Friday, April 15, 2011

Well on to new things

Looks like the future online poker is gonna be up in the air, so maybe it's time to go back into the real world. Fortunately, I have some leads to get a job somewhere so I'll do that (and could always apply to Business school in fall because I got a decent score on the GMAT). Unfortunately, I have a significant sum online so who knows whats going to happen to that. Hopefully something can resolved in the next two - four weeks or so and I can get a better understanding of what can be done.

Time for a beer or two.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Grinding VPPs is still better than the alternative

The shit show in the previous post reminded me of how much "real" jobs suck. I might be grinding VPPs all day, but this job is still a hell of a lot better than any corporate job I've had.

1. I don't have to work for assholes or morons (except for myself obviously).
2. No commute (except the 10 feet from my bedroom to my office).
3. My work attire consists of a t-shirt and boxers. I can count on one hand the number of times I've put on anything nicer than jeans in the past year.
4. Lunch breaks typically consist of either : 1) watching Justified, Lights Out, the Borgias, and/or Shameless or 2) video games (I'm waiting for the game LA Noire to come out end of May).
5. Any money I lose or make is on me. I don't have to bust my ass making money for a cheap bastard who *might* give me a 7% raise if he's feeling generous at the end of the year.
6. My schedule is up to me. Obviously chasing SNE at low limits means more hours of poker that most people would like to play, but at least I can put in the hours when I want to.
7. At least a month off per year.

Obviously there are some downsides, such as:
1. No guarantee that I'll make money every week, month, or even year. That being said, I manage my bankroll very conservatively and cash out at least a minimum amount every week regardless of how much I make or lose.
2. Taxes suck.
3. Uncertain future of online poker. If shit hits the fan and online poker is temporarily or (unlikely) permanently banned, I won't exactly have solid career experience to put on my resume. That being said, I can always become a trader and supplement lose my income grinding busto stakes on my nights and weekends.
4. No health insurance/401k/other company-provided benefits. Fortunately, my wife works just enough hours to qualify for benefits, so it's not an issue as long as she doesn't quit her job any time soon.
5. My son got up on the pool table. When I told him to get down, he told me "Fuck You". Guess I should watch my mouth.

Granted, my perspective might be a little skewed since the 2 jobs I've had since I graduated college involved working for 2 of the worst bosses you can imagine:

Boss #1- corporate equivalent of the biggest assholes at the tables. Berated his employees and anyone else he came into contact with all day long. One time, be backed out of his driveway full speed without looking, straight into a truck belonging to a repairman working on his house. He then proceeded to berate the repairman and blame him for the accident, stating that it was his fault for blocking the driveway.

Boss #2- worse bankroll management than Lucas.

And for anyone who cares, here's this week's graph. Overall I'm pretty happy with my play recently. Still tilting some, but doing better than I was a couple months ago. I'm happy to be playing 3/6 again and getting more VPPs.

Monday, April 4, 2011

One Time!

So I just finished up my session with an email from Pokerstars:

Hello iiimJEEESUS,

We have received a complaint regarding your use of inappropriate language at our tables. After reviewing the chat log (see below), it was decided to suspend your chat privileges for a period of one month. Your language was highly offensive and completely unacceptable.

Our goal at PokerStars is to be a fun place to play, where everyone can feel comfortable. Foul language and abuse of other players takes away from everyone's enjoyment, and therefore will not be permitted.

Please note that you may not be the only one receiving a message such as this. When we receive a chat complaint, we review the entire chat of all players at the table. If any other players at the table were in violation of PokerStars' chat rules, they were also warned or had their chat suspended.

Your chat privileges will be automatically reinstated in one month.

Regards,

PokerStars Support Team
---
899676956 iiimJEEESUS nice hand you piece of garbage fed 1 4/4/2011 7:54:17 PM

So I sent them a quick response:

To Whom It May Concern,

This latest chat ban is ridiculous. Fedigan has insulted races, sexuality, gender, and everything else known to man. I beat him in a pot and I simply called him what he has referred to me several times as, which is "a piece of garbage". When I reported Fedigan for similar acts, I was told by your Pokerstars support team that I could simply "turn off my chat if i was offended". Therefore, I was under the impression referring to someone as "a piece of garbage" was allowed. I now know that such language is unacceptable and am asking for a smaller chat ban (1 week or so) or to have my chat reinstated immediately.

Please note, I am on pace for supernova elite this year (240,000 vpps) and have paid approximately $40,000 in rake so far, and as such, I deserve special consideration.

Thank you.