By popular demand, here's the story of the best hand I've been dealt up to date.
I'm on the dealer button, and I look down at KsKc - pocket Kings. Seven... Yes, seven players limp in to me. I raise and make it two bets. All seven call. The flop comes AcKd10s, I flop a set but there's also a straight draw on the board. Someone forgot I raised preflop and bet again instead of checking to the raiser - more money for me. I raise again when the bets come to me. Everyone calls except one guy who folds. The turn card... the K of hearts! That's the case king in the deck. I have quad Kings, and with no straight flush draw on the board or paired aces, I know I have the nuts.
I try to contain myself. I look at the Laker game playing on TV to calm myself down; to keep myself from jumping out of my seat yelling, "QUADS MOFOS". They all check to me. I bet, they all call. River card is a blank. They all check, I bet, they call. I flip over my two Kings and say "Quads." I rake in about $100 in chips. The dealer shouts "High hand!" Minutes later, the floor man comes and has me sign something and hands me the bonus for the high hand: $300. Boo yah, baby.
12.29.2005
12.28.2005
Net $350 in Vegas
"I can't lose what I don't put in the middle." - Rounders
Most profitable Vegas trip to date. won $110 the first day, lost $70 the second day, won $400 the third day, and lost $90 the last day. I ended up netting $350... wish I stayed away from blackjack though... got crushed for $75 within 5 minutes. Poker all the way next time. (I always say that).
Most profitable Vegas trip to date. won $110 the first day, lost $70 the second day, won $400 the third day, and lost $90 the last day. I ended up netting $350... wish I stayed away from blackjack though... got crushed for $75 within 5 minutes. Poker all the way next time. (I always say that).
12.21.2005
Harold V. Melchert
"Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point. Climb slowly, steadily, enjoying each passing moment; and the view from the summit will serve as a fitting climax for the journey." --- Harold V. Melchert.
12.12.2005
Hermit for 71 days
"I love pressure. I eat it for breakfast." - Nicholas Cage, The Rock
"But I'm a champion so I turn tragedy to triumph." - Kanye West, Through the Wire
I was in San Fransisco for the weekend for my weekly bar review with BARBRI Essay Advantage. 9 hours of review... only 1 hour break for lunch and 2 15-minute breaks. In some respects, that review was harder than one of the bar exam days in terms of length of time. It's a strange feeling, walking into a building at 8:45 am and walking out at 6:00 pm and seeing how dark it is outside. It's as if time has lost meaning.
Anyway, the good thing is, my determination for the bar has been tripled. I'm not going to go through crap like that every week just to take the bar a third time. So, see you all in 3 months! I'm going to turn off AIM except at night and study 8-10 hours a day including weekends. Here's my schedule:
6:45 Wake up
7:00 Shower
7:30 Leave for office
8:00 Essay
9:00 Study model answer and review outlines
12:00 Lunch
1:00 25 MBEs
2:15 Review MBEs and review outlines
6:00 Go home and rest
If I brush you off, or you don't hear from me until 70 days from now, then I hope you understand! I have the rest of my life to chill and relax, but only 2 months to master the law.
Wish me luck.
"But I'm a champion so I turn tragedy to triumph." - Kanye West, Through the Wire
I was in San Fransisco for the weekend for my weekly bar review with BARBRI Essay Advantage. 9 hours of review... only 1 hour break for lunch and 2 15-minute breaks. In some respects, that review was harder than one of the bar exam days in terms of length of time. It's a strange feeling, walking into a building at 8:45 am and walking out at 6:00 pm and seeing how dark it is outside. It's as if time has lost meaning.
Anyway, the good thing is, my determination for the bar has been tripled. I'm not going to go through crap like that every week just to take the bar a third time. So, see you all in 3 months! I'm going to turn off AIM except at night and study 8-10 hours a day including weekends. Here's my schedule:
6:45 Wake up
7:00 Shower
7:30 Leave for office
8:00 Essay
9:00 Study model answer and review outlines
12:00 Lunch
1:00 25 MBEs
2:15 Review MBEs and review outlines
6:00 Go home and rest
If I brush you off, or you don't hear from me until 70 days from now, then I hope you understand! I have the rest of my life to chill and relax, but only 2 months to master the law.
Wish me luck.
12.06.2005
UCLA pride leads to success
Ever notice that any person who is going to UCLA or graduated from UCLA has an enormous amount of pride? That's because from the moment we step onto campus, they brainwash us to hate USC and to love UCLA with all our hearts. As soon as I see a UCLA sweatshirt, I think "Go Bruins!" and remember all the good times I had there.
Anyway, recently this turned out to be a good thing and it actually increased my chances on passing the Bar in February. My brother, a pediatrician, usually doesn't admit parents whose children just have a cold. However, this lady named Cari was wearing a UCLA sweatshirt and my brother, being brainwashed, admitted her. Anyway, turns out she was a UCLA Law School grad and a BARBRI representative (a bar review program rep) and she offered to give me free advice for the bar exam, a free analysis on my past exam, and a direct line where I can ask her general questions! I talked to her today and she told me my multiple-choice skills were strong, meaning that I have the black-letter law pretty down. But I'm weak when it comes to the essay sections. She gave me advice on what to do over the next 3 months to work on my essay skills.
That's just amazing. That's a huge advantage I have for the February exam. God answered my prayers, but just in a different way than I expected. I expected to pass the bar in July. When I didn't, I was depressed for a few days until I accepted it and knew that there was a reason for all this. I was so sure I passed the first time, that I almost made business cards with "Jason Redula, esq." on it (haha!). I couldn't believe that I had it in me to just move on and accept failure - because I really haven't felt this kind of failure before. I'm more humble and stronger than before and that's the truth.
Anyway, recently this turned out to be a good thing and it actually increased my chances on passing the Bar in February. My brother, a pediatrician, usually doesn't admit parents whose children just have a cold. However, this lady named Cari was wearing a UCLA sweatshirt and my brother, being brainwashed, admitted her. Anyway, turns out she was a UCLA Law School grad and a BARBRI representative (a bar review program rep) and she offered to give me free advice for the bar exam, a free analysis on my past exam, and a direct line where I can ask her general questions! I talked to her today and she told me my multiple-choice skills were strong, meaning that I have the black-letter law pretty down. But I'm weak when it comes to the essay sections. She gave me advice on what to do over the next 3 months to work on my essay skills.
That's just amazing. That's a huge advantage I have for the February exam. God answered my prayers, but just in a different way than I expected. I expected to pass the bar in July. When I didn't, I was depressed for a few days until I accepted it and knew that there was a reason for all this. I was so sure I passed the first time, that I almost made business cards with "Jason Redula, esq." on it (haha!). I couldn't believe that I had it in me to just move on and accept failure - because I really haven't felt this kind of failure before. I'm more humble and stronger than before and that's the truth.
11.28.2005
The most annoying bad beat I've ever had
I'm playing $3-6 kill at El Dorado. During a kill pot (in which the stakes are $6-12), I raise in a late position with 8c8s. I get two callers, one of which is an IDIOT holding 7s2d. The board comes Jd, 5s, 3d. I get checked to, and I bet out $6. Both call me! The guy with 7s2d has a 7 high! Anyway, the next card is an 8d, giving me a set of 8's. I get checked to, I bet out again, this time $12. One folds, the other calls and chuckles with his 2 of diamonds flush draw. The river comes and he hits his last diamond! He caught a running flush against my set! With 7-2 of all things! He laughs out loud and says "Look at the card I'm going to beat you with." and shows his 2 of diamonds. That was sooo annoying. Not only did he win with the worst hand in poker, but he actually had the audacity to laugh at me. In the end, he went broke and lost $300 really quickly... like within 30 minutes. Sadly though, $80 of that was mine.
11.22.2005
From Lederer to Duke
I've been playing a lot of no-limit lately... online tournaments, home games, and my actual home home game with my parents and I've done pretty well for myself. I think I've stepped up my game a little more today after watching Annie Duke's "How to Beat the Big Boys" dvd tutorial. If you know basic pot odds, basic positional advantages and general aggressive-tight play, then this dvd is supposed to take your no-limit game to the next level. I'm going to try out what I've learned at the $100 buy-in at the Peppermill in Reno.
It has cool little tidbits and techniques that an average player wouldn't think about. She uses FBI profiling techniques to get a read on your opponent. For instance, it's generally known that a fish will act strong when he's weak and acts weak when he's strong. This is known as "hollywood" bluffing. But there are subtleties that may give more clues. Like rapidly blinking, or grasping the back of the neck both indicate a bluff.
She also gives additional betting techniques like consistent check-raising and the "bluff-call", both of which I'm going to try tonight on my dad.
Anyway, to the non-poker player, I'm super babbling. But if you're into poker, watch the DVD and call me up so we can talk about it.
It has cool little tidbits and techniques that an average player wouldn't think about. She uses FBI profiling techniques to get a read on your opponent. For instance, it's generally known that a fish will act strong when he's weak and acts weak when he's strong. This is known as "hollywood" bluffing. But there are subtleties that may give more clues. Like rapidly blinking, or grasping the back of the neck both indicate a bluff.
She also gives additional betting techniques like consistent check-raising and the "bluff-call", both of which I'm going to try tonight on my dad.
Anyway, to the non-poker player, I'm super babbling. But if you're into poker, watch the DVD and call me up so we can talk about it.
11.21.2005
Attorney, minus 3.7%
"Why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up." - Batman Begins
My total scaled score on the California bar exam was 1366.38; passing scores must be above 1440. In terms of percentages, this means that I got a 68.3% when I needed 72%!
3.7% stood between me and my license to practice in California! 3.7% close to conquering the most difficult bar exam in the nation. If I had gotten 6 more multiple choice questions and 10 more points on an essay I would be an attorney right now!
But I'm not as depressed as I thought I would be. For sure, when I found out on Friday, I was a mess. But today, I am renewed with hope. Frustrating as the score may be, it is also encouraging to know that I am capable of passing. I know a lot of you had little doubt that I would pass, but I was seriously doubting my own intellect.
I also know there's a reason for all this. I know retaking the bar will make me stronger, more humble and in the end, I'll know the law better than I would have had I passed the first time around. I was very tempted to hide the fact that I didn't pass to everyone (although that would be really hard to do), and I was tempted to make up excuses as to why I didn't pass. But I realize that is counter-productive. I realize that I have to get over myself, just pick myself up, study hard, and kick some serious a*s.
My total scaled score on the California bar exam was 1366.38; passing scores must be above 1440. In terms of percentages, this means that I got a 68.3% when I needed 72%!
3.7% stood between me and my license to practice in California! 3.7% close to conquering the most difficult bar exam in the nation. If I had gotten 6 more multiple choice questions and 10 more points on an essay I would be an attorney right now!
But I'm not as depressed as I thought I would be. For sure, when I found out on Friday, I was a mess. But today, I am renewed with hope. Frustrating as the score may be, it is also encouraging to know that I am capable of passing. I know a lot of you had little doubt that I would pass, but I was seriously doubting my own intellect.
I also know there's a reason for all this. I know retaking the bar will make me stronger, more humble and in the end, I'll know the law better than I would have had I passed the first time around. I was very tempted to hide the fact that I didn't pass to everyone (although that would be really hard to do), and I was tempted to make up excuses as to why I didn't pass. But I realize that is counter-productive. I realize that I have to get over myself, just pick myself up, study hard, and kick some serious a*s.
11.03.2005
Law Office website
Our law office has a new website if you want to check it out here. Joe Kwon designed it, I helped with the content, and my dad paid for it teehee.
So if you know anyone in need of an applicant attorney in workers comp and is in the Salinas/Monterey area, check out the website or give me a call.
So if you know anyone in need of an applicant attorney in workers comp and is in the Salinas/Monterey area, check out the website or give me a call.
11.01.2005
10.28.2005
I <3 Smallville
Anyone else loving Smallville lately as much as I am?It seems around the middle of the 4th season, the writing has just improved by leaps and bounds. After the whole "Lana is a witch that fights Kung-fu" episodes (which I kinda hated), the storyline just took off like crazy. Filler episodes became less frequent; less eps where some random powered nobody that Clark has to outsmart. And all of a sudden the main characters are becoming more of a main focus.
I loved how the theme of season 4 became identity. Lionel and Clark switch bodies, Lex splits into two people, Chloe gets taken over by a spirit, Clark gets amnesia. All of course are cliches, but it revealed a great deal about their characters. When Clark got amnesia, he still acted with morality. But hands-down, the best ep of the season was Onyx when Lex's evil half is separated. The evil half learns of Clark's powers and his weakness. Evil Lex offers Clark a chance to join together to rule the world. When Clark refuses, Evil Lex says something like "you will join me, or everyone you love will suffer!" and socks him with a kryptonite ring! I was like whoa whoa whoa dude. I even replayed it on my dvd player seconds later cuz it was such a dope scene.
Last night's ep was alright. Filler vampire halloween episode. The best part was when Clark talked about how he hated costumes. He said he loved the cape but hated the mask. Friggin awesome. Other than that... eh. Okay episode. But I love how Spike from Buffy is playing Brainiac. That's a great pick. I will never miss another episode again for that reason alone.
10.27.2005
Clocky
Man this thing is ugly. But it might be one of the best things for me to buy when it comes out on the market.
Anyone else have trouble getting out of bed in the morning? Are you like me and hit the snooze button several times until you have like 10 minutes to get ready and drive to work? I know myself so well, that I even set my alarm 1 hour ahead just to allow myself to snooze.
Apparently, the best thing to do is to not hit the snooze button and just get up and be active. Hitting the snooze button does not effectively stimulate the "wake up neuron" and all it does is reinforce the same pattern of sleeping in and then finally rushing in the morning to get to work/school.
A student from MIT invented this clock named "Clocky". What it does is when the alarm goes off, it rolls off and runs around and then tries to hide. This gets you active in the morning trying to chase it, effectively stimulating your wake up neuron.
For now, I'll just concentrate on getting right out of bed when the alarm hits. I think I'll also wait for a better looking version of Clocky to come out. Full article on Clocky here.
10.26.2005
10.25.2005
No limit... to the potential losses
Ugh... what can I do? I get all my money in the middle with AA and get beat by an 88 hitting its straight on the turn. The problem with no-limit hold'em is that at any given moment, even if you play perfect poker, there is potential to go broke.
Therefore, I vow to this day to stay away from No Limit cash games. Limit hold'em and tournament structures are fine, but man... my bankroll cannot handle the swings of no limit. I won about $1000 or so last month, maybe more. In no-limit I dropped around $700 within a week. It's crazy! I was watching some pros play a cash game last night, and they were throwing around thousand dollar pots like it was nothing. I mean, they buy in for like 10 grand and just play with it. Sometimes they play multiple tables at one time online, buying in for $10k each! That's insane.
I read somewhere that a poker professional can spend around $500,000 in tournament entries alone a year. And that on average, a professional has a bad track record when it comes to no limit cash games. How do people afford that kind of action?
Whew. Anyway, I intend to reread Super System 2, Sklanksy's Hold'em for Advanced players, and continue taking classes at that poker school online. I think it's the best way to deal with the slump; just bone up on the knowledge and stay away from the tables while on tilt.
Therefore, I vow to this day to stay away from No Limit cash games. Limit hold'em and tournament structures are fine, but man... my bankroll cannot handle the swings of no limit. I won about $1000 or so last month, maybe more. In no-limit I dropped around $700 within a week. It's crazy! I was watching some pros play a cash game last night, and they were throwing around thousand dollar pots like it was nothing. I mean, they buy in for like 10 grand and just play with it. Sometimes they play multiple tables at one time online, buying in for $10k each! That's insane.
I read somewhere that a poker professional can spend around $500,000 in tournament entries alone a year. And that on average, a professional has a bad track record when it comes to no limit cash games. How do people afford that kind of action?
Whew. Anyway, I intend to reread Super System 2, Sklanksy's Hold'em for Advanced players, and continue taking classes at that poker school online. I think it's the best way to deal with the slump; just bone up on the knowledge and stay away from the tables while on tilt.
10.24.2005
Movies-to-buy-soon-list
Quick list to myself on what movies I intend to buy within the next couple weeks:
1. Batman Begins
2. Sin City (on PSP)
3. Star Wars ep III
4. Rounders special edition
5. Crash
6. Unbreakable
7. Signs
Also: Arrested Development season 2
1. Batman Begins
2. Sin City (on PSP)
3. Star Wars ep III
4. Rounders special edition
5. Crash
6. Unbreakable
7. Signs
Also: Arrested Development season 2
10.20.2005
From Hellmuth to Lederer
I've decided to leave ultimatebet.com and move to fulltiltpoker.com.
I initially joined UB because Phil Hellmuth's "Play Poker Like the Pros" book pushed the website so much and at the time, Phil was my favorite player despite his table antics. But now that I've seen him play in several big tournaments, he no longer is my favorite player. I'd say Howard Lederer, the "Professor" of poker and Phil Ivey are my top 2 favorites now. Although Phil Gordon and Doyle Brunson are tops picks too. It just so happens that Lederer, Gordon and Ivey are all Full Tilt .com supporters.
One of my biggest complaints about UB is that, although you get big sign-up bonuses and referral bonuses, you do not get the money right away. You have to earn "UB points" to get the bonuses. This is pretty standard for poker sites; however, they limit the UB points to ring games only! Meaning, if I play in sit-and-gos most of the time, I don't see a dime of the bonus points.
Full Tilt is different. They award points for every real money game you play. This is great for me because I grow tired of $3-6 tables, and I hate seeing only $5 a day of the $100 "bonus" that I was supposed to get on UB.
Anyway! Moving on! Not that any of my readers really care about online poker... not that I know of anyway (BECAUSE NONE OF YOU LEAVE COMMENTS)... but to Howard Lederer I go! If there was any one player that I could totally emulate my game after, it'd be him. He's very sportsmanly, calculating and selectively aggressive. If there's any opponent I would avoid though, it'd be Phil Ivey. Okay, now I'm babbling. Better cut out.
10.17.2005
25 hours of poker; $20 profit
Just got back from Reno last night; I played sooo much poker and I only made a profit of about $.80 an hour. Most poker pros will tell you that good players should average 1 big bet an hour profit at the tables, meaning that if you play $3-6, you should be making $6 an hour (in the long run). I didn't meet that quota this weekend.
I blame El Dorado - I mean, look at their blind structure! It's a $3-6 table, but the blinds are $1 and $2?? To raise it up, you make it $5 to go?? That makes no sense, and no casino ever has a structure like that. Oh, and I guess I played horribly too over at El Dorado, but that's not the point.
So I won about $250 over at Peppermill, but dropped about $230 over at El Dorado. Let me tell you that the sharks in Reno have moved to El Dorado. So if you're looking to make some money, I suggest you stick to $3-6 over at Peppermill. I actually am becoming quite fond of $4-8 kill. Seems the players are more predictable and they tend to respect your bets more.
The hand of the weekend went as follows. I'm dealt KK under the gun at $4-8. I raise it up and make it two bets to go. The guy directly to my left calls, someone else calls and the rest of the table folds. The board comes down A36. Now when you're holding pocket Kings, any ace on the board is supa scary. But I bet out hoping that someone doesn't raise. The guy to my left raises. The other guy folds. Now I'm at a decision: should I fold and save myself about $30 or is this guy bluffing me? I tell the table "time" meaning I get time out to consider my decision. I close my eyes and the guy to my left waits impatiently. I've never seen this guy play, so I'm not sure if he's a bluffer or if he's tight aggressive. Somehow I knew he was just raising and bluffing his position. So I call. I check-call it down and he only has 77. I sweep in about $70 worth of chips while he complains like crazy. "This guy calls me down, even though he knows he's beat!" Which is completely untrue - I didn't know i was beat; in fact I had a feeling that this guy was full of crizzap. I just smiled at that guy and said "nice hand." But in my head, I'm like "what a call, Jay! Nice try, ya jerk."
I blame El Dorado - I mean, look at their blind structure! It's a $3-6 table, but the blinds are $1 and $2?? To raise it up, you make it $5 to go?? That makes no sense, and no casino ever has a structure like that. Oh, and I guess I played horribly too over at El Dorado, but that's not the point.
So I won about $250 over at Peppermill, but dropped about $230 over at El Dorado. Let me tell you that the sharks in Reno have moved to El Dorado. So if you're looking to make some money, I suggest you stick to $3-6 over at Peppermill. I actually am becoming quite fond of $4-8 kill. Seems the players are more predictable and they tend to respect your bets more.
The hand of the weekend went as follows. I'm dealt KK under the gun at $4-8. I raise it up and make it two bets to go. The guy directly to my left calls, someone else calls and the rest of the table folds. The board comes down A36. Now when you're holding pocket Kings, any ace on the board is supa scary. But I bet out hoping that someone doesn't raise. The guy to my left raises. The other guy folds. Now I'm at a decision: should I fold and save myself about $30 or is this guy bluffing me? I tell the table "time" meaning I get time out to consider my decision. I close my eyes and the guy to my left waits impatiently. I've never seen this guy play, so I'm not sure if he's a bluffer or if he's tight aggressive. Somehow I knew he was just raising and bluffing his position. So I call. I check-call it down and he only has 77. I sweep in about $70 worth of chips while he complains like crazy. "This guy calls me down, even though he knows he's beat!" Which is completely untrue - I didn't know i was beat; in fact I had a feeling that this guy was full of crizzap. I just smiled at that guy and said "nice hand." But in my head, I'm like "what a call, Jay! Nice try, ya jerk."
10.12.2005
Music owns you
"It's just something, like, when you get in there and the music, like, owns you. It's like that house music. It's like bomp, bomp, bomp,bompbompbomp, boom boom boom boom! You know, you start dancin'... " - Matt Damon, Good Will Hunting
From www.stuffonmycat.com
From www.stuffonmycat.com
10.11.2005
First the Third
Dang, I was considering naming my Blog: Third 2nd, b/c Joe Kwon already named his Third as a sweet reference to Ender's Game... but I decided against it. Jaydizzle's what I been using for video games and whatnot, so decided on that instead. It's what Turk called JD a few times on Scrubs and it's a quiet pat-on-the-back for getting my Juris Doctorate recently in San Diego.
Welcome to my new blog.
Welcome to my new blog.
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