"Caving In"

On thing I promised myself was that I would not pollute my blog with advertisements. Unfortunately playing in the Blogger tournament sounds like a ton of fun! So out the window my promise goes. Fun must take priority!

If' Momma Mac is going to allow her husband to play, then I can play! I think Scott is going to be changing a ton of diapers in order to earn the priviledge of playing.

I am looking forward to a great time. Since it is on a Sunday hopefully I can play.

Busy weekend ahead! Hopefully I can post some poker happenings later.

See you at the tables!

I have registered to play in the
Online Poker Blogger Championship!

This event is powered by PokerStars.

Registration code: 9269473

"Bubble Bubble toil and Trouble"

I just finished playing in a 6 person SNG. I had a lucky suck out with AK. I was all-in and up against pocket kings. The board brought 4 spades and I had the nut flush. I felt I played flawlessly until this hand.

I had A9s. The flop came 459. Now I have four on a flush and top pair. I raise. I get put all-in. The player turned over AA and I got no lovin! Out on the bubble! Net loss for the night was $11.

Last night I played in a NL ring game here in Austin. It was very entertaining. I think in 4.5 hours of play I had 6 playable hands. The good news is that I played patiently and pocketed $20. Not a huge windfall, but a win is a win. Here are some of the hands I remember.

I am in the BB with 53 hearts. The hosts raises. I need to defend the BB, so I call the raise. It turns out the host skipped a player when he raised. She said what about me. We pretended as though she checked and let her call the raises. The board came 537 spades, which gave me two pair. I figured the host (Puppy Feet) had an over pair. My gut was telling me though that another spade was about to hit the board. I mucked two pair. My gut was correct in that the fourth spade hit on the river. The lady Puppy Feet skipped had the nut flush. He was not happy and lost half his stack.

I remember raising with AJo and AQo only to get reraised. I was correct to muck both times when the flop brought no emergency assistance. I also had pocket tens once and pocket sixes once.

Once I limped in on the BB with J3o. The flop came JJ4. I bet only to be raised. I called. Turn did not improve my hand. I thought I was up against another J with a better kicker. I called a modest bet on turn. The raiser checked on the river. I thought about popping back for more money. In hind site I should have, but it was a decent sized pot and I took it down with 3 hooks.

Another hand I had QT of diamonds in the small blind. I was able to limp in. The flop came 8d9d and and Js. Flopped the nut straight. I raised $5 and got one caller. I had a flush draw, a straight flush possible and the nut straight. The turn brought another J. A little scary but I continued to press with $5. I got called. The river brought the 2 of diamonds, giving me the flush. I thought I might be in trouble, but I popped back for $5. He folded and I raked about $30 in one hand. It was sweet. At this point I went in to super conservative mode. I was listening to Scott and only moving with the nuts. I really went card dead. I did not get another hand the rest of the night. I took a couple shots from the BB and button, but my raises always got called or popped back. I had good reads everytime and mucked.

Once I was in the BB with K9 of clubs. The flop brought K78. I bet $5 and got raised $28. I figured he had two pair or a made set. I mucked! Hey showed his cards 78. Whew!

Funny thing was that I never showed my cards. The only lady at the table wanted us to show cards. I kept my play a secret, which is the smart move.

One interesting hand happened and I was not involved. One player went all in with a King on the board. Their was an instant call from a player. The player had pocket kings and had made a boat on the turn. The river brought the fourth King. Sweet.

The Guinness was great! The host was great! All the players were fun and courteous. A few flipped cards from the fan, but other than that a great game. Hopefully I can do that again!

I am taking the day off tomorrow to play golf with my parents. I am pumped! We are playing Star Ranch, which is a new track for me.

Play on!

"I Never Learn"

I am playing great poker tonight. I am up $5. I get dealt AA. Bet is $.40, player to my right calls, and I raise $1. Player goes all in for $6.50. Player to my right calls, I call. Flop is KQ7. Player to my right checks. I check. Next card is an 8, Check check! River is a 4. Player to my right raises putting me all-in. Is he really holding 56? Why the F*** did I not raise all-in after the flop. Should I call? Debate debate! I call! Sure enough he has 56o and rakes in a huge pot.

My mistake is not raising all-in post flop. Correct Dr. Mac?

Oh it is so frustrating when I make stupid mistakes. Up until this point I only raised when I was sure I was ahead or had the nuts. If I had folded to that raise I would have been down only $.90 for the night. I only have two brain cells left after years of partying, but why could I not rationalize laying down AA?

I think I am going to kick the dog. Just kiddin Ash!!

I need to post my football bets for the week. Of course I do not bet money, but Sound of a Suckout has a good site for talking smack and making bold picks. I won just one bet out of three last week. I need to study the lines a bit more.

I just watched Travis Tritt call $5000 raise with an ace high. It made me feel a bit better. Then he goes all-in with a pair of threes. Eddie wins with a pair of tens. April - Penny Marshall did comment on Phil's gorgeous blue eyes!!

I also watched Big Break IV, US -vs Europe. Europe put a whooping on the Americans on the first episode. I liked the very first Big Break show where the did some tricky shots. The played poker by hitting golf balls through glass panels. I remember correctly the winner had 5 aces.

Hmm what to watch now. Eraser or Hamburger Hill. I think "Eraser". It is 10:00 PM and if I go to bed I will be up at 3:00 AM. Perhaps I need a Rx for some Ambion? If I saw a papaya sitting next to me right now I would eat it!

I can't play any more poker cuz I am on TILT. I may go to the other computer and play 7 card stud for $.02/.04. Am I addicted or what?

Huge weekend at the church festival. If you want to entertain your kids please come by St. Vincent De Paul on Sunday between 11:30AM and 6:00 PM. You will find me running the Coconut Bowling booth. Great food and lots of fun.

I read Sound of a Suckouts pep talk. So I will conclude this mindless post by stating.

"I'll be BACK" Winning that is!

Ciao

"Therapy needed"

I must say Scott is correct in that I need an intervention or a long session of therapy. Last night at CNR I sat down with $4 at a $.05/.10 table. I have AK. Flop brings KJ8. I make a decent bet but I get raised. I pushed all-in. The turn is a T and the river is a 7. Yes my opponent happened to have K9.

I plopped down another $4. I believe I go as low as $2 and battled my way back to $9.50. It was almost time for bed, then I had another brain "fart". I am in the BB with A9s. I raise to $.30 and get one caller. The flop is AK7. I bet out $.30 and get raised $9, putting me all-in. I called. The opponent had pocket 7's. I lost my entire stack.

Why? Because I am insane! Seriously the reason I lost my stack is that I did not put any thought what's so ever as to what potential hands my opponent might have. I am so used to people bluffing and bullying online that I made an instant call. I need to slow down and think about what could my opponent have. I also need to have the nuts before immediately committing to all-in. I believe I may end up calling 1-800-SCOTTMC.

I know I am playing with free money, but dammit I want to increase my bankroll not toss it away.

Tilt on!

"Soccer Great, Poker not so Great"

The U6 Bobcats played great on Saturday and had fun! The U9 Clash played great and won their first game. The soccer experience was great!

Saturday went to some friends for steaks and tequila. Yes that is a great combination. We watched the Longhorns win the big game. I got home and was ready for some poker action. I popped open another beer. Of course I was already feeling no pain. I plopped down $4 in $.05/.10 NL table. There was a bully at the table. I knew I would catch him. I was dealt pocket 8's in the small blind. He raised, so I went all-in. I knew he was possibly playing over cards. An ace hit on the river and I was correct he was playing AKo. Quickly down $4. I reloaded. I get dealt pocket Q's. Flop brings 69T. I raise all-in. Turn is 8. The river is a 7, placing a straight on the board. I believe I am going to chop. Wrong, the other player had J7o. Now I am down 8 bucks. Somewhere in this story I sat down at a $.50/1.00 limit game and promptly lost another $8.

I decide to play in the NL tournament, which I buy-in for player points. I was down to about $800 and I go all-in. I lost, so I did a rebuy for $3. I held my own for a long time. I was dealt a pair of J's. The flop came 36T rainbow. I go all-in. I get called by a player with a pair of ladies. I finish in 5th place. Geez! If I could of held on for 3rd I would have broken even for the night. Instead I suffered a large loss. At least large for me!

I am sure there is a lesson in there somewhere, but I do not think I played poorly. Perhaps it was the overwhelming confidence I had after the Longhorn victory and the fairy dust our friends daughter gave me. I mean who can lose with "fairy dust"!

Play on!

“Austin WPBT”

In summary I had a great time. Adam did a super job hosting this event.

The tournament started out by me arriving completely on TILT. I hate being late for anything, so I left the house at noon. I should be able to travel 28 miles in less than an hour, right? I live near Round Rock, so I head down 620. Traffic is backed up from I-35 passed Round Rock High School, so I take short cut number one. I get to McNeil road and traffic at the light near I-35 is at a complete stand still. I commence the rapid U-turn and head for short/detour #2. I make it to 1325 where traffic seemed normal. I then proceed on my journey down South I-35. Keep in mind my wife banded me from I-35 in August 2002 after a near death experience with an 18-wheeler, so I am driving cautiously around 75 mph. Of course I had to slow down for one speed trap. I am doing great and the Google maps state to take exit 226B. That is strange I just passed the exit for Slaughter Lane, but I proceed to follow the directions. I am now lost on 1626 heading west. I make my first call to Adam at 12:50 PM. He had no clue where 1626 was. I keep heading west and the entire time I am starting to get on tilt. I finally decide I was to far west and turn around. I pull into a little gas station. The two gentlemen snicker at me and say “you just take this road here and down by the Albertson’s is Slaughter Ln.” Cool I head down that road. I get to Slaughter lane and now for the big decision, East or West. I turn west. I make yet another mistake. I get to Brodie Ln and decide it is time for a second call to Adam. Dude, I am at Brodie Ln. have I gone to far West. Of course he says yes! Another mile down the road I finally make a U-turn. I am thinking “Man this sucks!” It turned out that the road the two gentlemen sent me on was Manchaca. If I had only turned east I would have been one light away from the final destination. I drive right passed the house, but quickly turn around. There on the front lawn flagging me down was Scott. Geez! I had told Adam to just blind me out, but they graciously waited for my arrival. I am truly on Tilt at this point.

I draw my seat Table 2, seat 3. Going around the Table I have Jennifer, Jan, Jeremy, Marcus, and Mike. My first two cards are pocket pair of 6’s. I raise, then get re-raised. I let the pocket pair go. Two hands later I get pocket 8’s. I raise, then get re-raised again. I let this pair go. I am thinking to my self am I a wus or what. Now I am down a little over one third of my stack. I had poured myself a nice Guinness and placed it under my chair. Adam’s tables were so nice I definitely could not set a beer on the table. About the fifth hand and after only two sips from my beverage it is my turn to shuffle. I stand up and quickly kick my entire beer onto the floor. Tilt factor doubles. Adam quickly provides a towel and the beer is cleaned up. It was a good thing the home has stained concrete floors.

The first person busted out immediately left. I thought that was a little strange. Oh well! This is supposed to be a fun social event.

I settled down a little bit. At this table I only recall three hands. I had pocket 7’s and made a decent raise. Russ had moved to our table. He raised another $500. Damn! I had not seen his play. I thought he might have two high cards, but my gut said he had an over pair. I folded. The flop brought a 7, J, Q. I cringed a little bit for folding, but I felt Russ had a strong hand. At this point I realized there were coasters, so I opened my second Guinness. I needed it to calm the nerves.

I am now getting short stacked. I hate to get out of any tournament, but needed to start making some moves. I went all-in with A3s. Marcus calls me. He turns over Ax and I am way behind. A three hits on the turn and I double up. A couple of hand later I have AJ suited (spades). The flop brings two spades. I raise all-in and get Russ to call. The river brings my fifth spade. I again double up. At this point we draw again for tables.

I draw table one seat 3. At my table are (to my left) Lindsey, Jeremy, April, and Slayre. All I recall about this table was that I kept getting 42o. There is not much you can do with 42o. The only other thing I recall is the quad 5’s. Lindsey needs to audition for a major motion picture, because she definitely had Jeremy baffled. There was one hand where I had a pocket pair. April made a nice raise. I pondered was she making a move or did she have me. I folded. In her blog she states she had a ten. Unfortunately now I do not recall the board, perhaps KQT. She had me!!

Soon we were down to the final table, which I believe was 8 players. To my left were Adam, Russ, Madroxx, Jeremy, April, John, and Lindsey. Scott was the dealer. Soon after the table formed Jeremy and Slayre were eliminated. The realization came that we were down to the bubble. I believe my chip stack was close to Adam’s, but we were definitely short stacked. Adam went all-in with I believe a pair of nines. Madroxx (chip lead) called. Madroxx caught a ten on the river and knocked Adam out on the bubble. Madroxx had numerous outs, but it was a bummer the host finished on the bubble.

I did double up when my A9o was called by Lindsey and A6o. My final stand came with A9s (clubs). April did the instant call, so I knew I was in trouble. She turned over pocket Cowboys. No ace magically appeared and I finished in 5th place. It was an absolute blast.

By the way April did make some awesome chocolate chip cookies. I tried to be good and only eat one, but soon it turned into 6 cookies. She also made rice crispy treats.

Mark did offer me a Heineken, but I stuck with my diet Mountain Dew. When I have a cough the hops in the beer can aggravate the cough. I must admit the Guinness hit the spot and I wish I had not spilled a full beer. I think that was the only alcohol abuse at the tournament.

General observations –

Everyone was nice!

Adam runs a great tournament!

I finally met April, who almost causes as much loss of work production as Iggy. I feel lost without all of her links to Austin blogs.

I finally met the famous Jeremy, who used to work for the start up company that was bought by my current employer. I loved his style of play and table banter. The legend at Whisperwire lives on! He definitely made the table fun and got me to relax a bit.

I did not realize that a player sitting at the final table was the author of Slayre’s Poker Quest. I had the impression that he had to work and would not be there.

I met other bloggers (sorry to those I do not remember):

ScurvyDog, BurntOrange, Mike, Jaxia, and Madroxx.

At times I played way too conservative. I need to learn to push when someone shows signs of weakness.

I folded the hammer twice. I did see April play it successfully into a raise. It was beautiful when she showed the cards. The only other hammer I saw was the last hand of the tournament. Unfortunately it came up on the short end.

I need to purchase the long version of “Freebird”, because two tournaments in a row I heard at least part of this song and I placed in the money!

I am also incredibly superstitious as to what I should wear to a poker tournament. I did include my Grandfather’s necklace, so that may have been the extra boost I needed.

Congratulations to Madroxx for a tournament well played.

I had a fantastic time and it certainly beat yard work. I wish I could have stuck around and obliged Scott in a cash game. But he of all people knows what it means to promise your wife something. I made my pit stop at Fiesta to buy coconuts, then proceeded to Lowes to buy paint. I then met my lovely wife at Sam’s and I helped load the groceries into the van. I was starving so we listened to the kids and had a wonderful dinner from McDonalds (NOT!).

Play on!

"Thieves"

I just had to fire off another quick post. I just put 15 gallons of gas in the van at a cost of $50. Here is what is puzzling me.

Monday the local 7-11 has a tanker truck fill their store with gasoline product. For this argument lets assume that they paid $2/gallon and are charging $2.50/gallon. On Tuesday there is a hurricane in Louisiana. Now on Thursday they are charging $3.10/gallon. Seems to me that the profit margin doubles. Do stations get a tanker truck daily? I don't think so. It is probably weekly. So next week another tanker arrives to fill the station, but this time the 7-11 pays $2.80/gallon. Now I think they might have the right to charge $3.20/gallon, maintaining a consistent profit margin.

I have no clue if these numbers are real, but I find it amazing that stations can raise and lower their prices simply based on what happens in the media and the stock market.

Yes my prayers go out to all the people impacted by the hurricane. I saw a photo from Atlanta where a store was charging $5.95/gallon. Is that gouging or what?

Yes we need to get off our dependency on oil. Perhaps it is this type of catastophe that will cause everyone to think of a creative solution. I would certainly at some point love to drive a safe car that gets 50+ mpg or take efficient public transportation. For some reason I doubt I will see that any time soon.

I am really pumped about the poker tournament tomorrow. Althought it will cost me $10 round trip (he-he)! Bitch, bitch, bitch! I am bummed in that I have a cough, which means I may end up drinking diet sodas and not consuming all of Scott's Patron.

Ciao!