Soon I will be back in the game...

Until I get my account straightened out and financed, I will have to wait on the sideline. But you don't have to. Get in the Bodonkey game today!!!

Play Bodog’s Online Poker Blogger Tournament This Tuesday Night!


Bodog invites Poker Bloggers to play in it’s Poker Blogger Tournament with a total of $600 in bonus money.

If you are 1 of the 5 money bubblers, you’ll have your $11 buy-in refunded and if you finish in the top 5 you will win an entry for Bodog’s Sunday $100K Guaranteed tournament.

This tournament runs weekly on Tuesday evenings and requires a password for entry that Bloggers can promote within their community.

Tournament Details

* Dates: October 30th through to November 6, 2007
* Tournament Name: “Online Poker Blogger Tournament” at Bodog
* Entry Password: bodogblogger
* Buy-in + fee: $10 + $1
* Starting Chips: 3000 (Double Stack)
* Payout: Standard Bodog payout structure
* Bonuses:
o T$109 bonus paid to the top 5 finishers.
o T$11 bonus paid to the 5 players that are eliminated prior to payouts.
+ These bonuses will be awarded within 24hrs of the tournament completion.
+ T$ = Tournament Credits. These can be used as a buy in to almost all scheduled tournaments at Bodog and have a ratio to cash of 1:1.
+ T$ can also be combined with cash to buy in to tournaments.
* Day of week: Tuesdays
* Start time: 8:35pm ET


If you haven’t played at the Bodog Poker Room before, please download and install the free software client at:
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If you need assistance with signing up for the tournament or with starting a Bodog Account please call or email us at:
Bodog Poker Customer Service Number: 1-866-909-2237
Bodog Poker Customer Service Email: poker@newbodog.com

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BoDonkey Poker Blogger Tournament Banner
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2036/1801232650_1ecf43fb1f.jpg
Featuring the bodacious Bodog Girl Izabella. Free for the posting. Pimp away!

Daily Tournament Updates
http://smokkee.blogspot.com/

Bodog will continue to run this tournament and increase prizes as well as turn this into a poker league with an ongoing leader board if participation warrants it.

Smart to retarded in 5 seconds

I think that explain how I did in the RiverChasers tourney last night. Went from smart to retarded in 5 seconds. Was playing a patient, smart game and then threw it all away.

I was determined not to play all loosey goosey again. I showed up about a half hour in and played some hands. Made some good reads to chip back up and missing some flops and draws. Was floating along, waiting for a spot to make a move. The cards weren't coming my way and when they did, I made good use of them.

But then I hit a bit of a dry spot, and then one bad read which led to a bad move. A below average stack decided to start pushing on every hand, from EP. First time I folded A Q not wanting to go on a potential coin toss. The second time I had crap. The third time, I had 5 5. Presto never loses. I believe he was pushing on any two cards, with maybe an ace. It felt right to not just call but come over the top and make him fold that crap hand.

He insta-called. Yep, with A A.

See ya! This retard must drink the rest of his beer and shut down the pc.

The good part is I was content with my play last night up to that hand. There is plenty of time left to get back into shape. And if it continues to rain all weekend, I may find myself playing more than I expect.

The Mookie and my self junk kicking

Yeah, I pretty kicked myself in the junk in the Mookie. Played way too loose and aggressive early. That made for a short night.

I don't understand why I get into that groove in the Mookie. It isn't my game. I can get aggressive later in the mid or late rounds, but going crazy in the beginning has never worked for me. You would think I would have learned by now.

So I thought about it and figured these are the factors that led to my early exit:

• I just suck in the Mookie tournament. Again, see above.


• Maybe I was traumatized that the new Helloween CD wasn't going to be delivered as expected on Tuesday. I needs my pumpkin power!


• Was it the beer curse? Once again, I went out as soon as I opened a new beer. The Sprecher was fantastic, but it didn't help my poker game.

I have a shot at redemption tonight in the RiverChasers tourney. Maybe I should go straight to the bar from work and get in shape for the game.

2nd banana

I finished second in the Monkey tournament last night. I think I may have found my niche in the poker world. Small tournaments with bloggers. If the number of entries gets over 25, I am screwed.

The money won basically covered what I dropped at the NL cash table. It was one of those annoying nights where pots never built up when you had monsters and your good hands got sucked out on the river. The guy who pushed because he was freerolling with his straight and hit his flush on the river to take the whole pot instead of half is just a kick in the gut. But can you fold that straight? I couldn't.

I also made one bad play in the Monkey that bothered me later. It bothered me because it kinda screwed over another player. With 4 left, I am dealt 8 3 in the small blind. Big blind has 800 behind after posting the 400 BB. I have over 5k. I bet enough to force the small stack in. And lose mightily. I wasn't going to let a stack on life support take a walk. But is this an instance in which I should have? Immediately I thought so. With that pot, he suddenly was a factor again and would soon take out the person in 3rd. If I had let it walk, he would have still been in a bad spot.

So do you go for the knockout, or realize you have shit cards and let someone else do it?

Congrats to Spock on the win!

Strike a KORD

I left work and went straight to the bar. I figured a change of pace was necessary as I had to work late on a Friday. So the plan was to get a buzz and get home in time for Kat's donkament. Even though the beer and food were free, I got my butt off the bar stool and went home. If I stayed, I would have been there much later and would have needed a ride.

The donkament was interesting to say the least. Lots of crazy action before the rebuy period ended. I really screwed the pooch in this one. I got off to a great start, luckboxing out of the gate and was soon up over 10k. But I donkied it all away and stumbled into the second hour. There I survived just long enough for Poker Enthusiast's Razz tourney, the KORD Classic, to begin.

And what do you know...



Maybe that is the secret to winning at Razz. Be drunk. On Sprecher. Lord knows I made some really bad plays in the Razz tourney. Bluffing when it looked like the best I had was a J. Yep, I did that. But I was able to get the few remaining sober brain cells to rally and pull off a win. I have no clue how I overcame JL as he had a decent chip lead on me. Must have been more luckboxing. I do recall trading the lead a couple of times. Guess sometimes the drunk guy does indeed win a "world class" event.

Can't wait for the BB2 Razz event!!!

Part duh

With the Blogger Battle Part Deux coming up, I figured I should shake some rust off and play some poker. At some point I will learn only to play when focused. I had two SnGs going and lost interest about 30 minutes into each. I had been doing well but then proceeded to donk on out. Guess that means I am ripe for the picking in the oncoming series.

We'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks. My goal is to get focused enough to win my way into the Big Game. With the stuff I have to do around the house, that may be an issue. But where there's a will, there's a way.

Looking for some poker news? Dan at Pokerati is covering teh Abolute scandal going on. Haven't seen anyone else mentioning this story yet. Looks kinda ugly from my viewpoint.

Update: Drizz mentioned their was site with all the info. Found it. Could we have guessed Absolute Poker Cheats?

The IP comes over the top

Well, I thought I would only be able to get 2 free nights at the Rio and that it would be my stay. But the Imperial Palace came over the top with a totally free weekend. And some free booze and food. Not too shabby!

So no more worry about storing bags or money being spent on taxis. Only worry is for time to fly so it is December already! And to confirm Metal Skool is playing the Hard Rock.

Ask and ye shall receive

No sooner than I complain about not finding a good rate on a good room do the good people at the Rio offer me free lodging. Even if I have to pay for Saturday night (around $120), I will be better off paying for cabs to get to the strip. Only issue will be storing my bags on Sunday during the football games. Leaving them at the Rio would be a bit of pain at the end of the night when I have to get to the airport.

I just hope they have rooms available when I call later today.

How about some football. My beloved Dallas Cowboys play host to the New England Patriots in a big game of unbeatens. You know it is a big game when it gets a nickname right away. The Duel in Dallas. Cute.

Sports gambler/poker player Don quickly said to take the Pats and lay the points. And back up the truck! Ok, he didn't say that but he quickly jumped on taking the Patriots. I don't that is such a great idea. The Patriots are the better team. Yes, you read that right. I said the Patriots are the better team. But they may not be on Sunday.

Here is why the Cowboys can win:

• The Patriots defense is not impenetrable. The Cleveland Browns put up 353 yards of offense on them. If it wasn't for turnovers, the Browns would have put more points on the board. They had it 1st and goal on their opening drive before the interception came. Pats fans were sweating that one.
• Phillips defense stacks up well against the Pat's offense. From the Dallas Morning News:

But Brady has not performed particularly well against the Phillips 3-4. A
look at Brady's games against the Chargers the last two seasons:
San Diego 41, Patriots 17 (Oct. 2, 2005) -- Brady completed 19
or 32 passes for 224 yards with one TD and one INT in a blowout that snapped the Patriots' 21-game home winning streak. New England had only two first downs in
the second half.
Patriots 24, Chargers 21 (Jan. 7, 2007) -- Brady struggled
most of the playoff game, completing 27 of 51 passes and getting picked off
three times. But he made enough plays to win, passing for 280 yards and three
TDs. Marlon McCree's interception probably would have sealed the win for San
Diego, but the Patriots got new life by forcing a fumble on the return. Brady
took advantage by throwing a TD pass and setting up the game-winning field goal
with a deep ball to Reche Caldwell on the next possession.

• The crowd. Don't under estimate the fans in Dallas when there is a big game. Sure they may not get all riled up when the Cardinals or Rams come to town. But when the game is big, they will be loud. They got into the Colts game last year and it showed. The Cowboys fans will be ready for Sunday and you will hear them.
• No way in hell does Romo have another game like he did on Monday night. Though he played poorly, his teammates- especially the defense- took up the slack and kept them in the game. The defense has steadily gotten better this year and will be up for the challenge.

The Patriots win by simply playing their game. If Moss catches more than one deep ball, it is over. Moss has consistently hurt the Cowboys. This year I am hoping it is different.

The Cowboys can win this weekend and it should be a good game. Whether I will be playing the PokerStars blogger game as I watch has yet to be determined.

Early out again

I don't know why I play the Mookie. I never do any good in it. Usually gone within the first half hour.

Last night was no different. I played loose and passive to begin with, chasing flushes and straights that didn't hit. I did have one "smart" play where I hit my straight on the turn but knew I was screwed when the river paired the board. Sure enough, the full house took the pot.

I went out when my A Ko was outdrawn by a limper/call a pot size raise person who proceeded to hit two pair on the flop with A 10. Again, I knew I was behind but called the all in bet with just 640 behind because I didn't care at that point. I figured if it was a night that would see me continually outdrawn than why play? I made my donation to the pool and did a quick walk of shame away from the pc.

It looks like the rodeo is taking over Las Vegas. Been trying to find a reasonable rate on rooms for the WPBT event and am running into the wall. The good ole' IP wants to charge $159 for Friday and Saturday. I thought they were kidding at first, but she was serious. I found a better rate online but still, that much for the IP?

Been having no luck with any of the Harrahs properties either. They have offers for the month of December but not that weekend. The cheap rooms are again at the north end of the strip at the Sahara and Stratosphere. The amount paid on taxis and monorails may not be worth it to stay up there.

No Bodog, but Vegas

Well, I did get the Bodog software to work last night. But I couldn't make a deposit. It wouldn't accept either of the debit cards I had and I wasn't about to use a regular credit card. No Bodonkey for me last night.

I do have 8 tournament dollars there and will have to parlay that into something bigger. Too bad I can't use those in a SnG. That sucks.

Looks like I will be booking a flight to Vegas later this morning for December. Falstaff has the details over at PokerStage. I will be in just before noon on Thursday the 6th and taking the redeye home after the football games on Sunday.

The best news is Metal Skool should be performing that Thursday night at the Hard Rock. Badblood, have you booked your flight yet? Any and all poker metalheads have to hit up this show. Believe me, you will not be disappointed!

I am also interested in checking out the Hoffbrau house for some good beer drinking. Anyone interested in doing so either Friday or Saturday (after the tournament), please let me know.

I probably should play some poker in the meantime. Or at the very least, some Pai Gow.

Bondonkey

I see Smokkee is sponsoring a Tuesday night Bodonkey with a nice overlay. If I can get Bodog to work, I plan on playing. Only problem is I have no funds on Bodog. Anyone out there that can swap some Full Tilt for Bodog? It would be greatly appreciated. Drop me an email at stb31@hotmail.com so we can work out the details.

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 8786670

Hey, an actual poker post!

I played some last night. Riverchasers. Ended up 20 out of 44. Not bad but not good. I didn't care for the way I went out. After starting out tight, then loose, then tight again, I managed to get myself back into the game with a stack that wouldn't force me to make unnecessary moves, but allow me to find the best spots.

At least that is what I was thinking.

I raised with K Qo in the cutoff or button. I get re-raised by the player on my left. Kat calls. Now, I should realize that I am behind at least one and probably both. Why I am calling the re-raise? Because I ain't that bright.

Flop comes K high. Hey, I got lucky. I am hoping that someone is playing Q Q. Kat is first to act and moves all in. My gut reaction is she does not have A K. I think she has Q Q or J J and is trying to push us off. With about 5300 behind and the other player having me covered, can I really just call her bet of 3200(around that)?

I believe I need to raise here to force the other guy out and simply pray he does not have A K, K K, or A A. So I did and was insta-called by A A.

In hindsight, the best move was to fold preflop. It is not because of the end result. It is I should have realized I was behind both of them. But I did have fun so that counts for something.

So Pokerstars is having the blogger tourney again. On the 14th. During one of the biggest early matchups of the NFL season, the Patriots and Cowboys. That is poor planning by those Europeans. Not sure if I will be playing or not.

Been looking into room for Vegas in December. Falstaff has all the details. Someone had mentioned Harrahs had some good rates and to check it out. I did and found the opposite. If you have a good number of points with them, you can get free rooms but unfortunately, not that weekend. Couldn't find a cheap room in the middle of the strip beside the IP. I was saddened to see Hooters was booked up. Even the Excalibur was on the expensive side. Hopefully I will get an offer in the mail that will comp me a bed for at least part of the weekend. I rather spend my money on booze and gambling than a place to crash.

You lookin' for debauchery?

You are in the wrong place. But don't worry, you can read Key West stories over here. And I haven't begun to cover the Adopt a Key West Stripper program yet.