Go Here From Now On.

confidenceartist.blogspot.com

Somethings do change.

I've been neglecting this thing for quite some time, no?
Soon-ish, it will be a real thing again. I will:
1. recap the rest of my summer in europe.
2. start discussing and link to music.
3. talk about movies.
4. and work
5. and poker.
6. and stuff.

i will. i promise.

No Name #3

everybody reminds me of one or more of elliott's songs. which one(s) are you?

Playing some cards...

Howdy. Gonna write about some poker. Feel free to skip this if you don't want to read about it.

Today I decided that 1) I needed something to do in the evening and 2) I needed to do something where I'd actually be interacting with people. Jakki left for Greece tonight. She should be there by now, I think. For some folks out there, doing something social (but by oneself or in a very small group) might mean going to a bar or a club. If you're reading this, you know that that's just not my scene. Me in a club or at a bar is like seeing ducks in the middle of a big city - you know that they're out of place because there's nothing for 'em there. I play poker. It's an intellectual pursuit for me. A complex chess game with several complete strangers at once (but with incomplete information). It's also a venue where I can interact with people. If you ever to read any of the more scholarly poker or gaming literature, you will find much spilled ink on the topic of the reasons why people play games or gamble - they need the competition, or the social interaction, or they're just looking to have fun, or they enjoy the thrill of wagering, or they need to feel as if, for a moment, that the gods are smiling on them, etc. etc.. Some people even "need" to lose. It's important, as a player, to try to determine what others' needs are and to respect those needs. If you help a person fulfill that need, it won't seem quite as bad to them (perhaps on a subconscious level) to lose to you.

Anyway. The Holland Casino Amsterdam is a very short trip from where I'm staying - a 15 minute walk, or a 5 minute ride on the tram, if your timing is good. I set out to play in the weekly Limit Hold'em tournament they have every Thursday. The casino's nice - well decorated, and kinda small feeling (although I get the inkling that the amount of floor space devoted to gaming is probably comparable to most Atlantic City casinos.). I paid the entrance fee (3.5 euro) and made my way to the second floor. Although it might seem annoying to have to pay a daily fee, I kind of liked the idea... it does manage to keep out most of the riffraff that you sometimes see loitering around in the Taj, say. After walking around a bit, I finally found the poker area (only 7 tables - compared to the 70 or so that I'm used to at the Taj) and registered for the tournament. 50 euros, plus 10 more for the house. One rebuy allowed, meaning that if you fall below your starting stack of 500 in tournament chips, you can pay another 50 euros for another 500 in tournament chips. This also helps to build the prize pool. After waiting a bit, the tournament started seating (about 15 min. late). There were about 65 players. Blinds started at 10/10. So you start out with 25 big bets... not very big starting stacks, but there is the rebuy to fall back on. 30 minute levels for the first two levels, during which you can make your rebuy if you'd like. After that, the levels are 20 min each.

Allow me to retort to any potential naysayers. Yes, there are better things to be doing with my money than playing poker while I'm abroad. However. 1) It's 60 euros. In no way will that ever dip into the funding I've received for the summer. This is out of my own pocket. 2) [to classmates also receiving funding to go abroad this summer] How many (alcoholic) drinks have you gotten since you've been in Europe? How much does that add up to?
Ok. now that we're all on the same page.

In the States, only English is permitted at the tables. Here, it's supposted to be Dutch or English, but I'm sure that they'd let other languages slide. I found that, although there was tons of table talk going on, almost entirely in Dutch, I was able to get past the words much more easily than in English converstaions. That is, I could focus on intonation and non-verbal communication much more easily than at home. Maybe too much.

First hand, I'm in middle position with KJ offsuit. Not a great starting hand, especially in this position. Especially when the action went raise, reraise, cap in front of me. I muck, and the old American man two to my left takes down a huge pot to start things off when he hits runner-runner to make a flush. This is how it was going to be, eh?

A few hands later, I'm in the BB with KQ of spades [KQs... suits: Clubs = c, Diamonds = d, Hearts = h, Spades = s]. Four limpers, and a raise by a very loose, somewhat passive player. Everyone calls around to me, and I decide to 3-bet. It's probably a close situation and most people would probably opt to just call the raise here, but I felt that my equity in the pot was probably 2nd best given the players and the action. Even though I'm almost certain that someone has a better starting hand than I do, in the long run it's probably a situation where raising will net me more than just calling. It's close though. Everyone just calls, including the original raiser. 30 small bets. Huge pot already.

The flop comes Kd Js Ts... a very nice flop for me, but potentially dangerous since it's quite possible that someone has two pair or a straight. Also possible, but relatively unlikey, are a better K (i.e. AK) or a better flush draw. It's checked to me and I decide to bet in order to not only protect my pair, but also to find out if anybody out there is ahead of me. It's called around to the aggro who raises, and everyone folds to the small blind, who calls. Great. Now he's last to act out of all of us. I 3-bet (which might be a mistake here, although I doubt it...) to try to isolate the raiser. Amazingly, everyone still in the hand just calls, including the raiser. 51 small bets. Even huger pot. I like my hand at this point, though. It'd be stupid for anyone to not cap with a made straight here (to protect against flush draws, plus it's clear that if you're ahead, you're going to get at least a couple of callers) or maybe even two pair. I'm probably dealing with another KQ or AJ from the raiser, or maybe QJ. AJ is most likely given the action, and if that's the case, he's not on a flush draw.

The turn is the 2h - a great card for me, if my reads are on target. SB checks, I bet, get one caller, and the aggro thinks a bit before just calling. No way he has a made straight or two pair. just no way. AJ is probably right on target. SB calls. 29.5 big bets. The river brings the 9d, completing my straight. SB checks, I bet, inbetween calls, aggro calls, SB.... raises?! What is going on here. Must have a Q. OK, I call too. No point in raising, really - I'm either splitting this pot or losing to a higher straight. If that's the case, I was wrong all along and deserve to lose. Suddenly, inbetween 3-bets. wtf. aggro thinks for a solid two minutes (not necessary in the early stages of a limit tournament) before the SB asks for the clock. Angry, aggro calls. SB caps it at 4 bets. Something does not smell good here - calling the clock and then raising immediately just screams impatience and a made hand, possibly the nuts. I really want to fold here. But can I really fold for 2 big bets when there are 41.5 big bets in there?? If everyone else calls, I would have to be like 95% certain that I'm beat. I take a look around. Aggro is fuming, quietly. He's going to call, but knows he's beat. Inbetween is going to call too, chip in hand. Doesn't look to thrilled either. Does it make sense for SB to play AQ the way he did? I decide that it's close. He could have played it that way, but I doubt it. I'm pretty sure we're chopping this monster of a pot. I call, as do the inbetween and the aggro. 45.5 big bets.

Aggo, steaming, flips over... AJd. I was right on the money there. Inbetween shows K9 offsuit for a rivered 2pair. The SB shows 78h for the low straight. Some of the play there is inexcusable, but I don't mind as I rake in the T910 pot. Who needs a rebuy?

From there, things slowed down quite a bit. I made some good reads and was able to steal a few pots and win a few small pots, building my way up to over 2300 by the break. 7 people on my table took their rebuys - I had about 30% of the chips on the table. Things were going well. I had great reads on a few opponents - I knew who the patsies were, and I knew whom to avoid. I had a near-perfect read on the old man. Pretty much spot on. If only I could get involved in a hand with him! Too bad he was the first at the table to bust out.

After the break, I went card dead. Absolutely nothing, and no good spots to try to steal. The blinds had risen to 40-80, and I was hovering at 2100. Then 3 sick hands came up (I'll go about them in less detail than the above one, don't worry) in a short time span:

Aggro man, fresh off winning a big pot, raises under the gun. It's folded around to the cutoff on my right, who reraises to 240. I look down on the button and find QhQs. Queens are a good starting hand. They also look really good after being dealt shitty cards for 30 minutes. I cap it. BB, weak player (coincidentally a drunk middle-aged woman) cold calls, aggro calls, CO calls. Flop 982 rainbow. BB bets, aggro folds, CO calls, I raise, BB calls, CO calls. Turn: 4, bringing a badugi (4 different suits) on board. Checks to me, I bet, BB folds, CO raises. I think for a bit and call. River: 3. I check, CO bets. I decide to play it safe and just call, fearing a weird raggedy 2 pair, or maybe a set on the flop. CO shows 33 for a rivered set. [Reraise the turn?]

As I was saying, I had some great reads. I was feeling really confident about that part of my game after picking off a bluff into a small pot when this hand happened: I'm in the hijack (2 before the button) with Ad4c. One limper, it's folded to me, and I raise, trying to isolate and maybe steal, if not now, then later. The weak woman calls from the button, both blinds fold, and the limper also calls. We see a flop: Jd Td Qh. Scary board. Limper checks, I check, woman thinks and bets. Immediately, she starts showing pretty classic signs of weakness/bluffing. Limper folds. Her blinking rate has increased and she's covering her mouth. I decide to raise and see what she does. She calls. Turn brings the 4d. She did not like that card at all. I bet and she raises. Odd. Must have a pair? She's continuing to show weakness, and it feels like she has tens or jacks, maybe? Maybe with a 9 or a King? If I'm right, then I have lots of outs. I reraise, hoping to take it here. She thinks and just calls. River: Ac. Made 2 pair. Does she have a K? I check. She thinks and bets. I'm so confused. but I call. She shows KQx for the nut straight. Top pair on the flop. Although I read her like she was semi-bluffing a draw and a low pair, she was really just nervous that I might have a flush, I think. Here, I relied too heavily on my read and not enough on how she played the hand. In retrospect, it seems really clear that she had a decent holding from the get-go, and hit the flop well. I focused too much on what I thought was a pretty clear tell, and I was off. It cost me.

Next hand:
I raise in middle position with the 9s9d, looking to steal, but ok with getting a caller or two. It's folded to the aggro on the button, who pops it. Folds to me, and we're heads up. I call. Flop: KhQhJh. I bet, thinking that he'd tell me if he was ahead or drawing, or he'd fold any J or maybe Q, especially if he didn't have any hearts in his hand. Maybe I pick up the pot right there. He calls. Interesting. Turn: 6s. He didn't seem to particularly like that, staring at the board after the turn came out. I check, he thinks and checks. River: 3h. He didn't want to see a heart. That's clear. The player two to my right makes a "tsk" sound - he probably held the Ah. I bet. He hesitates and then raises. Without missing a beat, I reraise. He stops and thinks for a minute or two. And calls. I show my lowly nines, and he turns over.... AdJs? Wow. How can he make all those calls there with no heart, bottom pair on the flop, three cards to a straight? Maybe he had a really good read on me, I have no idea.

By then, I'm down to practically nothing and move in with Ax and get picked off by someone with 55. Game over.
In all, I think I played well. I made a few mistakes towards the end and couldn't overcome being essentially card dead for close to an hour. Chalk it up to some bad beats, some mistakes, and some goofy play by my oppenents.

After I busted, I ended up sitting down in a juicy limit hold'em cash game. Played slightly higher than I'm used to, but I played tight and found some great spots to steal. In between stealing, I showed down a lot of premium hands, helping out the steal attempts. Played for about 1.5 hours and made back my tournament buy-in, and then some. Not a bad night. I might try the tourney again. I think if I shake some of the rust off and make a few adjustments then it's a winnable tournament.

BTW, first place was about 2000 euros. Something to think about.
Good night y'all. I promise a more regular work/travel entry over the weekend.
Love, matt.

The Supersensational Mega (Picture-Heavy) Update 3000

Hi. Some folks say it's been a while, and it has. I'm not quite sure how to write up a week and make it entertaining. This shit will be a long post, yo.

So last y'alls heard, I was at the zoo, and the monkeys did not crap in their hands and play with their feces in a festive manner, nor did they make faces that are unacceptable in society. Some of them did have red butts, however (not pictured).

Work: continued cleaning, as before. Having fun concocting gels, emulsions, resin soaps, gel emulsions, etc. etc.



So that's been work.
This past Friday, went with Jakki to Den Haag. What a morning. Jakki's appointment with her landlord people running way long, missing the first train, getting lost in the Hague. Didn't get to meet up with Amanda, the NYU grad student working at the Mauritshuis. Went there, though:



Also went to the Gemeentemuseum. Mostly modern (in the classic sense). But it was quite a good surprise. Had a very cool interactive installation covering the bottom floor.

The rest of the weekend, I was on my own. Jakki had a workshop/class/thing. No, no. not conservation-related. It was about energy healing. From what she described at dinner tonight, sounded very relaxing. Saturday I went back to the Rijksmuseum and the van Gogh Museum. Speaking of the Rijks - One of the guards spraying water onto the acid (or was it caustic? I still don't know the whole story...) -damaged painting:


Sunday, I spent the day exploring Leiden and Delft. Both beautiful towns, both perfect for just walking around. I hit Leiden first. Being able to visit Leiden was important for me - Robert Cushman spent a good bit of time in there with the Pilgrims before securing Speedwell and Mayflower for a certain transatlantic journey in 1620.
One of my favorite spots in Leiden is the Burcht, the site of a 12th-century fortress near the center of the town. It's basically a small round wall on top of a large mound of earth. Tons of fantastic views of the town.

Also went to the national antiquities museum. Again, another great surprise. Pretty small, but a great collection, especially Egyptian. Lots of mummies. Didn't take any pictures of them (out of respect for the dead - or afterliving?) but I did take a picture of a croc mummy. Ended up fuzzy. Bummer. There was a really cool exhibit on one particular mummy in the collection where they showed an animation of a CT scan of the mummy, and telling the mummy's story. Also in the entrance hall there's an entire freaking temple given to the Dutch by the Egyptian government in the late 60s for their help with the Aswan High Dam.

There, I saw the funniest museum label I've ever seen. There was a small area showing Greek homoerotic art, and this was the label copy. I think it's hilarious that it's written in the present tense:




Even the Egyptian bulls/oxen got into the act:








The saddest thing I saw in Leiden was the remains of the Vrouekerke - an old church from the 1400s that was allowed to fall into disrepair in the 19th c. All that's left is this wall, in a kind of crappy area of town. Developers want to tear it down and build a club. My people went to church there 400 years ago.



Delft was pretty similar to Leiden, I felt. Lots of history, great architecture. I'll spare you though and show you this picture I took in the town square of a young girl playing soccer (still refusing to call it football).



Cripes, this is a long post....

I'm tired. so let's skip to the end.

Yesterday, we stopped work at 2 and went to a pigment mill north of Haarlem and Amsterdam called De Kat. It's on a little river with several windmills nearby. There's a mustard mill, an oil mill, a saw mill...
We hung out with Piet, the millner. Dude is crazy, smokes an old school pipe. Wears wooden clogs all the time. He showed us how everything works, the stock room of artist supplies, and took us to the roof, where we saw him shut down the mill for the day, bring in the sails, etc. Then we got to climb up one of the windmill blades up to the center to take a look around. Really amazing stuff. The roof is about 20 feet off the ground or so, and then the upper part of the mill is about 35 or 40 feet tall. Each blade is about 25 to 30 feet long. So, you do the math. Then we (Me, Mireille, Liesbeth, Anneke, and Abbie) had a picnic in a field nearby. Bunches of pictures:




Also in the news: won't be going to Italy next week as planned. The Italians who are hosting the workshop decided last minute that there just isn't room for me to be in the workshop. Kind of a shitty thing to do, but oh well...
Luckily, I hadn't booked my tickets yet. Prices were steadily dropping, so I waited. They spiked up on Monday morning, and I was going to book Monday night, when I got emails saying that I couldn't go. Bummer. Now I'll be in Amsterdam the same weekend as Sean Paul. That makes me angry. I have to breathe the same air as him. Yes, Sean Paul, we know that you like to be on the dance floor. Yes, we know that you like to see the women on the dance floor. We know you like the wacky tobacky. That's fine, whatever. Just please shut up, Sean Paul. Every song you have sounds exactly the same, where you "sing" lines in one note and then change to a string of other notes at the end of the line. We get it. And yes, we've heard that beat before; you used it on your last song.
(Oh uh hang on one second. Yes, uh Grover what is it, this has to be quick, I am so pressed... Yes, the letter G is wonderful... Of course, and the number 6... Oh ok, ok, Gr, Grover, Grover, GROV-UH, GROV-UH, GROV-UH... you, you know what? If you're gonna shout, we can just talk later... Oh uh oh alright, you know what? Call me back when you calm down.)

In summary: Sean Paul makes me angry, and it's the Italians' fault that I'll be in the same city at the same time as him.


PS - I miss this one the most:

A post from a bit back on a different blog.

New one to follow.



Things:

1. Jakki and I went to the movies on Friday. First we had falafel (Item #1a). Then we went to the movies and saw Marie Antoinette, which (oddly) doesn't open until October 20 in the States and not until January 2007 in the UK. I haven't decided if I liked it or not. Visually, it was a feast, and the music was interesting (mostly 1980s stuff. Think Bow Wow Wow's I Want Candy.) But the movie relied on that sort of awkward comedy that's so hip these days. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm just not sure if it works for a costume drama. Kirsten Dunst was strangely cute in this, and I don't really like her.

1b. The movie theater is the coolest movie theater that I have ever been to, ever. Art Deco everywhere you look, incredible interior, and the most comfortable movie seats and widest arm rests. And a very clean floor to boot. We'll take pictures if we go back. Tickets for one person: 9 euro. Tickets for two? 10 euro. Total. How cool is that?

2. We went to Artis on Saturday. Artis is the zoo, planetarium, geological museum, zoological museum, and aquarium wrapped into one area. 16 euros for one person. We decided that it was worth it. Nothing there was really spectacular, but it was all around ok and worth the afternoon. I have since found out that it is not the same zoo as the one where the bears ate the monkey.

This means some things have pointy teeth.


While this means that some things have beaks.





This is the cage/tube leading from the chimps' living areas to the place that they hang out in during the day. Mostly, I imagine that it's a wonderful spot to crap in one's hands and hurl said poop onto unsuspecting passersby. Alas, I did not witness such an event that would have completed my life.



And this is proof that Jakki is alive and able to wave her hand.


That was fun.

Item 3 (about which I'll devote more time to later, but blogger.com is being pissy right now). A 69-year-old man threw concentrated acid onto a painting at the Rijksmuseum on Sunday afternoon - guards acted quickly, the man was arrested, and the painting was only slightly damaged (as far as I know), mainly in the varnish layer. The museum was closed on Monday morning to take the painting to the conservation labs and to hang a different painting in its place.

I was THIS close to going to the Rijks on Sunday, but I decided not to because it was raining out. Could've made for a really interesting day, to say the least. Will talk about this more later.