Results Based Observations

Guilty as charged.

In poker you’re supposed to be focused on making the correct play, not how the cards come out. Value bet those draws to get maximum value when they hit, put the other guy to the decision for his/her chips, force the mouth-breather to CALL with a 11% chance to win.

Exhaling here.

I did manage to snag decent cashes this weekend, plus another $26 tournament token on Full Tilt (thanks Daddy for pointing out those SnGs). I should be pleased that my tournament plays have been correct despite a string of two and three outers hitting.

Right?

I don’t feel happy.

In fact I feel like that Packer idiot that fumbled the late 4th quarter kickoff preventing Joe Buck from creaming his pants if Farve would have led a drive for the game winning field goal. My god what an ugly game, the only bright spot was Westbrook and the emergence of an Eagles running game.

While we’re segueing from poker to football… SKOL Vikings? Amazing what four wins in a row can do to the image of your head coach. The offense has been slow and steady like serving a nursing home lunch line (one of my many former jobs), the defense has been living up to its price tag, and the coaching hasn’t been as predictable as a porn movie for once.

That rookie corner who’s been filing in for Smoot has been nothing short of outstanding, Sharper has been the ball-fiend he was in Cheesehead land, and D-line has finally been pressuring the quarterback. Granted it was a gimpy, over-the-hill Trent Dilfer that the D-line was pressuring but at least they didn’t let him have happy hour in the pocket while slinging errant passes off a bad knee.

Are the playoffs possible for this duct-tape riddled team? The schedule seems fairly soft from here on out, save the home games vs. the Steelers and Da Boring Bears.

I do know one thing for certain:

Dec. 11th I’ll be wearing my #99 Viking jersey at the sportsbook of Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino rooting on my Vikings vs. the Rams and doing shots with the finest collection of drunken poker players to walk the planet.

Are you antsy at work yet?

Stop tapping your foot and glancing at your Cat-A-Day calendar every two seconds! Maybe for the next WPBT live event we could just announce it 2 days before leaving so people could actually be semi-productive at work and sleep at night. I remember the weeks prior to the WPBT Winter Aladdin Classic being almost as restless as the first week we brought Little Drizz to our home. And this time it’s not the added sponsorship of Full Tilt and PokerStars (but that’s a VERY cool and welcome addition). It’s not the added pros and possible free swag.

It’s the people.

If you haven’t attended an event I cannot describe the energy and openness of this group. You won’t find a friendlier, diverse group of people anywhere. Every group has an asshole that makes everyone else uncomfortable you might say. Sure, if you go to a church group there’s always a holy roller that is a bit overzealous and smites you into brimstone if you misquote some obscure bible passage. Or that smelly, crazy uncle with three teeth, who cuts in front of your grandparents in the food line at family gatherings, then demands some money while dishing up some cole slaw because he ran out of booze and Reds and his wife can’t work because she’s pregnant with their 12th kid of which half of em are his.

Your not going to find an asshole in this group, unless you eat all the bacon at the breakfast buffet with Daddy standing right behind you. That would make you the asshole because that's just mean.

“But, we play a game in which we take each others money” you might say. True, poker players are known for deception and thievery at the tables. But, did someone online ever offer you an irish car bomb and a McGriddle at 5am to discuss why the leftover hookers are still sitting at the bar? Better yet, go ask them why they’re still sitting at the bar.

Ever want to learn about poker from a different perspective? Limit? No Limit? Mixed games? Live games? Bonus whoring online? How to deal with tilt? How to deal with never winning a fucking coin flip? Just look up the handy spreadsheet Bill mailed out last week and ask the question. You read the blogs, now ask the questions in person.

Here’s a good thing bloggers could jot down in a post this week:

Describe your looks, and what you’ll be most likely wearing during the weekend (JoeSpeaker does not need to list the 15 different brands of designer evening-wear he’ll be fashioning on Saturday alone).

I’m about 6’4” and slender build. A cackling, annoying laugh, with a toothy crooked smile. Pale white from all the warm weather we get here in the Artic Circle. Most likely I’ll have a visor with the Vikes or Monte Carlo on it. For image purposes I’ll wear some stupid poker t-shirt to throw off the locals and blend in with the fish at the tables. I may or may not wear my skin-tight Absolute Poker jammies bottoms but I will be wearing wind pants. If I’m at a low stakes limit hold em table I will have 300 BBs minimum in front me… unless –EV already bought out all the chips.

My accent tends to be difficult to understand while under the influence of alcohol (unless you speak Minnesotan Garble, which an offshoot dialect of Canuck Garble). So, if you’re looking for advice on how to win at Chinese Poker or if Felicia isn’t available… O8, catch me snacking on a McGriddle or at Denny’s sitting in front of a Grand Slam skillet in the morning before I start my steady diet of Cap’n Cokes for the remainder of the day.

Thanks for dropping by, now if you don’t have all the information for the WPBT Imperial Palace tourney click on the banner above. Now you can go back to glancing at your clock again.