Three more hands

Maybe I should set up a separate blog for poker, but anyway here are three hands from last night's short but profitable single draw session.

Hand 1
I've never taken much notice of so-called timing tells before. There are all kinds of reasons why a player might take a long time to act that have nothing to do with the strength of their hand. Perhaps I should have taken some notice here though. Sariia took a long time to check, then I decided to bluff when I paired my second top card.

PokerStars Game #50235683826: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/09/27 3:20:20 ET
Table 'Philomela IX' 7-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: IOthLetter ($48.70 in chips)
Seat 2: DreamerRay ($54.80 in chips)
Seat 4: SARIIA ($38.80 in chips)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($28.25 in chips)
Seat 6: B4MyEyes ($91.05 in chips)
Seat 7: shadetree26 ($23.90 in chips)
IOthLetter: posts small blind $0.25
DreamerRay: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9d 6h As 3d 5s]
SARIIA: calls $0.50
plutoman20: raises $1.25 to $1.75
B4MyEyes: folds
shadetree26: folds
IOthLetter: folds
ge0rgia1 joins the table at seat #3
DreamerRay: folds
SARIIA: calls $1.25
SARIIA: discards 1 card
plutoman20: discards 1 card [As]
Dealt to plutoman20 [9d 6h 3d 5s] [6d]
SARIIA: checks
plutoman20: bets $3SARIIA: calls $3
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [9d 6h 6d 3d 5s] (Lo: a pair of Sixes)
SARIIA: shows [7c 4d 2h 9h 3s] (Lo: 9,7,4,3,2)
SARIIA collected $9.75 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $10.25 Rake $0.50
Seat 1: IOthLetter (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: DreamerRay (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: SARIIA showed [7c 4d 2h 9h 3s] and won ($9.75) with Lo: 9,7,4,3,2
Seat 5: plutoman20 showed [9d 6h 6d 3d 5s] and lost with Lo: a pair of Sixes
Seat 6: B4MyEyes folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: shadetree26 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 2
Georgia checks post-draw, I hit my smooth nine and bet out, but then she (?) shoves! Did she have a monster? Her line isn't something I'd be likely to take myself, so I couldn't easily tell what it meant. To be honest when I called I expected to see a top-ten hand, but at least I'd get some information which is precious to me as a new player in the game.

PokerStars Game #50235868652: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/09/27 3:31:16 ET
Table 'Philomela IX' 7-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: IOthLetter ($54.50 in chips)
Seat 2: D.B.Cuper ($14.90 in chips)
Seat 3: ge0rgia1 ($19.95 in chips)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($24.05 in chips)
Seat 6: B4MyEyes ($88.90 in chips)
Seat 7: shadetree26 ($19.30 in chips)
B4MyEyes: posts small blind $0.25
shadetree26: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [9d 3d 4s 2h Ks]
IOthLetter: folds
D.B.Cuper: folds
ge0rgia1: raises $1 to $1.50
plutoman20: calls $1.50
B4MyEyes: folds
shadetree26: calls $1
shadetree26: discards 2 cards
ge0rgia1: stands pat
plutoman20: discards 1 card [Ks]
Dealt to plutoman20 [9d 3d 4s 2h] [6d]
shadetree26: checks
ge0rgia1: checks
plutoman20: bets $3
shadetree26: folds
ge0rgia1: raises $15.45 to $18.45 and is all-in
plutoman20: calls $15.45
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ge0rgia1: shows [9h 5s 8d 2s Jh] (Lo: J,9,8,5,2)
plutoman20: shows [9d 3d 4s 2h 6d] (Lo: 9,6,4,3,2)
plutoman20 collected $39.60 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $41.65 Rake $2.05
Seat 1: IOthLetter folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: D.B.Cuper folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: ge0rgia1 showed [9h 5s 8d 2s Jh] and lost with Lo: J,9,8,5,2
Seat 5: plutoman20 (button) showed [9d 3d 4s 2h 6d] and won ($39.60) with Lo: 9,6,4,3,2
Seat 6: B4MyEyes (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: shadetree26 (big blind) folded on the Flop

Hand 3
This was a strange one. What hand could he do this with? He raises under the gun, calls my three-bet, but then draws two after I pat. Maybe something like T9732? And what about my bet after the draw? Should I have just checked here? By the way he took a long time to fold so it's likely he hit something, perhaps a jack. It's possible I even got him to fold the best hand, although I doubt it.

PokerStars Game #50236218004: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/09/27 3:51:50 ET
Table 'Philomela IX' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: bassviol ($19.10 in chips)
Seat 3: ge0rgia1 ($58.15 in chips)
Seat 4: SARIIA ($41.40 in chips)
Seat 5: plutoman20 ($53.75 in chips)
Seat 6: B4MyEyes ($75.80 in chips)
SARIIA: posts small blind $0.25
plutoman20: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Td 7h 8d 5s 4h]
B4MyEyes: raises $1 to $1.50
bassviol: folds
ge0rgia1: folds
SARIIA: folds
plutoman20: raises $2.25 to $3.75
B4MyEyes: calls $2.25
plutoman20: stands pat on [Td 7h 8d 5s 4h]
B4MyEyes: discards 2 cards
plutoman20: bets $5
B4MyEyes: folds
Uncalled bet ($5) returned to plutoman20
plutoman20 collected $7.40 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.75 Rake $0.35
Seat 1: bassviol folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: ge0rgia1 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: SARIIA (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: plutoman20 (big blind) collected ($7.40)
Seat 6: B4MyEyes folded on the Flop

Work is good

This temporary job has given my self-esteem a much-needed boost. And the best thing is, it's just a job; I don't have to get involved in, or even be aware of, any internal politics. I just have to follow the three golden rules of temp jobs that a recruitment agent told me a few years ago in the UK. Rule number one: you turn up. Rule number two: you do your job. Rule number three: you go home. As it happens I've been more productive on average than I was in my previous job which masqueraded as something really important but was anything but.

On Saturday I went round to Richard's place. It was good to catch up and just have a chat. We talked about flatting and a possible third member of the Asperger's group who might join us. The three of us will hopefully meet up this coming weekend.

I went to tennis at the club yesterday. I totally forgot it was their opening day so I didn't bring a plate, let alone a plate with food on it. They managed to get John Banks in to do the official opening. "I'm an honorary member of 340 clubs throughout New Zealand," he said, "and this is my favourite." And I'm sure you've told the other 339 the same thing! I won't be voting for him and the upcoming mayoral elections for the Super City. My level of tennis was surprisingly OK.

I'm so glad I pulled out of Lifeline. I needed some balance in my life and that was the only reasonable way - for now - I could achieve it.

My grandmother has now gone into a home in Cottenham near Cambridge. Getting her there wasn't easy; she wasn't a happy bunny to put it mildly. I'm going to write her a letter, perhaps even during a dull moment at work.

Lowball draw musings II

I've finally kissed goodbye to 25c-50c badugi after beating the game, over 30,000 hands, for six big bets per hundred. My guess is that I had slightly above average luck in that time: I won 58% of showdowns - a high number even when you consider that I drew much smoother than many of my opponents.

Yesterday I cashed out $1640 leaving a little over $600 in my account, just enough to have a crack at no-limit single draw. After 500 hands of that I'm marginally in the black. I realise I have some leaks that need repairing. Here are some hands that spring to mind:

Hand 1. I'm dealt a very breakable J97 on the button. There's a raise in early position, then a call, so I three-bet hoping to get a better hand to break. They both call and draw one; I stand pat. One of my opponents bets small after the draw, and I simply fold. If I get that hand again I'll just call the raise and draw to the nine.

Hand 2. I raise under the gun with a draw to the nut nine and get three callers. All four of us draw one. I make a 9-7 and bet $4 into a $6 pot. My lone caller turns over an 8-6. How did he not raise me there? This game seems a bit like five-card draw in that certain people only raise with absolute monsters and sometimes not even then. In future, with three people behind me, I'll probably just check-call there.

Hand 3. I call a raise in position with a nine draw. We're heads up, he pats and I draw one, pairing my nine. He checks post-draw and I bet $4 into a $3 pot. He calls me with a T98. I don't think the bluff was too bad, but the overbet possibly screams "please fold!" I should have bet $2 or $2.50, as I would if I'd hit my draw.

One thing I'm still not sure of is how much action to put in with pat tens and better. This afternoon I four-bet my 10-7 to $11 pre-draw. My sole opponent had a 10-8. I was a little surprised to win that. A few hands later I four-bet to $9 in position with the nut ten, a great two-way hand, and that held up too.

This game will take some figuring out, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Update: four hands from what I thought was an interesting session.

Hand 1
Should I break here? I tried to get to showdown as cheaply as possible. I thought there was a reasonable chance my smooth ten would hold up, and a slimmer chance of drawing better, though this doesn't take into account potential extra money I could make from Brick_Mag if I hit a monster.
PokerStars Game #50183666376: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/09/26 2:46:16 ET
Table 'Olshaniya IV' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: 2J4U ($33.90 in chips)
Seat 2: dominikavery ($8.40 in chips)
Seat 3: BRICK_ MAG ($32.15 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($37.30 in chips)
Seat 5: Greg941 ($26.05 in chips)
Seat 6: B4MyEyes ($66.10 in chips)
Seat 7: REDFALL ($26 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
Greg941: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [3s 6c Tc 5c 2d]
B4MyEyes: folds
REDFALL: folds
2J4U: folds
dominikavery: raises $1 to $1.50
BRICK_ MAG: raises $3.50 to $5
plutoman20: calls $4.75
Greg941: folds
dominikavery: raises $3.40 to $8.40 and is all-in
BRICK_ MAG: calls $3.40
plutoman20: calls $3.40
plutoman20: stands pat on [3s 6c Tc 5c 2d]
dominikavery: discards 1 card
BRICK_ MAG: stands pat
plutoman20: checks
BRICK_ MAG: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [3s 6c Tc 5c 2d] (Lo: T,6,5,3,2)
dominikavery: shows [2c Jh 4d 6d 7d] (Lo: J,7,6,4,2)
BRICK_ MAG: shows [7s 8c 5s 2h 9s] (Lo: 9,8,7,5,2)
BRICK_ MAG collected $24.45 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $25.70 Rake $1.25
Seat 1: 2J4U folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: dominikavery showed [2c Jh 4d 6d 7d] and lost with Lo: J,7,6,4,2
Seat 3: BRICK_ MAG (button) showed [7s 8c 5s 2h 9s] and won ($24.45) with Lo: 9,8,7,5,2
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [3s 6c Tc 5c 2d] and lost with Lo: T,6,5,3,2
Seat 5: Greg941 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: B4MyEyes folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: REDFALL folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 2
I'm not even involved in this one, but what's going on after the draw? 2J4U seems like a good regular player. Perhaps these two have some history, and Bob knows there's a good chance the huge overbet is a bluff, hence the call. I don't really get Bob's small blocking bet either.

PokerStars Game #50184615005: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/09/26 3:36:36 ET
Table 'Olshaniya IV' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: 2J4U ($20.20 in chips)
Seat 2: dominikavery ($50.25 in chips)
Seat 3: BRICK_ MAG ($52.40 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($27 in chips)
Seat 5: BOB LOBLAW44 ($27.15 in chips)
Seat 6: B4MyEyes ($55.90 in chips)
Seat 7: Flyers19001 ($10.35 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
BOB LOBLAW44: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Qh Js 2s Tc Kc]
B4MyEyes: folds
Flyers19001: folds
2J4U: raises $1.50 to $2
dominikavery: folds
BRICK_ MAG: folds
plutoman20: folds
BOB LOBLAW44: calls $1.50
BOB LOBLAW44: stands pat
2J4U: discards 1 card
BOB LOBLAW44: bets $1
2J4U: raises $11 to $12
BOB LOBLAW44: calls $11
*** SHOW DOWN ***
2J4U: shows [6h 9d 3d 4d 9h] (Lo: a pair of Nines)
BOB LOBLAW44: shows [8c 7c Ts 4s 3s] (Lo: T,8,7,4,3)
BOB LOBLAW44 collected $26.85 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $28.25 Rake $1.40
Seat 1: 2J4U showed [6h 9d 3d 4d 9h] and lost with Lo: a pair of Nines
Seat 2: dominikavery folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BRICK_ MAG (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: BOB LOBLAW44 (big blind) showed [8c 7c Ts 4s 3s] and won ($26.85) with Lo: T,8,7,4,3
Seat 6: B4MyEyes folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Flyers19001 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 3
I had a good two-way hand in position here. If he'd patted (as I expected) I'd have broken. By just calling his four-bet and patting, I'm setting myself up for a possible bluff; if he bets say $10 after the draw, then what?

PokerStars Game #50184745026: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/09/26 3:43:15 ET
Table 'Olshaniya IV' 7-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: 2J4U ($51.20 in chips)
Seat 2: dominikavery ($48.25 in chips)
Seat 3: BRICK_ MAG ($52.90 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($25.45 in chips)
Seat 5: BOB LOBLAW44 ($35.75 in chips)
Seat 6: B4MyEyes ($57.65 in chips)
Seat 7: Flyers19001 ($8.90 in chips)
BOB LOBLAW44: posts small blind $0.25
B4MyEyes: posts big blind $0.50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [Th 4s 2s 8h 5h]
Flyers19001: folds
2J4U: folds
dominikavery: raises $1 to $1.50
BRICK_ MAG: folds
plutoman20: raises $2.50 to $4
BOB LOBLAW44: folds
B4MyEyes: folds
dominikavery: raises $4.50 to $8.50
plutoman20: calls $4.50
dominikavery: discards 1 card
plutoman20: stands pat on [Th 4s 2s 8h 5h]
dominikavery: checks
plutoman20: checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
dominikavery: shows [6d 3s 7c 5d 7d] (Lo: a pair of Sevens)
plutoman20: shows [Th 4s 2s 8h 5h] (Lo: T,8,5,4,2)
plutoman20 collected $16.90 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $17.75 Rake $0.85
Seat 1: 2J4U folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: dominikavery showed [6d 3s 7c 5d 7d] and lost with Lo: a pair of Sevens
Seat 3: BRICK_ MAG folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (button) showed [Th 4s 2s 8h 5h] and won ($16.90) with Lo: T,8,5,4,2
Seat 5: BOB LOBLAW44 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: B4MyEyes (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: Flyers19001 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Hand 4
Seven hundred hands and I'd never been all in, or even close to it. I'd been lamenting the total lack of action my pat monsters had generated, while anything marginal had always got plenty of callers. Then this hand happened. When Bob called my all-in, I didn't expect to see a 9-8.

PokerStars Game #50185528152: Single Draw 2-7 Lowball No Limit ($0.25/$0.50 USD) - 2010/09/26 4:23:02 ET
Table 'Olshaniya IV' 7-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: sjcroy99 ($19.50 in chips)
Seat 2: dominikavery ($31.15 in chips)
Seat 3: BRICK_ MAG ($49.15 in chips)
Seat 4: plutoman20 ($22.50 in chips)
Seat 5: BOB LOBLAW44 ($49.40 in chips)
Seat 7: ThaSlosh23 ($16.65 in chips)
plutoman20: posts small blind $0.25
BOB LOBLAW44: posts big blind $0.50
Greg941: sits out
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to plutoman20 [2d 5c 4s 8d 6h]
ThaSlosh23: folds
sjcroy99: folds
dominikavery: folds
BRICK_ MAG: folds
plutoman20: raises $1 to $1.50
BOB LOBLAW44: raises $1.50 to $3
plutoman20: raises $4 to $7
BOB LOBLAW44: calls $4
plutoman20: stands pat on [2d 5c 4s 8d 6h]
BOB LOBLAW44: stands pat
plutoman20: bets $15.50 and is all-in
BOB LOBLAW44: calls $15.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plutoman20: shows [2d 5c 4s 8d 6h] (Lo: 8,6,5,4,2)
BOB LOBLAW44: shows [2s 9c 5s 4h 8c] (Lo: 9,8,5,4,2)
plutoman20 collected $42.80 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $45 Rake $2.20
Seat 1: sjcroy99 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: dominikavery folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: BRICK_ MAG (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: plutoman20 (small blind) showed [2d 5c 4s 8d 6h] and won ($42.80) with Lo: 8,6,5,4,2
Seat 5: BOB LOBLAW44 (big blind) showed [2s 9c 5s 4h 8c] and lost with Lo: 9,8,5,4,2
Seat 7: ThaSlosh23 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Cutting my Lifeline

I had my Lifeline session after work on Friday. After a busy week during which I'd failed to look after myself adequately, it was the last thing I wanted to do. In the session I said I was stressed with having far too much on my plate, and was told I should make a list and drop one or two items from it. I made this list (in my head) and there was a certain irony when I realised what I needed to cross off it. Lifeline. My stress levels would drop enormously if I didn't have to think about that. Last Friday I was told to attend an extra session on Tuesday to get up to speed (I'm slower to pick up concepts than the others in my group) and that was the last straw. Saturday's session lasts all day. I'm also supposed to do various homeworks and assignments. There just aren't enough hours in the week.

Lifeline is important; people's lives are at stake. Either you do the course properly or not at all. If I carry on with it I know only be doing it half-arsed. The other problem is that you have to deal with quite strong feelings. At the moment I don't have strong feelings. It's a real shame to have to give up at this stage, particularly as the course is so well run, but for my own sanity I have little choice.

I should mention that it did feel good to be working again, but I felt snowed under with all that other stuff that I'd really only taken on under the assumption that I'd remain unemployed. I'll have at least one more week in the job.

Yesterday we had the monthly autism get-together. Unlike last month, I was able to enjoy it this time. The topic for the initial discussion was energy-saving and sustainability. Some people spoke quite passionately and at length on this subject. I had my own views, but as someone who lives by himself and drives most places, I'm not sure how valid they were. At least I've been catching the ferry to work.

Mum has been up here on her 24-hour flying visit. It's been good to see her, though it's a shame the weather has forced us to stay inside most of the time. Mum spent some time last night picking out jobs for me on Seek. They nearly all had the word "analyst" in the job title. I find it hard to look at that word any more without thinking "anal". I feigned enthusiasm for the jobs (badly) and even applied for two of them.

A good earthquake

I'm tired so I'll keep this short. For me the real story of the Canterbury earthquake wasn't all the shops and houses that had to be demolished but rather how well the region coped in a seven-point-something quake. Some people - many of them builders - have even benefited from the quake. I'm one of those people. On Friday I started a temp job at an insurance brokers in the city, sorting out some of the earthquake claims. It's not a bad job. The pay isn't amazing but there are plenty of people who earn less. I've been starting work at eight, which means getting up at a time I've almost forgotten exists.

One of the agencies - the one that gave me all those tests - told me about the job at 5pm on Thursday, and while I was happy to get some work, that phone call sent me into a mad panic. All that other stuff I've taken on has been on the assumption that I won't have a job. Actually having a job has thrown everything out of whack. But on balance this is a definite plus for me.

Mum is coming up to Auckland to do some shopping with a friend. We should meet up, if only for a short while. I really hope we can avoid a repeat of what happened last time she was here.

One fine day

Wednesday's early morning turbo badugi tournament lived up to its name: I never got above my starting stack (of just 1000) and was out in double-quick time. As it happened, I couldn't have made it to the tournament proper anyway. The WINZ meeting or "seminar" was useful - everyone was told to be a lot more persistent, and not to take no for an answer. Only seven or eight people attended, but the whole gamut of jobless life was on show, from a highly switched-on computer programmer to someone straight out of The League of Gentlemen.

I got back to my car after the meeting to find a thin piece of paper stuck to the windscreen. I instantly knew what it was, but couldn't think why it was there. Then I looked at my registration sticker. August 21st. Everybody's birthday seems to fall on that date so how I could I forget? This year I've been very careful to save the odd dollar here and there, and then bam! - I forget something important and it sets me back hundreds. In this case $200. I went to Takapuna Post Office who gave me the bizarre news that I wasn't the legal owner of the car, and that it was registered until November 21st. I'd signed all the change of ownership papers when I bought the car, but for some reason the change has since been reversed. The post office lady spent twenty minutes on the phone to Land Transport, after which I was reinstated as the legal owner and given a new updated registration sticker without having to pay anything. In short, I might get lucky here and get off the fine. That would be quite a result. I've sent the council a letter and will see what happens.

After all that messing around, I attended the WRAP course (for what I imagine will be the last time unfortunately), helped (I hope) the Browns Bay boy with his maths, and went to the men's group where we chatted and watched the first half of Flawless which was very good I thought.

Quite a bit (by my standards) has happened since Wednesday; I'll save that for my next post.

Lowball draw musings

I've played a couple of thousand hands of triple draw now, at 25c/50c and 50c/$1, and I'm roughly break-even. Given my badugi record, and the similarities between the two games, I thought I'd do better than that, but it hasn't panned out that way. Just like in badugi, I see what appears to be poor play, but unlike in badugi I seem unable to capitalise. Maybe my sample size is too small to draw any reasonable conclusions, but I'm sure I have a few leaks that need patching up. Certainly I can't hand-read as well in triple draw as I can in badugi.

I've read some discussion on forums about the comparative variance of triple draw and badugi. The swings seem more brutal in triple draw, although I've done no statistical analysis of my hands to back this up. A couple of reasons why triple draw might be more "swingy":

1. Triple draw hands run closer in equity, particularly on the last draw; for instance 8763 is a 44% shot against 7432 with one draw remaining. Compare that to 652 in badugi, which is about a 4-to-1 underdog to 32A on the last draw.
2. When you're up against a pat hand in badugi and you've missed the first two draws, it's likely you won't have the odds to continue, so you can (and should) pull the plug at that stage unless the stand-pat person has a propensity to snow. In triple draw you generally have more outs to complete your hand and can therefore see all three draws. So in triple draw a bad run of missed monster draws will cost you considerably more than in badugi.

In addition to those factors, you play more hands per hour at triple draw than badugi (because the tables are smaller) so your ups and downs seem more pronounced.

My current overall profit has just nudged over US$6000, including (of course) that tournament success back in May. If and when it reaches $6100, I'll cash out all but $600, which I'll use to play single draw as well as badugi (and maybe low-stakes triple draw too).

I managed to convert some of my frequent player points into tournament money, and I'll use $22 of that to buy into tomorrow morning's turbo WCOOP badugi satellite, starting at 7:30. The turbo aspect doesn't appeal - if you don't hit a few hands early you'll be out - but I'll give it a go anyway. After that I've got a busy day: a WINZ appointment at 10:30, the WRAP (mental health) course between 1 and 3pm, teaching fractions in Browns Bay a little later, then the men's group in the evening.

What a day

Yesterday lunchtime the phone rang. It was Mum. Again. She rarely has any news, and neither do I, but that doesn't stop her ringing me. Only yesterday there was news. I hadn't seen the national news, so was totally unaware that a severe earthquake had struck Canterbury in the early hours of the morning. Dad somehow slept through virtually the whole thing, while I'm a bit envious of my brother for experiencing his first quake. I'm amazed that nobody died. That there was no loss of life was due to the timing of the quake, structural improvements made to buildings over the years, and simply good fortune. News of the earthquake somewhat overshadowed the other disaster to hit the South Island yesterday. Nine people were killed when their skydiving plane crashed at Fox Glacier; four of them were tourists including a 24-year-old Englishman. Reports of what actually happened there seem sketchy; there will surely be more to come. September 4th 2010 will live long in the memory for many people.

Lifeline on Friday night was a much more pleasant experience and I'll be carrying on with the course for the time being at least. I have an assignment to hand in on Friday; I'll make a start on that tomorrow. I've also made an appointment to see WINZ at midday and will be catching up with Andy in the afternoon. Then in the evening I'll have my Italian class.

My maths lesson on Wednesday was a definite change in pace from some of my previous ones. I tutored a 13-year-old boy from Browns Bay who came from a family very unlike what I described in my last blog post. I proceeded to give a lesson on fractions, or try to. I asked him what a half plus a third was, but he was all at sea. In my next lesson I'll have to get right back to the basics of what a fraction is - I've printed out a series of factsheets from the BBC website. Judging by the hour I spent with him, I'd say he was five years behind in maths. I really want to help him. As we cover fractions I'll try and get him to learn his times tables at the same time.

I heard nothing more about that job, so my chances must surely have dropped from 25% to under 10%.