What rock garden?

With all that is happening in the online poker world, players are bemoaning many different ideas on how things are going to be different. One that pops up a lot is "the games are going to be like rock gardens, with the same people trading money back and forth."

When I read this, I think how short sighted people are. Apparently they think the poker market has been tapped out. That either there are no new players left in the world or just Americans suck at the games and with them gone, so is the "easy" money.

Simply put, that hasn't been my experience. Though I am a recreational player- maybe playing 2 hours, 4-5 nights a week, I keep seeing all kinds of not so good players in the 3/6 limit games on Stars. I have not seen the game get any tougher on that level, though maybe it is on higher levels or no limit.

What I have seen is more European players at the tables. And Asians are sprouting up as well. This gives credence to some of the moves by the poker sites to pull out of the US. I own shares of Cryptologic. They moved their headquarter from Canada to Ireland last year. One major reason was to get closer to their player base in Europe. The other was to establish partnerships in China. They said that is where the true growth was going to come from. Even though it is early in the game, that appears to be what is happening.

Thus, I am not worrying about any rock gardens any time soon.

Here is another thought. Why not play another game? Back in December, I started playing Triple Draw. Working off of just the basics and picking the brain of Garth at times, I have attained enough of the game to be profitable so far at 3/6. Here is a garden with rich soil, very few rocks. Players are willing to chase to the last draw just about all the time. Or they will draw one and stay pat on a 10 for the last two draws. Or call down with a J low. Some think they can bully you by betting all the time. I love check raising these guys. Usually an 8 is good enough to win against them. A 7 is pure gold. There is money to be made for patient players.

Playing TD alongside HE keeps me going right now. Plus it is easier to rack up VPP points on Stars or clear applicable bonuses.

To me, the choice is simple. Keep bitching and moaning about the fishing hole being dried up, or pick your line up and go where the fish still bite.

A disturbing trend

I didn't do well in the WWdN tonight. Finished 32 out of 53, going out just after the first break.

I was very slow on playing the first two hands after the break as I was trying to make a drink. I had some cherry/lime water that I wanted to try with brandy. I kept running to the pc to make my play. Once I got the drink made and sat down, I lost a huge pot crippling me. Next hand, I was out as someone hit their 2 outer.

It was then I noticed this trend. I tend to go bust just after making a drink. Not from drinking a lot but from getting a new cocktail.

WTF? That is disturbing.

I may have to track this and figure out how to stop the trend from reoccurring.

But all was not lost on the night. I found one of the worst TD players sitting at a 2/4 table. He had 312 in front of him when I joined the waiting list. By the time I got a seat, he still had 280. Before I was done, he had busted. I only got $53 of it but I ain't complaining. Especially since I found another bad player on the 3/6 table that was good for another $49 in a short time span.

Drowned at the river by a HORSE

I may a decent run in the Riverchasers HORSE tournament yesterday. I think it was 32 runners in the beginning. I ended up 6th, two spots out of the money.

Not too shabby, but I knew that my flush in O8 was no good. With a small stack, I had to take the chance with a bet and ran into the nut flush.

I did find it amusing how many people were bitching about other player's game. Yes, there were some pretty horrible plays being made, but I don't think it is right to complain and berate someone for it (Yes Derek, I said it. Sore losers are allowed to!). But that is what happened. I believe I was told I sucked after I busted someone out. His proof was a hand he wasn't even involved in.

Here is the scene. We are in the H round with about 15 players left. I have A 8 diamonds UTG. My cards have sucked and I am mid range in chips. I believe blind are either 400/800 or 600/1200. So I raised UTG hoping that I can portray a strong hand and capture the blinds. But the BB calls. Flop is K Q J, rainbow. My opponent bets out. I have the straight draw and decide to just call. Turn is a rag. My opponent bets again. I put him on at least a king, probably two pair, but I need to see where I truly am. I decide to show strength and raise. After all, I raised UTG. With 3 face cards on the board, I can make him think I have flopped a set. It appears to work as he goes into the tank. He calls. The river is a nice 10 giving me the nuts. I bet and he calls. Yes, I got very lucky on the river. If he had re-raised me on the turn, I would have had to fold as my chip count would have taken a serious blow. I also check or fold on the river to any bet if I missed.

I can understand why the guy called me a terrible player with that move. Without knowing the thought process of your opponent, many moves can look awful unless you understand why they are making such a bet, or what their desired result is. My bet was intended to scream that I had a set. Instead I hit one of my outs for a straight. But I do believe it got my opponent to thinking. Don't think he would have folded to a river bet if I had missed, but it confused him. And isn't that what we are sometimes looking for when playing poker, deception?

72

I finished in 72 place in tonights Hammer Event.

I am quite proud of that distinction.

Feel like I should get some reward. Instead I was the victim of a poor play by my opponent. Such is poker.

Happy Hammer Day

It was one of those mixed nights of poker yesterday. I had a table of 2/4 TD running alongside the 3/6 HE. I was yo-yo-ing in the TD game while not getting any good cards in the HE game.


Then the slide occurred. Some donk hit a runner runner straight on me with his A 6 to beat my A K. I knew I had him until the river but he hit his card. From there it went down hill. About the only hands I seemed to win were the "what-the-hell-I-will-defend-my-blinds-with-this-cuz-it-is-suited" hands. But I trugdged on.


The TD game dried up and then I was down to the the HE game. I was getting bored with that though. So I jumped into a 2/4 HORSE game and did quite well.

After an hour and a half, I was done 3/4 of my buy in playing hold em and called it quits. I wasn't getting any where and the table was breaking. Thankfully I did quite well playing HORSE. Add that to the small win in TD and I was only down a couple bucks on the night.



Funny how that has been happening to me lately. I haven't had many big wins or losses lately. Either small losses or moderate wins. Nothing big.


Thus I wasn't sure whether I would play the WWdN last night. I was pretty much against it, but decided to hop in at the last minute. Long story short, I finished 2nd. I felt pretty good about my play too. I didn't donk it up early (well, not totally) and I avoided a "I don't feel like playing anymore" attitude towards the end. I stayed focus and worked towards making some money.

Not that I played perfect poker either. I had some suckouts along the way.

Maybe I was destined to do well. On the very first hand, I had the Hammer UTG. I raised and saw a flop with the BB. There was a 7 on the board so I bet it out and then called the raise. The 7 on the turn looked great. But I made a mistake when I pushed. I thought I could get something out of it but my opponent folded. But a Hammer start must be good, right?

I continued to chip up. I felt my reads were pretty good, but not perfect. I got lucky on one hand where I had flopped top pair and a gutshot straight. With two hearts on the board, I figured my opponent was on the flush draw when he raised the flop bet. The A on the turn didn't scare me and I bet it out again. When I got re-raised though I went into the tank. I still had him on the flush draw. But I wasn't taking into consideration that A. I made the call with the thought that I could still chip back up, but also, I thought my hand was good. Man, was I wrong. Oh, he was on the flush draw, but with the A of hearts. Bad call. But I spiked a 6 on the river for the straight. Having been on the bad end of those beats many a time, I don't blame him for being upset.

As the game continued, I kept the pressure on my opponents. It was when we were down to 2 tables that I believe I played my best poker. I had brdweb (sorry man, don't have a link for you, please supply) and wwonka on my left so I know I have to play well. I also have to be aggressive. If I get involved with either of them, I can quickly go from being a front runner to being out of the tournament.

I chip up nicely on a bluff and later on a hefty re-raise with K K. Soon I would be at the final table. I was avoiding any big confrontations with the bigger stacks. I was attacking the small ones when I could. I had Maigrey stealing my blinds like there was no tomorrow but there was little I could do. Each time I had crap. Sure she may have had crap too, but I had really crappy crap. I just hoped there would be a time where I had something and could play back. Later I would with A A, but not until I managed to survive that far.

I went on a little run with small pairs. After taking the blinds for a couple hands, someone pushed back on my 3 3. They had 4 4 and suddenly I was the short stack at the table. On the bubble. So of course I pushed with the Hammer on the very next hand. It is a nice rush you get when pushing with the Hammer on the bubble.

When it got heads up, I found my opponent to be on the aggressive side, raising 5xs the BB. I figured I could stay about even until I found a big hand. A Q looked big and I popped him back on his raise. All the money when in and I was up against 7 7. Flop was K J x giving me more outs, but none would hit.

As I said, I was happy with how I played. Hopefully it is something I can build on.

Tonight I will be playing Al's Hammer event. How can anyone miss this? While you are playing, make sure you raise a toast to the Father of the Hammer, Grubby.

Grinding weekend

I managed to grind out a nice little profit this weekend. Two tabling triple draw along side hold em worked out well. But I need to make sure I don't dig myself into a hole first.

Each time I stared up, I found myself dropping a quarter to a third of my starting count within the first orbit. Whether it was I wasn't hitting my draws or that hands weren't holding up, putting yourself in a hole right away sucks. Yet, I have noticed I do this again and again. It gets me some action later but it isn't like losing right away in my intention.

I should be thankful I found some very aggressive players. In both TD and HE, I would get paid off when I had the nuts. Each time these hands would propel me from being stuck to small profits that I could build off of into nice sessions.

I did enjoy the 2/4 TD tables where there were a couple people raising aggressively and then staying pat on a 9. I found I could reverse the tables on them. I tightened up and showed down a couple good hands. Then I turned their own game on them, raising and staying pat on 9 or 8, hands I normally wouldn't stay on with better players. I was getting people to fold hands quickly. Of course those were balanced by have 5 4 3 2 and bricking 3 times.

Al posted an update on the Neteller situation. Shouldn't the government be working to get U.S. citizens their money back? I have kissed that cash goodbye. Unfortunately for others, they are stuck quite a bit more. I hope the ending is much better for them.

Sportsbook isn't worth it

Like many others, I received a disc from Sportsbook.com announcing their new poker room. Apparently if you had an account at Paradise Poker, you received a disc. They were offering any where from $10 to $100 free, no deposit required. All you had to do was load the software, establish an account, and enter the code from your mail.

Easier said than done. Everything loaded ok, but I had some minor issues opening the account. It didn't want to take any info. Once I got it to work, I tried entering the code for the cash. I waited and waited, but the server wasn't working.

So I tried again the next night. This time it worked, but it didn't tell me how much I had been rewarded. Neither the poker account nor the sportsbook showed a balance. WTF?

On the third night, I logged in just to see if something had been updated. I hadn't received any notification email of any money being put in the account. Thus I was surprised to see $20. Well, better than nothing I thought. I figured I would try and bump that up for a MTT SnG. I found a $5 table and signed up. Nothing happened. Then the tournament started without me. Ok, guess I didn't get registered in time. Let's try again.

The second time I did get a confirmation saying I was registered in the tournament. But once again, it started without me. Huh? I check the tournament lobby for my name. Nope, wasn't there. It said I was in, but it won't let me play. Ah screw it.

So then I try to log out and now it won't let me. I get a message saying I have registered for one or more SnGs. Please unregister before signing out. I click on the "My tournament registration" button on the main screen and it come up blank. WTF? Still the software will not let me leave. Now it is beginning to piss me off.

So I try their live help. More like dead help. It take a couple minutes for someone to respond. I explain the situation to "Graham". It takes me another couple minutes to acknowledge I am out there. He then gives instruction pertaining to clearing out my browsers cache. I begin to wonder why that would have an effect on the poker software, but do it anyway. Of course nothing changed. I ask Graham why I would use the browser to make a change in their software. No response. Nice.

Finally after a couple minutes, Graham is back on saying they will have to look at it and will email me with notes on what they have found out.

So basically, the Sportsbook poker room is dead to me. I took the $20 and put in on the Colts in the Super Bowl. When I win I will see how many times I can double it up until I can either withdraw or lose it. One thing I do know, I won't be playing any poker on their site.

Miniature HORSE

Played some HORSE tonight. Maigrey let me know a $5 HORSE tourney was about to start on Full Tilt so I figured it would get me some good practice at small price. It would also help me exercise some patience; a discipline of mine that has been lacking when playing poker lately.

During the first session, I took my time, playing only the hands I liked. Sound simple enough, huh? To be more specific, I was watching all the raising going on early in hands. If my hand was ok to see a flop but not strong, I would wait. If I tried to see a flop cheaply just to see it raised twice behind me, I would fold instead of calling like the other 4 people in the pot would do. When I had a hand, I hit it hard. With 5 people in the pot, it was easy to trap people between bettors.

By playing such a simple strategy, I found myself leading at the first break with 5512. A straight in Stud hi/lo got me a scoop and vaulted me to the top. Now the trick was to continue to be patient and let the players fall aside. Only 15 of 74 were eliminated in the first round. This was far from over.

I got sloppy in the second session by playing too many O8 hands. But I clamped it back down. I got a full house in stud to push me back to the top but then lost a huge pot with another full house in Stud hi/lo. That one hurt. Just about put me on tilt. On the next hand I found myself all in with 5678x and with two cards to come, both flush and straight draws. I was shocked when my 8 low was good for half the pot.

Then the Mookie started and I had to balance the two of them. It wasn't hard at first. I was card dead in the HORSE tourney and the Mook was still in the feel out stage. Thus I played exactly one hold em hand during the rotation. Raised with A 5 on the button and got the blinds. That made it easier to listen to Waffle rant on about basically nothing.

Then O8 hit and I went down fast. Nut draws that just did not hit. Again and again. Probably shouldn't have been chasing but if I hit any of those pots, I am in a great spot. Ironically at the second break of the HORSE tourney, I am in last place. First to worst.

Meanwhile at the Mook, I bluffed at a decent size pot to get above 2000. Then stole the blinds with the big lick. Then missed an OESD and was right back where I started. I don't mind that too much as I am confident I can usually build right back up. Afterall, it isn't a huge drop to begin with.

Meanwhile, I go for it in Razz and manage to get a full house! Ain't that a kick in the ass! Done at 20. Four out of the money which would have earned me a whole nickel.

Back at the Mook, I was finally getting a read on the table when I got moved. I had just slow played A A and A K to get up to 2500. I folded and folded til I got A A in the SB. There were 3 limper so I popped it to 500 (50/100). Get one caller. Flop is J high. He pushes. Of course I instacalled. He shows K J. Huh? Turn is a 9 but he spikes a K on the river. Mother F&@$#&!!!!

Uh...yeah...sure

Wow!

I don't know quite what to make of this comment. Helluva spam job. I was laughing wondering what the hell set this person off. Is there something in the water at Los Medanos Community College? Then I saw the place was just outside of San Francisco. Ok, that explains quite a bit.

I found quite of bit of the comment funny. Hilarious in fact.

But then this clown crossed the line and pissed me off. I quote:

"Beer is a corruptor and a dumping ground 4 men"

He didn't say that. Tell me he didn't just say that.

That sir, is fighting words! Don't, and I repeat, don't insult beer like that!

WPBT- A new season

A new season of the WPBT player series started tonight. With some good success last year, I was hoping to somehow make a good run at it again this year. Though my play sucked throughout the weekend, I still had to play no matter how bad I was running.

I had an interesting table to start. There were more names that I did not recognize compared to those I did. Hoyazo, Fuel55, and Irongirl have played in a number of the other tournies. But who were these other people? bayne_s, Papi Justify, Patchmaster, ThePokerRules, and BuddyDank. No clue. That would make play just that much more interesting to start I guess.

I take a quick lead with the first hand. I get 9 9 UTG and I raise it up. Get one caller. Flop is 10 10 3. I like that and bet. Turn is a 10. I bet again and get called. I am fearing J J at this point but feel it isn't likely. The river is a 6. I play it safe and check. It is checked behind me as well. My 9s are good. Turns out he had 8 8. Yeah, probably should have tossed a value bet on the river but I didn't want to go out on the first hand.

Later I would try to jam the JackHammer though but the A on the flop was good. I made a continuation bet but the call told me Irongirl had one so I knew it was check time. Sure enough, A Q. Surprised she never did bet at the pot. Time for me to slow down a bit.

I get big slick a couple hands later. Guy on my right raises and I decide to just call. Flop isn't good though. Q Q 6, two spades. I toss it when he makes a continuation bet of 300.

But I chip up nicely against Fuel. With A Q in the small blind, I just call his bet. Flop is A A K. I go with a check raise on his continuation bet. He may have the case A but I am certain he does not have A K for the boat. I bet the turn when a 3 hits. When an 8 comes on the river, I am hoping he didn't get lucky and catch on his A. I bet about a third of the pot. My Q is good over his 5!

Tens are next but no action. With K J suited, I raise it up because the table is feeling a bit tight. I do get a caller though from the BB. Flop is A K x. Ugh. It gets worse when he bets out. But it doesn't seem right. I raise him, figuring he may have a K or a small kicker for his ace. Thankfully he folds right away.

I then dump half of my chips. I raised with K Q. There is a re-raise. I think a bit and call. Flop is K high. My opponent bets 900 into a 1300 pot. I feel he may have J J or Q Q. A K is a possibility but I don't think so. So I re-raise to put him all in. He shows A A. Ah..forgot that possibility. I take a hit. Lose some more when I call the maniac raiser on my right with J 10 clubs. Flop gives me an open ended straight and a flush draw. I just call his bet. Should have raised. I fold when a 4 of hearts his the turn and he pushes. Damn I hate it when I misplay a hand.

I finally get a chance to eliminate the guy on my right. I call his push of 415 with A J. Turns out he has A J as well. But suited. Of course, he gets the flush. This is getting worse by the minute.

After the break, I realize I am at the bottom. I figure I should kick it up a notch. Raise with A $ suited and get the blinds. Try again with 8 8. But this time Otis calls. Damn. But then the chip leader bumps it to 1200. Those 8s are pretty tiny now. I drop 420 chips that I cannot afford to really lose. I am now in push mode.

Suddenly I get a good spot. I have A Q suited in the BB. The button goes for a steal. Biggestron calls from the SB. I push all in for my remaining 1510. The button folds, but Big calls and shows....A J! No! I hate that hand. It always beats me. Always. Flop comes K Q J. Looks good so far. Turn is a heart giving me a flush draw as well. But the river spikes a J and I am out.

Gone at 42. Not totally happy with how I played. Should not have called that re-raise with K Q early on. That hurt. Smarter play would most likely still have me in the game. Oh well, there is always next time.

PokerStage: A Not Very Modest Proposal

Falstaff has a great idea.
From Midnight on February 8th (EST) through Midnight on Sunday February 11 (PST), do not play any internet poker.

The companies that stand to benefit the most aren't really doing much to help in our plight. If they see the revenue drop, it should open their eyes. Join the boycott!

PokerStage: A Not Very Modest Proposal

Better

I had some fun in the WWdN last night. Made the final table, but went out in 9th. I made a bad play but am not overly upset with it. Took a chance putting my money in when I knew I was behind and going to be called and it didn't pay off.

Wondering if anyone else would play it the same way. I believe I was in 7th at the time with only 5 places paying off. Chip count was around 4.8k or so, blinds 100/200/25. UTG+2, I have 10 10. I raise to 750. MP re-raises to 2400.

I thought for a while. My gut told me I was behind to a bigger pair, but because he was a bigger stack, he may have been making a play at it. It was only the 4th or 5th hand at the final table and I had no read on his style of play. My decision was simple. Do I want to gamble. If I call, I am basically committed. I would have about 1700 left and would be playing push poker. With the payout limited, I also realized I need to make a move to ensure I would cash.

In the end, I decided to gamble and called. Flop was K Q J. Not quite the flop I wanted to see. I now know I am behind to a set, two pair at the very least, but I highly doubt it. With 1700 behind, I figure I have to push and get lucky to catch 1 of 8 outs and fill the straight. My opponent calls showing K K. I don't catch and go home.

For once I wasn't unhappy about this play. I don't like getting in when I am behind. This time though, I knew I was behind and was willing to gamble. Curious to know if anyone else would have gambled here or just folded to the pre-flop re-raise.

Forgot to mention Pauly's travels yesterday. Well worth reading.

Not much

Played some poker over the weekend but not too much. The usual: Triple Draw, some Hold Em, some SnGs. Overall the weekend was profitable by $150. Not huge, but compared to the last couple of days, much needed.

Spent more time just relaxing and taking a break. I also envied reading of some of the trips others just took.

Iggy went to Mexico.
BadBlood went to Tunica with the UpForPoker gang.
Maudie and Gracie were in Tunica as well.

All the while, I was shoveling snow in Milwaukee. Yeah, I am a tad jealous.

Go read about their adventures or I will blog about shoveling.

Daily Double Pay Out

Played my first Full Tilt Daily Double last night. Though I usually do not like two tabling tournaments, this did not seem to be a problem.

However, when I had 3 tables going, adding in the Mookie and a TD SnG, I found that a bit annoying. In one spot I tried to fold a hand on FTP and ended up raising on the TD game. That pretty much put me in the crapper there.

But I did good. Finished in the money in both Daily Doubles. In A finished 72 out of 1083 (?) and in B, I finished finished 123 of 950ish.

By finishing in the money in both tournaments, I got a bonus of $16.86! Add that on to the 8 bucks I made by finishing in the money and I am rolling in the dough! I will probably give it another whirl sometime next week as it felt good to play a tournament in a serious manner once again.

The whole Neteller taking a dump on us Americans had people ticked off in the chat box yesterday. Yeah, it is going to suck trying to get money if you need to. I don't think moving money to someone else to deposit is such a good idea. It could be possible for the feds to go after them for doing the same thing Neteller was doing. Just something to consider.

Bad draws

In case you are not keeping up to date with Pauly and the Aussie Millions, go check out the video. They look like they are going to call some professional wrestling for us. I could have sworn they would be go up to the ring for the next match.

I also can't help but try to find some of this James Boag's that he keeps talking about. I have to try this brew.

I had a horrible weekend at the TD tables. I may have made some loose plays, but overall I couldn't make a draw to save my life. Knowing people would stay in, I changed my betting patterns and slowed down, sped up, tried to get people to fold. Instead they would draw two and beat my 8 6. I would start with 2 3 4 5 and proceed to either pair up, draw a face, or complete a straight.

All along watching people stay pat with a 10.

Now, I don't proclaim to be a good TD player, but I think I understand the basics and can play better than most of the people at the table. There are times you know you are good until that last draw. The cards just go against you.

On the other hand, I am running well at the limit tables (3/6).

I will have to look at what this really means over the next couple of days. Until then, I think I will take a good luck at the Daily Double over at Full Tilt. Interesting concept I must say.

Also, I think that listening to something I have seen described as "German Folk Metal" and "Viking Metal" can help one play better. In Extremo. Sure I don't have a clue what they are singing unless I look it up, but the music rocks. The song Spielmannsfluch is pretty good. Especially when the bag pipes kick in.

Smoker, Take 3

About an hour into the smoker, I was pretty much disgusted with myself.

I have a good feel for how the tournament runs. Most players are loose and passive. They are willing to call down with bottom pair, not bet the nuts, and generally not have a clue on realizing they are way behind. They have no clue about pot odds, or being committed when short stacked. A good player should make the money every time they play as long as they elude the bad beat. They can control the table with strong hands and big bets.

But I wasn't doing much of anything but folding. My cards were pretty damn bad. If I had something I could possibly play, it was in early position and a raise wasn't going to keep people out of the pot. Thus going maniac wasn't a smart option.

Thus, I played the waiting game. My plans of being active early were gone. Instead I needed to catch one hand and make it pay off.

That would take a while. Close to 2 hours into the night to be exact. I would get A K in the BB. There were 2 limpers and the SB in the pot. With the option, I pushed all in, about 5 times the blinds. Everyone folded. Though I was happy to finally win a hand, I wonder if I should have see a flop to maximize the hand.

That would sit in my mind for a while as I would post blinds and bleed them off for another 30 minutes until I would get a decent hand. Then with K Js, I would someone quintuple up when I flopped the nut straight. Somehow the board did not pair up and no one connected for the flush. I would be back in the game. Just a bit later, I would double up with 10 10.

The structure at this tournament is weird. It is suppose to be 30 minutes levels early on. You get a good amount of play for the first 3 hours. But once they get down to the last 2 tables, the blinds seem to go up on a whim. Plus they are doubling. It ends up being a crapshoot at the end. Before you know it, blinds are going 2000/4000 and the chip leader has maybe 10xs the blinds.

At the end, anyone with ice water in their veins can push every hand and scoop up the blinds. I didn't make the final table but I was willing to try it. Most people fold just hoping to move up one more spot.

Considering how the night went, I should have been content getting my buy in back. But yet I was disgusted by folding so much. -

Smoker, Take 2

I developed quite a strategy last night. I am thinking with some practise, I could write a book. With the way the tournament was unfolding, making the money was a distant possibility. As long as I stayed disciplined to my strategy, it would happen.

I call it Table Changing Your Way to the Final Table.

My cards were beyond sucking. I folded for close to 2 hours before I won a hand. Seeing that I was going to be short, I knew I would have to find a spot and push.

With the blinds coming, I felt screwed. But then the TD threw some cards down.

Table change!

I drew my spot, table 7, seat 5. I sat down on the button. Sweet! I get another round. With the suckage of the cards hitting a new high, I folded for an orbit. Blinds were hitting me again.

But wait, the TD walks up again and throw cards down again. Yes!

I draw table 6, seat 8. Hmm...I notice the pattern here. I started table 8 and keep getting moved. Don't need to be a rocket scientist to know this table will be broken next.

I sit down ON THE BUTTON AGAIN! Yes! Short stack gets a free orbit!

I realized that if I get drawing the next sequenced table and moved in on the button, I could make the money and the final table! A strategy no sane person had ever thought of. Sure, people can fold their way to the money, but I was going to table change my way to a payday.

Alas, that got screwed up when I was moved to table 2, skipping 3,4, and 5 completely. It will take another day and another tournament to perfect a strategy that can take over the poker world in 2007.

Smoker, Take 1

7:00: Cards are in the air.
7:40: Food. Polish, Slovenian, and Hot Croatian sausages. With sauerkraut and green beans.
8:45: Table change.
8:55: I win my first pot. With A Ko in the BB (100/200), I move all in on 3 limpers. No one calls.
9:00: Table change.
9:10: Table change.
9:20: I win my second pot. Blinds are 200/400, I have 1000 left. UTG+2, I see K J diamonds and decide now is as good as any time to push. Worse comes to worse, I can sit back and drink beer. Flop the nut straight. Just need to avoid the flush potential. Then need to avoid the full house. Straight holds up and suddenly I have 4900. I notice 2 hands later that I was shortchanged a black chip on the pot.
9:25: I steal the blinds! Hey, I finally had a chance to do so and one can destroy this tournament by stealing at this stage.
9:40 Push with 10 10. Loose guy in big blind calls with K J. I double up and now can make a move to the final table.
9:45: Win six pack of beer.
10:00: Win third pot. With A Q in the BB, I call the short stack's push for another 1500. He has 8 8. A hits the turn, Q on the river. "I hope I never see you again" he says as he leaves the table. Had played with this guy at two other tables. Every time I dealt, he had a good hand cracked and lost big pots. Collect $10 bounty.
10:25: I lose a big pot, crippling me. Blinds are 1000/2000. Friend of mine pushes from MP. I have A Q in the BB. I know him pretty well and figure he has just an A, nothing big. I call leave just 1000 behind. Sure enough, he has A J. I immediately tell him I will lose this pot. A J always beats my A Q. Yep, J on the flop. Not a shock.
10:30: I am out in 13th place. I was all in by posting the SB. Don't look at my cards as two other guys battle it out. One guy gets a straight from the BB with 4 2. Guy is a prick, too serious. I turn over K 6. Two pair. I get my buy in back.

3 1/2 hours, get buy in back and "donation" to church back in form of a bounty. Also win 6 pack of Lite. I am ahead for live play in 2007.

A step away from poker to settle a score

"License to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations.
Man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in
this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're
like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior
firepower and superior intelligence. And that's all she wrote."

Time for the NCAA Men's Hockey Champions to rise to the occasion. Beating the Gophers this weekend will be sweet. I hope Drizz has enough Captains to console himself this weekend.

Badger Badger Badger.

Wisconsin Badgers 2
Minnesota Gophers 1
Badgers win!!!

I am not the only one

I noticed Chilly isn't happy with the guy either. I am talking about the guy who does the voice overs for NBC's Poker After Dark. While I like the action- showing every single hand may be boring to some but I love it- the guy should just shut up. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to hire the class valedictorian from Norm Chad's School of Poker Broadcasting?

Was Phil Gordon not available?

A proud moment

I was beaming with pride early in the WWdN tonight.

On back to back hands, I dropped the hammer. One doesn't get too many opportunities in life to do so thus I place it on the trophy shelf with the other accomplishments. And no, there are no pics. I am not Hoy.

Of course, things would go sour later. I went from just over 3k to 190 in two hands when I first ran Q Q into A A, and then the very next hand, J J vs A A. Cruel part was on the hand with the Hiltons, I flopped a set. But the rockets flopped one as well.

Of course, I went out to J J when I pushed with A 8 on the short side. Oh well.

I think I may be playing in a smoker on Friday. Haven't done that in a while so it should be a good time. At the very least, I will have some great food and lots of cold beer.

Stuck, unstuck, and stuck again

Triple draw is like that hot girl you know at the bar. She flirts with you, makes you feel good, and you buy her drinks. The conversation goes well and you think you are going to score. Then some ass walks in, gets her attention and she is gone. Out the door. You are left with half of the money you had and wondering if your game sucks.

You see her the next day and go through the whole routine again. This time, however, some ass doesn't come in, you spend more time with her and get a number. You think you know her. You think it is a sure thing, that you will see her again tomorrow and you will be a winner.

But tomorrow comes and she walks in with another guy. You try to move in and buy some drinks, but she is cold. You get no where and are left scratching your head again.

I felt that way playing TD on Saturday. I was playing 2/4 and 3/6. My notes show me doing very well at 2/4. 3/6 is a slightly different story. Good session followed by bad session. I made a bit on the 2/4 table after being stuck. 3/6 had me bouncing all over the place. It was tougher because the cards I were getting stunk. Lots of paint. I felt I was in a virtual Louvre. I would get myself in a bad spot when I wouldn't hit a good draw after raising and leading out. Of course some guy would keep drawing and catch. It was frustrating but I wasn't allowing it to tilt me.

I thought I would make it all back and then some when an extremely aggressive player sat down. Raised pretty much every hand, even when drawing 4. Even on the hands where he wasn't the aggressor, he would bet as soon as he smelled weakness as the bettor stopped. Funny thing though, he kept making hands. Draw 4, then 1, stand pat. Show a 7 and win. Show an 8 and win. Win with 22. Again and again.

I tried to play my game. I thought I had him caught. Raised it pre flop, drew 1 and stayed on an 8 6. He kept drawing two all the way to last draw. Drew two cards, raised my bet and showed 7 6.

After swearing up a storm, I logged out. I was down about $80 at that point after being unstuck for the same amount a half hour earlier. I thought about how I had played and was content. Didn't make any loose stupid calls or draws. Just didn't get some good cards for orbits at at time. That is how that game goes.

But how can someone keep drawing two to the end? Seems like suicide. Or maybe it just seems that I don't hit.

Now the grub has been caught

Eastside meets Westside downtown.
No time, no line, the walls fall down.

Can't you feel it coming? EMPIRE!

-Queensryche

I see Grubby is the latest to be snared by Pokerworks. The empire gets bigger. Good to see another great writer getting his due.

I took my first bad TD session yesterday. I say bad because it wasn't me donking off. It was me losing to just slightly better hands. 86 losing to 85. 76 losing to 75. At least I was ramming and jamming to the end. I think the hand that killed me the most was both me and my opponent drawing one all the way to the end. We both checked the river (is is a river in TD?), and my 98 lost to his 97. I doubt he was drawing to a 9 so we likely both caught the 9 on the last card.

The bright side is I am not making a lot bad decisions like I was. More selective on starting hands, and I believe more importantly, when to bet when still drawing. While I am in no position to call some players bad at this game, I can spot those that are terrible. That I like.

Does being a maniac at first help?

I have noticed a trend in my play over the last couple of months. I play more hands, call down more bets, and pay off more players in the first orbit of a game. Not sure why I do it (eager to play maybe?), but I usually find myself in a hole after a couple of hands. I can usually fight back to cut the loss or turn a profit but it would be much nicer to not bury myself to begin with.

There is one benefit. People think you are an idiot. Yeah, some of you think I am an idiot anyway, but it is better when the people at the table think I don't have a clue what I am doing. Thus when I have a monster, they won't give me any credit for it and pay me off. That is how I usually get paid back.

Oh, it also doesn't hurt that big hands have held up. I thought I was sunk when I make it 3 bets to go from the BB with A A. UTG+2 capped it and 3 of us saw a flop come Q high. I thought I was in trouble but bet it out to see what would happen. No raises. Hmmm. Turn was a 3. Bet again and it is just called by both players. River is a K. No straight possibility. No flush. I don't like that K though. I had one of them on K K. I ruled out Q Q so that card didn't matter, but was pretty sure someone held on to hit the river jackpot. I checked. Check. Check. I was up against 10 10 and 7 7. Capped with 7 7 and called it down hoping to hit a 2 outer.

Yep, it is easy to come back when you get paid off.

Played a good amount of TD last night. Started at 1/2 while playing some short handed Omaha hi/lo. Moved up to 2/4 and 3/6 when the table broke. The pace in the 3/6 game was quite faster. Lots of raising going on compared to the 2/4 game where I am more comfortable. Unfortunately, what I made on TD covered my Omaha losses. I really stunk it up there last night.

I think the best part of playing poker over the last 2 weeks is that I have had some fun. Playing very little in December helped to build my interest again. I also think that instead of developing a game plan- something I did last year but never stuck with- is out. I am going with the flow and will play whatever interests me. For now it is TD. Who knows what it might be next.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Interesting things happening in the poker blog world. Linda over at PokerWorks is taking her cues from the business world and acquiring herself some of the best talent on the web. Table Tango has always been one of the best reads on poker and now the rest of the site just got even better.

Starting off the year in their new homes are:
Amy
Joe Speaker
Change 100
Maudie

Congrats on the new digs and gigs.

I wonder if the boys at UpForPoker will start playing Monopoly and sign up some talent? I wonder if I will play a bit more and actually talk about it.

I did play some triple draw over the weekend. Donked off chips to Maigrey like a madman at times. It wasn't until Sunday morning that I realized the leak in my game. Too aggressive early with non-pat hands. I was overly aggressive in one session and was stuck $80 in 10 minutes. having the second nut lose to the nuts hurt, but I was betting out and not making my hands. I changed gears, slowed down and did much better turning a nice profit over the next half hour.

There is more TD on the horizon as I enjoy the change of pace from hold em. But my poker ADD will sprout again soon and I will move on to the next game of the day. If I had half a brain, I would realize that I play more HORSE. The games change as much as my interest in each does so that would seem the perfect spot.

We will see how that works.

How long will it take to clear this bonus?

The following is a paid advertisement

With the number of sites that accept American players diminished, the bonus offers seem to be going away as well. PokerStars just offered an end of the year bonus of 25%. I moved some money over to take advantage of it. I also began to wonder how long it might take me to clear it.

Well, the people at Compatible Poker have a a tool that will help. Compatible Poker is a site targeting Mac and Linus systems. They have a comprehensive list of all sites that are currently offering games for the non-Windows player. They even have a Java listing for those who don't want to download software.

But it is their bonus calculator that I liked. It will tell you how many hours you can expect it to take to clear the bonus. If I 2 table the 3/6 at PStars, it will take me about 10 hours. If I switch to no limit- which I have been dabbling in lately to little success- it will take just a tad longer. You can enter any poker room, the stakes and how many tables you will be playing to determine how many hours of play you will need to clear that bonus.

With pages showing which sites are still accepting U.S. players and payment methods, Compatible Poker is more than just info on where to play with a Mac.

Tilted by the river

Things were going well in the Riverchasers tournament last night. I was either 1st or 2nd at the break and felt like I was in control of the table. The cocktails were going down well (Captain and Coke was the potent potable of choice last night) and I was enjoying myself.

Then the break ended, Omaha began, and I got nailed on the river twice in a short span to lost 60% of my chips. From there I lost it. Started playing hands I shouldn't, trying to draw out, and bluffing it all away. Of course I would brick up in Razz to send my butt to the rail.

Sigh.

I had played pretty well too. I dominated the Stud rounds (both regular and hi/lo) at the table. Got cards up the wazoo and made people pay for their draws. I did play some of those hands poorly though. Could have collected bigger pots by taking the chance to let some catch up but I wanted to just win pots and get chips, no matter how small those pots were.

In retrospect I don't think there was much I could have done in the end. Beside not tilting of course. The river beats happen. I should have tightened up when I was moved to the low part of the pack instead of trying to push myself back into contention. Live and learn.

PSA

I know that the DonkeyPuncher has mentioned this tournament already. I was asked to pass it along as well. Being that I am such a giving guy, I couldn't say no. If you have the cash and want to invade Chicago for poker, here is an opporunity for you to make some big bucks.

WIN a $10,000 Seat to the World Poker Tour Championships!

IT'S BACK!!!
Join us on Thursday, January 25, 2007 at the River East Art Center for our new
and improved Majestic Star Casinos Charity Poker Championship to benefit
Children's Oncology Services, Inc.

Last year, we welcomed 250 poker
players, over 75 spectators, and plenty of volunteers. Most importantly, we
raised over $65,000 for children with cancer.

This year, Children's
Oncology Services, Inc.'s partnership with The Majestic Star Casinos will ensure
that the tournament is bigger and better than ever! Majestic Star dealers are
joining us to deal at all 35 tables and providing the ULTIMATE grand prize- a
$10,000 seat to the World Poker Tour Foxwoods Poker Classic on April 1, 2007.
Once again, Dan Bernstein from WSCR AM 670 The Score will give the play by play
as 350 players battle it out to see who will be the champion of this year's
Charity Poker Championship.

Players and spectators will be treated to
BBQ from our friends at Sweet Baby Rays, a complimentary full bar and other
treats.

Please visit www.onestepcamp.org for more information
or to register!

WWdN night

Only 40 people were playing on Tuesday night. Guess some late holiday shopping was more important to them.

Cruised through the first hour of the tournament. Chipped up early with A Q when on-thg called out of the BB. On a Q high flop, I made a continuation bet. And was raised. Huh? I called. Turn was a 5. on_thg bet it out this time. Something seemed funny to me so I raised. He folded.

I would soon double up when I hit a set with Q Q. From there I got a bit lucky. 4 2 in the BB hits trip 4s. K 8o flops two pair. Before I knew it, I had moved above 5000.

But then I gave it back against a tight player who didn't believe in using the bet button. I watched as they had some monster hands but never raised preflop. When they rivered quad Queens, I should have known better than to try to run them over. It wasn't until they called down a hand with bottom pair that I learned my lesson.

At the first break, I was at a respectable 6th position with just over 4300.

I chipped up a bit in the beginning of the second session only after moving down. With 6 6 I missed the flop but wanted to see the turn. The turn made the flush possible so I folded to the bet. Next hand against the same tough opponent, I have 4 4 in the BB. I call his button raise to see a K high flop. Sensing he was making a move again, I raised his bet to 1500 and was happy when he folded. Bluffs always feel good.

From there out, I never did see a flop. My raises were getting some respect. Of course it doesn't hurt that the table tightened up a bit. So I picked my spots and continued to steal where it felt appropriate. I wasn't gaining any ground, but I wasn't losing any either.

That was until I let someone hit a runner runner flush and paid them off. Suddenly, my wind was gone and I was sitting with 8 BBs. Not good.

So I needed a chance to double up somewhere. Blinds had moved up to 100/200/25. So I made a move with the best hand I saw- A J. Wil raised it up to 700. I tossed in my last 890. What I don't believe either of us expected was the chip leader to push as well. When he did and Wheaton went into the tank, I thought I was done for sure. Wheaton would make a great call with 10 10 as the chip leader showed A Ko. A beautiful J hit the turn and I tripled up.

Life. I have life.

That made it easy to steal the blinds and antes with 6 6. Then again with 10 10. But then I lost a race and was knocked down again. A 10 lost to Q J. I knew I was ahead when I made the call. But reading doesn't win the hand.

I get lucky one more time. With A 4o, I tried to steal and went all in with my remaining 2300. Chip leader auto called and I knew I was in trouble. Yep. A 10. But the board paired up and we split the pot. 5 5 A K J. Nice.

But I still needed a double to make my tournament matter. With just 10 people left and 5 at a table, it wasn't easy. Blinds are whipping around and I am getting crap. 10 4 is nice when you get a free flop. But an A high flop sucks.

I did make it to the final table. As the bottom rung. Plus I was sandwiched between the two leaders. Ugh! I was happy to get a hand to double with, 10 10. But the chip leader made a quick re-raise on my push. Uh oh, that is not a good sign. J J. IGHN.

I played a good game tonight. If I don't lose the one race, I would have had a lot more room to work with. But I guess it just wasn't to be.

PokerTek

For whatever reason, I felt the need to comment on the PokerTek "party" after the Holiday Classic this past trip. After all, they gave us free beer and swag. But they also gave me an opportunity to take a look at what the buzz was on these machines. Falstaff and Change 100 had seen these in action and I must admit, it did pique my curiosity.

The first thing that caught my attention was the layout. There were 9 of us at the table and we each had plenty of room. The view of the action was much better in the middle than if you were on a corner. The screen you had in front of you was easy to use, once you got down the concept of confirming your action. Checking the cards by "cupping" or touching the top of the video screen is cute. It appeared to me people were overdoing it because I don't think anyone was going to see your cards unless they leaned over to take a look as you touched them.

The play was smooth, like any real card game or online poker. It clearly told you the amount of the bet and how much it was to you to call. It announced all in bets. It even did chip races to when levels had pushed up. That annoyed some people but if the point is to make it as close to a physical card game, then I think it is good.

My opinion on the tables is simple. They were fun. It was like playing online but with a different twist. Having an opportunity to watch people as they played was interesting. I think most people were playing like they were online and were not observing others at the table. But that also could have been because people were drinking all day as well.

Would I play one of these machines in the future? Yes, but it depends on the circumstances. If I had the choice between this and a live game, I would take the live game. There is more going on in the live game than what you would see on the machines.

The flip side though is I think these machines would be great for SnGs or satellites to a live game. The thought of walking up and putting the card in the machine to get the game going is nice and easy.

I could see these machines doing great business in a bar, especially the heads up machine. It could get as much action as the pool table or dart machines.

The PokerTek tables were fun to play. If you come across them in your journeys, I would suggest you take the time to play them.

Vegas

Want to see what else happened in Vegas? Like how someone got a free wheelchair ride? Or how Joe Speaker was hit on by Mark Slaughter at the craps table?

Check out my other blog- While Drinking, I...

Later I will have some thoughts on the PokerTek tables and how the rest of my Holiday Classic tournament went.

It wasn't the beat that had me mad...

...but the comment that was made.

"Great call!"
"Thanks!"

Great call? No, it wasn't. I say it was a really stupid call. Because you won the hand doesn't mean it was a great call.

That is not how my WPBT Holiday Classic ended. That is how I got crippled.

Let's join the action after my table was broken up. I am put right back into the blinds. Yes, I just paid the blinds and was on the button when I was moved right back into the big blind. Thanks TD!

I was getting short with blinds of 400/800 (I believe that is accurate). When I sit down, I notice 3 stacks much bigger than mine. F-Train has a good stack and has been aggressive. Another guy, Vinnie, was slightly higher than F-Trains. I believe -EV was the third person that I had to worry about.

Enough about that. Let's cut to the chase. I need to make a move somewhere. I think I took down maybe two pots in 4 orbits at this table. In MP, I get 8 8. F-Train raises to 2400. Karol is next to act and thinks for a while. She mucks. Fold and it is to me. I waste little time and push in for around 5100. It goes around the bend to someone I don't know. The girl was in her late 20s, early 30s maybe? Anyway, she goes into the tank. A count is done and apparently she had around 3500. She thinks and thinks and finally calls.

I wasn't expecting that. The way the table had been going there weren't many multi player confrontations going on. People were willing to take a stab at the pot and duke it out against one player. So that surprised me a bit. I mean, I was confident I had F-Train beat preflop and made the move to isolate him.

F-Train now goes into the tank. I like that. I know that I have read him right. A something, probably not even a face card. He goes through the odds and talks himself out of making the call. He showed A 10 when he mucked.

My opponent turned over 6 6.

WTF?

You called a raise and re-raise with 6 6? Of course a 6 hit the flop and I was crippled. As it turns out, Karol had folded 8 8 and I had no outs to come back with.

It wasn't the beat that bothered me. It was the person who said "Great call!" I wondered why would anyone make the call there? Sure, she was on the short end. But do you want to jam your money in when you most likely have the worst hand? Get in for any chance to be lucky and triple up? I simply would not put my tournament life on the line in that situation.

The logic isn't there for my little brain I guess.

Yet, someone said "Great call!" I don't want that person in my corner coaching me. "Hey you got your money with just an 18% chance to win. Great call!"

How about "Man, did you get lucky!" or "Nice suckout!"

If Derek would have been around, I could have made a scene just so he could enjoy it.

Are we there yet?

Lots of people doing the happy dance in anticipation of the weekend. Go ahead and move it. Just don't look as gay as Elvis does and you are ok.

HORSE of a different color

Iggy had a interesting link in his latest post. Some guy wanted to know what kind of drugs some player do because he heard that these players believe they play better when high or drunk. Though I think the poster may be one of the biggest goofballs for asking such a stupid question, I think there is a point to it.

I believe I usually play better after I have been drinking. But only in tournament poker. That is one reason why you will see me drinking early and often this weekend at the WPBT event.

It helped this past weekend. I won myself to HORSE SnGs. That is after spending a night at the bars. Ok, it doesn't hurt to get quad Qs twice within 4 hands of Omaha Hi Lo to chip up. But it is lucky to get K K, J J, K K all in row to move from 177 to over 2k and into a spot controlling the table.

There is a certain amount of comfort you get after drinking for a while that lets you be a bit more aggressive and not suffer a serious tilt spell when something goes wrong. It helps to get through the bricks you are sure to receive in Razz. And you make a couple of "Aw, what the hell! All in!" moves that you get lucky and draw out on ( J 10s to be A Ko). Its part of the game.

I also place won a token and got deep in an Omaha Hi Lo tourney but got knocked out when my Jacks over Aces was beat by Aces over Jacks. But overall I had good success playing this weekend.

Which leads me to believe I may not play any ring games this week until I get out to Sin City. In the past, I would have played ring games to hone what little skill I have. This time around, I say screw it. I will play but I don't think there will be much good to suddenly ring it up in anticipation of playing less tournaments. Yes, it may backfire, then again, it could help.

Only 3 days for me now. Not quite sure what I will do upon my arrival, but I think I may head over to the Bellagio and get some play in before Pauly has his shindig.

Take me to the river

Al's Riverchasers tournament had 98 players signed up when the cards hit the felt. I was hoping to capitalize on my strong finish in the WWdN the other night. I felt my chances were pretty good.

My opening table was interesting. By that I mean, not easy. Drizz, SoxLover, and Garth are all there. And I think Big Mike may have been the wild guy raising a lot.

See, there was one guy raising every hand 5xs the blinds early. He was setting the tone for the table. That is until Sox layed the hurt on when his AA slapped the AKs.

I was looking forward to playing tight, but also aggressive at the right times. I though I had one of those "right times" early on. I tried to make a move on Drizz. He raised on the button while I was in the BB. Steal? I made the call with A J. Flop comes Q 10 x. He puts out a pot sized bet. I don't think this flop could have really helped him. Hmm...let's get this back. I raise to 600. I feel good until he goes all in and I spit up some beer in my mouth. I put my tail between my legs and fold. Drizz showed A Q. Wow, was my read wrong. It is early so I don't feel bad attempting a move like that.

I get some of those chips back when I play 8 3 hard. Snowman taterlegs brings in a decent pot. I showed the semi-bluff (there was a 3 on the flop). But the Hiltons give it away to that same person a couple of hands later. Maybe I shouldn't have shown that bluff. I get the feeling the guy I bluffed out called my pot size bet with a ragged ace and hit it on the flop. He may not give my raises any respect. I will have to remember this hand.

I am now short stacked at just over 400. Can't make a move with the hammer. Drizz raised and I know he is running too strong for me to make a play back. Though it is the hammer, I am going to bide my time. Plus I have more beer to drink.

I get lucky in the SB when I just call with Q 9. Flop is Q high and I bet the pot. BB decides to go in with second pair. My queens hold up. Same guy I bluffed with SMTL. Maybe showing the early bluff will pay off?

I then fold crap hands for two orbits. Thankfully I have some New Glarus Brewing Fat Squirrel to keep my spirits up. The Fat Squirrel is a nice nut brown ale. Full body that goes down smooth. Try some today. No, this is not a paid advertisement. But if the good people at the New Glarus Brewing Company would like to drop some six packs off at my house, I would appreciate it. They make damn good beer out there.

My stack- if you can even call it that- is looking pretty sad. So when I get A Q diamonds, I know I need to push. With 535 and blinds at 50/100, I really have no choice. But the player on my right raises to 400. What the hell! Push! He instacalls with...Q Q. Doh! But I flop two diamonds. Looks good. Turn is a diamond and I have drawn out and doubled up!

A couple hands later, I get A A and get no action. Crap! I may have missed an opportunity to get back in the game. Instead of moving up I limp into the first break with just 1220. But I am alive. I think that counts for something.

I fold a pair of 6s after the break to an early raise. Don't like my spot there. It looks like a good move when I re-raise the same guy with 10 10. He calls with 9 9 and I smile. I smile a bit more when a 10 hits the turn. I have doubled through to 2500, above the Mendoza line.

It is also at this point that I notice Drizz is kicking ass and taking names. Hmm...that Viking fan is going to be a problem. If I am going to get somewhere, I need to get chips. And fast.

But instead I give a chunk back when I raise with A 10 out of the SB. There was one limper and he called. On a flop of 8 6 5, two hearts, I bet out a third of the pot. My opponent goes all in. WTF? No way I can call here. I muck and he shows 8 7 hearts. Calling a pot size bet after a limp with connected suiters. Not something I would do but I won't say it is a bad play. If that flop doesn't hit, you are folding.

Now I am just over 1600. Got to make a big move again. Maybe a fresh beer will help. Let's see how this works out. Blinds have moved up to 100/200. I have 1300. The blinds are coming to me. I can fold them and wait only one more round.

But I don't have to. In the BB, I get 10 10 again. I push. The limper UTG thinks and calls with 4 4. Thank you Gods of Poker! My tens hold up and I have breathing room again. Hopefully this time I will not blow it. Once again, my showing of the 8 3 earlier is paying dividends now as it is the second time this guy thought I had total crap.

I give some back when I am in the BB and my UTG buddy has pushed. It is 420 more to me and the odds are better than two to one. I should have live cards. Yes, I am not happy it has folded around to me. With some goading by the peanut gallery, I call and am up against A K. So much for two live cards.

As I watch Drizz bludgeon the table, I find it amusing how my buddy to my left that I had bluffed way earlier in the tournament is beginning to call me names. Hey, I owned your ass after the bluff. Don't hate the player. Hate the game.

Did I just type that?

Anyways, I am now moved away from Drizz- thank God- and have a new table. Only names I recognize is surflexus and Gcox. Ok, this table is not any easier. I get A 8 and push right away and capture the blinds. Next hand is A J and I do it again. Then I have the BB and get 5 4. Fold. I will put that in the book as a rush.

With 6 6, I make a move with a pot size raise. Unfortunately the SB pushes all in. It is 400 more to me and I have to call. He has Q Q. Damn. Though I flop a four flush, I don't hit and I am hurting.

With K 9 hearts, I push my last chips in in pure desperation. I am called by surflex and A Q. I have live cards but do not hit. Oh well. Gone at 25.

Drizz and Gcox went on to chop it up. Good job boys!

I never got any real traction in this tournament. I think the high point for my chip count was 2500. At that point, the leaders had 15,000. Honestly, I am surprised I made it that far. The only play I didn't like was making a move with the 6s. I was in EP. That hand is not strong enough to survive. Next time, I think I will fold it unless the table is extremely tight.

I think I will chase the river tonight

Must get some beer before its starts.

Full Tilt Poker
Tournament #8647662
Game: NLHE
Date: November 30th, 10pmET
Buyin: $10+1
password: riverchasers

Admit it, you have nothing better to do.

Getting the game back in order

I didn't know if I wanted to play the WWdN last night. After the HORSE fiasco on Sunday, I was willing to just lay low for a bit. But because there is crap on TV on Tuesday nights and I had little on the DVR, I decided to be somewhat social and hop into the fray with about 4 minutes left in the registration period.

Not much action for me in the beginning. I did get to drop the Hammer with a re-raise, but not much beyond that. Fact is, I was just happy to get through the first session and to the break. With the way I have been playing lately (or not playing is probably the explanation), that felt like a bit of an accomplishment. I was also happy that Biggestron didn't pummel me from the right in hopes of extracting revenge for other tournaments this year.

The only other thing of note was moving between 4 table in the first two rounds. Beyond that I picked up a couple small pots here and there and treaded water. I was generally a small stack looking for a spot to double up. I got that when my KK held up against A 10. Now I had some chips to work with and possibly make some moves. I was still in the lower third (barely) but wasn't on life support. Because of that, I tried something I have rarely done. Fact is, I cannot recall that last time I have made this play.

I limped with A A.

Some of you do this all the time. I have seen it too many times early in tournaments where someone tries to be fancy and loses to a the flopped set or two pair because they let the BB get in for a free look. That is why I rarely do it. I want that hand to pay me a little something or at least the BB. I don't want to see the asshat with 10 7 off in the BB get the miracle flop and complete his straight.

But with the way the table action was going, I felt the time was right. Down to two tables, with raises on pretty much every hand, I was willing to try and lay the trap and get some action. But that didn't happen. It folded around to the BB who checked. I got an A on the flop but two spades to go with it. Uh oh. It checked around. The turn is another spade. Crap. I bet pot and thankfully I haven't let the BB get lucky.

Little did I know, but the deck was about to hit me silly. K K, A A, Q Q all within the next orbit or so.

With the K K hand, I re-raised to 1500 from 400. I wonder if maybe I over bet it? I wanted to put some pressure on him to commit his remaining chips but instead got a quick fold. Maybe a raise to 1000-1200 would have been better.

I was able to help us get down to two table when I had 10 10 in the BB and a small stack pushed with 4 4. I end up 4 flushing to knock him out. Unfortunately, it brings the two big stacks to the table. One of them raises in MP and is called in two places. I fold my A Q (like that Hoy?) because I am in the blinds and way out of position if I don't hit that flop.


At this point, the big stacks were beginning to annoy me. I had a good handle on how each of them plays, having experience with one at other tourneys and playing with the other earlier in the game. They were playing big stack poker and figured they could bully the table with their raises. Having a smaller stack, I didn't like it so I knew I had to fight back at some point. Thus when the action got past one, with the other in the BB and I on the button, I decided to make a move and limped. With Q 3 suited. I wasn't surprised to see the raise to 600. But I guess he was when I popped it 1600. He folded. I breathed sigh of relief. Putting your balls on the chopping block with a bluff is one thing. Pulling them out of the way when the ax is coming down (a re-raise) like a coward is another. Part of me wanted to show the bluff, but I knew it wasn't necessary. My message was sent. At least for the time being

I did take a couple pots off of a weak button player. They kept trying to steal so I kept calling with connectors knowing I could bet the flop (as long as it was loaded with aces and faces) and take down the pot. That worked nicely for a couple of rounds. Otherwise I was just folding a lot as the big stacks kept raising away.

It felt good to make the final table again. Even if it was with only 43 runners. The table was pretty even too. Low stack had about 2800 so with blinds at just 100/200, there could be some play.

I should have been out in 8th place. With blinds at 200/400, I called 900 more with 7 8 suited. I called because it was one of the big stacks who I thought was stealing and raising on anything. I felt at best he may be raising with any ace. Thus I check-raised him all in on a flop of K 7 6. But when he quickly called, I knew he had A K. Yep, it was bleak. Until I spiked the 7 on the river. One needs a little luck to survive sometimes. And that was lucky.

But I would give a chunk back when I raised with K Q suited UTG and got re-raised for just 1325 more. Then I was up against A A. Though I flopped the flush draw, it didn't hit.

I folded my way into the second break. Now this is the time of the game where I usually get impatient and make a bad move. I need to be up early for work and when the game looks like it is going to be a late one, I usually take unnecessary chances. Kinda like that 7 8 suited play. That is one reason why I was happy I had gotten deep in a tourney once again.

Until the big stack on my right started raising every hand once again. Sonofabitch! I don't fault the player for the way they were playing. It was working pretty well for them. He kept putting the pressure on everyone else. I could either go to battle again with say, Q 3, or wait for a good hand and bring in the Howitzers. All the while I kept telling myself: Remember, don't make the stupid move. It may have worked earlier but that doesn't mean it will work again.

Luckily I wouldn't have to. I got dealt A Q and pushed. It was barely twice his bet. He called with Q 10. I had a dominating hand and it would hold up. Better yet, I had him outchipped now and could really push back. But that didn't last long when I tried to steal out of the SB with Q 10 and folded to the push. It would have dropped me to just 10xs the BB and I didn't want that. Should have just called. I hate playing Q 10. Hate it, hate it, hate it.

I stole a blind off of Pauly with 9 10. He booed me for the raise. I guess he had A x and wanted to play but didn't want to take any risk. Next hand, I doubled through on the annoying raiser to my right when I won a race with 77 vs A K. Suddenly I was in 2nd behind Pauly. But my hands were beginning to stink. Soon the aggro on my right would be out and I would be in the money. A whopping $34 went to 5th place!

I moved into 1st with a raise of A 10 and a caller. With a flop of Q 10 x, I went with the continuation bet and took it down.

No action on the Cowboys when I raised it up. Darn. But then I run my 8 8 into a push that has A J. Guess my luck has run out as he flops the A and I get no help. But the Hiltons come around and I get to re-raise someone to get some of those chips back.

In the end, I finished 3rd. Ran A 10 against 8 8. I felt committed to calling the re-raise, even though I was sure I was behind. Though I hit a 10 on the turn, he spiked the two outer on the river. That is how it goes some times. You hit the magic card on one hand and it haunts you later.

Whenever I finish a tournament, whether I make the money or not, I like to reflect on how I played. I don't focus on suckouts or bad beats. Instead I look back on whether I played too tight, too loose, aggressive, or not aggressive enough. I am more upset with going out on a stupid play of my own than suffering a beat by a better hand or suckout.

To get deep once again was good. It is just like sex. If feels good to get in their, pumping up the pots and performing like a stud. When it is done, you can sit back, relax, enjoy your win and think, I want to do this more often.

If the game was DONKEY

then I would have won. Instead, I just played like one.

It was a pathetic performance in the POY HORSE event. I didn't even make it through a full cycle.

Playing like a drunk

Any success I have had lately playing hold em has come after I have been out drinking. I have piled up some peep tokens after late night drinking sessions. I think part of it is just being in a mellow mood and at times pushing because I would like to crash and get some sleep.

While sober, I have been switching between Razz and Triple Draw. I have come to the conclusion that Razz may sharpen your skill in Hold Em. Though the games are remarkably different, I think playing Razz makes you a better player overall.

With seeing so many of your opponents cards, you can easily see where you are in the hand. Even though you may not have a great hand, you can turn up the aggression factor and force you opponents to fold. That aggression is then carried over to two card game. Same with bluffing.

The last HORSE game for POY consideration is on tonight. Hope to see more people that 20 playing.

Hot chicks and football

Check out Fantasy Sports Live. Like fantasy sports? Like poker? Just like a Reeces peanut butter cup, they took two great games and combined them into one. Check it out! You can win money on the daily fantasy baseball contests. Create your team each day. No more bad drafts! No more injuries that sink your team! And you can win money!


Bonus code STB will get you 10 bucks on a deposit of $50. Deposit more and get a bigger bonus.

I think I figured out BG and CJ were truly up to when they were doing their NFL picks. Have you seen this contest between Dr. Z and the hot chick on SI.com? Dr. Z's picks suck but he now gets his grumpy ass in a video with some hottie, Brooklyn Decker.

My guess is BG and CJ caught this weeks ago and figured they better get started with some picking history in the hopes that they want to replace the old man with someone younger.

TD

Played my fair share of Triple Draw on Stars this weekend. Far from being a good player myself, I did find it amusing how many people cannot grasp the simple concept of the game. People kept drawing again and again. Worked for me as I made money.

On the flip side, I think the beats in TD are worse. It sucks to have say, 2 3 4 5 and draw three times to just pair each of your cards or end up with a straight in the end. Of course your opponent calls you down to show a K.

The game is a nice change of pace. It has helped supplement my tournament buy ins. Though I am happy with the way I have played as of late- considering that I have played very little over the last 2 months- it would have felt better to not suffer the bad beats. In 4 of my tournaments I had the best hand going to the flop. 80% favorite each time just to get bounced. The one that hurt the most was the clown who re-raised all in after his pre-flop limp. He proudly showed his 4 4 to my black aces. Of course he flopped the set and went quad by the river.

Unbelievable.

But that is how this game goes. If you can't take the beats by now, you will never get better at the game. But I wonder if it detrimental to get used to bad beats? It seems counterproductive to just suck it in and wait for it to happen. But in the long haul, it must be best for the mind.

That and not playing after a day at the bar.

Iggy's Top Ten reasons for leaving the blogosphere

From the home office in Milwaukee, WI, here is the Top 10 reasons why Iggy is leaving Guinness & Poker...

10. Took as oath of silence after learning that Party Poker was going to pull out of the United States. Didn't realize until later that he was typing BONUS CODE IGGY DAMNIT, not actually saying it.

9. Finished linking every poker site, cartoon, picture and RGP post possible. At that point, he realized he had come to the end of the internet.

8. In a strange moment of clarity, decided living in a condola was the life for him. He can be found living with Sean by the railroad tracks behind his former office.

7. Promoted to CEO at Proctor and Gamble after developing Guinness flavored Crest. Believes Guinness Scope could be next breakthrough but doesn't know how to prevent people from swallowing it.

6. Taking job as jester at the Sherwood Forest bar, located in the Excalibur. Management figured since he is there for hours on end entertaining people, he might as well be on the payroll.

5. Discovered that Howard Beale was actually just a name BG created so he could fuck with him.

4. An exec at P&G Bobby Braceleted him when it was discovered he was blogging from work.

3. He entered the Skyhoundz 2007 World Championship and needs a year off to prepare his black fuzzy dog Toby for superstardom. Upon winning, Iggy plans to saddle the dog up and ride him around the field for a victory lap.

2. Off to the WWE to begin career as Little Cena, champion midget wrestler. You can't see him!

1. Closing down Guinness and Poker in order to open new sponsored site Budweiser and Poker. OH THE HUMANITY!!!

Live tourney at the small casino

After an interesting Saturday night of poker, I decided to enter the Sunday tournament. Word was that they usually have somewhere from 30 to 40 people playing in them. Buy in is $30+5, with $10 rebuys in the first two levels. Starting stack was 1200 with 25-50 blinds. Rebuys got you 1000.

I was playing mainly out of curiosity. I was wondering if the same chasing in the ring games would occur in the tournament. But for a decent price, I had a chance to walk away with about $900.

I pulled the 9 seat at table 7 to start. My friend Arn was in the 1 seat. I did recognize a guy I played with the night before in the 5 seat. He wasn't a player that impressed me. The guy on my left was quiet, focusing on the football game at first and then quickly bullying the table when he got a stack. The guy on my right claimed he won the tourney last week.

But the guy in the 8 was was the one that annoyed me. Constantly yapping away in between hands. It was bad enough he had a Bears jersey on. Before we started he was going on and on about how his strategy for the tournament was well thought out in advanced. Thankfully I had a buffer between him and I.

I didn't do much in the rebuy period. I believe I raised one pot and took it down preflop. I had cards so far apart you could drive a truck between them. That didn't matter though. I was content to watch and get a good feel for the table. Being a rebuy tourney, I had a feeling this would be interesting. Like watching a guy call an all in with a gutshot straight. He ended up rebuying 3 times before being knocked out. Or the other who bluffed at a pot and got called by 2nd pair. Even Bears jersey made a play by raising preflop with 4 5o. He showed his hand after he flopped a straight. Unfortunately that meant he had to explain his system for raising with crap in order to confuse everyone later on. Yeah. Really tricky there dude. I would put that bit away for later.

I just won one uncontested pot in the first round. I took the add on at the break and hoped to see the table tighten up. While Bears jersey was trying to look like a guy who raised with nothing in hopes that he could spring a trap, I was doing the exact opposite. I had established my tight image. I was hoping to get a couple cards to use it to my advantage. In fact, Bears jersey even helped me establish the image. After about 15 hands, he made a comment to the guys on both sides of him to watch out for me. He pointed out how much I had been folding. When I finally entered a pot with a raise, he quietly (but not quiet enough that I couldn't hear him two seats away) said "watch out".

I started firing away after the rebuy period was over. The table got quite stiff. The loose play was over and everyone was getting ready to play "real" poker. Problem was, most of these people had little idea what real poker was. I got A Ko in EP and raise it up 3.5xs the BB. A guy in the cutoff re-raises the minimum. I decided to just call and see a flop. Flop comes A J x, rainbow. I pushed my stack in (just above pot) and get called after he say he feels he is dominated....by K J? He re-raised with K Jo? No help and I double through. I had watched him make some stupid plays and was happy to get some of his chips. I felt like telling him to take the Superman sweatshirt off and give it back to the store cuz he wasn't worthy.

I continued to makes some moves and quickly got my stack above 6k. I was beginning to feel like I had a great chance to make some money. I was pounding small stacks and knocking people out, including my friend. But then my luck ran out.

It started with a great chance to catapult myself into the table lead. With 5 7 clubs in the BB, I saw the flop for free. 4c, 6c, 5d. The SB pushed, a bet of 2300. I looked at my chips and realized it was just a third. I could call and still be healthy. Then I counted my outs. If I am not mistaken, I had 21 outs. Twice! I made the call. My opponent showed J 6. I wasn't dominated at all like I thought I might have been. But I didn't get any of the outs and saw the pile go to my right.

A couple hands later, I lose a race with A K to a pair of 10s. Then I lose some more when I make a move with 8 8 and run into J J and A Q. Why the A Q called from the button is unknown to me. I had quickly gone from 6k to just 1200.

Soon I would be out in 18th when I pushed UTG with A 5 and was called by K K. Maybe I should have waited one more hand. But if I had won just one of those races, I would have still been alive. Except for that last hand, I was satisfied with the way I had played. I got my money in with the better hand most of the time. I didn't have any lapses of judgement and did ok.

If I can get a bit more time, hopefully I can get back in the groove once again. I need to find time to reclaim the top spot in the POY standing. Congrats to lucko for taking over the top spot.

Poker this weekend

I will actually be playing some live poker this weekend. Or so I believe. I am heading up to the Menomonee Casino in Keshena on Saturday. It has been a while since I have been up there. I just hope the game is still as fishy as it was.

I haven't been playing much poker at all lately. When I do, the results are marginal. I was out early in the WWdN once again this week. Ran my Q Q into K K. I worked my way from 65 back to 200 but had my two pair counterfeited by the play of J 5, when they hit their straight with the pairing of my 8.

I did then play a SnG and finished 3rd. I just wasn't into it after 20 minutes though. I got bored and started trying to bully the table. It worked for a while until I ran 6 6 into 8 8. Still got paid so it wasn't all bad.

At some point I will get back on the wagon and play more. As it gets colder that should happen. If it doesn't, so be it. Poker is still a hobby to me, not a way of life. But at the very least, I will need to get prepped up for Vegas next month. Less than a month away now. 27 days to be exact.

Who else is counting?

I am also trying to figure out what I will be doing out there besides playing poker. Tradition dictates that I get drunk with Iggy at the Sherwood bar in the Excalibur on the first night. Maybe I can get Pauly to point out another well hidden eatery that has great food. Would it be evil to try and get Drizz so drunk that his wife goes off to play craps with bloggers? Can I get Chilly to drink actual beer? I may even go for the no repeat Friday while there.

Swing and a miss!

I hate pounding out a post and not completing the thought or missing a key point I was trying to make. Yesterday was such a post. I quickly typed my thoughts up in a short period of time and forgot to include the point I was trying to make. Drizz actually did it for me.

One party nor the President should shoulder the blame of an abused system,
should we believe that sticking a bunch of Democrats, regardless of their
platform be the answer?No

What people need to do is read up on who is running and where they stand and what their voting record was. Just because your rep is a Republican, it does not mean he/she did not do a great job representing you (bringing pork home to the district is not doing a good job as some would like to think). Likewise, if the person seeking the office is a Dem/Green/Libertarian, you should see what they are proposing and if you believe it is right.

You should not let any newspaper tell you what to do if you are not getting the opposite point of view as well. Everyone has an agenda. Be informed. You don't need to fit everyone or everything into a category.

The other thing I did was screw up the poker analogy. Again, trying to get it done in a short time frame was stupid. The analogy does not read as I had pictured. Pretty bad. This will be the last time I try to bang out politics on a blog where it doesn't belong.

Now go vote already. Reading blogs ain't going to change a thing.

Now go vote.

Don't fold your top pair to the LAG

With Election Day coming up tomorrow, a number of people are in a tizzy about the choices you will be making tomorrow. They put up some interesting comments about why they will vote for someone. They are passionate about what they are saying.

It seems that most poker bloggers are pretty liberal with some having gone off the deep end of the far left. Few are conservative. Many admit that our government could do more that actually represent our interests. Controlling spending would be a good start. But it is not as bleak as people want you to think. It is like on big poker game. They games are good (like the economy) but the suckout is always around the corner (Frist move).

I think the liberal poker view is pretty much offbase. You can see that some have gone on tilt; they are not seeing the board and figuring out why raising is better than folding. They are playing with their heart more than their head.

For example, some people will lump the Republicans together because they support the President. They will trot out wiretapping of phone calls, Gitmo, or torture and say they cannot support any candidate that would be for that.

The warrantless wiretapping is funny. Most of these people are good Americans. Or so I think. Are they making frequent phone calls to countries on the State Departments list of terrorist countries? They must be if they think the government is listening to their calls. There are millions of phone calls made on a daily basis. It is physically impossible for the government to listen to them all. That is why they focus on known numbers and countries. They do not care about your phoning Aunt Milly in Idaho to get her potato pancake recipe.

They will say that people should not be held without charges pressed against them. Well, you are not going to be picked up off of any street in the United States by the government unless they have evidence of you plotting something pretty evil. However, if you have been captured on the battlefield and have sworn to kill as many Americans as possible, well, that may keep you in a nice little cell for a period of time. You do want to be protected against people that want to kill you, don't you? Maybe we can just dump these people back into the world where they may go about in their effort to kill innocent Americans. Pittsburgh sounds like a good place.

Oh, and when we have these people, they are not to be interrogated either. Known methods that have extracted valuable information from our enemy that has been used to protect American citizens is not to be allowed. But of course, our enemy, the same people that would be allowed to go to Pittsburgh, would rather cut your throat and make a tape of it for people to see on TV.

You can play your hand aggressively and dictate the outcome of the hand tomorrow. Or you can fold to the LAG typing away nonsense in the chatbox. Yes, your pair of 4s may not be the best hand, but it is better than the K high you know your opponent has.

Get both sides of the story. Read about the issues and vote.

Iggy's Home Game

I hope Iggy does not get mad at me for posting this. I found some video of his home game.
Can you pick him out?

Iggy's Home Game.

I did my part for NSFW

I showed up to support Al's campaign for increased attendance in the Mookie. Finished a miserable 33 or 34. I could say that I didn't catch cards, or when I did everyone folded and I didn't get any action.

But I won't. Mainly because I don't really believe in that stuff. "Not catching cards" is a lame excuse for one playing too tight and not opening up their game to the current conditions. It is not playing position. It is not taking a chance when the time is right. It is not bluffing your way to some pots that can be taken down just by making a bet.

"Not getting any action" is just as bad. Did you do anything to induce action. I saw that last night. Early in the tournament. Aces were cracked twice because they limped in. Now, that is one way to induce action, but to do so early in a tournament when you really don't have a good feel for the table or your opponents? Not the best play in my opinion. Then again, I don't think I have ever limped with A A. Ever.

No, my miserable finish was a bad play on my part. I raised in EP with K 10o. Table was tight so I thought I could represent a big hand and take it down. Instead there are 3 players to the flop. Flop is 10 high, uncoordinated. I bet half the pot and get called in one spot. My immediate thought was I am running into A 10. On the blank turn, I pushed and got called by....A 10. I totally ignored the part of my brain (the small part) that was yelling to slow down on the turn. Instead I pushed hard on the accelerator and crashed.

Maybe I should have stayed at the bar.

Smashed pumpking

So much for pumpkin power. I was the 4th one out when my Q Q ran into K K. Hasta la vista baby!

I see Jason Spaceman may be moving up a bit in the world. All the hard work he put in for Bluff writing the fantastic tournament reports is paying off. The World Series of Poker has picked up them up and will be adding them to their own site. Get over and read about the possible new stars of tomorrow. The reports will be showing up sometime this week so keep visiting the WSOP site if you do not see it right away.

Of course the downside of the Spaceman's success is that he doesn't have enough time to post on his own site. His Predators are currently just ahead of my Red Wings in the Central division of the Western Conference. Yeah, I still can't figure out how Nashville is in the West but hey, what do I know? I got knocked out early yesterday.