Thanks to the software junkies over at my favorite site to play poker online!
Bodog Poker is happy to announce to poker players everywhere the most secure and enjoyable online gaming experience possible with the release of their new and improved, resizable beta client for public testing.
This newest version features full screen mode, resizable tables, embedded chat and game details and on-demand player tools. Download the Bodog Poker Beta for Free.
With every update, each beta version of the Bodog Poker client can be run independently, giving players the ability to choose between the established and beta clients during each session. That means you can try the beta client risk-free!
These new features are just another step in Bodog's on-going online poker evolution. Players can look forward to much more in the future.
Here’s what the Bodog poker player gets with the new and improved beta version:
* full screen mode
* RESIZEABLE WINDOWS! (that's huge)
* embedded chat and game details
* on demand player tools - chat game details, stats, notes, profiles, tournament details
Anyway, if you like to play poker online as much as I do, you owe it to yourself to give Bodog's new beta-client a try.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Halfway Home
Well, we're right about halfway through 2K8, that is. How's your year? I'm still trying to figure out mine. That said, it seems a good time to take a look back at the goalish looking poker non-goals I set for myself for this year. I say "non-goals", because I pretty much came up zeros last year when it comes to quantitative performance measures. So, let's have a look, shall we?
a. Blog more. This is a blog. It is meant to be used. And abused. And used some more. Blog it. Just do it.
Okay, I guess you can say I've fulfilled that target. Coming into 2008, I'd never written more than a grand total of 24 blog posts in a year. Eeshk. These days, I'm writing nearly 24 a month, and it feels good. Damn good. Target acquired, objective met.
b. Play a few bloggerments. There was once I time when I was a fairly regular participant in the Mookie. I would really like to do so again. However, this will require a re-up at Full Tilt. Especially if I want to join these guys, too.
That's one horse I've gotten back up on, thanks in no small part to my partners over at FlopTurnRiver (thanks!) and also, my otherwise favorite site to play poker online out there.
FlopTurnRiver's partnership essentially gave me the starting roll I needed to get back into FTP bloggerments, and jump in I have. It's been a blast playing the Skillz series nearly every week, and recently, taking part in NYRambler's games. I've even managed to run deep, taking a 2nd and 3rd in the Skillz games.
I never made it to the Mookie or Riverchasers events, but I'm hopeful that will change in the latter half of the year. Nevertheless, I think I can say Target acquired, objective met.
c. Play the $mokkee over at Bodog. I downloaded and deposited over there for the explicit purpose of it. I won't exactly plug his tourney yet, when there's others already gettin' paid to do it, but there's a real nice T$ overlay factor, and the fields are both talented and small.
The best part (and yet still so damn frustrating) may have been playing the recently-completed Bodog Blogger Tournament series. Seriously, those were the most fun structures I've ever seen in the bloggerments -- but I failed to take down any of the juicy overlays or make it to the 2-table final tournament. But that's all on my shoulders, no one else's. Once again, Target acquired, objective met.
d. Write more reviews. This is actually a non-poker goal, as it involves writing more for Westword. Last year, I freelanced a bit of music writing for them, and enjoy it. I'd like to do more this year than I did last year, especially since I've had fuckall luck actually finding a new band to join myself.
Okay, I couldn't have whiffed on this one any more if I had tried. Mostly because I've been too busy blogging, I guess? That could be a cop out, but at any rate, I shot that wad Way Off-target. More so, it doesn't appear as if they'll be needing my services any time soon.
What's almost interesting is that, even though I dumped certain unmet goals from previous years, I ended up meeting them. I finally took down a couple of sizeable MTTs (not Lucko or LJ-sized), but regularly scheduled MTTs drawing between 200-300 players. That felt awesome. Made it out to the summer un-official blogger gathering. That felt a bit less awesome, because everyone sort of fractured into multiple weekends this year, to coincide with specific WSOP events. Best of all was cashing in the Caesars Mega Stack series. That was sweet, because it was a) my largest live field ever, and b) my largest buy-in ever.
Came into this year with probably under $150 online total, and am now sorta-reasonably comfortable with about $1600 to fund my buy-ins. Of course, probably half of that is thanks directly to my advertising partners, but it's nice to not have had to deposit anything this year (yet).
So 2008 is really going pretty well. For the most part, poker has treated me pretty well. There have been lots of ruts, I'm still occasionally having to work on tilt-management, and there's still plenty I'd like to do, all in all, poker's been a faithful, if temperamental, friend this year.
a. Blog more. This is a blog. It is meant to be used. And abused. And used some more. Blog it. Just do it.
Okay, I guess you can say I've fulfilled that target. Coming into 2008, I'd never written more than a grand total of 24 blog posts in a year. Eeshk. These days, I'm writing nearly 24 a month, and it feels good. Damn good. Target acquired, objective met.
b. Play a few bloggerments. There was once I time when I was a fairly regular participant in the Mookie. I would really like to do so again. However, this will require a re-up at Full Tilt. Especially if I want to join these guys, too.
That's one horse I've gotten back up on, thanks in no small part to my partners over at FlopTurnRiver (thanks!) and also, my otherwise favorite site to play poker online out there.
FlopTurnRiver's partnership essentially gave me the starting roll I needed to get back into FTP bloggerments, and jump in I have. It's been a blast playing the Skillz series nearly every week, and recently, taking part in NYRambler's games. I've even managed to run deep, taking a 2nd and 3rd in the Skillz games.
I never made it to the Mookie or Riverchasers events, but I'm hopeful that will change in the latter half of the year. Nevertheless, I think I can say Target acquired, objective met.
c. Play the $mokkee over at Bodog. I downloaded and deposited over there for the explicit purpose of it. I won't exactly plug his tourney yet, when there's others already gettin' paid to do it, but there's a real nice T$ overlay factor, and the fields are both talented and small.
The best part (and yet still so damn frustrating) may have been playing the recently-completed Bodog Blogger Tournament series. Seriously, those were the most fun structures I've ever seen in the bloggerments -- but I failed to take down any of the juicy overlays or make it to the 2-table final tournament. But that's all on my shoulders, no one else's. Once again, Target acquired, objective met.
d. Write more reviews. This is actually a non-poker goal, as it involves writing more for Westword. Last year, I freelanced a bit of music writing for them, and enjoy it. I'd like to do more this year than I did last year, especially since I've had fuckall luck actually finding a new band to join myself.
Okay, I couldn't have whiffed on this one any more if I had tried. Mostly because I've been too busy blogging, I guess? That could be a cop out, but at any rate, I shot that wad Way Off-target. More so, it doesn't appear as if they'll be needing my services any time soon.
What's almost interesting is that, even though I dumped certain unmet goals from previous years, I ended up meeting them. I finally took down a couple of sizeable MTTs (not Lucko or LJ-sized), but regularly scheduled MTTs drawing between 200-300 players. That felt awesome. Made it out to the summer un-official blogger gathering. That felt a bit less awesome, because everyone sort of fractured into multiple weekends this year, to coincide with specific WSOP events. Best of all was cashing in the Caesars Mega Stack series. That was sweet, because it was a) my largest live field ever, and b) my largest buy-in ever.
Came into this year with probably under $150 online total, and am now sorta-reasonably comfortable with about $1600 to fund my buy-ins. Of course, probably half of that is thanks directly to my advertising partners, but it's nice to not have had to deposit anything this year (yet).
So 2008 is really going pretty well. For the most part, poker has treated me pretty well. There have been lots of ruts, I'm still occasionally having to work on tilt-management, and there's still plenty I'd like to do, all in all, poker's been a faithful, if temperamental, friend this year.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
And They're Off....
Twas' the night before Main Event
and all through the Rio
Not a degen was stirring,
not even an Eskimo...
Oh fuck it, I can't even remember the Night Before Christmas, much less riff on it.
On Lucko and LJ and Iggy and Pauly
On Loretta8 and every other motherlovin' blogger in donkament paradise.
Good luck you crazies, may one of you take it down. And a lil' special wish to the blogger I've got the tiniest piece imaginable of....take. it. down.
Mostly, remember how special an experience this is, at the vast majority of us will never ever ever be in the Amazon room for the Main Event. Have fun.
and all through the Rio
Not a degen was stirring,
not even an Eskimo...
Oh fuck it, I can't even remember the Night Before Christmas, much less riff on it.
On Lucko and LJ and Iggy and Pauly
On Loretta8 and every other motherlovin' blogger in donkament paradise.
Good luck you crazies, may one of you take it down. And a lil' special wish to the blogger I've got the tiniest piece imaginable of....take. it. down.
Mostly, remember how special an experience this is, at the vast majority of us will never ever ever be in the Amazon room for the Main Event. Have fun.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
All Hail Return of the Skillz
Yup, you read that right. Thanks to Chip for taking over hosting duties, and thanks to every poker blogger's favorite seemingly dittohead for turning us on to Chip's good deed.
Anyway, it's back, and back to how it all began tonight, with a nice lil' round of Omatard8. The only change to the newly-reborn Skillz series is that the only events that will start with doublestacks (for now, at least), will be the pot-limit events. Limit/ante events will start with FTP's old school 1500 chipstacks.
Thank you, Chip.
Also on the Omatard8 tip is another edition of NYRambler's poker series, a $5.50 PLO8 event that starts at 9pm for you foos on the east coast, and 7pm for us mountain men. Password is "EpicFail", which pretty much describes my performance in this event last week, where I was something like 2nd Gigli in the Pot Limit HA event.
I hope to actually play like I can...I love Omaha, but I've been getting junk-kicked by redraws/resucks so often in that game, to the point where I'm seriously considering temporarily bagging my participation in FTP's nightly $5.50 Limit O8 and PLO tournies for a bit. But blogger events? Always...
I see a few bloggers are putting up mid-year looks at their goals...I may have to do the same, we'll see.
Anyway, keep building them massive stacks.
Anyway, it's back, and back to how it all began tonight, with a nice lil' round of Omatard8. The only change to the newly-reborn Skillz series is that the only events that will start with doublestacks (for now, at least), will be the pot-limit events. Limit/ante events will start with FTP's old school 1500 chipstacks.
Thank you, Chip.
Also on the Omatard8 tip is another edition of NYRambler's poker series, a $5.50 PLO8 event that starts at 9pm for you foos on the east coast, and 7pm for us mountain men. Password is "EpicFail", which pretty much describes my performance in this event last week, where I was something like 2nd Gigli in the Pot Limit HA event.
I hope to actually play like I can...I love Omaha, but I've been getting junk-kicked by redraws/resucks so often in that game, to the point where I'm seriously considering temporarily bagging my participation in FTP's nightly $5.50 Limit O8 and PLO tournies for a bit. But blogger events? Always...
I see a few bloggers are putting up mid-year looks at their goals...I may have to do the same, we'll see.
Anyway, keep building them massive stacks.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Late Notice, But...
I should have posted this earlier, but a band I used to play bass for, The Jet Age, is currently on tour and playing live in-studio at KEXP 90.3 at 4pm EDT, 1pm Pacific...just about now.
You can stream it live here.
Their Denver show on Saturday night was sparsely attended (naturally, as it was first time out west for them), but full of rock'n'roll tasty goodness.
That is all.
Very little poker this weekend, though I managed to satellite into the MSOP $15+1.50 HORSE, and promptly unregistered, as I wouldn't be home to play it.
Those MSOP sats are pretty good bankroll builders!
You can stream it live here.
Their Denver show on Saturday night was sparsely attended (naturally, as it was first time out west for them), but full of rock'n'roll tasty goodness.
That is all.
Very little poker this weekend, though I managed to satellite into the MSOP $15+1.50 HORSE, and promptly unregistered, as I wouldn't be home to play it.
Those MSOP sats are pretty good bankroll builders!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Weird Night at the Tables
So I played the daily KORS last night, and it turned out to be a heads-up deathmatch SNG between myself and Surflexus, since no one else registered. Anyway, I did manage to win that (woo-hoo!), but with only two entrants, no $26 token for the next level...only $16 for an $8 buy-in.
Played a .50 rebuy to Full Tilt's MSOP event #44 this afternoon. Won my entry with one re-buy, and of course unregistered from the MSOP, since it's during my work hours. My goodness so many people don't know how to play satellites. 14 seats, and with 16-17 left, folks would call all-ins with A8 sooted, and go from a comfortable position to being bubble boy. Had fun with one asshat I sent to the rail (when he overplayed middle two pair). In the end, I basically won $15 for my $1.10 buy-in
Managed to win a Tier One token during the frenzy, which I'll probably use next Tuesday in a huge 8pm donkament.
And that was about it.
Completely got my ass kicked up one end and down the other in every Bodog tourney I played. Went out of their $10 turbo MTT 10 spots from $$$ when I raised ATo in early position (was looking to steal, really), got called by two microstack all-ins, and then got re-shoved by one of the blinds. I read the overshove as an attempt to isolate the two micro all-ins, so I called (he had me covered), and I ran into QQ. One of the micros had an A, and I whiffed on the A and eventual broadway draws. If I win that pot, I cash easily.
Also got coolered out of the $5k, and aggro'd my way out of the $5R and $6k.
So my Bodog roll is about 1/4 off its high, and even with three tourney "wins" last night, I was down overall. I don't think I've ever lost so much on a night with so many 1st place finishes.
I should probably stop playing the $30 buy-ins at Bodog until I can achieve another decent ($300+) tourney score. I feel okay playing up to $20 buy-in, at least until my roll drops below $1k, and it's starting to get close to doing so... ever since my $5R win, I've done nothing on Bodog but lose. Probably 15 straight non-cashes now?
Played a .50 rebuy to Full Tilt's MSOP event #44 this afternoon. Won my entry with one re-buy, and of course unregistered from the MSOP, since it's during my work hours. My goodness so many people don't know how to play satellites. 14 seats, and with 16-17 left, folks would call all-ins with A8 sooted, and go from a comfortable position to being bubble boy. Had fun with one asshat I sent to the rail (when he overplayed middle two pair). In the end, I basically won $15 for my $1.10 buy-in
Managed to win a Tier One token during the frenzy, which I'll probably use next Tuesday in a huge 8pm donkament.
And that was about it.
Completely got my ass kicked up one end and down the other in every Bodog tourney I played. Went out of their $10 turbo MTT 10 spots from $$$ when I raised ATo in early position (was looking to steal, really), got called by two microstack all-ins, and then got re-shoved by one of the blinds. I read the overshove as an attempt to isolate the two micro all-ins, so I called (he had me covered), and I ran into QQ. One of the micros had an A, and I whiffed on the A and eventual broadway draws. If I win that pot, I cash easily.
Also got coolered out of the $5k, and aggro'd my way out of the $5R and $6k.
So my Bodog roll is about 1/4 off its high, and even with three tourney "wins" last night, I was down overall. I don't think I've ever lost so much on a night with so many 1st place finishes.
I should probably stop playing the $30 buy-ins at Bodog until I can achieve another decent ($300+) tourney score. I feel okay playing up to $20 buy-in, at least until my roll drops below $1k, and it's starting to get close to doing so... ever since my $5R win, I've done nothing on Bodog but lose. Probably 15 straight non-cashes now?
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!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Gaping Holes in the Bloggerment Calendar?
Well, yeah, but not exactly.
The Bodog Blogger Tournament is on hiatus for a wee bit.
The Skillz Series appears to be done.
But never fear, the KORS is here, and I'm not talking about this Kors.
Check it out, you Razz degens. Nightly shots to go from an $8.80 into a $200+16 end of month Razz tourney. I'm lickin' my chops, how about you?
Not sure about about this bloke, though:
He doesn't look like much of a Razz player. Don't. Bore. Nina!
Anyway, the nightly KORS is at 7:45 MDT, so I think I can make it, and it may just be the new hit of the bloggerment summer.
Also, I was clued in on Rambler's ongoing series of tourneys. Tonight's is a $5.50 HA Pot Limit, that sounds like something straight outta the Skillz school. Look for the 21:00 $5.50 HA Pot Limit, password is "epicfail" I learned about it too late to register this morning, so we'll see if I get home from work in time. But if I do, I'm so there.
BTW, a big shout out to our different little yellow BWOP, who's playing in the PLO8 event at the WSOP today. I know her chipstack just took a big hit, but she got a nice early shoutout by the Pokernews crew in the first entry of today's Live Reporting:
"1 hour 52 minutes ago | Posted by Pojo
Notables in the Field
Some of the notable players in the field today include Mark Seif, Humberto Brenes, Barny Boatman, Joe Hachem, and Carol Kline."
Pretty awesome. Let's send her some major chip-up vibes.
The Bodog Blogger Tournament is on hiatus for a wee bit.
The Skillz Series appears to be done.
But never fear, the KORS is here, and I'm not talking about this Kors.
Check it out, you Razz degens. Nightly shots to go from an $8.80 into a $200+16 end of month Razz tourney. I'm lickin' my chops, how about you?
Not sure about about this bloke, though:
He doesn't look like much of a Razz player. Don't. Bore. Nina!
Anyway, the nightly KORS is at 7:45 MDT, so I think I can make it, and it may just be the new hit of the bloggerment summer.
Also, I was clued in on Rambler's ongoing series of tourneys. Tonight's is a $5.50 HA Pot Limit, that sounds like something straight outta the Skillz school. Look for the 21:00 $5.50 HA Pot Limit, password is "epicfail" I learned about it too late to register this morning, so we'll see if I get home from work in time. But if I do, I'm so there.
BTW, a big shout out to our different little yellow BWOP, who's playing in the PLO8 event at the WSOP today. I know her chipstack just took a big hit, but she got a nice early shoutout by the Pokernews crew in the first entry of today's Live Reporting:
"1 hour 52 minutes ago | Posted by Pojo
Notables in the Field
Some of the notable players in the field today include Mark Seif, Humberto Brenes, Barny Boatman, Joe Hachem, and Carol Kline."
Pretty awesome. Let's send her some major chip-up vibes.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Call Me Uncle
Spent the weekend in Milwaukee, with my older sister, her husband, and her brand new baby girl. Well, nearly brand new -- she's now three months old:
Hanging out with that lil' angel was so much fun, I never even felt like going to Potawatami for some NL action, not that I'd planned to. I did go so far as to Mapquest the drive from my hotel to my sis' with it as a waypoint, however. Heh.
Did manage to play some poker on trip. A three hour layover at O'Hare on the way up resulted in me a) finishing 5th in a $10 90 player SNG at Full Tilt (with about 6 KO bounties), and at the same time, dropping a 50NL buyin when I check shoved A2 on an A29Ax board into. (I was BB in an unraised pot pf) Coolered, but broke even.
Late night tournies in my hotel room were much worse, finishing close to the money a ton of times, usually going out on hands where I flop a set, bet it, call a shove by an underset, only to see some asshat who called two shoves with TPTK hit runner runner bigger full house. One of these was in a $30R where I was in for $93, so my recently-grown Bodog roll took a nice hit on the trip. Oh well. I'm proud of the fact that I didn't let any of those events tilt me and put any sort of damper on the trip. But look at that pic above once again...how could anything put a damper on spending time with that little angel.
Hanging out with that lil' angel was so much fun, I never even felt like going to Potawatami for some NL action, not that I'd planned to. I did go so far as to Mapquest the drive from my hotel to my sis' with it as a waypoint, however. Heh.
Did manage to play some poker on trip. A three hour layover at O'Hare on the way up resulted in me a) finishing 5th in a $10 90 player SNG at Full Tilt (with about 6 KO bounties), and at the same time, dropping a 50NL buyin when I check shoved A2 on an A29Ax board into. (I was BB in an unraised pot pf) Coolered, but broke even.
Late night tournies in my hotel room were much worse, finishing close to the money a ton of times, usually going out on hands where I flop a set, bet it, call a shove by an underset, only to see some asshat who called two shoves with TPTK hit runner runner bigger full house. One of these was in a $30R where I was in for $93, so my recently-grown Bodog roll took a nice hit on the trip. Oh well. I'm proud of the fact that I didn't let any of those events tilt me and put any sort of damper on the trip. But look at that pic above once again...how could anything put a damper on spending time with that little angel.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Strange Days At The Dealership
Mostly non-poker content
Okay, so I was going to make my next post sort of a run-through of last night's tournament win in the Bodog $5 rebuy*. Well, today's car service events were too surreal to ignore, and probably more interesting to write about, anyway.
I don't know whether I've blogged on this subject before, but I drive a pretty sweet Infiniti G35x sedan, which is pretty great, except that I now live in Colorado -- a state with only three Infiniti dealers in the entire state, none of them within 50 miles of my home. So, I try to get things such as today's routine 7500 mile service/tire rotation done during an extended lunch hour, at an Infiniti dealer at the south end of the Denver metro area.
I should have known things would not be routine today when, instead of having to go inside and wait 10 minutes before a service advisor writes up the order -- the advisor (a new guy, at least from the last time I was there) meets me outside and just takes my keys and service book. He was a bit excited and in a rush, which turned out to be a bad omen that I should have read.
Well, a few minutes later, I'm inside reading news on their lounge computer, when this service advisor (let's call him Mark, since that's his name), tells me he needs to get me a courtesy car. Why, you may ask? Because he was in such a hurry that he ran my car into another customer's SUV, and now both vehicles have to go to a body shop. Fuck me. The damage isn't severe (the SUV got it a fair bit worse, actually), but it's real damage nonetheless, with lots of paint transfers on my right rear door, quarterpanel, etc.
So Mark says he's going to make me whole. Okay, fine. I'm irritated, but I get my courtesy car, detour three times to get back to the office, because of three separate intersection-closing accidents (how ironic). An hour later, I get a call from Mark, who tells me my $100 service also needs a $550 brake job, complete with new front rotors and pads. Now I'm pissed. I'm not surprised, because my car's been abusive on pads, the rotors have already been turned, and my brakes squeal. but that's sorta beside the point, by now.
In my mind, I'm thinking you've crashed my car, and now on top of that, you've added $550 to a routine service bill? WTF? And you're gonna make me whole? Yeah, we'll see. The body work will end up showing up in a Carfax report, undoubtedly, so you're gonna have to go beyond just paying for the damage you caused when you crashed my car -- that's what I'm thinking, at this point. They're gonna have to pay at least 1/2 of my service and brake repair bill, for me to feel made whole, at least to make up for the inevitable lessened value of the car for the need for body work. I mean, you shouldn't have to tell me you're going to fix the damage you caused, the question is, what are you going to do to satisfy a customer who's been bringing his car to you for ALL service for the last three years, and who has referred new vehicle customers to your dealership who ended up purchasing vehicles?
But I wasn't ready to spring this on Mark just yet. Why? Funny you should ask.
A few months or so ago, I helped convince one of the partners I work for, into buying a 2008 Infiniti G35x from the very same dealer. Oddly enough, he had his car in for routine service and a door ding fix today, as well. Very ironic, but so perfect. His service advisor was also Mark. Well, Mark called to let him know his car was ready, when the partner asked him whether he was crashing any cars today. Hahahahaha, brilliant. It eventually came out that I work for him, and that it was his paralegal's car that the service advisor crashed.
Even better -- when the partner was dropping off his car, during random small talk, Mark learned that we work in automotive franchise litigation. That is, disputes between automotive manufacturers and their dealers. As such, we know a lot about the internal practices of automotive dealerships, as dealership day-to-day operations are occasionally significant to some of our litigations.
Well, they're gonna make me whole next week, that's for sure. Because they're going to know if they don't, I'm going to submit a service survey to the manufacturer that's going to go a good ways towards costing the dealer part of a monthly bonus they should normally be in the running for, for achieving a certain composite service satisfaction score.
Infiniti's not a client of ours, and I don't know the rules of any particular survey score bonus program they have with their dealers. But if it's at all similar to the programs our clients do have, and I'm certainly within rights to give you a zero satisfaction score (after all, you crashed my car!), why should I not submit a poor survey? I'm the absolute opposite of satisfied at this point.
Anyway, the car won't be ready until Tuesday now, so we'll see what happens next week.
Oh yeah, the tourney.
As for the tourney, after my initial buy-in/rebuy got river 3-outed, and sticking around because of a very soft table, I ended up the rebuy hour at just above average chips. At final two tables, a caught a miracle river 4-outer to fill a boat, when smal blind slow played his flopped nut flush, and I shoved his CR on turn with bottom two pair -- yeah I was a donk, but I put him on a draw, and frankly, I've been due a 4-outer of my own:
Got to final table 4th in chips (8-handed final table, because 9th got knocked out as we were breaking table), knocked out a couple shorties, went to HU with a 5:3 chiplead, HU lasted about 20 hands, and that was that.
Okay, so I was going to make my next post sort of a run-through of last night's tournament win in the Bodog $5 rebuy*. Well, today's car service events were too surreal to ignore, and probably more interesting to write about, anyway.
I don't know whether I've blogged on this subject before, but I drive a pretty sweet Infiniti G35x sedan, which is pretty great, except that I now live in Colorado -- a state with only three Infiniti dealers in the entire state, none of them within 50 miles of my home. So, I try to get things such as today's routine 7500 mile service/tire rotation done during an extended lunch hour, at an Infiniti dealer at the south end of the Denver metro area.
I should have known things would not be routine today when, instead of having to go inside and wait 10 minutes before a service advisor writes up the order -- the advisor (a new guy, at least from the last time I was there) meets me outside and just takes my keys and service book. He was a bit excited and in a rush, which turned out to be a bad omen that I should have read.
Well, a few minutes later, I'm inside reading news on their lounge computer, when this service advisor (let's call him Mark, since that's his name), tells me he needs to get me a courtesy car. Why, you may ask? Because he was in such a hurry that he ran my car into another customer's SUV, and now both vehicles have to go to a body shop. Fuck me. The damage isn't severe (the SUV got it a fair bit worse, actually), but it's real damage nonetheless, with lots of paint transfers on my right rear door, quarterpanel, etc.
So Mark says he's going to make me whole. Okay, fine. I'm irritated, but I get my courtesy car, detour three times to get back to the office, because of three separate intersection-closing accidents (how ironic). An hour later, I get a call from Mark, who tells me my $100 service also needs a $550 brake job, complete with new front rotors and pads. Now I'm pissed. I'm not surprised, because my car's been abusive on pads, the rotors have already been turned, and my brakes squeal. but that's sorta beside the point, by now.
In my mind, I'm thinking you've crashed my car, and now on top of that, you've added $550 to a routine service bill? WTF? And you're gonna make me whole? Yeah, we'll see. The body work will end up showing up in a Carfax report, undoubtedly, so you're gonna have to go beyond just paying for the damage you caused when you crashed my car -- that's what I'm thinking, at this point. They're gonna have to pay at least 1/2 of my service and brake repair bill, for me to feel made whole, at least to make up for the inevitable lessened value of the car for the need for body work. I mean, you shouldn't have to tell me you're going to fix the damage you caused, the question is, what are you going to do to satisfy a customer who's been bringing his car to you for ALL service for the last three years, and who has referred new vehicle customers to your dealership who ended up purchasing vehicles?
But I wasn't ready to spring this on Mark just yet. Why? Funny you should ask.
A few months or so ago, I helped convince one of the partners I work for, into buying a 2008 Infiniti G35x from the very same dealer. Oddly enough, he had his car in for routine service and a door ding fix today, as well. Very ironic, but so perfect. His service advisor was also Mark. Well, Mark called to let him know his car was ready, when the partner asked him whether he was crashing any cars today. Hahahahaha, brilliant. It eventually came out that I work for him, and that it was his paralegal's car that the service advisor crashed.
Even better -- when the partner was dropping off his car, during random small talk, Mark learned that we work in automotive franchise litigation. That is, disputes between automotive manufacturers and their dealers. As such, we know a lot about the internal practices of automotive dealerships, as dealership day-to-day operations are occasionally significant to some of our litigations.
Well, they're gonna make me whole next week, that's for sure. Because they're going to know if they don't, I'm going to submit a service survey to the manufacturer that's going to go a good ways towards costing the dealer part of a monthly bonus they should normally be in the running for, for achieving a certain composite service satisfaction score.
Infiniti's not a client of ours, and I don't know the rules of any particular survey score bonus program they have with their dealers. But if it's at all similar to the programs our clients do have, and I'm certainly within rights to give you a zero satisfaction score (after all, you crashed my car!), why should I not submit a poor survey? I'm the absolute opposite of satisfied at this point.
Anyway, the car won't be ready until Tuesday now, so we'll see what happens next week.
Oh yeah, the tourney.
As for the tourney, after my initial buy-in/rebuy got river 3-outed, and sticking around because of a very soft table, I ended up the rebuy hour at just above average chips. At final two tables, a caught a miracle river 4-outer to fill a boat, when smal blind slow played his flopped nut flush, and I shoved his CR on turn with bottom two pair -- yeah I was a donk, but I put him on a draw, and frankly, I've been due a 4-outer of my own:
Got to final table 4th in chips (8-handed final table, because 9th got knocked out as we were breaking table), knocked out a couple shorties, went to HU with a 5:3 chiplead, HU lasted about 20 hands, and that was that.
I Thought I Would Be Writing a Tilt Rant Tonight
After getting knocked out of three tourneys on river three outers real close to $$$ (or sorta close), such as the Bodog MSOP 3 tables from $$$, I really thought I'd be ranting Waffles-stylee tonight.
That is, until this:
Thanks, Bodog.
I'll write up something on it sometime tomorrow (gotta work lunch around a car appointment). But it feels good. That's two MTT take downs on Bodog for me in a month, and my biggest Bodog cash ever. Ya, ya, I know, it's still not even $700, but whatev.
That is, until this:
Thanks, Bodog.
I'll write up something on it sometime tomorrow (gotta work lunch around a car appointment). But it feels good. That's two MTT take downs on Bodog for me in a month, and my biggest Bodog cash ever. Ya, ya, I know, it's still not even $700, but whatev.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
This One Goes Out to Iggy
"I'm voting Republican because...sometimes, the Constitution is just one big, inconvenient headache."
No Republicans were harmed in the making of this film.
No Republicans were harmed in the making of this film.
Pimp Your Skillz
Well, it appears the Bodonkey is taking a bit of time off, so there's less bloggeriffic fun to be pimpin' for Tuesday night shenanigans.
However, the Blogger Skillz Series (formerly hosted by the King of Donks) is still running, if currently host-free. Tonight's edition is return of the HOE. That's right, Limit Hold'em/Omatard 8. Should be fun!
But lest we forget about the find folks over at Bodog, they're still running the Mini Series of Poker, a series of tournaments mirroring the WSOP Hold'em events, but for 1% of the buy-in. You'll find me donking it up there tonight in a $16.50 NLHE event, as of 9pm EDT. Maybe I can stay in longer than the Rockies can stay in a game, for once.
Anyway, it's probably my last night of pokerz before I go to Milwaukee to see my new niece, so let's get some game on, kids.
However, the Blogger Skillz Series (formerly hosted by the King of Donks) is still running, if currently host-free. Tonight's edition is return of the HOE. That's right, Limit Hold'em/Omatard 8. Should be fun!
But lest we forget about the find folks over at Bodog, they're still running the Mini Series of Poker, a series of tournaments mirroring the WSOP Hold'em events, but for 1% of the buy-in. You'll find me donking it up there tonight in a $16.50 NLHE event, as of 9pm EDT. Maybe I can stay in longer than the Rockies can stay in a game, for once.
Anyway, it's probably my last night of pokerz before I go to Milwaukee to see my new niece, so let's get some game on, kids.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Vega$ 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 $T every week, never mind the final TOC prizes, and was certainly entitled to have its series put on for bloggers pimped on those blogs, or at least discussed after the fact.
I think the real victims here are Bodog and the greater blogger community, but I can't go so far as to say he cheated, per se. But every act like this does lessen the blogger community in some way, though the narcissists won't be able to see it through the haze of self-importance. Frankly, Love_elf said it best right here.
Quelle bummer.
Vega$ Trip Report - Part 3
...aka, the section where our intrepid hero fights back from oblivion.
So there I am on Sunday morning, ragass tired, tilty, and hungry. How to fix this? Head for the bouffffet, MGM-stylee.
The Good Doctor Mondo and I headed down to what was a surprisingly tasty brunch, though I wouldn't have thought pot stickers and seafood ceviche to be appropriate Sunday 10am dining fare, at least not with turkey sausage, blueberry blintzes, and lox with capers.
As it turned out, my stomach didn't think so, either, which resulted in my spending pretty much the next eight hours in bed, moaning and groaning through 500 miles of NASCAR Pocono boredom, and an inability to find a Rockies game on TV. At least my better half had yet another wonderful afternoon at the pool -- we definitely got our aquatic mobnies worth out of this trip.
Eventually, I was able to get up and eat a lil' something, when the thought occurred that we needed to get some hours in to lock in our poker rate. What else to soothe the bankroll than some 1/2NL? The soothing came quickly, and powerfully, when I was able to pick up a full buyin and a half in no more than about two hours, for my best live session on the trip up to that point.
For the most part, I played quiet, staying out of pots unless I had the goods, or could get to the goods. As it was, I didn't really feel *that* great, and probably played more passively as a result. There weren't really a lot of interesting hands, other than one in particular. There were a couple of intraweb 21yo whiz kid types sitting at the table, one to my right, with a bigass jewfro (though hardly Alex Jacob-worthy), and a static chipstack. At one point, he had to fold his PP to a dude who showed quad AAAA after the fold.
Not too much longer after that, I pick up KK in some kind of early-to-mid position. With the whiz kid limping, and me still a bit stung from the previous night, I decided to bump to $18, to see how serious he was. Well, a late player called, as did whiz-fro. The flop comes Kxx (two spades), and I'm feeling fine. Whiz-fro bets $20...I can call, but there is that flush draw out there, and one to act behind. I elect to min-raise another $40, and get a fold (from LP), and then whiz-fro flat calls. The turn brings....the case K. YAHTZEE! Whiz-fro checks, and I have a decision to make. Sure, I can check, but if he checks the river and I bet, there's a good chance he folds, and I get no value out of my quads. So I decide to fire out $40, figuring if he's going to fold now, he'd probably have folded on any river, anyway. So what happens? Well, after I raised PF, raised the flop, and bet the turn...whiz-fro shoves. BINGO!
He didn't much like having to show down his 99 to my quad K's, but I was happy for the chips, and his misplayed his hand soooo badly in the first place. I soon turned in for the night, taking my $145 hourly rate to bed, for a last night's sleep in Vega$.
Part 4 to come!
So there I am on Sunday morning, ragass tired, tilty, and hungry. How to fix this? Head for the bouffffet, MGM-stylee.
The Good Doctor Mondo and I headed down to what was a surprisingly tasty brunch, though I wouldn't have thought pot stickers and seafood ceviche to be appropriate Sunday 10am dining fare, at least not with turkey sausage, blueberry blintzes, and lox with capers.
As it turned out, my stomach didn't think so, either, which resulted in my spending pretty much the next eight hours in bed, moaning and groaning through 500 miles of NASCAR Pocono boredom, and an inability to find a Rockies game on TV. At least my better half had yet another wonderful afternoon at the pool -- we definitely got our aquatic mobnies worth out of this trip.
Eventually, I was able to get up and eat a lil' something, when the thought occurred that we needed to get some hours in to lock in our poker rate. What else to soothe the bankroll than some 1/2NL? The soothing came quickly, and powerfully, when I was able to pick up a full buyin and a half in no more than about two hours, for my best live session on the trip up to that point.
For the most part, I played quiet, staying out of pots unless I had the goods, or could get to the goods. As it was, I didn't really feel *that* great, and probably played more passively as a result. There weren't really a lot of interesting hands, other than one in particular. There were a couple of intraweb 21yo whiz kid types sitting at the table, one to my right, with a bigass jewfro (though hardly Alex Jacob-worthy), and a static chipstack. At one point, he had to fold his PP to a dude who showed quad AAAA after the fold.
Not too much longer after that, I pick up KK in some kind of early-to-mid position. With the whiz kid limping, and me still a bit stung from the previous night, I decided to bump to $18, to see how serious he was. Well, a late player called, as did whiz-fro. The flop comes Kxx (two spades), and I'm feeling fine. Whiz-fro bets $20...I can call, but there is that flush draw out there, and one to act behind. I elect to min-raise another $40, and get a fold (from LP), and then whiz-fro flat calls. The turn brings....the case K. YAHTZEE! Whiz-fro checks, and I have a decision to make. Sure, I can check, but if he checks the river and I bet, there's a good chance he folds, and I get no value out of my quads. So I decide to fire out $40, figuring if he's going to fold now, he'd probably have folded on any river, anyway. So what happens? Well, after I raised PF, raised the flop, and bet the turn...whiz-fro shoves. BINGO!
He didn't much like having to show down his 99 to my quad K's, but I was happy for the chips, and his misplayed his hand soooo badly in the first place. I soon turned in for the night, taking my $145 hourly rate to bed, for a last night's sleep in Vega$.
Part 4 to come!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Vega$ Trip Report - Part 2
Saturday was a very unusual, uncharacteristic day for me. How so? Well hell, first of all, I was coming off a cash in my biggest ever live tourney, measured by field size and buy-in. I was still pretty much half asleep in frog pajamas, when the Good Doctor Mondo dragged my dog ass out of bed around 9am to spend most of the day in the Lazy River pool, and as much I really don't care for pools, swimming, and all that jazz, the MGM Grand's Lazy River was really kinda cool.
Anyway, it was eventually time to play some poker, and I found a 3/6 HORSE table at the MGM. Apparently, 3/6 HORSE is a rare bird at the MGM, indeed. I was told it was only the 2nd time that game was ever spread. Unfortunately, the only thing more rare than running that game, was me having any kind of hand. I sat in at the start of Stud, and didn't win a pot until the 2nd hand of Razz. Ick. Only won a couple of pots, and dropped about $70 over nine orbits. Okay, fuck it, I'm hungry, let's grab a sammich and play some 1/2...off we go!
I sign up to find a 14 name waiting list, but it's only about 20 minutes before I'm sitting down to what appears to be a possibly profitable table. About one orbit in, I pick up KK (either UTG, or EP1, I now forget which). Naturally, I bump it to $14 to go, and I only get one caller - a large tattooed Latino guy who reminds me of some of those Unique Whips folks. Anyway, he calls, and we see a flop of 642, with two hearts (I have Kh). I didn't like the flush draw, so I bet $20, and he raises to $40. I flat call, and 6h shows up on the turn. He checks, and I'm immediately suspicious of turned trips. Still, I check behind, and the Qh shows up on the river. The dude bets $40, and I'm sure he's got a 6, but I have the K-high flush, and call. Well, the read was mostly right. He had 64. Yup, the turned boat. Yup, he called $14 PF out of position, with nothing more than 64 soooted. Nice hand, sir.
That's cool, I've still got $120, and a great read. I'll get it back. Over the next 2-3 orbits, I fold a ton of trash pockets, but watch as this same guy raises 90% of all hands preflop, between $14 and $20 each time. And when he got callers, he C-bet 90% of those times. Twice he was called down and had to show trash like T7o, so he's basically betting not ATC, but ETC (every two cards). The only times he ever folded to flop or turn bets were when he was raised off pots by a dude at the end of the table who looked...suspiciously...like his brother or cousin. They were virtually identical looking, except for the ink. And no, I'm not stereotyping. Anyway, I didn't suspect collusion, just bad aggro play. I'm gonna get paid off, eventually.
And then...BOOM. AA under the gun. Normally, I'd raise this up to $12, $14, or so. But I've got monkey aggro two seats to my right, in the small blind. He's going to raise, and I'm going to get paid. So....I....check. And then five limp behind. And monkey aggro....checks. Fuck. He raises every hand except this one. Still, the flop comes Q42 rainbow, so I feel okay. Now that we're several days later, I'm a bit fuzzy, but I believe the donk checked, I bet $20, and he and one other player called the flop. Okay. Rag on the turn, and monkey aggro shoves a stack that's now smaller than mine. Obviously, I overshove -- he's trying to push me off.
Except the player behind me calls. Monkey aggro turns over AQo, just as I thought...and then the player behind me shows 44 for the flopped set. I miss my 1 outer on the river, and 44 stacks us both. Gack.
I know, I know, I know....never limp AA. But I felt I was playing a player more than the cards that hand. He was raising every damn hand, and I knew I'd get to make a large 3-bet. Meh. If it's any consolation, I figure the 44 would have called a $14 bet PF with implied odds of the expected monkey call out of the small blind. But still, now I'm on tilt. Lost a buy-in in 45 minutes where the only hands I played were AA and KK. I needed revenge, and I was going to get it at....
....table games. Please do me a favor if you're ever with me in Vega$, and I make a move towards the table games. Stop me. I don't care how. Just stop me.
First, I dump $60 in two hands of Pai-Gow, before I realize wtf am I doing playing a game best played drunk in $5 increments, for $30 bucks a hand (and sober, at that). So I take $140 over to 3 Card Poker, where I'm quickly back up to $250. Do I leave, having recovered about 1/3 of my loss for the night? No. I swing down. I swing up. Eventually, I turn that $140 into about $350 or so. I've actually recovered over half my poker loss, and my entire Pai-Gow loss.
Do I leave? Hell no. Not until 20 minutes after the Dealer of Death arrives I lose all of that, and even $100 more. Fortunately, I stopped myself after I pulled out my very last C-note, before turning into chips that would eventually belong to Mr. MGM. What an expensive lesson. Here I am, down a few hundo for the trip thus far, even having cashed in the Mega Series, and having had one nice 1/2 session. No more table games for Mondo, ever. I can't be trusted. Every time I was up, I just knew I'd go up more. When I was down, I just knew I'd recover in a hand or two. Yup. Just say no.
I'm please to inform you that I did not play a single table game hand my entire last 38 hours in Vega$. Hopefully, hard lesson in monkey tilt learned.
Part 3 later!
Anyway, it was eventually time to play some poker, and I found a 3/6 HORSE table at the MGM. Apparently, 3/6 HORSE is a rare bird at the MGM, indeed. I was told it was only the 2nd time that game was ever spread. Unfortunately, the only thing more rare than running that game, was me having any kind of hand. I sat in at the start of Stud, and didn't win a pot until the 2nd hand of Razz. Ick. Only won a couple of pots, and dropped about $70 over nine orbits. Okay, fuck it, I'm hungry, let's grab a sammich and play some 1/2...off we go!
I sign up to find a 14 name waiting list, but it's only about 20 minutes before I'm sitting down to what appears to be a possibly profitable table. About one orbit in, I pick up KK (either UTG, or EP1, I now forget which). Naturally, I bump it to $14 to go, and I only get one caller - a large tattooed Latino guy who reminds me of some of those Unique Whips folks. Anyway, he calls, and we see a flop of 642, with two hearts (I have Kh). I didn't like the flush draw, so I bet $20, and he raises to $40. I flat call, and 6h shows up on the turn. He checks, and I'm immediately suspicious of turned trips. Still, I check behind, and the Qh shows up on the river. The dude bets $40, and I'm sure he's got a 6, but I have the K-high flush, and call. Well, the read was mostly right. He had 64. Yup, the turned boat. Yup, he called $14 PF out of position, with nothing more than 64 soooted. Nice hand, sir.
That's cool, I've still got $120, and a great read. I'll get it back. Over the next 2-3 orbits, I fold a ton of trash pockets, but watch as this same guy raises 90% of all hands preflop, between $14 and $20 each time. And when he got callers, he C-bet 90% of those times. Twice he was called down and had to show trash like T7o, so he's basically betting not ATC, but ETC (every two cards). The only times he ever folded to flop or turn bets were when he was raised off pots by a dude at the end of the table who looked...suspiciously...like his brother or cousin. They were virtually identical looking, except for the ink. And no, I'm not stereotyping. Anyway, I didn't suspect collusion, just bad aggro play. I'm gonna get paid off, eventually.
And then...BOOM. AA under the gun. Normally, I'd raise this up to $12, $14, or so. But I've got monkey aggro two seats to my right, in the small blind. He's going to raise, and I'm going to get paid. So....I....check. And then five limp behind. And monkey aggro....checks. Fuck. He raises every hand except this one. Still, the flop comes Q42 rainbow, so I feel okay. Now that we're several days later, I'm a bit fuzzy, but I believe the donk checked, I bet $20, and he and one other player called the flop. Okay. Rag on the turn, and monkey aggro shoves a stack that's now smaller than mine. Obviously, I overshove -- he's trying to push me off.
Except the player behind me calls. Monkey aggro turns over AQo, just as I thought...and then the player behind me shows 44 for the flopped set. I miss my 1 outer on the river, and 44 stacks us both. Gack.
I know, I know, I know....never limp AA. But I felt I was playing a player more than the cards that hand. He was raising every damn hand, and I knew I'd get to make a large 3-bet. Meh. If it's any consolation, I figure the 44 would have called a $14 bet PF with implied odds of the expected monkey call out of the small blind. But still, now I'm on tilt. Lost a buy-in in 45 minutes where the only hands I played were AA and KK. I needed revenge, and I was going to get it at....
....table games. Please do me a favor if you're ever with me in Vega$, and I make a move towards the table games. Stop me. I don't care how. Just stop me.
First, I dump $60 in two hands of Pai-Gow, before I realize wtf am I doing playing a game best played drunk in $5 increments, for $30 bucks a hand (and sober, at that). So I take $140 over to 3 Card Poker, where I'm quickly back up to $250. Do I leave, having recovered about 1/3 of my loss for the night? No. I swing down. I swing up. Eventually, I turn that $140 into about $350 or so. I've actually recovered over half my poker loss, and my entire Pai-Gow loss.
Do I leave? Hell no. Not until 20 minutes after the Dealer of Death arrives I lose all of that, and even $100 more. Fortunately, I stopped myself after I pulled out my very last C-note, before turning into chips that would eventually belong to Mr. MGM. What an expensive lesson. Here I am, down a few hundo for the trip thus far, even having cashed in the Mega Series, and having had one nice 1/2 session. No more table games for Mondo, ever. I can't be trusted. Every time I was up, I just knew I'd go up more. When I was down, I just knew I'd recover in a hand or two. Yup. Just say no.
I'm please to inform you that I did not play a single table game hand my entire last 38 hours in Vega$. Hopefully, hard lesson in monkey tilt learned.
Part 3 later!
Vega$ Trip Report - Part 1
Wow, what a trip. Got home late last night and caught up on reading about 157 blog entries by other writers, so I'm just now getting started.
Anyway, the Good Doctor Mondo and I landed safe and sound and got checked into the MGM with no fuss at all. From the moment of landing, CK and I were trading text messages trying to figure out where or what blogger stuff was happening on Thursday. Of course, most were landing on Friday/Saturday, so in the end, by the time I showed up in the MGM poker room (after a truly wonderful burger at the Studio Cafe that was actually worth the $13-14 cost), CK was already there playing 1/2, and seemed to have a good amount of the table's attention.
Anyway, CK did a pretty good job of describing the two hands we got into it with one another. Funny thing about the AA hand is that, yeah, I was worried about her having a Q, but also thought that she'd fire out on just about any river to represent strength. I think if it were anyone but her, maybe I lay down on that river, but I just couldn't get it out of my mind that she was just trying to push a known blogger out of a pot, because it would have been the WPBT tour thing to do.
Well, I very much enjoyed playing with her, and was bummed to see her buy-in gone. CK is every bit as much fun to be around in person as in an online tournament.
In the end, I *was* crushing the table, but gave back about 1/2 my profits in a couple of bigger two pair hands, but ended up about 2/3 of a buy-in on the night. The Good Doctor Mondo made a few bucks at 2/4 limit, and more importantly, was having fun. I made it a short night, because the Caesar's Mega Stack was the next day, and I wanted some real sleep. And boy, was I glad I did.
Woke up really early on Friday. Knowing the turnouts of the first couple of events, I was expecting long lines, and I still needed a Caesar's players card. Well, duh. By 9:45, I'm already there and registered, so I donked off about $100 playing a 1-3 game that was not playing large at all, and then jumped into the tourney. I've already posted that I ended up going out 39th of 582 (for a relatively small cash), but here's a few fun facts.
a. Only had AA and KK once each in the tourney, and both in the very first hour.
b. Had QQ three times, and all three brought significant chips to my stack.
c. Had AK twice, and both times had to fold to very ugly board/flop raises or 3-bets. (more on AK later)
d. Fantastic structure. Antes didn't start until level 7. However, they start getting really pricey by levels 10-11, in comparison to average stack sizes.
e. Very top heavy payout structure. 54 of 582 paid, so less than 10%. Even so, only the top 36 even got an amount at least 2x the buy-in. Buy-in was $340, and 45th-37th paid $508, 28th-36th paid about $590. 1st, however, was a nice $49k and change.
f. I ended up playing for 14 hours, and didn't get moved from my original seat until we were down to less than 60 players, during level 11 or 12, when they broke down to six tables. Moved twice after that. One other player from my original table was still there, too.
g. On the very bubble, I 3-bet shoved AKo from late position, and was actually okay with losing that hand, but when asked by the original raiser, I told him I was equally okay with a call or a fold. I know that's how people become bubble boys, but of the 55th left, I couldn't have been better than 50th or 51st in chips at that time.
h. Only played two hands post flop where I was significantly behind. Once was just after the bubble, when I shoved KQ soooted UTG. (I'd previously folded KQ UTG last orbit before bubble broke.) Called all in by small blind who had AKo, and I hit straight on turn. The 2nd time was my all out hand. With a miniscule M, me having 1% of chips in play (39 players left), 15 minutes before the end of Day 1 play, and the blinds crawling up my ass, I shoved A6 sooted early, and a big stack overshoved AK. Picked up flush draw on flop (when he paired), and paired my 6 on the turn, but missed an 11 outer on the river. Was my shove okay in that spot, given the situation? Was I underestimating my need to try to double up in that spot in the tournament?
What do you think? Should I have folded pf and been willing to show up 12 hours later for Day 2 with an M no greater than about 2 (assuming I didn't get a big hand in final 12-13 minutes? Or was the shove okay in that spot, knowing I was likely behind to any other A, and have little equity. If I hit my outs, I'm up to about 200k, and have a real chance at being competitive early in a Day 2. Anyway, I gamboooled and lost, and went to bed.
Some of the most fun was calling the Good Doctor Mondo with updates, which she was sharing with her 2/4 table. The whole table back at MGM was kinda cell-phone railing me. That felt good. And texting CK with updates. I wish I could have given better news at the end.
Okay, enough for now. Will blog Saturday's ugliness and monkey tilt later today, or tomorrow.
Anyway, the Good Doctor Mondo and I landed safe and sound and got checked into the MGM with no fuss at all. From the moment of landing, CK and I were trading text messages trying to figure out where or what blogger stuff was happening on Thursday. Of course, most were landing on Friday/Saturday, so in the end, by the time I showed up in the MGM poker room (after a truly wonderful burger at the Studio Cafe that was actually worth the $13-14 cost), CK was already there playing 1/2, and seemed to have a good amount of the table's attention.
Anyway, CK did a pretty good job of describing the two hands we got into it with one another. Funny thing about the AA hand is that, yeah, I was worried about her having a Q, but also thought that she'd fire out on just about any river to represent strength. I think if it were anyone but her, maybe I lay down on that river, but I just couldn't get it out of my mind that she was just trying to push a known blogger out of a pot, because it would have been the WPBT tour thing to do.
Well, I very much enjoyed playing with her, and was bummed to see her buy-in gone. CK is every bit as much fun to be around in person as in an online tournament.
In the end, I *was* crushing the table, but gave back about 1/2 my profits in a couple of bigger two pair hands, but ended up about 2/3 of a buy-in on the night. The Good Doctor Mondo made a few bucks at 2/4 limit, and more importantly, was having fun. I made it a short night, because the Caesar's Mega Stack was the next day, and I wanted some real sleep. And boy, was I glad I did.
Woke up really early on Friday. Knowing the turnouts of the first couple of events, I was expecting long lines, and I still needed a Caesar's players card. Well, duh. By 9:45, I'm already there and registered, so I donked off about $100 playing a 1-3 game that was not playing large at all, and then jumped into the tourney. I've already posted that I ended up going out 39th of 582 (for a relatively small cash), but here's a few fun facts.
a. Only had AA and KK once each in the tourney, and both in the very first hour.
b. Had QQ three times, and all three brought significant chips to my stack.
c. Had AK twice, and both times had to fold to very ugly board/flop raises or 3-bets. (more on AK later)
d. Fantastic structure. Antes didn't start until level 7. However, they start getting really pricey by levels 10-11, in comparison to average stack sizes.
e. Very top heavy payout structure. 54 of 582 paid, so less than 10%. Even so, only the top 36 even got an amount at least 2x the buy-in. Buy-in was $340, and 45th-37th paid $508, 28th-36th paid about $590. 1st, however, was a nice $49k and change.
f. I ended up playing for 14 hours, and didn't get moved from my original seat until we were down to less than 60 players, during level 11 or 12, when they broke down to six tables. Moved twice after that. One other player from my original table was still there, too.
g. On the very bubble, I 3-bet shoved AKo from late position, and was actually okay with losing that hand, but when asked by the original raiser, I told him I was equally okay with a call or a fold. I know that's how people become bubble boys, but of the 55th left, I couldn't have been better than 50th or 51st in chips at that time.
h. Only played two hands post flop where I was significantly behind. Once was just after the bubble, when I shoved KQ soooted UTG. (I'd previously folded KQ UTG last orbit before bubble broke.) Called all in by small blind who had AKo, and I hit straight on turn. The 2nd time was my all out hand. With a miniscule M, me having 1% of chips in play (39 players left), 15 minutes before the end of Day 1 play, and the blinds crawling up my ass, I shoved A6 sooted early, and a big stack overshoved AK. Picked up flush draw on flop (when he paired), and paired my 6 on the turn, but missed an 11 outer on the river. Was my shove okay in that spot, given the situation? Was I underestimating my need to try to double up in that spot in the tournament?
What do you think? Should I have folded pf and been willing to show up 12 hours later for Day 2 with an M no greater than about 2 (assuming I didn't get a big hand in final 12-13 minutes? Or was the shove okay in that spot, knowing I was likely behind to any other A, and have little equity. If I hit my outs, I'm up to about 200k, and have a real chance at being competitive early in a Day 2. Anyway, I gamboooled and lost, and went to bed.
Some of the most fun was calling the Good Doctor Mondo with updates, which she was sharing with her 2/4 table. The whole table back at MGM was kinda cell-phone railing me. That felt good. And texting CK with updates. I wish I could have given better news at the end.
Okay, enough for now. Will blog Saturday's ugliness and monkey tilt later today, or tomorrow.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Having to Be Brief...
It's 3:18 in Vega$, and on borrowed internet. Will post more on Monday when I'm home, but just wanted to give a big shout out to every blogger's favorite frush drawer...that's right, BWoP, for text railing me today during my run at the Caesar's $340 Mega-Stack.
Hope the draining's done by now, at least!
Oh yeah, how'd I do? Well, I lost 1/3 my starting chips by two hands into the tournament, when I had to fold raised AK and 88. 14 hours later, I went out 39th of 582 runners. I'm totally exhausted. Of course, the $$$ is very top heavy, and let's just say my hourly rate going 39th was good for a few happy meals. But it was well worth it.
Will write more on Monday, as I won't have net access until then.
Oh yeah, one celebrity sighting. Louie Anderson was playing an $80 SNG, lol.
Hope the draining's done by now, at least!
Oh yeah, how'd I do? Well, I lost 1/3 my starting chips by two hands into the tournament, when I had to fold raised AK and 88. 14 hours later, I went out 39th of 582 runners. I'm totally exhausted. Of course, the $$$ is very top heavy, and let's just say my hourly rate going 39th was good for a few happy meals. But it was well worth it.
Will write more on Monday, as I won't have net access until then.
Oh yeah, one celebrity sighting. Louie Anderson was playing an $80 SNG, lol.
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