Because I completely lack originality and wit, I’ve titled my birthday blog entry with the most cliché yet applicable of the classic Hollywood one-liners. I turn 24 tomorrow, the 17th, and while that is still very young for the real world, it’s surprisingly old in poker, especially when we’re talking online poker.

People talk about having a mid life crisis, but were you paranoid enough you could justify a mid 20’s crisis, were you so inclined. Turning 24 is just about the time you realize nobody you know is in school behaving appallingly anymore. Everyone around you is starting to act grown up; considering what they’ll do for a career, considering getting into a serious relationship, considering putting down the beer and the joint and picking up a tie. Nobody wants to get trashed and spend all night watching Chappelle’s show on DVD and playing Xbox. They’ve got things to do. Hell, I’ve got things to do.

I remember when I was a kid and my birthday would come around. I remember wishing I had enough money to buy all the video games and game systems they had out there. Now I’ve got enough money to buy whatever system and games I want, and even own a Wii and Xbox360 with quite a few sick titles. The irony though, is I never seem to have the time to play them. I’m lucky if I sneak in a solid 30 minutes of Xbox a day, and there’s an increasingly short list of people who have interest in joining me for that sort of thing. What I don’t remember is when I became such a workaholic that I stopped having the time to enjoy the things I was working so hard to make the money for.

That’s not to say I’m writing a blog entry advising people not to work their asses off. Especially with our current economic meltdown having a healthy work ethic is more important than ever. Just make sure you don’t lose yourself in the work, and remember why you’re doing it. Don’t wake up 40 one day with a healthy bank account and minimal memories of the past 20 years.

All age induced nostalgia aside though, I recently returned from my trip to the APPT in New Zealand. I didn’t bother blogging either of the events I played because little particularly interesting happened in either as far as results go. I busted about five hours into the main after being card dead all day then getting it in with 15 outs twice and blanking out. The high rollers was a deeper stacked tournament with more play but we only got 17 guys at about $5500 USD an entry, and I busted 7th after getting it in with a big draw against a set and not getting there. There were a few interesting hands from the high rollers which I’ll likely write about when I’m in a more strategy inclined mood.

The Pokernews Cup is currently going on in Melbourne, with the 6 max event being today. I lasted four hands. I raised QdTd UTG to 150 with a 5000 start bank. The button (who was about 70 years old) flat called, and Tony Hachem called in the BB. The flop came Qc 5d 3d and Tony checked. I bet 300 and the old guy made it 800. Tony flat called and I decided not to shove because the old guys range is roughly AQ, over pairs, and sets, and only one of those hands might fold if I cram. I call and the turn brings Kd. Tony checks and I make the ‘live gay bet’ and lead 1200 into the old guy. He tank folds and Hachem moves in. I snap call, he shows me Ad4d and I remark to the table that “This was easily worth taking the day off the internet for” as the river peels off and Hachem and I share a laugh at my futility together.

The day before I had a casual birthday get together, which was about a dozen poker players meeting me at the Belgian Beer Café in the afternoon where I got pretty fucked up. After going to dinner we stumbled into the Crown poker room and registered for the $550 bounty event. Despite being wasted and people continually buying me drinks I held up pretty well at the table and actually played fairly nity. As drunk as I clearly was, the table still refused to give me action unless they thought they had the nuts, a testament to the complete incapability of live players to make adjustments (sure I wasn’t playing all that loose and crazy, but If I saw anyone at the table who was as wasted as I was I’d imagine their ranges to be massive.)

After busting getting it in with A9 vs 99 for 13 BB’s I got to enjoy the romantic advances of Mark Vos on the new Pokernews interview girl, Gloria. The drunken Vos stared at her and blurted “Would you like to have sex with me?”
“Oh….no…….no Mark” she replied coolly. Points for honesty though, and there’s still few people on this planet I’d rather get wasted with than Mark Vos.

After the Cup is over I’ll be returning to a heavy dose of online poker while I watch the world crumble around me. At one point last week the AUD fell to about 65 cents on the dollar, and considering I had almost my entire bankroll online I suddenly found myself making a six figure gain in net worth not doing a fucking thing. People around the world pull their hair out as they slip further and further into debt while my peers and I get richer by the moment. It’s a very strange feeling, but it makes me appreciate what I have.

While gambling has historically been close to recession proof, I think that poker isn’t quite the same as classical gambling makes it a bit more vulnerable. I’m not a gloom and doom kind of guy and I doubt the online poker economy will see a major change in traffic or easy money. That said you can never be so sure, so I imagine I’ll spend the next couple of months grinding 10 hour days trying to pack as much equity into my day as possible, wondering when I’ll ever play Xbox again.

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