Wake up, go to work, go to sleep.

Things don't look good for my participation in the BBT 4. Boss told me I can look forward to working more hours. Which really translates into he wants me to be in the office for at least 11 hours. For the most part I don't mind that if I have something to do or am not having a project thrown at me with a fake deadline of tomorrow (that has happened too much lately. Last project that was due "last week" has the final report sitting on his desk waiting for his review.)

My life feels like Pat McCurdy (local artist) song. Wake up, good to work, get drunk, go to sleep. Except I am not participating in the get drunk part. Actually my life is wake up, go to work, eat supper, work some more, go to sleep. No room for poker for now. The later times translate to me either falling asleep with my face on the keyboard and getting blinded out if I go deep or falling asleep before the tournament starts.

There has got to be a happy medium in there somewhere.

A good Sunday

I had some time to kill before playing the Brit game today. I wanted to play some small PLO but there were not spots available. So instead I sat down at a small limit game and played some 3/6 holdem as well. Good thing I did. Sat down, posted and was given J 9s. One of the blinds raised and I went with it as well. 4 of us saw a flop that include an 8 and a 10. Small blind bet out and was raised. I just called as did the blind. Turn was a Q. BB led out and I, of coursed, raised. We ended up capping it. River is a 9. I bet out and get raised. Nice! I just get called and the $99 pot is sent my way. My opponent really thought his two pair was good there. In the first hand I just about double my buy in. Can't complain as I ended up down a buck on the O8 game.

The Brit game started with 46 players. On the first hand I get 7 7 and think this could be a quick one. I raise from EP but get no callers. Soon after that I look to take in a nice pot. Everyone called a raise to 90. With Q Q I really want to thin this field and raise the size of the pot, 540. Everyone folds. I though the initial raiser would have called but apparently they had nothing.
A couple hands later and I get moved to a new table.

Those Queens come by for a visit again but this time we see flop. 8 high with two diamonds. I make the continuation bet as I am not going to give anyone a free draw. I only make one aggressive play at this table. I raise with K 10 because I wanted to do something. Only the BB calls. Flop is Q high, all hearts. I check behind. Another blank on the turn and my oppenent bets pot. I smell some bull here and decided to pop it right back to 600. If he comes over the top I can fold and still have little damage. But he folds and I put a smile on my face. Must prevent myself from doing that again. Lack of focus is what usually gets me bounced out of these tournaments. Then I get moved again.

I fold a lot as I am working on being careful. I get A J in MP and raise it up. Only the button calls. Flop isn't bad. J 10 x. I bet the pot and get called. Hmmm. Turn is another 10. I think and feel that he does not have a 10. I see he has only 1310 behind. Wiht 1090 in the pot I get what he has. I get called as he shows Q 9. Q 9? Interesting. A 4 hits the river and I am over 3k. That is why you don't play crap cards from the button and allow yourself to get into trouble.
I don't think I would play for 11 outs and one card to come.

Back to a lot of folding. I get froggy in some spots but don't throw chips around. I need to remind myself that people are willing to go for broke with some bad hands. Must make sure I am bringing a guy to a knife fight. At the break I am sitting at 13 with 2800. The ever elusive Gracie is in first with over 5k.

It feels like I don't play in the second session. Cards suck. I can't get anything going. Then with A Q I have to make a move but get no help. Done at 18. Feels pretty anticlimactic. Just nothing going in that second session.

Busto

It's 11:24 CST. The first couple of games have just started and yet I feel like I have been eliminated from each of the pools. I feel like I should find a way to write this off on my taxes as a charitable donation. Better yet, stop paying taxes and get a Cabinet position.

Instead I will do something useful and follow the days activities from work via the Tao of NCAA Basketball Tournament Poker

Just can't make laydown

The HORSE game was rather rough. I was up a little bit early but ran into some problems in the stud rounds. A hammer hand got me in trouble as I couldn't lay down my two pair even though I knew in my gut it was no good.

Later A J got me in trouble when the flop came down A high. I knew I was up against A K but again, I just couldn't lay it down. I think I am going to be short lived in the hold em round. Get lucky when I hit a set of 7s. Gets better when the board pairs 3s. But when another 3 hits on the river, I feel I am in trouble. Somehow my opponent doesn't have a jack and folds. Could be a turning point.

Still alive at the break but way down at 53rd place. 62 of the 68 starters are still around and there is a lot of poker to be played. I begin to rationalize my crappy play at this point. I have a meeting with the division manager tomorrow and think that busting out isn't a bad thing. But why bother to sign up if I am going to worry about losing sleep? I hope to focus and see if I can make a comeback without taking stupid chances. Sometimes that is tougher than it sounds for me. Good thing I don't have any beer in the house because I know if I would pop a bottle open I would soon bust out.

I drop half my chips in the O8 round in one hand when my A 3 T T is up against A K K and a A A 3 hand. Wow. Next hand I get those back when I hit my straight on the turn.

We get into the Razz round and I recall the thought of trying to come back without taking stupid chances. Well, I get myself into a hand I should be in. To top it off, my opponent shows weakness on the 5 and 6 card. So I bet on the river thinking I can get them to fold a 9 hand. I am showing a 10 and think I can get them to fold? Stupid stupid stupid!

I again go into rationalization mode. Playing short stacked tournament Razz is fun, right? The rush of seeing those 3 low cards and feeling good to watching the bricks hit and feeling like crap as you bust out. Fun, right? And why do I have some video game contest on the TV?

On to Stud and I have only 900 left. Make that 800 as I get a couple bring ins right away. Soon my Kings would not get any help from the other 5 cards and I was done in 51st. Can't complain. I didn't play a disciplined game. No one to blame but myself.

Brackets?

I have filled out 3 brackets for the NCAA tournament so far. This is from a person who doesn't watches very little basketball. I may have watched 5 minutes of NCAA ball all season. And that was at a bar when I was drinking and shooting darts. So yeah, I have little clue what I am doing.

Already I cannot recall who I have winning the whole thing. I know each one is different. Louisville, Kansas and Missouri come to mind. I would be shocked if I get close to cashing in one, let lone hit 60% of picks. Hitting 60% should be easy, right?

For the WoW crowd

Why do I think that either Waffles or Duggles already has the entire collection?

Tell us something we didn't know

Dam Eagles R Retarted!!

No one ever accused Eagles fans of being the brightest bulbs in the league. Thanks for proving it once again.

Washed my hands 2 times during the tournament

It was nice to win the tournament on Sunday. Thanks to everyone who left the congratulatory comments. I felt I played pretty good throughout most of it. I took some chances when it seemed appropriate but laid off some bad moves. By no means was I perfect. This is not a "My poker fu was much great than all the donkeys that think they know how to play this game" post. In fact it is the opposite. It is an acknowledgement of how I got lucky to win that tournament.

See, Smokkee's comment was dead on. "so many sick hands at the final table although pretty standard for a bloggament". I was the recipient of two sick hands that helped me win. On the hand where I ran A 9 into A K thinking my opponent was putting a move on me and sucking out the 9 on the turn was the RNG hitting in my favor. I made a bad read. That led to the bad play. But I got lucky with the suckout. I felt like I need to go wash my hands after pulling those pots out of my ass.

Luck came to visit me again when I cracked aces with K Q. On this hand I got outplayed. I put him on A something or K J at best. I never thought he had aces. I was more than happy to insta-call with my top pair good kicker. To an extent, who wouldn't have made that call there?

It seems like people don't give credit where it is due when they get lucky. I think of the Bodog TOC tournament where I lost 2 big hands at the final table because luck went against me. My opponent would make you think it was skill that won it for him but it wasn't. He should have been knocked out twice, just like I should have on Sunday.

I won't deny it. It felt good to have the suckouts come in my favor for once. Or at least that is how it feels, even though I have probably have gotten lucky just as many times as it has gone against me.

Sometimes a blind squirrel does find a nut

I hadn't really planned to play the Brit Bloggerment tournament today. I had some work I needed to get done but I really didn't want to do that either. So I decided to do both. I grabbed the work laptop and set it on a TV tray and fired up the tournament. I figured it would help me not make too many stupid plays and donk chips off right away. It worked ok in the first hour. I survived the first 60 minutes to sit 9 out of the 30 remaining. 24 dropped in the first hour.

I did make one bad play that had me disappointed. I was in the SB. The action folded to the button and he raised. I just called. I figured he was in on a steal but just called. I felt stupid having done that. I then tried to take it down by betting the pot on the flop. Though I just had A high I hoped I could scare him off the pot. Nope. He caught second pair and had an A as well. No miracle runner runner for me and I dropped the comfortable stack I had. I was still in it but basically was starting over.

Jumped back up when I got lucky and flopped a set. A slightly smaller stack gave me his chips when he tried to re-raise my bet with A Q. That got me to the break with a bit of breathing room. Plus I got some work done. The work kept me from making some other stupid plays.

I folded a lot during the beginning of the second hour. Even folded more when I got moved to a new table. I get some small pots and float along until I get lucky in the BB. I wanted to see a flop with A 5s. Button raised again. I thought of pushing but decided to just see a flop. Flop is perfect as I hit my flush. I check and call his pot bet. But the turn is a J, pairing the board. Crap! I hate that card. My thinking is bet out and hope he didn't catch something, or at least put the screws to him. I go all in and wait. He folds. I wonder if my initial read was right and it was just a steal.

I go back to working and folding for while. Then I get some cards. K K, then A A then A Q. But the table is pretty tight now. Antes have kicked in and no one is taking chances. I chip up a bit but wonder if it could have been better.

My rush continues for a bit. Keep chipping up. I have a nice boost when I get J J to hold up against 2 2 and K 10s. At the second break I have moved up into the 2 spot, just behind Smokkee.

We hit the final table and my rush ends. With A Qs, I raise to isolate a short stack that pushed. He shows Q Q and the race is on. The flop looks good J 10 5, two spades. My flush and royal draw look good. But I can't catch another spade or an A and the pot slides to my opponent. Then in what looks like an attempt at sick humor, I get Q Q and am up against 7 7. The flop looks ok for him, J 10 8. I am dreading seeing a 9 hit. But somehow it doesn't come (corrected for Drizz's listening pleasure) and the ladies stand up.

We are now down to 6. This is where I catch a huge break. I am in the SB and am dealt A 9. Action folds to me and I go with a minraise. The BB comes right back and goes all in. That is 17000 to call. I don't think too much and basically insta call thinking he was trying to push me off a steal. I couldn't have been more wrong. He shows A Ks and I am ready to shut it down. The flops gives him more outs with a flush draw. But then the 9 of diamonds spikes on the turn. I see a small red card hit the river and my suckout is complete. A terrible call propels me into first.

We get to 3 handed and my hands are getting bad. Even when I try to steal I am getting caught and forced to fold. I am trying to be patient but that is being tested. But I am doing my best. And apparently my best is by winning with another major suckout. I call a raise with K Q offsuit. Flop comes K high. I decide to check raise. When I do, he pushes on me. I really think my Kings are good and call. He shows A A. Could I be more wrong AGAIN??? Yep. But for once I have that good feeling in my gut. It stays when a Q slams on the river. Another big suckout and I am in a fantastic positions to take this down.

I am heads up with Smokkee now. Even though I have a commanding chip lead- 5 to 1- I have a fear I may choke and give it all away. But I don't. A number of hands in and it is over. I have A Q vs his 7 7. I hit my pair and it done. I have won the Brit Blogger game! Not too bad for something I wasn't considering playing.



Pic taken from Smokkee's site

And we're off!

The BBT 4 got started with the Brit Blonkament tournament. It is one of the times that work out very well for me so I was looking forward to it.

I started out on the loose end. Raising with A Jo in MP. Got one call. Though I flopped top pair I folded to turn raise. It is just too early to go out without a dominant hand. Next hand I decide to just call Huntvegas' raise with A Qo. Checked the flop of K Q 5. Turn looked to be a harmless 9 and I just called his bet. I figured he was stealing the pot with a bet on the river but he wasn't. His set of 9s was good. Not sure I could have taken it with a flop bet but my gut tells me I would have. Damn.

And then I get a table change and a chance to slow down. I get some chips when I am able to see a flop with A 10. All the chips go in on a flop of A 9 8. I catch another A on the river to double up to over 600.

I fold my way to another table change. Barely 20 minutes in and I have been moved twice. Guess with 11 people getting knocked out that will happen.

I don't have to worry too long about getting switched because I got knocked out in 54th place. There is a min raise from EP. I am in the big blind with K Qo and call the 40. Flop is K 5 4. I check and push on his bet. I get called by 4 3s. A pit begins to form in my stomach. The turn is a blank but the river is a 3. Thanks a lot RNG!

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.

Other gambling

Still been too busy to play any real poker. Some SnGs here and there but no tournaments or ring games for any duration. That may change on Saturday. I will be stuck waiting for furniture to be delivered. They gave me the 3 hour window between 10 and 1. I am sure they could pinpoint it a bit better but they believe that by giving me an indication of delivery they were doing me a favor.

I will also be placing some bets this weekend. Performify (hey didn't he use to play poker) has his UFC 94 picks up at MMAJunkie. I like the Penn pick. GSP may be the better overall fighter but Penn is not a slouch. If he has prepared himself as much as he claims, he will win. Dong over Parisyan is intriguing as well.

As much as I would to see them lose, I am taking the Steelers -7 this weekend as well. I do not expect this game to be close. It will be like the Colts/Bears game of two years ago. Easy money by taking Pitt.

I pledge

I played some poker this weekend. Ok, just one SnG in which I went out in 6th when some weenie's 9s cracked my kings.

But I did find something more important. I have decided to follow suit with the people in the video and make a pledge. I figure if weenies like Camron Diaz or Ashton Kutcher can make a pledge to Obama, I can too.

Pimping Al

I was trying to pimp Al's gig at the Borgata over the last two days but the photo loader does not seem to want to work on this pc. So go check it all out here, Poker from the Rail.

Heavy metal still rules

Yet again, no poker. But if you want to know how the great the Metallica show was you can go here. Scanning the scene in Milwaukee tonight...

Death Magnetic > Poker

Metal content, not poker.




I first saw Metallica play at Alpine Valley in 1988. They were part of the Monsters of Rock tour that included Kindom Come, Dokken, the Scorpions and headliner Van Halen. At the time I was just a bit familiar with the music, having heard Master of Puppets in a friend's room of South Scott Hall at UW-Oshkosh. I also was familiar with Fade to Black. My sister was playing it that summer as well. I was most interested in seeing the Scorps and Van Halen. But it would be Metallica who would steal the show.

I distinctly remember the scene. Late afternoon, sitting on the hill. Lots of young people around wearing their brand new Van Halen shirts. The sun was hot and would soon take its toll on those who did not drink enough water. Metallica hit the stage and started playing. It wasn't a big reaction at first but as they went on, a buzz came rose from the crowd of over 40,000. You could feel the energy building as the set went on.

It all blew up when the cranked into Master of Puppets. It was like a volcano. Molten lave collecting under the earth's crust and rising towards the surface, eventually exploding into the air above. Though it was lava in the air that day at Alpine Vally. It was 40,000 fists in the air, thrusting with every chord. It was the chants of Master, Master! It was the moshing all over the place as the band won the crowd over and people were eating it up.

As the place was going nuts, I noticed two kids to the left of me. Maybe 12 or 13 years old. They were displaying their brand new black Van Halen shirts proudly minutes ago. Now they just stood there, mouths gaping open in awe as the crowd went bonkers. They did not know what to make of it. They were frozen in time as the spectacle before them.

I would see Metallica the next spring on the And Justice for All tour in Green Bay with Queensryche as an opener. Then it would be a couple years later at Milwaukee's Summerfest. Instead of Master it would be chants of Die, Die, Die! during Creeping Death (which I have seen may not be on the set list. It damn well better be played tonight!).

Ironically I caught them the last time they came to town a couple years back with Sevendust and Kid Rock on a day just like today. Cold with 2-4 inches of snow expected. That show rocked. The forecast for tonight looks to be the same. Lazers, lights and enough loudness to rock your balls off.

I can't wait.