Another day, another entry, and still no editing to this. I've been really lazy with writing things up and having a friend edit them for me. I did have a interesting one that was edited, but I lost it in my email somewhere. Maybe next time. I did have a discussion with my friend Jay who said that my blog makes me sound like a mad man and that I lack any sort of poker content for being a "poker blog". This is quite true, although i don't think I sound like a mad man, maybe just ramble a lot. And honestly, rambling is probably what I do best.

I guess I'll start this off by saying the last week or so has been interesting. I managed to get a lot done and I've been continuing working on accomplishing some goals. I did attend a meeting for professional etiquette training. It was interesting to say the least and I learned a few things along the way. Along with that, I managed to go skiing twice, with the last time resulting in me hurting my wrist. I guess I'll deal though. Also, I managed to catch up with some friends on a quadrooooople date to go to the movies and dinner. It's always nice catching up with your real close group of friends whom you don't get to see that often. There have been various other things that I can't think of right this moment, but I've been productive and excelling.

Since I've cut alcohol out of my daily routine, things have sort of fallen into place. I've felt refreshed and am able to put things into a clearer perspective. I've cut out a few people whom I used to talk to/hang out with that I felt only caused drama/stress. It's good eliminating that from a lifestyle and it really allows you to stay focused and motivated. I finalyl don't feel like I'm wasting away days and wasting away nights just drinking, waking up feeling like shit, and only having a few funny stories to tell that last maybe a day at best. End rant.

Since this blog has no rhythm to it, I'll explain the title of this. "Outliers". This is actually the title of Malcolm Gladwell's newest book. "The Story of success" as it's also known as. If your not familiar with Malcolm, he's written "Blink" and "The Tipping Point". He brings a very well thought out, studied approach to his material and it's always great for opening your eyes. This book was no exception. It recaps a lot of skills that it takes to be succsesful and how studies back those up. It's nothing ground breaking , but it's unique and worth a read if you enjoy learning and opening your eyes to new perspectives.

From there, I guess I'll move onto something else I wanted to cover. All this week, I'm participating in "The Water Project". Basically , all week, I'm drinking nothing but water. Any money that I would have spent on anything else, I am donating to this project (www.thewaterproject.com).

- $10 = 1 person's access to water
- $50 = 1 families water needs
- $500 = repair a well
-$3,500 = dig a new well

If you put that into perspective, it's so little that we can do that will go a long way for people. I'm not sure how much I drink or would spend on drinks since I mostly drink water as is, but I'm assuming I'll try to make it $50, and will eventually just donate the $500 regardless to help repair a well. It's pretty neat stuff and I encourage anyone who can to help out. Even $10 goes a long way. Donate those 3 mixed drinks at the bar and help someone who needs it.

Lastly, I guess I'll talk about poker. People get on me because while they enjoy my blog, they'd like to see some hands or discussion. Frankly, I have a small group whom I even discuss poker with, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to share some thoughts. I'll start off by saying that I haven't played a single hand of poker yet in 2009. This may be hard to believe, but it's true. Instead, I've spent this time studying the game of PLO (Pot Limit Omaha). I've put every ounce of energy that I have into learning this game and I know I'll reap the rewards eventually. It's a new game , and only few has really mastered it (if anyone). While most have went out on the weekends and at nights, I've been staying in and working on learning this (nerdy, I know). I will be start playing very soon, and maybe I'll give some updates along the way. However, I have no doubt that I'll be very successful with all the hard work and energy I've put into learning it. It's funny, because I actually am working harder at it then I did with No Limit Holdem when I started it, and I worked hard back then. I will even go as far as saying that I'm more comfortable in my PLO game than No Limit Holdem game, which is very surprising.

With that said, I guess I'll make some revelevant paragraph related to poker strategy/content. While I was home this weekend, I was talking wtih my mom and she was asking me how things were going learning this game. She's very supportive and she understands the variance and swings involved, and is basically just ultra cool mom in that sense. We got to talking when she surprised me with her knowledge. She said "well, if you have 4 cards to start, you can pretend you have hands that opponents might act like they have". I was pretty shocked, but that is the concept of "blockers" in PLO. Many people don't fully understand this concept though and may apply blockers in the wrong situations. Here is an example:

Hand 1: You have a hand like AJJ5 and defend from the big blind vs a cut off open.
Flop comes down AQ6 raindbow and you check call a bet from the CO.

Turn comes comes Th putting 2 hearts out. You check raise.

The problem with this hand is that your c/r as a bluff here because you have 2 jacks (making it unlikely that he has KJ for the straight), however there are so many other hands in his range that he can call or shove over you with. I think bluffing in this spot may be misapplied and a mistake by most. Regardless of if you have the straight or not, they have enough equity to call you going to the river , ultimately making the play +EV .


Hand 2: You hold JJ77 and open raise in the cutoff. Everyone folds to the big blind who is tight and 3 bets you. You call.

Flop comes 862 rainbow. Let's assume were both deep here and is reason we made the preflop call. On the flop, the big blind quickly checks and we elect to check behind.

Turn brings a 5 and the big blind elects to check as well. Here, we can and need to bet. We don't have a hand, but this is the perfect spot to represent a hand, knowing we have 2 7s in our hand. It's very unlikely that he's going to have any hand even remoetely strong enough to call to see a river. If he does make the call, we can bluff most rivers profitalbly as were representing the straight and it's ultra unlikely he has it, meaning he will have a very hard time calling most rivers.

So in a nutshell, I hope this makes sense and pleases those who wanted some poker content. Lastly, the most misunderstood concept is barrelling blockers. Most poeple like to barrel (bluff) here and there to win small pots, however the point of barrell bluffing with blockers is to build a big pot to take it away on future streets, increasing the amount of mistakes your opponents are making, which in turn means bigger and more $$$ for you.

Basically, if you don't feel like reading that, just know Mamma Robinson is right when she says "you can pretend you have hands that your opponent is acting like he has", mainly because we hold the cards he needs in our hand. Thanks Mom.


Yours Truly,
TrevRob