Thursday, June 21, 2012

Poker Question

This happened to me on my last hand playing:

I was first to play.  1-2 NLHE.  Had about $180 on me.

Dealt: AA

Raised to 10.  2 callers.

Flopped: Q-8-4.  I believe two cards were suited but I don't recall which ones.

Big Blind bet $30

I raised up to $80

He went all-in.

Now, I've seen him make a big bluff before.  But overall my impression of him was that he was a good player.

I called, he showed 2 pair (he had Q8), I lost.

My question- should I have known better?  I was thinking he either had a flush draw or AQ- but was an all-in raise reasonable with either hand?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

NBA Thoughts- 06/20/2012


NBA Thoughts as the season wraps up:

* Miami is up 3-1; barring a huge turnaround, they will most likely win the NBA Title. If they win, they will have deserved it; this was a tough season with the strike and compressed schedule. I thought the wouldn't be able to handle the load, but they have.

* Is it going to be bitter to see LeBron James hold up the NBA Title? Hell yes. But I also had to stomach watching Art Modell hold up the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and what he did was a thousand times worse. And maybe we can all finally stop hearing about the Miami Heat.

* The scary thing about OKC isn't how good they are- but that, by all rights, they'll be better in the next year or two. A lot of their flaws and problems will be fixed with experience- if healthy, they should be the favorites next year.

* The Derrick Rose injury is awful- not only was he out of the playoffs this year, he'll miss most if not all of next year, and the type of injury he has could hurt him for the rest of his career.

* The Draft is coming up (just next week); New Orleans is taking Anthony Davis at #1 unless he's dead or arrested, and I think they'll still take him if it's not a felony. After that, it's a crapshoot. Charlotte has #2, and I can make arguments for five guys. Just a guess as to how the top 6 will go:
- New Orleans: Anthony Davis, C
- Charlotte: Thomas Robinson, PF
- Washington: Bradley Beal, SG
- Cleveland: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF
- Sacramento: Andre Drummond, C
- Portland: Harrison Barnes, SF

* The team I feel most sorry for? The new Brooklyn Nets. I don't see Deron Williams staying, and I don't see them getting any good players for a year or two. Trading their draft pick to Portland was insanely foolish.

* Predictions for the offseason
- Dwight Howard gets traded to the Lakers. Don't ask me how- I can't work out a fair deal. But the Lakers always making deals that are steals, and great centers (Chamberlain... Kareem Abdul-Jabbar... O'Neal) someone find their way to LA
- Stan Van Gundy takes a year off coaching; Mike D'Antoni is hired somewhere (I thought Washington was ideal for him, but they rehired their coach)
- Deron Williams goes to Dallas; Eric Gordon stays with the Hornets
- Jeremy Lin goes somewhere- maybe to whichever team hires D'Antoni