Came home yesterday to smell of steaks on the grill as the wife explained she was feeling nice and decided instead of Easy Mac N' Cheese a full steak dinner with roasted potatoes, ribeyes soaked in wine (I added a little Famous Dave's Devil Spit which completely kicks ass), and grilled corn-on-the-cob. Due to the nature of our schedule, Monday - Thursday is usually a throw something in the microwave and rush back out the door dinner. The surprise is how my wife expresses that I done something right recently but since I have the game of Revenge of the Nerds stand-in, I'll just keep scanning the credit cards to see if I've purchased a Mexican cruise for two in September before passing out after reporting last weekend.
The first weekend of the post-Black Friday SCOOP tournament series and while the numbers are down, they are cracking the guarantees with good amount of players for every buy-in level. The production got a step-up this year as they've added a daily recap show called Inside SCOOP with Joe Stapleton and Nick Weathall commanding the microphone with interviews from the winners via Skype as well as Team PokerStars pros and Team Online. Even got to see a few hands I reported on as Alexander "josio" Kostritsyn went on a tear last weekend collecting a 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd in the high buy-in tourneys. But, after two days off I'll be back in the fray tonight through Sunday reporting for PokerStarsBlog and getting to know my couch for the next five days.
I get four weeks vacation each year and for the past three years I have used two of those weeks to work for WCOOP and SCOOP. To tell you the truth, it feels more relaxing and fulfilling to indulge in job that I love to do but don't have the necessary equipment (bad hearing makes live reporting juuuuuuuuuust tad tough) outside of being behind a laptop to complete. I'm not a journalist, nor a writer, just a card player with a love knack for throwing a few readable puns together. When I write for these series know that I enjoy the action, and give a little OW! when a nasty river card hits at 4:30am despite having zero personal financial consequence. Unlike accounting where you're supposed to leave your emotions at the door, I'm a little colorful when it comes to poker or poker reporting, call it releasing the inner-degen, something I cannot or should not do while sitting in cubicalandia behind Dilbert cartoons and an outdated computer.
I know the loss of online poker for Americans sucks and people within our little niche circle are good work for little consequence like Karak who penned a great post about seeing the issue of legalized internet poker from the eyes of the morally right. Adding the disclaimer that he is Christian and is completely honest about the beliefs from powerful political groups like Focus on the Family. CK and Grange of course continue to do the leg work of hammering out rough, massive mounds of rocky lawyer babble into malleable, clean, easy-to-read sheets of information for the masses. 2+2 continues to have too have too many forum tards that want to spend more time flinging poo at company reps (but some it admittedly is justified as a simple one sentence explanation for the delay would sedate many people) versus having solution discussions, but luckily you can tap Karak or KevMath to sift through the muck to find the good stuff (yes, it does exist).
Online poker and poker in general will continue to be part of my life until pen is forced to be dropped, and even then I'd find a way to put together a few sentences about this card game whether it be in a professional capacity or screeching my bow across the strings here. WPBT get togethers will still happen, likely a smaller crowd but if you enjoy those weekends of stepping outside your skin, fellow degens will available long after Harrah's.com becomes the official online card room of the 2015 WSOP. Why? Because everyone needs to step out of their monkey suit, briefcase, stethoscope, laptop, fortran code, parenting skin for just a few days to realize how good they have it to be in that skin eating a juicy steak during a busy Monday, starting another busy week. I'll be there in December, tournament or not to see these people, even if MGM insists on charge $11 for Cap'n Coke because the cowboys don't know better, because you never know when you'll be wisked away in a limo with five other guys with grins that reached LA to G-Vegas after a concert that touched your soul.
Something you won't find banging at a keyboard at home, here's to hoping I see ya'll soon (a WSOP trip 06/26-06/29 is starting to get my interest).
Showing posts with label PokerStars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PokerStars. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Billy Madison to Drizz: YOU BLEW IT!
My daughter's new favorite stuffed animal is a small shaggy purple dog named Barky. Thanks to the good, quality people at Dave and Buster's the wife has performed minor surgery on Barky several times in the past month but some tears could be attributed to my daughter's not so sugar and spice and everything nice way of getting through the day with those toys.
"Barky could walk around like Funky!" she exclaims.
The thought of an overweight shaggy purple dog with a belly swishing around like a half drained keg does seem amusing but impossible outside of Mary Poppins dropping in to make the medicine go down and utensils dance.
While her dreams are personal and not probable, mine focused too much on the real yesterday, making my attempt at rising up a rung on the corporate ladder end like this (couldn't find Billy Madison's clip which would have fit the bill better).
Yeah, I blew it.
My normally silver lispy tongue decided to not function yesterday as I stammered thru the HR interview with the wit of a contestant on Hillbilly Jeopardy. Answers swirling in my head, taking the time to prep for the questions that I knew were coming, and instead approached some epic corporate fail with all the smoothness of a Jersey meathead trying to cold-call a one night stand at a country club. Maybe the fiscially elite go for that sort of approach, but regardless I sucked, I sucked bad, and if by some small mircle I get the position it will solely on the fact that I'm tall because that's about the only message to cross the room yesterday standing a foot and a half over the lithe HR rep.
Concession on this position, not on the goal however. That's a good thing.
What's on tap this weekend? $5 million and a Lambo at PokerStars? Much like Astin's point on twitter yesterday, I may take half my bankroll on Stars and give a shot at a guaranteed $1 million payoff and finish agonizingly in 13,271st place. It's not every day a Lamborghini could be parked in the lower-middle income area of surburban Minneapolis. A plus would be zooming out to Palo Alto for an epic race with Doc's Ferrari. I'd need a Space Racer helmet and my lucky PokerStars monkey for props.
See it's ok to dream, even if its winning a poker tournament, having sex with (insert obscenely hot actress/porn star here), or having a stuffed animal down some Puppy Chow and piss all over your new iPad2. It's the real ones that you bank some emotion on that hurt. Throwing virtual money at cards carries nearly zero emotions at it. Regardless of how high (like last weekend's drubbing of the Rush PLO fishes) or the lows like the previous three weeks of dusting cash like Dan Shak chasing gold futures, poker carries emotion only when friends are involved (again I apologize for my excitement at the WPBT but it will happen again so ply me with another drink and I'll lose some silly prop bet to you).
"Barky could walk around like Funky!" she exclaims.
The thought of an overweight shaggy purple dog with a belly swishing around like a half drained keg does seem amusing but impossible outside of Mary Poppins dropping in to make the medicine go down and utensils dance.
While her dreams are personal and not probable, mine focused too much on the real yesterday, making my attempt at rising up a rung on the corporate ladder end like this (couldn't find Billy Madison's clip which would have fit the bill better).
Yeah, I blew it.
My normally silver lispy tongue decided to not function yesterday as I stammered thru the HR interview with the wit of a contestant on Hillbilly Jeopardy. Answers swirling in my head, taking the time to prep for the questions that I knew were coming, and instead approached some epic corporate fail with all the smoothness of a Jersey meathead trying to cold-call a one night stand at a country club. Maybe the fiscially elite go for that sort of approach, but regardless I sucked, I sucked bad, and if by some small mircle I get the position it will solely on the fact that I'm tall because that's about the only message to cross the room yesterday standing a foot and a half over the lithe HR rep.
Concession on this position, not on the goal however. That's a good thing.
What's on tap this weekend? $5 million and a Lambo at PokerStars? Much like Astin's point on twitter yesterday, I may take half my bankroll on Stars and give a shot at a guaranteed $1 million payoff and finish agonizingly in 13,271st place. It's not every day a Lamborghini could be parked in the lower-middle income area of surburban Minneapolis. A plus would be zooming out to Palo Alto for an epic race with Doc's Ferrari. I'd need a Space Racer helmet and my lucky PokerStars monkey for props.
See it's ok to dream, even if its winning a poker tournament, having sex with (insert obscenely hot actress/porn star here), or having a stuffed animal down some Puppy Chow and piss all over your new iPad2. It's the real ones that you bank some emotion on that hurt. Throwing virtual money at cards carries nearly zero emotions at it. Regardless of how high (like last weekend's drubbing of the Rush PLO fishes) or the lows like the previous three weeks of dusting cash like Dan Shak chasing gold futures, poker carries emotion only when friends are involved (again I apologize for my excitement at the WPBT but it will happen again so ply me with another drink and I'll lose some silly prop bet to you).
Son's mangled digit
The work dream will continue on another day, for now its back to the grind which isn't so bad if you look at how it could be sitting on a couch wondering where that next paycheck is going to come from, or how am I going to pay for my son's double fractured pinky. Instead I sail on even waters, turning the sail in every direction until some wind catches it just right to start in a new direction.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Using a frozen lake as a bar
I did not have my ear removed ala J. Paul Getty III.
I am not suffering from any lasting effects of a disease. Unless you count immaturity as a bad pathogen, or this headache caused by a mix of lack of resting and mother nature forgetting to take her Midol.
Healthy and still kicking. Busy and loving it. Annoying giving the middle finger to an otherwise stressful time of year. Talks of Brooklyn Center, a suburb near the border of Minneapolis, is perhaps diving into their biggest potential for tourism by molding city orgs to built a Surly Brew Pub and allow them to flourish versus continue being contained by restricted barrel laws. At the moment the city's claim to any fame is a rotting mall called Brookdale, which as a kid I spent many a weekends there but now it is riddled with empty space getting emptier, the surrounding businesses like the bar on the southern side of the complex has changed hands more than a collection plate at church. Surly is offering tourism, potential jobs (the awesomeness of being nearly require to drink on the job?), and most of all tax revenue. Don't mess this one up BC, although my and my friend's wife joked they probably wouldn't see much of us if it is built.
Truth.
Normally I take tonight to make an ass of myself online while giving away poker funds. Tonight however due to tattooing APA-formatting tramp stamp style to my body and hoping to soak in the bibilography goodness via diffusion, it will be a night of killing online pixels via Call of Duty. While my gaming chops are at an all-time low, the fun is needed to break up MR Jackhole's inevitible half-comments to my short four page research paper which sits neatly on a Microsoft Word document waiting to be to primped for the Sadie Hawkins dance. There have been internal promises to read his grading with a bottle and shot glass nearby while reading phenomally bent prop betting stories like the one F-Train linked to last night concerning a huge running bet in which Ashton Griffin ran 70 miles in 24 hours for $300,000.
I think Otis is off the hook for eating crayons now. STEAK AND EGGS BABY!!
Check back this weekend as Drizz goes ice fishing. Kinda. Actually I'm just out there to drink. And not fall in, and spend most of my time in the heated fish houses which has the feel of being in a hot tub outdoors in the mountains but no swimsuits or boobs to ogle at. Imagining such shapes thru three inches of gore-tex is a bit of a stretch.
I will not be working this weekend, but last weekend's Sunday Warm-up had some heavy star power when four Team PokerStars pros were among the final 24 including Daniel Negreanu. But it would physist, metal rocker, and overall hottie newly minted Team PokerStars pro Liv Boeree taking home the $148K first prize after an aerial dogfight with James mig.com Mackey, you can check out my recap at the PokerStarsBlog or the video recap at PokerStars.TV .
One of the bigger ones I've covered, hope I didn't screw it up. Cheers to enjoying whatever and whomever fills your glass.
I am not suffering from any lasting effects of a disease. Unless you count immaturity as a bad pathogen, or this headache caused by a mix of lack of resting and mother nature forgetting to take her Midol.
Healthy and still kicking. Busy and loving it. Annoying giving the middle finger to an otherwise stressful time of year. Talks of Brooklyn Center, a suburb near the border of Minneapolis, is perhaps diving into their biggest potential for tourism by molding city orgs to built a Surly Brew Pub and allow them to flourish versus continue being contained by restricted barrel laws. At the moment the city's claim to any fame is a rotting mall called Brookdale, which as a kid I spent many a weekends there but now it is riddled with empty space getting emptier, the surrounding businesses like the bar on the southern side of the complex has changed hands more than a collection plate at church. Surly is offering tourism, potential jobs (the awesomeness of being nearly require to drink on the job?), and most of all tax revenue. Don't mess this one up BC, although my and my friend's wife joked they probably wouldn't see much of us if it is built.
Truth.
Normally I take tonight to make an ass of myself online while giving away poker funds. Tonight however due to tattooing APA-formatting tramp stamp style to my body and hoping to soak in the bibilography goodness via diffusion, it will be a night of killing online pixels via Call of Duty. While my gaming chops are at an all-time low, the fun is needed to break up MR Jackhole's inevitible half-comments to my short four page research paper which sits neatly on a Microsoft Word document waiting to be to primped for the Sadie Hawkins dance. There have been internal promises to read his grading with a bottle and shot glass nearby while reading phenomally bent prop betting stories like the one F-Train linked to last night concerning a huge running bet in which Ashton Griffin ran 70 miles in 24 hours for $300,000.
I think Otis is off the hook for eating crayons now. STEAK AND EGGS BABY!!
Check back this weekend as Drizz goes ice fishing. Kinda. Actually I'm just out there to drink. And not fall in, and spend most of my time in the heated fish houses which has the feel of being in a hot tub outdoors in the mountains but no swimsuits or boobs to ogle at. Imagining such shapes thru three inches of gore-tex is a bit of a stretch.
I will not be working this weekend, but last weekend's Sunday Warm-up had some heavy star power when four Team PokerStars pros were among the final 24 including Daniel Negreanu. But it would physist, metal rocker, and overall hottie newly minted Team PokerStars pro Liv Boeree taking home the $148K first prize after an aerial dogfight with James mig.com Mackey, you can check out my recap at the PokerStarsBlog or the video recap at PokerStars.TV .
One of the bigger ones I've covered, hope I didn't screw it up. Cheers to enjoying whatever and whomever fills your glass.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Earning my yearly poker blog cred
With an added $325 from Full Tilt and PokerStars all thanks to the WPBT Luckbox last longer and added money by Poker From the Rail. I hear some extremely talented writers drop by that site and write about poker, I think you should check out this post: Aftermath of Winning for such an example of awesomeness.
Or lameness.
Because Al is downing hurricanes and stripper's g-strings while I'm hoping my car doesn't break down in the ass cold sub-human temps we are set to receive with zero lube for the next few days. Actually the lube would turn into an icicle with painful results, so keep the Astroglide indoors for safe use with your 16 gear rabbit vibrator.
Many semi-busy bloggers *points at self* have the fancy graphic of PokerStars' World Blogger Championship of Online Poker blinking on their dusty online journals ready for the battle to see who's got game behind the swirl of horrible puns and barely readable metaphors. Maybe a few of you can write, and some knock it out of the park with the funny (see: Wolves by Hyperbole and a half and always tip your babysitter even they managed to not steal anything).
Or lameness.
Because Al is downing hurricanes and stripper's g-strings while I'm hoping my car doesn't break down in the ass cold sub-human temps we are set to receive with zero lube for the next few days. Actually the lube would turn into an icicle with painful results, so keep the Astroglide indoors for safe use with your 16 gear rabbit vibrator.
Many semi-busy bloggers *points at self* have the fancy graphic of PokerStars' World Blogger Championship of Online Poker blinking on their dusty online journals ready for the battle to see who's got game behind the swirl of horrible puns and barely readable metaphors. Maybe a few of you can write, and some knock it out of the park with the funny (see: Wolves by Hyperbole and a half and always tip your babysitter even they managed to not steal anything).
Pot Limit Omaha January 24 14:00 ET Tournament ID 339187689
No Limit Hold’em January 25 19:00 ET Tournament ID 339187690
PL Omaha H/L January 26 22:00 ET Tournament ID 339187691
No Limit Hold’em January 27 14:00 ET Tournament ID 339187692
8-Game Mix January 28 17:00 ET Tournament ID 339187695
No Limit Hold’em January 29 15:00 ET Tournament ID 339187696
There's your line up kids, fear not as I have zero chance of playing the first tourney because I am the lame and responsible type who will be pecking away at spreadsheets instead of winning a free trip to SCOOP.
It will be tempting to stay up for the Wednesday tourney of course because who needs sleep when a split game tourney is guaranteed to go at least 6 hours which is exactly when my alarm would ring my ass up for work.
No Limit Hold’em January 29 15:00 ET Tournament ID 339187696
There's your line up kids, fear not as I have zero chance of playing the first tourney because I am the lame and responsible type who will be pecking away at spreadsheets instead of winning a free trip to SCOOP.
It will be tempting to stay up for the Wednesday tourney of course because who needs sleep when a split game tourney is guaranteed to go at least 6 hours which is exactly when my alarm would ring my ass up for work.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
WBCOOP at PokerStars
I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.Registration code: XXXXXX 640181
Home blogger team gotta defend their turf yo! See you at the PLO8 tourney at least.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saturdays with Dr. Pauly
If you ask me why I'm up at nearly midnight watching Mallrats on a night I was resigned to head to bed early.
I have no clue, I really don't. But, I can tell you what I did at a more reasonable hour:
That would be me, luckboxing my way thru this courtesy of Dr. Pauly. The Turkey cup wasn't a choice as my old ass was passed out by 9pm the previous evening, but PLO + kids giving daddy a little time to play = good decision.
Wow, Shannen Doherty was hot!
Anyway Dr. Pauly was putting up a signed copy of Lost Vegas (NOW 15% off!! Head over to Lulu for details, or click the link) and while I was planning on asking the good doctor to sign the copy I purchased a few days after it was published, a second copy for a Christmas gift would be perfect.
Since a recap of the action is better suited for people who can write such recaps and I'm still baffled as to why I'm still up grinding in this $5 PLO8 tourney, I'll leave it that I got lucky and won. Period. Exclaimnation point.
In light of the Gophers (football, not hockey, not basketball, but FOOTBALL) winning tonight I'm going to allow someone else to claim this nightcap because I will be covering the monthly promo tourneys at Stars tomorrow, and I hear a gathering of likeminded degens is getting rather close. Good night and may the wraps be with you.
11 days.
I have no clue, I really don't. But, I can tell you what I did at a more reasonable hour:
That would be me, luckboxing my way thru this courtesy of Dr. Pauly. The Turkey cup wasn't a choice as my old ass was passed out by 9pm the previous evening, but PLO + kids giving daddy a little time to play = good decision.
Wow, Shannen Doherty was hot!
Anyway Dr. Pauly was putting up a signed copy of Lost Vegas (NOW 15% off!! Head over to Lulu for details, or click the link) and while I was planning on asking the good doctor to sign the copy I purchased a few days after it was published, a second copy for a Christmas gift would be perfect.
Since a recap of the action is better suited for people who can write such recaps and I'm still baffled as to why I'm still up grinding in this $5 PLO8 tourney, I'll leave it that I got lucky and won. Period. Exclaimnation point.
In light of the Gophers (football, not hockey, not basketball, but FOOTBALL) winning tonight I'm going to allow someone else to claim this nightcap because I will be covering the monthly promo tourneys at Stars tomorrow, and I hear a gathering of likeminded degens is getting rather close. Good night and may the wraps be with you.
11 days.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wife Knows Best Chapter 10: He WILL Forget
After walking through the front doors after a longer-than-usual commute (a whole 15 minutes!) and missing the fine smell of bacon-wrapped steak that was promised to be pan-searing when I got home, an audiable sigh left my nose.
"Oh, I can still throw the steaks on" said my wife, at least those were the words from her mouth.
The actual words were "I got home and did the laundry, vacuumed the floors, pulled your daughter down from the ceiling, and rescued a bus load of 8th grade volleyball players after their driver fell asleep trying to pull an all-nighter so don't ask me to make your fuckin steak".
Calmly, I suggested Leeann Chin's and I would offer to climb right back into the car to retrieve the Sesame chicken goodness with a side of egg-fried rice and gooey cream-cheese puffs. Also, as a bonus, the mystery package I signed for yesterday happened to be a large (for me) check from my musings on PokerStarsBlog and after checking my bank balance, a wire transfer from Full Tilt also went thru so "bet more" at the WPBT may be back on (if the funds clear of course)!
A side trip to the bank was made where a cute Thai teller that would have made F-Train throw out a few suave lines, I however stumbled thru the reasons for the large foreign check and made a joke about giving it to my wife for Black Friday (which isn't entirely false, but don't let her know when she finds some extra cash in her purse from the degen fairy). Then on to the Leeann Chin's I go to about twice a month noting the usual surly but hot blonde who wears too much makeup and a distaste for people on her face serve up some Sweet and Sour chicken for the kids, Lemon for the wife, and as an audiable, some Mongolian chicken for myself. Wrapped up with two pairs of chopsticks for the kids to poke their food with, it was back home to a "movie night" (meaning a late-night date with "An Introduction to Literature" for daddy).
"Oh, I can still throw the steaks on" said my wife, at least those were the words from her mouth.
The actual words were "I got home and did the laundry, vacuumed the floors, pulled your daughter down from the ceiling, and rescued a bus load of 8th grade volleyball players after their driver fell asleep trying to pull an all-nighter so don't ask me to make your fuckin steak".
Calmly, I suggested Leeann Chin's and I would offer to climb right back into the car to retrieve the Sesame chicken goodness with a side of egg-fried rice and gooey cream-cheese puffs. Also, as a bonus, the mystery package I signed for yesterday happened to be a large (for me) check from my musings on PokerStarsBlog and after checking my bank balance, a wire transfer from Full Tilt also went thru so "bet more" at the WPBT may be back on (if the funds clear of course)!
A side trip to the bank was made where a cute Thai teller that would have made F-Train throw out a few suave lines, I however stumbled thru the reasons for the large foreign check and made a joke about giving it to my wife for Black Friday (which isn't entirely false, but don't let her know when she finds some extra cash in her purse from the degen fairy). Then on to the Leeann Chin's I go to about twice a month noting the usual surly but hot blonde who wears too much makeup and a distaste for people on her face serve up some Sweet and Sour chicken for the kids, Lemon for the wife, and as an audiable, some Mongolian chicken for myself. Wrapped up with two pairs of chopsticks for the kids to poke their food with, it was back home to a "movie night" (meaning a late-night date with "An Introduction to Literature" for daddy).
pic cred: dan-dare.org
Toy Story 3, and this one lived up to the hype, with a excellent ending, on top of an excellent ending. Just when you thought it was over with Woody and Buzz saving the day again, it jerks your heart strings for a few minutes more.
All the pillows and blankets were gathered up as the nightly ritual of getting the kids to brush their teeth without flinging poo at each other began. But tonight there was no poo, perhaps after-glow from the awesome movie as they settled down quickly, got tucked in as I returned to the porch and found my fat cat Funky rightfully assuming my ass would be on the couch for the next few hours.
Just before cracking open the play "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell and later "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekhov my wife came in to remind me to put away the turkey that had been thawing out in the sink before going to bed. I looked up and nodded telling her not to worry about it. But, my wife was not convinced. She takes out a strategically placed chair which blocked the walkway between porch and living room (the kitchen is in-between the two) and places a pan on it. After seeing this I raised a middle finger in salute, and got one in return with a smile.
After the required reading I was too tired for the writing portion of the assignment and shut off the lights to the porch which were the last lights on in the house and started stumbling to bed much like I do on later nights.
WHAM! #!#$&$#!@@
My middle toe rang with pain as I slammed it into the strategically placed chair which filled the lane like Wilt Chamberlain and Shaq standing side-by-side. As my trudged my bruised toe and ego to the kitchen light and took the medium-sized wet turkey placing it in the fridge, I could almost hear my wife down the hallway laughing in her sleep.
14 days folks.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Using a page from the whining book
Whine and thou shalt receive.
My kids employ these method on a daily basis and once in a great while through frustration I'll give in. Softy, I know. Mostly because the words "daddy is working" coming out of my mouth while doing homework or describing the seventh place finisher in the Sunday Warm-Up at PokerStars, has a ghastly charcoal taste to each syllable. Last night it was creating invoices and receiving payments for a fictional landscaping company while my son wanted a second knight to accompany him in a game called Castle Crashers on the PS3. For the low price of $14.99 (plus some PS3 add-on cost of a buck and change) these little square-headed knights bop different ghouls and wombats Street Fighter style with a little RPG thrown in as there's leveling, gold collection, and standard strength, magic, dex, and defense add-on to improve your character. For a quick game, well worth the purchase.
As I poured some tears out on these pages way too soon about floating cash at Full Tilt the joy seeing that cash with a bonus enough to cover more than the bank fees (thank you good sirs) was back in my account by the time Michael Vick was in the middle of going All-Madden on the Redskins last night (seriously, if the Eagles played like that, can anyone beat them?). Now with two accounts flush with online moneys, the question is: is it safe to try to withdraw again? One method involves several fees adding up to $60 which doesn't appeal to me but for the sake of "bet more" in Vegas a few less lap dances won't hurt the silicone and baby powder crowd too much. The other method is wait and pray that the check clears, and with three bad checks already in the past few years I don't need my bank getting itchy to close my account that has been open since Ronnie Regan ruled the White House and I was getting my 100 pound skinny ass kicked in middle school.
For those who still drop by and play, let me know if you've had experiences (good or bad) with cashing out, and I'm not talking about getting your aces cracked five times in row while your brand new 100" 3D-HDTV blows up in the background from the cash-out curse. Save those stories for the Geisha Bar.
22 days shopping days till my birthday folks. Get a move on.
My kids employ these method on a daily basis and once in a great while through frustration I'll give in. Softy, I know. Mostly because the words "daddy is working" coming out of my mouth while doing homework or describing the seventh place finisher in the Sunday Warm-Up at PokerStars, has a ghastly charcoal taste to each syllable. Last night it was creating invoices and receiving payments for a fictional landscaping company while my son wanted a second knight to accompany him in a game called Castle Crashers on the PS3. For the low price of $14.99 (plus some PS3 add-on cost of a buck and change) these little square-headed knights bop different ghouls and wombats Street Fighter style with a little RPG thrown in as there's leveling, gold collection, and standard strength, magic, dex, and defense add-on to improve your character. For a quick game, well worth the purchase.
As I poured some tears out on these pages way too soon about floating cash at Full Tilt the joy seeing that cash with a bonus enough to cover more than the bank fees (thank you good sirs) was back in my account by the time Michael Vick was in the middle of going All-Madden on the Redskins last night (seriously, if the Eagles played like that, can anyone beat them?). Now with two accounts flush with online moneys, the question is: is it safe to try to withdraw again? One method involves several fees adding up to $60 which doesn't appeal to me but for the sake of "bet more" in Vegas a few less lap dances won't hurt the silicone and baby powder crowd too much. The other method is wait and pray that the check clears, and with three bad checks already in the past few years I don't need my bank getting itchy to close my account that has been open since Ronnie Regan ruled the White House and I was getting my 100 pound skinny ass kicked in middle school.
For those who still drop by and play, let me know if you've had experiences (good or bad) with cashing out, and I'm not talking about getting your aces cracked five times in row while your brand new 100" 3D-HDTV blows up in the background from the cash-out curse. Save those stories for the Geisha Bar.
22 days shopping days till my birthday folks. Get a move on.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Checks and chips
Trying to keep my eyes open on the ice-slicked roads of Minnesota this morning thanks to winter's regurgitation of snow overnight on Friday, there was more than a few odd sights on my ass-crack of dawn commute. The gray with white flecked bunny with ears seemingly lopped off, perhaps from a gang initiation which must have included darting out in front of a tired suburbanite at five a.m.with hopes that his green tea fix kicked in enough to dance his truck around around those short, fast legs.
No squished bunny, he'll survive enough to terrorize the neighborhood by knocking over a few gas stations before meeting his maker by a vigilante Ford Probe's front right tire.
After avoiding animals there was the Stephen King-like mist with a 16-wheeler coming over the top of a narrow bridge that I was attempting to cross at the same time taking up the entire width. Luckily by the time Maximum Overdrive's figure peered thru the fog it became just another commuter that probably had his eyes open no more than me.
Sufficiently awakened by new found alertness, I see its November 15th and we're only 23 days away from the 6th installment of the WPBT Winter Classic which only half of the field has signed up for the biggest giveaway we've had thanks to the wonderful folks at PokerStars. Be sure go to Up For Poker's for the details on the last longer, hammer challenge, and my favorite... bust an original player from the first WPBT tourney. No, I was not one of those folks as my bankroll was in its infancy at the time, marriage was about as stable as Brad Childress' job, head injury still kept me under supervision, and my son was just drawing his first breath so running off to Vegas that year wasn't possible. But, those who survived the first year's drinks at Sherwood Forest will be back and guarding their bust out prizes like a child's stuffed animal.
Lately on the online front things have not been rainbows and perky tits waiting to serve you another Jag Bomb because you're just so darn cute (or probably because you're the only one tipping consistantly). This weekend I had not one but two checks bounce from the major sites. Full Tilt's check bounced after waiting A MONTH for it, offered no explanation nor any forebearing that processors were having troubles. As you know my bankroll isn't big (see: name of blog) and we're talking about enough for a plane ticket and maybe enough money to bring my golf clubs with. It wasn't until I wrote in after my bank informed me of the NSF check that an apology was given. PokerStars however offered a pre-emptive strike telling not to cash the check (which I didn't) and gave a bonus on top of my withdrawl and the funds are once again back in my account (unlike Full Tilt who continues to drag their feet about this...).
In the year of "bet more" since I had been doing not-so-bad at the tables lately, there was a little extra to enjoy an upper crust dinner with good foodie friends, whiskey with a Packer Fan and a husband to a Packer Fan, golfing with a soon-to-be groom, and still have enough for playing 3am Pai Gow with Hong and Dr. Pauly at the Gold Coast. Those things will still happen, but this extra bit was my reward to myself for the hard work over the past year. Going back to school full time with two jobs has been tiring especially when you add a daughter who thinks it's ok to get up at 5:30am on a weekend to climb into the freezer using a chair and phone book to gobble down 2.5 bars of Hershey's then proceed to bounce off the walls for the next five hours on a sugar rush while daddy tries to book a sale of a 20-year bond bought at 102, and sold six years later at 98.5 with an interest rate of 11% and coupon rate of 12% and writing a two-page compare and contrast essay on two poems (seriously, how do ya'll read poems, I'm baffled).
As the king of the deuce-four, PokerGrump, added in a recent post about cashing out at Bodog where he was given an ATM-type card instead of cash with a bunch of loopholes and fees attached to it (read the post as he explains all the fine print). Is this the direction we're going to avoid the UIGEA? Or until the government finally allows us to go back to the good ol' days of NetTeller and wire MY money as quickly as needed?
We shall see as Bodog wrote to me a few days ago telling me I had more than happy meal money in my account to cash out should I not want to play there. Thanks to the cancelled checks I feel like I had just split the uprights for the game-winning 37 yard field goal and as the guys were carrying me off the field Rex Ryan comes over to laugh in my face as he called a time-out right before I was to get in the hot tub with the Dahm triplets and I needed to compose myself for another try.
Neither site has commented on the ability to try again, and the 2+2 threads on the matter do not show much light as to people receiving and clearing a second check. As told, I "need" those degen funds before escaping the sub-arctic temps of Minnesota for the poker felts of Vegas. The question is, will I be on a budget and just enjoy the fact that I'm surrounded by good friends that I only get to see 2 or 3 times a year, or will "bet more" be in play making airplane noises at Excal playing 4am craps?
No squished bunny, he'll survive enough to terrorize the neighborhood by knocking over a few gas stations before meeting his maker by a vigilante Ford Probe's front right tire.
After avoiding animals there was the Stephen King-like mist with a 16-wheeler coming over the top of a narrow bridge that I was attempting to cross at the same time taking up the entire width. Luckily by the time Maximum Overdrive's figure peered thru the fog it became just another commuter that probably had his eyes open no more than me.
Sufficiently awakened by new found alertness, I see its November 15th and we're only 23 days away from the 6th installment of the WPBT Winter Classic which only half of the field has signed up for the biggest giveaway we've had thanks to the wonderful folks at PokerStars. Be sure go to Up For Poker's for the details on the last longer, hammer challenge, and my favorite... bust an original player from the first WPBT tourney. No, I was not one of those folks as my bankroll was in its infancy at the time, marriage was about as stable as Brad Childress' job, head injury still kept me under supervision, and my son was just drawing his first breath so running off to Vegas that year wasn't possible. But, those who survived the first year's drinks at Sherwood Forest will be back and guarding their bust out prizes like a child's stuffed animal.
Lately on the online front things have not been rainbows and perky tits waiting to serve you another Jag Bomb because you're just so darn cute (or probably because you're the only one tipping consistantly). This weekend I had not one but two checks bounce from the major sites. Full Tilt's check bounced after waiting A MONTH for it, offered no explanation nor any forebearing that processors were having troubles. As you know my bankroll isn't big (see: name of blog) and we're talking about enough for a plane ticket and maybe enough money to bring my golf clubs with. It wasn't until I wrote in after my bank informed me of the NSF check that an apology was given. PokerStars however offered a pre-emptive strike telling not to cash the check (which I didn't) and gave a bonus on top of my withdrawl and the funds are once again back in my account (unlike Full Tilt who continues to drag their feet about this...).
In the year of "bet more" since I had been doing not-so-bad at the tables lately, there was a little extra to enjoy an upper crust dinner with good foodie friends, whiskey with a Packer Fan and a husband to a Packer Fan, golfing with a soon-to-be groom, and still have enough for playing 3am Pai Gow with Hong and Dr. Pauly at the Gold Coast. Those things will still happen, but this extra bit was my reward to myself for the hard work over the past year. Going back to school full time with two jobs has been tiring especially when you add a daughter who thinks it's ok to get up at 5:30am on a weekend to climb into the freezer using a chair and phone book to gobble down 2.5 bars of Hershey's then proceed to bounce off the walls for the next five hours on a sugar rush while daddy tries to book a sale of a 20-year bond bought at 102, and sold six years later at 98.5 with an interest rate of 11% and coupon rate of 12% and writing a two-page compare and contrast essay on two poems (seriously, how do ya'll read poems, I'm baffled).
As the king of the deuce-four, PokerGrump, added in a recent post about cashing out at Bodog where he was given an ATM-type card instead of cash with a bunch of loopholes and fees attached to it (read the post as he explains all the fine print). Is this the direction we're going to avoid the UIGEA? Or until the government finally allows us to go back to the good ol' days of NetTeller and wire MY money as quickly as needed?
We shall see as Bodog wrote to me a few days ago telling me I had more than happy meal money in my account to cash out should I not want to play there. Thanks to the cancelled checks I feel like I had just split the uprights for the game-winning 37 yard field goal and as the guys were carrying me off the field Rex Ryan comes over to laugh in my face as he called a time-out right before I was to get in the hot tub with the Dahm triplets and I needed to compose myself for another try.
Neither site has commented on the ability to try again, and the 2+2 threads on the matter do not show much light as to people receiving and clearing a second check. As told, I "need" those degen funds before escaping the sub-arctic temps of Minnesota for the poker felts of Vegas. The question is, will I be on a budget and just enjoy the fact that I'm surrounded by good friends that I only get to see 2 or 3 times a year, or will "bet more" be in play making airplane noises at Excal playing 4am craps?
Friday, October 29, 2010
Again, didn't we do this just a few minutes ago?
Like begging the significant other for seconds the morning after... Drizz did it again, after final tabling a small PLO tourney on and then this on the site that I've been donating my second paycheck to all year...
Ok I didn't get Megan Fox but in my current state WHY NOT! I'm f'in hot dammit! Yeah, I'm suburbanite making shit per hour with two kids and going to school but hey I knows how to play the pokers! Ok, again maybe not but I do bust thru once in a while. Like below (boring brag below, no more titties for you!)
Don't tell you love me, I. don't wanna knoooooooooooooooow. Sorry I'm in my 80's hair band mode and Night Ranger hit my stick becaus they rock EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY DISAGREE! You want to see my name up top right? Ok then. Without further adieu, or Favre's average sized penis... here's we go:
ME-FUCKIN-OWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! That's right I don't suck at poker for one whole night! Kids are getting up in an hour and I need to go retrieve an energy drink because I'm screwed if I don't since I agree to read Hooper Humperdink at my daughter's pre-school in a few hours. Speaking as a degen should wake up the kids? Good grief I think I'm just a bit lame for staying up this late BUT DONKEY WISHED TO GIVE MONEYS AND I TAKES IT!
I'm done. For now. No more penis. Or carpet cleaner. Need an energy, or some spare meth. Otis talks about such things, maybe I should inquire. Or not. I like pie. Good morning VIETNAM! Yeah, I'm screwed.
Ok I didn't get Megan Fox but in my current state WHY NOT! I'm f'in hot dammit! Yeah, I'm suburbanite making shit per hour with two kids and going to school but hey I knows how to play the pokers! Ok, again maybe not but I do bust thru once in a while. Like below (boring brag below, no more titties for you!)
Don't tell you love me, I. don't wanna knoooooooooooooooow. Sorry I'm in my 80's hair band mode and Night Ranger hit my stick becaus they rock EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY DISAGREE! You want to see my name up top right? Ok then. Without further adieu, or Favre's average sized penis... here's we go:
ME-FUCKIN-OWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! That's right I don't suck at poker for one whole night! Kids are getting up in an hour and I need to go retrieve an energy drink because I'm screwed if I don't since I agree to read Hooper Humperdink at my daughter's pre-school in a few hours. Speaking as a degen should wake up the kids? Good grief I think I'm just a bit lame for staying up this late BUT DONKEY WISHED TO GIVE MONEYS AND I TAKES IT!
I'm done. For now. No more penis. Or carpet cleaner. Need an energy, or some spare meth. Otis talks about such things, maybe I should inquire. Or not. I like pie. Good morning VIETNAM! Yeah, I'm screwed.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Coming out of my WCOOP shelter
**Warning this gets rambling and make no sense, much like Paris Hilton's existance or my daughter's tantrum at dance class last night which was trigger by UV40 rays and lack of gummi bears in the school's vending machines**
Returning to normalcy.
Or what I once thought as normal, the shower, breakfast, 9 to 5 job, the cube, commute, dinner, ball game, kids, bed. Many stick themselves on this wheel and don't stop to break it enough until the wheel spins too fast and their lives become a really boring reality show that would get worse ratings than a Tiger Woods talk show on fidelity. Every September for the past three years, I have been invited to enjoy sleep deprivation, breakfast at two in the afternoon, and a break in my "normal" routine while playing the part of online chronicler for the PokerStarsBlog along side some of the best in the business (Otis, Dr. Pauly, Change100, Shamus, Jen Newell, F-Train, and a computer program called Kevmath who will take over the world by 2014 or at least break the record for most posts at 2+2 and Twitter).
On most nights/mornings last week I sat on my couch drafting about the latest tournament and trying to find a little something interesting about its players. One was quite easy when Team PokerStars pro Jason Mercier used full-on aggression plus a little run-good at a final table to take down his first WCOOP bracelet. It gave a little something extra to root for going into the wee-hours of the morning. Unlike Otis and Change100 who had to battle labor disputes and roaming dogs on the way to work in Buenos Aires, I just had to pack up the kids, replenish my supply of Wheat Thins or Triscuits, and battle dozing off before the six a.m.final tables hit.
But it wasn't about the poker, it wasn't about the millions being thrown around during the WCOOP or the extra paycheck that will be redistributed in Las Vegas over at Cheetah's, Gold Coast's Pai Gow pit, and most likely the Geisha Bar at Imperial Palace during the WPBT in December (you have signed up for the Up For Poker last longer challenge correct??? Free money people, and you can laugh at G-Rob after busting him!!). No, working the WCOOP is about friendship, its about stepping outside the comfort zone, it's about being called upon to do something that isn't drafted in some dusty 15 volume tome of corporate suck. Here's the story, go write it. That's it (and of course there is some structure but mostly to get the maximum amount of readership and so the good writers of the blog have future work). Unlike every job I've ever held from planting trees at parks, to frying frozen tacos at Jack-in-the-Box, to sitting in a secluded mail room with millions of invoices everything had structure with no sense of creativity. No injecting sour cream in the tacos to make them taste better, or finding a new filing system for the invoice, just do your job like a robot and move on. Granted my career and schooling choice of becoming an Accountant frowns upon "creativity" as seen when Accountants *ahem* use there skill to "find" and "report" debits and credits in ways GAAP does not intend. Nonetheless, I enjoy finding the numbers and putting the in the right places, much like a final table story at the PokerStarsBlog, I have been proud to be a part of the team for the past three years.
The artist formally known as Poker Shrink, now just "The Shrink" talked about "normal" in a blog post that smacked me a bit as I overwork myself to retain my little world of normal, but instead of the upper-middle income family he speaks about in the post "Dis-ease", my world of going back to school full-time while holding down a full-time job, two kids with multiple activities, a wife, and a part-time job that keeps me glued together, I work hard just to survive. There are no real "extras" except the occasional jaunt to meet up with my dearest friends and authors across the nation. Whether it be in Las Vegas, G-Vegas, Chicago, or a $100 cab ride to Philly's airport while still trying to figure out why I craved a TastyKake and a WaWa sandwich, these things keep me "normal". A little hip check to the routine keeps everyone fresh, and without the above, I would sink into the same abyss my co-workers at my "normal" job suffer. They are set in their ways, counting the days to retirement, some even with a little clock that has five years, 345 days, 21 hours and 15 mintues on it.
Why?
Sure they're older but why live to die? Despite the shit hitting the fan yesterday during 24 hours of nothing going right including flushing half of my online bankroll in the toilet, paying for a $48 slab of lasagna then blowing up with the wife as she picked it up when I explained I ordered the single serving and she got the wrong order, then having both kids decide to mimic daddy's deaf ears and filter only for sentences containing: "treat", "play", "movie". My mind went spinning for most of Sunday afternoon into Monday, but I finished up the final write up around 8:30am Monday morning, calmly put together a skillet (no, THAT kind of skillet) and let the crazy wash off before returning to "normal" today.
Hugs were given, invoice for the work sent in, and Excel spreadsheets about to filled by the college student who is now done with 2/11 quarters from fulfilling a hole that I never wanted to admit was there. The degree won't make me "normal" but it will push me to continue being weird by trying something new and giving a reason to not settle for my present cube.
Returning to normalcy.
Or what I once thought as normal, the shower, breakfast, 9 to 5 job, the cube, commute, dinner, ball game, kids, bed. Many stick themselves on this wheel and don't stop to break it enough until the wheel spins too fast and their lives become a really boring reality show that would get worse ratings than a Tiger Woods talk show on fidelity. Every September for the past three years, I have been invited to enjoy sleep deprivation, breakfast at two in the afternoon, and a break in my "normal" routine while playing the part of online chronicler for the PokerStarsBlog along side some of the best in the business (Otis, Dr. Pauly, Change100, Shamus, Jen Newell, F-Train, and a computer program called Kevmath who will take over the world by 2014 or at least break the record for most posts at 2+2 and Twitter).
On most nights/mornings last week I sat on my couch drafting about the latest tournament and trying to find a little something interesting about its players. One was quite easy when Team PokerStars pro Jason Mercier used full-on aggression plus a little run-good at a final table to take down his first WCOOP bracelet. It gave a little something extra to root for going into the wee-hours of the morning. Unlike Otis and Change100 who had to battle labor disputes and roaming dogs on the way to work in Buenos Aires, I just had to pack up the kids, replenish my supply of Wheat Thins or Triscuits, and battle dozing off before the six a.m.final tables hit.
But it wasn't about the poker, it wasn't about the millions being thrown around during the WCOOP or the extra paycheck that will be redistributed in Las Vegas over at Cheetah's, Gold Coast's Pai Gow pit, and most likely the Geisha Bar at Imperial Palace during the WPBT in December (you have signed up for the Up For Poker last longer challenge correct??? Free money people, and you can laugh at G-Rob after busting him!!). No, working the WCOOP is about friendship, its about stepping outside the comfort zone, it's about being called upon to do something that isn't drafted in some dusty 15 volume tome of corporate suck. Here's the story, go write it. That's it (and of course there is some structure but mostly to get the maximum amount of readership and so the good writers of the blog have future work). Unlike every job I've ever held from planting trees at parks, to frying frozen tacos at Jack-in-the-Box, to sitting in a secluded mail room with millions of invoices everything had structure with no sense of creativity. No injecting sour cream in the tacos to make them taste better, or finding a new filing system for the invoice, just do your job like a robot and move on. Granted my career and schooling choice of becoming an Accountant frowns upon "creativity" as seen when Accountants *ahem* use there skill to "find" and "report" debits and credits in ways GAAP does not intend. Nonetheless, I enjoy finding the numbers and putting the in the right places, much like a final table story at the PokerStarsBlog, I have been proud to be a part of the team for the past three years.
The artist formally known as Poker Shrink, now just "The Shrink" talked about "normal" in a blog post that smacked me a bit as I overwork myself to retain my little world of normal, but instead of the upper-middle income family he speaks about in the post "Dis-ease", my world of going back to school full-time while holding down a full-time job, two kids with multiple activities, a wife, and a part-time job that keeps me glued together, I work hard just to survive. There are no real "extras" except the occasional jaunt to meet up with my dearest friends and authors across the nation. Whether it be in Las Vegas, G-Vegas, Chicago, or a $100 cab ride to Philly's airport while still trying to figure out why I craved a TastyKake and a WaWa sandwich, these things keep me "normal". A little hip check to the routine keeps everyone fresh, and without the above, I would sink into the same abyss my co-workers at my "normal" job suffer. They are set in their ways, counting the days to retirement, some even with a little clock that has five years, 345 days, 21 hours and 15 mintues on it.
Why?
Sure they're older but why live to die? Despite the shit hitting the fan yesterday during 24 hours of nothing going right including flushing half of my online bankroll in the toilet, paying for a $48 slab of lasagna then blowing up with the wife as she picked it up when I explained I ordered the single serving and she got the wrong order, then having both kids decide to mimic daddy's deaf ears and filter only for sentences containing: "treat", "play", "movie". My mind went spinning for most of Sunday afternoon into Monday, but I finished up the final write up around 8:30am Monday morning, calmly put together a skillet (no, THAT kind of skillet) and let the crazy wash off before returning to "normal" today.
Hugs were given, invoice for the work sent in, and Excel spreadsheets about to filled by the college student who is now done with 2/11 quarters from fulfilling a hole that I never wanted to admit was there. The degree won't make me "normal" but it will push me to continue being weird by trying something new and giving a reason to not settle for my present cube.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Up for Poker - Luckbox Challenge Act II
Ok, ten or twenty people who drop by my little place here. It's a far reach when this used to be a poker blog that morphed into a personal diary/poker/parenting place to vent. The WPBT Winter Classic is kicking off it's seventh (?!?!!?!?) year of existance with a huge bang. No, some lucky blogger is not getting married way above their means again (looking at you Mr. Buddy Dank).
Instead Otis, CJ, and G-Rob the self-proclaimed Frolf champion of the G-Vegas upper east side past McDonald's but not before Barley's Taproom have put together the biggest promotion yet for our still growing community. Yes, poker is a fad and that fad has faded, except that it hasn't, and barring some heavy DOJ action between now and December, let us welcome the second edition of the Up for Poker/Luckbox Challenge!
You and two other degenerates. Yes, degenerates, we don't take kindly to straight laced white-collar folk around here, leave that shit at home to be a good parent or spouse, come to Vegas to punish your liver and laugh with friends without volume/social graces control. PokerStars despite the WCOOP raging on (I'm on for Friday's O8 tourney and working nightly (morningly?) next week, got together a package for us scribes of the four suits that will have me foregoing any prop bets that involve myself staying awake for 48 hours in Vegas. Other prop bets on bar games will be gladly accepted.
$3,000 prize pool for a team of three to enter (by shipping CJ the cash or PokerStars transfer). My team is pretty much set so you will not have the pleasure of me finishing second-to-last unless you a) like the Vikings and can name at least five Vikings quarterbacks not named Favre (my favorite will always be "Touchdown" Tommy Kramer) b) had the pleasure of going to work while its -10 or below for a solid two weeks c) plan on tilting Yankees fans when we win the World Series this year!
Minnesota homer much? Yes. It's who I am, but I still refuse to eat lutefisk or tell an Ole and Sven joke.
$500 Hammer Challenge! Still play Grubby's hammer like it's 2006? Get rewarded! $50 to the first POST-FLOP hammers to take down a pot. This should lead to some interesting first and second blind level post-flop play which will probably get someone Pauly's copy of Gigli. If you find me sober, please be kind and order me a wine (or a Cap'n Coke is always accepted). I play sober poker like Paris Hilton's cocaine stash and legs, open for all to see.
O.G. challenge - there were 14 original players in the WPBT at Sam's Town, some of which arrived like the rock stars they are in a limo. Knock them out, buy them a drink, tell them to peddle their segway ala Tony G outta here, and take their trinket to CJ in exchange for some more cash.
It's 85 days to my birthday when I touchdown in McCarran that Wednesday and hopefully retain lifeforces without ending up in the Nevada desert as another sad sap tale of degeneracy gone wrong.
I don't know who will be there for birthday shots, I don't know where I'll end up doing my usual disappering act, but come noon on December 11th at the very classy Aria poker room, my presence will be with friends who have given me more than they'll ever know. Check out April's WPBT facebook page for more details on the tourney and buy your damn ticket already!
Instead Otis, CJ, and G-Rob the self-proclaimed Frolf champion of the G-Vegas upper east side past McDonald's but not before Barley's Taproom have put together the biggest promotion yet for our still growing community. Yes, poker is a fad and that fad has faded, except that it hasn't, and barring some heavy DOJ action between now and December, let us welcome the second edition of the Up for Poker/Luckbox Challenge!
You and two other degenerates. Yes, degenerates, we don't take kindly to straight laced white-collar folk around here, leave that shit at home to be a good parent or spouse, come to Vegas to punish your liver and laugh with friends without volume/social graces control. PokerStars despite the WCOOP raging on (I'm on for Friday's O8 tourney and working nightly (morningly?) next week, got together a package for us scribes of the four suits that will have me foregoing any prop bets that involve myself staying awake for 48 hours in Vegas. Other prop bets on bar games will be gladly accepted.
$3,000 prize pool for a team of three to enter (by shipping CJ the cash or PokerStars transfer). My team is pretty much set so you will not have the pleasure of me finishing second-to-last unless you a) like the Vikings and can name at least five Vikings quarterbacks not named Favre (my favorite will always be "Touchdown" Tommy Kramer) b) had the pleasure of going to work while its -10 or below for a solid two weeks c) plan on tilting Yankees fans when we win the World Series this year!
Minnesota homer much? Yes. It's who I am, but I still refuse to eat lutefisk or tell an Ole and Sven joke.
$500 Hammer Challenge! Still play Grubby's hammer like it's 2006? Get rewarded! $50 to the first POST-FLOP hammers to take down a pot. This should lead to some interesting first and second blind level post-flop play which will probably get someone Pauly's copy of Gigli. If you find me sober, please be kind and order me a wine (or a Cap'n Coke is always accepted). I play sober poker like Paris Hilton's cocaine stash and legs, open for all to see.
O.G. challenge - there were 14 original players in the WPBT at Sam's Town, some of which arrived like the rock stars they are in a limo. Knock them out, buy them a drink, tell them to peddle their segway ala Tony G outta here, and take their trinket to CJ in exchange for some more cash.
It's 85 days to my birthday when I touchdown in McCarran that Wednesday and hopefully retain lifeforces without ending up in the Nevada desert as another sad sap tale of degeneracy gone wrong.
I don't know who will be there for birthday shots, I don't know where I'll end up doing my usual disappering act, but come noon on December 11th at the very classy Aria poker room, my presence will be with friends who have given me more than they'll ever know. Check out April's WPBT facebook page for more details on the tourney and buy your damn ticket already!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
High(er) Rolling Rant
There were no less than three posts written this weekend while driving to the trailer/cabin in Hinckley. Since my cell phone does not double as a mobile office and can barely receive text messages but can ass-dial certain writers to remind them to eat their veggies and be sure to have a clean plate after dinner, this space remained dormant aside from a poker brag on Sunday while tooling around in the afternoon.
While my low-rolling online self will not change anytime soon since our government insist on throwing wispy laws towards the likes of PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Bodog. Rules that make it harder, not impossible for online degens to get their fix of four card crack and mega-satellites to the World Series of Poker Main Event. The holy grail of satellites. The endorsements. BJ Nemeth and Flipchip taking YOUR picture with that pile of cash along side of an increasing better Norman Chad doing the post-game interview sometime after Minnesotans return to below zero temperatures. That's November not August despite urban legends that it's cold up here. It is, but it's a dry cold.
The UIGEA. Is all about what's wrong with our government and aside from the political circus going on in g-Vegas' home state, the reason why this voter without a political affliation will ever pick a party to follow. You, Bob Goodlatte, despite taking money FROM gambling sources sneak in a line detail that threatens the employement of my friends. You whine when people who even oppose gambling say it was backhanded and terribly obtuse law, and use your poltical ties to force others into this thinking. As my friends have toiled in the Amazon room for the past few weeks, and will continue to do so until the November Nine are named, they are working for less and less as the ambiguity of this law prevents their sites from running a business without the threat of a FBI/CIA/Starsky and Hutch ban stick being waved over their heads and make the profits that they should be.
While James Dempsey and Sammy Farha battle it out for the $10K Omaha Hi/Lo bracelet this morning, doubts of future events being so grand are in question. By this time next year we could have the road laid out for legalization of online poker. You know, something that several states have done legally in brick and mortar casinos/cardrooms and had prior to your nanny state law. This this isn't meth or some hard drug that currently gets you thrown in jail for possesion, instead this is a game that is dealt 24/7 in most states and at worse you get thrown to the floor for being an asshole after slow-rolling the nuts on that 85 year old Korean War vet who caps his cards with a Purple Heart while playing $2/$4 limit daily with a huge "I'm a 10 Percenter" button over his black suspenders.
There's no law against being a dick, but there is one because some people choose to play virtually versus driving 45 minutes (or more) to play live. Stop being a dick Bob and let people play how they choose versus how you and your morally twisted backers think everyone should act with THEIR MONEY. Do I walk into congress and demand you cease plunking down $50K+ on that country club membership, or a third Porsche because I think it's a waste of money? No. You earned it, you get to spend it. Just like this weekend after a friend's advice to "Bet More", I did so. Playing $25 to $75 hands of blackjack and Pai Gow for three hours with money I earned through my second job. The rush for someone who normally makes less than $20/hour was worth more than the $300 I took away from the high stakes area and got a touch of the high life even if it was in a backwater casino located in a fly-over state.
My money, my choice. Your money, your choice. This is America, land of freedom to fuck up if you want to, stop being a hypocrite.
While my low-rolling online self will not change anytime soon since our government insist on throwing wispy laws towards the likes of PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Bodog. Rules that make it harder, not impossible for online degens to get their fix of four card crack and mega-satellites to the World Series of Poker Main Event. The holy grail of satellites. The endorsements. BJ Nemeth and Flipchip taking YOUR picture with that pile of cash along side of an increasing better Norman Chad doing the post-game interview sometime after Minnesotans return to below zero temperatures. That's November not August despite urban legends that it's cold up here. It is, but it's a dry cold.
The UIGEA. Is all about what's wrong with our government and aside from the political circus going on in g-Vegas' home state, the reason why this voter without a political affliation will ever pick a party to follow. You, Bob Goodlatte, despite taking money FROM gambling sources sneak in a line detail that threatens the employement of my friends. You whine when people who even oppose gambling say it was backhanded and terribly obtuse law, and use your poltical ties to force others into this thinking. As my friends have toiled in the Amazon room for the past few weeks, and will continue to do so until the November Nine are named, they are working for less and less as the ambiguity of this law prevents their sites from running a business without the threat of a FBI/CIA/Starsky and Hutch ban stick being waved over their heads and make the profits that they should be.
While James Dempsey and Sammy Farha battle it out for the $10K Omaha Hi/Lo bracelet this morning, doubts of future events being so grand are in question. By this time next year we could have the road laid out for legalization of online poker. You know, something that several states have done legally in brick and mortar casinos/cardrooms and had prior to your nanny state law. This this isn't meth or some hard drug that currently gets you thrown in jail for possesion, instead this is a game that is dealt 24/7 in most states and at worse you get thrown to the floor for being an asshole after slow-rolling the nuts on that 85 year old Korean War vet who caps his cards with a Purple Heart while playing $2/$4 limit daily with a huge "I'm a 10 Percenter" button over his black suspenders.
There's no law against being a dick, but there is one because some people choose to play virtually versus driving 45 minutes (or more) to play live. Stop being a dick Bob and let people play how they choose versus how you and your morally twisted backers think everyone should act with THEIR MONEY. Do I walk into congress and demand you cease plunking down $50K+ on that country club membership, or a third Porsche because I think it's a waste of money? No. You earned it, you get to spend it. Just like this weekend after a friend's advice to "Bet More", I did so. Playing $25 to $75 hands of blackjack and Pai Gow for three hours with money I earned through my second job. The rush for someone who normally makes less than $20/hour was worth more than the $300 I took away from the high stakes area and got a touch of the high life even if it was in a backwater casino located in a fly-over state.
My money, my choice. Your money, your choice. This is America, land of freedom to fuck up if you want to, stop being a hypocrite.
Monday, May 17, 2010
SCOOP Main Event: I sucked but less than 17,469 others
While I won't be fullifiling the dream of hacking my SCOOP ME-Low write up with some third person narratives, I did manage to turn my freeroll from the media tournament into a 1719th place finish in the tournament. Good for most of a ticket to Las Vegas if I wished such things.
I do wish, but this string long nights is hurting my soften brain and the last thing I need is burn-out especially since I may have some extra duties coming around my door during the WSOP found a different source.
Coupled with two kids driving their mother thru a wall of wailing and finger wagging all weekend, and well a mental health day or two in Vegas might be the right tonic.
I do wish, but this string long nights is hurting my soften brain and the last thing I need is burn-out especially since I may have some extra duties coming around my door during the WSOP found a different source.
Coupled with two kids driving their mother thru a wall of wailing and finger wagging all weekend, and well a mental health day or two in Vegas might be the right tonic.
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Perfect Game Thrown
Just as Dallas Braden was getting the 27th out of his perfect game, I was doing something that I haven't done in recent times. Ok, probably longer than my kids being born or growing arm pit hair for the first time.
Making the final table, five places paid
After a long grind six handed with me having to shovel manure to steal blinds I found pocket queens
You're serious, the 15 aces in the deck didn't hit?
Yes sir, playing in the same tournament I'll be covering at PokerStarsBlog
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Dreaming of Transformers
The awaking from sleep quotient:
2a (3b - c) = number of minutes to get your ass out of bed after children have awaken
a = hotness of woman or male you are dreaming about (mine shown below)
b = Number of days since you last had sex
c = Ability of your children to treat you like a WCW extra while you're still trying to hold on to that dream until Megan Fox declares you the best she's ever had for the 14th time
Enjoy the weekend folks, I'll be covering the Sunday Warm-up tomorrow, and may be taking a week of at the Bullseye for a little tourney series over at PokerStars (114 tournaments?!?!!?) called SCOOP. Hope to see you there.
2a (3b - c) = number of minutes to get your ass out of bed after children have awaken
a = hotness of woman or male you are dreaming about (mine shown below)
Image from TheHollywoodGossip
b = Number of days since you last had sex
c = Ability of your children to treat you like a WCW extra while you're still trying to hold on to that dream until Megan Fox declares you the best she's ever had for the 14th time
Enjoy the weekend folks, I'll be covering the Sunday Warm-up tomorrow, and may be taking a week of at the Bullseye for a little tourney series over at PokerStars (114 tournaments?!?!!?) called SCOOP. Hope to see you there.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Online Poker Reporting Goes Live
Poker players may not like money, but if they smell an overlay they're the first ones in the buffet line. 36,000+ showed up at the Sunday Million this weekend and yours truly was there for the final table (click here for the report at PokerStarsBlog). $1.1 million paid out for a $215 tournament, amazing. And after watching the replay at PokerStars.TV you can see 2006 WSOP Main Event final tablist Erik Friberg made some excellent 3-bets with air to stay in the running. Biggest WSOP ME ever, biggest Sunday Million ever and the guy gets 4th place in both. Which is why playing poker is clearly a game of skill, not a bad run.
But, that wasn't the only poker reporting I did over the weekend.
After declamating my meager online bankroll thanks to the cards from hell and a vortex of coolers and bad beats I still had the itch for some poker action. Knowing that Event #1 of the Minnesota State Poker Tour was kicking off its $1,000 + $100 buy-in at Grand Casino Mille Lacs, I decided to hop up there on my own dime to check out what live poker reporting entails.
It was a blast. Sure there was no thousand mile stare at the end of the night because I promised two little ones that daddy would be home in time to collapse the massive blanket fort built in the porch and tuck them in. Five hours to Twitter about the tournament vaguely while bouncing around the round for more of a feel versus reporting specific player's names (I'll start brushing up on this). Also, making a prelude post of sorts on MNPokerMag.com while chatting it up with the parents of one's the site's owner who knew fairly little about poker but loved to watch. A different setting from the massive NAPT tourney at The Venetian currently down to 24 players left (as of this hour) being covered by the good folks I usually sit on an IM message box with. Perhaps they'll have a pointer or two for the next tourney as it was interesting to say the least when there were questions about interviews (I don't have a voice recorder) and mostly friendly faces willingly to take the couple of minutes between hands to chat (ran into a Cubs fan while I was sporting my Cubs shirt from the last Gentile Summit).
Will there be a next time? Fairly sure of it. My free time will go from zero into the negatives once school starts in a few months but for a second job that gives me an esteem boost, I'm willing to work through the long nights to do the first job I've ever truly enjoyed.
Quick rant: NBC you're doing it wrong. Ice dancing, figure skating, and Bob Costas droning on about Apollo Ohno's 6th grade subsititute teacher who once completely ignored the future speed-skating wunderkind while checking the NBA betting lines on the Warriors/Magic tilt that night on your flagship channel as MSNBC and CNBC get live Curling and perhaps one of the best prelim Hockey olympic games ever? Regardless of who won, that game between Canada and USA was heart pounding and WATCHABLE. Even the commentary added spice while Canada blitz their much more talented players at the brick wall of Ryan Miller.
Instead you continue the same production playbook from 1968 with clips of past action that rabid fans have already seen and/or heard the results of, with musical interludes with heartwarming stories better saved for the Jerry Lewis MS telethon. No wonder your station has dropped so far, so fast from "Must See TV" to having The Office (a re-make), fat people losing weight, and The Tonight Show as its outstanding brands...
... oh you screwed that pooch too
Shove the purely subjective "sports" onto the cable NON-HD FOR MANY PEOPLE channels, and start playing live sports like double decker luge, short track speed skating, and more downhill skiing coverage you know things that are EXCITING and bask in the ratings instead of rotting away like that Nazi dude in the Indiana Jones movie who got tricked into drinking from the false Holy Grail.
But, that wasn't the only poker reporting I did over the weekend.
After declamating my meager online bankroll thanks to the cards from hell and a vortex of coolers and bad beats I still had the itch for some poker action. Knowing that Event #1 of the Minnesota State Poker Tour was kicking off its $1,000 + $100 buy-in at Grand Casino Mille Lacs, I decided to hop up there on my own dime to check out what live poker reporting entails.
It was a blast. Sure there was no thousand mile stare at the end of the night because I promised two little ones that daddy would be home in time to collapse the massive blanket fort built in the porch and tuck them in. Five hours to Twitter about the tournament vaguely while bouncing around the round for more of a feel versus reporting specific player's names (I'll start brushing up on this). Also, making a prelude post of sorts on MNPokerMag.com while chatting it up with the parents of one's the site's owner who knew fairly little about poker but loved to watch. A different setting from the massive NAPT tourney at The Venetian currently down to 24 players left (as of this hour) being covered by the good folks I usually sit on an IM message box with. Perhaps they'll have a pointer or two for the next tourney as it was interesting to say the least when there were questions about interviews (I don't have a voice recorder) and mostly friendly faces willingly to take the couple of minutes between hands to chat (ran into a Cubs fan while I was sporting my Cubs shirt from the last Gentile Summit).
Will there be a next time? Fairly sure of it. My free time will go from zero into the negatives once school starts in a few months but for a second job that gives me an esteem boost, I'm willing to work through the long nights to do the first job I've ever truly enjoyed.
Quick rant: NBC you're doing it wrong. Ice dancing, figure skating, and Bob Costas droning on about Apollo Ohno's 6th grade subsititute teacher who once completely ignored the future speed-skating wunderkind while checking the NBA betting lines on the Warriors/Magic tilt that night on your flagship channel as MSNBC and CNBC get live Curling and perhaps one of the best prelim Hockey olympic games ever? Regardless of who won, that game between Canada and USA was heart pounding and WATCHABLE. Even the commentary added spice while Canada blitz their much more talented players at the brick wall of Ryan Miller.
Instead you continue the same production playbook from 1968 with clips of past action that rabid fans have already seen and/or heard the results of, with musical interludes with heartwarming stories better saved for the Jerry Lewis MS telethon. No wonder your station has dropped so far, so fast from "Must See TV" to having The Office (a re-make), fat people losing weight, and The Tonight Show as its outstanding brands...
... oh you screwed that pooch too
Shove the purely subjective "sports" onto the cable NON-HD FOR MANY PEOPLE channels, and start playing live sports like double decker luge, short track speed skating, and more downhill skiing coverage you know things that are EXCITING and bask in the ratings instead of rotting away like that Nazi dude in the Indiana Jones movie who got tricked into drinking from the false Holy Grail.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Fun With Forms in Triplicate
Brief personal going on then some pimping.
Yesterday I met with the guidance counselor over at Rasmussen College (yes, I know it's not a "big" school or even one with a lacrosse team, but considering my situation where the degree and knowledge, not to mention convenience factor, is more important than name brand it fits). The accounting degree that is a scant three years away depending on whether some classes taken back when Clinton was in office will transfer. Sitting in that office with the again attractive staff (it's a ploy isn't it?) I waffled hard as the dollar signs came out and the forced amount of credits needed to stay "active" so finanical aid would kick in if needed.
I thought with the smaller college she would be most equipped to handle a case like mine. Sure, there was a script written out about all the wonderful resources and the like, but she kept giving me a sideways head turn like "what are you indecisive about, this is easy!". Um, no. My vision was "easy", signing papers for essentially a second mortgage minus the burly loan processor and partying like it's 1999 divorcee who conveniently forgot to tell us about the mold in the bathroom, fire hazard for a stove, and a driveway that resembled an active Mount Saint Helen crater hidden under the winter snow and ice and unable to inspect it. My fairy tale of taking up books for knowledge was signing my name a few times and getting a student ID usable for $5 Timberwolves tickets and 1/2 lap dances at Rick's Cabaret on Tuesday night with a drink purchase. Instead there was a minor flood of paperwork and sticker shock as to the cost of this endeavor.
It's all worth it. Now that the path is clearer, less stressful as well. Now to clean the Popov vodka and 10-pack of Taco Bell's excuses for tacos off my Arizona State transcript the amount of classes until that tassle goes up in my car will be solidified.
On to the pimping!
First up: Lost Vegas is coming Lost Vegas is coming! Hit up Pauly and Change 100's podcasts on the book many of us have been waiting for since the good doctor began the stories in the Redneck Riviera.
Episode 1 - Final Draft... The re-write is over and Change100 explains how she knew how/when Lost Vegas was finally done. She even tosses a Wonder Boys reference into the mix, while I remain moody and evasive.
Episode 2 - Lost Translation... Change100 and I discuss the French version of Lost Vegas, which is currently being translated by Benjo. Chapter 1 in French is complete and we figure out how my favorite (yet grossly overused term) "douchebag" gets properly translated.
Next up is the Gambling Tales Podcast which takes me to North Carolina each time I've been at the gym trying to catch up with Falstaff and Special K's musings on the world of gambling with a poker slant of course. Lee Jones, Dr. Pauly, and Tom Sexton are just a few of the great interview these two give with the feeling of sitting around a home game's table. Bonus is being able to listen to Short Stack Shamus whom puts up with my amateur hour during the live blogging at PokerStarsBlog
Of course Short Stack has his own podcast (which I regretfully haven't gotten to yet because I'm a techno-donk and just figured out that iTunes will automatically upload recent shows).
The MSPT is THIS week (not last week as I misunderstood up Mackey's note about staying up at Mille Lacs for nine days straight) I should I be vertical after going on another Surly Brewery tour on Friday, there will be a side trip up north to watch him and most likely Mileski compete in the $1,000 bracelet event for a bit. Well, at least until the Pai Gow tables call my name. Watch the Minnesota Poker Magazine's website for updates and photos.
And.... last but not least, this weekend is the huge $4 million guarantee Sunday Million at PokerStars as part of its 40 billionth hand promo (curse you RNG hit one of my tables!) Yours truly will be covering the action that will most likely have me up until work the next day. Your normal lovely scribe of the Sunday Million, Jen Newell will be joining up with Shamus and Otis for the kick-off NAPT pants party ON A BOAT with T-Pain as the NAPT Venetian starts this weekend.
Obligatory video:
Yesterday I met with the guidance counselor over at Rasmussen College (yes, I know it's not a "big" school or even one with a lacrosse team, but considering my situation where the degree and knowledge, not to mention convenience factor, is more important than name brand it fits). The accounting degree that is a scant three years away depending on whether some classes taken back when Clinton was in office will transfer. Sitting in that office with the again attractive staff (it's a ploy isn't it?) I waffled hard as the dollar signs came out and the forced amount of credits needed to stay "active" so finanical aid would kick in if needed.
I thought with the smaller college she would be most equipped to handle a case like mine. Sure, there was a script written out about all the wonderful resources and the like, but she kept giving me a sideways head turn like "what are you indecisive about, this is easy!". Um, no. My vision was "easy", signing papers for essentially a second mortgage minus the burly loan processor and partying like it's 1999 divorcee who conveniently forgot to tell us about the mold in the bathroom, fire hazard for a stove, and a driveway that resembled an active Mount Saint Helen crater hidden under the winter snow and ice and unable to inspect it. My fairy tale of taking up books for knowledge was signing my name a few times and getting a student ID usable for $5 Timberwolves tickets and 1/2 lap dances at Rick's Cabaret on Tuesday night with a drink purchase. Instead there was a minor flood of paperwork and sticker shock as to the cost of this endeavor.
It's all worth it. Now that the path is clearer, less stressful as well. Now to clean the Popov vodka and 10-pack of Taco Bell's excuses for tacos off my Arizona State transcript the amount of classes until that tassle goes up in my car will be solidified.
On to the pimping!
First up: Lost Vegas is coming Lost Vegas is coming! Hit up Pauly and Change 100's podcasts on the book many of us have been waiting for since the good doctor began the stories in the Redneck Riviera.
Episode 1 - Final Draft... The re-write is over and Change100 explains how she knew how/when Lost Vegas was finally done. She even tosses a Wonder Boys reference into the mix, while I remain moody and evasive.
Episode 2 - Lost Translation... Change100 and I discuss the French version of Lost Vegas, which is currently being translated by Benjo. Chapter 1 in French is complete and we figure out how my favorite (yet grossly overused term) "douchebag" gets properly translated.
Next up is the Gambling Tales Podcast which takes me to North Carolina each time I've been at the gym trying to catch up with Falstaff and Special K's musings on the world of gambling with a poker slant of course. Lee Jones, Dr. Pauly, and Tom Sexton are just a few of the great interview these two give with the feeling of sitting around a home game's table. Bonus is being able to listen to Short Stack Shamus whom puts up with my amateur hour during the live blogging at PokerStarsBlog
Of course Short Stack has his own podcast (which I regretfully haven't gotten to yet because I'm a techno-donk and just figured out that iTunes will automatically upload recent shows).
The MSPT is THIS week (not last week as I misunderstood up Mackey's note about staying up at Mille Lacs for nine days straight) I should I be vertical after going on another Surly Brewery tour on Friday, there will be a side trip up north to watch him and most likely Mileski compete in the $1,000 bracelet event for a bit. Well, at least until the Pai Gow tables call my name. Watch the Minnesota Poker Magazine's website for updates and photos.
And.... last but not least, this weekend is the huge $4 million guarantee Sunday Million at PokerStars as part of its 40 billionth hand promo (curse you RNG hit one of my tables!) Yours truly will be covering the action that will most likely have me up until work the next day. Your normal lovely scribe of the Sunday Million, Jen Newell will be joining up with Shamus and Otis for the kick-off NAPT pants party ON A BOAT with T-Pain as the NAPT Venetian starts this weekend.
Obligatory video:
Thursday, February 04, 2010
VIP for the Low Roller
Tried a little experiment last night.
No, it did not envolve my wife, the Adam and Eve diry schoolgirl pack, or copulous amounts of Captain Morgan "Bite" (if you like lime in your Cap'n Coke I suggest give it at least a try, but snobbish me likes the real thing if I can be bothered to quarter them after buying the $.49 pack of citrus at Target). Since this is was a poker blog you get poker more often than poke her news which if her parents are reading happened just three times over the past 12 years.
Had to test the goods before breeding of course.
Anyhow... this month is a slight dip back into the playing pool of FPPs, FTPs, and any other acronyms used at the various poker sites for their frequent player points/VIP programs. My intent is to achieve SilverStar again at Stars, and some variation of Iron Man at Full Tilt (this is split into Bronze, Silver, Gold, IRON MAN *cue Ozzy to jump out of your laptop looking a bit confuzzled asking you to score some Oxycontin while the rest of Black Sabbath starts up the BBBWWWWWOOOOWWWW I. AM. IRON. MAN). Thanks to the new heroin of poker, Rush Poker is allowing people like myself (low rollers who don't keep a lot of cash online) to achieve status at their site so I can purchase a couple of college educations from their FTP store. Saves a lot of trouble scrapping by on ramen noodles and our new peddle-powered cars so that my kids can enjoy the wonders of Anthropology 201: The Study of Ancient Byzantine Sponges at the college of their choice.
Or that nikon camera might come in handy hitting up the beach for the two weeks during the summer that we can be outside from 1:00-1:15pm without having to wear five layers. I kid, its actually three weeks and thanks to global warming there's an extra five minutes of beach volleyball and sand castles.
To the poker! Ok, I fired up the following to see which would produce the most "points" at the two sites mentioned above in beautiful blue underline because I enjoy both and have friends working there so please support them or you're responsible for pulling them away from the back row of Mr. Cashman two cent slot machines at the Four Queens as they try to win back their once stable paycheck while double fisting $.99 shrimp cocktails with the pissed off look of someone who just had their puppy kicked. No pressure.
Full Tilt: One famous "Rush Poker" table $.25/$.50 blinds (because I'm a BALLER!)
PokerStars: Eight No Limit Omaha 8 or Better tables with $.25/$.50 blinds and a complete lack of bankroll management since I keep no more than $600 on the site at all times
The play lasted for about ninety minutes as AlCantHang hopped on the girly chat and Twitter with pictures of those delicious TastyKakes only found in the heavily wooded area of Pennsyltucky which made my mind wander back to the greatest convenience store in the world, and also the site where I spent a little time with two police officers and failing horribly to appear sober while slobbering on a freshly made philly cheesesteak after last call at the Boathouse.
Zero focus, good for writing, bad for poker. Live and learn on the interwebs folks we're here for you.
Ok, after ninety minutes of half attention I manage to not blow my meager bankrolls at the respective sites and managed to shuffle cash from one site to the other as par on most nights when I play at both.
PokerStars: +$42.89
Full Tilt: -$29.24
Since I do not play NLHE cash games often without being surrounded by the good folks who normally come here, what's with the new "let's-limp-aces-and-call-everything" style of play seen at Full Tilt? The monsters under the bed radar goes way up after a can of Surly Furious and seeing this passive to the extreme play no less than four times in 90 minutes. While I never played them for stacks, I did crack the aces twice with two pair simply because check-call all the way down is better left for a limit game. Nonetheless, there were no horrible stackings after being down over a buy-in, I only lost a little less than a buy-in thanks to a flopped set of jacks and someone who just couldn't fold his/her pocket fours in the last five minutes of the session.
PokerStars went better despite getting stacked five minutes after pouring said beer, and in puke-and-rally form made a decent profit on the night thanks to people who try playing Omaha Hi in a split game.
The important stuff:
Full Tilt: 147.16 FTPs (last 15 minutes of play was during "Happy Hour" thus points were doubled, would have waited for Happy Hour to start, but sleep is a fun thing to do when your daughter is bound to wake you at 2am to search for her Rainbow Care Bear)
PokerStars: 225.18 VPPs
Note: PokerStars gives you VPPs to "rank" you in their VIP hierarchy but gives you FPPs at the same rate while multiplied by your "rank". Example: as a "SilverStar" I get a 1.5 multipler so I received *gets calculator* 337.77 FPPs to use in their store last night.
I thought it would be a wash but mutli-tabling still held king over the crack table BUT the risk of ruin is much higher with funds so far spread out, I'll continue this little experiment throughout the month as time and cookie monster kids permit as there's a poker game in G-Vegas next month that I will flying out for and need the practice against people who treat chips like lego blocks.
No, it did not envolve my wife, the Adam and Eve diry schoolgirl pack, or copulous amounts of Captain Morgan "Bite" (if you like lime in your Cap'n Coke I suggest give it at least a try, but snobbish me likes the real thing if I can be bothered to quarter them after buying the $.49 pack of citrus at Target). Since this is was a poker blog you get poker more often than poke her news which if her parents are reading happened just three times over the past 12 years.
Had to test the goods before breeding of course.
Anyhow... this month is a slight dip back into the playing pool of FPPs, FTPs, and any other acronyms used at the various poker sites for their frequent player points/VIP programs. My intent is to achieve SilverStar again at Stars, and some variation of Iron Man at Full Tilt (this is split into Bronze, Silver, Gold, IRON MAN *cue Ozzy to jump out of your laptop looking a bit confuzzled asking you to score some Oxycontin while the rest of Black Sabbath starts up the BBBWWWWWOOOOWWWW I. AM. IRON. MAN). Thanks to the new heroin of poker, Rush Poker is allowing people like myself (low rollers who don't keep a lot of cash online) to achieve status at their site so I can purchase a couple of college educations from their FTP store. Saves a lot of trouble scrapping by on ramen noodles and our new peddle-powered cars so that my kids can enjoy the wonders of Anthropology 201: The Study of Ancient Byzantine Sponges at the college of their choice.
Or that nikon camera might come in handy hitting up the beach for the two weeks during the summer that we can be outside from 1:00-1:15pm without having to wear five layers. I kid, its actually three weeks and thanks to global warming there's an extra five minutes of beach volleyball and sand castles.
To the poker! Ok, I fired up the following to see which would produce the most "points" at the two sites mentioned above in beautiful blue underline because I enjoy both and have friends working there so please support them or you're responsible for pulling them away from the back row of Mr. Cashman two cent slot machines at the Four Queens as they try to win back their once stable paycheck while double fisting $.99 shrimp cocktails with the pissed off look of someone who just had their puppy kicked. No pressure.
Full Tilt: One famous "Rush Poker" table $.25/$.50 blinds (because I'm a BALLER!)
PokerStars: Eight No Limit Omaha 8 or Better tables with $.25/$.50 blinds and a complete lack of bankroll management since I keep no more than $600 on the site at all times
The play lasted for about ninety minutes as AlCantHang hopped on the girly chat and Twitter with pictures of those delicious TastyKakes only found in the heavily wooded area of Pennsyltucky which made my mind wander back to the greatest convenience store in the world, and also the site where I spent a little time with two police officers and failing horribly to appear sober while slobbering on a freshly made philly cheesesteak after last call at the Boathouse.
Zero focus, good for writing, bad for poker. Live and learn on the interwebs folks we're here for you.
Ok, after ninety minutes of half attention I manage to not blow my meager bankrolls at the respective sites and managed to shuffle cash from one site to the other as par on most nights when I play at both.
PokerStars: +$42.89
Full Tilt: -$29.24
Since I do not play NLHE cash games often without being surrounded by the good folks who normally come here, what's with the new "let's-limp-aces-and-call-everything" style of play seen at Full Tilt? The monsters under the bed radar goes way up after a can of Surly Furious and seeing this passive to the extreme play no less than four times in 90 minutes. While I never played them for stacks, I did crack the aces twice with two pair simply because check-call all the way down is better left for a limit game. Nonetheless, there were no horrible stackings after being down over a buy-in, I only lost a little less than a buy-in thanks to a flopped set of jacks and someone who just couldn't fold his/her pocket fours in the last five minutes of the session.
PokerStars went better despite getting stacked five minutes after pouring said beer, and in puke-and-rally form made a decent profit on the night thanks to people who try playing Omaha Hi in a split game.
The important stuff:
Full Tilt: 147.16 FTPs (last 15 minutes of play was during "Happy Hour" thus points were doubled, would have waited for Happy Hour to start, but sleep is a fun thing to do when your daughter is bound to wake you at 2am to search for her Rainbow Care Bear)
PokerStars: 225.18 VPPs
Note: PokerStars gives you VPPs to "rank" you in their VIP hierarchy but gives you FPPs at the same rate while multiplied by your "rank". Example: as a "SilverStar" I get a 1.5 multipler so I received *gets calculator* 337.77 FPPs to use in their store last night.
I thought it would be a wash but mutli-tabling still held king over the crack table BUT the risk of ruin is much higher with funds so far spread out, I'll continue this little experiment throughout the month as time and cookie monster kids permit as there's a poker game in G-Vegas next month that I will flying out for and need the practice against people who treat chips like lego blocks.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
WBCOOP Event #2 Live Blog
6:19pm -- and OUT. Flop bad end of the straight versus the nut straight, just didn't believe him and I fall short of the money in 199th place. Could have saved the river but decided he was pushing a set. Until next time guys! GG!
6:17pm -- By far the worse part of a tournament, the stalling has begun by the smaller stacks. Thankfully at my table nearly everyone has over T10K chips.
6:14pm -- Home stretch for the first set of SCOOP bucks is coming up as I slip under par for the first time since my double double back in the first hour. Still healthy at T13,875 but an angry wife may change my ability to sit on the laptop any longer.
6:09pm -- Ok trying to do the blogger exacta of Twittering while live blogging is making this tough but manageable. Still hoping the wife offers steak or some wine soon. T13,875 with 220 left
6:07pm -- The last of the dead stacks are finally having their corpse being peeled away from the their chairs as the money bubble fast approaches. Holding at T14,175 with blinds up to 150/300
6:02pm -- Raise on the second hand back from the break and get the table to fold around T14,325
5:58pm -- Adult beverage #2 is consumed as we have 269 players remaining and 153 of us will take away at least $11 in SCOOP cash
5:53pm -- Flop a wrap straight draw with [Kc] [Td] [9s] [5d] and it gets there on the turn but one the big stacks does not pay off my value bet on the river. Regardless the 4,000 chip pot gets me to T14,000 as the break is here to give me time to hug the kids.
5:47pm -- With par at ~9,300 my stack of T12,000 is looking good and Granite City's yummy hops and barley will have to wait for another time until I enter the land of bad decisions against the two big stacks. Blinds at 125/250 with 319 players remaining.
5:41pm -- Big blind special hit a set of deuces, turn the underboat while calling a scary pot bet from the big stack and my deuces full of aces turns out to be good as we jump into five digit territory T11,060 and blinds moving up to 100/200 with about 400 players remaining.
5:35pm -- Not sure if my sudden ability to fold some middling connector hands is the way to the promise land of the final table and those juicy $215 SCOOP buy-ins but so far its working as I haven't moved up or moved back but rather just doing the electric slide with my chips T6,005. What the electric slide looks like shown below:
5:31pm -- for those with 20,000 FPPs sitting around you may want to check out today's VIP special from PokerStars' January store special. $285 bonus is 20% off today.
5:28pm -- another club flush, this time flopped from the small blind and we'll take another minor chip up to T6,005 with blinds at 75/150 and 639 players remaining.
5:25pm -- Well lookie here, its a club flush! Ok, just a minor chip up but I'll take it T5,375 with blinds moving up shortly.
5:20pm -- Pressure from the big stacks is coming out as TomDowd and John_Galt are imposing their stacks on the table and with my crappy position I'm left in passive mode again. Hope and wait are not two things I do well. T4,775 blinds at 60/120
5:15pm -- Snag some blind vs. blind action and get to T5,495 but whiff against the chip leader with [As][6s][Jc][Tc] and go back to Go and do not collect $200. T5,195 blinds up to 60/120.
5:07pm -- Flop top set and bet into two limpers? They fold. Try to bluff? Get called by third pair. T5,645 blinds move up to 50/100. Get [7s] [As] [Ac] [3c] on the button and raise getting one of the big stacks to call. Flop [6d] [7h] [Qd] bet 700 and get check-raised, had to let it go fearing the uber-draw. T5,195
5:03pm -- After playing about six straight hands, the fold button finally came back into play as two big stacks will need to contend with each other and hopefully leave me alone to fold in peace, until I have the nuts of course. T5,945 blinds at 40/80
5:00pm -- Only $20?!?! Just grabbed a frequent player mailing from the local Treasure Island casino and they're offering 20 bucks for me to lavish their slot machines with my hard(ly) earned poker bucks. It's getting recycled.
4:53pm -- More good luck from the land of positions. A super stack of T23,000 just plopped down on the button. Lock down mode looks to be the play. Down to T6,185 as we head to the first break.
4:47pm -- Table change and once again the big stack is on my left holding nearly T10,000 chips after showing down a couple of strong hands and winning at showdown. May need to revert to tighter play as the blinds move up once again to 40/80.
4:40pm -- DOUBLE UP!! and DOUBLE UP!! first hand [Jd] [9d] [Ks] [Qd] caught a jack on the flop, a gutter ball straight draw on the turn, and hit the nut straight on the river against a bluffer's caught ass-end of the straight and T3,455 was shipped my way. Five hands later get a very strong [Ad] [Ah] [Qh] [Ks] raise with one caller. Flop comes out [Kh] [2h] [6d] 150 chips is called, [Js] on the turn and we both shove, he caught two pair and an open-ender with [2s] [Qs] [Jh] [Th], but the [Qc] on the river gives me the higher two pair and we're solvent again at T6,315 with 30/60 blinds.
4:35pm -- Need to revert to level one thinking, too many bluffs at tight boards is killing my stack and that dinner at the restaurant is looking more feasible than a SCOOP ticket at this point. T1,865 with blinds at 25/50
4:30pm -- Ugh, this guy is really pinning me down. No chances to bluff as I'm unable to call his re-raises after I bluff at a [9d] [Th] [8c] board. Down to T2,040
4:27pm -- Chip leader at the table is turning very aggressive and unfortunately is on my immediate left down to T2,500 after whiffing on a connector hand and can't call his/her POT POT POT POT bets.
4:24pm -- Folding [Ah][6h][2d][4c] my PLO8 heart weeps a little inside, no really big pots at the new table yet.
4:18pm -- Limp in with [Td] [Jh] [Ad] [8d] and the flop is very nice [Ks] [9h] [7c]. Bet of 90 is called in two places whiff on the [3d] turn and fold to a pot bet when the [Kd] hits the river. Booooo for missed wrap draws! T2,800
4:14pm -- I feel should have something to drink, as its been 15 whole minutes and I still have not busted! I think the Captain is calling. T3,120
4:10pm -- Miss out a huge hand when AAXX goes up against AAXX all-in preflop and my decent connecting [9s] [Qd] [8c] [Jd] would have nailed quads. Folding = bad
4:05pm -- First big hand [7s] [As] [Qd] [Ac] flop a flush draw, slowly increasing bets on the turn and river the flush but it also pairs the board. A 300 chip "value" bet is called and the flush is good. Up to 3,140
4:03pm -- While I certainly play more Omaha than Hold Em' (yes a rare breed, stop starring) Omaha Hi is something I've only recently dipped a toe into.
4:00pm -- And.... we're off. By folding I set the tone for many more aggressive folds.
3:53pm -- Even if I do bust early, I still win by going to me second favorite restaurant Granite City for some microbrew and a peppercorn cheeseburger the size of my three year old daughter.
3:45pm -- 1,563 bloggers in this event gonna need some good music...
Oh, this is Omaha HI? Well hopefully the bicycle straight will be good. Note to self: do not chase low draws
3:35pm -- Fox Sports will not be announcing today's World Blogger Championship of Online Poker but I am! Well, as long as I'm in the running and not throwing my laptop from that flush draw getting there. I'll be back at 4:00pm (this is in Central Time) to give this first person live blogging a shot.
3:30pm --
Howie: Honestly there's no one that can touch Drizztdj today?!?! His skillz and toughness will bring himself either the title or a humiliating early defeat
Jimmy: How does my hair look today?
Terry: I LIKE THE WAY THIS GUY THROWS THE FOOTBALL! We're talking about Brett Favre right?
6:17pm -- By far the worse part of a tournament, the stalling has begun by the smaller stacks. Thankfully at my table nearly everyone has over T10K chips.
6:14pm -- Home stretch for the first set of SCOOP bucks is coming up as I slip under par for the first time since my double double back in the first hour. Still healthy at T13,875 but an angry wife may change my ability to sit on the laptop any longer.
6:09pm -- Ok trying to do the blogger exacta of Twittering while live blogging is making this tough but manageable. Still hoping the wife offers steak or some wine soon. T13,875 with 220 left
6:07pm -- The last of the dead stacks are finally having their corpse being peeled away from the their chairs as the money bubble fast approaches. Holding at T14,175 with blinds up to 150/300
6:02pm -- Raise on the second hand back from the break and get the table to fold around T14,325
5:58pm -- Adult beverage #2 is consumed as we have 269 players remaining and 153 of us will take away at least $11 in SCOOP cash
5:53pm -- Flop a wrap straight draw with [Kc] [Td] [9s] [5d] and it gets there on the turn but one the big stacks does not pay off my value bet on the river. Regardless the 4,000 chip pot gets me to T14,000 as the break is here to give me time to hug the kids.
5:47pm -- With par at ~9,300 my stack of T12,000 is looking good and Granite City's yummy hops and barley will have to wait for another time until I enter the land of bad decisions against the two big stacks. Blinds at 125/250 with 319 players remaining.
5:41pm -- Big blind special hit a set of deuces, turn the underboat while calling a scary pot bet from the big stack and my deuces full of aces turns out to be good as we jump into five digit territory T11,060 and blinds moving up to 100/200 with about 400 players remaining.
5:35pm -- Not sure if my sudden ability to fold some middling connector hands is the way to the promise land of the final table and those juicy $215 SCOOP buy-ins but so far its working as I haven't moved up or moved back but rather just doing the electric slide with my chips T6,005. What the electric slide looks like shown below:
5:31pm -- for those with 20,000 FPPs sitting around you may want to check out today's VIP special from PokerStars' January store special. $285 bonus is 20% off today.
5:28pm -- another club flush, this time flopped from the small blind and we'll take another minor chip up to T6,005 with blinds at 75/150 and 639 players remaining.
5:25pm -- Well lookie here, its a club flush! Ok, just a minor chip up but I'll take it T5,375 with blinds moving up shortly.
5:20pm -- Pressure from the big stacks is coming out as TomDowd and John_Galt are imposing their stacks on the table and with my crappy position I'm left in passive mode again. Hope and wait are not two things I do well. T4,775 blinds at 60/120
5:15pm -- Snag some blind vs. blind action and get to T5,495 but whiff against the chip leader with [As][6s][Jc][Tc] and go back to Go and do not collect $200. T5,195 blinds up to 60/120.
5:07pm -- Flop top set and bet into two limpers? They fold. Try to bluff? Get called by third pair. T5,645 blinds move up to 50/100. Get [7s] [As] [Ac] [3c] on the button and raise getting one of the big stacks to call. Flop [6d] [7h] [Qd] bet 700 and get check-raised, had to let it go fearing the uber-draw. T5,195
5:03pm -- After playing about six straight hands, the fold button finally came back into play as two big stacks will need to contend with each other and hopefully leave me alone to fold in peace, until I have the nuts of course. T5,945 blinds at 40/80
5:00pm -- Only $20?!?! Just grabbed a frequent player mailing from the local Treasure Island casino and they're offering 20 bucks for me to lavish their slot machines with my hard(ly) earned poker bucks. It's getting recycled.
4:53pm -- More good luck from the land of positions. A super stack of T23,000 just plopped down on the button. Lock down mode looks to be the play. Down to T6,185 as we head to the first break.
4:47pm -- Table change and once again the big stack is on my left holding nearly T10,000 chips after showing down a couple of strong hands and winning at showdown. May need to revert to tighter play as the blinds move up once again to 40/80.
4:40pm -- DOUBLE UP!! and DOUBLE UP!! first hand [Jd] [9d] [Ks] [Qd] caught a jack on the flop, a gutter ball straight draw on the turn, and hit the nut straight on the river against a bluffer's caught ass-end of the straight and T3,455 was shipped my way. Five hands later get a very strong [Ad] [Ah] [Qh] [Ks] raise with one caller. Flop comes out [Kh] [2h] [6d] 150 chips is called, [Js] on the turn and we both shove, he caught two pair and an open-ender with [2s] [Qs] [Jh] [Th], but the [Qc] on the river gives me the higher two pair and we're solvent again at T6,315 with 30/60 blinds.
4:35pm -- Need to revert to level one thinking, too many bluffs at tight boards is killing my stack and that dinner at the restaurant is looking more feasible than a SCOOP ticket at this point. T1,865 with blinds at 25/50
4:30pm -- Ugh, this guy is really pinning me down. No chances to bluff as I'm unable to call his re-raises after I bluff at a [9d] [Th] [8c] board. Down to T2,040
4:27pm -- Chip leader at the table is turning very aggressive and unfortunately is on my immediate left down to T2,500 after whiffing on a connector hand and can't call his/her POT POT POT POT bets.
4:24pm -- Folding [Ah][6h][2d][4c] my PLO8 heart weeps a little inside, no really big pots at the new table yet.
4:18pm -- Limp in with [Td] [Jh] [Ad] [8d] and the flop is very nice [Ks] [9h] [7c]. Bet of 90 is called in two places whiff on the [3d] turn and fold to a pot bet when the [Kd] hits the river. Booooo for missed wrap draws! T2,800
4:14pm -- I feel should have something to drink, as its been 15 whole minutes and I still have not busted! I think the Captain is calling. T3,120
4:10pm -- Miss out a huge hand when AAXX goes up against AAXX all-in preflop and my decent connecting [9s] [Qd] [8c] [Jd] would have nailed quads. Folding = bad
4:05pm -- First big hand [7s] [As] [Qd] [Ac] flop a flush draw, slowly increasing bets on the turn and river the flush but it also pairs the board. A 300 chip "value" bet is called and the flush is good. Up to 3,140
4:03pm -- While I certainly play more Omaha than Hold Em' (yes a rare breed, stop starring) Omaha Hi is something I've only recently dipped a toe into.
4:00pm -- And.... we're off. By folding I set the tone for many more aggressive folds.
3:53pm -- Even if I do bust early, I still win by going to me second favorite restaurant Granite City for some microbrew and a peppercorn cheeseburger the size of my three year old daughter.
3:45pm -- 1,563 bloggers in this event gonna need some good music...
Oh, this is Omaha HI? Well hopefully the bicycle straight will be good. Note to self: do not chase low draws
3:35pm -- Fox Sports will not be announcing today's World Blogger Championship of Online Poker but I am! Well, as long as I'm in the running and not throwing my laptop from that flush draw getting there. I'll be back at 4:00pm (this is in Central Time) to give this first person live blogging a shot.
3:30pm --
Howie: Honestly there's no one that can touch Drizztdj today?!?! His skillz and toughness will bring himself either the title or a humiliating early defeat
Jimmy: How does my hair look today?
Terry: I LIKE THE WAY THIS GUY THROWS THE FOOTBALL! We're talking about Brett Favre right?
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