Bored

Like many others have lamented, I miss online poker. Especially on a night like this. There is crap on TV. I have the Ravens/Redskins game on mainly because the Brewers have the day off.

Tonight would have been a good time to fire up Full Tilt and play some sit n gos. But that can't happen. For shits and giggles I fired the software up. Knowing their problems I was curious to see what would happen.

Nothing.

Sigh.

I can't bring myself to play some of those play money games on Facebook either.

Makes me think I should go down to Potowatami to see what is going on down there.

Don't piss off Blood

BadBlood has a nice rant against Full Tilt Poker here. Well said sir. Spot on!

With that being said, I hope the people I know who have been doing work for Full Tilt get paid.

The damn jack

It checked around to me in the big blind. I rapped the table and 4 of us saw the flop come down: 10 7 10. My heart picked up a bit. I checked knowing the guy to my left was going to make a play at the pot. Sure enough, he did, betting 6000. I began thinking about how I was going to play this. Call or raise. But I had to wait.

Action went to the big stack on the other side of the table. He was a loud mouth, a cocky SOB who wasn't as clever as he thought he was. He breathed through his mouth a bit before announcing with over confidence "All in".

Small blind folded and before I could act, the bettor announced he called. The cocky SOB flipped his cards over quickly announcing he had trips before I could say anything. Someone else noticed they had passed over me and tried to say something but the cocky SOB was making too much noise.

When things calmed down, I told them I was calling as well and turned over the flopped boat, tens over sevens. The cocky SOB calmed down for maybe a second. I looked and saw he had J 10. I even said aloud "I need to fade a jack".

The turn was a jack and the cocky SOB went off again. Worse part, the twat was mocking me. "Thanks for calling, thanks for calling!" Its bad enough to get hit with a bad beat but worse when it is to the table douche nozzle. I tried to remain calm as I left my seat but I was more pissed at this asshole mocking me after he got in with the worst of it.

There is nothing you can do when the cards come down. I got my chips in with the best hand and it didn't hold up. It happens. Not the first time and it won't be the last time. Even worse, it won't be the last time some dickhead gets lucky and thinks that it was there "high level of play" that won a hand.

Comin' Atcha Live

Ever since the online poker world got flushed down the toilet, I haven't had much interest in the game. There were a couple of times over the past month I wished I could log in and play some cards, but not many. Even with the WSOP going on, I have no reason to check in on what is going on. Sure I check Tao of Poker every once in a while because Dr. Pauly gives you more than what is happening at the tables. But even the Phil Ivey incident couldn't pique my desire.

That changes this weekend. A friend of mine is holding a charity tournament. Here are the details:

Where?

Johnny Mo's

1301 Milwaukee Ave

South Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Why?

to benefit Team Challenge and the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA).

When?

Doors open at 12:30 and play will begin at 1:00 pm.

How much?

Suggested donation is $40. There will be a single rebuy during the first hour for $20 and an add-on for $20 after the the first hour.

And the kicker is who is running the show. Badger Poker. I am not sure it is the same guys from years ago or not, but it does have me curious. Especially is some of the same schlubs that played in those games show up. Bag man, Son of Cheater, Mouth breather, Internet Girl and the biggest one Tigers hat (jk).

So come out and help raise some money for a good cause. At the very least you can get drunk at the bar.

12 questions

1. Has anyone received a check from PokerStars yet?
2. Did it clear?
3. Suggestions for how to cash in those PStars player points?
4. Any idea when Full Tilt will make funds available?
5. What can I do with the Full Tilt points?
6. Who is playing at another site?
7. Cake? Carbon? Who has taken the plunge?
8. Is it easy to get some money on the sites?
9. Anyone playing local poker?
10. Have the Vegas rooms seen a change since Black Friday?
11. Am I the only one who wonders what those young rich poker players are doing now? There funds are most likely locked up so are they totally freaking out?
12. Any chance these geniuses end up working at McDonalds? Yeah, I was trying to be funny.

That's it I guess. No more PokerStars.

That's it I guess. No more PokerStars.

I had seen a tweet saying the PStars was allowing people to cash out. I didn't think much of it. It piqued my curiousity but not much more than that.

When I got home from work I decided to check it out. I figured an email had been sent out giving an explanation of what was going on. Nope. I shouldn't be shocked there. As I mentioned last week I still have not seen any communication from any site about the status of an account.

So I logged on. Sure enough, it stated that I must cash out. That's weird. Someone forcing you to take your money. I actually didn't want to cash out. I wanted to keep the money there thinking that somehow, sometime, someway I would be able to play poker on the site again.

It was like tough love. Or a cheesy scene out of an old movie where a guy is yelling at a dog or kid telling them to go away, choking back tears as he does. Go on, take your money and get out of here, sniff, we don't want you around.

Hopefully someday I'll play on PokerStars again. And it will be legal.

Ugly brown chips

One Pai Gow table. A craps game that doesn't use dice. And a 1-3 NL game that uses ugly brown $2 chips.

I'll be content if I never step into Agua Caliente again.

Maybe I am being a bit harsh. The play in the NL game was pretty bad. I did walk away +226 so I shouldn't complain. Even when I had my aces cracked by J 8o, I didn't fall into sore loser mode but became more determined to get my chips back. I knew he would spew them out and I wanted to be the benefactor.

But I am getting ahead of myself. I was expecting some wild play when I sat down. I assumed all California poker rooms were the same. Crazy aggressive action. Two cards? All in!

But this table was the opposite. A couple guys who had a clue about what they were doing but the rest were rather timid. But those timid players ended up being the gamblers of the group.

For example, the tight grumpy old guy. He was going to see a flop with any ace no matter what. In one hand, the old Asian guy opened for 12. TGOG calls. I call with Q Q (I didn't raise because it wouldn't have thinned the field). Lady two spots to my left calls. The SB then makes it 40. Old Asian quickly grabs chips and calls. TGOG just about beats him into the pot. Upon seeing that, I am thinking he has a monster. I know Old Asian has a good hand, at least K K. I figure TGOG must have A A. I toss my Q Q in the muck.

3 players see a flop of A 10 x. SB does all in for like $80. Old Asian calls as does TGOG. This is the first huge pot I have seen at this table. Over $500 in those ugly brown chips. Turn is a J. The rest of the money goes in. River is an 8. What do you think these players had?

SB shows A K off. Old Asian shows K K. TGOG shows.... A 10 off. He wins with 2 pair. I was a bit surprised to see him put so much money in with A 10 off. He had to know he was way behind before the flop. But that wasn't the worst of it. How does the Old Asian guy not re-raise preflop to try and get rid of some of those other players? I'd have pushed when it got popped to 40 and taken my chances with the guy who ended up with A K.

Sad part, the lady who had called 12 claims she had 8 8. She acknowledged she wouldn't have seen the river with all the action. I liked her honesty.

Other action at the table included me flopping quad 8s. Later someone would flop quad 9s and eventually someone would hit quad 10s. I was excited when I was dealt J J thinking it would follow the natural progression and hit. Nope. Lost to the old lady who meekly played her Q Q.

Otherwise I played a slow methodical game. I could find my spots and hit them. There were some times when I wasn't sure where I was. This crowd was going to chase. Old Asian was going to see the river no matter what. So there were a lot of river checks when the board looked dangerous.

For example on one hand, I was dealt K K. Old Asian had already called so I knew he would call my raise to 14. Flop was A high. I tossed a continuation bet to see what he would do. He called. Being stubborn, I bet the turn too. He called. Finally, with a possible flush on the river, I just checked. Inside I sighed because I pretty much had to fold to any bet. But he checked and my kings were good. I was pleasantly surprised.

Playing live again was fun. I enjoyed making some reads on players and putting them on hands. Some of the young guys were predictable. I knew when they were attempting to buy the pot. I knew I could let them think they were controlling the action and I knew I would win those pots. In fact, I only lost 2 pots at showdown, both around $150.

I ended up leaving the table after 3 hours. The call stations had left and only a couple of the better players were left. There was a new guy in the 9 seat that quickly tried to take over the table. I tangled with him once. It was the only time I had really put much of my stack at stake.

I called his 12 bet preflop with A K off. I did that a lot last night. Just called with some good hands and let them dictate the pace. With a K high flop, I check and called his 24 bet. When a rage hit the turn, I checked again, allowing him to bet 34. I stopped to think of what he had. I quickly ruled out A A. I wondered if he had an A at all. Maybe Qs or Js.

I decided to push. Part of me wanted to have that "all in" button in front of me. The other part said I was ahead and I could take all of his chips.

I then began to try and stay motionless. I then wondered if he would notice my tell. Only 1 person has ever called me out on it, but even he didn't know if it was good or bad. The guy went into the tank and tried to figure it out. I could see it in his eyes that he thought I was bluffing him. But he couldn't pull the trigger and folded.

I left after that, satisfied with my double. Not sure I was happy with the room itself but the dealers were good. At least the poker room was better than the stripperless strip club BadBlood took us to.

What say them? Apparently nothing

Black Friday. The ultimate 'doomsday switch' has been flipped. For some, they lose a bit of cash that they had online. For others, they had a sizable chunk on some sites and it looks like it is gone. And worse yet, some very good people are literally out of a job. Their livelihoods snuffed out like the end of a cigarette.

I know some good people that relied on this industry for their income. Some are out of a job. Others? Well we don't know at this point so we can only hope for the best. I am hoping that with the European sites still going that they can still grab a paycheck, if they so desire.

What is else is there to say that hasn't been already said?

Not much except for one little thing. I had money on both Full Tilt and PokerStars. Maybe $1500 total. I never consider it to be real. It was always just those electronic numbers. It was money to have fun with.

My issue is that there has been no word from either company yet. I don't expect an email telling me what has happened to that money. What I would like is for someone there to tell us what they are doing about the whole thing. It wouldn't be that tough for them to bust out an email explaining what they are doing and tell us their side and what they think can happen.

Or in other words, reach out to your customers and reassure them you still care about them. This may be some of the worst PR in the history of the world. I have worked for companies that have had fisticuffs with the feds. They made sure they kept customers informed about what was happening and their position. I don't think it would be that difficult for PStars or Full Tilt to do the same.

The Junkie

Been a long time since I had anything to post here. Been on a bit of a poker hiatus. Other things in life taking up my time. It was the MMA Junkie tournament that brought me back. Let's shake some rust off and see how it goes.

Over 4400 were entered for the tournament. 4400? I wonder how many of these people actually play poker or just got an account for this tournament.

Lots of limping to start. No one wanted to raise pre-flop until I made a move. Then it gets nuts for a little bit. The sleepy table has woken up.

There are now more than 4600 entered. 200 have already busted out.

A couple minutes later, the total is over 4700 and 300 have busted out. Will be 4800 and 400 soon.

Cards are not coming in the first round. A Q and 5 5 are the best I see. I chip up with them but I need some real action. I get it with K K. One limper and I bet pot. He calls and we see a bad flop for me. A 6 8, all clubs. I have the king of clubs. I think I am basically toast. But then limper min bets 40. Wow, really? I'll fish. I call. Turn is the J of spades. Same min bet, same call by me. River is a club. He now bets 240. I raise pot and he calls. He has the Q of clubs and begins to complain. I am upset that I hadn't realized it was a KO tourney. I should have gone all in and collected the bounty. Yeah its only a buck but its a bounty!

I'm a whore for bounties.

Late registration is still packing them in. 5345 as I type. Over a thousand out. Over $1000 paid in bounties already. I want that dollar bad now!

I call with J 10 clubs on the button. Flop is a K high rainbow. Blah! Though tempted to raise his flop bet, I rather move on to the next hand. The guy has been aggressive but I think rumbling right now may not be the best thing. Yet.

After a bit of folding, I raise with A Ko from EP. Get one caller but the BB raises. Hmm... I call as does the other player. Flop is Q 4 4. BB checks. Strange. I check as does the caller. Turn is a 9. Now the BB bets out. My gut tells me he has Q Q and tried to slow play. I have nothing so folding is easy. The caller in MP stays in. River is a J. BB bets again and is now raised by MP. Interesting. BB pushes, gets called, and shows Q Q. Though my play is rusty, the instinct came back quickly. But I am down to 1800. Gave 1000 away on the last couple of hands.

5954 is the final tally? Nope, still some time to get in. Creeping towards 6000. Will it make it?

Yes! I believe the tourney was capped at 6000 so it is full. Over 2000 have already been knocked out. I haven't collected on any. :(

Watching a 2 week old episode of Fringe as I play. Like the show. Hoping it won't be axed. Also hope the Olivia speaking like Bell doesn't last long.

Still spinning my wheels in the tournament. Fringe is over and now listening to Children of Bodom. Skeletons in the Closet to be exact.

Hey, I played another hand! In EP I raised with A Jo. Two to my left calls as does the BB. Flop is all rags. I decide to bet 400 into a 780 pot. Having not played many hands lately, I want to make it look like I have a monster. First guy folds right away. The BB thinks though. In my head I am repeating "fold fold fold fold". After a bit he does. Back above 2000. Maybe I can get something going now.

Remember how I said I didn't want to rumble with the one player? Well the time had come. He raised and I decided to just call with 10 10. Flop was J J 8, two spades. He bet out, 350. I pushed thinking he only had an ace at best. I was right. He called showing A 10. The 9 of clubs hits the turn. But a 7 shows on the river for a split pot. Bastard! Took a chance on a read and did not get rewarded.

At the break I have 2025. That blows. Leader has 18110. I am a bit off the pace.

As Mike Goldberg would say "It's all over!!!" I raised with A Ko and had two callers. Flop is K high. I push and am called by K Qo. Turn is a Q. No A on the river and I am out at 2533.

I feel disappointed. I missed out on a bounty but otherwise didn't play poorly. Nothing I can do about that I guess.

True

I'd laugh if this wasn't so true.

Been giving some thought to the game this weekend. I think I am going with my initial gut feeling. Take the Steelers and the points. The Packers haven't gone up against a really good defense all year. Don't even try to call the Bears defense really good. Just like the Packers D, they give up a lot of yards.

Don't get me wrong. I want the Packers to win. As a shareholder- yep, this Dallas Cowboys fan owns a Packer share- I would like to see Green Bay pull out a victory. It also makes people around here much easier to live with. I can handle the douchebags. Putting up with the douchebags is a small price to pay for my friends being happier than pigs in shit.

Congrats to Change100!

Congratulations to Change100 for her win at the PCA, taking down the ladies event. I bet that was some party afterwards.

WPBT 2010 Winter Classic- A weekend of Buying the Dip Part 4

It has been a couple of days since I did the third part. I was thinking there wouldn't be a need to do the last installment. It has been well over a week and I figured by now that everyone went and BOUGHT THE DIP!!!

If you had, you'd be enjoying a nice profit now. You would have been able to pay back that money your borrowed at ridiculously low rates and been freerolling into the new year.

Please tell me, for all that is holy in this world, that you bought the fuckin dip! If you didn't, then you hate money. Hell, I am not sure you should even think about going to Vegas.

Sunday woke to a nice cool day. The weather forecast was for temps in the low 70s. A beautiful December day in Las Vegas. Good thing I would be spending it inside at LaGasse Stadium. Big thanks to Al and Full Tilt Poker for comping us some food and drink during the early football games.

I was hot on two games that Sunday. Atlanta and Green Bay. Both giving up 7 points. Two of the best teams in the league taking on some low life division rivals. I went with the parlay instead of the individual game. I was that confident.

The Packers would go on to shit the bed and cost me a lot of money. Worse, they put me into a funk and made me not want to pull the trigger on two promising late games, the Saints and Chargers. Sigh.

We left the Palazzo when the games were over and headed back to the Imperial Palace. The beer was cheaper and there were plenty of TVs up by the sportsbook to watch the Cowboys game. Little did I know I would be surrounded by Eagles fans. I figured at least one more Dallas fan would be around but it wasn't to be. Oh well.

The Cowboys played well but their defense could not come up when needed. It was a good game and I enjoyed it. Watching with the enemy can be fun, especially when no one is being a total jackass and just cheering on their respective team.

Once the game was over, I went to see if I could get on another craps roll. It wasn't too be. Left down a bit when the dice just wouldn't warm up. I then made my way over to the Pai Gow table. Maybe the cards would be hot.

And for once they were. I went on a Pai Gow heater to end my trip, doubling up in a short period of time. Plus I was hammered. I had been drinking for over 12 hours, with little food, and needed to be up early for my flight home. It was in the gift shop that I ran into Derek once again. He was looking for smokes while I was looking for munchies. There is a joke in there somewhere. Soon Pauly would walk by as he was talking with Change 100. He handed me the phone and spent some time chatting her up. She was kinda wasted on the pharmies she had for her back. I laughed a bit as she sounded like she was on cloud 9. I wonder if she could tell how drunk I was?

I got in some more conversation with the McGrupps before calling it a night, effectively making it the end of the trip. It was another fun couple of days with friends in the desert. I spent more time talking with them than I did gambling. Lots of good memories to keep me satisfied until the next trip comes along, wherever that may be.

Until then I urge you to get your act together and buy that dip!

WPBT 2010 Winter Classic- A weekend of Buying the Dip Part 3

The 2010 WPBT Winter Classic was being held at the Aria Casino in the City Center complex. I believe the place has been open for just under a year. The casino itself was rather dark. There was a nice oval bar right outside the poker room which help get me started on my Makers and ginger for the day. It was going to be a long slog and drinking beer would mean many a trip to the restroom. I could get a good buzz with my whisky so that was the route to go.

The tournament had more bounties that usual. Some of the original players from the Sam's Town tourney had bounties on them provided by the good people at Full Tilt poker. That was in addition to the many personal bounties players had brought. Plus, the Hammer was in play with the first 10 people to drop it to receive some money from the fine folds at Poker Stars.

I started out slowly but began to chip up nicely. I was quite happy with how I was progressing. Even happier when I was able to drop the Hammer on Chilly. $50 for me! I continued to keep it going until I ran my K Q into A Q. Ouch. That really hurt.

I stayed around picking up some small pots and avoiding any major conflicts. With A K, I finally made my final move. There was a push all in before me. GRob called. I pushed and Bacon Mary pushed behind me! I had a chance to quadruple up. It was AK v AQ v 33 v 10 10. Board came all low cards and all those chips went to GRob and his pair of tens. That blew.

Back at the bar I hung out with Pauly, Derek, Sweet Sweet, and met one of the famed Disco Sisters Pauly has seen some Phish shows with. I found myself a nice Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA to drown my sorrows. 3 hours of poker and nothing to show for it. Soon we were heading back to the IP to take it easy and eventually ended up in the sportsbook. That is where Waffles nearly got 86d for falling asleep in a chair. I felt sorry for the guy. He just wanted to get some sleep but didn't have a key for his room nor could he get ahold of his roommate.

I was enjoying some Captain and Cokes while shooting the shit with Iggy. I was keeping any eye on the UFC fights hoping to get news of Georges St. Pierre kicking the crap out of Josh Koscheck. As I monitored MMA Junkie and Twitter, I could feel my phone heating up as the battery died. I didn't want to be walking around with a dead phone so I shut it off after seeing the GSP victory.

It was around then that we heard that the tournament was over. But not without some controversy. There was something like a 6 way chop with the the trophy being awarded to the chip leader, Miami Don. What? Why wasn't it played out? I can understand everyone agreeing to a chop of the prize money. Great idea after all that time invested. But they should have played it out for the trophy. The 2010 tournament may go down in history as the one with the asterisk. Congrats to Don!

After milling about the IP sport book for some time, someone had the great idea to go shoot some craps. So down the massive escalator we went. Bayne, Sox Lover, and I took a spot at the rail. There were a couple decent shooters before the dice got around to us. I was scared of Sox Lover's cannonball style. Not sure why he was setting the dice to 11 before picking them up and rattling them around in his hand before firing them down the felt with all his might. He made a point or two so it wasn't a losing roll. We all made some bucks.

Then it was my turn to go to work. Unlike Sox, I like to give the dice a gentle toss to the wall. I tossed them down and it was on. Little did I know I was about to go on a nice heater. My Come bets were slowly covering all the numbers. I then hedged a bit by playing the Field to cover any 2, 3, 11, and 12. As long as I didn't 7 out, I was going to be taking in some money.

It was a good think I had my numbers covered. For whatever reason, I kept hitting 4s. I then got some of the hardways going and hitting the hard 4 twice. I would later learn that Bayne was pressing his hard 4 bet and had I hit another hard 4, he would have collected $400. Damn I wish I could have hit it for him.

But I was happy with what I was doing. I wasn't hitting the point- a 6 of all things- but I was making us some money. I knew that because Sox Lover was giggling like a school girl every time I tossed the dice. I was like an ATM to him.

One of the interesting things about that table was the other end. I hit the first point after about 5 shakes. When I did, there was no noise. As I kept hitting the numbers, our side was collecting chips while the other side sounded like they were at a funeral. Apparently they didn't have much money on the table and were not taking advantage of the heater I was on. A couple people noticed what was happening at the table and jumped in. With each number I hit, a yell went up and some giggling was heard. I just kept taking the dice and tossing them down. I'd pick up my wins and do it again. I wish I knew how long I went or how many tosses I had but in the end, we were all quite profitable on our end, easily doubling, close to tripling our money. I swear my arm was a bit sore when I was done.

After that I joined the crowd at the bar. I really needed a beer. I had earned it.

WPBT 2010 Winter Classic- A weekend of Buying the Dip Part 2

I am not sure why I am writing Part 2. I believe everyone took the advice yesterday and bought the dip. There may not be anyone around to read this but I find it therapeutic.

Pauly, Derek, and I had piled into a cab at the IP. As we drove down to the MGM, we heard an interesting call come across the cabbie's radio. A girl (damn I wish I could recall her name) called from the Redneck Riviera and needed a ride to the Hustler. I believe the cabbie claimed to have picked her up before. That was just about eclipsed by the info of the cabbie Christmas part schedule for this Wednesday. There will be food, drink, and prizes!!! Ok, the stripper call was better. Hopefully Pauly or Derek recall the full story.

We quickly ran into some people in the MGM sportsbook. A frazzled Iggy still had his golf shoes on. Well, they weren't on his feet but he hadn't put on regular shoes. Everyone else was just hanging out and talking while the cowboys around them watched the rodeo broadcast on the big tvs. It was interesting to listen to the broadcast. I was laughing quite a bit at what I was hearing. I learned I had to restrain myself when I noticed none of the cowboys were laughing. I guess it wasn't meant to be funny though I did find some of the stuff hilarious.

When I heard the mixed games were starting, I jumped up to grab a seat, settling in the 6 spot. The game was good and loose. I got lucky on the first hand, raising with J J. I think there were 4 callers. Typical. Flop came 7 8 9. Overpair with a gutty. I bet out and soon was raised by Maigrey. Joe Speaker made a comment that she would call with anything and probably make her hand. That slowed me a down a bit because he was spot on. Turn was a rag and I just called her bet. River was a glorious 10. I played nice and did not raise. Yep, Speaker was right. She flopped the lower end of the straight.

From there on I stayed out of trouble. Didn't get anything in the O8 portion. Got knocked around a bit in Razz but broke even. I would then get lucky with the last 2 stud rounds. I took down a nice pot when my two pair, 4s&3s beat Speaker's 4s&2s when I was trying to push him out of the pot. I took down a couple more pots during these rounds. But soon my ADD would kick in and I was out of my seat, allowing whoever was near by to play for me. Soon I would just call it a night and cashed out for a nice profit.

Back at the sportsbook, the talk soon became craps. The search for a $5 craps table was decided and soon we were heading over the bridges and entering the castle. As Maigrey, Gus and Mattazuma took a spot at the craps table, I headed further into the casino to find a restroom. From there I heard that people were drinking at the Sherwood Forest Bar and headed over to find Iggy, Otis, AlCantHang, and Driz with some others. It was like a blast from the past. I recall how the Sherwood Forest Bar was the place to meet and drink before the Geisha Bar. The drunk time there was fun.

But going to the Sherwood Forest Bar instead of back to the craps table was a terrible mistake. Sure I had some good conversation but apparently that craps table was red hot! When I got back to it there was a ton of money on the table and the gang was scooping in the cash. They bought the fucking dip!

A craps game is like buying the dip. You get your chips out on the numbers and take advantage of the wild ride when the shooter gets hot. You end up making a ton of EASY MONEY! That is how you buy the dip people! Because I know everyone bought the dip today, they are not total morons unless they weren't listening. But don't worry, you can still buy the damn dip!

Cuz the dip comes back around. Everyone cashed out when they finished shooting. I had to fix my craps jones so I jumped in. The first shooter had promise. Nice gentle toss. Made a number early but that was it. She soon starting hitting everything but just once. My come bets soon had the table covered but then she sevened out. Didn't make anything on that roll. Severe dent in my chip stack.

Her husband though did much better. I was concerned at first. I started making my come bets again and soon was short on chips. I reached into my pocket to grab another Benji when he hit a number. My come odds would be covered. But this is where the shooter really took off. He started getting points and better yet, made those come bets pay off. I still clutched the $100 in my hand like a good luck charm as the greenbirds filled the spot in front of me. The girl after him did rather well too, hitting a couple points before she was done. I let the dice come around to our side and took advantage of another warm shooter before sensing the table was getting cold. I decided to end with a nice double. Not as good as the others but I'll take the profit. Because that is textbook buying the dip. Get in and get out when you have a profit and situation calls for you to sell. BUY THE DIP PEOPLE!

I called it an early night and was back at the IP by 3. I figured a little sleep before tournament Saturday was a good idea. But not before I devoured the second half of the deli sandwich. It had been the only thing I ate on Friday and I didn't want to wake up with an empty belly and headache.

Coming up... poker, controversy, and more craps.

WPBT 2010 Winter Classic- A weekend of Buying the Dip Part 1

Back from another glorious weekend of reigniting friendships, drinking liver damaging amounts of alcohol, and buying the dip. Good times with good friends up and down the strip. Yelling Pai Gow at the top of you lungs and

WAIT!- you don't know about buying the dip??? What is wrong with you? It is easy money!

Let's get caught up before I go any further:



I arrived at the the luxury that is only the Imperial Palace just after 1. As I get out of the cab, I hear Drizz exclaim to me how they'll let anyone in the place. We walk inside and I am shocked to see Iggy in town already. Kat is there as well. We all seem to have the same idea. Check in and go get something to eat. Have to lay down a base for all the booze that is going to funneled down my piehole. The little guy has an affinity for Outback Steakhouse so we make the walk over for lunch and catching up.

After lunch we go back to the IP. Time is then spent at the Pai Gow table getting our drink on. As more people slowly arrive, action moves over to the Geisha Bar and time is spent catching up and meeting some new people. I myself kept moving from the Geisha Bar out to the table games and back to the bar. An acute case of Vegas ADD. I am not sure what happened except that I was up rather late and pretty drunk. If I recall it right, there was some blackjack, some craps, some more craps over at the Casino Royale, and more drinking. At the end of the night I got my slot fix in with some Press Your Luck video Whammy Slots, of which I understand is on video. I was pretty torched at that point.

Friday ended up being a nice relaxing day with the McGrupps, Pauly and Derek. I was starving and needed to hydrate. We were on a mission to find a place to eat. Sounds easy but it isn't. The Hash House at the IP was backed up so we went to the Mirage. They seemed busy at the old cafe which is now a BB King BBQ joint. So we ended up at the Carnegie Deli where I ended up with this in front of me:


That is one massive mofo sandwich. There we discussed the finer things in life and how much we were making in the market by buying the dip. You have gone and bought the dip already, haven't you? If not, what the hell are you waiting for? Go BUY THE FUCKING DIP already!!!

On the walk back to the IP, I think I saw one of the funniest things I had seen in a long time. The porn slappers were out in full force this weekend. So much that there was a granny working the line alongside the other young men. An old lady porn slapper. I think I may have seen it all. Priceless!

Back at the IP, Pauly and Derek wanted to bet and watch the Knicks game. That gave me the opportunity to digest lunch and ease my back in to drinking again. Plus I had always wanted to watch Pauly sweat a game. I was hoping for a very close game. I wanted the Knick to need the last minute to pull it off. I wanted to see him pace and cuss and go ballistic. I wanted them to win the bet but I have to admit I wanted to see the what I had heard about. The Knicks would deliver missing some easy shots and going to the wire. They covered leaving the McGrupps some happy campers.

Soon we would be going down the Strip to the MGM.

Coming up...
A stripper catching a cab at the Redneck Riviera, mixed games, back to the Sherwood Forest bar and MORE!

And don't remember to go buy the fucking dip!!!

Evolution of the Beer Geek

Great chart! Thank to Beer and Whiskey Brothers for sharing.

I'd like to think I have entered the Geeko Sapien stage. I bet I can make that decision at the pub tonight over an Ayinger Celebrator or this weekend as I search out some good beer on the Strip.

Evolution

It's WBPT week!!!!

A time when silly poker bloggers converge on Vegas for friendship, memories, poker, and total drunkeness. A time to reunite with old friends while making new acquaintances. To further friendships and make the legends that people will tell their kids years in the future.

I am amazed at how much has changed over the years. From the Excal to the MGM to the IP to Caesars to Lagasse Stadium. I tell ya, things are mighty different.

I wasn't there for the first gathering. I actually showed up in Vegas on the Monday that most of the WPBT people were heading home after the first meet up. I only know of how Iggy tried to hire a midget to show up at Sam's Town as himself. I read about the Sherwood Forest Bar drinking like most of everyone else.

That is why I had to show up in the Spring gathering 7 months later. Once I had my first taste, I know I had an addiction. From the mixed games in the box at the MGM to cashing in the tournament at the Aladdin, I knew these were my type of people.

Things would slowly change. The Sherwood Forest Bar would lose its luster to of all things, the Geisha Bar at the Imperial Palace. The Saturday poker tournament would move from Sam's Town to the Aladdin to the IP to Caesars Palace to the Orleans to the Venetian and this year to Aria.

One constant has been the mixed games at the MGM. It is custom for games of HORSE and then some to be played. In a strange twist, that would lead to the now infamous Table 16 and the wildest casino home game ever played.

Other offshoots came of people of similar interests coming together. Golf, pinball, and neon museum tours. But nothing that comes close to something that I will claim that BadBlood and I started. The Steel Panther show! It started with a venture to the Hard Rock casino to see Metal Skool that would lead him and I to bring more people to the best show in Vegas.

And it all ends with the watching of NFL football on Sunday. Like the tournament, the location has changed. From Mandalay Bay to the IP to Lagasse's Stadium. Football viewing in style!

I am really looking forward to the activities this week. Meeting up with great friends is always exciting and satisfying. Meeting new people is as great. It is how lasting relationships start.

Gambling with friends and raging solo when needed, drinking to excess without needing the assist of a wheelchair and coming home with great memories. That is what this trip is about to me. I'll know how satisfying it is when I begin to miss everyone late on Sunday when they are still around me.

And it gets better

Big thanks to Al for working his overlords at Full Tilt Poker for us!

Full Tilt is kicking in another $1,000 to the WPBT tournament prizepool at
Aria on Saturday. It will be distributed with $100 save for the bubble boy/girl,
$300 for first, $200 for second, $175 for third, $125 for fourth, $100 for
fifth.

Full Tilt is also adding five $100 bounties on random players which will
be announced before the tournament. I'm working on a few "blogger friendly" FTP
pros to pop in so you can knock them out. Both the added prizepool and bounties
will be transferred to your Full Tilt account (as per the casino rules, not
mine)

The big ticket item doesn't come until Sunday, football day. I have
reserved the big room at Lagasse's Stadium in The
Palazzo. Full Tilt is putting up $2,000 for the food tab throughout the day,
that is a lot of tasty Emeril food to go around.

The poker monies are nice but the suite is well... sweet! A stadium suite is THE place to watch football in Las Vegas. There is nothing like it. Makes me wonder if there will be another bathroom group photo again.

And now to the weather...

Whenever I have plans for a trip, I like to keep an eye on the weather. Not only does it help for deciding what clothes to pack, it helps with potential plans once I am there. Being 9 days out of Vegas (screw your 8 Drizz!), I took a gander at the what the forecast was for home and away.

First thing I saw was it is warmer in Milwaukee (46) than Las Vegas (31) as I type. Thankfully that will change. The shit hits the Midwest next week with lots of precipitation and ice. That ice is suppose to hit after I leaveon Thursday which is a good thing. The temps in Vegas look to be rather warm. 60s? I may wear shorts!

Like being heads up with A A vs K K, I am not expecting these numbers to hold up. They will change. It will get colder in Vegas. I am just hoping the bad weather can hold off at home.

Before I am done, let's give Poker Stars some love for the added money for next Saturday's tournament. Being the lazy person I am, I quickly grabbed a portion of the post at Up For Poker the other day and pasted it below. It looks like I missed something but it has the meat of the Stars giveaway, the bounties and Hammer Challenge.

Each bounty player will have a trinket that you will be responsible for recovering when you knock them out and it is your responsibility to bring your trinket to me to get credit. Once again, prize money for the OGH will be deposited into your PokerStars account.

What's that you ask again? There's even more?!?!?!?

Why, now that you've asked, there is!

Some of you out there might think the concept of the Hammer is a little played out. I mean, it used to be cool before it went all mainstream and pros like Phil Hellmuth and Antonio Esfandiari started dropping it on national TV (without giving any credit it to Grubby!), but I digress. It's ours and we're bringing it back!

The wonderful folks at PokerStars are putting up $500 for the Hammer Challenge. The first ten hammers shown for the win post-flop will receive $50 apiece. Again, those hammers must be shown post-flop. When you accomplish this feat, you'll need to stand up and yell, "Hammer" for confirmation from the floor and so I can record the feat. And, again, prize money for the HC will be deposited into your PokerStars account.

That's a total of $4500 in added prize money for the 2010 Winter Classic courtesy of our friends at PokerStars. Give them some love when you get a chance! And if you have any questions, let me know!

SnG action

I have played more poker over the last 7 days than I have in 6 months. And somehow its been a profitable week! But it wasn't without frustrations today.

I had the day off. I had some time at work to burn and I needed to take care of a plumbing issue in the apartment. That went smoothly, for once, giving me the afternoon to kill as I saw fit. Seeing that I have to be up early tomorrow going to the bar wasn't the best choice. So I played some poker instead.

As I said a week ago, I trying to shake the rust off. That entails playing some small $10 SnGs (1, 2, or 5 table tourneys) and a NL cash game (.25/.50). I like to stay small on the cash game as it lets me try some things out that I normally wouldn't do.

I signed up for a 45 runner $10 SnG and fired up a ring table. The cash game was not going well. Between not getting many good cards and a bad read, I went through a buyin quickly. I rebought and continued to play poorly. So bad that I decided to play very erratically when I dropped half of that. I started limping and then pushing on any raise with good hands. I was surprised how many people were pumping up the pot but then folding to a push that was about 4xs their bet. It wasn't like I was doing so with AA or KK. Mostly AJ or 88 or similar hands.

Funny thing was it worked well. I recouped a good chunk of my losses by making these very strange big raises. Strange as in it disrupted the flow of the table. Apparently no one knew what to do. Finally someone did call me down with A 10 but that was the one time I did have KK.

My SnG was a different story. I was trying to play my game. Be patient and wait for some good hands. Change if the table is being wussy. It worked well. I slowly moved to the top of the boards. At the break we had lost a third of the crowd and I was on top. The second session saw the same thing. I stayed at the top. I used my chips wisely and didn't get myself into any bad positions. I got my chips in when I had the best of it.

Once we got below 3 tables the players began to drop like flies. I had moved down a bit on the leaderboard. I was bouncing between 5 and 6. That was fine. I just didn't want to be at the bottom when the final table started.

We we at 12 when disaster struck. I lost my wifi. My Apple Airport goes out once in a while. Now was just a terrible time for it to happen. Major reason why is I don't know how to get it reconnected other than unplugging it. Though the signal shows as being strong, it just won't reconnect unless I unplug the Airport from the wall and reboot my MacBook Pro. It works but I am not certain that is the best thing to do. And it takes time.

This took a couple of minutes. I was able to get back into Full Tilt to see the final table had begun. I had lost about 2000 chips but wasn't in a world of hurt. Got those back but lost my wifi again! Damn! Went through the whole process again. This time I got back in and one player had been knocked out.

I am a bit worried now that I might go another couple hands and lose my connection again. To relax, I put on the new Robert Plant album. That seems to relax me. I am on a short stack so I start to push. I am happy that I have an aggressive player two to my right. He keeps raising with junk. Best of all, he is folding to the pushes. So I keep doing it to him. Push every time when I have an A or two big cards.

We lose a couple more people and are in the money. Interesting hand came up then. With 5 left, the guy on my right gets into it with aggro boy. Typical preflop action. Aggro boy raises to just over twice the BB. SB just calls. I fold. Flop is rags, 8 high. SB checks. Aggro bets. SB just calls. Turn is another 8. SB checks, Aggro bets, SB calls. River is a rag. SB goes all in. Aggro instacalls, showing 8 3 offsuit. SB doesn't show. Hand history shows he had A A. Talk about a trap gone bad.

I would soon get a big chunk of Aggro boy's chips. With just the four of us, he just calls from the SB. I check with K 5s. Flop is K 5 x rainbow. Nice. I decide to bet half the pot to see what he will do. If he calls, I know he won't fold. He does call. Turn is a rag. I think about betting half the pot again. But then I think about the cash game. If I through a strange bet out there, maybe I can get him to call. His sloppy play tells me there is a good chance he does. I push, which is a couple thousand more than the pot. He goes into the tank. I keep telling myself "please call, please call" as I know I have him beat. He takes the bait and calls, showing 9 9. He doesn't hit a two outer and I jump out on the chip lead.

Aggro boy soon busts out and we are down to 3. Guy on my left has been a tough player. The other guy appeared to be someone who was willing to step aside and let everyone else duke it out. He was always low on chips and was lucky to get that far into a higher payout. But now he dot somewhat aggressive and started raising quite a bit. I knew it would be a matter of time before I could get him. I started popping back with any good ace and he'd fold. Then I got him to go all the way with A 10 vs. my J J. No 3 outer and it is heads up.

I have a 5 to 1 chip lead. I think of the heads up match against the asshole from this past weekend and just hope I can not be unlucky. I don't. It takes about 8 hands for him to fall and I am the best of 45 runners.

Best of all I was happy with the way I played. Made enough to wipe out my cash losses too. It has me feeling optimistic about Vegas. Less than 3 weeks but who is counting.