"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
A Rock Garden is a poker table full of rocks. Rock is my favorite genre of music. Gardening is one of my favorite past times. You just might find comments on poker, politics, pansies, and Poi Dog Pondering! Welcome to the Rock Garden!
Thursday, June 16, 2005
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!
Friday, April 08, 2005
My apologies for posting this late, but Blogger seemed to be down last night!
“Grady Rocks”
I just wanted to make a quick post. Thanks April for posting the lyrics to the Grady song! Everyone should catch their high energy show.
I have to say that I watched WPT last night. I must say Mike Matusow is a true ARSE. I would have to have head phones and Grady blasting full volume to sit at a table with him.
I just got in a hand at CNR that was a total hoot. I had just sat down at a NL .05/.10 Holdem table. I get dealt big slick. I limp in. Person raises $2. I put him on small pair. I call. We get a third caller. Hmm! My gut says the best they have is pocket queens. The bettor raises and puts me all-in. Huge pot so I have to call. Flop is a rainbow of small cards (852), turn is a 4, and the river is an eight. No help for me, but the raise had pocket 8’s for quads and the other player had pocket 10’s. I read them right, but got smacked.
A few hands later I had ATo. The board brought AT. A player to my right raised. I reraised, putting him all-in. I won my money back from the quad hit.
OK! Now that we have the hammer theme song, I have to ask the obvious question. Is playing 27 really wise? Personally I think it is a horrible play and I muck it every time. I fully appreciate a good bluff, but it does not have to be 72. I have played in a couple of local ring games where people played the hammer. I say keep on playing the hammer. More often than not, the hammer will lose! I know there is the challenge of pulling it off and showing the cards in victory. I am going against the grain and I will continue to muck it every time. Unless of course everyone limps in when I have the hammer in the big blind. I just might raise!!
For all you Austinites who might stumble on this humble blog. During the month of April ThunderCloud Subs is rolling back their prices. I got a fresh 10 inch ham sandwich today for $1.40. Amazing! Visit there website and enjoy!
Tomorrow I have a meeting at a local Austin coffee house, Flight Path. I have never been there so stay tuned for a review. I have an eye appointment. Oh Joy! Finally I have a lunch date with a former co-worker. We are going to Mike’s Pub. If you have never been to Mike’s you are missing out on extremely cold beer mugs and delicious burgers. Check it out! I believe the owner and his son also play poker!
Rock on!
“Grady Rocks”
I just wanted to make a quick post. Thanks April for posting the lyrics to the Grady song! Everyone should catch their high energy show.
I have to say that I watched WPT last night. I must say Mike Matusow is a true ARSE. I would have to have head phones and Grady blasting full volume to sit at a table with him.
I just got in a hand at CNR that was a total hoot. I had just sat down at a NL .05/.10 Holdem table. I get dealt big slick. I limp in. Person raises $2. I put him on small pair. I call. We get a third caller. Hmm! My gut says the best they have is pocket queens. The bettor raises and puts me all-in. Huge pot so I have to call. Flop is a rainbow of small cards (852), turn is a 4, and the river is an eight. No help for me, but the raise had pocket 8’s for quads and the other player had pocket 10’s. I read them right, but got smacked.
A few hands later I had ATo. The board brought AT. A player to my right raised. I reraised, putting him all-in. I won my money back from the quad hit.
OK! Now that we have the hammer theme song, I have to ask the obvious question. Is playing 27 really wise? Personally I think it is a horrible play and I muck it every time. I fully appreciate a good bluff, but it does not have to be 72. I have played in a couple of local ring games where people played the hammer. I say keep on playing the hammer. More often than not, the hammer will lose! I know there is the challenge of pulling it off and showing the cards in victory. I am going against the grain and I will continue to muck it every time. Unless of course everyone limps in when I have the hammer in the big blind. I just might raise!!
For all you Austinites who might stumble on this humble blog. During the month of April ThunderCloud Subs is rolling back their prices. I got a fresh 10 inch ham sandwich today for $1.40. Amazing! Visit there website and enjoy!
Tomorrow I have a meeting at a local Austin coffee house, Flight Path. I have never been there so stay tuned for a review. I have an eye appointment. Oh Joy! Finally I have a lunch date with a former co-worker. We are going to Mike’s Pub. If you have never been to Mike’s you are missing out on extremely cold beer mugs and delicious burgers. Check it out! I believe the owner and his son also play poker!
Rock on!
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
“Drawing Dead Sort of”
Occasionally I get in the mood to return to my punk days in the early 80’s, so I listen to a station on Live365.com called “Loud Like it Should Be”. I heard this song today. I thought it was funny! I must apologize to my parents who are my most avid readers for posting this song. Sorry Mom!! It was just one of those songs with a lyric makes you stop and go “Did they really just sing that?”
"Code Blue" by TSOL
Occasionally I get in the mood to return to my punk days in the early 80’s, so I listen to a station on Live365.com called “Loud Like it Should Be”. I heard this song today. I thought it was funny! I must apologize to my parents who are my most avid readers for posting this song. Sorry Mom!! It was just one of those songs with a lyric makes you stop and go “Did they really just sing that?”
"Code Blue" by TSOL
I never got along with the girls at my schoolFilling me up with all their morals
and their rulesThey'd pile all their problems on my headI'd rather go out
and fuck the dead'Cause I can do what I want and they won't complainI wanna
fuck I wanna fuck the deadMiddle of the night so silentlyI creep on over to
the mortuaryLift up the casket and fiddle with the deadTheir cold blue flesh
makes me turn red'Cause I can do what I want and they won't complainI wanna
fuck I wanna fuck the deadAnd I don't even care how she died...But I like it
better if she smells of formaldehyde!Never on the rag or say leave me
aloneThey don't scream and they don't moanDon't even cry if I shoot in their
hairLying on the table she smiles and she stares
Chorus
I also heard a song by the SuperSuckers – “Born with a Tail”. I thought we could easily relate this to poker and change the title “Born with a Tell”. Hee Hee
I did manage to make it to that poker tournament on Friday. It was pretty funny in that I got there just in time for a NL ring game to start with Blinds $.50/$1 and a $20 buy-in. The conclusion for the night was that I won about $12. It was also funny in that a card player that I play with a group from central Austin was there.
The other reason for the title of my blog was that a player in the ring game gave a totally new meaning to the term drawing dead.
Well I did no finish this post as intended last night, so I thought I would quickly do it this morning. There is definitely a theme going on “Loud Like It Should Be” this morning. SO far in about 10 minutes three songs using the “F” word.
Hot Water Music – Radio
UnMutuals – F--- Guitar Center
Not sure yet if this is motivation or not.
Ok to continue with the player in the ring game. Here is the new definition of drawing dead. The board is showing 4 spades. I am holding the King of Spades. I just made a small bet to make sure the ace was not in the game. Player to me left goes “Crap I have a spade, but I think you have a bigger one!” Mucks his hand. The next player calls. Final player mucks! We turn over our cards. The caller had two clubs, no pairs, and no straight. Dude! Thanks for the donation!
Classic song – “I want to be sedated” by the Ramones
Other than that hand I played in 4 other pots. One I had pocket Kings and the flop brought a king. I bet $5 and got one caller. Turn was no help! I bet another $5 hoping to get a call. He folded, but I won a decent pot. Another hand I thought I hit a king high straight in the BB on the turn. The cards were at the other end of the table. My contacts were on there last legs and for some reason I could not focus on the cards. I stared and double checked the board. Rechecked the board! Stared some more. I bet $3. Player to my left raised me $5. Again I stared at the board for the longest time. If he had AT, then he had the nut straight. Nothing else was there. I should have raised but did not. He ended up having a pocket tens for a set of tens. I won a nice pot. The other hand was disastrous for me. The board brought a flush and straight draw. I decided that I was going to bet aggressively as if I had hit on the flop. I bet $3. A blank on the turn and I bet $3 again. They guy was calling me down. Do I go all-in? Do I check? Well I decided to stay consistent and bet $3. He called my bluff and I lost a decent pot. Oh well! Net profit was $12. A profit is always good in my book. They did start a second $20 buy-in tournament, but I felt it was going to be going on until 2:00 AM. I had to get up for the garage sale.
We did manage to make $100 at the garage sale. My better half already spent it! So much for adding cash to my poker bank roll.
Saturday we had a couple of soccer games after the garage sale. Little did I know I would end up coaching my daughter’s team. They girls did really well against one of the stronger teams (At least a well coached team). I ended up having to leave with 6 minutes left in the game so I could go coach my son’s team. The Tigers lost 5-4. The bad news was I missed our daughter scoring a goal. After soccer we had some friends over for steaks. I love last minute get togethers. The margaritas were wonderful. It is my simple recipe, but it works every time.
6 oz can limeade
6 oz tequila
3 oz triple sec
One fresh lime
Ice to the top of the blender
If you do not have triple sec add a little orange juice and 9 oz of tequila is better, depending on the tequila. Hee Hee!
Saturday night although I knew the time was going to change I entered into a $5 Omaha H/L tournament at 10:00 PM. Turned out to be a great choice in that I won! The best part was I used check points to enter, so a nice $40 profit. More importantly I completed my last $25 bonus and my bank roll is well above $200. Pretty good since not to long ago I was down to $14.
The tournament was really fun! When it got down to the final three it was an epic battle. The chip lead was constantly changing. I think the three of us battled it out for almost an hour. As normal with Omaha H/L it took a couple of lucky hands where you win both high and low.
Most likely I take some of this bank roll and do some bonus whoring. Or I will just save it and take it out for our trip to Scottsdale. It looks like there are a couple of nice casinos in Scottsdale.
OK I am going to get this posted.
Man I hope that dude who played two clubs against an obvious board returns to take more poker lessons!
I also added a couple of links to some more poker blogs.
Blog on!
Thursday, March 31, 2005
“What the …”
I had read an Austin blog awhile back about some modifications to Shoal Creek. I have not driven down Shoal Creek in quite awhile. Today I decided to miss some traffic and headed south on Shoal Creek from Steck. What the … are those semi-circle curb concoctions every couple of hundred yards on either side of the street. They are filled with a single tree, some tiny plants, and rocks. I predict that all plants and perhaps the trees will not survive. So what were they thinking? Are these there for safety reasons? I seriously doubt it because they now force cyclists out into traffic. Are they for esthetics? They do not look good to me. In fact, they look really out of place. IMHO they look like a total waste of good tax payer money. Probably the next time I travel down Shoal Creek they will be gone. Sheesh!
My second what the … has to do with our state representatives. What are they doing protesting gambling bills today at lunch? I concur that promoting casinos as a means to bail out the educational system is a little loony. First of all no single source of state money should be ear-marked for a single purpose. Casino’s offer much more value in that they could stop the Texas money running away to Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Las Vegas. They could employee thousands of people. They could offer entertainment and a more pleasant atmosphere along the Texas coast. Representatives need to face the facts that Texans like to gamble. I could easily find a poker game hear in Austin seven nights per week. I do not really care for one arm bandits, so putting those at race tracks does nothing for me. I do believe in playing games that require some skill and that at least I have a chance of controlling the outcome.
OK! Here is my platform when I run for office. World Class poker rooms will be built in Galveston, Corpus Christi, Austin, Dallas, and Houston. A portion of the revenue generated would go into the general fund. A portion of the revenue would be set aside for charity. I would create the TPT, Texas Poker Tour. Each poker room would host a championship style tournament annually. Winners would qualify for the Capitol Classic in Austin Texas. Our wonderful representatives claim that gambling impacts the poor. I agree in that many people are looking for that single pull on the slot machine or the 6 numbers to appear in the Lotto. Everyone wants to get rich quick. Poker on the other hand requires a bank roll, skill and patience.
Texas is likely to get poker rooms about as likely as I am going to run for office!
What the … was I doing playing for flushes in 5-card draw. The other night I lost 3 or 4 times when I was dealt four suited cards. The pot sizes were decent, but it required me calling $1.5 - $2.50 to draw my single card. I did not hit a single one, so I went through a $15 bank roll quickly. One of you math gurus needs to educate me on the odds with 5 players playing 5 card draw of filling the flush. I had my share of bad beats, but reckless pay has dwindled my bankroll on 24HPoker. I am going to stick with holdem until I can build my bankroll back.
I am invited to a $40 buy-in tournament Friday night, but my wife has to work and I have to prepare for the neighborhood garage sale. Oh Boy! Perhaps I can take a cut of the proceeds to add to my poker bank roll. NOT! If I can get everything organized I may at least show up and drink a beer. I might deal, but most importantly I might be able to get in a ring game or a losers tournament. The tournament looks like it will have 16 – 24 players, which is nice. Oh well maybe next time!
We have a busy weekend with 3 soccer games, piano recital, and a garage sale.
What the …!
Play on, play SMART!
I had read an Austin blog awhile back about some modifications to Shoal Creek. I have not driven down Shoal Creek in quite awhile. Today I decided to miss some traffic and headed south on Shoal Creek from Steck. What the … are those semi-circle curb concoctions every couple of hundred yards on either side of the street. They are filled with a single tree, some tiny plants, and rocks. I predict that all plants and perhaps the trees will not survive. So what were they thinking? Are these there for safety reasons? I seriously doubt it because they now force cyclists out into traffic. Are they for esthetics? They do not look good to me. In fact, they look really out of place. IMHO they look like a total waste of good tax payer money. Probably the next time I travel down Shoal Creek they will be gone. Sheesh!
My second what the … has to do with our state representatives. What are they doing protesting gambling bills today at lunch? I concur that promoting casinos as a means to bail out the educational system is a little loony. First of all no single source of state money should be ear-marked for a single purpose. Casino’s offer much more value in that they could stop the Texas money running away to Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Las Vegas. They could employee thousands of people. They could offer entertainment and a more pleasant atmosphere along the Texas coast. Representatives need to face the facts that Texans like to gamble. I could easily find a poker game hear in Austin seven nights per week. I do not really care for one arm bandits, so putting those at race tracks does nothing for me. I do believe in playing games that require some skill and that at least I have a chance of controlling the outcome.
OK! Here is my platform when I run for office. World Class poker rooms will be built in Galveston, Corpus Christi, Austin, Dallas, and Houston. A portion of the revenue generated would go into the general fund. A portion of the revenue would be set aside for charity. I would create the TPT, Texas Poker Tour. Each poker room would host a championship style tournament annually. Winners would qualify for the Capitol Classic in Austin Texas. Our wonderful representatives claim that gambling impacts the poor. I agree in that many people are looking for that single pull on the slot machine or the 6 numbers to appear in the Lotto. Everyone wants to get rich quick. Poker on the other hand requires a bank roll, skill and patience.
Texas is likely to get poker rooms about as likely as I am going to run for office!
What the … was I doing playing for flushes in 5-card draw. The other night I lost 3 or 4 times when I was dealt four suited cards. The pot sizes were decent, but it required me calling $1.5 - $2.50 to draw my single card. I did not hit a single one, so I went through a $15 bank roll quickly. One of you math gurus needs to educate me on the odds with 5 players playing 5 card draw of filling the flush. I had my share of bad beats, but reckless pay has dwindled my bankroll on 24HPoker. I am going to stick with holdem until I can build my bankroll back.
I am invited to a $40 buy-in tournament Friday night, but my wife has to work and I have to prepare for the neighborhood garage sale. Oh Boy! Perhaps I can take a cut of the proceeds to add to my poker bank roll. NOT! If I can get everything organized I may at least show up and drink a beer. I might deal, but most importantly I might be able to get in a ring game or a losers tournament. The tournament looks like it will have 16 – 24 players, which is nice. Oh well maybe next time!
We have a busy weekend with 3 soccer games, piano recital, and a garage sale.
What the …!
Play on, play SMART!
Saturday, March 26, 2005
“Table Persona”
I was reading an article on one of the blogs. The main point was that you should use different user names at the various sites so people do not pick up on your habits. This makes sense; however, I have the same name at numerous sites. My objective all along was to learn to play against different players and environments, so I am constantly learning how to mix it up. I think if you are a regular at casinos people no that you are. They believe they have a fix on your style of play. The profitable players know how to mix it up. That is my goal!
That being said I have just signed up at Noble Poker. I wanted to play in the blogger Omaha H/L tournament. For the first time I changed my user name. I did not change it to hide my style of play. I changed because my daughter is a Harry Potter freak and wanted me to use a name that related to Harry Potter. I came up with three choices:
Harry Putter or Hairy Putter – since I am an avid golfer who only plays now 4 times per year.
Gringotts – The bank of wizard world.
Daily Profit – The wizard newspaper
I settled on the Daily Profit, which seemed most fitting! A daily profit is any poker player’s goal.
It is about 13 minutes until the blogger tournament starts. I am hopping to meet/chat with April (NotAPokerBlogger), Scurvydog (Sound of a Suck Out) who organized the tournament, and Slayre (Slayre’s Poker Quest). I am sure I will meet other bloggers.
Hopefully I will make some noise! Thanks scurvy for setting the tournament up! I am still on tilt after losing $15 playing 5-card draw this afternoon. I was dealt a set of 4’s and drew 2 cards. I got two aces. My opponent drew 3 cards. He raised $5 and I went over the top for another $5. Of course he had Tens full of threes. Argh! It was just a great hand.
I was also playing Omaha H/L and hit a straight flush. Oh yeah I think I know now the true sound of a “suck out”. I had pocket aces. Board comes xxQ, turn is a K and the river is another K. Of course I lose to 3 kings after capping the pot the entire way. Oh well! I would play the hand exactly the same way every time.
Holy Crap! Just played in a NL SNG (Sit and Go) with 6 players. I was the freakin chip lead and went all-in with AK suited. Flop brought a King, then the Turn brought a King, I typed in nice game, the river game him a straight. We are now even in chips. I get an A7o. He bets, I raise. He calls. Flop brings and A48. I go all-in. He had A4. So Sad! This is only the third SNG and finishing second is not so bad!!
I am still hanging in the blogger tournament. My PC completely froze up once. They should blow off the break, which came after the first hour. I have not had a hand since the first 15 minutes. Also at one point there were 7 players sitting out at our table. Hard to make a large sum of money. I finished 51st going all-in with AA26. Bummer!
I just finished in 58th place in a free roll with 189 players. I lost to pockets deuces on the freakin river. Oh there is no justice. Oh well it cost a ton to enter! :o) It is almost 2:00 AM. I am watching Man on Fire. It is an interesting movie and of course I can not go to sleep until it’s over.
Ok I need to publish this thing, but a few more comments about Noble Poker. When you sign up for their site, they greet you immediately and offer you a bonus. I thought that was a good touch. Personally I did not think the site is easy to navigate and the User Interface is somewhat clunky. I am not certain that I would put money into this site or not. I probably will play another tournament and check it out.
In conclusion your online table persona does not make much different. Play the cards correctly and adjust your game when the need arises.
Play on!
I was reading an article on one of the blogs. The main point was that you should use different user names at the various sites so people do not pick up on your habits. This makes sense; however, I have the same name at numerous sites. My objective all along was to learn to play against different players and environments, so I am constantly learning how to mix it up. I think if you are a regular at casinos people no that you are. They believe they have a fix on your style of play. The profitable players know how to mix it up. That is my goal!
That being said I have just signed up at Noble Poker. I wanted to play in the blogger Omaha H/L tournament. For the first time I changed my user name. I did not change it to hide my style of play. I changed because my daughter is a Harry Potter freak and wanted me to use a name that related to Harry Potter. I came up with three choices:
Harry Putter or Hairy Putter – since I am an avid golfer who only plays now 4 times per year.
Gringotts – The bank of wizard world.
Daily Profit – The wizard newspaper
I settled on the Daily Profit, which seemed most fitting! A daily profit is any poker player’s goal.
It is about 13 minutes until the blogger tournament starts. I am hopping to meet/chat with April (NotAPokerBlogger), Scurvydog (Sound of a Suck Out) who organized the tournament, and Slayre (Slayre’s Poker Quest). I am sure I will meet other bloggers.
Hopefully I will make some noise! Thanks scurvy for setting the tournament up! I am still on tilt after losing $15 playing 5-card draw this afternoon. I was dealt a set of 4’s and drew 2 cards. I got two aces. My opponent drew 3 cards. He raised $5 and I went over the top for another $5. Of course he had Tens full of threes. Argh! It was just a great hand.
I was also playing Omaha H/L and hit a straight flush. Oh yeah I think I know now the true sound of a “suck out”. I had pocket aces. Board comes xxQ, turn is a K and the river is another K. Of course I lose to 3 kings after capping the pot the entire way. Oh well! I would play the hand exactly the same way every time.
Holy Crap! Just played in a NL SNG (Sit and Go) with 6 players. I was the freakin chip lead and went all-in with AK suited. Flop brought a King, then the Turn brought a King, I typed in nice game, the river game him a straight. We are now even in chips. I get an A7o. He bets, I raise. He calls. Flop brings and A48. I go all-in. He had A4. So Sad! This is only the third SNG and finishing second is not so bad!!
I am still hanging in the blogger tournament. My PC completely froze up once. They should blow off the break, which came after the first hour. I have not had a hand since the first 15 minutes. Also at one point there were 7 players sitting out at our table. Hard to make a large sum of money. I finished 51st going all-in with AA26. Bummer!
I just finished in 58th place in a free roll with 189 players. I lost to pockets deuces on the freakin river. Oh there is no justice. Oh well it cost a ton to enter! :o) It is almost 2:00 AM. I am watching Man on Fire. It is an interesting movie and of course I can not go to sleep until it’s over.
Ok I need to publish this thing, but a few more comments about Noble Poker. When you sign up for their site, they greet you immediately and offer you a bonus. I thought that was a good touch. Personally I did not think the site is easy to navigate and the User Interface is somewhat clunky. I am not certain that I would put money into this site or not. I probably will play another tournament and check it out.
In conclusion your online table persona does not make much different. Play the cards correctly and adjust your game when the need arises.
Play on!
Saturday, March 19, 2005
"WOW"
This will be a short post! First of all I am pissed in that I had already written a post on the kids PC. Freakin explorer error and I lost everything. I know better!
I should be in bed, but I have to post this. I started the evening with so many bad beats. Fortunately for me I have forgotten them all. I had some wine, tequila, and a beer. Foolish for someone who still has a cough. Any rate I had to tell the world that the impossible happened this evening. Granted I did not make a huge some of money, because almost anytime I bet everyone would fold. Here it is! Hold on to your seats. With a 30 minute span I hit 2 (count 'em) two straight flushes playing 5 card draw. If that is not exciting what is!!!
For the night I won about $40 on 24HPoker and $10 on Check N Raise. I was just in a $5 NL Holdem tournament. I went all-in with pocket jacks and an ace on the board. I lost! That is OK cuz I should be in bed and they were VIP points to get in. We are heading to Houston in the morning.
Man I wish I people had gotten great hands when I hit the two straight flushes. Shit I should have recorded those hadn histories. Perhaps I should request them.
Man I am pumped! I may never go to sleep! Hee Hee!
Reporting two straight flushed is a hell of a lot better than reporting bad beats.
Play on!
This will be a short post! First of all I am pissed in that I had already written a post on the kids PC. Freakin explorer error and I lost everything. I know better!
I should be in bed, but I have to post this. I started the evening with so many bad beats. Fortunately for me I have forgotten them all. I had some wine, tequila, and a beer. Foolish for someone who still has a cough. Any rate I had to tell the world that the impossible happened this evening. Granted I did not make a huge some of money, because almost anytime I bet everyone would fold. Here it is! Hold on to your seats. With a 30 minute span I hit 2 (count 'em) two straight flushes playing 5 card draw. If that is not exciting what is!!!
For the night I won about $40 on 24HPoker and $10 on Check N Raise. I was just in a $5 NL Holdem tournament. I went all-in with pocket jacks and an ace on the board. I lost! That is OK cuz I should be in bed and they were VIP points to get in. We are heading to Houston in the morning.
Man I wish I people had gotten great hands when I hit the two straight flushes. Shit I should have recorded those hadn histories. Perhaps I should request them.
Man I am pumped! I may never go to sleep! Hee Hee!
Reporting two straight flushed is a hell of a lot better than reporting bad beats.
Play on!
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
"Patience"
Lets see what Webster's has to say.
1 : bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
2 : steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
The main reason I selected patience as the word of the day is somehow a database schema got dropped at work. It is a little frustrating because now I have to re-import the data. I was hoping for a smooth morning and this is trying my patience.
After looking up "patience" in the dictionary I find it very interesting how applicable the word is to poker. "Bearing pains" happens often at the poker table when you pocket kings gets whomped by a small straight at the river and it really does little good to "complain".
"Steadfast despite opposition" is also very accurate for poker, especially in a tournament situation and poker provides a ton of adversity.
Speaking of patience, I was very patient last Friday night in a $5 NL Holdem tournament at Check N Raise. I do not remember to many specifics except as usual to place in the money it took two all-in river snags to remain alive. I had managed to make my way to the cheap lead with only 4 players left out of 32. Other than the two lucky river snags I played well and very patient. Hey I even dropped pocket Kings. I think for the first time ever! The board had an ace and a potential flush. It turned out to be a very wise lay down. I do remember putting one of the players all-in when I had pocket jacks. To my chagrin he had pocket queens. There goes a huge portion of my stack. The very next hand I caugh KQo. I am in the money, so I decided to push all-in. The guy who had the pocket ladies called me. Crap this time he had the pocket Jacks and of course they hold up, knocking me out 4th. Not bad winning $28, since it cost me nothing to get in.
Saturday night I was playing at 24HPoker. Of course I was playing a 5 card draw table and a holdem table for a $25 investment. I was in the BB on the 5 card draw table with two pair 4s and 7s. Everyone limped so I drew one card. Wow it is a 4. I bet the Pot, which was about $5. Another player who drew one card goes over the top for another $9. Shit! Could he have filled a boat also. Nah the odds are against it! I call! Well his boat nines over threes placed a whooping on me. I managed to lose both bankrolls at the two tables. Enough to bring tears to your eyes. Since then I have managed to win back about $15 of it. I have enough VIP points to get $10, but it looks like the SOBs are going to make me earn the entire 400 VIP points before I see any of the bonus. I thought I would get $10 each time I hit 100 VIP points. Most likely I did not read the small print.
Well our daughter woke me up at 12:30 AM with a painful ear ache. We gave her ibuprofen and she slept for a little while. I gave her another dose just before I left for the office. I am sure my day is going to be messed up despite the amount of work I need to do. So the key here is "patience".
Obviously I would like to publish every day, but that definitely does not seem to be a reality. At least I seem to find time once a week!
A big thanks to April at http://www.thisisnotapokerblog.com for adding me to her web site. It is nice to read other Austin blogs.
Well hopefully we will be heading to Houston this weekend to celebrate my Mom's 29th birthday. I am a little worried about our daughter, but an ear ache should not prevent this quick trip to the big city.
I do believe that "Patience is a virtue!" I am working on it!
Play on
Lets see what Webster's has to say.
1 : bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
2 : steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
The main reason I selected patience as the word of the day is somehow a database schema got dropped at work. It is a little frustrating because now I have to re-import the data. I was hoping for a smooth morning and this is trying my patience.
After looking up "patience" in the dictionary I find it very interesting how applicable the word is to poker. "Bearing pains" happens often at the poker table when you pocket kings gets whomped by a small straight at the river and it really does little good to "complain".
"Steadfast despite opposition" is also very accurate for poker, especially in a tournament situation and poker provides a ton of adversity.
Speaking of patience, I was very patient last Friday night in a $5 NL Holdem tournament at Check N Raise. I do not remember to many specifics except as usual to place in the money it took two all-in river snags to remain alive. I had managed to make my way to the cheap lead with only 4 players left out of 32. Other than the two lucky river snags I played well and very patient. Hey I even dropped pocket Kings. I think for the first time ever! The board had an ace and a potential flush. It turned out to be a very wise lay down. I do remember putting one of the players all-in when I had pocket jacks. To my chagrin he had pocket queens. There goes a huge portion of my stack. The very next hand I caugh KQo. I am in the money, so I decided to push all-in. The guy who had the pocket ladies called me. Crap this time he had the pocket Jacks and of course they hold up, knocking me out 4th. Not bad winning $28, since it cost me nothing to get in.
Saturday night I was playing at 24HPoker. Of course I was playing a 5 card draw table and a holdem table for a $25 investment. I was in the BB on the 5 card draw table with two pair 4s and 7s. Everyone limped so I drew one card. Wow it is a 4. I bet the Pot, which was about $5. Another player who drew one card goes over the top for another $9. Shit! Could he have filled a boat also. Nah the odds are against it! I call! Well his boat nines over threes placed a whooping on me. I managed to lose both bankrolls at the two tables. Enough to bring tears to your eyes. Since then I have managed to win back about $15 of it. I have enough VIP points to get $10, but it looks like the SOBs are going to make me earn the entire 400 VIP points before I see any of the bonus. I thought I would get $10 each time I hit 100 VIP points. Most likely I did not read the small print.
Well our daughter woke me up at 12:30 AM with a painful ear ache. We gave her ibuprofen and she slept for a little while. I gave her another dose just before I left for the office. I am sure my day is going to be messed up despite the amount of work I need to do. So the key here is "patience".
Obviously I would like to publish every day, but that definitely does not seem to be a reality. At least I seem to find time once a week!
A big thanks to April at http://www.thisisnotapokerblog.com for adding me to her web site. It is nice to read other Austin blogs.
Well hopefully we will be heading to Houston this weekend to celebrate my Mom's 29th birthday. I am a little worried about our daughter, but an ear ache should not prevent this quick trip to the big city.
I do believe that "Patience is a virtue!" I am working on it!
Play on
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
“A whole lot of Nothin”
I have not posted in a little while due to this crazy cough. I did not sleep for two entire nights and finally called the Doctor. He prescribed some cough medicine with codeine and I was finally able to get some sleep. I am still not back to my normal self. My guess is that is will take several more weeks. I do know that I need to quit taking the cough medicine, because now it is keeping me awake rather than making me sleepy.
I have managed to play a little poker here and there but not a whole lot of excitement. I really enjoy playing 5-card draw at 24HPoker. While I am playing draw I usually also play a limit holdem game. Most of the time I break even or come out a little bit ahead. I did have three specific hands to mention.
In 5-card draw I was in the small blind so it was only $.25 to call and draw cards. I had four spades so it was worth the effort. I got my fifth spade. I was excited and made a modest raise. The BB who had also only taken one card went over the top of me to match the pot, $9.25. Hmmmm! I made the mistake of calling. Sure enough he had a boat.
In 5-card I was dealt a pat flush. I raised the pot $2.25. I got one caller. The caller took one card. I raised the pot again. He re-raised $5 more. I felt I was pot committed so I called. Yep again he had a boat.
Here is the hand I regret, but would do the same again. Most of the players at this site are like me, solid and cautious players. We all occasionally make our bluffs at the pot. This one particular day there was this guy to my left. He was chatting some smack, which in itself is unusual for this site. Very little chat and usually it is in German or some other language. Sure it supposed to be English only, but I really do not mind. I was dealt 3 jacks. I raised to $1.25 prior to getting cards. The mouth next to me calls. I draw 2 cards and they were blanks. He stands pat. I checked to see what his move was. He raised $6.00. I folded only to see him show his cards A2347. I knew in my soul that he was bluffing, but I did not figure the earning potential was worth the risk. I sure wish I would have called his bluff. Oh well! I am going to remain conservative and continue to protect and grow my bankroll.
I was down all the way to $30 at this site and now I am still hovering around $100. I only play this site on the kids PC, so I am not playing as often as I like.
I missed coaching the Yellow jackets first soccer game and our son also missed the game. I am looking forward to coaching these great kids. This season we have 3 boys and 3 girls. Now our daughters team is a different story. I got a phone call from the league commissioner, assuming he wanted me to coach. I called him back the very next day. He never returned my call. I called him again and was told he was out of town. In the mean time he calls my friend Mr. A. and asks him to coach. No problem with me. Two days before the first scheduled game we did not have a roster. Turns out we only had 4 girls on the team, which is just enough to field a team. Sure 8 year old girls could play for 48 minutes straight. Coach A had the wisdom to reschedule game 1, but then the idiots scheduled a second game for the first weekend. Coach A got that rescheduled and come to find out we are down to 3 girls. Total disorganization and I would be happy at this point to get our money back and invest it in some other activity.
Right now I am sitting on a nice park picnic table typing this little blurb. Our son is having a blast as usual.
I wanted to chime in real quick on the new reality TV show, The Contender. Yes I am a reality junky! Fear Factor, Amazing Race, and Survivor are can’t miss shows. Any rate I enjoyed the contender. They really have some legit fighters. I was really shocked by the first match and really thought Gomez was going to get hammered. Good thing I do not bet on boxing!! The show had bad ratings, but I taped American Idol and watched it live. I will watch it again.
We are supposed to head to Houston in a couple weekends. I hope I am fully recovered by then and things are stable at the office. Hopefully, we can celebrate my Mom’s birthday. Happy ‘early” Birthday Mom!
I can’t not think of anything else to comment on, so continue to play smart and invest wisely. Hopefully in the near future I will catch a bluffer red handed and rake the pot.
Play on!
I have not posted in a little while due to this crazy cough. I did not sleep for two entire nights and finally called the Doctor. He prescribed some cough medicine with codeine and I was finally able to get some sleep. I am still not back to my normal self. My guess is that is will take several more weeks. I do know that I need to quit taking the cough medicine, because now it is keeping me awake rather than making me sleepy.
I have managed to play a little poker here and there but not a whole lot of excitement. I really enjoy playing 5-card draw at 24HPoker. While I am playing draw I usually also play a limit holdem game. Most of the time I break even or come out a little bit ahead. I did have three specific hands to mention.
In 5-card draw I was in the small blind so it was only $.25 to call and draw cards. I had four spades so it was worth the effort. I got my fifth spade. I was excited and made a modest raise. The BB who had also only taken one card went over the top of me to match the pot, $9.25. Hmmmm! I made the mistake of calling. Sure enough he had a boat.
In 5-card I was dealt a pat flush. I raised the pot $2.25. I got one caller. The caller took one card. I raised the pot again. He re-raised $5 more. I felt I was pot committed so I called. Yep again he had a boat.
Here is the hand I regret, but would do the same again. Most of the players at this site are like me, solid and cautious players. We all occasionally make our bluffs at the pot. This one particular day there was this guy to my left. He was chatting some smack, which in itself is unusual for this site. Very little chat and usually it is in German or some other language. Sure it supposed to be English only, but I really do not mind. I was dealt 3 jacks. I raised to $1.25 prior to getting cards. The mouth next to me calls. I draw 2 cards and they were blanks. He stands pat. I checked to see what his move was. He raised $6.00. I folded only to see him show his cards A2347. I knew in my soul that he was bluffing, but I did not figure the earning potential was worth the risk. I sure wish I would have called his bluff. Oh well! I am going to remain conservative and continue to protect and grow my bankroll.
I was down all the way to $30 at this site and now I am still hovering around $100. I only play this site on the kids PC, so I am not playing as often as I like.
I missed coaching the Yellow jackets first soccer game and our son also missed the game. I am looking forward to coaching these great kids. This season we have 3 boys and 3 girls. Now our daughters team is a different story. I got a phone call from the league commissioner, assuming he wanted me to coach. I called him back the very next day. He never returned my call. I called him again and was told he was out of town. In the mean time he calls my friend Mr. A. and asks him to coach. No problem with me. Two days before the first scheduled game we did not have a roster. Turns out we only had 4 girls on the team, which is just enough to field a team. Sure 8 year old girls could play for 48 minutes straight. Coach A had the wisdom to reschedule game 1, but then the idiots scheduled a second game for the first weekend. Coach A got that rescheduled and come to find out we are down to 3 girls. Total disorganization and I would be happy at this point to get our money back and invest it in some other activity.
Right now I am sitting on a nice park picnic table typing this little blurb. Our son is having a blast as usual.
I wanted to chime in real quick on the new reality TV show, The Contender. Yes I am a reality junky! Fear Factor, Amazing Race, and Survivor are can’t miss shows. Any rate I enjoyed the contender. They really have some legit fighters. I was really shocked by the first match and really thought Gomez was going to get hammered. Good thing I do not bet on boxing!! The show had bad ratings, but I taped American Idol and watched it live. I will watch it again.
We are supposed to head to Houston in a couple weekends. I hope I am fully recovered by then and things are stable at the office. Hopefully, we can celebrate my Mom’s birthday. Happy ‘early” Birthday Mom!
I can’t not think of anything else to comment on, so continue to play smart and invest wisely. Hopefully in the near future I will catch a bluffer red handed and rake the pot.
Play on!
Sunday, February 27, 2005
"Oscars or Cartoons?"
I would much rather be watching the Oscars; however, our son now has the flu, so cartoon's it is. We are watching Shinzo. Of course we just finished watching his favorite Bay Blade. While I was out running errands his sister and I stopped at Toys R Us to buy him a Bay Blade, Dragoon. I think Spiderman is up next and I actually like the new Spiderman.
It has been a great day. Started the day by reading half of the newspaper. Made bacon and eggs for breakfast! I spent several hours in the back yard pruning roses and cutting shrubs. The dog came outside while I was doing chores and she got filthy. At least she did not look like a bush (he he), After I picked up my mess I had to give her a bath. She definitely needs a hair cut!
At one o'clock it was off to roller skating. Our daughter was going to try out her roller blades. We got there and immediately got into a fight. I hate it when we fight, but she can have quite the attitude. She skated for about 12 minutes with her roller blades. "I can't go fast enough!" We switched to skates and she was happy for a little while. That is why we got into a fight. I was taking off her roller blades when they announced they were going to play the dice game. She was sooooooo upset and of course it was my fault. I quickly got the skates on her and she made it in time to play the dice game. We skated for about two hours. I got her to use her roller blades again for the last 30 minutes. I thought she did great. We then went to Picture It to get my better half some supplies for a photo album. Next to Toys R Us for the Bay Blade purchase.
Next to HEB to buy steaks and a few groceries.
The poker content is coming soon.
Got home and had the wonderful honor of speaking with my youngest sister. I proceeded to light the grill. I made delicious NY strips and some pineapple pork Kabobs. Oh yeah! I dranka pitcher of margaritas.
After dinner I decided to try and play some at 24 Hour poker. Last night I played for quite some time. I was playing two tables limit holdem and 5 card draw. I do not recall many hands other than I won a huge pot in 5 card draw when I was in the BB. Everyone limped in, so I drew two cards. I filled a 9 high straight. Two other players both raising. I was like ruh ro! I ended up winning a $20 pot. Sweeet! I ended up last night ahead $20 bring my total to about $57.
Today after dinner and still drinking margaritas I decided to again play limit holdem and 5 card draw. Despite my set of kings getting beat by a set of Aces, I managed to win another $30 dollars. I really like playing the 5 card draw. So now I am back to $87, but only 20 VIP points. It is going to take forever to get my bonuses. Anyway the fine folks from Europe actually spoke a few words in chat. Very few but it was nice to see. Now I just need to figure out what "fritta" means.
OK! I just won a nice hand with 2 pair, but the board was scary with all puppy feet. I bet aggressively and ended up heads up. I did win!
Oh yeah last night I played the midnight tournament. I was short stacked and went all-in with A8o. There were two callers. The board came QA4. The turn was an eight. I do not remember the river, but the other player had pocket queens. Once again I finished in 12th.
Well I had better save this blog before the computer glitches.
Play on! Spiderman Rocks!
I would much rather be watching the Oscars; however, our son now has the flu, so cartoon's it is. We are watching Shinzo. Of course we just finished watching his favorite Bay Blade. While I was out running errands his sister and I stopped at Toys R Us to buy him a Bay Blade, Dragoon. I think Spiderman is up next and I actually like the new Spiderman.
It has been a great day. Started the day by reading half of the newspaper. Made bacon and eggs for breakfast! I spent several hours in the back yard pruning roses and cutting shrubs. The dog came outside while I was doing chores and she got filthy. At least she did not look like a bush (he he), After I picked up my mess I had to give her a bath. She definitely needs a hair cut!
At one o'clock it was off to roller skating. Our daughter was going to try out her roller blades. We got there and immediately got into a fight. I hate it when we fight, but she can have quite the attitude. She skated for about 12 minutes with her roller blades. "I can't go fast enough!" We switched to skates and she was happy for a little while. That is why we got into a fight. I was taking off her roller blades when they announced they were going to play the dice game. She was sooooooo upset and of course it was my fault. I quickly got the skates on her and she made it in time to play the dice game. We skated for about two hours. I got her to use her roller blades again for the last 30 minutes. I thought she did great. We then went to Picture It to get my better half some supplies for a photo album. Next to Toys R Us for the Bay Blade purchase.
Next to HEB to buy steaks and a few groceries.
The poker content is coming soon.
Got home and had the wonderful honor of speaking with my youngest sister. I proceeded to light the grill. I made delicious NY strips and some pineapple pork Kabobs. Oh yeah! I dranka pitcher of margaritas.
After dinner I decided to try and play some at 24 Hour poker. Last night I played for quite some time. I was playing two tables limit holdem and 5 card draw. I do not recall many hands other than I won a huge pot in 5 card draw when I was in the BB. Everyone limped in, so I drew two cards. I filled a 9 high straight. Two other players both raising. I was like ruh ro! I ended up winning a $20 pot. Sweeet! I ended up last night ahead $20 bring my total to about $57.
Today after dinner and still drinking margaritas I decided to again play limit holdem and 5 card draw. Despite my set of kings getting beat by a set of Aces, I managed to win another $30 dollars. I really like playing the 5 card draw. So now I am back to $87, but only 20 VIP points. It is going to take forever to get my bonuses. Anyway the fine folks from Europe actually spoke a few words in chat. Very few but it was nice to see. Now I just need to figure out what "fritta" means.
OK! I just won a nice hand with 2 pair, but the board was scary with all puppy feet. I bet aggressively and ended up heads up. I did win!
Oh yeah last night I played the midnight tournament. I was short stacked and went all-in with A8o. There were two callers. The board came QA4. The turn was an eight. I do not remember the river, but the other player had pocket queens. Once again I finished in 12th.
Well I had better save this blog before the computer glitches.
Play on! Spiderman Rocks!
Saturday, February 26, 2005
“Wine is better than Whine”
As I start to write this post I really do not have a clue as to what I wish to convey. I figured I would just start rambling then come up with a title for this post.
First of all the flu Sux! My wife has had a fever for seven plus days. I am coughing up a lung. My daughter is finally recovering but she also coughs all night. And as expected our son is running 101 fever today. Things do not get done and makes life a bit more difficult. Oh well we will make it! Hey I even cleaned the bathrooms today!
I tried a little wood working project in the garage. It was a disaster. I got a Craftsman All-in One for Christmas and I attempted to us it. The bit kept popping out and I did not have a neat execution. Oh well just like anything it will take some practice. At least the All-in part of the tool applies to poker.
Speaking of poker I had deposited $100 into 24Hour Poker with the promise of 40% bonus. Man and I thought Check N Raise was a hard site to earn a bonus. I have already lost almost $70 and I only have 20 VIP points. It takes 100 VIP points per $10 bonus. I do not know what it is about that site, but I lose on the river when I have the best of it going to the river. When I fold to an aggressive bettor of course my card hits on the river. I decided last night to change it up a bit and play 5 card draw. I get a set of aces only go head to head with a person staying with a pat hand. Yup they did have a pat hand when my aces received no help drawing 2 cards. I am tempted just to pull my last $30 out and move on, but I have made great comebacks before. I mean heck I was down to $14 on Check N Raise and now I am back near $150. I had a good night last night winning $40 in two $1/2 Limit Holdem Sessions.
I played in a free roll today Limit Omaha H/L. I finished in 4th place out of 159 players. Not bad! I earned 7 Tournament dollars, which are really cool. They actually act like dollars when I enter tournaments. I played in a NL Holdem tournament at midnight last night and I finished 11th out of 26 players. I went all-in with AJo and found myself head to head with the chip leader who had AKo. Can you say DEAD! Oh well! I hope to play in that tournament again tonight.
OK! I want to close with one quick rant. I heard on the news yesterday that federal monies were being allocated to help divorced parents to cope with their divorce. I guess the primary objective is to make sure the kids are handled properly, which I agree is a worthy objective. But come on Federal money! Our tax dollars! I had nothing to do with them having kids and parting ways. I think this type of cause should be handled by a non-profit organization and the government should give us some of our tax dollars back!
Wow! I just got pocket Kings in .05/.10 NL Holdem table. I am in the BB. Can you believe this crap?
Here is the summary:
Check n Raise Poker Game #1196977: Hold 'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10)
Sat Feb 26 22:39:01 EST 2005
Table 'Chausson' Seat #5 is the buttonSeat
1: crazyjoe ($11.65)
Seat 2: Big S ($3.15)
Seat 3: naderator ($8.20)
Seat 4: DakotaPoker ($2.15)
Seat 5: LQQKing4AAs ($3.20)
Seat 6: Megley ($4.90)
Seat 7: Chrypto ($7)
Seat 8: InYerFayce ($4)
Seat 9: masconi ($7.05)
Megley: posts small blind $0.05
Chrypto: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE-CARDS ***
Dealt to Chrypto [KS KD]
InYerFayce: folds
masconi: calls $0.10
crazyjoe: folds
Big S: raises $0.40 to $0.40
naderator: folds
DakotaPoker: folds
LQQKing4AAs: folds
Megley: folds
Chrypto: raises $0.80 to $0.90
masconi: foldsBig S: raises $2.75 to $3.15 (all-in)
Chrypto: calls $2.25
*** FLOP *** [4H AD AH]
*** TURN *** [4H AD AH] [3D]
*** RIVER *** [4H AD AH 3D] [2D]
*** SHOW DOWN
***Chrypto: shows [KS KD ] (two pair, aces and kings)
Big S: shows [6H 5D ] (a straight, two to six)
Big S wins ($6.15) with a straight, two to six
*** SUMMARY ***
Ok! I need to make one final comment before I get on with playing cards. I know you are not supposed to blog about your job. I am currently enjoying my job and I find it both rewarding and challenging. The ironic thing is I keep getting calls from recruiters and former co-workers telling me about opportunities. Where were these opportunities when I was unemployed? Will they be there again if fate puts me back in the streets? I sure hope so!
Play on!
Drink wine and don’t whine when you dine on bad beats (beets)!
As I start to write this post I really do not have a clue as to what I wish to convey. I figured I would just start rambling then come up with a title for this post.
First of all the flu Sux! My wife has had a fever for seven plus days. I am coughing up a lung. My daughter is finally recovering but she also coughs all night. And as expected our son is running 101 fever today. Things do not get done and makes life a bit more difficult. Oh well we will make it! Hey I even cleaned the bathrooms today!
I tried a little wood working project in the garage. It was a disaster. I got a Craftsman All-in One for Christmas and I attempted to us it. The bit kept popping out and I did not have a neat execution. Oh well just like anything it will take some practice. At least the All-in part of the tool applies to poker.
Speaking of poker I had deposited $100 into 24Hour Poker with the promise of 40% bonus. Man and I thought Check N Raise was a hard site to earn a bonus. I have already lost almost $70 and I only have 20 VIP points. It takes 100 VIP points per $10 bonus. I do not know what it is about that site, but I lose on the river when I have the best of it going to the river. When I fold to an aggressive bettor of course my card hits on the river. I decided last night to change it up a bit and play 5 card draw. I get a set of aces only go head to head with a person staying with a pat hand. Yup they did have a pat hand when my aces received no help drawing 2 cards. I am tempted just to pull my last $30 out and move on, but I have made great comebacks before. I mean heck I was down to $14 on Check N Raise and now I am back near $150. I had a good night last night winning $40 in two $1/2 Limit Holdem Sessions.
I played in a free roll today Limit Omaha H/L. I finished in 4th place out of 159 players. Not bad! I earned 7 Tournament dollars, which are really cool. They actually act like dollars when I enter tournaments. I played in a NL Holdem tournament at midnight last night and I finished 11th out of 26 players. I went all-in with AJo and found myself head to head with the chip leader who had AKo. Can you say DEAD! Oh well! I hope to play in that tournament again tonight.
OK! I want to close with one quick rant. I heard on the news yesterday that federal monies were being allocated to help divorced parents to cope with their divorce. I guess the primary objective is to make sure the kids are handled properly, which I agree is a worthy objective. But come on Federal money! Our tax dollars! I had nothing to do with them having kids and parting ways. I think this type of cause should be handled by a non-profit organization and the government should give us some of our tax dollars back!
Wow! I just got pocket Kings in .05/.10 NL Holdem table. I am in the BB. Can you believe this crap?
Here is the summary:
Check n Raise Poker Game #1196977: Hold 'em No Limit ($0.05/$0.10)
Sat Feb 26 22:39:01 EST 2005
Table 'Chausson' Seat #5 is the buttonSeat
1: crazyjoe ($11.65)
Seat 2: Big S ($3.15)
Seat 3: naderator ($8.20)
Seat 4: DakotaPoker ($2.15)
Seat 5: LQQKing4AAs ($3.20)
Seat 6: Megley ($4.90)
Seat 7: Chrypto ($7)
Seat 8: InYerFayce ($4)
Seat 9: masconi ($7.05)
Megley: posts small blind $0.05
Chrypto: posts big blind $0.10
*** HOLE-CARDS ***
Dealt to Chrypto [KS KD]
InYerFayce: folds
masconi: calls $0.10
crazyjoe: folds
Big S: raises $0.40 to $0.40
naderator: folds
DakotaPoker: folds
LQQKing4AAs: folds
Megley: folds
Chrypto: raises $0.80 to $0.90
masconi: foldsBig S: raises $2.75 to $3.15 (all-in)
Chrypto: calls $2.25
*** FLOP *** [4H AD AH]
*** TURN *** [4H AD AH] [3D]
*** RIVER *** [4H AD AH 3D] [2D]
*** SHOW DOWN
***Chrypto: shows [KS KD ] (two pair, aces and kings)
Big S: shows [6H 5D ] (a straight, two to six)
Big S wins ($6.15) with a straight, two to six
*** SUMMARY ***
Ok! I need to make one final comment before I get on with playing cards. I know you are not supposed to blog about your job. I am currently enjoying my job and I find it both rewarding and challenging. The ironic thing is I keep getting calls from recruiters and former co-workers telling me about opportunities. Where were these opportunities when I was unemployed? Will they be there again if fate puts me back in the streets? I sure hope so!
Play on!
Drink wine and don’t whine when you dine on bad beats (beets)!
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