Twit poker

I played in the Twitter poker tournament last night. It was a way to play some poker on the cheap ($5) and get a feel for the game again. I did ok, finishing 5 of 33.

I felt pretty good about my game throughout. I spent some time watching the others play (what a concept, huh?) and felt I had a good read on some of them. Took some chances were appropriate because of those reads. For example, a loose guy was in the BB. I was in the cutoff with A 9. I knew he would raise with any K that was suited. So I popped it 3xs his blind when the action came to me. He quickly re-raised. My gut told me I had him at this point so I pushed. Sure enough, he showed K 10. My hand held and I moved on.

Later I would do the same with K Qs. I had watched the guy play and he loved his face cards. I popped him when he came in with a raise forcing him to make a decision to go all in or fold. He went all in with Q 10 and promptly gave me those chips.

The best thing that happened last night was my finish. Going out in 5th told me a lot about my end game. Or lack thereof. I wanted to finish this game but knew I would be up to leave for work in 5 hours. When this happens, I lose focus and take way too many chances. I try to bully the table or make any two cards work (hey J 9 suited can be a monster! Danny says so!).

I went out when I pushed my A Js into A Qo. Not a terrible way to go but not the best. I had been 2nd but it was also in push territory so I was content to take a small cash in exchange for sleep. That is what troubles me. I have been making that trade too often. Did it in the Bodog tournament too. The real world is crimping my poker world way too much lately.

I hope to play in some of the BBT events. It will be tough as work seems to enjoy laying some leather on my ass on a daily basis. Hopefully I can find time to play some events.

Cheapo tournament no good

I played a cheapo tournament this Saturday on Full Tilt. Was looking to play some poker but didn't know how serious I wanted to be. I wanted to be serious but I was also looking for a distraction from doing my taxes. Yes, that makes little sense to do your taxes as you play poker since you are not focusing on either but it worked for a while.

I doubled up early by flopping a set and letting the aggro give me their chips. I folded a lot including to reraises when I thought the table was pretty tight but someone would feel frisky and push a huge stack against me and my 10s. I would rather have Turbo Tax guide me through charitable donations to good causes than dipsticks at a poker table.

Somehow doing my taxes and playing poker worked well. But then I got to a spot where I had to stop doing my taxes. I didn't have an investment form so I couldn't enter the info. Shortly after I logged out of Turbo Tax I logged out of Full Tilt. Someone slow played their aces from EP and totally caught me in their net.

At least my return looks good. I just need to get it filed before the president gives all of the money away to those who don't pay taxes.

The non poker Steel Panther post

Non poker content here. I noticed that the band with the best show in Vegas have updated their websites. Steel Panther has their new homepage up and running at steelpanterrocks.com. Looks like the new album will be out on June 9th this year.

Speaking of the album, the have some new songs up on the Steel Panther myspace page. Beside Death to All But Metal, they had added a song we heard at the Vegas show, Oklahoma Girl. There also seems to be a new long song up called Community Property. An instant classic if you ask me.

I had been thinking of skipping Vegas during the summer but after perusing the Steel Panther sites, I feel the need to go just to see their show. If you didn't see them in December you missed out.

The Donger got robbed...

...and so did I!

I just saw this news item on MMA Junkie. UFC 94 competitor Karo Parisyan tests positive for prescription painkillers. So Karo was hopped up on meds, huh? No wonder he won.

Ok, that may or may not have been the case for victory. It was a close fight, one that I thought Parisyan won when Dong came up with little in the third round. The Rooster disagreed and thought the Donger had won.

Me? I had money on the Donger. Had he won it would have been a nice payout. Now I see that the decision may be reversed:

Parisyan, who defeated Kim via close split decision, could now be subject to a
suspension and fine from the NSAC. The fight could also be overturned from a
victory to a no-contest, though Kizer told MMAjunkie.com no decisions have been
made on either front.

So my question to you bettors out there is, Can I get my money back? Let's say I made a wager online. Will they refund my money if they change the ruling to a no contest?

Thanks in advance.

Like riding a bike

I actually played some poker this weekend. Fired up Full Tilt and sat down at a limit game. It didn't go that well but I did have some fun. I hadn't played a ring game in months online. Last time I even sat down at a table was in Vegas. And then I didn't play any limit.

It all came back to me. The nuances of limit are different but it was like riding a bike down by the lake. You know the path. You have ridden down this path many times before. You know were you can accelerate, where to slow down on the sharp turns. You know how to navigate the path through the park and where the people by the golf course will walk by not paying attention to bikes.

You have this path memorized. At least you think you do. It happens every spring after the snow has melted and the ice has gone away. You get on the path after being away and notice the things you conveniently forgot. You remember the smooth straight runs where you can build speed but forget about the hills that drain you. Just like the guy on the button that raises every single blind of yours. You know it is going to be like clockwork. Everyone folds to him and he raises it up. You want to defend you blinds and get annoyed by this joker.

So you do. With a ragged ace you feel that you are ahead. You flop bottom pair and bet out. He slows down and just calls. You fire again on the turn and he calls. When a harmless looking 8 hits the board on the river you feel you have him just to see him call and show K 8. It is like hitting a pothole on the bike path. Your front tire thunks down hard and your body is jolted. You mutter an obsenity and keep going.

You play on. You get involved in some hands that look good. You flop open end straight and flush draws. You bet them but just like getting caught behind a pair of walkers or slow riders on the trail, you can't get around them and keep missing your hands. Nice pots go the other way as you have to fold after missing each of your outs. It is frustrating but you pedal on.

Good hands don't pay off. They fold to you when you raise with QQ. Yes you get lucky and flop a set here or there but the board conspires against you showing the flush possibility. You slow your bike down in that traffic just hoping to get out with a nice win. But in the end you feel like you are riding in the rain. An hour has gone by and you are down. Wet.

You get off the bike and haul in down into the basement. You think about the ride and how tomorrow will be different. You click the table close and learn from your mistakes. You dwell a bit on the bad luck but know that tomorrow will be different.