Hella Hold'em

Well, it's not a new game by any means, but I'm new to it. Tonight, I checked out the FTP tourney that Plainfield Poker hosts (local to my fellow Chicagoans). It was just about the high point of my poker day, as I avoided the bubble to take 3rd place, though sadly donking off a sizable chip stack hand-before-last when I pushed top pair shitty kicker into a flopped set all the way. I was low guy on the totem pole for most of the final table, though, so I was pleased with the finish. (I say "final table" as if it was a huge tourney... hey, 12 peeps ain't bad!)

Thanks to the guys from Plainfield Poker for hosting. I've been meaning to make it out to a live game. I will, soon - I swear! My work schedule lightens up this week and I should be able to make it out sometime this summer. I miss live poker dearly.

Other than the Plainfield game, Full Tilt Poker ran my ass over today. No joke. I flopped 2 pair 9 times today - NINE - only to get run down by either scoobies or bad luck. Board comes 4 of a suit I don't have. Scooby chases his gutshot and catches on the river. I pull 3 pair, negating my 2nd pair and leaving me with a shitty kicker. You know... but NINE times in one day? Oy. Three of those nine were in the small or big blind with J-7. How bizarre.

I even managed to go out 5th or worse in 3 different $30 SnG's. It was just a bad day.

On the bright side, I feel like I've been playing well lately. I've been playing more NL than usual. (You know me... I've been the grinder limit girl for a while now... *shudders at the recollection of the KK debacle* Who remembers that one? Scars, my friends... scars...).

I've got a vacation coming up in a couple weeks to North Carolina - Raleigh area. Are there any casinos out there? Srsly. Missing Vegas has me jonesing for live poker in ways that just aren't natural.

In the meantime, how about a nice LOLcat?



Source of LOLcat: http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/06/13/i-see-u-and-raiz/

Not poker related, but important:

Dave Matthews Band has started a petition:
http://web.davematthewsband.com/petition/

We have been disturbed by the stories that continue to surface about the medical care being received by our returning servicemen and women. Supporting our troops entails providing them with the complete, timely and excellent care for injuries they sustained during their military service, at the very least. Providing this care is a moral obligation for our nation and should be our highest priority at home.

As an example of our concerns, recent stories are alleging that some servicemen and women are being misdiagnosed as having pre-existing personality disorders. However, the evidence suggests that they may be suffering from injuries related to their service. This diagnosis has resulted in these soldiers losing medical benefits.

We cannot ignore the possibility of an injustice to any of these veterans. Technicalities and misdiagnosis should not cause them to lose medical benefits. Therefore we ask you to join us in signing the petition below which asks the Secretary of Defense to formally report in detail to the American public on each of the issues raised in these allegations and confirm that all of our servicemen and women are receiving the medical benefits they have rightfully earned. If this is not provided, or if the Secretary of Defense's report is inadequate, we strongly urge that Congress hold hearings to allow our veterans to speak.

This war has many tragedies; we want to do whatever we can to make sure this is not another one. Please join us.

Sign the petition: http://web.davematthewsband.com/petition/

Me likes the $30+3 single table SnG's on Full Tilt Poker.

You likes?

I'm happy to report I finally got back into FTP. Won the single table SnG after coming back from TWO big blinds left in chips! And I'm in the money in the 2-table SnG, 2nd in chips with 4 players left.

Update: Took 3rd place.

What can I say. w00t.

I'm heads up in a single table SnG with even chips vs my opponent, and in near top chip position with 9 people to go in an 18 player SnG which pays top 4.

And I've lost connection to FTP and can't get back in.

Ironically, my internet connection is just fine.

Anyone else having trouble with FTP right now? Or is this just my luck?

I've got Poker After Dark playing on the TiVo while playing a couple SnG's on Full Tilt.

While watching PAD, I had this thought:

These pro players generally bet the true strength of their hands.

Unless they're bluffing.

Full Tilt has been kicking my proverbial arse lately.

It's mean about it, too. It takes you out for some wining and dining, whispers all sweet in your ear, gets you upstairs, then laughs in your face just when you think you're about to get it on.

I was playing in a $20 45-player SnG yesterday. I won some hands early, and nearly tripled up a few rounds in when I held top set in a set-over-set-over-set situation. I've never seen that in my life. Three true honest-to-god sets, where all three of us held pocket pairs. Two of us flopped sets and the third guy turned his. I was on top of the world.

Almost as quickly, I lost most of my stack on the ass end of a set-over-set scenario.

And then I busted with KK against AA and JJ. (JJ took it with turn-and-river quad Jack's).

It was a rather insane day.

3/6 limit has not been kind, either.

So if anybody wants to go sign up at Full Tilt under bonus code: HELLA I'd love you forever!

If you haven't watched the WPT Mandalay Bay episode yet, or don't want to know what happens, stop reading now! Spoilers ahead!





You were warned :P

Alright, here's one for the girls - True or False: It would have been a MUCH better looking final table with Joe Tehan and Brad Booth.

I vote true.

I watched the tail end of the show today on my TiVo, and I'm confused about something. Early in the final table, the chip counts showed Burt as the chip leader. The proceeded to show several hands in a row where Joe was getting run over by Burt (presumably shipping MORE chips to Burt). After a couple commercial breaks, they showed Joe win ONE hand - and not a huge hand at that - and all of a sudden, he's the dominating chip leader.

Bad editing? The storyline they showed just doesn't fit the chip counts. I know it's TV, but... come on! At least form an accurate storyline for what really happened!

I was rooting for Joe :)

I've watched more of the WPT this season than last season. There's still some really whacked out plays going on at times. Vince and Mike play them off as "brilliant" or "gutsy," but half the time, if I were in the announcer's seat, I'd just call the plays "stupid" or "scoobified." It may take balls to call off your stack with Ace high after the river, but most of the time I think it's just dumb luck when that ends up being the right play. I know it has to be done for the sake of TV, but Vince and Mike give some of these players too much credit for "reading their opponents" or having a "feel" for the hand.

It's easy to criticize from my armchair :)

Hope everyone is well. I won't be making it out to Vegas this summer. It's the ol' money excuse again. The good news is, my head is still above water, albeit barely. There's always next time...