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TGIDADI

post from High on Poker on 21 April 2006 04:57:00 PM. © High on Poker

GOD! MUST...PLAY...POKER...MUST...WAIT...UNTIL THE END OF THE DAY...MUST...HAVE...BLOGGER GAME OF 7 PLAYERS (including two of my local cohorts).

And finally, MUST...PLAY...DADI...ON...MONDAY...

I can't freaking wait. GET ME OUT OF HERE!

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http://highonpoker.blogspot.com/2006/04/tgidadi.html

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B2B Poker Bonus List

post from Sound of a Suckout on 21 April 2006 11:39:00 AM. © Sound of a Suckout

I've had more than a few requests for a list of some of the B2B poker bonuses I've been grinding of late, so here it be. (I stuck them on pages over at TPTK as Blogger doesn't seem to like to deal with tables that are more than a few columns/rows).

B2B Poker Bonus List

FAQ for B2B Bonuses

It's definitely a work in progress but I thought I'd go ahead and put it up. I've got tons of more sites to add, and I also plan on listing all of the bonuses that each site offers. For the first pass, I listed the bonus for each site with the best terms, but many of them offer a few different bonuses, of various juiciness as far as clearance rates.

I also listed a lot of the common questions in the FAQ. So if you're having trouble getting more than one referral bonus, hit the FAQ. Also keep in mind that you can absolutely get a referral bonus + a signup bonus for each site. Claim the referral bonus only when creating an account, then use the bonus code when making your first deposit.

The B2B sites are definitely an acquired taste but they've been really, really good to me. A lot of the really big 5x signup bonuses on the B2B network have expired, but there are plenty of good smaller ones to grind through, which definitely add up when you're clearing the referral bonus simultaneously.

Read The Full Article:
http://suckout.blogspot.com/2006/04/b2b-poker-bonus-list.html

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Hopped Up Goofball

post from The Obituarium on 21 April 2006 11:26:00 AM. © The Obituarium

I woke up today eight kinds of hungover. After my inspring run in the $17K (I don't recall how I busted. Was I ahead? Was I behind? Was I conscious?), I had to do a little spritzing around the abode, none of it having to do with peppermint lotion (and if you don't know why that's so goddamned hilarious, I pity you). The upshot is I didn't get my drunken ass into bed until past midnight and that 5 o'clock alarm came awfully early.

Funny thing about me when I'm hungoover after a very fun evening. I get silly. I talk to myself and make myself laugh. I sing "Hotel Yorba" at the top of my lungs while walking from the train. I remember what Larry said yesterday about how there's no way Monroe DOESN'T get to that ball in the daytime and cackle anew (and if you don't know why that's so goddamned hilarious, I pity you). I'm in Full Goof Mode.

Yes, that's right. Five products. It used to be three until a few months ago. I've been using ProActive for like 10 years. I used to have really bad acne scars, and reasonably bad acne, and their little kit cleared it right up. If ProActive were a Cult, I'd have given them all my worldly possessions and joined up. So, you have exfoliating face wash, toner and rejuvenating cream. That's three. After I went to the local Spa in February, I added a couple others on top of the ProActive. In the last year or so, my skin has gotten progressively darker under my eyes, not where the "bags" form, but below that, on the top of my cheekbones. I was informed by the facial-ologist that the darkness comes from sun exposure, from the reflection off my sunglasses (which makes sense) and she recommended a product to lighten the patches and even them out to match my regular skin tone. Shit works like a charm (it's called ScarGuard Gel if anyone out there has issues). I also added the fifth on the facialist's recommendation, a 30 spf sunscreen for the mug. It smells like a Hawaiian beach.

So....five. Not geigh. But certainly time-consuming.

Bobby and Captain Jason T. Kirk make me wanna be a better person. They also make me wanna bid on things over the internet.

The Breakup Song is "Time to Waste," by Alkaline Trio or, as I sometimes refer to them, The Al Kaline Trio. Yes, that's funny.

...and you found everything you need

to make your life complete

completely revolting

Sweet.

June 24th is 65 days from yesterday. Game on! Place your wagers.

Read The Full Article:
http://obituarium.blogspot.com/2006/04/hopped-up-goofball.html

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You Know You're Running Bad When...

post from FeliciaLee on 21 April 2006 10:38:00 AM. © FeliciaLee

Glenn has been running bad the past few days. Yesterday, after hearing him grumbling about his umpteenth set that got cracked, he came into the room where I was working.

He put a five dollar bill down on the arm of my chair and told me his bad beat story.

Felicia :)

Read The Full Article:
http://felicialee.blogspot.com/2006/04/you-know-youre-running-bad-when.html

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You Know You're Running Bad...

post from FeliciaLee on 21 April 2006 10:38:00 AM. © FeliciaLee

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Home Gaming

post from High on Poker on 21 April 2006 09:30:00 AM. © High on Poker

Now I remember why I rarely have home games. Tonight, if all goes well, there will be a NYC blogger home game tonight at Casa del High, aka the 5 Diamond Club. We have 5 people right now, so let me first ask this general question: Would you host a home game if only 5 people could attend? If so, what games would you play? It's not really about telling me what to do. Right now, I'm still not sure, going back and forth between "5 is too little for a good game" and "With this crowd, 5 is fine." It's more just a matter of curiosity.

I got some decent reaction from the Poker and Pets post. I expect more emails to be sent in the future, both from owners and their pets (thanks Trip). It's good to be offering up some great advice to the public.

I got my ass handed to me again last night. Bubbled in a Rio and then placed 3rd. I couldn't get anything going. Card dead and with bad luck is not a way to win a Rio. But I try to shake it off as a bit of variance. More importantly, what is done is done. I'll have to return their later to take my money back.

I then jumped into Mini-Step 2 on Party (foregoing Step 1). I placed 5th, pushing me back to Step 1, a Step I was hoping to avoid all together. The last hand was a suckout, where I decided to call a minimum raise from the BB when I was the SB with 59o. I hit my 5 and bet, hoping he missed the board. He calls. The turn is a 9 and I push. He calls with two random cards that happen to have comprised top pair, shitty kicker. He then rivers trips, and I go home. Some people may say that 59o is a poor hand to play. I know, I know. But how I played it was excellent. Results, however, don't always fall in line behing my greatness.

(Variance, I keep telling myself. Variance.)

Damnit, I love this poker thing, and I plan on playing all night (home game or not) to satisfy what ails me. Wifey Kim is going to be on LI tomorrow for some other thing. I try not to ask too many questions, lest I sound like I want to join. That means more poker tomorrow morning/afternoon as well. And with wifey Kim out of the house tonight, I may just uber-degenerate it up by not sleeping at all! Okay, I'll sleep some, but probably at some ungodly hour in order to convince myself that I'm a wild and crazy guy. How sad.

I ended up sending a text message to about 8 people to drum up more players for tonight's game. There were some people I considered texting that I haven't seen or spoken to in months. I never know what to do. On one hand, it looks like I'm just texting them for the sake of poker. On the other, poker is just something that we have in common and that we enjoy. To me, its the same (and in fact, preferable, entertainment-wise) than calling them up to go for a beer. Hey, I got beer at my place.

That's where I'm at. Holla back if ya hear me!

Read The Full Article:
http://highonpoker.blogspot.com/2006/04/home-gaming.html

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Children and Poker: One Theory

post from Quest of a Closet Poker Player on 21 April 2006 08:27:00 AM. © Quest of a Closet Poker Player

It's always great when one has a positive impact on young, warped minds. As you know, I err toward the side of introspection on poker, leaving strategy and hand analysis for those better qualified. I am, to put it mildly, greatly humbled that my exploration of poker and our relationships, as well as this current work on kids, has profoundly moved Jordan at High on Poker. Jordan has been compelled to scribe a stunningly insightful post: Pets and Poker. With thorough research and the profound knowledge that can only come from loving pets too much, Jordan bluntly confronts the hidden, murky world of the impact our poker play has on pets. If I had some small part in encouraging Jordan in this endeavor, well, that in and of itself is reward enough.

You've seen Gary Loveman, you may or may not recognize the name, but he is one of the key players in the world of the poker revolution as we know it. I'll try to stick to the facts then note where those facts end and where my speculation begins. Until 1998, Loveman was a Professor at Harvard Business School, excelling in his instruction of service excellence and customer understanding while also serving clients to assist them in their business improvement efforts. In 1998, one of his clients, Harrah's, tapped him to serve as their Chief Operating Officer. He became CEO in 2003. Loveman's impact on the gaming community has been profound, including Harrah's introduction of the first player reward program which moved the world of comps to the masses. His approach to gaming has been significantly different than competitors (although they are now in hot pursuit). While most casinos chased the whales, those critical few big gamers ready to drop six and seven figures over a weekend, Loveman felt like the emerging mid-market could be the way to greater profit. Focus on the non-flashy regular gamer, listen to them, serve their needs, increase their frequency to play, keep them in the Harrah's network.

Having said that, the Echo Boomer demographic has confronted the gaming industry with some very significant challenges. To put it bluntly, the twentysomething crowd has been exposed to gaming like no generation since maybe the Wild West days in the 1800's. The frustration that has confronted casino executives is that they have been much more difficult to rope into gaming. Slots, that money-printing cash cow, is something that has been fairly repulsive to the young crowd. The video game generation became bored quickly with slots, looking at this most lucrative gaming space as an old folks, blue haired pursuit. The younger crew would rather hit the nightclubs of Vegas than the craps table. More and more revenue is being derived on what previously were peripheral necessities for casinos: lodging, meals, and entertainment. For the hot spots, like the Palms and the Hard Rock, slots may only comprise <40% of the total gaming space.

What to do? Enter Harrah's and Loveman's strategic insight with the acquisition of Binion's and more importantly the rights to the World Series of Poker. With the poker explosion building, Loveman saw the potential of poker to exploit the younger segment's interest in live games and the ability to use poker as an entrance into the gaming customer base. The Horseshoe? Selling WSOP chips and t-shirts? Television rights? Peanuts vs. the significantly lower customer acquisition costs and greater potential for customer retention and loyalty using poker as a key lever for gaming initation. Online's poker explosion has fueled this obviously, but think about this: why would Red Rock Casino open a brand new poker room then only spread $4/8 and $1/2 NLHE? Why so many low limit rooms everywhere when minimum blackjack tables are increasingly $25? To give the customer what they want: the ability to scream, "I'm all-in" or "How much can I bet?" Then instruct them in how to play blackjack, sell them $15 burgers, have their girlfriend kill time at video poker and slots, then let them party all night long at their VIP table.

The poker schools of partypoker.net, the humorous glut of television ads, the European sports marketing, the bonus whoring, the non-existant age barriers to online poker: all focused on painfree customer acquisition and introduction.

Now is all of this evil, is this all conspiracy theory, paranoia run amuck? Not sure if it is insightful or not (little of it is new news for sure), but in the capital of global culture and marketing, I wanted to put it forward. I think it's important so that we have open eyes as we explore next week how we address poker as our children grow up. I'll have a couple of final thoughts next week, and we also will have some thoughts from a successful high school player.

Finally, a nice easy weekend recipe: chicken fajitas cooked on the stove. This is another very simple meal, relatively quick yet very tasty. Enjoy, and have a good weekend.

Cut two pounds of boneless chicken breasts. Season with a pinch of cumin grains, oregano, crushed garlic, pepper, and Worcestshire sauce (fifteen shakes should be good). Cumin is very powerful, so less is more here.
Chop bell peppers and onions separately
Dump the chicken in a big skillet or pot on medium heat, stir regularly and cook for 15 minutes or so. You can cut the bigger pieces of chicken with a fork to see if they are done.
Put some olive oil or vegetable oil in a skillet on medium heat, and brown the onions.
Follow instructions for tortillas (get the small and large sizes; I wrap them in aluminum foil and heat)
Cut whatever else you want: black olives, jalapenos, lettuce, cheeses; have salsa ready

That's it. Again, very easy to do on any day. You can also cut everything early on a Saturday so that you just knock it out over 45 minutes at the end of the day. Have a good weekend, and good luck if you're playing this weekend.

Read The Full Article:
http://ccexplore.blogspot.com/2006/04/children-and-poker-one-theory.html

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Trials And Tribulations Of Loose Games

© COPYRIGHT 2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Playing in very loose games against weak opponents has its own set of rules. There will be more suckouts, bigger pots and more overall variance in your results. You need to play many pocket pairs looking to to hit sets and to play suited Aces and Kings and good suited connectors in position. Loose games are the perfect breeding grounds for these implied odds types of hands.

I am living all of this right now at the Poker Syndicate $2/4 LHE tables, the loosest poker site ever created by the poker gods.

Since my last post, I put in 156 hands at Poker Syndicate and finished up with a loss of $63.50. Actually this wasn't a loss caused by suckouts, just more of a continuing run of subpar cards that I have been going through there.

I do track some data of my play at Poker Syndicate by hand and have found some interesting facts. Now after 2,775 hands I find myself down $62 so far. I have suffered my share of tough and bad beats, but my results have been defined more by the poor run of cards that I have been getting there. After that many hands, I should have been dealt each pocket pair on average 12.5 times. What I have found is that I have been dealt AA 6 times, KK 6 times, QQ 7 times, JJ 12 times and TT 10 times. That's a lot profit I am missing out on by not being dealt my share of AA, KK and QQ so far. I don't track things like suited Aces/Kings or suited connectors, but it doesn't seem like I am catching many of those hands, either. The good cards will come, though.

Ahh, the trials and tribulations of playing in loose games. Where the long run is longer than it is at other, relatively tighter games, in my opinion.

So when you can't beat the uber-fish, what do you do? You go play at a much tighter set of $2/4 LHE tables, like Poker Stars. You put in 125 hands and win $102, then end up $38.50 for the day.

It's that easy. (LOL)

Good luck at the tables and have a great weekend!

Bloggers Championship I am registered to play in the
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Win your share of $25,000 and a set
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Read The Full Article:
http://countingmyouts.blogspot.com/2006/04/trials-and-tribulations-of-loose-games
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Dr. Pauly on Poker From the 2006 WPT Bellagio

Patrik Antonius takes the lead in the 2006 WPT Championship WPT Day 3: Antonius Takes the Lead The young gun from Finland Patrik Antonius likes playing at the Bellagio. The former model from Helsinki took second place at the...

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http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/pokerblog/archives/002655.php

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Update

I somehow managed to drink 7 beers tonight (one Grolsch and six Bass Ales) and not have a total fit regarding my lack of tobacco ingestion (read the post below, can ya? It's far more important--but not interesting). Futhermore, I did not CRAVE a smoke with every beer--my usual ratio. To be sure, I had much love and back-slaps and encouragement from the IRC crew, including Those Who Have Gone Before.

However, what resulted was a huge buzz, not only alcohol-induced, but also one that played havoc with my neuro-receptors, which are so used to that dopamine release. I admit it, I was totally off my axis. What other reason (and my first attempt at typing "reason" resulted in "easopmn") could there be for me playing The Jackhammer--HARD--three times in the $17K on Full Tilt. What other reason (and my second attempt at typing "reason" resulted in "reaosnlo") could there be for me going 3 for 3 with The Jackhammer in the $17K on Full Tilt. I CALLED with it twice from a blind with a miniscule M and caught on the river both times (a gutshot 6 and a J to beat TT). The third push got the blinds and antes (yes, I showed).

So here I sit, may fingers numb somehow, in a giddy mood, wondering if staying home from work and pulling weeds and then drinking A LOT is a bad thing, or if physically drinking alone is technically drinking alone if you're chatting with a dozen degenerates, wonderful degenerates who make you laugh every minute and drop you a line of poker wisdom or a physiological definition of your current condition when you're wondering What. The. Fuck. that bet means and...

I ramble. I babble. I realize my TV is tuned to some New York sports talk show and, even in my present state, I realize I am infinitely more lucid than 90% of the dingbats currently talking about the Knicks. The Knicks?

I won a token. I parlayed it into a 30th-place finish in the $17K. I haven't smoked. Or smoken. April, Glyph, drizz, Alan, byron, Shane, gracie and Ryan helped keep me--it--together.

Good day.

Read The Full Article:
http://obituarium.blogspot.com/2006/04/update.html