"Oscars or Cartoons?"

I would much rather be watching the Oscars; however, our son now has the flu, so cartoon's it is. We are watching Shinzo. Of course we just finished watching his favorite Bay Blade. While I was out running errands his sister and I stopped at Toys R Us to buy him a Bay Blade, Dragoon. I think Spiderman is up next and I actually like the new Spiderman.

It has been a great day. Started the day by reading half of the newspaper. Made bacon and eggs for breakfast! I spent several hours in the back yard pruning roses and cutting shrubs. The dog came outside while I was doing chores and she got filthy. At least she did not look like a bush (he he), After I picked up my mess I had to give her a bath. She definitely needs a hair cut!

At one o'clock it was off to roller skating. Our daughter was going to try out her roller blades. We got there and immediately got into a fight. I hate it when we fight, but she can have quite the attitude. She skated for about 12 minutes with her roller blades. "I can't go fast enough!" We switched to skates and she was happy for a little while. That is why we got into a fight. I was taking off her roller blades when they announced they were going to play the dice game. She was sooooooo upset and of course it was my fault. I quickly got the skates on her and she made it in time to play the dice game. We skated for about two hours. I got her to use her roller blades again for the last 30 minutes. I thought she did great. We then went to Picture It to get my better half some supplies for a photo album. Next to Toys R Us for the Bay Blade purchase.
Next to HEB to buy steaks and a few groceries.

The poker content is coming soon.

Got home and had the wonderful honor of speaking with my youngest sister. I proceeded to light the grill. I made delicious NY strips and some pineapple pork Kabobs. Oh yeah! I dranka pitcher of margaritas.

After dinner I decided to try and play some at 24 Hour poker. Last night I played for quite some time. I was playing two tables limit holdem and 5 card draw. I do not recall many hands other than I won a huge pot in 5 card draw when I was in the BB. Everyone limped in, so I drew two cards. I filled a 9 high straight. Two other players both raising. I was like ruh ro! I ended up winning a $20 pot. Sweeet! I ended up last night ahead $20 bring my total to about $57.

Today after dinner and still drinking margaritas I decided to again play limit holdem and 5 card draw. Despite my set of kings getting beat by a set of Aces, I managed to win another $30 dollars. I really like playing the 5 card draw. So now I am back to $87, but only 20 VIP points. It is going to take forever to get my bonuses. Anyway the fine folks from Europe actually spoke a few words in chat. Very few but it was nice to see. Now I just need to figure out what "fritta" means.

OK! I just won a nice hand with 2 pair, but the board was scary with all puppy feet. I bet aggressively and ended up heads up. I did win!

Oh yeah last night I played the midnight tournament. I was short stacked and went all-in with A8o. There were two callers. The board came QA4. The turn was an eight. I do not remember the river, but the other player had pocket queens. Once again I finished in 12th.

Well I had better save this blog before the computer glitches.

Play on! Spiderman Rocks!

“Wine is better than Whine”

As I start to write this post I really do not have a clue as to what I wish to convey. I figured I would just start rambling then come up with a title for this post.

First of all the flu Sux! My wife has had a fever for seven plus days. I am coughing up a lung. My daughter is finally recovering but she also coughs all night. And as expected our son is running 101 fever today. Things do not get done and makes life a bit more difficult. Oh well we will make it! Hey I even cleaned the bathrooms today!

I tried a little wood working project in the garage. It was a disaster. I got a Craftsman All-in One for Christmas and I attempted to us it. The bit kept popping out and I did not have a neat execution. Oh well just like anything it will take some practice. At least the All-in part of the tool applies to poker.

Speaking of poker I had deposited $100 into 24Hour Poker with the promise of 40% bonus. Man and I thought Check N Raise was a hard site to earn a bonus. I have already lost almost $70 and I only have 20 VIP points. It takes 100 VIP points per $10 bonus. I do not know what it is about that site, but I lose on the river when I have the best of it going to the river. When I fold to an aggressive bettor of course my card hits on the river. I decided last night to change it up a bit and play 5 card draw. I get a set of aces only go head to head with a person staying with a pat hand. Yup they did have a pat hand when my aces received no help drawing 2 cards. I am tempted just to pull my last $30 out and move on, but I have made great comebacks before. I mean heck I was down to $14 on Check N Raise and now I am back near $150. I had a good night last night winning $40 in two $1/2 Limit Holdem Sessions.

I played in a free roll today Limit Omaha H/L. I finished in 4th place out of 159 players. Not bad! I earned 7 Tournament dollars, which are really cool. They actually act like dollars when I enter tournaments. I played in a NL Holdem tournament at midnight last night and I finished 11th out of 26 players. I went all-in with AJo and found myself head to head with the chip leader who had AKo. Can you say DEAD! Oh well! I hope to play in that tournament again tonight.

OK! I want to close with one quick rant. I heard on the news yesterday that federal monies were being allocated to help divorced parents to cope with their divorce. I guess the primary objective is to make sure the kids are handled properly, which I agree is a worthy objective. But come on Federal money! Our tax dollars! I had nothing to do with them having kids and parting ways. I think this type of cause should be handled by a non-profit organization and the government should give us some of our tax dollars back!

Wow! I just got pocket Kings in .05/.10 NL Holdem table. I am in the BB. Can you believe this crap?

Here is the summary:

Check n Raise Poker Game #1196977: Hold 'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10)

Sat Feb 26 22:39:01 EST 2005
Table 'Chausson' Seat #5 is the buttonSeat
1: crazyjoe ($11.65)
Seat 2: Big S ($3.15)
Seat 3: naderator ($8.20)
Seat 4: DakotaPoker ($2.15)
Seat 5: LQQKing4AAs ($3.20)
Seat 6: Megley ($4.90)
Seat 7: Chrypto ($7)
Seat 8: InYerFayce ($4)
Seat 9: masconi ($7.05)

Megley: posts small blind $0.05
Chrypto: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE-CARDS ***
Dealt to Chrypto [KS KD]
InYerFayce: folds
masconi: calls $0.10
crazyjoe: folds
Big S: raises $0.40 to $0.40
naderator: folds
DakotaPoker: folds
LQQKing4AAs: folds
Megley: folds
Chrypto: raises $0.80 to $0.90
masconi: foldsBig S: raises $2.75 to $3.15 (all-in)
Chrypto: calls $2.25
*** FLOP *** [4H AD AH]
*** TURN *** [4H AD AH] [3D]
*** RIVER *** [4H AD AH 3D] [2D]
*** SHOW DOWN
***Chrypto: shows [KS KD ] (two pair, aces and kings)
Big S: shows [6H 5D ] (a straight, two to six)
Big S wins ($6.15) with a straight, two to six
*** SUMMARY ***

Ok! I need to make one final comment before I get on with playing cards. I know you are not supposed to blog about your job. I am currently enjoying my job and I find it both rewarding and challenging. The ironic thing is I keep getting calls from recruiters and former co-workers telling me about opportunities. Where were these opportunities when I was unemployed? Will they be there again if fate puts me back in the streets? I sure hope so!

Play on!

Drink wine and don’t whine when you dine on bad beats (beets)!

"Quick Thoughts"

Today started off great! I am still banned to the couch with my hacking cough. At around 4:30 AM our son wakes up and crawls on the couch with me. Of course now I can not sleep. I hear the dog hacking. I get up only to step in dog spit up. Cleaned the mess (and my foot), then found another puddle of dog goo. Lovely thing to be cleaning up at 5:30 AM. I decide to read the paper. Hmm it is not here yet. It arrives around 6:30 AM. I read half the paper then get sleepy. I decide to fall asleep in the formal room. Nice 30 minutes cat nap.
Also to start the day our daughter is sporting a nice 103 degree fever. I give her ibuprofen (miracle drug if you ask me). Although the Mrs is sick too, she decides to go to church. Good for her! Our son is whining about being hungry. He wants waffle sticks (of course we are out). Our daughter wants orange juice (of course we are out). I have 20 minutes before my wife leaves for church. I dash to H.E.B. and buy these items of NEED. Now everyone is happy. I start my chores. I re-arrange the bikes. I got a new bike, so I am looking forward to riding with the family. I came into the house and looked out the back door. Our dog looked like a bush. She had so many leaves stuck to her hair she literally looked like a bush. I should have taken a picture. I gave her a bath. All the leaves clogged the tub drain. Oh what fun! I then did my favorite chores clean the ceiling fans, sweep the floor, and mop. After that I was retiring to the couch to watch the Daytona 500.

Of course while watching the race I check my mail and play poker. My friend Chicken Feet had invited me to join a poker site. Unfortunately I just joined 24Hour Poker, so my bank roll is a little depleted. They were offering a 40% reload bonus, so I could not refuse. I have played there for 2 sessions today and I have already lost $20. Oh the bad beats are numerous. Perhaps in another session I will be getting the river wins. I am not going to bore you with my frustration, but I had KK three times and lost all of them. I had pocket queens four times and lost all of them. The hand that really put me on tilt was AK. Flop brought an ace. The river brought a King. Of course the king filled a straight for one of the callers.

I am going to have one more poker session today, but it has been a frustrating day.

Play on!

“Death by the flop”

I apologize for taking so long to post. I came down with a nasty flu bug and a bronchial infection. Three days totally out of it and I am still barking like a seal. I think I can blame this illness on a Death flop.

Death flop – You know you are beat after the flop, but you have to call it down to the river.

A couple Fridays ago my friend Chicken Feet invited me to a NL ring game. Maximum buy-in was $100 and the blinds were $.50/$1. I bought in for $40 at around 11:00 PM. I was the tenth player at the table. I had only played with 2 of the ten players and they were both strong players. When I sat down there was this one guy to my left two spots with a huge stack of chips. It was a bit intimidating, but I would later learn that large stacks sometime lead to large fish. I got involved in a couple of pots. I remember losing with a set of sixes, so I became a little gun shy. I think I only won one hand all night, when it came to the death flop.

I peek at my cards to see pocket kings. Online lately my pocket pairs have been getting hammered. I was under the gun with $24 in my stack. I decided to limp in, which is a move I would later regret. Someone made a three dollar bet and I called. The flop came as ace, ace, and ace. Wow! I was UTG, so I bet $5 to test the waters. I got two callers and everyone else folded. I think a 7 came on the turn. I again bet $5. Mr. D raises it to $20. Mr. Fish calls the $20. Man does Mr. D have the ace? Why did he just call when I bet post flop? My brain says there are 29 cards left in the deck. I go all-in with my last $14. River brings a Jack. Well you know the end to this story. Mr. D did have the fourth ace. I was out!

The good news was that it was about 1:30 AM and Chicken Feet’s friend had just arrived from the airport with some fresh pacific oysters. I help Chicken feet put them on ice. I learned a bit about oysters and I got lectured on slow playing the pocket Kings. Chicken Feet was right though! If I had played more aggressively pre-flop, Mr. D would have never called with A7o. Oh well! I proceeded to clean a dozen fresh oysters. Chicken Feet shucked them and we were in for a real treat. He had two different kinds. They melted in your mouth and did not require any sauces. I was not ready to go home, so I dealt for about an hour. The sad part is that I did not get home until 4:00 AM.

That Saturday evening we had a dinner party to go to. The host had a putting green in his back yard. Of course I could not refuse the challenge to go have a putting contest. The problem was that I did not wear a jacket. Of course when I got deathly ill my better half blamed it on the fact that I was outside in cool weather without a jacket. I think it was a combination of lack of sleep, stress, and the cold weather. The lesson here is that I had better always take a jacket or meet the wrath of my better half. Perhaps I could blame it on the Death by the flop.

I am still on my quest to get my third bonus from Check N Raise poker. I think I am down to 45 check points then I will get my $25 bonus. Soon I will need to join another site. Hopefully I can get a good bonus at one of the sites.

Well it is past my bed time. I have been banished to the couch since my coughing is so horrible.

Good night! Bet the Big pockets! Play on!

“One of the Greatest Card Games”

It was an ugly day in Austin Texas. Yucky rain! Despite the weather I was excited about the day’s events. We drove to the UT campus so that our daughter could take a music theory test for second graders. It was really cool in that we got there at 12:45 PM, so we had a little time to kill before I headed off to the poker tournament. My son and I decided to explore the Music Hall. What we discovered was that we could watch the UT Wind ensemble practicing for their world premier directed by I believe John Corligiano. They were playing a powerful piece and it was quite inspirational. Our daughter finished the exam in record time like most second graders. It was time to part ways and for me to head to the tournament.

I was starving so on the way to the tournament I thought I would pick up a quick burger or a sandwich. I thought Subway or Quizno's would be a good choice for a sandwich, so I headed down Red River toward downtown. Little did I know that an Arena Football game would be letting out. I got stopped by pedestrians for 15 minutes, making me a little bit frustrated. I made my way downtown only to find both Subway and Quizno's closed. Hmmm, where can I get something to eat. I thought Whole Foods has great sandwiches, so I pulled into the parking lot. Whoa what a zoo! Not a parking spot to be had. Damn! I wish I had headed to Wendy’s on MLK. Oh well! Hey there is a 7-11. I stopped there and got a ham and swiss cheese sandwich. It did the trick , but not quite what I had in mind. The timing turned out OK because I showed up for the poker game at about 10 minutes before 2:00 PM.

I was truly excited, because I have never played in a 5-card draw tournament. As the gracious host was counting the chips I managed to grab a Guinness. We made the standard introductions. I had played with all but one person before and one person was running late. I had a strategy in mind before I sat down so I was anxious. I drew the 3 spot and sat down with my rack of $300 chips ($25 buy-in + $5 for championship tournament). The blinds started at $1/$1 and they were to increase every 20 minutes. First round of betting matches the big blind (BB) and second round of betting is 2 times. the BB. Here are the players:

1S – Ms. L, who still had not arrived
2S – Chicken Feet (The Host)
3S – Yours truly
4S – Mr. M
5S – Mr. S
6S – Ms. B
7S – Mr. W
8S – Mr. J

My strategy going in was simple. If dealt a pair draw to the set and if I had open ended draw to straights or flushes I would stay in. Early on I got several small pairs and I typically called the bet and drew 3 cards. However, the trend occasionally was for there to be three bumps before it even came around to me. I started folding the small pairs when this happened.

I struggled with two internal battles. How to react to raises when in the blinds? What to do when dealt 2 pair? I still need some work on these two concerns, but more later.

I remember early getting a set of 6’s. I raised only to be reraised. I called Mr. M’s re-raise and I believe he had a set of tens. I also remember early calling a raise by Mr. M with Kings up. Of course he had a set. I really did not have a read on any of the players. I knew some of their tendencies, but I could not spot any tells. I especially had a tough time reading Mr. M who was sitting to my left. I picked up a couple of small pots here and there, but also lost a few. I believe at one point my stack was down to about $200 and I had given most of it to Mr. M.

There was one hand that fortunately for me I was not involved in. Chicken feet did not take any cards and there were several rounds of raising. When the cards were turned over Mr. W had AQ flush, Ms. L, and AK flush, and Chicken feet turned over a boat. Wow!

OK! The big hand of the day! Fortunately for me it was in my favor! I looked at my cards to see a set of aces. I raised. I believe the blinds were $2/$5 at this point. I believe there were two callers, including Mr. M. I drew two cards. To my surprise it was A7. Wow! What did my face look like holding quad aces? I bet the maximum. Mr. M reraised, fold by caller two and I re-raised again. Mr. M called! It was pretty exciting to turn over quad aces. I never saw Mr. M’s cards, but I believe it was a set of ladies.

OK! I am back! I did not complete editing this at Chic Fil-A, so I have to try and regroup.

After the beautiful quad aces, I believe my stack was near $500. We played another round or so when I was dealt KK. Blinds are now I believe $5/$10. I call the bet and Mr. M raises, Ms. L re-raises and I call the raises. Mr. M also called. I draw three cards. I did the Carl Sr. shuffle, which shuffling my cards without looking. I take a peek. I see the third King. My eyes light up! Then a I see a jack and finally another jack. Wow! Another monster hand. Ms. L bets, I re-raise, then Mr. M re-raises me. I am liking this situation. Ms. L folds and I re-raise again. Mr. M raises me back. Wow I have about $200 in this pot. Once you are heads up you can continue raising. I thought hard about re-raising again. Hmmmm! Mr. M has always had a hand when re-raising me. In fact early in the tournament he beat my kings up with Hooks full of Kings boat. I decided not to get greedy and called. I turn of my hand proudly. Mr. M says “I have all of the sevens!” What? I am stunned! I lost a little more than half my stack. What a great hand! At this time I am thinking I have now had my share of cards.

Soon Ms. L is the first one eliminated. Next was Mr. S! At this point I am short stacked and the blinds are $20/$40. Three big bets and I am all-in.

I get dealt pocket queens in the big blind. Everyone limps in so I get to draw cards for free, but I did not hit. I was intently watching the chip leader Mr. W. Here is where he made a move that taught me something. Most of the tournament he would draw his cards and not look at them until it was his turn for the action. He was the button so he took 3 cards. He dealt the three cards down on the table next to his two hold cards. He glanced at the top card, then never looked at the other two. He came in for the minimum bet of $80. For some reason my gut tells me that he only has a pair of jacks and did not hit, but he only looked at one card. I thought about it long and hard and folded my queens to live for another day. I never did see his cards, but I believe he got the best of me with a pair of nines. Man that was a great counter tell! He was sitting directly across from me and I had been concentrating on him the entire game. I believe he used that to his advantage. Great play Mr. W!

The next hand I get pocket Kings. I draw and get nothing. Woody bets and my gut told me he was buying the pot. I pushed my chips in only to see him turn over a pair of eights. Bummer! Man this tournament was a lot of fun!

Mr. J was out after me, then soon Mr. M. I left the game with Chicken feet winning a couple of large pots. I know for sure one was a bluff, but it worked. Chicken feet, Ms. B, and Mr. W were left to battle it out.

I did not want to leave, but I turn into mud if I am not in the tournament or home by 7:00 PM like I had promised. I e-mailed Chicken Feet and he told me that things started to drag on, so they negotiated a chop. Chicken feet got his money back and credit for winning the tournament. Ms. B and Mr. W split the money. Ms. B and Mr. W had already qualified for the championship, so permitted Chicken Feet to qualify. I guess that is only fair since he is the host and has had at least 2 runner up finishes. I hope I get at least one more crack at a seat in the championship. Definitely a fun series of tournaments. I am thinking about doing the same thing except for lower buy-ins. More for the fun and pride than the money. Chicken feet has done a fantastic job.

Oh yea! Here are some pointers! We had 8 players so everyone asked at the beginning how many cards can we draw. Everyone agreed that standard rules and if we run out of cards we will shuffle the discards. You know what! We only had to shuffle the discards one time. That indicated to me that everyone was playing Rock Garden poker!

A few more things I learned! I found myself folding low pairs when there were two raises prior to me. Most of the time I think that was wise. Once I even tossed away a pair of aces. Regrettable but two large raised before it came around to me. I thought someone has a set. Sure enough Ms. B stood pat. Chicken feet stood pat numerous times even when he did not have crap. It worked several times and a couple of times he even had the goods! Normally he is a Super Rock, so it was nice to see him mixing things up.
I am still not sure how to play when you have two pair. Seems like you should draw three. Two out of three times when I had four cards to a flush or open-ended straight I hit the straight or flush. Once I drew to an inside straight flush, but of course it did not hit. It was very difficult to gain any tells against these players. I did learn that when you have a strong starting hand you must raise. I did that several times and it isolated the field to a point where I became the favorite. I did stand pat once with 2 pair with an ace kicker. Mr. W drew one card and immediately folded to my bet. I would like to thank Mr. W. for showing me how to do counter tells and through your opponent off. I would like to call Mr. M a few choice names beating me with the quad sevens. Just kidding he was an absolute gentleman and we exchanged blows several times. Unfortunately he knocked me to the canvas.

Great group of players! Guinness was at the right temperature! And I believe 5-card draw is still one of the greatest cards games. I want to do it again!

Play on!

"Stay Tuned...!"

I have not had much time, but I plan to write my experience at the 5-card draw tournament on Sunday. I believe I will have a chance while I entertain the 5 year old at Chic-Fil- A between 4:00 - 5:00 PM today.

The tournament was a BLAST!

In the mean time read this post by Danny Negreanu:

http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-journal.php?subaction=showfull&id=1107246975&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&

Play on!