Presidents, politics and poker

4 days ago, PokerListings.com ran an article by Sarah Polson entitled "Presidential hobbies include poker". She briefly chronicles the history of Presidents that play poker.

Most of the stories in this article have been described with great detail in many other places, but for some reason, this article really got me thinking.

The current push to get rid of poker and in particular online poker, mainly the UIGEA, centers around the religious right doing something shady. They slipped this into the Port Security Act which was necessary and well supported.

This sleazy act of political shenanigans, isn't why I'm here today. That's been written about ad nauseum. What I'm wondering is, why no one stood up and complained? Poker bloggers, we complained, and some of us (I can only prove I did...was hoping some of you did too), called their congressman. But if all of these important people played this much poker, why didn't they step up to the plate and say no? (And yes, I realize most of these Presidents are dead...it's the politically powerful ALIVE people I'm thinking about)

I don't fully understand what happened to the political process here in the US. Both parties appear to be run by the lunatics within. The religious right and Neo-Conservatives have taken over the Republicans, and the Democrats are controlled by some website and PAC's that haven't been near the center...ever.

Why is poker a right or left issue? Isn't it really all about liberty? Sen. Bill Frist needed this bill to make the anti-gambling Christians like him enough to vote for him. Why do people that enjoy poker and gambling not fight harder to restore it?

I have a theory, and I don't know if it's really all that true, but do gamblers and in particular, poker players, like being outlaws? Do we like to buck conformity?

Short-Stacked Shamus recently blogged about "The Double Life of the Poker Player." Could this have something to do with our malaise? While the Presidents have had many a poker player in the group, most didn't actively lobby for protection of our Great American Past Time. Is it that fact that it's forbidden draw some to the game?

The tide looks to be changing. Poker seems to be getting some better reception in Washington, and I'm encouraged by some of the progress made by the Poker Players Alliance. But Absolute Poker has done their very best to make this whole thing look to be just another sham way to swindle people out of their money. The remaining websites need to step up and prove that they take the game and the trust seriously.

I'd like to see the industry regulated. Controls and inspections introduced. Find ways to ensure the trust of the poker playing public. Personally, I'd don't find this game shameful or really enjoy the idea that it's forbidden. I love the competition and the challenge of matching wits with another person. Chris over at Ante up! needs to be assured that these games are legit.

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, or if it really makes sense. I am by no means a legal authority, a poker authority, a political authority or even a statistician (just check out my results!), but what I do know, is unless more people make a fuss about poker, eventually, the morons in the religious right, or the "whose looking out for the children" campaign will get their way and we won't be able to ever enjoy the feeling of flopping a monster and getting everyone all in again.

Poker League Recap - No soup, no chips

Bodie25 was out ill this week. He lived up to the prop bet and fed me a wonderful bowl of Zuppa for lunch, but it was obvious...the germs were winning. Since he was gone, the bet was off, and I didn't play for any soup. Not sure if it mattered though, the cards didn't come and the donkeys flurished.

Poker league is tough to stay motivated for. I really enjoyed playing in the bigger home game, the players were solid and you could really know where you stand. Poker league is a different beast.

One thing that is important for league, is to occasionally get some cards. You will be showing down hands. People just rarely fold. Those that do fold, you gotta make sure you got'em read so you can push them off.

Last night, I never got a hand. And I'm not talking about a top 20 hand, I'm talking about a playable hand. The best ace I had, A9 off suit. The best pocket pair...44. The most common hand dealt to me J2. So I did a lot of folding. I lost 1/4 of my stack, calling with 44. UTG raises to 3XBB (50/100 blinds), there are 3 callers, and me. With pot odds like that, I just couldn't lay it down. Well...nothing but overcards.

Nights like this are very depressing. I had an excellent read on the table. I knew when people were strong and I knew when they were weak. My reads (from the cheap seats) were dead on. But what are you supposed to do when you aren't in the pot?

I was down to my last 600 in chips, the blinds are at 75/150. I'm on the button with KTo. It folds to me, with a limper UTG, so I push. The limper is the older gentleman with handlebar mustache. He will limp with a good hand, but will lay them down to pressure. He utters the words I don't want to hear..."I'm ready to go home, you got me." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That's the kiss of death! He turns over 9♦8♦. I know what this means. The flop comes A T 3. No ♦s. John M. says "See, you can win one of these!" I turned to him and said, "It's not over yet. Watch the runner, runner." Turn and river were both 9s. My night was over.

I really needed to get bed earlier

I just read the post about last night's home game. What was I thinking when I hit post? You missed the best part. We played from about 8pm to midnight. 6 guys. Top 2 spots get paid. I described for you the general aspects of the game...but no detail what so ever.

I played tight, I stole some pots when I spotted weakness, and I left no money behind. The structure is a bit steep for me. I finished 2nd. I doubled my money. First place got the rest, which was substantial. I would have been happier taking a bigger share of the prize pool. 6 X $40 + 3 X $40 (rebuys) = #360. 25% for second seems a bit low. But I'm not going to complain too much. 2 guys were out $80. The guy that took first was a rebuy. My bankroll got bigger and think ultimately...that's the goal, isn't it?

Wow...file this under...um...I want my time back

I just read on LaunchPoker.com, entitled "Mismanagement". I really want the time I spent on this article back. This could possible be the most obvious piece of poker writing ever done. This was even worse than Phil Hellmuth's "Play Poker Like the Pro's", Doyle Brunson's "Online Poker". 2 of the worst poker books I've ever read.

The "Mismanagement" article can be summarized like this...you mismanage your poker game, you will be a loser. Huh? Is this supposed to be informative? I sure hope no one got paid for writing this. Are there really people out there that think to themselves, "Mistakes don't matter"?

The last paragraph sums up the whole thing, it basically says, you mismange your wealth, you will be broke. Well...duh!

I need more sleep. I really need an article on not mismanaging my sleep. I didn't realize that if I don't get enough, I'd be tired.

Moving up the comfort zone - live play

Last night I ventured up to the road to a home game in Pine Island. 6 guys showed up for a sng type tournament. The structure and buy-in were a big different than I was used to. First, the buy-in was $40. The previous largest buy-in live for me was $20. My bankroll is sitting pretty well, so this only consituted a little more than 5% of the bankroll I have been contributing to. So I tried to just forget about the money. I need to remind myself that I am, in fact, a good player and I stand a good chance of not losing...that's harder than it sounds.

The next big change was the method they used for changing the blinds. They play 10 hands and then raise'm up. This allowed guys to take their time before playing. This is good and bad. It was a late night, and it took a while before we lost someone. Then once you are really short handed, the blinds really climb. Just an observation.

For the most part, the guys are pretty solid players. 2 of the guys played at Brother's, one stopped going recently, the other, Paul, I have played many times. 2 of the guys were at this house the last time I played. There style and ranges haven't changed. 1 new guy. He was on my left. Most of these guys play in bigger buy in tournaments in the area. They mostly started the night playing tight, but that seemed to change after the first blind level. Betting increased and a lot of raising was going on. I chose to stay tight and feel my way out of this.

These guys also seemed inclined to respect my raises since I was playing so tight. I saved most of this equity for the later stages of the tournament. I was also not really seeing much for cards...a reoccuring theme. 3 guys each did a rebuy before the rebuy period ended (25 hands). Making the final prize pool $360. I really never played that many big hands. My tight table image translated into a lot of small pots with a lot of respectful folds. I took great advantage of this later on in the tournament.

I spent my time at the table studying each player. For the most part, I could really tell when guys were missing the flop. The only problems I had were judging just how strong they were when they were strong. One guy, Bill, showed the definite tell of looking at his chips when he was strong after the flop, but other than that, the strong means weak and weak means strong was pretty much the norm. But how strong is the question.

With more experience live, I hope to be able to hon this skill and really get better at figuring out just how strong people are. It was easy to steal the dead pots, but nowing when I was beat was another problem. Any thoughts?

The other thing I noticed last night...when I'm tired, I seem to love the check call when I'm drawing. Holy Crap! If can spot my own tell, how bad is that? This is a very serious leak in my game. Do any of you have this same leak? How do you deal with it?

Was that Bill Edler at Poker League last night?

Poker League returned to Brother's Bar & Grill last night. Still enjoying the afterglow of a victory two long weeks ago, I went into last night stull enjoying poker and excited to be at the felt again.

I sat down at table 8. I was really not excited to see that table 8 had no kiddie pool candidates and the competition was going to be tough. I had played with everyone here and while most aren't Tom "Donkey Bomber" Schneider quality, I would still need to play carefully to get any where tonight.

Those of you that know me well, know that I pretty much breathe poker all day. I read a lot about poker and like to read the blogs of other players. I was reading Hoyazo's blog "Hammer Players Poker Blog" and thinking about putting someone on a hand, or putting them on a hand you know you can beat. Thanks for the framework by which I played my first really significant hand.

I raise to 3XBB (25/50) with K♣J♣. Now, this is a significant departure all ready for me in how I usually play poker league. First off, I was in middle position. Secondly, I don't like playing this hand, because I always get in trouble if I just get top pair...that being said...I did it any way. I get one caller, let's call him Eddie Haskel. He's an aggressive player that likes to be in pots. The flop comes KT6. I have top pair. Now, here's the reason I hate playing K♣J♣ in middle position. WHERE AM I? Eddie Haskel raises to 300, or about pot size. I reraise him all in because I convince myself he has A?. Why that, because I can beat that you idiot! He calls me and turns over AK. Who is the idiot now???? Huh???

OK...that one hurt. I was down to 550 chips. I know, because I counted them. It didn't take long. It also meant, that I didn't quite need to be desperate yet. What the heck...we are only in the second level and I'm calculating my M for pushing mode...this ain't good.

I wait for some spots to push..cause like a complete moron...I don't have enough chips to play with just a raise. I stay alive for a while by stealing the blinds and limpers. Jack8Off raises the pot to 3XBB from UTG. I've played with him enough to know that if he's gonna bluff, he will do it UTG...he just likes it here I guess. I squeeze QQ. Jerry is on the button and pushes all in. Jack8Off folds. We turn them over...and it's a classic race situation. AJo vs. QQ...and we're off! As luck would have it...I win! Wow...that doesn't happen often. I went into the coin flip with the pair...and it holds.

That gets me back up to 1600 chips. Bill Edler is in the building! I'm back to a point before break where I have 1600 in chips and the blinds are 75/150. I actually start believing I can play this game.

I keep this stack alive for a while. Chip up occurs. I float a long for a little while, the blinds move up to 200/400. I am now getting officially desperate for chips. I looke down to find A8. There is a limper ahead of me and most of the people at the table have crumby M's now too. You see, we'd only busted on player at our table all night. Our little poker economies GDP has been unchanged since the beginning. One guy had most of the chips (and that's not me). The chip leader was also the limper. He calls my all in. He turns over A♠8♠ and I have A♥8♣. Hmm...he's got the smallest of leads on me...most likely we split, but this poker league. I stand up because I know he'll hit the flush...he has to! In an interesting change of events, the flop contains 2 ♥'s. Can we do this? Yes we can! Runner, runner heart and I almost triple up!

The poker gods suck. This is the point in the post where your comments are REQUIRED! It's been announced that we are now on the bubble. 2 people to go for points. Our table has 5 people on it. 3 are strong players, and the BB is the mother of all donkeys. I look down in an unopened pot to find 88. I have 2300 in chips and the blinds are 300/600. The next hand I'm the BB. I really think hard about this. DonkeyMomma over there could call me, but I should be a coin flip or better to the majority of hands, unless she has an over pair. I would like to have blind money for this turn, but I also don't want to bubble. I really just came to win. So I push all-in. Everyone folds to DonkeyMomma. She jibbers. She jabbers. Finally she says. I'm gonna call, but then tries to question what happens if she doesn't have enough chips. She's obviously intoxicated. She counts out her chips, she's got me covered. This is taking for FRIGGIN EVER! She finally figures it all out and turns over AA. WTF! This huge show just to slow roll me with AA?

My question to you is not whether or not to just tip the table over, but...what would you do? Would limp to the points or make a move to get some chips?

Bourbonators Recap - October

It as a short-handed month. The games consisted of 7 Bourbonators. I'd like to talk about how great I played, or the miracle hand I had, but frankly, this month was all about the Poker Points.
If I go over 50 Poker Points when John or Darrin wins the race next month, I start the next series with my points - 50. If keep it at or below 50 points, I keep all my points and start with a sizeable lead on most of the players. There is no way I could win this series, so I'd decided to try and make a run at the next series. So for me, to 4th place finishes were enough to give me 49 points. I get 2 points next month...so next month might be all about the booze.

Come on! Wouldn't you want win this?

Bourbonators October meeting

Another late night. I was torn tonight. While I really hate losing at
poker, I found myself at a crossroads.

If I win tonight, I cripple my chances of winning the poker points.
Next post, the trophy!

Upon further review - Phil Hellmuth really does suck

Been carefully watching the HORSE tournament on ESPN from the 2007 World Series of Poker. HORSE is a challenge for me since I suck at omaha, stud and stud 8. Sucking at 3 out of 5 ain't good. I try really hard to build a big stack during hold'em and razz. I feel comfortable at those games.

I think I found someone that sucks more than me at omaha. Phil Hellmuth is terrible! OMG! I really think he pulled the ultimate omaha FUBAR move and played more than 2 cards from his hand. He not only didn't have a low, but his high was terrible and he called a bet on the river! What an idiot! Now I feel like maybe I should put up the $50,000...OK...maybe not.

HORSE Coverage on ESPN

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am that the ESPN WSOP coverage has finally gotten to HORSE.

I agree with Chris at Ante Up! that the coverage so far has been good. I'll be watching it again with more detail at home tonight, but when I was at poker league last night, I could have really used a symbol for which game they are on currently. I look down, play a hand, get sucked out on and I look up to the TV and I can't tell if they are playing razz or stud! DAMN!

Well, seeing that I suck at stud...the hands do look pretty similar.

Half way...do you believe in bad karma?

Week 8 has concluded to me. My attempts to be win back to back league nights is over and I didn't quite make the points either. I did my best to stay with chips, but as they say, it wasn't in the cards. To put more pressure on the night...my stomach was still working hard to get through the fantastic soup paid for with the soggy money of Bodie25 (his tears still flowing...hehehe).

I felt I was playing well all night. I know have a functioning tell on one player thats a lock. In watching his betting patterns, he leads out the betting when he has a draw with a minimum raise when he's in position. He follows with another minimum raise on the turn. If he doesn't complete, he will check the river. Bet! He'll fold! Using this kept me in chips for most of the night. Floating him made up for the fact that I was totally card dead. That was until...

I'm in the BB. The blinds are 50/100. I have 2050 in chips. The UTG player raises to 400. This seemed strange to me. He was low on chips and I sensed he was weak. next player folds, the player 2 to his left (an emotional player) calls. It folds back to me and I look down to find pocket 10s. I'm pretty sure that neither of these guys is playing a pair. There is a lot of money in the middle right now. I think I have a good shot at taking it down right now with a move. So push all of my chips in the middle. UTG goes in the tank. This is his tournament. He only has 675 chips left and he does call. The other player almost instantly calls. This is his tournament too. He has 2000 in chips. When we turn them over, I'm up against KQo and AKo. I am in the lead!!! Of course, the dealer puts out to queens, and I collect the side pot.

Well that certainly sucked. Our table get busted a few minutes later, and I'm moved to a new table. My stack much smaller, but I've been her before and fought back.

I find myself again in the BB. Jen (a loose player), calls from the cutoff. The button folds and the LB, Rosemary (tight, passive), moves all in with her remaining chips. It wasn't a full raise, so if I remember my rules correctly, that caps the raises. I call and so does Jen. The flop comes QJ7 rainbow. I had found 97o when I called. I've only got 700 left...so I push them all in. Jen missed, so I figured I try and catch her fishing. She calls and is fishing. I almost triple up. For the first time all night, I know have 2500 in chips!

Our table gets busted again and I move to a table made up of mostly the same people I started with. The guy on my right is one of the players you just hate to play. He never seems to get his money in good, but somehow, someway, he finds the cards he needs.

I'm now in the BB again (I sense a theme here). The blinds are 200/400 and I have 2400 in chips. I'm looking for a spot to push since my M is not good at all. The LB just calls and I squeeze 5♦6♣. Not much of a hand, but this guy will probably call with any two cards above a 6. The flop comes 7♥8♣9♥ - I have the sucker straight! I took this as an opportunity to push them all in. It's the sucker straight, but what am I waiting for. This is about as big a monster as I could hope for. He checks the flop, I put my remaining 2000 chips in the middle. He thinks and says, well, I'm gonna need a lot of help, I call. He turns over Q♥9♠. I had to know...so I've looked this up at CardPlayer for you. There is an 89.19% chance I'll win it from here. SWEET! I can almost taste the free beer at the final table now! 2 cards to dodge. When I look at this, he's drawing dead except to running hearts, another 7 and the river would have to pair the board, or runner straight. All I need is a small black card...and the turn is the 10♥s. CRAP! That's like the absolute worst card in the deck! It's both a ♥ and a straight card. He's still only a 27% favorite to win the hand. The river...K♥...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Good night...and good bless

Back in the hunt!

For the first time all season, I'm in the top 10 at poker league. That first place finish did the trick! Check out the stats page, I'm in 8th!

It must be the guys at Ante Up! Some advice I heard on a recent show has really turned things around for me. Patient poker is back! Now, if they would only link to my blog...we'd be all set!

Some good reading...

I read this today at PokerListing.com, "Is there too much of a good thing?" This was a fascianting article that contrasted the state of poker just 5 years ago until today. I must admit to not really know anything about poker more than 5 years ago except what Grandma taught me.

I worry, as does the author, about the other variations of poker. For me, I love razz. Man, that's a fun game. I'm trying to learn the others, but for me, razz is great...but how do you find a live one to play? I've never seen one around here. Does anyone, anywhere, still have razz?

Poker League Week 7 Recap

I came into this week having slipped into the points for the first time in over a month last week. I've been feeling very confident in my game again. The online account balance is positive and my confidence was bolstered by last weeks showing.

I tried something entirely new this week and went to bed early on Monday night. All the books by the pros make it abondantly clear that sleep is a key factor in poker success.

I've also taken to wearing my headphones and playing music on the iPhone. This really seemed to work last week to keep me concentrating on the game and chatting less with the people at the table.

My poker game has returned to a patient style with observant aggression. What the hell does that mean? Well, the is free poker and the skill level varies wildly. Just because you have top pair, doesn't mean that everyone will notice that your bet is huge...so be observant. Are the other people in the hand gonna notice your raise? Or is optimal play keeping the pot small and waiting until you have a monster.

Also this week, I really tried to concentrate on only playing in position. The hands I'd play in position were wide and varied. A lot more suited connectors and painted cards in really late position. Super tight when out of position. The advantage of this is the information you get by waiting to act. I think this is extremely important in free poker. Many of the novices will give tons of free information if you just wait for it.

But probably the biggest change this week was Bodie25 offered a lasts longer bet this week. This finally put some real importance to the night. He offered probably the most valueable thing he could without ticking off Mrs. Bodie25...Zuppa Tuscana from the Olive Garden.

The first real hand of not came with the blinds at 50/100 again TMoneyB. A limper UTG, I limped in late middle position, TMoneyB raises to 200, the blinds fold, the early limper folds and I call. I'm the last to act and I have KTo. The flop comes 89J rainbow. Hmm...open ended straight draw...I check, I see something that tells me that he's got a pair. He raises to 200 again. I expected a raise. I'm sure he paired something. But the size of the bet tells me my assumption was right. His bet felt weak. The turn is the Q. Those of you scoring at home will notice that I know have the nuts. I check as disappointed as I can. I give him credit for paying attention and working hard to figure where he is in the hand. He raises again. Now, I shoot for the academy award. I pull the headphones off and go in the tank. The bet was 400. Still not much of the pot, actually the better part of my stack. Now granted, a king on the river would suck, pairing the board would suck, but I really think the best way to make the most money is to just call here. Which is what I do. The river is a blank. I move all in as quick as I can. I want this to look like a move. TMoneyB goes in the tank. He thinks for quite a while, and even asks if I have a king. I just shook my head. In the end he calls and turns over JT. The nuts held. I really thought we were gonna split the pot in the end. TMoneyB really struggled with it and he was really worried I had it. It would be tough to lay that one down.

For the next hour or so, I just held my ground. I took out my nemisis again...that felt good, but his stack was already pretty depleated when I got there, but again, he died on a draw. I stuck to some pretty small pot poker. I wasn't really getting cards. The blinds continued to rise and the number chairs with butts in them were dropping.

Before I knew it, we are down to two tables. Wow...I was about to head into the points again and I barely played in hands! Yeah me! Interesting thought...4 Bouronators made it to the points. But even more importanat. Bodie25 and I are both still alive! At the break, we are almost even in chips.

During break, Bodie25 tells me how it's time to move the chips around. I only had about 6500 in chips and blinds are at 1000/2000. In my game plan, I need to find the right spot to push. I can no longer get anyone out of the pot, so I need to find a pot that I have a good chance of winning. I don't like to wasted chips hunting either. When my chips go in, I better be ahead.

I'm now in the middle blind. To my left is A2. How this guy got so deep, I will never know. Any how, everyone limps to him on the button. I look down to find ducks. My guess is A2 has any 2 random cards, so in theory, I'm ahead. Which is the case, I don't remember what he turns over, but it didn't improve and ducks hold up.

I gave some of these chips back to the table when my AQo loses to A♣9♣ . I look over to the other table and see Bodie25 standing. He's ALL IN! I'm now on the button, it has walked to me...I see A5...I can't play this...if I bust before him...oh the horror! Sure enough, Bodie25 busts in 10th place. A nice finish, but not enough to keep me from the zuppa!

Soon we collapse the other table and we are down to the final 8. I draw a middle position to start and the tournament chip leader on my right. His continual raises gets me to stay out of a lot of pots. I conserve chips and watch everyone take each other out. Even the chip leader, let's call him Tim Penny, busts in I think 7th place. One of the most spectacular falls from grace you could ever witness. He proceeds to bully, although ill timed, the table. He puts people all in...and guess what..the other people have it. He gave most of his chips to Jon B. A bourbonator!

Speaking of him, he sat down at the table with 1500 in chips. Less than the BB and proceed to become the chipleader! Nice job!

Which brings us to the end. Jon and I proceed to remove the remaining people from the table and end heads up. Pretty cool...two Bourbonators heads up. When we set up for heads up, Jon's got me about 5:1 or 6:1 in chips...he's got a mountain. Of all the people in league, I'm guessing I've played him more than anyone else in town. We both play some tricky poker. Trapping and then aggressive. It was difficult to get a great read on either of us. The hand that turned the table had me calling from the LB with 6♠2♠. Yeah, that's a pretty lose call, but if I hit the flop I could be back in this. I'm hoping to either make a move with a high flop or hit something low and win it out right. Well, the flop comes 543 (no spades). I check, Jon raises, and then I push all-in. He thinks for a second and calls. Wow..he's got 43! I'm in the lead...but he's not drawing dead. He misses and I'm back in this.

We tussle back and forth for a while. I seem to be slowly creeping back in. And before long I'm in the lead in chips. I'm also exhausted. This has been a long day and it's not getting any shorter. Before too long, Jon pushes all in after I call the blind. I look down and find J8. I think for a bit. What kinds of hands would he do this with. Basically, I'm pretty sure that I'm at worst 2:1, most likely. I call. I'm hoping to either go broke or end it here. He turns over one of the worst hands I could hope for. He's got K8. Crap! According to Card Player, I'm behind 26% to 76%. Well I suck out on him and hit a jack on the flop. The tournament is over. I really would have like to have won it with some brilliant play, but I didn't. I sucked it out...but victory does feel pretty good.

I feel like I'm back to form! Bring on the Zuppa!

A little deeper each time

I've been adventuring out of the $1 tournaments lately. My bankroll is back above par again and my play has been getting more stable.

Today I ventured back to the $5 9 person sng. Felt good to be playing at this level again. I played it pretty much by the book and took it all the way to 2nd place. Not a first, but definitely a nice cash and big confidence builder.

Tonight, OhCountess got the hall pass and is out with friends...so I decided to play a $2 180 person tournament. They take forever. What do you expect, there are 180 people in this thing.

To make a long story short, I just played it very tight and patient. I was a bit disappointed in the way I played a couple of hands. They were mistakes and point to a leak I know I have.

The button limps, I'm the LB and fold and the BB checks. I had A8. I hit the set of 8s on the flop. Oh wait...I folded. I was a massive chipleader at this time and should loosen up a bit, but I folded tight.

2 hands later, a short stack 2 to my right moves all in and I call with A5. WTF! That was 15,000 chips well spent. 400 chips to call with A8 and I fold...I gotta work on that steaming and dwelling thing.

Well, I composed myself and got back into the hunt. I busted on a hand I probably should have folded. I raise pot to 9750 with pocket 9s in the cutoff. The big blind pushes. I instantly call...why instantly...that the quiz question for the week...why do I insta call with 99? He turns over A♦Q♦

I know I'm ahead, but we all know how Full Tilt Poker works. The guy with the shortest stack loses the coin flips automatically. The real question is why I would risk my entire stack for a most likely coin flip and at worst an over pair? Dumb!

I'm looking for advice...how do I correct this final table donkey call?

Well, I might watch the final players finish...but they are still playing long after my busting. And it's late. But look at that...A 5th place finish!

I'm in World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

Just got this in the mail!

Thank you for signing up for the 2007 World Blogger Championship of OnlinePoker. We have checked your blog and confirmed you have posted your registration code. Now, there is only one more step before you play.

In the coming days, you will receive a tournament ticket in yourPokerStars account. You can find this ticket by clicking on "Requests"and "Tournament Tickets" in the PokerStars Lobby. On the day of thetournament, you will be able to use this ticket to register for WBCOOP.

Now I just need the hall pass to play...hope to see you there!

Could it be any easier to make money?

I've been looking to spice up my poker life lately. I'm not of the means that can "get my juices flowing for 6 figures." To be honest, I'd probably die before the wager ever came to completion or OhCountess would remove things I want to keep attached to me.

I've played only play money at Poker Stars, but last night I saw a promotion for Play for Millions promotion. The play money tables at Poker Stars have always seemed really soft, even for play money as compared to Full Tilt. But this tournament seemed too good to be true. 7500 entrants and the top 900 get paid! How hard could this be? Well, let's look at the results!

It's true! I squeaked into the money. I actually just decided to make the money and folded while people commited Seppuku all around me. On a side note: let's chalk this up to "You learn something new everyday." Seppuku is the actual term for a Samuri suicide. I always thought it was Hara-kiri, but apparently, that is a colloquialism. Who knew?

What I also discovered last night, is a dollar won't get you any where at Poker Stars, unless I want to blow it on a cash game. I'll need to try and parlay this with another deep cash. Seems this freeroll will be every night for a while. Let's git 'er done!

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

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 9975859

Fall Poker League Weekly Recap

As you already know, this week, I finally got back into the points! It's about damn time.

As Bodie25 points out, it's mostly because he wasn't there. OK...that was funny.

I did make some more adjustments this week and actually got some cards for once. Some of the things I changed:

• All headphones - all the time. In the past, I'd followed the advice and didn't really where headphones much. I found that when I don't where them, I don't think through the hand like a should and tend to be more adventurous (aka...STUPID).
• No more chatter! While I wasn't wearing my headphones, I wasn't chatting, and when I'm not chatting, I'm paying attention. This will be key to some of the hands to come.
• Don't be afraid to die. If I thought I had the best hand...I bet it. Period. No worries about some donkey. I know the odds...believe in them.
• Patience.

These steps were crucial last night. I also faced a demon that had been dogging me for a few weeks. I slayed the dragon that is the gentleman the beat me in the heads up tournament. He was seated on my left when the tournament began. We also saw the return of Mojo_Death. He returning from paternity leave. I spent most of the night focusing on the left side of the table. A couple of new people on my right rounded things off. Mojo_Death was UTG when I was on the button. He was back to his old tricks...continuation bets galore.

The first real hand of note was against my dragon. I had AA on the button, the flop comes K high and ends with straight and flush draws. I kept betting...he had a K and I took one down. It was small...I wasn't really betting either. In the past, he's drawn to straights and flushes with raises so I really didn't want to dump a lof of money into the pot.

The next big hand came against the same man. I'm in the cut-off. Playing very tight. One limper infront of me (a player prone to limping), and I look down to find Q♠J♠, I call the limp, the LB calls and the BB (Chief Bourbonator) checks . The flop comes K♣10♦9♣. I thought about screaming "GIN!" but thought that might be counter productive. The first limper raises to 300 (3XBB), I don't like letting people see things for free, so I reraise to 900. The LB goes in the tank and comes out with a call. BB Folds. Original raises tanks it for a minute and he too folds. On to the turn...it's a K♥ I studied him when the card came...that didn't help him, I was sure of it. I'm also sure we aren't splitting. He's a man that will play draws, but he also knows there is a limit to the price you'd pay to do it. I think that first bet exceeded that price. So now I'm really thing that he has AQ or AK and a flush draw. If he had a set, he would look at lot more calm than this. He's very seriously uncomfortable at this time. To keep the pressure on him I bet 1050. That's the exact number of chips he has left. I'm positive that at this moment...I'm ahead. This causes another visit to the tank. Some people at the table started encouraging him to call so they can see what I was betting with. I really hate this, I was hoping he would call, but that kind of talk is uncalled for. He comes out of the tank and says call. He's got AJ. He told me he thought I was bluffing a draw. and figured he could out draw me. Nope...the river was a blank and my straight held. The dragon was dead!

For the next hour, I spent time picking off John H. He's notorious for playing a wide range of cards and being aggressive, but I think I have him figured out. He almost always plays the button. He's guranteed to raise if he's the last to act. The key to beating him was to call that raise. If the raise was small, he's got nothing. If he thinks about it much and its bigger...he's got it. I started calling that first raise. Since I was first to act after the flop, I'd raise the turn about pot sized. He'd fold. That helped pay for the longer run. He also never checks the turn if has a hand.

Finally the reason I busted. The hand doesn't matter...the reason does. I got impatient and didn't think through everything. The kid with the expanding earings, will always call with top pair. I figured he had top pair...and still raised all-in. D'Oh! Lesson of the day...kid with expanding earing holes...always calls with top pair!

A better showing

I finished 12th. A much better showing. A think I've got John "Suck
Out" Halon. This should be a good recap post. More when I get home!

I made it to break!

I made it to break for the first time since week 1. Let's see what we
could do with it.

Co-ed Invitational IV

Sorry for the delay in writing this post. I gotta tell you, I was tired on Suday. That was one late night but some really fun poker! 14 people arrived at our house for a night of laughs and cards. We started the night with 2 tables of 7 and played some short-handed poker until we whittled it down to 10. At ten people, we can all fit at the 'TV Table.' We usually have a wide range of experience at the table with us, and tonight was no exception.

For some reason, I got my usual spot at 'TV Table' and Aaron's Dad to my left and Paul on my right. Aaron's Dad was kind of a wild card since this was his first night. I've played with Paul on many occassions and he's a solid player.

I continued my streak of being completely card dead. The a compulsive caller on my left, it was difficult to justify getting into too many pots since I was likely to be betting into the wind and showing down every hand. I took a couple of small pots along the way by using my extremely tight table image to keep a healthy M. I even got Bodie25 to lay down a better hand. Bodie25...this just means I respect your game and now you will notice! I wouldn't never to try to push a donkey of a hand...

The most significant pot of the night came shortly after the first table busted and Aaron sat right next to me on my left. I was UTG+1 and had decided before the cards were dealt that this hand would be an expirement in just playing the players. I raised it up with 8♠9♠ to see what we could do. At best, no one would suspect I would play this hand. I got one caller...Aaron. At this stage I know he could be playing any ace, king, queen or jack, pocket pair or suited cards...just about anything.

The flop comes 7♣8♦8♣. That look real nice, the only thing left to do was real him in. With as much disappointment as I could must, I check. He raises 3BB, I raise to 6BB and he instantly goes all in. I think he might have a straight draw or have paired his 7. He could have a better kicker, but I really doubt it. In the past, I've watch him to this move at numerous time. He wants me out...so I call. He turns over A 10. I've just a little bit more than doubled up!

Well this bought me a huge pile of chips. I stole some blinds and found myself in 3rd place! I went the Dr. Neau...I am the most consistent finisher of anyone that plays. Finishing deep every time. Thankfully...this one paid...bubbling still sucks.

The tournament was won by Jon. Here's OhCountess presenting him with the trophey and the cash!

He couldn't have been more excited to get it over...the cash game was heating up and calling his name!

In second place was Paul. You can just see the disappointment in his face! So close, but no cigar.
The biggest winner of the night, however was Bodie25. You've never seen someone not be able to miss like this. He was on fire and on a fantastic rush and in the end...


the stack of cash and chips in front of him was impressive.
In the end, Danny shows off the look of most of the people leaving the cash game as Bodie25 makes away with most of the bootie. Thank goodness yours truly stayed away...I moved on to FTP where I gave a lesson to some poor schmucks online on how you play micro-buy-in 45 person sit-n-gos. I made enough money to cover what OhCountess had put into the night.

For those of you interested, we are currently looking at the weekend after Halloween for the next home game...this time...with COSTUMES! Let me know if that weekend works or doesn't work for you. We hope to see everyone there!