my life in cartoon

I swear its true!

The Lingerie Football betting syndicate

Ah Vegas. Another December, another trip to meet up with some good people. A time to great old friends and meet new ones. A chance to put names to faces as you slide down the slippery slope of degeneracy.

It is one of the best times of the year.

I'm going to skip past Thursday. I don't recall much of it. Just Bam Bam sending glasses of scotch to me at the Pai Gow table. Motor boating April's friend, Maura, at the low cost of a buck. And more bourbon than I can recall drinking in a long while.

i didn't feel too bad on Friday. After I was up and moving about, I got in touch with Poker Peaker about some food. I jumped the monorail to MGM and had a meal with him and Mrs. Chako. After eating we moved to the Aria to meet up with CK, Jordan and his friend at Todd English Pub. Surprisingly, I didn't get a beer though they did have some interesting selections on tap.

Back to Aria, I decided to grab a brew at the sports book bar. I got a text from Dr. Pauly saying that Derek and he would be arriving soon. I had no problem donning around with some video poker and quaffing Widmer Hefeweizens for a bit of time.

Before doing so, I wandered into the sports book to see what the latest football lines were. It was there that I saw a line that I knew a wager would be placed. I was surprised and tickled pink to see it. There on the TV in the lower left corner was a line for Lingerie Football. The Fantasy was favored by 8.5 over the Crush. Sure I had no clue who these teams were or even what cities they represented, but it was Lingerie Football. How could I not want to bet on this game?

When Pauly and Derek showed up, we soon went into the sports book. I quickly pointed out the TV and began to lay down the idea of making the bet. Pauly put out word to his shadowy contacts asking for some intel on the game. Instant Tragedy warned to watch out for some chick on the Crush. A little searching online showed that it was the Orlando Fantasy taking on the Cleveland Crush. Now we were getting somewhere.

I pushed that we had to bet this game. When would we get another chance to make a ridiculous bet? Yeah yeah it happens all the time with this crowd. Soon we were forming our syndicate. I tossed in $20. Pauly matched as did Derek. Iggy got in on the action. Maudie tossed in some cash and it was done! We proudly went to the cashier to place our money on the Fantasy (you always go with the home team in Lingerie Football. Duh!). We asked the lady if we were going to move the line with our bet. She gave us a snobby no, that we would have to bet thousands for that to happen. What a twat! How dare she try to rain on our parade like that.

We moved on to the Pub at Monte Carlo for Happy Hour. Met up with Kat and soon Chilly. A meal would be consumed as we went through their extensive menu of beers. People began to move back to Aria. I think Chilly and I went into the casino to play some Pai Gow.

After a while, I got a text from Pauly saying I had to get back to Aria. We had won the Lingerie Football bet! The Fantasy clobbered the Crush! We proudly cashed the ticket and another legend was born. Back to the bar to toast our smart, clever wager.

The Lingerie Football syndicate may meet up again next year to make another wager. I highly suggest you mark your calendar now as you will want the inside word on the game next year.

Let the countdown begin

It is just 5 day until the annual pilgrimage to Vegas. Time to meet up with old friends while making some new ones. Silliness, gambling, drinking, talking, and whatnot to occur. A chance to shirk away the real world and indulge for a while.

I love Vegas. I love going to Vegas and meeting up with this crowd.

Things are different this year. That common bond that brought everyone together is now practically nonexistent. Online poker is dead. I guess that gives testament to the bonds that were created over the years.

This year looks to be a return to the past. Gone for now is the Geisha Bar at the IP. In is the old Sherwood Forest Bar at the Excalibur, the former home of drinking shenanigans. This is the reason you want to come in on Thursday night.

Friday see what may be a new tradition. Bam Bam has set up some beer drinking at the Pub in the Monte Carlo. I have tipped a beer or two before. With 300 brews to choose from, it should be a good time. The menu itself isn't that great, but I can find something to quaff. Yes I said quaff.

Hey, there might even be some poker played on Saturday. I am teamed up with Bam Bam and Pebbles for the last longer in the tournament. I wasn't sure I was going to play this year. I haven't played for months. Yeah there has been some shit poker on Zynga but no tournaments or activity that was more than an hour.

Maybe that works to my advantage in some deep dark way. Maybe I won't over think and play loose and wild. Who knows. There is more going on that Saturday with the UFC Ultimate Fighter card and the Wisconsin Badgers playing for the Big Ten title.

And if that wasn't enough, there is some more action going down with the Steel Panther show at GVR. Hell, I may not even sleep and go straight to watching football after that.

Who knows what else may happen. Those sudden runs to the craps table. Yelling Pai Gow and scaring pit bosses. General goofing off with slot machines.

Yeah, that is my kind of fun.

Joker poker

It has been about 2 months since I thought about poker? Really? No wonder it seems dusty around these parts.

As I sat at the bar yesterday, enjoying a New Glarus Chocolate Abbey (well worth buying if you can find it), it dawned on my that Vegas is just over a month away. This would normally be the annual post of how I am shaking off the ring rust and playing more online poker to get in shape for the trip.

My how things have changed!

I guess I could look back to see the last time I played some serious poker was but that doesn't matter. I have been playing a little bit online. Free poker on Zynga. I prefer to call it joker poker as there is little rhyme or reason as to how these people play. 2 card bingo! Push them in!

The thought occurred to me that I may not even play poker on this trip. Last year I spent more time throwing dice or playing pai gow that hold em. If I wasn't doing that I was probably shooting the breeze with someone at a bar or the sportsbook.

I may even skip the tournament. I don't know if I want to sit down as deader than dead money. I guess it depends on what happens on Friday night/Saturday morning. Until then it is a wait and see approach. For all I know this crap poker may want me to walk away for good.

Bored

Like many others have lamented, I miss online poker. Especially on a night like this. There is crap on TV. I have the Ravens/Redskins game on mainly because the Brewers have the day off.

Tonight would have been a good time to fire up Full Tilt and play some sit n gos. But that can't happen. For shits and giggles I fired the software up. Knowing their problems I was curious to see what would happen.

Nothing.

Sigh.

I can't bring myself to play some of those play money games on Facebook either.

Makes me think I should go down to Potowatami to see what is going on down there.

Don't piss off Blood

BadBlood has a nice rant against Full Tilt Poker here. Well said sir. Spot on!

With that being said, I hope the people I know who have been doing work for Full Tilt get paid.

The damn jack

It checked around to me in the big blind. I rapped the table and 4 of us saw the flop come down: 10 7 10. My heart picked up a bit. I checked knowing the guy to my left was going to make a play at the pot. Sure enough, he did, betting 6000. I began thinking about how I was going to play this. Call or raise. But I had to wait.

Action went to the big stack on the other side of the table. He was a loud mouth, a cocky SOB who wasn't as clever as he thought he was. He breathed through his mouth a bit before announcing with over confidence "All in".

Small blind folded and before I could act, the bettor announced he called. The cocky SOB flipped his cards over quickly announcing he had trips before I could say anything. Someone else noticed they had passed over me and tried to say something but the cocky SOB was making too much noise.

When things calmed down, I told them I was calling as well and turned over the flopped boat, tens over sevens. The cocky SOB calmed down for maybe a second. I looked and saw he had J 10. I even said aloud "I need to fade a jack".

The turn was a jack and the cocky SOB went off again. Worse part, the twat was mocking me. "Thanks for calling, thanks for calling!" Its bad enough to get hit with a bad beat but worse when it is to the table douche nozzle. I tried to remain calm as I left my seat but I was more pissed at this asshole mocking me after he got in with the worst of it.

There is nothing you can do when the cards come down. I got my chips in with the best hand and it didn't hold up. It happens. Not the first time and it won't be the last time. Even worse, it won't be the last time some dickhead gets lucky and thinks that it was there "high level of play" that won a hand.

Comin' Atcha Live

Ever since the online poker world got flushed down the toilet, I haven't had much interest in the game. There were a couple of times over the past month I wished I could log in and play some cards, but not many. Even with the WSOP going on, I have no reason to check in on what is going on. Sure I check Tao of Poker every once in a while because Dr. Pauly gives you more than what is happening at the tables. But even the Phil Ivey incident couldn't pique my desire.

That changes this weekend. A friend of mine is holding a charity tournament. Here are the details:

Where?

Johnny Mo's

1301 Milwaukee Ave

South Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Why?

to benefit Team Challenge and the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA).

When?

Doors open at 12:30 and play will begin at 1:00 pm.

How much?

Suggested donation is $40. There will be a single rebuy during the first hour for $20 and an add-on for $20 after the the first hour.

And the kicker is who is running the show. Badger Poker. I am not sure it is the same guys from years ago or not, but it does have me curious. Especially is some of the same schlubs that played in those games show up. Bag man, Son of Cheater, Mouth breather, Internet Girl and the biggest one Tigers hat (jk).

So come out and help raise some money for a good cause. At the very least you can get drunk at the bar.

12 questions

1. Has anyone received a check from PokerStars yet?
2. Did it clear?
3. Suggestions for how to cash in those PStars player points?
4. Any idea when Full Tilt will make funds available?
5. What can I do with the Full Tilt points?
6. Who is playing at another site?
7. Cake? Carbon? Who has taken the plunge?
8. Is it easy to get some money on the sites?
9. Anyone playing local poker?
10. Have the Vegas rooms seen a change since Black Friday?
11. Am I the only one who wonders what those young rich poker players are doing now? There funds are most likely locked up so are they totally freaking out?
12. Any chance these geniuses end up working at McDonalds? Yeah, I was trying to be funny.

That's it I guess. No more PokerStars.

That's it I guess. No more PokerStars.

I had seen a tweet saying the PStars was allowing people to cash out. I didn't think much of it. It piqued my curiousity but not much more than that.

When I got home from work I decided to check it out. I figured an email had been sent out giving an explanation of what was going on. Nope. I shouldn't be shocked there. As I mentioned last week I still have not seen any communication from any site about the status of an account.

So I logged on. Sure enough, it stated that I must cash out. That's weird. Someone forcing you to take your money. I actually didn't want to cash out. I wanted to keep the money there thinking that somehow, sometime, someway I would be able to play poker on the site again.

It was like tough love. Or a cheesy scene out of an old movie where a guy is yelling at a dog or kid telling them to go away, choking back tears as he does. Go on, take your money and get out of here, sniff, we don't want you around.

Hopefully someday I'll play on PokerStars again. And it will be legal.

Ugly brown chips

One Pai Gow table. A craps game that doesn't use dice. And a 1-3 NL game that uses ugly brown $2 chips.

I'll be content if I never step into Agua Caliente again.

Maybe I am being a bit harsh. The play in the NL game was pretty bad. I did walk away +226 so I shouldn't complain. Even when I had my aces cracked by J 8o, I didn't fall into sore loser mode but became more determined to get my chips back. I knew he would spew them out and I wanted to be the benefactor.

But I am getting ahead of myself. I was expecting some wild play when I sat down. I assumed all California poker rooms were the same. Crazy aggressive action. Two cards? All in!

But this table was the opposite. A couple guys who had a clue about what they were doing but the rest were rather timid. But those timid players ended up being the gamblers of the group.

For example, the tight grumpy old guy. He was going to see a flop with any ace no matter what. In one hand, the old Asian guy opened for 12. TGOG calls. I call with Q Q (I didn't raise because it wouldn't have thinned the field). Lady two spots to my left calls. The SB then makes it 40. Old Asian quickly grabs chips and calls. TGOG just about beats him into the pot. Upon seeing that, I am thinking he has a monster. I know Old Asian has a good hand, at least K K. I figure TGOG must have A A. I toss my Q Q in the muck.

3 players see a flop of A 10 x. SB does all in for like $80. Old Asian calls as does TGOG. This is the first huge pot I have seen at this table. Over $500 in those ugly brown chips. Turn is a J. The rest of the money goes in. River is an 8. What do you think these players had?

SB shows A K off. Old Asian shows K K. TGOG shows.... A 10 off. He wins with 2 pair. I was a bit surprised to see him put so much money in with A 10 off. He had to know he was way behind before the flop. But that wasn't the worst of it. How does the Old Asian guy not re-raise preflop to try and get rid of some of those other players? I'd have pushed when it got popped to 40 and taken my chances with the guy who ended up with A K.

Sad part, the lady who had called 12 claims she had 8 8. She acknowledged she wouldn't have seen the river with all the action. I liked her honesty.

Other action at the table included me flopping quad 8s. Later someone would flop quad 9s and eventually someone would hit quad 10s. I was excited when I was dealt J J thinking it would follow the natural progression and hit. Nope. Lost to the old lady who meekly played her Q Q.

Otherwise I played a slow methodical game. I could find my spots and hit them. There were some times when I wasn't sure where I was. This crowd was going to chase. Old Asian was going to see the river no matter what. So there were a lot of river checks when the board looked dangerous.

For example on one hand, I was dealt K K. Old Asian had already called so I knew he would call my raise to 14. Flop was A high. I tossed a continuation bet to see what he would do. He called. Being stubborn, I bet the turn too. He called. Finally, with a possible flush on the river, I just checked. Inside I sighed because I pretty much had to fold to any bet. But he checked and my kings were good. I was pleasantly surprised.

Playing live again was fun. I enjoyed making some reads on players and putting them on hands. Some of the young guys were predictable. I knew when they were attempting to buy the pot. I knew I could let them think they were controlling the action and I knew I would win those pots. In fact, I only lost 2 pots at showdown, both around $150.

I ended up leaving the table after 3 hours. The call stations had left and only a couple of the better players were left. There was a new guy in the 9 seat that quickly tried to take over the table. I tangled with him once. It was the only time I had really put much of my stack at stake.

I called his 12 bet preflop with A K off. I did that a lot last night. Just called with some good hands and let them dictate the pace. With a K high flop, I check and called his 24 bet. When a rage hit the turn, I checked again, allowing him to bet 34. I stopped to think of what he had. I quickly ruled out A A. I wondered if he had an A at all. Maybe Qs or Js.

I decided to push. Part of me wanted to have that "all in" button in front of me. The other part said I was ahead and I could take all of his chips.

I then began to try and stay motionless. I then wondered if he would notice my tell. Only 1 person has ever called me out on it, but even he didn't know if it was good or bad. The guy went into the tank and tried to figure it out. I could see it in his eyes that he thought I was bluffing him. But he couldn't pull the trigger and folded.

I left after that, satisfied with my double. Not sure I was happy with the room itself but the dealers were good. At least the poker room was better than the stripperless strip club BadBlood took us to.

What say them? Apparently nothing

Black Friday. The ultimate 'doomsday switch' has been flipped. For some, they lose a bit of cash that they had online. For others, they had a sizable chunk on some sites and it looks like it is gone. And worse yet, some very good people are literally out of a job. Their livelihoods snuffed out like the end of a cigarette.

I know some good people that relied on this industry for their income. Some are out of a job. Others? Well we don't know at this point so we can only hope for the best. I am hoping that with the European sites still going that they can still grab a paycheck, if they so desire.

What is else is there to say that hasn't been already said?

Not much except for one little thing. I had money on both Full Tilt and PokerStars. Maybe $1500 total. I never consider it to be real. It was always just those electronic numbers. It was money to have fun with.

My issue is that there has been no word from either company yet. I don't expect an email telling me what has happened to that money. What I would like is for someone there to tell us what they are doing about the whole thing. It wouldn't be that tough for them to bust out an email explaining what they are doing and tell us their side and what they think can happen.

Or in other words, reach out to your customers and reassure them you still care about them. This may be some of the worst PR in the history of the world. I have worked for companies that have had fisticuffs with the feds. They made sure they kept customers informed about what was happening and their position. I don't think it would be that difficult for PStars or Full Tilt to do the same.

The Junkie

Been a long time since I had anything to post here. Been on a bit of a poker hiatus. Other things in life taking up my time. It was the MMA Junkie tournament that brought me back. Let's shake some rust off and see how it goes.

Over 4400 were entered for the tournament. 4400? I wonder how many of these people actually play poker or just got an account for this tournament.

Lots of limping to start. No one wanted to raise pre-flop until I made a move. Then it gets nuts for a little bit. The sleepy table has woken up.

There are now more than 4600 entered. 200 have already busted out.

A couple minutes later, the total is over 4700 and 300 have busted out. Will be 4800 and 400 soon.

Cards are not coming in the first round. A Q and 5 5 are the best I see. I chip up with them but I need some real action. I get it with K K. One limper and I bet pot. He calls and we see a bad flop for me. A 6 8, all clubs. I have the king of clubs. I think I am basically toast. But then limper min bets 40. Wow, really? I'll fish. I call. Turn is the J of spades. Same min bet, same call by me. River is a club. He now bets 240. I raise pot and he calls. He has the Q of clubs and begins to complain. I am upset that I hadn't realized it was a KO tourney. I should have gone all in and collected the bounty. Yeah its only a buck but its a bounty!

I'm a whore for bounties.

Late registration is still packing them in. 5345 as I type. Over a thousand out. Over $1000 paid in bounties already. I want that dollar bad now!

I call with J 10 clubs on the button. Flop is a K high rainbow. Blah! Though tempted to raise his flop bet, I rather move on to the next hand. The guy has been aggressive but I think rumbling right now may not be the best thing. Yet.

After a bit of folding, I raise with A Ko from EP. Get one caller but the BB raises. Hmm... I call as does the other player. Flop is Q 4 4. BB checks. Strange. I check as does the caller. Turn is a 9. Now the BB bets out. My gut tells me he has Q Q and tried to slow play. I have nothing so folding is easy. The caller in MP stays in. River is a J. BB bets again and is now raised by MP. Interesting. BB pushes, gets called, and shows Q Q. Though my play is rusty, the instinct came back quickly. But I am down to 1800. Gave 1000 away on the last couple of hands.

5954 is the final tally? Nope, still some time to get in. Creeping towards 6000. Will it make it?

Yes! I believe the tourney was capped at 6000 so it is full. Over 2000 have already been knocked out. I haven't collected on any. :(

Watching a 2 week old episode of Fringe as I play. Like the show. Hoping it won't be axed. Also hope the Olivia speaking like Bell doesn't last long.

Still spinning my wheels in the tournament. Fringe is over and now listening to Children of Bodom. Skeletons in the Closet to be exact.

Hey, I played another hand! In EP I raised with A Jo. Two to my left calls as does the BB. Flop is all rags. I decide to bet 400 into a 780 pot. Having not played many hands lately, I want to make it look like I have a monster. First guy folds right away. The BB thinks though. In my head I am repeating "fold fold fold fold". After a bit he does. Back above 2000. Maybe I can get something going now.

Remember how I said I didn't want to rumble with the one player? Well the time had come. He raised and I decided to just call with 10 10. Flop was J J 8, two spades. He bet out, 350. I pushed thinking he only had an ace at best. I was right. He called showing A 10. The 9 of clubs hits the turn. But a 7 shows on the river for a split pot. Bastard! Took a chance on a read and did not get rewarded.

At the break I have 2025. That blows. Leader has 18110. I am a bit off the pace.

As Mike Goldberg would say "It's all over!!!" I raised with A Ko and had two callers. Flop is K high. I push and am called by K Qo. Turn is a Q. No A on the river and I am out at 2533.

I feel disappointed. I missed out on a bounty but otherwise didn't play poorly. Nothing I can do about that I guess.

True

I'd laugh if this wasn't so true.

Been giving some thought to the game this weekend. I think I am going with my initial gut feeling. Take the Steelers and the points. The Packers haven't gone up against a really good defense all year. Don't even try to call the Bears defense really good. Just like the Packers D, they give up a lot of yards.

Don't get me wrong. I want the Packers to win. As a shareholder- yep, this Dallas Cowboys fan owns a Packer share- I would like to see Green Bay pull out a victory. It also makes people around here much easier to live with. I can handle the douchebags. Putting up with the douchebags is a small price to pay for my friends being happier than pigs in shit.

Congrats to Change100!

Congratulations to Change100 for her win at the PCA, taking down the ladies event. I bet that was some party afterwards.