May 28 Battle of the Plants update

This week's Battle of the Planets begins with another congratulations to 'Gr8DSip' for taking down the Battle of the Planets $50,000 Triple Shootout this Sunday. 'Gr8DSip' earned his ticket for the event by placing in 5th on the Low Orbit Division of the Venus Division with 503 points. That single 20 game block of $5 tournaments paved the way to $12,620 in winnings.

With the fairy tale story duly noted, here are the happenings from around the Leader Boards:

The top Low Orbit score for the week came in the Earth Division, where 'GG3o' posted a score of 580, an honor made all the sweeter by the $700 that came with it.

Mercury saw the biggest High Orbit score for the week as 'Sparky73' recorded a tally of 1838 points. He also made the top 100 of the Low Orbit, taking his weekly earnings to $170.

In the Mars Division 'msEvsiNdreAd' earned a total of $351 from a double top ten finish. He took 6th in the Low Orbit and a won the High Orbit, the latter with a fine score of 1810 points. There were also double top ten finishes for 'pgcannonball' and 'd-jarl' (Uranus) and 'MarkPhilip' (Venus).

In the higher divisions, it's not uncommon to see multiple cashes and the past week was no different. In the Saturn Division, 'kenos03' deserves a mention for finishing 2nd on both leader boards, an effort worth $1600.

The performance of the week came from Jupiter's most consistent competitor 'woosewoo' who took 1st place on both boards. On the High Orbit Leader Board, he set a new division record with a score of 1479 points. That's another $3000 of Battle of the Planets prize money for the 'woosewoo' collection.

It's becoming very clear there is a lot of money to be made from Battle of the Planets. Drop by next week to find out who is taking the lion's share!

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May 28 Battle of the Planets update

This week's Battle of the Planets begins with another congratulations to 'Gr8DSip' for taking down the Battle of the Planets $50,000 Triple Shootout this Sunday. 'Gr8DSip' earned his ticket for the event by placing in 5th on the Low Orbit Division of the Venus Division with 503 points. That single 20 game block of $5 tournaments paved the way to $12,620 in winnings.

With the fairy tale story duly noted, here are the happenings from around the Leader Boards:

The top Low Orbit score for the week came in the Earth Division, where 'GG3o' posted a score of 580, an honor made all the sweeter by the $700 that came with it.

Mercury saw the biggest High Orbit score for the week as 'Sparky73' recorded a tally of 1838 points. He also made the top 100 of the Low Orbit, taking his weekly earnings to $170.

In the Mars Division 'msEvsiNdreAd' earned a total of $351 from a double top ten finish. He took 6th in the Low Orbit and a won the High Orbit, the latter with a fine score of 1810 points. There were also double top ten finishes for 'pgcannonball' and 'd-jarl' (Uranus) and 'MarkPhilip' (Venus).

In the higher divisions, it's not uncommon to see multiple cashes and the past week was no different. In the Saturn Division, 'kenos03' deserves a mention for finishing 2nd on both leader boards, an effort worth $1600.

The performance of the week came from Jupiter's most consistent competitor 'woosewoo' who took 1st place on both boards. On the High Orbit Leader Board, he set a new division record with a score of 1479 points. That's another $3000 of Battle of the Planets prize money for the 'woosewoo' collection.

It's becoming very clear there is a lot of money to be made from Battle of the Planets. Drop by next week to find out who is taking the lion's share!

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Greg Raymer on Two Plus Two Pokercast

It's a big week for the PokerStars VIP Club Two Plus Two Pokercast. In this week's edition, Mike and Adam talk to Team PokerStars Pro and 2004 WSOP champion Greg "Fossilman" Raymer. You'll hear from Greg about his role with the Poker Player's Alliance and his thoughts on the upcoming World Series.

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack also joins the show and discusses some of the changes he has overseen at the World Series, not the least of which is the decision to delay the Main Event final table until November.

Finally, the hosts catch up with the two players on the Supernova Highway. This feature sees Mike and Adam (and the finest minds of 2+2) mentoring two poker enthusiasts on their way through the PokerStars VIP Club ranks, all the way up to Supernova.

Of course the show features the usual round-up of tournament news, gossip from the poker world and strategy tips from noted poker authors. You'll also hear about the latest developments at PokerStars and the password to the Pokercast Freeroll.

Check it all out on this week's Two Plus Two Pokercast.

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This Guy Didn't Get It

Not much is going down at the HighOnPoker watchtower. The days pass along as I bust my hump covering last minute depositions and coordinating enough lawsuits to make me officially feel like an air traffic controller. Yesterday had me driving to New Jersey to cover two depositions. I heard about the first one on Tuesday, giving me all of one day to prepare. I heard about the second one about 2 minutes after I entered the deposition. Thank god my strongest skill is my ability to think on my feet.

Meanwhile, life at home is honky dorey. I've sorta escaped from the habit of online poker. I still play, but I haven't felt the same urge lately. It's likely due to the other distractions around me, most notably the Wii. Mario Kart Wii continues to be a blast. It's online component pretty much makes the game. Wifey Kim and I also picked up Wii Fit, which makes for an interesting distraction. If you haven't heard about Wii Fit, its essentially a device that looks like a step-aerobics board. It can tell how you distribute your weight and comes with a disc that has a slew of games and exercises (yoga, strength training, etc.) designed to get America's fat children off of their asses. Apparently, it works on online poker players too. I highly recommend the system for anyone looking to change things up a bit. I doubt that it will have the health benefits most people hope for, since, like gym memberships, it's one thing to buy it and its a whole other thing to actually use it consistently. But I digress.

Online poker seems to remain about break-even. I have a few fun hands to discuss in my blogging queue, but before I get to that, I thought I'd go over some comments made during the most recent Skillz Game. I played fairly well in the Skillz Game until I flamed out late on some plays that I don't recall particularly even though I can still taste the self-flagulation that came after my likely bad plays. I love me a blow up! But that all said, let's enjoy some chit-chat.

I was getting shortstacked when I made an awfukkit play that I rarely make. I am all for the hammer, but I am usually adamantly against pushing all-in with the hammer, mostly because in the past, I consistently was called in such situations and consequentally busted out. So, while I advocate for the hammer, I always add one caveat, no all-in bluffs.

Well, usually no all-in bluffs. I pushed all-in with my 2,000 or so chips with blinds at or over 100/200. Sadly, I don't have the details. I do remember that I was in EP/MP, so the play was totally unwarranted. Even so, I got called by roo21t (blogger?) in the BB, who showed KQh. Clearly, roo2it was playing loose as well, since I really can't see that call justified unless he was a monster stack. But really, roo2it's call was correct in the end and I don't begrudge him it. After all, our motto at HoP is Control Your Own Play, Because You Cannot Control Others'. Naturally, once the cards flip, I hit the Enter key and my pre-typed "hammer!" pops up. The flop came down with a 2 and no Q or K came, granting me the pot. Immediately, I see an opportunity for humor and this exchange occurs:

HighOnPoker: CHOO CHOO!
roo21t: what a joke

Ah ha! So we have a bitter player. Let's have some fun:

HighOnPoker: Whoop %%# Express just pulled into the station
roo21t: nice hand moron
HighOnPoker: thanks donkey
HighOnPoker: why don't you hop on the train
HighOnPoker: next stop, busto out junction
HighOnPoker: booya!

So I querry you, was I wrong to be 'smack talking'? My answer is a hearty No, but that's because I am naturally biased to handsome bald men. First, the CHOO CHOO is so obviously a goof, any maroon who gets upset by it is really just looking for an excuse. Then, once roo calls the hand a joke, I decide to, well, joke. Poker is a game, donkeys. Learn how to play or learn how to have fun. Either way, simple "suckouts" like 27 v. KQ shouldn't cause you to lose sleep.

Ah hell, let's bust out those two hands as well.

I have two interesting hands from a $10+1 KO SNG at FT worth discussing. In the first hand, I was sitting at 2798 chips, down from the starting stack of 3000. Blinds were up to 60/120. I believe it was a turbo SNG.

I was dealt JJ in the Hijack (two seats to the right of the button). A player in mid-position, LooseLips with 2620, raised to 240, a min-raise, and I decided to raise to 720. I considered just calling, but I wanted to narrow the field, lest I just call, get two calls from the SB and BB and face a bunch of possible overcards. It worked, and LooseLips and I saw a flop of A75, with two clubs. He checked and I checked as well. I didn't love the Ace, and I wanted to see how LL would act after I checked. I could've bet, but I wanted more information. His check could mean he had the Ace and was setting up a check-raise, or that he had nothing. I was also mildly concerned of the check-raise bluff. In other words, if I bet and get raised, I'll have no choice but to fold. Even if I'm called, I'm concerned and have to lock down my hand, since a loose player might have called with AT preflop and on the flop. I'm better off waiting to see what happens on the turn.

The turn was an offsuit 9 and LL checked. At this point, I really had no idea where I was, but I was getting the impression that I was ahead. I still opted for a check because only a superior hand would call me there (see, A8, QQ, etc.) and a check-raise was not out of the question. If I were ahead, I would simply hope for no Q or K, in which case, I'd likely remain ahead on the river.

The river was an offsuit 8, creating a 4-card straight if LL had a 6. He instantly pushed all-in for 1900. I insta-called. He showed KTh and I took down the pot.

This is one of those instances where I acted before I even knew why I was acting. We find ourselves once again back to the concepts in the book Blink. Essentially, everything he did appeared like a river bluff and I knew this on an instinctual level. He must assume that I do not have an Ace based on the action, so he tried to push me off of the pot. The all-in overbet was another sign that he was bullshitting. It is true that some people overbet for value on the river, but in this case, the "story" showed either a player with no cards or a player with a monster who checked out of position twice to set up a check-raise or induce a bet/bluff from a weaker hand. If we follow the story of a player with no cards, the push makes sense; it's a last ditch attempt at a pot that appears abandoned. If we follow the story of a player trying to squeeze out some value from a monster hand, then his push makes no sense. A small value bet would fit with that story and probably force me out of the pot if it's a large enough "small" bet. Since the pot was about 1500 and we both were down to stacks of approximately 2000, a 900 bet would probably scare me off. Even if I call there, he still saves the 1000 he threw away from pushing. Bet sizing is key.

I had worked my way up to a 8758 stack by the 150/300, 25 antes level, when I was dealt Q6o in the Hijack. I had tightened up my play considerably, literally only playing top 10 or 15 hands while I folded away the rest. We were 7 handed and I'm on the button when it folds to me. The SB only has 350 or so left, so I want to get heads-up with him, since the pot would be ~925 if we got heads-up and I would only be exposed for 350 more than if I were to fold. The SB, Bull, called and the BB, Med, surprisingly called as well. He had over 12,000 and was the table chip leader. after three folds, I decided to take a stab at a pot. After all, the last two or three hands were all won preflop, so I felt like it was a good time to steal since the table was in fold-mode. I raise to 900,

The flop was a useless J74 with two diamonds. Med checks and I bet out 1,200. This is the most interesting aspect of the hand to me. Many players check here thinking that, with no cards, they cannot win the main pot against the shorty. I'm sure you've seen this before and if you are an accomplished player this is almost a laughable statement, since its so intuitive, but for anyone else, let me lay it flat for you: It is not your job to bust players. It is only your job to collect chips.

Since Med called me preflop, the side pot was 1,100. The main pot was comparable in size. If I knew I couldn't win the main pot, I had to play for that sizeable main pot. Sure, I may push Med off of a hand that would bust Bull, but ultimately I don't care about whether Bull busts. I care about getting some of those chips into my stack.

Bull showed K5h, and by the river, won the pot with his King-high. However, by bluffing off Med, I was able to take 1,100 out of the hand after investing 900. It ain't a big profit, but it's better than leaving that 1,100 out there for Med to take.

That's all the fun I have for you today. If you are like me, you are itching for the Lost finale tonight.

Until next time, make mine poker!

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/HighOnPoker/~3/300624324/this-guy-didnt-get-it.htm
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Makeover

The question I've gotten more than any other is "What made you do this now?" which is like asking Stephen Hawking if he has any opinions on the origin of the universe. I've made a career here out of intrepid and constant navel-gazing, so such inwardly-focused inquiries are bound to set me off on extended flights of introspection. Please move your seat-backs to the upright and locked position.

As I reach Day 45, the mid-way point of my Total Body (and Mind) Makeover, I have, as you'd expect from me, a few thoughts.

Before I get to The Theory, let me get everyone up-to-date on the bare statistics.

Pounds lost: 13
Belt loops lost (in lieu of "Inches Lost in Waist" as that somehow seems less than masculine): 1 1/2 (I can totally pull to two, but it's a little--just a little!--snug)

I've reached "slender" status again and am not going to lose any more weight. I don't really have any more to spare, though a decade of decadence has likely rendered my beer gut (and attendant love handles) permanent. I'm okay with that, I suppose. I've shrunk it, continue to try to cardio and crunch it out of existence, but will happily live with it, since it's not about appearance or vanity, but health and energy and feeling better mentally and unintended benefits and not having man tits.

Near as I can tell, the process came about organically. I was tired. Tired of smoking and drinking and living a life of dreamy disconnection. I felt terrible. Every morning, every day, most of which I was hungover. To get out of the subway, I had to climb a few flights of stairs and by the time I got halfway, I was wheezing. When I got to the top, I had to stop and rest, catch my breath, so I could light up a cigarette. I'd wrestle on the bed with AJ and need a break after two minutes. The house was a mess. My clothes smelled like stale bread. I wrote long loathesome screeds about missed opportunity and failed potential and sheer motherfucking laziness. I think it's safe to say I hated myself. I found my niche and it was this roller coaster ride of fleeting euphoria, white-knuckle intensity and abject wallowing. Bi-polar, basically. Or maybe tri- or quad-.

Kurt Cobain said it best, "I miss the comfort in being sad." The episode with X left me rotten inside. I've acted less than admirably. Woe is me and because of this bad beat, I could afford to be reckless, with myself and others. "Look what tragedy has befallen me!" I could shout and use it as an excuse for erratic behavior, escapism. My mood was capricious at all times, going zero to 60 in no time flat for no reason at all and the only ways for me to silence the demons were to drink them into oblivion or lose all contact with myself via total and laser-like focus on another.

This served as the basis for me to ignore the path down which I was heading. Total self-destruction. I busied myself with the logistics of my relationship, plans drawn in the sand with no contingency for rising tides. I held fast to the way I felt for her, avoiding self-examination, even when she asked for it. I could answer, sure. Glib one-liners and profligate adverbs.

You know what comes next. She became too real for me to handle. WE became too real for me to handle. So I detonated a bomb and blew us to smithereens. Zero to 60. And then I could wallow again, where I felt comfortable, as opposed to holding up my own end. In retrospect, I think that's exactly what I was doing. Subconsciously. My feelings were valid. Deep and true. I've no doubts of that, for they continue to this day, more clearly even, more easily grasped with a less-muddled heart. But knowing I wouldn't be able to play my part, not in that present condition, pushed me to an unjustified level of anger and disappointment.

The aftermath was similar. That pain, profound and murky, that has no antidote. The sudden outbursts, waves of irretrievable sadness, all familiar to me from when X walked away. And somehow, this stung at an even higher level, because of all those things I said I'd do when X left, all those improvements, changes, goals and desires. Lies. I was nowhere different from where I'd been then. And what struck me, finally, irrevocably, was that I am, now and forever, officially on my own.

While there are aspects of this view that focus on the maudlin ("I'm going to die alone" is a biggie), the acceptance and the wider implications are nothing but positive. It means I have to build that trust in myself, a trait I've not possessed in a long time. It means my self-worth will come from within, will radiate outward, instead of trying to find personal value in the character and actions of others. What it means is, I have to take care of my own fucking business.

So, on the same day, at the same hour and moment, I quit smoking, drinking, playing online poker (five nights a week) and started eating right and exercising. I feel unbelievable.

Yes, I've had to sacrifice. I don't get to talk to a lot of you as often as I'd like. That's a temporary affliction. My social life is comatose (which is too bad since I'm getting kind of ripped for a skinny guy. Hear that ladies?!?!). There are things I can't say, things I want to, feel like, I should say, but have no right. Not yet. Not honorably.

Make no mistake. I consider this a full-scale rehabilitation. It's not simply physical and/or mental. It's about discipline more than anything. It's about character-building. Maturity. Sincerity. Spirituality.

I like to joke about my little mid-life crisis. That may well be what it is. Gold chains might be just around the corner for me. But I'm not forecasting. I'm living in the present, trying to attach myself to something permanent instead of the blurred decade that has preceded Now. There's only one person I'm going to wake up with from now until the end, so I guess I'd best get used to what I look like in the morning.http://www.text-link-ads.com/xml_blogger.php?inventory_key=UFNK7F8ROC6KWVUXNIVZ&feed=1

Read The Full Article:
http://obituarium.blogspot.com/2008/05/makeover.html

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Play poker to raise money for Alzheimers - Galway
Advertiser

Play poker to raise money for Alzheimer?sGalway Advertiser, Ireland - 47 minutes agoBy Jessica Higgins Salthill Rotary Club are having a poker night in The Ardilaun hotel in support of...

Poker Players. Poker News, Poker Hands, and Poker Discussion

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Flipchip Joins Pokernews 2008 WSOP Media Team

photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com Greg Raymer, 2004 WSOP World Champion $5,000,000I will once again be a part of the PokerNews 2008 WSOP media team that provides the most complete coverage of any poker tournament on the planet. Just like the[...]

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http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/pokerblog/archives/006549.php

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Poker - From WSOP Craziness to New Daddy and back
to my Real Job...Sigh

  Once again, the beginning of this story was May 11th post if your intrested. Again here's a quick recap: 

I tried my hand at poker at a Vegas work trip while I was in college, got hooked. Bought a bunch of books. Studied.  Played after work at some local card rooms. Opened an online account with Party Poker.  Came up with a game plan.  Put a $100 on the site.  Luckily had a solid start.  Built my game on $10 sng's. Won a multi. Hooked up with another poker enthusiest and began spliting profits (Most of which were my big cashes at the time). My partner won a seat to the WSOP Main Event on his own. I then won my own Main Event seat right before it started. Both myself and my partner were able to get  many days of play and cash the 2006 Main Event.  I was knocked out about 700th/9000 for about $17K and T_Dawgonu cashed about 300/9000 for around 35K! By the end of the year I had won my 7th and 8th decent multi and most importantly had my 1st baby on the way!! I guess my ego kicked in a little and I celebrated by using the money to pay off my wife's SUV and buying myself a brand NEW 2007 CORVETTE!! :) My wife then got pregnant and had her water break near the bubble of a major live tournament at the Bicycle club (She was at home). We had our awesome baby boy "Diego" 6 weeks early and my poker career was put on hold for a couple months.  I went back to work in January, and I can't tell you how gross it was to go back to a real job. I really started to see how great it would be to play full-time, sleep in, and play all night long.  The only problem was during the 3 months I took off work I played alot of different tournaments and didn't really focus on sng's and my game suffered. If I had grinded out sng's the whole time I probably woulda built a nice bankroll but instead I was blowing $200 here and $500 there on random multis without any big cashes to show.  

The one thing I was able to accomplish was catching up on some of my research I do for poker and the stock market which enabled me to focus more on my game when I came back to work.  I also opened up accounts with Ultimatebet and Absolute Poker. I really needed to get rakeback on my play and was able to get about 30% on those two sites as well as take advantage of their bonuses and expand my game selection. The only downfall was opening new accounts meant starting again with a minimal bankroll and having to play small games and build my way back up.  Had I been focused on my game probably cost me alot of money, but since I was so distracted was probably best off in the long run. I know UB and AP have caught alot of heat recently oer a few cheating players, however, I've personally have never felt cheated at any time and those involved were in very high stakes games.  I figure as long as my bankroll is growing I'm not gonna worry. They both run a nice variety of tournaments, some with decent overlay.

When it comes to poker, this year hasn't been too exciting. It's been BABY OVERLOAD!! At least not yet. I do have my hotel booked to play in the WSOP event #9 next week!! I guess if I make a final table that will change my whoie year. last month I played in 2 $1000 entry tourneys and finished in the money right before final table 2 weeks in a row, which of course payed like 5 figures to the top 3 or 4 players. I barely got my money back. It was very dissapointing how just 1 card turning the right way could make a 5 figure difference and I drew the short stick.  I have managed to stop throwing most of my baby fits after suckouts and my smashed metal trash can appreciates it, lol. I guess I gotta keep cool around my new kid if I expect my wife to keep letting me play this crazy game. I'm lucky we're able to come to a happy compromise and hopefully my skills will let me eventually play full time some day.  

I was able to break my little dry spell over the last few days. Nothing really major, but stopping the bleeding was my most important goal so I stuck with grinding out sng's and tried to play them slightly tighter preflop and after flop. Overall, though I feel pretty good about my sng play. I'm also playing mini multi's pretty well also. I do think my large multi game has suffered and needs a bit more discipline these days. I think I was getting a bit too impatient and not letting certain pots go. I'm not sure if I'm gonna get much play in the next week, while preparing for vacation to Vegas. I would liket o play at least one live Multi before the WSOP.  We'll see. GL at the tables. Donkeyherder 

If you would like to check me out you can look me up on a few sites, pokerdb.com shows big tournament results. I play under "Donkeyherder"(Pokerstars),"Chipstacker2000"(FULLTILT), "donkeyherder2"(ULTIMATE BET), "d0nkeyherder"(ABSOLUTE POKER), and a few others. I've never had a single losing year.  I won a seat to the 2006 WSOP main event and cashed in the top 10% of the field of over 9000 players.  I've made 77 Final tables, including 11 1st's (50-1555 players). Most of the time you'll find me grinding out Sit-n-Gos.

Business opportunity inquiries can reach me at: Donkeyherder2000@Yahoo.com
  



Read The Full Article:
http://donkeyherder.livejournal.com/3355.html

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