My apologies for posting this late, but Blogger seemed to be down last night!
“Grady Rocks”
I just wanted to make a quick post. Thanks April for posting the lyrics to the Grady song! Everyone should catch their high energy show.
I have to say that I watched WPT last night. I must say Mike Matusow is a true ARSE. I would have to have head phones and Grady blasting full volume to sit at a table with him.
I just got in a hand at CNR that was a total hoot. I had just sat down at a NL .05/.10 Holdem table. I get dealt big slick. I limp in. Person raises $2. I put him on small pair. I call. We get a third caller. Hmm! My gut says the best they have is pocket queens. The bettor raises and puts me all-in. Huge pot so I have to call. Flop is a rainbow of small cards (852), turn is a 4, and the river is an eight. No help for me, but the raise had pocket 8’s for quads and the other player had pocket 10’s. I read them right, but got smacked.
A few hands later I had ATo. The board brought AT. A player to my right raised. I reraised, putting him all-in. I won my money back from the quad hit.
OK! Now that we have the hammer theme song, I have to ask the obvious question. Is playing 27 really wise? Personally I think it is a horrible play and I muck it every time. I fully appreciate a good bluff, but it does not have to be 72. I have played in a couple of local ring games where people played the hammer. I say keep on playing the hammer. More often than not, the hammer will lose! I know there is the challenge of pulling it off and showing the cards in victory. I am going against the grain and I will continue to muck it every time. Unless of course everyone limps in when I have the hammer in the big blind. I just might raise!!
For all you Austinites who might stumble on this humble blog. During the month of April ThunderCloud Subs is rolling back their prices. I got a fresh 10 inch ham sandwich today for $1.40. Amazing! Visit there website and enjoy!
Tomorrow I have a meeting at a local Austin coffee house, Flight Path. I have never been there so stay tuned for a review. I have an eye appointment. Oh Joy! Finally I have a lunch date with a former co-worker. We are going to Mike’s Pub. If you have never been to Mike’s you are missing out on extremely cold beer mugs and delicious burgers. Check it out! I believe the owner and his son also play poker!
Rock 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!
Friday, April 08, 2005
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
“Drawing Dead Sort of”
Occasionally I get in the mood to return to my punk days in the early 80’s, so I listen to a station on Live365.com called “Loud Like it Should Be”. I heard this song today. I thought it was funny! I must apologize to my parents who are my most avid readers for posting this song. Sorry Mom!! It was just one of those songs with a lyric makes you stop and go “Did they really just sing that?”
"Code Blue" by TSOL
Occasionally I get in the mood to return to my punk days in the early 80’s, so I listen to a station on Live365.com called “Loud Like it Should Be”. I heard this song today. I thought it was funny! I must apologize to my parents who are my most avid readers for posting this song. Sorry Mom!! It was just one of those songs with a lyric makes you stop and go “Did they really just sing that?”
"Code Blue" by TSOL
I never got along with the girls at my schoolFilling me up with all their morals
and their rulesThey'd pile all their problems on my headI'd rather go out
and fuck the dead'Cause I can do what I want and they won't complainI wanna
fuck I wanna fuck the deadMiddle of the night so silentlyI creep on over to
the mortuaryLift up the casket and fiddle with the deadTheir cold blue flesh
makes me turn red'Cause I can do what I want and they won't complainI wanna
fuck I wanna fuck the deadAnd I don't even care how she died...But I like it
better if she smells of formaldehyde!Never on the rag or say leave me
aloneThey don't scream and they don't moanDon't even cry if I shoot in their
hairLying on the table she smiles and she stares
Chorus
I also heard a song by the SuperSuckers – “Born with a Tail”. I thought we could easily relate this to poker and change the title “Born with a Tell”. Hee Hee
I did manage to make it to that poker tournament on Friday. It was pretty funny in that I got there just in time for a NL ring game to start with Blinds $.50/$1 and a $20 buy-in. The conclusion for the night was that I won about $12. It was also funny in that a card player that I play with a group from central Austin was there.
The other reason for the title of my blog was that a player in the ring game gave a totally new meaning to the term drawing dead.
Well I did no finish this post as intended last night, so I thought I would quickly do it this morning. There is definitely a theme going on “Loud Like It Should Be” this morning. SO far in about 10 minutes three songs using the “F” word.
Hot Water Music – Radio
UnMutuals – F--- Guitar Center
Not sure yet if this is motivation or not.
Ok to continue with the player in the ring game. Here is the new definition of drawing dead. The board is showing 4 spades. I am holding the King of Spades. I just made a small bet to make sure the ace was not in the game. Player to me left goes “Crap I have a spade, but I think you have a bigger one!” Mucks his hand. The next player calls. Final player mucks! We turn over our cards. The caller had two clubs, no pairs, and no straight. Dude! Thanks for the donation!
Classic song – “I want to be sedated” by the Ramones
Other than that hand I played in 4 other pots. One I had pocket Kings and the flop brought a king. I bet $5 and got one caller. Turn was no help! I bet another $5 hoping to get a call. He folded, but I won a decent pot. Another hand I thought I hit a king high straight in the BB on the turn. The cards were at the other end of the table. My contacts were on there last legs and for some reason I could not focus on the cards. I stared and double checked the board. Rechecked the board! Stared some more. I bet $3. Player to my left raised me $5. Again I stared at the board for the longest time. If he had AT, then he had the nut straight. Nothing else was there. I should have raised but did not. He ended up having a pocket tens for a set of tens. I won a nice pot. The other hand was disastrous for me. The board brought a flush and straight draw. I decided that I was going to bet aggressively as if I had hit on the flop. I bet $3. A blank on the turn and I bet $3 again. They guy was calling me down. Do I go all-in? Do I check? Well I decided to stay consistent and bet $3. He called my bluff and I lost a decent pot. Oh well! Net profit was $12. A profit is always good in my book. They did start a second $20 buy-in tournament, but I felt it was going to be going on until 2:00 AM. I had to get up for the garage sale.
We did manage to make $100 at the garage sale. My better half already spent it! So much for adding cash to my poker bank roll.
Saturday we had a couple of soccer games after the garage sale. Little did I know I would end up coaching my daughter’s team. They girls did really well against one of the stronger teams (At least a well coached team). I ended up having to leave with 6 minutes left in the game so I could go coach my son’s team. The Tigers lost 5-4. The bad news was I missed our daughter scoring a goal. After soccer we had some friends over for steaks. I love last minute get togethers. The margaritas were wonderful. It is my simple recipe, but it works every time.
6 oz can limeade
6 oz tequila
3 oz triple sec
One fresh lime
Ice to the top of the blender
If you do not have triple sec add a little orange juice and 9 oz of tequila is better, depending on the tequila. Hee Hee!
Saturday night although I knew the time was going to change I entered into a $5 Omaha H/L tournament at 10:00 PM. Turned out to be a great choice in that I won! The best part was I used check points to enter, so a nice $40 profit. More importantly I completed my last $25 bonus and my bank roll is well above $200. Pretty good since not to long ago I was down to $14.
The tournament was really fun! When it got down to the final three it was an epic battle. The chip lead was constantly changing. I think the three of us battled it out for almost an hour. As normal with Omaha H/L it took a couple of lucky hands where you win both high and low.
Most likely I take some of this bank roll and do some bonus whoring. Or I will just save it and take it out for our trip to Scottsdale. It looks like there are a couple of nice casinos in Scottsdale.
OK I am going to get this posted.
Man I hope that dude who played two clubs against an obvious board returns to take more poker lessons!
I also added a couple of links to some more poker blogs.
Blog on!
Thursday, March 31, 2005
“What the …”
I had read an Austin blog awhile back about some modifications to Shoal Creek. I have not driven down Shoal Creek in quite awhile. Today I decided to miss some traffic and headed south on Shoal Creek from Steck. What the … are those semi-circle curb concoctions every couple of hundred yards on either side of the street. They are filled with a single tree, some tiny plants, and rocks. I predict that all plants and perhaps the trees will not survive. So what were they thinking? Are these there for safety reasons? I seriously doubt it because they now force cyclists out into traffic. Are they for esthetics? They do not look good to me. In fact, they look really out of place. IMHO they look like a total waste of good tax payer money. Probably the next time I travel down Shoal Creek they will be gone. Sheesh!
My second what the … has to do with our state representatives. What are they doing protesting gambling bills today at lunch? I concur that promoting casinos as a means to bail out the educational system is a little loony. First of all no single source of state money should be ear-marked for a single purpose. Casino’s offer much more value in that they could stop the Texas money running away to Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Las Vegas. They could employee thousands of people. They could offer entertainment and a more pleasant atmosphere along the Texas coast. Representatives need to face the facts that Texans like to gamble. I could easily find a poker game hear in Austin seven nights per week. I do not really care for one arm bandits, so putting those at race tracks does nothing for me. I do believe in playing games that require some skill and that at least I have a chance of controlling the outcome.
OK! Here is my platform when I run for office. World Class poker rooms will be built in Galveston, Corpus Christi, Austin, Dallas, and Houston. A portion of the revenue generated would go into the general fund. A portion of the revenue would be set aside for charity. I would create the TPT, Texas Poker Tour. Each poker room would host a championship style tournament annually. Winners would qualify for the Capitol Classic in Austin Texas. Our wonderful representatives claim that gambling impacts the poor. I agree in that many people are looking for that single pull on the slot machine or the 6 numbers to appear in the Lotto. Everyone wants to get rich quick. Poker on the other hand requires a bank roll, skill and patience.
Texas is likely to get poker rooms about as likely as I am going to run for office!
What the … was I doing playing for flushes in 5-card draw. The other night I lost 3 or 4 times when I was dealt four suited cards. The pot sizes were decent, but it required me calling $1.5 - $2.50 to draw my single card. I did not hit a single one, so I went through a $15 bank roll quickly. One of you math gurus needs to educate me on the odds with 5 players playing 5 card draw of filling the flush. I had my share of bad beats, but reckless pay has dwindled my bankroll on 24HPoker. I am going to stick with holdem until I can build my bankroll back.
I am invited to a $40 buy-in tournament Friday night, but my wife has to work and I have to prepare for the neighborhood garage sale. Oh Boy! Perhaps I can take a cut of the proceeds to add to my poker bank roll. NOT! If I can get everything organized I may at least show up and drink a beer. I might deal, but most importantly I might be able to get in a ring game or a losers tournament. The tournament looks like it will have 16 – 24 players, which is nice. Oh well maybe next time!
We have a busy weekend with 3 soccer games, piano recital, and a garage sale.
What the …!
Play on, play SMART!
I had read an Austin blog awhile back about some modifications to Shoal Creek. I have not driven down Shoal Creek in quite awhile. Today I decided to miss some traffic and headed south on Shoal Creek from Steck. What the … are those semi-circle curb concoctions every couple of hundred yards on either side of the street. They are filled with a single tree, some tiny plants, and rocks. I predict that all plants and perhaps the trees will not survive. So what were they thinking? Are these there for safety reasons? I seriously doubt it because they now force cyclists out into traffic. Are they for esthetics? They do not look good to me. In fact, they look really out of place. IMHO they look like a total waste of good tax payer money. Probably the next time I travel down Shoal Creek they will be gone. Sheesh!
My second what the … has to do with our state representatives. What are they doing protesting gambling bills today at lunch? I concur that promoting casinos as a means to bail out the educational system is a little loony. First of all no single source of state money should be ear-marked for a single purpose. Casino’s offer much more value in that they could stop the Texas money running away to Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Las Vegas. They could employee thousands of people. They could offer entertainment and a more pleasant atmosphere along the Texas coast. Representatives need to face the facts that Texans like to gamble. I could easily find a poker game hear in Austin seven nights per week. I do not really care for one arm bandits, so putting those at race tracks does nothing for me. I do believe in playing games that require some skill and that at least I have a chance of controlling the outcome.
OK! Here is my platform when I run for office. World Class poker rooms will be built in Galveston, Corpus Christi, Austin, Dallas, and Houston. A portion of the revenue generated would go into the general fund. A portion of the revenue would be set aside for charity. I would create the TPT, Texas Poker Tour. Each poker room would host a championship style tournament annually. Winners would qualify for the Capitol Classic in Austin Texas. Our wonderful representatives claim that gambling impacts the poor. I agree in that many people are looking for that single pull on the slot machine or the 6 numbers to appear in the Lotto. Everyone wants to get rich quick. Poker on the other hand requires a bank roll, skill and patience.
Texas is likely to get poker rooms about as likely as I am going to run for office!
What the … was I doing playing for flushes in 5-card draw. The other night I lost 3 or 4 times when I was dealt four suited cards. The pot sizes were decent, but it required me calling $1.5 - $2.50 to draw my single card. I did not hit a single one, so I went through a $15 bank roll quickly. One of you math gurus needs to educate me on the odds with 5 players playing 5 card draw of filling the flush. I had my share of bad beats, but reckless pay has dwindled my bankroll on 24HPoker. I am going to stick with holdem until I can build my bankroll back.
I am invited to a $40 buy-in tournament Friday night, but my wife has to work and I have to prepare for the neighborhood garage sale. Oh Boy! Perhaps I can take a cut of the proceeds to add to my poker bank roll. NOT! If I can get everything organized I may at least show up and drink a beer. I might deal, but most importantly I might be able to get in a ring game or a losers tournament. The tournament looks like it will have 16 – 24 players, which is nice. Oh well maybe next time!
We have a busy weekend with 3 soccer games, piano recital, and a garage sale.
What the …!
Play on, play SMART!
Saturday, March 26, 2005
“Table Persona”
I was reading an article on one of the blogs. The main point was that you should use different user names at the various sites so people do not pick up on your habits. This makes sense; however, I have the same name at numerous sites. My objective all along was to learn to play against different players and environments, so I am constantly learning how to mix it up. I think if you are a regular at casinos people no that you are. They believe they have a fix on your style of play. The profitable players know how to mix it up. That is my goal!
That being said I have just signed up at Noble Poker. I wanted to play in the blogger Omaha H/L tournament. For the first time I changed my user name. I did not change it to hide my style of play. I changed because my daughter is a Harry Potter freak and wanted me to use a name that related to Harry Potter. I came up with three choices:
Harry Putter or Hairy Putter – since I am an avid golfer who only plays now 4 times per year.
Gringotts – The bank of wizard world.
Daily Profit – The wizard newspaper
I settled on the Daily Profit, which seemed most fitting! A daily profit is any poker player’s goal.
It is about 13 minutes until the blogger tournament starts. I am hopping to meet/chat with April (NotAPokerBlogger), Scurvydog (Sound of a Suck Out) who organized the tournament, and Slayre (Slayre’s Poker Quest). I am sure I will meet other bloggers.
Hopefully I will make some noise! Thanks scurvy for setting the tournament up! I am still on tilt after losing $15 playing 5-card draw this afternoon. I was dealt a set of 4’s and drew 2 cards. I got two aces. My opponent drew 3 cards. He raised $5 and I went over the top for another $5. Of course he had Tens full of threes. Argh! It was just a great hand.
I was also playing Omaha H/L and hit a straight flush. Oh yeah I think I know now the true sound of a “suck out”. I had pocket aces. Board comes xxQ, turn is a K and the river is another K. Of course I lose to 3 kings after capping the pot the entire way. Oh well! I would play the hand exactly the same way every time.
Holy Crap! Just played in a NL SNG (Sit and Go) with 6 players. I was the freakin chip lead and went all-in with AK suited. Flop brought a King, then the Turn brought a King, I typed in nice game, the river game him a straight. We are now even in chips. I get an A7o. He bets, I raise. He calls. Flop brings and A48. I go all-in. He had A4. So Sad! This is only the third SNG and finishing second is not so bad!!
I am still hanging in the blogger tournament. My PC completely froze up once. They should blow off the break, which came after the first hour. I have not had a hand since the first 15 minutes. Also at one point there were 7 players sitting out at our table. Hard to make a large sum of money. I finished 51st going all-in with AA26. Bummer!
I just finished in 58th place in a free roll with 189 players. I lost to pockets deuces on the freakin river. Oh there is no justice. Oh well it cost a ton to enter! :o) It is almost 2:00 AM. I am watching Man on Fire. It is an interesting movie and of course I can not go to sleep until it’s over.
Ok I need to publish this thing, but a few more comments about Noble Poker. When you sign up for their site, they greet you immediately and offer you a bonus. I thought that was a good touch. Personally I did not think the site is easy to navigate and the User Interface is somewhat clunky. I am not certain that I would put money into this site or not. I probably will play another tournament and check it out.
In conclusion your online table persona does not make much different. Play the cards correctly and adjust your game when the need arises.
Play on!
I was reading an article on one of the blogs. The main point was that you should use different user names at the various sites so people do not pick up on your habits. This makes sense; however, I have the same name at numerous sites. My objective all along was to learn to play against different players and environments, so I am constantly learning how to mix it up. I think if you are a regular at casinos people no that you are. They believe they have a fix on your style of play. The profitable players know how to mix it up. That is my goal!
That being said I have just signed up at Noble Poker. I wanted to play in the blogger Omaha H/L tournament. For the first time I changed my user name. I did not change it to hide my style of play. I changed because my daughter is a Harry Potter freak and wanted me to use a name that related to Harry Potter. I came up with three choices:
Harry Putter or Hairy Putter – since I am an avid golfer who only plays now 4 times per year.
Gringotts – The bank of wizard world.
Daily Profit – The wizard newspaper
I settled on the Daily Profit, which seemed most fitting! A daily profit is any poker player’s goal.
It is about 13 minutes until the blogger tournament starts. I am hopping to meet/chat with April (NotAPokerBlogger), Scurvydog (Sound of a Suck Out) who organized the tournament, and Slayre (Slayre’s Poker Quest). I am sure I will meet other bloggers.
Hopefully I will make some noise! Thanks scurvy for setting the tournament up! I am still on tilt after losing $15 playing 5-card draw this afternoon. I was dealt a set of 4’s and drew 2 cards. I got two aces. My opponent drew 3 cards. He raised $5 and I went over the top for another $5. Of course he had Tens full of threes. Argh! It was just a great hand.
I was also playing Omaha H/L and hit a straight flush. Oh yeah I think I know now the true sound of a “suck out”. I had pocket aces. Board comes xxQ, turn is a K and the river is another K. Of course I lose to 3 kings after capping the pot the entire way. Oh well! I would play the hand exactly the same way every time.
Holy Crap! Just played in a NL SNG (Sit and Go) with 6 players. I was the freakin chip lead and went all-in with AK suited. Flop brought a King, then the Turn brought a King, I typed in nice game, the river game him a straight. We are now even in chips. I get an A7o. He bets, I raise. He calls. Flop brings and A48. I go all-in. He had A4. So Sad! This is only the third SNG and finishing second is not so bad!!
I am still hanging in the blogger tournament. My PC completely froze up once. They should blow off the break, which came after the first hour. I have not had a hand since the first 15 minutes. Also at one point there were 7 players sitting out at our table. Hard to make a large sum of money. I finished 51st going all-in with AA26. Bummer!
I just finished in 58th place in a free roll with 189 players. I lost to pockets deuces on the freakin river. Oh there is no justice. Oh well it cost a ton to enter! :o) It is almost 2:00 AM. I am watching Man on Fire. It is an interesting movie and of course I can not go to sleep until it’s over.
Ok I need to publish this thing, but a few more comments about Noble Poker. When you sign up for their site, they greet you immediately and offer you a bonus. I thought that was a good touch. Personally I did not think the site is easy to navigate and the User Interface is somewhat clunky. I am not certain that I would put money into this site or not. I probably will play another tournament and check it out.
In conclusion your online table persona does not make much different. Play the cards correctly and adjust your game when the need arises.
Play on!
Saturday, March 19, 2005
"WOW"
This will be a short post! First of all I am pissed in that I had already written a post on the kids PC. Freakin explorer error and I lost everything. I know better!
I should be in bed, but I have to post this. I started the evening with so many bad beats. Fortunately for me I have forgotten them all. I had some wine, tequila, and a beer. Foolish for someone who still has a cough. Any rate I had to tell the world that the impossible happened this evening. Granted I did not make a huge some of money, because almost anytime I bet everyone would fold. Here it is! Hold on to your seats. With a 30 minute span I hit 2 (count 'em) two straight flushes playing 5 card draw. If that is not exciting what is!!!
For the night I won about $40 on 24HPoker and $10 on Check N Raise. I was just in a $5 NL Holdem tournament. I went all-in with pocket jacks and an ace on the board. I lost! That is OK cuz I should be in bed and they were VIP points to get in. We are heading to Houston in the morning.
Man I wish I people had gotten great hands when I hit the two straight flushes. Shit I should have recorded those hadn histories. Perhaps I should request them.
Man I am pumped! I may never go to sleep! Hee Hee!
Reporting two straight flushed is a hell of a lot better than reporting bad beats.
Play on!
This will be a short post! First of all I am pissed in that I had already written a post on the kids PC. Freakin explorer error and I lost everything. I know better!
I should be in bed, but I have to post this. I started the evening with so many bad beats. Fortunately for me I have forgotten them all. I had some wine, tequila, and a beer. Foolish for someone who still has a cough. Any rate I had to tell the world that the impossible happened this evening. Granted I did not make a huge some of money, because almost anytime I bet everyone would fold. Here it is! Hold on to your seats. With a 30 minute span I hit 2 (count 'em) two straight flushes playing 5 card draw. If that is not exciting what is!!!
For the night I won about $40 on 24HPoker and $10 on Check N Raise. I was just in a $5 NL Holdem tournament. I went all-in with pocket jacks and an ace on the board. I lost! That is OK cuz I should be in bed and they were VIP points to get in. We are heading to Houston in the morning.
Man I wish I people had gotten great hands when I hit the two straight flushes. Shit I should have recorded those hadn histories. Perhaps I should request them.
Man I am pumped! I may never go to sleep! Hee Hee!
Reporting two straight flushed is a hell of a lot better than reporting bad beats.
Play on!
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
"Patience"
Lets see what Webster's has to say.
1 : bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
2 : steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
The main reason I selected patience as the word of the day is somehow a database schema got dropped at work. It is a little frustrating because now I have to re-import the data. I was hoping for a smooth morning and this is trying my patience.
After looking up "patience" in the dictionary I find it very interesting how applicable the word is to poker. "Bearing pains" happens often at the poker table when you pocket kings gets whomped by a small straight at the river and it really does little good to "complain".
"Steadfast despite opposition" is also very accurate for poker, especially in a tournament situation and poker provides a ton of adversity.
Speaking of patience, I was very patient last Friday night in a $5 NL Holdem tournament at Check N Raise. I do not remember to many specifics except as usual to place in the money it took two all-in river snags to remain alive. I had managed to make my way to the cheap lead with only 4 players left out of 32. Other than the two lucky river snags I played well and very patient. Hey I even dropped pocket Kings. I think for the first time ever! The board had an ace and a potential flush. It turned out to be a very wise lay down. I do remember putting one of the players all-in when I had pocket jacks. To my chagrin he had pocket queens. There goes a huge portion of my stack. The very next hand I caugh KQo. I am in the money, so I decided to push all-in. The guy who had the pocket ladies called me. Crap this time he had the pocket Jacks and of course they hold up, knocking me out 4th. Not bad winning $28, since it cost me nothing to get in.
Saturday night I was playing at 24HPoker. Of course I was playing a 5 card draw table and a holdem table for a $25 investment. I was in the BB on the 5 card draw table with two pair 4s and 7s. Everyone limped so I drew one card. Wow it is a 4. I bet the Pot, which was about $5. Another player who drew one card goes over the top for another $9. Shit! Could he have filled a boat also. Nah the odds are against it! I call! Well his boat nines over threes placed a whooping on me. I managed to lose both bankrolls at the two tables. Enough to bring tears to your eyes. Since then I have managed to win back about $15 of it. I have enough VIP points to get $10, but it looks like the SOBs are going to make me earn the entire 400 VIP points before I see any of the bonus. I thought I would get $10 each time I hit 100 VIP points. Most likely I did not read the small print.
Well our daughter woke me up at 12:30 AM with a painful ear ache. We gave her ibuprofen and she slept for a little while. I gave her another dose just before I left for the office. I am sure my day is going to be messed up despite the amount of work I need to do. So the key here is "patience".
Obviously I would like to publish every day, but that definitely does not seem to be a reality. At least I seem to find time once a week!
A big thanks to April at http://www.thisisnotapokerblog.com for adding me to her web site. It is nice to read other Austin blogs.
Well hopefully we will be heading to Houston this weekend to celebrate my Mom's 29th birthday. I am a little worried about our daughter, but an ear ache should not prevent this quick trip to the big city.
I do believe that "Patience is a virtue!" I am working on it!
Play on
Lets see what Webster's has to say.
1 : bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
2 : steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
The main reason I selected patience as the word of the day is somehow a database schema got dropped at work. It is a little frustrating because now I have to re-import the data. I was hoping for a smooth morning and this is trying my patience.
After looking up "patience" in the dictionary I find it very interesting how applicable the word is to poker. "Bearing pains" happens often at the poker table when you pocket kings gets whomped by a small straight at the river and it really does little good to "complain".
"Steadfast despite opposition" is also very accurate for poker, especially in a tournament situation and poker provides a ton of adversity.
Speaking of patience, I was very patient last Friday night in a $5 NL Holdem tournament at Check N Raise. I do not remember to many specifics except as usual to place in the money it took two all-in river snags to remain alive. I had managed to make my way to the cheap lead with only 4 players left out of 32. Other than the two lucky river snags I played well and very patient. Hey I even dropped pocket Kings. I think for the first time ever! The board had an ace and a potential flush. It turned out to be a very wise lay down. I do remember putting one of the players all-in when I had pocket jacks. To my chagrin he had pocket queens. There goes a huge portion of my stack. The very next hand I caugh KQo. I am in the money, so I decided to push all-in. The guy who had the pocket ladies called me. Crap this time he had the pocket Jacks and of course they hold up, knocking me out 4th. Not bad winning $28, since it cost me nothing to get in.
Saturday night I was playing at 24HPoker. Of course I was playing a 5 card draw table and a holdem table for a $25 investment. I was in the BB on the 5 card draw table with two pair 4s and 7s. Everyone limped so I drew one card. Wow it is a 4. I bet the Pot, which was about $5. Another player who drew one card goes over the top for another $9. Shit! Could he have filled a boat also. Nah the odds are against it! I call! Well his boat nines over threes placed a whooping on me. I managed to lose both bankrolls at the two tables. Enough to bring tears to your eyes. Since then I have managed to win back about $15 of it. I have enough VIP points to get $10, but it looks like the SOBs are going to make me earn the entire 400 VIP points before I see any of the bonus. I thought I would get $10 each time I hit 100 VIP points. Most likely I did not read the small print.
Well our daughter woke me up at 12:30 AM with a painful ear ache. We gave her ibuprofen and she slept for a little while. I gave her another dose just before I left for the office. I am sure my day is going to be messed up despite the amount of work I need to do. So the key here is "patience".
Obviously I would like to publish every day, but that definitely does not seem to be a reality. At least I seem to find time once a week!
A big thanks to April at http://www.thisisnotapokerblog.com for adding me to her web site. It is nice to read other Austin blogs.
Well hopefully we will be heading to Houston this weekend to celebrate my Mom's 29th birthday. I am a little worried about our daughter, but an ear ache should not prevent this quick trip to the big city.
I do believe that "Patience is a virtue!" I am working on it!
Play on
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
“A whole lot of Nothin”
I have not posted in a little while due to this crazy cough. I did not sleep for two entire nights and finally called the Doctor. He prescribed some cough medicine with codeine and I was finally able to get some sleep. I am still not back to my normal self. My guess is that is will take several more weeks. I do know that I need to quit taking the cough medicine, because now it is keeping me awake rather than making me sleepy.
I have managed to play a little poker here and there but not a whole lot of excitement. I really enjoy playing 5-card draw at 24HPoker. While I am playing draw I usually also play a limit holdem game. Most of the time I break even or come out a little bit ahead. I did have three specific hands to mention.
In 5-card draw I was in the small blind so it was only $.25 to call and draw cards. I had four spades so it was worth the effort. I got my fifth spade. I was excited and made a modest raise. The BB who had also only taken one card went over the top of me to match the pot, $9.25. Hmmmm! I made the mistake of calling. Sure enough he had a boat.
In 5-card I was dealt a pat flush. I raised the pot $2.25. I got one caller. The caller took one card. I raised the pot again. He re-raised $5 more. I felt I was pot committed so I called. Yep again he had a boat.
Here is the hand I regret, but would do the same again. Most of the players at this site are like me, solid and cautious players. We all occasionally make our bluffs at the pot. This one particular day there was this guy to my left. He was chatting some smack, which in itself is unusual for this site. Very little chat and usually it is in German or some other language. Sure it supposed to be English only, but I really do not mind. I was dealt 3 jacks. I raised to $1.25 prior to getting cards. The mouth next to me calls. I draw 2 cards and they were blanks. He stands pat. I checked to see what his move was. He raised $6.00. I folded only to see him show his cards A2347. I knew in my soul that he was bluffing, but I did not figure the earning potential was worth the risk. I sure wish I would have called his bluff. Oh well! I am going to remain conservative and continue to protect and grow my bankroll.
I was down all the way to $30 at this site and now I am still hovering around $100. I only play this site on the kids PC, so I am not playing as often as I like.
I missed coaching the Yellow jackets first soccer game and our son also missed the game. I am looking forward to coaching these great kids. This season we have 3 boys and 3 girls. Now our daughters team is a different story. I got a phone call from the league commissioner, assuming he wanted me to coach. I called him back the very next day. He never returned my call. I called him again and was told he was out of town. In the mean time he calls my friend Mr. A. and asks him to coach. No problem with me. Two days before the first scheduled game we did not have a roster. Turns out we only had 4 girls on the team, which is just enough to field a team. Sure 8 year old girls could play for 48 minutes straight. Coach A had the wisdom to reschedule game 1, but then the idiots scheduled a second game for the first weekend. Coach A got that rescheduled and come to find out we are down to 3 girls. Total disorganization and I would be happy at this point to get our money back and invest it in some other activity.
Right now I am sitting on a nice park picnic table typing this little blurb. Our son is having a blast as usual.
I wanted to chime in real quick on the new reality TV show, The Contender. Yes I am a reality junky! Fear Factor, Amazing Race, and Survivor are can’t miss shows. Any rate I enjoyed the contender. They really have some legit fighters. I was really shocked by the first match and really thought Gomez was going to get hammered. Good thing I do not bet on boxing!! The show had bad ratings, but I taped American Idol and watched it live. I will watch it again.
We are supposed to head to Houston in a couple weekends. I hope I am fully recovered by then and things are stable at the office. Hopefully, we can celebrate my Mom’s birthday. Happy ‘early” Birthday Mom!
I can’t not think of anything else to comment on, so continue to play smart and invest wisely. Hopefully in the near future I will catch a bluffer red handed and rake the pot.
Play on!
I have not posted in a little while due to this crazy cough. I did not sleep for two entire nights and finally called the Doctor. He prescribed some cough medicine with codeine and I was finally able to get some sleep. I am still not back to my normal self. My guess is that is will take several more weeks. I do know that I need to quit taking the cough medicine, because now it is keeping me awake rather than making me sleepy.
I have managed to play a little poker here and there but not a whole lot of excitement. I really enjoy playing 5-card draw at 24HPoker. While I am playing draw I usually also play a limit holdem game. Most of the time I break even or come out a little bit ahead. I did have three specific hands to mention.
In 5-card draw I was in the small blind so it was only $.25 to call and draw cards. I had four spades so it was worth the effort. I got my fifth spade. I was excited and made a modest raise. The BB who had also only taken one card went over the top of me to match the pot, $9.25. Hmmmm! I made the mistake of calling. Sure enough he had a boat.
In 5-card I was dealt a pat flush. I raised the pot $2.25. I got one caller. The caller took one card. I raised the pot again. He re-raised $5 more. I felt I was pot committed so I called. Yep again he had a boat.
Here is the hand I regret, but would do the same again. Most of the players at this site are like me, solid and cautious players. We all occasionally make our bluffs at the pot. This one particular day there was this guy to my left. He was chatting some smack, which in itself is unusual for this site. Very little chat and usually it is in German or some other language. Sure it supposed to be English only, but I really do not mind. I was dealt 3 jacks. I raised to $1.25 prior to getting cards. The mouth next to me calls. I draw 2 cards and they were blanks. He stands pat. I checked to see what his move was. He raised $6.00. I folded only to see him show his cards A2347. I knew in my soul that he was bluffing, but I did not figure the earning potential was worth the risk. I sure wish I would have called his bluff. Oh well! I am going to remain conservative and continue to protect and grow my bankroll.
I was down all the way to $30 at this site and now I am still hovering around $100. I only play this site on the kids PC, so I am not playing as often as I like.
I missed coaching the Yellow jackets first soccer game and our son also missed the game. I am looking forward to coaching these great kids. This season we have 3 boys and 3 girls. Now our daughters team is a different story. I got a phone call from the league commissioner, assuming he wanted me to coach. I called him back the very next day. He never returned my call. I called him again and was told he was out of town. In the mean time he calls my friend Mr. A. and asks him to coach. No problem with me. Two days before the first scheduled game we did not have a roster. Turns out we only had 4 girls on the team, which is just enough to field a team. Sure 8 year old girls could play for 48 minutes straight. Coach A had the wisdom to reschedule game 1, but then the idiots scheduled a second game for the first weekend. Coach A got that rescheduled and come to find out we are down to 3 girls. Total disorganization and I would be happy at this point to get our money back and invest it in some other activity.
Right now I am sitting on a nice park picnic table typing this little blurb. Our son is having a blast as usual.
I wanted to chime in real quick on the new reality TV show, The Contender. Yes I am a reality junky! Fear Factor, Amazing Race, and Survivor are can’t miss shows. Any rate I enjoyed the contender. They really have some legit fighters. I was really shocked by the first match and really thought Gomez was going to get hammered. Good thing I do not bet on boxing!! The show had bad ratings, but I taped American Idol and watched it live. I will watch it again.
We are supposed to head to Houston in a couple weekends. I hope I am fully recovered by then and things are stable at the office. Hopefully, we can celebrate my Mom’s birthday. Happy ‘early” Birthday Mom!
I can’t not think of anything else to comment on, so continue to play smart and invest wisely. Hopefully in the near future I will catch a bluffer red handed and rake the pot.
Play on!
Sunday, February 27, 2005
"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!
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!
Saturday, February 26, 2005
“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)!
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)!
Sunday, February 20, 2005
"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!
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!
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
“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!
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!
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
“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!
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!
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
"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!
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!
Saturday, January 29, 2005
“Nerves of Putty”
I am about 24 hours away from playing in my first 5-card draw tournament. I believe there will be 8 players in the back room of a local business establishment. It is an ideal place to play. Quiet and poorly lit, but a beautiful professional poker table. Besides that there is plenty of alcohol. :o) I am currently playing pot limit on Check N Raise poker. I have managed to build my stack up to a nice $115, which is pretty damn good since I was down to $14 a couple of weeks ago. I won $20 last night and that was sweet. I am still a long ways away from winning my third $25 bonus, but at least I now have some ammo to make it happen. Back to the story… I am already nervous about the tournament and I lie awake in bed formulating my strategy. I know that when the time is write I am going to hold crap, the dealer will ask how many cards would you like, none for me thanks. Hopefully everyone will fold! So 24 hours away and my nerves are putty. I need to work on the poker face and have a couple Guinness to take care of the nerves.
Speaking of Putty – it is a cool little program for remotely accessing Unix machines. I messed up ssh on my machine and Putty removed that headache.
Speaking of putty I need to get my big glob of Silly putty out of the attic. It is a great stress reliever. Hopefully it is still good, because I do need some stress relief. I don’t blog about work because that is dangerous, so lets just say there is a bit of stress!
Before I add a little bit of poker content I thought I would toss in a few band names. The whole process of coming up with a cool name for a band must be fascinating. Here are ten bands names I have come across listening to music on the web. Live365.com has a station called WebNun radio, where most of these came from. It is a college station so you never know what you will hear (Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, to today’s hip music).
Favorite band names:
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Nerf Herders
G Love & the Special Sauce
Tripping Daisy’s
Ass Pony’s
Screaming Blue Messiahs
Modest Mouse
ZuZu’s Petals
That Dog
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes definitely is a classic. Especially if you have kids! J
I wanted to comment on Iggy’s guest post from 1/28/05. Playing poker with pinochle cards is a hoot. Believe it or not at a young age I learned to play pinochle with my parents, but I have forgotten how to play. When I lived in Houston we would routinely have Friday night home games. First game of the night (I do not recall the game) everyone stayed in and built up a huge pot. When it came to the show down everyone at the table was showing face cards. I looked at the box the cards came in and started laughing. Fortunately we could easily return everyone’s money and continue the game with a new deck. I always check the cards since this incident. Another good rule is also always verify the deck is complete if you happen to be playing with a used deck.
Recently playing sessions I have had AA four times. I have won only once out of those four times.
Here is a good quote from our 5 year old – “I’m hungry Papa.” “We are going to eat lunch as soon as Mama gets home.” “Can I have dessert while I am waiting?” I thought it was funny. I would love to continue this blog, but the rock tumbler I set up for our daughter is starting to give me a headache. It is loud and it will have to run for about 16 days. Oh I hope I survive. I really need to get that Silly Putty!
Stay tuned for a post on the 5-card draw tournament!
Play on
I am about 24 hours away from playing in my first 5-card draw tournament. I believe there will be 8 players in the back room of a local business establishment. It is an ideal place to play. Quiet and poorly lit, but a beautiful professional poker table. Besides that there is plenty of alcohol. :o) I am currently playing pot limit on Check N Raise poker. I have managed to build my stack up to a nice $115, which is pretty damn good since I was down to $14 a couple of weeks ago. I won $20 last night and that was sweet. I am still a long ways away from winning my third $25 bonus, but at least I now have some ammo to make it happen. Back to the story… I am already nervous about the tournament and I lie awake in bed formulating my strategy. I know that when the time is write I am going to hold crap, the dealer will ask how many cards would you like, none for me thanks. Hopefully everyone will fold! So 24 hours away and my nerves are putty. I need to work on the poker face and have a couple Guinness to take care of the nerves.
Speaking of Putty – it is a cool little program for remotely accessing Unix machines. I messed up ssh on my machine and Putty removed that headache.
Speaking of putty I need to get my big glob of Silly putty out of the attic. It is a great stress reliever. Hopefully it is still good, because I do need some stress relief. I don’t blog about work because that is dangerous, so lets just say there is a bit of stress!
Before I add a little bit of poker content I thought I would toss in a few band names. The whole process of coming up with a cool name for a band must be fascinating. Here are ten bands names I have come across listening to music on the web. Live365.com has a station called WebNun radio, where most of these came from. It is a college station so you never know what you will hear (Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, to today’s hip music).
Favorite band names:
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Nerf Herders
G Love & the Special Sauce
Tripping Daisy’s
Ass Pony’s
Screaming Blue Messiahs
Modest Mouse
ZuZu’s Petals
That Dog
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes definitely is a classic. Especially if you have kids! J
I wanted to comment on Iggy’s guest post from 1/28/05. Playing poker with pinochle cards is a hoot. Believe it or not at a young age I learned to play pinochle with my parents, but I have forgotten how to play. When I lived in Houston we would routinely have Friday night home games. First game of the night (I do not recall the game) everyone stayed in and built up a huge pot. When it came to the show down everyone at the table was showing face cards. I looked at the box the cards came in and started laughing. Fortunately we could easily return everyone’s money and continue the game with a new deck. I always check the cards since this incident. Another good rule is also always verify the deck is complete if you happen to be playing with a used deck.
Recently playing sessions I have had AA four times. I have won only once out of those four times.
Here is a good quote from our 5 year old – “I’m hungry Papa.” “We are going to eat lunch as soon as Mama gets home.” “Can I have dessert while I am waiting?” I thought it was funny. I would love to continue this blog, but the rock tumbler I set up for our daughter is starting to give me a headache. It is loud and it will have to run for about 16 days. Oh I hope I survive. I really need to get that Silly Putty!
Stay tuned for a post on the 5-card draw tournament!
Play on
Sunday, January 23, 2005
"Ramblings"
Well I am not sure what I want to ramble about this morning. I was going to blog about unusual band names, but I left my notes in the study. Yep! I am too damn lazy to walk to the study. I will say that I found a great poker lyric by my favorite band, the Rolling Stones. You have to agree with this lyric when it comes to playing NL Holdem - "What's puzzling you is the nature of my game!"
I am still alive at CNR. I was chasing my second $25 bonus and I got all the way down to $14 when I finally earned 400 check points. I am pleased to state that I am now hoverin around $90. I finally had AA hold up for big win yesterday. I find myself enjoying the $.05/.10 NL Holdem table. No body plays Omaha at this site anymore. In fact most of the dedicated folks from TNT seem to have vanished. Back to AA. I was on the BB when I caught AA. Everyone limped in to me. I raised it $.50. Someone reraised me $1 and a third caller. I popped back with my entire stack of $5.35. Two callers and my AA held up. I did get smacked twice today with QQ and KK. The QQ got busted by pocket aces. I knew she had it, but I had to play it. Later I got KK and CrzYLady once again smacked me. I do not recall with what.
I have been invited to play in a 5 card draw tournament. Unfortunately that is not one of my strongest games. I will have to consult with my Dad. I remember as a very young kid sitting on my Dad's lap while he played poker with his cousins. My grandfather also played. When my Dad and his Dad got heads up the sparks would fly. :0) They mainly played 5 card draw. I think I am going to play in the tournament for the experience. Last time I played RAZZ and that was a hoot.
Lets see what are some things in the news that have raised my blood pressure. Texas government requesting another $40 million to pay county jails to house prisoners and requesting we build 5 more prisoners. Tents and change gangs would be a good start. They do not need luxury suites. Release those that do not belong and place some under house arrest with GPS tracking devices. So if I want to buy a keg of beer in Texas I am going to have to register with the state. What kind of crap is that? The 6 minute rule if your car breaks down in Houston. I am not sure I could change a tire in 6 minutes.
Just won $5 with a BB special. I had 49 off suite in the BB. Flop came 49T. Bet the amx until I was all-in with 4 callers. Bring home the bacon. I am about even for the evening and I have earned a few check points.
Well I am going to save this ramble and call it a night.
Play on!
Well I am not sure what I want to ramble about this morning. I was going to blog about unusual band names, but I left my notes in the study. Yep! I am too damn lazy to walk to the study. I will say that I found a great poker lyric by my favorite band, the Rolling Stones. You have to agree with this lyric when it comes to playing NL Holdem - "What's puzzling you is the nature of my game!"
I am still alive at CNR. I was chasing my second $25 bonus and I got all the way down to $14 when I finally earned 400 check points. I am pleased to state that I am now hoverin around $90. I finally had AA hold up for big win yesterday. I find myself enjoying the $.05/.10 NL Holdem table. No body plays Omaha at this site anymore. In fact most of the dedicated folks from TNT seem to have vanished. Back to AA. I was on the BB when I caught AA. Everyone limped in to me. I raised it $.50. Someone reraised me $1 and a third caller. I popped back with my entire stack of $5.35. Two callers and my AA held up. I did get smacked twice today with QQ and KK. The QQ got busted by pocket aces. I knew she had it, but I had to play it. Later I got KK and CrzYLady once again smacked me. I do not recall with what.
I have been invited to play in a 5 card draw tournament. Unfortunately that is not one of my strongest games. I will have to consult with my Dad. I remember as a very young kid sitting on my Dad's lap while he played poker with his cousins. My grandfather also played. When my Dad and his Dad got heads up the sparks would fly. :0) They mainly played 5 card draw. I think I am going to play in the tournament for the experience. Last time I played RAZZ and that was a hoot.
Lets see what are some things in the news that have raised my blood pressure. Texas government requesting another $40 million to pay county jails to house prisoners and requesting we build 5 more prisoners. Tents and change gangs would be a good start. They do not need luxury suites. Release those that do not belong and place some under house arrest with GPS tracking devices. So if I want to buy a keg of beer in Texas I am going to have to register with the state. What kind of crap is that? The 6 minute rule if your car breaks down in Houston. I am not sure I could change a tire in 6 minutes.
Just won $5 with a BB special. I had 49 off suite in the BB. Flop came 49T. Bet the amx until I was all-in with 4 callers. Bring home the bacon. I am about even for the evening and I have earned a few check points.
Well I am going to save this ramble and call it a night.
Play on!
"Ramblings"
Well I am not sure what I want to ramble about this morning. I was going to blog about unusual band names, but I left my notes in the study. Yep! I am too damn lazy to walk to the study. I will say that I found a great poker lyric by my favorite band, the Rolling Stones. You have to agree with this lyric when it comes to playing NL Holdem - "What's puzzling you is the nature of my game!"
I am still alive at CNR. I was chasing my second $25 bonus and I got all the way down to $14 when I finally earned 400 check points. I am pleased to state that I am now hoverin around $90. I finally had AA hold up for big win yesterday. I find myself enjoying the $.05/.10 NL Holdem table. No body plays Omaha at this site anymore. In fact most of the dedicated folks from TNT seem to have vanished. Back to AA. I was on the BB when I caught AA. Everyone limped in to me. I raised it $.50. Someone reraised me $1 and a third caller. I popped back with my entire stack of $5.35. Two callers and my AA held up. I did get smacked twice today with QQ and KK. The QQ got busted by pocket aces. I knew she had it, but I had to play it. Later I got KK and CrzYLady once again smacked me. I do not recall with what.
I have been invited to play in a 5 card draw tournament. Unfortunately that is not one of my strongest games. I will have to consult with my Dad. I remember as a very young kid sitting on my Dad's lap while he played poker with his cousins. My grandfather also played. When my Dad and his Dad got heads up the sparks would fly. :0) They mainly played 5 card draw. I think I am going to play in the tournament for the experience. Last time I played RAZZ and that was a hoot.
Lets see what are some things in the news that have raised my blood pressure. Texas government requesting another $40 million to pay county jails to house prisoners and requesting we build 5 more prisoners. Tents and change gangs would be a good start. They do not need luxury suites. Release those that do not belong and place some under house arrest with GPS tracking devices. So if I want to buy a keg of beer in Texas I am going to have to register with the state. What kind of crap is that? The 6 minute rule if your car breaks down in Houston. I am not sure I could change a tire in 6 minutes.
Just won $5 with a BB special. I had 49 off suite in the BB. Flop came 49T. Bet the amx until I was all-in with 4 callers. Bring home the bacon. I am about even for the evening and I have earned a few check points.
Well I am going to save this ramble and call it a night.
Play on!
Well I am not sure what I want to ramble about this morning. I was going to blog about unusual band names, but I left my notes in the study. Yep! I am too damn lazy to walk to the study. I will say that I found a great poker lyric by my favorite band, the Rolling Stones. You have to agree with this lyric when it comes to playing NL Holdem - "What's puzzling you is the nature of my game!"
I am still alive at CNR. I was chasing my second $25 bonus and I got all the way down to $14 when I finally earned 400 check points. I am pleased to state that I am now hoverin around $90. I finally had AA hold up for big win yesterday. I find myself enjoying the $.05/.10 NL Holdem table. No body plays Omaha at this site anymore. In fact most of the dedicated folks from TNT seem to have vanished. Back to AA. I was on the BB when I caught AA. Everyone limped in to me. I raised it $.50. Someone reraised me $1 and a third caller. I popped back with my entire stack of $5.35. Two callers and my AA held up. I did get smacked twice today with QQ and KK. The QQ got busted by pocket aces. I knew she had it, but I had to play it. Later I got KK and CrzYLady once again smacked me. I do not recall with what.
I have been invited to play in a 5 card draw tournament. Unfortunately that is not one of my strongest games. I will have to consult with my Dad. I remember as a very young kid sitting on my Dad's lap while he played poker with his cousins. My grandfather also played. When my Dad and his Dad got heads up the sparks would fly. :0) They mainly played 5 card draw. I think I am going to play in the tournament for the experience. Last time I played RAZZ and that was a hoot.
Lets see what are some things in the news that have raised my blood pressure. Texas government requesting another $40 million to pay county jails to house prisoners and requesting we build 5 more prisoners. Tents and change gangs would be a good start. They do not need luxury suites. Release those that do not belong and place some under house arrest with GPS tracking devices. So if I want to buy a keg of beer in Texas I am going to have to register with the state. What kind of crap is that? The 6 minute rule if your car breaks down in Houston. I am not sure I could change a tire in 6 minutes.
Just won $5 with a BB special. I had 49 off suite in the BB. Flop came 49T. Bet the amx until I was all-in with 4 callers. Bring home the bacon. I am about even for the evening and I have earned a few check points.
Well I am going to save this ramble and call it a night.
Play on!
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
"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!
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!
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!
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