"It just cannot be RIGHT!"
As I have posted in the past I am obsessed with Check N Raise Poker and getting my bonuses. My friend Mr. T informed me that he has been having luck on the NL $.05/$.10 tables and slowly working off his check points. Well I have been giving it a try and "It just cannot be right!"
I am beginning to think that there is a problem with their algorithm or I am simply destined to lose my entire bankroll at their site. Here are two examples:
I do not recall my position, but I have pocket 9s and I came in with a modest raise of $.30 (blinds are $.05/.10). I had two callers I believe. I flopped a set with 9Q6 rainbow. I bet $.60. I get one caller. I think the turn was a duece. I am pot committed at this point so I go all-in. The guy calls me and turns over 78o. You guessed it a ten comes on the river. There goes $4 more of my dwindling stack.
I quit playing only to be lured back in by the obsession a little while later. I pull out $4 more. I am in the BB with A40. The flop comes A4. I go all-in. Yes I get one caller, who again hits a straight on the river.
Man it just cannot be right!
Just thought I would blog a short blast. I am currenly playing $.25/.50 at Paradise. I can not get a starting hand to save my life.
Christmas Eve we did make it to midnight Mass. Our 5 year old then stayed up until 3:30 AM. At least Santa got to play some poker until he fell asleep. Santa finally got to bed around 4:45 AM. Christmas was good, but at some point the commercialism needs to come to a halt. It is not time to rant about that however.
Hopefully I will post again before 2005, but if not CHEERS!
Play on!
A Rock Garden is a poker table full of rocks. Rock is my favorite genre of music. Gardening is one of my favorite past times. You just might find comments on poker, politics, pansies, and Poi Dog Pondering! Welcome to the Rock Garden!
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Friday, December 24, 2004
"Lessons learned - NOT!"
OK after two trips to the crowded grocery store I am back and a bit more calmed down. Perhaps I will learn some lessons. The first is to turn off the feakin mouse pad so that when I am typing on this notebook I do not accidently do something I will regret. That is done! Second lesson is to always type your create words into another editor then copy and paste into Blogger. Unfortunately since our infamous hard drive crash I do not have Microsoft Office installed yet. But oh I will very soon.
Lets see if I can recapture my thoughts.
On December 17th I was invited to play poker at D's house. It was a $30 buy-in NL Holdem tournament with $30 in chips. The table was pretty quiet, so I started enjoying my Guinness (Iggy potion) and starting miscellaneous conversations. It was still an extremely quiet table. Mr. B did tell us about his father's X-mas present, which was a t-shirt with famous words - "But they were suited!". There are three hands that I can still vividly recall. By the way I had only played poker with 4 of the 16 players before, so I did not have previous tells to go by.
Pockets Jacks - I was the small blind with pocket hooks and I decided to just call the Big Blind. The flop comes 235. UTG I make a $2 raise (blinds were still .25/.50). I glance around the table and the guy directly across the street had a sparkle in his eye. He raised it up to $5. I knew he had just hit the wheel. Although it was extremely hard the hooks went into the muck! I was right he had A4o. He did manage to grab some callers and now he was the big stack. Lesson learned here is to pay attention to the "sparkle in the eye"!
Pocket Nines - After folding a zillion hands I found pocket 9s as the button. Everyone limps in! The flop was 544 and the player UTG (Dad - that means Under the Gun or first to bet) checks. Everyone checks around to me. I decide I had better isolate the good hands to I raise $5. The player UTG goes all-in. Hmmm! Did he flop a set or pocket Queens. I mucked my pair of nines. It was a good houdini move because he had flopped a boat. Yikes! A little later I gave him a new nickname. I started calling him the Slow Playing MFkr. Everyone got a chuckle out of the nickname.
Well I managed to get blinded away, limping in a couple of times, down to a large stack of $6. UTG I had A9s, so I went all-in. I thought I was eliminated, but caught the flush on the river. I noticed just in time before someone else raked the entire pot. The very next hand I caught another flush on the turn and raised all-in. I got one caller so I doubled up again. A few hands later I caught a third flush on the river to build up a healthy stack.
There were 7 of us left and they were paying the top four (4th got their money back). I was the button and I dealt myself AT. The player UTG raised it $20. I put him on AJ or AQ. The player to his left called then it was to me. I decided to call the $20, which was about half my stack. Board comes out with AJQ. I now have an inside straight draw and top pair with a low kicker. I felt I was pot committed so I moved all-in. The raiser goes over the top of me all-in for $110. The other player after much debate calls. We turn over our cards AJ, A9, and AT. My king does not arrive to save the day, so I am out 7th. It was a bummer, but if I pulled off that miracle hand I most likely would have won the tournament. I started calling the guy who won MFkr and everyone got another good laugh.
Unfortunately my "Obsession" will remain incomplete, but another lesson learned is when editing in Blogger save to draft often. Ready! Saved!
I believe my obsession story concluded something like this. I now have only $51 left in by Check N Raise Account. I am still chasing the bonus money and I need another 91 Check points to get $25. I am obsessed with winning that bonus money, but I am losing my entire bankroll in doing so. I should have just taken my $170 and started whoring other sites for sign up bonuses. Oh well perhaps in my next blog I will be writing that I am $100 + and on my way to getting all of my bonuses. The good news is that I did qualify for the $10,000 tournament on Sunday. Hopefully I have earned enough bachelor points to play in the 12:30 PM tournament.
Well I want to wish my family and friends a blessed and safe holiday. I would also like to wish anyone else ready this blog a blessed Holiday season and a profitable 2005. As usual I get a little Bah Humbug with all of the commercialism, but it is part of the season. I am pretty energetic in that I do not have to cook anything. My wife has made a beautiful chocolate cake and two pumpkin cheesecake pies. I just finished making the colored egg wash so she can cover the pies with autumn colored maple leaves. Perhaps I will post a picture!
Well before I lost the original post. I did manage to win $9 playing $.10/.20 Holdem at Paradise Poker. I owned the table. I got pocket Aces twice within 30 minutes. Man I like that algorithm!
Play on!
OK after two trips to the crowded grocery store I am back and a bit more calmed down. Perhaps I will learn some lessons. The first is to turn off the feakin mouse pad so that when I am typing on this notebook I do not accidently do something I will regret. That is done! Second lesson is to always type your create words into another editor then copy and paste into Blogger. Unfortunately since our infamous hard drive crash I do not have Microsoft Office installed yet. But oh I will very soon.
Lets see if I can recapture my thoughts.
On December 17th I was invited to play poker at D's house. It was a $30 buy-in NL Holdem tournament with $30 in chips. The table was pretty quiet, so I started enjoying my Guinness (Iggy potion) and starting miscellaneous conversations. It was still an extremely quiet table. Mr. B did tell us about his father's X-mas present, which was a t-shirt with famous words - "But they were suited!". There are three hands that I can still vividly recall. By the way I had only played poker with 4 of the 16 players before, so I did not have previous tells to go by.
Pockets Jacks - I was the small blind with pocket hooks and I decided to just call the Big Blind. The flop comes 235. UTG I make a $2 raise (blinds were still .25/.50). I glance around the table and the guy directly across the street had a sparkle in his eye. He raised it up to $5. I knew he had just hit the wheel. Although it was extremely hard the hooks went into the muck! I was right he had A4o. He did manage to grab some callers and now he was the big stack. Lesson learned here is to pay attention to the "sparkle in the eye"!
Pocket Nines - After folding a zillion hands I found pocket 9s as the button. Everyone limps in! The flop was 544 and the player UTG (Dad - that means Under the Gun or first to bet) checks. Everyone checks around to me. I decide I had better isolate the good hands to I raise $5. The player UTG goes all-in. Hmmm! Did he flop a set or pocket Queens. I mucked my pair of nines. It was a good houdini move because he had flopped a boat. Yikes! A little later I gave him a new nickname. I started calling him the Slow Playing MFkr. Everyone got a chuckle out of the nickname.
Well I managed to get blinded away, limping in a couple of times, down to a large stack of $6. UTG I had A9s, so I went all-in. I thought I was eliminated, but caught the flush on the river. I noticed just in time before someone else raked the entire pot. The very next hand I caught another flush on the turn and raised all-in. I got one caller so I doubled up again. A few hands later I caught a third flush on the river to build up a healthy stack.
There were 7 of us left and they were paying the top four (4th got their money back). I was the button and I dealt myself AT. The player UTG raised it $20. I put him on AJ or AQ. The player to his left called then it was to me. I decided to call the $20, which was about half my stack. Board comes out with AJQ. I now have an inside straight draw and top pair with a low kicker. I felt I was pot committed so I moved all-in. The raiser goes over the top of me all-in for $110. The other player after much debate calls. We turn over our cards AJ, A9, and AT. My king does not arrive to save the day, so I am out 7th. It was a bummer, but if I pulled off that miracle hand I most likely would have won the tournament. I started calling the guy who won MFkr and everyone got another good laugh.
Unfortunately my "Obsession" will remain incomplete, but another lesson learned is when editing in Blogger save to draft often. Ready! Saved!
I believe my obsession story concluded something like this. I now have only $51 left in by Check N Raise Account. I am still chasing the bonus money and I need another 91 Check points to get $25. I am obsessed with winning that bonus money, but I am losing my entire bankroll in doing so. I should have just taken my $170 and started whoring other sites for sign up bonuses. Oh well perhaps in my next blog I will be writing that I am $100 + and on my way to getting all of my bonuses. The good news is that I did qualify for the $10,000 tournament on Sunday. Hopefully I have earned enough bachelor points to play in the 12:30 PM tournament.
Well I want to wish my family and friends a blessed and safe holiday. I would also like to wish anyone else ready this blog a blessed Holiday season and a profitable 2005. As usual I get a little Bah Humbug with all of the commercialism, but it is part of the season. I am pretty energetic in that I do not have to cook anything. My wife has made a beautiful chocolate cake and two pumpkin cheesecake pies. I just finished making the colored egg wash so she can cover the pies with autumn colored maple leaves. Perhaps I will post a picture!
Well before I lost the original post. I did manage to win $9 playing $.10/.20 Holdem at Paradise Poker. I owned the table. I got pocket Aces twice within 30 minutes. Man I like that algorithm!
Play on!
"Obsession"
Obsession is not the fragrance sold at Foley's. What I am talking about today is my obsession with Check N Raise poker. I am obsessed with letting this site take my entire bankroll that I so craftily accumulated. I had accumulated through hard work and grinding about $170 at Dynamite poker. Well Check N Raise had promised these great bonuses for transferring to the new site. Well they offered me $106 in bonuses. I think I previously posted that I would have to play a zillion hands to see any of these bonuses. Well in order to expedite the bonuses I of course moved up to higher stakes. My logic was that people might play with more resolve and I could play premium hands and earn the bonus a bit faster. Well I have quickly been smacked into reality. People play just as crazily as a $.05/.10 game. Needless to say I have lost some huge hands on the river with premium hands, losing 70% of my bankroll. Oh wait! It is more than that because I actually received my first $25 of my bonus. Crap!
Here are a couple of example hands that have cost me $30 - $40 pots.
Sitting on the button with pocket eights! I limp in! The flop brings an AJ8. I start maximizing the betting and have two callers following along. The turn brings a King. One player folds and one caller who I think was the big blind or UTG. River brings a Q. Indeed the winning player was calling all my raises with T2o, hitting the straight. One of the players stated at the table "That is not right!" I could not have agreed more!
The other huge loss was when I flopped the nut flush of spades. A beautiful hand I must say. I am raising to the maximum again. One caller stays to the river. You got it! The board pairs giving him/her a BOAT! Oh the PAIN!
Oh I am so pissed off! I had typed a zillion elegant paragraphs highlight my poker adventures over the past couple of weeks only to have IE F&*^N lock up and lose all of my beautiful work. I will attempt to write those elegant words again as soon as I calm down. Oh I am pissed! Fortunately I saved a tiny portion.
Stay tuned
Obsession is not the fragrance sold at Foley's. What I am talking about today is my obsession with Check N Raise poker. I am obsessed with letting this site take my entire bankroll that I so craftily accumulated. I had accumulated through hard work and grinding about $170 at Dynamite poker. Well Check N Raise had promised these great bonuses for transferring to the new site. Well they offered me $106 in bonuses. I think I previously posted that I would have to play a zillion hands to see any of these bonuses. Well in order to expedite the bonuses I of course moved up to higher stakes. My logic was that people might play with more resolve and I could play premium hands and earn the bonus a bit faster. Well I have quickly been smacked into reality. People play just as crazily as a $.05/.10 game. Needless to say I have lost some huge hands on the river with premium hands, losing 70% of my bankroll. Oh wait! It is more than that because I actually received my first $25 of my bonus. Crap!
Here are a couple of example hands that have cost me $30 - $40 pots.
Sitting on the button with pocket eights! I limp in! The flop brings an AJ8. I start maximizing the betting and have two callers following along. The turn brings a King. One player folds and one caller who I think was the big blind or UTG. River brings a Q. Indeed the winning player was calling all my raises with T2o, hitting the straight. One of the players stated at the table "That is not right!" I could not have agreed more!
The other huge loss was when I flopped the nut flush of spades. A beautiful hand I must say. I am raising to the maximum again. One caller stays to the river. You got it! The board pairs giving him/her a BOAT! Oh the PAIN!
Oh I am so pissed off! I had typed a zillion elegant paragraphs highlight my poker adventures over the past couple of weeks only to have IE F&*^N lock up and lose all of my beautiful work. I will attempt to write those elegant words again as soon as I calm down. Oh I am pissed! Fortunately I saved a tiny portion.
Stay tuned
Monday, December 06, 2004
"Stars are misaligned"
There will not be much poker content in this post tonight although the over view of the Universe definitely applies to poker. Ever been on a losing streak?
Recently it seems as though the Stars are not quite aligned perfectly for our family. I posted awhile back about getting laid off and the elderly gentleman smashing into the side of our new car. Well it seems that we are now in round two.
A week ago the hard drive crashed on our new laptop. Of course it would not have been so bad if we had been doing routine back ups. Hey that is why we bought the external hard drive. I would not have been so bad except my better half had just downloaded all of our great Halloween pictures and more. Not to mention that all the indexes associated with the pictures on the external drive. We went as far as paying Best Buy $90 to attempt to recover the data. Oh wait we went even farther than that. I secured a copy of GetDataBack so that Best Buy could try to recover the data. A very trusted programmer assured me that it would work. Well Best Buy just called and stated that they could not get any data from the hard drive. Now it has to be shipped off to Toshiba for repair. Man that sucks! I requested they return the drive to me so that I can try myself to retrieve the information from the media. This was definitely a bad beat. When we get it back we had better set up automatic incremental back ups or my poker playing days are probably over!! I think there is a business potential here somewhere retrieving data. I am going to investigate further.
Prior to this the hard drive on my PC crashed. I believe the drive is under warranty, but it is in an HP and is nearly impossible to swap out. Hopefully Best Buy did not put in that hard to reach screw. This is minor compared to the laptop because I intentionally kept anythin important off that machine.
Now this evening came strike 3. On November 11, 2004 we bought a new 27 inch Phillips TV. I am watching one of my favorite shows, Las Vegas. :o) When all of a sudden I hear a loud pop. No more picture and perhaps no more TV. I unplugged it and plugged it back in. It comes on but the picture looks like a bunch of lines doing the hula. I managed to lower the monster to the floor and drag it into the garage with a blanket. I loaded it up in the van, so it can be taken to Best Buy. Hmmmmm! Perhaps I should buy stock in Best Buy or better yet just move into the store. My better half insisted on buying the service agreement. Ok she was right once again.
Enough whining, but I really think the stars are misaligned over our house!
Ok one more quick bitch about poker. I have been playing the new Check N Raise Poker site since it opened. The promised me all of these great bonuses. Well they did give me $106, however, if I calculated it correctly ( at the stakes I play), I am looking at playing over 7200 hands to obtain that bonus. I had to earn 400 CNR Credits to get my first $25 and 400 for each $25 thereafter. This is a total rip off! I probably would have been better off totally cashing out and joining other sites with sign up bonuses. Oh well! I like the people that moved from TNT poker to this site.
Play on!
There will not be much poker content in this post tonight although the over view of the Universe definitely applies to poker. Ever been on a losing streak?
Recently it seems as though the Stars are not quite aligned perfectly for our family. I posted awhile back about getting laid off and the elderly gentleman smashing into the side of our new car. Well it seems that we are now in round two.
A week ago the hard drive crashed on our new laptop. Of course it would not have been so bad if we had been doing routine back ups. Hey that is why we bought the external hard drive. I would not have been so bad except my better half had just downloaded all of our great Halloween pictures and more. Not to mention that all the indexes associated with the pictures on the external drive. We went as far as paying Best Buy $90 to attempt to recover the data. Oh wait we went even farther than that. I secured a copy of GetDataBack so that Best Buy could try to recover the data. A very trusted programmer assured me that it would work. Well Best Buy just called and stated that they could not get any data from the hard drive. Now it has to be shipped off to Toshiba for repair. Man that sucks! I requested they return the drive to me so that I can try myself to retrieve the information from the media. This was definitely a bad beat. When we get it back we had better set up automatic incremental back ups or my poker playing days are probably over!! I think there is a business potential here somewhere retrieving data. I am going to investigate further.
Prior to this the hard drive on my PC crashed. I believe the drive is under warranty, but it is in an HP and is nearly impossible to swap out. Hopefully Best Buy did not put in that hard to reach screw. This is minor compared to the laptop because I intentionally kept anythin important off that machine.
Now this evening came strike 3. On November 11, 2004 we bought a new 27 inch Phillips TV. I am watching one of my favorite shows, Las Vegas. :o) When all of a sudden I hear a loud pop. No more picture and perhaps no more TV. I unplugged it and plugged it back in. It comes on but the picture looks like a bunch of lines doing the hula. I managed to lower the monster to the floor and drag it into the garage with a blanket. I loaded it up in the van, so it can be taken to Best Buy. Hmmmmm! Perhaps I should buy stock in Best Buy or better yet just move into the store. My better half insisted on buying the service agreement. Ok she was right once again.
Enough whining, but I really think the stars are misaligned over our house!
Ok one more quick bitch about poker. I have been playing the new Check N Raise Poker site since it opened. The promised me all of these great bonuses. Well they did give me $106, however, if I calculated it correctly ( at the stakes I play), I am looking at playing over 7200 hands to obtain that bonus. I had to earn 400 CNR Credits to get my first $25 and 400 for each $25 thereafter. This is a total rip off! I probably would have been better off totally cashing out and joining other sites with sign up bonuses. Oh well! I like the people that moved from TNT poker to this site.
Play on!
Friday, November 26, 2004
"We Three Poker Tournies"
We returned a little while ago from Elgin Texas where we took a hay ride and cut down our own Christmas tree. Afterwards we made a pit stop to Meyer's BBQ. The whole event puts you in the Christmas spirit. Historically we have always put up a huge artificial tree, but this season we decided it was to big. I still need to put lights on the tree, but we will save that for another story. Most of our decorations are up with the tree and outdoor lighting left to do. I think this is the earliest we have gotten started on getting decorated for Christmas.
Now on to the important stuff!
Last Sunday I played in a Razz tournament in the backroom of a liquor store. The Guinness was cold! He-he! There were 8 players. I had never played Razz before, so if promised to be fun. Early on I had a wheel on the turn. I was betting the heck out of it. Well what happens is the person calling me also had a wheel. What a waste of a goof hand. I think I was only involved in two other major hands. I won a huge pot with the nuts with a 75 low. My opponent had 76 as the best hand he could make. He had it, but I was one better. The great part was that I caught my nut low on the river. Well the real frustrating part was that when the blinds got up to where they were meaningful it seemed like every hand I had to bring it in with a King. That will churn through your stack quickly. Long and short of it is that I thought I played by the book, but I was knocked out when I was drawing on the river to get a 7 low. I think I had about 9 outs. I hit a 7, which gave me a pocket pair and left me with a ten low. I was pot committed so I pushed it in and lost to a nine low. Needless to say I was out 6th.
Tourny Two was on Paradise Poker. Action has been a little boring on the net, so I jumped into a Sit N Go of Stud H/L. I played conservatively and ended up in the top three. I was the chip lead for a while then the hand that killed me came. I had a King high flush, so I was betting like crazy and it put me all-in. There was no one showing a low hand, so I thought I was about to take a huge chip lead. ooops! Think again, because my opponent had an ace high flush. Out in third place, but in the money!
Tourny three took place on Thanksgiving night. I ate way way to much and I also started drinking at 8:00 AM. I smoked two boneless turkey breasts that turned out great! My better half made a delicious sweet potato/apple cobbler with a bourbon sauce. Our friends came over bringing delicious mashed potatoes containing sour cream, cream cheese and nutmeg. The also brought a cranberry sausage stuffing and a spinach casserole. Man every thing was fabulous. The wine they brought was called Menage a Trios. Yes it is an interesting name for a wine. it went extremely well with the the smoked turkey. Here is how the label read -
"Discover the excitement of our Menage a' Trois. Expand your horizon with the stunning delectable wine. Soft floral aroma and gentle caressing fruit flavors leave you wishing for more. 2003 and was 46% Chardonnay, 38%, Muscat Canelli, and 16% Chenin Blanc. Bottled by Folie A Deux Winery in Napa Valley."
We returned a little while ago from Elgin Texas where we took a hay ride and cut down our own Christmas tree. Afterwards we made a pit stop to Meyer's BBQ. The whole event puts you in the Christmas spirit. Historically we have always put up a huge artificial tree, but this season we decided it was to big. I still need to put lights on the tree, but we will save that for another story. Most of our decorations are up with the tree and outdoor lighting left to do. I think this is the earliest we have gotten started on getting decorated for Christmas.
Now on to the important stuff!
Last Sunday I played in a Razz tournament in the backroom of a liquor store. The Guinness was cold! He-he! There were 8 players. I had never played Razz before, so if promised to be fun. Early on I had a wheel on the turn. I was betting the heck out of it. Well what happens is the person calling me also had a wheel. What a waste of a goof hand. I think I was only involved in two other major hands. I won a huge pot with the nuts with a 75 low. My opponent had 76 as the best hand he could make. He had it, but I was one better. The great part was that I caught my nut low on the river. Well the real frustrating part was that when the blinds got up to where they were meaningful it seemed like every hand I had to bring it in with a King. That will churn through your stack quickly. Long and short of it is that I thought I played by the book, but I was knocked out when I was drawing on the river to get a 7 low. I think I had about 9 outs. I hit a 7, which gave me a pocket pair and left me with a ten low. I was pot committed so I pushed it in and lost to a nine low. Needless to say I was out 6th.
Tourny Two was on Paradise Poker. Action has been a little boring on the net, so I jumped into a Sit N Go of Stud H/L. I played conservatively and ended up in the top three. I was the chip lead for a while then the hand that killed me came. I had a King high flush, so I was betting like crazy and it put me all-in. There was no one showing a low hand, so I thought I was about to take a huge chip lead. ooops! Think again, because my opponent had an ace high flush. Out in third place, but in the money!
Tourny three took place on Thanksgiving night. I ate way way to much and I also started drinking at 8:00 AM. I smoked two boneless turkey breasts that turned out great! My better half made a delicious sweet potato/apple cobbler with a bourbon sauce. Our friends came over bringing delicious mashed potatoes containing sour cream, cream cheese and nutmeg. The also brought a cranberry sausage stuffing and a spinach casserole. Man every thing was fabulous. The wine they brought was called Menage a Trios. Yes it is an interesting name for a wine. it went extremely well with the the smoked turkey. Here is how the label read -
"Discover the excitement of our Menage a' Trois. Expand your horizon with the stunning delectable wine. Soft floral aroma and gentle caressing fruit flavors leave you wishing for more. 2003 and was 46% Chardonnay, 38%, Muscat Canelli, and 16% Chenin Blanc. Bottled by Folie A Deux Winery in Napa Valley."
Excellent wine with an interesting name!!
Oops I digressed from the tournament. I did not make it to the main $30 buy-in tournament at 9:00 PM. I managed to show up around 10:30 PM. I helped deal the main table for awhile. Then they got a cash game going dealers choice. I had only $20 to my name. I got down to $8 at one point. The played crazy games like Mexican sweat and guts. In guts it was match the pot and you had to beat a "widow hand" (one game the widow got 3 cards to our 2 - totally sucked). I was dealt AJ and I folded it. it was a good thing because that "widow" hand had AQ. I managed to win a few hands and I teetered around my original $20. The final hand of the cash game was 7 stud. The pot was huge. I knew Mr. T had a flush. I was drawing to the nut flush. I looked around and saw very few diamonds on the board. I had to gamble and see if I could nail the flush on the river. I did! Wahoo I won $20. At around 12:30 AM they started another NL Holdem tournament and I bought in for the $20. I played my normal conservative yet aggressive game. Twice however "Big slick" got me into trouble and I had to let it go. Everyone started with $100 in chips and there were 8 players. I got down to $27. I was essentially forced to go All-in when I was in the Big Blind. I doubled up. I managed to slowly but surely put the pressure on and gather chips. The one hand I was not involved in I have to share. Mr. D is going to be cursing about this one for a long time. Mr. D had pocket tens. Flop came KJ9. The turn lands a beautiful Queen. Mr. D goes all-in. He gets one caller. Mr. D turns over his straight. The caller turns over A9. The river brings a ten. Mr. D was ready to rake the pot, then he goes oh no we split it. Then the realization hits that the caller had an ace high straight. Mr. D is a little angry to save the least. The tourny pays only the final two. I managed to play extremely conservatively and pushed a couple of hands when I knew I had the better of it. Well I made it to the final two. I am happy, but of course I wanted to win the big prize. The cards dried up and I had to fold the BB at least twice. I was down to my final $115 and the BB was $40. I put in the BB and I had T7. Arghhh! I got to see the flop for free and it came QJ9. I go all-in with the open ended straight draw. My enemy calls! Sigh! He turns over T5. I am like yes I got him. Rag on the turn. I am about to win a HUGE pot and a shot at the $120. River brings a FIVE. I am out as number 2 and I win $40.
It was a great turkey day! We missed our friends and family, but we had fun! I am looking forward to smoking more turkeys and I think there should be a poker game every Thanksgiving!
PLAY ON!
Friday, November 12, 2004
"Lyrics"
I was attempting to finish up painting a formal living room today. I heard an inspiring song by Big and Rich. I thought I would share.
"Holy Water"
Somewhere there's a stolen halo
I use to watch her wear it well
Everything would shine wherever she would go
But looking at her now you'd never tell
Someone ran away with her innocence
A memory she can't get out of her head
I can only imagine what she's feeling
When she's praying
Kneeling at the edge of her bed
And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water
Holy water
She wants someone to call her angel
Someone to put the light back in her eyes
She's looking through the faces
The unfamiliar places
She needs someone to hear her when she crys
And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water
Holy water
She just needs a little help
To wash away the pain she's felt
She wants to feel the healing hands
Of someone who understands
And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me
And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water
Holy water
Painting is hard work, but there is a great deal of satisfaction upon completion. I am losing my shirt at poker tonight. I am watching one of my all time favorite movies "Braveheart". I should be in bed, but is my last weekend of freedom. I start my new job on Monday. I am nervous yet excited. Who knows what awaits! I plan on playing in the midnight tournament on dynamite poker.
Play on!
I was attempting to finish up painting a formal living room today. I heard an inspiring song by Big and Rich. I thought I would share.
"Holy Water"
Somewhere there's a stolen halo
I use to watch her wear it well
Everything would shine wherever she would go
But looking at her now you'd never tell
Someone ran away with her innocence
A memory she can't get out of her head
I can only imagine what she's feeling
When she's praying
Kneeling at the edge of her bed
And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water
Holy water
She wants someone to call her angel
Someone to put the light back in her eyes
She's looking through the faces
The unfamiliar places
She needs someone to hear her when she crys
And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water
Holy water
She just needs a little help
To wash away the pain she's felt
She wants to feel the healing hands
Of someone who understands
And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me
And she says take me away
And take me farther
Surround me now
And hold, hold, hold me like holy water
Holy water
Painting is hard work, but there is a great deal of satisfaction upon completion. I am losing my shirt at poker tonight. I am watching one of my all time favorite movies "Braveheart". I should be in bed, but is my last weekend of freedom. I start my new job on Monday. I am nervous yet excited. Who knows what awaits! I plan on playing in the midnight tournament on dynamite poker.
Play on!
Thursday, November 11, 2004
"Public Morals, huh?"
I read this on the Drudge Report today.
USA To Appeal World Trade Organization's Internet Gambling DecisionThu Nov 11 2004 10:00:25 ET
The Bush administration dismissed as 'deeply flawed' a World Trade Organization decision that the US has no right to ban cross-border gambling on the Internet. The WTO ruling, publicly released yesterday, favored Antigua and Barbuda in its fight against the US over a 43-year-old law that bans gambling payments across state lines. The WALL STREET JOURNAL reported in Thursday editions: The US immediately said it would appeal the decision, and a senior US trade official said the administration "fundamentally rejects" an assertion within the WTO ruling that countries don't have an explicit right to limit services affecting public morals. US trade officials were "particularly alarmed over parts of the WTO ruling that asserted that member states had to consult with other countries before modifying laws that affect public morals."
Yes I lose frequently with AK, but to lose internet poker to a government dictating morality is greatly flawed! Another enormous flaw is that the US Government does not open its eyes to a great source of revenue. Online gambling should be hosted within the US and a result become a taxable entity. Not that I want to be taxed anymore, but there is an enormous amount of cash flowing into places such as Aruba or Costa Rica. More closely to home the great state of Texas needs to wake up and small the roses. An enormous amount of cash flows from Texas to Nevada, Mississippi and Louisiana, because Texans can not gamble in Texas. Handy way to solve some of our school finance problems. I can find a local tournament or game in Austin Texas seven days a week. The basic fact is that people like to play poker! Gambling is everywhere. Heck driving your car in Texas is gambling! Oh wait, so is putting your money into the stock market!
The real question is whether or not gambling is immoral. I would argue that it is not. It is a form of entertainment. It is a stress reliever. Poker specifically is a game of astute skill. How a person chooses to spend their money is a constitutional right. If I want to spend $5 daily on a double mocha latte or a cold beer is my choice. If I want to spend $5 playing $.05/.10 poker online it is my choice.
Yes gambling can be addictive and has caused the demise of many good folks. However, there are other devices that end up with the same result; drugs, alcohol, sex, and yes even devotion to ones religion . Addictive personalities is a character flaw that is not inherent to poker, smoking, drinking or any other vice you can think of.
The United States can not dictate how other countries can chose to generate revenue. Nor should the government be able to dictate to me how I can communicate and associate with other countries. I have met a ton of wonderful people from all over the world through playing online poker. The internet has greatly expanded the social boundaries to which we can communicate.
Our government should focus on the tasks at hand.
* Protect us
* Be fiscally responsible with our money
* Become more efficient and reduce its size
* Allow technology to create a safe environment
Morality is the last place the government should be legislating. That is up to the people and their communities. I think the US needs to get slapped around a little bit more by the WTO. Give up the fight against online gambling and focus your energies on the important matters at hand.
I would like to have the right to continue losing my money when I hold AK suited.
There is a little rant. I would like to add one more thing. Iggy if you are checking in, it totally sucks that someone hijacked your site. Best wishes on your new career!!
Cheers!
I read this on the Drudge Report today.
USA To Appeal World Trade Organization's Internet Gambling DecisionThu Nov 11 2004 10:00:25 ET
The Bush administration dismissed as 'deeply flawed' a World Trade Organization decision that the US has no right to ban cross-border gambling on the Internet. The WTO ruling, publicly released yesterday, favored Antigua and Barbuda in its fight against the US over a 43-year-old law that bans gambling payments across state lines. The WALL STREET JOURNAL reported in Thursday editions: The US immediately said it would appeal the decision, and a senior US trade official said the administration "fundamentally rejects" an assertion within the WTO ruling that countries don't have an explicit right to limit services affecting public morals. US trade officials were "particularly alarmed over parts of the WTO ruling that asserted that member states had to consult with other countries before modifying laws that affect public morals."
Yes I lose frequently with AK, but to lose internet poker to a government dictating morality is greatly flawed! Another enormous flaw is that the US Government does not open its eyes to a great source of revenue. Online gambling should be hosted within the US and a result become a taxable entity. Not that I want to be taxed anymore, but there is an enormous amount of cash flowing into places such as Aruba or Costa Rica. More closely to home the great state of Texas needs to wake up and small the roses. An enormous amount of cash flows from Texas to Nevada, Mississippi and Louisiana, because Texans can not gamble in Texas. Handy way to solve some of our school finance problems. I can find a local tournament or game in Austin Texas seven days a week. The basic fact is that people like to play poker! Gambling is everywhere. Heck driving your car in Texas is gambling! Oh wait, so is putting your money into the stock market!
The real question is whether or not gambling is immoral. I would argue that it is not. It is a form of entertainment. It is a stress reliever. Poker specifically is a game of astute skill. How a person chooses to spend their money is a constitutional right. If I want to spend $5 daily on a double mocha latte or a cold beer is my choice. If I want to spend $5 playing $.05/.10 poker online it is my choice.
Yes gambling can be addictive and has caused the demise of many good folks. However, there are other devices that end up with the same result; drugs, alcohol, sex, and yes even devotion to ones religion . Addictive personalities is a character flaw that is not inherent to poker, smoking, drinking or any other vice you can think of.
The United States can not dictate how other countries can chose to generate revenue. Nor should the government be able to dictate to me how I can communicate and associate with other countries. I have met a ton of wonderful people from all over the world through playing online poker. The internet has greatly expanded the social boundaries to which we can communicate.
Our government should focus on the tasks at hand.
* Protect us
* Be fiscally responsible with our money
* Become more efficient and reduce its size
* Allow technology to create a safe environment
Morality is the last place the government should be legislating. That is up to the people and their communities. I think the US needs to get slapped around a little bit more by the WTO. Give up the fight against online gambling and focus your energies on the important matters at hand.
I would like to have the right to continue losing my money when I hold AK suited.
There is a little rant. I would like to add one more thing. Iggy if you are checking in, it totally sucks that someone hijacked your site. Best wishes on your new career!!
Cheers!
Sunday, November 07, 2004
"Go Horns"
What a night! I was invited to go to the Horns game by fellow poker player Bombe Atomique. We met at his shop then went to the Dog & Duck pub for Guinness and grub. After a great burger and a couple of imperial pints we were ready for the big game against OSU. OSU scores and Texas responds to tie it at 7-7. Next thing we know OSU is leading 35-7. BA is ready to go home just before half time, but the Horns scored with 3 seconds left on the clock. We commented that they need to score there first possession and the Defense needed to hold the Cowboys. It happened like clock work. Horns scored 42 unanswered points.
A huge thanks to Bombe for allowing me to see the greatest comeback in Longhorn history. Wow that place got loud the second half. After the game it was back to the Dog & Duck for more Guinness.
We talked about my play with Big Slick last night. He agreed with my move although I am still on tilt for not making it into the money. I just won a whopping $3 at Paradise playing $2 buy-in NL Holdem. I am about to play ina free roll at dynamite. Who knows how long I will last but here we go.
Oh yeah on the way home from the game KLBJ played a 21 minute version of A whole lot of Love by LZ. That rocked! Almost as good as our 5 year old singing the AC/DC song TNT.
Rock on an play stong!
What a night! I was invited to go to the Horns game by fellow poker player Bombe Atomique. We met at his shop then went to the Dog & Duck pub for Guinness and grub. After a great burger and a couple of imperial pints we were ready for the big game against OSU. OSU scores and Texas responds to tie it at 7-7. Next thing we know OSU is leading 35-7. BA is ready to go home just before half time, but the Horns scored with 3 seconds left on the clock. We commented that they need to score there first possession and the Defense needed to hold the Cowboys. It happened like clock work. Horns scored 42 unanswered points.
A huge thanks to Bombe for allowing me to see the greatest comeback in Longhorn history. Wow that place got loud the second half. After the game it was back to the Dog & Duck for more Guinness.
We talked about my play with Big Slick last night. He agreed with my move although I am still on tilt for not making it into the money. I just won a whopping $3 at Paradise playing $2 buy-in NL Holdem. I am about to play ina free roll at dynamite. Who knows how long I will last but here we go.
Oh yeah on the way home from the game KLBJ played a 21 minute version of A whole lot of Love by LZ. That rocked! Almost as good as our 5 year old singing the AC/DC song TNT.
Rock on an play stong!
Saturday, November 06, 2004
"Oh the luck"
I just returned from a poker tournament. I am beating myself up inside. I finished on the bubble again! Four players left and they pay the top 3. I believe I was the small blind $8/16. Two players to my right folded. I look at my cards and see AK s. I believe I was third in chips. I go all-in! The big blind calls me with AJo for $122. Of course a Jack hits on the flop and I am out 4th. Should I have just called the BB and seen the flop cheaply? Damn I needed the money. The guy that called me an hour early was down to $12. He ended up chopping top two places with a first time player.
I played almost flawlessly up until that hand. On one hand two players were knocked out. I won a small side pot with pair of Kings, but the third person who was all in hit a set of twos on the flop. That put a dent of about $50 into my chips. I was the chip lead at the final table, then to end up with zilch is totally depressing.
I am still trying to figure out what the odds were in that hand AKs -vs AJo pre-flop. I may have to ask the internet gurus. It seems like I was a 6-1 favorite, but I really have not a clue. I need to learn how to quickly calculate odds.
Despite being totally pissed at myself, the good news is that I landed a job. I start on 11/15. Yeah!
Oh why do I let a poker hand get me so worked up. Hopefully I can get to sleep soon! I am going to the Texas - vs- OSU game tomorrow. It should be awesome.
Play on!
I just returned from a poker tournament. I am beating myself up inside. I finished on the bubble again! Four players left and they pay the top 3. I believe I was the small blind $8/16. Two players to my right folded. I look at my cards and see AK s. I believe I was third in chips. I go all-in! The big blind calls me with AJo for $122. Of course a Jack hits on the flop and I am out 4th. Should I have just called the BB and seen the flop cheaply? Damn I needed the money. The guy that called me an hour early was down to $12. He ended up chopping top two places with a first time player.
I played almost flawlessly up until that hand. On one hand two players were knocked out. I won a small side pot with pair of Kings, but the third person who was all in hit a set of twos on the flop. That put a dent of about $50 into my chips. I was the chip lead at the final table, then to end up with zilch is totally depressing.
I am still trying to figure out what the odds were in that hand AKs -vs AJo pre-flop. I may have to ask the internet gurus. It seems like I was a 6-1 favorite, but I really have not a clue. I need to learn how to quickly calculate odds.
Despite being totally pissed at myself, the good news is that I landed a job. I start on 11/15. Yeah!
Oh why do I let a poker hand get me so worked up. Hopefully I can get to sleep soon! I am going to the Texas - vs- OSU game tomorrow. It should be awesome.
Play on!
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
"Bubble Boy Again?"
Last night I was playing in a NL Holdem tournament on Dynamite Poker. The top 10 got tournament points and the top 5 are in the money. We were down to 11 players and I had about $2K and the chip lead around $13K. I am in the 3 spot when I am dealt KQs. I called the big blind for $300. Flop brings KQ6 all clubs. I knew it was a risk, but I go all-in. The chip lead of course calls me. A fourth club hits the board and the chip lead of course had a club. Bubble boy once again! I thought I played this correctly, but I am second guessing myself. If anyone has an thoughts it would be greatly appreciated.
I am still unemployed. I have been waiting for an offer from a company for 5 weeks. They keep calling me to assure me that the offer is pending. Man I hope I get a Fed. Ex. package today. As much as I love playing poker I could never become a professional. Well if I happened into a huge bankroll, perhaps! :o) I keep getting invited to local games, but I do not have the bankroll to risk. If I play my cards right I will be playing in a $25 NL tournament this Friday. I have a feeling though my wife is really going to push the issue, because I am also planning on attending the Longhorn - vs OSU game Saturday night. I may have to make a tough choice. OSU played OU tough this weekend and I believe this game will determine the Horns post season.
Go Horns!
Last night I was playing in a NL Holdem tournament on Dynamite Poker. The top 10 got tournament points and the top 5 are in the money. We were down to 11 players and I had about $2K and the chip lead around $13K. I am in the 3 spot when I am dealt KQs. I called the big blind for $300. Flop brings KQ6 all clubs. I knew it was a risk, but I go all-in. The chip lead of course calls me. A fourth club hits the board and the chip lead of course had a club. Bubble boy once again! I thought I played this correctly, but I am second guessing myself. If anyone has an thoughts it would be greatly appreciated.
I am still unemployed. I have been waiting for an offer from a company for 5 weeks. They keep calling me to assure me that the offer is pending. Man I hope I get a Fed. Ex. package today. As much as I love playing poker I could never become a professional. Well if I happened into a huge bankroll, perhaps! :o) I keep getting invited to local games, but I do not have the bankroll to risk. If I play my cards right I will be playing in a $25 NL tournament this Friday. I have a feeling though my wife is really going to push the issue, because I am also planning on attending the Longhorn - vs OSU game Saturday night. I may have to make a tough choice. OSU played OU tough this weekend and I believe this game will determine the Horns post season.
Go Horns!
Sunday, October 24, 2004
"Life is Poker"
I find it amazing the similarities between life and poker. When bad beats happen they tend to happen in a wave. The key thing is how you handle the bad beats. I think one of the reasons I have survived online poker is my approach to those negative runs of cards. I just continue to move forward one hand at a time. I have had two huge negative runs on PartyPoker, but I also had some positive ones. My wife on the other hand would not be a good poker player. Bad beats are cumulative in her mind. Every single bad beat adds to the next until the volcano erupts. We have had a series of bad beats recently.
9/20 I lost my job!
10/19 Our AC went out and the weather was in the 95 degree range ($450).
10/20 The van breaks down, needing alternator and battery ($500)
10/22 An elderly gentleman backed up twice into the side of our 2002 Honda Accord ($2500+)
It was a good thing that I happened to also be at Sonic when this happened. My wife was speechless and angry. I dealt with the situation, but now we wait to see what hand we were dealt. I hope it is a winning hand. Unfortunately we do have some compassion for the elderly gentleman and we are not sure how the hand will be played.
Speaking of hands, I played in a nice tournament yesterday. I must say the Alpha Omicron chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha did a fantastic job running the tournament. I played fairly well and made it to the final table. The tournament was paying the top five. My chip stack was probably third from the bottom.
A side note is that I had the pleasure of playing with Matt Dean, the 7th place finisher in this years WSOP. He definitely made the game fun! Great personality and an absolute pleasure to play with. I also want to note that anytime someone was eliminated they left the tournament with a huge round of applause. Super job!
Now to quickly get to my demise. Hind sight I should have never made this play, but my rationale was that I simply was not getting any cards. Blinds were $150/$300 and my stack was around $2K. You can only muck so may two's, sevens, three's, and nines. I knew I had to make a move and many of the players folded on any bold move. I was under the gun with KQ off suit. I went all in! Everyone folded but one player. He thought for a long long time then called me. He turned over pocket Jacks. I still had a reasonable coin toss, but my paint card never materialized. I was knocked out 8th or 9th. The move haunted me all evening. Perhaps if I just played conservatively I could have made it to the money. My objective however was to win!! By the way it was Matt's brother who called me with JJ. Later that evening I read a post online were Matt stated he had to go All-in a couple of times during the WSOP with pocket Jacks and his hand held up several times. Makes sense his brother would also prevail. Hee Hee!
Again super job to the Pikes! I played a ton of dealers choice back in my day at the University, so it was great to play again. I was the only old timer at the final table, so perhaps that is a victory all by itself. I had a fantastic time. I also completely enjoyed seeing folks that I had not seen in 20 years and also meeting new folks. Last time I went to the Pike house I felt unwelcomed, but this time I felt right at home. Thanks!
Congratulations to Matt Dean! He is definitely a class act! Perhaps some day I too will experience the gut wrenching struggle of competing in the WSOP.
Play on says "Crazy" Carl!
I find it amazing the similarities between life and poker. When bad beats happen they tend to happen in a wave. The key thing is how you handle the bad beats. I think one of the reasons I have survived online poker is my approach to those negative runs of cards. I just continue to move forward one hand at a time. I have had two huge negative runs on PartyPoker, but I also had some positive ones. My wife on the other hand would not be a good poker player. Bad beats are cumulative in her mind. Every single bad beat adds to the next until the volcano erupts. We have had a series of bad beats recently.
9/20 I lost my job!
10/19 Our AC went out and the weather was in the 95 degree range ($450).
10/20 The van breaks down, needing alternator and battery ($500)
10/22 An elderly gentleman backed up twice into the side of our 2002 Honda Accord ($2500+)
It was a good thing that I happened to also be at Sonic when this happened. My wife was speechless and angry. I dealt with the situation, but now we wait to see what hand we were dealt. I hope it is a winning hand. Unfortunately we do have some compassion for the elderly gentleman and we are not sure how the hand will be played.
Speaking of hands, I played in a nice tournament yesterday. I must say the Alpha Omicron chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha did a fantastic job running the tournament. I played fairly well and made it to the final table. The tournament was paying the top five. My chip stack was probably third from the bottom.
A side note is that I had the pleasure of playing with Matt Dean, the 7th place finisher in this years WSOP. He definitely made the game fun! Great personality and an absolute pleasure to play with. I also want to note that anytime someone was eliminated they left the tournament with a huge round of applause. Super job!
Now to quickly get to my demise. Hind sight I should have never made this play, but my rationale was that I simply was not getting any cards. Blinds were $150/$300 and my stack was around $2K. You can only muck so may two's, sevens, three's, and nines. I knew I had to make a move and many of the players folded on any bold move. I was under the gun with KQ off suit. I went all in! Everyone folded but one player. He thought for a long long time then called me. He turned over pocket Jacks. I still had a reasonable coin toss, but my paint card never materialized. I was knocked out 8th or 9th. The move haunted me all evening. Perhaps if I just played conservatively I could have made it to the money. My objective however was to win!! By the way it was Matt's brother who called me with JJ. Later that evening I read a post online were Matt stated he had to go All-in a couple of times during the WSOP with pocket Jacks and his hand held up several times. Makes sense his brother would also prevail. Hee Hee!
Again super job to the Pikes! I played a ton of dealers choice back in my day at the University, so it was great to play again. I was the only old timer at the final table, so perhaps that is a victory all by itself. I had a fantastic time. I also completely enjoyed seeing folks that I had not seen in 20 years and also meeting new folks. Last time I went to the Pike house I felt unwelcomed, but this time I felt right at home. Thanks!
Congratulations to Matt Dean! He is definitely a class act! Perhaps some day I too will experience the gut wrenching struggle of competing in the WSOP.
Play on says "Crazy" Carl!
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
"Coaching errors!"
Watching my favorite baseball team in the playoffs and I must comment. Backe was pitching a super game. They pull him and bring in Qualls to pitch to Rolen. I started jumping up and down and cursing it as a bad coaching error. I was right! Now the Astros are losing 7-4. Backe owned Rolen early in the game and Astro bullpen lost two key games against the Braves. I am not giving up, but these coaches need to get their act together! Take a chance on a young enthusiastic pitcher. My money was on Backe to take Rolen down and get out of the inning. We will never know.
Speaking of money I am still unemployeed. Seems like I should be writing every day, but I have a long list of chores I would like to accomplish while I can. I primed the garage today and will paint it tomorrow.
I did watch about 30 seconds of the debate. My only comment is that two candidates said the same exact BS as they stated in the first two debates. Boring! Lets really talk about the issues!
One poker tidbit! I learned a valuable lesson today at Dynamite. They give $100 to the highest holdem hand of the day. I was playing a .25/.50 holdem game. I got a Royal Flush. I bet .50! Everyone folded, so the hand did not count as the high hand of the day. Figures! Next time I am going to check! My luck I am sure there was another reason the hand may not have qualified. I am sure that is my only Royal for 2004!
Play on!
Watching my favorite baseball team in the playoffs and I must comment. Backe was pitching a super game. They pull him and bring in Qualls to pitch to Rolen. I started jumping up and down and cursing it as a bad coaching error. I was right! Now the Astros are losing 7-4. Backe owned Rolen early in the game and Astro bullpen lost two key games against the Braves. I am not giving up, but these coaches need to get their act together! Take a chance on a young enthusiastic pitcher. My money was on Backe to take Rolen down and get out of the inning. We will never know.
Speaking of money I am still unemployeed. Seems like I should be writing every day, but I have a long list of chores I would like to accomplish while I can. I primed the garage today and will paint it tomorrow.
I did watch about 30 seconds of the debate. My only comment is that two candidates said the same exact BS as they stated in the first two debates. Boring! Lets really talk about the issues!
One poker tidbit! I learned a valuable lesson today at Dynamite. They give $100 to the highest holdem hand of the day. I was playing a .25/.50 holdem game. I got a Royal Flush. I bet .50! Everyone folded, so the hand did not count as the high hand of the day. Figures! Next time I am going to check! My luck I am sure there was another reason the hand may not have qualified. I am sure that is my only Royal for 2004!
Play on!
Monday, October 04, 2004
"The Big Gamble Fails Again!"
For the past 4 years I have been playing the big gamble. The gamble is working for a start-up software company in hopes of making those stock options pay off big. Well on 9/20 the big gamble failed again! The CEO calls a meeting and tells everyone that the company is being sold, so here is your two weeks severance. Wahooooieee! Sweat equity results in a grand total of 2 weeks severance. Now the big question is do I gamble again? I think working for a start-up software company is like hoping for the inside straight draw on the river.
Speaking of poker I was in a $1/2 game yesterday. I got pocket Kings early and pressed the betting to the max. The board showed three fours. You guessed it! At the show down the "A" man turned over pocket aces. I lost most of my $40 buy in in one smooth smack. I hung in there until the host decided to switch to a round of no limit holdem. I had AQo. The board flops an Ace, but three hearts. I bet $10, which was half my stack. I get called by the "D" man. The turn is the king of hearts. I have to take a peek at my hole cards. I beg - Please be the Queen of hearts!! Sure enough it is, so I have the nut flush. I go all-in. "D" man calls my $11 wager. Yes! Rags to riches story! I had been down as low as $8. I ended up leaving an hour late to the ire of the Mrs.. I did profit a grand total of $12 after paying for my Guinnesses!
Thanks to Wiggy for hosting and providing the delicious venison sausage and fajitas! This week I will have to make the decision once again on the big gamble. Tough one when you do not have a read!
Play on!
For the past 4 years I have been playing the big gamble. The gamble is working for a start-up software company in hopes of making those stock options pay off big. Well on 9/20 the big gamble failed again! The CEO calls a meeting and tells everyone that the company is being sold, so here is your two weeks severance. Wahooooieee! Sweat equity results in a grand total of 2 weeks severance. Now the big question is do I gamble again? I think working for a start-up software company is like hoping for the inside straight draw on the river.
Speaking of poker I was in a $1/2 game yesterday. I got pocket Kings early and pressed the betting to the max. The board showed three fours. You guessed it! At the show down the "A" man turned over pocket aces. I lost most of my $40 buy in in one smooth smack. I hung in there until the host decided to switch to a round of no limit holdem. I had AQo. The board flops an Ace, but three hearts. I bet $10, which was half my stack. I get called by the "D" man. The turn is the king of hearts. I have to take a peek at my hole cards. I beg - Please be the Queen of hearts!! Sure enough it is, so I have the nut flush. I go all-in. "D" man calls my $11 wager. Yes! Rags to riches story! I had been down as low as $8. I ended up leaving an hour late to the ire of the Mrs.. I did profit a grand total of $12 after paying for my Guinnesses!
Thanks to Wiggy for hosting and providing the delicious venison sausage and fajitas! This week I will have to make the decision once again on the big gamble. Tough one when you do not have a read!
Play on!
Monday, September 20, 2004
It has been ages since I added anything to this blog. I am going to attempt to get back on track.
Yesterday was the St. Vincent de Paul Fall festival. I had the pleasure of hosting a "Coconut Bowling" booth. Although it was about 100 degrees in the shade we managed to have a great time. The smiles on the kids faces were worth every bit of effort and expense. I have a great appreciation for how much effort it takes to pull events like that off. I think "Coconut Bowling" was a great success and perhaps it will return for years to come. The most common quote of the day was "Is that a real coconut?"
A couple of quick comments about my trip to Boston. Once again thank you to all Hotels who offer their guests free wireless internet access. I managed to win $54 one evening playing at dynamite poker. It was amazing the number of pubs that exist in Boston. I enjoyed as many as I could, including a $10 lobster. The architecture was incredible. I did not make it to a Red Sox game, but I did manage to watch a game in a pub. Despite all the problems I created for myself, I think the conference was a success.
I am going to close with a quick rant! I was playing $.02/.04 limit holdem at Paradise Poker. After the flop I had the nut flush draw. Two cards to hit the fifth spade I thought what the heck I stay until the river. A spade hits on the river and I win a huge pot of maybe $.80. Some guy decides to question my play and call me a jack ass. What is up with that? I mean we were playing for "huge money" and I deserved to be called names. I jawed with him for a few minutes, then let it go. If you can not be pleasant to the players at the table and have fun, then go find a private game where they tolerate crap like that or simply do not play at all.
Play on and say "nice hand" even if you don't mean it!
Yesterday was the St. Vincent de Paul Fall festival. I had the pleasure of hosting a "Coconut Bowling" booth. Although it was about 100 degrees in the shade we managed to have a great time. The smiles on the kids faces were worth every bit of effort and expense. I have a great appreciation for how much effort it takes to pull events like that off. I think "Coconut Bowling" was a great success and perhaps it will return for years to come. The most common quote of the day was "Is that a real coconut?"
A couple of quick comments about my trip to Boston. Once again thank you to all Hotels who offer their guests free wireless internet access. I managed to win $54 one evening playing at dynamite poker. It was amazing the number of pubs that exist in Boston. I enjoyed as many as I could, including a $10 lobster. The architecture was incredible. I did not make it to a Red Sox game, but I did manage to watch a game in a pub. Despite all the problems I created for myself, I think the conference was a success.
I am going to close with a quick rant! I was playing $.02/.04 limit holdem at Paradise Poker. After the flop I had the nut flush draw. Two cards to hit the fifth spade I thought what the heck I stay until the river. A spade hits on the river and I win a huge pot of maybe $.80. Some guy decides to question my play and call me a jack ass. What is up with that? I mean we were playing for "huge money" and I deserved to be called names. I jawed with him for a few minutes, then let it go. If you can not be pleasant to the players at the table and have fun, then go find a private game where they tolerate crap like that or simply do not play at all.
Play on and say "nice hand" even if you don't mean it!
Friday, August 06, 2004
I just had to post this! I might just run for office!! :o)
Please note that Texas is the only state with a legal right to secede from the Union (please refer to the Texas- American Annexation Treaty of 1848). We Texans love y'all, but we'll have to take action if Kerry wins president over Bush.
We'll miss you too. Texas has given all those complainers plenty of time to get used to the results. After seeing the whiners along the campaign route, the folks from Texas are considering taking matters into our own hands.
Here is our solution:
1. Let John Kerry become President of the United States. (all 49 states.)
2. George W. Bush becomes the President of the republic of Texas. So what does Texas have to do to survive as a Republic? A. NASA is just south of Houston, Texas. (we will control the space industry.) B. We refine over 85% of the gasoline in the United States.
3. Defense Industry. (we have over 65% of it) The term "Don't mess with Texas," will take on a whole new meaning.
4. Oil - we can supply all the oil that the Republic of Texas will need for the next 300 years. Yankee states? Sorry about that.
5. Natural Gas - Again we have all we need and it's too bad about those northern states. John Kerry will figure a way to keep them warm....
6. Computer Industry - we currently lead the nation in producing computer chips and communications: Small places like Texas Instruments, Dell Computer, EDS, Raytheon, National Semiconductor, Motorola, Intel, AMD, Atmel, Applied Materials, Ball Semiconductor, Dallas Semiconductor, Delphi, Nortel, Alcatel, Etc, Etc. The list goes on and on.
7. Health Centers - We have the largest research centers for Cancer research, the best burn centers and the top trauma units in the world and other large health planning centers.
8. We have enough colleges to keep us going: UT., Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Rice, SMU, University of Houston, Baylor, UNT, Texas Women's University, etc. Ivy grows better in the south anyway
9. We have a ready supply of workers. (just open the border when we need some more)
10. We have control of the paper industry, plastics, insurance, etc.
11. In case of a foreign invasion, we have the Texas National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. We don't have an army but since everybody down here has at least six rifles and a pile of ammo, we can raise an army in 24 hours if we need it. If the situation really gets bad, we can always call Department of Public Safety and ask them to send over a couple Texas Rangers.
12. We are totally self sufficient in beef, poultry, hogs and several types of grain, fruit and vegetables and lets not forget seafood from the gulf. And everybody down here knows how to cook them so that they taste good. Don't need any food.
This just names a few of the items that will keep the Republic of Texas in good shape. There isn't a thing out there that we need and don't have.
Now to the rest of the United States under President Kerry:Since you won't have the refineries to get gas for your cars, only President Kerry will be able to drive around in his 9 mile per gallon SUV. The rest of the United States will have to walk or ride bikes. You won't have any TV as the space center in Houston will cut off your communications. You won't have any natural gas to heat your homes but since Mr. Kerry has predicted global warming, you will not need the gas.
Signed,The People in Texas
Please note that Texas is the only state with a legal right to secede from the Union (please refer to the Texas- American Annexation Treaty of 1848). We Texans love y'all, but we'll have to take action if Kerry wins president over Bush.
We'll miss you too. Texas has given all those complainers plenty of time to get used to the results. After seeing the whiners along the campaign route, the folks from Texas are considering taking matters into our own hands.
Here is our solution:
1. Let John Kerry become President of the United States. (all 49 states.)
2. George W. Bush becomes the President of the republic of Texas. So what does Texas have to do to survive as a Republic? A. NASA is just south of Houston, Texas. (we will control the space industry.) B. We refine over 85% of the gasoline in the United States.
3. Defense Industry. (we have over 65% of it) The term "Don't mess with Texas," will take on a whole new meaning.
4. Oil - we can supply all the oil that the Republic of Texas will need for the next 300 years. Yankee states? Sorry about that.
5. Natural Gas - Again we have all we need and it's too bad about those northern states. John Kerry will figure a way to keep them warm....
6. Computer Industry - we currently lead the nation in producing computer chips and communications: Small places like Texas Instruments, Dell Computer, EDS, Raytheon, National Semiconductor, Motorola, Intel, AMD, Atmel, Applied Materials, Ball Semiconductor, Dallas Semiconductor, Delphi, Nortel, Alcatel, Etc, Etc. The list goes on and on.
7. Health Centers - We have the largest research centers for Cancer research, the best burn centers and the top trauma units in the world and other large health planning centers.
8. We have enough colleges to keep us going: UT., Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Rice, SMU, University of Houston, Baylor, UNT, Texas Women's University, etc. Ivy grows better in the south anyway
9. We have a ready supply of workers. (just open the border when we need some more)
10. We have control of the paper industry, plastics, insurance, etc.
11. In case of a foreign invasion, we have the Texas National Guard and the Texas Air National Guard. We don't have an army but since everybody down here has at least six rifles and a pile of ammo, we can raise an army in 24 hours if we need it. If the situation really gets bad, we can always call Department of Public Safety and ask them to send over a couple Texas Rangers.
12. We are totally self sufficient in beef, poultry, hogs and several types of grain, fruit and vegetables and lets not forget seafood from the gulf. And everybody down here knows how to cook them so that they taste good. Don't need any food.
This just names a few of the items that will keep the Republic of Texas in good shape. There isn't a thing out there that we need and don't have.
Now to the rest of the United States under President Kerry:Since you won't have the refineries to get gas for your cars, only President Kerry will be able to drive around in his 9 mile per gallon SUV. The rest of the United States will have to walk or ride bikes. You won't have any TV as the space center in Houston will cut off your communications. You won't have any natural gas to heat your homes but since Mr. Kerry has predicted global warming, you will not need the gas.
Signed,The People in Texas
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
"Four poker Nuggets"
Nugget 1
Time for another brief post! Saturday night I decided to enter into the midnight $2 buyin limit holdem tournament. I grew my stack steadily until we were down to the final table. I was the chip lead by a reasonable sum. I had a couple of river beats so my stack shrank. We were down to 3 players I had about 2800, player A had 5700, and player B had 1000. What do you think happens?
You guessed it my computer locked up. I quickly went to the XP Pro machine and tried logging in. No luck! I rebooted that machine and quickly rebooted the ME machine. In the course of about 10 minutes I was back in the game. Ouch! Down to 500 chips! Long and short of it is that I finished 3rd for a $7.82 victory. I was cursing!!
Nugget 2
On Friday night I entered a tournament on Paradise Poker. Free roll and there were 4000 players with the top 200 winning a seat in the big tournament. I do not remember the specifics but I had two river beats that zapped away most of my chips. I got pocket tens and went allin short stacked. One caller with KQ. Yep he got a Q on the flop. I finished 208! Arrgghhhh!
Nugget 3
Party Poker is a great institution! They must like me because they deposited $50 into my account. I had taken out all my money about 6 months ago. Well I played a couple of times but never read the fine print regarding the $50 deposit. On Friday night around 10:30 PM I read the small print while playing with a great friend NovsNasties. The fine print stated I had to have completed 500 raked hands by 7/29. Well it was 7/30. The account page seemed to indicate that I had some time. I immediately began playing two tables. I ended up playing until 3:00 AM and over 400 hands of poker. For 5 hours of play I had broken even, then in the last 30 minutes I was playing Omaha 8 and 7-stud H/L. I managed to quickly drop $25 (see nugget 4). That was a lot of poker!
Nugget 4
Man I love 7 stud H/L, but I got hammered. Three times I was dealt 4 suited cards in the first four cards. Each time no one had anything powerful on the board I had to hang on the flush draw. Not a single one hit. Final stud hand of the night I am dealt KKK. I am betting like a wildman! One player stayed until the river. On the river he filled his 7 high straight and I did not get my boat. How frustrating! Did I play these hands appropriately? I think so and I would probably do it again. Any thoughts would be welcome because I hate losing my free money!
Enough for now! Only my Dad reads this blog! I think! Tomorrow I plan on continuing the vacation adventure.
PLAY ON!
Nugget 1
Time for another brief post! Saturday night I decided to enter into the midnight $2 buyin limit holdem tournament. I grew my stack steadily until we were down to the final table. I was the chip lead by a reasonable sum. I had a couple of river beats so my stack shrank. We were down to 3 players I had about 2800, player A had 5700, and player B had 1000. What do you think happens?
You guessed it my computer locked up. I quickly went to the XP Pro machine and tried logging in. No luck! I rebooted that machine and quickly rebooted the ME machine. In the course of about 10 minutes I was back in the game. Ouch! Down to 500 chips! Long and short of it is that I finished 3rd for a $7.82 victory. I was cursing!!
Nugget 2
On Friday night I entered a tournament on Paradise Poker. Free roll and there were 4000 players with the top 200 winning a seat in the big tournament. I do not remember the specifics but I had two river beats that zapped away most of my chips. I got pocket tens and went allin short stacked. One caller with KQ. Yep he got a Q on the flop. I finished 208! Arrgghhhh!
Nugget 3
Party Poker is a great institution! They must like me because they deposited $50 into my account. I had taken out all my money about 6 months ago. Well I played a couple of times but never read the fine print regarding the $50 deposit. On Friday night around 10:30 PM I read the small print while playing with a great friend NovsNasties. The fine print stated I had to have completed 500 raked hands by 7/29. Well it was 7/30. The account page seemed to indicate that I had some time. I immediately began playing two tables. I ended up playing until 3:00 AM and over 400 hands of poker. For 5 hours of play I had broken even, then in the last 30 minutes I was playing Omaha 8 and 7-stud H/L. I managed to quickly drop $25 (see nugget 4). That was a lot of poker!
Nugget 4
Man I love 7 stud H/L, but I got hammered. Three times I was dealt 4 suited cards in the first four cards. Each time no one had anything powerful on the board I had to hang on the flush draw. Not a single one hit. Final stud hand of the night I am dealt KKK. I am betting like a wildman! One player stayed until the river. On the river he filled his 7 high straight and I did not get my boat. How frustrating! Did I play these hands appropriately? I think so and I would probably do it again. Any thoughts would be welcome because I hate losing my free money!
Enough for now! Only my Dad reads this blog! I think! Tomorrow I plan on continuing the vacation adventure.
PLAY ON!
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
"Victory is Sooooo0o Sweet!"
Well someday I will complete the vacation adventures! Other than my parents there might be one person out there looking for some poker content.
Last Friday night I got invited back to A's house for a little poker action. They wanted a piece of me since in a drunken stupor I walked away with their money. Unfortunately the Mrs. had a dinner party, so I had to spend 3 hours of my life at Chuck E Cheese. Oh what fun! It was actually fun in that our 4 year old sat on my lap and we played this street luge game for about an hour. At about 11:15 PM I decided to just go check out the scene in hopes that they might have a consolation tournament. I showed up two minutes late. Oh well! That game ended rather quickly so they decided to have another mini tournament. Nine players bought in for $10 for $500 in chips. We decided we would pay the top 2 finishers $65/ 25. It was like I was clairvoyant. I knew when I had the best of it. Everyone at the table was timid, so when they checked I would come over the top. Early on one player went all-in. I had KTo and was in the Big Blind. I read him for a QJ or something weak. I called! I think it was $150, which would not have crippled me. He turns over Q5o! The flop brought a 5 and no help to me. Oh well I thought. Well a King hit the river and the second player was out! I had a decent stack so anytime I smelled weakness I would raise $300. I felt like a thief! :o)
We were down to 4 players and I had a slight chip lead over the host. I was on the button with pocket deuces. The small blind was short stacked so he was all-in for about $100. SB checks. BB check and I bet $300 with BB calling and SB folding. The board was something like J5A. Check to me and I bet $300. BB called. An Ace hit the turn. BB checks! I go all-in! BB folds! I turn over my pair of ducks to go head to head with the small blind. BB shouts a couple of expletives because he folded a Jack. I lost to the small blind who had a pair of 5s, but stole $600 from the BB. He was HOT! I continued to play aggressive and eliminated the other two players. I was head to head against the host with approx. 2 to 1 chip lead.
I went all-in with ATo! I was called with Q9o. He started to shake my hand when I pointed out that he had filled a straight. He took a large pot and we were even in chip count. The next hand I hit a pair of Kings on the flop and again he hit a straight on the river. Fortunately for me I did not go all-in. The next hand I did go all-in and won most of the chips back. Finally hand of the night he goes all-in and I say to him "You are not going to like this!" I got pocket aces! So Victory is Sweet!
Gotta tuck the kids in! Tomorrow I am playing golf. Hooky from work, but it looks like it will be last opportunity. Playing a local course that I have not played! Normally it is to expensive. Iggy - I will drink to Guinnesses before we tee off! Beer and ibuprofen and golf will be fun!
Good night!
Well someday I will complete the vacation adventures! Other than my parents there might be one person out there looking for some poker content.
Last Friday night I got invited back to A's house for a little poker action. They wanted a piece of me since in a drunken stupor I walked away with their money. Unfortunately the Mrs. had a dinner party, so I had to spend 3 hours of my life at Chuck E Cheese. Oh what fun! It was actually fun in that our 4 year old sat on my lap and we played this street luge game for about an hour. At about 11:15 PM I decided to just go check out the scene in hopes that they might have a consolation tournament. I showed up two minutes late. Oh well! That game ended rather quickly so they decided to have another mini tournament. Nine players bought in for $10 for $500 in chips. We decided we would pay the top 2 finishers $65/ 25. It was like I was clairvoyant. I knew when I had the best of it. Everyone at the table was timid, so when they checked I would come over the top. Early on one player went all-in. I had KTo and was in the Big Blind. I read him for a QJ or something weak. I called! I think it was $150, which would not have crippled me. He turns over Q5o! The flop brought a 5 and no help to me. Oh well I thought. Well a King hit the river and the second player was out! I had a decent stack so anytime I smelled weakness I would raise $300. I felt like a thief! :o)
We were down to 4 players and I had a slight chip lead over the host. I was on the button with pocket deuces. The small blind was short stacked so he was all-in for about $100. SB checks. BB check and I bet $300 with BB calling and SB folding. The board was something like J5A. Check to me and I bet $300. BB called. An Ace hit the turn. BB checks! I go all-in! BB folds! I turn over my pair of ducks to go head to head with the small blind. BB shouts a couple of expletives because he folded a Jack. I lost to the small blind who had a pair of 5s, but stole $600 from the BB. He was HOT! I continued to play aggressive and eliminated the other two players. I was head to head against the host with approx. 2 to 1 chip lead.
I went all-in with ATo! I was called with Q9o. He started to shake my hand when I pointed out that he had filled a straight. He took a large pot and we were even in chip count. The next hand I hit a pair of Kings on the flop and again he hit a straight on the river. Fortunately for me I did not go all-in. The next hand I did go all-in and won most of the chips back. Finally hand of the night he goes all-in and I say to him "You are not going to like this!" I got pocket aces! So Victory is Sweet!
Gotta tuck the kids in! Tomorrow I am playing golf. Hooky from work, but it looks like it will be last opportunity. Playing a local course that I have not played! Normally it is to expensive. Iggy - I will drink to Guinnesses before we tee off! Beer and ibuprofen and golf will be fun!
Good night!
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Finally the Vacation Continued...
I believe I left off in Edgewood Maryland. The kids did love the indoor pool at the Hampton Inn. Personally I found it boring, but we made the best off it. On Friday we headed off to DC. We were following the directions from Mapquest. I exited according the directions only to quickly realize I had exited to soon. What the heck it was a scenic drive. Oh No! The traffic comes to a screeching halt. Almost 40 minutes later we discover that the two lane highway was reduced down to one lane because they were trimming trees. You would think they could do that at night or during off hours.
We made it to our destination, JW Marriott. JW Marriott is located on Pennsylvania Blvd. What a treat! For a second I thought about trying to find a place to park that did not cost $25/day. After that one second of thought I concluded we would not find a better deal nor one that was convenient. Valet parking it is!
Now I am such an astute traveler that I know all about tipping. Not! A man takes the luggage out of the van and puts it on a luggage dolley. He wheels it into the lobby then says someone else will take it to your room. I tip $2. We check in then someone takes our luggage to the room. I tip $5. I am thinking that I am going to be nickeled and dimed to death. The room is very nice! We check out the view from the 10th floor. We are staring right at the Washington Monument. Incredible! We did have a 3:00 PM appointment with Congressman Ron Paul's office for a Congressional tour of the Capitol. HINT: Call you congressman and arrange for this tour. We decided to walk! It was drizzling, but no big deal. We walked a couple of blocks and the kids begin "I'm hungry!" We stop in the old post office building. Security is incredible! Everything must go through the metal detectors. They had a food court downstairs and we enjoyed sandwiches while the kids had hotdogs ($30).
After lunch we continued on our journey observing the architecture. All the kids wanted to do was walk on the stone garden edging, fighting the entire time who was going to lead. Par for the course.
We made it to Ron Paul's office where we were greeted by Amanda and then meet our tour guide, Corey. We were able to leave our things in the back office so we did not have to tote anything but the camera. That is nice because there are numerous security check points. We got to travel through the underground tunnels to the Capitol. Pretty cool having a personal tour guide for the four of us! I think we spent two hours on the tour. We learned a bunch of interesting tidbits. I was fascinated by the architecture and the paintings on the ceilings. Little did I know the Rotunda would become a significant place the following week.
After our tour I got my picture taken sitting in Dr. Paul's chair. They gave us each a souvenir pocket constitution. I think the kids really enjoyed it.
Next we walked to the Natural Sciences Building. Kids loved it! We spent 2.5 hours looking around. I really liked the collection of meteorites and the gems. The Hope diamond was on display. There was so much to see. Everyone was hungry so we headed back to the hotel. We knew the food would be expensive at the hotel so we were looking for a place to eat. We came across the Reagan Building and decided to go in. They had a very nice food court. This location became our favorite dining place. The kids and I capped off the evening at the pool and we turned in for the next days adventure.
I will continue day two in another post! My brain is fried! :o)
I believe I left off in Edgewood Maryland. The kids did love the indoor pool at the Hampton Inn. Personally I found it boring, but we made the best off it. On Friday we headed off to DC. We were following the directions from Mapquest. I exited according the directions only to quickly realize I had exited to soon. What the heck it was a scenic drive. Oh No! The traffic comes to a screeching halt. Almost 40 minutes later we discover that the two lane highway was reduced down to one lane because they were trimming trees. You would think they could do that at night or during off hours.
We made it to our destination, JW Marriott. JW Marriott is located on Pennsylvania Blvd. What a treat! For a second I thought about trying to find a place to park that did not cost $25/day. After that one second of thought I concluded we would not find a better deal nor one that was convenient. Valet parking it is!
Now I am such an astute traveler that I know all about tipping. Not! A man takes the luggage out of the van and puts it on a luggage dolley. He wheels it into the lobby then says someone else will take it to your room. I tip $2. We check in then someone takes our luggage to the room. I tip $5. I am thinking that I am going to be nickeled and dimed to death. The room is very nice! We check out the view from the 10th floor. We are staring right at the Washington Monument. Incredible! We did have a 3:00 PM appointment with Congressman Ron Paul's office for a Congressional tour of the Capitol. HINT: Call you congressman and arrange for this tour. We decided to walk! It was drizzling, but no big deal. We walked a couple of blocks and the kids begin "I'm hungry!" We stop in the old post office building. Security is incredible! Everything must go through the metal detectors. They had a food court downstairs and we enjoyed sandwiches while the kids had hotdogs ($30).
After lunch we continued on our journey observing the architecture. All the kids wanted to do was walk on the stone garden edging, fighting the entire time who was going to lead. Par for the course.
We made it to Ron Paul's office where we were greeted by Amanda and then meet our tour guide, Corey. We were able to leave our things in the back office so we did not have to tote anything but the camera. That is nice because there are numerous security check points. We got to travel through the underground tunnels to the Capitol. Pretty cool having a personal tour guide for the four of us! I think we spent two hours on the tour. We learned a bunch of interesting tidbits. I was fascinated by the architecture and the paintings on the ceilings. Little did I know the Rotunda would become a significant place the following week.
After our tour I got my picture taken sitting in Dr. Paul's chair. They gave us each a souvenir pocket constitution. I think the kids really enjoyed it.
Next we walked to the Natural Sciences Building. Kids loved it! We spent 2.5 hours looking around. I really liked the collection of meteorites and the gems. The Hope diamond was on display. There was so much to see. Everyone was hungry so we headed back to the hotel. We knew the food would be expensive at the hotel so we were looking for a place to eat. We came across the Reagan Building and decided to go in. They had a very nice food court. This location became our favorite dining place. The kids and I capped off the evening at the pool and we turned in for the next days adventure.
I will continue day two in another post! My brain is fried! :o)
Sunday, July 04, 2004
"Winning is GREAT"
Well I have not continued our vacation adventure, but I hope to some day. At this moment I am playing Paradise .05/.10. I am up about $3.
Here is why winning is great! Friday night I got invited again to play in a tournament. I had decided I was just going to have a good time. I had four bottles of Indio. Great Mexican amber beer! Plus a bottle of tequila. I arrived and immediately had 2 shots and a beer. I drew a table with one really solid player and one maniac. Fortunately for me the maniac had not arrived yet and was being blinded out. I call him a maniac because his play is unpredictable. He won the last time we got together. I thought I had a tell on him, but I am still not 100% sure. More analysis is needed! He showed up just after losing his small blind. I was on the button and I happened to get pocket Kings. Blinds were 50/100. Comes around to me I confidently raised $200. The maniac was to my left goes all in. Player in the 4S also goes all in. I was not going to be eliminated, but severely crippled if I did not win. Pocket K's though! I had a feeling Mr. Maniac was just trying stir things up. There was also a $20 rebuy for the first 2 rounds only if you lost all your chips. Three players in, we turn over the cards. Mr. Maniac has pocket 5s and the 4S had 89 suited. Somebody commented "That is a greathand to go all in with!" I was like huh? Really you would risk all of your chips with 89s.
The kings help up and I was the early chip lead. The funny thing is that I do not remember any other hand at that table. I eliminated 4 players, but I do not recall with what. When I had good starting hands I made reasonably sized bets. We moved to the final table. I only knew one of the players and in my opinion was the player to beat. I was a little shocked in that he had almost twice the chip count of me. I remember one hand I had AQ and I was on the button. I put in a 500 raise. The chp lead called me. The flop came J2T. I bet $500. The chip lead raised me. I let the hand go! It was a good thing to because he had a set of dueces. It was nice of him to show me.
Pretty soon I was heads up with the chip lead. I was excited just to be in the money. I am not even sure I knew my name at this point. Just kidding! I was not sober though. I had not eaten dinner! That was a huge mistake. I must have played really well heads up because shortly I was the chip lead and I put him all-in twice with marginal hands. He won the first battle. The next hand he went all in and I called with Q8. An eight arrives on the river and I win my first tournament. I had no clue how much. It was a $30 buy in and paid the top 3 places. I almost passed out when he counted out $384. I immediately had 3 more shots of tequila. Whoa I did not need those! My ex-neighbor offered to follow me home. I should have just left the car and let him take me home. I did manage to make home safely. Bottom line is I should not have been driving, but it was only .5 miles.
In celebration I took the family to see Shrek2. Insane that it costs $54 to take a family of 4 to a matinee. Usually we sneak stuff in for the kids, but this time I was splurging. Next time we will sneak stuff in!
Man it is great to win! Next time I can just act drunk and I will have an advantage! Maybe or maybe not! I did have a great time and I did execute my strategy exactly the way I had planned.
Play on! Oh and Shrek2 was a fun movie!
Well I have not continued our vacation adventure, but I hope to some day. At this moment I am playing Paradise .05/.10. I am up about $3.
Here is why winning is great! Friday night I got invited again to play in a tournament. I had decided I was just going to have a good time. I had four bottles of Indio. Great Mexican amber beer! Plus a bottle of tequila. I arrived and immediately had 2 shots and a beer. I drew a table with one really solid player and one maniac. Fortunately for me the maniac had not arrived yet and was being blinded out. I call him a maniac because his play is unpredictable. He won the last time we got together. I thought I had a tell on him, but I am still not 100% sure. More analysis is needed! He showed up just after losing his small blind. I was on the button and I happened to get pocket Kings. Blinds were 50/100. Comes around to me I confidently raised $200. The maniac was to my left goes all in. Player in the 4S also goes all in. I was not going to be eliminated, but severely crippled if I did not win. Pocket K's though! I had a feeling Mr. Maniac was just trying stir things up. There was also a $20 rebuy for the first 2 rounds only if you lost all your chips. Three players in, we turn over the cards. Mr. Maniac has pocket 5s and the 4S had 89 suited. Somebody commented "That is a greathand to go all in with!" I was like huh? Really you would risk all of your chips with 89s.
The kings help up and I was the early chip lead. The funny thing is that I do not remember any other hand at that table. I eliminated 4 players, but I do not recall with what. When I had good starting hands I made reasonably sized bets. We moved to the final table. I only knew one of the players and in my opinion was the player to beat. I was a little shocked in that he had almost twice the chip count of me. I remember one hand I had AQ and I was on the button. I put in a 500 raise. The chp lead called me. The flop came J2T. I bet $500. The chip lead raised me. I let the hand go! It was a good thing to because he had a set of dueces. It was nice of him to show me.
Pretty soon I was heads up with the chip lead. I was excited just to be in the money. I am not even sure I knew my name at this point. Just kidding! I was not sober though. I had not eaten dinner! That was a huge mistake. I must have played really well heads up because shortly I was the chip lead and I put him all-in twice with marginal hands. He won the first battle. The next hand he went all in and I called with Q8. An eight arrives on the river and I win my first tournament. I had no clue how much. It was a $30 buy in and paid the top 3 places. I almost passed out when he counted out $384. I immediately had 3 more shots of tequila. Whoa I did not need those! My ex-neighbor offered to follow me home. I should have just left the car and let him take me home. I did manage to make home safely. Bottom line is I should not have been driving, but it was only .5 miles.
In celebration I took the family to see Shrek2. Insane that it costs $54 to take a family of 4 to a matinee. Usually we sneak stuff in for the kids, but this time I was splurging. Next time we will sneak stuff in!
Man it is great to win! Next time I can just act drunk and I will have an advantage! Maybe or maybe not! I did have a great time and I did execute my strategy exactly the way I had planned.
Play on! Oh and Shrek2 was a fun movie!
Monday, June 28, 2004
"Gets nasty at the poker table"
Before I continue our vacation saga I must share this poker story. Friday night I decided to enter the 9:00 PM No limit holdem freeroll at Paradise POker. Top 50 earn a spot in the final tournament to win a trip to Europe. Odds almost the same as winning the mega lottery. Any rate there were almost 4000 players. We started out with 1500 in chips. I held my own for a long time, then I took a bad beat. I do not even recall what it was but I think my top two pair got burned on the river by a gut shot straight. This entire time I had been minding my own business with saying an occasionally "good hand". These two players started bantering childlishly back and forth. Using names that just are not appropriate for a poker table. The were acting like teen agers. Well the worst of the two got moved to another table, so things were back to an enjoyable atmosphere.
I later had a set get beat by a larger set so I was down to about $900. Guess who comes back to the table. Yep, Mr. Potty mouth. He also liked to go all in. As soon as he sat down he started attacking me. Called me all kinds of names. One of which was ... velvetta cheese... I simply stated "I have been here minding my own business and you have to attack me. What gives with that? Are you sure your are old enough to be at this site?" The insults kept flying. By the way this bozo also liked to go "all-in". Being down to $900 I needed to make a move. I was dealt QQ. Bozo went all-in, so I immediately called. Everyone else folded. He of course had trash and I doubled up. The very next hand I am dealt QQ. Thats right again! Back to back pocket ladies! Mr. Potty mouth again goes all-in again. I immediately call. I doubled up again! You could sense cheers around the table. Oh when this started he had roughly $30K. The third had I get dealt pocket Kings. Yes that is three pocket pairs in a row. The pre-schooler went all-in again and this time I called. I think at least two other persons called. A king hit the flop! I won again! I had gone from $900 to $17K in three hands. I was patient and about 5 hands later I was head to head with Mr. insult. Of course he went all-in and I called. I had him out chipped! I eliminated him from the table. There were cheers and rejoicing! I think if it had been a true brick and mortar everyone at the table would have bought me a drink.
I believe it was pure luck. A more realistic belief might be that the algorithm at paradise is anything but random! Finally perhaps it is he who talks smack eventually gets smacked!
I worked my way up to about $40K. Unfortunately I got to conservative. I had top two pair get beat by another straight at the river. That was a $10 K hit. Hind site I should have continued to be aggressive. I got moved to a table were there were some larger stacks. Bottom line is that I finished 121st!
When I play online poker I try to make it a pleasant experience for everyone. I did not rub those three hands in a row in, but if he could have only seen my smile when I eliminated him.
Play on! Be NICE!
Before I continue our vacation saga I must share this poker story. Friday night I decided to enter the 9:00 PM No limit holdem freeroll at Paradise POker. Top 50 earn a spot in the final tournament to win a trip to Europe. Odds almost the same as winning the mega lottery. Any rate there were almost 4000 players. We started out with 1500 in chips. I held my own for a long time, then I took a bad beat. I do not even recall what it was but I think my top two pair got burned on the river by a gut shot straight. This entire time I had been minding my own business with saying an occasionally "good hand". These two players started bantering childlishly back and forth. Using names that just are not appropriate for a poker table. The were acting like teen agers. Well the worst of the two got moved to another table, so things were back to an enjoyable atmosphere.
I later had a set get beat by a larger set so I was down to about $900. Guess who comes back to the table. Yep, Mr. Potty mouth. He also liked to go all in. As soon as he sat down he started attacking me. Called me all kinds of names. One of which was ... velvetta cheese... I simply stated "I have been here minding my own business and you have to attack me. What gives with that? Are you sure your are old enough to be at this site?" The insults kept flying. By the way this bozo also liked to go "all-in". Being down to $900 I needed to make a move. I was dealt QQ. Bozo went all-in, so I immediately called. Everyone else folded. He of course had trash and I doubled up. The very next hand I am dealt QQ. Thats right again! Back to back pocket ladies! Mr. Potty mouth again goes all-in again. I immediately call. I doubled up again! You could sense cheers around the table. Oh when this started he had roughly $30K. The third had I get dealt pocket Kings. Yes that is three pocket pairs in a row. The pre-schooler went all-in again and this time I called. I think at least two other persons called. A king hit the flop! I won again! I had gone from $900 to $17K in three hands. I was patient and about 5 hands later I was head to head with Mr. insult. Of course he went all-in and I called. I had him out chipped! I eliminated him from the table. There were cheers and rejoicing! I think if it had been a true brick and mortar everyone at the table would have bought me a drink.
I believe it was pure luck. A more realistic belief might be that the algorithm at paradise is anything but random! Finally perhaps it is he who talks smack eventually gets smacked!
I worked my way up to about $40K. Unfortunately I got to conservative. I had top two pair get beat by another straight at the river. That was a $10 K hit. Hind site I should have continued to be aggressive. I got moved to a table were there were some larger stacks. Bottom line is that I finished 121st!
When I play online poker I try to make it a pleasant experience for everyone. I did not rub those three hands in a row in, but if he could have only seen my smile when I eliminated him.
Play on! Be NICE!
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Hello Hello Hello! Seems like I have been gone forever. We just returned from a wonderful vacation on Monday. There will not be much poker content, but I can say that wireless technology is a marvelous thing. More on that in a minute.
Our vacation started with 17.5 hours on the road. We left Austin at 4:15AM and arrived outside of Knoxville TN around 8:00PM. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. We had to settle for a smoking room. Yuk! Now traveling with a 4 year old and a 7 year old is usually not easy, but our kids were wonderful. Parents the key is electronics!! Make sure there is a TV with VCR or DVD in your vehicle, then add walkmans and gameboys. Oh yeah! Feed them some sugar and take plenty of snacks and Caprisun juice sports drink. It also helps if one of the stops is at a fast food joint with a playscape. Let them burn some energy while you fill up the car. The weirdest thing about day one was a guy dressed like a girl at Burger King. Sheeesh!
We slept in and caught the continental breakfast. Off to Edgewood Maryland. Two quick comments - there were way to many freakin 18 wheelers on I-40 and US-81. People who speed up and pass, then slow down in front of you so you have to release your cruise control NEED TO LEARN HOW TO DRIVE! I finally pulled into a rest area just so this gal would move on. Pass me. Slow down! I pass her. She passes me slows down! This went on at least 10 times. I was hot! We ate sandwiches and played a little soccer with the kids at the rest area. Oh yeah! Take a ball!
I will have to continue this saga later. Misses needs the laptop! :o(
We make it to DC in great time 2:00ish. All of a sudden on 95 the traffic comes to a screeching halt. Two minutes into this mess and several cus words later the "service engine soon light" comes on. Here is where I get cursed from my wife for not replacing the timing belt or doing proper maintenance. I did get the oil changed and tires rotated. I pull over just to make sure there was nothing blantantly obvious wrong and that we still had oil. Everything checks out. I kept hearing this strange noise in the trees. All of a sudden I get pelted with about three cicadas. I close up the van and we move on.
Here is another great lesson for travelers. DO NOT rely on Map Quest directions. The did us well until we got near the hotel. We drove around for 40 minutes. Oh yeah the kids loved the long tunnel in Baltimore. We found the Hampton Inn. The second great lesson is Hampton Inn's have free wireless internet. We ate dinner at a local crab place. Only one of our party ate crab. It was marginal, but if you like blue crabs then this was probably a good place. There was a gentleman sitting next to us who had a pile of crab shells. Our son (4) asked me if he had eatern hundreds of crabs. I said why don't you ask him. He did. The man just laughed and said I have eatern to many, but not hundreds. paty's co-worker had a rental car, Ford Explorer. The cool part was the GPS system. Leslie kept saying she told me to do this the she scolded me for doing that. I am like who is she talking about. The GPS was a she! :O) Very cool gizmo!
Now for some poker content. We got back to the hotel and everyone turned in, but me. I pulled out the laptop and started playing poker and enjoying a nice cold Windsor and diet Sierra Mist. I was playing at Paradise poker wear my bank roll hand dwindled down to around $4. I was playing conservative, but really aggressive when I had the nuts or I thought I had the best of it. I quickly grew my bank roll by $3. I then lost with pocket Ks to an ace on the river. Definitely a sign that I should turn in for the night.
Now I guess it is Thursday. I quickly forgot the date and time once I started on this vacation, so I will probably just make this one long rolling saga. My wife had to work so off she went to her secret destination. I of course had the task of getting the van looked at. I called a Ford Dealership in Belaire Maryland. The person I spoke with was extremely nice and said to bring in. We got there around 9:30 AM. Sir it is going to be $100 just to run the diagnostics. Ouch! "OK" is my reply. "Do you have someone who could take the kids and I to the mall?" "Absolutely!" Off to the mall the kids and I go. I figured I would have to kill tons of time so I forced the kids to see the entire mall. We bought a DVD-R since my better half was freaking out that we had not backed up years of digital photos. I had bought a package of DVD+R on the recommendation of a Best Buy employee. Yes sir the should work! I even showed him the computer I had. Well of course our DVD only works with DVD -R. Man I am always in the dog house! :) One hour after fiddling around the mall and the kids asking me to buy everything under the soon. Just imaging this - walking casually through a mall with two kids chanting "We want Harry Potter Gameboy game". The cellphone rang to save the day. By the way this was one of those situations I can say thank God for cellphones. It was Ford. "Sir, it is a blown sensor that monitor the engine pressure." "Is it critical?" "We recommend that you replace it." "How much?" part is $225 and with labor diagnostics and your free cup of coffee it will be $450. Ouch Double Ouch! What would my wife want me to do? Please fix it! How long will it take? We have the part so it should be ready in about an hour. We continued playing in the mall. It seemd like 30 minutes later the cellphone rings again. Sir your van is ready. There is a driver on his way to the mall are you ready to pick up your van. Well Yeah! We settled up and one of the drivers gave us some pointers on Williamsburg VA. Plaza Ford you rock! I could not believe we were in and out within 2 hours. Peace of mind!
I need to stop this post to take care of the kiddos. I will continue later. Good night!
Our vacation started with 17.5 hours on the road. We left Austin at 4:15AM and arrived outside of Knoxville TN around 8:00PM. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. We had to settle for a smoking room. Yuk! Now traveling with a 4 year old and a 7 year old is usually not easy, but our kids were wonderful. Parents the key is electronics!! Make sure there is a TV with VCR or DVD in your vehicle, then add walkmans and gameboys. Oh yeah! Feed them some sugar and take plenty of snacks and Caprisun juice sports drink. It also helps if one of the stops is at a fast food joint with a playscape. Let them burn some energy while you fill up the car. The weirdest thing about day one was a guy dressed like a girl at Burger King. Sheeesh!
We slept in and caught the continental breakfast. Off to Edgewood Maryland. Two quick comments - there were way to many freakin 18 wheelers on I-40 and US-81. People who speed up and pass, then slow down in front of you so you have to release your cruise control NEED TO LEARN HOW TO DRIVE! I finally pulled into a rest area just so this gal would move on. Pass me. Slow down! I pass her. She passes me slows down! This went on at least 10 times. I was hot! We ate sandwiches and played a little soccer with the kids at the rest area. Oh yeah! Take a ball!
I will have to continue this saga later. Misses needs the laptop! :o(
We make it to DC in great time 2:00ish. All of a sudden on 95 the traffic comes to a screeching halt. Two minutes into this mess and several cus words later the "service engine soon light" comes on. Here is where I get cursed from my wife for not replacing the timing belt or doing proper maintenance. I did get the oil changed and tires rotated. I pull over just to make sure there was nothing blantantly obvious wrong and that we still had oil. Everything checks out. I kept hearing this strange noise in the trees. All of a sudden I get pelted with about three cicadas. I close up the van and we move on.
Here is another great lesson for travelers. DO NOT rely on Map Quest directions. The did us well until we got near the hotel. We drove around for 40 minutes. Oh yeah the kids loved the long tunnel in Baltimore. We found the Hampton Inn. The second great lesson is Hampton Inn's have free wireless internet. We ate dinner at a local crab place. Only one of our party ate crab. It was marginal, but if you like blue crabs then this was probably a good place. There was a gentleman sitting next to us who had a pile of crab shells. Our son (4) asked me if he had eatern hundreds of crabs. I said why don't you ask him. He did. The man just laughed and said I have eatern to many, but not hundreds. paty's co-worker had a rental car, Ford Explorer. The cool part was the GPS system. Leslie kept saying she told me to do this the she scolded me for doing that. I am like who is she talking about. The GPS was a she! :O) Very cool gizmo!
Now for some poker content. We got back to the hotel and everyone turned in, but me. I pulled out the laptop and started playing poker and enjoying a nice cold Windsor and diet Sierra Mist. I was playing at Paradise poker wear my bank roll hand dwindled down to around $4. I was playing conservative, but really aggressive when I had the nuts or I thought I had the best of it. I quickly grew my bank roll by $3. I then lost with pocket Ks to an ace on the river. Definitely a sign that I should turn in for the night.
Now I guess it is Thursday. I quickly forgot the date and time once I started on this vacation, so I will probably just make this one long rolling saga. My wife had to work so off she went to her secret destination. I of course had the task of getting the van looked at. I called a Ford Dealership in Belaire Maryland. The person I spoke with was extremely nice and said to bring in. We got there around 9:30 AM. Sir it is going to be $100 just to run the diagnostics. Ouch! "OK" is my reply. "Do you have someone who could take the kids and I to the mall?" "Absolutely!" Off to the mall the kids and I go. I figured I would have to kill tons of time so I forced the kids to see the entire mall. We bought a DVD-R since my better half was freaking out that we had not backed up years of digital photos. I had bought a package of DVD+R on the recommendation of a Best Buy employee. Yes sir the should work! I even showed him the computer I had. Well of course our DVD only works with DVD -R. Man I am always in the dog house! :) One hour after fiddling around the mall and the kids asking me to buy everything under the soon. Just imaging this - walking casually through a mall with two kids chanting "We want Harry Potter Gameboy game". The cellphone rang to save the day. By the way this was one of those situations I can say thank God for cellphones. It was Ford. "Sir, it is a blown sensor that monitor the engine pressure." "Is it critical?" "We recommend that you replace it." "How much?" part is $225 and with labor diagnostics and your free cup of coffee it will be $450. Ouch Double Ouch! What would my wife want me to do? Please fix it! How long will it take? We have the part so it should be ready in about an hour. We continued playing in the mall. It seemd like 30 minutes later the cellphone rings again. Sir your van is ready. There is a driver on his way to the mall are you ready to pick up your van. Well Yeah! We settled up and one of the drivers gave us some pointers on Williamsburg VA. Plaza Ford you rock! I could not believe we were in and out within 2 hours. Peace of mind!
I need to stop this post to take care of the kiddos. I will continue later. Good night!
Saturday, May 22, 2004
"Live from Arnie's"
Howdy! I just got home from playing in a $25 buyin no limit holdem tournament. unlimited rebuys for the first two rounds, but the kicker is you had to be out of chips to rebuy. I finished 9th. The best hand I got all night was a pair of aces on the river, which lost to two pair. I won a hand post flop with a pair of tens. I won because I raised 2x the big blind. I also won a hand with a pair of queens for the same reason. I had Ak once and Aj once. Other than that my hands seemed like they were 47 and T2. It is just not in my nature to play when I get crap hands all night. I believe next time I need to just use the Gus method and go in with crap per-flop and hope I hit something. Additionally I should go all-in for grins twice in the first hour. Oh it was frustrating.
It was interesting in that twice I had to call the hands that were on the board. Once it eliminated a player, but there were 4 clubs on the board and the other player had the Ace. I had to speak up. When it was down to 8 players my neighbor went all-in with AT. On the river he ended up with a straight to beat two pair Ks over Qs. Unfortunately he was knocked out a little later when the board gave the other person a pair of cowboys.
The hand of the night was when the flop came AAA. The turn was an 8. One person beat out $500. The last player said all-in. The first player called. he turned over pocket tens. The other player turned over Ace number four! Ouch.
It was down to 5 players, but they were taking forever. We were hoping for a side game, but no extra players showed up. Oh well I get to post this summary.
What book do I need to read to know how to battle when I get crap cards. You keep thinking that the trend would change. I really got nothing worth playing. I got put all-in with 87 in the small blind. On the flop hit a 7TJ. I was cheering for a nine. Turn came a six and the river brought a 4. I ended up losing to a pair of jacks.
Oh I hate to lose. If anyone rads this post please guide me to a book or a site that shows you how to play when you get crappy cards.
off to play a little online poker before passing out.
Play on...
Howdy! I just got home from playing in a $25 buyin no limit holdem tournament. unlimited rebuys for the first two rounds, but the kicker is you had to be out of chips to rebuy. I finished 9th. The best hand I got all night was a pair of aces on the river, which lost to two pair. I won a hand post flop with a pair of tens. I won because I raised 2x the big blind. I also won a hand with a pair of queens for the same reason. I had Ak once and Aj once. Other than that my hands seemed like they were 47 and T2. It is just not in my nature to play when I get crap hands all night. I believe next time I need to just use the Gus method and go in with crap per-flop and hope I hit something. Additionally I should go all-in for grins twice in the first hour. Oh it was frustrating.
It was interesting in that twice I had to call the hands that were on the board. Once it eliminated a player, but there were 4 clubs on the board and the other player had the Ace. I had to speak up. When it was down to 8 players my neighbor went all-in with AT. On the river he ended up with a straight to beat two pair Ks over Qs. Unfortunately he was knocked out a little later when the board gave the other person a pair of cowboys.
The hand of the night was when the flop came AAA. The turn was an 8. One person beat out $500. The last player said all-in. The first player called. he turned over pocket tens. The other player turned over Ace number four! Ouch.
It was down to 5 players, but they were taking forever. We were hoping for a side game, but no extra players showed up. Oh well I get to post this summary.
What book do I need to read to know how to battle when I get crap cards. You keep thinking that the trend would change. I really got nothing worth playing. I got put all-in with 87 in the small blind. On the flop hit a 7TJ. I was cheering for a nine. Turn came a six and the river brought a 4. I ended up losing to a pair of jacks.
Oh I hate to lose. If anyone rads this post please guide me to a book or a site that shows you how to play when you get crappy cards.
off to play a little online poker before passing out.
Play on...
Thursday, May 13, 2004
"Crazy Tables"
Lately I have been content grinding things out at the .05/.10 tables at Paradise Poker. I got as low as $4, but now I am back to the $25 mark. Tonight I was at an interesting table. Some people thrive on this type of table, but this type of table gets to my nerves. The type of table I am referring to is one where the bet gets capped early and often. Fortunately for me I filled a boat and a flush on the river to take down two large pots. When tables get like this one I usually get up and leave, but tonight I decided to hang in there. I got back to back pocket Ks. What are the odds of that? Sure the algorithm is completely random (wink wink)! The first hand I lost on the river to a flush. The next hand was a big one where a K came on the flop. The board had flush and straight potential so I was nervous. On the river the board paired giving me a boat. The only thing that could have taken me was pocket aces. I took down a large pot. I learned that the only way to play a "crazy" table is if you have the nuts or a shot at the nuts.
I believe I will take my third shot at $.50/1.00 Omaha H/L on Paradise Poker. I am hoping to bust outof my slump and increase my profits. Perhaps I should stick with Holdem, but I feel like I can make more money playing omaha h/l.
I am a bit amazed that Party Poker has not sent me the please come back e-mail. I am going to be patient, because I could sure use the bonus to my advantage. I was also thinking about trying Superior pokers freerolls. There was another site offering freerolls, which I believe I saw on pokerworks.com. I forgot the name.
Finally I must rant again. The legislature of Texas all need to be fired. They are in a special session and the majority have decided to do nothing and permit the session clock to run out. If you did that on your job you would be fired.
First slot machines are in the school financing plan then they are out. Then they are back in. Get off your butts and revisit a constitutional ammendment to legalize all gambling in Texas. Place a casino in the Astrodome, one in Dallas, and several on the coast Kemah and South Padre. Billions of dollars leave Texas for other states. Lets keep that money in our state and provide the children with the best education possible. I could play in a tournament or ring game in Austin Texas 7 days per week. At a minimum permit poker rooms! The WPT needs a stop in Texas!
One final note to all Sales persons out there. My hat is off to you! Sales is one tough job. I recently started doing some inside sales and I think it would be easier to climb Mt. Everest.
Play on!
Lately I have been content grinding things out at the .05/.10 tables at Paradise Poker. I got as low as $4, but now I am back to the $25 mark. Tonight I was at an interesting table. Some people thrive on this type of table, but this type of table gets to my nerves. The type of table I am referring to is one where the bet gets capped early and often. Fortunately for me I filled a boat and a flush on the river to take down two large pots. When tables get like this one I usually get up and leave, but tonight I decided to hang in there. I got back to back pocket Ks. What are the odds of that? Sure the algorithm is completely random (wink wink)! The first hand I lost on the river to a flush. The next hand was a big one where a K came on the flop. The board had flush and straight potential so I was nervous. On the river the board paired giving me a boat. The only thing that could have taken me was pocket aces. I took down a large pot. I learned that the only way to play a "crazy" table is if you have the nuts or a shot at the nuts.
I believe I will take my third shot at $.50/1.00 Omaha H/L on Paradise Poker. I am hoping to bust outof my slump and increase my profits. Perhaps I should stick with Holdem, but I feel like I can make more money playing omaha h/l.
I am a bit amazed that Party Poker has not sent me the please come back e-mail. I am going to be patient, because I could sure use the bonus to my advantage. I was also thinking about trying Superior pokers freerolls. There was another site offering freerolls, which I believe I saw on pokerworks.com. I forgot the name.
Finally I must rant again. The legislature of Texas all need to be fired. They are in a special session and the majority have decided to do nothing and permit the session clock to run out. If you did that on your job you would be fired.
First slot machines are in the school financing plan then they are out. Then they are back in. Get off your butts and revisit a constitutional ammendment to legalize all gambling in Texas. Place a casino in the Astrodome, one in Dallas, and several on the coast Kemah and South Padre. Billions of dollars leave Texas for other states. Lets keep that money in our state and provide the children with the best education possible. I could play in a tournament or ring game in Austin Texas 7 days per week. At a minimum permit poker rooms! The WPT needs a stop in Texas!
One final note to all Sales persons out there. My hat is off to you! Sales is one tough job. I recently started doing some inside sales and I think it would be easier to climb Mt. Everest.
Play on!
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Well once gain it has been a little while since I have had the chance to write. I am attempting to watch matix Reloaded, but I am certain I am going to fall asleep. I am also trying to play a little Omaha-8 at TNT. First thing on the agenda is to talk about a session I had this afternoon at Paradise poker. By the way I got as low as 4 dollars on that site, but I am back up to $12. I sit down at a .05/.10 limit Holdem game. I get dealt poket 6's. On the flop is another 6. I am pumped raising the maximum. On the river I lose to a straight. The very next hand I get the nut flush on the turn. You got it! I lost to a boat on the river. Two bad smacks in a row what would you do? I got up and left!
While the kids were taking a bath I played again at Paradise. My brother joined the table. There was a hand where I was dealt poker tens under the gun. I raised! My brother stays and 3 other. The flop comes TQA. I continue betting out. By brother raises me on the turn. I know he flopped a straight. I decide to ride to the river. An Ace hits the river. I check! My brother bets. I raise! He calls! I turn over the boat and calls me some not so polite names! I won my dollar back from the previously mentioned bad beats.
Last Friday I one again managed to finish in fourth place in the Friday night limit holdem tournament at TNT. Finishing on the bubble really gets old! I was all in with pocket queens. Lost to a pair of Ks on the river.
Did get to go on my annual date with my wife. A huge thanks to Mindy and Jorge! We went to the movies and saw Mystic River. Pretty good movie! I certainly enjoyed it!
Got invited to play in a no limit (rebuys) tournament Saturday night, but we had a previous commitment. Darn the luck! Hopefully I will get invited again. Ten rebuys for the first hour. I do not like rebuys, but it would have been some good experience.
Well I am passing out! Play on!
While the kids were taking a bath I played again at Paradise. My brother joined the table. There was a hand where I was dealt poker tens under the gun. I raised! My brother stays and 3 other. The flop comes TQA. I continue betting out. By brother raises me on the turn. I know he flopped a straight. I decide to ride to the river. An Ace hits the river. I check! My brother bets. I raise! He calls! I turn over the boat and calls me some not so polite names! I won my dollar back from the previously mentioned bad beats.
Last Friday I one again managed to finish in fourth place in the Friday night limit holdem tournament at TNT. Finishing on the bubble really gets old! I was all in with pocket queens. Lost to a pair of Ks on the river.
Did get to go on my annual date with my wife. A huge thanks to Mindy and Jorge! We went to the movies and saw Mystic River. Pretty good movie! I certainly enjoyed it!
Got invited to play in a no limit (rebuys) tournament Saturday night, but we had a previous commitment. Darn the luck! Hopefully I will get invited again. Ten rebuys for the first hour. I do not like rebuys, but it would have been some good experience.
Well I am passing out! Play on!
Friday, April 23, 2004
Howdy! It has been 13 days since I posted! Wow a ton can happen in that short span of time. I feel the need to make a statement about junk mail, school financing, soccer, and poker adventures.
Quick blurb on junk mail! Any company who puts "Important Document Enclosed" and it is another 0% financing credit card offer should be responsible for paying all of our taxes. Or can I have all of the money in postage that is generated as junk mail.
We enjoyed a nice rib-eye and salad for dinner. I am still enjoying the Yellow Tail Caberbet Sauvignon. Crap I just lost with a set of 9's. I had 9A and the other guy had a boat holding 95. Why me? All you can do is say 'nice hand"! Cards are pretty cold so far this evening, I am about to play in a limit holdem tournament, but first I thought I would try to build back my bankroll on Paradise. Last Friday I reached the $20+ mark and I played Omaha-8. I lost $8 on some decent hands. I am trying to build it back so I can try again. I am at $16 right now.
OK! School financing in Texas. This is an easy one to solve. Legalize poker in Texas! They just busted a couple more poker rooms. The interest is there and the games are certainly going on. I could play every night here in Austin if I had the time and bankroll. Our wonderful congressman will squander another special session. Isn't it great to see our tax dollars at work.
I have a good one about soccer. I am the assistant coach of a 7 year old girls team. Our team has yet to win a game, but I would say the girls are improving. We played this very good team. In fact they probably have been together for awhile, because they were wearing the fall silk jerseys while we wer ein our spring tee shirts. Any rate we started the game as usual with both teams and parents on the same side of the field. Every game has been this way. I ran over to the opposite side so I could help the girls on defense. After a little while the head coach came over and say "Hey switch sides with me". "OK!" our girls were playing really well and actually controlling the game against this superior team. I was cheering the girls on when the other head coach walked past me. "Get off my Line". "Excuse me" "I said get off my line" "Your line?" "Yes my line. Your team should be on the other side of the field." "Get off my Line" "Sir you do not speak to me as if I was a 4 year old. What is your problem?" "How is this your line?" Man I was fuming. I had not been this ticked in 10+ years. Oh no the tournament has started! One of our parents lightened the situation. "I got your back Carl!" I stated that it was not worth my time. I can not believe he takes seven year level soccer so seriously. He kept his star player in the entire game except for the last 1.5 minutes. Insane! We lost 4-2, but it was like a victory. We essentially scored 2 of their goals. We dominated the game. he did move his team to the other side of the field at half time. He did apologize after the game, but I thought it was hollow! I will edit this later with some poker thoughts. I can not keep up with this and 2 games.
I'm back! I managed to finally make it to the top 3 in the Midnight tournament. The leader decided to do an even 3 way chop. I was all over that! Third paid $7, so we all walked away with $12. Not bad for a $2 buy-in. So far today I have had pocket K's twice, flopped a K, then lost on the river both times to a flush and a straight. I flopped 2 pair As and 9s. Lost on the river to a straight. So now I am down to $14 at Paradise.
Here is a hand during the tournament that almost cost me. How would ya'll play this. I am in the big blind with JQo. Everyone checks to me. I check! Flop comes KKQ. I bet and get two callers. Turn is a J. I bet again and get two callers. The river is a 2. I bet! I get raised. I call! Player turns over 9T for the straight. Arrghhh! Fortunately I recovered by bluffing at the pot a couple of times.
Finally I did not finish on the bubble or in 5th in the midnight tournament at dynamitepoker.com. My PC did lock up during a crucial hand. My quick fingers managed to get me back in just in time to bet. I flopped a pair of Aces with a ten kicker. I won a decent amount. Sure can be frustrating online when the PC locks up. Thats life on the internet!
Big day tomorrow! Work day at the church 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM.. Soccer game at 11:30AM. The off to another crawfish boil. It should be fun especially if Jim Bob brings a keg of homebrew.
Play on! Rock on! Roll those cards over! I am playing in a NL omaha-8 tourny, but I am fading fast! Goodnight!
Quick blurb on junk mail! Any company who puts "Important Document Enclosed" and it is another 0% financing credit card offer should be responsible for paying all of our taxes. Or can I have all of the money in postage that is generated as junk mail.
We enjoyed a nice rib-eye and salad for dinner. I am still enjoying the Yellow Tail Caberbet Sauvignon. Crap I just lost with a set of 9's. I had 9A and the other guy had a boat holding 95. Why me? All you can do is say 'nice hand"! Cards are pretty cold so far this evening, I am about to play in a limit holdem tournament, but first I thought I would try to build back my bankroll on Paradise. Last Friday I reached the $20+ mark and I played Omaha-8. I lost $8 on some decent hands. I am trying to build it back so I can try again. I am at $16 right now.
OK! School financing in Texas. This is an easy one to solve. Legalize poker in Texas! They just busted a couple more poker rooms. The interest is there and the games are certainly going on. I could play every night here in Austin if I had the time and bankroll. Our wonderful congressman will squander another special session. Isn't it great to see our tax dollars at work.
I have a good one about soccer. I am the assistant coach of a 7 year old girls team. Our team has yet to win a game, but I would say the girls are improving. We played this very good team. In fact they probably have been together for awhile, because they were wearing the fall silk jerseys while we wer ein our spring tee shirts. Any rate we started the game as usual with both teams and parents on the same side of the field. Every game has been this way. I ran over to the opposite side so I could help the girls on defense. After a little while the head coach came over and say "Hey switch sides with me". "OK!" our girls were playing really well and actually controlling the game against this superior team. I was cheering the girls on when the other head coach walked past me. "Get off my Line". "Excuse me" "I said get off my line" "Your line?" "Yes my line. Your team should be on the other side of the field." "Get off my Line" "Sir you do not speak to me as if I was a 4 year old. What is your problem?" "How is this your line?" Man I was fuming. I had not been this ticked in 10+ years. Oh no the tournament has started! One of our parents lightened the situation. "I got your back Carl!" I stated that it was not worth my time. I can not believe he takes seven year level soccer so seriously. He kept his star player in the entire game except for the last 1.5 minutes. Insane! We lost 4-2, but it was like a victory. We essentially scored 2 of their goals. We dominated the game. he did move his team to the other side of the field at half time. He did apologize after the game, but I thought it was hollow! I will edit this later with some poker thoughts. I can not keep up with this and 2 games.
I'm back! I managed to finally make it to the top 3 in the Midnight tournament. The leader decided to do an even 3 way chop. I was all over that! Third paid $7, so we all walked away with $12. Not bad for a $2 buy-in. So far today I have had pocket K's twice, flopped a K, then lost on the river both times to a flush and a straight. I flopped 2 pair As and 9s. Lost on the river to a straight. So now I am down to $14 at Paradise.
Here is a hand during the tournament that almost cost me. How would ya'll play this. I am in the big blind with JQo. Everyone checks to me. I check! Flop comes KKQ. I bet and get two callers. Turn is a J. I bet again and get two callers. The river is a 2. I bet! I get raised. I call! Player turns over 9T for the straight. Arrghhh! Fortunately I recovered by bluffing at the pot a couple of times.
Finally I did not finish on the bubble or in 5th in the midnight tournament at dynamitepoker.com. My PC did lock up during a crucial hand. My quick fingers managed to get me back in just in time to bet. I flopped a pair of Aces with a ten kicker. I won a decent amount. Sure can be frustrating online when the PC locks up. Thats life on the internet!
Big day tomorrow! Work day at the church 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM.. Soccer game at 11:30AM. The off to another crawfish boil. It should be fun especially if Jim Bob brings a keg of homebrew.
Play on! Rock on! Roll those cards over! I am playing in a NL omaha-8 tourny, but I am fading fast! Goodnight!
Sunday, April 11, 2004
"I'm caught up in a dream ... I ain't going to change a thing no way its my dream..." Nice little tune by Tesla. I am currently playing in a limit holdem tournament at Dynamite Poker. I played in this same tournament on Friday night. There were 29 players and I finished 4th. Once again on the BUBBLE! Now I am listening to "Lovely" by the Suicidal Tendencies. What a name for a band! I only made one mistake during the tournament on Friday. I was holding KQ suited and the flop came AK6. I checked the player to my left bet. I went to the show down thinking he was bluffing. He turned over AK. I should have folded after the flop assuming he had an ace. I lost half my stack. I did battle back, but I was out gunned down the stretch and was forced to go all in with a marginal hand.
Darn I just flopped a set of 8s and a flush came on the river. There was also a straight almost sitting on the board. I was dead meat unless the board paired up. I am in the middle of the pack right now, so I need to win a big hand soon.
A quick update on Paradise Poker. If anyone reads this thing they know that Paradise was foolish enough to give me $2. Well I have managed to grind the .02/.04 and .05/.10 tables to have a stack of $20. I want to move to Omaha-8, but the smallest stake table is .50/1. I am going to attempt to grind to $30, but I may get impatient. I think if I sit down with $12 I can be profitable. All thought it takes time I love making money from nothing!!
Today I managed to do some weeding. Why do nasty vine weeds start to grow at the very base of your favorite rose plants. There is this one weed that has nasty thorns. We have tried to be organic gardeners, but weeds are killing me! I need to find a cure for weeds. I wonder if I can nuke nut grass by adjusting the pH of the soil. The yard is looking pretty good!
We played in a soggy soccer game today. It got cold quickly! Once again we got our booties kicked all over the field, but the girls did show signs of improvement.
I just won $890 with pocket 9's. I had a feeling the bettor did not have a pocket pair and the highest card on the board was a ten. Wahooo! I was toast if my hunch was incorrect. I am now in 4th with 11 players left. The chip lead has double what I have though! I just won another 800 with a pair of Ks. I better finish in the money tonight! Gotta go and concentrate!
Well I had trouble posting, so I might as well share the conclusion to the tournament. There were 5 players left (2382, 2050, 1422, 1670, and 727). Guess who was low man on the totem pole. I get dealt AA. I raise pre-flop. Flop comes 8k4 rainbow. I raise again. Turn brings T. I am all-in. River brings a K. So what does the only player in have? Yes a King. Chit out 5th with an awesome hand! I played it right so I can not complain. I am about to enter a crazy game. It only costs $1 with no rebuys. No limit Omaha-8! Should be exciting!
Play on!
Darn I just flopped a set of 8s and a flush came on the river. There was also a straight almost sitting on the board. I was dead meat unless the board paired up. I am in the middle of the pack right now, so I need to win a big hand soon.
A quick update on Paradise Poker. If anyone reads this thing they know that Paradise was foolish enough to give me $2. Well I have managed to grind the .02/.04 and .05/.10 tables to have a stack of $20. I want to move to Omaha-8, but the smallest stake table is .50/1. I am going to attempt to grind to $30, but I may get impatient. I think if I sit down with $12 I can be profitable. All thought it takes time I love making money from nothing!!
Today I managed to do some weeding. Why do nasty vine weeds start to grow at the very base of your favorite rose plants. There is this one weed that has nasty thorns. We have tried to be organic gardeners, but weeds are killing me! I need to find a cure for weeds. I wonder if I can nuke nut grass by adjusting the pH of the soil. The yard is looking pretty good!
We played in a soggy soccer game today. It got cold quickly! Once again we got our booties kicked all over the field, but the girls did show signs of improvement.
I just won $890 with pocket 9's. I had a feeling the bettor did not have a pocket pair and the highest card on the board was a ten. Wahooo! I was toast if my hunch was incorrect. I am now in 4th with 11 players left. The chip lead has double what I have though! I just won another 800 with a pair of Ks. I better finish in the money tonight! Gotta go and concentrate!
Well I had trouble posting, so I might as well share the conclusion to the tournament. There were 5 players left (2382, 2050, 1422, 1670, and 727). Guess who was low man on the totem pole. I get dealt AA. I raise pre-flop. Flop comes 8k4 rainbow. I raise again. Turn brings T. I am all-in. River brings a K. So what does the only player in have? Yes a King. Chit out 5th with an awesome hand! I played it right so I can not complain. I am about to enter a crazy game. It only costs $1 with no rebuys. No limit Omaha-8! Should be exciting!
Play on!
"I'm caught up in a dream ... I ain't going to change a thing no way its my dream..." Nice little tune by Tesla. I am currently playing in a limit holdem tournament at Dynamite Poker. I played in this same tournament on Friday night. There were 29 players and I finished 4th. Once again on the BUBBLE! Now I am listening to "Lovely" by the Suicidal Tendencies. What a name for a band! I only made one mistake during the tournament on Friday. I was holding KQ suited and the flop came AK6. I checked the player to my left bet. I went to the show down thinking he was bluffing. He turned over AK. I should have folded after the flop assuming he had an ace. I lost half my stack. I did battle back, but I was out gunned down the stretch and was forced to go all in with a marginal hand.
Darn I just flopped a set of 8s and a flush came on the river. There was also a straight almost sitting on the board. I was dead meat unless the board paired up. I am in the middle of the pack right now, so I need to win a big hand soon.
A quick update on Paradise Poker. If anyone reads this thing they know that Paradise was foolish enough to give me $2. Well I have managed to grind the .02/.04 and .05/.10 tables to have a stack of $20. I want to move to Omaha-8, but the smallest stake table is .50/1. I am going to attempt to grind to $30, but I may get impatient. I think if I sit down with $12 I can be profitable. All thought it takes time I love making money from nothing!!
Today I managed to do some weeding. Why do nasty vine weeds start to grow at the very base of your favorite rose plants. There is this one weed that has nasty thorns. We have tried to be organic gardeners, but weeds are killing me! I need to find a cure for weeds. I wonder if I can nuke nut grass by adjusting the pH of the soil. The yard is looking pretty good!
We played in a soggy soccer game today. It got cold quickly! Once again we got our booties kicked all over the field, but the girls did show signs of improvement.
I just won $890 with pocket 9's. I had a feeling the bettor did not have a pocket pair and the highest card on the board was a ten. Wahooo! I was toast if my hunch was incorrect. I am now in 4th with 11 players left. The chip lead has double what I have though! I just won another 800 with a pair of Ks. I better finish in the money tonight! Gotta go and concentrate!
Play on!
Darn I just flopped a set of 8s and a flush came on the river. There was also a straight almost sitting on the board. I was dead meat unless the board paired up. I am in the middle of the pack right now, so I need to win a big hand soon.
A quick update on Paradise Poker. If anyone reads this thing they know that Paradise was foolish enough to give me $2. Well I have managed to grind the .02/.04 and .05/.10 tables to have a stack of $20. I want to move to Omaha-8, but the smallest stake table is .50/1. I am going to attempt to grind to $30, but I may get impatient. I think if I sit down with $12 I can be profitable. All thought it takes time I love making money from nothing!!
Today I managed to do some weeding. Why do nasty vine weeds start to grow at the very base of your favorite rose plants. There is this one weed that has nasty thorns. We have tried to be organic gardeners, but weeds are killing me! I need to find a cure for weeds. I wonder if I can nuke nut grass by adjusting the pH of the soil. The yard is looking pretty good!
We played in a soggy soccer game today. It got cold quickly! Once again we got our booties kicked all over the field, but the girls did show signs of improvement.
I just won $890 with pocket 9's. I had a feeling the bettor did not have a pocket pair and the highest card on the board was a ten. Wahooo! I was toast if my hunch was incorrect. I am now in 4th with 11 players left. The chip lead has double what I have though! I just won another 800 with a pair of Ks. I better finish in the money tonight! Gotta go and concentrate!
Play on!
"I'm caught up in a dream ... I ain't going to change a thing no way its my dream..." Nice little tune by Tesla. I am currently playing in a limit holdem tournament at Dynamite Poker. I played in this same tournament on Friday night. There were 29 players and I finished 4th. Once again on the BUBBLE! Now I am listening to "Lovely" by the Suicidal Tendencies. What a name for a band! I only made one mistake during the tournament on Friday. I was holding KQ suited and the flop came AK6. I checked the player to my left bet. I went to the show down thinking he was bluffing. He turned over AK. I should have folded after the flop assuming he had an ace. I lost half my stack. I did battle back, but I was out gunned down the stretch and was forced to go all in with a marginal hand.
Darn I just flopped a set of 8s and a flush came on the river. There was also a straight almost sitting on the board. I was dead meat unless the board paired up. I am in the middle of the pack right now, so I need to win a big hand soon.
A quick update on Paradise Poker. If anyone reads this thing they know that Paradise was foolish enough to give me $2. Well I have managed to grind the .02/.04 and .05/.10 tables to have a stack of $20. I want to move to Omaha-8, but the smallest stake table is .50/1. I am going to attempt to grind to $30, but I may get impatient. I think if I sit down with $12 I can be profitable. All thought it takes time I love making money from nothing!!
Today I managed to do some weeding. Why do nasty vine weeds start to grow at the very base of your favorite rose plants. There is this one weed that has nasty thorns. We have tried to be organic gardeners, but weeds are killing me! I need to find a cure for weeds. I wonder if I can nuke nut grass by adjusting the pH of the soil. The yard is looking pretty good!
We played in a soggy soccer game today. It got cold quickly! Once again we got our booties kicked all over the field, but the girls did show signs of improvement.
I just won $890 with pocket 9's. I had a feeling the bettor did not have a pocket pair and the highest card on the board was a ten. Wahooo! I was toast if my hunch was incorrect. I am now in 4th with 11 players left. The chip lead has double what I have though! I just won another 800 with a pair of Ks. I better finish in the money tonight! Gotta go and concentrate!
Play on!
Darn I just flopped a set of 8s and a flush came on the river. There was also a straight almost sitting on the board. I was dead meat unless the board paired up. I am in the middle of the pack right now, so I need to win a big hand soon.
A quick update on Paradise Poker. If anyone reads this thing they know that Paradise was foolish enough to give me $2. Well I have managed to grind the .02/.04 and .05/.10 tables to have a stack of $20. I want to move to Omaha-8, but the smallest stake table is .50/1. I am going to attempt to grind to $30, but I may get impatient. I think if I sit down with $12 I can be profitable. All thought it takes time I love making money from nothing!!
Today I managed to do some weeding. Why do nasty vine weeds start to grow at the very base of your favorite rose plants. There is this one weed that has nasty thorns. We have tried to be organic gardeners, but weeds are killing me! I need to find a cure for weeds. I wonder if I can nuke nut grass by adjusting the pH of the soil. The yard is looking pretty good!
We played in a soggy soccer game today. It got cold quickly! Once again we got our booties kicked all over the field, but the girls did show signs of improvement.
I just won $890 with pocket 9's. I had a feeling the bettor did not have a pocket pair and the highest card on the board was a ten. Wahooo! I was toast if my hunch was incorrect. I am now in 4th with 11 players left. The chip lead has double what I have though! I just won another 800 with a pair of Ks. I better finish in the money tonight! Gotta go and concentrate!
Play on!
"I'm caught up in a dream ... I ain't going to change a thing no way its my dream..." Nice little tune by Tesla. I am currently playing in a limit holdem tournament at Dynamite Poker. I played in this same tournament on Friday night. There were 29 players and I finished 4th. Once again on the BUBBLE! Now I am listening to "Lovely" by the Suicidal Tendencies. What a name for a band! I only made one mistake during the tournament on Friday. I was holding KQ suited and the flop came AK6. I checked the player to my left bet. I went to the show down thinking he was bluffing. He turned over AK. I should have folded after the flop assuming he had an ace. I lost half my stack. I did battle back, but I was out gunned down the stretch and was forced to go all in with a marginal hand.
Darn I just flopped a set of 8s and a flush came on the river. There was also a straight almost sitting on the board. I was dead meat unless the board paired up. I am in the middle of the pack right now, so I need to win a big hand soon.
A quick update on Paradise Poker. If anyone reads this thing they know that Paradise was foolish enough to give me $2. Well I have managed to grind the .02/.04 and .05/.10 tables to have a stack of $20. I want to move to Omaha-8, but the smallest stake table is .50/1. I am going to attempt to grind to $30, but I may get impatient. I think if I sit down with $12 I can be profitable. All thought it takes time I love making money from nothing!!
Today I managed to do some weeding. Why do nasty vine weeds start to grow at the very base of your favorite rose plants. There is this one weed that has nasty thorns. We have tried to be organic gardeners, but weeds are killing me! I need to find a cure for weeds. I wonder if I can nuke nut grass by adjusting the pH of the soil. The yard is looking pretty good!
We played in a soggy soccer game today. It got cold quickly! Once again we got our booties kicked all over the field, but the girls did show signs of improvement.
I just won $890 with pocket 9's. I had a feeling the bettor did not have a pocket pair and the highest card on the board was a ten. Wahooo! I was toast if my hunch was incorrect. I am now in 4th with 11 players left. The chip lead has double what I have though! I just won another 800 with a pair of Ks. I better finish in the money tonight! Gotta go and concentrate!
Play on!
Darn I just flopped a set of 8s and a flush came on the river. There was also a straight almost sitting on the board. I was dead meat unless the board paired up. I am in the middle of the pack right now, so I need to win a big hand soon.
A quick update on Paradise Poker. If anyone reads this thing they know that Paradise was foolish enough to give me $2. Well I have managed to grind the .02/.04 and .05/.10 tables to have a stack of $20. I want to move to Omaha-8, but the smallest stake table is .50/1. I am going to attempt to grind to $30, but I may get impatient. I think if I sit down with $12 I can be profitable. All thought it takes time I love making money from nothing!!
Today I managed to do some weeding. Why do nasty vine weeds start to grow at the very base of your favorite rose plants. There is this one weed that has nasty thorns. We have tried to be organic gardeners, but weeds are killing me! I need to find a cure for weeds. I wonder if I can nuke nut grass by adjusting the pH of the soil. The yard is looking pretty good!
We played in a soggy soccer game today. It got cold quickly! Once again we got our booties kicked all over the field, but the girls did show signs of improvement.
I just won $890 with pocket 9's. I had a feeling the bettor did not have a pocket pair and the highest card on the board was a ten. Wahooo! I was toast if my hunch was incorrect. I am now in 4th with 11 players left. The chip lead has double what I have though! I just won another 800 with a pair of Ks. I better finish in the money tonight! Gotta go and concentrate!
Play on!
"I'm caught up in a dream ... I ain't going to change a thing no way its my dream..." Nice little tune by Tesla. I am currently playing in a limit holdem tournament at Dynamite Poker. I played in this same tournament on Friday night. There were 29 players and I finished 4th. Once again on the BUBBLE! Now I am listening to "Lovely" by the Suicidal Tendencies. What a name for a band! I only made one mistake during the tournament on Friday. I was holding KQ suited and the flop came AK6. I checked the player to my left bet. I went to the show down thinking he was bluffing. He turned over AK. I should have folded after the flop assuming he had an ace. I lost half my stack. I did battle back, but I was out gunned down the stretch and was forced to go all in with a marginal hand.
Darn I just flopped a set of 8s and a flush came on the river. There was also a straight almost sitting on the board. I was dead meat unless the board paired up. I am in the middle of the pack right now, so I need to win a big hand soon.
A quick update on Paradise Poker. If anyone reads this thing they know that Paradise was foolish enough to give me $2. Well I have managed to grind the .02/.04 and .05/.10 tables to have a stack of $20. I want to move to Omaha-8, but the smallest stake table is .50/1. I am going to attempt to grind to $30, but I may get impatient. I think if I sit down with $12 I can be profitable. All thought it takes time I love making money from nothing!!
Today I managed to do some weeding. Why do nasty vine weeds start to grow at the very base of your favorite rose plants. There is this one weed that has nasty thorns. We have tried to be organic gardeners, but weeds are killing me! I need to find a cure for weeds. I wonder if I can nuke nut grass by adjusting the pH of the soil. The yard is looking pretty good!
We played in a soggy soccer game today. It got cold quickly! Once again we got our booties kicked all over the field, but the girls did show signs of improvement.
I just won $890 with pocket 9's. I had a feeling the bettor did not have a pocket pair and the highest card on the board was a ten. Wahooo! I was toast if my hunch was incorrect. I am now in 4th with 11 players left. The chip lead has double what I have though! I just won another 800 with a pair of Ks. I better finish in the money tonight! Gotta go and concentrate!
Play on!
Darn I just flopped a set of 8s and a flush came on the river. There was also a straight almost sitting on the board. I was dead meat unless the board paired up. I am in the middle of the pack right now, so I need to win a big hand soon.
A quick update on Paradise Poker. If anyone reads this thing they know that Paradise was foolish enough to give me $2. Well I have managed to grind the .02/.04 and .05/.10 tables to have a stack of $20. I want to move to Omaha-8, but the smallest stake table is .50/1. I am going to attempt to grind to $30, but I may get impatient. I think if I sit down with $12 I can be profitable. All thought it takes time I love making money from nothing!!
Today I managed to do some weeding. Why do nasty vine weeds start to grow at the very base of your favorite rose plants. There is this one weed that has nasty thorns. We have tried to be organic gardeners, but weeds are killing me! I need to find a cure for weeds. I wonder if I can nuke nut grass by adjusting the pH of the soil. The yard is looking pretty good!
We played in a soggy soccer game today. It got cold quickly! Once again we got our booties kicked all over the field, but the girls did show signs of improvement.
I just won $890 with pocket 9's. I had a feeling the bettor did not have a pocket pair and the highest card on the board was a ten. Wahooo! I was toast if my hunch was incorrect. I am now in 4th with 11 players left. The chip lead has double what I have though! I just won another 800 with a pair of Ks. I better finish in the money tonight! Gotta go and concentrate!
Play on!
Monday, April 05, 2004
Crazy weekend! Friday I played poker until 3:00AM to win a grand total of $0.16. I was up $1.50 at one point, but got loosy goosy. A friend of mine won a tournament at pokerroom.com. I also watched to of my friends from Houston take bad beats to get knocked out of the Party Poker $30 buy in tournament.
Saturday morning up at 6:30 AM to get ready for the neighborhood garage sale. Well I was very disappointed in the the Home Owners Association (HOA) did not advertise nor did I see any signs or banners posted to get people into the neighborhood. HOA will hear about this one. As I prepare the last details my wife comes to the garage to tell me that there is no hot water. I try several times to relight the pilot to no avail. I know I was doing the correct procedure. My wife found the receipt and we had replaced the water heater just a year ago on March 1. Figures the one year warranty would be expired. We called three service companies. First one to return our call gets the business. The first one believe it or not was Roto-Rooter. We found out that they charge the same rates 24/7, so no surcharge for the weekend. Turns out it was a thermal-couple, but it was to the tune of $120. Ouch! So much for same rate 24/7, but we had to have hot water. I happened to be wearing my 2002 WSOP tee shirt. The repair guy asked if I had played in it. I stated I wish, but it is a long term goal of mine. He asked if there were any local tournaments. I answered do fish like water. He is supposed to send me an e-mail so I can hook him up with some live action. We will see if he follows through. I also gave him some URLs to sights I typically play.
In the mean time very little traffic for the garage sale. I sold a couple things, but now I was pretty much giving stuff away. I was coming up with a strategy to pack everything away, Goodwill, or trash. We had two garage cabinets that I just wanted to get rid of. A guy in a pick up asked how much. I said the pair for $5. He took it plus 4 other items for $15. My wife asked how much I got for them. I told her and thought I was in for a lecture. My rebuttal was that it would cost me $5 to drive them to Habitate for Humanity. She concurred!
Oh yeah! Since my better half could not shower she decided we needed to repaint the front door. Off to Home Depot she goes. At 2:00 PM we start on the door project. The process involved sanding, primer, and two coats of paint. I had to leave at 5:30 PM for a moonlight sail on Lake Travis. The long and short of it was that I put the door back on the house at 5:30 PM, knowing it still needed another couple of coats of paint. Bummer more work for Sunday.
I made it to the Austin Yacht Club in about 35 minutes. I was the first on there. We loaded up the 21 foot sailboat, Vitamin Sea. I started with a Shiner Bach, then once we were on our way we switched to wine. The sun set was spectacular dropping between 2 dark swirls of clouds. The full moon was already positioning itself in the sky. We sailed to a small tranquil cove. The skipper grilled salmon steaks, which was accompanied by a pasta salad, a garden salad, slice of fresh bread, and of course more wine. The moon brightened the night sky. The mood had some dark rings attached to it. Finally we headed back to the dock. There was little wind so the motor was called upon. When we docked I was amazed at how much light the moon provided. I learned a tiny bit about sailing. How some of the latches work. I also got to help fold the gib (sp?). I made it home at about 12:15 AM. I tried to play a little poker, but I knew daylight savings would get the better of me.
When we woke up our daughter was not feeling well, so I stayed home. My wife took our son to a birthday party while I slaved away at pulling weeds. I did that for about 4 hours. Fun Fun Fun!
One last rant - Why do we do this daylight savings bit anyway? I was so tired this morning. Thank goodness for my boss encouraging me to go for coffee. One eye-opener (1 shot of expresso in dark roast). Yummy!
Play on!
Saturday morning up at 6:30 AM to get ready for the neighborhood garage sale. Well I was very disappointed in the the Home Owners Association (HOA) did not advertise nor did I see any signs or banners posted to get people into the neighborhood. HOA will hear about this one. As I prepare the last details my wife comes to the garage to tell me that there is no hot water. I try several times to relight the pilot to no avail. I know I was doing the correct procedure. My wife found the receipt and we had replaced the water heater just a year ago on March 1. Figures the one year warranty would be expired. We called three service companies. First one to return our call gets the business. The first one believe it or not was Roto-Rooter. We found out that they charge the same rates 24/7, so no surcharge for the weekend. Turns out it was a thermal-couple, but it was to the tune of $120. Ouch! So much for same rate 24/7, but we had to have hot water. I happened to be wearing my 2002 WSOP tee shirt. The repair guy asked if I had played in it. I stated I wish, but it is a long term goal of mine. He asked if there were any local tournaments. I answered do fish like water. He is supposed to send me an e-mail so I can hook him up with some live action. We will see if he follows through. I also gave him some URLs to sights I typically play.
In the mean time very little traffic for the garage sale. I sold a couple things, but now I was pretty much giving stuff away. I was coming up with a strategy to pack everything away, Goodwill, or trash. We had two garage cabinets that I just wanted to get rid of. A guy in a pick up asked how much. I said the pair for $5. He took it plus 4 other items for $15. My wife asked how much I got for them. I told her and thought I was in for a lecture. My rebuttal was that it would cost me $5 to drive them to Habitate for Humanity. She concurred!
Oh yeah! Since my better half could not shower she decided we needed to repaint the front door. Off to Home Depot she goes. At 2:00 PM we start on the door project. The process involved sanding, primer, and two coats of paint. I had to leave at 5:30 PM for a moonlight sail on Lake Travis. The long and short of it was that I put the door back on the house at 5:30 PM, knowing it still needed another couple of coats of paint. Bummer more work for Sunday.
I made it to the Austin Yacht Club in about 35 minutes. I was the first on there. We loaded up the 21 foot sailboat, Vitamin Sea. I started with a Shiner Bach, then once we were on our way we switched to wine. The sun set was spectacular dropping between 2 dark swirls of clouds. The full moon was already positioning itself in the sky. We sailed to a small tranquil cove. The skipper grilled salmon steaks, which was accompanied by a pasta salad, a garden salad, slice of fresh bread, and of course more wine. The moon brightened the night sky. The mood had some dark rings attached to it. Finally we headed back to the dock. There was little wind so the motor was called upon. When we docked I was amazed at how much light the moon provided. I learned a tiny bit about sailing. How some of the latches work. I also got to help fold the gib (sp?). I made it home at about 12:15 AM. I tried to play a little poker, but I knew daylight savings would get the better of me.
When we woke up our daughter was not feeling well, so I stayed home. My wife took our son to a birthday party while I slaved away at pulling weeds. I did that for about 4 hours. Fun Fun Fun!
One last rant - Why do we do this daylight savings bit anyway? I was so tired this morning. Thank goodness for my boss encouraging me to go for coffee. One eye-opener (1 shot of expresso in dark roast). Yummy!
Play on!
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Unfortunately I have not played poker in about a week, so not much to talk about on that front. I did show the kids the poker hand rankings. The 7 year showed minor interest, but the 4 year old did not care. I did manage to play in a scramble tournament on Saturday. My Dad and I ham and egged it for a round of -2. We had one player who plays once per year and the fourth was a no show due to an injury. We played very well other than blasting our tee shots over the green on a par three. This error caused our only bogie. We had a wonderful dinner at Realle's despite receiving some sad news. We learned that my wife's Uncle passed away on Saturday. This caused a rapid trip to El Paso. We did make the return trip in record time of 9.5 hours. Amazing what gameboys and a VCR can do! Here are some random thoughts so interpret them as you may:
1. 2 Guinness and 4 ibuprofen kick start a round of golf! Two more Guinness keep the round flowing.
2. How can radio reception be so poor between Austin and El Paso. Seriously considering Satellite radio.
3. Never force your religion on someone else.
4. How can Christians believe in the same primary principles, but be so different?
5. Very friendly lady at the Chevron in Harper Texas.
6. Always pick up a bottle of Corralejo and a 6 pk of Indio when in Mexico!
7. Add funeral arrangements into your financial plan!
I am watching the World Poker Tour, but unfortunately it is a rerun! Man what is up with that!
Play on!
1. 2 Guinness and 4 ibuprofen kick start a round of golf! Two more Guinness keep the round flowing.
2. How can radio reception be so poor between Austin and El Paso. Seriously considering Satellite radio.
3. Never force your religion on someone else.
4. How can Christians believe in the same primary principles, but be so different?
5. Very friendly lady at the Chevron in Harper Texas.
6. Always pick up a bottle of Corralejo and a 6 pk of Indio when in Mexico!
7. Add funeral arrangements into your financial plan!
I am watching the World Poker Tour, but unfortunately it is a rerun! Man what is up with that!
Play on!
Thursday, March 25, 2004
It all started with our 4 year old stealing my change from the "junk" drawer. Grand total of maybe $1.17. He wanted me to get the cards out of his game so that we could play poker. Hmmmm! How about if I give him a real deck? So we began teaching him the mechanics of dealing Texas Holdem. Then his sister (7) wanted to play. One hand she got a pair of queens and her eyes lit up like a X-mas tree. I got a king on the river to take her money. I am so mean! She laughed and we continued to play. Well on one hand the four year old checked, then said "I fold". I said are you sure. I not sure, so he puts in another penny. He smoked us with a spade flush. This whole exercise was entertaining, but it caused me to think about how I can teach these young minds how to play poker and how can I learn from them. The next sessions I am going to show them the ranking order and take all my money back! One final note you can play one interesting game of Yugiho with regular deck of cards!!
I had to quickly share a hand of Omaha-8 ($.5/1) from last night at Dynamite Poker. I was dealt KKQJ (QJ were suited). I checked the betting came around to me capped. I called the family pot. The flop brings a K. I do not recall the other cards. The betting comes around to me capped again. I call. The turn did not help. I think the betting checked around this time, so I also checked. A lovely 7 hits the river pairing the board. No possible low hand so I bet out. I pulled down $25 on a single hand. I then proceded to get a nut flush and 4 aces. I finished the session up $35.
I am craving a Guinness! I am playing in a golf tournament on Saturday so I will have to have a Guinness for breakfast. For any golfer that might read this I play my best golf starting out with 2 beers and 4 ibuprofen. Try it it can not hurt.
Stay tuned for lessons from the 4 year old part 2.
I had to quickly share a hand of Omaha-8 ($.5/1) from last night at Dynamite Poker. I was dealt KKQJ (QJ were suited). I checked the betting came around to me capped. I called the family pot. The flop brings a K. I do not recall the other cards. The betting comes around to me capped again. I call. The turn did not help. I think the betting checked around this time, so I also checked. A lovely 7 hits the river pairing the board. No possible low hand so I bet out. I pulled down $25 on a single hand. I then proceded to get a nut flush and 4 aces. I finished the session up $35.
I am craving a Guinness! I am playing in a golf tournament on Saturday so I will have to have a Guinness for breakfast. For any golfer that might read this I play my best golf starting out with 2 beers and 4 ibuprofen. Try it it can not hurt.
Stay tuned for lessons from the 4 year old part 2.
Monday, March 22, 2004
It is about time I wrote something. I do have an observation I would like to share about a poker hand I witnessed this Saturday. Unfortunately for me our 4 year old would not go to sleep. It was midnight and the little rascal was still awake. I finally showed up at the poker tournament to just miss the $20 buy-in ($900 in chips) loser tournament. The $50 buy-in main event had already been completed. A newcomer walked away with the cash. Any rate I decided to enjoy a cold beer, watch, and learn. There are two hands in particular that stick out at me.
I was standing behind a good friend of mine and I could see the player’s cards to his right. He was holding AQs. The flop comes T36. A player in the 4s bet $25. There were four callers, including Mr. AQ. ON the turn hits a 3. The 4s bets $25 and there were 4 callers. River brings a 7. Check! Check! The 4s bets out $125. Mr. AQ thinks for a second then calls. I am thinking what the heck is he doing. The 4s turns over exactly what I expected a 3 for a set. The really strange part was that $125 was more than 50% of Mr. AQ’s stack. I am still amazed at this play. I guess the lesson learned is that a pair on the board with an ace kicker does not mean didley squat. At this point I sure wish I had arrived earlier and been in this game.
The hand of the night goes like this. There are 4 remaining players who shall be called Lady X (chip Leader), Funky Cap, Scissors, and Steady Eddie. Funky cap is under the gun and goes all in for $655. Scissors folds (2nd in chips). Steady Eddie goes all-in and states for the record if Lady X goes in he gets third place because he had $675. Funky cap acknowledges that fact. Lady X proudly says I call. Funky Cap turns over 44. Steady Eddie turns over JJ. Lady X proudly turns over AA. An ace hits on the flop. Lady X eliminates two more players. Just happens that Lady X is married to scissors, so they collectively take home 1st and 2nd place monies. Steady Eddie took home 3rd.
All poker players will get a kick out this conversation. “Hey Carl! An ace high flush is an ace high flush right?” My reply, “Yes!” Funky cap goes “wait a minute, lets clarify. Does an AT flush beat an A9?” My reply, “Of course.” “That’s bullshit man. An ace high flush is an ace high flush!”
Some people just have to try and cause trouble. This is the same person that was stating repeatedly that poker was just pure luck! Wink wink! “Sure it is!”
I will end this post with a quick rant. People who package products need to carefully rethink the materials they use. On our way to Houston we stopped to buy a car charger for the kids Gameboys. We did not need it on the way up, but on the way home we did. Do you think we could get the molded plastic open? I hate that molded plastic packaging that can only be opened with a pair of scissors. A big Thank you to the Chevron gas station attendant for letting us borrow some scissors. How many parents have ripped the hair off a Barbie doll trying to get it out of the package? Have you cut yourself on the zillion metal twist ties used to hold in a Tonka truck? This consumer hates over packaging, so stop!!!!
Hopefully I will get some poker in this week! I am up to $11 on the Paradise account. I tried to set up a friend with the free $2, but they apparently have stopped that promotion. Perhaps to many people are turning $2 into a bankroll! I certainly hope to!
Play on and mostly importantly remember “An ace high flush is an ace high flush”.
I was standing behind a good friend of mine and I could see the player’s cards to his right. He was holding AQs. The flop comes T36. A player in the 4s bet $25. There were four callers, including Mr. AQ. ON the turn hits a 3. The 4s bets $25 and there were 4 callers. River brings a 7. Check! Check! The 4s bets out $125. Mr. AQ thinks for a second then calls. I am thinking what the heck is he doing. The 4s turns over exactly what I expected a 3 for a set. The really strange part was that $125 was more than 50% of Mr. AQ’s stack. I am still amazed at this play. I guess the lesson learned is that a pair on the board with an ace kicker does not mean didley squat. At this point I sure wish I had arrived earlier and been in this game.
The hand of the night goes like this. There are 4 remaining players who shall be called Lady X (chip Leader), Funky Cap, Scissors, and Steady Eddie. Funky cap is under the gun and goes all in for $655. Scissors folds (2nd in chips). Steady Eddie goes all-in and states for the record if Lady X goes in he gets third place because he had $675. Funky cap acknowledges that fact. Lady X proudly says I call. Funky Cap turns over 44. Steady Eddie turns over JJ. Lady X proudly turns over AA. An ace hits on the flop. Lady X eliminates two more players. Just happens that Lady X is married to scissors, so they collectively take home 1st and 2nd place monies. Steady Eddie took home 3rd.
All poker players will get a kick out this conversation. “Hey Carl! An ace high flush is an ace high flush right?” My reply, “Yes!” Funky cap goes “wait a minute, lets clarify. Does an AT flush beat an A9?” My reply, “Of course.” “That’s bullshit man. An ace high flush is an ace high flush!”
Some people just have to try and cause trouble. This is the same person that was stating repeatedly that poker was just pure luck! Wink wink! “Sure it is!”
I will end this post with a quick rant. People who package products need to carefully rethink the materials they use. On our way to Houston we stopped to buy a car charger for the kids Gameboys. We did not need it on the way up, but on the way home we did. Do you think we could get the molded plastic open? I hate that molded plastic packaging that can only be opened with a pair of scissors. A big Thank you to the Chevron gas station attendant for letting us borrow some scissors. How many parents have ripped the hair off a Barbie doll trying to get it out of the package? Have you cut yourself on the zillion metal twist ties used to hold in a Tonka truck? This consumer hates over packaging, so stop!!!!
Hopefully I will get some poker in this week! I am up to $11 on the Paradise account. I tried to set up a friend with the free $2, but they apparently have stopped that promotion. Perhaps to many people are turning $2 into a bankroll! I certainly hope to!
Play on and mostly importantly remember “An ace high flush is an ace high flush”.
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