Friday, October 28, 2005

Nightmare

I decided for a night of poker and scary/bizarre movies. I rented “the ring two”, which I am watching now and Constantine. I must say “the ring two” is bizarre, but not nearly as bizarre as the hand I just lost. I am playing $.50/$1.00 Omaha-8. On the river the board paired aces, giving me tens full of aces. I lost to quad aces. Lost half my stack!

I wish I could have made it to April’s poker bash this evening, but it was ladies night for my better half. It is also a big soccer weekend. Two games tomorrow, starting at 9:00 AM, then two more on Sunday.

I have AA44 and the flop was 23T. Yeah a 7 on the river for nut low. Normally this week when I have good starting hands I get horrible flops. I believe for the most part I have been extremely patient and waiting for premium hands. Hopefully things will turn around and I will win a few hands.

I am also playing $.02/.04 limit Holdem on Paradise. I am up $1.70. Very strange in that three hands in a freakin row I got pocket queens. They only won once! I think the algorithm needs some tweaking!

I think I need to start documenting my dreams and turn them into movies. I rarely reach a deep sleep. Perhaps I can get some ambion, then I can write a really bizarre movie.

I have not been motivated recently to post. I recently had a situation that required a ton of deliberation and reflection. I am reasonably sure I made the correct decision. Only time will tell. Hopefully my brain will get back to normal.

I think I am about to join LifeTime fitness. I have not worked out in over a year. I need to get my stuff together and lose some weight.

I will say that I am glad I did not pay big dollars to see “the ring two” at the theatre.

Have a super weekend!

Play on!

Sunday, October 23, 2005

"Birds and I"

I am a little disappointed that my entry from Friday did not get saved in blogspot. Oh Well!

Friday morning I had the pleasure of playing poker on the upper deck at Whole Foods downtown. There I was with a bottled water, bag of pretzels, and a computer. I was playing NL holdem and CNR and my only witness was the birds. Not the most attractive birds mind you, but they were a friendly lot, because I had pretzels. One poor bird had a crooked leg. Of course I felt sorry for him. The birds eyed me as I won this hand. I had a king high flush at the turn. I simply made a modest bet to see if anyone had the nut flush. A player to my right went all-in. I pondered for just a second and I called with my $8.50. He ended up having a flush as I suspected, but not good enough. The birds scattered as I shouted with excitement.

Thursday night I had a good night winning about $35 on CNR. I was a little bored with Holdem, so I played some 5-card and some Omaha-8. In draw I was losing my shirt. I was dealt two pair Qs & 3s. I did not take any cards and raised the maximum. Fortunately everyone folded and I was only down $.30, so I got up from the table. I won several large pots in Omaha-8.

Go Astros! The just tied it! I thought they were doomed after giving up the grand slam in the 7th.

I need to recap a terrific weekend, then I will quickly summarize my Blogger tourny experience. Our daughter's soccer team was in a tournament this weekend. Their first game was Sat. morning at 9:15 AM. Our daughter was put in as goalie and the game ended in 0-0 tie. She boomed some punts. We were so proud of her. Unfortunately I missed the next two games because I got to go to the Longhorns game. We put a whooping on Texas Tech. The pre-game warm up at the Dog and Duck was great! After the football game we went to the Sierra Nevada tailgate party and had a beer. Back to the Dog and Duck until traffic calmed down. I called to see how our daughter's team did in the other two games. They lost 3-1 in game two. She gave up two goals, but she said they were really good shots. The third game they won 1-0. They played in the semi-finals this morning and unfortunatly lost 2-0. Alex gave up both goals. One of the goals should not have happened. Another soccer ball rolled onto the field and several players were disrupted. The ref should have stopped play. Regardless they played a great game. Our daughter did a super job on defense.

Man! Lidge just gave up the game winning home run. Damn!

After the Horns victory I went to a Halloween Party. There was an amazing spread of food. They had poets, then the grand finale was a flame dancer. I had a good time and got home before midnight. I played a little bit if poker before turning in, but I pretty much broke even on the night.

OK! The blogger tournament was fun! It lasted 5 hads and I was out #1442. First of all I had know clue there would be that many players. I was at the table long enough to get the URL's of my opponents. Everyone was really super nice. The players at the table were

Morlith - pokerwolf.blogspot.com
Maudie - kebzweb.com
KAP_Player - kickasspoker.com
Alceste - the-misanthrope.blogspot.com
bbzghost - bbzghost.blogspot.com
ekillian - ekillian.blogspot.com
smoke404
Kwils21 - caught upinthe craze.blogspot.com

Sorry I do not have time at the moment to convert these to links. I will try to edit this post later.

My first hand was AK suited. I raised $80. Everyone folded, so I was won the blinds.

Second hand was AQ. Flop came T6Q. I bet and was raised. I ended up calling the other player to the river and lost to a set of tens. I did not even take the time to attempt to evaluate what he had.

Now down to $600 I play my fifth hand. I look at the screen to see AK suited (spades) again. Definitely need to go all-in. The big stack calls me and turns over TJ of spades. I like the odds. Damn if a jack hit on the flop and I got no help. I would have liked to play longer, but I knew with that many players I need to play good hands and build a stack quickly. I checked in on BurntOrnge and he was doing well. I could not find April or any other Austinites. I think I did see Poker Ninja.

It worked out just fine, because I got to take the kids to hit baseballs.

I should be in bed! I caught a second wind. We watched the movie, "The Interpreter". It was a little slow for my tastes, so I think I got in a couple cat naps. I am going to play a little Omaha-8, then turn in. It was a great weekend!

Tomorrow I get to go to our new office only 6 miles from my house.

Play on!

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

"The River Loves you!"

I was playing $.05/.$10 on Paradise Poker last night.

First a brief sidebar. Unfortunately I have let my bankroll get super low due to a crazy move Saturday night. I decided I needed to take a shot at quickly increasing my bankroll, so I joined a $.50/$1.00 Limit Omaha-8 game. In three hand I lost my $5 investment, putting me down to $1.84 at paradise.

Back to the story - I started getting the hands. I hit a boat on the river and two flushes. next thing you know my bank roll is up to $4.35. I got interupted in order to give my better half a massage, so I left a juicy table and my affection for the river.

Man sometimes I hate computers. I just lost a perfectly phrased paragraph with a flash of the screen. Arrgh!

After lathering my wife with icy hot I went back to Paradise poker. I sat down at a table where it was mostly 3 handed or even heads up. My companion, "the river" had left me for another man. Twice I had the nut flush only to have the board pair on the river, giving the lady stealer full boats. At least four times I knew I had the top pair or top two pair going into the river. Yes all four times the river gave him a higher two pair or filled a gut shot straight. Rather than tilt all I could do was type into the chat utility, "the RIVER loves you man- NH". This continued where he would hit his miracle on the river until my $2 was gone. Fortunately I had the snap to stop playing and go fold clothes.

My other site should be back online today, so I can move up in stakes or at least play some no limit. I tried joining Full Tilt poker Saturday night after losing that $5 at omaha. I thought I had about $75 in my Neteller account. When I attempted to make the transfer it was rejected. "What the ..." Well it turns out that I only have $42 in my account. Unfortunately the site and neteller require a minimum transfer of $50. With CNR down for maintenance I had no other bankroll resource. I was sad! It was 2:00 AM, so a decided a little sleep would not hurt. Is Full Tilt a good sight to play or should I venture somewhere else?

Now with the poker content out of the way I turn your attention to soccer and football.

We had four soccer games this weekend. On Saturday the U6 Bobcats can stomped. Our kids seemed totally asleep at 3:15 PM. Oh well! Our son did play well and had some excellent defensive plays. Just before the U6 game our daughters team, The Clash, played a great game and remained undefeated. She played goalie the second half and made a couple of solid saves. Oh yeah! There was this one gal who was constantly yelling at her team mates. What a brat!

On Sunday the Bobcats started our soccer day at 2:15 PM. The team played much better. I believe the game ended in a tie, but we are not supposed to keep score. Again our son played aggressive and assisted on two goals. Go Bobcats! At 3:15 the Clash were supposed to play, but the previous game was running late. It was an exciting game. Our daughter just happened to score the first goal. The most interesting part was that she used her left foot. The Clash went on to win 4-0. This weekend the Clash are playing in a soccer tournament. My wife is a little miffed with me, but I am going to the Longhorn game. Go Horns! I certainly picked a great game to go to. We can only hope "the river" does not show up at that game.

Only Wednesday and I am looking for an action packed weekend. A house warming party in Friday (hopefully I can make a late or brief appearance). On Saturday there are at least 3 soccer games and I hope to make it to at least one. The around noon off to the Dog and Duck for pre-game warm-up. Then to a pumpkin carving party and finally a late appearance to a Halloween Party.

Potentially on Monday I am off to Atlanta for 3 weeks! Yikes!

Well Play on friends!

Thursday, October 13, 2005

"Fold Dummy"

My sincerest apologies for not publishing more frequently. I have numerous excuses, but you shall be spared the details.

I really have not played much serious poker lately. In fact the site that has most of my bankroll is shutdown. Check N Raise poker is apparently moving its affilation to I think Poker Nation. Hopefully it will mean more players and more profit for me. I would like to play some low limit Omaha-8 again. We used to have so much fun on TNT. Lately there has been very little chat at the tables. I have been playing $2 buy-in NL Holdem ring games on Paradise. I have been doing OK, but occasionally I just can not lay down the cards.

Example 1 - 8T (Spades) - Flop is 69 (spades) and a red card

I have an inside straight flush draw. Modest betting around the table with three players. I call. River is a Q of clubs. My attempt to isolate I raise $.25. One player calls. River is 4 of spades, making my flush. I bet $.25. I get raised, putting me all in for another $1.35. I know he has a larger spade than the ten. There is about $3 in the pot. I called knowing damn well I was beat. I do not know how to efficiently calculate pot odds, but betting $1.35 on a prayer I would win $3 was just plain foolish. I need to increase my discipline and lay this one down.

Example 2 - K9o in the BB - flop comes 35T (all spades)

I am holding the King of spades, so I make a decent bet to isolate. Of course I get two callers. Turn is a King, so now I have top pair. I make a decent wager. I get one caller. The river of course is a spade. I make a modest bet at the pot. Yup! I get raised putting me all-in. Does he really have the Ace of spades. But of course he does and I again lose my stack.

I am really going to work on my discipline. My gut was correct both time and I gave away money. I know there will be times when folding a decent hand will be to a total bluff, but there are times when is better to live another day and wait for the NUTS. I know when I do get the NUTS at this site it is usually lucrative. Well as lucrative and a $2 can be!

I do have another small poker dilemma. I have about $75 burning a hole in my online bankroll. What would be the best site to invest these monies? Of course I am looking for a deposit bonus and I am also willing to use someone's code so you too can benefit. I am just not sure what site will be fun! I am looking for some low limit ring games with some fun people. I will take any and all suggestions. I am ready for a change of pace.

By the way April your puppy is adorable, especially in the Longhorn jersey! Daddy Scott I must say you have been blessed with a beautiful child. Let's hope he follows the career path of Mom!

Four soccer games this weekend, so we will be busy! Hopefully the Horns will mop the stadium with some Buffalo hide on Saturday. I most likely will miss the game due to soccer games. Perhaps I should invest in a portable radio and some batteries. It looks like I have a chance to go to the Texas Tech game. I would love for both teams to be undefeated. We can show those Raiders what football is really like!

Have a super weekend! I will try my best to get back to posting a couple of times per week. My other blog is keeping me busy too!

Fold Fold Fold