"A TRIBUTE"
At 7:5AM EST a great man passed away this morning. He is my grandfather, Charles A Leet. I am very sad and uncertain as to the near term future. I will make it to Geneva Ohio to pay tribute to this great man. Not sure how yet, but I will make it!
I am very sad! In my sorrow I must pay a tribute to my Grandfather. I also must ask that God hold my mother and care for her! Dear God please guide our family through this time of sorrow.
"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!"
Charles A Leet was the kindest man. In my lifetime I only recall him raising his voice once in a negative way. It took a miraculous golf shot to raise the ire of my Grandfather. My brother and I had been hitting golf balls on the course where my Grandfather's home backed up to. My brother took careful aim and hit a 9 iron toward the house, which was protected by huge trees. We looked in amazement as that ball traveled the height of those huge trees and headed for the house. The little golf ball managed to dodge one billion branches and find its way to the large sliding glass door on the back of Grandpa's house. He was not happy and rightfully so!
I remember at a very young age my Grandfather would host parties at his house on Bathgate. One specific time he served Mai tai drinks to all of his guests. With me being a deviant child, I spent the day drinking down half full glasses of the delicious nectar. Yes this was the first time for me to get drunk. It was not pleasant at the age of ten vomiting and making my Dad pull over on the way home. This was either an omen or a first lesson in the life ahead of me.
I do not recall my age, but I do recall twice when my Grandfather went out of his way to surprise my brother and me. Once he took us horse back riding. He nervously watched us ride around the corral. The horse my brother was on was a bit feisty and bucked a few times. I am sure it made Grandpa a nervous wreck, but I know my brother and I appreciated every last second of our first time on a horse. One day he really surprised us by taking us up in a small airplane. I do not recall what kind of plane it was, but as a kid I always wondered how my Grandfather could spend so much money for us to be up in this plane. We flew along Lake Erie and I vividly remember seeing God's handy work and a rainbow of colors along the shores of a murky lake.
I am not sure I ever let him know how much he inspired me with those generous trips. I was around 12 or 13 years old and I was all about making money. I would rake leaves, shovel snow, and mow lawns to earn extra cash. My Grandfather was a realtor and asked me to mow some of his properties. I was glad my Dad had to tote me around, because some of the yards were huge. At least as I remember them. Receiving a check from my Grandfather was like receiving a pot of gold. I recall one day he asked me to mow his yard. Or perhaps I begged to mow it since it required a riding lawn mower. He showed me how to operate it and off I went. Of course I was going about it all wrong. He quickly came out to correct my technique. It seemed like it took forever that day to mow the grass, but heck it was on a riding lawn mower.
Holiday's at my Grandparents were always great. The one thing you could safely gamble on was the fact that at some point during the family gathering, Grandpa would play his electric organ. He loved experimenting with the drum beat and usually would play a peppy upbeat tune. I really wish he had the chance to hear our daughter play the piano. She plays beautifully and I hope his spirit fills her heart, so that she may continue to take on the challenge of practicing everyday. Yes I am crying at this point. It is Ok to grieve I guess, but I am trying to reflect on all of the wonderful things Grandpa provided us.
I am not just talking material things. His spirit was much much more than that. He traveled to Austin Texas for our wedding. My wife's family spoke very little English, yet he tried his best to fit in and make everyone comfortable. He went to El Paso Texas for the baptism of our daughter. Again he tried to fit in with everyone, despite the language barrier. Grandpa was fortunate and was able to travel to many places in the world. I believe he got along with everyone.
I am not sure how old I was, but either in High School or College. He told me an amazing story how he wanted to learn more about his family history. He started at the library. Either by word of mouth or via the library. He heard that there was a book somewhere in New York about the Leet family. He made the journey to find this book. Sure enough it was about his family. I believe it dated back to something like 1608. The really cool thing about it was the fact that his name was the last name in that book. The book ended with the birth of Charles A. Leet. I truly hope I can get access to that book. I am not sure I have the strength or the wisdom, but I think it would be truly great to continue that book and expand the legacy of Charles A. Leet.
The man was amazing and I am not sure I expressed often enough how he touched my heart. I am so glad that both of our children got to meet him. One hot summer we took him to Fredericksburg. It was extremely hot and it was difficult for Grandpa to keep up in the heat. He stopped in at a little store where they spun there own wool and made blankets etc... That day he ordered himself a handmade blanket from that little store. As usual he hit it off with store proprietor. I am sure he got a good deal on that blanket.
As I try to bring this tribute to conclusion I am in the middle of great debate. Do we take the kids out of school and make the long drive to Geneva Ohio or do I simply go and see this wonderful man alone? I know my Mom deep in her heart would want the kids there. I also know she understands the logistics and the cost to make that happen. I am confident that the Holy Spirit will guide me to the correct decision. I know I want my kids to remember him for his smile and caring demeanor. I am blessed in that I have had a lifetime of memories and our children only have a few brief encounters. I look forward to telling our children about my times with Grandpa and I hope they are blessed with some of his great traits.
We love you Grandpa! Thanks for everything you have provided this family. Your battle with Alzheimer's was a gallant one. I believe you are in good hands now. Please continue to fill us with your spirit and your guiding light. I hope you take the journey into heaven, knowing you have been a great influence to us all.
"Dear lord - please embrace my wonderful Mother. Hold her and hug her in this time of need. I will hold her and hug her, but she needs your strength to guide her and heal the loss of her father. I ask this in Christ our Lord! Amen!"
Thursday, August 18, 2005
“Sailing Away “
“Well it’s not far back to sanity, at least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away and find serenity
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see
Believe me”
Does anyone remember this Christopher Cross song? Well wind and miracles are two key words from this past Saturday.
Friday night I took our daughter to piano lessons. I decided to go to a near by bar called Hanover’s to study for my class and have a cold beer. I arrived and ran into an old friend (So much for studying). I was not quite in the mood for Guinness, so I compromised with a Black and Tan. My friend and I started conversing when one of his co-workers arrived. Very pleasant conversation; however, my friend made a rude comment to me. Last time I had seen him he had done a similar thing. I calming let it roll off my shoulders and ordered a Bass. Needless to say I am not sure this individual falls into the category of friend.
I left in a rush to pick up our daughter. She was a little upset because she was missing open house at her school. We quickly headed toward the school, but I knew we would not make it in time. The cell phone rang and it was my better half. I think she is psychic. “Honey we are going to go out to eat” with the K family and the H family. “Sounds great honey”! We went to Serrano’s Mexican Café. The main reason I mention this is for all of you parents out there in Austin land. Kids eat free Wednesday through Sunday with the purchase of an adult meal. This ends August 31st, so enjoy. Six adults drinking and 6 goofy children made for a great time, especially since I had an early start with 2 imperial pints.
OK Now to Saturday! I got up reasonably early because I had a long list of honey-do’s. I had permission to go sailing in the afternoon, but I HAD to accomplish certain honey-do’s. I cleaned the gutters! Now that was fun hanging on to the eve’s of the house for dear life and getting poked in the rear-end by spirea bushes. Yee-Ha! Next I did the normal yard beautification project of edge, mow, and trim. Finally I did my most favorite chore of pulling weeds for 2 plus hours. In total I spend about 4.0 hours in the hot Texas heat. Oh wait there is more! I come in from the hot sun and wet mop the floors. I did win the prize in that I could go sailing.
Remember the last time I went sailing there was no wind. This time there was wind and we are going to race. I had never participated in a regatta and I had no earthly clue what is expected of me, but here I am part of a three person crew on a 26 foot sailboat called Vitamin Sea. It is quite an amazing site watching 40 or so boats tacking back and forth across the lake vying for position and perfect access to the starting line. Mr. D our captain definitely had a plan.
The horn blasts into the air from the starters boat and 2 seconds later we zip past the starting line and the race is on. I believe there were 5-6 boats in our flight. I quickly learned my role with respect to the tacking maneuver. Back and forth we went, heading for the first buoy. We are battling it out for first place. The other boat cut directly in front of us twice. If you ask me just a little to close for comfort, but I was informed that that was part of the adventure. Around the first buoy we go, then we head toward the dam and the second buoy. We are still in a very tight race, but things are looking good. The other boat gets around the second buoy just ahead of us. At this point the wind is at our backs and we need to use the spinnaker. Check it out I know some sailing terms! FYI – Spinnaker is the huge and colorful sail. The other team got their spinnaker up with out a problem. Let’s just say we mucked up. First mate M was cursing and there I was not having a clue as to how I could help. Finally we get things straightened out, but now we are way behind.
We head to the third buoy. As we rounded this buoy we mucked up again. This time I had a little part in the fiasco. Captain D had asked me to steer the boat. Heck I did not know you move the rudder right to go left and left to go right. I think that is correct, but I was so confused. I did not do a good job, so I did not keep the wind in the sails like we are supposed to. I think somewhere in this chaos I received a rope burn on my middle finger. I was even wearing gloves! Another mistake and even further behind, but now we are in third place. Captain D is not happy!
You think this is fun! Just wait!
We head back to the buoy by the damn. This time we are ready for the spinnaker move. We executed it flawlessly. Got team! Soon we are back in second place. The really cool part is that we have to go the entire length of Lake Travis on this leg of the race. We got to relax a little bit and have a drink. I was not up for beer after Friday night. I slammed down a bottle of water. It was hot out on the lake, but we were to busy to really notice. Let me tell you working a sailboat is no picnic.
We seem to be making up some ground on the first place boat. I learned that we have to actually spot that team time, since we have a larger keel. I think the keel is the thingy under the boat. We are relaxing and enjoying the ride and it was a beautiful day. The third place boat was nowhere in site. We prepare to round the final buoy, so the spinnaker must come down. Captain D had given me some pointers. My role was to grab the spinnaker and get into the boat as quickly as possible. I stretched out and grabbed the proper rope and pulled handfuls of sail as fast as I possibly could. Then I grabbed the rope for the Genoa (smaller sail) and hoisted it up as quickly as possible. We did it flawlessly as we rounded the final buoy.
Then this look on my face appeared! “Holy shit!” Looking toward the finish line we see this wall of grey clouds. I mean a huge wall! Before we had time to breath the sky opened up, dumping buckets of giant rain drops. The wind increased at least by 3 times. The sailboat is almost on its side. I am clinging on for dear life. Captain D starts yelling “Get the Genoa down Get the Genoa down!” Instinctively I climb up onto the deck of the boat. The damn Genoa will not come down. If feels like we are about to flip over. First mate M and I are frantically trying to bring down that sail, but the wind was not cooperating. I grabbed onto the mast. I leaned out as far as I possibly could. I was able to grab onto the bottom of the Genoa. We tugged and pulled. Finally the sail came down and we stuffed it onto the front deck of the boat. Next thing we know Captain is yelling “Get the Genoa up! Get the Genoa up!” The storm had ended and by some miracle we are only a couple hundred yards behind the lead boat. We quickly jump into action and get the sail back up. We are now heading for the finish line. There was a beautiful rainbow in the sky and it was almost a complete rainbow. Wow that is also a miracle! And I am thinking to myself it is a miracle that my fat butt did not end up in the lake. It is a miracle that the boat did not capsize. One boat in the regatta apparently was not so lucky and it had been flipped over. The regatta sponsors had to pull someone out of the water. Everyone was OK!
The wind on the Lake was now tranquil and almost non-existent. We finished in second place about one minute behind the first place boat. Needless to say the Vitamin Sea would remain in first place over-all. There are six races total. I certainly hope to race again. The second half of the race was nearly flawless.
We ended up meeting my wife and kids at Johnny Carino’s, where I quickly slammed down 3 huge glasses of water and to huge root beers. Man I was thirsty!
What a great time! I can not help but think someone was watching over us. I got one message very loud and clear. “Wear a life jacket next time you idiot!” I probably will not listen to that voice, but it is probably sound advice. Give me that next list of honey do’s, because I am ready do experience it all over again! The other lesson I learned is that “Yes Honey, I am out of shape!” Let’s just say I was a little sore in the legs and arms on Monday.
Sunday we had some friends over for a light dinner and dessert. We had goat cheese and roasted red bell pepper sandwiches. We had a great visit!
Kids started school this week without a hitch. Our son started kindergarten and is really excited. He eagerly wakes up to get ready to go to school. Soccer season will soon be upon us, so we will have something going on every night of the week. For the first time in 9 years my wife and I do not have to work split shifts. It is really nice to have all four of us sit down to dinner every night. We still might have 3 different means, but that is a different story.
I have managed to play a little poker her and there, but nothing exciting. I do get tired of people complaining about the flaws of a given site or the way you played a hand. I guess that comes with the territory. I did manage to get a straight flush on my cell phone video poker.
Sail on!
“Well it’s not far back to sanity, at least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away and find serenity
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see
Believe me”
Does anyone remember this Christopher Cross song? Well wind and miracles are two key words from this past Saturday.
Friday night I took our daughter to piano lessons. I decided to go to a near by bar called Hanover’s to study for my class and have a cold beer. I arrived and ran into an old friend (So much for studying). I was not quite in the mood for Guinness, so I compromised with a Black and Tan. My friend and I started conversing when one of his co-workers arrived. Very pleasant conversation; however, my friend made a rude comment to me. Last time I had seen him he had done a similar thing. I calming let it roll off my shoulders and ordered a Bass. Needless to say I am not sure this individual falls into the category of friend.
I left in a rush to pick up our daughter. She was a little upset because she was missing open house at her school. We quickly headed toward the school, but I knew we would not make it in time. The cell phone rang and it was my better half. I think she is psychic. “Honey we are going to go out to eat” with the K family and the H family. “Sounds great honey”! We went to Serrano’s Mexican Café. The main reason I mention this is for all of you parents out there in Austin land. Kids eat free Wednesday through Sunday with the purchase of an adult meal. This ends August 31st, so enjoy. Six adults drinking and 6 goofy children made for a great time, especially since I had an early start with 2 imperial pints.
OK Now to Saturday! I got up reasonably early because I had a long list of honey-do’s. I had permission to go sailing in the afternoon, but I HAD to accomplish certain honey-do’s. I cleaned the gutters! Now that was fun hanging on to the eve’s of the house for dear life and getting poked in the rear-end by spirea bushes. Yee-Ha! Next I did the normal yard beautification project of edge, mow, and trim. Finally I did my most favorite chore of pulling weeds for 2 plus hours. In total I spend about 4.0 hours in the hot Texas heat. Oh wait there is more! I come in from the hot sun and wet mop the floors. I did win the prize in that I could go sailing.
Remember the last time I went sailing there was no wind. This time there was wind and we are going to race. I had never participated in a regatta and I had no earthly clue what is expected of me, but here I am part of a three person crew on a 26 foot sailboat called Vitamin Sea. It is quite an amazing site watching 40 or so boats tacking back and forth across the lake vying for position and perfect access to the starting line. Mr. D our captain definitely had a plan.
The horn blasts into the air from the starters boat and 2 seconds later we zip past the starting line and the race is on. I believe there were 5-6 boats in our flight. I quickly learned my role with respect to the tacking maneuver. Back and forth we went, heading for the first buoy. We are battling it out for first place. The other boat cut directly in front of us twice. If you ask me just a little to close for comfort, but I was informed that that was part of the adventure. Around the first buoy we go, then we head toward the dam and the second buoy. We are still in a very tight race, but things are looking good. The other boat gets around the second buoy just ahead of us. At this point the wind is at our backs and we need to use the spinnaker. Check it out I know some sailing terms! FYI – Spinnaker is the huge and colorful sail. The other team got their spinnaker up with out a problem. Let’s just say we mucked up. First mate M was cursing and there I was not having a clue as to how I could help. Finally we get things straightened out, but now we are way behind.
We head to the third buoy. As we rounded this buoy we mucked up again. This time I had a little part in the fiasco. Captain D had asked me to steer the boat. Heck I did not know you move the rudder right to go left and left to go right. I think that is correct, but I was so confused. I did not do a good job, so I did not keep the wind in the sails like we are supposed to. I think somewhere in this chaos I received a rope burn on my middle finger. I was even wearing gloves! Another mistake and even further behind, but now we are in third place. Captain D is not happy!
You think this is fun! Just wait!
We head back to the buoy by the damn. This time we are ready for the spinnaker move. We executed it flawlessly. Got team! Soon we are back in second place. The really cool part is that we have to go the entire length of Lake Travis on this leg of the race. We got to relax a little bit and have a drink. I was not up for beer after Friday night. I slammed down a bottle of water. It was hot out on the lake, but we were to busy to really notice. Let me tell you working a sailboat is no picnic.
We seem to be making up some ground on the first place boat. I learned that we have to actually spot that team time, since we have a larger keel. I think the keel is the thingy under the boat. We are relaxing and enjoying the ride and it was a beautiful day. The third place boat was nowhere in site. We prepare to round the final buoy, so the spinnaker must come down. Captain D had given me some pointers. My role was to grab the spinnaker and get into the boat as quickly as possible. I stretched out and grabbed the proper rope and pulled handfuls of sail as fast as I possibly could. Then I grabbed the rope for the Genoa (smaller sail) and hoisted it up as quickly as possible. We did it flawlessly as we rounded the final buoy.
Then this look on my face appeared! “Holy shit!” Looking toward the finish line we see this wall of grey clouds. I mean a huge wall! Before we had time to breath the sky opened up, dumping buckets of giant rain drops. The wind increased at least by 3 times. The sailboat is almost on its side. I am clinging on for dear life. Captain D starts yelling “Get the Genoa down Get the Genoa down!” Instinctively I climb up onto the deck of the boat. The damn Genoa will not come down. If feels like we are about to flip over. First mate M and I are frantically trying to bring down that sail, but the wind was not cooperating. I grabbed onto the mast. I leaned out as far as I possibly could. I was able to grab onto the bottom of the Genoa. We tugged and pulled. Finally the sail came down and we stuffed it onto the front deck of the boat. Next thing we know Captain is yelling “Get the Genoa up! Get the Genoa up!” The storm had ended and by some miracle we are only a couple hundred yards behind the lead boat. We quickly jump into action and get the sail back up. We are now heading for the finish line. There was a beautiful rainbow in the sky and it was almost a complete rainbow. Wow that is also a miracle! And I am thinking to myself it is a miracle that my fat butt did not end up in the lake. It is a miracle that the boat did not capsize. One boat in the regatta apparently was not so lucky and it had been flipped over. The regatta sponsors had to pull someone out of the water. Everyone was OK!
The wind on the Lake was now tranquil and almost non-existent. We finished in second place about one minute behind the first place boat. Needless to say the Vitamin Sea would remain in first place over-all. There are six races total. I certainly hope to race again. The second half of the race was nearly flawless.
We ended up meeting my wife and kids at Johnny Carino’s, where I quickly slammed down 3 huge glasses of water and to huge root beers. Man I was thirsty!
What a great time! I can not help but think someone was watching over us. I got one message very loud and clear. “Wear a life jacket next time you idiot!” I probably will not listen to that voice, but it is probably sound advice. Give me that next list of honey do’s, because I am ready do experience it all over again! The other lesson I learned is that “Yes Honey, I am out of shape!” Let’s just say I was a little sore in the legs and arms on Monday.
Sunday we had some friends over for a light dinner and dessert. We had goat cheese and roasted red bell pepper sandwiches. We had a great visit!
Kids started school this week without a hitch. Our son started kindergarten and is really excited. He eagerly wakes up to get ready to go to school. Soccer season will soon be upon us, so we will have something going on every night of the week. For the first time in 9 years my wife and I do not have to work split shifts. It is really nice to have all four of us sit down to dinner every night. We still might have 3 different means, but that is a different story.
I have managed to play a little poker her and there, but nothing exciting. I do get tired of people complaining about the flaws of a given site or the way you played a hand. I guess that comes with the territory. I did manage to get a straight flush on my cell phone video poker.
Sail on!
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
"Amazing"
Congratulations to my wonderful parents! Yes it is AMAZING in that they have been married for 46 wonderful years. Y'all are truly amazing!
It was also amazing last night when I went on a hot streak at CNR, winning 5 hands in a row. I tripled up, then it was a good thing it was bed time!!
Friday night was also pretty amazing. At one point I was playing 4 tables concurrently, two on CNR and 2 on Paradise. On paradise I was just having fun and remained even. On CNR I joined the midnight NL Holdem tournament, using half of my check points. On the .10/.20 NL holdem table I won a huge hand and I was up $20. The tournament started getting tense, but I was holding my own until this hand. I am on the button holding AA. The flop comes 22T. I bet 3000. I get called! The turn is a K. I bet another 3000. The river is an Ace. I put the caller all-in. Absolutely the correct thing to do right? Wrong! The other player had pocket dueces. He had flopped 4 of a kind and hung me out to dry. I still had a decent chip stack. Around two in the morning I had managed to gain the chip lead back and was in the money. I wanted to win really bad. I was heads up against another player from Texas. We duked it out, exchanging the chip lead back and forth. Finally I got a decent hand AJo. I bet a nominal amount. He raised. I went all-iin for $27K. He immediately called. I have AJo and he has A6o. I liked my chances. A six hits on the flop. I had to settle for second place and $31. The cool thing was I never had to re-buy.
The main lesson I learned here was that there was no way in hell I could play four tables and concentrate on the tournament. After I earned enough check points to get my $25 bonus on CNR. I had stopped the ring game to focus on the tournament. I made a couple of good lay downs and two great bluffs, but other than that I really got the cards. Net profit was $75 for the evening, which is not too shabby.
Congratulations to my wonderful parents! Yes it is AMAZING in that they have been married for 46 wonderful years. Y'all are truly amazing!
It was also amazing last night when I went on a hot streak at CNR, winning 5 hands in a row. I tripled up, then it was a good thing it was bed time!!
Friday night was also pretty amazing. At one point I was playing 4 tables concurrently, two on CNR and 2 on Paradise. On paradise I was just having fun and remained even. On CNR I joined the midnight NL Holdem tournament, using half of my check points. On the .10/.20 NL holdem table I won a huge hand and I was up $20. The tournament started getting tense, but I was holding my own until this hand. I am on the button holding AA. The flop comes 22T. I bet 3000. I get called! The turn is a K. I bet another 3000. The river is an Ace. I put the caller all-in. Absolutely the correct thing to do right? Wrong! The other player had pocket dueces. He had flopped 4 of a kind and hung me out to dry. I still had a decent chip stack. Around two in the morning I had managed to gain the chip lead back and was in the money. I wanted to win really bad. I was heads up against another player from Texas. We duked it out, exchanging the chip lead back and forth. Finally I got a decent hand AJo. I bet a nominal amount. He raised. I went all-iin for $27K. He immediately called. I have AJo and he has A6o. I liked my chances. A six hits on the flop. I had to settle for second place and $31. The cool thing was I never had to re-buy.
The main lesson I learned here was that there was no way in hell I could play four tables and concentrate on the tournament. After I earned enough check points to get my $25 bonus on CNR. I had stopped the ring game to focus on the tournament. I made a couple of good lay downs and two great bluffs, but other than that I really got the cards. Net profit was $75 for the evening, which is not too shabby.
Saturday I did my honey do's, because I had been invited to be part of the crew on a sailboat, Vitamin Sea. I had permission to go, but it depended on the honey do list. I packed up some Guinness, water, and sun screen. I arrived right on time. There was no wind at all. I ad a feeling that once again I would not get to race. Last time I went there was no wind. I am beginning to see a pattern. I did jump into the lake and help clean the bottom of the boat. It can be a little eerie swimming under the bottom of the boat and popping up between the boat and the dock. We did have the captain and his lovely wife over for dinner after the race was cancelled. My wife cooked three recipes from he El Ferrol cook book we got on vacation, spicey potatoes, firey shrimp, and lemon-rosemary flan. Add a little bit of syrah and a temparnillo and it was a great time. The great news is that my better half gave me permission to try again this Saturday. I hope the weather is perfect and I will definitely be praying for at least a little wind.
Congratulations to April on her new puppy, Vegas. What a perfect name! When we got our puppy we named her Ash. It was great when our three year old would run around the house yelling "Nice Ass!" and "Bad Ass!"
I am really looking forward to playing in the Austin Blogger tournament on September 3. I have permission but I have not seen the honey do list. The honey do list can sometimes be "Amazing"!
Oh I forgot one quick rant! Texas House and Senate should proclaim Happy Anniversary to my great parents. Hell last Wednesday you spent your entire hour in session making proclamations about anniversaries and math school awards. Please serve the people of Texas and get off your asses and hammer out a school reform bill. Toss your special interests aside and focus on the quality of education for all children. Your procrastination is truly AMAZING!
Play on!
Friday, August 05, 2005
"Battle of the Aces"
First of all I need to apologize to those persons using RSS. I obviously have to continue my education regarding these applications. As soon as I have a better understanding I will try to implement something. Thanks Adam for pointing this out. April's links should also be of some help. Added to my list of to do's!
I am so glad I was not involved in this hand last night, but I thought it might be worth some discussion. I do not have all the details, but I can create a quick summary. The game was .10/.20 NLH on Check N Raise poker. I was not getting great cards, so I folded as usual. Two players raised each other pre-flop for a couple of bucks. After the flop there was some healthy betting and raising. Same thing happened at the turn and the river. I believe there was close to $20 in the pot. Player #2 was actually put all-in. Both players turned over AA. The irony here is that the board had four spades. Doesn't that suck to hold the same powerful hand as your opponent yet lose. The winner was indeed remorseful. :)
I had a similar experience on one of the few hands I got involved with. I believe I had A4. The
flop brought me a shot at the wheel. The turn brought me my 5 for the wheel. I bet $2 and got called. On the river brings a fourth spade to the board. I did not have a spade, so I mucked.
I have been taking a beating lately, but I am only 40 check points away from a $25 bonus. That will certainly help. I have been chasing a bit to much lately, so I am reeling the game in a bit. Hopefully I can play in a tournament tonight, but players on CNR are getting scarce. I may make the plunge tonight and join Full Tilt.
I am looking forward to playing in the Austin Bloggers tournament on September 3, but I must seek permission from my goddess. :)
Scott - If you happen to read this little excerpt I have a question for you. Did you go to Deer Park HS? I graduated from J. Frank Dobie HS. Perhaps it truly is a small world!
Party on! Oh wait! I mean play on!
First of all I need to apologize to those persons using RSS. I obviously have to continue my education regarding these applications. As soon as I have a better understanding I will try to implement something. Thanks Adam for pointing this out. April's links should also be of some help. Added to my list of to do's!
I am so glad I was not involved in this hand last night, but I thought it might be worth some discussion. I do not have all the details, but I can create a quick summary. The game was .10/.20 NLH on Check N Raise poker. I was not getting great cards, so I folded as usual. Two players raised each other pre-flop for a couple of bucks. After the flop there was some healthy betting and raising. Same thing happened at the turn and the river. I believe there was close to $20 in the pot. Player #2 was actually put all-in. Both players turned over AA. The irony here is that the board had four spades. Doesn't that suck to hold the same powerful hand as your opponent yet lose. The winner was indeed remorseful. :)
I had a similar experience on one of the few hands I got involved with. I believe I had A4. The
flop brought me a shot at the wheel. The turn brought me my 5 for the wheel. I bet $2 and got called. On the river brings a fourth spade to the board. I did not have a spade, so I mucked.
I have been taking a beating lately, but I am only 40 check points away from a $25 bonus. That will certainly help. I have been chasing a bit to much lately, so I am reeling the game in a bit. Hopefully I can play in a tournament tonight, but players on CNR are getting scarce. I may make the plunge tonight and join Full Tilt.
I am looking forward to playing in the Austin Bloggers tournament on September 3, but I must seek permission from my goddess. :)
Scott - If you happen to read this little excerpt I have a question for you. Did you go to Deer Park HS? I graduated from J. Frank Dobie HS. Perhaps it truly is a small world!
Party on! Oh wait! I mean play on!
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
"A Tall tale"
I just received these photos from my wife. I thought it would be a good time to try the new blogger utilities.
Check out the size of these sunflowers!!
All I know is the blogger tool works and that we will be planting these giant sunflowers again!
Enjoy!
I just received these photos from my wife. I thought it would be a good time to try the new blogger utilities.
Check out the size of these sunflowers!!
Another view.
Did my wife stand on the shed to get this one?
All I know is the blogger tool works and that we will be planting these giant sunflowers again!
Enjoy!
"Cracked"
Once again not overly inspired to post, but I did play a little poker last night at Paradise poker. Yep, I am still living off the $2 they gave me a long time ago. I do not have a huge bankroll, but enough to have some low limit fun. I have been playing a bunch of .02/.04 Stud lately and I also play .05/.10 Limit Holdem.
I am playing 7 stud and my very first hand I get a full house only to lose to a larger full house. Ouch!
I am in middle position on the limit holdem table and I am dealt pocket aces. I had just won a nice pot with two pair and ace kicker. Seems like the entire table is in and we make the betting. the flop comes 66x. Again maximum betting. Turn comes no help. Again maximum betting. Of course I believe someone has a 6, but I continue to fire away. There was not flush or straight draw. Four of us showed out cards. AA, QQ, and of course a raise with K6. One person folded on the turn who had TT. Three pocket pairs got "cracked". I just said nice hand and continued playing. There was some joking afterwards, but it was fun!
Now I think I will just toss out some randomness. My two brain cells are being pulled in multiple directions. That is correct in that I only have two brain cells left from all of the partying during my youth. Amazingly enough they usually fire at the same time resulting in a little bit of thought and creativity.
My brain is being pulled back into the world of development at work. Writing code certainly puts my two cells to the test. I have never had any formal training, so it really can be a struggle.
Outside of work my brain is on a totally different tangent. I have started taking RCIA classes. I am not sure this blog needs my thoughts on religion posted, so I am debating about creating a new blog. The spiritual side of me has not been greatly tested. Joining the Catholic church truly feels like the correct thing to do. It is a huge commitment and will take my two brain cells to the maximum. There may be some random spiritual posts on this blog, but I will try to keep it to a minimum. One thing I strongly believe is that I shalt not push my religious beliefs onto others. It is an individual journey!
Finally my brain is fried trying to determine how much poker to play and where to play it. I am tempted to join a new site, but I am not sure which one. Currently I am leaning toward FullTilt. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am looking for a good bonus that does not take a decade to earn. I am looking for a reasonable number of players and some low buy-in tournaments.
Perhaps I should just be smoking crack instead of getting my "aces" cracked! Definitely would make for an interesting religious experience. Hee Hee
I did have one more poker point to ponder. Lately on Check N Raise poker there have been numerous players going all-in early. This is a .05/.10 table and they go all-in for $20 only to win 40 cents. I know in certain situations you want to isolate the chasers, but man if you have a good hand at least attempt to make them earn you some dough!
Play on!
Once again not overly inspired to post, but I did play a little poker last night at Paradise poker. Yep, I am still living off the $2 they gave me a long time ago. I do not have a huge bankroll, but enough to have some low limit fun. I have been playing a bunch of .02/.04 Stud lately and I also play .05/.10 Limit Holdem.
I am playing 7 stud and my very first hand I get a full house only to lose to a larger full house. Ouch!
I am in middle position on the limit holdem table and I am dealt pocket aces. I had just won a nice pot with two pair and ace kicker. Seems like the entire table is in and we make the betting. the flop comes 66x. Again maximum betting. Turn comes no help. Again maximum betting. Of course I believe someone has a 6, but I continue to fire away. There was not flush or straight draw. Four of us showed out cards. AA, QQ, and of course a raise with K6. One person folded on the turn who had TT. Three pocket pairs got "cracked". I just said nice hand and continued playing. There was some joking afterwards, but it was fun!
Now I think I will just toss out some randomness. My two brain cells are being pulled in multiple directions. That is correct in that I only have two brain cells left from all of the partying during my youth. Amazingly enough they usually fire at the same time resulting in a little bit of thought and creativity.
My brain is being pulled back into the world of development at work. Writing code certainly puts my two cells to the test. I have never had any formal training, so it really can be a struggle.
Outside of work my brain is on a totally different tangent. I have started taking RCIA classes. I am not sure this blog needs my thoughts on religion posted, so I am debating about creating a new blog. The spiritual side of me has not been greatly tested. Joining the Catholic church truly feels like the correct thing to do. It is a huge commitment and will take my two brain cells to the maximum. There may be some random spiritual posts on this blog, but I will try to keep it to a minimum. One thing I strongly believe is that I shalt not push my religious beliefs onto others. It is an individual journey!
Finally my brain is fried trying to determine how much poker to play and where to play it. I am tempted to join a new site, but I am not sure which one. Currently I am leaning toward FullTilt. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am looking for a good bonus that does not take a decade to earn. I am looking for a reasonable number of players and some low buy-in tournaments.
Perhaps I should just be smoking crack instead of getting my "aces" cracked! Definitely would make for an interesting religious experience. Hee Hee
I did have one more poker point to ponder. Lately on Check N Raise poker there have been numerous players going all-in early. This is a .05/.10 table and they go all-in for $20 only to win 40 cents. I know in certain situations you want to isolate the chasers, but man if you have a good hand at least attempt to make them earn you some dough!
Play on!
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
"Five of a kind"
I have not been overly motivated to blog lately. Work has been taking a toll on me. Things are beginning to settle down, so I thought I would share this little story. Sorry but this story has nothing to do with poker.
This Saturday my entire family met at SeaWorld at San Antonio. My sister's family from Phoenix. My Mom, Dad, Brother and his family, and my other Sister and her family from Houston.
I know we had a great time, but hurding five families, containing 9 grandchildren around a crowded park is not an easy task. We decided to top of the event by seeing Shamu Rocks Texas. Our 8 year old insisted on sitting in the splash zone. Myself, our daughter, our son, and 4 cousins all took seats in the front row right in front of the glass. At least I had the foresight to hand my backpack to my sister. I wish I would have handed her my Texas Longhorn cowboy hat. Oh well!
The music began and Shamu comes zooming out and does a huge flip in the center of the pool. The full house rocks with excitement. Next I look through the glass to see "5 of a kind". They were black and white, but definitely not spades or clubs. Then I look above the pool to see another "five of a kind". Five large white tails. I started laughing my ass off, because I knew what was about to happen. I grabbed my Longhorn hat from my head and tucked it under my chest. What a waste of energy. Those five tails pushed so much freakin water over the glass barrier that they need to change the name from splashzone to Tidal Wave. Instantly soaked only to have two more walls of water come right at us.
The Tidal Wave subsided. I look at our daughter and she is bawling her eyes out and screaming at the top of her lungs "It hurts". "What hurts?" "My foot!" "Why does your foot hurt?" "My blister." I then look at our son. Now he is crying too. "We want out of here." I lead them up the stairs through the crowd. knowing that for us the show was over. Our daughter cried the entire time. All I could do was worry about my nieces and nephews whom we abandoned. I had to trust the fact that three of them were old enough to know what they needed to do to find us after the show. We left them laughing almost as hard as I was.
This put a little negative on otherwise what I thought was a fun day. Thanks to Grandma we saved $24 on the tickets. I did not appreciate the pile of puke in front of the ticket booth. The event definitely did not start off on the right foot. It also took us 1 hour to get out of Austin. TXDOT needs to only work nights.
Lessons learned are:
If you have children under 10 years of age and they want to go to the splash zone, just say no!
If you want to want to smell like a salty fish, then sit in the splash zone.
If you wear your favorite hat do not worry about protecting it. Note: Plan to air it out to get rid of the fish smell.
If you have a blister and salt water gets in. It burns! Wear socks! Or insist your children wear socks even if they do not want to.
You can not beat "5 of a kind"!
I have not been overly motivated to blog lately. Work has been taking a toll on me. Things are beginning to settle down, so I thought I would share this little story. Sorry but this story has nothing to do with poker.
This Saturday my entire family met at SeaWorld at San Antonio. My sister's family from Phoenix. My Mom, Dad, Brother and his family, and my other Sister and her family from Houston.
I know we had a great time, but hurding five families, containing 9 grandchildren around a crowded park is not an easy task. We decided to top of the event by seeing Shamu Rocks Texas. Our 8 year old insisted on sitting in the splash zone. Myself, our daughter, our son, and 4 cousins all took seats in the front row right in front of the glass. At least I had the foresight to hand my backpack to my sister. I wish I would have handed her my Texas Longhorn cowboy hat. Oh well!
The music began and Shamu comes zooming out and does a huge flip in the center of the pool. The full house rocks with excitement. Next I look through the glass to see "5 of a kind". They were black and white, but definitely not spades or clubs. Then I look above the pool to see another "five of a kind". Five large white tails. I started laughing my ass off, because I knew what was about to happen. I grabbed my Longhorn hat from my head and tucked it under my chest. What a waste of energy. Those five tails pushed so much freakin water over the glass barrier that they need to change the name from splashzone to Tidal Wave. Instantly soaked only to have two more walls of water come right at us.
The Tidal Wave subsided. I look at our daughter and she is bawling her eyes out and screaming at the top of her lungs "It hurts". "What hurts?" "My foot!" "Why does your foot hurt?" "My blister." I then look at our son. Now he is crying too. "We want out of here." I lead them up the stairs through the crowd. knowing that for us the show was over. Our daughter cried the entire time. All I could do was worry about my nieces and nephews whom we abandoned. I had to trust the fact that three of them were old enough to know what they needed to do to find us after the show. We left them laughing almost as hard as I was.
This put a little negative on otherwise what I thought was a fun day. Thanks to Grandma we saved $24 on the tickets. I did not appreciate the pile of puke in front of the ticket booth. The event definitely did not start off on the right foot. It also took us 1 hour to get out of Austin. TXDOT needs to only work nights.
Lessons learned are:
If you have children under 10 years of age and they want to go to the splash zone, just say no!
If you want to want to smell like a salty fish, then sit in the splash zone.
If you wear your favorite hat do not worry about protecting it. Note: Plan to air it out to get rid of the fish smell.
If you have a blister and salt water gets in. It burns! Wear socks! Or insist your children wear socks even if they do not want to.
You can not beat "5 of a kind"!
Play on!
Monday, July 11, 2005
"Miscellaneous"
Due to work and life I have not had a chance to complete the Arizona trip report and my demise on Party Poker. I thought I would quickly post a couple of miscellaneous items.
Toast to Mr. Lonnie Zwiener - Mr. Zwiener is the father of one of my best friends from college. Mr. Zwiener passed on July 1, 2005. I will forever appreciate his humor and kindness. His legacy is a fabulous family of 4 boys and 13 grandchildren. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Zwiener family. I was fortunate enough to maintain their yard during the early 90's. Mr. Zwiener gave me an open invitation to enjoy a cold beer everytime I worked in their yard. The boys did a fantastic job honoring their father and I raise a beer in honor of Mr. Zwiener.
Microsoft software sucks - Our daughter has been beginning for this game called Zoo Tycoon 2. She scratched and clawed and saved her money. I agreed to cover the taxes. She spends $30 of her money, which is a ton for an 8 year old. She tries to install in on her computer. Sorry your driver does not have the correct speed to support this game. We tried to install in on her brothers computer (although I doubted it would work). Sorry but you do not have enough processing speed. We tried to install in on my office laptop, which is reasonably high end. Sorry but this package is not compatible with the Radeon 7500. I look up this game on the internet only to find that it is not compatible with about 100 video cards. What kind of crap is that? I decide to return the game at Target and exchange it for the older version which should work. Sorry sir, but you can only exchange it for the exact same item. What the f***? I basically let a couple of target managers no I was very angry. The sited copyright law. I agree that some persons would go home copy the game and try to return it. Would I be this pissed if I had done that? My apologies to the Target managers they should not receive the brundt of my frustration. Microsoft deserves the slam! Upon contacting Microsoft they apparently have a 100% satisfaction garuntee policy. I have not heard back from them since leaving them a message on Friday. If they refund our money I will apologize and move on, but until I get a refund Microsoft Sucks!
Due to work and life I have not had a chance to complete the Arizona trip report and my demise on Party Poker. I thought I would quickly post a couple of miscellaneous items.
Toast to Mr. Lonnie Zwiener - Mr. Zwiener is the father of one of my best friends from college. Mr. Zwiener passed on July 1, 2005. I will forever appreciate his humor and kindness. His legacy is a fabulous family of 4 boys and 13 grandchildren. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Zwiener family. I was fortunate enough to maintain their yard during the early 90's. Mr. Zwiener gave me an open invitation to enjoy a cold beer everytime I worked in their yard. The boys did a fantastic job honoring their father and I raise a beer in honor of Mr. Zwiener.
Microsoft software sucks - Our daughter has been beginning for this game called Zoo Tycoon 2. She scratched and clawed and saved her money. I agreed to cover the taxes. She spends $30 of her money, which is a ton for an 8 year old. She tries to install in on her computer. Sorry your driver does not have the correct speed to support this game. We tried to install in on her brothers computer (although I doubted it would work). Sorry but you do not have enough processing speed. We tried to install in on my office laptop, which is reasonably high end. Sorry but this package is not compatible with the Radeon 7500. I look up this game on the internet only to find that it is not compatible with about 100 video cards. What kind of crap is that? I decide to return the game at Target and exchange it for the older version which should work. Sorry sir, but you can only exchange it for the exact same item. What the f***? I basically let a couple of target managers no I was very angry. The sited copyright law. I agree that some persons would go home copy the game and try to return it. Would I be this pissed if I had done that? My apologies to the Target managers they should not receive the brundt of my frustration. Microsoft deserves the slam! Upon contacting Microsoft they apparently have a 100% satisfaction garuntee policy. I have not heard back from them since leaving them a message on Friday. If they refund our money I will apologize and move on, but until I get a refund Microsoft Sucks!
Play on!
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Arizona trip report and Casino Adventure
Warning if you are looking for poker content please scroll down and read the sections labeled in blue. This is definitely an Uber post for me, but unfortunately not Guinness fueled.
June 18 - drove to El Paso. We made it to Ft. Stockton before we stopped for sandwiches. We did make a quick pit stop in Stonewall TX to pick up some fresh peaches. We made it to El Paso in about 9 hours. Otherwise uneventful.
June 19 – We had a great brunch, consisting of Machaca and chiliceles. Drove to Scottsdale and after Tucson I believe our son pointed out every cactus along the way. He does now know the difference between cactus and cacti. Stopped at a gas station outside of Tucson, where some goofball almost ran over my wife and kids. The gas pump took 20 minutes to pump 10 gallons. I stopped pumping because it was so damn slow. We made it to our resort, which is nicer that we imagined. They had a beautiful 4500 sq foot pool area with a huge waterfall and hot tub. Kids and I went for a late night swim. Let’s just say the water was a little cold.
Funny moment – We were trying to get our five year old to read a book on the trip. We kept saying “I do not know how”. Of course we know he does. We keep pushing him to read a book. Finally he says I do not know how to read “Giggle Giggle Quack”. “Oh we thought you did not know how to read.”
June 20 – We decided to go to a Desert Botanical Garden, Papalago. We saw cacti from all over the world. We saw lizards, quail, hummingbirds, and ground squirrels. We stopped for some prickly pear iced tea, which was very refreshing. Afterwards we went to the old section of Downtown Scottsdale. We did some window shopping and had lunch at a place called Rusty Spur Saloon. There was a singer named Jimmy who had a great voice and was very entertaining. His mother was there and had to prevent him from singing certain songs with our kids there. We had a buffalo chicken sandwich that was really good. Grilled chicken breast smothered in Buffalo wing sauce. We wrote our names on a dollar bill and placed it on the wall in a predominate place. At the end of each year they take down all of the dollars, have a poker run and donate the money to charity. We finished the day at the pool. At least some of us did. I went on to play poker at Casino Arizona. I am now off to the TPC Desert course, so the poker write up will have to wait. Let’s just say I left the casino a lot lighter than when I entered it. Stay tuned.
It is now Wednesday June 29th and I am sitting at my in-laws in El Paso Texas. I have a bunch of things to report, but I need to first continue my first trip to Casino Arizona.
June 20 (cont…) After we had lunch at the Rusty Spur we got in the van. Let’s just say the van did not cool down in that 113 degree weather. The misses was not too happy. I tried to explain to her that it has always acted that way in this type of weather, but she was having nothing to do with it. We got back to the condo and I took off to see if I could find someone to look at it. The only place I found was finished for the day. The recommended I get Jiffy lube to put in Freon. Well I did not trust them because they had no means of diagnosing if a problem existed and I was not about to pay $100 to end up with 0 Freon.
*** Poker Content (Part 1) ***
The kids finally fell asleep around 10:30 PM. I kissed the wife and off to Casino Arizona. I really did not have a clue as to what to expect, but I had $200 of mad money burning a hole in my wallet. Casino Arizona is split into two locations, but I went to the Talking Stick location, which I knew had the poker room. I walked in and I was overwhelmed. I liked the fact that this was a smoke free poker room; however, my table was right at the edge where smoking was permitted. Despite the occasionally smoke it really was not bad. I had never played holdem in a casino before. Another cool aspect was that you did not hear the constant clanging of one-armed bandits. I wasted no time and signed up for the $3/$6 tables and I was quickly assigned to table 3. I bought in for $50. I got crap cards the entire time, but this is where I learned about the “Kill” pot. Twice I got involved in a kill pot only to get nothing on the flop. Let's just state for the record that “KILL pots can be expensive”. I won a few hands here and there, but for the most part money was flying out of my hands. There was one kill pot where I flopped a pair of kings. I believe I was holding KQo. The flop came JKA. I bet the $6 only to get raised. I folded. It turns out that the raiser was holding QTo for the flopped nut straight. I made a comment to the table that I folded 2 pair. They made comments like “nice lay down”. Truth is I did not have shit, but I wanted the table to think I dropped a big hand! (Hee Hee)
There were two other hands worth mentioning. There is a bad beat jackpot and from 10:00 PM to Midnight the Jackpot for holdem was around $56K. I was in the BB with 56s (spades). The flop brought me an open-ended straight flush draw. I just had to see it to the river. It was expensive and of course it did not hit. Had it hit I would have won 25% of the jackpot, because the winning hand was quad 7s. Damn! About 30 minutes later the table got excited again. The board showed three aces. To win the Jackpot Aces full of tens needs to be beat. Unfortunately the jackpot was not to be ours. I did meet a couple of Longhorn fans. Most of the players at the table were solid. There were two players that were bigger fish than me. The decent pots I won were off of them. Before I called it quits at 2:00 AM, I had burned $120 of my bankroll. I was not happy and I believe I had some tells. Oh yeah! Once I played the hammer from the BB. The flop came 7KJ. I caught a piece of it, but just could not play it. I did chase a few times, but felt I had to since I was not getting any cards. I did have trip aces once only to have the board show four clubs. You guessed it that I did not hold a club. Sigh! Oh yeah! I did not win a hand until I had bought a beer. I much prefer the free drinks in Las Vegas, than paying $5 per beer and they did NOT serve Guinness.
*** End of Poker content Part 1***
June 21 – I got up at the crack of dawn and headed out to find a place called Fletchers, which was recommended by my brother-in-law. I got there about 7:25 AM. They stated it would take about 45 minutes to take a look at the AC. I asked if there was a place to have breakfast. They stated that there was an IHOP a little ways down the street. I started to walk. I did not see an IHOP and I quickly made a decision that it was to hot and the return trip was going to be even hotter. I stopped at a gas station and got a Code red and a bag of pretzels. Breakfast of champions! It turned out that our AC had about 12 ounces to much Freon and could not cool in these temperatures. They tested for leaks and set the amount to the correct levels. Now even a penguin would like out van! My hat is definitely off to Fletcher’s service. They treated all of their customers with respect and appeared to be efficient. Once again our van caused us money on vacation, but $144 was much better than $1000 plus.
I made it back to the condo by 8:45 AM, so we decided to continue with our original plan. We packed up the cooler and set out on a drive via the Apache trail. I will spare most of the details, but it was a beautiful drive. One key fact we were not quite in tune with was that 28 miles of this journey would be on dirt road. At times it was like riding a bull. We had to creep along at 10 mph. The strangest part was that a thunderhead appeared out of nowhere. I saw a bolt of lightening hit a ridge. I turn to my wife “did you see that bolt of lightening?” She replies “No, but I see smoke!” We witnessed the start of one of the fires that was to burn over 60,000 acres of desert. It started to rain and we got behind two bikers. They did not look like happy campers. They finally waved us around them. Finally we arrived at the Roosevelt damn. Next we went to Tonto National Forest. We informed the ranger about the fire, but they of course were already aware. She recommended that we not go up to the Indian ruins, because of lightening, the heat, and numerous swarms of bees. Besides we were too hungry anyway and the kids do an hour long hike. Yeah right! As usual we concluded the day at the pool.
June 22 – This was a fun day for me in that my son (5 years old) and I planned to play golf. The TPC was a couple of blocks from our condo, so we opted for that one. The stadium course was expensive from my point of view ($75), so we opted to play the Desert Course. Unfortunately the Desert Course greens had just been plugged and sanded. I expected to get a discount, but there was none offered. I did not press the issue because we were dropped off, so really had no choice ($50). As expected the course was fairly empty. Our son got to hit a ton of golf shots. It was a challenge to him to try and drive the ball over the desert. He was successful a few times, but did result in 3 lost balls. On the back nine I decided to let him play an entire par three from tee to green. It was an amazing in that he actually got on the green in four and three putted for a seven. I think that is pretty good for a 5 year old. The remainder of the day was spent relaxing at the pool.
June 23 – Finally we get a chance to spend the day with my sister and her family. We decided to go to the Phoenix zoo. My sister had some free passes! Thanks Sis! The kids were great and we had a good time, but it was hot! The one cool think was that we were standing there watching the giant Galapagos turtle. I opted to move to get in some shade. Well right where I was standing came slithering this 6 foot gopher snake. The snake would have probably totally freaked me out if I had not moved. The turtle keeper apparently had experience with snakes and picked it up. The kids were thrilled. She released it on the other side of the turtle cage in the shade. Nature meets the zoo! We spent the remainder of the day at my sister’s doing the slippery slide thing, an apartment pool, and grilling some delicious steaks. After getting slightly lost Peoria we made it back to the condo around 10:30 PM.
June 24 - Today my sister and family, including Uncle D, who had been out of town on business, were coming to the condo to enjoy the pool. I took the kids for a morning swim, and then in order to kill time we decided to find a place to eat a good lunch. We headed toward downtown Scottsdale with a couple of places in mind. Unfortunately the one place was only open for dinner. We settled on a place called Grimaldi’s. It turned out to be an excellent choice. We had an oven-fired pizza topped with sun dried tomatoes and ricotta cheese. Ok half had those ingredients and the other have of course was pepperoni for the kids. We enjoyed ½ carafe of Chianti. Around 4:30 PM our guests arrived. Uncle D and I had a few drinks. We thoroughly enjoyed the pool. The kids were all great. We grilled some hamburgers and hotdogs. The visit was short but an absolute pleasure. Hopefully Uncle D and I can do some business together. I plan to conduct some free quality assurance on his web site when I return to Austin.
*** Poker Content (part 2) ***
My last trip to the casino only left $70 burning a hole in my pocket. It was all money won on the internet, so I figured so what if I lose this found money. For the record my wife will never understand! Everyone was tucked in around 10:00 PM. I decided to check out the other casino, Ft. McDowell. I mean this is a casino adventure. It was a longer drive, but I was there in about 30 minutes. The place was pretty full. The differences were numerous slot machines all ching chinging and clank clanking. The poker room was very small and way in the back. I sat down at the $3/6 table and bought in with my $70. The first dealer I had seemed to be sick. I lost one decent sized pot when my opened straight did not fill. The next dealer sat down and complained about his back, stating that we had to make sure we pushed the cards and chips far enough for him to reach without hurting his back. “My chiropractor is not available until Monday.” I did not have much sympathy. A couple of hands later I thought I was the big blind so I put out the $3. Of course I continued to get crap cards, so after a raise I mucked the cards. The very next hand I was told that I was the big blind. I stated I had just been the big blind. Dealer’s response “To bad you made a mistake, you are now the big blind.” I did not need a dealer being rude to me. I played three more hands then grabbed my chips and headed for the door. The sad part was I had donated $30 in that lame casino. First impressions are everything, so I will not be returning to the Ft. McDowell casino.
I headed back to Casino Arizona where at least I was treated with respect. Now with only $40 left of my bankroll I needed to play smart. Well not if you get great cards. I sat down and found ATo. The flop comes with TTA, giving me a boat. I bet it hard all the way and had two callers until the turn and one caller at the river. A couple of paint cards came on the turn and the river, so I was worried about the guy having an over pair and a larger boat. I took down a nice sized pot. I tipped the dealer and stacked my chips. There was a lady at the table that was a bit crazy to play with. She was 32 years old and told us how she was divorcing her husband of three years who could never give her an orgasm. She now had a man that that could and was able to please her 8 hours at a time. I had a few comments, but held my tongue. There for awhile she would bet to the river blind. The funny part was for about 30 minutes she won every hand. I took one large pot from her with her silly antics, but I did lose to her set of tens, when I had top two pair. She did not appear to be drunk, but she was a little obnoxious, especially when she started to tell the orgasm story a second time and that she pays her soon to be x-husband $2000/month in alimony. As expected her crazy play caused her to lose her stack. I certainly did not mind. I ended up calling it a day at 2:00 AM with $80 in my pocket.
*** End of poker content Part 2***
June 25 – Today was the day for laundry and R&R. We went to the pool a couple of times. The evening trip to the pool we had margaritas and smoothies pool side. Not to much exciting happened until I told my wife I was going back to the casino. I just had to go for it.
*** Poker Content Part 3 ***
I was determined to play smart and win some of my money back. The place was packed since it was a Saturday night. I put my name on a long list for the $3/6 tables. I got placed at table 44, which was quite different from the other areas of the poker room I had played in. There was one player with a large stack of chips, but he did not stay long. As usual I did not get any cards. Mucking the cards gets pretty old. The lady to my right had just won a nice pot with pocket queens. I make a comment loud enough for most of the players to hear. “So what is it like to get a face card?” She laughs and says, “They are nice if you win!” The very next hand I drag the pot with A7, where my 7 was the high kicker. Imagine that! The very next hand I look down to see big slick suited. I raise it up although this is a dangerous hand for me. I lose more often than I win. I kept raising. The lady to my right goes “I guess you finally got some face cards” and mucks her hand. The flop and turn bring me nothing, but I keep pressing the bets. Whew everyone folded to my aggression. I think my comment about face cards set things up to play aggressive. I had turned my $80 into $110. I contemplated getting up and leaving, but wait I came here with found money. I have only been playing 45 minutes. Press on!
It was about 1:00 AM. One side note that I thought was interesting. One of the dealers noticed that some cards were marked. It was interesting in that they had just brought a new set up as I arrived to the table. The cards were indeed marked with a small faint white line. My theory was that the card shuffler was causing it. FYI – every poker room needs card shufflers. He called for a new set up when he noticed on the other deck that one of the aces had a thumb nail mark in it. Hell I could barely see it, so I am not sure how a cheater could see it. The dealer also talked about how the “eye in the sky” now detects chemicals professional cheats used on cards. Apparently they would put a powder on the cards that could be viewed with special glasses. This brings a whole new meaning to the reason everyone wears sun glasses at the tables.
OK back to my final three hands. I limp in with pocket 5’s. Inside I am praying for a 5 to hit the board. I think I only had a set once in three days and I was ready to win bug. The flop comes 5sQhKs. I raise. I get re-raised. I raise again. There are two other players. The turn does not help, but I keep firing. Everyone calls! The river brings another spade and I did not improve. The guy to my left hit the river flush and the lady at the other end of the table had hit a set of queens on the flop. I was dead meat without getting another five. At this point half of my stack is gone. A few hands later I am put all-in with A4s. It was my turn to hit the flush on the river and I drag the pot. I think I am now at $16. Should I leave? How do I explain the loss of $80 to my wife? Man this is found money and I came to gamble. The next hand was perfect. It was a family pot. Everyone called the BB, so the pot was already large. I was holding ATo. The flop comes ATX. I get all of my money in and the pot is close to $60. The turn brings another spade. I am chanting no flush, no flush. Of course the guy next to me stayed in with 56 of spades. I was sure the AT was going to bring me back to life. I am broke! I wish everyone good luck and head back to the condo pondering the words I will say to my wife.
I think in all I played very solid poker. I have mentioned this before, but I need to work on my strategy when cards run dry. I did chase the nut flush a couple of times only to come up empty handed. After the first day jitters I think I erased most of my tells. I am definitely going to work on my reverse tells and my table banter. I also feel it is time for me to buy a poker book in an effort to raise my game to the next level. I blew $200 in 11 hours at the $3/6 holdem tables. I do not think that was too bad. Fortunately for me the second two sessions did not bring many kill pots. Thanks to Casino Arizona for being a gracious host and I hope you spend the rake wisely! I definitely can not wait until I find a way to Vegas. I like to drink a little when I play, so free drinks would add to my banter. Texas legislature needs to hear this loud and clear. Bring poker to Texas NOW!
*** End of all poker content ***
I am going to post this for now. I will finish the Arizona trip report in another segment and I will write a report of my demise on Party Poker.
Play on!
Warning if you are looking for poker content please scroll down and read the sections labeled in blue. This is definitely an Uber post for me, but unfortunately not Guinness fueled.
June 18 - drove to El Paso. We made it to Ft. Stockton before we stopped for sandwiches. We did make a quick pit stop in Stonewall TX to pick up some fresh peaches. We made it to El Paso in about 9 hours. Otherwise uneventful.
June 19 – We had a great brunch, consisting of Machaca and chiliceles. Drove to Scottsdale and after Tucson I believe our son pointed out every cactus along the way. He does now know the difference between cactus and cacti. Stopped at a gas station outside of Tucson, where some goofball almost ran over my wife and kids. The gas pump took 20 minutes to pump 10 gallons. I stopped pumping because it was so damn slow. We made it to our resort, which is nicer that we imagined. They had a beautiful 4500 sq foot pool area with a huge waterfall and hot tub. Kids and I went for a late night swim. Let’s just say the water was a little cold.
Funny moment – We were trying to get our five year old to read a book on the trip. We kept saying “I do not know how”. Of course we know he does. We keep pushing him to read a book. Finally he says I do not know how to read “Giggle Giggle Quack”. “Oh we thought you did not know how to read.”
June 20 – We decided to go to a Desert Botanical Garden, Papalago. We saw cacti from all over the world. We saw lizards, quail, hummingbirds, and ground squirrels. We stopped for some prickly pear iced tea, which was very refreshing. Afterwards we went to the old section of Downtown Scottsdale. We did some window shopping and had lunch at a place called Rusty Spur Saloon. There was a singer named Jimmy who had a great voice and was very entertaining. His mother was there and had to prevent him from singing certain songs with our kids there. We had a buffalo chicken sandwich that was really good. Grilled chicken breast smothered in Buffalo wing sauce. We wrote our names on a dollar bill and placed it on the wall in a predominate place. At the end of each year they take down all of the dollars, have a poker run and donate the money to charity. We finished the day at the pool. At least some of us did. I went on to play poker at Casino Arizona. I am now off to the TPC Desert course, so the poker write up will have to wait. Let’s just say I left the casino a lot lighter than when I entered it. Stay tuned.
It is now Wednesday June 29th and I am sitting at my in-laws in El Paso Texas. I have a bunch of things to report, but I need to first continue my first trip to Casino Arizona.
June 20 (cont…) After we had lunch at the Rusty Spur we got in the van. Let’s just say the van did not cool down in that 113 degree weather. The misses was not too happy. I tried to explain to her that it has always acted that way in this type of weather, but she was having nothing to do with it. We got back to the condo and I took off to see if I could find someone to look at it. The only place I found was finished for the day. The recommended I get Jiffy lube to put in Freon. Well I did not trust them because they had no means of diagnosing if a problem existed and I was not about to pay $100 to end up with 0 Freon.
*** Poker Content (Part 1) ***
The kids finally fell asleep around 10:30 PM. I kissed the wife and off to Casino Arizona. I really did not have a clue as to what to expect, but I had $200 of mad money burning a hole in my wallet. Casino Arizona is split into two locations, but I went to the Talking Stick location, which I knew had the poker room. I walked in and I was overwhelmed. I liked the fact that this was a smoke free poker room; however, my table was right at the edge where smoking was permitted. Despite the occasionally smoke it really was not bad. I had never played holdem in a casino before. Another cool aspect was that you did not hear the constant clanging of one-armed bandits. I wasted no time and signed up for the $3/$6 tables and I was quickly assigned to table 3. I bought in for $50. I got crap cards the entire time, but this is where I learned about the “Kill” pot. Twice I got involved in a kill pot only to get nothing on the flop. Let's just state for the record that “KILL pots can be expensive”. I won a few hands here and there, but for the most part money was flying out of my hands. There was one kill pot where I flopped a pair of kings. I believe I was holding KQo. The flop came JKA. I bet the $6 only to get raised. I folded. It turns out that the raiser was holding QTo for the flopped nut straight. I made a comment to the table that I folded 2 pair. They made comments like “nice lay down”. Truth is I did not have shit, but I wanted the table to think I dropped a big hand! (Hee Hee)
There were two other hands worth mentioning. There is a bad beat jackpot and from 10:00 PM to Midnight the Jackpot for holdem was around $56K. I was in the BB with 56s (spades). The flop brought me an open-ended straight flush draw. I just had to see it to the river. It was expensive and of course it did not hit. Had it hit I would have won 25% of the jackpot, because the winning hand was quad 7s. Damn! About 30 minutes later the table got excited again. The board showed three aces. To win the Jackpot Aces full of tens needs to be beat. Unfortunately the jackpot was not to be ours. I did meet a couple of Longhorn fans. Most of the players at the table were solid. There were two players that were bigger fish than me. The decent pots I won were off of them. Before I called it quits at 2:00 AM, I had burned $120 of my bankroll. I was not happy and I believe I had some tells. Oh yeah! Once I played the hammer from the BB. The flop came 7KJ. I caught a piece of it, but just could not play it. I did chase a few times, but felt I had to since I was not getting any cards. I did have trip aces once only to have the board show four clubs. You guessed it that I did not hold a club. Sigh! Oh yeah! I did not win a hand until I had bought a beer. I much prefer the free drinks in Las Vegas, than paying $5 per beer and they did NOT serve Guinness.
*** End of Poker content Part 1***
June 21 – I got up at the crack of dawn and headed out to find a place called Fletchers, which was recommended by my brother-in-law. I got there about 7:25 AM. They stated it would take about 45 minutes to take a look at the AC. I asked if there was a place to have breakfast. They stated that there was an IHOP a little ways down the street. I started to walk. I did not see an IHOP and I quickly made a decision that it was to hot and the return trip was going to be even hotter. I stopped at a gas station and got a Code red and a bag of pretzels. Breakfast of champions! It turned out that our AC had about 12 ounces to much Freon and could not cool in these temperatures. They tested for leaks and set the amount to the correct levels. Now even a penguin would like out van! My hat is definitely off to Fletcher’s service. They treated all of their customers with respect and appeared to be efficient. Once again our van caused us money on vacation, but $144 was much better than $1000 plus.
I made it back to the condo by 8:45 AM, so we decided to continue with our original plan. We packed up the cooler and set out on a drive via the Apache trail. I will spare most of the details, but it was a beautiful drive. One key fact we were not quite in tune with was that 28 miles of this journey would be on dirt road. At times it was like riding a bull. We had to creep along at 10 mph. The strangest part was that a thunderhead appeared out of nowhere. I saw a bolt of lightening hit a ridge. I turn to my wife “did you see that bolt of lightening?” She replies “No, but I see smoke!” We witnessed the start of one of the fires that was to burn over 60,000 acres of desert. It started to rain and we got behind two bikers. They did not look like happy campers. They finally waved us around them. Finally we arrived at the Roosevelt damn. Next we went to Tonto National Forest. We informed the ranger about the fire, but they of course were already aware. She recommended that we not go up to the Indian ruins, because of lightening, the heat, and numerous swarms of bees. Besides we were too hungry anyway and the kids do an hour long hike. Yeah right! As usual we concluded the day at the pool.
June 22 – This was a fun day for me in that my son (5 years old) and I planned to play golf. The TPC was a couple of blocks from our condo, so we opted for that one. The stadium course was expensive from my point of view ($75), so we opted to play the Desert Course. Unfortunately the Desert Course greens had just been plugged and sanded. I expected to get a discount, but there was none offered. I did not press the issue because we were dropped off, so really had no choice ($50). As expected the course was fairly empty. Our son got to hit a ton of golf shots. It was a challenge to him to try and drive the ball over the desert. He was successful a few times, but did result in 3 lost balls. On the back nine I decided to let him play an entire par three from tee to green. It was an amazing in that he actually got on the green in four and three putted for a seven. I think that is pretty good for a 5 year old. The remainder of the day was spent relaxing at the pool.
June 23 – Finally we get a chance to spend the day with my sister and her family. We decided to go to the Phoenix zoo. My sister had some free passes! Thanks Sis! The kids were great and we had a good time, but it was hot! The one cool think was that we were standing there watching the giant Galapagos turtle. I opted to move to get in some shade. Well right where I was standing came slithering this 6 foot gopher snake. The snake would have probably totally freaked me out if I had not moved. The turtle keeper apparently had experience with snakes and picked it up. The kids were thrilled. She released it on the other side of the turtle cage in the shade. Nature meets the zoo! We spent the remainder of the day at my sister’s doing the slippery slide thing, an apartment pool, and grilling some delicious steaks. After getting slightly lost Peoria we made it back to the condo around 10:30 PM.
June 24 - Today my sister and family, including Uncle D, who had been out of town on business, were coming to the condo to enjoy the pool. I took the kids for a morning swim, and then in order to kill time we decided to find a place to eat a good lunch. We headed toward downtown Scottsdale with a couple of places in mind. Unfortunately the one place was only open for dinner. We settled on a place called Grimaldi’s. It turned out to be an excellent choice. We had an oven-fired pizza topped with sun dried tomatoes and ricotta cheese. Ok half had those ingredients and the other have of course was pepperoni for the kids. We enjoyed ½ carafe of Chianti. Around 4:30 PM our guests arrived. Uncle D and I had a few drinks. We thoroughly enjoyed the pool. The kids were all great. We grilled some hamburgers and hotdogs. The visit was short but an absolute pleasure. Hopefully Uncle D and I can do some business together. I plan to conduct some free quality assurance on his web site when I return to Austin.
*** Poker Content (part 2) ***
My last trip to the casino only left $70 burning a hole in my pocket. It was all money won on the internet, so I figured so what if I lose this found money. For the record my wife will never understand! Everyone was tucked in around 10:00 PM. I decided to check out the other casino, Ft. McDowell. I mean this is a casino adventure. It was a longer drive, but I was there in about 30 minutes. The place was pretty full. The differences were numerous slot machines all ching chinging and clank clanking. The poker room was very small and way in the back. I sat down at the $3/6 table and bought in with my $70. The first dealer I had seemed to be sick. I lost one decent sized pot when my opened straight did not fill. The next dealer sat down and complained about his back, stating that we had to make sure we pushed the cards and chips far enough for him to reach without hurting his back. “My chiropractor is not available until Monday.” I did not have much sympathy. A couple of hands later I thought I was the big blind so I put out the $3. Of course I continued to get crap cards, so after a raise I mucked the cards. The very next hand I was told that I was the big blind. I stated I had just been the big blind. Dealer’s response “To bad you made a mistake, you are now the big blind.” I did not need a dealer being rude to me. I played three more hands then grabbed my chips and headed for the door. The sad part was I had donated $30 in that lame casino. First impressions are everything, so I will not be returning to the Ft. McDowell casino.
I headed back to Casino Arizona where at least I was treated with respect. Now with only $40 left of my bankroll I needed to play smart. Well not if you get great cards. I sat down and found ATo. The flop comes with TTA, giving me a boat. I bet it hard all the way and had two callers until the turn and one caller at the river. A couple of paint cards came on the turn and the river, so I was worried about the guy having an over pair and a larger boat. I took down a nice sized pot. I tipped the dealer and stacked my chips. There was a lady at the table that was a bit crazy to play with. She was 32 years old and told us how she was divorcing her husband of three years who could never give her an orgasm. She now had a man that that could and was able to please her 8 hours at a time. I had a few comments, but held my tongue. There for awhile she would bet to the river blind. The funny part was for about 30 minutes she won every hand. I took one large pot from her with her silly antics, but I did lose to her set of tens, when I had top two pair. She did not appear to be drunk, but she was a little obnoxious, especially when she started to tell the orgasm story a second time and that she pays her soon to be x-husband $2000/month in alimony. As expected her crazy play caused her to lose her stack. I certainly did not mind. I ended up calling it a day at 2:00 AM with $80 in my pocket.
*** End of poker content Part 2***
June 25 – Today was the day for laundry and R&R. We went to the pool a couple of times. The evening trip to the pool we had margaritas and smoothies pool side. Not to much exciting happened until I told my wife I was going back to the casino. I just had to go for it.
*** Poker Content Part 3 ***
I was determined to play smart and win some of my money back. The place was packed since it was a Saturday night. I put my name on a long list for the $3/6 tables. I got placed at table 44, which was quite different from the other areas of the poker room I had played in. There was one player with a large stack of chips, but he did not stay long. As usual I did not get any cards. Mucking the cards gets pretty old. The lady to my right had just won a nice pot with pocket queens. I make a comment loud enough for most of the players to hear. “So what is it like to get a face card?” She laughs and says, “They are nice if you win!” The very next hand I drag the pot with A7, where my 7 was the high kicker. Imagine that! The very next hand I look down to see big slick suited. I raise it up although this is a dangerous hand for me. I lose more often than I win. I kept raising. The lady to my right goes “I guess you finally got some face cards” and mucks her hand. The flop and turn bring me nothing, but I keep pressing the bets. Whew everyone folded to my aggression. I think my comment about face cards set things up to play aggressive. I had turned my $80 into $110. I contemplated getting up and leaving, but wait I came here with found money. I have only been playing 45 minutes. Press on!
It was about 1:00 AM. One side note that I thought was interesting. One of the dealers noticed that some cards were marked. It was interesting in that they had just brought a new set up as I arrived to the table. The cards were indeed marked with a small faint white line. My theory was that the card shuffler was causing it. FYI – every poker room needs card shufflers. He called for a new set up when he noticed on the other deck that one of the aces had a thumb nail mark in it. Hell I could barely see it, so I am not sure how a cheater could see it. The dealer also talked about how the “eye in the sky” now detects chemicals professional cheats used on cards. Apparently they would put a powder on the cards that could be viewed with special glasses. This brings a whole new meaning to the reason everyone wears sun glasses at the tables.
OK back to my final three hands. I limp in with pocket 5’s. Inside I am praying for a 5 to hit the board. I think I only had a set once in three days and I was ready to win bug. The flop comes 5sQhKs. I raise. I get re-raised. I raise again. There are two other players. The turn does not help, but I keep firing. Everyone calls! The river brings another spade and I did not improve. The guy to my left hit the river flush and the lady at the other end of the table had hit a set of queens on the flop. I was dead meat without getting another five. At this point half of my stack is gone. A few hands later I am put all-in with A4s. It was my turn to hit the flush on the river and I drag the pot. I think I am now at $16. Should I leave? How do I explain the loss of $80 to my wife? Man this is found money and I came to gamble. The next hand was perfect. It was a family pot. Everyone called the BB, so the pot was already large. I was holding ATo. The flop comes ATX. I get all of my money in and the pot is close to $60. The turn brings another spade. I am chanting no flush, no flush. Of course the guy next to me stayed in with 56 of spades. I was sure the AT was going to bring me back to life. I am broke! I wish everyone good luck and head back to the condo pondering the words I will say to my wife.
I think in all I played very solid poker. I have mentioned this before, but I need to work on my strategy when cards run dry. I did chase the nut flush a couple of times only to come up empty handed. After the first day jitters I think I erased most of my tells. I am definitely going to work on my reverse tells and my table banter. I also feel it is time for me to buy a poker book in an effort to raise my game to the next level. I blew $200 in 11 hours at the $3/6 holdem tables. I do not think that was too bad. Fortunately for me the second two sessions did not bring many kill pots. Thanks to Casino Arizona for being a gracious host and I hope you spend the rake wisely! I definitely can not wait until I find a way to Vegas. I like to drink a little when I play, so free drinks would add to my banter. Texas legislature needs to hear this loud and clear. Bring poker to Texas NOW!
*** End of all poker content ***
I am going to post this for now. I will finish the Arizona trip report in another segment and I will write a report of my demise on Party Poker.
Play on!
Thursday, June 16, 2005
"To Slow Play or not to ..."
To slow play or not to slow play, that is the question? "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" Shakespeare I am definitely not, but when it comes to slow play I now have a very strong opinion - "NEVER freaking Slow Play!"
The great poker gods bestowed me yesterday afternoon with a Party Poker cap and $100 in my account for which to gamble. I quit playing Party Poker for I disagree with Iggy in that for me it is the home of suck outs and predictable endings. Who can laugh a gift horse in the eyes, so I set out to win some money.
I was in the big blind and limped in holding A2o (Limit Holdem $.5/1). The flop brings 228. I check! Everyone checks around! Turn brings a flush draw! I bet! The world calls my bet! The river is the destined diamond! I bet! I get raised! I reluctantly call knowing that I will see the diamond flush. Perhaps this calling station would have stayed to the river no matter what move I make, but from now on I am making the move.
Very next hand in the small blind I have Q8o. I limp in for another quarter. The flop brings me a queen. I bet out! Numerous callers! Turn brings an 8! I bet again! Two callers! River brings a flush possibility. I lose! I am down $12!
In the course of two hours I tried my luck at Omaha H/L. My set of aces do not fill and I lose a huge pot to a straight. I am down another $12.
I decide to play Seven stud H/L. I fill a Jack high straight on the turn. I lose to a flush! I am down another $15. "Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow." Perhaps I should stop playing poker and indulge in the words of Shakespeare.
"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes." I put the kids to bed and continue playing Limit Holdem. Was winning for awhile, but then I started hoping and praying for the nut flushes on the river. Oh well the bottom line is that I lost half of my found money and played 170 hands. The promotion requires me to play 500 hands. Will I lose the bankrolll before I get there or shall my fortunes turn.
"I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell."
New bumper sticker in development - "Don't Slow Play"
Play on
To slow play or not to slow play, that is the question? "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" Shakespeare I am definitely not, but when it comes to slow play I now have a very strong opinion - "NEVER freaking Slow Play!"
The great poker gods bestowed me yesterday afternoon with a Party Poker cap and $100 in my account for which to gamble. I quit playing Party Poker for I disagree with Iggy in that for me it is the home of suck outs and predictable endings. Who can laugh a gift horse in the eyes, so I set out to win some money.
I was in the big blind and limped in holding A2o (Limit Holdem $.5/1). The flop brings 228. I check! Everyone checks around! Turn brings a flush draw! I bet! The world calls my bet! The river is the destined diamond! I bet! I get raised! I reluctantly call knowing that I will see the diamond flush. Perhaps this calling station would have stayed to the river no matter what move I make, but from now on I am making the move.
Very next hand in the small blind I have Q8o. I limp in for another quarter. The flop brings me a queen. I bet out! Numerous callers! Turn brings an 8! I bet again! Two callers! River brings a flush possibility. I lose! I am down $12!
In the course of two hours I tried my luck at Omaha H/L. My set of aces do not fill and I lose a huge pot to a straight. I am down another $12.
I decide to play Seven stud H/L. I fill a Jack high straight on the turn. I lose to a flush! I am down another $15. "Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow." Perhaps I should stop playing poker and indulge in the words of Shakespeare.
"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes." I put the kids to bed and continue playing Limit Holdem. Was winning for awhile, but then I started hoping and praying for the nut flushes on the river. Oh well the bottom line is that I lost half of my found money and played 170 hands. The promotion requires me to play 500 hands. Will I lose the bankrolll before I get there or shall my fortunes turn.
"I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell."
New bumper sticker in development - "Don't Slow Play"
Play on
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
“Tournament Results”
First of all I would like to give a huge thanks to the Degenerate Gambler, Mr. B, for hosting a very well run tournament.
Somehow my wife gave me permission to go play in a poker tournament this Saturday night. A couple of things attracted me to the tournament.
I had been reading Mr. B’s blog and he is a Longhorn fan (bonus)!
I want to test my poker skills against total strangers (i.e. – How bad are my tells?)
I wanted to meet other Austin poker players and bloggers
I anticipated my pit stop to HEB and drive time to be around 35 minutes. Of course purchasing my Guinness took longer than expected. Then I hit every freakin traffic light along the way. The only saving grace to the drive was a lengthy rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s, FreeBird, which I blasted in the minivan (poor speakers). I knew I was in for a good night. I left the house at 7:00 PM and arrived at Mr. B’s house at 7:45 PM. Oh yeah! I got quarter of the way to HEB and remembered that the tournament required cash and a chair, so I sped home to get a chair. Note to self – next time leave the fold up lawn chair at home and take a card table chair.
Of course when I arrived I did not know a soul. I had assistance and quickly located Mr. B. We made our introductions in the kitchen and he gladly accepted my $20 entry fee. The amount of the entry fee was also a huge plus. I get invited to numerous tournaments that are a $50 plus buy-in, which eats up almost my entire monthly allowance, especially adding in beer and munchies. A $20 buy-in I believe is perfect in that it does not create tension and permits for a fun poker environment. I was also introduced to DeadMoney, Inc. I think it is really cool to meet other local bloggers. It was a pleasure meeting Mr. S and congratulations on your new home! Next year I believe we will be cheering for Mr. S at the WSOP!
OK there were 28 players, so 4 tables were created! How I do not know, but Mr. B managed to create 4 tables. I think there was a table in every room! Man I am glad the bathrooms were not big enough for tables. Hee – Hee! The one thing that was strange was that it seemed like very few people were drinking. I was definitely going to have a Guinness fueled experience. Perhaps everyone takes their poker very serious and drinking was not an option. I did greatly appreciate the fact that apparently smoking was not permitted within the house.
The first table for me had 7 players, consisting of Mr. C, Mr. T, myself, Mr. R, Mrs. J, Mr. J, and Mr. R. As the cards were dealt I did not have a clue with respect to anyone’s style or skill level. Mrs. J confused me in that early she appeared to be a calling station, then she became a rock. Mr. J would routinely raise if he was going to be involved in a pot. Mr. R seemed to like Queens. Things were status quo with me losing some and winning some. I did let some decent hands go to good raises. Since “the hammer” seems to be the rage, I started a conversation about how I would not play the hammer unless perhaps I limp in on the big blind. Luck would have it that Mr. J during the conversation makes a huge raise and wins with “the hammer”. For my sole reader, Dad, the hammer is 72. While at this table I did miss play one hand really really bad. I was in a late position and I look at my cards to see two beautiful cowboys. I had cowboys earlier and I am pretty sure they were cracked when an ace it the board on the flop. I actually mucked the cowboys after the ace hit the board. Well this time I call a couple of decent raises. There was a couple hundred in the pot. The flop comes 44K, giving me the nut boat. Mr. T, on my right, makes a raise of $60. My bonehead move was to go all-in. Of course everyone folded, even though Mr. T debated for a moment. Hind site I that I should have called. Perhaps Mr. T had pocket aces and I would have been burned on the river.
Our table was sacrificed and I was moved to another table. I believe we are down to 16 players from 28. I do not recall any major hands at the second table. I believe I just played like a dead rock through this session and watched folks get eliminated. On the other table there was a huge controversy. There was a guy at the table who had just knocked out two players on a hand. After the hand he declared that he had to leave. Let’s just say this pissed a couple of people off. His chips were removed from the game and play continued amongst grumbling. One player thought he should be dealt back in with the stack he had prior to this move. Although leaving was totally screwed up, I did not think players should be allowed back in the game.
Shortly there after we were down to the final table. I drew the button and I believe at the time I was the short stack or at least competing for it. I only recall a couple of hands and some generalities. First I will mention the generalities. I did not get any cards worth a flip most of the time. Getting 92, T4, and 23 is not very fun at all. When I did get decent cards AQs, AJo, and JTs, there was always an all-in move or huge raise. I ended up donating the Big Blind and small blind numerous times. I did try to defend once with a marginal hand only to get re-raised a large sum.
Here is the hand that put me back in to the game. I will say that I was a lucky SOB. Getting no cards and my stack dwindling to less than $2K, I look down to see A9s. Of course it was the ace of spades and I went all-in. Mr. T who was at my original table had built up a healthy stack immediately called my all-in. Crap! I turn over my marginal hand and he turns over pocket kings. Yes on the river I catch my miracle ace and double up. Fortunately for me the person who I pegged as the best player, Mr. S, did not catch any cards. He was eliminated in a race. I decided to be extremely patient. Soon we were down to 5 persons, which put me in the money. I had promised my son a Super Soaker if I had won, which meant that I would have to give our daughter an equal amount. I did not want to finish fifth. I did catch some decent cards and held my own, but I was still having to donate my BB way to much too all-in moves. I think this led to a slight advantage for me in that I was able to win 4 or 5 hands by going all-in with nothing. Once I won a decent pot with T2o.
Mr. R was a solid player. He is the one that I believe liked to play Qx. If he was in the pot with a queen on the board, I felt like he had a pair of queens. I could never take advantage of this, but I think my instinct was correct. He got knocked out 4th by his brother (I think they were brothers). I am in the final three and short stacked compared to the other two. It is 1:30 AM and I had already had to call and wake up my wife. Last time I got home really late she was not happy. I had told her I would be home between midnight and 1:00 AM. Next time I think I will just say 3:00 AM (wink wink). Any rate I had Q9s (spades of course). I like spades! Mr. D had made a decent raise, so I went all-in. Little did I know that all three players would be in the pot, so I had a shot at getting back in it. The flop brought me two spades. I yelled give me a black card. On the turn it was a club. Mr. B, who was dealing, said you got what you asked for you should have been more specific. I yelled give me a black spade. The river was a club. I finished in 3rd place.
It was really cool in that there were two dealers at the final table. I greatly appreciated there efforts. I am not sure who the second dealer was, but I loved his dealer button. It was a small black rat!
Again I would like to that Mr. B for hosting this event. Hopefully I can return and give back some of my winnings. The kids already got a third of it! I did promise! Now my wife wants a piece of the winnings. I think not! She already gets my paycheck. Just kidding honey! Good thing she does not read this blog! I had a great time and met some great people. I apologize to those whom I forgot your names.
The Longhorns gave me a heart attack last night, but they are on to Omaha! Go horns!
Hopefully I will get another blog posted before our vacation. I am really excited to be heading to Scottsdale, where I do play to play live holdem for the first time. I am hoping to play in a tournament, but they have them at odd times that may not fit the family schedule. I do know they are open 24/7, so I can tuck everyone in and head out to the casino. Casino Arizona here I come! I signed up online to be a preferred member, but my tiny back roll will probably not bring me much preference. Hee Hee!
Here is one last note about an online hand. I sat down at a $.05/.10 NL table. There was this dude bragging about how he was up $20. He was playing crazy. I got dealt pocket aces. I raise. He raises back! I go all-in. There also was a third caller, which meant a very nice pot. The flop comes QQx. The bragging fool called my all-in with a Q4o. Lets just say I was not happy getting my aces cracked by that guy! Oh well! I will get him next time!
FYI – My kids tell everyone how much online poker I play. Truth is I have cut down tremendously, but to my point. Since they got a piece of the action, they want me to practice 24/7. (Smile!)
Play on!
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
“Political Platform”
Besides the legalization of poker in Texas, I have just come up with my second item for my legislative platform. I am totally opposed to computer viruses and spyware. I pledge to prosecute any MF’er who writes and deploys a virus. I pledge to make spyware illegal.
Yes my stupidity has caused me so much grief. Yes I opened and e-mail that was from support@.com. Yes it contained a nasty virus. The virus itself was easy to eradicate; however, there is now a spyware executable on my work computer that I am having one heck of a time removing. I had to delete over 100 records from my registry today. That sure was risky, but the only other alternative is to pave the machine and reinstall. What did I have to lose? I am down to just two issues. Mediatickets.com are MF’ers I would prosecute in a heart beat. The other one is the Delfin project. These are extremely difficult spyware to remove. Eventually I will beat these MF’ers.
One other lesson I learned during this frustration is that many sites attempt to put third party cookies in your browser. I changed my browser settings so that I am prompted for all third party cookies. Unfortunately primary site cookies are a necessary evil.
Microsoft Antispyware got me half the way and Spyware Doctor was the most useful tool. Of course I was too cheap to purchase Spyware Doctor and had to delete everything manually. I might just purchase this tool, because it was pretty thorough. Perhaps they can remove the installer.exe that keeps trying to execute mediatickets.com or get rid of the Delfin project. The best news is that my computer is virus free and I am able to get some valuable work done.
I really do not have much poker to report on. I do want to say “Go Horns”. The men play on Saturday. I cheered my tail off for the Lady Horns. I am watching the women’s World Series as I type. The softball tournament has been pretty exciting.
I am thinking about asking my better half if I can play in a poker tournament on Saturday. It is hosted by a local blogger and I would not know anyone. The buy-in is reasonable and no rebuys. Really sounds like my kind of tournament and fun. I am going to send him an e-mail and get more detail.
All you MF’ers out there who develop viruses and nasty spyware BEWARE! With my legislative amendments we will hunt you down like the moles that you are.
Hopefully some poker this weekend!
Play on!
Besides the legalization of poker in Texas, I have just come up with my second item for my legislative platform. I am totally opposed to computer viruses and spyware. I pledge to prosecute any MF’er who writes and deploys a virus. I pledge to make spyware illegal.
Yes my stupidity has caused me so much grief. Yes I opened and e-mail that was from support@
One other lesson I learned during this frustration is that many sites attempt to put third party cookies in your browser. I changed my browser settings so that I am prompted for all third party cookies. Unfortunately primary site cookies are a necessary evil.
Microsoft Antispyware got me half the way and Spyware Doctor was the most useful tool. Of course I was too cheap to purchase Spyware Doctor and had to delete everything manually. I might just purchase this tool, because it was pretty thorough. Perhaps they can remove the installer.exe that keeps trying to execute mediatickets.com or get rid of the Delfin project. The best news is that my computer is virus free and I am able to get some valuable work done.
I really do not have much poker to report on. I do want to say “Go Horns”. The men play on Saturday. I cheered my tail off for the Lady Horns. I am watching the women’s World Series as I type. The softball tournament has been pretty exciting.
I am thinking about asking my better half if I can play in a poker tournament on Saturday. It is hosted by a local blogger and I would not know anyone. The buy-in is reasonable and no rebuys. Really sounds like my kind of tournament and fun. I am going to send him an e-mail and get more detail.
All you MF’ers out there who develop viruses and nasty spyware BEWARE! With my legislative amendments we will hunt you down like the moles that you are.
Hopefully some poker this weekend!
Play on!
Saturday, May 28, 2005
"UNCLE"
I was playing in a tournament last night when this question occurred to me. What do you do when you are getting no cards?
I was at the final table but getting no cards to speak off and the blinds increasing. I would try to limp in with KQ0 and occasionally suited connectors, but nothing ever hit on the flop. I was the short stack at the table on the button. I got K3s, so I went all-in. Of course two of the larger stacks called me. I was dead after the flop. I felt it was worth the risk to gamble.
Normally I am extremely patient and wait for good cards, but sometimes that is a slow death.
I would be curious to hear thoughts on how players win when cards dry up. Is there a winning strategy or do you wait for another day? In the situation above I think I could have gone all-in with anything and just take a chance. Reminds me of a tee shirt - "But they were suited."
I would presume this is more difficult on line without tells. So online I take the WTF approach especially if it is getting late. In a live tournament I try to pick up on tells; however, my ability to pick up on tells is dependent on many factors. One factor might be how much Guinness consumed or tequila. There have been tournaments where I predicted everyone's hand accurately but still did not get any cards to save the day.
I would like to improve my game by understanding how to play well with crappy cards. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have also jumped back into the freeroll circuit. I am using freerolls as a place to try new strategies.
If anyone stumbles on this blog please offer your input on "How to play with crappy cards?" Sounds like a good title for a book!
Play on!
I was playing in a tournament last night when this question occurred to me. What do you do when you are getting no cards?
I was at the final table but getting no cards to speak off and the blinds increasing. I would try to limp in with KQ0 and occasionally suited connectors, but nothing ever hit on the flop. I was the short stack at the table on the button. I got K3s, so I went all-in. Of course two of the larger stacks called me. I was dead after the flop. I felt it was worth the risk to gamble.
Normally I am extremely patient and wait for good cards, but sometimes that is a slow death.
I would be curious to hear thoughts on how players win when cards dry up. Is there a winning strategy or do you wait for another day? In the situation above I think I could have gone all-in with anything and just take a chance. Reminds me of a tee shirt - "But they were suited."
I would presume this is more difficult on line without tells. So online I take the WTF approach especially if it is getting late. In a live tournament I try to pick up on tells; however, my ability to pick up on tells is dependent on many factors. One factor might be how much Guinness consumed or tequila. There have been tournaments where I predicted everyone's hand accurately but still did not get any cards to save the day.
I would like to improve my game by understanding how to play well with crappy cards. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have also jumped back into the freeroll circuit. I am using freerolls as a place to try new strategies.
If anyone stumbles on this blog please offer your input on "How to play with crappy cards?" Sounds like a good title for a book!
Play on!
Sunday, May 22, 2005
“Lady Luck”
First I need to do a quick recap of my experience in the Check N Raise $10,000 qualifier. In summary I went out quick. I played three hands.
Hand 1: I hit the nut flush on the river and moved my stack from 2500 to 3700.
Hand 2: I have pocket aces either UTG or second position. The blinds were at 200/400. I raised 400. I got a couple of callers. Flop came with Q5T. I bet 800. There is only one caller. The turn brings an 8. I am now curious as to what my opponent has so I check. My opponent also checks. I am puzzled. The river brings a 9. I am now thinking he was on the straight draw and he just filled it. I check again. He bets out 400. I call. He had two pair Q5 on the flop.
Hand 3: I hold pocket jacks. Flop comes AKJ, giving me a set. I bet half my stack. My opponent raises me so that I have to go all-in. I am thinking he hit the nut straight. No help comes my way and sure enough he was holding QTo.
The only thing I can think of that I could have done differently was to go all-in with the pocket aces and taken the blinds. It was too early in the tournament and relatively small blinds. I was hoping for a bigger payout. Oh well!
I would like to present two song lyrics that a relative to poker.
Tesla’s “Lady Luck”
“Hard as it seems, but not as hard to believe.What can it be?I guess I'm on a losin' streak.”
I have not been on a huge losing streak, but I heard this song yesterday and found it applicable to poker and many of the blogs I read.
This next song lyric has to do with the No Limit ring games I have been playing lately. Several times I have just said WTF and taken “Shots in the Dark” at dragging large pots with less than powerful hands. I have won a few and lost a few, but sometimes it is fun to just go for it.
Ozzy’s “Shot in the dark”
A SHOT IN THE DARK NOT A THING THAT YOU CAN DOA SHOT IN THE DARK ALWAYS CREEPING UP ON YOUBUT JUST LIKE THE WOUNDED AND WHEN IT'S TOO LATETHEY'LL REMEMBER THEY'LL SURRENDER
There was one hand two nights ago where I decided not to take a shot in the dark. However, it was not really a shot in the dark. I had pocket kings. The flop formed an open ended straight with 2 diamonds. A king hit the turn, so I was poised to take this one down. I bet $2 and got two callers. The river brought a third diamond. I checked and one caller raised $6. I wanted to call so bad, but had to assume he had the straight or the flush. I was ahead for the night, so I did not want to blow my winnings on a high risk call. The dude showed his cards and all he had was an ace high. I was the one who surrendered.
Here is a giant “I told you so!” I have been saying since this blog began that Texas needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Let me throw out some quotes from an article in the Houston Chronicle, “Upping the Ante”.
“L’Auberge du Lac Hotel and Casino in Lake Charles, La., is set top open later this month and has a marketing blitz under way that’s focus largely on Houston. I have already seen two full page ads in the Austin American Statesman for this new casino.
“Operators of the $365 million casino complex are advertising heavily to attract Houstonians and other Texas…” Does anyone see a pattern here?
“It views Houston and Lake Charles as similar to New York City and Atlantic City.”
“We have design this market for Houston.”
“…renewed debate over the hundreds of millions of entertainment dollars Texans spend out of state…”
Louisiana casinos already take in $164 million per month.”
“Fifty-three percent of the customers are from out of state, mostly Texas.”
Gee! Shall I go on? One more –
“Gambling is a significant revenue source for the state of Louisiana, which taxes the industry.”
Now I just need a bankroll big enough to qualify as a Texas worthy of a private sea plan to escort me to the L’Auberge du Lac Hotel. I would be happy to wear boots, jeans, and a cowboy hat.
Texas is missing out on a huge revenue stream. Not only are we missing a revenue stream from gambling but the elegance of fine hotels along the Gulf Coast. I do not support gambling bills that only permit one arm bandits, but I will support the legalization of GAMBLING in Texas. Adding our own casinos would put us closer to Succeeding from the Union. Just kidding! ;o)
Here are two quick suggestions for the Texas Congress.
First you should work hard to legalize gambling, because the revenue would solve many of your squabbles.
The second is quit wasting legislative time honoring athletes, honoring the dead, and deliberating over frivolous special interest bills and move on the tougher decisions that truly impact your citizens. All of these concerns can certainly be addressed and communicated outside of the legislative session.
Imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics: 29 have been accused of spousal abuse; 7 have been arrested for fraud; 19 have been accused of writing bad checks; 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses; 3 have done time for assault; 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit; 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges; 8 have been arrested for shoplifting; 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits; 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year. Can you guess which organization this is? Give up yet? It's the 535 members of the United States Congress.
This is definitely an uber blog for me. I will attempt to write more often. I am excited in that I already received my check from Check N Raise poker. I am ready to check out the casino’s in Arizona. That is correct Texans! There are even casinos in the Arizona desert. One interesting tidbit about the check I received. There is no affiliation what so ever with the online site. It is a check drafted from a bank. Imagine that!
Play on!
First I need to do a quick recap of my experience in the Check N Raise $10,000 qualifier. In summary I went out quick. I played three hands.
Hand 1: I hit the nut flush on the river and moved my stack from 2500 to 3700.
Hand 2: I have pocket aces either UTG or second position. The blinds were at 200/400. I raised 400. I got a couple of callers. Flop came with Q5T. I bet 800. There is only one caller. The turn brings an 8. I am now curious as to what my opponent has so I check. My opponent also checks. I am puzzled. The river brings a 9. I am now thinking he was on the straight draw and he just filled it. I check again. He bets out 400. I call. He had two pair Q5 on the flop.
Hand 3: I hold pocket jacks. Flop comes AKJ, giving me a set. I bet half my stack. My opponent raises me so that I have to go all-in. I am thinking he hit the nut straight. No help comes my way and sure enough he was holding QTo.
The only thing I can think of that I could have done differently was to go all-in with the pocket aces and taken the blinds. It was too early in the tournament and relatively small blinds. I was hoping for a bigger payout. Oh well!
I would like to present two song lyrics that a relative to poker.
Tesla’s “Lady Luck”
“Hard as it seems, but not as hard to believe.What can it be?I guess I'm on a losin' streak.”
I have not been on a huge losing streak, but I heard this song yesterday and found it applicable to poker and many of the blogs I read.
This next song lyric has to do with the No Limit ring games I have been playing lately. Several times I have just said WTF and taken “Shots in the Dark” at dragging large pots with less than powerful hands. I have won a few and lost a few, but sometimes it is fun to just go for it.
Ozzy’s “Shot in the dark”
A SHOT IN THE DARK NOT A THING THAT YOU CAN DOA SHOT IN THE DARK ALWAYS CREEPING UP ON YOUBUT JUST LIKE THE WOUNDED AND WHEN IT'S TOO LATETHEY'LL REMEMBER THEY'LL SURRENDER
There was one hand two nights ago where I decided not to take a shot in the dark. However, it was not really a shot in the dark. I had pocket kings. The flop formed an open ended straight with 2 diamonds. A king hit the turn, so I was poised to take this one down. I bet $2 and got two callers. The river brought a third diamond. I checked and one caller raised $6. I wanted to call so bad, but had to assume he had the straight or the flush. I was ahead for the night, so I did not want to blow my winnings on a high risk call. The dude showed his cards and all he had was an ace high. I was the one who surrendered.
Here is a giant “I told you so!” I have been saying since this blog began that Texas needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Let me throw out some quotes from an article in the Houston Chronicle, “Upping the Ante”.
“L’Auberge du Lac Hotel and Casino in Lake Charles, La., is set top open later this month and has a marketing blitz under way that’s focus largely on Houston. I have already seen two full page ads in the Austin American Statesman for this new casino.
“Operators of the $365 million casino complex are advertising heavily to attract Houstonians and other Texas…” Does anyone see a pattern here?
“It views Houston and Lake Charles as similar to New York City and Atlantic City.”
“We have design this market for Houston.”
“…renewed debate over the hundreds of millions of entertainment dollars Texans spend out of state…”
Louisiana casinos already take in $164 million per month.”
“Fifty-three percent of the customers are from out of state, mostly Texas.”
Gee! Shall I go on? One more –
“Gambling is a significant revenue source for the state of Louisiana, which taxes the industry.”
Now I just need a bankroll big enough to qualify as a Texas worthy of a private sea plan to escort me to the L’Auberge du Lac Hotel. I would be happy to wear boots, jeans, and a cowboy hat.
Texas is missing out on a huge revenue stream. Not only are we missing a revenue stream from gambling but the elegance of fine hotels along the Gulf Coast. I do not support gambling bills that only permit one arm bandits, but I will support the legalization of GAMBLING in Texas. Adding our own casinos would put us closer to Succeeding from the Union. Just kidding! ;o)
Here are two quick suggestions for the Texas Congress.
First you should work hard to legalize gambling, because the revenue would solve many of your squabbles.
The second is quit wasting legislative time honoring athletes, honoring the dead, and deliberating over frivolous special interest bills and move on the tougher decisions that truly impact your citizens. All of these concerns can certainly be addressed and communicated outside of the legislative session.
Imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics: 29 have been accused of spousal abuse; 7 have been arrested for fraud; 19 have been accused of writing bad checks; 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses; 3 have done time for assault; 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit; 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges; 8 have been arrested for shoplifting; 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits; 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year. Can you guess which organization this is? Give up yet? It's the 535 members of the United States Congress.
This is definitely an uber blog for me. I will attempt to write more often. I am excited in that I already received my check from Check N Raise poker. I am ready to check out the casino’s in Arizona. That is correct Texans! There are even casinos in the Arizona desert. One interesting tidbit about the check I received. There is no affiliation what so ever with the online site. It is a check drafted from a bank. Imagine that!
Play on!
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
"Bubble boy again!"
I feel like a rant on Texas politics, but I will hold off on that. Here are a couple of poker nuggets.
Friday night I played in the 12:30 AM free roll on Check N Raise poker. There were 181 players. I believe I played solid poker the entire time. There were 11 players left and I had a middle stack, which probably had me in 7th or 8th place. I was dealt 62o in the big blind. Everyone limped in, so of course I checked. Typically this hand would be in the muck faster than you can say "muck". The flop comes 227. Alright! I bet about a fourth of my stack. I get a caller. Damn! There were two diamonds on the board. Turn is a J. I again bet a fourth of my stack. I get called! What does this guy have? I put him on the flush draw, so I again I bet a fourth of my stack. He calls! The river is a King of diamonds. Crap! If I am correct he caught is flush. I decide to check. Sure enough he puts me all-in. If I fold I might limp into tenth place which was worth $1. Wahoooooo! I called! He did have the flush and once again I am out on the bubble. Was finishing on the bubble hard to take? Sure, but it was 3:00 AM and a 10:15 AM soccer game on Saturday. I believe I played this hand correctly until calling on the river. My intuition was correct and I had him beat until the river. I should have folded, but live and learn.
One of the perks to being an early member of Check N Raise poker was the lure of a $10,000 tournament. That was supposedly August or September of last year. Well they are finally getting around to hosting it this weekend. The really sad part was the scheduled me for the Sunday afternoon qualifier. Top 50 advance to a shot at the grand prize. Of course I have a fully booked Sunday afternoon with the school carnival and now two soccer games. I put in a request to have them switch me to the Saturday night round. I am so glad they obliged! I am confident that if I play my normal game that I can finish in the top 50, but the final event is also Sunday afternoon. First things first! I hope to get permission from my better half to play Saturday night. I am simply planning on drinking some wine or whiskey or beer and have some fun.
I did withdrawal a major chunck of my bank roll at CNR. I am planning on parlaying this money into big winnings at the Casino's in Scottsdale Arizona in late June. Hopefully I will get my check before then. (hee Hee)
Play on!
I feel like a rant on Texas politics, but I will hold off on that. Here are a couple of poker nuggets.
Friday night I played in the 12:30 AM free roll on Check N Raise poker. There were 181 players. I believe I played solid poker the entire time. There were 11 players left and I had a middle stack, which probably had me in 7th or 8th place. I was dealt 62o in the big blind. Everyone limped in, so of course I checked. Typically this hand would be in the muck faster than you can say "muck". The flop comes 227. Alright! I bet about a fourth of my stack. I get a caller. Damn! There were two diamonds on the board. Turn is a J. I again bet a fourth of my stack. I get called! What does this guy have? I put him on the flush draw, so I again I bet a fourth of my stack. He calls! The river is a King of diamonds. Crap! If I am correct he caught is flush. I decide to check. Sure enough he puts me all-in. If I fold I might limp into tenth place which was worth $1. Wahoooooo! I called! He did have the flush and once again I am out on the bubble. Was finishing on the bubble hard to take? Sure, but it was 3:00 AM and a 10:15 AM soccer game on Saturday. I believe I played this hand correctly until calling on the river. My intuition was correct and I had him beat until the river. I should have folded, but live and learn.
One of the perks to being an early member of Check N Raise poker was the lure of a $10,000 tournament. That was supposedly August or September of last year. Well they are finally getting around to hosting it this weekend. The really sad part was the scheduled me for the Sunday afternoon qualifier. Top 50 advance to a shot at the grand prize. Of course I have a fully booked Sunday afternoon with the school carnival and now two soccer games. I put in a request to have them switch me to the Saturday night round. I am so glad they obliged! I am confident that if I play my normal game that I can finish in the top 50, but the final event is also Sunday afternoon. First things first! I hope to get permission from my better half to play Saturday night. I am simply planning on drinking some wine or whiskey or beer and have some fun.
I did withdrawal a major chunck of my bank roll at CNR. I am planning on parlaying this money into big winnings at the Casino's in Scottsdale Arizona in late June. Hopefully I will get my check before then. (hee Hee)
Play on!
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
“Twilight Zone”
I arrived in Cincinnati. I finally found my way to a taxi. It was really strange in that I had to get off the plane, get on a bus, and walk on 4 moving sidewalks prior to finding a taxi. The taxi driver drove like a bat out of hell! I observed him going 92 mph at one point on the freeway. Needless to say he got me to my hotel in a timely fashion. I checked in and then headed for the training class. Fortunately I was not too late. On my first break I decided to view the city from the 23rd floor. As I glanced around I noticed one of the large buildings had a huge URS sign. That is the company that bought Radian. It was a little bit like being in the twilight zone. Other things made me feel like I was a little like being in the twilight zone. The fact that the corporate office was on Vine Street, because I lived on Vine Street in Geneva Ohio growing up. The fact that one of our products is called Geneva is a little strange. One of the instructors was from Ohio State, which I idolized as a kid. Now I am for the Longhorns all the way, but I do cheer for the “Worthless Nuts”.
The course did provide value, but I am not going to bore you with that. I will quickly summarize the highlights and provide a little bit of poker content.
We met that evening at a restaurant called Nicholson’s. We started off at the bar and we were there for about an hour. The Guinness tasted great. I was having a conversation with Mr. R and this gal walks by carrying a camera. He says “Hey will you take my picture?” Of course he was just flirting, but little did he know that she was a photographer for a local paper. She willingly snapped off some photos and we just might be in the paper for next week’s review of the restaurant. We finally made our way to our tables. There were about 20 -25 of us. It was a fantastic time.
Waitress could not get the cork out of two bottles of wine. We had a ton of appetizers. The muscles were fabulous. I had a filet for dinner and shared several terrific desserts.
I went back to the room and played poker on CNR for about 30 minutes. I managed to win about $.60.
The next day’s training went fine. They do cater in lunch, but we decided to visit a local institution called Skyline Café. They were on the Food network for their unique chili. We just had to have it. I ordered what was called a 4-Way, which is spaghetti, chili, onions, and cheese. And I do mean cheese, a three inch mound of cheddar cheese. The chili is unique in that it had a hint of cinnamon and supposedly chocolate. My conclusion was that it was better than a basic turkey sandwich. After class, one of the attendees decided we needed another team building exercise, so he organized a poker tournament for after dinner. Half the folks went to get sushi and we went to get ribs at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse. The rib experience was OK and the Ted’s Pale Ale was very good. Some ladies from some environmental firm (US Environmental maybe!) came up to our table asking where to party in Cincinnati. Of course we did not have a clue. Many images were conjured up, but we will pass on sharing those. Let’s just say that one lady was a little heavier than the Washington Redskin Hogs.
Now I will move on to the poker content. We called Mr. R and he stated that he reserved a room at the Westin and drinks would be served. Sounds cool! Well after searching all of the conference rooms we find out that the room was actually the front room to a restaurant. I was a little concerned with the huge windows and being at the front of the restaurant. Mr. R had bought some plastic chips. We proceeded with the facade that it was a team building exercise. The bar tender pointed out that during a team building exercise no $$$ could be visible on the table. There were 10 players total and Mr. T had bought enough chips for 8. We figured it out so each player starts with $500 for a $20 buy-in. Top three places would get a piece of the prize pool. One person had never played holdem before and she was the only female at the table. My money was on her to win it all! The two other players from the Austin office I felt were the strongest players, but time would tell. Very first hand I get dealt pocket 7s. I decided I needed to portray myself as an aggressive player to test the waters. Blinds were $5 and $10, so I raised it to $40. I thought people would fold, but I got 6 callers. What did I get myself into? The flop came JJx. I checked and everyone checked around. The turn was X and the river was X. The pot was a good size, but I decided to check. Everyone checked around and I actually picked up a good pot with jacks and sevens. Surprise! In other situations I would have kept on firing at the pot, but I had no clue what these players would do.
I did not get any cards so I slipped into my conservative shell. My co-worker Mr. C lost a large pot on the river to Mr. T when a 9 hit giving Mr. T a set to Mr. C’s top two pair. Mr. C was down to about $250. Few hands later Mr. C made a $50 raise. He was re-raised. He went all-in with AKs. He was called and the raiser had pocket aces. Mr. C was the first eliminated about 30 minutes into the event.
I tried limping in a couple of times with tiny pocket pairs – 33 and 22. I ended up moving down to my original stack, but I was still in good shape to attack if I got the cards. Then the craziest hand I have seen in a long time. Basically 4 players were all-in pre-flop. The highest hand was A6o. I was like WOW they are going in with that. I should be in good shape. One person was eliminated and another crippled. Mr. R was an interesting player. I believe he got down to $30 at one point, but kept fighting his way back. The one thing I can say about Mr. R was that he was entertaining. He made sure everyone at the table was having a good time. The organizer of the tournament went out 5th or 6th and soon we were down to the final four. I had a set of two’s and lost to a set of 6’s on the river. I was down to about $150. It was a bad time to get short stacked. Two hands later I got the hand I was waiting for, AA. I went all-in and doubled up! I went all-in a couple of hands later and doubled up.
I forgot to mention the run Mr. S went on. Man this dude was on fire. AA, KK, QQ, QQ, JJ, and AA again. The last time he pocket aces I was in the big blind. He made a large raise, so I just let him have the blinds. Soon Mr. S and Mr. T were battling for the chip lead. Mr. T went all-in and Mr. R called. If Mr. T wins I am in the money. Mr. R turns over AJ and Mr. T turns over 75o. I almost fell out of my chair. It was a good play by Mr. T because he had Mr. R. out chipped 5:1. No help for either one on the flop. No help on the turn. I start chanting, Five! Five! Five! Five! Yes indeed a five hit on the river eliminating Mr. R. I was in the money. I was getting blinded away quickly at this point. I was in the BB with QJo and I went all-in. Mr. T of course calls me with A7. An ace came on the turn and I was drawing dead. Oh well! I did have a couple of great beers, but I do not remember the name.
Mr. S and Mr. T were getting tired so they basically went to war. Mr. S ended up taking first place. We settled up the bar tab and tossed all the plastic chips in a bag to hand back to Mr. R. When I got back to my room I decided to play a little more online at CNR. No more than sitting down I was dealt pocket Kings. Someone raised, putting me all-in. I quickly called. A king came on the flop and my $4 stack quickly grew to $11. I decided a few hands later that I had better get some sleep, because I had homework for the last day of class and a late flight to catch.
We had a great day at class and concluded the trip with a wonderful Mediterranean meal.
Since the trip I have not played much poker. Hopefully this weekend I will find time to enter a tournament and I am looking for another site to join.
Play on!
I arrived in Cincinnati. I finally found my way to a taxi. It was really strange in that I had to get off the plane, get on a bus, and walk on 4 moving sidewalks prior to finding a taxi. The taxi driver drove like a bat out of hell! I observed him going 92 mph at one point on the freeway. Needless to say he got me to my hotel in a timely fashion. I checked in and then headed for the training class. Fortunately I was not too late. On my first break I decided to view the city from the 23rd floor. As I glanced around I noticed one of the large buildings had a huge URS sign. That is the company that bought Radian. It was a little bit like being in the twilight zone. Other things made me feel like I was a little like being in the twilight zone. The fact that the corporate office was on Vine Street, because I lived on Vine Street in Geneva Ohio growing up. The fact that one of our products is called Geneva is a little strange. One of the instructors was from Ohio State, which I idolized as a kid. Now I am for the Longhorns all the way, but I do cheer for the “Worthless Nuts”.
The course did provide value, but I am not going to bore you with that. I will quickly summarize the highlights and provide a little bit of poker content.
We met that evening at a restaurant called Nicholson’s. We started off at the bar and we were there for about an hour. The Guinness tasted great. I was having a conversation with Mr. R and this gal walks by carrying a camera. He says “Hey will you take my picture?” Of course he was just flirting, but little did he know that she was a photographer for a local paper. She willingly snapped off some photos and we just might be in the paper for next week’s review of the restaurant. We finally made our way to our tables. There were about 20 -25 of us. It was a fantastic time.
Waitress could not get the cork out of two bottles of wine. We had a ton of appetizers. The muscles were fabulous. I had a filet for dinner and shared several terrific desserts.
I went back to the room and played poker on CNR for about 30 minutes. I managed to win about $.60.
The next day’s training went fine. They do cater in lunch, but we decided to visit a local institution called Skyline Café. They were on the Food network for their unique chili. We just had to have it. I ordered what was called a 4-Way, which is spaghetti, chili, onions, and cheese. And I do mean cheese, a three inch mound of cheddar cheese. The chili is unique in that it had a hint of cinnamon and supposedly chocolate. My conclusion was that it was better than a basic turkey sandwich. After class, one of the attendees decided we needed another team building exercise, so he organized a poker tournament for after dinner. Half the folks went to get sushi and we went to get ribs at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse. The rib experience was OK and the Ted’s Pale Ale was very good. Some ladies from some environmental firm (US Environmental maybe!) came up to our table asking where to party in Cincinnati. Of course we did not have a clue. Many images were conjured up, but we will pass on sharing those. Let’s just say that one lady was a little heavier than the Washington Redskin Hogs.
Now I will move on to the poker content. We called Mr. R and he stated that he reserved a room at the Westin and drinks would be served. Sounds cool! Well after searching all of the conference rooms we find out that the room was actually the front room to a restaurant. I was a little concerned with the huge windows and being at the front of the restaurant. Mr. R had bought some plastic chips. We proceeded with the facade that it was a team building exercise. The bar tender pointed out that during a team building exercise no $$$ could be visible on the table. There were 10 players total and Mr. T had bought enough chips for 8. We figured it out so each player starts with $500 for a $20 buy-in. Top three places would get a piece of the prize pool. One person had never played holdem before and she was the only female at the table. My money was on her to win it all! The two other players from the Austin office I felt were the strongest players, but time would tell. Very first hand I get dealt pocket 7s. I decided I needed to portray myself as an aggressive player to test the waters. Blinds were $5 and $10, so I raised it to $40. I thought people would fold, but I got 6 callers. What did I get myself into? The flop came JJx. I checked and everyone checked around. The turn was X and the river was X. The pot was a good size, but I decided to check. Everyone checked around and I actually picked up a good pot with jacks and sevens. Surprise! In other situations I would have kept on firing at the pot, but I had no clue what these players would do.
I did not get any cards so I slipped into my conservative shell. My co-worker Mr. C lost a large pot on the river to Mr. T when a 9 hit giving Mr. T a set to Mr. C’s top two pair. Mr. C was down to about $250. Few hands later Mr. C made a $50 raise. He was re-raised. He went all-in with AKs. He was called and the raiser had pocket aces. Mr. C was the first eliminated about 30 minutes into the event.
I tried limping in a couple of times with tiny pocket pairs – 33 and 22. I ended up moving down to my original stack, but I was still in good shape to attack if I got the cards. Then the craziest hand I have seen in a long time. Basically 4 players were all-in pre-flop. The highest hand was A6o. I was like WOW they are going in with that. I should be in good shape. One person was eliminated and another crippled. Mr. R was an interesting player. I believe he got down to $30 at one point, but kept fighting his way back. The one thing I can say about Mr. R was that he was entertaining. He made sure everyone at the table was having a good time. The organizer of the tournament went out 5th or 6th and soon we were down to the final four. I had a set of two’s and lost to a set of 6’s on the river. I was down to about $150. It was a bad time to get short stacked. Two hands later I got the hand I was waiting for, AA. I went all-in and doubled up! I went all-in a couple of hands later and doubled up.
I forgot to mention the run Mr. S went on. Man this dude was on fire. AA, KK, QQ, QQ, JJ, and AA again. The last time he pocket aces I was in the big blind. He made a large raise, so I just let him have the blinds. Soon Mr. S and Mr. T were battling for the chip lead. Mr. T went all-in and Mr. R called. If Mr. T wins I am in the money. Mr. R turns over AJ and Mr. T turns over 75o. I almost fell out of my chair. It was a good play by Mr. T because he had Mr. R. out chipped 5:1. No help for either one on the flop. No help on the turn. I start chanting, Five! Five! Five! Five! Yes indeed a five hit on the river eliminating Mr. R. I was in the money. I was getting blinded away quickly at this point. I was in the BB with QJo and I went all-in. Mr. T of course calls me with A7. An ace came on the turn and I was drawing dead. Oh well! I did have a couple of great beers, but I do not remember the name.
Mr. S and Mr. T were getting tired so they basically went to war. Mr. S ended up taking first place. We settled up the bar tab and tossed all the plastic chips in a bag to hand back to Mr. R. When I got back to my room I decided to play a little more online at CNR. No more than sitting down I was dealt pocket Kings. Someone raised, putting me all-in. I quickly called. A king came on the flop and my $4 stack quickly grew to $11. I decided a few hands later that I had better get some sleep, because I had homework for the last day of class and a late flight to catch.
We had a great day at class and concluded the trip with a wonderful Mediterranean meal.
Since the trip I have not played much poker. Hopefully this weekend I will find time to enter a tournament and I am looking for another site to join.
Play on!
Monday, April 25, 2005
“A Blonde Moment”
It is 4:46 AM. In theory I should be in a hotel room sound asleep. I had a flight scheduled to leave for Cincinnati Ohio yesterday at 3:40 PM. A co-worker picks me up at 2:00 PM to get to the airport. It was a smooth ride in a brand new Nissan Titan V8. We park in the park and ride. The shuttle bus takes us to the terminal. I get out of the shuttle bus only to realize that I do not have my wallet. Holy shit! Let me tell everyone very clearly you can not do shit without some sort of ID at an International Airport.
I rescheduled my flight for 6:05 AM this morning. There were no other flights last night permitting someone to bring me my wallet. The really sad part is I knew right where my wallet was. I was hungry so I went to Jack in the Box for a sandwich. I paid for the sandwich and left the wallet sitting on the front passenger seat of the car. Damn! Definitely a blond moment!
Here were my options:
1. Take a taxi home and get my wallet then fly out later. Not!
2. Have my wife bring me my wallet. Not! She was 45 minutes from the house.
3. Just take a taxi home or to my office. Not! How would I pay? Besides rumor had it that it would cost $70 to get me home. Yikes!
4. Sleep at the airport and have my wife bring my wallet. I thought that would be good punishment.
5. Wife come get me and my son miss his soccer game. That would not work because I was the one who insisted he play in his game.
6. Take my friends truck and go get my wallet. Are you kidding ask him to drive his new truck. Besides I already told him to go board and tell the others my fate.
7. Call a friend! I did this and had a great friend ready to come pick me up. I felt so guilty, but you know you have a great friend if they are willing to sacrifice their day to come rescue you from the airport.
8. Finally my brother-in-law offered to come get me. I called my friend back and cancelled her generous offer.
Here is the really cool part. I get picked up from the airport in a beautiful blue Porsche. He took me to the soccer game where I got to watch our team play. It was cool because we only had three players. I am so glad our son made it. They had fun! We then went out for dinner. Least we could do was buy my wife’s brother dinner. We also had my wife’s mom and grand mother with us. The check came for dinner and abuelita grabbed the check. We insisted that we pay. She finally gave us the check. What we did not realize was as she passed the plastic thingy to us she had slipped the bill out. She is a very sneaky lady, but clearly wise. I would have offered to pay, but NO WALLET!
Next my wife wanted me to fill up the van. Ok! May I have your credit card! Again, I had no wallet. At this point I am thinking new should have microchips implanted in our thumbs or something that could be used as ID and perhaps even a credit card. My brother-in-law clearly pointed out that then people would chop off your thumb to steal your identity. Ok! That is a sick thought, but probably true.
Now the challenge was to get to the airport on time. I set two alarms. I woke up every hour almost on the hour. I woke up at 2:15 AM. I decided to shower and shave and head to the airport. I stopped and got a coffee at 7-11. Thank heaven for 7-11! Oh hopefully I turned off both alarms. I made it to the airport with little traffic. I get inside the airport at about 3:45 AM. Of course most everything is closed. I realized I still did not have my boarding pass. The kiosk was not open yet. I drank my coffee and watched a cool episode of The Highwayman. I finally got my boarding pass around 4:30 AM. I go through security. Well as luck would have it I am selected for the extra search. I am a suspicious character. I guess claiming to have forgotten my ID and changing my flight put me high on the profile list. The initial screener did not see that I had been selected for the special treatment. I am sure she got in trouble for not issuing me the orange ticket.
Here are a couple of times.
Empty your pockets
Place your computer in a separate tray from your computer bag
Taking off your shoes is option (wear flip flops!)
Do not over pack your bag – security does not know how to fold!
take your own coffee at 4:00 AM because there is nothing open!
Here I set using airport power to recharge the battery on my laptop. Perhaps I will continue this adventure on the plane. Throughout this entire ordeal I keep convincing myself that this is the way the good Lord intended it to be. I will miss some of the training this morning and I am sure I will be subjected to tons of ridicule. The adventure is just beginning because I will need to arrive safely. Catch a cab to the hotel! Catch a cab to the office. Find a way to obtain a security badge. Find my way to a class in progress I am sure. Perhaps I will make it just in time for lunch and no one will notice I had not been there all morning. Not!
Ciao for now! 5:15 AM
It is 4:46 AM. In theory I should be in a hotel room sound asleep. I had a flight scheduled to leave for Cincinnati Ohio yesterday at 3:40 PM. A co-worker picks me up at 2:00 PM to get to the airport. It was a smooth ride in a brand new Nissan Titan V8. We park in the park and ride. The shuttle bus takes us to the terminal. I get out of the shuttle bus only to realize that I do not have my wallet. Holy shit! Let me tell everyone very clearly you can not do shit without some sort of ID at an International Airport.
I rescheduled my flight for 6:05 AM this morning. There were no other flights last night permitting someone to bring me my wallet. The really sad part is I knew right where my wallet was. I was hungry so I went to Jack in the Box for a sandwich. I paid for the sandwich and left the wallet sitting on the front passenger seat of the car. Damn! Definitely a blond moment!
Here were my options:
1. Take a taxi home and get my wallet then fly out later. Not!
2. Have my wife bring me my wallet. Not! She was 45 minutes from the house.
3. Just take a taxi home or to my office. Not! How would I pay? Besides rumor had it that it would cost $70 to get me home. Yikes!
4. Sleep at the airport and have my wife bring my wallet. I thought that would be good punishment.
5. Wife come get me and my son miss his soccer game. That would not work because I was the one who insisted he play in his game.
6. Take my friends truck and go get my wallet. Are you kidding ask him to drive his new truck. Besides I already told him to go board and tell the others my fate.
7. Call a friend! I did this and had a great friend ready to come pick me up. I felt so guilty, but you know you have a great friend if they are willing to sacrifice their day to come rescue you from the airport.
8. Finally my brother-in-law offered to come get me. I called my friend back and cancelled her generous offer.
Here is the really cool part. I get picked up from the airport in a beautiful blue Porsche. He took me to the soccer game where I got to watch our team play. It was cool because we only had three players. I am so glad our son made it. They had fun! We then went out for dinner. Least we could do was buy my wife’s brother dinner. We also had my wife’s mom and grand mother with us. The check came for dinner and abuelita grabbed the check. We insisted that we pay. She finally gave us the check. What we did not realize was as she passed the plastic thingy to us she had slipped the bill out. She is a very sneaky lady, but clearly wise. I would have offered to pay, but NO WALLET!
Next my wife wanted me to fill up the van. Ok! May I have your credit card! Again, I had no wallet. At this point I am thinking new should have microchips implanted in our thumbs or something that could be used as ID and perhaps even a credit card. My brother-in-law clearly pointed out that then people would chop off your thumb to steal your identity. Ok! That is a sick thought, but probably true.
Now the challenge was to get to the airport on time. I set two alarms. I woke up every hour almost on the hour. I woke up at 2:15 AM. I decided to shower and shave and head to the airport. I stopped and got a coffee at 7-11. Thank heaven for 7-11! Oh hopefully I turned off both alarms. I made it to the airport with little traffic. I get inside the airport at about 3:45 AM. Of course most everything is closed. I realized I still did not have my boarding pass. The kiosk was not open yet. I drank my coffee and watched a cool episode of The Highwayman. I finally got my boarding pass around 4:30 AM. I go through security. Well as luck would have it I am selected for the extra search. I am a suspicious character. I guess claiming to have forgotten my ID and changing my flight put me high on the profile list. The initial screener did not see that I had been selected for the special treatment. I am sure she got in trouble for not issuing me the orange ticket.
Here are a couple of times.
Empty your pockets
Place your computer in a separate tray from your computer bag
Taking off your shoes is option (wear flip flops!)
Do not over pack your bag – security does not know how to fold!
take your own coffee at 4:00 AM because there is nothing open!
Here I set using airport power to recharge the battery on my laptop. Perhaps I will continue this adventure on the plane. Throughout this entire ordeal I keep convincing myself that this is the way the good Lord intended it to be. I will miss some of the training this morning and I am sure I will be subjected to tons of ridicule. The adventure is just beginning because I will need to arrive safely. Catch a cab to the hotel! Catch a cab to the office. Find a way to obtain a security badge. Find my way to a class in progress I am sure. Perhaps I will make it just in time for lunch and no one will notice I had not been there all morning. Not!
Ciao for now! 5:15 AM
Friday, April 22, 2005
“Change the Freakin Law”
I was reading a fellow Austin blogger, Love and Casino War. Always good content and it is ironic that I believe he used to work for the company I now work for. Any rate he keeps up with the legal battles in Texas over poker. I will add his link, so you can read the original post. Basically the post is about the legality of business establishments hosting poker tournaments. Here is my spin on!
A bar owner purchases a trip for 2 to Las Vegas and a promotion for his business. He is going to decide the winner of the promotion based on the following. There will be a dart tournament. Each player is given 500 points with their FREE entry. Players may play against anyone or as many people as they choose and when they decide to play. They must play at some point. The players that win collect points from the other players. The player who collects all the points wins the promotional prize. Would this be legal for my business to do?
Change the freakin laws! Oh wait maybe we are trying to create to many laws! My blood pressure increases every time I think about how much money this state could keep within its borders if we legalized poker. Hell everyone is now playing TEXAS Holdem.
Government really infuriates me. For instance I heard on the radio this morning that they are proposing to require high school students to participate in 30 minutes of physical activity per day. What the ??? are our representatives doing messing around with something so ridiculous? You do not need legislature to handle this. The parents, PTA, teachers, school boards and the kids themselves should set these policies. I mean for the current (79th) session of the Texas Senate there are 2607 bills.
Why does the below need to be part of our Senate Bill process?
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 670
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas joins the citizens of Austin in mourning the loss of Johnnie Martinez Lopez,who died March 18, 2005, at the age of 79; and WHEREAS, Born October 12, 1925, in Austin to John Lopez and Maria de Jesus Arredondo, Johnnie served his country in the United States Navy; and WHEREAS, Known as "Powerhouse John," he served as a sponsor to many East Austin softball and baseball teams, and his invaluable support of these young people will be greatly missed; and WHEREAS, The proprietor of the Powerhouse Lounge, he gave back to the community by serving needy families on Thanksgiving Day;he also helped organize scholarships for students at Johnston High School with funds donated from the Old Timer's Athletic Association; and WHEREAS, A man of courage, strength, and kindness, Johnnie gave unselfishly to others, and the lives of many in his community were improved immeasurably by his generous spirit; and WHEREAS, Johnnie Lopez was a devoted father and grandfather, and he leaves behind memories that will be cherished forever by his family and many friends; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,79th Legislature, hereby extend sincere condolences to the bereavedfamily of Johnnie Martinez Lopez: his wife, Tommie Lopez; his children, Barbara Godoy, Jo Ann Lopez, Johnny Lopez, Kenneth Lopez,Adam Lopez, Roy Rivera, Jose Rivera, Melinda Magaña, James Moncebaiz,Jo Anna H. Ramos, and John Albert Herrera; his sister, Mary Lopez; and his 34 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren; and, be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for the members of his family as an expression of deepest sympathy from the Texas Senate, and that when the Senate adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Johnnie Martinez Lopez. Barrientos
________________________________ President of the Senate I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on April 21, 2005, by a rising vote. ________________________________ Secretary of the Senate
I also grieve for those who pass on to the heavens. In fact I think I will quickly pay tribute to Lenny Izzarelli, who passed on a couple of days ago. Senators can you please write a resolution for the great Iz? I regret you suffered until the end, but it was an honor to know you and your family. Rest in peace my friend!
Sorry to rant! Hey I am also upset that I will miss two great poker tournaments. Saturday night here in Austin is a local blogger tournament hosted by the Degenerate Gambler. The tournament price ($20) and no rebuys sets up a perfect environment for a ton of fun. Good luck folks!
Also Mr. Guinness, Iggy, set up a great online tournament to qualify for a seat in a WSOP satellite. Thank you for all of you efforts, but unfortunately I am going to be on a plane to lovely Cincinnati.
Finally I wanted to give some kudos to Check N Raise poker. The other night I had a boat with two persons raising into me. I was ready to push all my chips in when the freakin controls vanished. This is a known defect, but I was pissed! The pot was around $7 in a $.10/.20 NL Holdem ring game. I complained to the Pit Boss, who absolutely was gracious and placed an amount equal to the pot into my account. They really should fix that defect; however, as a Lead QA engineer, I can really relate to those hard to resolve/ replicate defects. Most likely they are battling something within the browser or Java Virtual Machine that is somewhat out of their control. Good luck fixing that one, because it is a nasty bug! Thank you for doing the right thing!
Now my challenge is to find a place in Cincinnati where I can get free wireless, a cold beer, and play some online poker. What can I say! I am addicted to the pursuit of winning money for nothin’!
Izzy – I am listening to “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane. It is an upbeat but peaceful tune. I send out a prayer to your family and your many friends.
Keane - Somewhere Only We Know Lyrics
Album: Hopes & Fears
I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete
Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and i need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and i need somewhere to begin
I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love
Is this the place that i've been dreaming of
Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and i need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and i need somewhere to begin
And if you have a minute why don't we go
talk about it somewhere only we know
this could be the end of everything
so why don't we go
somewhere only we know
Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and i need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and i need somewhere to begin
And if you have a minute why don't we go
talk about it somewhere only we know
this could be the end of everything
so why don't we go
somewhere only we know
(Instrumental)
this could be the end of everything
so why don't we go
somewhere only we know
Play on!!
I was reading a fellow Austin blogger, Love and Casino War. Always good content and it is ironic that I believe he used to work for the company I now work for. Any rate he keeps up with the legal battles in Texas over poker. I will add his link, so you can read the original post. Basically the post is about the legality of business establishments hosting poker tournaments. Here is my spin on!
A bar owner purchases a trip for 2 to Las Vegas and a promotion for his business. He is going to decide the winner of the promotion based on the following. There will be a dart tournament. Each player is given 500 points with their FREE entry. Players may play against anyone or as many people as they choose and when they decide to play. They must play at some point. The players that win collect points from the other players. The player who collects all the points wins the promotional prize. Would this be legal for my business to do?
Change the freakin laws! Oh wait maybe we are trying to create to many laws! My blood pressure increases every time I think about how much money this state could keep within its borders if we legalized poker. Hell everyone is now playing TEXAS Holdem.
Government really infuriates me. For instance I heard on the radio this morning that they are proposing to require high school students to participate in 30 minutes of physical activity per day. What the ??? are our representatives doing messing around with something so ridiculous? You do not need legislature to handle this. The parents, PTA, teachers, school boards and the kids themselves should set these policies. I mean for the current (79th) session of the Texas Senate there are 2607 bills.
Why does the below need to be part of our Senate Bill process?
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 670
In Memory of
Johnnie Martinez Lopez
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas joins the citizens of Austin in mourning the loss of Johnnie Martinez Lopez,who died March 18, 2005, at the age of 79; and WHEREAS, Born October 12, 1925, in Austin to John Lopez and Maria de Jesus Arredondo, Johnnie served his country in the United States Navy; and WHEREAS, Known as "Powerhouse John," he served as a sponsor to many East Austin softball and baseball teams, and his invaluable support of these young people will be greatly missed; and WHEREAS, The proprietor of the Powerhouse Lounge, he gave back to the community by serving needy families on Thanksgiving Day;he also helped organize scholarships for students at Johnston High School with funds donated from the Old Timer's Athletic Association; and WHEREAS, A man of courage, strength, and kindness, Johnnie gave unselfishly to others, and the lives of many in his community were improved immeasurably by his generous spirit; and WHEREAS, Johnnie Lopez was a devoted father and grandfather, and he leaves behind memories that will be cherished forever by his family and many friends; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas,79th Legislature, hereby extend sincere condolences to the bereavedfamily of Johnnie Martinez Lopez: his wife, Tommie Lopez; his children, Barbara Godoy, Jo Ann Lopez, Johnny Lopez, Kenneth Lopez,Adam Lopez, Roy Rivera, Jose Rivera, Melinda Magaña, James Moncebaiz,Jo Anna H. Ramos, and John Albert Herrera; his sister, Mary Lopez; and his 34 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren; and, be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for the members of his family as an expression of deepest sympathy from the Texas Senate, and that when the Senate adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Johnnie Martinez Lopez. Barrientos
________________________________ President of the Senate I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on April 21, 2005, by a rising vote. ________________________________ Secretary of the Senate
I also grieve for those who pass on to the heavens. In fact I think I will quickly pay tribute to Lenny Izzarelli, who passed on a couple of days ago. Senators can you please write a resolution for the great Iz? I regret you suffered until the end, but it was an honor to know you and your family. Rest in peace my friend!
Sorry to rant! Hey I am also upset that I will miss two great poker tournaments. Saturday night here in Austin is a local blogger tournament hosted by the Degenerate Gambler. The tournament price ($20) and no rebuys sets up a perfect environment for a ton of fun. Good luck folks!
Also Mr. Guinness, Iggy, set up a great online tournament to qualify for a seat in a WSOP satellite. Thank you for all of you efforts, but unfortunately I am going to be on a plane to lovely Cincinnati.
Finally I wanted to give some kudos to Check N Raise poker. The other night I had a boat with two persons raising into me. I was ready to push all my chips in when the freakin controls vanished. This is a known defect, but I was pissed! The pot was around $7 in a $.10/.20 NL Holdem ring game. I complained to the Pit Boss, who absolutely was gracious and placed an amount equal to the pot into my account. They really should fix that defect; however, as a Lead QA engineer, I can really relate to those hard to resolve/ replicate defects. Most likely they are battling something within the browser or Java Virtual Machine that is somewhat out of their control. Good luck fixing that one, because it is a nasty bug! Thank you for doing the right thing!
Now my challenge is to find a place in Cincinnati where I can get free wireless, a cold beer, and play some online poker. What can I say! I am addicted to the pursuit of winning money for nothin’!
Izzy – I am listening to “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane. It is an upbeat but peaceful tune. I send out a prayer to your family and your many friends.
Keane - Somewhere Only We Know Lyrics
Album: Hopes & Fears
I walked across an empty land
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand
I felt the earth beneath my feet
Sat by the river and it made me complete
Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and i need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and i need somewhere to begin
I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love
Is this the place that i've been dreaming of
Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and i need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and i need somewhere to begin
And if you have a minute why don't we go
talk about it somewhere only we know
this could be the end of everything
so why don't we go
somewhere only we know
Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and i need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and i need somewhere to begin
And if you have a minute why don't we go
talk about it somewhere only we know
this could be the end of everything
so why don't we go
somewhere only we know
(Instrumental)
this could be the end of everything
so why don't we go
somewhere only we know
Play on!!
Monday, April 18, 2005
"Down for the Count!"
Sad to report that I have finally lost all of my deposit at 24HPoker. I am very saddened that I lost this bank roll without cashing in on my 40% bonus. Basically I learned a couple of lessons. Read the bonus rules very carefully. Personally I think their bonus rules were misleading, but I will take the blame for not asking more specific questions. I thought I would receive $10 of my bonus for every 100 VIP points. I guess that was true; however, they claimed I had to earn the entire bonus. The next lesson I learned is that it is very hard to play low limit tables when there are many extremely aggressive players. Here are my final hands:
I am in the BB with J3o. I check and the flop comes Jxx. I bet. Turn is a 3. I bet more. River is another 3. Hey I have a boat. My opponent of course has a pocket pair greater than my threes.
I am UTG with 66. The flop comes 9455. Maximum bets by three other players. I fold! Of course the river brings another 6, but I had already folded.
I have K9 in the SB. Flop comes K9J. Maximum betting. I did not fill my boat and the winner was holding QT, so he had flopped the nut straight.
QJ, when the flop comes QJ3. Turn and river come ten then another ten. Hey I actually won this hand.
Final straw - AT in the BB. Flop comes AJ3. The turn is a ten. I am all in. The river is a J. You guessed it my opponent had KQo.
I think I played these hands well, but would welcome any comments. Down for the count on 24HPoker. Most likely I will not play there again!
READ THOSE BONUSES CAREFULLY!
The worst part is a could have provided Chicken Feet a $50 bonus if I had joined the site he invited me to. Unfortunately I used up my bankroll to join this site.
Time to move money from other sites. I am going to delete most of one of my account at one site for some vacation cash. I am looking forward to playing in some cash games at some casinos in Scottsdale.
That is it for now!
Play on!
Sad to report that I have finally lost all of my deposit at 24HPoker. I am very saddened that I lost this bank roll without cashing in on my 40% bonus. Basically I learned a couple of lessons. Read the bonus rules very carefully. Personally I think their bonus rules were misleading, but I will take the blame for not asking more specific questions. I thought I would receive $10 of my bonus for every 100 VIP points. I guess that was true; however, they claimed I had to earn the entire bonus. The next lesson I learned is that it is very hard to play low limit tables when there are many extremely aggressive players. Here are my final hands:
I am in the BB with J3o. I check and the flop comes Jxx. I bet. Turn is a 3. I bet more. River is another 3. Hey I have a boat. My opponent of course has a pocket pair greater than my threes.
I am UTG with 66. The flop comes 9455. Maximum bets by three other players. I fold! Of course the river brings another 6, but I had already folded.
I have K9 in the SB. Flop comes K9J. Maximum betting. I did not fill my boat and the winner was holding QT, so he had flopped the nut straight.
QJ, when the flop comes QJ3. Turn and river come ten then another ten. Hey I actually won this hand.
Final straw - AT in the BB. Flop comes AJ3. The turn is a ten. I am all in. The river is a J. You guessed it my opponent had KQo.
I think I played these hands well, but would welcome any comments. Down for the count on 24HPoker. Most likely I will not play there again!
READ THOSE BONUSES CAREFULLY!
The worst part is a could have provided Chicken Feet a $50 bonus if I had joined the site he invited me to. Unfortunately I used up my bankroll to join this site.
Time to move money from other sites. I am going to delete most of one of my account at one site for some vacation cash. I am looking forward to playing in some cash games at some casinos in Scottsdale.
That is it for now!
Play on!
Thursday, April 14, 2005
“All Along the Watchtower”
I thought I would do a quick post. I just heard U2’s version of “All Along the Watchtower”. I thought it rocked. I am now listening to “Hero” by Chad Kroeger.
Man I have a great view from my office!
I have watched a little bit of poker this week. Wow, there were some bad beats. Howard Lederer going all in with two pair on the flop in the 2004 Poker Championship. Opponent gets a King on the river to eliminate him. I watched the WPT last night and unfortunately I do not recall their names. Pocket kings and the opponent hits one of only two outs on the river, an Ace. I think I would melt on the spot if I was at the final table with a $1 million at stake.
Here is what happened to me just last night! “I feel so lonely and I know I am not the only one to every feel this way” some good words from Tesla that apply to the world of bad beats.
Hand #1 – I am holding A6o on the button. The flop brings QQ6, which is looking OK for the home team. This is Pot Limit by the way. I bet ½ the pot. I get two callers. The turn is a Q. I bet ¼ the pot. Once again I get two callers. The turn is an Ace. I am thinking is someone slow playing the 4th queen. Nah! I bet half the pot! I get raised. Chit! I just had to call! Once again I get smacked by the ladies, all four of them!! Basically I was all-in and lost my $4. Ouch! J
Hand #2 – I am in the BB. I am dealt A9o. The flop is A9T, which is once again good for the home team. I bet the pot. I get two callers. The turn is a J. I bet the pot and get one caller. The river is a K. I bet the pot and I get raised putting me all-in. I had to call, but I knew deep down the SOB had a King. Down another $4.
I think it is time to quit. Not!
AC/DC song applies here “Kicked in the Teeth”
Hand #3 – I have K9 of clubs. The flop brings two clubs. My gut told me another club was coming. I was put all-in, but I had to listen to my gut. The cool part was there were other callers. Yes sir the club hits on the river and I rake in $10, making my net loss for the session an entire $2. I can live with that!
Let’s see perhaps I can throw in some off the wall comments.
I have never found a person’s finger in my chili!
Gas prices are outrageous, yet Texas lawmakers want to add more taxes. Can you say very bad timing?
I did remember to file our taxes! That reminds me Taxes SUCK!
I will close with a little Jane’s Addition – “Jane Says”
Play on rock stars!
I thought I would do a quick post. I just heard U2’s version of “All Along the Watchtower”. I thought it rocked. I am now listening to “Hero” by Chad Kroeger.
Man I have a great view from my office!
I have watched a little bit of poker this week. Wow, there were some bad beats. Howard Lederer going all in with two pair on the flop in the 2004 Poker Championship. Opponent gets a King on the river to eliminate him. I watched the WPT last night and unfortunately I do not recall their names. Pocket kings and the opponent hits one of only two outs on the river, an Ace. I think I would melt on the spot if I was at the final table with a $1 million at stake.
Here is what happened to me just last night! “I feel so lonely and I know I am not the only one to every feel this way” some good words from Tesla that apply to the world of bad beats.
Hand #1 – I am holding A6o on the button. The flop brings QQ6, which is looking OK for the home team. This is Pot Limit by the way. I bet ½ the pot. I get two callers. The turn is a Q. I bet ¼ the pot. Once again I get two callers. The turn is an Ace. I am thinking is someone slow playing the 4th queen. Nah! I bet half the pot! I get raised. Chit! I just had to call! Once again I get smacked by the ladies, all four of them!! Basically I was all-in and lost my $4. Ouch! J
Hand #2 – I am in the BB. I am dealt A9o. The flop is A9T, which is once again good for the home team. I bet the pot. I get two callers. The turn is a J. I bet the pot and get one caller. The river is a K. I bet the pot and I get raised putting me all-in. I had to call, but I knew deep down the SOB had a King. Down another $4.
I think it is time to quit. Not!
AC/DC song applies here “Kicked in the Teeth”
Hand #3 – I have K9 of clubs. The flop brings two clubs. My gut told me another club was coming. I was put all-in, but I had to listen to my gut. The cool part was there were other callers. Yes sir the club hits on the river and I rake in $10, making my net loss for the session an entire $2. I can live with that!
Let’s see perhaps I can throw in some off the wall comments.
I have never found a person’s finger in my chili!
Gas prices are outrageous, yet Texas lawmakers want to add more taxes. Can you say very bad timing?
I did remember to file our taxes! That reminds me Taxes SUCK!
I will close with a little Jane’s Addition – “Jane Says”
Play on rock stars!
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