Tuesday, August 28, 2007

HUC - one and done

T'was a fast first round for me. Lucko proved to be to much as I got rng'd into oblivion.

We played two $30 heads up matches on Tilt. I went into this knowing he was a stellar online player, and I haven't really played too much heads up save the 10 or so matches I played while on vacation. I pride myself on being a better than average HUplayer but luck, or bad luck I should say got the best of me..

In the first match, I will take the blame. I don't remember the order of hands but I jumped out to an early lead, not by much but by maybe 300. I got AJ on the button and I think I limped in. either way there was a reraise pre. The flop came A 4 x with two clubs. Lucko raised and I reraised almost half my stack, which he flat called.

I thought for a second (for some reason) that he was pushing maybe a flulsh draw, or a weaker ace. But the flat call should have indicated a strong hand. When the turn came. (x) he auto shoved. I couldn't put him on a better A, didn't think about it too much and called. He had A4... That put me at about 135 chips. I got back up to just about 1k when I jammed an oesd and caught.

Then I ran QQ into KK and it was over. I could've gotten away from the KK when the flop came a K, but he checked, flat called a raise from me, again with two suits. I was so dominated in chips I just shoved he turn and on to the next game it was...

The second game came and again I got out to a marginal lead. I think I got up to about 1800 in chips when I picked up AA.

I limped in on the button and he raised to 60. (it was early). I reraised to I think about 140, and he called. The flop came 3 5 x. I raised 120, and he jammed. I thought it might have been pretty obvious that I was super strong... I was almost upset with myself because of the really weak, non standard bets I was putting out there almost broadcasting my strength.

When he jammed I thought for a second he might have caught a pair or possibly a set, but I'm not folding there...

He showed A 2 and turned a 4 for his straight. That got me down to about 600 in chips. I jammed a raise to him again when I flopped another oesd with an over card, and never caught up.

It was really fast and furious and I wish I would've slowed down, but we were both catching some sick heads up hands. I am also on vacation and not really in the frame of mind to compete a whole bunch.

It was definately fun though and I look forward to the next one.

gg Kev!

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Vacation, and the ensuing travel hell

Left for the outerbanks today. Our second week of the annual trip we make every year. This year we made a trek in late May, and now this week. We usually like to take them back to back , but this year was proved too much for time... We will probably stay though for at least 1o days this time around getting back just in time for the start of school...

I had the kids up pretty late last night in anticipation of the 8 hour ride, hoping they would be exhausted and sleep most of the way. All told I make this trip anywhere in 6-8 hours. By myself or my brother in law when we come down later than the rest of the family, it is easy to fly, and make minimal stops.

With the kids, its at least 4 stops, and no faster than 65 mph because of the 6 year old cop I have riding in the back.

Unfortunately, they didn't sleep. At all. The 9 and 6 year old took turns in tormenting the 3 year old with "monster" stories and flying stuffed animals, and the boy (15 months) decided to cut his molars as soon as we hit the blue route.

He pretty much screamed from the top of DE all the way to about halfway through NC. Crying babies, or crying anything for that matter is like kryptonite to me, and it took everything I had to not drive the car directly into the chesapeake bay.

We made it though through some pretty crazy rain storms that brought the unusually light traffice to pretty much what seemed like rush hour in NYC.

The 9 year old tired pretty quickly of beating up her sisters, and decided to turn on the i-pod and seranade us with the likes of Rhianna and JoJo... not sure who they are but it sounded more like Beyonce' to me... I'll admit, I was groovin'!

We had to stop 3 times because of some false "I gotta throw up" emergencies, and the usual 3 other times to gas up, pee and chow.

Just as we pulled onto 12 to head north to Pine Island, about 7 1/2 hours into our 8 hour trip, all three fell quietly asleep. We just now got them to bed.

I look forward to a relaxing vacation. I joined ski's pick'em league and the HUC, and hope to have a fun time in both. I pimped the pick'em league through my RPT website, and have already gotten about 7 more participants. Check it out and join.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Skidoo's Pick'em League

Skidoo is having a pick'em league.. It looks to be their second year and should be a lot of fun. It is a yahoo league and you can sign up here.

click the "Sign Up" button (or "Create or Join Group" if you are a returning user). From there, follow the path to join an existing private group and when prompted, enter the following information...
Group ID#: 14591Password: hammer

Everything is explained by Ski in the comments section of the league home...

I signed up tonight! Get after it!

Status Quo

Cograts to THIS GUY for taking down the RC tourny last night. Well done Kid! Well done!

I do so well and then just donk in most of these blogger tournies... I really don't get it. I have a second in the mookie so far this year, a couple seconds in the RC, and two seconds in the special sunday Horse events for RC...

this week at the Mook I was around 3 in chips with 12 left... I raised utg with 22 fully expecting to get away if there was a reraise. Now I NEVER, EVER play this hand. EVER! However, with the table being super tight, I figured I would make a stab utg with a raise to try and take down the rather large blinds. I was three tabling, one the Dook (where I came in third), and a $20 45 which I was also doing well in (chip lead with 6 left). I raise in the mook, and looked at the other table. When it came back up with my turn to act everyone had folded to me except the BB who shoved.

I swear I saw and extra 1500 to call, so I instacalled. Except it wasn't 1500. It was 5800. 2/3's my stack with the previous raise. He/ She had 10 10 and I lose. I was out like 4 hands later.

Yesterdays RC I do pretty well for the first 10 minutes, increasing my starting stack by about 400. In the bb I get 88. There is a raise to 80 with 4 callers. I pot bet to 440 and get two callers with Dabag (UTG) as one of those callers. The flop comes 5 9 5 two clubs.

I pot bet the 1440 after thinking about it awhile. I figured two things. His call to my reraise preflop disounted him holding AA or KK, and possibly QQ. And anything under 99 IMHO, would have had made him fold pre as well. Dabag is a pretty solid player and I assumed that could possibly be the case.

I guessed my pot raise on the flop would have to absolutely get him off of 10 10 - JJ, and possibly QQ guessing that my reraise pre would make him think I have AA or KK.

The problem was that after thinking a while, he shoved. I couldn't stop thinking that there was no way he just called pre with a pair smaller than AA or KK, and would fold with any mid pair or 10's-Q's.

So that left me with the fact that he could be possibly holding A K/Qc...

After the time ran down to the timer with 1 second I called.. against all my will, and of course he showed QQ. I would normally never do this, but I watch dabag play often as he plays in almost all of the blogger events and all of the RC events.

I guess I was hoping my read was right, and I guess I figured it wasn't after he shoved, but I just couldn't help myself from not making a terrific read. To bad it was completely wrong.

I won 3 sng's after that a 10, 20, and a 30.. and 2cnd in a 10 -18 so the night was not lost...

Congrats to Fish for taking it down! Now excuse me while I go make a bacon sandwich!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Borgata Blogger Event

Working on setting up a blogger event in AC sometime in Oct/ Nov.

The Borgata Casino and Hotel would host a blogger tourny with a much better structure than we've had before...

New info posted as I get it from them...

Mook and RPT back to back


Thursday night - 9pm est buy-in $10 pass is riverchasers





Tonight 10pmest buy-in $10 pass Vegas1
GET AFTER IT!

Monday, August 20, 2007

last nights 14K

I played in last nights 14k and got into a hand late... I don't have the technical capacity yet to be able to copy and paste screen shots so I'll write it out here as simple as possible...

I'm on the button with AQ of diamonds with 29k in chips and two guys on either side of me with about 7k in chips...

blinds are about 400/800 and the utg (34k) raises to 2200... the cutoff calls and I decide to call, as does the small blind.

The flop comes 10 J 4 rainbow... it checks around to me. I look at the stacks on either side of me and they are both at 4k, with the UTG at 31.

I decide to take a tab at a pot that has over 9k in it by betting out enough to put both of the shorty's all in (about 4200)

I know if I get called I am behind, and if the big stack shoves, I obv. go away...

BB calls and the others fold... BB shows KK, and they hold up...

the point is he starts to rip me... He types AQ.. NH.. I guess I had odds to call though..

I told him.. no, I had odds, and an overlay (if the other shorty calls) to shove. My point was that there was 9k in the pot already, and everyone showed weakness by checking to me. I'm not going to check fold there either, as I think that is such a weak play with AQ (all checked to me on the flop) , 4 players, and a shit board...

My raise to put 2 others all in with the expectation of both of them calling gives me a huge overlay if they both call... and if one calls, I don't see how the other folds if he has any kind of hand (which he must of had in order to call off a third of his stack pre). Of course that hand could certainly have me crushed, but this late in the tourny, I think you have to be willing to move on hands like this, in these positions... IF I lose I'm down to 22k in chips, which isn't really much different than 28 imo.. I"m trying to gain alot of chips here in order to put myself in a position to win... not just cash.

post your thoughts on this hand and let me know what you think... I ended up cashing in about the late 40's which basically tripled my money, but I don't think I really have any issue with how I played this hand...

Saturday, August 18, 2007

hand selections

I have a friend who continually asks me the same questions about his hand selection over and over again... and invariably the question is always "I just don't know how to play connectors or one gappers". He states this as if they have to be played everytime he gets them...

There are times that these types of hands should be played and in certain circumstances raised pre and so forth... but the frustration lies in his inability to understand that they DON'T have to be played, and shouldn't be played every single time you see them.... "but what if they're suited?" is always the next response...

I sometimes can't understand how much some people don't understand that almost every hand is foldable and have to have a sollid answer for how to play every single type of hand... preflop, flop, and post flop...

Sometimes the answer is to fold them...

Friday, August 17, 2007

I like Drunk girls!

Apparently...

Al did his best to stay on the wagon, but as soon as I order my first scotch, he said something about "when in Rome"...

not much I remember after that except the constant Skat (31) games we were playing 4 and 5 handed with Terry the Bartender...

Then Al said something about a Borgata Trip for Bloggers, to which I responded with a drunken call to the VP of Marketing for the Poker Room, and left an even more drunk message on his cell phone... I think we'll be good though :)

the bar seemed to get darker and darker for some reason, and when I realized we had missed the dinner specials, because it was well passed dinner time, it was time for me to go home...

GG Al ..... GG!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

BOAT! house party

Meeting with the reverand today at the boat.. plan to get him stinking drunk (won't need to plan:) ), and loosen him up to make a run to the Borg....

I'l let you know how I make out!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Mookage Pimpage


Tonight at 10pm EST... get your fix.. and I propose to you if you've never played, you have a better than 80% chance of taking it down, so says history...
I will be on the road again, as I heas out to AMish country and beyond.. I shall return for the Mook which I have missed over the last two weeks...
Its good to be home!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

use your cards to depo money again? Explained! Kinda :)

I wanted to answer some questions on how and why FT and PS are taking some credit/ debit cards that they weren't before... See its the cards isuuers that declines all of the transactions before... i.e. PNC issued me a visa card that was declined to deposit money in any online poker account after the UIGEA law was passed....

So those companies ran and got out, as did netteller and Party, and others.. but if you remeber the law also had a 9 month time frame... Up until that point, it was on the Banks themselves to cover their own asses.. but now that the 9 months has surpassed, it is now on the sites...

See, the sites have to use a sic code, (little number that card companies use to identify transactions by category)... that is created by the associations (Visa/ MC) and those codes have to be used and propagated by the company whos goods and services are being provided. I'm not sure if that code exists yet, (it didn't before) or if the sites aren't using it... So the banks have "outs" when being processing a transaction that might be deemed unlawful, because, they didn't know it was an unlawful transacation...

The other issue is since the 9 months is up, and the law totally enforcable, it is now up to the feds to figure out a way to enforce it.. which is the biggest issue in and of itself.. it basically is an unenforcable law... I would have thought that the processing of checks would be the first thing to come back, since they are totally untraceable, without the requirement of such things as sic codes.. a blanket ACH is the easiest way to move money...

So with the 9 months up in August, the card issuers now have range to allow those transactions

I know this is jumbled and not making much sense, but I did start and ran a company that dealt with these issues on a daily basis working very close with Visa/ MC.. they are both pric companies, and actually hate each other.. (another funny story I will eventually get to)

Bottom line is it does have to do with the 9 months coming to an end in more ways than one...

Friday, August 10, 2007

Al CAN Hang

So much to write about and just haven't had time because of all the road tripping I've been doing trying to get my company back into shape as it relates to a certain area... I will get after that this weekend.... with some absolutely shocking, and wierd, and just funny stories... but for now..

Alcanthang must be changed to alCANhang, at least for a week... now I know his surname is related to another activity but to take down the RPT online tour tournament is a huge win!, as he did last night, amongst a rather light field of 38 flyers...

and Al didn't start until he had 2500 left in a deepstack tourny.. (status quo for thursdays however) I'm sure you will all know and read about the beats he strapped on most of us, but Al, like every other soul, is also allowed to get lucky every once in a while... Maybe I will finally get him his RPT shirt.. but since we just sponsored a racing team, maybe I'll give him the RPT Racing shirt instead... I think he'll dig that, checkerd flagged logo and all :)

Good Game Sir! and my sincerest apologies for missing the Boat, yet again, for another week... Alas, I shall clear thy schedule and make sure THIS week will have a different outcome...

My elbo already hurts!

Monday, August 6, 2007

Taco in a bag!


I was playing with DRIZZ in the mookie last week, and knowing he is from MN, asked him if he knew what a Taco in a bag was...


Taco in a bag was introduced to me by some relatives in MN, and I haven't looked back!

Here is the recipe...


Taco meat.. any way you want it (ground beef, cubed steak, chicken, whatever)

Sour Cream

chopped tomatoes

green oninon

black olives

taco sauce or salsa

cheese!!!



Now, take a bag of doritos... crush them up, open the bag, and shove any or all of the ingredients into the bag of Doritos...


take a plastic fork (real forks don't work), and enjoy...


aboslutely the best meal ever! I heard it was contrived from a group of hockey parents while on long road trips with their kids, and needed a solution for quick, easy meals...


I love the fact that super sizing is as easy as buying a larger bag of Doritos...


I have finally procured the Bounty prizes I had on myself in one of the tournies a few weeks back and will be shipping out this week... DON and FRANCASE will be happy to see the mail this week and finally get their loot!


Couple tournies to pimp this week and I will on the days they go... Don't forget the Hoy this week... Always a good time!


Thursday, August 2, 2007

last nights Mookie

Congrats to my buddy John Hetrick (bonehet) for taking down the Mookie last night...

Fantastic job on winning the last longer bet as well...

Last week we had the last longer bet in the Riverchasers event... I won that and made it to 10th place, so he is one up on me...

The mookie for me was no real excitement... first hand I AA with no action... so I knew I would be card dead the rest of the night :)... I managed to get to 25th place when I shoved my 88 utg with just about 2800... was auto called by 10 10 , and KK and the night was over for me...

Always a great tourny!! can't wait til next week!