You hear that?

I think you do. You hear that distant noise. No it isn't the TV in the background. It isn't the sound of traffic outside. It isn't the white noise being pumped into the office.

It is the sound of anticipation. The sound of poker players getting antsy for a trip to Vegas.
It is the stories that you thought were myths being retold and enjoyed for the umpteenth time. It is about wheelchairs and having imaginary kids with other bloggers.
It is about being rolled by a hooker.
It is about drinking until 11 in the morning and letting someone play your money at a blackjack table as you are about to pass out.
It is about the gravitational pull the Fatburger has as you walk by it.
It is about all the silly prop bets that will be made.
It is about the possibility that new legendary tournaments will be added.
It is about being able to stand at the MGM sports book bar without falling down.
It is winning rubber ducks at Hooters and having some guy in a kilt steal it.
It is about picking a horse with the name of Too Drunk to Call and having it win!!!
It is watching football with people from all over the country, cheering on all kinds of teams.
It is finding a poker tournament at 2 in the morning and deciding that you can make it downtown in 20 minutes to play it.
It is drinking for hours on end with someone you met earlier in the day.

It is about having a great time with friends.

It is the sound that will continue to build over the next couple of weeks. The sound that will make you ignore you work, make you review your blackjack tables, make you memorize the odds at the craps tables and which bets are the best. The sound of a good time personified.

How many days to go Drizz?

My own worst enemy

I made a decent run last night in the RiverChasers tournament. I was feeling pretty confident I was going to make the final table and have a chance to take it down. Maybe I was a little too confident.

I was my own worst enemy last night, making two bad reads that devastated my stack. It started out well. I missed the first half hour as I was out drinking. Came back and double my stack just before the first break. Soon into the second hour I would double up again as a huge stack tried to bully me out of a pot with a massive all in raise. Having the Hiltons, I called his bet with a 7 being the highest card on the flop. He showed his 2 2 and began to stew. I say this as he busted and berated a player for calling his all in bet with A 8.

Yeah, I was flying high in the top 5. But then I got a little too cocky. I was dealt K Qs, a hand I like. It was raised by the cutoff. I was thinking steal and that I could push him off with a re-raise. I re-pop it to force him all in. He goes for it and shows K K. Oops!

Soon I would do the same thing again. In the SB, I have A Qs and raise it. BB goes all in for like 2k more. I immediately am thinking he is trying to steal and quickly call. He shows A A. Oops part deaux!

I don't recall how I went out. I believe I ran A Qs into A A again. All that got me 15th place and a thanks-for-playing. No cash, no nuthin'.

Of course the kicker is, I didn't need to be that aggressive. I should have seen a flop with the K Q and went from there. I was probably screwed on the A Q hand no matter what. Oh well, there is next week. I need to get me a token or make some cash for the Big Game.

Vegas and Booze

Somehow I felt compelled to post something about an oncoming adventure in Las Vegas after not one, but two people felt the need to point out that it is 23 days (depening on when you read this) and counting. Sure Pauly will post his survival tips pretty soon, but that may not totally prepare you.

So I offer up some sage advice from purveyors of the potent potable, the loudmouths of liquor, the bishops of booze, the demaigogues of all that is drunken debauchery, Modern Drunkard Magazine:

The Drunkard’s Guide to Sin City

A couple I know recently approached me on the eve of their first trip
to Las Vegas, looking for advice. They’d heard I was born and raised there and
figured I might know some inside angles.
And indeed I do. I spent a drunken half hour alternatively tantalizing and terrorizing them about their choice of vacation spots. A little wisdom did manage to did slip through, however, which I present here in case you are considering a foray into Sin City.
You want to arrive with the idea you’re going to win a great deal of money. It doesn’t matter how little money you arrive with, or how many painful lessons you have absorbed in the past, this time it will be different. Never set a limit as to
how much you’re willing to lose. That is plainly a defeatist attitude and will
jinx you from the start. You should, however, set a limit as to how much you are
willing to win. For most this means every chip in the house, and perhaps the
deed to the casino.
If you gamble, you get free drinks. It’s a helluva a
deal, and if you possess even an average amount of luck the drinks will only end
up costing you about 40 bucks apiece. The climate is very hot and dry, so
remember to stay hydrated by drinking a lot of fluids. Triple Wild Turkeys do
not count, unless you ask for a lot of ice. Sadly, the level of customer care
has steadily declined since the casinos were taken over by soulless
corporations. It is customary to meet every instance of McDonald’s-style service
by muttering, “At least the Mob knew how to treat their goddamn
customers.”
The fact that you can drink 24 hours a day can have an unsettling
effect on some visitors. Realize you will have to be your own bouncer and should
cut yourself off after the bartender’s face has changed three times.
Some people seem to think that tipping the dealer is akin to French-kissing a mugger, but this is not true. It is akin to merely kissing the mugger’s hand.
It’s a psychological fact that money won on games of chance doesn’t seem like “real” money, which can encourage you to squander your winnings. So whenever you get a little ahead, turn those chips into cash and force yourself to
invest in tangible commodities, such as lap dances and $20 room-service shrimp
cocktails.
If you have a streak of luck, don’t smugly inform your friends
that you’re seriously considering quitting your job and moving to Vegas to give
the gambling profession a go. It will make them want to strangle you in your
sleep or, worse, want to borrow some money.
When you return from your trip it
is traditional to play down your losses and exaggerate you winnings. For
example, if you broke even or actually came out ahead, if only by $20, you
should inform your friends you “raped the bastards” and all the pit bosses
thought you were some kind of “internationally-renowned card shark.” If you lost
all the money you arrived with, you should say you “basically broke even.” If
you lost the money you came with and every cent you could squeeze from your
credit and debit cards, you should say you “lost a little, but more than made up
for it in free drinks.”

Just a friendly reminder that there is life away from the poker tables.

Was I too aggressive or too weak?

If I look at my poker game, I am much better at tournaments than cash. Better at limit than no limit. And a small stakes guy, 2/5 at the most.

That is why I am trying to learn the nuances of NL cash again. I had some success in June playing at the MGM and hear that they games are still good for a player like me. It is the little things I have picked up reading other blogs that I am trying to incorporate into my game.

This hand went down on FTP the other day. I don't think I played it that well, nor did I play it poorly. Any advice on what I could have done better is appreciated.

Playing .25/.50 (yeah, little stacks online). Dealt 8 9 clubs in MP. It is folded around to me and I just call. Person on my left raises to 1.75. Both blinds fold. Flop is nice looking but dangerous, Q J 10, with the J and 10 being clubs. I flopped a straight with a draw to straight flush. My opponent bets out 3.50. I like my straight but realize I could be in trouble. He could have easily raised with A K which means my dummy end of the straight is just that. Making me the dummy. But the flush draw could be good unless he raised with A K clubs. I decide to raise just the minimum to 7. He comes back with a raise to 15. I just called, deciding to take some time to put him on a hand. A K is worrying me but I don't think he has it. That is based on a previous hand where he cracked A A from the SB with 8 6. UTG played it cute and limped. He flopped two pair and stacked the guy. He kept going with min raises, showing that he may not be monster strong.

When a rag hit on the turn, I pushed my remaining $20 in. I figured it would all end up anyways and this way it looked like maybe I was trying to push him off the pot with a confident big bet. He called showing K K. Rag on the river gave me the pot.

Sure I won but somehow I think I could have played it better. Should I have been more aggressive on that flop? Or maybe more cautious? Do I get him to commit on the turn? Or is pushing there, knowing I could be behind a bad move? Any advice from you cash gamers is appreciated.

Don't know if I could have laid it down

I was floating along in the RiverChasers last night. Had one player that would never fold to my preflop bets. The flop would always have an A in it and suddenly they were betting out, causing me to fold my J J. No, I won't give them enough credit to be able to bluff me out there. I have played with them before and they play the I-have-an-ace-so-I-will-see-a-flop-no-matter-what-the-raise-is mentality.

But I didn't let that bother me. Much. I focused on playing my game. It worked well until the second period got going. With A Qs, I raised UTG. Only BuddyDank called from the button.

Flop was 10 10 10. Interesting.

We both check.

Turn is a Q. Not quite sure if this is good or bad. I cannot put Buddy on a 10 here. How can you? I think I bet about 3/4 of the pot to see if I am good with my boat.

Dank now pushes all in. He has me covered. Crap!

I go in the tank. Again, I cannot put him on a 10 here. Slight chance he calls in that spot with J 10s but doubtful. How could he just call with A A or K K? Doesn't seem to make sense, though I have seen a lot of people just calling raises with K K lately.

Is he trying to push me off the pot with his own pocket pair? That is the conclusion I came to. There are only two hands that beat me here, aces or kings (sure he could hold a ten but I have already ruled that possibility out). I can't see him slow playing either and I make the call.

He shows the K K and I am down to 3 possible outs that do not hit. I go home in 70th.

Well played Buddy.

If I somehow lay that hand down, I have about 2200 left and am alive and still in a position to move back up. Still, I don't think I made the wrong play. It didn't win but on the range I put him on, it makes sense. I believe I would end up calling again in that situation.

The dreaded Mookie

The dreaded Mookie has started. First table is interesting with Ftrain on my right, Maudie next to him, Kat on my left, and Hoy to the left of her.

Start out slow, raising only one hand, A Q in MP. I then fold for another round. Good thing Dennis Miller is on HBO otherwise I might fall asleep. Fold after fold is little fun, but necessary. If I raise with any of these field goal cards I will get my ass handed to me on any flop that misses me.

I then try to make a play on Ftrain. I call his raise with 6 6. Flop is J 2 3. I decided that no matter what, I am calling his flop bet and raising him on the turn. Call 400 to see a 3 hit the turn. He checks and I bet. But the little bastard goes all in. Damnit. Bad time to make a play.

Down to 1275. Let's see if I can get it all back in one fell swoop.

I call Ftrain's bet from the button with A Q. I think about re-raising his steal attempt but don't have the grapefruits to do it. There are no bets as the board comes 10 high and I take the pot. Power poker people!

8 8 raise and scare the EP limper away. I am on a roll!

Then with A Qs in the BB, I raise it up just more than the pot as 3 others try to limp in. Only one calls. Hmm... Flop is 10 10 2, two spades. What the hell...push! He thinks and thinks and calls with 4 4. Good call. But I get lucky and catch a Q on the turn. No 4th spade on the river to screw me and I am back above the starting point of 3k.

So now that I have been given a new lease in this game, how will I screw it up?

Well, I can call a raise with A 10 and fold on the flop. I thought it was fishy and sure enough, he shows the Hammer. Well played!

I wonder if Hoy will let me limp on in. Yes. Flop gives me an OESD but Hoy won't give me any more chips. Damn.

A couple hands later, I try raising with 5 5 in EP but get re-raised. No, still have no grapefruits to make the call and fold. I haven't seen this person raise a single pot all game so I figure he has to have me beat.

I try again with two black 9s and it gets me the blinds. Hey, it is a start. Good thing too, lots of folding as we head into the break.

Just as the break starts, I get moved to a new table. Don't recognize as many people here. 23skiddoo and Dionysus are here as is willwonka. Better yet, I don't have the big stack arseface Ftrain to my right anymore (dawn summers called him that).

Second verse, same as the first.

The action after the break is just like the beginning of the game. Fold, fold, fold. Then I see J J come to me. I am UTG+1 and raise it up. But willwonka pushes in the BB. WTF??? Doesn't seem right. My gut tells me he does not have any of the 3 overpairs. I decide to go for broke and make the call. He shows 10 10. No improvement for him and I get over 4k.

A Ks in the BB and I get a raise. Time to pop it back! Darn, he folded.

Two hands later, I am tangling with 23skidoo again. I make it look like a total steal from the button with A Jo. I am kinda happy when he raises me back because my immediate thought is he has A rag and just try to steal it back. So I push. He thinks and calls, showing A 7. My A J holds up and I am doing great.

Next hand, I get A A for the first time. I get a raise ahead of me and repop it. He then goes all in. Does it get any better? Suddenly I am up over 11k and in second place.

I then get a phone call and begin to play with maybe half of my attention on the game. With a couple of good hands, I suddenly vault into first with over 30k in chips. Which is a good thing as I don't have many good cards coming my way or am suddenly not hitting any flops. As we head into the second break, I am on top with just over 32k and 27 runners left.

But I am card dead for the first half of the 3rd session. This really sucks. If I get something I can make a play with, it gets raised ahead of me. And if I get J 3 one more time, I am going to break my monitor. It seems like every hand I get has a J in it.

Finally I get a break and the jacks stop coming. I see a flop as wonka tries to steal. It is only A 3 but I am sick of folding. Flop pairs my A. Nice. I just call his bet and decide to check-raise the turn. Works as I get a pot and get over 50k. Now I get into stealing myself. Take a couple here and there. We are in the money but the big money is at the final table. Problem is, I don't feel like playing much longer. Work will be here way too soon.

Within a couple hands, I would go from leader to out in 10th. Sadly, I really didn't care anymore. I was too tired to try to finish this off. I made a loose call with 2 2 on a board of 10 10 3, thinking my two pair was good. But the BB was slow playing K K and that took a chunk out. Next hand I bounce back against wonka with Q Q to knock him out. But then I way overplay A Qs from the BB and run into A Ko. Just like that, I get bounced.

I wish I hadn't been tired and could focus. Playing for 3 hours to basically win a pitcher of beer just isn't worth it.

Whaa?

Ever get involved in a hand that just leaves you befuddled?

Sure you have. Once the pot gets shipped to some clown, you sit back and wonder what just happened.

Played a tourney on Bodog tonight, trying to get my tournament credits to multiply so I can play the Blogger game. I am doing ok with two thirds of the field gone when I get involved in this hand. UTG goes all in for just over twice the 300 BB. UTG +1 calls. UTG+2 calls. Fold. Fold. I am up with J J. Pot has 7 BB in it and I push hoping to isolate the UTG player. SB folds. BB calls. Both UTG 1&2 call.

WTF?!?!?

Flop is 4 4 9. Looks good to me. It checks to UTG+2 who bets 6000 (he is the tournament leader with over 10k at the start of the hand). BB folds. UTG+1 calls.

What do these kings of poker have?
UTG- 3 3
UTG+1- A 10
UTG+2- A J

I am looking great until an A spikes on the river. So sad. No Blogger tourney for me for a while.

Shaking the rust off

What can you do when you play a good game and lose because someone played better? Learn from the experience, grab some cash, and sit down at the next table.

That is how my RiverChasers tourney went last night. One hand knocked me down. I didn't give up and fought my way back, but just couldn't do it.

Kat was the one who crippled me last night. Her flopped set of 9s did the damage. She got my read of kilter with her play. She raised from MP and I just called with A K off. I thought about re-raising but with it being unsuited, figured seeing a flop was the better move. Got my K on the flop and decided to check behind. The A on the turn made me happy. I am sure it made Kat happy too. All the chips went in and I didn't get lucky on the river.

I was down at that point but not out. Without any decent cards to make a move with, I chipped down to 435 before building my way back up to 3150. A double through would get me back in the game. This is where I didn't play that well. Called a raise with a middle pair and saw a flop that gave me an OESD. Gave up another 400 to see the turn that completely missed. Had to fold to the turn bet that would have put me all in. Roughly 800 gone like that. Stupid.

I have no problem with my bust hand. At least from my point of view. I thought the person winning the hand made a very terrible and moronic play. NewinNov limped UTG. I was up next and pushed my last 1600 in with A Ko. I was sceptical of New's limp right away but with antes in play, I had no choice but to make a move with my small stack. I get a call from a player in LP. Then New goes over the top and pushes his 4500 (?) in. Right away I knew I was in trouble. I figured he had to have A A or K K and one of my outs was gone. The other player thought for a while and then called with 10 10.

WTF?!?!? You called a raise and re-raise with 10s???

New had Q Q, which surprised me a bit. I knew he was strong but didn't think he would make a move with just queens. I have played with him many a time and would have folded those 10s each and every time. Of course, the donkey hit a 10 on the flop and it would be over. I hate it when the worst play of the hand wins the pot.

I ended up finishing the beyond middle of the pack. Sad to say it was my best finish so far, but with how little poker I have been playing, it is understandable. Right now I am shaking the rust off and getting back in the game.

Mookie cubed is 3xs as bad

Once again, the Mookie was a kick in my ass. Once again, I was playing well. Nothing fantastic, but I wasn't in bad shape. I was alive and looking to make a move. But I would screw the pooch with a bad read.

I have fallen into a bad habit. Call it table cop. I watch someone continually raise or push and figure I need to step up and stop them from killing my action. Problem is, I forget that they just may have a good hand and that my hand, while good, is not a dominant one.

Thus, my push with 8 8 (when I didn't need to commit) was pretty bad. I can't blame my opponent for insta-calling with J J. I played an hour and a half just to blow it away with one stupid bet. No wonder I haven't done well lately.

Next up, I got loose and crazy in the Dookie. Again, I was doing pretty good. Had chipped up nicely and was at the top. But in two hands I pushed marginal edges and was soon done in 10th place.

To top it off, I was a quick out in the Spooky when my A Q was trounced by 6 6.

All was not lost though. I enjoyed a nice bourbon barrel ale, downing a 6 pack for a nice buzz and made $55 on the cash NL tables. At least two things went well yesterday.

Soon I will be back in the game...

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

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Smart to retarded in 5 seconds

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

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

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

He insta-called. Yep, with A A.

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

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

The Mookie and my self junk kicking

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

2nd banana

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

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

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

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

Congrats to Spock on the win!

Strike a KORD

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

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

And what do you know...



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

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

Part duh

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

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

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

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

The IP comes over the top

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

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

Ask and ye shall receive

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

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

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

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

Here is why the Cowboys can win:

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

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

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

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

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

Early out again

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

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

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

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

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

No Bodog, but Vegas

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bondonkey

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

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

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

Registration code: 8786670

Hey, an actual poker post!

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

At least that is what I was thinking.

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

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

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

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

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

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

You lookin' for debauchery?

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

I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop
I will not leave myself logged into Blogger.com on Al's laptop

Live Blogging the Key West cash game

Everyone is huddled around the kitchen table at the southern resort we know as AlCantHang Key West. As Gracie feeds me pretzels, the game goes on.

Drizz goes for the quick bully move on Pauly's straddle, raising it to 7xs the blinds (25/50). Pauly doesn't like it and folds on the flop.

Derek makes the raise and 4 people see the flop. Pauly wins with his pair of jacks.

Ftrain has the straddle on. I pop it to 3. Everyone is calling. WTF? 4 7 8, two hearts. Pablo and Ftrain check. I do as well. But Change 100 bets 11. Calls by Maudie and Pauly. Hmm...rather than chase the inside straight, I fold. Well, Pablo did go all in. 5 5 is not presto today! Pable shows the nut straight. Nice flop hippy!

Let's try it again. I raise Drizz's straddle. A J can be painful. Folds around to Drizz who defends the straddle. Nice hammer flop of 7 8 2 makes my bet of 5 seem like it is begging for the call. No call and I drag a pot!

"Straddle raise, reraise. You know I have junk", says Pauly as he goads his brother to call.
"I've heard rumors..." Maudie responds to the delight of the table.
Change 100 pushes....
Drizz calls.
The action is now on Derek. He hasn't even looked at his hand. And he isn't very tempted to call right now. 16.75 is the cost to see the flop. Derek calls dark!!!

flop is all hearts, J 2 6. 8 on th turn, 4th heart on the board gives Drizz the flush as he shows 9 9. Change's aces have been cracked!!! Derek shows Q J. Drizz hangs his head in shame. Until he stacks his chips.

Pauly talks quite a bit smack while playing. He also folds a lot on the flop. Which of course means he will felt me soon.

If you haven't figured it out yet, here is the table.
Gracie is on my immediate left, with Derek on my right. Going clockwise is Change100, Maudie, BG, Pauly, Sweet Sweet Pablo, Ftrain, and Drizz.

So far I have learned you can't really live blog and play poker at the same time. If there are any tells being shown, I sure haven't been able to notice.

Derek is now in Bully mode. And BG and Pauly are determined to smack him down. Flop of Q 4 3 and BG is betting 15. Derek goes over the top for just 8.5 more and BG has to call. K Q by BG takes it down. Rebuy Derek!

I need another drink.

It is official. Sweet sweet Pablo is no more. It is now just Sweet Sweet. Thank Ftrain for that one.

Aces are no good again. This time, Derek is the victim. Pauly flops a straight and busts Changle and his bro. "Whip out them tens" Yes, please ladies, whip out those 10s!

Finally, aces hold up! Sweet sweet shows the red guys

Short game

I think I played all of 2 hands in the RiverChasers tournament last night. I showed up about an hour and 10 minutes after the start. Hey, I was busy enjoying beer at the bar. What do you expect?

I raised with 8 8 in LP to win the blinds.

A couple hands later, I would go over the top of Astin with A Qs. My re-raise was just over a min raise so his call with J J was expected. Though I sucked out an A on the flop, the J on the turn sealed the deal and I was out.

I found myself wondering if that was the best play. I think blinds were 120/240. I believe his raise was a standard 3xs the blinds. My re-raise was to 1800 or so putting me all in. Was pushing all in the best play, or can I put basically half my chips in to see a flop or risk being re-raised by someone else?

If I see a flop with A high, there is no guarantee he folds either, though making a call there with Jacks doesn't seem too bright to me.

Thoughts?

Junk kicking Razz

It happened again and again last night. Have 4 great cards and then brick out the last 3. Man I hate Razz. But just like peanut M&Ms, I can't stop. I took the beats again and again. At least I didn't go on tilt like this other guy. Yeah, that is my excuse for not stopping and I am sticking to it even though it is beyond lame.

I will make the money up on FTrain though. He has a sick prop bet going that says he can gain 17 pounds by the time the WPBT event in December rolls around. Gaining weight sounds easy, but I am going with the Rooster's thoughts on this one. NYC is a walking town and whether he realizes it or not, he will be moving about and not gaining weight.

Plus, I have faith that Dawn will do something if he gets anywhere close. I hear she can be sneaky that way.

I played!

It was just a sit n go. But it was after 5 hours of beer and bourbon so that must count for something. And in a nice drunken fashion, I took it down!

I think I pissed off the guy too because I got lucky with A 5 against his 10 10 to take the chip lead when it was heads up. Once I had the lead, I knew I could outplay him. Sure enough, flopped two pair and he tried to bully me with the big bet. His middle pair was no good and I am $45 richer.

Baby steps....

What chicken???*

No, not chicken. The game is HORSE and it is on in London at the WSOP V.europe. Dr. Pauly and change100 are on the scene with the rest of the PokerNews crew.

I must give them credit for the report so far. The stories they have coming back are perfect for a slow moving limit event. German tourists sitting in. Debates between baseball and cricket, football and soccer. Jetlag for the Americans. Seriously, this may be the best way to waste time at work today and tomorrow on Friday.

* I will buy anyone a 6-pack if they can tell me what the title of the post is in reference to. Anyone beside Al and Blood that is. How I will get the sixer to you is a dilemma in its own right but there has to be a way.

Someone should get slapped

I am not sure exactly who should get slapped for what they showed on last night's telecast of the WSOP. It was Day 2 for both shows and we did get to see some interesting hands. Like Scotty Nguyen's quad 9s. Or Daniel Negreanu calling out other people's cards. That was just plain scary.

But, like we see all too often, we get the dickweeds. And that is where the dilemman begins. Who should get slapped, the dickweed who makes the bad play, gets lucky and wins and acts like his dickweed self because he is on the TV table, or the people at ESPN who decide to show this dickweed on their show because they believe it is good TV?

I think Negreanu should have bitch slapped the guy on his right. Dude tries to make a play with K 9s, gets re-raised and then ends up calling the all in with his flush draw that he hits on the river. Sure he was committed on the flop, but calling that bet preflop was stupid. Yelling and cheering for himself after he lucked out gave him the checkmark for being a dickweed. He should be ashamed. Instead he acts like he outplayed one of the better tournament players.

Later he would get cocky when he once again, sucked out a flush on the river. Finally, he would even make some smart ass comment when Danny boy got knocked out.

Now, I am not a huge fan of Negreanu, but I would have paid money to see him call the dickweed out and make him say that last comment louder so he could hear it and then furthermore, lay into him for being such a dickweed. That would have been good TV.

Then someone could slap the people at ESPN who think that is what people want to watch. Makes sense why those dipshits didn't hire Pauly. They didn't want to improve the show.

Maybe the thing that gets me the most is that dickweed used to be a dealer!!! He should know better about how to act at a table.

Why can't we get more stories like Kirk Morrison. Here was a guy who won a bracelet, does well in tournaments but decides to move off to New Zealand. He comes back and sees how the game has changed and how he needs to adapt. Sure they don't want to give his style of play away but I wanted to hear more of what he had to say about how the younger crowd is playing the game preflop and his strategy of seeing more flops. That would have been much better than some dickweed mouthing off.

Thirsty?

What it is on the menu...

Sublimely elegant this toffee toned Bock is rich with a blend of Wisconsin and German barley malts. Over four months of resting in oak Bourbon Barrels gives this beer a wonderfully smooth body that will improve and mellow with age. Should you choose to enjoy this classic today you can expect a treasure of vanilla, oak and caramel notes to be bolstered by hops from France, Slovenia and Germany. Wild Brett yeast sings in harmony to the tune of Bock. 20 degrees Plato OG makes this Bourbon Barrel a masterwork to remember.

-New Glarus Bourbon Barrel Bock

How does that sound?

Followed by....

Named after the cream colored bricks used to build Milwaukee, this amber pale ale with its pronounced hops and hints of citrus is tasty year round.

-Lakefront Cream City Pale Ale

Ok, so the Lakefront Brewery guys really need to work on a better description of their beers.

I shall be heading down to Chicago to meet up with the Donkey Puncher and then invade Wrigley to watch the Milwaukee Brewers beat up on the Chicago Cubs. I can say that only because the Brewers won last night, making today's game a big one. I can't think of how totally insufferable Cub fans would have been today had the Crew lost last night and was facing a sweep. Yost said coming in that they needed to win the series. A sweep would be nice but 2 of 3 is what mattered. Now they have a chance.

Hammer poker on TV

I haven't had the urge to actually play poker still. Sure I played last Thursday (I think) after coming home buzzed up at the bars. Somehow I won my SnG (been running bad) and felt like el campion del mundo. But beyond that I am still spending more time watching than playing.

The new season of High Stakes Poker started on GSN. It was Hammer night! A deal was made where all players would pay any guy who wins a pot with 7 2 $500. Ok, they did play the suited Hammer but made for some interesting play.

Everyone's favorite player, Phil Hellmuth, played the Hammer perfectly against The Mouth, Mike Matusow. Watch this, it is a thing of beauty. Especially after Mike needles him constantly just before the hand.



You have to love that re-raise from late position. Perfectly played. It also doesn't hurt that Esfandiari says "he could have seven deuce or pocket aces." Good bet on the turn. Matusow screws the pooch by just calling. A raise would force Phil to fold. On the river, Matusown talks himself into folding. Brilliant!!!

Of course Hellmuth would ruin it by proclaiming how good he is throughout the episode and even declaring that "people want to be part of the Phil Hellmuth show". UGH!

I tried to watch the WSOP yesterday as I did my fantasy football draft. Saw Michael Bruce Buffer (thx Duggle) tangle with Chris Moneymaker a couple of times but that was about it. Don't know if there were any amazingly bad calls shown but I am sure there had to be.

You make the call!

Coincidence??? You make the call!

Falstaff has an update on the WPBT Winter Gathering in Las Vegas. I notice on Pollstar that the Spice Girls are playing the MGM that Saturday.

Coincidence???

Methinks KiltSpice has other gatherings in mind as well.

WSOP watching

A couple of weeks back, I thought had seen the worst call in the history of televised poker. Back then, some kid called the two all ins with KK even though his two opponents clearly had him beat with all the dancing they were doing. Though he was oblivious to the obvious tells, he was at least at a final table and may have been feeling confused with all the attention and bright lights, etc. and he did walk away with a decent pay day.

Last night on ESPN's first days of the Main Event, some dufus made that guy Hall of Fame material. At featured table were a bunch of average players and Doyle Brunson. Brunson appeared to be playing some passive poker (at least what we can tell by all of the edited footage and Norm Chad's constant wailing) and some of his tablemates looked like they were simply honored to be playing at the same table. There was one older gent in particular who was planting his lips on Doyle's ass with regularity. He wasn't good either. Played some really crappy hands and you could read this guy like a book.

And he got paid off in one of those crappy hands. Big time. I can't recall exactly what he had (believe it was Q 6 soooooted). Flop was 6 6 x. Got lucky and flopped trips. Some guy bets and he calls. The turn is the case 6. He checks and proceeds to cover up his face, trying to hide his glee. He squirms a little more when the aggressor asks him how much he has behind (I think it was 11k?). Naturally, he calls the 6k turn bet. After the river card, he quickly grabs his chips and tries to toss them in to the pot like he doesn't have anything; a classic weak means strong toss. His opponent looks slightly confused and then quickly says, "I'm gonna call".

What did his oppenent call with? Must have a full house right? Or at least thinks that his opponent is bluffing and can win with A high, correct?

He called with Jack high.

Yep. Jack. High.

WTF?

Maybe call there if the bet is 1000 and you want some information, but did you not look at that clown??? And you had jack high!!!!

Yes, it is a call like that that boggles your mind wondering how he won his way in or who the hell backed him or if he doesn't have a million better ways to spend 10 grand.

Two other interesting things on the telecasts last night had to be the portrayal of Scotty Nguyen and Joe Hachem. Scotty was just running over his table, busting people left and right. Every time he did, they would get up and thank him, give him a hug, and calmly walk away. Not a single person got upset, even the dude who he talked shit with and tilted into giving up his stack. Too funny.

But man is his age beginning to show. I just wish I could recall the exact quote he had. Something like "I like my monkey!". Apparently he owns two monkeys at home, but the comment on its own before they explain it was funny.

Hachem, on the other hand, seems like an ass most of the time. I don't know the guy and hope that is just how they edited the show (with the clips from his championship run), but I couldn't help but think he seems like a jerk. I will have to talk to some friends to see what they think because they impression some might get from watching the shows are not that good.

Hopefully I will get away from watching poker to playing poker again.

Peed off

I heard about this story on the radio today. I thought Grubby was the only person who had the misfortune to sit in pee chairs.

Kibiloski, a Fern Creek, Ky., computer consultant, sat in a chair soaked with
urine, apparently left there by a woman who had been playing at that slot
machine moments earlier. It was dripping off his shorts and down his leg.He said
the reaction from Caesars left him even more embarrassed. He said he got no help
trying to find a place to clean up and had to walk in his dripping shorts to his
car to get an old pair of sweatpants to wear.

Dude! Go home. It is pretty pathetic that you would not leave. I would have left and gone home to shower. Especially is someone else's piss was dripping down my leg. That sentence alone should send shivers down your spine.

Compulsive gamblers sometimes wear adult diapers to avoid having to leave a slot
machine or gaming table where they expect a payoff, the experts say.If they
don’t come prepared, they sometimes “just pee in the seat,” said Arnie Wexler, a
recovered gambling addict who operates a gambling hotline and counseling service
in New Jersey. “It’s not something the industry really likes to talk about.”

Of course the industry doesn't want to talk about it. Do you encourage people to wear diapers? Do you put up signs over the slot machines that ask "Please be neat. Don't pee in the seat!" Seriously, thinking some person is going to pee in a seat in front of their favorite machine is one of the last things I am concerned about if I sit down to play.

At least the guy did get dinner and a room for his problems. I would say it was a happy ending but the casino did not toss in a Korean massage.

Poker in Life

Karol at Ihadouts wants to spread the word. I think there are some valuable points to be taken from such an undertaking. The disciplines in poker are used in the investment world, notably on trading desks. I can't see how they can be used in everyday life.

Harvard Law Profs Backing Poker As Educational Tool In Schools, Universities

Singapore (August 15) -- Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson will announce an international effort to organize poker strategic thinking societies at universities and secondary schools around the world that will use poker as an educational tool to teach everything from basic life skills to war games at military colleges.

Nesson will announce the formation of the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS) in Singapore on August 19 during an international conference called State of Play. Chapters of the GPSTS will be organized at prominent universities on several continents, starting at Harvard.

GPSTS will offer poker strategic thinking workshops to secondary schools and community centers, particularly in underprivileged neighborhoods; sponsor team poker matches between law, business and other graduate-level programs; and conduct seminars and conferences that explore poker as a means to teach strategic thinking and related public policy issues.

Poker is one of the best metaphors for teaching life skills across a variety of disciplines, said Nesson, a founder of Harvard's™ Berkman Center on Internet Law.

Part of the goal of the poker societies is to organize an NCAA-style championship in the novel game of team poker for American universities.

Press and media representatives are invited to attend both the lecture and workshop in Singapore at the State of Play conference. Professor Nesson and colleagues will be available for interviews.

About GPSTS

Founded by Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson, the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society views pokers as a game of skill that can be used as a teaching tool at all levels of academia and in secondary education. The concept is to use poker to teach basic life skills, strategic thinking, geopolitical analysis, risk assessment, and money management. The goal is to create an open online curriculum centered on poker that will draw the brightest minds together, both within and outside of the conventional university setting, to promote open education and Internet democracy.

For more information, please write to http://by105fd.bay105.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?mailto=1&msg=2B7D4090-A9B8-40BB-827C-BBC4C588CC39&start=0&len=13781&src=&type=x&to=globalpoker@gmail.com&cc=&bcc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=2c56b582b1fe46d2eaa271b738292ad07e14cf662a1e8e7d26831c1f0b4ccc5c or visit www.gpsts.com, up and live August 19, 2007.

About State of Play V: Building the Global Metaverse

This conference on virtual worlds will be held August 19-22, 2007 in Singapore. It is organized by Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, New York Law School, Trinity University, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. The conference invites experts across disciplines to discuss the future of cyberspace and the impact of these new immersive, social online environments on education, law, politics and society.

For more information please go to www.nyls.edu/pages/2396.asp

Media contact:

Jonathan Cohen, GPSTS
(203) 722-1858
globalpoker@gmail.com

Alexandra McDougald, The Weiser Group
(202) 291-0750
amcdougald@weisergroup.com

Stud viewing

I was quite pleased to see ESPN would be showing a Stud event on TV last night. I rather watch Omaha, Razz, or Stud just about any day over Hold Em. It is a different level of viewing, one that forces you to think more of how they are playing and not how they are acting.

I think the main reason might be the people who play these games. They rarely jump around like asshats after winning a big pot, or they don't trash talk people, call them donkeys if they lose. They stay quiet, observe, and process all the information they receiving.

I feel sorry for anyone who thinks that was boring. For me, it was good TV. Watching some top players in action is a good learning experience. I kept looking at the cards and thinking about how I would play them out. What hands I would start with, when I would stop betting, etc. There were two good laydowns- how can you fold aces up? Amazing laydown. It was also nice to see some of these guys make the same kind of mistakes that I have made.

For me, it was a great hour of poker television.

Yesterday I popped over to a post on Amy Calistreri's site, mainly because she was comparing the UIGEA to activities of hedge funds. WHAT??? I had to read it a couple times to try and see the parallel. Apparently hedge are in the "family harm" department. Somehow, they destroy families left and right. Not sure how because Amy doesn't say so.

Let's look further. Amy would like you to think that hedge funds blow up on a monthly basis. Not true. Sure Bear Stearns had one making the news lately but name another one before that. Last year. What effect did it have on the markets? Little.

Who bailed them out? Not the Fed but other investment advisers which is why I wonder why she was making the comparison to something that happened just about 10 years ago. Most people learn their lessons and know who to react.

Another thing that caught my eye was the comment

"In fact the Federal Reserve, while acknowledging that people were maxing
out on credit card debt, encouraged consumers to consider riskier non-fixed rate mortgages. "

I went through the link and couldn't find anything that "encouraged" non-fixed rate mortgages. I found this:

Indeed, recent research within the Federal Reserve suggests that many homeowners might have saved tens of thousands of dollars had they held adjustable-rate mortgages rather than fixed-rate mortgages during the past decade, though this would not have been the case, of course, had interest rates trended sharply
upward.

and

American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product
alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage. To the degree that
households are driven by fears of payment shocks but are willing to manage their
own interest rate risks, the traditional fixed-rate mortgage may be an expensive
method of financing a home.

I wouldn't call that "encouraging" people to try other types of mortgages. Just some explanation of how people may be better off looking at non-fixed mortgages and how they would have benefited in the early 00's if they had.

The comparison of these hedge fund managers to poker bots was interesting. However, hedge fund managers are not the best. I am sure there are many mutual fund managers who would argue with that comment.

They do not beat market indices on a regular basis as some may think. They were introduced to be part of a portfolio to protect against downward movements in the market. Hence the name. Sure they can be leveraged to the gills and they make some big bets but not all hedge funds are the same. Not all have rogue traders taking huge positions. Some actually manage the money responsibly.

Unfortunately, when a hedge fund runs into trouble, it will need to liquidate part of its portfolio which can cause rumbling in the stock market. To blame the recent market turmoil on hedge fund activities is not accurate. They may add volatility but when everyone begins the panic selling, the market is going to go down. Indices were at record highs. With all this action, the market is down about 7%. That is barely a correction. Barley an impact on families in the long run. Over the past year, most people are still head even after that correction.

I guess the bottom line for Amy is that hedge funds need to be regulated and until they are, they will be killing the little guy. Well, yes and no. They do need some regulation but they are not killing the little guy. Only people with money can invest in hedge funds. You need to have minimum net worth requirements to participate. Those who have the money invested lose the most. The little guy may- MAY- feel the aftershocks in the market place when they lose money. But the little guy can also take advantage of the situation and buy their favorite stocks at sale prices.

Years from now, this blip in the market will be history.

For the record, I am not here to defend hedge funds nor the Federal Reserve. I just thought that post was off center and not totally accurate. One cannot understand what a hedge fund does but reading wikipedia or any article that wants to blame rich people for making the little guy poor.

Brilliant!!! Now with added commentary

Hat tip: Bill Rini





I actually played some poker this weekend. Two cheap tournaments on Stars to be exact. The first was the Poker Savvy freeroll. Finished 11th out of 800some and won $3.25. Thankyouverymuch.

The other was the 100k guarantee where I finished 13000some out of 18000some.

I couldn't do much wrong in the freeroll. Haven't not played any real tournament besides the blogger tournaments, I felt the need to play in one that had more than 80 people. Sure it was a freeroll but it was the number of people that mattered. I needed to put my skills out there against unknowns. Against people who will push all in with total crap because it didn't cost them anything.

I have a thought about freerolls. They can help you try new strategies and develop new skills. You can relearn thinking processes on the cheap. Whether it be getting crippled to a short stack and playing that strategy or chipping up and bludgeoning others with your big stack, it is something I think you need to relearn and gain confidence on every once in a while.

I kicked some major ass in the freeroll. For a good portion of the second session I was the chip leader. I made some great calls and won all of my races. Yep, won all of the races. I knew when someone was pushing with A rag and made calls with my mid and lower pairs, knowing that I could lose some chips and win them back if needed. In fact, it was the first race that I lost that took me out of serious contention. 9 9 beat by A 10. That happened with less than 20 left.

I tried to then beef up my skills on short handed play as we were 6 then 5 for a good stretch of time. I was over aggressive with my A 9 and ran into A 10 to go home.

But I had a nice run where I got some needed confidence.

I had hoped to carry it over to the 100k guarantee but that didn't work. My table was very loose to begin with. 5 people would see a flop even with someone raising 5xs the blinds. I had one guy willing to call down with bottom pair (why couldn't I hit anything with A Q???).

I made one crucial mistake in this tournament. With A Ks, I raised in LP. UTG had limped and immediately pushed all in. We have all seen those clowns that make this play trying to act like they have A A. My gut told me this person did. But I heard the circus music in my head and called, knowing I would be suddenly down from 4k to 700. He flipped over the rockets and I had no chance for a flush or a straight.

I fought my way back up to 2400 but then got overly aggressive and was soon done. It did feel good to dip my toe back into the water. I may do that again but probably not until next month. Weather is too nice to spend time indoors.

I don't remember, I drank too much

I wish I could give a recap of the Riverchasers tourney last night. I know I was about 20 minutes late. I planned to leave the bar at halftime of the Cowboys game. The dice were being shaken around and shots were being consumed. So that made me a tad late.

I had only lost about 400 chips when I logged in. Well worth the shots of Makers.

I quickly chipped up and felt I could make a serious run. But I got pot committed (no, not Change style) and lost half of them. Later I would race with A Jo vs 8 8. I looked like a god when I flopped the A but an 8 hit the turn and I was done.

So being the drunken monkey that I am, I started played PLO with some of the boys. Problem there was I thought it was Hi/Lo for over an hour. I made my donation and finally went to sleep.

At least I had a good time.

Kinda missing the game

I actually sat down and played some poker last night. Low limit poker. It reminded me of how bad some of the play appears to be. I forgot how people will call down with bottom pair each time and somehow go runner runner for the straight. Or how someone will call down with two face cards to the river when there is no paint on the board.

Ugh!

So rather than going on mini tilt, I decided to watch the WSOP on TV. I am not sure that was a good idea. At some points, it reminded me of why I like to play the game and mainly tournament poker. The chance to play in the WSOP some day and go on a nice tear and make some good money is a dream of most players. Watching it last night, that spark inside me lit up a bit.

But it was also dampened by the annoying drama at the TV. Both hours featured Phil Hellmuth and his incessant whining. I felt sorry for the guy next to him. The worst part of it was each time he whined, it was because he made a bad play. Raising with small pairs or total crap from early position and then complaining that someone was going over the top on him. Stop the bitching about getting no respect. After watching this on TV, everyone and their grandmothers will be re-raising you. Unless this was some huge strategy move- which I highly doubt- you shown yourself to be a total LAG.

And I like watching Phil Hellmuth play! But last night was too much.

I also found myself scratching my head after one hand in particular. A kid raises in EP with K K. This lady looks down and sees two red aces. She moves all in. Hellmuth looks down at the two black aces and very quickly pushes his chips in. The others fold and it is back to the kings to decide.

As he thinks, the other two start going crazy. Really. The lady gets up and starts dancing looking sooooo happy that Phil pushed. You can see her husband making gestures to her about her hand asking if she had aces. Hellmuth is basically on the other side of the table doing the same thing and bragging about how he made his move in just a quarter of a second. A quarter of a second??? Whatever.

Now, you have just been re-raised by one person and sound an energetic insta call by another. They are dancing and excited. Don't you think your kings are no good here? How does he not fold? He calls and he goes home now. Amazing.

So now I have to decide what I will be doing about this game of poker. With summer still going, nothing will really change until the fall. I rather be outside doing stuff than sitting inside staring at a monitor. It may work for some but not me. I am a recreational player. Until that sparks turns to a flame and maybe I will find myself playing quite a bit more.

Damn those ducks

I spent the 3 hours before the tournament at the bar getting my game face on. The right amount of beer would get me in the perfect mood to play poker. A bit loose, aggressive. As long as I could think straight and be patient, I was confident I could do well.

About the only thing I worried about was the beer I had at home and opening a fresh bottle. See, I have a tendency to go bust just after getting a new beer. Happens often. Take a couple drinks and I get knocked out. Then I have nothing to do but railbird and drink my beer in a pissed off mood.

I started out the BBT freeroll in good shape. Was dealt A K right off the bat and took a nice little pot. I played aggressive and most likely bluffed Schaubs out of a pot with A J. I raised his limp from the SB and he had the nerve to re-raise me. The flop was ragged. He bet pot thinking he could scare me off. That wouldn't work. I went all in knowing he maybe had an A or mid pair at best.

I yo yo'd a bit from there before going on a nice little tear. Then I ran into the big stack Astin. I pushed him off a couple of pots knowing he would see more flops with all of those chips. What I didn't expect was for his deuces to crack my kings. Yep, he flopped a set after limping under the gun and calling my raise. He check raised me and I pushed.

I should have taken a bit of time to think that one through. I remember CJ doing that to me a number of times in the WWdNs. The luckbox would limp call with small pairs and try to hit. When he did, he would check raise me and usually knock me out.

So I should have taken a bit more time to think this out. Sure it is easier to think about folding or maybe calling here, but that is just hindsight. It is just another outcome to hopefully learn on for the next round.

Oh, and for the record, yes, I had gotten myself a fresh beer and had 2 sips when my kings got beat up.

The check is in the mail, I hope

Like many others, I logged into Neteller yesterday to pull out what funds I had there. It was just over a grand. Not a princely sum like some had locked up, but nothing too shabby either. Guess it will fund my trip to Vegas in December.

Falstaff has the details on the WPBT Winter Classic

When - December 6 - 10Where - Las Vegas (hotel TBD)Who - You and your friends

Hotel rooms should be plentiful and cheap even with the National Finals Rodeo starting that weekend. I have been getting plenty of free room offers for the past 6 months. I doubt that is going to stop. Heck, I would be willing to stay at the Imperial Palace once again. Sure the place is a dump but the people that work there are top notch. They have always treated me well, and the the poker guys are willing to spread what we want.

That kind of hurts. Next vacation won't be until December. Ouch!

BBT Freezeroll

I tried to play in the BBT freeroll freezeroll last night. When everything froze up 40 minutes in, I knew I didn't have the patience to continue if the delay was going to be long.

I had half the starting stack and was playing like crap. I guess being felted in the NL ring game had me on a slight tilt. People were chasing their flush draws and catching. On most nights it would be a beautiful thing to have them chase and miss but this wasn't most night. Cards just weren't coming my way.

The funny thing was, I wasn't upset in the ring game, but it upset me in the tournament. I wasn't getting pissed off that they idiots were calling preflop raises with K 6s and catching, but it was making me get upset when I made those stupid plays in the tournament.

In the freezeroll, I was playing too loose. I was making dumb bets. You know, those bets that make no sense as you are only going to be called or raised by the winning hand. I made some bad bluffs as well.

Thus when the delay was over 20 minutes, I knew it would be in my best interest to just call it a night. My mind wasn't in the game and I would need to double up just to get back into the game.

Congrats to whoever waited it out and won. Thanks again to Hoy, Mookie, Al and Don for the time spent setting up the tournaments and keeping the standings.

Hopefully I will be in a better frame of mind tonight for the Riverchasers tournament. The 6 pack in the fridge will definitely help.

Is a crackdown coming?

Is a crackdown coming to the poker tournaments in Milwaukee?

There is an interesting article in the Milwaukee paper today discussing the popularity of what I call "prize poker" in the state of Wisconsin. In "prize poker", you do not win money but prizes (t-shirts, caps, etc.) and they keep rankings on how you finish usually for a big prize tournament at the end of a season. There are no entry fees. Usually a bar will pay someone to hold the event in return for bringing patrons into their establishment.

I had played in such a series a couple years back, Badger Poker. It was good to get your feet wet and play without having to pay. I tired of it for various reasons and quit going. One thing I wasn't surprised to see was a quote for the owner. I am sure he means well, but he probably doesn't realize he just put a bulls eye on his back. This comment doesn't help him:

....gambling restrictions here vague and confusing, saying that he was unaware
until recently that there might be a prohibition on any sort of prize.
"Until there's a law saying 'You can't do this' or 'You can't do that,' we're going to
still do what we do," he said.

I hope he talked to his attorney before talking to the reporter. Basically to tell the DA in the counties he operates to piss off is not a good business plan. His interpretation of the law won't be jacksquat to the attorney prosecuting him. Telling a judge that the law does not specifically say we cannot play poker is plain stupid. Even stupider might be to hold the actual tournament in Wisconsin but technically award the prize in Vegas and believe that means he is not breaking the law.

It also made me wonder how long the tournaments at the bar I frequent will last or even the smokers at local churches. They have entry fees and pay out cash. To claim it is a fundraiser will not hold water. The article mentioned a fund raiser for a sheriff's department that was shut down. Their prize was a box of cigars. Even Johnny Law is being held to enforcement.

But there is hope. A sheriff in Dodge County has taken a sensible approach. As long as the stakes don't get unreasonable (reasonable is $20), he will let them be. Good to see logic coming into play on what is basically a victimless crime among responsible adults.

Getting ready for the live game

I finally played some tournament poker again on Tuesday. Went up against 1200 in the 20k (or is it 24k) guarantee on Full Tilt to get ready for the weekend. Finished at 705. Not too much happening. I got hurt by my K K. With a bunch of limpers, I popped it to 800 and had one caller. Of course the flop came A high. Why would someone limp call with A x? I felt my blood begin to boil and before I could reign myself in, I pushed and was promptly called by A J. Mother ^&@#$#$^& A J!! Yeah, the push wasn't the best move but to have some idiot limp call 40% of his stack to try and get lucky pissed me off.

I got off tilt quickly as I focused on building up again. With about 500 left, I fell back into "Aw fuckit" mode though. With the Hammer on the button, I pushed when it folded around to me. SB called with A 4. Interesting. 7 on the flop, 7 on the turn and I was good. It pissed my opponent off. He promptly tilted himself out of the game on the next hand, pushing with A K on an 8 high board and got busted by Q Q.

Last night I had some fun in the Mookie. Irongirl's 8 8 beat down my 7 7. It was an interesting call in that she didn't think twice about calling. Have I become that transparent?

I will be playing some live poker in a cornfield in Iowa on Friday. I believe this is the place I will be. Should be interesting to say the least.

Disclosure

I got into an interesting argument the other day about how a local tournament is run. My contention was quite simple. There is no information going in so why would you want to play it? My friend's argument was simple as well. He didn't care because he enjoyed it.

I guess part of it the debate is to me, his side makes little sense. The sheets announcing the tournament have no information about how much, how many chips you get or blind levels. Furthermore, it doesn't mention it is a rebuy tournament. The tournament is under the guise of a fund raiser for a softball team to boot. Bottom line to my part of the argument is that it is foolish to play a tournament without that vital information. They do not say how much of the buy in (only $25 I believe) is going to the team. They don't tell you how many rebuys have occurred and how much of that they are keeping. So the prize pool could be $1000 but they are paying out $600. Why would you play in such a tournament?

He says he doesn't mind as he has fun. It is the entertainment value. To an extent, I can see that. I say it all the time. If I am having fun, I don't mind losing.

Is it asking too much to ask for full disclosure? I wonder how many people would play if they knew how much the team was keeping?

Thoughts?

Little poker

I haven't been playing much poker lately. With it being Summer and all, there are a lot of other things going on that keep me busy away from the felt. Like beer gardens. I love beer gardens. Give me a reason to sit outside and drink beer and I will be there.

But I digress..

I did play in the RiverChasers tourney last night. Can't believe Al became such a fuggin' sadist and made it a double stack. Give donkey more chips and watch the fur fly.

I was involved with two plays that I found interesting. Neither was a bad beat so I don't owe anyone a dollar.

The first was an interesting re-raise. It is one of those calls that people usually say "what a dumb play, how can they make that bet!" as they get pissed by a really good play, not knowing what the other player is thinking. I was in the BB with 6 6. UTG gave a 3xs raise and I called hoping the flop would hit me. 2 3 5. Not bad, not great. I had an overpair with a gutty. I thought about betting out but decided I wanted to see another card, so I called his 2/3 pot bet. Turn was a 7. No help and now the board looks dangerous. I let him bet again, knowing I would re-raise a lot. He bet out half the pot this time. I popped it to 1400, thinking he had A K or A Q. I was a bit surprised that he then went all in. Hmm....was I wrong? With just 670 to call, I had to. He turned over 8 8. River was no help and I was down to 1100.

I like the bet. I had been on the aggressive side and had pushed him out of a pot earlier with pocket 4s. Making a move with just 8s there is dangerous. I had to call the last bet not just because of the odds I was receiving but it was a RiverChasers tourney. The play can be craptacular and I may just hit the jackpot early. Besides, I have confidence I can chip back up.

That is basically what I did. Got back over the starting stack, getting myself into a position where a double up would put me right back into the game. There would be no double as I floated like a piece of driftwood on the sea. Hands were bad and it didn't help that I was table changed to some crazy people. I had to tighten up. I figured it would help my image. Was I wrong.

I didn't play many hands and utilized position to steal the blinds. So when I had K Qo in the SB and there were two limpers, I figured it was a good spot to steal. I pushed knowing the first limper would have A rag at best and would fold. Wrong again. They called with A 8o. I would get no help. In fact an A would hit the river to rub it in. Someone willing to toss in 25% of their stack with A 8 on a tight player. I noted them and can't wait to see them at the table again.

I may be playing some live poker next weekend. Going camping and may end up in a casino in Iowa. There is a Friday tournament with a $50 buy in. I have no idea if the structure is any good. The website says each player get 1000 in chips and does not specify blind levels. Hopefully I can't go make me some corn fed cash!

New meaning to playing blind

Came across the story of the blind player at the Tao of Poker yesterday. Pauly made a reference to the article written by Change100 at PokerNews about Jason Holbrook, a player from California, who qualified for the main event even though he is blind. The people at Kick Ass Poker have a full story.

One excerpt from the Kick Ass story I found interesting was the reasoning behind the initial decision not allowing him to play:

It seems to be not the presence of the second person / helper itself that's the
problem, even though that technically would violate the "one player to a hand"
rule, not to mention take up precious space in what already must be cramped
walkways between the tables. Instead, it may well be the communication of
information between the helper and Holbrook that has caused the WSOP to draw the line.

That was my initial thought when reading the story, was the "one player to a hand" rule and how it would be handled. I then began to wonder what douchebag would throw a shitfit and invoke the rule when he got busted by Jason. Guess we won't find out as Holbrook was eliminated in day 1. But to qualify for the tournament itself is an amazing feat.

Run, don't walk

You know the drill. Keep up to date with Pauly.

Need to find your buddy who qualified on PokerStars? Otis has his story at the PokerStars Blog.

Fin

I felt like I had played 2 good hours of poker last night in the RiverChasers event. Unfortunately for me, the tournament would last longer than 120 minutes.

I had dodged some bullets and avoided the land mines. I did my best to put Waffles on tilt early by stealing a pot from him. When he did a normal 3x raise from EP, I knew I would call with 9 9 in the SB. Having someone else call along with the BB was just gravy. The flop was 8 high. It checked to Waffles who c-betted 120. I made a smooth call with every intention to check-raise the turn as long as the card wasn't higher than a Q. It was a small card. I checked as did the other two. Huh? I now knew A K was no good and it was possible that the BB had absolute crap. With the river 3, I bet it out and took it down. That was the probably be the best hand I would play all night. I knew I could push him off, especially when he didn't bet the turn. Guess not betting the turn is something one learns that from $1 HU matches.


From there I chipped up a little more before losing some to a full house made on the turn. Can't recall who it was that took my chips but I thought they played the hand very well. With two Jacks on the board, the check on the turn had me thinking they may have hit their A. I was shocked to see the boat. Probably could have gotten more off of me. Hell, I even thought about popping the river bet, but decided not to be a total idiot like most of the field.

I would recover from that debacle and make my way back into the top 15. I would stay there until I hit my own tilt moment. My notes on this player told me he was an absolute goof. Wild and lucky; not bright at all. Thus, I started re-raising him a lot. If he limped, I would raise. If he raised, I would re-raise with any face cards. It was working well. Thus when he tried to raise in a blatant re-steal attempt, I had no problem insta-calling with A Qo. My read was solid as he turned over 9 4 sooooted. He promptly went runner runner flush to cripple me. Sonnoffabitch!

From there I would float aimlessly like a piece of driftwood in a river. Chipped back up but didn't see any cards that were remotely playable. That part pissed me off. I had read Miami Don's post about his Venetian score. I paid particular attention to what he did with a mini stack and how he was willing to toss it in with just about anything. I was going to follow that strategy but it is hard when everything is a 10 2, J 4, or Q 3. Especially when the pots are raised before you can act. So when I found something that was remotely nice, A 10s, I would find myself up against 10 10. Done in 15.

I had fun last night. Did my share of re-stealing of pots, made some erratic bets to confuse and was satisfied with my play. With a couple of tokens sitting around, I really need to play one of the guaranteed events on FTP. I haven't played them in a long time and had some success there. I don't know if I will be able to play the Big Game on Sunday. I should be down at Summerfest drinking and catching some good music.