The Best Hand I've Ever Played

For those of you haven't met me, I have recently fallen in love with the game of Texas Hold 'Em. I play a weekly no-limit $10 cash game (not tournament-style, like you've probably seen on TV) with a bunch of friends in Brookline.

Last night, I had what I think was the best hand I've ever played. It wasn't the hand that won the most money, but simply the one that I think I executed the best. (Everything after this sentence is going to be in severe pokerese. If you don't understand any of the terminology, and yet somehow still have a desire to read past this point, I suggest the PokerTips.org Poker Glossary.)

In this particular hand, I was the dealer and therefore was on the button. There may have been one call leading into me pre-flop, and I looked down and saw J-10 offsuit, so I decided to call the 10-cent blind (big stakes, I know). The small and big blinds to my left limped in and we saw a flop: K-10-9 rainbow.

The two blinds and one caller all checked to me, so I made a 50-cent bet into the pot that looked like -- and sort of was -- a position bet. But it was also more than that. If either of the other players in the pot had caught a straight they surely would raise me. So, in essence, it was not only a position bet but also a feeler bet. The small blind folded quickly but the big blind, Barr, thought about it for half a second and then just called (the other preflop caller folded as well).

At this point, my thinking was this. Knowing the moderately aggressive kind of player Barr is, I reasoned that if he flopped a straight, he surely would have raised my obvious position bet on the flop, in order to scare away anyone who might have a draw at a better straight (namely, ace-queen or ace-jack). Furthermore, if he had flopped top pair, he surely would have bet it initially; he is not one to slow-play top pair or two-pair, I thought to myself -- not with a straight draw on the board. The same logic applies to if he had pocket nines or pocket tens: there's no way he'd slow-play trips on the flop against a straight draw.

So at the very worst, I reasoned, he has a pair of tens as well, perhaps with a better kicker (and, if you follow my reasoning above, the only hand he could possibly have that beat my jack-ten at that point would be ace-jack, which, knowing Barr, I'm thinking he would have raised with pre-flop; instead, he just checked the big blind). At best, he has a straight draw with a Jack or a Queen and a rag, or perhaps a pair of nines.

That brought us to the turn: K. Barr checked to me, and I bet $1. It looked and felt like a position bet, but I knew that my tens with a straight draw was the best hand. Barr then did exactly what I expected him to do, as an aggressive player who recognizes a position bet: he check-raised, calling my dollar and raising $2. But, as I've described above, I knew in my gut he didn't have that king (nor did he have trips off the flop), so there's no way in the world the second king could have helped him.

So I re-raised him four more dollars. I was confident in making that semi-bluff because, even if he had me out-kicked with A-10 (the worst-case-scenario hand described above), I could still catch a queen to beat him on a straight draw, or a 10 to split the pot. He thought about it for about 45 seconds (he really was agonizing over it) and he folded.

I used a late bet to feel how strong his cards were, put him on a particular hand, raised him off his bluff, and won the pot.

And that was the best hand of poker I've ever played.

Excerpt from Crim Law

Professor: Why might the legislature want to create a harsher penalty for people who commit rapes in the course of other felonies?
Me: Well, it provides a disincentive for people to rape when they know they're already likely to go to prison, whereas without such a disincentive they might be inclined to "go out with a bang."

The worst part is, I didn't even intend what would at first seem to be a very typical pun for me to make. Hopefully the court will disallow propensity evidence.

I'm going to hell.

Don't Worry, Yankee Fans...

...there's always next year!

The view from Section 42, Row 11, Seat 13...

Manny and Papi just couldn't carry them. You're not going to win a World Series when you can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out.

It's funny. In years past, I would be devastated. The philosophy in Boston for so many years was "win now"; it felt like the window was always closing, largely because the team was so desparate to win that one championship that they traded away their future in largely unsuccessful bids to get the team over the top.

The future for this team, though, is bright. Anyone who saw rookie Jonathan Papelbon pitch in the Chicago series would agree with that (4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K). Plus, we have fireballer RHP Manny Delcarmen, sparkplug 2B Dustin Pedroia, top prospect SS Hanley Ramirez, and the 2005 Eastern League (AA) Pitcher of the Year, LHP Jon Lester.

It used to be that "there's always next year" was a resignation. It was accepting yet another failure. But now, there's actual excitement about next year. So... there's always next year.

p.s. - as much as i hate to admit this, now that the series is over, i kind of hope the white sox take it all. now THAT'S something you wouldn't have heard me say two years ago about a team that just swept the red sox.

My Case for why David Ortiz should Win the American League MVP Award

Alex Rodriguez is neither the most valuable player on own his team (Mariano Rivera) nor is he the team's most-feared hitter (Gary Sheffield). Would you walk Alex Rodriguez to get to Gary Sheffield? Hell no.

But the Yankees walked David Ortiz to get to Manny Ramirez (third in the majors in RBI at season's end) not once but twice this past weekend. Which makes sense, since 20 of Ortiz's 47 home runs on the season have either tied the game or put the Red Sox ahead. In fact, pitchers have a good reason to fear Ortiz more in pressure situations than they would fear Rodriguez, as illustrated by these splits:

David Ortiz
Overall: .300 avg., 1.001 OPS
Runners in Scoring Position w/ 2 outs: .357 avg., 1.214 OPS
Close and late: .346 avg., 1.293 OPS

Alex Rodriguez
Overall: .321 avg., 1.031 OPS
Runners in Scoring Position w/ 2 outs: .302 avg., .941 OPS
Close and late: .293 avg., .938 OPS

What do these numbers all mean?

They mean this: When the pressure is on, and his team needs him the most, David Ortiz gets better. And in those same situations, Alex Rodriguez gets worse.

That's not to say that a Rodriguez's .293 avg. and .938 OPS are bad. Quite the contrary, most All-Stars don't hit at that kind of a level in any situation. But the plain fact can't be denied that Ortiz's OPS rises almost 300 points when the pressure is on, while Rodriguez's OPS falls almost 100 points in the same situations.

Now, who do you think is more valuable?


For those of you who are unfamiliar with the stats used above, a summary:
Batting Average (avg.) - hits divided by total at-bats (if you walk or are hit by a pitch, a.k.a. HBP, it does not count as an "official" at-bat for the purposes of computing average, nor does it count as a hit)
On-base percentage (OBP) - similar to batting average except that it factors in walks and HBP's. It's computed as (hits + walks + HBP's) divided by total at-bats.
Total bases - Easier to give examples than to define. A single is one total base. A double is two total bases. A triple is three total bases. A home-run is four total bases. So if you hit two singles and a home run in a game, you will have amassed six total bases.
Slugging percentage (SLG) - Total bases divided by at-bats. It's sort of like batting average, but takes into account how hard you hit the ball when you do hit it. So if you hit a home run in every single at-bat, you would have a slugging percentage of 4.000. If you hit a home run every four at-bats, and grounded out the other three, you'd have a slugging percentage of 1.000. If you hit a single in every single at-bat, you would also have a slugging percentage of 1.000. Got it?
On-base Plus Slugging (OPS) - It is what it says. On-base percentage plus slugging percentage. Basically, OPS is a good measure of how well a hitter performs overall.
Runners in Scoring Position (RISP) - Runners on second and/or third base. Called "scoring position" because an average runner is likely able to score from second or third on a hit.
"Close and late" - In the 7th inning or later, with the batting team either ahead by one run, tied, or with the potential tying run at least on deck.

Dear Legal Recruiting Manager of Large Out-of-Town Lawfirm:

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me yesterday, and allowing me the opportunity to speak with some of the great people at your firm. I came in with the highest of expectations.

My experiences at the firm reaffirmed to me that it is exactly the type of place at which I would love to begin my legal career. I was encouraged by the trivial nature of each of my interviews. Don't worry, I love talking about baseball; it's not like I'm trying to get a job or anything. Furthermore, I was especially encouraged by the dungeon-like atmosphere in which even your 5th-year associates worked. With a few years of hard work, they may someday earn a window; such goals are important, I'm sure, for one's professional development.

In conclusion, I believe I could be a successful and valuable part of your team. That's "could," in the subjunctive sense; I doubt very strongly that I will end up there. However, I must thank you for the two nights at a nice hotel downtown. The sirloin was excellent.

Sincerely,
Mike