NBC Heads-Up Poker 2013 predictions anyone?
Woo hoo, into Blogland! I'm not as hopeless as I thought! One password remembered; wish I could remember the one to GottaTalkPoker forum. Oh well, a quickie here before work starts. Thank you Forest Park CC and the library's computers! (Can't believe I found one open...)
OK, folks, your challenge here is to "Shame the Sham." Predict the outcomes of the heads-up matches to be held this Thursday through Saturday at Caesars in Las Vegas. If you don't want to know about the outcomes until the contests televise starting in late March, back away now -- and good luck dodging the news reports of the outcomes. For many years I tried. And failed.
So I'm tackling the fun heads-on. The drawing for pairings is tonight at Caesars; the matches begin Thursday. So, if we're going to do this right, I'll make my picks HERE in this thread's comments after the pairings are announced. You're welcome to do the same. Deadline to post your official picks here is the start of the first round Thursday. After that, it's all in fun for you -- you can't be recognized as the Best Sham Shamer. You're just another wanna-be.
That is, if anyone can beat me. (Oh, hush, orm ...).
Scoring: One point for each match winner correctly picked, top to bottom throughout the bracket. All picked before the contest starts. Just like in the NCAA office pools around the country. Wish ESPN could set up a fast Fantasy League on this! Ah well...
If I have a say in the contest I suggested at GottaTalkPoker (I'll have to wait to tonight to check into the forum), I would recommend the contest there have a deadline of like 7pm ET Thursday (depending on the opening day's schedule; give folks a little hedge on the first round). Pick only quarterfinal survivors, 2 in each "suit" (1 point apiece), finalists (3 points each) and champion (5 points). Tiebreaker to be earliest posted picks in the forum. Keep it all simpler. Prizes 5-3-1 from me to the best forum pickers. It's all up to bossman Jack Benny, though. We shall see.
Before the pairings are even drawn, I'll tell you I'm rooting for Doyle Brunson. He IS the Godfather. I would've picked Vanessa Selbst, but she's skipping this event to play the Aussie Millions in the land Down Under. One more early early pick: Jason Mercier.
OK. More to come. Class time. Thanks for dropping by. Don't feel embarassed when I outpick you; happens to the best of them...
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
This space (cadet) for rent
Meandering through the brain looking for the "on" switch, and trying to do something about this pile of notes that seems to have developed a good case of mitosis:
-- I hate when things start going "good" at the poker table for me. Like the out-of-control government and big business, then I want things to go "gooder." Meaning more profit, more, more, more! It don't work that way in real life. After a healthy string of cashing in tournaments and profits in live play, the last couple days have plateaued a bit: good play only leading to a string of 7ths, frustrating beats and ill-timed over-aggressiveness. Time to cut back on the poker and do other things until the weekend, at least.
-- Fun to play again at PokerStars in some Home Games. But it's also like stepping back in time 7 years: play money just doesn't get all the juices flowing any more. A good distraction, but there are better meals to chase that fill me better.
-- The multi-tabling is improving. The rest-of-week cutback will give me time to study what I've been doing right, what's overdone, what needs the most emphasis and tweaking for consistency and better success. There may be online ring games in my near-future; it's really been a long time since I tackled those.
-- You say I can play legal poker for real money at SkillBet, that it's actually a site approved of by the stingy ol' state of Misery I'm stuck in? But it's really more duplicate poker, sorta like duplicate bridge. No thanks!
-- Lost my Super Bowl pick last weekend. Still alive in the Yahoo! Survivor season-long race, since I switched at the last minute last weekend to Atlanta. Wonder what a 19-week one-pick winning streak rollover would have been worth in real money? This week's NFL picks: New England and San Francisco. Sorry Stacy. I gotta go with the chalks on the moneyline, they just figure to be too good. Though check back at the end of the week, I may adopt a dog if it comes with enough throw-ins (points).
-- If you missed it on Twitter, my best word of the month so far is "toptional." My phrase is "no peacocks, no jerks, no whiners." Still half a month to go...
-- Read any good books lately? I really enjoyed "Shan" by Eric Van Lustbader, the sequel to his "Jian." Wish he'd finished the planned trilogy, but apparently he moved on to other things after the second opus. Need to read his "Ninja" some day, but hard to find in the local libraries. If Lustbader's name rings a bell, it's because he picked up Robert Ludlum's Bourne franchise and has continued the series -- very well, thank you. I'm really looking forward to February, when Alex Berenson's next book ("Night Ranger") featuring John Wells comes out. Berenson and Daniel Silva are my favorite authors currently. And I'm still catching up on the large selection from Robert Randisi (check out his Rat Pack Mysterys, set in Las Vegas and featuring lots of familiar real-life characters, if you want good enjoyable reads!).
-- I think I like Manchester United best. Or Everton or Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspurs or Manchester City or Swansea City or ... Yeah, my loyalty is still for sale.
-- Who's going to Las Vegas for the summer? Want to share renting a place for a month or two or three?
-- I screwed up on Mardi Gras. Made plans to attend St. Louis activities one weekend and work the next ... and I had the weekends backwards. Oh well, I didn't really want to party and get drunk and catch beads and see lots of nekkid ...
-- How do you put tags on these things? Still trying to learn Blogspot's changes... Really need to find a new easier place to publish my blogs, maybe then I'd do it more often.
-- There was something I wanted to say. Can't remember what. Depression and bad memory are an awful one-two punch. I'll think of it. Meanwhile, where's the shovel?...
PS: WSOP likely to announce this afternoon the field for NBC Heads-Up Championship at Caesars at the end of the month. I still haven't gotten my phone call; how could you forget me, gang???
-- I hate when things start going "good" at the poker table for me. Like the out-of-control government and big business, then I want things to go "gooder." Meaning more profit, more, more, more! It don't work that way in real life. After a healthy string of cashing in tournaments and profits in live play, the last couple days have plateaued a bit: good play only leading to a string of 7ths, frustrating beats and ill-timed over-aggressiveness. Time to cut back on the poker and do other things until the weekend, at least.
-- Fun to play again at PokerStars in some Home Games. But it's also like stepping back in time 7 years: play money just doesn't get all the juices flowing any more. A good distraction, but there are better meals to chase that fill me better.
-- The multi-tabling is improving. The rest-of-week cutback will give me time to study what I've been doing right, what's overdone, what needs the most emphasis and tweaking for consistency and better success. There may be online ring games in my near-future; it's really been a long time since I tackled those.
-- You say I can play legal poker for real money at SkillBet, that it's actually a site approved of by the stingy ol' state of Misery I'm stuck in? But it's really more duplicate poker, sorta like duplicate bridge. No thanks!
-- Lost my Super Bowl pick last weekend. Still alive in the Yahoo! Survivor season-long race, since I switched at the last minute last weekend to Atlanta. Wonder what a 19-week one-pick winning streak rollover would have been worth in real money? This week's NFL picks: New England and San Francisco. Sorry Stacy. I gotta go with the chalks on the moneyline, they just figure to be too good. Though check back at the end of the week, I may adopt a dog if it comes with enough throw-ins (points).
-- If you missed it on Twitter, my best word of the month so far is "toptional." My phrase is "no peacocks, no jerks, no whiners." Still half a month to go...
-- Read any good books lately? I really enjoyed "Shan" by Eric Van Lustbader, the sequel to his "Jian." Wish he'd finished the planned trilogy, but apparently he moved on to other things after the second opus. Need to read his "Ninja" some day, but hard to find in the local libraries. If Lustbader's name rings a bell, it's because he picked up Robert Ludlum's Bourne franchise and has continued the series -- very well, thank you. I'm really looking forward to February, when Alex Berenson's next book ("Night Ranger") featuring John Wells comes out. Berenson and Daniel Silva are my favorite authors currently. And I'm still catching up on the large selection from Robert Randisi (check out his Rat Pack Mysterys, set in Las Vegas and featuring lots of familiar real-life characters, if you want good enjoyable reads!).
-- I think I like Manchester United best. Or Everton or Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspurs or Manchester City or Swansea City or ... Yeah, my loyalty is still for sale.
-- Who's going to Las Vegas for the summer? Want to share renting a place for a month or two or three?
-- I screwed up on Mardi Gras. Made plans to attend St. Louis activities one weekend and work the next ... and I had the weekends backwards. Oh well, I didn't really want to party and get drunk and catch beads and see lots of nekkid ...
-- How do you put tags on these things? Still trying to learn Blogspot's changes... Really need to find a new easier place to publish my blogs, maybe then I'd do it more often.
-- There was something I wanted to say. Can't remember what. Depression and bad memory are an awful one-two punch. I'll think of it. Meanwhile, where's the shovel?...
PS: WSOP likely to announce this afternoon the field for NBC Heads-Up Championship at Caesars at the end of the month. I still haven't gotten my phone call; how could you forget me, gang???
Friday, January 11, 2013
So much to do...
Just a quickie. I'm still around. Just been a week with so many other things to get done, never found time to blog. Today's the worst, on my way out and will be running around all day.
Did go 2-for-2 in forum tournaments played Thursday night -- almost simultaneously, which I am NOT good at. Won HoldePokerChat's NLHE event at Juicy Stakes for $60, then got serious (and luckier) at GottaTalkPoker's Limit 5-Card Draw (with Joker) at Aced/Carbon and somehow took it down for $12. That'll get me in a few more events. One of these days I'll win a really big one again and get outta debt! Wish I was at PCA in Atlantis or headed for the Aussie Millions or able to play COOP at PStars, but one does what one can.
More soon. Wish forums and websites (even Yahoo! and AOL) would stop changing things every few days; very annoying and frustrating to us brain-damaged manic depressives. Happy birthday 2 days late nephew Justin. Maybe I can get in some live poker tonight at Lumiere if my other business goes fast. Have a good day and a great weekend, all!
Did go 2-for-2 in forum tournaments played Thursday night -- almost simultaneously, which I am NOT good at. Won HoldePokerChat's NLHE event at Juicy Stakes for $60, then got serious (and luckier) at GottaTalkPoker's Limit 5-Card Draw (with Joker) at Aced/Carbon and somehow took it down for $12. That'll get me in a few more events. One of these days I'll win a really big one again and get outta debt! Wish I was at PCA in Atlantis or headed for the Aussie Millions or able to play COOP at PStars, but one does what one can.
More soon. Wish forums and websites (even Yahoo! and AOL) would stop changing things every few days; very annoying and frustrating to us brain-damaged manic depressives. Happy birthday 2 days late nephew Justin. Maybe I can get in some live poker tonight at Lumiere if my other business goes fast. Have a good day and a great weekend, all!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Winning is fun
Happy birthday, sister Beth! I should have mentioned that at the end of yesterday's post, since I'm falling into a routine of posting at the end of days. Ah well...
Beth, mom, nephew Justin the StLToday super-writer and I had lunch Saturday at River City Casino's buffet. It was a madhouse. The casino was having its first giveaway of the year, coffeemakers for anyone it considered its "Tier III or above" gamblers. Insane. Took a half hour AFTER PAYING to get seated in the buffet, although there were PLENTY of empty tables around the room! Management of site-owner Pinnacle really should investigate, and offer decent service ... or it will lose customers.
I played about 45 minutes of 3-6 Limit Holdem after lunch in the magnificent River City Poker Room. That may be St. Louis' best place to play poker, although only 3 tables were going when I sat down. Very comfy, and amazingly wonderful room management. I also had my best day of the year: 50 bucks profit for my short play. Wish I could've stayed longer, or played the NLHE tournament that was cranking up as my family and I were leaving.
To cap a successful today, an hour or so ago I won the GottaTalkPoker League's game of the night, Limit Razz. First win since joining the forum! The $12 top prize basically didn't matter. Good socializing, good cardgame competition and a mostly enjoyable expenditure of one's time is what good life is all about. The idiots and bullies in the forum (sadly there are a couple) don't appreciate that; but heck, as long as the "mute" button works on them at the table, I'll get by and have fun.
Off to a 2-0 start in the NFL playoffs. Sunday I'm rooting for Baltimore and Seattle. And I'll be playing a lot more online poker while I watch.
Right now, life is very good...
Beth, mom, nephew Justin the StLToday super-writer and I had lunch Saturday at River City Casino's buffet. It was a madhouse. The casino was having its first giveaway of the year, coffeemakers for anyone it considered its "Tier III or above" gamblers. Insane. Took a half hour AFTER PAYING to get seated in the buffet, although there were PLENTY of empty tables around the room! Management of site-owner Pinnacle really should investigate, and offer decent service ... or it will lose customers.
I played about 45 minutes of 3-6 Limit Holdem after lunch in the magnificent River City Poker Room. That may be St. Louis' best place to play poker, although only 3 tables were going when I sat down. Very comfy, and amazingly wonderful room management. I also had my best day of the year: 50 bucks profit for my short play. Wish I could've stayed longer, or played the NLHE tournament that was cranking up as my family and I were leaving.
To cap a successful today, an hour or so ago I won the GottaTalkPoker League's game of the night, Limit Razz. First win since joining the forum! The $12 top prize basically didn't matter. Good socializing, good cardgame competition and a mostly enjoyable expenditure of one's time is what good life is all about. The idiots and bullies in the forum (sadly there are a couple) don't appreciate that; but heck, as long as the "mute" button works on them at the table, I'll get by and have fun.
Off to a 2-0 start in the NFL playoffs. Sunday I'm rooting for Baltimore and Seattle. And I'll be playing a lot more online poker while I watch.
Right now, life is very good...
Friday, January 4, 2013
Skeleton hunt begun
I've been sitting around most of the day so far, working not to feel sicker against this flu bug, digging through skeletons, trying to decide which online poker league game to play tonight.
I've also been surfing around amongst my own poker links, seeing what memories pop up, what still exists. A lot of the sites look like your classic post-Apocalypse movie: a vacant landscape frozen in time, a certain date (usually 2011) where things stopped moving, familiar names and faces and addresses ... with nobody there any more.
My key still works to the Shark Poker Tour forum. First visit in well over a year. What memories there when the door finally opened. The names: jigdog, hyppiechyck, vince37931, kardmania, tmac68, woohoo sue, the new Top Shark sharkarmy, treebor55, ralphc, and on and on. Even offrdmom, to whom I'm grateful for turning me on to GottaTalkPoker forum, where I'm playing more and more nowadays. The Shark counter says my last visit was "Thu Mar 25, 2010" ... but I usually left the door open when I came and went. "Most users ever online was 492 on Mon May 21, 2012 12:12 pm". Total posts 57,338; total topics 8154; total members 7,870, the newest at the end being itsomeeh. Geez, so many good happy angry profitable frustrating memories. So many memories.
The blame for the death lies on the Obama Justice Department. It pretty much killed with its Black Friday indictments/prosecutions of PStars, Full Tilt and AP/UB what the Bush and Republican-pushed UEIGA wounded: online poker in the USA. Where's our freedom to be adults and make our own decisions? Beyond sad. I hope those that continue to this day the fight for poker rights online don't suffer the same fate as my lost forums and friends.
I'll get the link lists in the right-hand column updated. But it'll be a slow process. Bear with me. And if you want to get your poker (or other interesting-to-me) blog on the list, drop me a line.
On the live poker front here in St. Louis, yesterday at Lumiere Place was break-even and short. Today I dropped by Hollywood Casino but didn't play; just picked up some copies of the PokerPlayerNewspaper with the tribute to Lou Krieger (RIP, friend). Tomorrow (Saturday) I plan to play a couple hours at River City Casino ... if the action is good. I'm meeting my mom and sister there to celebrate Beth's birthday -- so great having a younger sister to pick on! Though I don't pick on her as much these days, since she's a CPA and a superior tax account...
As to online poker action, I'm trying to decided which league game to tackle tonight. There's Poker101a's Bounty League at JuicyStakes (6.60, 3-buck bounties, NLHE), while GottaTalkPoker's got its NLHE Cheap Night (1.05 with 3 rebuys and 3 add-ons). I should play both. Both start at about 8 pm my time. I do not play my best these days when multi-tasking, and I really would like a win today to erase the "dead forum memories." I signed up for 101a's game because it needs minimum 8 players, and I was fifth in; really hope it happens, it should! And there's always a chance I could late-enter the GTP game, they take late entries for 36 minutes.
So what's new in your world? Beware the zombies. Shuffle up and deal...
P.S.: This was my 100th post. I'm sure I won't keeping doing this every day, I'm too scattered. But I do hope to double that post total before the year ends...
I've also been surfing around amongst my own poker links, seeing what memories pop up, what still exists. A lot of the sites look like your classic post-Apocalypse movie: a vacant landscape frozen in time, a certain date (usually 2011) where things stopped moving, familiar names and faces and addresses ... with nobody there any more.
My key still works to the Shark Poker Tour forum. First visit in well over a year. What memories there when the door finally opened. The names: jigdog, hyppiechyck, vince37931, kardmania, tmac68, woohoo sue, the new Top Shark sharkarmy, treebor55, ralphc, and on and on. Even offrdmom, to whom I'm grateful for turning me on to GottaTalkPoker forum, where I'm playing more and more nowadays. The Shark counter says my last visit was "Thu Mar 25, 2010" ... but I usually left the door open when I came and went. "Most users ever online was 492 on Mon May 21, 2012 12:12 pm". Total posts 57,338; total topics 8154; total members 7,870, the newest at the end being itsomeeh. Geez, so many good happy angry profitable frustrating memories. So many memories.
The blame for the death lies on the Obama Justice Department. It pretty much killed with its Black Friday indictments/prosecutions of PStars, Full Tilt and AP/UB what the Bush and Republican-pushed UEIGA wounded: online poker in the USA. Where's our freedom to be adults and make our own decisions? Beyond sad. I hope those that continue to this day the fight for poker rights online don't suffer the same fate as my lost forums and friends.
I'll get the link lists in the right-hand column updated. But it'll be a slow process. Bear with me. And if you want to get your poker (or other interesting-to-me) blog on the list, drop me a line.
On the live poker front here in St. Louis, yesterday at Lumiere Place was break-even and short. Today I dropped by Hollywood Casino but didn't play; just picked up some copies of the PokerPlayerNewspaper with the tribute to Lou Krieger (RIP, friend). Tomorrow (Saturday) I plan to play a couple hours at River City Casino ... if the action is good. I'm meeting my mom and sister there to celebrate Beth's birthday -- so great having a younger sister to pick on! Though I don't pick on her as much these days, since she's a CPA and a superior tax account...
As to online poker action, I'm trying to decided which league game to tackle tonight. There's Poker101a's Bounty League at JuicyStakes (6.60, 3-buck bounties, NLHE), while GottaTalkPoker's got its NLHE Cheap Night (1.05 with 3 rebuys and 3 add-ons). I should play both. Both start at about 8 pm my time. I do not play my best these days when multi-tasking, and I really would like a win today to erase the "dead forum memories." I signed up for 101a's game because it needs minimum 8 players, and I was fifth in; really hope it happens, it should! And there's always a chance I could late-enter the GTP game, they take late entries for 36 minutes.
So what's new in your world? Beware the zombies. Shuffle up and deal...
P.S.: This was my 100th post. I'm sure I won't keeping doing this every day, I'm too scattered. But I do hope to double that post total before the year ends...
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Where to be?
Getting ready to head out in a couple of hours, so decided to get a post done now.
Headed for Lumiere Place Casino/Poker Room in downtown St. Louis. Games probably won't be as good as when the Cards or Rams are hosting games and visiting teams' fans are in town. But we'll see. I'm ready to start the Live year on a good note.
Of course, if I had my druthers, I'd rather be at Atlantis Resort. The Bahamas. Poker Caribbean Adventure, hosted by PokerStars. Starts Saturday. I got addicted to this poker gig 20 years too late...
Readers, if you had your choice, where would you like to be this month? My choices would be first Atlantis, then Australia at the end of the month for the Australian Open. The LA Open Poker Classic (WPT event) would be nice, but I've been to Los Angeles, and ya can go there and play almost any time. Give me exotic diversity! (Plus I like it HOT!!!)
GottaTalkPoker's forum game tonight is Limit 5-Card Draw. That's the first game I ever learned; thank you, Grandma and Grandpa and Dad and Mom! Hope I get home in time to play; if not, there's next Thursday for it. HoldemPokerChat forum's also got a game tonight, No Limit Holdem, starting at the same time as GTP's game. May try double-tabling if I get home in time. I think I'd really rather not, because: 1.) I play my best poker when I'm focused and zoned on one game, one set of circumstances and possibilities and vibes; and 2.) I hope I'll still be playing live at Lumiere and piling up chips from the regulars and the tourists.
When you're a writer you want to go on and on. That's another resolution of mine this year: More short stories and vignettes, fewer novels. Quality and quantity need not be mutually exclusive in 2013!
And happy birthday brother Brian down in Florida...
Headed for Lumiere Place Casino/Poker Room in downtown St. Louis. Games probably won't be as good as when the Cards or Rams are hosting games and visiting teams' fans are in town. But we'll see. I'm ready to start the Live year on a good note.
Of course, if I had my druthers, I'd rather be at Atlantis Resort. The Bahamas. Poker Caribbean Adventure, hosted by PokerStars. Starts Saturday. I got addicted to this poker gig 20 years too late...
Readers, if you had your choice, where would you like to be this month? My choices would be first Atlantis, then Australia at the end of the month for the Australian Open. The LA Open Poker Classic (WPT event) would be nice, but I've been to Los Angeles, and ya can go there and play almost any time. Give me exotic diversity! (Plus I like it HOT!!!)
GottaTalkPoker's forum game tonight is Limit 5-Card Draw. That's the first game I ever learned; thank you, Grandma and Grandpa and Dad and Mom! Hope I get home in time to play; if not, there's next Thursday for it. HoldemPokerChat forum's also got a game tonight, No Limit Holdem, starting at the same time as GTP's game. May try double-tabling if I get home in time. I think I'd really rather not, because: 1.) I play my best poker when I'm focused and zoned on one game, one set of circumstances and possibilities and vibes; and 2.) I hope I'll still be playing live at Lumiere and piling up chips from the regulars and the tourists.
When you're a writer you want to go on and on. That's another resolution of mine this year: More short stories and vignettes, fewer novels. Quality and quantity need not be mutually exclusive in 2013!
And happy birthday brother Brian down in Florida...
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Day Two
Is it still today, or is it tomorrow? It's still today where I'm at.
So I'll type fast and see if I can keep the post-a-day streak intact.
The way Paragraph One sounds is about how my Humpday has gone. I did get GottaTalkPoker forum's link posted among my Recommends in the right-hand column. Found the new address of Doyle Brunson's blog and changed to it amongst the Blogs list, erasing the link from his Doyle's Room days. Still have so many things to correct and add and straighten out around here.
Played two GTP tournaments Wednesday at Aced/Carbon. Cashed in Pot Limit Omaha; crashed in Kansas City Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball. Had fun both times. The action is nice. And the mute button works if some folks forget that poker also has fun and socializing elements -- at least in low-stakes forum games. They're meant for experimenting and gambling sometimes.
Thursday it may be time to do the town. Catch up with Wingman Jim, and see if the ladies are braving the cold much yet. Ya gotta do that every now and then or you go computer blind/mad!
Two days and no Facebook. I do not miss it all!!! I'll find out what's going on around the universe in other ways, including websites, e-mails and Twitter.
Shoot, I think I'll even hit Lumiere Casino/Poker Room a little Thursday afternoon. Gotta make some bill-paying money. No modelling moolah due for another 12 days or so. Vacationing is nice, but working vacations and being paid to vacation is nicer.
Ciao for now...
So I'll type fast and see if I can keep the post-a-day streak intact.
The way Paragraph One sounds is about how my Humpday has gone. I did get GottaTalkPoker forum's link posted among my Recommends in the right-hand column. Found the new address of Doyle Brunson's blog and changed to it amongst the Blogs list, erasing the link from his Doyle's Room days. Still have so many things to correct and add and straighten out around here.
Played two GTP tournaments Wednesday at Aced/Carbon. Cashed in Pot Limit Omaha; crashed in Kansas City Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball. Had fun both times. The action is nice. And the mute button works if some folks forget that poker also has fun and socializing elements -- at least in low-stakes forum games. They're meant for experimenting and gambling sometimes.
Thursday it may be time to do the town. Catch up with Wingman Jim, and see if the ladies are braving the cold much yet. Ya gotta do that every now and then or you go computer blind/mad!
Two days and no Facebook. I do not miss it all!!! I'll find out what's going on around the universe in other ways, including websites, e-mails and Twitter.
Shoot, I think I'll even hit Lumiere Casino/Poker Room a little Thursday afternoon. Gotta make some bill-paying money. No modelling moolah due for another 12 days or so. Vacationing is nice, but working vacations and being paid to vacation is nicer.
Ciao for now...
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
I am back. Really!
Jeez, have I been Rip van Winkle-ing? No posts for all of 2012. Shoot, for most of 2011, too.
I am back. It is 2013. It is a year of writing, poker, and success. It is going to be a good one.
Stay tuned. A lot of housekeeping to come, a lot to catch up on. If you like to play poker, a good place to catch me these days is the GottaTalkPoker forum -- games every day, mostly via Carbon or Aced (which used to be PDC aka poker.com; R.I.P., another good ol' site.).
It's a new day. Let's shuffle up and deal! And Happy New Year, all!!!
I am back. It is 2013. It is a year of writing, poker, and success. It is going to be a good one.
Stay tuned. A lot of housekeeping to come, a lot to catch up on. If you like to play poker, a good place to catch me these days is the GottaTalkPoker forum -- games every day, mostly via Carbon or Aced (which used to be PDC aka poker.com; R.I.P., another good ol' site.).
It's a new day. Let's shuffle up and deal! And Happy New Year, all!!!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Blogger Week is coming
So let's see if this works:
I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.
Registration code: XXXXXX 328730
Yes, it's time again for the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker (WBCOOP) at PokerStars. One of my favorite online events. Six days of preliminaries next Monday through Saturday, qualifying folks for the 2010 WBCOOP Main Event at 2 pm (St. Louis time) next Sunday.
I'm coming down with something, stomach's really bothering me the last day or so. And even well I'll probably only be available for two of the prelims (stupid real-life work). But I'll be there giving my all when I can; I'm ready, recent run of bad beats and running into pocket aces aside.
Whadaya know, sixth try and the PStars badge/link is finally working. Now I can take this out of "editting drydock" and post it -- just when I was giving up! Rah. And good luck all.
I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.Registration code: XXXXXX 328730
Yes, it's time again for the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker (WBCOOP) at PokerStars. One of my favorite online events. Six days of preliminaries next Monday through Saturday, qualifying folks for the 2010 WBCOOP Main Event at 2 pm (St. Louis time) next Sunday.
I'm coming down with something, stomach's really bothering me the last day or so. And even well I'll probably only be available for two of the prelims (stupid real-life work). But I'll be there giving my all when I can; I'm ready, recent run of bad beats and running into pocket aces aside.
Whadaya know, sixth try and the PStars badge/link is finally working. Now I can take this out of "editting drydock" and post it -- just when I was giving up! Rah. And good luck all.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Good Mini-UBOC start ... sorta
Played my first event of the Ultimate Bet Online Championships 6 on Sunday -- the Mini-UBOC Event 2, Sniper No Limit Holdem Deep Stack. The event offered $5 bounty for each foe you eliminated, and cost $30+$3 to enter.
On the downside, I didn't finish in the money. Wound up 288th of 1,609 entrants, and top 180 finishers got paid. Very disappointing; more on that in a minute. On the upside, I did get two bounties, so earned $10 back.
The hand of the tournament for me showed that Sham Luck doesn't always go bad. It went like this:
Stage #525811249 Tourney ID 5885386 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit 300 - 2011-01-16 18:02:57 (ET)
Table: 24 (Real Money) Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 1 - GROOVE58 (9,498 in chips)
Seat 2 - JSLAB24 (5,455 in chips)
Seat 3 - SHANGO_BANGO (5,685 in chips)
Seat 4 - SHAMANALIX21 (6,739 in chips)
Seat 5 - SOUPERUSER (10,827 in chips)
Seat 6 - DRDOOM2U (22,871 in chips)
Seat 7 - JMOODLEY (3,865 in chips)
Seat 8 - MOOK2307 (5,175 in chips)
Seat 9 - OAKTREE12 (10,900 in chips)
GROOVE58 - Ante 25
JSLAB24 - Ante 25
SHANGO_BANGO - Ante 25
SHAMANALIX21 - Ante 25
SOUPERUSER - Ante 25
DRDOOM2U - Ante 25
JMOODLEY - Ante 25
MOOK2307 - Ante 25
OAKTREE12 - Ante 25
SOUPERUSER - Posts small blind 150
DRDOOM2U - Posts big blind 300
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SHAMANALIX21 [7d 7h]
JMOODLEY - Raises 900 to 900
MOOK2307 - Folds
OAKTREE12 - Folds
GROOVE58 - Folds
JSLAB24 - Folds
SHANGO_BANGO - Folds
SHAMANALIX21 - Raises 6,600 to 6,600
SOUPERUSER - Folds
DRDOOM2U - Folds
JMOODLEY - All-In 2,940
SHAMANALIX21 - returned (2,760) : not called
*** FLOP *** [9s 4s 7s]
*** TURN *** [9s 4s 7s] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [9s 4s 7s 6c] [4h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
SHAMANALIX21 - Shows [7d 7h] (Full house, sevens full of fours)
JMOODLEY - Shows [Ac As] (Two Pair, aces and fours)
SHAMANALIX21 Collects 8,355 from main pot
SHAMANALIX21 Collects Bounty Prize of $5
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot(8,355)
Board [9s 4s 7s 6c 4h]
Seat 1: GROOVE58 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: JSLAB24 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: SHANGO_BANGO Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: SHAMANALIX21 (dealer) won Total (8,355) HI:(8,355) with Full house, sevens full of fours [7d 7h - B:7s,P:7h,P:7d,B:4s,B:4h] BOUNTY awarded: ($5)
Seat 5: SOUPERUSER (small blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 6: DRDOOM2U (big blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 7: JMOODLEY HI:lost with Two Pair, aces and fours [Ac As - P:As,P:Ac,B:4s,B:4h,B:9s]
Seat 8: MOOK2307 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 9: OAKTREE12 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Wow. Cracked me some aces with my flopped set. Didn't expect to run into such a strong hand; been doing that a lot lately it seems, especially ambushed by AA or KK. That's the way it goes, though, so I'll take wins any way I can get 'em.
Really, though, I was on my best game most of this tournament, which made coming up short of the payouts extra disappointing. One thing about bounty (sniper) tournaments is that the temptation for some extra money makes folks sometimes do things they normally would not do. Me too. I got my first bounty very early in the tournament when I trapped an AK with my AA, getting them all-in after a preflop four-raise bidding war. And my AA actually held up! Then they next three times I tried to eliminate shorter stacks I missed the bounty and doubled them up -- there's the normal Sham Luck.
I was up to 94th place of 1,220 players competing starting the Level 5 before the first break. My missed bounty attempts plunged me to 1166th/1205 players (late entries were/are accepted for 2 hours in this and all UBOC events). But I didn't give up, steadily coming back and reaching 513th/906 at the second break. My above-detailled luckout cracking the aces came early in Level 10. But I lost some of my new chips shortly thereafter going for another bounty, when my nut flush didn't arrive on the turn or river for a 6,500-chip pot. Such a rollercoaster ride!
And it continued!!
I pushed an 88 and got called by the table chip leader, who had 66. My hand held, I scooped a 13.5K pot and climbed to 242nd/598 left. By the third break I was 90th/396, and starting to let tiny thoughts about the first-place prize -- only $8,500 or so -- cross my mind. But such thoughts can be very dangerous, and it wasn't to be. I had my late-position AK run into AA and fail with a 27K pot on the line, dropping me to about 9,000 chips. Can you say greeedy, unlucky and dumb? Shortly thereafter, the rest of my chips went in for my 33, the table's big stack called with 88 and I was toast.
On the whole, well-played. On the outcome, very disappointing, Leaves me a few things to do serious work on in my game. But things are coming along.
I've got my eyes on a few more Mini-UBOCs. Decided to skip Mini 5 (NLHE) tonight and maybe aim for Mini 7 (NLHE) on Wednesday. Then Mini 12 is another NLHE Sniper (bounty) game Friday. The Minis run through Jan. 30; hopefully there'll be better, more complete play down the line from the Shamster -- and some good paydays.
Meanwhile, good luck all!
On the downside, I didn't finish in the money. Wound up 288th of 1,609 entrants, and top 180 finishers got paid. Very disappointing; more on that in a minute. On the upside, I did get two bounties, so earned $10 back.
The hand of the tournament for me showed that Sham Luck doesn't always go bad. It went like this:
Stage #525811249 Tourney ID 5885386 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit 300 - 2011-01-16 18:02:57 (ET)
Table: 24 (Real Money) Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 1 - GROOVE58 (9,498 in chips)
Seat 2 - JSLAB24 (5,455 in chips)
Seat 3 - SHANGO_BANGO (5,685 in chips)
Seat 4 - SHAMANALIX21 (6,739 in chips)
Seat 5 - SOUPERUSER (10,827 in chips)
Seat 6 - DRDOOM2U (22,871 in chips)
Seat 7 - JMOODLEY (3,865 in chips)
Seat 8 - MOOK2307 (5,175 in chips)
Seat 9 - OAKTREE12 (10,900 in chips)
GROOVE58 - Ante 25
JSLAB24 - Ante 25
SHANGO_BANGO - Ante 25
SHAMANALIX21 - Ante 25
SOUPERUSER - Ante 25
DRDOOM2U - Ante 25
JMOODLEY - Ante 25
MOOK2307 - Ante 25
OAKTREE12 - Ante 25
SOUPERUSER - Posts small blind 150
DRDOOM2U - Posts big blind 300
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to SHAMANALIX21 [7d 7h]
JMOODLEY - Raises 900 to 900
MOOK2307 - Folds
OAKTREE12 - Folds
GROOVE58 - Folds
JSLAB24 - Folds
SHANGO_BANGO - Folds
SHAMANALIX21 - Raises 6,600 to 6,600
SOUPERUSER - Folds
DRDOOM2U - Folds
JMOODLEY - All-In 2,940
SHAMANALIX21 - returned (2,760) : not called
*** FLOP *** [9s 4s 7s]
*** TURN *** [9s 4s 7s] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [9s 4s 7s 6c] [4h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
SHAMANALIX21 - Shows [7d 7h] (Full house, sevens full of fours)
JMOODLEY - Shows [Ac As] (Two Pair, aces and fours)
SHAMANALIX21 Collects 8,355 from main pot
SHAMANALIX21 Collects Bounty Prize of $5
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot(8,355)
Board [9s 4s 7s 6c 4h]
Seat 1: GROOVE58 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: JSLAB24 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: SHANGO_BANGO Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: SHAMANALIX21 (dealer) won Total (8,355) HI:(8,355) with Full house, sevens full of fours [7d 7h - B:7s,P:7h,P:7d,B:4s,B:4h] BOUNTY awarded: ($5)
Seat 5: SOUPERUSER (small blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 6: DRDOOM2U (big blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 7: JMOODLEY HI:lost with Two Pair, aces and fours [Ac As - P:As,P:Ac,B:4s,B:4h,B:9s]
Seat 8: MOOK2307 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 9: OAKTREE12 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Wow. Cracked me some aces with my flopped set. Didn't expect to run into such a strong hand; been doing that a lot lately it seems, especially ambushed by AA or KK. That's the way it goes, though, so I'll take wins any way I can get 'em.
Really, though, I was on my best game most of this tournament, which made coming up short of the payouts extra disappointing. One thing about bounty (sniper) tournaments is that the temptation for some extra money makes folks sometimes do things they normally would not do. Me too. I got my first bounty very early in the tournament when I trapped an AK with my AA, getting them all-in after a preflop four-raise bidding war. And my AA actually held up! Then they next three times I tried to eliminate shorter stacks I missed the bounty and doubled them up -- there's the normal Sham Luck.
I was up to 94th place of 1,220 players competing starting the Level 5 before the first break. My missed bounty attempts plunged me to 1166th/1205 players (late entries were/are accepted for 2 hours in this and all UBOC events). But I didn't give up, steadily coming back and reaching 513th/906 at the second break. My above-detailled luckout cracking the aces came early in Level 10. But I lost some of my new chips shortly thereafter going for another bounty, when my nut flush didn't arrive on the turn or river for a 6,500-chip pot. Such a rollercoaster ride!
And it continued!!
I pushed an 88 and got called by the table chip leader, who had 66. My hand held, I scooped a 13.5K pot and climbed to 242nd/598 left. By the third break I was 90th/396, and starting to let tiny thoughts about the first-place prize -- only $8,500 or so -- cross my mind. But such thoughts can be very dangerous, and it wasn't to be. I had my late-position AK run into AA and fail with a 27K pot on the line, dropping me to about 9,000 chips. Can you say greeedy, unlucky and dumb? Shortly thereafter, the rest of my chips went in for my 33, the table's big stack called with 88 and I was toast.
On the whole, well-played. On the outcome, very disappointing, Leaves me a few things to do serious work on in my game. But things are coming along.
I've got my eyes on a few more Mini-UBOCs. Decided to skip Mini 5 (NLHE) tonight and maybe aim for Mini 7 (NLHE) on Wednesday. Then Mini 12 is another NLHE Sniper (bounty) game Friday. The Minis run through Jan. 30; hopefully there'll be better, more complete play down the line from the Shamster -- and some good paydays.
Meanwhile, good luck all!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Busy times a'coming
The modelling work begins again in earnest tomorrow (Monday) after about a month off for the holidays. Seems like everything's picking up at once, though: 'Tis the season for some huge online poker series. I must take a deep breath for the hectic times to come.
Today UB and Absolute Poker start hosting UBOC 6. Two divisions: the main tournamernts (means expensive, most of them a little over my playing bankroll budget right now), and the Mini-UBOCs. I've got my eyes on about a half-dozen of the latter, starting with Mini-UBOC Event 2 in a couple of hours. A $30+$3 entry, and you get $5 for each foe you eliminate. I love bounty/sniper games!
Mini-UBOC and UBOC will be fun. But I'm really looking forward to the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker running Jan. 24-30 at PokerStars. Love playing with and against my fellow writing addicts. Some great players out there in the fellowship; for instance, change100 just yesterday won the PCA Ladies event in the Bahamas (super congrats ma'am!). It's a great challenge, the WBCOOP. I want to try to qualify for the Finals as I've done a couple series past (memory's bad as usual, I'll have to look things up and report later on my past performance goals to beat this time, know I cashed in one WBCOOP Final!). The Finals and family Birthdays Brunch get-together are conflicting with a live charity event I wanted to play on Jan. 30; too often there's just not enough of me to go around!
This is where PokerStars' WBCOOP badge/ad would go if things were working right. Sooner or later it'll get here. PStars supports us well; but some of us old writers are sooooo computer-hopeless...
Got a Twitter Poker League game about to begin, time to start preparing and psyching (and check on Da Bears' continuing success). Then Mini-UBOC 2, then some poker101a or Holdem Poker Chat forum games. Go Patriots! And everyone have a great day!
Today UB and Absolute Poker start hosting UBOC 6. Two divisions: the main tournamernts (means expensive, most of them a little over my playing bankroll budget right now), and the Mini-UBOCs. I've got my eyes on about a half-dozen of the latter, starting with Mini-UBOC Event 2 in a couple of hours. A $30+$3 entry, and you get $5 for each foe you eliminate. I love bounty/sniper games!
Mini-UBOC and UBOC will be fun. But I'm really looking forward to the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker running Jan. 24-30 at PokerStars. Love playing with and against my fellow writing addicts. Some great players out there in the fellowship; for instance, change100 just yesterday won the PCA Ladies event in the Bahamas (super congrats ma'am!). It's a great challenge, the WBCOOP. I want to try to qualify for the Finals as I've done a couple series past (memory's bad as usual, I'll have to look things up and report later on my past performance goals to beat this time, know I cashed in one WBCOOP Final!). The Finals and family Birthdays Brunch get-together are conflicting with a live charity event I wanted to play on Jan. 30; too often there's just not enough of me to go around!
This is where PokerStars' WBCOOP badge/ad would go if things were working right. Sooner or later it'll get here. PStars supports us well; but some of us old writers are sooooo computer-hopeless...
Got a Twitter Poker League game about to begin, time to start preparing and psyching (and check on Da Bears' continuing success). Then Mini-UBOC 2, then some poker101a or Holdem Poker Chat forum games. Go Patriots! And everyone have a great day!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Happy New Year 2011?
Just got finished reading Daniel Negreanu's latest blog, with his summary of his 2010 resolutions and his plans for 2011. Daniel's an excellent writer. I always enjoy reading him, even though I don't always agree with him or some of his stands. To each their own -- the key (in my humble opinion) is to respect others, allow them their opinions without trying to force them to change, and not be petty or controlling and always trying to get in the last word.
It's a new year (OK, it's four days old, but who's uber-picky?). Time for new paths and new hopes ... as well as polishing up the good old stuff that doesn't perhaps get the due it deserves. Time for some resolutions. To be honest, they're more like goals or wishes -- five for me, five for the world, all with at least a tinge of poker to them since that's my main thing. These are for 2011; here goes:
WORLD:
1) PokerStars and Full Tilt and other online poker sites to get along, to give their pros and players more freedom to compete (especially in each other's TV events). I was going to wish for a properly regulated and taxed internet poker business community, with easy deposit/withdrawal/transfer, safety of accounts and reasonable fair share for the governments, but that ain't gonna happen with the Republicans running the U.S. House of Representatives. I'm crazy, but I'm not insane enough to expect good things from the current government situation. Ah well, Status Quo is much better than Reid Bill would've been.
2) An 11th WSOP bracelet for Doyle Brunson. He's the true face of poker, what it was, is and should always be. He ain't perfect (who is!), but he is really special. The Godfather of Poker deserves one more shining spotlight -- at least!
3) Less poker splintering, more unification. Too many magazines, TV shows, tournament tours, online sites, "teachers". It's good that more people can get involved and show their stuff and make some money without really doing anything. But I don't like it. I don't think it's good for poker. Quality, not quantity, please!
Hmmm, harder than I thought it'd be to come up with reasonable resolutions/wishes for the world. ("Reasonable"?!) I'm hijacking the remaining two for myself! Seven seems like a good number for me anyway...
ME:
4) Work to better overcome the unpredictable irrational panic attacks and fears that keep me from progressing my game to the next levels. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Manic Depression may seem like cop-out words and phrases to most people. But they're real. They can be devastating, They are definitely no fun. Sometimes suicide seems much preferable. Thank goodness I discovered poker back in the Moneymaker-Raymer era; that was a dose of cure that has kept me going.
5) Play more poker. Online. In the brick-and-mortar rooms. In the bar leagues. In home games. I love a good, friendly, competitive game. I love to play and learn and laugh. I really want more, even if it means less art and massage employment.
6) Get three four-digit prizes in poker tournaments. At least three! My first five-digit prize (no, you don't count to the right of the decimal point, wiseacre) would really be gratifying and exciting. It is definitely possible. And in this resolution spot also would go qualifying for a seat in a live tournament, such as WSOP or a WPT. (PCA ain't gonna happen this month, sniff sniff; next year!)
7) Continue to improve my game. Walk into less monster AA etc. hands. Not be afraid to lay down my hand, or conversely to make hero calls or to chase potentially high-profit pots when the situation is right. It's only a hand, only a tournament, there'll be another along shortly. Live in and for the moment fully.
8) Play more ring games. Had two winning sessions to end September trip to Vegas (one each at Bellagio and MGM Grand); won $37 for about 90 minutes' play of 1-2 limit at PStars in late December. But I still prefer tournaments soooo much. Plus I do lousy when trying to do more than one thing at a time (multi-tabling for me stinks!). That and mental-meltdown-fear keep me away from the ring games much.
9) Post in this blog more -- and regular. I've got posts sitting in "edit", plus that I've put elsewhere (deviantArt, Facebook, mail, forums). Need to get them all in here where they should be. Again, conglomeration and organization usually beats scattershooting!
10) Get a regular writing/column job with a poker publication/employer or three. Haven't had anything I've felt good about since the boxing days with Flash, RING, KO, Boxing Illustrated and the El Paso Herald-Post. I really should get more serious about it again, fears and bad memory be danged!
As an 11th resolution/wish, I hope that everyone out there has a wonderful 2011. Know when to hold them, when to fold them, be nice to each other and try to always smile ... at least a little. Nothing lasts forever. So enjoy now, and spread the enjoying; there's plenty to go around! Peace.
It's a new year (OK, it's four days old, but who's uber-picky?). Time for new paths and new hopes ... as well as polishing up the good old stuff that doesn't perhaps get the due it deserves. Time for some resolutions. To be honest, they're more like goals or wishes -- five for me, five for the world, all with at least a tinge of poker to them since that's my main thing. These are for 2011; here goes:
WORLD:
1) PokerStars and Full Tilt and other online poker sites to get along, to give their pros and players more freedom to compete (especially in each other's TV events). I was going to wish for a properly regulated and taxed internet poker business community, with easy deposit/withdrawal/transfer, safety of accounts and reasonable fair share for the governments, but that ain't gonna happen with the Republicans running the U.S. House of Representatives. I'm crazy, but I'm not insane enough to expect good things from the current government situation. Ah well, Status Quo is much better than Reid Bill would've been.
2) An 11th WSOP bracelet for Doyle Brunson. He's the true face of poker, what it was, is and should always be. He ain't perfect (who is!), but he is really special. The Godfather of Poker deserves one more shining spotlight -- at least!
3) Less poker splintering, more unification. Too many magazines, TV shows, tournament tours, online sites, "teachers". It's good that more people can get involved and show their stuff and make some money without really doing anything. But I don't like it. I don't think it's good for poker. Quality, not quantity, please!
Hmmm, harder than I thought it'd be to come up with reasonable resolutions/wishes for the world. ("Reasonable"?!) I'm hijacking the remaining two for myself! Seven seems like a good number for me anyway...
ME:
4) Work to better overcome the unpredictable irrational panic attacks and fears that keep me from progressing my game to the next levels. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Manic Depression may seem like cop-out words and phrases to most people. But they're real. They can be devastating, They are definitely no fun. Sometimes suicide seems much preferable. Thank goodness I discovered poker back in the Moneymaker-Raymer era; that was a dose of cure that has kept me going.
5) Play more poker. Online. In the brick-and-mortar rooms. In the bar leagues. In home games. I love a good, friendly, competitive game. I love to play and learn and laugh. I really want more, even if it means less art and massage employment.
6) Get three four-digit prizes in poker tournaments. At least three! My first five-digit prize (no, you don't count to the right of the decimal point, wiseacre) would really be gratifying and exciting. It is definitely possible. And in this resolution spot also would go qualifying for a seat in a live tournament, such as WSOP or a WPT. (PCA ain't gonna happen this month, sniff sniff; next year!)
7) Continue to improve my game. Walk into less monster AA etc. hands. Not be afraid to lay down my hand, or conversely to make hero calls or to chase potentially high-profit pots when the situation is right. It's only a hand, only a tournament, there'll be another along shortly. Live in and for the moment fully.
8) Play more ring games. Had two winning sessions to end September trip to Vegas (one each at Bellagio and MGM Grand); won $37 for about 90 minutes' play of 1-2 limit at PStars in late December. But I still prefer tournaments soooo much. Plus I do lousy when trying to do more than one thing at a time (multi-tabling for me stinks!). That and mental-meltdown-fear keep me away from the ring games much.
9) Post in this blog more -- and regular. I've got posts sitting in "edit", plus that I've put elsewhere (deviantArt, Facebook, mail, forums). Need to get them all in here where they should be. Again, conglomeration and organization usually beats scattershooting!
10) Get a regular writing/column job with a poker publication/employer or three. Haven't had anything I've felt good about since the boxing days with Flash, RING, KO, Boxing Illustrated and the El Paso Herald-Post. I really should get more serious about it again, fears and bad memory be danged!
As an 11th resolution/wish, I hope that everyone out there has a wonderful 2011. Know when to hold them, when to fold them, be nice to each other and try to always smile ... at least a little. Nothing lasts forever. So enjoy now, and spread the enjoying; there's plenty to go around! Peace.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
PCA Fantasy Finals Fun
I love PokerStars. One of my big goals in life is to play in the site's PokerStars Caribbean Adventure tournaments in the Bahamas some January.
Noticed the other day that PStars is running a thing called PCA Fantasy from Nov. 7-Dec. 12. OK, that's as good a way to satellite into my dreams as any. I played a 50-cent, 90-player sit-and-go Saturday, with the top 9 finishers getting a ticket to one of the 12 PCA Fantasy Final freerolls (two per Sunday). I played good (haven't been playing much lately, but I have been going deep and having decent success when I do play). I finished 4th, earned $3.64 (that'll buy 7 more satellite tries! lol), and got an FF ticket. I like that return on investment! One try, one ticket!
Late Saturday and early Sunday my results inother tournaments were nothing to write home about, play-success wise. Nevertheless, I decided to use my Fantasy Final ticket Sunday evening for the 7 pm (CT) game. Hey, who knows what the next Sundays will bring? Next Sunday's my birthday, then comes Thanksgiving weekend; so better take a shot while I can! A long shot, with 13,179 players enterred, top 2,000 paid, and winner alone getting the $15,780 package of a trip to play in Paradise!
I played good. Dang, I really did play good for about 3 1/2 hours. Started slow: 10,740th of 11,136 left and 8,478th/8,685 at two early points. Kept plugging and playing my game, which could be anything. Got lucky a couple times when I needed to. Reeled in a couple gamblers when I had the goods. Made the money with ease. Got up to 68th/730 left. With the blinds and antes rising fast I was still 173rd/257. And then, eight eliminations from a $3 jump in the payouts, this happened:
PokerStars Game #52717429720: Tournament #324632380, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level XX (3000/6000) - 2010/11/14 23:33:13 ET
Table '324632380 294' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: CESAR1802 (77142 in chips)
Seat 2: Cudvin379s (148009 in chips)
Seat 3: akfoldem49 (233155 in chips)
Seat 4: cheveuxdor (20441 in chips)
Seat 5: Shamanalix (29102 in chips)
Seat 6: Acropolis616 (70036 in chips)
Seat 7: ganador63 (106674 in chips)
Seat 8: The Dimes (56061 in chips)
Seat 9: Guryan Chayk (53184 in chips)
CESAR1802: posts the ante 600
Cudvin379s: posts the ante 600
akfoldem49: posts the ante 600
cheveuxdor: posts the ante 600
Shamanalix: posts the ante 600
Acropolis616: posts the ante 600
ganador63: posts the ante 600
The Dimes: posts the ante 600
Guryan Chayk: posts the ante 600
The Dimes: posts small blind 3000
Guryan Chayk: posts big blind 6000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Shamanalix [As Kh]
CESAR1802: calls 6000
Cudvin379s: folds
akfoldem49: folds
cheveuxdor: folds
Shamanalix: raises 22502 to 28502 and is all-in
Acropolis616: raises 40934 to 69436 and is all-in
ganador63: folds
The Dimes: folds
Guryan Chayk: folds
CESAR1802: folds
Uncalled bet (40934) returned to Acropolis616
*** FLOP *** [8c 2h 4h]
*** TURN *** [8c 2h 4h] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [8c 2h 4h Jd] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Shamanalix: shows [As Kh] (high card Ace)
Acropolis616: shows [Ts 9s] (a straight, Seven to Jack)
Acropolis616 collected 77404 from pot
Shamanalix finished the tournament in 205th place and received $8.00.
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 77404 | Rake 0
Board [8c 2h 4h Jd 7c]
Seat 1: CESAR1802 folded before Flop
Seat 2: Cudvin379s folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: akfoldem49 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: cheveuxdor folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Shamanalix showed [As Kh] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 6: Acropolis616 showed [Ts 9s] and won (77404) with a straight, Seven to Jack
Seat 7: ganador63 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: The Dimes (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Guryan Chayk (big blind) folded before Flop
Runner-runner straight. That's poker. But now I won't be able to get to sleep for quite a while. Can't win them all, but that was really a bad time to lose one...
Sigh............................. And AAAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!
OK, I'll be back, satellites. I want another FF shot. The sirens of Atlantis are calling me, and I can never say no to beautiful women...
Noticed the other day that PStars is running a thing called PCA Fantasy from Nov. 7-Dec. 12. OK, that's as good a way to satellite into my dreams as any. I played a 50-cent, 90-player sit-and-go Saturday, with the top 9 finishers getting a ticket to one of the 12 PCA Fantasy Final freerolls (two per Sunday). I played good (haven't been playing much lately, but I have been going deep and having decent success when I do play). I finished 4th, earned $3.64 (that'll buy 7 more satellite tries! lol), and got an FF ticket. I like that return on investment! One try, one ticket!
Late Saturday and early Sunday my results inother tournaments were nothing to write home about, play-success wise. Nevertheless, I decided to use my Fantasy Final ticket Sunday evening for the 7 pm (CT) game. Hey, who knows what the next Sundays will bring? Next Sunday's my birthday, then comes Thanksgiving weekend; so better take a shot while I can! A long shot, with 13,179 players enterred, top 2,000 paid, and winner alone getting the $15,780 package of a trip to play in Paradise!
I played good. Dang, I really did play good for about 3 1/2 hours. Started slow: 10,740th of 11,136 left and 8,478th/8,685 at two early points. Kept plugging and playing my game, which could be anything. Got lucky a couple times when I needed to. Reeled in a couple gamblers when I had the goods. Made the money with ease. Got up to 68th/730 left. With the blinds and antes rising fast I was still 173rd/257. And then, eight eliminations from a $3 jump in the payouts, this happened:
PokerStars Game #52717429720: Tournament #324632380, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level XX (3000/6000) - 2010/11/14 23:33:13 ET
Table '324632380 294' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: CESAR1802 (77142 in chips)
Seat 2: Cudvin379s (148009 in chips)
Seat 3: akfoldem49 (233155 in chips)
Seat 4: cheveuxdor (20441 in chips)
Seat 5: Shamanalix (29102 in chips)
Seat 6: Acropolis616 (70036 in chips)
Seat 7: ganador63 (106674 in chips)
Seat 8: The Dimes (56061 in chips)
Seat 9: Guryan Chayk (53184 in chips)
CESAR1802: posts the ante 600
Cudvin379s: posts the ante 600
akfoldem49: posts the ante 600
cheveuxdor: posts the ante 600
Shamanalix: posts the ante 600
Acropolis616: posts the ante 600
ganador63: posts the ante 600
The Dimes: posts the ante 600
Guryan Chayk: posts the ante 600
The Dimes: posts small blind 3000
Guryan Chayk: posts big blind 6000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Shamanalix [As Kh]
CESAR1802: calls 6000
Cudvin379s: folds
akfoldem49: folds
cheveuxdor: folds
Shamanalix: raises 22502 to 28502 and is all-in
Acropolis616: raises 40934 to 69436 and is all-in
ganador63: folds
The Dimes: folds
Guryan Chayk: folds
CESAR1802: folds
Uncalled bet (40934) returned to Acropolis616
*** FLOP *** [8c 2h 4h]
*** TURN *** [8c 2h 4h] [Jd]
*** RIVER *** [8c 2h 4h Jd] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Shamanalix: shows [As Kh] (high card Ace)
Acropolis616: shows [Ts 9s] (a straight, Seven to Jack)
Acropolis616 collected 77404 from pot
Shamanalix finished the tournament in 205th place and received $8.00.
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 77404 | Rake 0
Board [8c 2h 4h Jd 7c]
Seat 1: CESAR1802 folded before Flop
Seat 2: Cudvin379s folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: akfoldem49 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: cheveuxdor folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Shamanalix showed [As Kh] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 6: Acropolis616 showed [Ts 9s] and won (77404) with a straight, Seven to Jack
Seat 7: ganador63 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: The Dimes (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: Guryan Chayk (big blind) folded before Flop
Runner-runner straight. That's poker. But now I won't be able to get to sleep for quite a while. Can't win them all, but that was really a bad time to lose one...
Sigh............................. And AAAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!
OK, I'll be back, satellites. I want another FF shot. The sirens of Atlantis are calling me, and I can never say no to beautiful women...
Friday, October 29, 2010
More poker, less art -- WBCOOP's coming!
Since my last Las Vegas trip in September I've been tied up in a lot of art projects and work. My poker has taken a back seat. Played a couple times live and a couple times online. Did well, to be honest. But mostly taking a break from the fun and the challenge of the felt and faux felt for other things in life.
And now PokerStars has announced its plans for the next World Blogger Championship of Online Poker. Can you say inspiration? I've taken part in these series the last two years, and they've some of my most fun (and successful) outings! The next WBCOOP will be in January 2011.
OK. I'm inspired! Look out shufflers, the shamster is hungry and on the prowl for chips and cash...
(Can someone PLEASE explain to me why the WBCOOP badge from PStars captures all the info from my right-hand column? What end-code is missing to get my things back where they belong? Grrrrrr...)
And now PokerStars has announced its plans for the next World Blogger Championship of Online Poker. Can you say inspiration? I've taken part in these series the last two years, and they've some of my most fun (and successful) outings! The next WBCOOP will be in January 2011.
OK. I'm inspired! Look out shufflers, the shamster is hungry and on the prowl for chips and cash...
(Can someone PLEASE explain to me why the WBCOOP badge from PStars captures all the info from my right-hand column? What end-code is missing to get my things back where they belong? Grrrrrr...)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
It's coming...
Thank you spavel of Google Help pages if this goes right. Three days of working on putting up a banner/link that messes up everything else in the blog. Fingers crossed. Wish I could figure out what's going wrong here... Hmm, but now the PStars badge is gone. I swear it was here. Come on, PokerStars, fix your coding please. Siiiigh...
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