Goodbye 07, Hello 08

Sunday night marked the end of my online poker playing, at least for 2007. I put in some extra hours at the computer the past couple of days, trying to work up my bankroll as much as I could before I cashed out for Christmas. I worked it up to just a shade under $200 until I went on a sick streak of getting sucked out on to drop down to about $165. I withdrew it all except for $11 with the intent that I'll replenish most, if not all, of that withrdrawal when I get my FF money.

A quick note - I played one of those new $10 multi-table Knockout SNGs the other night, finishing 9th after running AT into the almighty A4. 4 on the flop cripples me & I'm gone the next hand. Anyways, that tournament is the sickest form of poker I think I've ever played. The knockout element gets to people's heads, and you see people making the craziest decisions just to knock someone out. It's amazing how many people were risking their entire stack within 10 hands because they flopped an 8-high flush draw! I've only played two knockout tournaments (the other losing with AK against the monster hand known as A6), and if there's a different strategy to these I haven't really figured it out, but am I wrong in just trying to play strong poker, take a shot at the $230 1st place, and just consider any knockouts as gravy? Is that really that foreign of a concept? 'Cause I sure feel like I'm in the minority when I play these. I did adjust my strategy once I amassed a stack, but it was basically just a looser version of playing a big stack, reraising with crap like AT and K5 to isolate a shorty & pick up some chips and bounties. Had I not run AK into KK just a couple of hands before the final table, this would probably be a different story.

Anyways, let's move on to today's post. It's the end of the year, so I guess I should do some kind of 2007 reflection post, although I probably do enough reflection on this blog as it is.

Overall, I think 2007 was a successful year. I don't have any kind of profitability statistics, but according to Sharkscope it's been about $800 or so. Of course, that doesn't include cash game or MTT results, and it doesn't include Poker Stars stats, but it does reflect about 90% of what I played this year, which was SNGs on Full Tilt. Considering I haven't gone completely busto & reloaded in almost a year, I can say with confidence that this year was profitable.

I do feel that my game has improved from the start of last year, but I can't quite tell you how. I do think I've improved on my overall poker awareness, understanding situations from a more +EV point of view. I still do need to work on other aspects of my game, like aggressiveness & making solid reads, but I'm at least heading in the right direction.

Of course, I don't have that many solid results to show from it other than a consistent profitability. My biggest score this year was just over $100 in a multi-table SNG. I cashed in a couple MTTs and final tabled a couple of Mookie's this year, which is more than many others can say. Of course, I played within my bankroll most of the year, so I only had just a handful of chances to mark my success with some 3 & 4 figure scores.

I end 2007 on a high note (figuratively speaking. In actuality, I'll be leaving 2007 on a sour note when I flopped trips on an A87 & played it perfectly, only to lose when my opponent goes runner-runner and makes a bigger full house than I did), but I know that I've still got farther to go. I'm eyeing 2008 as the year that I grow beyond being a decent or good poker player, depending on how loosely you throw around the word "good". The struggle is trying to do so within the financial constraints and competing priorities I've mentioned here before, but I feel like I'm on the verge of turning the corner as a poker player. So, to do that, I decided to come up with some goals for 2008. Aside from my bankroll challenge, I've never really set any kind of poker related goal for myself. Any progress I've made since I started blogging is by picking up concepts & strategies from other bloggers, but application of those concepts & strategies hasn't been consistent. Above all, I still have my eyes on the WSOP in 2010, so if I'm going to start making changes, I can't wait any longer.

So, here are my 5 goals for 2008.

1. Build my bankroll up to $2000 by Thanksgiving. I think 11 months is enough time to achieve that, even with the limited amount of time I have to play. I don't see myself making any significant changes to my rules - it's just a matter of making sure I stick to them. I've been better this second time around but I keep jumping up to the $10 games lately. No one's perfect, and I'm certainly proof of that. Anyways, if I start with $100, I'd have to average about $40\week profit to reach my goal by Thankgiving. I think that's easily attainable as long as I stick to my plan.

2. Read all of my poker books. I've amassed a pretty extensive library so far:

Harrington on Hold'em Vol 1 & 2
Cloutier's Championship No Limit & Pot Limit
Sklansky's Holdem for Advanced Players
Sklansky's 7-Card Stud for Advanced Players
The Mathematics Of Poker by Bill Chen
Texas Holdem Odds & Probabilities by Mathew Hilger
Weighing The Odds by King Yao
Phil Hellmuth Presents Read'em & Weep by Joe Navarro
Caro's Book of Poker Tells

But I've only read about a third of those completely, and some I haven't even touched yet. Talk about -EV! I plan to get through all of these books in 2008, even the ones I've read already. That's about 1 book a month - that should be manageable.

3. Win a Mookie

I started playing the Mookie this year & I think I've played about 10 of them so far. I've final tabled twice, both times going out with Jacks (vs AA or AK). I could certainly use a banner for my blog. I'll still have school Wednesday nights until May so I doubt I'll be able to accomplish this anytime before then.

4. Win a MTT with over 300 players

This will probably be my toughest goal of the year. I don't always have the time to play a large MTT - I think I've only played about 10 of these this year - and I think that will be my biggest deterrent from accomplishing this goal. I've final-tabled a couple of smaller MTTs in the past month or so (around 100 players), so I look to use that as a stepping stone to improving my MTT game and taking one of these down.

5. Become a more visible blogger

I've been blogging for a year & a half and I still feel like a relatively unknown blogger. Of course, one reason may be that I don't give people a good reason to stay updated on my blog. Another reason is partly because most of blog reading time occurs at work, and I don't have the ability to comment when I'm at work. But these are mostly excuses, not reasons. I'm going to work on making my blog more interesting for my readers, but also, I'm making it a goal to put forth a greater effort to get to know all of you whose blog I read regularly. I've been following many of the trip reports from the last WPBT gathering, and to say I'm just a little jealous would be an understatement. Unfortunately, I'm already fairly certain that I won't be able to make any of the gatherings next year (planned trips to Chicago & Paris are a priority next year), but that doesn't mean I can't work on getting to know you donkeys anyways.

I decided against making goals like "improve my short-handed game" or "become better at steals & resteals" because I think setting goals on improving one's poker skill-set is futile. Those kind of goals are more long-term goals. I may improve my short-handed game in 2008, but that shouldn't be an accomplishment because there will undoubtedly be an opportunity to improve it again in 2009. And 2010. And so on.

This will be my final post for the year. I'm leaving on Wednesday to go AZ & CA with my girlfriend to see our families until Christmas. Happy Holidays & Happy New Year to all of you - I'll see you again in January.

Boom!

Sorry, this isn't a poker post. You'll have to wait until Tuesday for that.

Instead, this is my final FF post of the year. A 94-54 victory this week guaranteed 1st place & $300 for me. What's somewhat amazing is that my final starting lineup wasn't that much different than my first week lineup, a sign that A) I drafted well & B) I was lucky that I didn't have very many significant injuries. On to the recap:

Starters

Peyton Manning - not his best game of the year, but overall he still had a solid season. Not enough to be the only QB drafted in the first round, something that will undoubtedly change next year.

Brian Westbrook - His worst week since week 7, and he still gave me almost 15 points. When your top RB is almost guaranteed about 90 yards & a TD, you're going to usually do well.

Earnest Graham - Although Westbrook was my MVP, Graham is probably the player who carried me in the end. The past 3 weeks have been huge, and he's averaged over 17 ppg in the last 8. I thought I'd have solid RB depth this year but I ended up using a waiver wire pickup for my 2nd RB.

Reggie Wayne - A disappointing way to end the season but he came though for me big time when I need WR the most. If Harrison retires this year, Wayne should be primed for a huge year next year.

Andre Johnson - If this guy stays healthy, I would've had the season locked up a couple weeks ago. He's a top 5 receiver if he can stay injury free.

Heath Miller - Ended the year on a downswing but found a TD this week to give me some extra points. I'm glad I was able to have a productive Steeler on my team this year.

Mason Crosby - My 3rd or 4th kicker of the year, he's been on fire lately, giving me a huge 17 points this week

Seattle D - What an awful week. They collapse at the end against the Panthers, and can't even register a turnover or a sack.

Bench

No one notable - Anderson, Lynch, & Galloway didn't outperform any of my starters. Green Bay would've given me more points as a defense, but I felt it was a tossup this week anyways.

Other Notes

1. I still have two weeks left, including next week against someone competing for the money. I think the right thing to do is continue to compete - it's not fair to the league to submit a lineup full of scrubs. Unless everything is locked up before the last game, it's pretty shitty to just give someone a free game.

2. Fantasy Football is primarily based on luck - you can be the best drafter, make the best decisions, grab the right waiver pickups, and still lose, especially when you have players go down due to injury. But there's something to be said for knowing what you're doing. I enjoy FF but I take it very seriously as well. I didn't win this league because I got lucky in my draft, or because I stayed injury free. I had to deal with losing a top WR (A. Johnson) for the majority of the year, having 2 of my 4 RBs disappear most of the season (T. Henry & T. Jones) and a horrible week 6 where I had 6 of my 8 normal starters on bye & started people like Jason Wright, Dwayne Bowe, and a then-unknown Derek Anderson. I won this league because I made pickups like J. Wright, E. Graham & D. Anderson, I won this league because I paid attention to injury reports & statistical information like points against. But most importantly, I realized that FF, much like poker, is more than about getting lucky. It's about making the correct decision with the information you have, having the confidence to make tough decision & key laydowns (or, in this case, key benchings), and trying to minimize the effect luck plays into your result. Come 10am on Sundays & I'm at the mercy of luck like everyone else, but I can guarantee you I put in more time during the week thinking about my lineups & gathering information, and my first place victory is a direct result of that.

3. I can also guarantee you that I will never, ever, have Joey Galloway on my roster again. I will draft three kickers & Vinny Testaverde as my 3rd string QB before I pick him again. He's one of the most frustrating FF players you'll ever have, and if there's any advice I could give a FF rookie, it is to stay away from Galloway.

Tomorrow, I'll return to making this a poker-only blog. Thanks for sticking with me.

Fantasy Football Week 14

122-55.

He never had a chance.

The victory is nice, but I have to admit, it's pretty sweet when you can blow our the 2nd best opponent in the most critical game of the year. Gotta give credit where credit is due - the guys practiced hard all week, stuck to the game plan, and just went out there & executed. It also helps that I made the right lineup choices this week - the only dispute was at TE, where my bench would've given me one more point. But we won't argue about that. My opponent, however, made some peculiar choices. One, he started Jerry Porter over Larry Fitzgerald. I know that Fitzgerald was sore, but even the AZ papers were reporting him as OK against the Seahawks. Two, he started Adrian Peterson (CHI) over Addai. I know Addai has been struggling, but do you really want to start last week's waiver wire pickup over your No.1 back in the biggest game of the year? Nevertheless, he could have made all the right choices yet it still wouldn't have mattered - that's how dominant I was this week.

Starters

Peyton Manning - I wasn't going bench him 3 weeks in a row, and he rewards me with his best game of the year. I officially take back all the things I said about being disappointed with him.

Brian Westbrook - If it wasn't for some dude named Brady, this guy would have to be the Fantasy MVP. He doesn't have as many big games like LT or AP, but his consistency is his biggest asset. I know that starting him is automatically 12 points at least; I'm thankful that I got him for the whole season this year

Earnest Graham - Talk about coming through in the clutch. I was just hoping for double digits & he puts up a huge 22 point effort instead.

Andre Johnson - There was a lot of talk this week about how Joey Galloway was going to be big, and how AJ was up against a tough TB defense. I considered starting Galloway but I couldn't bring myself to do it, and it paid off for me. If only AJ didn't get injured - he'd be giving Moss & TO a good battle for top fantasy WR this year.

Reggie Wayne - Not the best effort but the TD gives him double digits for another week.

Heath Miller - What happened to this guy?

Mason Crosby - He's just the kicker, but the highest scoring kicker in FF this year.

Seattle D - Wow. It's not often you see a team give up 21 points and still give you 21 points in FF. A bittersweet victory against my hometown team, but the $140 soon to be in my pocket will ease the pain.


Bench

Nothing notable other than Marshawn Lynch is back and might get the start next week.


Other Thoughts

So this victory mathematically guarantees that I'll do no worse than second for $140 profit. I just have to win one of my next three games to guarantee 1st place & $300 but it is definitely no guarantee. With the end of the season on the horizon, teams start changing their lineups to protect their starters or to give young players some PT. So I might have to do some lineup adjustments to counter this:

QB - Since the Colts haven't clinched the division yet, I think Manning is OK to start next week against OAK, but after that, we'll probably see a lot more of Jim Sorgi. At least I have Derek Anderson in his place, and the Browns are still in the thick of the playoff hunt against some easy opponents. I'll start Manning this week, but if I lost, it'll probably be DA the rest of the way.

RB - I'm not quite sure what to do with Westbrook. He's on the road against Dallas in a meaningless game. I don't think they disrespect him by not letting him play, but even so, it's already a tough matchup. I've also got Lynch @ Cleveland & Graham vs ATL next week, so I might have to bench Westbrook. But it's not like the Eagles have some young RB to test out. I'll have to see what the experts say this week.

WR - I'm living or dying with AJ & Wayne, it's that simple. My bench (Galloway & Engram) is done for the year.

TE - It's a cointoss between Miller & Ben Watson. I'll roll with the Steelers each time.

K - Crosby or bust

Defense - Both Green Bay (@ STL, @ CHI, vs DET) and Seattle (@ CAR, vs BAL, @ ATL) are playing well & have some great matchups, but I give Seattle the nod here. Gotta represent the new home town.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading my posts - even despite the lack of comments, I've enjoyed writing these, and I hope you've gotten something out of them too. If I win next week, that'll be my last FF post, so wish me luck!

Out Of Focus

I suppose I should get some poker content up here, although I really don't have that much to report.

I've been playing SNGs here and there lately but no significant success. My bankroll has been up & down over the past week but I'm basically right back where I started. I have strayed away slightly from my bankroll challenge rules but I put an end to that fairly quickly.

First, about two weeks ago, I played more Token games than I should have. I wanted to limit myself to no more than 1 per week, but I ended up playing four in one night. Unfortunately, I lost all of them, some in fairly brutal fashion, although I can't recall how it happened. All I do remember is that I got my money in ahead & got sucked out on. Each time this happened, I jumped back in. Rinse. Repeat. Rebuy. By the time I was done, I spent more than the token would have been worth. It's not like I have time for MTTs right now anyways.

I jumped up to $10 SNGs a couple times as well, cashing in a couple but not doing as well as I'd like. I do notice some subtle differences in the play at these levels; the players are still fairly bad, just not quite as bad. The play isn't quite as straightforward as the $5 games are, but I'll still find people pushing with stuff like A6, which I love when I'm raising with AK. Until that 6 hits the flop. Bastards.

For the most part, my success at the tables has been hindered by my focus. I've got so many things going on that I'm just not playing my strongest game right now. First & foremost, I've got Christmas on the mind. I'm flying back home to AZ next week for the holidays, then flying out Xmas morning to CA to see my girlfriend's family. I haven't been home in over a year & I'm super stoked to go back. I've pretty much checked out mentally and already entered into vacation mode. I've been planning my budget for Xmas which will require me to cash out my bankroll again. The problem here is that I've already budgeted X dollars from my bankroll, and if it drops below that, I start focusing on that rather than playing my best game. In a way, it's sort of like playing with scared money, which I know firsthand is never a good thing.

I hate to withdraw my bankroll but I've already been preparing for this since I started playing again. Christmas & family always supercedes poker, and it will until I'm in a position where I can accomodate both at the same time. The good news is that I'll be able to replenish my bankroll shortly after Xmas (more on that tomorrow), so the biggest inconvenience of all this will be waiting a week for ePassporte to process my redeposit request. At least they've been super quick about processing my withdrawals lately, so they've got that going for them.

Finally, I'm just looking forward to taking a break from poker. I know my brother is looking forward to getting in some action while I'm back home, so I'll have to see about squeezing in a tournament. My vacation runs through Jan 2nd, and I'm thinking about taking a trip down to Treasure Casino to hit up a tournament that day. Otherwise, I'll be away from the tables for about two weeks, and I think this will be a great way to start over fresh. It's hard for me to take a break from poker unless it's physically impossible for me to play, but when I do step away, I always find myself feeling rejuvenated when I jump back in. It should be a good way to start 2008.

Good luck to those still fighting for a TOC spot!

Fantasy Football Week 13

How does a first place team bounce back from two consecutive losses? With it's best week of the season, that's how!

You can probably guess that I won this week. I'll spare the lengthy recap for a different kind of post, but here's a quick summary of how I won: Westbrook, E. Graham, Wayne & A. Johnson all had 120 yards + a TD. With the exception of my TE, everyone on my team scored in double digits (OK, Seattle's D had only 8, but close enough). I scored 110 points, and that was even with Anderson starting over Manning. And it couldn't have come at a better time - my opponent was in 3rd place and had plans to make it close with a monster game from his RB, Tomlinson. I'm still in 1st place by one game, but this victory all but guarantees that I finish in the money.

The bad news is that the 2nd place team had a huge week as well, and got some help when his opponent left Minn's AP on the bench in favor of Reggie Bush. I don't think it would've mattered though - he's got a solid team with several players running hot right now. But, his next game is against a pretty tough opponent - me.

No. 1 vs No. 2, this late in the season, with huge championship implications on the line. A victory here and I have a 2 game lead with 3 games to go, all but assuring me of 1st place. After him, my next two games are against weaker opponents, so I would have a chance to go into the championship game with the title locked up. A loss next week pretty much means that the championship will go to whoever wins the last game. So, with that said, how about a matchup comparison?

QB - Manning\Anderson vs Romo

I give my opponent the edge here - Romo has been unstoppable this year. Dallas goes up against a Detroit team that is horrible on defense right now. The most that I can hope for is that Detroit comes out with intensity and battles for a late playoff push, but I expect Romo to go off - again - next week. Manning & Anderson have great matchups (Balt, NYJ). I've played Anderson the past couple of weeks and it's been a mistake. Manning is stepping it up again and I think I'm better off rolling with him from here on out vs. an inexperienced DA. However, neither QB compares to what Romo's done this year, so I give him the advantage.

RB - Westbrook\Graham vs. Addai\McGahee

On paper, this looks like an advantage for him. Addai & Westbrook are both having huge years. McGahee vs Graham kind of looks like an edge for him as Lewis has had an solid year, but quietly, Graham has been on a tear lately - 100 yards and\or a TD in 4 of the last 5 games. I dunno where he came from, but I'm glad I grabbed him. What else can I say about Westbrook - no matter the opponent or the Eagles QB, he finds a way to produce. I just hope he continues to run as well as he has. Addai has been quiet lately, and you wonder if Indy is considering resting him the last couple of games. In the end, I give myself the edge here. Our backups are decent too - if Lynch is healthy, he has a great matchup against the Dolphins this week. His backup is Marion Barber who is also having a great year.

WR - Wayne\A. Johnson vs. Fitzgerald\Ward

Talk abot clash of the titans! Two top notch receivers on each side, plus our bench is pretty good too (Galloway vs. Harrison). Wayne is the stud of the four but Fitzgerald is having a huge year as well. Hines Ward is one of my all time favorite players, both in real life & in fantasy. Every year, you think he's going to decline, but still finds a way to come up big. Andre Johnson, if he was healthy, would be the No. 1 WR in fantasy - as it is, he's averaging over 20 pts a game, better than any WR right now. He just doesn't have the cumulative points. It's pretty much a wash, but for next week, it comes down to matchups. I've got a favorable one with Wayne vs. Balt, but I'm not as excited for AJ vs. Tampa. My opponent has two tough matchups - Fitzgerald in a huge game on the road vs. Seattle and Ward vs the Patriots. I give myself a slight edge here.

TE - Miller\Watson

My opponent has a huge edge here. Gates is a threat every week, while I've got a couple of decent but inconsistent TEs. Gates had a horrible week last week but I can see him bouncing back against Tenn. Miller started off hot for me but has really cooled down lately. Watson hasn't been that great lately either, but I'm leaning towards going with him over Miller.

K - Folk vs. Crosby

Not surprisingly, both of us have a solid kicker as well. Folk & Crosby are top 5 kickers this year, and we both have good matchups this week, so I consider this a wash as well.

Defense - Sea\GB vs Tampa

This should be interesting. Minn has been a good fantasy defense this year, and they have a great matchup on the road vs. Houston. Green Bay has a decent matchup at home against Oakland, but Seattle will be my defense this week. They're at home against Arizona, and I'm salivating at the thought of Seattle's pass rush going up against Kurt Warner, who's averaging about three turnovers a game. Defenses are hard to predict, and with both of us having great matchups, I'm calling this a wash also.

Overall

I like my chances this week - even as lucky as I've been this year, you don't become 10-3 without having a good squad. But my opponent has just as much of a chance this week as I do. Romo against Detroit is huge for him this week - I don't see how Romo walks away from that game with anything less than 350 & 4 TDs. I think it'll be a close battle this week, but because of that matchup right there, I'm giving my opponent the edge. I hate to do it, but all things equal, I think Romo will be the difference maker and give my opponent the victory.























OK, hopefully the fantasy football gods are done reading and missed this final disclaimer. Of course I'm going to say my opponent's going to win, it'd be bad karma not to. Manning is just as likely to go for 350 & 4 against the Ravens, with several of those going Wayne's way. Of course I give myself the edge. I fully expect to win this week - I OWN this league!

Talkin Bout Some Omaha

Still plugging along in my bankroll challenge. Had a good run on Saturday night, not quite as good on Sunday night. Pretty much broke even between the two nights. Sunday was pretty wicked though - just one of those days where getting it in with the best hand wasn't enough. Flopped sets losing to turned quads, flopped boats losing to a counterfeit boat on the river. So ghey.

I did exercise my option to withdraw money from my bankroll without consequence, so I took out a bit to use to cover some expenses this week. I told myself when I started this challenge that I couldn't let myself get upset if I needed or wanted to take out money, so withdrawing it wasn't a problem. One day, those sets & boats will hold up and my bankroll will be back to where it should be.

One thing I have been playing a lot more of lately are PLO SNGs. I usually play the low-stakes Turbo games, but I'll jump into a 2-table regular one when I get the chance. Like most of the games at these stakes, the players are atrocious, even more so than the NL games. I understand that Omaha is a drawing game, but these players take it to the extreme. Anyways, I won't claim to be a PLO expert, but I have at least a basic understanding of the game & can do well from time to time. I enjoy playing the game & understand that there is more strategy than calling any raise with AFC (any four cards) and see what the flop brings. But I'd be lying if I said I was a solid PLO player, so I have a couple of hands that I had some questions about.

Hand 1

Seat 1: dhep8288 (1,440)
Seat 2: DeKewler (1,680)
Seat 3: TreyFu (1,470)
Seat 4: Anze11Kopitar (1,500)
Seat 5: Woodsmith111 (1,620)
Seat 6: mclarich (1,500)
Seat 7: moose7200 (1,410)
Seat 8: corky40 (1,500)
Seat 9: spaulds23 (1,380)
TreyFu posts the small blind of 20
Anze11Kopitar posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to mclarich [9s Ad Qs 9c]
Woodsmith111 folds
mclarich calls 40
moose7200 folds
corky40 folds
spaulds23 calls 40
dhep8288 calls 40
DeKewler folds
TreyFu calls 20
Anze11Kopitar checks
*** FLOP *** [9d 5c Tc]
TreyFu checks
Anze11Kopitar checks
mclarich bets 120
spaulds23 calls 120
dhep8288 calls 120
TreyFu folds
Anze11Kopitar folds
*** TURN *** [9d 5c Tc] [5d]
mclarich checks
spaulds23 checks
dhep8288 bets 280
mclarich calls 280
spaulds23 calls 280
*** RIVER *** [9d 5c Tc 5d] [Th]
mclarich has 15 seconds left to act
mclarich bets 1,060, and is all in
spaulds23 calls 940, and is all in
dhep8288 folds
Uncalled bet of 120 returned to mclarich
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Seat 6: mclarich showed [9s Ad Qs 9c] and lost with a full house, Nines full of Tens
Seat 9: spaulds23 showed [5h 4c 5s 7s] and won (3,280) with four of a kind, Fives

I made a questionable push on the river here, hoping that someone had a T without having T5 or T9. Of course, I didn't expect to see quads. I was a little overaggressive & ran into a cooler.

Afterwards, I made some needling remarks about his starting hand selection. To his credit, he only limped in so it wasn't like he called a raise OOP with that hand. Perhaps I have a tigher starting hand selection than most, but I hate playing hands like that. He has to catch the perfect flop (which he almost did) for that hand to hold up, but what happens when the flop comes 678 with two clubs? How hard do you play that in a limped pot with the ass end of a straight & a flush draw? Or if the flop comes AT9 all hearts? How confident can you feel with the low flush? I wasn't saying that he made a bad decision to limp with that hand, only that it's not really that great of a hand to play PLO with. Thoughts?

Hand 2

Seat 2: mclarich (3,110)
Seat 6: chairman (2,225)
Seat 7: Trent819 (6,698)
Seat 8: AAxavierAA (1,467)
chairman posts the small blind of 80
Trent819 posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to mclarich [As Jh 8s 9s]
AAxavierAA raises to 320
mclarich calls 320
chairman folds
Trent819 calls 160
*** FLOP *** [6c Ts 4s]
Trent819 checks
AAxavierAA bets 1,040
mclarich raises to 2,720
Trent819 folds
AAxavierAA calls 107, and is all in
mclarich shows [As Jh 8s 9s]
AAxavierAA shows [Qd Qh Qs 7d]
*** TURN *** [6c Ts 4s] [8h]
*** RIVER *** [6c Ts 4s 8h] [Kh]
Seat 2: mclarich (button) showed [As Jh 8s 9s] and lost with a pair of Eights
Seat 8: AAxavierAA showed [Qd Qh Qs 7d] and won (3,334) with a pair of Queens

I don't really care that much about what comments people make, but when the big stack commented with "pathetic", I didn't understand. He might not have been talking about me, I wasn't sure. I know I don't have a made hand here, but I'm swimming in outs with a chance to acquire a bunch of chips. In fact, I'm ahead of the AAxavierAA here 54% to 46% on the flop. I don't want to flat call then have the big stack call with something like two pair or some other kind of draw. If he has me beat, so be it, but I reraise here to get him to fold & isolate the shorty. Did I really play this that badly? I'd love to hear from those of you that play PLO regularly, and even those that don't.