The Well: Shaniac, 2.27.07

[shaniac]

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when did you first "hit it". it seems everyone has that moment - shaun's b2b $10r wins, gobbo's double win (i think it was the super and $11r) - what was your first big score that made you say, "damn, this be sum muhhfuggin chedda."

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I can probably pinpoint this to the time I took 2nd in a Party Super Monday. It was literally two days before the 2005 PCA and it was my biggest cash. I had been desperately trying to qualify for the Bahamas, but had been failing.

I was also on probation and hadn't left NYC in almost three years, but I decided to buck the system and leave the country. I sold off half my action for the PCA event and flew down to the Bahamas. I guess a lot of possibilities opened up because of that runner-up finish in the Party Super.

[Benal]

Do you play cash games on Stars? I don't think I've ever run into you in a cash game.. Why's that?

[dfbuzzbeater]

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I was also on probation and hadn't left NYC

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interesting story?

[shaniac]

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Do you play cash games on Stars? I don't think I've ever run into you in a cash game.. Why's that?

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I've dabbled a tiny bit in 3/6 and 5/10 NL and played some midstakes short-handed limit. For lack of a better explanation, I'd say the reason I don't play a lot of cash games is that I am lazy and tend to gravitate back to the thing I am most familiar/comfy with--tournaments. The one time I tried, I couldn't figure out how to use PT, and I basically just have not designed myself to be a c-game grinder.

I'm not particularly interested in being an 8-tabling super-grinder online (don't think I could ever use that model successfully) but ultimately, I would like to spend more time playing live NL games in California and Vegas, and feel comfortable playing 10/20 NL and up. I also enjoy some of the mixed games and would love to become an expert in those, but in the meantime I am still dedicated to figuring out how the hell to win a poker tournament.

[shaniac]

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I was also on probation and hadn't left NYC

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interesting story?

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Well, I guess. Just an arrest for weed. I'll write about it one day, but I don't think here.

[Ansky]

Shaniac, a few q's if you don't mind.

Why do you hate the man?

What the [censored] is the deal w/ brandi? Is she pure evil, or mentally unstable, or both?

Your friend HiatusOver sucks at props at drunken 1/2 nl games in NYC. Oh wait that wasn't a question, nevermind.

How Jewish are you?

[Ansky]

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I was also on probation and hadn't left NYC

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interesting story?

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Well, I guess. Just an arrest for weed. I'll write about it one day, but I don't think here.

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Clearly you have been rehabilitated [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Exitonly]

How do you think weed affects your play? Is it different live/online? Favorite smoking device? Do you have any plans/ideas of quitting? (i don't currently).Do you think it's a good idea or bad idea to start growing your own supply?

[shaniac]

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Shaniac, a few q's if you don't mind.

Why do you hate the man?

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Have I ever said I hate the man? I don't even know the man, and he definitely doesn't know me.

Allow me to quote Mark Twain: "Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it."

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What the [censored] is the deal w/ brandi? Is she pure evil, or mentally unstable, or both?

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I don't really know and definitely don't care, but my guess would be that a deeply troubled past has created an unstable mind, and although she's probably not "pure evil," it's wise to keep crazy chicks like that at arm's length.

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Your friend HiatusOver sucks at props at drunken 1/2 nl games in NYC. Oh wait that wasn't a question, nevermind.

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Yeah, but he's like one of the best overall poker players ever.

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How Jewish are you?

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Slightly more Jewish than the Beastie Boys but less Jewish than David Mamet, probably. Typical NYC reform Jew, I guess.

[shaniac]

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How do you think weed affects your play? Is it different live/online? Favorite smoking device? Do you have any plans/ideas of quitting? (i don't currently).Do you think it's a good idea or bad idea to start growing your own supply?

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I live in California, where the voters of the state have endorsed an initiative that makes medical marijuana somewhat widely available. The law also allows me to grow up to six plants (and six immature ones), and I would love to grow my own once I move into a bigger apartment. Therefore, in California, and the other dozeon-or-so other states that have passed MMJ initiatives, it's a "good idea" to grow your own, and I think everyone who wants to see grass decriminalized should feel duty-bound to contribute to the process by cultivating a garden (if possible).

As for how smoking affects my play, it's hard to say. I've been an "all day every day" kind of smoker for more than ten years, long before poker, so it's just part of my normal psychological makeup. It does sometimes tax my endurance and my concentration, so I certainly don't recommend that people go out of their way to play stoned, but for me, it's probably central to my ability to remain centered and detached.

Edit: As for favorite smoking devices, I'm almost strictly a joint/spliff man. I like rolling with Club papers, which are gumless, rice papers, very thin, and I feel that a nice, one-layer joints gives the best overall taste and smoking experience.