tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34737541810941926692024-03-08T16:53:16.432+08:00Phil's BlogPoker, Technology, etc.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-60061369831657043852013-04-29T00:23:00.000+08:002013-04-29T00:23:22.760+08:00One of the More Fun Macau Trips"This has been one of the more fun Macau trips." -- Manish Sansi<br />
<br />
I fully agree. This Macau trip is somewhat unlike the other ones, in which it was actually enjoyable at a non-poker, non-party level. That's right, I didn't party over the 3 nights I spent this trip in Macau (by the way, normally I can't stand staying in Macau for 3 nights without going into a depression). I give partial credit to myself for stuffing the trip with awesome activities, partial credit to my awesome friends whom I hung out with (including my buddy Manish who flew in from Delhi), and partial credit to the fact that Macau has simply become more enjoyable. Here's a quick rundown of the trip (for my future memory-lost self), I won't go into the details of the poker since that probably deserves another blog post:<br />
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Day 1 - April 25, 2013<br />
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- got 1:25pm tickets to Iron Man 3. (Note that this took a 2-weeks prior booking.)<br />
- took 10:30am ferry to Macau.<br />
- met up with my buddy Kenny to see said movie. (Spoiler: Iron Man 3 is amazing. I totally loved the "house party scene". /endspoiler)<br />
- after the movie we met up with Manish for Japanese food at like 4pm.<br />
- got into my hotel room and napped, as preparation for poker that starts at 7pm.<br />
- poker from 7pm till 4am.<br />
- ate "dinner" at this chinese restaurant inside City of Dreams with Carlos and a poker buddy Terry. The food was surprisingly good . (Name of the place is Ji Xiang Yuan).<br />
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<br />
Day 2 - April 26, 2013<br />
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- woke up and made coffee. Yup I packed my Aeropress and coffee beans to Macau.<br />
- went for a really good workout with Manish. Learned quite a few new things which usually comes with having a new workout partner.<br />
- had Portuguese food with Kenny, Manish, and my other buddy Carlos. The food was awesome, the place was not crowded like a casino restaurant, and the price was *very* reasonable.<br />
- back to the hotel room for a post-food nap.<br />
- went to the Venetian with Kenny and Manish for Brazilian BBQ. Basically how this place works is the appetizers are all-you-can-eat, set out as a buffet style, and once that's out of the way, the servers start bringing the meat to the table. Beef, lamb, sausages, chicken, pork ribs, oh my god it was SO good.<br />
- after dinner we had one beer at Hard Rock Cafe. The live band was quite decent.<br />
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Day 3 - April 27, 2013<br />
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- woke up at 8am for a workout and breakfast. Went back to sleep after.<br />
- woke up again at 11am, made coffee and got ready for poker.<br />
- had lunch with Carlos at the same Japanese place.<br />
- poker from 2pm to 1am.<br />
- met up with a poker buddy from way back, Vikram, for dim sum "dinner".<br />
- went to Grand Waldo Spa to stay the night. Paid a woman to step on my back.<br />
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Day 4 - April 28, 2013<br />
- woke up in the spa and had breakfast.<br />
- went back to Sheraton for another workout and got ready for poker.<br />
- poker didn't last long and I got busted out of the tournament 17th out of 891.<br />
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Note that I've controlled my food intake very rigorously and made sure I had no food 3 hours before poker and all the way during poker. Food makes brain dysfunction. Fasting puts brain on supercharge. #scientificfact<br />
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Final spoiler: Terry won the tournament for a cool HK$1.7m.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-43096485061218497332013-02-05T23:26:00.000+08:002013-02-05T23:26:40.726+08:00Snap Takeaways on Dell Going Private- Deal priced at $13.65 and it was *gasp* accepted by the shareholders (at close to no premium). Der-ammmmmmnnnnn. That's pretty desperate. Somehow no one's very confident huh.<br />
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- Microsoft injecting $2bn: once again the technogiant is showing off its TMM syndrome. "Make fuckloads off Office and blow it away on stupid shit." -- Steve Ballmer<br />
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- MSFT investors need to sell, now.<br />
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- If anyone's hoping for any synergy after the injection, sorry. Buying $2bn of a $24bn company gets you 8.3%, or no influence.<br />
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- Dell <b>already </b>uses Microsoft products, btw!<br />
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- A private equity fund called Silver Lake threw in $1bn. Usually a private equity buys many startups with a lot of inertia for very little and hope one (or more) of them blossoms. They don't buy a dying ex-technogiant for a lot of money and hope it somehow magically turns around.<br />
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- Said private equity fund have probably never caught a falling knife.<br />
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- AFAIK Dell is gonna worth a lot less in 5 years after PC market share in consumer space gets completely eaten up.<br />
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- AFAIK Michael Dell is smoking something very good.<br />
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- UNLESS he's planning to do a Steve Jobs.<br />
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- But maybe that's part of the effect of the smoking.<br />
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- Silver lining: now that Dell is private, they may do a lot of crazy shit that excite the niche market. Ubuntu tablet or sth. I don't know. I wouldn't know until I get what Michael Dell is smoking.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-3358852711457614522013-01-24T23:17:00.002+08:002013-01-24T23:17:40.947+08:00Apple Inc, Part 2Back on November 6, 2012 I wrote about shorting Apple, which at the time was $587 and 13x PE. Today Apple took a post-earning dive to $460. Earnings was good, except there's no more growth. (By the way, the official "reason" for the selloff, ie the numbers having missed street guestimate, is lots of bullshit. Wall Street's guestimate is as clueless as the next guy's, and everyone's just managing everyone's expectation. So don't buy into that.)<br />
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Apple's problems:<br />
<br />
Tim Cook sounding more and more like a muppet and Steve Ballmer;<br />
The company showed no sign of moving forward. Tim Cook somehow mentioned the iphone 4 on the earnings conference call. for fuck's sake;<br />
The company isn't recognizing the threat of canibalization. It's living in a delusion not unlike the Los Angeles Lakers;<br />
Innovation is now as foreign a term as Follow Others' Lead was to Steve Jobs;<br />
Tim Cook's profit mining style is not helping.<br />
<br />
What I care about in Apple is long term growth. Right now, I don't see any. I see a company that's going down the Nokia, RIM, and Mackintosh-era Apple route.<br />
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Short Apple. If you already are shorting it, short more. To the ground this goes.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-63031575595019315342013-01-15T22:18:00.003+08:002013-01-17T00:32:43.960+08:00Per App DPI: what it is and why it's so beautifulUnless you're a serious tech geek and a veteran member of xda-developers.com, you probably have never heard of per app DPI (dots per inch). I'm gonna explain what it is, and why it makes the whole Android experience so beautiful. But before I start, I would like to say that I didn't code any of these, and full credit should be given to the people who did (see the end of thread for links).<br />
<br />
<b>So what's per app DPI?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
It all started with Android's now famed screen-size / resolution fragmentation. What this means is, there exist a bazillion different Android devices out there and each has a different screen size and resolution, ranging from a small 3.5" phone to a 10.1" full-sized tablet. This seemed like a serious problem at first (which is why all the ifanboys were talking about Android apps being behind as the developers have to take care of all the screen sizes etc etc bs), but eventually all the good apps supported all the different screen sizes. How? By something called MultiDPI. Basically an Android app is coded in a way that within the one app, different user interfaces are displayed depending on the device's screen size and resolution. Per app DPI takes advantage of this.<br />
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Basically, per app DPI cheats each app into believing the device it's on has a different resolution. As a result, on a single phone, one can have a phone app that looks exactly like a phone app, and another app that makes the phone look like a shrunk tablet.<br />
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<b>Why is this useful?</b><br />
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Per app DPI is useful in many ways. What a user can do by reducing the DPI ranges from simply displaying more onto one screen to enabling a completely different UI. I'll let the pictures do the talking:<br />
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<b>The straight forward stuff:</b><br />
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Gmail: here I simply reduced the DPI slightly, thereby displaying more emails on one screen<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AzC8chcdas8/UPVaNCKw10I/AAAAAAAAFxI/pFrG2LsJdRw/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-53-13.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AzC8chcdas8/UPVaNCKw10I/AAAAAAAAFxI/pFrG2LsJdRw/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-53-13.png" width="225" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2XoNL8bqfzE/UPVaM9HkA5I/AAAAAAAAFxE/YQDyzIExOgU/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-52-56.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2XoNL8bqfzE/UPVaM9HkA5I/AAAAAAAAFxE/YQDyzIExOgU/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-52-56.png" width="225" /></a></div>
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Google+: Here once again I reduced the DPI to create a larger view area for contents</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IH1SI6mKV48/UPVaNgjOeII/AAAAAAAAFxQ/VrBVoKJg1bA/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-54-32.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lFla-eY8mr0/UPVaOMo6hcI/AAAAAAAAFxY/kXmk7YF79o0/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-54-49.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lFla-eY8mr0/UPVaOMo6hcI/AAAAAAAAFxY/kXmk7YF79o0/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-54-49.png" width="225" /></a><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IH1SI6mKV48/UPVaNgjOeII/AAAAAAAAFxQ/VrBVoKJg1bA/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-54-32.png" width="225" /></div>
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<b>Slightly more exciting stuff:</b><br />
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Google Calendar: Here, by reducing the DPI and forcing tablet mode, a different interface is obtained. All within the same app, no extra download required.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ux15Jo0wB2E/UPVaLtGTshI/AAAAAAAAFw8/v1jjr9ZEqww/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-45-04.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ux15Jo0wB2E/UPVaLtGTshI/AAAAAAAAFw8/v1jjr9ZEqww/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-45-04.png" width="225" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zjF_YzprNrw/UPVaLtMld3I/AAAAAAAAFw0/8Ye6IE3P_EA/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-45-28.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zjF_YzprNrw/UPVaLtMld3I/AAAAAAAAFw0/8Ye6IE3P_EA/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-45-28.png" width="225" /></a></div>
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Youtube: Here, the DPI is once again reduced to force tablet mode. It's a bit hard to see just by the two pictures below, but what so nice is that in the first picture (where Youtube runs under the original phone mode), the full screen version of the video is shown as soon as the phone is rotated to landscape and there's no landscape UI to speak of. In the second picture (where tablet mode is forced), the UI is a lot nicer. (Obviously full screen mode is still available via the button on the lower right corner.)</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-em2--yMEhUw/UPVaUj8h5FI/AAAAAAAAFzE/OIoBSl0KBuk/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-59-37.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-em2--yMEhUw/UPVaUj8h5FI/AAAAAAAAFzE/OIoBSl0KBuk/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-59-37.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ybPI4dZgADo/UPVaS9YBjqI/AAAAAAAAFyw/LujtQRC_gDw/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-58-38.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ybPI4dZgADo/UPVaS9YBjqI/AAAAAAAAFyw/LujtQRC_gDw/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-58-38.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Flipboard: Flipboard recently released its tablet version and I'm one of the people who really likes it. It's obviously cool to be able to access it on my phone.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SHhwSd86ZSw/UPamObR6tCI/AAAAAAAAF2U/-_UQMidi390/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-16-19-39-03.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SHhwSd86ZSw/UPamObR6tCI/AAAAAAAAF2U/-_UQMidi390/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-16-19-39-03.png" width="225" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZdKYt7H1_I/UPamOUNP3iI/AAAAAAAAF2Q/3sbm-OuVtmM/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-16-19-38-11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZdKYt7H1_I/UPamOUNP3iI/AAAAAAAAF2Q/3sbm-OuVtmM/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-16-19-38-11.png" width="225" /></a></div>
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<b>The really cool stuff:</b></div>
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IMDb: Here when tablet mode is forced, well, we almost get a totally different IMDb app. And hell it's a much nicer UI. The phone version is a bit all over the place, while the tablet version is just so much nicer to look at and much easier to understand.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lzxc8OssmC0/UPVaPhYdjdI/AAAAAAAAFxs/rxgQh5ZLOWs/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-55-58.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lzxc8OssmC0/UPVaPhYdjdI/AAAAAAAAFxs/rxgQh5ZLOWs/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-55-58.png" width="225" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LPL9WLIcMT8/UPVaPVtuzBI/AAAAAAAAFx0/gcP5kkOFtP0/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-55-41.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LPL9WLIcMT8/UPVaPVtuzBI/AAAAAAAAFx0/gcP5kkOFtP0/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-55-41.png" width="225" /></a></div>
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Google Maps: Google somehow favors tablet users in their Maps app. The tablet version just makes so much more sense to have the search bar right at the top and a one-click voice search button.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aV4XZE1B2Dc/UPVaRLOJIAI/AAAAAAAAFyI/PeAC7v7uWWI/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-56-54.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aV4XZE1B2Dc/UPVaRLOJIAI/AAAAAAAAFyI/PeAC7v7uWWI/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-56-54.png" width="225" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YYO37y1fv6o/UPVaQWjiAII/AAAAAAAAFyA/bb3xq6hsh80/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-56-35.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YYO37y1fv6o/UPVaQWjiAII/AAAAAAAAFyA/bb3xq6hsh80/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-56-35.png" width="225" /></a></div>
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Google Local: This one is just a beauty. In the phone Local app the map completely disappears. In the tablet version, the search results sit on top of the map and the user can easily see where each search result is, tying Local and Maps together.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MS-r2N-DR4A/UPVaRVLV61I/AAAAAAAAFyQ/D3cD2R6z0nA/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-57-00.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MS-r2N-DR4A/UPVaRVLV61I/AAAAAAAAFyQ/D3cD2R6z0nA/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-57-00.png" width="225" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--wcPXCTvKJk/UPVaQlLSN0I/AAAAAAAAFyE/fmRAW83rGJI/s1600/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-56-40.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--wcPXCTvKJk/UPVaQlLSN0I/AAAAAAAAFyE/fmRAW83rGJI/s400/Screenshot_2013-01-15-20-56-40.png" width="225" /></a></div>
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To wrap it up, per app DPI unleashes the full potential of Android and it's all because Google allows this kind of high level modification into their operating system (while iusers can continue to live in Apple's obsessively closed system).<br />
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If you're interested in trying out per app DPI, check out Paranoid Android if you're using a Nexus device here: <a href="http://www.paranoid-rom.com/">http://www.paranoid-rom.com/</a>. If you have the Samsung SGS3 like I do, definitely get f0mey's null rom here: <a href="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2005845">http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2005845</a>. Both the Paranoid team and f0mey have done some amazing works and for null rom, there're a bunch of devs who deserve as much credits, they're listed on the OP of the null thread. By the way, both of these require root, obviously.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-37958467131800052442012-12-19T00:31:00.002+08:002012-12-19T00:31:33.711+08:00Why Communities changed everything for Google+A month ago, Google+ was a site left untouched, apart from sharing some family photos with family members. Today, I spend 5 times more time on Google+ compared to Facebook. And here's why.<div>
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Communities.</div>
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<div>
Google+ introduced Communities a short while ago, and it changed everything. Before, as a G+ user, I roamed in a white void of nothingness. There was no "friends" to share stuff with, because heck, no one but real geeks paid any attention to G+ after the initial "invite-only" fad. I knew there're people out there, but without an initiative, I had no reason to reach out to any of them. Communities changed all this. I was able to search on topics that interest me, from the uninspiring tech topics such as Android to actual interests such as coffee and primal diet. I was able to post on each communities different threads, and I would be getting constructive responses because the people reading them would have the same interest as me.</div>
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Here's an example, I posted a photo of a box of disposable drip coffee on both Facebook and G+'s Coffee community. On Facebook, I got the usual "cool", "what's this?" from friends and maybe friends of friends. On G+, I invoked fellow coffee lovers who provided me with actual useful insights as to how to best use this box of coffee. </div>
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Another example, I joined this Vibram Five Fingers community, which was very new and got all but 6 members. Even with very limited action in this community, I was able to discover an online store that was doing some big discounts on VFFs. </div>
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I think to sum it up, G+ Communities provided a channel for much deeper discussions whereas Facebook comments are either all too shallow or flame wars. </div>
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I spend a lot of time on G+ everyday now that I have joined a good dozen or so communities. I have learned a lot in topics that interests me, and I strongly believe this is a much better use of time than browsing people's pet photos or commenting on their status of how life sucks.</div>
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I urge all of you who have given up on Google+ to give it another shot, purely in playing around with Communities. I promise that you'll be pleasantly surprised in how much an addition of one simple feature can help you learn so much more. </div>
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(btw I don't work for Google and I get nothing for promoting their service. But I do get great gratification by knowing more people are taking advantage of this and therefore getting to learn more about stuff that they care to learn about.)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-53453065299436226202012-11-18T00:34:00.000+08:002012-11-18T00:34:11.971+08:00My way of eating less meatLots of people talk about eating less meat, be it for a healthier life, religious reasons, or simply trying to reduce animal cruelty. But it's very hard to actually do it for someone who lives in a metropolitan, especially Hong Kong. (Hey did you know that HK ranks *drumroll* FIRST in the world in per capita meat consumption, and is 33% higher than the great US of A?) There's this whole Green Monday movement which is obviously great in trying to reduce total meat consumption by 1/7. But the problem for me is, being a guy with a family, it's very hard to go home and expect everyone else to eat veggie with me. So here's what I think is an alternative, except it's an alternative that's even <i>better</i>:<br />
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No meat until sunset.<br />
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My rationale is this: it's normally not very hard for a person to go meatless during breakfast. Cereals, yogurts, or just a plain coffee is a great morning starter. For someone like me, who also does intermittent fasting (no food for 16 hours intervals), this is a non issue (since I don't eat anything with calories for breakfast anyways). For lunch, a working person would either eat alone or with friends. The hard part is to find the food, and ample online resources can cater for that. If that's sorted out, eating vegetarian for lunch is pretty easy. At most cuisines there're vegetarian dishes and unless it's Chinese, most have very little sharing going on so there's no issue with causing disturbance for others. I've never had anyone question my food of choice because a four-cheese pizza or a mushroom risotto are perfectly normal food in a meat-eater's eyes.<br />
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And for dinner, meat is allowed. That'll dodge a lot of inevitable debates during family dinners. It'll also make dining out easier.<br />
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So to wrap it up, this method is clearly not as good as going 100% vegetarian but it's a good middle point, and I see it an improvement versus Green Monday since mathematically I'm getting 3.5 days meat-free (or 2.5 days even if I only do Mondays to Fridays)!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-85505741623257402292012-11-06T23:27:00.006+08:002012-11-06T23:27:50.375+08:00Apple Inc, from an investment perspectiveShort Apple. That's my short of the decade. This ain't gonna pay off in 3 months or even a year, but given that Blogger doesn't go down in 10 years, I'm pretty sure this post will look very good by then.<div>
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Which is crazy. AAPL trades at $587 today, and the company is posting a $44 eps, making its PE2012 13.3x. Given that it's usually a bad bad idea to short anything 13x historical PE, let alone a tech stock, this is a pretty whacked trade. Let's say Apple posts zero growth in the upcoming year, it's still trading at forward PE2013E 13.3x. fuck. looks like shorting it is dumb. </div>
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But what about in 10 years? Given my firm belief that Apple has seen its peak and its innovation died with Steve Jobs, I'd say this company is going down the shithole and it's just a matter of time. It has its huge cash pile now, but one day it'll burn out. When iPad 10 looks exactly like the 9.7" brick we see today, and when iPhone 10 continues to play behind the curve, that cash will burn out. </div>
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Going back to the short trade, and why it's dumb. It's only dumb if a short squeeze is in the coming, meaning the short will incur huge fucking loss before seeing the light of day, and meaning that there will be a better time to short in the future. But what exactly is gonna push this company forward from this point on? Tim Cook is great at doing what he does which is pennypinching, which is great for the bottomline today, but he's made all the possible wrong decisions in terms of innovation. (yes taking the DVD off the iMac to make it slimmer is one of them. The man clearly doesn't know Blurays still sells pretty well.) My belief is that Apple has lost it, and if I am right, then there's nothing on earth that can push its stock price higher, from this point on. </div>
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So, maybe the time is now and maybe one just needs to bite the bullet and short a 13x PE tech stock. But hey, at least borrow will cost you next to nothing.</div>
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Footnote: i'm not even gonna promote this post on Twitter or Facebook cuz I don't need to start a flame war. If you somehow came across it and read it, thank you. If you want to comment, please make it constructive. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-13693211569755767972012-07-20T11:07:00.000+08:002012-07-20T11:12:41.945+08:00The Dark Knight Rises: John Blake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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SPOILER ALERT: pls stop reading if you haven't seen Batman: The Dark Knight Rises.<br />
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Now that you've been warned, we can start. Just to put it out there, this isn't a movie review. I just want to write to hopefully start a discussion on Joseph Gordon-Lewitt's character. His name is John Blake, and by the end of the movie we would learn that he has a middle name "Robin". It's natural to assume he's Christopher Nolan's version of Batman's unpopular sidekick, even though his name is not Tim Drake or Dick Grayson. My real question is, will Nolan take this any further? Nolan has said he won't be doing more Batman movies, and Christian Bale also said this is his last time acting as the Dark Knight. But what about a movie centered around Robin? (Guys, don't roll your eyes just yet.) Nolan has been able to develop a solid backstory on John Blake, and JGL's acting in The Dark Knight Rises has shown he's up for the task of leading a movie. Can this be the one time for Robin? Can he actually be both cool and the center of attention? I would love to hear what the internet has to say about this.<br />
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From a business angle, this also makes a lot of sense. It will be hard for Warner Bros to just let such a profit-making franchise die. To reboot it in even the distant future will be suicidal as the Nolan trilogy has impacted so much on the franchise and Nolan has put such a large footprint on Batman as a character. The only way to continue raking in the money is to develop a side-story, and Robin seems like a natural fit.<br />
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On a slightly longer shot, maybe Nolan will let John Blake be Nightwing, which is obviously ultra-cool. Except I think Nightwing isn't as well known by the mass public and it may not be as good a fit for Warner Bros business wise.<br />
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What do you think? Discuss!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-8127128409907771132012-07-06T15:41:00.001+08:002012-07-06T15:41:20.960+08:00A Quick Account in Modern Day Instant MessagingJust like all things tech, instant messaging has evolved a lot since the early days of the internet. This is to quickly summarize what has gone down in the past decade or so in terms of messaging one another. Spoiler: login-required protocols are out, login-free protocols are the way to go.<br />
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<b><u>ICQ</u></b><br />
This is probably the most ancient IM. Each user account is assigned a "number" according to their initial registration and users are required to log in every time. The idea of alphanumerical username was too advanced.<br />
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<b><u>MSN/AIM/Yahoo</u></b><br />
Email service providers entered the IM market with MSN quickly taking over as the most predominant IM service globally. (With the exception of the US which preferred AIM slightly more.) Each user account is represented by an alphanumerical username which is just your @hotmail address.<br />
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<b><u>Facebook Message/Chat</u></b><br />
Facebook made a breakthrough in the IM world with their integrated messaging service. It started with Facebook Message, and then Chat was introduced. Eventually, these two are combined as one and became Facebook Messenger as we know it today. This is still login-required but with most people permanently logged into their Facebook account on their desktop and mobile, the actual action of logging in became obsolete.<br />
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<b><u>GTalk</u></b><br />
A not-so-popular service which has the benefit of being integrated into Android phones and GMail. Once again, it's still login-required but most people are permanently logged in anyways.<br />
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<b><u>Skype</u></b><br />
More a VoIP service but there's an IM aspect to it. I wouldn't say it's very popular but some people depend on it. Login is required.<br />
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<b><u>Whatsapp/Line</u></b><br />
And finally in comes the truly login-free IM service. This type of IM links to a cellphone number and no login/password is required. The obvious requisite is for the messaging party to know each other's phone number.<br />
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I would think that most people use FB and Whatsapp the most today with GTalk here and there. Let's revisit this post in say 3-5 years time and I'm sure things will be very, very different.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-11503006655028278612012-05-14T01:58:00.002+08:002012-05-14T02:01:40.226+08:00APPT Cebu 2012There're some memories one would hate to forget, and APPT Cebu is one of them. The poker was there but the essence of the joy was in the trip itself. I would hate to one day (probably soon) lose memory of all the details of this amazing trip, so here, I've decided to use my blog in its more original purpose, a diary.<br />
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Thursday, April 26, 2012</div>
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The flight to Cebu takes off at 8:50am and is set to land at 11:30am. I took the bus (!) to the airport at 7:30am and got there at 8am. I already checked in online and even got my boarding pass sent to my phone as a QR Code and I had no check-in luggage so 50 minutes is more than sufficient to get from the airport entrance to the gate. I had literally no cash on me, but lining up at ATM isn't my thing. I'd rather get cash off ppl I know when I get to Cebu. I ended up finding an empty ATM near Gate 40 and I used it. After getting cash I walked to my gate and saw that my flight was delayed by 30 minutes. Since I'm flying business I naturally walked into the Business Class Lounge and sipped coffee. When the time comes I walked back to my gate and boarded the flight.</div>
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The Cathay Pacific flight had the new business class with the solo seats and the 180 degrees reclinable backs. Awesome. Not so awesome was the delay. I was due to start playing Day 1b at 12:15pm, and it looked like my plane wouldn't touchdown until 12:30pm. When we eventually landed, I was the very first one thru the immigration, and I kept walking until I reached the casino. Yes, the casino is right across the street from the airport. I got there and started playing.</div>
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The day went past pretty fast as we only had to play 6 levels. I built my stack up to a nice 45k or so but on the last level of the day had to get it in on a Q-high flop with KK. A Chinese guy named "BoBo" went with his flush draw and didn't waste time as he peeled the 3rd spade right on the turn to put me drawing dead. GG. I walked around the casino floor until the reality that I was out of the tournament hit me. At that point, I had a choice between playing cash game or going to my hotel room at the Shangri'la Resort. I chose the latter and took a 15 minutes cab ride to the resort. I checked into my room and ordered a salad from room service. After eating, I tried to sleep but ended up watching UFC. By like 8pm I went down to the resort's Italian restaurant called "Acqua" and ate. I had a mozzarella and tomato salad. By around 9pm I walked over to the APPT Party which was held on the resort's beach. </div>
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This is one awesome party with fireworks and a live band. The food was awesome took as they served this filipino suckling pig called "lechon". I had plenty of meat and I drank vodka+soda all night. Those things are actually pretty strong after a few. I remember exchanging whiskey shots with my friend Carter and talking to a whole lot of people. I also remember watching Robin and Raymond Wu do a grapple competition on the sand but I can't remember who won. The next day I was also told that I tore Celina's Pokerstars badge right off her bare arm which may or may not cause permanent damage. (I'm very sorry Celina.) After the party I went over to my buddy Ken's suite and drank more with him, Charles, Jay, Kenny, and Juicy. I think we played some sort of sit n go tournament in the room without any chips which I think I was the first to bust out lol. We went thru like 5 bottles of white wines and a lot of bim bip baps. (Tks a lot Ken.) The night ended when we were a bit out of control and Charles started throwing wine glasses out the verandah lol. I think Ken also threw a few. </div>
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Friday, April 27, 2012</div>
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The next morning I woke up for breakfast at 9:30am because it's freeeee. And then I didn't have the mood to go back to sleep so I lied on the beach. I went out for a round of jetski which was amazingly fun. When I came back from it I ran into Charles, Ken, and Jay. We ended up lying on the beach more and drank these awesome mango smoothies. It's probably the best mango smoothie in the world. The guys wanted to rent a boat and go out to the sea but I opted out when I started to feel the sea sick just <i>looking</i> at the boat. So I went back to the room myself and napped. I thought I could sleep till 4pm as the PLO tournament that evening was at 7pm. I woke up at around 4pm and then went to the gym. I lifted weight and then ran for 30 minutes. I had a good sweat and went back to the room for a shower. After that, I went back to Acqua for my dinner. I ordered beef carpacio and a veal milanese. It's probably one of the better beef carpacio I've had but only because I like it raw and fleshy. Here they don't sear the beef at all and it's just good o' red. The veal was done okay except a bit oily. The best one is still at Cipriani's in Hong Kong. </div>
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I finished dinner and took a cab back to the casino. I registered into the PLO slightly late and didn't waste time to blow off 25% of my stack. On the second level I got it in with a 5-card wrap and my opponent snapcalled with the top set. It's pretty close to 50/50 and I was very happy to have at least got it in good. However, the turn paired the board and I was left drawing dead immediately. I killed time at the casino floor and also got into some (very) shorthanded PLO cash game which didn't last too long before it broke. I walked around a bit more and eventually went for a drink with APPT President Danny McDonagh and the Pokerstars team. It was Danny's birthday the following day and there's no way I can pass on having a drink with the guy. A slight problem I had was I was very tired at the time and I ended up falling asleep in the bar lol. I left before they did and cabbed back to the resort and passed out.</div>
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Saturday, April 28, 2012</div>
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The next morning I woke up at 11am and completely missed the free breakfast. I messaged my buddy Terrence and told him to meet me at the resort. We hung out on the beach for a while and also went for kayaking. This proved to be pretty boring fast as we were bounded to only inside the swimming area which is just a large rectangle. After we gave up on kayaking we went for another round of jetski. This time I went quite far and went overtime. Terrence came back even later than me as he got lost in the sea! After jetskiing we went for lunch at a Thai restaurant near the casino. There were 5 of us but we ordered like 8 people's portions. We finished most of it because Terrence and I could eat a lot. We were also eating quite fast as I had to play the NLH KO Event at 3pm. I walked into the tournament with a food coma and a slight heatstroke. Obviously the tournament didn't go well and I just jammed with JK and ran into AK because I could barely keep my head up. </div>
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Somehow I felt a lot better after busting the tournament and got into this insane PLO cash game. The blinds were PHP100/200 which is around $2.5/5. Nearly every preflop was 4betted and every pot was near 100k pesos. It was really fun to gamble a bit and I came out up a little. After the game I went back to the resort to change into shoes because later in the night there's a Pokerstars party at a bar called Vudu which is in the Cebu city. I went and stayed there until around 3am. </div>
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Sunday, April 29, 2012</div>
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The last day of my trip was also the first day which I didn't have any poker obligation. I woke up to Terrence's message where he asked if he could use the resort's gym. Obviously I said yes and I gained him access. Since I was too hungover to work out myself I went to the beach again. I ran into two (Mandarin speaking) girls from Hong Kong and we chatted a bit. When I was about to go fetch Terrence I ran into my friend Ken's gf Lydia (another Ken, he's also Pokerstars' photographer). She took my spot on the beach and I went to Acqua for lunch (where else). Apart from Terrence, there's also Celina, Fred, Daren, Dom, and Ted. We ate and chatted and it was really enjoyable to be seeing good friends at a nice relaxing resort. </div>
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After lunch Fred, Celina, Dom, and I went back to the beach and we took the jetski for another ride. We decided to do a co-ed race so I paired up with Lydia. Celina was with Fred so Dom was solo. Lydia and I took turns driving the jetski and it was totally different being the passenger. It's a different kind of sensation I think, the risk of being thrown off and the idea of not being in control. </div>
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A really funny incident during jetskiing: we were casually racing with me driving our jetski and Dom was driving his with Fred at the back (don't ask why). Somehow Dom lost control and both him and Fred fell into the water! Worse yet, their jetski was going straight at ours and it was <i>so</i> close to crashing. Fortunately, I was able to made a sharp turn to barely avoid the collision. These Pokerstars people are crazy!</div>
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We went back to the beach unscathed and soon it was time for me to go pack and leave for the airport. I took a cab with Lydia to the casino as I had a little time to spare and she had to go there anyways. And lucky I did, because after I got there I got a text on my phone that my flight is delayed by 45 minutes. (ty technology, or else I'd be stuck waiting at the airport doing nothing.) I killed time by roaming around the casino floor and also managed to grab food at the restaurant. </div>
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When I went back to the airport it was 35 minutes to the new departing time. Somehow all the staffs acted as if I was <i>really </i>late. They even led me thru employees' paths and walked me right to the front of the line at the immigration counter. Amazing. </div>
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Overall this is a trip filled with great memories and yes I would love to do this again and every year. I would really like to extend my appreciation to Pokerstars and APPT for making all this happen. This is the most fun I've had on a poker trip!</div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-79212270357939454802012-01-13T00:29:00.001+08:002012-01-13T00:29:37.087+08:00TCOOPlist of TCOOP 2012 events i'll play in. 17 total events. $2844.<div>
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03 19-Jan (Thu) 16:00 NL Hold'em [Knockout] $125.00 $9.00 $250,000 </div>
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04 19-Jan (Thu) 18:00 NL Hold'em $30.00 $3.00 $100,000 </div>
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06 20-Jan (Fri) 10:00 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Shootout] $50.00 $5.00 $100,000</div>
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09 21-Jan (Sat) 10:00 PL Omaha [Knockout] $51.00 $4.00 $100,000 </div>
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11 21-Jan (Sat) 14:00 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up] $100.00 $9.00 $150,000 </div>
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14 22-Jan (Sun) 08:30 NL Omaha Hi/Lo [6-Max, 2R1A] $50.00 $5.00 $50,000</div>
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20 23-Jan (Mon) 08:00 PL Omaha [6-Max, 1R1A] $50.00 $5.00 $100,000 </div>
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21 23-Jan (Mon) 10:00 NL Hold'em [4-Max] $40.00 $4.00 $150,000 </div>
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24 24-Jan (Tue) 12:00 PL Omaha Hi/Lo [6-Max] $100.00 $9.00 $50,000</div>
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34 26-Jan (Thu) 16:00 NL Hold'em [2x Chance] $200.00 $15.00 $400,000 </div>
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35 26-Jan (Thu) 18:00 PL Omaha [4-Max] $50.00 $5.00 $75,000 </div>
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36 27-Jan (Fri) 08:00 NL Hold'em [6-Max] $75.00 $7.00 $250,000 </div>
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37 27-Jan (Fri) 10:00 PL Omaha [6-Max, 2R1A] $50.00 $5.00 $100,000</div>
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40 28-Jan (Sat) 10:00 HORSE $100.00 $9.00 $25,000 </div>
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41 28-Jan (Sat) 12:00 PL Omaha [Heads-Up] $100.00 $9.00 $50,000</div>
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48 29-Jan (Sun) 13:30 8-Game $300.00 $20.00 $100,000 </div>
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49 29-Jan (Sun) 15:30 NL Hold'em Main Event $665.00 $35.00 $1,500,000 </div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-35984812234449998922011-10-13T23:30:00.001+08:002011-10-13T23:30:12.421+08:00MPCC: $10k 6-max NLHI'm heading to Macau tomorrow to play in the Macau Poker Cup Championship. I've decided to sit out the Main Event this year as I've been busy as of late and I can't squeeze 4 days out of my schedule. There's also the fact that I have very little incentive to play full-ring NLH events (or full-ring anything, as a matter of fact). Therefore, it's natural that if I could only make one event, it'll be the $10k 6-max No Limit Hold'em.<br />
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The tournament itself starts at 6pm but I'll be arriving in Macau three hours early. I'm happy to have secured a room at the new <a href="http://www.hotelokuramacau.com/">Hotel Okura</a> which is within the Galaxy Resort. I'll hopefully check into my room and if the sun is out, spend a couple hours lying on the Galaxy Resort artificial beach. I'm also supposed to have dinner with Dale Philip (@daleroxxu) who is an interesting character online but I've never met in real life.<br />
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After dinner I'll be arriving at the Grand Lisboa poker room to (late) register in. I'm supposed to dominate my 6 handed table for a few hours until Day 1 ends and gather an insane amount of chips. That's the plan but obviously I can't be sure of it happening. One thing I can be sure of, however, is that my table will be very, very loose. =)<br />
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After Day 1 of the tournament there's a plan to hit Cubic. That's all I'm gonna say cuz it'll probably be all I'll be able to remember.<br />
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It should be fun!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-81388731822637419962011-10-08T18:18:00.001+08:002011-10-09T00:06:41.863+08:00Sunshine Of My Eyes<div>
just walked pass the hong kong apple store for the first time ever (no I'm not an ifanboy so I didn't do the overnight pre-open line-up), and it stroke me as many are mourning steve outside the store. this song came to mind:<br />
"you are the sunshine of my eyes,<br />
that's why I'll always be around.<br />
you are the apple of my eyes,<br />
forever you'll stay in my heart."<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dtkvg1LFxW4" width="420"></iframe></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-7777919516950140252011-10-06T10:40:00.001+08:002011-10-06T10:45:19.781+08:00Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today is a Black day for the innovative world. Apple has announced that their founder Steve Jobs is dead. I'm sad and affected, more so than when any other famous person has died. That is because when Steve was around, Apple created innovative products that truly fitted my personal needs and wants. It's like losing a personal friend. Steve has changed my perspective on many things. The iphone forever changed how I use a phone. The Macbook Air literally changed the definition of a computer. Even the ipad, it redefined the accessibility of information. I honor that.<br />
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I'm also sad because the innovative world will never be the same. I might be too naive to think that if Steve were healthy, we would've gotten an iphone 5 instead of an iphone 4S. But it's evident that Apple decided to take the safe road this time around and give an incremental update in the iphone 4S, instead of a total redesign which would've been the iphone 5. Apple decided to put sales ahead of innovation, to put investors ahead of users, and that I think is something Steve wouldn't have allowed. The iphone 4S marks a fallout of innovation. It reintroduced 2010 technologies and duck-fed them down their fans' throat. Dual-core processors, over a dozen Android phones had them six months ago. 8 megapixel cameras, we had those since 2005. 3.5" screens, they look like they time-traveled from 2008. Fixed antenna, don't even get me started on this. Most importantly, Apple has moved from leading the industry to catching up to it. The iphone has fallen behind peers. By playing not to lose, it lost.<br />
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A lot of people out there will go and buy an Apple product in honor of Steve. I won't. I will truly honor Steve by not buying an Apple product until it's met with Steve's standards. <b>Say No to iphone 4S. </b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-11676257274960907892011-09-24T21:59:00.001+08:002011-09-25T04:30:45.318+08:00WCOOP Event 58: $530 PLO Heads-Up LIVE BLOG4:30am: fuck fuck fuck. bubbled after battling for over 1 hr. SO SICK.......<br />
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3:28am: Round 3 starting. Opponent is OLD TIME GIN from Canada.<br />
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2:27am: Round 2 took 7 minutes and 18 hands. Mr HABIBI is weak and tight and predictable. I took a 2:1 lead with nut flush vs straight, and the knockout when I jammed broadway wrap into his middle set and connects. More waiting for Round 3. zzzzzz.<br />
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2:20am: finally Round 1 is over. Round 2 opponent HABIBIYANOUR from Sweden.<br />
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2:05am: these 2 are still nitting up like grandmas. fuck.<br />
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1:47am: only 1 table still going. moonwatch79 vs caecilius. pls hurry up.<br />
<br />
1:19am: only took me 19 minutes to win the match. The guy blew some chips with air when i called him down with the under boat JJxx on a KK7Jx board. He was down to 2:1 chips and I was able to further pressure that to a 4:1 chip lead. I gave the knockout blow with KT9x on a KsTs9s flop, he had the nut flush but I turned the T to seal it. Long wait until Round 2. zzzzzzz.<br />
<br />
1:00am: first round opponent is radik-dn from Russia.<br />
<br />
12:59am: bought into the $320 PLO HU 2nd chance 1 minute before it closed. 64 runners.<br />
<br />
10:53pm: WOW busted holding QQxx on KQ6 board vs KTxx, turn T, river K. this is fucked up.<br />
<br />
10:51pm: down to 4:1 dog after missing a wrap+FD trying to bust the guy.<br />
<br />
10:49: 1.5:1 chip lead now after a flurry of attack.<br />
<br />
10:43pm: back down to 1.5:1 dog on AAxx < JJxx.<br />
<br />
10:30pm: back to even stack.<br />
<br />
10:12pm: 2:1 dog in chips after missing a 12 outer.<br />
<br />
9:59pm: ok no Round 1 bye. Opponent's name is allucan3at from Holland. GLME.<br />
<br />
9:56pm: Hi guys, I'm gonna attempt to do a live blog on the go during the matches on this WCOOP Event 58 PLO Heads-Up. PLO HU is definitely one of my best games so I'm really feeling excited to play in this event. 4 more minutes until Round 1 starts. I'm definitely feeling it. (However a lucky Round 1 bye wouldn't be bad either.)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-28747664351780370722011-09-12T03:03:00.005+08:002011-09-21T19:58:36.832+08:00WCOOP 2011 - Events which I'll play (version 6.0)<div>
<div>
Event # Date Day Time (ET) Name Buy-In Fee Guarantee</div>
<div>
*1 04-Sep Sun 10:00 $215 NL Hold'em [6-Max] $200 $15 $1,000,000</div>
<div>
4 05-Sep Mon 11:00 $320 PL Omaha $300 $20 $300,000</div>
<div>
*10 07-Sep Wed 06:00 $265 PL Omaha [Knockout] $250 $15 $225,000</div>
<div>
14 08-Sep Thu 11:00 $265 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Knockout] $250 $15 $500,000</div>
<div>
*16 09-Sep Fri 11:00 $215 PL Omaha [6-Max] $200 $15 $250,000</div>
<div>
*19 10-Sep Sat 10:00 $109 NL Hold'em $100 $9 $800,000</div>
<div>
*21 11-Sep Sun 10:00 $215 NL Hold'em $200 $15 $1,250,000</div>
<div>
22 11-Sep Sun 14:00 $530 NL Hold'em $500 $30 $1,500,000</div>
<div>
*23 12-Sep Mon 11:00 $215 NL Hold'em [4-Max] $200 $15 $500,000</div>
<div>
28 13-Sep Tue 17:00 $1050 NL Hold'em $1000 $50 $600,000</div>
<div>
31 14-Sep Wed 14:00 $320 8-Game $300 $20 $100,000</div>
<div>
33 15-Sep Thu 11:00 $320 PL Omaha [6-Max, 1R1A] $300 $20 $300,000</div>
<div>
*35 16-Sep Fri 11:00 $215+R NL Hold'em $200 $15 $550,000</div>
<div>
38 17-Sep Sat 10:00 $530 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up] $500 $30 $350,000</div>
<div>
39 7-Sep Sat 14:00 $320 HORSE $300 $20 $125,000</div>
<div>
*40 18-Sep Sun 10:00 $215 NL Hold'em $200 $15 $1,000,000</div>
<div>
43 19-Sep Mon 11:00 $320+R PL Omaha [6-max] $300 $20 $350,000</div>
<div>
46 20-Sep Tue 11:00 $320 Mixed PL Hold'em/Omaha $300 $20 $225,000<br />
49 21-Sep Wed 06:00 $215 NL Hold'em [1R1A] $200 $15 $400,000</div>
<div>
*58 24-Sep Sat 10:00 $530 PL Omaha [Heads-Up] $500 $30 $125,000</div>
<div>
60 25-Sep Sun 10:00 $215 NL Hold'em $200 $15 $1,250,000</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
That's a total of 20 events (!) and total maximum damage is $9,400. (this is assuming a max of 4BI in the $215+R NLH and 7BI in the $320+R PLO.) Any event that I end up not playing will be refunded as part of the final payout.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I also have a plan to blog each event into a separate post. But it's a plan that'll be hard to stick to after the fifth event. We shall see.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Changelog</b></div>
<div>
V1.1: Correction: the total amount should be $9,400 not $8,800.</div>
<div>
V2.0: Replaced Event 28 $1050 NLH with Event 23 $530 NLH. </div>
<div>
V3.0: Added Event 28 $1050 NLH back in. Removed Event 32 ($320 NLH 6max), Event 49 ($215 +1R1A NLH). </div>
<div>
V4.0: Removed Event 43 $320+R PLO 6max and added Event 39 $320 HORSE.</div>
<div>
V5.0: Added back Event 43.<br />
V6.0: Added back Event 49. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-5274266344185639642011-09-05T08:42:00.004+08:002011-09-05T16:41:51.621+08:00WCOOP Event 1: $215 NLH 6-MaxThe game is No Limit Hold'em Shorthanded, one of the NLH variations that offers fast paced action and the WCOOP deep structure offered plenty of play. The low $215 buy-in and the gigantic One Million Dollars guarantee ended up attracting 7500 players, yielding a $1,500,000 prize pool. This would be my first WCOOP event in 2011 and I had a great start when I built my 10k starting stack to 43k only after one hour. At that point i was either 2nd or 3rd out of over 5000 players. Over the next 2 hours the table basically had the same players, less 2-3 eliminations. I was in very good command of the table with around 70k chips while the next biggest stack a measly 10k and the rest in four figures. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that I was owning the table. And then I got moved.<div>
<br /></div><div>I was seated on this new table to the right of this 50k stack, and the rest of the guys with less than him. I wasted no time and gave away plenty chips. In one hand, I doubled up a 17k shortstack by getting it in on a 689 flop with 7T and the guy had TJ. He peels the Q on the river to win with a better straight. I lost a few more small pots here and there and gave away a total of 25k to the table and I was down to 50k. At that point I was begging the table to <b>not break</b> as I want to get my chips back. Soon after I was dealt this hand:
<br />
<br /></div><div>Hole card: Red Aces. Position: CO. Blind 250/500/60</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Preflop: folded to me and I raised to 1111, BB 3bet to 2400, i 4bet to 7500, BB called.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Flop: Qc Tc 2d. He checked. I checked. (To me his 4bet calling range is TT+, AK, so it was less a question of how much I can make off him than whether I'll go bust this hand. So I checked.)</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Turn: Td. Bad just turned to worse. He bet 12500 into the 15000 pot and I had around 40k left. I wasn't ready to fold Aces just yet, but I was very close to. I called.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>River: 6s. He checked, and I checked behind. (I think I missed a bet here, not sure.)</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Showdown: I won the hand with Aces, he had AQ for top top. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>I felt like I did badly by not stacking his remaining 24k. Did I play bad? Please use the comment section. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>After that hand I was up to 71k, and after a few rounds my luck turned horrid when a guy called my 4betshove with AKs and flopped the nut flush. Yes that's right, I had Aces. I lost over 50% of my stack in this hand so I was down to just above 30k. An hour later, the blinds creeped up to 600/1200/150 when my stack was dwindling down to just above 25k. I decided to 3betshove KQ in the BB against a button raise, but the guy called with A9 and I lost the hand and busted out. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>I busted out 1110th or so and the tournament paid top 960, but one can't be afraid to bubble if he wants to go deep, right?</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Tonight will be the $320 PLO. This should be a great chance to practice my peddling skills and hopefully I'll draw a table with a few guys who's willing to gamble it up too! Gogogogogogo!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-33476078501047498622011-08-31T16:11:00.004+08:002011-08-31T16:51:47.968+08:00Quick Thoughts on Heads-Up PokerWhat is heads-up poker about? It's about skills. Sure. It could be about luck. Except most poker players won't agree. It's about tilt. The real game of heads-up doesn't happen until one guy is on tilt. It's about figuring out how to tilt your opponent. It's about knowing when your opponent is on tilt and when he is off it. So you can put him back on. <div>
<br /></div><div>It's about destroying your opponent and dismantling his game, down to pieces. There's no room in playing nice. Because when the game is two people, if you're not the winner, you're the loser. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>It's about control. Control the tempo of the game, control when your opponent tilts, control yourself so you don't tilt. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>It's about aggression. Aggression is a good way to gain control. But over-aggression is a good way to lose control, of yourself. It's about passivity. Being passive while maintaining control is an art, but it's an art worth mastering.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Most importantly, it's about making the table a living hell for the guy sitting across from you and making him regret ever sitting down. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-79757728423690564932011-08-28T00:28:00.006+08:002011-08-28T00:50:36.754+08:00WCOOP: 9 days to go. 9 predictions.Nine days until I'll be losing A LOT of sleep for three whole weeks. I'll also have an amazing amount of fun (together with the proper dozes of heartbreaks) and hopefully some decent paychecks. And since this waiting game sucks, I'm gonna look into the crystal ball and predict my results:
<br />
<br /><div>* I'll somehow cash more PLO events than NLH despite playing 6 PLO and 12 NLH;</div><div>
<br /></div><div>* I'll definitely definitely DEFINITELY make money in 8-game;</div><div>
<br /></div><div>* I'm hopeless in NLH fullring freezeouts so I expect to cash no more than 1 of the 4 that I'm playing, very likely zero. In this case plssssss be the $1050;</div><div>
<br /></div><div>* In contrary PLO 6-max is where I put my head down and get to work, I expect to cash 2 of the 3 that I'm playing; </div><div>
<br /></div><div>* Historically I run extremely bad in Round 1 of HU events, so I'll go deeep if I make it past Round 1 in Event 38 and 58;</div><div>
<br /></div><div>* There will be overlay in at least 1 event I'm playing;</div><div>
<br /></div><div>* I'll end up not playing 5 of the 20 events;</div><div>
<br /></div><div>* I'll also end up playing 1-2 events which aren't on the list, most likely to be the Main Event (duh);</div><div>
<br /></div><div>* And err 1 final table. pls?</div><div>
<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-70750512077982994762011-08-16T23:53:00.010+08:002011-09-02T02:14:54.012+08:00WCOOP 2011 - Events which I'll play (version 1.1)I'm using this post to host a list of WCOOP Events that I expect myself to play this year. This is obviously mainly for guys who might buy my action. This list is bound to change over the course of now until the start of the first WCOOP event, and since I have no better way to keep track of said changes, I'll use the most geeky way, versions and changelog.<div>
<br /></div><div>Consider this initial list version 1.0:</div><div>
<br /></div><div><div>Event # Date Day Time (ET) Name Buy-In Fee Guarantee</div><div>*1 04-Sep Sun 10:00 $215 NL Hold'em [6-Max] $200 $15 $1,000,000</div><div>4 05-Sep Mon 11:00 $320 PL Omaha $300 $20 $300,000</div><div>*10 07-Sep Wed 06:00 $265 PL Omaha [Knockout] $250 $15 $225,000</div><div>14 08-Sep Thu 11:00 $265 NL Hold'em [6-Max, Knockout] $250 $15 $500,000</div><div>*16 09-Sep Fri 11:00 $215 PL Omaha [6-Max] $200 $15 $250,000</div><div>*19 10-Sep Sat 10:00 $109 NL Hold'em $100 $9 $800,000</div><div>*21 11-Sep Sun 10:00 $215 NL Hold'em $200 $15 $1,250,000</div><div>*23 12-Sep Mon 11:00 $215 NL Hold'em [4-Max] $200 $15 $500,000</div><div>28 13-Sep Tue 17:00 $1,050 NL Hold'em $1,000 $50 $600,000</div><div>31 14-Sep Wed 14:00 $320 8-Game $300 $20 $100,000</div><div>32 15-Sep Thu 06:00 $320 NL Hold'em [6-Max] $300 $20 $350,000</div><div>33 15-Sep Thu 11:00 $320 PL Omaha [6-Max, 1R1A] $300 $20 $300,000</div><div>*35 16-Sep Fri 11:00 $215+R NL Hold'em $200 $15 $550,000</div><div>38 17-Sep Sat 10:00 $530 NL Hold'em [Heads-Up] $500 $30 $350,000</div><div>*40 18-Sep Sun 10:00 $215 NL Hold'em $200 $15 $1,000,000</div><div>43 19-Sep Mon 11:00 $320+R PL Omaha [6-Max] $300 $20 $350,000</div><div>46 20-Sep Tue 11:00 $320 Mixed PL Hold'em/Omaha $300 $20 $225,000</div><div>49 21-Sep Wed 06:00 $215 NL Hold'em [1R1A] $200 $15 $400,000</div><div>*58 24-Sep Sat 10:00 $530 PL Omaha [Heads-Up] $500 $30 $125,000</div><div>60 25-Sep Sun 10:00 $215 NL Hold'em $200 $15 $1,250,000</div><div>
<br /></div></div><div>That's a total of 20 events (!) and total maximum damage is $9,400. (this is assuming a max of 4BI in the $215+R NLH and 7BI in the $320+R PLO.) Any event that I end up not playing will be refunded as part of the final payout. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>I also have a plan to blog each event into a separate post. But it's a plan that'll be hard to stick to after the fifth event. We shall see.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><b>Changelog</b></div><div>V1.1: Correction: the total amount should be $9,400 not $8,800. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>
<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-45225225466517828852011-06-04T00:58:00.003+08:002011-06-04T01:11:13.048+08:00Coming up: Macau Poker Cup $30,000 HighrollerTomorrow I'll be traveling to Macau and I'll be on a mission. The mission is the win the Macau Poker Cup Highroller event for the third time. The buy-in is $30,000 this time and it's a vanilla multi-table-tournament. By my rough guess we should see 60-70 runners, putting together a prize pool of around two million HKD. Top cheese should be around 700k-800k. But it's less about the money than about defending titles. I'll for sure bring my best game to the table. Gogogogogogogogo!<div><br /></div><div>Btw, go Mavs go. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-35720240443755515462011-02-10T23:57:00.003+08:002011-02-11T00:01:42.670+08:00Peter Eastgate's Comeback StatementThis was sent to me from Pokerstars as a press release. After reading it, I gotta say that Eastgate is quite a brilliant man. (I'm posting the original transcript here since I assume as a press release this is public info anyways.)<br /><p></p><p class="p1"><br /></p><p class="p1">"Sometimes in life a person can feel lost and wake up one morning not recognizing who he is. Last summer that was how I felt. Prior to winning the WSOP in 2008, my life was very much a good solid routine of playing online poker and hanging out with my friends and family. Winning the WSOP changed that. I relocated to London and started a new life, the life of a high profile poker pro. For almost 2 years I was in a constant spotlight, travelling from poker tournament to poker tournament, doing thousands of interviews and never had a chance to catch my breath. In the whirlwind that followed winning the WSOP I lost track of the most importing thing in my life, myself. </p> <p class="p2"><br /></p> <p class="p1">Last summer I decided that I wanted to stop playing poker and catch my breath and find out who I am and what I want to do with my life. Over the last 8 months I have had a chance to reconnect with my friends and most important, my family. I have spent quality time with my family and really had an opportunity to figure out who I am and what I want to do with the rest of my life. When there is no financial pressure it can sometimes be hard to get motivated to move forward as a person. </p> <p class="p2"><br /></p> <p class="p1">I truly enjoy playing poker. I love the competitive element and the mental challenges of tournament poker. I feel it is important to constantly grow as a person and for a while I didn’t feel I was moving in the right direction. Having had time to think about my life and future I feel I have figured out how I can combine playing poker with a healthy life outside of poker. </p> <p class="p2"><br /></p> <p class="p1">I do not consider this a comeback, as I always knew there was a good chance I would play poker again. During my hiatus from poker, PokerStars have been very supportive. Therefore, I am pleased that I will start out with playing two events where I will be sponsored by PokerStars. First, I will be playing the <a href="http://pokerstars.com/"><span class="s1">PokerStars.com</span></a> EPT Copenhagen which of course means a lot to me, since it is on my home ground. Then I will play the NBC Heads Up Championship. I am fortunate that PokerStars have the best online tournaments, so I have an opportunity to get back in tournament shape. </p> <p class="p2"><br /></p> <p class="p1">There have been some questions about the sale of my WSOP bracelet. I was not trying to devaluate the WSOP name. It was not sold to make any kind of statement. It was sold to raise money for UNICEF and I am very proud and thankful that the sale raised £100,000 to UNICEF."</p> <p class="p2"><br /></p> <p class="p1">- Peter Eastgate</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-67267633944600969052011-02-09T23:46:00.002+08:002011-02-09T23:52:46.644+08:00FTOPS Event 7: $216 HORSEI played reasonably well in this one. <div><br /></div><div>I Barely missed the money. (Busted 174th out of 903, money was at 112 places.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Made some mistakes to go from $4000 starting stack to $2500.</div><div><br /></div><div>Moved up to $6500 in Razz thru two hands.</div><div><br /></div><div>Moved up to high point of $18000 thru Stud and Stud8.</div><div><br /></div><div>Made more mistakes in Hold'em.</div><div><br /></div><div>Somehow hit a Royal Flush in Stud8 to win half the pot.</div><div><br /></div><div>Busted in Hold'em with AQ against QJ.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh well. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-26436274068688610432011-02-08T19:29:00.005+08:002011-02-08T19:43:28.820+08:00FTOPS Event 4: $1060 NLH 6-maxThis is probably one of the tighter 6-max tournies i've played in, including live and online. I started and finished on the same table, and I was the first guy out of that pack of six to be eliminated. (read: over the two hours before I busted the table was purely doing chips-exchange.) I busted just before the 2nd break, and overall my run has been pretty bad. <div><br /></div><div>In level 2 of the tournament, I got my flopped straight ran over by runner runner flush. It's not like I let it happen either, I bet out every street until the river when I managed to just check-call to avoid busto. </div><div><br /></div><div>On one of the last hands, I got my flopped set ran over by the same guy with his runner runner straight. In the same whacky fashion, he called my cbet on the flop with 2 under cards (preflop he opened and I 3betted), called my bet on the turn with a gutshot straight draw, and finally made me call down his stack on the river. After this I was left with under 10BB and I shipped it in the 33 which naturally lost to JK. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3473754181094192669.post-40718703767872183562011-01-26T09:55:00.005+08:002011-02-08T19:38:38.983+08:00UPDATED: Self Note: FTOPS XIXHere's a quick list of what I plan to play in the upcoming FTOPS XIX (Feb 6 - 20). As a general rule I won't play any turbos or superturbos. Furthermore, I'll treat all Multi-Entry tournaments as single entry as it's just tilting otherwise. (Pls someone help me with these Multi-Entry spewaments as to how to optimally buy into it.)<br /><br />Straight off the bat I would like to highlight that I most look forward to Event 17: $535 PLO 6-max.<br /><br />Here's the list, note that all start times are in Hong Kong local time:<br /><br />Event 4, Feb 8 10:00am: $1060 NLH 6-max<div>Event 7, Feb 9 10:00am: $216 HORSE<br /><div>Event 10: Feb 10 10:00am: $109+R NLH 6-max (multi-entry)<br />Event 17, Feb 13 3:00am: $535 PLO 6-max<br />Event 27, Feb 15 10:00am: $1060 NLH (multi-entry)<br />Event 33, Feb 17 10:00am: $322+R NLH 6-max<br />Event 44, Feb 21 3:00am: $256 NLH 6-max KO<div><br /></div><div>I'm looking to spend a total of $4,578. (All NLH rebuy games I limit myself to 4 buys including the add-on.) Action buyer welcomed.<br /><br />UPDATED: Removed Event 35: $322 PLO HU as I'll be rather tied up that day!<br /></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02498761304069711386noreply@blogger.com0