Showing posts with label Bloggers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bloggers. Show all posts
Friday, October 15, 2010
Once More Into the Breach, Please
Nope, it's not that time...not just yet. But it's getting close, the World Blogger Championships of Online Poker. Tasty, verily.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
A Worthy Cause, Donkin' For the Kids
In what is perhaps a beneficial fit of approaching middle-age self questioning (I keed, I keed), fellow blogger
Oh Captain has worked together with Full Tilt to put together a charity donkament for next Wednesday, June 16th.
So one last time, here's the details:
Date: June 16
Time: 9PM CDT (Same time as Mookie)
It will actually be running in place of the Mookie. BDR will be broadcasting it.
Charity: Ronald McDonald House
$5 + $5(Tournament, charity)
Password= vegas1
Tournament#= 164273435
Tossing around a few chips for a great cause, you can't beat that. I'm planning on being there, won't you join us?
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Onward, Mighty Bloggers
Ahhhh...I wish I were there. Be safe, be sound, be excellent, and most of all, do not be weak tight.
Set Twitter to Stun.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
"Walk, Don't Run"
I can't think of anything more emblematic of what has to be the best day in my life in a really, really, really long time.
You see, the Good Doctor Mondo took her first steps today, since falling ill. Ten of them, in fact. In groups of two or three, and most certainly not unaided. But she took steps. She walked!!
So yeah, I need some Ventures today. It's a great great day indeed. We're holding out hope for her to be home by Thanksgiving, we'll see!
Oh, and thanks to Waffles for linking that wonderful post by Kid Dynamite regarding new FCC disclosure...umm..."guidelines" regarding blogger endorsements. Not that anyone's ever actually asked me to endorse anything. But here, I'll endorse the FCC for their FCCing rules. Why? Because I think they're going to lead to much quality blogging and snark about the FCCing rules. Hell yeah.
You see, the Good Doctor Mondo took her first steps today, since falling ill. Ten of them, in fact. In groups of two or three, and most certainly not unaided. But she took steps. She walked!!
So yeah, I need some Ventures today. It's a great great day indeed. We're holding out hope for her to be home by Thanksgiving, we'll see!
Oh, and thanks to Waffles for linking that wonderful post by Kid Dynamite regarding new FCC disclosure...umm..."guidelines" regarding blogger endorsements. Not that anyone's ever actually asked me to endorse anything. But here, I'll endorse the FCC for their FCCing rules. Why? Because I think they're going to lead to much quality blogging and snark about the FCCing rules. Hell yeah.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Taking Potpourri for $200, Alex
Today's the BBT4 finale, and the final finale of all BBTs. Obviously, I'm not taking part. Good luck all, but a huge thanks to Al for having worked so hard over the years getting such big prizes put together for these series. I only played three events myself, finishing in the points only once and ending up 160th of 333 on the roster of all who played. Time is not my friend, my friend. But good luck to all, and I hope the two who end up with Main Event packages actually use them to play, and not just take the cash.
There's very little in this world I'd like to see more than a blogger making the November Nine.
Oh, yeah, otherwise out in Vega$, this guy is headed to Day 3 of $2500 NLHE in solid shape...20 players left, over a half mil to the winner.
New Ben Franklins have been going gangbusters. Our recent show at the Bluebird Theater was an amazing experience, and at the same time, one of our best shows ever, musically. We're playing a show today at Denver's world semi-famous Larimer Lounge, and I'm greatly looking forward to it. It's our only gig for June, as various NBFers leave town this month.
Myself included. This week, the Good Doctor Mondo and I head to up the coast on an Alaskan cruise. Should be a blast, I'll try to get a couple cool pictures to post. Lots of whale-watching, and not just in the on boat casino.
There's very little in this world I'd like to see more than a blogger making the November Nine.
Oh, yeah, otherwise out in Vega$, this guy is headed to Day 3 of $2500 NLHE in solid shape...20 players left, over a half mil to the winner.
New Ben Franklins have been going gangbusters. Our recent show at the Bluebird Theater was an amazing experience, and at the same time, one of our best shows ever, musically. We're playing a show today at Denver's world semi-famous Larimer Lounge, and I'm greatly looking forward to it. It's our only gig for June, as various NBFers leave town this month.
Myself included. This week, the Good Doctor Mondo and I head to up the coast on an Alaskan cruise. Should be a blast, I'll try to get a couple cool pictures to post. Lots of whale-watching, and not just in the on boat casino.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Why We Play
at the online poker tables, that is.
Every once in a while, I manage to have one of those nights. You know of which I speak, the kind of night that follow months of enough junk-kickings that make you just about want to give up the ghost, but after which, you can't wait to dive right back into the fray.
Well, last week during my recovery, I had one of those nights. Well, almost. Yes and no, because I still did not make a major score. But for a hard luck loser like myself, it felt great.
I managed to cash in both of Full Tilt's daily doubles for the first time in ages.
Final tabled the Bodog $2.5k guarantee $5r (finished 3rd, when a river flush knocked out my top pair, but would have still be the smallest stack)
And best of all...
The Stars $3r at 6pm? Well, at one point, I was 2nd of 21 remaining (something like 4900 started), when AQs went down to 99 for half my chips. Unfortunately, I went out 14th when my AKo ran into AK sooted all in preflop....and the 3rd spade fell on the river. Ouch, what a fucking way to go out, 4-flushed on the river, only five spots from a major final table. So I got like $150 instead of $7,000. Yet again, another "almost".
But the upside of that is I still managed to outlast 99.5% of the field, picked up about 18x the buy-in (given my rebuy/addon), and it took an AK beating AK to deny me a four-figure cash. So maybe my game's starting to get somewhere, who knows. Or maybe the RNG's just starting to come back in my favor a wee bit. Either way, I'll take it. Even if the overall bankroll addition was fairly minimal, to the tune of a couple hundo, a night like this is a reminder that poker can be rewarding, and that sometimes, strong aggressive play isn't chased down by the donks every time.
Anyway, good luck to Lucko and LJ as they play Day 2 at the Borgata. You can follow the action live over at $mokkee's joint. Lucko, in particular, is primed for a really deep run. I'd be thrilled to see one of these two fine folk make a huge dent in the live tourney scene. Good luck, take it down!
Every once in a while, I manage to have one of those nights. You know of which I speak, the kind of night that follow months of enough junk-kickings that make you just about want to give up the ghost, but after which, you can't wait to dive right back into the fray.
Well, last week during my recovery, I had one of those nights. Well, almost. Yes and no, because I still did not make a major score. But for a hard luck loser like myself, it felt great.
I managed to cash in both of Full Tilt's daily doubles for the first time in ages.
Final tabled the Bodog $2.5k guarantee $5r (finished 3rd, when a river flush knocked out my top pair, but would have still be the smallest stack)
And best of all...
The Stars $3r at 6pm? Well, at one point, I was 2nd of 21 remaining (something like 4900 started), when AQs went down to 99 for half my chips. Unfortunately, I went out 14th when my AKo ran into AK sooted all in preflop....and the 3rd spade fell on the river. Ouch, what a fucking way to go out, 4-flushed on the river, only five spots from a major final table. So I got like $150 instead of $7,000. Yet again, another "almost".
But the upside of that is I still managed to outlast 99.5% of the field, picked up about 18x the buy-in (given my rebuy/addon), and it took an AK beating AK to deny me a four-figure cash. So maybe my game's starting to get somewhere, who knows. Or maybe the RNG's just starting to come back in my favor a wee bit. Either way, I'll take it. Even if the overall bankroll addition was fairly minimal, to the tune of a couple hundo, a night like this is a reminder that poker can be rewarding, and that sometimes, strong aggressive play isn't chased down by the donks every time.
Anyway, good luck to Lucko and LJ as they play Day 2 at the Borgata. You can follow the action live over at $mokkee's joint. Lucko, in particular, is primed for a really deep run. I'd be thrilled to see one of these two fine folk make a huge dent in the live tourney scene. Good luck, take it down!
Friday, January 02, 2009
Roosting Next Door
So now, Hoyazo is alleging Waffles dumped chips to Mookie during the New Years' Eve Mookie tournament (right after Waffles busted Hoy from the tourney), presumably in order to win some type of small prop bet.
The same Hoyazo who champions rampant cheat site UltimateFraud Bet as thee place to play online poker these days.
I wasn't there; I didn't play the Mookie. That said, Waffles has a long, well-documented history of playing shit cards in shit spots. He'll be the first or second to admit that. Hell, Hoy takes great pride in winning with the Hammer. So on that basis alone, he doesn't really have much of a basis to complain about someone playing 95o. (Of course, shoving with the Hammer, versus calling a shove with 95soooted are two far different plays). We all know Waffles is perfectly capable of calling off all his chips with crap cards under any circumstance -- possibly having prop bets has no more impact on that call than being drunk.
But the whole point of this post is simply this -- people who choose to play at Ultimate Bet don't really get to complain about the appearance of impropriety in the games they play on any site, because they've already decided that game integrity isn't very high on their priority list. This isn't an anti-Hoyazo rant by any stretch. However, getting righteously indignant because you think you've been had doesn't really hold a lot of water when you willingly spend so much time on a site known to have cheated their player base for so long, and a site that still has not been nearly transparent enough in their response to their own shenanigans. Not to mention a site that appears to continue to inappropriately give players' money to insiders whether by negligence or malfeasance taking place on their servers without adequate explanation.
Hoy is perfectly entitled to go on monkey tilt, however. So on that note, I'm hoping to find a Waffles-worthy rant on the Hammer Player blog, soon.
The same Hoyazo who champions rampant cheat site Ultimate
I wasn't there; I didn't play the Mookie. That said, Waffles has a long, well-documented history of playing shit cards in shit spots. He'll be the first or second to admit that. Hell, Hoy takes great pride in winning with the Hammer. So on that basis alone, he doesn't really have much of a basis to complain about someone playing 95o. (Of course, shoving with the Hammer, versus calling a shove with 95soooted are two far different plays). We all know Waffles is perfectly capable of calling off all his chips with crap cards under any circumstance -- possibly having prop bets has no more impact on that call than being drunk.
But the whole point of this post is simply this -- people who choose to play at Ultimate Bet don't really get to complain about the appearance of impropriety in the games they play on any site, because they've already decided that game integrity isn't very high on their priority list. This isn't an anti-Hoyazo rant by any stretch. However, getting righteously indignant because you think you've been had doesn't really hold a lot of water when you willingly spend so much time on a site known to have cheated their player base for so long, and a site that still has not been nearly transparent enough in their response to their own shenanigans. Not to mention a site that appears to continue to inappropriately give players' money to insiders whether by negligence or malfeasance taking place on their servers without adequate explanation.
Hoy is perfectly entitled to go on monkey tilt, however. So on that note, I'm hoping to find a Waffles-worthy rant on the Hammer Player blog, soon.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Does Your Compass Point to "D"?
"D" for disappointment, that is?
This post started as a comment on Hoy's latest blog entry, but I felt it bears reposting and expounding upon here.
For the unfamiliar, two of the strongest poker-playing bloggers I know have recently scored a ton of MTT success over at UltimateBet Fraud. Without question, Chad and Hoy are two of the most dangerous agressive MTT players out there. Both are clearly talented players, and both have pulled down quite a few significant and well-deserved scores over time. Yet, I'm disappointed in them both. (And yes, I'm fully aware that my disappointment shouldn't, or at least doesn't, matter two shits to either of them.)
Why?
Because it's come from playing a site on which founding ownership openly cheated players out of at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. A site that, although since sold, the new ownership (which is actually not much different at all from the previous ownership, by accounts) has simply papered over the scandal by paying restitution to accounts known to have been cheated, but not outing those actually responsible and only describing their response in the vaguest of terms.
Yes, they're on a new network, Cereus. So let's see who else is on that network. That's right, the other known cheating site, AbsoluteBet Fraud, owned by the very same people. I won't even accept blog advertising from them, and have turned it down in the past.
Look, we all know that poker is already perceived as a shady proposition (and in some instances, it actually is).
Cereus ownership would like us to simply take them at their word that their site is safe and honest. Let's take a quick look at that, shall we?
Just this past weekend, in a 200/400 Limit HE game,Bet Fraud awarded a pot to the losing hand. This pot was over $4,000 in cash. Not chips, but hard dollars. And just who was the "losing" player in the hand, who had the 2nd best hand at showdown but who raked the pot? None other than Phil Hellmuth, chief spokesperson for Ultimate Bet. In their press release, UB again only vaguely refers to some misawarded pot, without acknowledging that the beneficiary was one of their most insider of insiders.
Here's the thing -- in my eyes, anyone who plays on that site now would seem to have to exercise some real moral equivalency in order to do so. Like, it's not that big a deal that UB cheated players -- after all, as long they haven't cheated you or someone you know, they can't be that bad, right? Something like that. And that if someone displays the moral equivalency in that regard, then their moral compass may be as equivalent in other areas.
Like, it may be okay to lie to the UN Security Council to justify an invasion of a dictator you don't like, because while you don't have kids in the armed forces, the ends justify the means, but it's not okay for your employer to lie to you about the corporate health of your employer, because YOUR 401k is at stake, so their ends don't justify the means. Just a hypothetical...
I think that kind of shifting moral compass is just wrong. And I'm sad that Hoy and Chad appear to value winning money over having a certain amount of principle. It's almost as if they saw that the scandals chased out a lot of the strong players, leaving behind only the fishiest of fish, and they've seen it as a golden opportunity for their advanced poker skills to take advantage of the weak.
My problem with this isn't with the latter part of this equation -- that's just poker. If you suck at poker, you're going to lose your money to someone better, as you should. It's with the former part -- joining a site with a long (and possibly still ongoing) history of cheating players, because the aftereffects of the ongoing scandals have shaped conditions on the ground in your favor (e.g., most of the other strong players have left, giving you a greater edge on the field).
The idea of essentially benefitting from someone else's cheating to put yourself in a better position just ain't cricket, in my book.
Now, I'm pretty certain those guys don't see things the same way. That's certainly their right, and reasonable minds can differ. I'm not even trying in the least to persuade them to leave those sites. Hell, if everyone felt like I felt, there wouldn't be any players on those two sites at all, so clearly, there are differing opinions.
But if you're okay playing on a site known to cheat, then you may be equally okay with playing in a tournament while girly chatting with someone else at your table during the tournament? Then you might just be okay with "just this once" IMing about a hand while its in progress? It's a slippery slope, is all I'm saying.
This post started as a comment on Hoy's latest blog entry, but I felt it bears reposting and expounding upon here.
For the unfamiliar, two of the strongest poker-playing bloggers I know have recently scored a ton of MTT success over at Ultimate
Why?
Because it's come from playing a site on which founding ownership openly cheated players out of at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. A site that, although since sold, the new ownership (which is actually not much different at all from the previous ownership, by accounts) has simply papered over the scandal by paying restitution to accounts known to have been cheated, but not outing those actually responsible and only describing their response in the vaguest of terms.
Yes, they're on a new network, Cereus. So let's see who else is on that network. That's right, the other known cheating site, Absolute
Look, we all know that poker is already perceived as a shady proposition (and in some instances, it actually is).
Cereus ownership would like us to simply take them at their word that their site is safe and honest. Let's take a quick look at that, shall we?
Just this past weekend, in a 200/400 Limit HE game,
Here's the thing -- in my eyes, anyone who plays on that site now would seem to have to exercise some real moral equivalency in order to do so. Like, it's not that big a deal that UB cheated players -- after all, as long they haven't cheated you or someone you know, they can't be that bad, right? Something like that. And that if someone displays the moral equivalency in that regard, then their moral compass may be as equivalent in other areas.
Like, it may be okay to lie to the UN Security Council to justify an invasion of a dictator you don't like, because while you don't have kids in the armed forces, the ends justify the means, but it's not okay for your employer to lie to you about the corporate health of your employer, because YOUR 401k is at stake, so their ends don't justify the means. Just a hypothetical...
I think that kind of shifting moral compass is just wrong. And I'm sad that Hoy and Chad appear to value winning money over having a certain amount of principle. It's almost as if they saw that the scandals chased out a lot of the strong players, leaving behind only the fishiest of fish, and they've seen it as a golden opportunity for their advanced poker skills to take advantage of the weak.
My problem with this isn't with the latter part of this equation -- that's just poker. If you suck at poker, you're going to lose your money to someone better, as you should. It's with the former part -- joining a site with a long (and possibly still ongoing) history of cheating players, because the aftereffects of the ongoing scandals have shaped conditions on the ground in your favor (e.g., most of the other strong players have left, giving you a greater edge on the field).
The idea of essentially benefitting from someone else's cheating to put yourself in a better position just ain't cricket, in my book.
Now, I'm pretty certain those guys don't see things the same way. That's certainly their right, and reasonable minds can differ. I'm not even trying in the least to persuade them to leave those sites. Hell, if everyone felt like I felt, there wouldn't be any players on those two sites at all, so clearly, there are differing opinions.
But if you're okay playing on a site known to cheat, then you may be equally okay with playing in a tournament while girly chatting with someone else at your table during the tournament? Then you might just be okay with "just this once" IMing about a hand while its in progress? It's a slippery slope, is all I'm saying.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Quickie Pimpy Tuesday
First off, to all you sharks (or rather, donkeys with a dorsal fin), I'm leaning towards stepping my toe back into the online sea tonight. My money is still good, obviously. I'm in a really good headspace right now, and feel like I can play a couple of tournaments without worrying about the results. So depending on how I feel after work, you may see me on the felt...
That said,
Just a quick pimp of $mokkee's contined Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament Series:
Join poker bloggers from around the globe to play in the Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament Series this Tuesday December 2nd and Thursday December 4th at 9:05 PM ET.
This tournament series is comprised of 15 qualifying tournaments that run on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with the final qualifier taking place on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008. At the completion of these 15 qualifying tournaments, the total points of each player will determine who will move on to the Final Tournament of Champions (TOC). Players within the top 15% of all participants on the tournament leaderboard will then receive an invitation via email to participate in the TOC on December 18th, 2008.
There is also a Last Chance Tournament to make it into the final TOC for those players that join the series late or can't make it to play all the qualifier tournaments! All that is required to play in the Last Chance tournament is that you play in 3 or more qualifying tournaments. Those players will receive an invitation to play in the Last Chance Tournament on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 and the top 3 finishers of this tournament will win a seat to play in the final TOC!
Qualifying Tournaments Prizes
Buy-in: $10 + $1
Prize Pool is distributed as per Bodog's standard multi-table payout table.
1st place: T$109 + $25 Casino Credit ($100K Guaranteed Buy-in)
2nd place: T$75
3rd place: T$50
3 bubble players: T$11 (entry refunded)
TOC Final Tournament Prizes
Entry: Free for the Top 15% on the TLB and the top 3 Last Chance Tournament finishers.
Grand Prize: T$2,000 + $100 casino credit
2nd place: T$500
3rd place: T$250
4th place: T$100
5th place: T$50
Note: You must have a poker blog to play in the TOC
Tournament recaps and details are available at the official tournament series site at http://www.bodogbloggertournament.com
The blogger series leaderboard is available at http://www.bodoglife.com/promotions/poker/blogger-tournament/leader-board.jsp
So what are you waiting for? Sign up for this series at http://www.bodoglife.com/promotions/poker/blogger-tournament/
I'm actually leaning against playing it myself tonight, even if I end up playing online poker tonight. Why? Because I think I'd rather play against the devil I don't know tonight, than the dorsal finned donkeys I do know, at least for now. But what do I know -- you'll actually probably see me there if I get home from work on time. Otherwise, I'm only planning on playing a couple of minor events, maybe a couple $4/180s and a triple shootout.
North Carolina was a lot of fun, but I don't really have pics. Ate wayyyy too much. My brother-in-law is an amazing chef, and lamb stew is the shiznitz. But it's good to ease back in to work this week at a management pace.
One more plug of sorts -- a former bandmate of mine back in my DC days (and a truly fun and cool person I will always consider a friend), has recently started a blog that is essentially all about food - Finding the Fat. And no, it's most certainly not about going on a diet, or looking for the low-cal. Quite the opposite, I think I gained a 1/4 pound just catching up on his old entries. It's a good read, and some of you may even dig the recipes that show up there.
That said,
Just a quick pimp of $mokkee's contined Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament Series:
Join poker bloggers from around the globe to play in the Bodog Poker Blogger Tournament Series this Tuesday December 2nd and Thursday December 4th at 9:05 PM ET.
This tournament series is comprised of 15 qualifying tournaments that run on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with the final qualifier taking place on Tuesday, December 16th, 2008. At the completion of these 15 qualifying tournaments, the total points of each player will determine who will move on to the Final Tournament of Champions (TOC). Players within the top 15% of all participants on the tournament leaderboard will then receive an invitation via email to participate in the TOC on December 18th, 2008.
There is also a Last Chance Tournament to make it into the final TOC for those players that join the series late or can't make it to play all the qualifier tournaments! All that is required to play in the Last Chance tournament is that you play in 3 or more qualifying tournaments. Those players will receive an invitation to play in the Last Chance Tournament on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 and the top 3 finishers of this tournament will win a seat to play in the final TOC!
Qualifying Tournaments Prizes
Buy-in: $10 + $1
Prize Pool is distributed as per Bodog's standard multi-table payout table.
1st place: T$109 + $25 Casino Credit ($100K Guaranteed Buy-in)
2nd place: T$75
3rd place: T$50
3 bubble players: T$11 (entry refunded)
TOC Final Tournament Prizes
Entry: Free for the Top 15% on the TLB and the top 3 Last Chance Tournament finishers.
Grand Prize: T$2,000 + $100 casino credit
2nd place: T$500
3rd place: T$250
4th place: T$100
5th place: T$50
Note: You must have a poker blog to play in the TOC
Tournament recaps and details are available at the official tournament series site at http://www.bodogbloggertournament.com
The blogger series leaderboard is available at http://www.bodoglife.com/promotions/poker/blogger-tournament/leader-board.jsp
So what are you waiting for? Sign up for this series at http://www.bodoglife.com/promotions/poker/blogger-tournament/
I'm actually leaning against playing it myself tonight, even if I end up playing online poker tonight. Why? Because I think I'd rather play against the devil I don't know tonight, than the dorsal finned donkeys I do know, at least for now. But what do I know -- you'll actually probably see me there if I get home from work on time. Otherwise, I'm only planning on playing a couple of minor events, maybe a couple $4/180s and a triple shootout.
North Carolina was a lot of fun, but I don't really have pics. Ate wayyyy too much. My brother-in-law is an amazing chef, and lamb stew is the shiznitz. But it's good to ease back in to work this week at a management pace.
One more plug of sorts -- a former bandmate of mine back in my DC days (and a truly fun and cool person I will always consider a friend), has recently started a blog that is essentially all about food - Finding the Fat. And no, it's most certainly not about going on a diet, or looking for the low-cal. Quite the opposite, I think I gained a 1/4 pound just catching up on his old entries. It's a good read, and some of you may even dig the recipes that show up there.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Three Weeks Until the Winter Gathering
...of donkeys extremely talented and witty online poker bloggers.
Just about the last time to get the great air bargains, maybe, so hop to it.
That's what I told myself before checking the dates. Sadly, I will not be there (once again, as I've never made a winter event).
The culprit? The date.
You see, the Good Doctor Mondo and I tend to live rather low-key casual lives. You know, jeans and sweats outside the office, bare bones scruffy (one of us, anyway). That is, except for one night a year, the night of my firm's annual Holiday Party. It's the one night a year when wifey very much looks forward to going full on to the nines, and party it down high-stylee at the Cherry Hills Country Club (home to several U.S. Opens over the years, most recently the 2005 U.S. Women's Open).
To me, it's just a shindig. To her, it's a chance to get all fancy watusi, and it really means a lot to me to see her enjoy the experience so much. In fact, this year, we're getting a hotel and staying down there for the night.
The downside? It's December 13th, right smack dab in the midst of the Gathering of the Bloggers. Quelle bummer. The weekend before is my birthday giving me pretty much carte blanche. As I recall, last year, both events were a week earlier than this year, and I still got hosed by the calender, but such is life.
I was really looking forward to the idea of taking live chips from live bloggers, especially as Falstaff has put together a SWEET tournament deal with the folks over at the Venetian:
Perhaps next summer, the more unofficial gathering won't be spread out over two weeks, like it was this year, and I'll get to see more of you than I did this past June. I'll miss the fun, but will thoroughly enjoy the huge smile on the Good Doctor Mondo's face on the 13th, which makes so much so worthwhile.
Just about the last time to get the great air bargains, maybe, so hop to it.
That's what I told myself before checking the dates. Sadly, I will not be there (once again, as I've never made a winter event).
The culprit? The date.
You see, the Good Doctor Mondo and I tend to live rather low-key casual lives. You know, jeans and sweats outside the office, bare bones scruffy (one of us, anyway). That is, except for one night a year, the night of my firm's annual Holiday Party. It's the one night a year when wifey very much looks forward to going full on to the nines, and party it down high-stylee at the Cherry Hills Country Club (home to several U.S. Opens over the years, most recently the 2005 U.S. Women's Open).
To me, it's just a shindig. To her, it's a chance to get all fancy watusi, and it really means a lot to me to see her enjoy the experience so much. In fact, this year, we're getting a hotel and staying down there for the night.
The downside? It's December 13th, right smack dab in the midst of the Gathering of the Bloggers. Quelle bummer. The weekend before is my birthday giving me pretty much carte blanche. As I recall, last year, both events were a week earlier than this year, and I still got hosed by the calender, but such is life.
I was really looking forward to the idea of taking live chips from live bloggers, especially as Falstaff has put together a SWEET tournament deal with the folks over at the Venetian:
Private Blogger Tournament
Venetian Poker Room
Saturday, December 13th
3PM
$135 ($100 buy-in, $25 juice, $10 toke)
Please email Falstaff your real name and blogger name if you want in. I need to let Tim at the Venetian know by a week beforehand. If you have FOBs (friends of bloggers) who want in, let me know how many.
You have to have a Venetian Player's Card to play, so if you don't have one, get there early.
Bring knockout bounties, that's the coolest part of a blogger gathering.
Perhaps next summer, the more unofficial gathering won't be spread out over two weeks, like it was this year, and I'll get to see more of you than I did this past June. I'll miss the fun, but will thoroughly enjoy the huge smile on the Good Doctor Mondo's face on the 13th, which makes so much so worthwhile.
Monday, October 06, 2008
New Non-Poker Site, and Congratulations In Order
First off, please let's all go over to Sprstoner's page and extend him congratulations for taking down the Full Tilt $150R $80,000 guarantee last night, for a whopping $58,425!!! With rebuys, the prize pool was a massive $233k, and Sprstoner just pwned that thing.
Awesome job. That has got to be the biggest blogger score ever (that is, if you don't include that handful of true full time pro players who happen to have blogs, such as Negranu and Shaniac....)
Anyway, I just wanted to point you guys, especially the foodie types, to a new blog written by an absolutely wonderful executive chef who does some sitting in at our local farmer's market. Deb describes herself as "A food enthusiast, private chef, culinary instructor, and a self professed 'food pusher' who owns 1012 cookbooks and counting....."
Her blog is called The Tasty Bits, and I can assure you from sampling, the recipes are fantastic. The Good Doctor Mondo (as chef extraordinaire) and I (as barely useful sous chef) have been working up Deb's recipes for ourselves for a few weeks now, and I can tell you that every single one of them is well worth trying. Seriously, who comes up with combining goat cheese with spaghetti squash? S'awesome.
Awesome job. That has got to be the biggest blogger score ever (that is, if you don't include that handful of true full time pro players who happen to have blogs, such as Negranu and Shaniac....)
Anyway, I just wanted to point you guys, especially the foodie types, to a new blog written by an absolutely wonderful executive chef who does some sitting in at our local farmer's market. Deb describes herself as "A food enthusiast, private chef, culinary instructor, and a self professed 'food pusher' who owns 1012 cookbooks and counting....."
Her blog is called The Tasty Bits, and I can assure you from sampling, the recipes are fantastic. The Good Doctor Mondo (as chef extraordinaire) and I (as barely useful sous chef) have been working up Deb's recipes for ourselves for a few weeks now, and I can tell you that every single one of them is well worth trying. Seriously, who comes up with combining goat cheese with spaghetti squash? S'awesome.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Barbarians at the Borgata
Or rather, Gates at the Borgata. Congratulations go out to Garry Gates for taking down DrPauly's Tao of Poker 5th anniversary tournament, and the $5k Borgata tournament seat.
Check out Pauly's blog for a cool photo of Garry in his other job -- tournament room drink waiter at Caesar's Palace, it would seem...
As for myself, it was a missed opportunity. I chipped up well early, and was in the top 10 for much of the first half hour of the tournament, when Jordan and I got into a big hand. Jordan had been pretty aggro, pushing me off a couple of pots preflop with 3 bet raises with me two on his left. At the time, he and I had the two biggest stacks at the table.
At any rate, I believe this time, Jordan limped, I raised about 3x in late position with AKo, and Jordan shoved. I knew his range was a lot wider than AA-QQ, AKs, so I called and he showed AQo. I am the Dominator, right? By the turn, there was KQJx on the board, and I was licking my chops, as this pot would have made me tourney chipleader (and 30% bigger than 2nd). Still first hour, but a very good spot. Wellllll...the miracle T the river and we chopped. And the night was all downhill afterwards. First, I got it all in against a short stack with something like 88 losing to 99, and I was out just before the end of the first hour. At least I went out with bloggerment dignity, by open shoving the Hammer. Unfortunately, the Hammer got Nailed by a high-ish pocket pair (may have even been AA).
Obviously, as the tournament was on JokerStars, I couldn't expect anything else.
But thank you, Pauly, for being such a great blogger and tourney host.
Took 2nd in NYRambler's event (congrats, Lightning36, glad to finally get you heads-up, that was fun). Went out well before the $$$ in the Skills game, even though I spent the entire first hour into the 2nd at the top of the leaderboard. Once the blinds/antes got real big, my draws stopped hitting.
Took a horrendous beat in the Bodog $5R. I was in for the minimum, and up in chips, a couple tables from the money with average stack, when I looked down at QQ. I'd been raising a lot of pots preflop, showing lots of aggression, but never had to show down trash. I was simply getting nice hands and there was some weak-tightness at the table. So, I play my standard 3x preflop raise in mid-position, and the button (or small blind, forget which) overshoves for 10k. This pot would put me top 3 in chips less than 20 spots from money.
What did he overshove out of position with? ATo. Why did he overshove? He said, "it was easy with you raising". WTF? Don't you have to see air at least once to put someone on raising light in mid position? Oooookay. Yeah, life was great until I got three-outed fucked by the A on the river, which put me on the morphine drip. Sure, I could have open shoved QQ (with 3rd biggest stack on table and the table CL having already folded), and probably added about 15% to my stack pre-flop when everyone folds, but that would be horrible poker, wouldn't it? You can do that with 88-TT, but QQ?
I was out three hands later when I open shoved ATo from early position against...you guessed it, QQ.
Of course, the donkeyfucker from the previous hand couldn't grasp the difference between open shoving ATo with an M of 2.5, and overshoving ATo with an M of about 9 behind a mid-position raise. Those are the players I love, but also the players who continue to luckbox me out of money just before bubbles. The most frustrating part is this...I haven't been crawling towards bubbles just hoping to cash. In nearly every case lately, I'm chipping up early, knocking players out, often at or near the chiplead, and easily in the top 10-15% of chips approaching the Bodog bubbles, only to get my stack raped by a donk who catches a 2-, 3-, or 4- outer, and then having to make a desperate play just to have a miniscule chance at a cash. I'm going from legitimate tournament-winning opportunities, to not even cashing nearly every single time for the last few weeks.
Also went out of the $6k guaranteed less than 3 tables from a cash, yet again. This time, it was a result of abject card death. Went out in the small blind when I shoved K-high into A-high on a non-threatening flop. BB did not raise preflop
As a result, my Bodog roll is now down to three digits, which is the worst it's been in months. Without going too ranty, I do feel like I'm playing very solid poker for the most part (though I've made a couple bad reads on players new to a table). At this rate, I'll be Bodog-busto by November. And that's the one site I actually have semi-real money on (e.g., above $250....so the question is, is 2008 the final year of online poker for Mondogarage?
Stay tuned.
Check out Pauly's blog for a cool photo of Garry in his other job -- tournament room drink waiter at Caesar's Palace, it would seem...
As for myself, it was a missed opportunity. I chipped up well early, and was in the top 10 for much of the first half hour of the tournament, when Jordan and I got into a big hand. Jordan had been pretty aggro, pushing me off a couple of pots preflop with 3 bet raises with me two on his left. At the time, he and I had the two biggest stacks at the table.
At any rate, I believe this time, Jordan limped, I raised about 3x in late position with AKo, and Jordan shoved. I knew his range was a lot wider than AA-QQ, AKs, so I called and he showed AQo. I am the Dominator, right? By the turn, there was KQJx on the board, and I was licking my chops, as this pot would have made me tourney chipleader (and 30% bigger than 2nd). Still first hour, but a very good spot. Wellllll...the miracle T the river and we chopped. And the night was all downhill afterwards. First, I got it all in against a short stack with something like 88 losing to 99, and I was out just before the end of the first hour. At least I went out with bloggerment dignity, by open shoving the Hammer. Unfortunately, the Hammer got Nailed by a high-ish pocket pair (may have even been AA).
Obviously, as the tournament was on JokerStars, I couldn't expect anything else.
But thank you, Pauly, for being such a great blogger and tourney host.
Took 2nd in NYRambler's event (congrats, Lightning36, glad to finally get you heads-up, that was fun). Went out well before the $$$ in the Skills game, even though I spent the entire first hour into the 2nd at the top of the leaderboard. Once the blinds/antes got real big, my draws stopped hitting.
Took a horrendous beat in the Bodog $5R. I was in for the minimum, and up in chips, a couple tables from the money with average stack, when I looked down at QQ. I'd been raising a lot of pots preflop, showing lots of aggression, but never had to show down trash. I was simply getting nice hands and there was some weak-tightness at the table. So, I play my standard 3x preflop raise in mid-position, and the button (or small blind, forget which) overshoves for 10k. This pot would put me top 3 in chips less than 20 spots from money.
What did he overshove out of position with? ATo. Why did he overshove? He said, "it was easy with you raising". WTF? Don't you have to see air at least once to put someone on raising light in mid position? Oooookay. Yeah, life was great until I got three-outed fucked by the A on the river, which put me on the morphine drip. Sure, I could have open shoved QQ (with 3rd biggest stack on table and the table CL having already folded), and probably added about 15% to my stack pre-flop when everyone folds, but that would be horrible poker, wouldn't it? You can do that with 88-TT, but QQ?
I was out three hands later when I open shoved ATo from early position against...you guessed it, QQ.
Of course, the donkeyfucker from the previous hand couldn't grasp the difference between open shoving ATo with an M of 2.5, and overshoving ATo with an M of about 9 behind a mid-position raise. Those are the players I love, but also the players who continue to luckbox me out of money just before bubbles. The most frustrating part is this...I haven't been crawling towards bubbles just hoping to cash. In nearly every case lately, I'm chipping up early, knocking players out, often at or near the chiplead, and easily in the top 10-15% of chips approaching the Bodog bubbles, only to get my stack raped by a donk who catches a 2-, 3-, or 4- outer, and then having to make a desperate play just to have a miniscule chance at a cash. I'm going from legitimate tournament-winning opportunities, to not even cashing nearly every single time for the last few weeks.
Also went out of the $6k guaranteed less than 3 tables from a cash, yet again. This time, it was a result of abject card death. Went out in the small blind when I shoved K-high into A-high on a non-threatening flop. BB did not raise preflop
As a result, my Bodog roll is now down to three digits, which is the worst it's been in months. Without going too ranty, I do feel like I'm playing very solid poker for the most part (though I've made a couple bad reads on players new to a table). At this rate, I'll be Bodog-busto by November. And that's the one site I actually have semi-real money on (e.g., above $250....so the question is, is 2008 the final year of online poker for Mondogarage?
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
You Only Turn Five Once
Happy Birthday, Tao of Poker!
Any may you continue to inspire us all, Pauly.
For those three of four donkeys out in the poker blogosphere who may either not be awake, or are computing on Commodore PETs, this is a reminder that tonight is not only the 5th anniversary of Tao of Poker, but also the special 5th birthday tourney over at JokerStars, with an extra special sealed-with-a-kiss overlay of a $5,000 seat at the Borgata Poker Open.
Here's the details, from the horse's mouth (um, er, blog):
$5,000 seat plus two nights in my favorite casino in Atlantic City. All you have to do is win the Tao of Poker birthday tournament. Entry is just $5. Tournament ID is #97513073. Tournament name is Tao Poker 5th B-Day.
Seriously. For $5 you get a chance at winning a $5,000 seat at the Borgata Poker Open plus two nights in the hotel. That tournament is on Friday, September 12th starting at 11am.
Here are the specific details...
1. Tao of Poker birthday tournament is open to all readers.
2. No chops whatsoever for the Borgata Package ($5,000 seat + two nights).
3. The 5K seat is a must play.... meaning you cannot take the cash. You have to play the event on September 12th. The seat is also non-transferable. You win it, you must play it.
4. Package does not include transportation. You have to find your own way to Atlantic City. So if you live in Sweden and win the seat, you are responsible for airfare.
5. Most importantly... have fun.
I should clarify something... there will be normal prize money. The Borgata Package is in addition to the regular prize pool. So the first place winner has a shot at a decent payday in addition to a $5,000 seat and two nights at the Borgata.
The Tao of Poker birthday tournament will feature some of your favorite bloggers and Tao of Poker characters from past, present, and future.
Tonight at 9pm ET. PokerStars. Tao of Poker 5th Birthday Celebration. One faithful Tao of Poker reader will walk away with a $5,000 seat to a Borgata Poker Open tournament plus two nights in the swanky Borgata Hotel & Spa which has the most comfortable beds in the world.
Click here for more information on the Borgata Poker Open starting September 3rd. And yes, I'll be covering the entire tournament series (including the 5K event) for the Borgata poker blog with Friedman and Tropical Steve.
Everybody's who's anybody is going to be there. Except for maybe this guy, the only blogger more busto than I on JokerStars. (John, I'd help ya, but I got like $12.34 on there myself, because I run like ass forever on that site and should be about 6,000:1 to win tonight, even if there's only 350 entrants.)
I'll be there; so should you. Tonight's also cemfrommd's Blogger Skillz Series -- tonight, it's Double Stack HORSE, you better believe I'll be there (passwork = skillz). Also on tap is NYRambler's weekly series, featuring Limit Hold'em (passwork = epicfail). I haven't played that event for a couple of weeks, but will try to play tonight.
More posts during lunch today...I'm falling behind on non-poker content and promised a post on a particular hellishly good vodka from Nantucket...it's coming, even if not yet written. And then, there's all the great stuff from the DPUMS...
Any may you continue to inspire us all, Pauly.
For those three of four donkeys out in the poker blogosphere who may either not be awake, or are computing on Commodore PETs, this is a reminder that tonight is not only the 5th anniversary of Tao of Poker, but also the special 5th birthday tourney over at JokerStars, with an extra special sealed-with-a-kiss overlay of a $5,000 seat at the Borgata Poker Open.
Here's the details, from the horse's mouth (um, er, blog):
$5,000 seat plus two nights in my favorite casino in Atlantic City. All you have to do is win the Tao of Poker birthday tournament. Entry is just $5. Tournament ID is #97513073. Tournament name is Tao Poker 5th B-Day.
Seriously. For $5 you get a chance at winning a $5,000 seat at the Borgata Poker Open plus two nights in the hotel. That tournament is on Friday, September 12th starting at 11am.
Here are the specific details...
1. Tao of Poker birthday tournament is open to all readers.
2. No chops whatsoever for the Borgata Package ($5,000 seat + two nights).
3. The 5K seat is a must play.... meaning you cannot take the cash. You have to play the event on September 12th. The seat is also non-transferable. You win it, you must play it.
4. Package does not include transportation. You have to find your own way to Atlantic City. So if you live in Sweden and win the seat, you are responsible for airfare.
5. Most importantly... have fun.
I should clarify something... there will be normal prize money. The Borgata Package is in addition to the regular prize pool. So the first place winner has a shot at a decent payday in addition to a $5,000 seat and two nights at the Borgata.
The Tao of Poker birthday tournament will feature some of your favorite bloggers and Tao of Poker characters from past, present, and future.
Tonight at 9pm ET. PokerStars. Tao of Poker 5th Birthday Celebration. One faithful Tao of Poker reader will walk away with a $5,000 seat to a Borgata Poker Open tournament plus two nights in the swanky Borgata Hotel & Spa which has the most comfortable beds in the world.
Click here for more information on the Borgata Poker Open starting September 3rd. And yes, I'll be covering the entire tournament series (including the 5K event) for the Borgata poker blog with Friedman and Tropical Steve.
Everybody's who's anybody is going to be there. Except for maybe this guy, the only blogger more busto than I on JokerStars. (John, I'd help ya, but I got like $12.34 on there myself, because I run like ass forever on that site and should be about 6,000:1 to win tonight, even if there's only 350 entrants.)
I'll be there; so should you. Tonight's also cemfrommd's Blogger Skillz Series -- tonight, it's Double Stack HORSE, you better believe I'll be there (passwork = skillz). Also on tap is NYRambler's weekly series, featuring Limit Hold'em (passwork = epicfail). I haven't played that event for a couple of weeks, but will try to play tonight.
More posts during lunch today...I'm falling behind on non-poker content and promised a post on a particular hellishly good vodka from Nantucket...it's coming, even if not yet written. And then, there's all the great stuff from the DPUMS...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
All Quiet on the Blogging Front
Very quiet times, indeed, at least on this lil' page. I suppose I could be writing more, but then, I haven't done anything lately even close to what this luckbox has been scoring. (way to go, btw!). I also haven't quit my job like this donkshover did this week.
Somehow, I believe both of them are sitting in very +EV spots right now.
Anyway, I've only played in one poker event since last Tuesday, and there was absolutely nothing at all worth mentioning on that. I called too many pf raises out of position with small pocket pairs, having forgotten to turn on my setmining boomswitch, and shoved A2 soooted into A9 soooted shortly after first break, when I was already at 1/2 average stack.
Oh yeah, it appears as if I have finally found a new musical outlet. Well, not new, but new to me. They've been playing around Denver on and off for about ten years or so. The outfit's called New Ben Franklins, and it's basically whatever musicians Dave DeVoe puts together for a stretch. After a couple of loose jam rehearsals on some old NBF's material, it seems as if Dave and I are natural musical matches. We also have a drummer who looks to stick; maybe we'll be able to start playing shows in a couple months, but that means less pokering, for certain.
I would describe the New Ben Franklins as some sort of mashup of alt-country with occasional big britpop/shoegaze sensibilities, in terms of things such as effects and phrasing. If you're so inclined, you can check out some earlier recordings here (in particular "Braids" and "Gonna Be Alright", as examples of the weird melding of styles)
Anyway, tonight is Tuesday, which means it is my one real online poker night of the week. No doubt I'll be in the usual Bodog events tonight ($10+1, $20+2, $30+3, $5R), and likely a couple others. I'm going to start sitting out the PLO and Limit O8 events I've been playing at Full Tilt, simply because I'm running so bad in those for the last two months, it feels like I've giving money away.
Maybe I'll live blog if I get bored, or if my beloved Rockies tilt me into turning off the telly tonight. In the meantime, I'm pulling for a trade for Justin Duchscherer, we'll see if it happens or not.
Somehow, I believe both of them are sitting in very +EV spots right now.
Anyway, I've only played in one poker event since last Tuesday, and there was absolutely nothing at all worth mentioning on that. I called too many pf raises out of position with small pocket pairs, having forgotten to turn on my setmining boomswitch, and shoved A2 soooted into A9 soooted shortly after first break, when I was already at 1/2 average stack.
Oh yeah, it appears as if I have finally found a new musical outlet. Well, not new, but new to me. They've been playing around Denver on and off for about ten years or so. The outfit's called New Ben Franklins, and it's basically whatever musicians Dave DeVoe puts together for a stretch. After a couple of loose jam rehearsals on some old NBF's material, it seems as if Dave and I are natural musical matches. We also have a drummer who looks to stick; maybe we'll be able to start playing shows in a couple months, but that means less pokering, for certain.
I would describe the New Ben Franklins as some sort of mashup of alt-country with occasional big britpop/shoegaze sensibilities, in terms of things such as effects and phrasing. If you're so inclined, you can check out some earlier recordings here (in particular "Braids" and "Gonna Be Alright", as examples of the weird melding of styles)
Anyway, tonight is Tuesday, which means it is my one real online poker night of the week. No doubt I'll be in the usual Bodog events tonight ($10+1, $20+2, $30+3, $5R), and likely a couple others. I'm going to start sitting out the PLO and Limit O8 events I've been playing at Full Tilt, simply because I'm running so bad in those for the last two months, it feels like I've giving money away.
Maybe I'll live blog if I get bored, or if my beloved Rockies tilt me into turning off the telly tonight. In the meantime, I'm pulling for a trade for Justin Duchscherer, we'll see if it happens or not.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
24 Hours of Booty
Noted blogger, unofficial cruise-ship Julie of all things WPBT, and all around good-guy Falstaff is once again taking part in 24 Hours of Booty, the official 24 hour cycling event of the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
As of this moment, Falstaff is at 41% of his overall fundraising goal of $2,000.00. Aside from suggesting to this guy what a way to spend a bracelet race win, we should all be helping out.
Falstaff, hope you can avoid the saddle sores!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Vega$ Trip Report - Part 4 (Denoument)
Monday, Monday...bring on the mamas and the papas, as long as they gots chips, I say.
The last day our our Vega$ trip was, in some ways, the best. Certainly the most relaxing, and certainly the most profitable. The day started with the Good Doctor Mondo and I back down at the Lazy River for a few more orbits 'round the pool, where I fulfilled my duties as a human floatation device. I can't get over that pool...hope it's open in December. Actually, my only critique of MGM Grand at all is, their pool opens at 8 or 9am, yet the Lazy River doesn't open until 10. WTF is up with that?
Anyway, we chilled down there for a couple of hours, and got upstairs just in time to clean up before extended noon checkout. I'd been hoping to get one more session of 1/2NL in, of a sorta relaxed variety, but I was not prepared for how busy their room was at that time of the day on a Monday.
After waiting my turn on the wait list, I sat down at table 8, and found an interested bunch. One player had about $800 behind, another had about $500, and there were several of what struck me to be old tighties at the table. I pretty much decided to stay out of most action for the first couple of orbits, and found the big stacks not really playing any hands, either. I'm thinking they picked up most of their chips on one or two huge hands.
I wish I could say there were truly interesting hands. There was the AK I bumped up PF, late position smooth called, raised my c-bet on an raggy board, and I check folded an ugly turn that brought a flush. I actually put her on a high PP at that point. She shoved the turn, and the laydown wasn't really *that* tough. It was her first orbit, and reading her soul, she struck me as a solid player.
There was one player who would consistently pay my ass off. If he had an A, he just could not get away from it, and would raise every PF and c-bet every flop, no matter his kicker, or how bad the board was to his hand. I think over half my profits that day came from him --- twice when he paid off my flopped sets, and once when he folded to a river bet. Now I saw where the two big stacks got their chips. Details are fuzzy now.
Eventually, Mr $800 would come and go from the table and miss a lot of hands. The other good stack left. One of the older guys was constantly complaining and seat-changing, until he left when a new table opened. Pretty typical stuff, but that left me as the only truly sizable stack actually playing at the table, for the most part, and I think I used it well, at one point getting up to about $600 in my short session. By the time I had to cash out to catch the airport shuttle, I was up almost two buy-ins, for my most successful 1/2 stint of the trip. Fuck short sample sizes, I'll take a 85bb/hour rate any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. My only wish is that I had another hour or two to play there, but it was time to come back to Colorado where I remain, donkin' in the Rockies.
To all of you out there this weekend, may your stacks be big.
Best of luck to all you bloggers playing the Caesar's Mega Stack today.
And a special note to F-Train, who's not only out covering the WSOP for PokerNews, he's made it to day 2 of Event 26 - $1,500 Razz with a slightly above average chipstack:
Go go go, you furious lil' prarie dog, you!
The last day our our Vega$ trip was, in some ways, the best. Certainly the most relaxing, and certainly the most profitable. The day started with the Good Doctor Mondo and I back down at the Lazy River for a few more orbits 'round the pool, where I fulfilled my duties as a human floatation device. I can't get over that pool...hope it's open in December. Actually, my only critique of MGM Grand at all is, their pool opens at 8 or 9am, yet the Lazy River doesn't open until 10. WTF is up with that?
Anyway, we chilled down there for a couple of hours, and got upstairs just in time to clean up before extended noon checkout. I'd been hoping to get one more session of 1/2NL in, of a sorta relaxed variety, but I was not prepared for how busy their room was at that time of the day on a Monday.
After waiting my turn on the wait list, I sat down at table 8, and found an interested bunch. One player had about $800 behind, another had about $500, and there were several of what struck me to be old tighties at the table. I pretty much decided to stay out of most action for the first couple of orbits, and found the big stacks not really playing any hands, either. I'm thinking they picked up most of their chips on one or two huge hands.
I wish I could say there were truly interesting hands. There was the AK I bumped up PF, late position smooth called, raised my c-bet on an raggy board, and I check folded an ugly turn that brought a flush. I actually put her on a high PP at that point. She shoved the turn, and the laydown wasn't really *that* tough. It was her first orbit, and reading her soul, she struck me as a solid player.
There was one player who would consistently pay my ass off. If he had an A, he just could not get away from it, and would raise every PF and c-bet every flop, no matter his kicker, or how bad the board was to his hand. I think over half my profits that day came from him --- twice when he paid off my flopped sets, and once when he folded to a river bet. Now I saw where the two big stacks got their chips. Details are fuzzy now.
Eventually, Mr $800 would come and go from the table and miss a lot of hands. The other good stack left. One of the older guys was constantly complaining and seat-changing, until he left when a new table opened. Pretty typical stuff, but that left me as the only truly sizable stack actually playing at the table, for the most part, and I think I used it well, at one point getting up to about $600 in my short session. By the time I had to cash out to catch the airport shuttle, I was up almost two buy-ins, for my most successful 1/2 stint of the trip. Fuck short sample sizes, I'll take a 85bb/hour rate any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. My only wish is that I had another hour or two to play there, but it was time to come back to Colorado where I remain, donkin' in the Rockies.
To all of you out there this weekend, may your stacks be big.
Best of luck to all you bloggers playing the Caesar's Mega Stack today.
And a special note to F-Train, who's not only out covering the WSOP for PokerNews, he's made it to day 2 of Event 26 - $1,500 Razz with a slightly above average chipstack:
Go go go, you furious lil' prarie dog, you!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
We Now Interrupt This Trip Report For the Following Announcement
Originally, I wasn't going to comment on this controversy, but the more I read about it, the more pissed off I get.
I am, of course, talking about the fact that well known blogger Hoyazo played the Bodog Blogger Tournament series under a different account name, and then either wrote a fake blog about his experiences (never writing about his Bodonkey exploits on his own well-read blog), or having other cohorts in cahoots write the "fake" blog entries, most of which were used to trash specific blogger/players, who almost universally had nothing but good things to say about the Bodonkey.
Blinders has written a rather extensive rant on the subject today. In fact, some would call the rant Hoy-worthy. Essentially, Blinders posits that what Hoy did was nothing short of cheating.
I'm not sure I'd go as far as calling what Hoy did as cheating other players, because there is absolutely nothing requiring anyone to play under the same name at every site. He didn't have an account prior to the series, and he was fully within his rights to start an account under a different name.
However, Hoy definitely cheated Bodog out of its earned goodwill and recognition, by not discussing his play in the series on his own blog, which is much more widely read than ICrushBloggers ever was (at least before Hoy completely deleted the ICrushBloggers blog from existence). Nor did he link his widely-read Hammer Player blog to the Bodog Blogger Tournament page, which deprived the series out of a fair number of potential players, and that's a real shame, because Hoy is one of the more prolific and entertaining bloggers out there. The series really could have used the benefit of his writing...especially as he was playing and profiting from it every week.
Bodog went way over and above by adding so many $T every week, never mind the final TOC prizes, and was certainly entitled to have its series put on for bloggers pimped on those blogs, or at least discussed after the fact.
I think the real victims here are Bodog and the greater blogger community, but I can't go so far as to say he cheated, per se. But every act like this does lessen the blogger community in some way, though the narcissists won't be able to see it through the haze of self-importance. Frankly, Love_elf said it best right here.
Quelle bummer.
I am, of course, talking about the fact that well known blogger Hoyazo played the Bodog Blogger Tournament series under a different account name, and then either wrote a fake blog about his experiences (never writing about his Bodonkey exploits on his own well-read blog), or having other cohorts in cahoots write the "fake" blog entries, most of which were used to trash specific blogger/players, who almost universally had nothing but good things to say about the Bodonkey.
Blinders has written a rather extensive rant on the subject today. In fact, some would call the rant Hoy-worthy. Essentially, Blinders posits that what Hoy did was nothing short of cheating.
I'm not sure I'd go as far as calling what Hoy did as cheating other players, because there is absolutely nothing requiring anyone to play under the same name at every site. He didn't have an account prior to the series, and he was fully within his rights to start an account under a different name.
However, Hoy definitely cheated Bodog out of its earned goodwill and recognition, by not discussing his play in the series on his own blog, which is much more widely read than ICrushBloggers ever was (at least before Hoy completely deleted the ICrushBloggers blog from existence). Nor did he link his widely-read Hammer Player blog to the Bodog Blogger Tournament page, which deprived the series out of a fair number of potential players, and that's a real shame, because Hoy is one of the more prolific and entertaining bloggers out there. The series really could have used the benefit of his writing...especially as he was playing and profiting from it every week.
Bodog went way over and above by adding so many $T every week, never mind the final TOC prizes, and was certainly entitled to have its series put on for bloggers pimped on those blogs, or at least discussed after the fact.
I think the real victims here are Bodog and the greater blogger community, but I can't go so far as to say he cheated, per se. But every act like this does lessen the blogger community in some way, though the narcissists won't be able to see it through the haze of self-importance. Frankly, Love_elf said it best right here.
Quelle bummer.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Hit and Run
And no, I'm not talking about scooping a large 4-way pot and then fleeing the table. Nor am I talking about recent Britney driving escapades. Rather, today's post is very short...
Tomorrow, the 2008 World Series of Poker begins. Of course, you already know that, unless you live under a rock, or have come no closer to a poker table than FLDS grandmother has ever been.
54 events, gobs of pros and spectators, and more news than you can shake a Weekly World at.
But have no fear...there's really only one place you need to go for all the best stories, best blogging, and coolest features for the month. Once again, Dr. Pauly leads the way:
Where are you getting your news from this year?
At this point, I don't know whether the Good Doctor Mondo and I will make it over to the Rio to live rail any of the events on our trip. Docket's getting full. In fact, I'm trying to work two tourneys into the schedule, and not sure if I can work it when I consider the poker rate hours we gotta put in, too. We'll see.
Oh yeah, Ultimate Bet's finally come out with a statement on what they're going to do in the aftermath of the long running superuser scam. You can find a copy of the e-mail they sent to users here (Thanks, Falstaff!). I'll try to have some comments on it later tonight or tomorrow. That said, I'm having a hard time seeing a way for this to be anything other than a lose/lose for Ultimate Bet.
Tomorrow, the 2008 World Series of Poker begins. Of course, you already know that, unless you live under a rock, or have come no closer to a poker table than FLDS grandmother has ever been.
54 events, gobs of pros and spectators, and more news than you can shake a Weekly World at.
But have no fear...there's really only one place you need to go for all the best stories, best blogging, and coolest features for the month. Once again, Dr. Pauly leads the way:
Where are you getting your news from this year?
At this point, I don't know whether the Good Doctor Mondo and I will make it over to the Rio to live rail any of the events on our trip. Docket's getting full. In fact, I'm trying to work two tourneys into the schedule, and not sure if I can work it when I consider the poker rate hours we gotta put in, too. We'll see.
Oh yeah, Ultimate Bet's finally come out with a statement on what they're going to do in the aftermath of the long running superuser scam. You can find a copy of the e-mail they sent to users here (Thanks, Falstaff!). I'll try to have some comments on it later tonight or tomorrow. That said, I'm having a hard time seeing a way for this to be anything other than a lose/lose for Ultimate Bet.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
An Addition to Ye Olde Blogroll
I recently received a comment from a newish blogger, whose blog I thought some of you might enjoy: Vortex of Hate
Don't let the name deceive you, this is just a good ol' fashioned poker blog, where author Mike Casalena track his progress and analyzes his play as he tries to move up from a small initial deposit, up to the future nosebleed levels.
As Mike writes, "I started this project on Stars with a mere $125. My first goal is to build my roll to $5000 without despositing any additional funds to help. With $5,000 I should be able to play $200 NL comfortably."
Well, Mike, I wish you luck, and lots of readers.
As for myself, I haven't played a lick of cards the entire weekend, other than taking down a short bar tourney on Friday while waiting for The Omens and Dario Rosa to play. I've got enough free Bowling Bucks in my car now, to fund my own league team. Maybe I should start spending them, I guess.
By now, I suspect these two are nearing rolling into Vegas for the summer. In two weeks, the Good Doctor Mondo and I will be there with them. Actually, we'll be at the MGM Grand, but you know what I mean.
Don't let the name deceive you, this is just a good ol' fashioned poker blog, where author Mike Casalena track his progress and analyzes his play as he tries to move up from a small initial deposit, up to the future nosebleed levels.
As Mike writes, "I started this project on Stars with a mere $125. My first goal is to build my roll to $5000 without despositing any additional funds to help. With $5,000 I should be able to play $200 NL comfortably."
Well, Mike, I wish you luck, and lots of readers.
As for myself, I haven't played a lick of cards the entire weekend, other than taking down a short bar tourney on Friday while waiting for The Omens and Dario Rosa to play. I've got enough free Bowling Bucks in my car now, to fund my own league team. Maybe I should start spending them, I guess.
By now, I suspect these two are nearing rolling into Vegas for the summer. In two weeks, the Good Doctor Mondo and I will be there with them. Actually, we'll be at the MGM Grand, but you know what I mean.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Blog Your Way to the Main Event!
This is some really well and truly cool news. It ain't for me, because I'm a complete and total hack with zero imagination (and an even smaller vocabulary), but thanks to the great Sir AlCan'tHang, and the folks over at Full Tilt (yes, I still despise your not-so-random-RNG, but you toss great prizes to bloggers), you have the rare opportunity to write your way into a job blogging the World Series of Poker Main Event for Full Tilt.
From Full Tilt's website:
Do you want to experience the glitz, glamour and excitement of the WSOP Main Event the way the pros do? Then here’s your chance to hang with the biggest names in tournament poker reporting as Full Tilt Poker’s “Blogger on the Rail” at the world’s biggest poker tournament.
Our last Battle of the Bloggers writing contest, Write Your Way to Australia, was a huge success and generated some tremendous blog posts. This time around, we’ve raised the stakes. The winner of the Write Your Way to the 2008 WSOP will earn a fantastic prize package, including:
Round-trip airfare to Las Vegas
Accommodation for July 9th to the 16th
$1,000 cash spending money
Your daily coverage posted exclusively on Poker From The Rail
All you’ve got to do is come up with two fictional blog entries about “what happened at the 2008 WSOP” and post them on your blog. The first post should showcase your ability to provide journalistic coverage for the biggest poker event in the world. The second post should show off your storytelling abilities by providing an entertaining account of something that happened in Vegas during the WSOP, about your “winning experience,” your first days as a big winner, etc. Again, this is all fiction - have fun with it.
There’s only one requirement for your posts, and the rest is up to you. Each post must contain the following links:
“WSOP” linking to: http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/world-poker-series
Example: WSOP
“poker” linking to: http://www.fulltiltpoker.com
Example: poker
Once you’ve written your posts, here’s all you need to do:
Enter your Full Tilt Username and the URL for one post in the form at the bottom of the screen – you will need to complete this process for each entry
Ensure that all information is correct and complete
Click Submit
For details, just go here. Hell, I may even give it a go myself, if I feel the muse, but one of the test posts is supposed to be a fictional story (as opposed to fictional table coverage).
In fact, I'll put my money right on this guy, who may be the funniest blogger evah.
Oh yeah, tonight is Riverchasers. With the Good Doctor Mondo out of town, I'll get my first online Riverchasers taste ever tonight. If I'm home from work on time, that is.
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