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A Newbie's Guide to Blogger Events

post from High on Poker on 11 May 2006 06:00:00 PM. © High on Poker

There seems to be a new wave of bloggers over the last several months. Well, welcome to the wonderful world of poker blogging and all it has to offer. Look to your left. Now look to your right. By the time you are done blogging, there still will be no one sitting next to you on your left or right. But you will have met a few dozen people by playing in blogger events.



At first, there was the WPBT. Then, as the poker blogging boom hit, the proliferation of blogger events have only soared. Some see it as an epidemic, spreading across the countryside, laying waste to the crops as it swarms. Others see it as a boon for us pokerfiles, another opportunity to meet up with like-minded individuals and play poker while chatting it up.



For anyone who has not played in an online blogger event, let me explain what you should expect. You will generally see a lot of chat. Don't be shy. Get in there and mix it up. Trust me, most of the players can take it, and those who can't, well, they deserve to be tilted. You'll also notice in some events (see WWdn, below) that there are non-bloggers participating. They'll be quieter, and are likely to have Trekie icons. Well, so be it! Take their money and move on!



With all that said, let's get down to a listing for all events poker blogging related. I'm going to by day of the week, so I don't want to hear any yapping about putting one before another. Of course, we'll start with DADI. Why? You know damn well why! It's because DADI is the premiere monthly poker blogging event, and I should know, since I, along with TripJax am a founder:



DADI

When: Monthly (Next Event: May 29th at 10pm EST)

Where: PokerStars

Who: Bloggers and Readers

How Much: $10+1

Game: Varied (Next Event: Pot Limit Hold'em)

For More Information: The DADI Website



DADI, which stands for the Donkeys Always Draw Invitational, is a monthly event hosted by yours truly, and TripJax, along with the sagely advice of GCox, the M.C. of the upcoming DADI 6. DADI originated when Trip and I decided that we wanted to play in a game with the 10 or so bloggers we were close with at the time. We hoped to reach 20, but it blew up from there. The events are monthly, and we try to change up the game each time. So far we have had NLHE, PLO8, Heads Up, Short-Handed, and Deep Stack WSOP-Satellite tournaments.



WWdn

When: Tuesdays, 8:30pm EST

Where: PokerStars

Who: Bloggers, Readers, and Trekkies

How Much: $10+1

For More Information: Wil Wheaton's Blog



Wil Wheaton, in case you don't know, was once the young actor who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek the Next Generation. He is currently balancing acting, voice-over work, writing, and poker. He's a member of Team PokerStars, and has arranged these weekly games for a long while. It's a good mix of players, and since it's weekly, the next WWdn event is just around the corner. It's all No Limit Hold'Em.



The Mookie

When: Wednesdays, 10:00pm EST

Where: PokerStars

Who: Bloggers and Readers

How Much: $10+1

For More Information: Mookie's Blog



The Mookie started in much the same way as the DADI. Originally called the Big O Poker Tournament, it was an attempt by Mookie to create an event where fellow bloggers/readers can have a good time. It has done increasingly well, do in large part to regulars and the fact that the game always involves good banter. It's all No Limit Hold'Em.



The WWdn:NOT

When: Thursdays, 11:30pm EST

Where: PokerStars

Who: Bloggers and Readers

How Much: $10+1

For More Information: This one I'm not 100% sure on, but Darval's Blog seems to be the best bet.



The WWdn:NOT was originally Wil Wheaton's West Coast tournament. Naturally, a man can only host so many tournaments, so Wil packed it in. Then something strange happened. Like Mumra himself, the WWdn just wouldn't die.



The WPBT

When: Varied

Where: Varied

Who: Bloggers only

How Much: Varied; generally $20+2

For More Information: Biggestron's Blog



The WPBT, which stands for the World Poker Bloggers Tour, was the granddaddy of them all. It's a series of events arranged solely for Bloggers, with a Player of the Year (POY) system. The games are varied, as are the locations.



Now, there are others out there, sure. Most notably, a couple of sites have tried to make Blogger freerolls if bloggers are willing to post about the tournament's sponsor. I wish I had more information on these, but I don't. That said, they can't be too hard to find.



Hopefully, this has been an enlightening journey through excessive blogger tournamentdom. Above all, there is always a game around the corner, and plenty of bloggers to fill the rank. So, join us for DADI, and while you are at it, hit up some of these fine tournaments. And I'll see you at the virtual felt.

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http://highonpoker.blogspot.com/2006/05/newbies-guide-to-blogger-events.html


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Gracie's Boobs Got Nothing on These

post from Quest of a Closet Poker Player on 11 May 2006 05:13:00 PM. © Quest of a Closet Poker Player

"I would have had a set if a different card would have flopped." cc. Tight guy re-raised me pre-flop then board hit K42 rainbow, I checked my TT, he bet, I folded, and he showed AA.

Gracie posted a photo of her boobs and got tons of traffic, so I thought I would do the same thing. Most chicks dig fur, from what I've been able to determine when I was single. Actually, try not to look too long at the photo.

So Sweetie had an interesting observation about her Botox-Appletini-Book Club of ladies in the neighborhood. "Susan's (a neighbor) daughter will be a cheerleader next year, and everyone started talking about cheerleading. I realized I was the only one there who wasn't a cheerleader." That's what you get with all the beautiful people, we live with a crowd of cheerleaders.

Here's where we are with the book giveaway. For those who have claimed a book, please email your address to me at csquard@yahoo.com. Make sure you spell it right (no e). Still time to claim a book.

Some great comments yesterday, as well as a couple of e-mails regarding what to do after a big loss or losing run. I'd like to share Dave's thoughts as I think everyone can find value in it. "From reading at places like 2+2, it seems there are three suggested strategies that are advised when running bad:
  1. Move down in limits (with the rationale that it is statistically more likely to have a higher number of winning sessions to help psychologically)
  2. Take time off to clear your head
  3. "It's just variance, stay in the games..."
Most of the time (and particularly more so when I am running bad) I spend a substantial amount of effort looking for mistakes in my play (leaks). I resolve myself to focus on one or two mistakes at a time and not make those particular mistakes. I think I tend not to do this as much when I am running well because I will have a tendency to multi-table more in that "healthy psychological environment." I don't think there is anything wrong with that because usually when you are running good, it is easier to make good decisions."

None of you have to take the time to provide ideas and input, and I really appreciate all the thoughts and input. I think it is one of the strengths of being part of our community of bloggers, that we can help one another. If you've read Dave's blog, you know he's a solid player, and I respect him alot. Nothing groundbreaking, but I think it's a nice analytical approach. We tend to try and evaluate diligently when things go bad, but rarely do we jump in when things go well. Also, this advice has some similarities to golf, where you try and keep one or two swing thoughts in your mind and concentrate on those.

I played a couple hours at the end of the day, and it didn't look very good starting off for sure. $10/20, I post and before the bb gets to me I've lost twice with TT (once vs. 99 and flopped set) and KTs (flopping top pair to KK). ATs and QJ open ended straight draw don't get there either, 99 vs. JJ, AJs, 44, Ah2h from sb on flop of 4h5hKs that doesn't get there, and I'm stuck over $600. Do you quit or keep plugging away? Give me your thoughts.

Not meant to be a rhetorical question; as for me, I decide to keep plugging away. I'm able to make a stand and hang with it, catching QQ vs. AT with the T the high card on the board, then I raise with 77 UTG+1, the button makes it three, and it's HU. Flop comes As7cJs, I bet out/raise/I re-raise/he caps, 6s on turn I bet/he raises/I call, 2h on river, and I check/he checks to show two black kings. Another nice HU pot in sb with KJ vs. K9 bb on board of Q2K5Q. I opened a second table which is unusual for me, and it seemed to keep me fairly balanced and tightened me up. Up and down still on the first table, chasing and missing one hand then catching AA vs. KQs with Q on flop. I keep trying to make something happen with QTs and 22 to no avail, then leave that table with 88 vs. QQ catching my set on the turn. Not everything went perfect at Table 2 for sure, AA getting cracked by JTo, T6s bb on board of 456 (55), KQs vs. AA flopping my king. One particularly tough call that helped at Table 2 and I think was positive for my overall poker psyche. This was the hand after my KQ went up against AA, and it was the player on my left's eighth hand at the table. I raise UTG with AcJc and my neighbor cold calls, everyone leaving; flop comes Qc5h7c, I bet and am called; Jd and I bet and am raised, and I'm afraid I'm stuck but call. Qs comes on the river, I check and he bets. I went all the way to the countdown of time. I look at the pot, move my thumb, and I call. The chips move to me when he shows Js9d. He chats nc, and I say I figured you either had me beat or you didn't. Enough other good things happened to cut 2/3 of my loss from Table 1 and being up $417 at Table 2, net of +$136. Better than slipping further, but I still need to take more time to evaluate Wednesday. Some interesting folks have stopped by, so I'd like to thank them and direct you to check them out. Aayesha has some serious recipes and great food photos. Seattle John is a nice new find, a high stakes limit player in Seattle who works there and plays recreationally at the local card rooms. Swim Suit Models, well, I think you'll like these photos a bit better than my booby shot. Or at least I hope so. Liz Lieu? Well, I'm not sure who the Five Hottest Poker Pros are, but I would think she's in the top five for sure. Sean is a student at Stanford and had some good input. Welcome to those and any others that have stopped by for the first time. Thanks for a great week. 9 for 10 on winning sessions this month. My conclusion after fully evaluating yesterday's play: if you're going to have a losing session, it should be a small losing session rather than a big one. For Friday's Recipe, I've started out with my hard core solid meals that are fairly easy. Now we're moving up in degrees of difficulty. Homemade Southern Buttermilk Biscuits. These ain't no whopping biscuits, this is the real deal. Homemade Southern Buttermilk Biscuits First, place 1/4 cup of shortening in a pan or skillet in an oven pre-heated to 425. When melted, you'll add this to 1 1/2 cups of self-rising flour (must be self-rising). Pour the melted shortening into the bowl of flour, then gradually pour in the milk. If it looks runny, you should add more flour. Put some flour on your hands, take a spoonful of dough in each hand, ball and place in the hot pan. Put a piece of butter on each ball, then cook for 20 minutes. For the Dad's out there, you'll have a big winner for your bride to whip up a big breakfast with real homemade biscuits. Happy Mother's Day weekend for anyone who is a mom. Home game is tonight with a full table, so it should be fun to mix it up with all the beautiful people. If things go well, I might do a cheer!


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http://ccexplore.blogspot.com/2006/05/gracies-boobs-got-nothing-on-these.html


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The Will To Win

post from Counting My Outs on 11 May 2006 04:08:00 PM. © Counting My Outs

© COPYRIGHT 2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED



On the results side, I logged a 249 hand session last night at the Paradise Poker $2/4 LHE tables and came away with a $25 profit. So far I have not played any today, as I just have not felt up to it.



May is my second favorite month of the year (October is first), but I always seem to catch an allergy due to all of the blooming plants and flowers here. So now I get to suffer my annual allergy here for a few days. Now that's a real BAD beat!



The Will To Win

I recently read a very interesting post (May 10) by Felicia which was a fifth in a series of posts she has put together on the "Psychology of Poker". I am fascinated by this side of poker and I'd recommend that you check out these five posts. You will pick up something that will help your game.



Felicia's most recent post was more or less about the will to win that is needed to be a world class or great player, but at the same time possessing the ability to harness that will to win so that it is not a detriment. I think all great poker players have these two traits and without these, you just cannot be a truly great player. Felicia is spot on with her thoughts.



What her post also did was make me think, where does this intense will to win come from? In other words, what is your motivation to play poker? Also, how do you rate yourself when comes to your will to win and your ability to control it so that your emotions don't adversely affect your play?



For me, my motivation for playing poker for the intellectual stimulation that poker provides through its mathematical and psychological aspects. At this point, I really don't play just for the sake of making money. I don't need the money from poker to live on and it is just a way to keep score for me. I get my satisfaction knowing that I played a hand well, not from the dollars I get.



I am a highly competitive person when I sit down at the virtual or B&M poker table and it is not part of my nature to do anything half-way, so I'd give myself an about an "A" for my will to win. I will admit that every once in a while I do let that will to win cause me to get upset when things are really running bad, so I'd rate myself around a "B" in controlling my emotions.



So, how would you rate yourself?













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

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I Wanna Rock

post from The Obituarium on 11 May 2006 02:18:00 PM. © The Obituarium

I am slowly getting things packed up for my move in a little over a week's time. Putting in a couple hours a night, methodically going from room to room, making a million little judgement calls on what comes with and what goes to the dump. It is, at times, gut-wrenching; at others, delightful.



X was over last night to pick through the many boxes in the garage. Most of it is toys AJ has long out-grown/forgotton about, but there are also Christmas and other holiday decorations and some personal effects. I left her alone out there and told her to take whatever she wanted. Everything else is going in the trash. I'm borderline obsessive about getting rid of those little trinkets we aquired during our marriage, especially those gifts that, at one time, meant so much to me.



**************************



X had walked up behind me when I carefully pulled The Wooden Man out of the cabinet. It is basically a doll, six-inches high and made of geometric wood. It was the first gift she ever gave me, and it sat on my PC from the day I received it until the day I no longer used a PC, eventually finding its way to one of the many nooks that store our memories. I was turning it over in my hands when she said, "You're going to throw that away, aren't you?"



"I dunno," I mused, truthfully, quietly. "It kinda reminds me of a time when you liked me." Purposeful dig.



She didn't say anything and when she finally did, it was a wholly different subject. She left soon after and I dragged several trash bags out to the bin. And left The Wooden Man sitting on the cabinet.



*****************************



I eviserated my closet, grudgingly throwing away a pile of old clothes, setting others aside for Goodwill. It's not that I wanted to hang onto some of the garments because I still wear them, but that many carried a certain nostalgia. Soccer t-shirts proclaiming me a Shakey's Cup champion, too-small sweatshirts from my high school soccer coaching days, my first plaid flannel from the Grunge Era. Good times contained in all, clothes I funned in even before I met X. I let 'em go. Most of 'em. Some I folded longingly and put away in my memorabilia chest, itself a relic from my FIRST marriage.



One such shirt is 24 years old. Yes, it still fits me. It's a little tight in the shoulders, so I won't wear it for fear of it hindering me during a random bear attack, but it went in the chest. It's a (formerly) black t-shirt with Mickey Mouse on the front. Its significance is that I stole it from The Disney Empire in June of 1984 during our high school Grad Night. A bunch of my friends stole the same shirt, which I suppose made it a symbol of our togetherness, as well as our typical teen-age invincible attitude.



Speaking of those guys, I also found something that I feared forever mis-placed. It's a cassette tape containing some live recordings of our hard-rocking and long-dead band.



************************



It was September of 1990 when I first laid eyes on The Castle. I was nine months out of my childhood marriage, a time which I spent at several different addresses, including a recently-ended, summer-long stint at my parents' home. Like the desert where they lived, that time was desolate and dry. Donny and Salk had found the place, hidden at the end of a cul de sac in Canoga Park, the hot underarm of the West San Fernando Valley. The two-bedroom house couldn't be seen from the street, hidden first by a white wooden gate and later by a more-forboding entrance in black wrought-iron.



The house itself was small, maybe 1000 square feet, but the triangular lot was massive and overgrown. At one time, it might have been inhabited by artisans, as the rear of the house had both an aviary and an embryonic vinyard. The front and side were mosaics of weed, potholes and gravel. The yard's hypoteneuse ran along the flood control channel, separating us from Canoga Park High School, but not by so far where we couldn't sit on our roof--complete with sofa--on Friday nights and watch the Hunters get beat down on the gridiron.



The Iranian landlord owned the two houses nearest us, as well, and informed us upon arrival that he would be demolishing all three within the next year to build an apartment complex on the land. We took this news as an invitation to beat the Holy Shit out of the house. That mission was soon accomplished, but it was five long years before the last of us finally moved out.



There were four of us to start: Me, Salk, Kool Breeze and Donny, divided in half into the two rooms. We paid $800 per month for the privilege. I was, at the time, entirely de-motivated and aimless, thanks to my poor choices in life and my continual self-flaggelation for them. Nobody else was pointed in any certain direction, either. Donny and Kool Breeze had graduated from UCLA that summer, but neither planned on getting a job any time soon, at least not until after the World Series, whcih eventually matched mine and Donny's A's against Kool Breeze's Reds. Not only did Donny and I have to suffer the indignity of a sweep, we also had to see Kool Breeze's blinding white ass hanging out on repeated occasions, a ritual he was convinced brought good fortune to the Redlegs. Salk, a year removed from a history degree from San Diego State, was unenthusiastically taking classes toward a teaching credential at the local state college. I was ostensibly enrolled there, as well, but the combination of The Castle and my own malaise only kept me there a half-hearted semester before I dropped out of college for the second time.



About the only things any of us had any appetite for were drugs, beer and music. So, somewhere in our stoned, drunken haze, we started a band.



***************************



Donny and I had never played an instrument before. Kool Breeze had some training with the Ge-Tar and Salk had a shiny new set of drums. Donny took up the bass and I lent my classically church-choir-trained pipes to the ensemble, at least until we could convince Brick to do it.



Brick was a guy Salk and I met that previous spring. He lived near our dingy, furnished two-bedroom apartment near the college. We were introduced by Arve--the most oblivious dipshit either of us have ever met--one night because we needed a little extra dope to take on our annual spring break trip to San Felipe, Mexico. Brick came through, and we were soon spending most afternoons in the company of each other and 40 oz. Miller High Lifes. He was tall, a few years older than us, with an athlete's body beginning to crumble under the weight of rampant alcohol consumption. He had deep blue eyes, full lips and a curly mane of chestnut brown hair. He looked, for all the world, like a Rock Star. And when sober, when concentrating, he could fucking rip it like one.



Back at the Castle, Salk was beginning to get uber-frustrated; with his situation, with Los Angeles, with us, who routinely ganged-up on him during political discussions. He left just after the first of the year and that's when I became the drummer.



****************************



I've got rhythm, never been a question about that. But I've never really been musically inclined. Piano lessons at a young age were boring to me. I wanted to be outside playing. But things were different now. My ritualistic avoidance of growing up now had an added component of "coolness." As crappy as I was, I was in a band.



Brick bought me a nice Tama kit on spec and I set about learning how to play. We floundered around a few months, jamming mostly, banging out some three-chord rock embellished by Brick's hilarious and improvised lyrics. It was fun, creative, but ultimately not very focused. Then came Mondo.



Mondo had guitar chops galore and a penchant for writing epic, prog-rock anthems with multiple pace and meter changes, stops and starts, haunting melodies and high-speed riffs. And if most of our songs had at least three spots where he could solo, that was okay, because now we had arrangements for our odd minor-key noodling and punk-rock locomotives. Just like that, we were five.



***************************



Our debut was a brief affair, three songs at a party we held in our massive front yard, opening for another local band we'd recently met. We played "Pacing," our first completed song, "West End," three minutes of punky goodness and a blues-laden extended take on The Doors' "My Wild Love." I'd been getting high pretty much every day for six years, but I don't think I'd had a buzz like I did after that show in my life.



We befriended another local band, a fairly popular one on the scene at that time, and through them, started picking up some gigs. We opened at Coconut Teazers a couple times, trying out newer material. Salk's new San Diego band, who would go on to become minorly-famous indie band "Trumans Water," would come up to play shows with us at The Castle and out-of-the-way clubs we could talk our way into. It was a fascinating time. I never bought into the idea that rock stardom was somewhere in the future. I wasn't that great a drummer. I could keep us on beat the majority of the time, but I had no nuance, just a straight-ahead, hit 'em, hit 'em often and hit 'em hard attitude.



We went on this way for about a year (dates are awfully fuzzy for those days) before our two crowning achievements, Sunset Strip slots at The World Famous Whiskey-A-Go-Go and venerable Gazzari's, Ground Zero for the metal scene just a few years previous. We could boast of a dozen or so songs at this point and even a small fan base, who had favorite songs and would scream in between numbers. We also had a singer who was drunk 90% of the time and a lead guitarist who increasingly hated him. The Gazzari's show would be our last, as Mondo made his first of two exits from the quintet. He came back, increasingly demanding, but, in an odd twist, it was I who was the first to depart for good.



Despite the enjoyment of being in the band, there was also a growing surety that this was not what I was meant to be doing. I'd gotten some of my guts back, was working two jobs and planning to return to school in the fall. Along with that new-found mojo, I decided I wasn't going to let Mondo take advantage of me any longer. So when he made one final obnoxious demand, I rebelled and Donny and Kool Breeze sided with Mondo. That hurt, quite a bit more than I've ever told them. Not because I wasn't in the band, but because they were my friends long before and long after, tethered only to Mondo because of where they thought he could take them and blind to my observation that they couldn't count on him for anything of the sort. Being right took away some of the sting.



I haven't thought about those days in a while. It was a confusing time for me. I hilarious snippets of memory from those days and I wouldn't trade them for the world. I also would never want to re-live them. It illustrates both the best and worst of me, and everyone else involved.



********************************



The cassettte tape I found has versions of songs throughout the history of the band. There's "Taken For a Ride," "Pacing" and "Castle West" from the Whiskey show. "West End," "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "You Never Know" from practice sessions in The Castle's living room. "Davenport" at Gazzari's. But one song captures it all. It's called "Sunny Jim," and Brick wrote the lyrics based on a toothless bum he saw on the street. It was one of our mellower numbers, but it kicks up a little after the solo/bridge, and there, in this long-ago version, we were perfect.



I think of Brick, his undeniable charisma and talent thwarted by a deep-seated self-loathing that manifested itself in alcoholism and bizarre explosions of violence. But at that moment, he was a Golden God. For eight bars, he ruled the world. Maybe that was the most he had in him. Maybe not. This is not about whether we reached our potential in life or any of that shit. No, it's about making that one moment. When I hear him hit it, I still get goose bumps. And I smile. He sings,



What I see is just a reflection of me

In thirty years. What will the future bring?

All I know, is that I'm doin' my best

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http://obituarium.blogspot.com/2006/05/i-wanna-rock.html


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Hee Haw

post from Sound of a Suckout on 11 May 2006 10:22:00 AM. © Sound of a Suckout

Played in a satellite tournament at Bodog last night, as part of a series of tournaments they're running for affiliates, culminating in a freeroll for a WSOP Main Event seat. The top 30% get points in each tournament, with the top 30% at the end of four or five qualifying tournaments getting a seat in the final freeroll for the Main Event seat.



I managed to play solid poker for the majority of the tournament, then was seized by the uncontrollable urge to act like a donkey and lose all of my chips in three consecutive hands, folding 1010 preflop to a short stack to my left who came over the top of my raise with what was very likely a worse hand, calling off most of my chips the next hand to the same player on a Q83 flop with 55 (he had 66 and shoved on the flop), then lumping it all in with AQo as a shorty and running into QQ.



Hee haw.



On the bright side (and pardon the petty gloating), I managed to get out of CRYP yesterday at the absolute high of the day, basically doubling up the chunk of change I'd invested in options. I usually muck up the timing on trades like that but managed to get out in the morning before it bled back a chunk of the gains throughout the day. I'm still long CRYP, as I think we'll see 35 within 3-6 months, but I was more than happy to book a nice gain from the options and plow it back into something else.

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Trigger Lock

post from BadBlood on Poker on 11 May 2006 10:13:00 AM. © BadBlood on Poker

There is still a leak in my NL game.  It manifested itself last night in somewhat of a bizarre fashion.  The source of the problem is using data not relevant to the current hand to shape your actions.  Frankly, it?s somewhat embarrassing, but I?m posting it anyway so I can refer to it later when I hopefully stop thinking in such counterproductive ways.

What set the stage for me was losing my stack in a simple little $10+1 turbo SNG on Titan poker (Titan had sent me a free $10 so I figured what the hell.)  Someone who needed runner-runner to beat me called my all-in bet on the flop.  It was comical and it really didn?t bother me, but for whatever reason its absurdity stuck with me.

I closed down the software and fired up Full Tilt, logging into a $200NL ring game.  I posted my $2 big blind in late position and on the very first hand I was dealt pocket Aces.  My mind immediately jumped to insidious thoughts.  These cards dealt to me on the very first hand on a brand new table were clearly evidence of a conspiracy against me to give me two consecutive brutal beats in a row on two different online sites.  It?s obvious to anyone who?s played online poker that this thought is completely rational.  Right?

When the player to my left raised pre-flop to $9, I just called.  And there, my friends, is my huge error.  I wasn?t going to let the online conspiracy get me this time.  If I were bound to get my Aces cracked, it would not be for my entire stack.  One other player called, which was disappointing because I had hoped that the other player?s raise would still be enough such that we?d be heads up to the flop.

The flop came QQ2.  A-ha!  I was right.  It?s even more evident now that I am bound to lose this hand.  The pre-flop raiser bet out $20.  I totally ignored the evidence that a good poker player would use to realize that this was a strong indication that he did not have a Queen in his hand.  I smooth called and the late position player folded.

The turn was a blank and the pre-flop raiser checked.  Again, more evidence that this player did not have a Queen, but still I checked behind.  Because I was not going to go broke on this hand, even though a good poker player would realize that pocket Aces were still good.

The river was a 3rd Queen.  And the pre-flop raiser bet $45.  A good poker player, not swayed by irrationality, would have realized that this action was completely and utterly consistent with him holding a high pocket pair and him feeling confident that I did not have a Queen based on my actions.  So I smooth called again.

I won the pot, about $160, because pocket Aces held up against pocket Kings.

And I was pissed.  At myself.  For a variety of reasons.

I should have stacked the guy.  At the very least I could have min-raised the river and got a crying call out of my opponent.  The biggest mistake was not re-raising pre-flop.  Had I done that, I am nearly 100% certain that we?d have got all our money in pre-flop.  I was brand new to the table and it was my first hand.  The guy with pocket Kings would have pushed had I re-raised, how could he not?

In the end, I left about $120 in equity on the table because I played the hand so weakly and passively.  And that is not the way to play strong, winning poker.  I?d like to say that perhaps I played it cautiously because a decent player could have made a good play with a Queen in his hand.  But I just sat down, had no reads, and more often than not, the action described above means that he did not have a Queen.

I?ve never won a hand where I felt so mad at myself afterwards.

Read The Full Article:
http://badbloodonpoker.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_badbloodonpoker_archive.html#11473
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PokerSharing & You Decide #32

post from High on Poker on 11 May 2006 07:53:00 AM. © High on Poker

The greatest thing about PokerShare is that the name really does indicate the style of play. Whenever I sit down, especially at No Limit cash tables, my opponents insist on sharing their hard-earned money with me. I wish I could say that I have gotten into this spirit of giving, but Christmas isn't till December, and I'm a Jew anyway.Let's get down to the bare facts. I started the night with a

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Better Days to Come

post from Quest of a Closet Poker Player on 11 May 2006 07:20:00 AM. © Quest of a Closet Poker Player

The -$1,673 day, or more specifically the -$1,445 night. A night on two tables, losing $672 over 32 hands on a $10/20 table then losing $773 on a $30/60 table over 124 hands. The first had some brutal pots: AKs twice, KQs vs AK, A8s flush draw, QQ vs. KJ, and finally AA vs KQ. The $30/60 I played solidly but nothing hit, with AK twice (once bailing when nothing hit, another time playing hard vs. JJ). My afternoon session I was down -$23o or so after being down $1,000 and fighting back at the end on a $10/20 table. Had a nice misclick for the first time two-tabling, raising with AsJc, flop coming JsTs5s and folding (flush came won by QsTc). The day puts me in the hole for the month while I was trying to push the Party account above $5k for the first time. So, back to the grind. 18% bankroll loss in one night, so that's not a good thing for sure, but now it's about staying solid.

How do you deal with the big loss? This was the first big losing session that I didn't feel down emotionally, which is a positive in my mind. I'm now in the hole $744 for May but still with a healthy bankroll. But what tactically occurs after a session like this? First, my plan is to review PokerTracker for each table yesterday to identify the specific causes for the loss. I've jumped to the $30/60 tables before to recover, but I just don't have the bankroll or experience to play there in my opinion. It is a much more aggressive game at times where players can sniff out scared money, I think. Anyways, I'd be interested in other folks thoughts on how they deal with the day after the 10-30% losing day. I think it would be some healthy exploration for us all.

Well, we moved some books which is nice, but I've decided not to wait, just put all the books out there. The first four are taken and only available if someone wants to provide me with a barter bid (meaning they have to give me something). Original claimer will have first right of refusal (to match barter bid or come over-the-top). If you claimed a book yesterday, then you can claim a second book, but these are the only guys who get more than one book.

So Chris is gone from American Idol. That must mean that Taylor is the winner this year. I'm a bit disappointed that Chris didn't make it through, although Paris, Chris, and Taylor are going to have solid starts to their career I think. Sweetie fell asleep during Bones, which was crazy as it's her show. I think that contributed to my loss last night; if she had stayed awake, maybe I would have chosen a different table and won $1600 instead of losing it. Butterfly effect and all that.

I had my first visit from change100 (who may or may not be Claire Danes). I'll keep believing everyone that they are one and the same, and I'll be either right or not. Speaking of grammar, when did they change the punctuation rule about commas and a series? For example, look at the following sentence. Dogs, cats, and rabbits are mammals. I'm talking about the comma after cats here. I think the rule now is that you don't put a comma before the and, although I always do. I don't understand how you change that and what the logic is and how they're supposed to let people know about it.

My buddy-through-email Joe Sebok is currently riding a major rough spell in MTT's. I'm not good enough to give him advice; having said that, I told him I thought a slump like this was similar to a baseball player batting .187 over six weeks, how they then start overthinking everything trying to figure out what to do right. Tourneys are great if you're riding strong but horrible if you keep crashing out. How much of tourneys is luck? Some of it absolutely is. Give every player your cards and situations over a single tourney and what would the results be? For a single tourney, there may be nothing that can be done not to crash out before cashing or in the first two levels. That doesn't mean that players who regularly cash or do well in tourneys are great; maybe it means there is a quantity component to tourneys, that you have to play a bunch of them to move luck to the side a bit. Anyways, Joe keep cranking away.

Not sure if anyone uses the discount codes I've gotten for suppliers, but I'll mention them again (see the link at the top right). Chips and Games gives you 10% off if you use CLOSET at checkout, a trusted supplier. Big Slik Poker Tables gives you 10% off any custom table, and they do great, great work at a reasonable price. Thanks for coming by, and it will be interesting to see who gets what. Also, very eager to see what folks think about how they deal with the bad day/session.


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http://ccexplore.blogspot.com/2006/05/better-days-to-come.html


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Revised 2006 World Series of Poker Schedule +
Pre-Register

post from Poker Profs Las Vegas Poker Blog on 11 May 2006 02:51:00 AM. © Poker Profs Las Vegas Poker Blog

Poker most coveted prize, a gold championship bracelet. The 2006 WSOP schedule of events has changed with the re-scheduling of the $50,000 HORSE event, the biggest buy-in event in the history of the World Series of Poker. The schedule...

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http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/pokerblog/archives/002716.php


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Angry Sky

post from Hella Hold'em on 11 May 2006 12:54:00 AM. © Hella Hold'em

Empress is finally starting to feel like home, as Trump once did.

The other day, a dealer called me by name for the first time. The brush folks recognize me now, and I'm on a first-name basis with a handful of regulars (the social ones, anyway). Poker life is good.

I headed over there after work tonight, to sit the 5/10 game (as per usual). I wish I had some hand stories for you, because something must have gone right (I left up $155 in 4 hours). I just can't seem to remember anything spectacular. I had QQ 3 times - lost big twice, and won small once. A suited 7-8 made me a straight, which was nice. The only other hand I recall is an A-T offsuit holding up for top pair, Aces.

I did enjoy the company of my tablemates tonight, which is not always the case. It was a pretty young table. Early on, I had a crazy Asian gambler to my left, and he had me cracking up. By the time I moved to the main game, I got to join a few poker "friends" (if you can call anyone at a poker table your friend). A woman Renee was there, and she's great fun to chat with. I see her a lot on Wednesday nights. She talks about golf so much and so highly that it makes me want to try it someday. To my right was a guy I'd have pegged as my age (turns out, he's 33). I've seen him a few times, though hadn't talked with him in the past. He was cool. He mentioned being married for 7 years, and it made me think, wow... I have to remember that I'm not crazy for expecting a 33 year old guy to be ready to get married after dating for 3 years. It's not crazy... there are obviously guys out there doing it (getting married, that is).

There was a kid at the other end of the table who I would have pegged as a solid player, except that he sucked. I know - that statement is a contradiction in terms, but he acted like a solid player. Then he'd flip over Q7 suited, having played 2nd pair 7's and raised all day long. Scooby. The guy to my right got into a few verbal sparring matches with the kid, outwitting him at every turn. It was enough to keep me amused while watching Joe Crede fail to get the tying run home from 2nd base, and even kept me laughing while the White Sox got soaked an inning later (literally and figuratively).

I stayed a couple orbits longer than I'd intended, and won back $50 for my time. My straddle buddy Joe was still nursing his Coronas, hoping to take a few more stacks off of a table that had gotten too tight-aggressive for my taste. I bid farewell to Mr. 33, Joe, and the rest of the table, pleased at my take for the day.

As I stepped out of the casino and into the exposed hallway leading to the parking lot, my lungs filled with rain-soaked air. I love the smell of rain. It no longer fell in Joliet, but the skies off in the distance were angry. I love an angry sky. Some people draw strength and comfort from bright, sunshiny days. I find the best versions of myself under an angry sky. Maybe it's the underlying threat of danger from the storm - the adrenaline rush of what could be. It reminds me how small we really are in this big, big world. It puts me in my place, and that is somehow empowering.

The first song to hit the airwaves off my iPod once I reached my car was, "Don't Fear the Reaper." Seasons don't fear the reaper, nor do the wind, the sun or the rain - We can be like they are....

Tags: casino, Empress Casino Joliet, limit holdem, HellaHoldem, poker, texas hold'emFiled Under:



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http://hellaholdem.blogspot.com/2006/05/angry-sky.html


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