garbage time. Of course, Indy may have covered by the end of the first quarter.

davidjacob @ 2006-10-03T06:05:00

2006-10-03T12:09:55Z

> Game 1: Minnesota +1 vs Buffalo - I actually consider the Vikings solid favorites in this game

Bzzt! Wrong answer. Brad Johnson had an unusually bad game for him and Buffalo did just enough to win.

> Game 2: Miami -3.5 vs Houston - Miami hasn't looked all that great this year, but they're no freakin Houston.

I was right, they're no Houston, as in: they need some work to look as good as Houston. They really looked awful.

> Game 3: New England +6 vs Cincinnati - I think the Patriots come out with something to prove and win this one outright.

Woop dee doo. I go 1-4 and the only one I get right is my favorite team getting blown out.

> Game 4: Green Bay +11 vs Philadelphia - I think Favre is also pretty motivated to show he's not done like everyone is saying.

Was feeling pretty good at the half with the score 9-7 for Green Bay. Two different teams came out for the 2nd half and Green Bay gave up in the 4th Q. At one point, they were down 22 with 8 minutes left and the ball - ok, not a great situation, but a quick score and things are not hopeless. Instead, running play. Slow huddle. Running play. Slow huddle. Now there's 6 minutes left and they've advanced the ball 8 yards. Now it *is* hopeless.

> Game 5: Tennessee +9.5 vs Dallas - I will admit that I'm not super thrilled with this pick as I think Tennessee is horrible.

Bledsoe has been brutally unpredictable this year- sometimes looking terrible and sometimes awesome. Dallas running game also showed up for this one.

So 1-4 this week, ugly.

YTD: 11-8-1

NFL week 4

2006-09-27T13:12:37Z

Just to clarify: I have a statistical system that I use to set a line before I look at the lines, and then I list the five games where the line is the most off - no exceptions or "My gut tells me...". I believe that "your gut" is one of the biggest causes of people to lose money sportsbetting. Anyways, once I set the line, I write this post, and explain some reasons why the system has spit out a reasonable number (or that I disagree with the number!). Lines are taken from mansion.com as of Sept 26.

Game 1: Minnesota +1 vs Buffalo - another line I consider semi-silly (though not as bad as the Wash-Hou line last week. Minnesota has beaten 2 extremely solid teams and was unlucky to lose last week against a true Super Bowl contender in Chicago. Buffalo has beaten the crappy Dolphins, and lost to New England and the Jets. I actually consider the Vikings solid favorites in this game

Game 2: Miami -3.5 vs Houston - geezum crow. How can these books really not see how truly horrible Houston is. As stated last week, Houston has covered a 4 point spread a total of 5 times in their last 19 games and have lost every game this year by 2 TDs or more. Miami hasn't looked all that great this year, but they're no freakin Houston.

Game 3: New England +6 vs Cincinnati - this one hurts, as I don't like NE and I do like Cincy. However, Carson is still a little wobbly and inconsistent (4 TDS last week, but 2 INT and a fumble as well), and Chad seems to be still suffering. Their D is very opportunistic against bad QBs, but against good ones, not so much. I think the Patriots come out with something to prove and win this one outright.

Game 4: Green Bay +11 vs Philadelphia - Gonna be a fun Monday night watching this one. Philly has rolled it up on some real poor teams so far, and I think people are overrating them. They've shown a real tendency to give up a lot of points late in games (17 in the 4thQ vs Giants, 14 in the 4thQ vs San Fran), and I think they may win it, but Favre will get it within a TD by the end. I think Favre is also pretty motivated to show he's not done like everyone is saying.

Game 5: Tennessee +9.5 vs Dallas - I actually made this pick before the TO induced vomiting incidents, so I'm liking it (even though I don't think TO was really meant to play a big role in this game). I'm not in love with this pick but I don't have Dallas rated all that highly - they are 1-1 this year and had their win in an excellent matchup vs Brunell in terms of their D vs what Brunell does well and Portis being out. I will admit that I'm not super thrilled with this pick as I think Tennessee is horrible.

As always, for "entertainment purposes only."

Week 3 results

2006-09-25T13:59:16Z

>1) Washington -4 vs Houston - I think this line is absolutely ludicrous.

Absolutely right. This game was never close to being anything like a four point game.
Result: WIN

> 2) Denver +6.5 vs New England -I can see New England winning, but a touchdown seems a bit much (I've heard this line has actually even gone higher since I did my analysis so it's even better on Denver).

Well New England looked terrible. I expected to sweat this game much more than I had to.
Result: WIN

> 3) Jets +5.5 vs Buffalo - I would think this game should be more of pick'em.

This was an odd game. If you just showed the passing yards and rushing yards to someone, they'd assume Buffalo had won, or that maybe the Jets had done a big come from behind deal. Instead, the Jets won easily. Buffalo seems to be having some serious serious red zone issues.
Result: WIN

> 4) San Francisco +6 vs Philadelphia - this is the game my system churned out that I don't feel super about.

Bah. To be honest, I actually had a decent chance in this one; Philly won by 14, but on one key play, SF fumbled on the 1 and it was returned 99 yards for a TD, your basic 14 point swing. Of course, things might have happened differently after that, etc etc.
Result: LOSS

> 5) Jacksonville +7 vs Indianapolis - my system has these two teams essentially equal right now.

Well, if Jacksonville's normally reliable kicker doesn't miss two FGs in the dome, they cover here. As it stands, just a non event as the line hits right on the nose.
Result: PUSH

Week record: 3-1-1
Year to date record: 10-4-1 - I didn't publish the first two weeks picks, but you can trust me :)

Week 3 NFL betting

2006-09-23T18:05:16Z

(for entertainment purposes only, wink wink nudge nudge)

Before the season started, I developed a rating system on teams based on the chess ratings. It takes into account things like wins, opponent strength, home/road wins, and margin of victory. I started all teams off last year with the same rating, and ran it for all games last year to get better starting ratings this year. I use it to set a line on each game, then compare to "other sources" and see which games I think are the best bets. In week 1, I went 3-2, and in week 2, 4-1.

A quick primer: a line of "-4" means the team must win by 4. A line of +4 means the team can lose by anything up to 4 and you still win.

Here are my week 3 picks:

1) Washington -4 vs Houston - I think this line is absolutely ludicrous. Washington had a tough week 1 loss to Minnesota, then looked horrible against Dallas last week. Houston has been what Houston always is: godawful. They lost by 19 to Indy last week and the score flattered them. My system made this line more like -14.

2) Denver +6.5 vs New England - One of the things about my system is it rewards teams for winning. Denver has won a lot of games in their last 10, so their rating is quite high right now. They looked real bad in weeks 1 and 2, but New England didn't look like any hot stuff either, barely beating Buffalo and the Jets, two non playoff teams last year. I can see New England winning, but a touchdown seems a bit much (I've heard this line has actually even gone higher since I did my analysis so it's even better on Denver).

3) Jets +5.5 vs Buffalo - Buffalo's Defense has looked really good so far, but in the end, they lost game 1 and beat a very struggling Miami team in game 2. The Jets seem rejuvenated now that Pennington is back and their offense has gone pass happy. Oddly, both teams have lost to New England, and I think both gave New England a similar fight. I would think this game should be more of pick'em.

4) San Francisco +6 vs Philadelphia - this is the game my system churned out that I don't feel super about. Philly's rating is heavily depressed by their bad results at the end of last year and their implosion vs the Giants last week, while San Fran has jumped their rating with a win last week. I ended up leaving it in after hearing about all the injuries on the Philly defense.

5) Jacksonville +7 vs Indianapolis - my system has these two teams essentially equal right now. Both are 2-0, but Indy struggled to beat the Giants and then had a bye against Houston. Jacksonville has beaten two Super Bowl calibre teams in Dallas and Pittsburgh - they've proven to me that they are one of the top teams in the league, and shouldn't be 7 point underdogs to anyone.

davidjacob @ 2006-06-08T23:06:00

2006-06-09T05:12:22Z

I went to the casino last night to play the $50 rebuy and avoid the misery of having to listen to the oilers get walloped with Chumpy Magoo in net. I also felt that last year when I played the wsop, I hadn't had enough live play practice and I felt very out of sorts at the table, so I want to rectify that a bit this year.

I was also motivated to play well in this tourney. I had found that my recent play in tourneys is colored by playing 20-40 and up; like, it's hard to focus on playing well when its round 2 of a rebuy tourney. As a result, I had taken to busting out early a lot :p Thomas, in fact, said something along the lines of not counting on me for a ride home from the casino! I vowed to outlast him at least - no mean feat as he knows the players here really well and has an excellent record

The tourney is $50 to enter, for which you start with 100 in chips and blinds at 5-5. Blinds to 5-5, 5-10, 10-20, 15-30 30 minute rounds, rebuys for the first two hours. Rebuy gets you 100 more chips, you can rebuy up to T300 any time. So, obviously its a rebuy heavy tourney.

I was going in planning to take it easy, and 90 minutes in, had worked my original 100 into about 525 with no rebuys. Some reversals at that level, some all in blinds, etc etc and I reached the break having taken 7 rebuys. You can then add on up to 4 times, with each addon being worth 200. So, I take the max add on and I'm in for $600 with about 850 in chips. The rebuy "leader" is in for 28 rebuys and addons, making this a relaxing little $1400 tourney for him (he didn't make the money).

One of the first hands after the break, blinds are now 20-40 and I'm in the big blind with 22. EP raises to 100, one guy calls and I call. Flop is A72. Original
raiser bets out, caller goes all in, I call all in, original raiser folds. Caller has A2s and I double up plus more to get a little over 2000.

For the next 2.5 hours, I stay between 1500-2000 as blinds slowly increase up to 100-200 with a 25 ante. During this time I played with Humberto Brenes and Jeffrey Lissandro (both WPT tourney winners) without any incident. Basically, I was stealing the blinds just enough to hold my own.

I then get AK and steal the blinds and then KK and win a reasonable pot after Humbo calls my preflop raise but not my all in on the flop, so now I'm at about
2300.

An orbit or so later, I pick up 99; I have been playing very tight and decide to move in. Super short stack calls all in for like 250, and then super tight young guy hems and haws and calls all in for about 1200. Super short has K8, super tight has AQ, so I only have to fade 3 overcards; flop AKQ and I'm down to 1000 or so. Next hand I get QQ and double right back up to be essentially where I was before.

Soon, we reach the bubble (pays 10 players, was a 50 player tourney) I raise a bunch on the bubble and finally build my stack up a bit, and I reach the final table without incident with a stack of about 5500 which is slightly above average.

On the very first hand of the final table, with blinds at 200-400, ante 50, an EP player jams for 4200. Folded to me in the SB and I have AQs. I hem and haw
and then fold.

One of the next few hands, I open with A4o in late position and the button calls all in with his sub 1000 stack with Kx. My hand holds up and I am now in decent
shape. A few people get busted really quickly (no surprise) and we are now 6 handed, and I finally get a run of cards.

I pick up AKs and bust someone. Someone jams and I fold 88. Someone jams and I fold 99 (I'm folding these face up as I want to indicate I'm weak and will fold a
lot to get someone to move in on me when I'm strong enough). I raise with 77 and someone jams, and I call him to beat his A5 - the previous face up folds played
a huge factor in this hand.

Someone jams UTG and I call in the BB with JJ to beat his A5. Now we are 4 handed and I have over half the chips in play. Blinds are 500-1000 and I have 26K, they have 22K between the three of them, so I figure I'll take it easy and get headsup. One young kid takes the bull by the horns and starts moving in every hand
and ends up busting both other players, and soon we are headsup with about even stacks. First place is 5200, 2nd is 2560. He asks me "do you want to do anything?" I say "yes, I want to play poker". He smiles and says something about how he knew I liked action. The floor and the dealers are agape as I guess these tourneys essentially always end in deals.

First hand he moves in the from SB and I fold. Second hand I limp in the SB and he moves in and I fold. Third hand he limps in the SB and I check with QT.
Flop is nothing, check check. Turn is a Q, check check. River is a little card, I bet 1500, he moves in, I call, and he has a flush and I am eliminated.
Ooops.

Generally, I thought I played very well and was happy with everything. I got some nice cards at the right times but I didn't do anything dumb and I made some
tough laydowns when I thought it was time to. I had KK once, QQ twice, JJ twice, AK 3-4 times, AA never. A funny tidbit; during the rebuy period, our table saw
someone roll over AA no less than 12 times and it won every time. I never saw AA get cracked in the 15+ times I saw it (in fact, I only saw a couple of bad
beats at all during the tourney, and they were AT vs KT type stuff).

Still a nice win. It's actually a very nice casino (only craps table in Costa Rica, and you bet I rolled some bones at minimal limits), and a decent little poker room. But now, after not having played a longish session (the tourney ran from 845pm until about 330am) in a while live, I have a brutal gambling hangover.

Hockey playoffs

2006-05-24T17:52:49Z

As a Canadian far from home, I miss hockey a lot right now. As an Edmontonian far from home, I'm DYING. This was a real choke-up moment last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meLpuF9UMvk

davidjacob @ 2006-04-06T11:51:00

2006-04-06T17:51:59Z

davidjacob @ 2006-04-03T07:17:00

2006-04-03T13:15:47Z

Welcome to Tiltville, population me

2006-02-22T08:14:29Z

With a free night, I decided to play two large multis: the $200+15 WSOP main event sat on UB, and the $150+12 Super Tuesday on Party.

WSOP satellite: I was doing well, building a solid stack and then made a foolish call of a huge bet on a draw. Luckily, I hit my draw and was among the chip leaders. I reached the final 8 players, with two seats available and actually took over the chip lead. A number of 2+2ers were sweating and advising me that there were a number of tourney pros on the FT and that it was gonna be tough. It was. I made some strong moves but then a few weak moves and was left with about 37K (blinds 1500-3000). A player I read as a habitual stealer raised to 9000, and another I read as a habitual weak cold caller called. I was in the big blind with 77 and moved in. The original raiser folded, but the weak caller called with Ad9d, and spiked a river ace to eliminate me in 6th. At least it was worth $728, so a $513 win is better than nothing.

Party Super: I won a huge pot early and doubled up with a straight against an overpair. I then bled back down to my starting stack trying to bluff multi barrels with lots of bullets. From there, I went on a nice run and got back up to average, and then hung around there until I won a big pot again. I then went on a nice rush, and built up over 300K as we started getting to the end. However, I don't think I had a good table image; I was raising and folding to a lot of jams, and I got smacked back down to 100K. I then managed to double up in a coin flip, and then built back up near 300K. Then, I raised with TT, and got called twice, and folded to the massive bet on the queen high flop. A few hands folded, then I tried to steal with K9 and was called by the same guy. Flop A9x, I decided to continuation and was met with the inevitable jam. Hand or two later, now shortstacked, I moved in with 99 and ran into AA, for a win of just under $1000.

So, wonderful. I won about $1500 tonight. But I was **sooooo** close to the real money and prizes. Gonna be hard to get to sleep tonight.

Live tournament?!

2006-02-18T12:17:27Z

So I played a live staff tourney at the casino. As strange as it seems, this is the first live poker I've played since last year's WSOP, like 8 months.

The tournament had basically 3 experienced players and mostly beginners. I went primarily to have fun and really ham it up at the table, and to that end, brought a bag of props (giant sunglasses, bag of raisins for "raisin it up!", can of nuts that was passed around to whoever last had the nuts, etc). I certainly had fun and I think others did too (or maybe they thought I was an annoying goof, hard to tell). Anyways, this was a fairly easy tourney for me in that the beginners tended to make the same kind of mistakes I knew very well how to exploit (primarily being loose and weak calling stations for the most part - a couple of the slightly more experienced ones gave me troubles early before I figured them out much better), and after a difficult start, I reached the final table near the chip lead, and added to it by moving over the top of one of the other poker specialists twice in rapid succession (first with AA, then with AQs). At that point, we were 6 handed and I held the chip lead but (in contrast to the morning poker session) the other two poker specialists were still in and playing reasonably well. A few failed steals against one of them with marginal hands, and I was back down in the pack, with about 5100 with blinds at 150-300.

Then I picked up QQ and he picked up KK and I was down to 450. Next hand it was folded to me on the button and I had an ace, so I went in, and the other poker guy had KK in the big blind. Oh well. It was generally fun for me and I think everyone had a good time.

Charity work

2006-02-08T06:30:05Z

So, we've been getting heavily involved in various charities here in Costa Rica lately and I've found it very rewarding. The first one we started with is a small orphanage nearby, about 10 kids, all under age 10. Things here aren't quite like Canada where you'd be filling out security clearances for weeks before ever getting to see an actual kid. Here, we were taking kids home for the day within a week, on just our smiling faces.

Recently, we've gotten much more involved with a wider variety of charities. The two most recent are two homes; one for girls who have been raped, and one for teenage mothers (or in some cases, pre-teen mothers). Most of what we've been doing involves buying school supplies, food, diapers, etc. Some of the money has come from a donation from a friend, some has come from the company, and some has come from us, but its taken up a lot of our time recently. Again, very rewarding, until today.

We had bought something for one of the 13 year old mothers (a breast pump I believe) and went over to deliver it. She wasn't at the home, but the woman who runs it took us over to her house, which was right beside a large supermarket, and we took her over and basically said "go shopping for anything and everything you need". We got her to fill the cart to jam packed, along with a few items for the 18 year old girl with us as well and took it back to her house.

Then we went to take the other girl home. Now, the 13 year old lived, not well, but in a reasonable neighbourhood with an ok little house where I certainly felt entirely safe. The 18 year old (with two children from an incest rape, and another on the way from a "I'm going to marry you and take you out of here" guy who of course disappeared) lived in a place called Carpio, so we went to take her home.

Now, we drive a reasonably nice car, and obviously I'm a foreigner here. I'm not running around in a suit, but I certainly dress neatly enough to look like I might be well off. We drove into this area, which looked ok, and then she said to turn left, down into this dirt road, full of **extremely** poor looking people walking around. We had about 5-6 bags of groceries for her and she said it was only about a block so, against my better judgment, down we went. She was right, it was only about a block and we parked.

We got out and she went to get her brother to help her. She went down a side road that was absolutely wall to wall shacks - not houses, but literally just shacks built from anything they could find.

This was, however, a very busy kind of dirt road and people and while she's doing that, kids were walking up to me and sort of gathering around me, making me very nervous. It was still very light out and there were literally hundreds of people around, but I'm still there, the only foreigner with my pregnant wife, and we are surrounded by people for whom $100 would be months worth of money (I was carrying perhaps 200-300 US$).

The people were not being threatening, forward, or asking anything in any way. They just stood there. Looking at me. No emotion. No curiosity. No *life* in their eyes. Just a blank stare, like they didn't understand what I was or why I was there. A look of dead people. A few started asking for things, and I could only see it increasing.

We got the groceries to her and got out of there as fast as we could. I'm not sure I've ever been so shaken. We got home about 6 hours ago, and I tried to get those faces out of my mind. We watched a movie. I had some dinner. I had a long shower. I played some online chess. I played some online poker. I did a little work.

I still can't get those faces out of my mind. It's not needy faces that I can't help. It's people who are just not there. There's nothing behind those eyes. No hope. No emotion. Not even anything resembling a spark of life. Just dead eyes. Eyes that tell me there's nothing to save behind them. And a whole sea of those eyes. A mass of people that I just can't see ever "making it".

I can't go back to that place. Call it my shortcoming. I just cannot do it. It doesn't just shake my feeling about the people there. It shakes my faith in every human being. How things can be that way.

I just can't even think about this anymore.

San Jose championship, last round

2005-12-22T18:20:34Z

Call it a brag post, call it what you want. Going into the last round, there was a 5 way tie for first with 6/7 between myself, two International Masters, a national master, and one of the top juniors in the country. I was paired against one of the International Masters. A win would mean at least a tie for first, a draw something like a tie for 2nd or 3rd, and a loss, nothing. I have played two IMs in my chess career and won both games (one in a ridiculous lucky fluke, and the other in a devastating attack in a huge tournament that stands as my favorite chess memory of all time - you can find it in most online database under Ottosen-O'Donnell, Canadian Open 2000).

So, here's the game from last night.

[Event "SJ Championship"]
[Site "San Jose"]
[Date "2005.12.21"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Ottosen"]
[Black "Murillo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C05"]
[PlyCount "91"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. c3 c5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Ne2 Rb8 8. O-O b5 9. f4 g6 10. Kh1 h5 11. Nf3 Ne7 12. Qe1 c4 13. Bc2 Nf5 14. Ng3 h4 15. Nxf5 gxf5 16. Ng5 Nb6 17. Rf3 Be7 18. Rh3 Bxg5 19. fxg5 Kd7 20. Rxh4 Bb7 21. Rh6 Qe7 22. Rf6 Rbg8 23. Qf2 Ke8 24. Bf4 Nd7 25. Re1 Nf8 26. Qg3 Bc8 27. Kg1 a6 28. Qf3 Qb7 29. Rh6 Ng6 30. Bd2 Qe7 31. Qh5 Kd7 32. Re3 Nf4 33. Rxh8 Nxh5 34. Rxg8 Nf4 35. Rf3 Ng6 36. Rh3 Bb7 37. Rh7 Nf8 38. g6 Nxg6 39. Rxg6 Qe8 40. Rf6 Kc6 41. Rfxf7 Bc8 42. Bd1 Kb6 43. Bh5 Qd8 44. g3 a5 45. Re7 Ka6 46. Re8 1-0

He certainly didn't play his best game here, but I felt like I controlled the game very well and gave him essentially no chance at any point. I ended up in a two way tie for first, taking "second" officially on tiebreak (though the prize money was split evenly). A very proud day for me. You can read about the tournament (if you speak Spanish) at:

http://www.tablerotico.com