Live From The Bahamas
January 8th, 2013
Just got done publishing the back log of stuff I had written. I have another Cardplayer article that is supposed to be out soon, well, for the public. I’ve requested a subscription to see the article, but haven’t heard back. If you are a real die hard for strategy discussion you can check out this piece.
I busted the 10k Main Event yesterday in pretty boring fashion. Oddly, it wasn’t very deflating.
Everybody plays so similar now, which is delightful.
There is more than one right way to play. I’ve done a lot of work away from the table. I know my edge has grown considerably.
In PCA I just ran into it again, and again, and again. I semi bluffed hard in situations I found appropriate, only to find my opponent turned the one two pair combination I thought was possible.
I felt really calm the whole time. I really thought through most hands. The night before in a satellite I did a correct bet/call but I felt dumb about it because I didn’t look at my opponent’s stack before I bet.
I’ve never felt that on my game. I’ve never been at the point where I knew every play was sound. I’ve never been able to work out every hand away from the table.
I used to get so bored at the poker table. In PCA, it was extremely enjoyable watching every handle, and taking notes on my fiancé’s phone. The only frustration centered around not being able to use all the reads I had developed.
I felt really good about my attitude toward the other players and my play. I had a great time in general.
What has really helped me quite a bit is getting engaged with Naty. She is so supportive. When I bust she’s more frustrated than I am. She’s allowed to be more emotional as a spectator, so it’s my job to not throw gas into the fire and complain. I need to smile and tell her, “oh by the way, we’re healthy, young, in the Bahamas, and we have jobs that allow us to be here!”
I used to think positive people were full of it. Changing my thinking patterns has been so difficult this last year. My mind is so trained to negativity. It’s exhausting, espousing the good in every situation. Finally, it is beginning to feel more natural.
I am taking today off, the 8th. I really wanted to go see Harbour Island today, but it’s a 3 hour ferry ride, and mighty expensive.
Harbour island has pink sand, which I’ve not really seen before in my life. If the Ferry was $80 or something I’d be down, but having to rent a second hotel the boat takes so long and fork over $400 seems silly. BUT I AM SO CLOSE RIGHT NOW, ARGH. 
It just seems like absolute spew to rent two hotel rooms for a night and fork over that much. There’s a beautiful beach and waterpark right outside and its free to go to.
It just seems like absolute spew to rent two hotel rooms for a night and fork over that much. There’s a beautiful beach and waterpark right outside and its free to go to.
I also want to play a little more live poker. It’s one discipline in my profession I haven’t gotten much practice in as of late.
My computer is acting too much like a shield for me. When I do lessons I don’t see the other person. It’s similar to how psychiatrists make you face away from them. If you can’t see who you’re talking to it’s much easier to open up. When I play online, I pace and mutter to myself during deep runs. In cash I’m talking through hands all the time.
I was very secure with my play yesterday but I felt a little more out of sorts than normal. I felt less comfortable being around people in general. I think in the New Year I need to make an effort to play some more live tournaments.
I’m going to try again tomorrow by entering the $1,100 Win-The-Button tournament. I’ve always wanted to play a tournament in that format, especially live. They’ve had it for a couple years here at PCA, but in past years I wasn’t able to play it.
It reminds me of Make-It-Take-It pickup basketball. Trying to wrestle control away from someone becomes so hard.
Any time you give me the button it’s a problem for you. To get it more than my fair share of the time seems insanely fun. I’ve also done a lot of work on my out of position play, so I’m prepared to wrestle control back as well.
Playing more should help me calm down in a live setting. It worries me a little how much of a hermit I can be. I talk to no less than five people on business calls every day, but that is similar to a video game for me. Like one of those Japanese dating games I am saying the correct response to the question posed to me. It’s not very personal.
When I talk to people eye-to-eye now I feel really squeamish. That worries me because I don’t want them to think I don’t want to talk to them. It’s just an adjustment. I think I need to pick up a sport to get back to actually interacting with other people. Let’s see if the Costa Rican American Football league will actually take my call closer to the season.
I guess that’s just who I am. I started getting into drugs and alcohol because I was terrified to talk to people normally. Belligerent, sadly, many people came to me. Deep down I was lonely and ready to be used. My abhorrent behavior attracted exactly what I deserved.
I have been seeing a lot of The Bahamas aside from the tournament room. Naty and I have been walking over the bridge connecting Paradise Island to mainland Nassau. It’s a different world over there. A whole fish, with rice and beans, plantains, and coleslaw is $15. In Paradise Island I went to go buy underwear and was shown the “cheap” pairs – priced at $54.
Naty and I didn’t time one of our trips right. We walked through a project block at night. Nobody was around, but it was creepy. There were a lot of broken down tropical-colored homes, silhouetted by the cruise ships and Atlantis resort.
We went into a gas station to pick up an Arizona iced tea. The cashier had about six inches of bulletproof glass around her. Good times.
I’d always wanted to go to a church in the south, but I figured the Bahamas would be a good place to experience that. Naty and I went to Zion Baptist Church, one of the more famous churches in Nassau.
I was not disappointed. There was plenty of “Laaaawd give you strength!” bellows from the preacher. An old black man from the states scorned me for not being in the right part of the program. Women were going “mmmmmhmmmmm” and “that’s right!” and “amen” after everything was spoken.
One woman, I’m not making this up, came up and said she had a testimony. She spoke of the strength being with these people had given her, and she began to sing in a voice right out of Dreamgirls. The church band looked dead-on confused for a few seconds, then haphazardly hopped into backing her. Thirty seconds in it was like they planned it. I realize they could have, but it was one of those moments that was so supremely well done that it should be real.
They had a man come up there who could barely talk. He was beaten nearly to death in a carjacking, and was in a coma. There was no supernatural healing. There was just people hugging it out, and a genuine message of strength from the congregation.
Another young woman came up and announced she had a cancer. People were mortified. She had attended the church for a long time. Her voice was so assured as she spoke of how she would overcome her trial. It gave me chills.
We left early, mostly because we’re selfish cretins, but also because it was a four hour service and I had to make a satellite that night. Still wished I’d stayed.
We ate at Twin Brothers afterwards, underneath the bridge to Paradise Island. You need to try it if you ever come here. Conch is the national dish, but the whole fish is the best plate in my experience.
I did have some conch that day. It’s quite rubbery. I liked it. Naty didn’t like the smell on my breath afterward.
We visited downtown another day, and got some cooler clothes. They really have good taste in The Bahamas. The people are very nice too, except here it’s acceptable to say “okay” after someone tells you something or says thank you. In my form of English, saying “okay” means “I do not know what else to say.” I keep worrying I offended people here, but then I remember oh yeah, that’s Bahamian English.
I don’t understand so many people here. At first I kept assuming those were immigrants who spoke Creole, but then I realized – they are speaking English with each other!
You can see Florida still as the flight begins it’s descent into Nassau. It’s crazy how our languages can be so separated.
I’ve taken many pictures, but like a moron I forgot the cables that connect to the computer. I’ll publish my favorite pics when I get back.
Going to go check out the beach again today. Yesterday, Naty and I woke up early to go to the beach, run along it, and swim in the blue waters. The temperature of the water is therapeutic. You open your eyes inside it and you can see everything. Somehow, despite someone every five feet offering you a jet ski ride, the water is still so clean.
Conch: Delicacy of The Bahamas
Naty and I are so blessed to experience that in this age.
My Plugs: Check out my vids at Pocketfives Training, contact me for lessons at assassinatocoaching@gmail.com, see other stuff I write with my friends at www.pokerheadrush.com, and follow my Twitter @TheAssassinato and Facebook at www.Facebook.com/Assassinato
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