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Home alone

post from 50outs on 02 April 2006 08:17:00 PM. © 50outs

Article in newspaper "Die Welt" from April, 1st 2006 about Katja going to the lady's event in London here. Katja directed the final poker tournament for the expekt poker lan tour friday in Düsseldorf which went very well; from there...

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http://50outs.blogs.com/poker/2006/04/home_alone.html

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Young Addict

post from BadBlood on Poker on 02 April 2006 06:50:00 PM. © BadBlood on Poker

The scene: Sunday - early evening. After a long day of playing, both of the mini's are relegated to the shower prior to turning down for the night.

The eldest hits the showers first.

miniBlood, having stripped down in anticipation of showering, realized that his older sister got into the shower first.

Hey, with all that free time, why don't I play an SNG on Empire while I wait. I'm sure that must have been his thought process. Had to be.

I turn to my left and see it.

miniBlood.

Playing online poker.

Naked.

It's just not right.

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http://badbloodonpoker.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_badbloodonpoker_archive.html#11440
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Sets are gold

post from Hella Hold'em on 02 April 2006 02:57:00 PM. © Hella Hold'em

I need some advice.

There's a mantra around bloggerville that "sets are gold." I tend to agree. A well-concealed set usually pays off big.

But how do you defend against them? Is there any way to see them coming? (It's obviously difficult, which is why sets are gold!)

This is how most of my losses to sets go.

I flop TPTK and bet or raise. I get called. Normally, at that point I'm putting my opponent on TP-weaker kicker. On the turn, I bet out. I either get called, or popped back with a raise. (Sometimes my opponent waits till the river to pop back). If the card that came inducing the raise doesn't coordinate the board or match up with typical hole card holdings for a 2 pair, I still think I'm good. At showdown, I'm no good, falling victim to a set made from a low to mid pocket pair.

Of course, there is a ton of information that goes into each street's decision, including any notes I might have on the player, stack sizes relative to the blinds, etc. I can usually smell a trap pretty well, but there are so many players that overplay their top pair, weak kicker that generally, it pays to grit your teeth and push forward. On the other hand, I can be accused of overplaying TPTK in these cases.

How do you tell when you're up against a set? Is there anything that tips you off?

Filed Under:

HandAnalysis

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http://hellaholdem.blogspot.com/2006/04/sets-are-gold.html

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Review of Poker Syndicate

post from Counting My Outs on 02 April 2006 02:35:00 PM. © Counting My Outs

© COPYRIGHT 2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A rare weekend post from yours truly.

Today, I played about 80 hands of $2/4 LHE at Imperial Poker for the first time. So why did I decide to play at this new site, you may ask?

Imperial Poker, which has been on the Boss Network for a while, is now owned by a new company called Poker Syndicate. The branding will switch to over to Poker Syndicate shortly, once the current player base becomes made aware of the change in ownership.

Poker Syndicate is offering quite a deal to its players. Directly from their website:

"For every dollar in fees that you pay on Poker Syndicate tables, you'll receive 50 cents worth of equity in the Poker Syndicate company. This applies to rake in cash games, and also to tournament fees - 50% of all rake and fees will be returned to you in the form of equity.

You will receive quarterly dividend payments. We will pay our first dividend on September 30th, 2006 - the end of the third fiscal quarter. The dividend payout will be a minimum of 50% of all profits derived by the Poker Syndicate. You will receive a percentage of that sum based on the amount of equity you have accumulated, so if you have accumulated 1% of the total equity, you will receive 1% of the total dividend payout - or a minimum of 0.5% of the total profits generated by the site!"

Basically what you are getting is a chance to own part of an online poker company. The more rake you pay, the more equity you earn in the company. You will own part of the company, actual stockholder equity ownership, not profit sharing.

More from their website:

"We intend to seek a public listing by securing a qualified Investment Banking Firm to implement an Initial Public Offering on behalf of the Syndicate in the next two years.

In the event that we do not achieve our targeted growth objective, it is our intent to implement a share purchase plan whereby our shareholders can sell their shares back to the company and obtain liquidity if they so desire. We will also implement an internal market for shares, allowing Syndicate members to buy or sell shares between themselves. Whatever the future brings, there will be means for you to make significant profits from your equity.

The other benefit of equity, of course, is that it's yours to keep. Equity does not expire. Even if you stop playing on the Poker Syndicate, you will retain your equity, and continue to receive quarterly dividends from the site. And even if you only play for a week, and then never return, you will own shares in the Poker Syndicate when the company floats on the stock market."

While there are no certainties in life, this may be an opportunity to get on the ground floor of something lucrative.

After playing for about an hour what I found were some of the softest games that I have seen online in a LONG time. Full ring limit Hold'em games with percentage of players seeing the flop that were in excess of 40% and this was going on in games with limits much higher than the $2/4 limit games that I played. In just looking at the stats for the No Limit HE games, I saw similar numbers.

While the games are incredibly soft, it's not a "perfect site". The software is on the slow side, with about 50 hands dealt an hour. There are no options for a 4-color deck or obtaining hand histories. If you cannot live with your Poker Tracker for now (Poker Syndicate is working on the hand history issue), then you will not like the site.

But if you like soft games, Poker Syndicate will make you happy. I did find that their customer support is excellent and I have been told by good sources that the new owners are working hard and are listening to suggestions from its players. They will be making the commitment to improving the software, etc.

There is also decent traffic at the site, as there were about 3,500 players there when I played and that was at 7:00 a.m. EST. I also checked in at 2:00 p.m. and there were 6,600 players logged in. From what I saw, the site appears to be predominantly European players.

If you are interested in signing up, please click my link to the right. You do get a $100 initial deposit bonus that requires 10X (1,000) contributed raked hands. You get $25 after the first 250 raked hands have been completed, then the remaining $75 after the last 750 raked hands.

Bloggers Championship I am registered to play in the

Online Poker Blogger Freeroll

Win your share of $25,000 and a set

of Nevada Jacks poker chips.

Hosted By: Absolute Poker

Sponsored By: Poker Source Online

Registration Code: 65334548

Read The Full Article:
http://countingmyouts.blogspot.com/2006/04/review-of-poker-syndicate.html

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WPBT WSOP Satellite #2

post from Poker Profs Las Vegas Poker Blog on 02 April 2006 01:30:00 PM. © Poker Profs Las Vegas Poker Blog

Win Iggy's WPBT WSOP Blogger Poker Tournamnet #2 followed by a win in your WSOP event and you too can shop at the Wynn. Just a reminder that Iggy set up the next WPBT WSOP Satellite! Hope to see...

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http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/pokerblog/archives/002605.php

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Shirley

post from FeliciaLee on 02 April 2006 12:26:00 PM. © FeliciaLee

Back in January, Shirley told me that she had cancer.

She swore me to secrecy, so I never told anyone about it (save Glenn, of course). I was hoping that she would make it public, because she has become such a huge force in the pro-tournament world. I felt that if she got the word out, that it might encourage other players to get checked out. Find out about those lumps, get regular exams.

I remember when Max Pescatori told me that his sister was dying of cancer. He was angry. He said if she'd simply gotten care sooner, she would have lived.

Not long after his sister died, I told Max that I, too, had cancer. And just a month later, tourney pro and WSOP bracelet winner Curtis Bibb died needlessly of cancer.

In every case (including mine), we put off getting testing, which only made things worse. In my case, my so-called PCP kept assuring me that I didn't have cancer, and to stop being "so paranoid," just because my brother had had it. He put off testing and surgery, and kind of lulled me into a false sense of security.

I wanted so badly to believe that I didn't have cancer, that I let him poo-poo me for three months. I was definitely a fool.

Because of our stupidity, however, people like Shirley and some other players I know have insisted on early and/or preventable treatment. So getting the word out can only lift us up, as a whole, as a team.

We have to stick together.

Guys, as much as you don't want that anal probe, lol, it is necessary and important. An anal probe now, could save your prostate and colon later! Crapping in a bag for the rest of your life ain't all it's cracked up to be! Get regular check-ups! Don't be another statistic.

Felicia :)

Read The Full Article:
http://felicialee.blogspot.com/2006/04/shirley.html

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The Poker, It Hates Me

post from Sound of a Suckout on 02 April 2006 12:08:00 PM. © Sound of a Suckout

On the bright side, I'm running abnormally well on the casino bonus side of things, as far as the degenerate challenge goes. So no complaints there.

Poker, though, continues to kick me in the nads. I've pretty much solely been grinding on a B2B bonus at PointPoker, with some play at a few Cryptos mixed in, now that it's a new month and their monthly bonuses are available again.

I was cruising along on the poker front at PointPoker, playing lots of Soko and 7 Card Stud when I could find games, and grinding out some hands at 100 NL. Safe, slow, and methodical. Steady as she goes. I was about 90% done with the WR for the bonus and was 200 euros up, which I was more than happy with, as I'd deposited on the site when they were offering their old juicy bonus of 600 euros.

Feeling a little jiggy, I added a fifth 200 NL 6 max table and bought in for the maximum. Cue ominous music of doom. (And this is the first mistake, for you kids scoring at home. I was very much in bonus grind mode and should have stayed in it. I didn't want or need to drop 200 euros due to the whimsy of cards. I didn't really want to gamble, yet I opened up the table because I could, because I was ahead.)

It became apparent quickly that the table was pretty wild and wooly. If you haven't played a B2B site, well, they can be pretty high variance, as you can encounter absolute maniacs at times. Or drunks. Or drunk maniacs.

Normal preflop raises were in the 10-20 euro range, with 2-3 players usually seeing the flop with all sorts of cards. I don't play a hand for forever until hey, nice, AA. One of the crazies raises to 20, another calls, I make it 60, folds back to original crazy, who min-raises. Second crazy folds. I shove all-in and crazy insta-calls with Q2o. And proceeds to flop a 2 and turn a Q and IGNH.

Reload. I can't say I was happy but I wasn't really tilty. I should have just quit, though, as I really didn't want to be involved in this sort of game, giving my whole goal with just playing to grind out the bonus at relatively low-risk tables, at non-HE games.

Literally two hands later I get it all-in pre-flop with the same crazy when I have KK. This time, of course, he has AA and IGNH.

Reload. (Yeah, I know. I knew then, too.)

This time my reload lasted a little longer, 15 minutes or so. One raise pre-flop to 15, two callers, and I complete from the BB with QdKd. Flop comes 10d Jd 4c. There's assorted raises and re-raises and three of us end up with all our money in the middle and J4h takes down a ginormous pot when none of my 182 outs appear.

Reload.

Three hands later I get it all-in preflop with AA and can't beat 88, who not only flops an 8 but rivers quads, just to rub it in.

Which is how I managed to dump 800 euros in about half an hour, before finally having the good sense to log off and turn off the computing box.

(And yeah, this really happened, and isn't some belated sort of April Fool's joke.)

So now I'm looking at about a 200 euro loss, when I finally summon the will to finish off the bonus, which has taken forever to grind out. Plus I don't even get the bonus for twenty days or so, as it's paid out 30 days after signup. Joy.

But the point isn't to whine about bad beats or somehow justify my play. They happen. Except for pushing the QdKd hand a little hard, I happily make all the above decisions again, every time. Shit happens.

The moral of the story, though, is that I had no business playing 200 NL to begin with, given my goals. I'd been enjoying playing Soko and 7 Card Stud and feeling good about the whole switch to playing new games, grinding out bonuses. All was going well. With emphasis on "was".

I need to fight the urge to lapse a bit in concentration, fight the urge to gamble. That's what left me unhappy with poker to begin with, the feeling that I was gambling with uncomfortably large sums and assuming too much exposure to risk. Limiting that exposure and trying new games left me feeling pretty happy. Right up to the point where I go and jack with what was working and get smacked down.

So yeah. Hard to complain too much as I'm running well on other fronts, but it's obviously a little disappointing to make nearly all of the profit so far on the casino side, and lose money on the poker front. Not much to do about it but soldier on, though.

Read The Full Article:
http://suckout.blogspot.com/2006/04/poker-it-hates-me.html

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I Wake Up In the Late Afternoon

Yeah, this year?s April 1st joke(s) were a bit lame and over the top. As with G-Rob, I?m loving the fact that the people who bought it the most were the ones actually there that night. Way too funny.

Tonight (Sunday), I?ll be playing in the Full Tilt 9pm WSOP satellite. I managed to win a $24+2 to gain an entry fee there yesterday evening. I hope to do well, have fun, and if the cards fall my way, well that?d be amazing.

Have a great rest of the weekend.

Read The Full Article:
http://badbloodonpoker.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_badbloodonpoker_archive.html#11439
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Poker Players Are Voters, Too

One of the most recognizable figures in professional poker, Greg Raymer, 2004 WSOP Champion. The anti-poker legislation being pushed through both houses in DC gets some tough competition next week. US News & World Report is reporting some of...

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http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/pokerblog/archives/002603.php

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Relationships and Poker: Testimonial II

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Soccer Saturday, with the Big Guy (my ten-year old) scoring his first goal of the season. He really played well, which was nice to see. I coached his team's practice Friday which was fun (after All-in's practice, my eight-year old). We got beat 3-0, but we really played well against a superior team. 0-0 at halftime, then All-in was in goal for the three goals in the second half. Defensive lapses led to three goals, and he made some great stops (one with his neck which brought him out of the game). I got some sun. When you are an old fart (41), you aren't as young as you used to be, which I never remember. I used to bronze nicely, now I burn nicely.

I was going to hold off another day with this post but I think the thoughts below are just very, very insightful. This is from the wife of a player and blogger, and her thoughts and feelings really hit home. C

I've been thinking about this relationship issue that you asked about. After almost a year of menage a trois (him, me and poker), here is my general evaluation: First, my general gut feelings about internet poker haven't changed. I like card games and I am, personally, quite competitive. I love to play games. But online poker is addictive and it is anti-social. This is generally speaking, of course. The blog relationships do help, but they still are not akin to a night out interacting with real people. Instinctually, I have always felt there is a kind of sickness in getting sucked into anything internet related. Although poker is far more mindful, in a way, it is like television: it draws you away from the real world Second, I love my husband and I love the part of his personality that makes him dedicated to something. So when I think about poker, I remember when I met him, and he was really into learn to fly planes. Every minute that he wasn't at work, it seemed he was thinking about planes and when he could get another lesson in. He was studying and he was talking about it. Of course, for me, the difference is that I liked the idea of flying planes: even if it was expensive, it was a hobby that took him outside, got him interacting with other people, and it fulfilled a lifelong dream for him. Also, it was something very different from what he did all day at the office: ie. sitting at the computer, staring at a screen. It was also in line with all of the things we, together, said we wanted to do with our lives. Which leads me to the third issue. The third and most relevant issue for me is that poker does not fit the profile of the life we designed together. I was 34 when I got married. I was very selective and didn't just want to marry anybody. Before we got married, my hubby and I talked for a long time about the kind of life we wanted together, and the way we wanted to raise our children. It involved alot of outdoor activities, priorities set for spending and making time for each other, living somewhere, eventually, where we can design our lives around the home, and around our family. It didn't involve either of us sitting and playing internet card games for hours at time. Or the vision that that might be the way we make a living. Or, when that living fell through, that instead, that would be a primary hobby. In a way, internet poker is like having a in-law move in with you, and then never leave. I don't feel like I can talk about it to my hubby without him getting defensive about it. I just have to deal with it. I just have to work my life around it. I don't feel like I am allowed to dislike it or even say "No" to it. All of a sudden, it just IS. It's as if it never wasn't. And I get a very sick feeling that unlike the in-law, it will not die or move to a nursing home some day. It is here to stay. If I want to live with my hubby, I have to like internet poker and that is that. Period. The funny thing about talking about this to other poker players: it's like trying to talk about a smoking ban to an understanding group of smokers. They understand, but they still light up their next cigarette. My hubby and I can try to "compromise" but the compromise will always involve internet poker, which, to me is not a compromise. I could send him "outside" to play poker, but then I (and eventually our children) will still lose all that time with him. And for what? A little game? A little money? Sure everyone needs a distraction, but why not a home game every couple weeks? If it is every night, for a few hours, I think it is starting to look more like an obsession, or a habit, or a problem. So no, I still am not convinced. So I just try to be understanding. And that goes in fits and starts. Last night, I was working at the pub. I had had a great day working on my book and I left a few pages for my hubby to read when he got home. I was excited about the work I had done. I have only a couple times before let him read something from my book, so I thought he would be quite excited to read it. I called him about 10 p.m. and as usual he was in the middle of a sit-and-go. I asked how he was doing. He said he was up a little bit. Then I asked what he thought of the pages I left for him. I was really excited to hear what he thought. "Oh, I haven't read them yet. You know I don't read until I am in bed." Well, sure, but that is any other author's work. Not mine. It wasn't the whole novel or even a chapter. It was 3 and half pages. When he gets home from work and I am at class or working, he doesn't even put his clothes away. They just drops on the floor and he is at the computer. It isn't until he is ravenous that he goes to get something to eat. How do I know? Because I come home and I can see the trail. We have tried to set a schedule and it is working somewhat. But still it isn't much of a compromise for him. The only compromise for him, in my mind, is that he has to, occasionally, listen to me complain about it and pretend like he cares. He says he does, but the problem is action. I plan our schedule for the week, including time for his poker, an evening out with friends, lots of things. He is passive and accepts it all, instead of taking the reins and making plans as well. I think that is the one tip I can give poker players for helping their relationship with their wife/husband/partner: They need to consciously plan something different and fun and intimate (not sex-related!) for the two of them. Poker is such a default activity for them: it is a time-space filler. My hubby comes home and if we (that is, I) haven't made any plans, then he is playing poker, or we are planted on the couch. If we are on the couch, then I am supposed to count that as "quality time" together. ARGH! It only takes a little thought and a little time to plan an evening or a weekend afternoon, even if it is just going out for burgers or going to the coffeehouse and reading the paper together, or going to listen to some jazz at a local bar. You don't have to go out for hours. Or you could stay in and play tequila-shot Monopoly together (as some friends of ours like to do). The issue is PLANNING and thought. And giving your partner some of your time, showing her you don't just want to play poker all of the time. Of course, I have told my hubby this, and he is crap at it. I think I might need to draw him a diagram, possibly in the form of a poker table.

Something to be read and re-read (or at least I have). Putting this up Sunday as no one ever comes here on Sunday plus I'm not sure how I'll get online this week in G-Vegas. Furman's food court has been the locale of choice for me, but I'll have to see. Finally, my Monday Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, where I see where the links to my blog lead.

Bloody P: You always know that he's left a comment because of the dripping blood you have to clean up from your blog! His blog description is that he's a newbie resisting the urge to push all-in with AQs. Look, if you live in Minnetonka, AQ is probably the best you'll see in the Arctic, so jam.
Poker Champ: Some bad beats in NeverBluff's recent times, with a break-up caused in part by moving away from his never-bluff philosophy. Look, sometimes calling stations call your bluff, so you have to really pick the right time to bluff. It took me awhile to figure out cricket=darts and not cricket. One of the challenges in hitting a new blog for the first time. gl, neverbluff.
Gambling Blues: BG is one of the elite bloggers, although I have to confess I've never been to his site until today. Titled Random Thoughts and Thoroughbred Selections, BG is buds with Pauly and the big dawgs, having been part of the Playboy Mansion crew.
Steal the Blinds: I think three folks do this blog, jaxia, beck, and mike. Looks very interesting, so I'll have to come back and explore. jaxia is a big believer in the hammer and quads, so beware.
21 Outs Twice: Chris Fargis is a pro from Brooklyn, home of Junior's Cheesecake. I go to his blog fairly regularly, with his triple draw stories always making me thankful I don't have a $70k bankroll and the desire to bluff guys for monster pots with a pair of threes.
Nord's Poker: nordberg is one of the online poker legends, a true master of the game. Any player who types "Well another good day for me. I won the WSOP $30 rebuy on Stars for another World Series seat..." has to be fairly good. Man, can you imagine typing those words? I think I'm gonna cry.