Sunday, April 14, 2013

Meet the Red Hots

The cool thing (one of many) about the CFCL is the people we get to meet and know as they join and (then unfortunately sometimes) leave the league.  One of those special former owners is Bob Boryca.  Bob joined the CFCL in 2006 and retired six years later in 2011.

A solid guy, Bob had a great run in 2008, finishing in 2nd.  When he joined the league he was charged with naming his team.  He chose "Mo's Red Hots".  I have to admit it was a headscratcher.  No obvious baseball reference, no inclusion of his name.  But when you learn the backstory it is a solid name.  Bob had lost his grandfather a few months before joining the CFCL.  His grandparents owned a place called Mo's Red Hots, so as a tribute Bob named his team after his grandfather's restaurant.

As I mentioned when we met the Friars, many of our current and former owners have talents that range beyond interest in fantasy baseball.  Bob is no exception.  By vocation he's a high school teacher, but his interests are many. 

The more technologically advanced the CFCL became, we asked all of our owners to create a Team Profile.  Here is the link to the Red Hots profile. 

http://home.comcast.net/~dmahlan/owners/RedHots.htm

Now it's time to Meet The Red Hots:

How did you come about joining the CFCL?
 
When I lived in Texas I was able to get into a NL only re-draft league with an owner of Rotojunkie.com and many very knowledgeable members of the site. It was my first live auction draft experience and was a VERY competitive league. I had also been the commissioner of an NL only online auction keeper league that was very competitive but once I was in the live auction league I was hooked. Once it became official that I was moving my family back to Chicagoland I began searching for a live local league with openings. I came upon a post for an opening in the CFCL which seemed like it would be a great fit. I contacted David and went through the process of trying to obtain a franchise and was denied in that first year. After going through the process and getting a taste of the history and competitiveness of the CFCL I let David know that I would still be interested in the future if a spot ever opened up again. (I didn't anticipate that happening anytime soon but hoped) I then kept in touch every now and then to show how interested I really was of becoming a CFCL owner at some point and it worked out that the next year there was another opening and I was able to secure a CFCL franchise.
How would you compare the CFCL to other fantasy leagues you’ve been a part of?
 
The re-draft league that I was part of in Texas was comparable in terms of competitiveness but it was a different kind of competitiveness due to it being a re-draft league. That league benefited the person skilled at the auction and in season trading. With the CFCL the benefit goes to building and maintaining a franchise planning years ahead with moving parts all over your roster while still attempting to win or be competitive now. There is also a difference in the "open auction" bidding that I had been part of in the other leagues and the "formal organized" style of the CFCL. There is no comparison leagues I have been part of and the history of the CFCL with owners still active in the league that were there in the humble paper and pencil/USA Today stats beginnings.
Not only are you an accomplished fantasy baseball owner, you are a world class poker player. Are there any similarities to going through the CFCL auction draft and playing poker?
 
LOL....I wouldn't exactly say world class......but I would say that I can definitely hold my own at the poker table. There are definitely similarities to a CFCL auction draft and playing poker. In poker, the cards even out for everyone over a lifetime. The skill then becomes a huge part of (as the song says) knowing when to hold em and when to fold em. Learning and knowing your opponent and your opponents tendencies is the biggest similarity. Knowing that this opponent never bets on the come (his draws) or only is aggressive with two way draws is important information. Just as knowing that the some owners are going to hold higher value to minor league talent than others or that some teams will not spend money on pitching or closers (you can insert franchise owners/teams names for yourselves as I do not give away information learned at the poker table or in the CFCL.....not that you guys don't know it already :o) is valuable information. Knowing when to put the pressure on an opponent with a big bet at the poker table is as valuable as jumping the bid at the CFCL table to put the pressure on an owner that you know likes and wants that player (whether you really want them or not). Also, knowing when a small bet (bid) will get the job done and get you the pot (the player you want for cheap).
You are the only owner (active or retired) to have gone head to head with Doyle Brunson at the poker table. What do you recall about that hand?
 
It was amazing to have the opportunity to sit at the poker table and play with the legendary Doyle Brunson. I recall that Doyle was getting shorter stacked (not as short as typical amateur players let themselves get but short to the point where you should move all in and still be able to do damage to someone calling you) and Doyle moved all in. I knew he had a wider range and watched the action move around the table. There was a caller in between us who had a decent size stack (mostly weaker players do this or good player setting a trap of which my time at the table thus far had told me he was the former and not the latter) and I looked down at AK. I moved in knowing that the weak caller would fold 80% of the time and would be heads up with Doyle with dead money in the pot and giving him a chance to triple up. I had him dominated as he had another big Ace (can't recall exactly right now.....think it might have been A 10). As legends typically do, he hit his three outer and tripled up. Getting the money in good (or fantastic in this case) is all you can do. Sometimes they hit one of their outs and sometimes they don't. It would have been nice to have been the one to knock him out.....but would have been even nicer to win the table and the Main Event seat!
Aside from that what is your biggest and/or favorite poker memory?
 
Aside from playing with Doyle, my two favorite poker memories are:
 
1) The first time I ever walked into the room hosting the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. You cannot imagine how big that room is with all of those tables with thousands of people playing and the sound of chips being constantly shuffled over and over. It is a sight and sound I will never forget and words do not do it justice....you have to witness/experience it.
 
2) The first time I bought in and played in the 2K buy-in World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas. I thought I was going to be nervous but once I sat down and they announced "shuffle up and deal" I settled into my game and had a blast playing!
 
Back on January 17, 2010 you made a trade with the Rebels. You received Jonathon Broxton in exchange for JA Happ, Leo Nunez and six poker lessons. The players changed teams, but the poker lessons were never cashed in. Is there an expiration date?
 
The poker lessons do not have an expiration date and dates/times for those lessons can be negotiated at any time. Is there a local home game tournament/cash game you would like to take advantage of? Are you looking to play in the Chicago Poker Classic at the Horseshoe in Hammond the beginning of March? Maybe looking to take Vegas by storm this summer? Let me know and we can definitely work something out. Even if you decide to host a game I would come early and we can talk strategy.
 
Lastly, I just want to say that although life events have taken me away from the CFCL (and to some degree the poker table) I will always respect it's history and competitiveness. If I ever looked to get back into the fantasy baseball world I would wait for a CFCL spot to open or be created. I am fortunate that I made the choice to stop fantasy in order to focus time and energy on my family (same for poker) rather than have it dictated to me by events or misfortune. I have not regretted my decision for even one second. I have missed it.....a lot at times....but never regretted it. Thirty years! WOW! Here's to another THIRTY!

Bob

1 comment:

  1. Was always a pleasure to compete with Bob, except for one thing: he seemed to love all the same sleeper pitchers I did. I swear, he's beaten me out on more guys than everyone else put together. Bob - I hope you'll be able to come back to the CFCL some day!

    ReplyDelete