Hella Hold'em

Like the title says... I hate it when the buffet is the best part of a poker night.

Don't get me wrong - I loves me a good buffet! I'm sure Ed would keep my secret, but in the spirit of full disclosure, yes. We hit up the Empress Casino buffet and I caved to the lure of chocolate-vanilla twist soft serve with a crumbled chocolate chip cookie on top. And yes, I'm about to go run 3 miles in penance.

Anyhooo, on the advice of a dealer at Empress, I headed back there last night with my friend Ed in tow to go fishing. The dealer said that Thursday nights were the best.

Boy, was she wrong. I spent 7 hours tossing lures into a friggin rock quarry.

I made good on my observation from the other night and bet after those orphan pots (and won a few of them). I also made bad on an old tendency to overplay big pocket pairs.

But let's back up a bit. I made it off of the feeder table up $50 or so - always a good thing. I settled into the main game and was in good company. I liked my neighbors to the left and right. We chatted photography and birds and poker TV and the passage of the HR2267 bill (one dealer hadn't heard about it. I felt so politically savvy).

I was fairly card dead throughout the night, but survived on conversation. About 5 hours in, I saw a flop with AK. Flopped the gutshot Broadway draw. Called an early position bet. The turn was a blank. The bettor checked to me. I took that as weakness, and I bet out. I was hoping to take the pot away from the guy right there. But then - whoops. Didn't realize there was another guy to act behind me. I thought we were heads up. He called. The other guy folded. (Damn. My semi-bluff probably would have worked had we been heads up). I should have taken a moment to recompose my thoughts. The realization of my screw-up had me discombobulated (though the dealer was not announcing the number of players in the hand like they usually do). The river fell a blank and I checked. The other guy bet out, and I figured I could only beat a bluff. I folded.

He showed his bluff - AQ. He was open-ended. My bluff was better than his! Had I pulled the trigger on the river, I'd have taken that pot.

I suck.

Then, one of the quieter regular old gents gave me some advice under his breath. Obviously, those two had tangled before. I believe the phrase he used was "reckless ol' bully," explaining that the guy bluffs all the time and bets with nothing. A punk kid rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement.

It really depends on the situation as to whether or not I take advice from regulars. Sometimes I sense that there's an unspoken bond between them that compels the regulars to stick together (and possibly mislead the non-regular "targets"). More often, though, the advice turns out to be genuine. I think I do get more unsolicited advice as a girl than I would as a guy, and in this case, I think it was genuine.

Noted: the Brett Hull lookin' guy is an aggro-bluffer (BH for short).

As the last couple hours wore on, I noted several hands where BH showed down crap, pushing all the way. This reinforced Gramp's advice, and I can't say that it wasn't in the back of my head as I embarked upon what would be my last hand of the night.

QQ in the big blind. I hate playing big hands from the blinds. Despise. Loathe. Did I mention that I hate playing big hands from the blinds? Grr. Anyway. It was limped 3 ways. I raised preflop to 6xBB (average raise for the table was 3.5x BB). Got 3 callers (surprise!). Flop came Axx. Small blind checked to me. I bet out $40 (pot size). BH (aggro-bluffer) called. The rest folded. Turn came a blank.

I'd been all in with BH one time since the bluff hand, and had beat him with a straight. In my trigger-happy (and rather exhausted) state, my puzzle assessment said that a) he'd assume that I had something (he thought I made a big laydown on his bluff, which is why he showed it, and the last time I went all in, I had a monster), and b) he had nothing, because he's a friggin aggro-donk bluffmonster.

I pushed all in. It was only about a pot-sized push, but still. He didn't take long to call with his Ace. I was felted.

Lesson for today: slow down. Even though I had a game plan during that last hand, had I slowed down and just reviewed my thoughts, I'd have come upon a realization that would probably have prevailed. Why play a big pot with just 2nd pair? He called a preflop raise. He could very well have an Ace. Sure, it had a craptacular kicker, but it was an Ace. Don't let the target on his forehead take precedent over solid reasoning. Trigger-happy moves tend to be careless moves.

Ed seemed to finish better than I did, though I left before him and didn't get the final tally. Now, it's time for me to go run off some of last night's buffet debauchery. (Thanks, Ed! nom nom nom). Speaking of - the Empress buffet was pretty good. It was no Vegas buffet (I really wish there was a section with Chinese food), but the food was good - above decent but below awesome.

Off to run!

I checked out the "new" Empress Casino poker room last night. Well, it's new to me - I haven't been there since the fire. Wow, has it really been over a year? March 2009. *counts on fingers* Yup.

I've been watching a lot of episodes of The Big Game, and last night I was jonesing for some live poker, and I felt lucky. I had no luck finding an accomplice for my evening debauchery, but that has never stopped me before. That familiar adrenaline-fueled tingle jump started my heart as I pulled onto the casino grounds. Oh, how sweet it is!

I was quickly lost. The parking lot was no longer the parking lot. I missed the entrance for the parking garage (what?! There's a parking garage?!) and had to loop back around. Then, I drove around the parking garage looking for the casino entrance. Ahh, there it is!

I walked to the building and... oh boy, lost again. Elevators! OK... now what? Mazes of hallways! OK... wow, the old atrium is gone (presumably to be built back up into something even more spectacular someday). OK, walking through the maze... Then, up ahead, I spied something familiar - the big ol' hallway leading to the entrance to the boat (well, I guess it's technically a barge... but we call them all boats).

I entered the casino floor and noticed some things had been rearranged. Also, the carpeting was new, and the place smelled better than ever (probably because it had never been smoked in since the post-fire remodeling). Fresh air! Shiny things! New carpet! I walked along the left corridor towards the poker room - or, what used to be the poker room. What?! It's gone! And... there's a giant buffet back there! I want cards, not chicken wings! Gah!

I lapped back around the other side, looking for the poker room. No luck. I noticed that all of the other table games were gone, and it started to make sense. The slots took over the main level, and the table games must be downstairs. I had to hurry - I was going to lose my spot on the poker room board if I didn't find the place soon!

I took the escalator downstairs, and breathed a sigh of relief - there it was, around the corner to the right. The new and improved poker room. Bigger (maybe 5 or 6 tables now instead of 3?). Nicer - lots of TV's and more space between the tables. Centrally located - the deli is right there across from the poker room. Awesome :)

Oh - and they give comp points to poker players now! 50 cents an hour. Better than the previous comps (i.e. a big ol' goose egg!)

I was in for another surprise, though, as I sat down with my buy-in. They no longer spread the $5/10 limit game. Now, I was never really in love with that game. I played a heck of a lot of it, but mostly because Empress is 15 minutes from my house, whereas the Indiana boats spreading the $1/2 NL games are 45 minutes from my house (on a good day - an hour+ on a bad day). I do enjoy limit hold'em, but that's more because I'm a chicken and love math. I find that on my good days, I'm much better at no-limit (though on my bad days, I'm pretty bad).

Anyway, all 3 tables that were running were $1/2 NL hold'em, and according to the guy next to me, that's just about all they run there anymore. Limit never runs, and the $500 max NL sometimes runs. That's just fine with me - $1/2 NL is my game, and bonus - it's a $200 max buy-in (whereas the IN boats are $100 max /edit - thanks, Laoch! Looks like both Majestic and the Horseshoe in IN have $200 max buy-in's on their 1/2 NL games now).

I treaded water at the feeder table for a couple hours. Up $40, down $40, and back and forth. It seems like the main goal in a feeder table scenario is to get away from the feeder table with at least your original buy-in intact. I had a particularly disappointing experience with JJ that had me down half a stack at one point, and then the magic hit.

Two hands in a row. First, I flopped the nut flush in diamonds beautiful diamonds. I had a crazy guy betting into me on the flop, which I smooth called. The turn came a blank. He checked, and I checked behind. On the river, he shoved all in.

Money. Too bad he only had like $60 left. I called, scooped a sweet pot, and woke up the Asian guy two to my right who proceeded to recap the entire hand, praising my stealth ninja check on the turn. I'd rather not have the whole table clued in to any notion that I might know what I'm doing, but I won't lie - I enjoyed the compliment.

The crazy guy rebought for $100 and the next hand was dealt. I looked down at 55. I'll take it. It was a limped pot until the crazy guy raised to $10. 3 people called, and so did I, and so did the 2 guys after me. 6 to the flop.

It came: 55x.

I had plenty of time to wait for my action, and I needed it, because I was counting the dots on the first two cards just to be sure I was seeing them correctly. Did I seriously just flop quads? Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Check check check all the way around to the crazy guy. He pushed all in. Fold fold fold ME! CALL! Fold fold.

'dem's quads, bitches!

Just as I was stacking my new found glory, the brush came up and announced my move to the main game. Gah! Just as things were heating up!

I spent a couple hours on the main game, mostly folding. Picked up a couple small pots, and left when the action started to get really drunk and shove-happy. I know, I know - that's when you most want to be at the table: when the donks are making idiot moves. But I was happy to skate with my winnings and check out.

As I drove home reflecting on the session, I pondered the usual - things I need to improve in my game. I noticed one thing in particular that I have fixed in my online game but apparently not in my live game. I am reluctant to bet out in a live game, particularly when I have nothing but there are loose chips in the pot and nobody is vying to get them. Online, I've learned to steal blinds and bet after those stray pots. It often works. Last night, though, I wasn't doing that. There weren't many chances to steal blinds (as most pots went 4 or 5 way to the flop), but there were plenty of situations where I was in late position and it checked around to me on the flop or turn, with nobody showing any strength.

In my head, I assume most players on these low-limit games are calling stations - and they are. But when somebody finally did throw in a bet at these checked pots, they usually took it down.

That somebody needs to be me more often.

One dealer noted that Thursday nights are the best night in the poker room. I wonder what my evening holds....

Riddle me this:

Well, that was certainly a most unlucky trip to Vegas - for me, anyway. April did quite well, at least until we got to the airport. Her wallet may be fat but that burn is gonna hurt for a while! Let's hear it for idiotic coffee shop employees and ignorant airport security people!

Anyway...

A majority of my time was spent at MGM playing 1/2 NLHE...

Tuesday night, I was fairly unlucky but playing well. I was down a buy in after two ugly QQ beats. I made it out before the river, but the damage had been done. Lesson learned: 6x BB preflop raise, not enough at these tables.

Wednesday, I was getting killed. I found myself all-in early with KK vs KK, only to get flushed out by a 4-flush onboard. Sound familiar? Just like the QQ at Majestic a few weeks ago... there goes another buy-in.

Mind you - I don't push all-in preflop with these hands, but when someone comes over the top of me for all of it preflop, it's not likely that I'm going away... KK Quandry be damned.

By dinner, the donkeyfish were in my head. I was down 2 1/2 buy-ins on the trip, and having not been up for a single moment to that point, I was feeling run over. I'd succumbed to passive, scared play and I knew it.

April and I headed to dinner at the American place in NY NY, and between her and Randy on my texts, they screwed my head back on straight. My losses weren't unrecoverable, and tomorrow was another day. Wednesday night, I played 3/6 limit with April so I could have a few drinks and just chill. Straight-up math based decision making is actually relaxing to me :) That table was crazy too, and I was splashing around playing way too many hands - but I knew it couldn't ding me for any more than my $100 buy in, so I enjoyed myself a bit.

Thursday, I went back to NL ready to play my game - and play my game, I did. I made good reads on people and made some good plays. I felt good about my game on Thursday. Still, for the 11 or so hours I played, I still ended the day down 2 buy ins, finishing off the rest of my trip bankroll and leaving me fairly despondant over the whole ordeal.

While I would certainly change how I played for the last couple hours before dinner on Wednesday, it didn't cost me much more than walking away would have. I've soul searched for quite a few hours since Thursday night, and there isn't a whole lot I could have changed. I tried beating myself up over my play, but for the most part, I don't think I could have done much better. To illustrate my luck, the one set I flopped with a pocket pair (out of 17 pocket pairs held preflop), I got flushed out by a guy that had called my preflop raise with J4 and my flop bet with bottom pair, four's. That's just how it went. Too many calling stations and not enough players that played close enough to the rules to be "predictable."

I do have a few plays that I've stored in my memory banks as notches on my belt - good reads and good plays with good outcomes that I am proud of myself for. After spending hours dissecting the bad outcomes, I'm going to move forward focusing on the good.

Variance be damned, right?

April and I took a short break from the tables Thursday to check out the dolphins and baby cats over at Mirage. I forgot my good camera in the hotel room (I know, duh... the one thing I wanted to bring my camera for!) but took a couple pictures and videos with my camera phone. They will suck but I will post them anyway! I uploaded the video to YouTube yesterday and it's still not showing. Maybe it was too large. I'll have to check. Java, the baby leopard, is friggin adorable!

We also checked out Mirage's poker room (3/6 limit) and I was not impressed. The chairs were uncomfortable, and the tables were the old ones with no cup holders. Our particular table had been leaned on so many times on the player side that it was permanently slanted away from the dealer. I guess playing at MGM spoils a person... though I may need to find a different "nice" poker room, because I realized this week that as much as I love playing at MGM, I've had a grand total of one winning session there that I can remember. ONE. That's not a very good ratio. I've probably played there more than a dozen times.

Even more baffling is that I'm continuing to have really decent success at the online .50/1.00 NLHE tables. Yeah, me. How bizarre is that?

Ahh, well. And so it goes.

Oh - we didn't play at Excalibur's digital poker tables. We did stop and look at them and... well, it looked like playing online. After watching a few hands, I really had no desire to even try them. I don't go to the casino to stare at a computer screen. I go to play cards... with actual cards... and actual chips...

Another random note... I've been having so much friggin trouble with Postgres SQL and Poker Tracker that I think I'm going to give up on it and go buy Poker Copilot for the Mac. All I really want are basic stats and the HUD, and I can get that on the Mac. PT has better stats, but it runs dog slow for me, when it runs at all. So, back to Happy Land! Back to the Mac!

I'm off to concentrate on this 90-player SNG I have running on Full Tilt. I'm 3rd of 16 and top 9 places are dancing happy. I'm working on becoming a dancer.

I'm gearing up mentally for a Vegas poker trip next week. What does that mean? Mostly, trying to forget how horrendous work has been this week, and how awful it will be when I return to likely hear that our CMS could not be restored from its recent crash and database corruption incident.

Nope. Those things will soon evaporate into the ether as I slip into my Happy Place. Temporarily, at least.

I plan to print out some tournament schedules. Any suggestions? I prefer NLHE tourneys that aren't complete crapshoots. Is there anything going on lately in Vegas with a decent structure? Low-stakes... like <$150 buy in... Suggestions welcome!

Mostly, though, I'll probably play the $1/2 NL cash games... likely at MGM. Any suggestions for a good 1/2 game at other casinos?

I'll probably try the not-so-new-anymore electronic tables, since I'm staying at Excalibur. Hey, it's close to MGM and for $41 a night, it may as well be the most luxurious suite on the Strip! I'm curious about the dealerless tables, but I have a feeling I will prefer having a live dealer (for the same reasons I prefer sitting at a live game over playing online). You just can't replace a good dealer. Sure, maybe I'll see a few more hands per hour at an automated table, but the personality of a dealer, the crowd control aspects that dealers offer, heck... just holding actual cards and shuffling actual chips... I'll try it out, but I doubt I'll favor it over having a live dealer.

I'm playing a tournament on Full Tilt Poker right now... an actual, 700+ person tourney. Haven't played one in ages. I've done lots of 90-seat SnG's, but haven't hit up a real MTT in a while. Maybe I'll get lucky :) I rarely have enough time to commit to these tourneys, but this evening is a wide open space full of whatever the heck I want to do. I thought of napping.

I don't really have any plans for my trip, other than to play poker :) Tues-Fri, March 24-27. I may go so far as to dig up some poker room reviews and maybe expand my horizons a bit... or not. I am, after all, a creature of habit.

Ya know, I've seen this situation on TV a zillion times, but just now experienced it for the first time: there's a raise, a re-raise, and a third raise in front of me. I'm holding AA. No way you're all outdrawing me. All in. Fold fold fold. Not a bad outcome.

Cash table, not the tourney. Folding a lot. It's funny how at one table I can be at a 33 VPIP while at another I'm at 13, all in the same session. LOL! Actually, I'm at 15, 16, and 33 over 5o hands at each of 3 tables. :)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was trying out Poker CoPilot for the Mac. It's decent, but not anywhere near as robust as PokerTracker. Of course, PT's Mac version will likely never come out. So now, I'm testing out the latest PT, running Windows as a virtual machine on my Mac via Parallels. It's OK. PT gets a little sluggish at 3 tables and won't even run at 4 tables (well, the HUD won't run, which is my main concern). But, as has been established previously, it does some great number-crunching.

So we'll see what happens when this trial ends. I'm not yet sure which way I'll go. Do I forego the awesome number crunching for the joy of running flawlessly smooth under Leopard? My main desire is for the heads-up display. We'll see.

Here's a little bit of a poker nugget that's been around for a while, but that I've just finally come to know as true (and exploit). Back in the day, I spent a whole lot of time slow-playing when I flopped big-ish hands. I thought, "I don't want to scare them away!!" Of course, occasionally this is a reasonable approach, when it's unlikely they're holding anything they can call a bet with, and a free card is unlikely to decrease the value of your hand. But most of the time, especially at these low limits, you're giving your opponent way too much credit to think that betting actually scares them. They aren't that sharp. If you're holding what will be the likely winner, bet away. They'll call anyway. Only a few are strong enough as players to lay down top pair or two pair. They will call. Make the extra few bucks while you can (cuz a few hands later, you'll get sucked out on by that same calling station phenomenon!) :)

I am quite proud of myself right now. I just bullied the table captain out of a hand. Even better, I think it's a girl. Ha. Take that. Don't f with my raises, beyotch. TYVM, JJ.

My mouse hand is getting sweaty.

Tables are getting frisky. People are doing some whacked out stuff. I'm in push or fold mode in the tourney.

2nd break, I'm 224 of 331 remaining, 25% or so under the average chip stack. Not bad for seeing hardly any flops! Chip and a chair, baby.

I am curious. When my heart feels like it is beating in my throat, can you actually see my throat throbbing?

226th out of 1,170. Not bad I guess. No $.

Damn it! The best fish just got busted off my best table!! Nooooo! And my other table has turned over and a bunch of short-stacks sat down. Booooo. Methinks it is break time.

Farewell for now!

Is it any surprise that of the money I lost on the ring games tonight, more than 100% of the total loss (offset by some winnings) was with AA, KK, and QQ?

Nope. In one case, we were all in preflop and I was crushed (that was the QQ - up against KK). In the other two cases, I was pushing hard on undercard boards to players that flopped draws... and caught on the end. One could argue that they shouldn't have been in the hand for the 4xBB raise in the first place, but at the low limits, not only do a) players not know what the heck they're doing, and therefore can't be expected to play "properly," and b) raises look like a paltry amount of money anyway. A 4xBB raise, even at a 2/5 game, looks a lot scarier than $4.

And so it goes...

It's supposed to hit 70 degrees here in Chicagoland tomorrow. Have I ever mentioned that I despise Chicago winters? Tomorrow, I will be on cloud 9, and today's brutality on Full Tilt will be a distant memory...

I finally got out to play some cards last night. I haven't been to the casino in ages.

FYI - For anybody in the Vegas area, I will be in town March 24-27 to play some poker. It looks like my friend might not be accompanying me, so I'll be flying solo... meet me in Vegas!! Hell, I've got a room at Excalibur super-cheap, if anybody wants in.

Anyway, back to the Majestic Star trip... oh how I've missed that place! It really is my favorite place to play around here (Chicagoland) - though I haven't yet checked out the new Horseshoe Casino poker room, which I hear is a lot like a Vegas card room. Somehow, though, Majestic feels like "home." I've logged more hours there than anyplace else, and it's just a friendly sort of place. The down side: it's nearly an hour drive from home. That can suck. But the boat that is local to me (Empress) only has a few tables, and most of the tables run a limit game (5/10). I played that limit game for a long while, when I was playing limit. These days, though, I'm doing the NL thing for now, and the only NL table they run is a little over my head right now (as I basically am starting from a 1-buy-in bankroll). Back when I played there, they only ran NL on one table, and it always had a giant waiting list. Since I don't do any of the other gambling activities offered by the casino, waiting hours on end for a poker seat can be brutal.

So, I was glad to be back at Majestic.

Even moreso, it was almost like I was playing with friends. The guy to my right for most of the night was a dead ringer for Mr. Geek and Proud. Srsly. Since he's been posting all those pics of him wearing different t-shirts, his mug was fresh in my mind - and this guy could have passed as his twin. I knew it wasn't him, though, when he whipped out a lame ass non-smart cell phone. No way Alan would be caught dead using such a primitive device.

I played for a little over 4 hours. On the whole, my hands pretty much sucked. I saw a less-than-average number of flops, and saw even fewer showdowns. Still, I enjoyed the mental stimulation of observing the other players, pegging them as one sort of player or another, noting tells and nuances and quirks. That's something you just don't get in full force playing online. Sure, you can note things like, "blind steal attempts 4/5 times" or "will call down all the way with overcards," but those sorts of things are like observations of blatantly obvious facts. Picking up on physical subtleties is much more "rewarding" so to speak. It feels like you've become privy to information that few, if any, other people at the table have access to. (The $200 max buy in NL game is not the most sophisticated game in the joint).

I managed to profit a whopping 2.5BB per hour - enough to buy lunch. LOL! But I will not buy lunch with it. Hey now - that's a 5% increase to my bankroll!! I've got a date with poker come Thursday night, when my friend Ed will be joining me at Majestic (I think... haven't hammered out the details, but it's a tentative plan). A 5% increase. I'm not scoffing.

I lost two big hands last night, one of which has me irked. The one that doesn't have me irked is part of the risk in playing low to mid suited connectors and seeking a flush... sometimes, you're just going to be up against a higher flush. I lost the minimum possible, as I sensed the guy wasn't going away. I pulled a check-behind on the turn when my flush hit - glad to hit the flush but not wanting to play for an uber pot, as my flush was 4-high in my hand. Called his river bet and he had the nuts. That's whatcha get for being Tricky McTrickster, buddy. You certainly lost a bet there.

The other hand, I ** once again ** broke the advice that is pounded into my head from Harrington's cash games book: Big hand, big pot. Small hand, small pot.... and an overpair is NOT A BIG HAND!! It was a little more complicated than that, so maybe my reasoning was justifiable - though in retrospect, I still think I should have played it differently. I'm just not sure that I am capable of playing it the way it probably should have been played.

I had QQ preflop. The table was pretty wacky. We had a whole lot of 7 and 8 handed flops. On a previous hand, there were actually 6 people that saw a flop after a preflop raise of over 7xBB. These people just liked to see flops, regardless of the upfront cost. (Three of the people in the 7x hand went to showdown, and 2 pair got cracked by a straight - two of the players split the pot, having called the preflop raise with various flavors of 4-7 suited).

So, on the button, after 5 people had limped in, I looked down to see QQ. I deemed it impossible to push anybody out of the pot with a raise, and with SO many people ready to come to the flop with me, my instinct was to play this as any other smaller pocket pair. It's almost as bad as having JJ. It's just not the strongest hand in the world, and the tendencies of my table put it at even greater risk of getting cracked. So I stuck with a "small hand, small pot" mentality (even though that mentality is really designed for post-flop decision making).

The blinds came along, and we went to the flop 8 handed. (Yeah. Sigh). The flop came all hearts, undercards. I held the Q of hearts. The guy in the 10 seat said, "Hmm I think I have the Ace of hearts..." as he checked his hole cards. He was a very friendly guy - I enjoyed chatting with him - and he had a giant stack in front of him after a fantastic run of hitting 2 pair on the river with such cards as Q4 of clubs and A2 offsuit (out of the blinds). Several people at the table were actively pissed off at him and were gunning for him. (Poor Alan's Clone took a beating at the hands of Mr. 10 Seat, tilting so bad that at one point, he threw his cards into the muck with great force, hitting the dealer in the face).

The other oddity of my table (aside from the overwhelming tendency to see flops at any cost) was the extreme passive play post-flop. Many streets would check around, only to wind up at showdown with somebody who checked down top pair all the way. So when it checked around to me (ALL the way around - that's SEVEN checks in front of me!), I threw out a continuation bet. If there were hearts around, they'd stay, and I wanted that information. Surprisingly, the field thinned to all but one - Mr. 10 Seat, who had previously mused that he thought he might have the Ah. Now, he mused often about his cards, and in 3 separate instances had been musing the opposite of what he actually had (and in one instance, mused truthfully).

The turn came a black undercard, and he checked. I checked behind. I did not want to see a 4th heart. At. All. (Should I have bet there? I figured, if he did have the Ah, he wasn't going away, and I did not want to make this pot any bigger).

The river... a heart. Undercard. I've now got the Queen high flush, and 2 cards in the deck beat me - the King of hearts and the Ace of hearts. Mr. 10 Seat was fully capable of bluffing, and in fact liked to do it on the river after playing all passive-like. He was also sleep deprived and should have been in bed hours ago.

He bet the river, about the size of the pot. So many thoughts went through my mind. It was entirely possible that after my turn check, he figured he could push me off the hand. It was entirely possible that he was bluffing. It was entirely possible that he had a smaller flush. It was also entirely possible that he had it.

I cut out my chips behind the line, and said (while looking at my chips), "Two cards beat me, sir... are you holding one of them?" I then looked up at him and repeated myself. I REALLY wanted him to do something with his hands, because his hands were always shaking when he actually had a hand. But he wasn't moving, and he wasn't speaking.

In the end, I listened to the devil on my shoulder that was saying, "Only two cards beat you!!" And I called.

And he had the Ace of hearts.

I suppose I lost the minimum, with the turn check. But I think I could have lost even less had I abandoned ship at the flop. A continuation bet there makes more sense if there were fewer people to the flop, but practically the entire table was there with me. SOMEBODY was likely to have the higher hearts. Still, I don't think I could have come to the conclusion that it was OK to check that flop after the entire table checked around, and when the brick hit the turn, I'm not sure that either a) I wouldn't call somebody's bet in front of me, or b) I wouldn't bet myself if it checked around again. I'm fairly certain b) would have absolutely happened. So I was losing a bet on the flop or turn either way.

The river call is where I could have saved myself a chunk of change, but... hitting the flush, I'm still not sure I can envision any scenario whereby I'd actually lay it down. To an all-in bet, yes - I think I'd have folded. But not to a pot sized bet.

Should I have laid it down on the river? Would that have been too conservative a play?

I don't really feel that I have an answer for this one. Therefore, it will continue to irk me...

At any rate, I won back most of the chips I lost to Mr. 10 Seat in a later hand, where I rivered a set of Aces with my pocket Aces. He was all apologizing as he cut out his chips to call my raise, because he had once again hit a bullshit 2 pair... but a set beats 2 pair, and that pot negated the damage from the QQ hand.

Mr. 10 Seat gave away half of his beautiful stack before the night was done, most of it trickling away on river bluffs in the last hour I was there. It was tough to leave. I was pretty sure all of those chips were leaving the station before long. But, I had a friend with me that wasn't playing, and I'm fairly certain he was bored out of his skull by that point. It was late, and with an hour drive home ahead of us, I waited until the next dealer change and then called it a night.

I didn't scoop a fortune, but I came out ahead and was VERY happy with how I felt at the table. There are times when I really shouldn't play poker. Sometimes, I'm just "off." I get nervous. I get afraid of monsters under the bed. I get paranoid. I doubt my instincts (which I'm coming to find that really, instincts are just our subconscious mind's way of feeding us information based on past experiences, and the myriad of patterns of hands we've seen over time). It's been a long time since I've played at a casino. It was entirely possible that I'd find myself out of my element - particularly since I was playing NL. If you recall, I pretty much retired from NL cash games years ago - in the same season as my KK Quandary hand. Yes, that was over 3 years ago - but it sure stung, and it spoke to weaknesses in my game and in my understanding of how cash games differ from tournaments. [For reference - KK Quandary Part 1 and KK Quandary Part 2]. I still can't tell you why I decided to fire up an NL cash game on Full Tilt a couple months back - and it has been a very positive experience online thus far. Somehow, though, I find myself back in the NL realm.

Spending most of 2008 away from poker has afforded me the opportunity to come back at it with fresh eyes... and though I wasn't trying to "change" my game, really, I am playing differently now. I can't really explain why or even what I'm doing that is different, but I feel different and I "see" things I didn't see before... almost as if some of that book knowledge has finally translated into "habit" or unconscious actions. An example: I don't forget to consider position when making decisions anymore. I don't even consciously think about it - whereas when I did remember it before, I would then stop and think, "OK, where is the button?" Now, somehow, I just always know where it is. My brain is logging that information without me having to think about it. That's just one example, but that's the sort of thing that's going on. Some of the basics are now out of the foreground of my thinking and into the background. It's allowing me to concentrate on the subtleties of the game and I feel like I'm noticing more things and making better decisions as a result.

At any rate, I'm going to try again on Thursday, so if any of you Chicago peeps find yourself out and about, hit up Majestic Star :) I'll be there...

I'm trying again, this low limit NLHE cash game bit... ended even the other day. Yawn. Better than losing it. I thought the cash-out curse might come after me. I shouldn't speak so soon.

I'm almost done with work for the semester. I'm teaching this summer, but online, so it's not nearly as crazy as being on-campus. I will be on campus, however, but as a student - taking more photography classes. I've got Lighting and Digital Darkroom this summer. I'm thoroughly enjoying photography, both film/darkroom and digital.

Srsly? All in preflop in a cash game with A5o?

There are two bright red cardinals out in the tree in my back yard, and it is taking all of my will not to sit out the poker game and go shoot some photos of them. The light sucks out anyway.

Ahh, the all in on a flush draw bit...

If it wasn't so windy and the light was better, I'd go out and practice some digiscoping. I've got a field spotting telescope that connects either to my point n shoot camera or to my dSLR, which results in some great magnification. It's large and clunky, though, and I haven't quite mastered focusing with it. And birds aren't generally patient, cooperative subjects.

Yes, I watch birds for fun.

I planted the first bit of garden related improvement to my yard this past weekend: a Joseph's Coat climbing rose bush. It produces multicolored flowers, mostly oranges with reds and yellow all swirled together. I got it for the orange, of course (for the Flyers, who are poised to break my heart again this year, it seems). I have a small trellis behind it, but the branches aren't yet long enough to tie them to the trellis. I hope it survives. I wasn't able to plant it quite as deep into the ground as I was supposed to, as there's a rock bed/drainage tile thing under my yard about a foot down. So that's as far down as I could plant it. As we get toward fall, I'm going to plant some tulip bulbs around the front as well. I picked out some shades at the Veldheer Tulip Farm in Holland, Michigan a couple weekends ago - oranges and dark violets. My dad loved rose bushes. I'd like to keep that love alive.

Folding an ace? Yeah, I do that sometimes. Crappy kicker UTG. Wasn't feeling it.

[time lapse]

Slow playing bites me again. Why oh why do I do it?

Reading about digiscoping. Maybe I will go out and try and shoot some birds. (Photos, you freaks! Photos!)

I'm wondering if the digiscoping adapter I have is big enough to hold my dSLR. I have a different adapter that essentially makes the scope a big telephoto lens, but the other adapter (typically used for the point n shoot) would allow me to leave a lens on the dSLR (presumably the 50mm f 1.8 prime I've got). Hmmmmm.

Looks like it might rain. I should get out there. Dollars and cents slowly dribbling away on FTP. I think I just got bluffed out of a pot on the river when a third spade fell in an otherwise uncontested pot. Oy.

Catching up on some High Stakes Poker re-runs on the TiVo. (Yes, catching up on re-runs - I've already seen these episodes, but there's always something I missed the first time). I love HSP. Favorite show. I almost just typed I <3 Gabe Caplan but that makes me feel... weird. So scratch that.

I prefer the episodes with the "old" pro's. Except Jamie Gold. He can stay. I thought he was a total tool in the WSOP but I've grown to like him through his subsequent media splashation all over the place. This episode has Negreanu, Gold, Elezra, Harman (love her!), Hellmuth, Safai, Farha...

First all-in on my SnG. 3 hands in. Wooo! I think I like this after-school crowd (though it seems a little too early for the kiddies to be home from school). (Clarification: it was not me who was all-in).

I'm trying to think of a way to put the extra 19" LCD monitor that I have in my loft somehow so I can use it with my laptop (such as now, when watching poker and playing online). It would need to be on some sort of movable cart, so I could roll it in front of my couch/chaise while lounging, then moved out of the way when not in use. And it would need to be non-hideous looking. Currently, I use one of those as-seen-on-tv Table Mate tv-trays for my laptop. (Yeah, it's hideous, but works quite well). Any ideas? Suggestions welcome.

Something just happened that I'm not sure has really ever happened before. I did something totally out of character, on a gut feeling that I didn't even consciously know I had (ie. I wasn't actively thinking about it), and the move was the right one. (Well, "right" is a subjective term, but it worked). I don't even have an explanation. At first, I was being cautious, and on the river, I just knew this guy was full of crap.



5 people left in this SnG, and I'm the chip leader. I have played 3 hands, and we're only a couple rounds in.

It's a beautiful day out, so I have the windows open and I'm working on my poker commitment issues. I've got a regular turbo SnG up, AND one of those knockout 90 player SnG's. The latter just started. The big(ger) LCD monitor would be so nice right about now. (I've got the first MacBook Pro's that ever came out with the Intel chips - with the smaller 15" monitor. Boo on the monitor. Thumbs up otherwise - love my MBP!)

LOL Sammy Farha just called Hellmuth "Philly Willy." Nice!

So, let's say you're on the turn with 1 card to come. There's a 4 card gutshot straight on the board. You've got a gutshot to a straight flush. Do you call off a third of your stack to draw at it for one card?

[time to think]

I folded.

ARG the guy on my right is picking off my blinds EVERY TIME!!! I mean, the only defense is to have a good hand against the guy, and that's beyond my control.

I ate too much Chex Mix with lunch. Mmmm cheddar.

Noooo playable hands, growl!

I'm in push or fold mode but can't even find a face card in this mess! Oy I pushed K9 vs 33 and lost. Haha not out yet - doubled up twice LOL. I have 1/3xBB.

Woo again! 65o all in with my 1BB. DOUBLE UP! lmao poker rules :) LOL damn, went out AJs vs AA.

Still in the 90 player.

Sweet! I just got my first knockout bounty! *slips $4 back in my pocket*

Anybody out there doing any sort of entrepreneurial stuff? (Wow - auto-spellcheck didn't yell at me! I can't believe I spelled that right!) I've had a small web dev business on the side for 5 years or so now, but I'm thinking of moving into photography a bit. I'm not looking to quit my day job, but of course, since my day job is teaching, I could use some basic income supplementation! I still do web sites, but I guess my passions are sort of shifting and I'd like to explore "my new thing."

My question is - or, what I'm pondering, anyway, is - to what length do you invest money into a hobby to try and turn it profitable? I'm investing money into photography anyway (equipment and whatnot, for the sheer joy of it). I'm a bit strapped for cash lately, so spending more money to try and make money seems risky, but potentially beneficial.

That's what's on my mind today.

w00t, another bounty!

"This is a jam-up game." - Phil Hellmuth

I gotta remember that one!

Apparently, there was an earthquake in southern Illinois this morning. My sis-in-law felt it. Police reports from suburbs maybe 15 or 20 miles south of me felt it, but as far north as I am didn't. It was at like 4:30am. I was quite asleep. Earthquakes aren't something I generally worry about here in Chicagoland. Tornadoes? Yeah. Earthquakes? Dude. I'm in the middle of the country. Earthquakes only happen in California, right?

Damn it. The Pedigree dog food commercial just made me cry.

On break in the 90 player knockout. I'm 31/36 in chips. Not so good, but still alive at least. 9 places pay.

Went out 3rd in the other SnG.

I'm craving Pizza Hut.

Out of the knockout. At least I got a 33% discount :)

I think I will finish my current SnG and then grab some lunch.

LMAO @ Gus Hansen on Poker After Dark! 5 ladies and Gus! I missed the first couple episodes of this story, but since nobody was knocked out yet, it appears I didn't miss anything.

Did I ever tell ya how Gus Hansen walked past me and brushed my arm at Bellagio once? Srsly. YUM.

I didn't know Gus has a blog! Wow, thanks to Wikipedia (which I searched to make sure I was spelling Gus's last name correctly), I've discovered a web site that Gus started - ThePlayr.com, complete with nifty Web 2.0 Approved intentional misspelling. Nice!

Wow - the after-school crowd on Full Tilt Poker sure is fishy. 2 people out in this SnG, in round 2. Definitely a contrast to the usual evening crowds I encounter.

Gus has giant dumbo ears, yet he's still hot. How can that be? He gives hope to guys with dumbo ears all over the planet.

Haven't played a hand yet. Lots of face-rags.

Clonie vs. Gus. Now, THAT I'd pay to see! D'oh! Sorry. Got lost in a little reverie. P-O-K-E-R. Riiiiiight.

Has anyone heard Tom Petty's new song with Mudcrutch (his pre-Heartbreakers bandmates) - "Scare Easy"? I'm diggin it. Turns out, it's not a bad listen when playing poker.

I don't scare easy. I don't fall apart when I'm under the gun. You can break my heart, and I ain't gonna run. I don't scare easy for no one.

Yeah baby! I just keep on folding 6-2 offsuit!

Holy cow, down to 4. How did that happen?

I doubled up a couple hands ago with 33, turned a boat vs. KK overpair. w00t!

The all-in's are rampant around here. I swear it's only been like 10 minutes and we're in the money already!

33 again. Raise, vs the guy who doesn't know how to spell Leopard. Cha-ching! Yeah, FEAR the folder!

I fold very well in poker, but not in household chores. I despise laundry.

Wow, out in 3rd. Flopped a set with 55 and lost vs A9 to a rivered 4-card straight. Yikes.

Alright, let's go for two.

"I go with my gut - that's how I play." - Beth Shak.

Hmmm. That strategy seems like it should be the occasional invocation of the poker gods, rather than the standard. Maybe I spend too much time in bed with math.

AA in the big blind. Not a bad way to start. What is it they say? Don't get involved in big pots early, when the blinds are low...

UNLESS YOU'RE PLAYING AGAINST THE AFTER-SCHOOL FISHES WOOOOOO!

I'm not one to show hand histories, but if you'd like to check this one out, here it is. Hand #1, bet my AA all the way, and joker bluffed all-in on the turn with his AJ0, no pair, no draw. Yay! Now I have enough chips to fold for a while! LOL

WOW. 99, I raised preflop in late position. 2 callers. Flop 855. Checked around. I bet. 1 caller. Turn, 4. The guy bets all-in (huge overbet). Felt weird. I called. He had top pair, 8's. Blank on the river. I gots me some MASSIVE folding chips now!

I love how Gus is flirting with these girls. I bet Clonie would eat him alive, but this Beth girl...backs down to The Gus-ster.

Love the Negreanu hockey commercial. We need more hockey on TV. It has been great fun watching the Chicago Blackhawks' resurgence. They didn't make the playoffs, but for the first time in years (a LOT of years), the city is buzzing with hockey talk. That's why I fell in love with the Flyers when I moved out to Philly - the city was so in love with them. I could see myself falling for the Blackhawks. Back to my roots, in a way... The Flyers, on the other hand - still hold the keys to my heart. Big game tonight. Flyers are up 2-1 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. A 3-1 lead tonight would be pretty sweet. Ovechkin is fun to watch, but the Washington Capitals can take a walk. My Fly Guys are on a mission!

It's 74 degrees out. Do you have any idea how happy that makes me? It took 178 days to see our first 70 since last year. (It was yesterday). The record is 185 days. Oy!

It's my weekend now, by the way. Awwww, yeah.

Hmmm, FedEx is here. For me?

Nope.

Damn, just got sucked in by a guy that slow-played his QQ preflop. I hit TPTK on the flop. Boo.

5 left. I'm 3rd in chips, but we're all about the same.

Thursday's Poker After Dark episode up next. I sure do love TiVo!

Someone told me yesterday I should TiVo a show called UFO Hunters. My mom wants me to TiVo Army Wives. I'll try the latter. Not sure about the former. I like aliens and all, but my TV time is at a premium.

Going for it with 33. No callers. I'm around 9xBB.

Gus and the ladies. Too funny. It's still cracking me up!

Tight table now. Lots of walks.

The love must still be there. Every so often, poker gets my heart racing - even online in a little sit n go.

Bubble time. C'mon, let's get rid of this short stack.

Yes! ITM. And... out! I have a habit of going out in 3rd lately. Not bad for having a hand selection resembling the Sahara Desert.

One more round? Hmm. I need a beverage. BRB.

I hear these knockout SnG's are pretty cool. I don't feel like committing to anything lengthy right now. What does it say about me that I won't even commit to anything longer than a 9 player SnG?

I have poker commitment issues.

HA "All these guys coming off the ice for Washington are gonna be sucking dirty pond water" - that's what the announcer just said as the Capitals came off the ice after a long shift. WTF?! LMAO!!! I love hockey!

I'm camped out in the loft with the HDTV, watching the Philadelphia Flyers take on the Washington Capitals in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals (NHL). The weather here is blah and my HD signal has been blah, but I see some sunshine out my window, and for now my signal is pretty good. Hockey in HD on a 57" widescreen is a wonderful thing. Soooo much more gorgeous than broadcast TV. Broadcast TV is at best, tolerable. HDTV? Gorgeous. Slick. Sharp. Beautiful. Maybe even to die for.

Oh, and I'm firing up a SnG on Full Tilt. I like the $22+2 full table turbo NLHE games. My Flyers are up 2-0 in the 2nd period. Let's see if we can make it 1-0, Shelly vs FTP Scoobies.

Pot #1, in the bank. w00t!

So I was messing around last night trying to figure out how to transfer files via Bluetooth from my Blackberry Pearl 8130 to my iMac. I got them to pair, but apparently this Blackberry doesn't have the right services to do file transfer. People have found a way to send files from the iMac to the BB, but not the other way around. I wanted to be able to send pictures from my phone to my computer. Currently, I just email the pictures to myself to transfer them. Oh well. It did give me the option to run the iMac over the BB's data connection. I didn't try it, as I have Sprint Mobile Broadband... but I find myself wishing I hadn't signed that 2 year contract, as I could have probably used my Blackberry instead. Damn impulse buys.

I have a feeling I'm at a table of either a) n00bs or b) morons. Weak weak weak, checking like crazy, but then 4 people call a 10xBB preflop raise. Wha?

How many of you have been to the horse races? I just went for the first time a couple months ago. It was pretty cool. I found myself wishing we could go outside (it was winter time). I'd like to go back in nice weather. I was betting based on the horses' names, hehehe :)

Level 2. 1 guy out.

Damn, had to go back to the broadcast feed. I don't often have trouble with my DirecTV, but these clouds appear to be doing me in. My HD feed is very sensitive to weather. Maybe it's the fact that it's SNOWING today. I will refrain from bitching, but come on, Mother Nature!!!

AK hearts, flopped 2 hearts. c'mon baby! Didn't need help. Betting was plenty. *stuffs chips in my virtual pocket*

Briere almost made this a 3 goal game. Holy moly, I love my Flyers! It's fun to watch Ovechkin... LOSE!!!! hahaha!

"Don't be afraid to go out on a limb, because that's where the fruit is." - Doyle Brunson. Yeah, Doyle! I like all his quotes. They amuse me.

Nooooo Umberger better not be hurt!!!! Ummmmmmmmmmmmberger!

Ever wonder where some people get their handles/avatar names? I mean, mine is obvious. The one I saw the other day - "[someone's] mom" - that's obvious. But some, I actually fire up Google to see if they are real words. Nope, the one I just googled isn't a word. So is it an attempt at spelling a curse word semi-phonetically? If so, well - either ewww, or that still doesn't make much sense. Feces Wood? Really?

Flyers are heading into the 2nd intermission with a 2-0 lead. This is similar to Game 1, where the Flyers came out with a 2 goal lead in the 3rd period and broke my heart. Hard to get that out of my head... but today is a new day, and the Flyers have been hoppin' all day. Biron has looked great. NO FEAR!

I just let Feces Wood steal my big blind.

Awwww! Michelin marshmellow puppy!! Great commercial :)

88, no callers. Reminds me of Eric Lindros. *cringe*

They're interviewing Donald Brashear. He was a Flyer for a while and I really liked having him. He looks better in Orange. Good guy, good goon. But I'll hate him just like every other man in red on the ice today. I bleed orange!

Srsly, does everybody have to wait 14 seconds before they act? Longest. Game. Ever. 3 guys out so far.

Damn, out in 5th. My Broadway lost to a J high flush. Ugh.

I suppose it's a good thing. I need my undivided attention available to cheer the Flyers on in the 3rd period.

Believe it or not, I must be on a poker kick! I've got another SnG running as we speak, while waiting for photos that I took today at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago to upload to Flickr. We're down to 6 people and I've got 30BB in my stack. Aggro-boy just lost a big pot to fall beneath me in chips, w00t!

Aquarium was fun. Penguins, lizards, beluga whales, fishes... even some tropical birds for me to get all squealy about! The weather has sucked today, though, and we were soaked to the bone after walking from the aquarium to the train to head home. Brrr! We're expecting some crazy storms to roll through here tonight as the temps warm up, and then... SNOW this weekend. WTF? I hate Chicago weather. Srsly. With a passion.

Aww what the hell, 95s looks good. Haven't played a hand in a while. oooh, 2nd pair! But aggro-dork will surely bet the K. He did. Gut feeling. I call. Oooh, flush draw! Hmmm. Wow, he checked it to me and folded when I bet. How bizarre!

So, when a few people are in a pot, and it checks around on the flop, then a guy in the middle comes out firing on the turn with a pot-sized bet, what do you think that typically means?

I find it's generally Mr. Trickery Dickery Dock Newbie slowplaying, but he can't hold back his nut any longer and throws his whole wad. Or a pot-sized wad, anyway. I bet the guy with the froggy avatar is Mr. TDDN.

So I'll play 95s and then fold A9o. What can I say? I wasn't feelin' it.

Wow, I just noticed how on the tournament lobby screen, FTP shows color ratings next to player names if you've got them rated/noted. That's pretty sweet!

Wow, I really enjoy beating aggro-nerd out of pots.

Looks like Adobe is trying again with their Lightroom update after the last debacle. Lightroom 1.4.1 is out - we'll see if the walls come crashing down this time.

Nice, in the money! Someone knocked out aggro-donk! Those of us that remain all have about the same amount of chips. Here we go...

Something feels wrong about playing against someone whose handle is "[someone's] mom." Weird, no?

Someone's mom folds a lot.

Damn, AA min raise, no action. But how many times have you read me blog about slow-playing AA even versus 1 opponent and getting bitten in the ass? No sir, not today.

Someone's mom took the chip lead and now she's pushing all in every hand. HA and she just lost to the other guy. Well, I guess that sucks, cuz now he's no longer the short stack. Bah.

I'm the short stack.

Wow, the short stack just called my 6xBB all in for almost his entire stack with 10-8 suited. My A4s did not hold up. Wheee out in 3rd. Better than 4th!

Twice in one week?

Yup, I fired up a $22+2 9-handed turbo NLHE sit n go.

Q2o? Fold.

I was inspired by the fact that it's 4pm and I'm not at work. I've changed out of the monkey suit and into cozy pajama pants and a hoodie. (Cozy? Isn't it supposed to be spring? Yeah, notsomuch if you're anywhere near Chicago).

I'm also inspired by the fact that I only have one more (long) work day to survive this week - tomorrow. I've taken a personal day Thursday, and with that day of freedom I'm going to the Brookfield Zoo to take pictures of animals. :)

It's a strange spring here. None of the trees seem to be budding yet. It's awful late to look around and see nothing but sticks. I'm so tired of the dead trees. It's supposed to snow here this weekend. WTF??!

Grrr I hate it when I slow play as a defensive move and end up paying off the SOB anyway. I can't think of too many situations where a defensive slow play actually saved me money.

No action on my flopped set of 4's. Booo.

Back to the defensive slow play. So, I've got top pair, week kicker. I check-call, not wanting to get too married to the hand. But as I check-call, the board becomes more and more coordinated until it becomes likely that my now-two-pair is not good. But top pair WAS good on the flop, and I probably could have pushed weasel-boy off of his 2nd pair, had I bet instead of checked.

It's more of me being a wuss than anything.

I love the K on the flop against 5 opponents when I'm holding QQ. It's not like preflop raises mean anything anyway.

In completely unrelated news, I would definitely NOT kick Jared Leto out of bed for eating crackers.

Nice. AA held up on the short stack. Doubled up. Tight game. Blah.

The rain has begun here. I'm hoping we get the thunderstorm they mentioned in today's weather forecast. I'm so geeked out for spring storms to kick in!

I'm on a Photoshop brush kick. Two of my favorite places to find brushes:
DeviantART's Photoshop brushes and MyPhotoshopBrushes.com

Still hanging in there. Only 2 people have gone out. Everyone is in push-or-fold mode. Ugh. Yawn.

Yowza - bet that guy is pissed. I called a short-stack's all in with 88 for 2/3 of my own short stack. He had A70. Flop came AA8. 'Nuff said. Buh-bye.

Alrighty - I just knocked out another guy with 32o when I flopped 2 pair. One more to the money.

My cats have suddenly become interested in sitting on my desk. Oy. Srsly. Why? Cats do not belong on desks.

I'm 2nd in chips out of 4 and only have 10BB. These are the most boring of all poker games on the planet. Did I already say yawn?

Push or fold, push or fold...

I'd say it's like watching grass grow, but NOTHING is growing around here!

WOW a-hole pushes with 73o. I call all in with AA, and the guy after me (who started with 200 more chips) called with AQs. Flop came 4-5-6. Way to bubble.

That was so entirely unfulfilling that I have no words.

Yeah, that poker thing!

Forgot about that!

Home games don't happen around here as often as they used to. It's a shame, as live poker is my favorite. Favoring home improvements and my new photography hobby, I don't really maintain a bankroll to play at the boats anymore.

Thank goodness Full Tilt exists, both for the occasional fix and to keep poker around my world.

Look at that - my favorite hand, first hand in!

Fold.

Hehe. 97-off doesn't do so well for a 10xBB raise preflop.

I see there are a couple episodes of High Stakes Poker waiting on my TiVo. I wonder if they're re-runs or new... though I don't mind the re-runs. I rarely remember the whole show anyway, as often I'm playing online while watching.

Dave Matthews Band tour dates have been announced. I will definitely be at Alpine Valley (Milwaukee, WI 8/9-10) and Bridgeview (Chicago-ish, IL 6/6). St. Louis (6/7) and Toronto, Ontario (Canada 6/18) are possibilities. If anyone is going to any of the shows, holler! I will miss my absolute favorite venue this year (Deer Creek, IN aka Noblesville). I'll be in Boston that week, boooo :( Well, not booo, as I absolutely love Boston, but booo for missing DMB at my favorite place. Boston will be awesome, though. Been there once before and can't wait to go back!

Sweet! Tripled up right outta the gate. Flopped a King-high spade flush with KJs, versus set-over-set. Only of FTP, right?!

I may make a visit to Potowatomi Casino this summer while up at Milwaukee for DMB. You never know...

I like flopping sets on uncoordinated boards. This game ain't so bad!

Let's see, what else is new in my world?

I set up a home darkroom in my garage last weekend. (Just folded the hammer). I'm enjoying black and white film photography (though I'll likely stick with digital for color). I've registered for my next two photography classes this summer - Digital Darkroom and Basic Lighting. (Damn - flop 7-5-2! Shouldn't have folded that hammer!)

I attended Severe Weather Spotter Training from the National Weather Service over spring break, so I'm now an official spotter. Bring it on, tornado alley! :) One of these springs I will go storm chasing. There's a great program offered by a local college here, involving a 10-day driving trip through the midwest chasing tornadoes with some local meteorologists. I picked up a book on weather photography last week. Just started reading it, in anticipation of storm season (though it seems like spring is never going to make it to Chicago this year).

Love it when people try to get all trickery-dickery-dock with disguising their hands, and then get NO action cuz they checked it down waiting for me to bluff.

5 people left in this SnG.

So what's new with you guys? I've had to clear out my RSS reader, as I just got way too far behind to catch up. Work has been a bit nutty, but hallelujah - 5 weeks till summer break! That sounds insane, considering it's not even spring yet, weather-wise.

No flopped set that time. Fold.

Had to bring my beloved iMac in to the Apple Store for repair last week. Power supply died. Kind of sucks, considering it's only 5 months old, but I had it back in a couple days, free of charge, so I'm not going to complain too loudly.

Just hit a 2-outer to knock a guy out. Why is it my gut reaction to say, whoops? hehe

Ouch. Set over set to my bad that time. 4 left. We all have around 3k chips. Watch my dumb ass bubble. Grr!

I thought it was a dream, cuz I never flew before....

So who saw the pregnant guy on Oprah today? WTF?

Excellent - in the money!

Excellent again - JJ! Nice, held up.

I hate folding to blind-stealing aggro's, but sometimes...

Out in 3rd. My 88 vs KQ (I pushed, he called). Q on flop... not a bad re-entry into the atmosphere.

I finally finished watching Heckler's Week on Poker After Dark. (Yeah, I'm a bit behind on the TiVo. Haven't been watching much TV, since nothing has been on due to the writer's strike). I've been meaning to ask - what happened to Shana Hiatt? Well, I googled it, so I don't need the answer anymore. Wikipedia says Shana left Poker After Dark because she's pregnant. You go, girl!

Is it just me, or was Gavin Smith the most reasonable and intelligent sounding player at the table that week? Color me impressed. I've always liked him, particularly for his support of the charity auctions For Peyton, but watching how he conducted himself at the table really impressed me in that game. I guess I'm just used to seeing snippets of him on poker shows with less "verbal" formats.

And, what makes Shawn Sheikhan a good poker player? I see no redeeming value in the guy, from my perspective as a consumer of poker entertainment. When Hellmuth told him that the "push or fold" strategy is appropriate for less skilled players who feel they're weaker than their opponents, but that no great players employ that strategy, I think that was a very strong point.

I just won me a SnG on Full Tilt Poker. Sweet.

I had quads 3 times in the last SnG I played a few minutes ago on Full Tilt Poker, and still managed to bubble.

Ran my AQ into AK. (AK limped in, we both flopped our Ace, and I played the aggressor thinking AQ was good). Don't you hate it when it actually crosses your mind that a certain situation might be happening, and you dismiss it only to find out that your gut was right?

I had no reason to think this guy would slow play. He hadn't at any other point in the tourney.

Oh well. I'm in another SnG right now - probably my last for the night. Took 2nd in one earlier today.

I keep on keeping on letting blinds see free flops when I'm heads up against them with AA and I keep on keeping on losing.

However, both times this week that I did that (including tonight), I went on to win the next SnG I played.

Coincidence?

I will have a definitive answer as to whether or not you'll see me in Vegas by this weekend. I have no bankroll but I really really want to see everyone!

Stay tuned.

You would think I'd learn.

Literally, every time I'm in this particular situation, the same outcome results, yet I keep making the same choices that keep leading to the same unsavory outcome.

I'm in the small blind with AA. It folds to me. My only opponent is the big blind. I flat call and slowplay preflop, then come out betting on the flop. My opponent pops me back on the turn, and on a seemingly innocuous board, I go to the river to see I've been beat with 2 pair, 10-4.

While the deciding hands differ, my fate is the same. I let a junk hand see the flop cheap, and paid the price. That 10-4 should have never seen the flop, and even if I raised and he called, the fault would at least be on him for making an awful call than on me for trying to get tricky against the donkeys of the world.

The date and buy in details have changed for the charity poker tourney to benefit my friend Becky. Plainfield Poker is hosting a rebuy tourney to help Becky and her husband get by as Becky recovers from injuries sustained in a horrific car crash in September.

The tournament will be in the Plainfield, IL area on Saturday, November 10, 2007 at 7pm.

$60 inital buy-in , Unlimited first 4 levels $30 re-buy tourney. 3000 in starting chips, Blinds start at 25/50 levels are 20 mins long. $20 add-on at the first break. Re-buys get you 3000 chips, add-on at the break gets you 5000 more.

60% to the prize pool, 40% to benefit Becky and her husband.

Food, beverages, and beer all included in initial buy-in!

There will be a 60 seat maximum. First 60 players get a seat with a 10 player alternate list.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Plainfield Poker at administrator@plainfieldpoker.net

Played in my friend Scott's heads-up NLHE tournament this afternoon (after an absolutely fantastic DMB show last night at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin). I was (and am) pretty beat and brain dead after quite a bit of drinking and dancing last night. Add to that sleep deprivation (got about 4 hours of sleep before having to pack up and drive back to Chicago for a fantasy football draft), and you've got a pretty dead version of me.

Of course, as my luck would have it, I got matched up with Scott for the first round of the heads-up tourney. I think we started with 14 players, 2 of which sat out the first round on byes. $100 buy in and top two places paid.

I shouldn't feel as disappointed as I do about the fact that Scott knocked me out in the first round. We played well over an hour, and I honestly can't think of any hands that I would have played differently (except the one where I checked down a straight to the river because I was remembering my hole cards incorrectly). I felt that it was a really good match, though I didn't expect anything other than a good match vs. Scott. Neither one of us are push-monkeys, and we've matched up well in the past.

I had a slight lead at the break, mainly due to a hand that really taxed me, decision-making-wise. I think I could play that same hand a hundred different ways, depending on the day and the situation. Heck, I think if the wind was blowing in a different direction I might have played it differently.

I had KQ of (red, I think). I believe I was on the button (forgive me - I have killed a LOT of brain cells due to DMB and partying during the month of August). I called preflop and Scott raised. I called. The flop came K-x-x, all spades. Heads-up, the range of hands I put Scott on was pretty wide - anywhere from any pair to a middle suited Ace - and he's also capable of pulling off the random bluff or semi-bluff to keep things interesting.

So I hit top pair, nice kicker (unless Scott had AK). I couldn't really limit him to AK, though. He bet into me. Of course, I didn't like the 3 spades onboard, particularly since I didn't have one myself, but heads-up, I also didn't want to run from monsters under the bed. I had a lot of hands beat that Scott could have raised with. I debated and debated, and finally called his bet. (He was betting big enough to make it a tough call, though I can't remember blinds or amounts right now).

The turn was a blank, and he bet out again. Aside from the thought process that I went through on the flop, if I believed that was the right move then, the turn didn't change the scenario. I was very close to folding. It ultimately game down to a coinflip in my head - as in, I couldn't come to a strong argument to defend calling OR folding, and after all that thinking, I went with whatever came out of my mouth - which was "call." The river brought a 4th spade. I was done with the hand, but Scott checked to me and I showed my king. It held up.

In retrospect, I can only imagine that he had QQ. Of course, betting into that scary board, he had to figure that if I wasn't holding a spade, I'd bail. Like I said earlier - if it were 2 degrees cooler in the room, or the wind was blowing a different direction, maybe I would have. It was a big pot to win, and while I wouldn't change how I played it, I can't say I'd play it the same way again, either. It was just one of those borderline types of hands where you go with your gut.

After the break, Scott caught up (blinds were getting big). He had probably 70% of the chips when I finally went out. I raised preflop with 77 - 3x BB, which was close to half of my stack. Scott called. Flop came 10-8-6 (I think). Scott pushed all in (I was on the button). I called. He had A8 of clubs and I didn't improve.

The only thing I might have done differently was to fold to his all in bet (duh) - but, I mean - he did turn the action around on me, and calling all in is a lot different than betting or raising all in. However, Id have been left with maybe 5 big blinds if I folded, and that's just unplayable anyway. It was not a bad flop for 77, and I was pretty much committed to it at that point.

Randy made it to the 2nd round, but went out early in a brutal boat over boat (a rivered 2-outer, no less). He had 10-4 and flopped trip 4's, then turned the boat. His opponent had pocket 9's and rivered the 9. I don't think Randy could have done anything differently, though. The highest card onboard was a 10, and that looks pretty good for 99. After the hand, the guy said that on the turn, he put Randy on a 4 - so, he put his opponent on a hand that crushed his, and still called Randy's raise on the river. That guy wasn't going anywhere. I just feel bad that I dealt it.

Ahh well. That's poker!

Oh - and, good news... it looks like you guys will be seeing me in Vegas this December for the WPBT Winter Classic, thanks to my roomie :)