Inspired by random act of (drunken?) charity

After spending much time reading my friend FTrain's poker blog (and the blogs I've come to automatically check from his blog list, particularly the blogfather's (PartyPoker Bonus Code IGGY) and BadBlood's (I dream of someday having a child who will checkraise his own mother--well, I've done that but I was 31) I'd been toying with the idea of starting my own narcissistic shout out to the world. I was specifically encouraged to do so by another friend (we'll call him after his well earned poker moniker, the Korean ATM) who looked forward for the opportunity of mocking my self-promotion on a public forum, rather than being limited to one-on-one phone cracks. Well, I'd been hemming and hawing about the time it might take, and whether anyone would really care to read what I cared to spew.

Well something happened tonight that inspired me to make that first post.

First a brief poker background. I've been playing online for about 6 years, starting on Paradise while in law school without much of a clue--limited to 1-2 and 2-4 limit, never winning over the long term, typically going on the expected winning streaks and even more expected losing streaks of the novice who thinks he's rather good, always playing up, and usually busting out and taking a few months off, estimated losses from 1999-to early 2004 (adding Party in 2003), total about 500-1000 online (though I know I won 400 in 2001 as I actually declared the winnings for my taxes) mitigated somewhat by fairly regular winnings in my small stakes law school/post-law school game I played in with FTrain until his LA interlude (you haven't played anything until you've played Mexican Goldfarb).

Fast forward to the last 18 months of which I have been taking my game increasingly seriously, having discovered B&M play in New York (Playstation, which I can name since it's recently been raided, shut down and outed in the several New York newspaper articles). From last Christmas, read and read and read. Got better, started branching out to UTB, Stars and Pacific (the only thing worse than the software are the players) and most recently Full Tilt. I'm not ready to go pro (real time prospects decent enough to make that a very minus EV time value, plus, as one Irish player (the "Crippler") once told me at Playstation, "you're really not that good"). So here I am, playing poker at mid levels, typically 1-2, 2-4 no limit hold-em, MTTs and Sit and gos, plus occasionally razz, Omaha PL and, for shits and giggles, triple draw. I even played some WBT tourney's under the name "SoxLover". Yeah's that's right Dr. Pauly, I'm the bastard that cracked your hilton sisters with my jacks--I suppose it must have felt a bit like winning three games in a row before flopping four straight losses.

Anyway, that's more than enough.

Here's my inspiration (I've got to get some sleep):

100+9 sit and go on Stars. I've got 3.5k on button with 3 players left, KJs. LAG, UTG (with 8k and a penchant for playing many, many hands) raises 3x 300BB, I go all in. VTA, SB (with balance of 2k) folds. LAG calls with 78s and sucks out.

I sit around railbirding, chatting with the other two players. VTA builds up to even, LAG asks how one chops--I explain how transfer money works on Stars and they almost agree but don't quite make it. I randomly whine 15 hands later about the suckout. LAG says he feels really bad about making that call and says he was just tired and wanted to end it, didn't mean to suckout, how much would it take to make me feel better. I, having already netted 71 with 3rd, say $1 American. He says how about $30. I say sure, why not? VTA player says how much was buyin, I say 109.

LAG, immediately after being busted in 2nd (250, net 141) actually sends me 109! I'm officially flabbergasted. I actually netted more than I would have had I come in 2nd (by 39). I'm inclined to send him back all or at least 39 of his money, what do you think? I suppose he was either drunk or rich (or likely both).

Moral of story: it pays to be friendly even when sucked out.

More to come on many boring topics...