Halloween in Vegas, Badugi, and Sports Betting Update

The bad news is that I've been incredibly busy at work recently. The good news is that I get to party it up a bit this coming Halloween weekend as JC and I are meeting up with a few friends in Vegas. We'll be dressed up, but there aren't any hard plans regarding where we'll be going. On Sunday, we're going to see Zumanity, the adult-themed Cirque du Soleil show. It's been a long time since I've seen a show in Vegas, and JC has never been to one... so hope it's a good one.

Now, it's time to talk briefly about this poker game called Badugi. PokerStars has it available online for as low as 25 cent/50 cent stakes. I've mostly been playing 0.25/0.50 through $1/2. Anyway, it's a lowball triple draw game where you try to make a badugi, which is a 4 card hand with 4 different suits and 4 different ranks. A 4-Card Badugi will beat any 3-card hand will beat any 2-card hand, etc.

For example, a Jh 5d 3c Ah is a 3-card hand: Ah 3c and 5d play. The Jh won't play since it copies the heart. This would beat someone who held 7d 6c 2s Ac, as they would play Ac 2s 7d for a 7-high 3-card hand. Any badugi, say Kh Qc 8d 7s, would beat both of these 3-card hands.

Well, to make a long story short, I've been semi-hooked on this seemingly simple game. The players at the lowest limits are horrible... at least that's what it seems so far. I don't think I'm simply getting lucky though it's certainly possible given that I haven't put in a ton of hands yet. I am up roughly 120 bets so far... we'll see if this trend continues.

And, a quick update on the sports betting. Basically, I'm very close to break-even after 81 bets. I'm up a whopping $25.20 with an average wager of $17. So, it's not good, but I guess it's not horrible either. Hehe.

Mudd #1 at Victoria's Secret Site

Well, the West Dormers at Harvey Mudd College have pulled off a prank on Victoria's Secret's Nominate Your School page. The Mudd ranked #1 with all the fake votes, and the next 6 schools conveniently spell out WIBSTR. Awesome.

Here's a link to a story about it: Harvey Mudd 1, Victoria's Secret 0.

Done Buying For Now

Just finished this round of buying... picked up shared of Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 18.02. I won't be buying anything more until I raise more cash.

Given that Wet Seal (WTSLA) is down roughly 9% from the sell point, it seems that the recent purchases were a good thing. For a more general comparison, the S&P is up roughly two and a half percent from the partial sale of the Wet Seal on 9/21/09.

The following is based on intra-day prices.

WTSLA: 4.00, 3.65, -8.75%
APEI: 34.93, 35.88, +2.7%
ARNA: 4.90, 4.40, -10.2%
CVX: 69.00, 76.43, +10.8%
PM: 47.57, 50.39, +5.9%
RIMM: 74.82, 68.32, -8.7%
SCHW: 18.02, 18.02, 0%

100 Most Common English Words

I just took this online quiz thing that gives you five minutes to try and guess at the 100 most common words in the English language. I really suck. I got 46 out of 100, and after seeing the list of the ones I missed, I think I should have done much better.

100 Most Common English Words Quiz

Give it a try.

Baltimore and Sports Betting

I was in Baltimore recently for business, and the trip started off horribly. First, I lost my phone at the airport (it was my fault, I set it down on my roller bag and it fell off when I walked off). Then, I hopped onto a hotel shuttle only to learn that there were 3 hotels in the Baltimore Area with the same name.

I lucked out on both points -- the hotel offered to shuttle me over to my hotel for a fixed rate that was well below what a cab would have cost and someone working at one of the airport restaurants found my phone, which I then received the next day (I threw him a twenty in case anyone was curious.

Both training and the meetings I had while I was out there were really productive, so that was good. But, after all the day's activities, you can't just stay cooped up in a hotel. You've got to go out and have a little bit of fun too.

I went to several places during the week. On my final night there, I went out with a college buddy of mine (good ol' T-Bag). Anyway, I highly recommend two of the bars that I checked out: Brewer's Art (featuring their very strong, but delicious beers) and Pub Dog (super cheap $2 beers if you buy them 2 at a time). Also, went to Nick's Fish House for their Happy Hour on one of the nights too -- that place was alright, but I much preferred the other two spots.

Here is a pic of the harbor and also one of a water taxi that I took to work on one of the days. It's definitely not practical, as it took us about 45 minutes longer than a cab ride, since it wasn't a direct route. We had to get off and walk a fair distance to another pickup spot to catch another water taxi that would ultimately take us to our destination.



And, now, a quick blurb about my recent restart of sports betting with a similar experimental meta-system as I had tried in the past. For those who aren't aware, I was sports betting using a meta-system that started off great and then hit a bad streak that caused me to pull the plug at my break-even point.

Anyway, the amount I'm betting is pretty small (average bet has been $17.53). After 21 bets, the record stands at 12-9 for +$44.24. We'll see if this experiment is more successful than the last. Either way, it's a fun experience and (hopefully) should not cost too much if it ends badly.

I might as well put up the current bets that have already been locked in.

Date	Sport	Game	Bet	Price	Wager
10/8/2009	NCAA FB	Nebraska - Missouri	Nebraska -3.0	-110	$16.50
10/8/2009	MLB	Boston - LA Angels	Boston Win ML	-110	$11.00
10/9/2009	NCAA FB	LA Tech - Nevada	LA Tech +10.5	-110	$22.00
10/10/2009	NCAA FB	Alabama - Mississippi	Mississippi +5.0	-110	$22.00
10/10/2009	NCAA FB	Auburn - Arkansas	Arkansas +2.5	-110	$11.00

Win or lose, I'll try my best to update progress every now and then.

That's all for now.

McDonald's Angus Burgers

I have to say that I'm impressed with the McDonald's Third-Pound Angus Mushroom and Swiss burger. I'm usually not a fan of McDonald's food, and I typically prefer Carl's. But, the Mushroom and Swiss burger has me coming back for more lately.

It's clearly not a great burger, but it's surely a great burger for its price and for what it's meant to be (a fast food burger). I prefer In 'N Out (who doesn't), but when you're craving a mushroom burger, I'd say it hits to spot. Give it a try.

I'm planning on trying out the other two varieties in the near future. In any case, I hope McDonald's keeps the Mushroom and Swiss Angus burger on its menu.

Chevron Purchased

Looks like my order to buy shares of Chevron (CVX) executed today at $69. Out here on the East Coast for business, and I find it a bit weird with the market being open 3 hours later than I'm used to. Not sure if I prefer it or not, but it was nice when I could get a look at things before I went in to the office.