Stepping back in to the box

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I played in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker

Nice boost

It seems counter intuitive but at time I swear I play better poker while drinking. I went from work to a bar that claims to have over 325 beers in stock. The majority of these bars are in bottles going from $4-$5 a pop. There is a menu to make it easier for you.

And it did.

I felt like a kid in the candy store ordering this and that. When I left I hit up the liquor store a block down the street from my house. I felt like I struck gold by finding some Flying Dog Marzen. I added in the Spaten Optimator and was happy to go home and spend a Friday at home relaxing.

Part of that relaxing is goofing off with some poker. Having a bonus to earn I fired up Full Tilt with a need to get my Rush on. Usually I play some PLO8 but I felt the urge to add a table of PLO in as well. I was a tad concerned that I might confuse the tables but I assured myself I wasn't that drunk. I could remember low on the left, high on the right.

I ended up having the best session in a long time. I tripled up on PLO and came close to a double on the PLO8. Granted I play PLO8 very conservative but I tend to play PLO on the looser side. For once- or so it seemed- everything fell my may.

Big pots shipped my way in PLO. One hand in particular stood out. With Q Q A 3, I flopped a set out of the BB. I checked raised the flop. My opponent re-raised me leaving me with only $7 behind. I was willing to go for it since I felt committed plus I did have a flush draw. My opponent was open ended and somehow didn't hit. That told me I might be golden for the night.

It amped up my aggression on both tables. I kicked it up a notch and started to increase both stacks. I didn't get over my head by playing bad hands. Flops just hit it right.

We all need a nice confidence boost. Hopefully this one will last over the weekend.

Put me down as IN

Another December WPBT trip is booked. Will get into Vegas mid day, just in time throw my stuff down in the room and plunk my butt down at the Geisha Bar for shots with Al. I am not sure why I even linked Al's site as he does his writing elsewhere.

Yes, I am staying at the IP. I was tempted to be with the cool kids at the MGM but I chose to be with the drunk kids at the IP instead. At least that is where I think they are staying. Part of me thought of rallying the troops to stay at the Excalibur like the early days and take over the Sherwood Forest Bar. Yes, I am too lazy to send a simple email to check for interest.

Now I should look to shake some of the rust off and play some poker. The warm days of summer are coming to a close. More time inside means more time to play. I seem to say that every year with different degrees of success. Let's see how that works out this year.

Blessed by the Gentile Summit

It is posts like this one by Oh Captain that remind me how blessed I am to have friends like you people.

"Gentile Summit 2010 - A photo essay with word and stuff"

Never underestimate the people you meet and their friendship.

No poker, lots of craps

Spent a couple days in Vegas and didn't play a lick of hold em. Closest I got was 3 card poker and Pai Gow.

I was going to play some poker at Binions but couldn't find the games. I went to the back where I had played the last time and it was dead. I began to wonder what the hell was happening in the world if Binions is not spreading a single hand of poker.

So I got drunk playing Pai Gow instead. Made a profit after I went for broke and bet my last $65. 10s and A Q were good for the win!

Then I wandered around a bit and found the poker room. I then realized that I read they had moved the poker room into the old sports book (is that right?) Figures I would find the poker room early in the morning on my last day.

I did play a good amount of craps. In fact, I broke up with the game on Monday, after two brutal sessions at Binions and later Fitzgeralds. I was done. I called it a cruel and vicious game that I would never play again.

Then I saw the 'Rapid Craps' game at Bill's Gambling Hall. I was intrigued how they had a chipless craps game. Exs can be a bitch. I heard the siren song and was back at it, plunking down just $100 as I dipped my toe back in the pool. Good thing I did. I caught the majority of a guy who tossed 33 straight. I quickly doubled up, happy I made up with craps.

Sadly, the hot shooter left after than and the table went cold. Two guys did nothing. I got my friend to break her craps cherry and she sevened out right away. So much for virgins being good at the game. But then I took the dice and made a charge myself. Went about 20 shots before I was done and was climbing close to a triple. Couple shooters later and I was done again. Time to book at win at over a double.

I'm happy I made up with craps. Hell, I knew I couldn't stay mad at it long.

Live action

The Gentile Summit started with a trip to Canterbury Park, the horse track that also spreads poker and some other table games. Drizz had to get his Pai Gow fix so off we went.

We started by watching a couple horse races. Because I have no clue how to read a racing form I knew I wouldn't be spending much time watching ponies run. I would rather go downstairs and make some money at the poker tables.

They only spread limit games at Canterbury. I believe there is a state law that prevents them from offering no limit games. Being that I hadn't played any live poker since last December, I figured the 4/8 game would be best. Not totally nitty but just enough.

I like what I saw as soon as I sat down. I waited to post which ended up being a valuable decision. Over the course of 3 hands, I got a good read on the players. Two to my left was an aggro. He played his 4 4 like they were aces and just kept firing away. Old Greekish guy in 6 seat was calling down with 3rd pair. Thankfully he kept rebuying. He would spend the night chasing and not getting there.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I netted $93. Just played some solid tight poker. Had a couple hands hold up, some BB hit for me and the bad players lived up to their image. It was surprising that with all the chasing going on, no one was making their hands. There wasn't a lot of flushes or straights being made which was good.

Who knows, I may play some poker in Vegas next week. Going in for a friend's 10th wedding anniversary. We are staying downtown at the Golden Nugget which should be interesting. I haven't been in downtown Vegas in years let alone stay there.

Gentile. Summit

I own Canterbury Limit HE profit $93 Weeeeeee

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Watching a moron instead of poker

A couple weeks back I had set up the DVR to record a couple episodes of High Stakes Poker. I do not watch the show on a weekly basis. Hell, I couldn't tell you if new episodes are being made or if I was recording something from 2 years ago. But I was in the mood to see what was going on once again.

But I didn't record High Stakes Poker. Instead I got a bunch of crappy game shows. I get the feeling it is no longer on GSN though as I type this there is a commercial for the Aussie Millions coming up next. Those bastards are taunting me.

I delete Family Feud and Deal or No Deal. Can't stand the shows. But I did keep and watch 1 vs. 100. I always thought the premise of the show was pretty good. If the contestant doesn't get the money, the mob- his opponents that makeup the '100'- gets whatever has been won.

The topic for the show was pop culture. They had a self-proclaimed pop culture genius on who yammered on about how much he was going to make. I am no pop culture expert but I figured I would do pretty good with the majority of the questions.

I was right. The questions were easy. Because the format is multiple choice, it makes it even easier by eliminating answers. I mean really, if you are asked which burger has the smallest bun and given the choice of a Big Mac, Whopper, or White Castle slider, you can figure it out. If not there are some "helps" you can use to aid in your decision.

Take the first contestant. When asked what movie premiere was held in the town of Springfield VT, he wasted all 3 'helps' on the one question. The choices he was given were Spider Man 3, The Simpsons, and Super Bad. He immediately ruled out the Simpson because he thought it was done in California. He wanted to answer Super Bad so he use a help to find out how many answered Super Bad. Only 3. 3 of the 71 left in the game agreed with him and he still didn't think he was wrong. Dude, look at the odds that you are wrong.

Then he took a second help. They chose one person with the right answer and one with the wrong answer. That limited it to the Simpsons and Super Bad. The lady who chose the Simpsons didn't come out and say the Simpsons lived in Springfield but came close. The guy who said Super Bad said he was confident.

So if you are playing at home, Spider Man 3 is eliminated by that last help. Now you know only 3 people answered Super Bad, so the vast majority have to had said the Simpsons. So what does the guy do next?

He takes the last help which automatically makes his answer the opinion of the mob. This self-proclaimed genius wasted a help.

But that isn't what had me yelling at the TV. The questions weren't that hard and it wasn't this guy's lack of knowledge that had me mad. It was the logic he was using. When asked which Star Trek subtitle was real, he said that the Search for Bones and the Shock of Khan were too ridiculous to be subtitles and then thought about it before choosing the Final Frontier. I don't watch the Star Trek movies but I knew the play on the titles. Any pop culture genius could pick that out.

The final straw was his reasoning on the last question. Because he used up his 'helps' they would let him see the question before making his choice of whether to move on. His final question was something like "Patti Scialfa was the backup vocalist for what singer before marrying him?" The guys says he has no idea who Scialfa is but figures that, hey, maybe if he sees the answer he can make the right guess. WTF? You are going to piss away $25,000 because you think you can pick an answer of which you have no clue about?

But it gets better. His choices are Bono, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John. Easy, right? We know Elton John is not the answer. So figure it out between Bono and Springsteen. His logic was that he knew nothing about Springsteen so he would eliminate him and go with Bono. That is like holding 6 6 on a board with flush and straight possibilities and you think the guy betting into you is bluffing because you think your under pair 6s just might be good. Man what an idiot!

Man I really wish I had recorded Hight Stakes Poker now. But now I have set the DVR to try again. Maybe I will get another recoding of 1 vs. 100 and rail on another moron.

Lost Vegas: The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers, and the World Series of Poker.

I ripped through Pauly's new book, Lost Vegas: The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers, and the World Series of Poker in a couple of days. Actually it was one day where I read about 3/4 of the book before finding some time to finish it off. That is how I can tell you whether I enjoyed a book or not. I can't put it down.

My thoughts on the book are biased. I won't deny that. I have always liked Pauly's writing. I follow the words of the Rooster. Tao of Poker is good, but Tao of Pauly is much better.

It offers a point of view that few people give you. He isn't afraid to tell you what he thinks. If he is talking about some skank turning tricks in the stairwell, he go to pains to describe how scurvy she really is. He gives you a view of the gutter that most people don't want to admit exists. We all know that Vegas isn't just brights lights and glitter. Pauly is able to tell us in the most graphic way that leaves you amused and titillated.

From tales at the Hooker Bar to the talking to strippers at the Rhino, the Vinny Vinh disappearance to an Eskimo pissing himself, an life at the Redneck Riviera to living with Grubby, you get a chance to recall some stories he has told before. It feel even more special when you were there to hear him talk about them in person before they even made his blog.

The bottom line is simple. If you have enjoyed reading his coverage of life in Vegas at the Tao of Poker, then the book is a must have. You'll be happy you did.

Great entrance

I am sure everyone is bitching about it on the boards but I love it. Pauly summed it up correctly, "In short, it's a moment that we love to hate, or hate to love." It is all the donkeys whining about him that make Hellmuth pull these kind of stunts off. Ignore him and he'll stop.



And

go buy Pauly's book

* already. I have plowed through 80% of it. If you like the Tao of Poker, you will love the book.

* I am not being paid to shill for Pauly. Even though he is my friend, I have really enjoyed the book. If I had the time, I would be finished with it. Plus I figure if I plug it he will buy me a beer or two if I am in Vegas come December.

Getting Lost

I got my copy of Dr. Pauly's book, Lost Vegas, yesterday. I haven't been able to read much of it yet. Too much going on with Summerfest and the holiday weekend. I do have a favorite part of the book though.

I love the picture on the back of the cover. I may use it for my icon on PokerStars.

Panther tilt

It seemed like a great idea. On a whim, jump into a truck and go to Chicago. According to a tweet, Steel Panther was playing the Cubby Bear. I had been speaking to a friend just a couple days ago about seeing SP the next time they played Chi-town. It appeared next time was now.

I was actually at Summerfest when I made the decision to go to Chicago. If the cover band wasn't so terrible I may not have been looking at Twitter in the first place. But there I was heading for the exit and looking for a way to get back to the bar.

We made good time to Chicago. Picked up Maigrey on the way and were soon across the street from that big urinal they call Wrigley Field. We were there! I was about to get to see Steel Panther outside of Vegas!

But it wasn't to be.

Sonofabitch!

It never dawned on me that they would be sold out. All I could do was laugh at that point. We went across the street to Bar Louie and had some drinks laughing about the misfortune. After a couple we decided to go to a different bar. As we passed the Cubby Bear I could hear them playing Turn out the Lights. When we stopped by the front door we could look in and see the band. That was the closest I would get that night.

Sigh.

Another funny thing about last night. We ran into some clown outside the bar saying that Steel Panther was terrible. He was saying that these guys think there are so good and the best ever when they suck. He tried to say that most of the people in the bar didn't like them. I asked him if he understood that the it was all an act. It is a show, not just a band on stage playing music. He claimed he knew it but we are smarter than that. Poor schmuck had no idea what he was getting himself into.

Guess I will have to wait until December to see the Panther now.

Happy Birthday Truckin'

June 2010, Vol. 9, Issue 6

Truckin' has been around for 8 years now. I'm amazed, shocked, and thrilled. Happy birthday, Truckin'!
1. Inertia Junction by Paul McGuireShe told me that she was on a year-long holiday after her mother died from a serious illness. She had a sorrowful smile. Her friend looked like your pissed-off lesbian cousin. Short spikey hair. Only one ear pierced. Constant scowl... More
2. One Guy, One Cup by Brad WillisI clutched my specimen in my hand. A pretty blonde woman with a little girl stood beside me. They cooed at each other, and I was sure they knew I was holding. The elevator dinged and donged, but didn’t arrive before a pregnant nurse sidled up beside me. She knew. I knew she knew. It was like that scene in Reservoir Dogs with the doper walking into a bathroom full of narcs. I nodded at the nurse and clutched the bag even tighter... More
3. The Sherman Incident by Sigge S. AmdalSix years ago. That's when he first had it. The itch. He remember not taking notice, not paying attention, not even caring about it. But the itch had remained. And it grew worse... More
4. Chasing the Facts by May B. YesnoI found a corpse no-one had bothered to bury. There was at least twenty-five people living there and the only building large enough to remotely qualify for ‘commercial’ status was a dairy milking shed... More
5. Rural Road #7 by Miles HarveyHe saw a warm house, a glowing kitchen and a moon-faced girl puttering about making dinner. She probably didn’t even notice the sleet that was coating his car’s windshield in vanilla pudding... More
6. 152 Peaches by Paul McGuireHis savvy talents were no matchFor his jealous wife’s twin brother.Who longed to tell knock-knock jokesIn French, while wearing aKiwi colored tu-tu... More
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been...
From the Editor's Laptop:
The special birthday issue features some of your favorite writers including Brad Willis, Sigge S. Amdal, and May B. Yesno. This issue includes the debut of Miles Harvey, and two contributions from yours truly. I cracked open the poetry archives and found one of my favorites... 152 Peaches.
The scribes write at Truckin' for free, so please help spread the word about your favorite stories via Facebook, Twitter, smoke signals, whatever you can do to help. We all appreciate your generosity.
If anyone is interested in being added to the mailing list or writing for a future issue, then please to contact us.
I can never thank the writers enough for sharing their blood and guts. That takes a lot of courage and a tremendous leap of faith. I'm eternally grateful because they constantly inspire me by keeping Truckin' alive for eight years. No reason we can't keep doing this for ten or twenty or even longer.
Before I go, I want to thank all of you, the awesome readers for taking the time out to support the arts. Thanks for keeping the spirit alive as we begin our ninth year.
Be good,McG
"I believe in saying the truth, coming out with it cold, shocking if necessary, not disguising it." - Henry Miller

Leave them alone

I was hoping ck would take the time to post her thoughts on the WSOP Ladies Event from Friday. I had been following her comments on Twitter about how Harrah's personnel were looking to harass men who signed up for the event. I was away for the weekend and missed the majority of articles that came out since.

I like ck's point of view. Today, there is little reason to separate the men from the women. She knows that first hand when she yell "nut nut" at me and scoops my chips into her stack. Do some of the men signing up for the event think they have an easier field to navigate?

My opinion on this hullabaloo is simple. Guys, don't be dicks and sign up for a ladies event. If a special event is set up for the women or for the seniors, let them play. Don't crash their party. If this is the only way you can sit close to someone from the opposite sex then go hang out at the hooker bar. Your $1000 will get you a better all in than it will at the table.

That is part of the problem with the world today. Too many people protesting. The world would be a better place if we stopped pissing in someone else's cornflakes. You do not have to agree with an event, but don't go and make noise and a spectacle of yourself.

the real villian

Well, they've done it. Work has blocked out anything it deems to be a "gambling" site so I cannot view many of the blogs I used to read. No more Drizz or BadBlood during the day. No Shamus or Hoy, or ck. None of that during the day.

But for whatever reason I can still read Tao of Poker. Go figure.

This irked me today because I wanted to read the anonymous letter Pauly referenced on Tao of Poker today railing on Daniel Negreanu. Or so it appeared it may have. I don't know for the site is blocked.

It got me to thinking of who the real villain in poker is and the general douchebaggery some of these "star" players think they can get away with.

Granted my knowledge of who some of these guys real are is limited. I can only work with what I read and hear from people that deal with them directly. Bottom line is it is my opinion.

When you think poker villain or guy you like to hate, most would say Phil Hellmuth. I wouldn't. I would actually state someone that most people like. Hell, I liked the guy too until I heard what a dick he was.

I would say the real villain is Daniel Negreanu. The reason why is simple. He puts on more of a fake act on at the table that Hellmuth.

Both put a show on at the table. Nice guy versus Poker Brat. But away from the table, Hellmuth seems to be the nicer guy to be around. He doesn't go around bitching about what people write about him, tournament structures, or what other people enjoy eating. He may seem like a jerk at the table but he is not a worm in the background.

Maybe I'll have an update later when I get a chance to read that letter. I doubt my opinion will have changed.

But I had fun

I dipped my toe into tournament poker again today. Played a simple $8 tourney on Full Tilt. Ended up 26 of 158. Final two paid.

I tried to be patient at times. I did an amazing amount of folding and got paid off in some spots. But it was my AA going down to KQo that took the wind out of my sails. Though I fought back from there I may have gotten a bit too loose.

In the end, my JJ went down to QQ. For once in a long time I played without being disappointed in my bustout. I felt I played pretty damn good for once. If I had gotten lucky just one time I could have made the money at 18.

But I had fun for once. That is a feeling I hadn't had in a while.

Closing time BBT5

Last BBT5 freeroll is on. I have Full Tilt pros at my table. Plus there two other guys they know. I am thinking this could be a rough one.

Now that I take a look, I see there are 8 Full Tilt pros in the tourney. I have 2 at my table but neither is Michael Buffer? What a rip off!

I am not hitting any flops early on. Getting a couple small pairs or AJ. Only pot I drag is with a raise of A 7 spades and the flop is A high but all clubs. Otherwise I am not getting close to having a solid hand.

There have been a lot of suited flops. I am tempted to start playing any two suited.

I finally win a nice sized pot. With A Qo I raised from the SB when it folded around. To my surprise, DDyonysus raised me back. I wonder if he thinks I was stealing? I just called. Flop is all low, with 2 hearts. I checked. He checked as well. The turn was 10 spades. Now there were two spades and two hearts out there. I bet just under half the pot an was called. The river was the Q of hearts. Seeing that I had just over the pot I pushed. If he had some hearts he would have bet. He folded and it was shipped to me.

From there I go back to calling with pairs and folding to flop bets. That will need to change if I am going to do anything.

That may be some bad advice. I called a raise from the BB with K Js. Flop is all one suit but hearts. I have spades. It is K high so I check with the intention to call a bet and make a move on the turn. But the pro just checks. Turn pairs the board with 7s. I bet half the pot and get called. River is a rag so I bet about 2/3 of the pot. I really don't want a call because that means he has A K. Sure enough he does call and show A K. That sucks. I lost half my stack there.

Soon I would donk out when I tried to make a play with A Q. I ran in to KK and couldn't be like every other player that sucks out an ace.

Thanks again to Al and Full Tilt for setting up the BBT5. Good luck to everyone in the tournament of champions.

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Hey, its a Mookie

Due to my lack of underwear management, I had to scrap my usual plans to get some laundry done. The combination of being at home and having won a buy-in to the Mookie from CK's Twitter challenge, it made sense to play.

The action is slow to start. I take a small pot with pocket jacks but give it back when I chase a flush from the BB. A Ko can't get me anywhere and I drop to 2300.

AKo does me no good again. Worse yet I try to bluff the river and drop to 500. I suck at this game. Two hands later I am out.

A true waste of time for me.

F me!

I was still at a bar when my reminder on the phone went off. I hadn't expected to still be out at this time but I was having a good time. Watching baseball and drinking beer, hey I was in my zone. So I finally got home and started the BBT5 50 minutes late. That meant I was in a hole from the get go. I needed to make it up and quick. I needed to make sure I did it in a smart manner. Easier said than done.

I played one hand before the break and blew it. Made a loose call and folded with nothing. Right after the break I raised with KQs and had one caller. I had overcards and made the continuation bet. But the huge stack to my left went all in on a huge re-raise. Again, I hate this kind of play and had to fold. It was a good thing I got a beer during the break because i needed to keep my buzz going. Especially with the Spaceman on my right.

See, Jason was being aggressive. He has been on a good streak during the the Mini FTOPS making some money along the way. I am hoping to take advantage of it. So I raise with any decent hand I have. Not the best hands but good hands. That helps me get back to where we started.

From there I bounce around a bit. I feel good until I get kicked in the junk. With K K under the gun I raise. I get a raise immediately on my left. SWEEEEEET! I push and he calls showing A K. I should be gold here, right?

The flop is A A K. You have got to be kidding me! Really? I go straight from having hope to getting back into the game to consulting a ball doctor. So not right.

Time to drown my sorrows in alcohol.