WSOP Satellite - Key hands Part 1

Below are some of the more interesting hands that I played in the satellite. This is only the first part as it takes quite a while to look at an entire hand history. Also of note that you can't see is that I had deuces a phenomenal number of times and I don't believe I played them once.

Hand #1: I lose some chips

PokerStars Game #5580028377: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2006/07/16 - 16:45:31 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (2480 in chips)
Seat 2: IGotDaNuts05 (2290 in chips)
Seat 3: AnD_Dufresne (2310 in chips)
Seat 4: Jaxxed (2560 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (2460 in chips)
Seat 6: islandlooper (2670 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (2420 in chips)
Seat 8: Yagharek (2690 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (2620 in chips)
IGotDaNuts05: posts small blind 10
AnD_Dufresne: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [8c 6c]
Jaxxed: folds
toomsk: folds
islandlooper: folds
just1pair: folds
Yagharek: folds
thunderman1: calls 20
Steeser: calls 20
IGotDaNuts05: raises 60 to 80
AnD_Dufresne: folds
thunderman1: calls 60
Steeser: calls 60
*** FLOP *** [Qc 6h Tc]
IGotDaNuts05: bets 120
thunderman1: folds
Steeser: calls 120
*** TURN *** [Qc 6h Tc] [Ah]
IGotDaNuts05: bets 240
Steeser: calls 240
*** RIVER *** [Qc 6h Tc Ah] [Kh]
IGotDaNuts05: checks
Steeser: bets 520
IGotDaNuts05: calls 520
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Steeser: shows [8c 6c] (a pair of Sixes)
IGotDaNuts05: shows [Ks Ad] (two pair, Aces and Kings)
IGotDaNuts05 collected 2020 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2020 Rake 0
Board [Qc 6h Tc Ah Kh]
Seat 1: Steeser (button) showed [8c 6c] and lost with a pair of Sixes
Seat 2: IGotDaNuts05 (small blind) showed [Ks Ad] and won (2020) with two pair, Aces and Kings
Seat 3: AnD_Dufresne (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: Jaxxed folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: toomsk folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: islandlooper folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: just1pair folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Yagharek folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: thunderman1 folded on the Flop

I call from the button see a 3 way flop with a low suited 1 gapper. I get a great flop, with bottom pair and a flush draw and decide to check. For some reason I decide not to raise, and see an ugly turn card. I should have folded right here, but decided to call his bet for some reason. The river puts a 4 straight on board and he shows weakness by checking to me. I know the only way I can win the pot is by betting, but unfortunately he has top 2 pair that he can’t get away from. Just like that I have lost 40% of my chips. I think I played the river good, but my flop and turn play was terrible.


Hand #2: I start a little bit of a comeback


PokerStars Game #5580102160: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2006/07/16 - 16:52:13 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (1730 in chips)
Seat 2: IGotDaNuts05 (3460 in chips)
Seat 3: AnD_Dufresne (2370 in chips)
Seat 4: Jaxxed (2460 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (2390 in chips)
Seat 6: islandlooper (2580 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (1880 in chips)
Seat 8: Yagharek (2660 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (2970 in chips)
Yagharek: posts small blind 15
thunderman1: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [Th Td]
Steeser: raises 60 to 90
IGotDaNuts05: folds
AnD_Dufresne: folds
Jaxxed: folds
toomsk: folds
islandlooper: folds
just1pair: folds
Yagharek: folds
thunderman1: calls 60
*** FLOP *** [5h Jd As]
thunderman1: bets 90
Steeser: raises 190 to 280
thunderman1: folds
Steeser collected 375 from pot
Steeser: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 375 Rake 0
Board [5h Jd As]
Seat 1: Steeser collected (375)
Seat 2: IGotDaNuts05 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: AnD_Dufresne folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Jaxxed folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: toomsk folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: islandlooper folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: just1pair (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Yagharek (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: thunderman1 (big blind) folded on the Flop

I saw this player lead out at the flop a few times before this hand, and then several times after this hand, and he folded to a raise in all cases. My plan was that I wouldn’t invest another dollar in the pot after the flop raise if he came along, unless I hit a set.

Hand #3: Critical Hand #1 – I get back on my feet again


PokerStars Game #5580829116: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2006/07/16 - 17:59:01 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (1395 in chips)
Seat 2: IGotDaNuts05 (1955 in chips)
Seat 3: AnD_Dufresne (3730 in chips)
Seat 4: Jaxxed (2350 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (4060 in chips)
Seat 6: islandlooper (1255 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (2545 in chips)
Seat 8: Yagharek (4090 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (1120 in chips)
thunderman1: posts small blind 50
Steeser: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [Tc Th]
IGotDaNuts05: folds
AnD_Dufresne: raises 100 to 200
Jaxxed: folds
toomsk: folds
islandlooper: folds
just1pair: folds
Yagharek: folds
thunderman1: folds
Steeser: calls 100
*** FLOP *** [Qs 6s 8d]
Steeser: checks
AnD_Dufresne: bets 300
Steeser: raises 895 to 1195 and is all-in
AnD_Dufresne: folds
Steeser collected 1050 from pot
Steeser: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1050 Rake 0
Board [Qs 6s 8d]
Seat 1: Steeser (big blind) collected (1050)
Seat 2: IGotDaNuts05 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: AnD_Dufresne folded on the Flop
Seat 4: Jaxxed folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: toomsk folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: islandlooper folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: just1pair folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Yagharek (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (small blind) folded before Flop

This was a critical hand, as I put myself all-in on the flop. I had TT in the BB and wasn’t very comfortable with moving all-in preflop on the early position min-raise. The flop came down pretty good, and I decided to check raise him all-in. Fortunately he folded.


Hand #4: All in begins

PokerStars Game #5581101827: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2006/07/16 - 18:23:18 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (1570 in chips)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy (6755 in chips)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker (2708 in chips)
Seat 4: skywalkerD (4675 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (7365 in chips)
Seat 6: 3instein (2670 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (5570 in chips)
Seat 8: Yagharek (3915 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (3425 in chips)
skywalkerD: posts small blind 100
toomsk: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [5h Ac]
3instein: folds
just1pair: folds
Yagharek: folds
thunderman1: folds
Steeser: raises 1370 to 1570 and is all-in
wonkadaddy: folds
PhenomPoker: folds
skywalkerD: folds
toomsk: folds
Steeser collected 500 from pot
Steeser: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 500 Rake 0
Seat 1: Steeser collected (500)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: skywalkerD (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: toomsk (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: 3instein folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: just1pair folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Yagharek folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: thunderman1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Just a blind steal…and a risky one at that.

Hand #5: The very next hand


PokerStars Game #5581107218: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2006/07/16 - 18:23:45 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (1870 in chips)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy (6755 in chips)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker (2708 in chips)
Seat 4: skywalkerD (4575 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (7165 in chips)
Seat 6: 3instein (2670 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (5570 in chips)
Seat 8: Yagharek (3915 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (3425 in chips)
toomsk: posts small blind 100
3instein: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [As Qh]
just1pair: folds
Yagharek: folds
thunderman1: folds
Steeser: raises 1670 to 1870 and is all-in
wonkadaddy: folds
PhenomPoker: folds
skywalkerD: folds
toomsk: folds
3instein: calls 1670
*** FLOP *** [5d 9c Qs]
*** TURN *** [5d 9c Qs] [4s]
*** RIVER *** [5d 9c Qs 4s] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
3instein: shows [Th Td] (a pair of Tens)
Steeser: shows [As Qh] (two pair, Aces and Queens)
Steeser collected 3840 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3840 Rake 0
Board [5d 9c Qs 4s Ac]
Seat 1: Steeser showed [As Qh] and won (3840) with two pair, Aces and Queens
Seat 2: wonkadaddy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: skywalkerD (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: toomsk (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: 3instein (big blind) showed [Th Td] and lost with a pair of Tens
Seat 7: just1pair folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Yagharek folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Move-in again, this time with a reasonable hand, and win the coin flip. Now I can play some poker again.

Hand #6: A re-raise with AK out of position

PokerStars Game #5581153118: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2006/07/16 - 18:27:33 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (3840 in chips)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy (6755 in chips)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker (2708 in chips)
Seat 4: skywalkerD (4875 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (7065 in chips)
Seat 6: 3instein (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (7170 in chips)
Seat 8: Yagharek (3115 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (1625 in chips)
thunderman1: posts small blind 100
Steeser: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [Kc As]
wonkadaddy: folds
PhenomPoker: folds
skywalkerD: folds
toomsk: folds
3instein: folds
just1pair: raises 200 to 400
Yagharek: folds
thunderman1: folds
Steeser: raises 1000 to 1400
just1pair: calls 1000
*** FLOP *** [3h 6d 5c]
Steeser: bets 2440 and is all-in
just1pair: folds
Steeser collected 2900 from pot
Steeser: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2900 Rake 0
Board [3h 6d 5c]
Seat 1: Steeser (big blind) collected (2900)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: skywalkerD folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: toomsk folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: 3instein folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: just1pair folded on the Flop
Seat 8: Yagharek (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (small blind) folded before Flop

This hand illustrates the problem with re-raising with AK from out of position in one of the blinds. The goal is to have him fold pre-flop. The call is scary, and the flop obviously misses all hands in this preflop situation. After I made the push I hated it, even though it worked. As any hand that beat me (JJ, TT, 99) was likely calling, unless they were dead convinced I was on aces. He folded so fast I don’t believe that’s the case. Therefore, I believe I should have checked, and allowed him to bluff, and then either called the allin or moved in myself over the top of him, as I put his most likely holding at AK or AQ. Now that I think about it, he may have had AK, to call pre-flop and then fold on the flop. Hard to say…at the time I was just very happy to take the pot down and get my stack over 5000.

Hand #7: Coin flips are my friend


PokerStars Game #5581410838: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2006/07/16 - 18:49:42 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (5330 in chips)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy (5895 in chips)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker (1898 in chips)
Seat 4: skywalkerD (2645 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (6555 in chips)
Seat 6: 3instein (2580 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (9730 in chips)
Seat 8: Yagharek (2005 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (2015 in chips)
Steeser: posts the ante 10
wonkadaddy: posts the ante 10
PhenomPoker: posts the ante 10
skywalkerD: posts the ante 10
toomsk: posts the ante 10
3instein: posts the ante 10
just1pair: posts the ante 10
Yagharek: posts the ante 10
thunderman1: posts the ante 10
Steeser: posts small blind 100
wonkadaddy: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [Js Jh]
PhenomPoker: folds
skywalkerD: folds
toomsk: folds
wonkadaddy said, "hopefully i've got another 7-8 suckout left inme :D"
3instein: raises 800 to 1000
wonkadaddy said, "oh i know"
just1pair: folds
Yagharek: folds
thunderman1: folds
wonkadaddy said, "so cash games dead today, eh lol"
Steeser: raises 800 to 1800
wonkadaddy: folds
3instein: raises 770 to 2570 and is all-in
Steeser: calls 770
*** FLOP *** [5c 4d Qh]
*** TURN *** [5c 4d Qh] [Jc]
*** RIVER *** [5c 4d Qh Jc] [2h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Steeser: shows [Js Jh] (three of a kind, Jacks)
3instein: shows [Kc Ah] (high card Ace)
Steeser collected 5430 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5430 Rake 0
Board [5c 4d Qh Jc 2h]
Seat 1: Steeser (small blind) showed [Js Jh] and won (5430) with three of a kind, Jacks
Seat 2: wonkadaddy (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: PhenomPoker folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: skywalkerD folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: toomsk folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: 3instein showed [Kc Ah] and lost with high card Ace
Seat 7: just1pair folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: Yagharek folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I decided to gamble a little bit here, as I knew he was pot committed after his 5X preflop raise. I put his likely range on 88, 99, TT, JJ, QQ, AQ, or AK. I am way ahead of this range, so I decide to take a shot at getting a lot of chips. It worked for the best as I was in a coin-flip situation and I won.

Hand #8 – First Laydown:

PokerStars Game #5581547802: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2006/07/16 - 19:01:33 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (6472 in chips)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy (5535 in chips)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker (2816 in chips)
Seat 4: DLoRT (4652 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (8810 in chips)
Seat 6: tufaznails (3845 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (11495 in chips)
Seat 8: flaus (5429 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (3345 in chips)
Steeser: posts the ante 10
wonkadaddy: posts the ante 10
PhenomPoker: posts the ante 10
DLoRT: posts the ante 10
toomsk: posts the ante 10
tufaznails: posts the ante 10
just1pair: posts the ante 10
flaus: posts the ante 10
thunderman1: posts the ante 10
just1pair: posts small blind 100
flaus: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [Ah Qd]
thunderman1: folds
Steeser: raises 400 to 600
wonkadaddy: folds
PhenomPoker: raises 2206 to 2806 and is all-in
DLoRT: folds
toomsk: folds
tufaznails: folds
just1pair: folds
flaus: folds
Steeser: folds
PhenomPoker collected 1590 from pot
PhenomPoker: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1590 Rake 0
Seat 1: Steeser folded before Flop
Seat 2: wonkadaddy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker collected (1590)
Seat 4: DLoRT folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: toomsk folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: tufaznails (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: just1pair (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: flaus (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: thunderman1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Once I picked up some chips, I didn’t feel like getting too involved with a marginal hand. I would have had to call 2200 into a pot of 3700, so pot odds likely dictated a call, but I felt being safe was more important than the slightly favorable pot odds.


Hand #9: Caught stealing

PokerStars Game #5581588181: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2006/07/16 - 19:05:11 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (5312 in chips)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy (4775 in chips)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker (3446 in chips)
Seat 4: DLoRT (5572 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (9640 in chips)
Seat 6: tufaznails (3785 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (11335 in chips)
Seat 8: flaus (5459 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (3075 in chips)
Steeser: posts the ante 10
wonkadaddy: posts the ante 10
PhenomPoker: posts the ante 10
DLoRT: posts the ante 10
toomsk: posts the ante 10
tufaznails: posts the ante 10
just1pair: posts the ante 10
flaus: posts the ante 10
thunderman1: posts the ante 10
DLoRT: posts small blind 100
toomsk: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [5c 4c]
tufaznails: folds
wonkadaddy said, "well, against me....."
just1pair: folds
flaus: folds
thunderman1: folds
wonkadaddy said, "tks man, later"
Steeser: raises 400 to 600
wonkadaddy: folds
PhenomPoker: folds
DLoRT: folds
toomsk: calls 400
*** FLOP *** [8s As Qc]
toomsk: checks
Steeser: bets 800
toomsk: raises 800 to 1600
Steeser: folds
toomsk collected 2990 from pot
toomsk: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2990 Rake 0
Board [8s As Qc]
Seat 1: Steeser folded on the Flop
Seat 2: wonkadaddy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: DLoRT (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: toomsk (big blind) collected (2990)
Seat 6: tufaznails folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: just1pair folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: flaus folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: thunderman1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

These hands are fun to steal with, as if you flop big, they will never see you coming. The flop came ace high, which wasn’t bad to bluff at, so I took a chance with a continuation bet. He made a min-raise on me, and I sensed weakness (perhaps a weak ace, or a queen), so I contemplated moving all-in…but in the end just took my medicine, as I wasn’t entirely convinced he could fold an ace.


Hand #10 – Another move-in:

PokerStars Game #5581654912: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (150/300) - 2006/07/16 - 19:11:02 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (3382 in chips)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy (4395 in chips)
Seat 3: PhenomPoker (4356 in chips)
Seat 4: DLoRT (5377 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (10650 in chips)
Seat 6: tufaznails (2905 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (13320 in chips)
Seat 8: flaus (5079 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (2935 in chips)
Steeser: posts the ante 15
wonkadaddy: posts the ante 15
PhenomPoker: posts the ante 15
DLoRT: posts the ante 15
toomsk: posts the ante 15
tufaznails: posts the ante 15
just1pair: posts the ante 15
flaus: posts the ante 15
thunderman1: posts the ante 15
wonkadaddy: posts small blind 150
PhenomPoker: posts big blind 300
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [Js 8s]
DLoRT: folds
toomsk: folds
tufaznails: folds
just1pair: folds
flaus: folds
thunderman1: folds
Steeser: raises 3067 to 3367 and is all-in
wonkadaddy: folds
PhenomPoker: folds
Steeser collected 885 from pot
Steeser: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 885 Rake 0
Seat 1: Steeser (button) collected (885)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: PhenomPoker (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: DLoRT folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: toomsk folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: tufaznails folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: just1pair folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: flaus folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: thunderman1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Getting a little desperate with only 11BB’s, I move-in with J8s, figuring it takes a big hand to call. I am glad to add 2 BB’s to my stack without a showdown.

Hand #11 – Another laydown

PokerStars Game #5581803405: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (150/300) - 2006/07/16 - 19:23:58 (ET)
Table '21021395 722' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: Steeser (4462 in chips)
Seat 2: wonkadaddy (5055 in chips)
Seat 3: TheMadViking (4640 in chips)
Seat 4: DLoRT (3667 in chips)
Seat 5: toomsk (13706 in chips)
Seat 6: tufaznails (6080 in chips)
Seat 7: just1pair (13245 in chips)
Seat 8: flaus (5304 in chips)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (3460 in chips)
Steeser: posts the ante 15
wonkadaddy: posts the ante 15
TheMadViking: posts the ante 15
DLoRT: posts the ante 15
toomsk: posts the ante 15
tufaznails: posts the ante 15
just1pair: posts the ante 15
flaus: posts the ante 15
thunderman1: posts the ante 15
flaus: posts small blind 150
thunderman1: posts big blind 300
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [Qc Ad]
Steeser: raises 600 to 900
wonkadaddy: folds
TheMadViking: folds
DLoRT: folds
toomsk: folds
tufaznails: folds
just1pair: folds
flaus: raises 4389 to 5289 and is all-in
thunderman1: folds
Steeser: folds
flaus collected 2235 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2235 Rake 0
Seat 1: Steeser folded before Flop
Seat 2: wonkadaddy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: TheMadViking folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: DLoRT folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: toomsk folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: tufaznails folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: just1pair (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: flaus (small blind) collected (2235)
Seat 9: thunderman1 (big blind) folded before Flop

This occurred after a few more move-ins on my part. Again, no reason to risk my tourney on AQ, especially considering I have been picking up a lot of pots uncontested.

Hand #12 - Phew:

PokerStars Game #5582184853: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level X (300/600) - 2006/07/16 - 19:57:55 (ET)
Table '21021395 871' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: pharaoh77 (19270 in chips)
Seat 2: TimShady80 (6275 in chips)
Seat 3: dudasdb (14810 in chips)
Seat 4: gooddawg (15130 in chips)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 (15805 in chips)
Seat 6: Steeser (5087 in chips)
Seat 7: pokerols (10040 in chips)
Seat 8: bogied18 (11729 in chips)
Seat 9: AcesNE1 (12375 in chips)
pharaoh77: posts the ante 30
TimShady80: posts the ante 30
dudasdb: posts the ante 30
gooddawg: posts the ante 30
ViperShark8: posts the ante 30
Steeser: posts the ante 30
pokerols: posts the ante 30
bogied18: posts the ante 30
AcesNE1: posts the ante 30
pokerols: posts small blind 300
bogied18: posts big blind 600
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [5h 4c]
AcesNE1: folds
pharaoh77: folds
TimShady80: folds
dudasdb: folds
gooddawg: folds
ViperShark8: folds
Steeser: raises 4457 to 5057 and is all-in
pokerols: folds
bogied18: folds
pokerols said, "55 - should have called you"
Steeser collected 1770 from pot
Steeser: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1770 Rake 0
Seat 1: pharaoh77 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: TimShady80 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: dudasdb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: gooddawg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Steeser (button) collected (1770)
Seat 7: pokerols (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: bogied18 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: AcesNE1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

A while later in the tourney, I am getting desperate. With everyone folding to me in the SB, I am pushing with any two cards here. The BB claims to have 55…which is probably a very bad call as he is usually a coin-flip. In this case he would have been a huge favorite…so thanks for not calling pokerols.

Hand #13 – Another blind battle:

PokerStars Game #5582255838: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level X (300/600) - 2006/07/16 - 20:04:02 (ET)
Table '21021395 871' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: pharaoh77 (18130 in chips)
Seat 2: TimShady80 (4835 in chips)
Seat 3: dudasdb (25429 in chips)
Seat 4: gooddawg (15160 in chips)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 (17605 in chips)
Seat 6: Steeser (6587 in chips)
Seat 7: pokerols (8870 in chips)
Seat 8: faststack18 (27270 in chips)
Seat 9: AcesNE1 (13905 in chips)
pharaoh77: posts the ante 30
TimShady80: posts the ante 30
dudasdb: posts the ante 30
gooddawg: posts the ante 30
ViperShark8: posts the ante 30
Steeser: posts the ante 30
pokerols: posts the ante 30
faststack18: posts the ante 30
AcesNE1: posts the ante 30
Steeser: posts small blind 300
pokerols: posts big blind 600
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [Ks Qs]
faststack18: folds
AcesNE1: folds
pharaoh77: folds
TimShady80: folds
dudasdb: folds
gooddawg said, "ssssssssssssssssss"
gooddawg: folds
ViperShark8: folds
Steeser: raises 1100 to 1700
pokerols: calls 1100
*** FLOP *** [4s 8h 2s]
Steeser: bets 4857 and is all-in
pokerols: folds
Steeser collected 3670 from pot
Steeser: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3670 Rake 0
Board [4s 8h 2s]
Seat 1: pharaoh77 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: TimShady80 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: dudasdb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: gooddawg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Steeser (small blind) collected (3670)
Seat 7: pokerols (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 8: faststack18 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: AcesNE1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I have slightly more chips then last time, so I make a standard raise. The BB calls and I hit a nice flop with 4 to a flush and 2 overcards. I move in and he folds.

Hand #14 – Folding 77’s to no raise:

PokerStars Game #5582295860: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level X (300/600) - 2006/07/16 - 20:07:25 (ET)
Table '21021395 871' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: pharaoh77 (13640 in chips)
Seat 2: TimShady80 (4745 in chips)
Seat 3: dudasdb (25339 in chips)
Seat 4: gooddawg (15070 in chips)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 (17515 in chips)
Seat 6: Steeser (8467 in chips)
Seat 7: pokerols (6480 in chips)
Seat 8: faststack18 (34220 in chips)
Seat 9: AcesNE1 (12315 in chips)
pharaoh77: posts the ante 30
TimShady80: posts the ante 30
dudasdb: posts the ante 30
gooddawg: posts the ante 30
ViperShark8: posts the ante 30
Steeser: posts the ante 30
pokerols: posts the ante 30
faststack18: posts the ante 30
AcesNE1: posts the ante 30
AcesNE1: posts small blind 300
pharaoh77: posts big blind 600
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [7s 7c]
TimShady80: calls 600
dudasdb: folds
gooddawg: folds
ViperShark8: folds
Steeser: folds
pokerols: calls 600
faststack18: calls 600
AcesNE1: calls 300
pharaoh77: checks
*** FLOP *** [3c 3s Kd]
AcesNE1: checks
pharaoh77: bets 1200
TimShady80: raises 2915 to 4115 and is all-in
pokerols: folds
faststack18: calls 4115
AcesNE1: folds
pharaoh77: folds
*** TURN *** [3c 3s Kd] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [3c 3s Kd Ts] [2s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
TimShady80: shows [Qc Ks] (two pair, Kings and Threes)
faststack18: shows [9h 3h] (three of a kind, Threes)
faststack18 collected 12700 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 12700 Rake 0
Board [3c 3s Kd Ts 2s]
Seat 1: pharaoh77 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: TimShady80 showed [Qc Ks] and lost with two pair, Kings and Threes
Seat 3: dudasdb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: gooddawg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Steeser folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: pokerols folded on the Flop
Seat 8: faststack18 (button) showed [9h 3h] and won (12700) with three of a kind, Threes
Seat 9: AcesNE1 (small blind) folded on the Flop

UTG limped, and with his stack size being so short, it smelled like he had a big hand. I decided to not even bother with the hand, with the additional fear that someone after me would raise to try to steal. It turns out it was a peculiar limp with KQ, and it cost him his stack.

Hand #15: I get a lot of chips

PokerStars Game #5582503744: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level XI (400/800) - 2006/07/16 - 20:25:19 (ET)
Table '21021395 871' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: pharaoh77 (17500 in chips)
Seat 2: doomino (25228 in chips)
Seat 3: dudasdb (26029 in chips)
Seat 4: gooddawg (17710 in chips)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 (20105 in chips)
Seat 6: Steeser (12547 in chips)
Seat 7: ybmax (16364 in chips)
Seat 8: faststack18 (22951 in chips)
Seat 9: AcesNE1 (9525 in chips)
pharaoh77: posts the ante 40
doomino: posts the ante 40
dudasdb: posts the ante 40
gooddawg: posts the ante 40
ViperShark8: posts the ante 40
Steeser: posts the ante 40
ybmax: posts the ante 40
faststack18: posts the ante 40
AcesNE1: posts the ante 40
ViperShark8: posts small blind 400
Steeser: posts big blind 800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [Kd Qs]
ybmax: folds
faststack18: folds
AcesNE1: folds
pharaoh77: folds
doomino: folds
dudasdb: raises 1600 to 2400
gooddawg: folds
ViperShark8: folds
Steeser: calls 1600
*** FLOP *** [Qh 8c 8h]
Steeser: checks
dudasdb: bets 3200
Steeser: raises 6907 to 10107 and is all-in
dudasdb: folds
Steeser collected 11960 from pot
Steeser: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 11960 Rake 0
Board [Qh 8c 8h]
Seat 1: pharaoh77 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: doomino folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: dudasdb folded on the Flop
Seat 4: gooddawg (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Steeser (big blind) collected (11960)
Seat 7: ybmax folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: faststack18 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: AcesNE1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Pretty standard here, I defend my blind with KQ, pretty good against a raise from the cutoff. Flop top pair on a relatively drawless board, and check raise him all-in. Fortunately he isn’t on AA, AK, AQ or a hand with an 8.

Hand #16 – Avoiding trouble:

PokerStars Game #5582519566: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level XI (400/800) - 2006/07/16 - 20:26:41 (ET)
Table '21021395 871' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: pharaoh77 (17420 in chips)
Seat 2: doomino (25148 in chips)
Seat 3: dudasdb (20349 in chips)
Seat 4: gooddawg (17630 in chips)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 (19625 in chips)
Seat 6: Steeser (18427 in chips)
Seat 7: ybmax (15484 in chips)
Seat 8: faststack18 (22871 in chips)
Seat 9: AcesNE1 (11005 in chips)
pharaoh77: posts the ante 40
doomino: posts the ante 40
dudasdb: posts the ante 40
gooddawg: posts the ante 40
ViperShark8: posts the ante 40
Steeser: posts the ante 40
ybmax: posts the ante 40
faststack18: posts the ante 40
AcesNE1: posts the ante 40
ybmax: posts small blind 400
faststack18: posts big blind 800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [Ks Js]
AcesNE1: folds
pharaoh77: folds
doomino: folds
dudasdb: folds
gooddawg: folds
ViperShark8: folds
Steeser: raises 1500 to 2300
ybmax: raises 4100 to 6400
faststack18: folds
Steeser: folds
gooddawg said, "ty sir"
ybmax collected 5760 from pot
ybmax: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5760 Rake 0
Seat 1: pharaoh77 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: doomino folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: dudasdb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: gooddawg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Steeser (button) folded before Flop
Seat 7: ybmax (small blind) collected (5760)
Seat 8: faststack18 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 9: AcesNE1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

Raised with a decent hand to steal, but had to fold to the re-raise. Standard but highlights the importance of avoiding conflict.

Hand #17 – The hand of the tournament – Part 1


PokerStars Game #5582607646: Tournament #21021395, $350+$20 Hold'em No Limit - Level XI (400/800) - 2006/07/16 - 20:34:25 (ET)
Table '21021395 871' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: pharaoh77 (18660 in chips)
Seat 2: doomino (25228 in chips)
Seat 3: dudasdb (18069 in chips)
Seat 4: gooddawg (14910 in chips)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 (18545 in chips)
Seat 6: Steeser (15847 in chips)
Seat 7: ybmax (18664 in chips)
Seat 8: faststack18 (18551 in chips)
Seat 9: AcesNE1 (19485 in chips)
pharaoh77: posts the ante 40
doomino: posts the ante 40
dudasdb: posts the ante 40
gooddawg: posts the ante 40
ViperShark8: posts the ante 40
Steeser: posts the ante 40
ybmax: posts the ante 40
faststack18: posts the ante 40
AcesNE1: posts the ante 40
ViperShark8: posts small blind 400
Steeser: posts big blind 800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Steeser [2c Ac]
ybmax: folds
faststack18: folds
AcesNE1: folds
pharaoh77: folds
doomino: folds
dudasdb: folds
gooddawg: folds
ViperShark8: calls 400
Steeser: raises 2000 to 2800
ViperShark8: calls 2000
*** FLOP *** [Ad Kd 3h]
ViperShark8: checks
Steeser: bets 3800
ViperShark8: raises 11905 to 15705 and is all-in
Steeser: calls 9207 and is all-in
*** TURN *** [Ad Kd 3h] [2d]
*** RIVER *** [Ad Kd 3h 2d] [6s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ViperShark8: shows [Kc Td] (a pair of Kings)
Steeser: shows [2c Ac] (two pair, Aces and Deuces)
Steeser collected 31974 from pot
AcesNE1 said, "Great call"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 31974 Rake 0
Board [Ad Kd 3h 2d 6s]
Seat 1: pharaoh77 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: doomino folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: dudasdb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: gooddawg (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: ViperShark8 (small blind) showed [Kc Td] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 6: Steeser (big blind) showed [2c Ac] and won (31974) with two pair, Aces and Deuces
Seat 7: ybmax folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: faststack18 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: AcesNE1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

All fold to the SB who limps. I decide to take the pot down right there and raise with A2s. He surprises me and calls. The flop gives me top pair, with a diamond draw possible. He checks and I bet 3800…leaving me 9K. He check raises me all-in. I first considered folding, but couldn’t give him credit for an ace in the situation, and no other two pair made sense on that board. I thought a diamond draw was possible, but not likely. I decided that if he had any kind of ace he would have raised or re-raised me pre-flop. I went with my read and put my tourney on the line. Fortunately I was right and he had KT. I had to dodge a diamond on the river as well, but this hand put me over 30K.

WSOP musings

So I got a few funny comments after announcing that I had qualified.

The best is from Mark West. This is an excerpt from his response. I am personally a fan of #2, 5, and 6.

"You should develop a look for yourself that will make you stand out in the crowd. Kind of like that annoying European guy who wears his sunglasses upside down.

Here are some ideas:
1) A tank top, tight short shorts, and roller skates (think Goldmember from Austin Powers)
2) Dress exactly like a dealer. When the dealer deals stand up, pretend to deal an imaginary set of cards.
3) Tight leather pants (chaps?) and a mesh tank top.
4) Dress up like a jockey. Bring a horse whip and waive it around in a threatening manner.
5) Dress like an agent from The Matrix. Call everyone "Mister Anderson" in a raised voice.
6) Dress up like a nun, but don’t conceal the fact that you are a man. In fact, don’t shave for a couple days. Insist you are a nun raising money for the orphanage."

Greg Morad said this:

"You have come such a long way since betting with Sweet N Low packets at the airport!"

This is in reference to our flight being delayed to Orlando in March. We had cards but no chips, so we played a 3 man freezeout using the sugar packets at the restaurant we were in at the airport.

Jenny Jenkins said this:
"So, does this qualify as the second greatest day of your life?"

Nikki Tremonti said this:
"I knew I should have gotten an autograph when I hadthe chance!"

Those were the best of the bunch to this point.

Holy shit!!! Main Event!

Well, I met one of my poker goals for the year, and that was qualifying for a big buy-in tournament.

I had basically given up on this goal as I didn't want to spend the money to try, or spend the vacation time to go out to Vegas this summer. But after winning the 21K a few weeks ago, I had an itch to try it. I played in the Stars $350 satellite (in for $50 due to an earlier satellite), which drew 7700+ players and paid out 234 spots, and the Full Tilt $500 satellite, which drew 3000+ players and paid out 100+ seats. These were the only satellites I played all year.

In the Full Tilt tourney, I made it to the final 300 or so, but got knocked out. In the Stars one, I nursed a short stack, won a few coin flips, sucked out bad once, and then made some nice aggressive steal moves to nurse my stack into the average realm and coast into a spot.

So I'm off to Vegas next Thursday. Not sure what day I will play yet. I'm pretty amped up though. Gonna sell a few 1% shares of myself, to share the fun and also get a little more spending money while I'm out there.

I'll write a report in the next few days detailing some of the key hands of this satellite.

PNC Park Trip report

Went to Pittsburgh to visit PNC Park for the first time, and to see the Tigers play the Pirates. The Tigers won the game 9-8, nearly blowing a 4-0 and a 9-2 lead.

Some observations/thoughts on the park (most of my comparisons will be relative to Comerica Park, which is my most logical frame of reference):

I like it much more than Comerica Park (built around the same time). PNC seems to have much more character. It includes several local eateries, etc....which is more than I can say for Comerica, unless you count Little Caesars. There is just more of a fun feel about it. Comerica has that feel now, but didn't when our record was similar to the Pirates record is now.

Everything seems cozier...it seems that we are closer to the action at PNC, though not much more. The downtown area where the park is pretty close to Heinz field. I didn't notice a lot of restaurants nearby to the park, though I only saw it from one side. Parking/access was pretty easy, though we were very early.

Tigers fans traveled well, as it seemed there were nearly as many of us there as Pirate fans. I'll give the Pirates fans credit though, they were very loud and excited getting back to within one run. Not bad support considering how bad they have been of late.

The bridges in the background (can be seen in the picture) are pretty cool to look at, and I think the downtown backdrop is better than the one at Comerica.

Overall a good time. I wish I could spend a summer traveling to different ballparks. Unfortunately to this point the only places I have been are Comerica Park, Tiger Stadium, Wrigley Field and Arlington Stadium (Texas old park).

Road trip

Taking a mini road trip with Victory and her family this Sunday to see the Tigers play the Pirates in Pittsburgh. I've heard that PNC Park is an awesome park. Can't wait.

21K!!!!

Decided at the last minute to play the Paradise Poker 150K Guaranteed tournament. I had only played one multi table tourney in the past few months, so I had an itch. Since Sonny was playing, he was able to send me some money to play in it as well. We decided to swap 10% of each other's action. There were 796 players in the tourney.

It sounds a bit cliche and stupid, but I felt like I might be able to do something special before it started. I caught a few hands early on and accumulated some chips. For much of the first hour or two, I was among the chip leaders.

My first hiccup occurred when I saw a flop with A3s from the small blind. I check-raised the BB on a A-7-4 flop, and had to call his all-in. He had A7 and I was drawing nearly dead. Suddenly my nice chip stack became less than average.

I was forced to battle for a while, and made the money in pretty good shape (top 70 got paid, Sonny finished 82nd of so). The whole time I just kept telling myself to stay focused, since losing your edge or focus for one hand can mean the end of your night.

To make a long story short, with about 2 tables left I was able to catch an incredibly lucky break. My chip stack had dwindled down to way below average with about 15 players left. I was in the SB with 87o, and all folded to me. I immediately pushed all-in, and much to my shock and dismay, the BB called me with a dominating K7. By the river I was down to 2 outs, due to a possible flush, but as fate would have it I hit one of the two remaining 8's in the deck. I eliminated him on a coin flip shortly thereafter.

When we got to the final table, I was again the shortest stack. The table was very aggressive, with some well known online players (SamENole for one). They were dominating the play for the most part with their aggressiveness, so I decided to counter the aggressiveness by playing tight and waiting for a big hand to catch somebody with. Within a stretch of a few short hands I was suddenly the chip leader.

There was quite a battle when were down to 6 players, then another real battle at 3 players.

Finally I got to heads-up outchipped by a 3-1 ratio, against WillisNYC. He was playing a good aggressive game, and it became apparent to me that I was going to have to take a stand with a hand early. I did once when he raised preflop, and I pushed all-in with A7, and he folded. 2 hands later he again raised preflop, and I moved in with A9o. He quickly called with AK. Despite me getting a straight draw on the flop, I didn't suck out this time and I was the runner-up, for a total score of 21K. (first got 36K)

It was quite a needed infusion of cash for me. Ever since the Super Bowl I have been doing pretty poorly (the debacle of the Super Bowl probably had something to do with it). That money will go towards paying bills, paying for the WCOFF (World Championship of Fantasy Football), and replenishing the bankroll.

Favorite 90's music

Just as an off the wall topic I was thinking of my music tastes, which start with mostly things from the 60's and 70's...then moving on to some hair bands of the 80's, then culminating with the grunge movement of the 90's, and basically nothing after that.

So without further ado, my top bands of the 90's.

Pearl Jam - By far my #1 choice. Their first album "Ten", is the only album I can think of where I like EVERY song. More on them in a future post.

Nirvana - One of the most influential bands of the 90's. They were just starting to come into their own when Kurt Kobain died. I'm quite a fan of Dave Grohl's band, Foo Fighters, who was Nirvana's drummer,

Alice and Chains - Too bad Lane Staley decided to kill himself. This band had some great dark tunes, as well as a few heavy ones.

Soundgarden - I pretty much like anything with Chris Cornell, which explains why I like Audioslave now as well. Obviously I also enjoyed the music of "Temple of the Dog", the Soundgarden and Pearl Jam collaboration.

Stone Temple Pilots - Not sure why I liked them as much as I did in college. Catchy tunes still to this day though.

Go get 'em Tigers

So the Tigers are off to an MLB leading 36-18 start. It is a long time coming for this once proud franchise. This is slightly tempered by the fact that Mike Maroth is out for 3 months (at least) after having surgery to have bone chips removed from his elbow. This has caused a lot of panic on the Sports radio waves here in Detroit, wondering how we are going to survive and suggesting swinging a big trade for a pitcher such as Florida's Dontrelle Willis.

First, let's be real, Maroth is really only our 3rd-5th best pitcher, depending on the day. Without him, we still have 2 lefties in our rotation, which is more than most teams aside from the dreadful Royals. We also have Wil Ledezma in AAA, who is a lefty who started in the rotation last year. So let's not make it out like we are losing the best pitcher in baseball.

Now to the second point, those same radio shows have said that to get Willis (or somebody similar) we would likely have to part with rookie phenom Joel Zumaya, who is blowing hitters away in a setup role right now. (Obviously Justin Verlander is untouchable at this point) I argue that Zumaya should be untouchable too...and not just because he is a big part of our future...he is a huge part of our PRESENT. I'm all for making a move to bolster an already solid pitching staff, but not when it comes at the expense of our tremendously solid bullpen.

The final point of this relates to the first point, in that our biggest problem is not the need to replace a starting pitcher, it's to add a better bat to the lineup. The spots of LF and 3B should be the primary targets. Somebody left handed would be great too, but not very likely in the 3B column...although DH is a possibility. Craig Monroe, the current LF is decent, but would be better as a platoon player, replacement. Brandon Inge, the 3B, would be awesome as a super utility man. He could likely play OF, 2B, 3B and C. SS in a pinch wouldn't be a big stretch either. 1B would also be a possiblity. Basically he can play anywhere if necessary. By adding a solid bat to the lineup, you would shore up the lack of depth on the bench by moving Inge/Monroe to the bench, and add some great versatility to your lineup.

So far Dombrowski has been making a lot of great moves (many of them questioned by me when the happened...namely the Weaver trade, signing Kenny Rogers...). Let's hope he doesn't make a knee-jerk reaction to the Maroth injury and trade Zumaya away.

Kentucky Derby trip report

Thursday night – Poker night

Got on the road by about 530pm, for the drive to Louisville. The drive was pretty uneventful with me and Victory sharing the driving, with me starting and finishing. Doug made sure to sleep enough for the 2 of us. Got to the hotel at about 11:30, to check into the other 2 rooms. They gave me a room that Paul had already checked into, so that was a hassle getting keys to the right room. After that we left for the casino, where Paul was likely playing poker. I sat down at a 10/20 table with Doug, and lost about 100, until Sonny got there and we both sat down at a 2/5 no limit table.

Very early on I caught a huge hand, a player raised to $20, and I called with 77. Another player re-raised to $75, two players (including the original raiser) called, and I called to close the action. The flop was a beautiful 722, and I check-raised the original player all-in, winning about a $1200 pot. I flopped pretty good for the rest of the night, making about $860 when all was said and done. I also got quite a bit of booze in me in the short time we were there. Left the casino about 4:30am, since we had the Kentucky Oaks on Thursday. Sonny won about 850, Paul won about 200, and Doug lost 500 or so.

Friday (Oaks Day) - Sonny’s trip gets bad

We bought some scalped tickets so the 5 of us could sit together, though it took a little work to get Victory in our section. I decided I wanted to miss just about every race, despite picking several winners. The day culminated in the Oaks when I failed to bet on a 47-1 shot I liked a lot…who happened to win the race. Sonny had the trifecta for $1, but there was an inquiry and objection on the 3rd place finisher for bumping. After the objection was upheld, the 3rd place finisher was disqualified to 6th, and Sonny no longer had the trifecta, which paid about 12K (meaning he would have gotten half of it). Consider that bad beat #1 for Sonny.

When we were back at our car having a beer for the road, I mentioned something to Sonny about missing the race, and he proceeded to give me a NASCAR victory celebration with his beer (termed a Jimmie Johnson), spraying my head with Budweiser. This would become a theme for the night.

After the races we needed some food, so we went to the hotel buffet, which was the most terrible buffet ever, especially for $20. The choices were non-existent, and they didn’t even have somebody slicing the prime rib. The service was also horrible. Sonny and Doug were getting progressively more drunk, with Sonny being the worst. Sonny gave Doug 2 additional “Jimmie Johnson’s”, and Doug dumped his beer on Sonny in the restaurant. At that point, Paul, Victory and I left, and Doug and Sonny proceeded to dine and dash on their portion of the tab. Victory was pretty fed up with my friends at that point and wasn’t going to go out. I was tired, as well as annoyed with them, and realized that my best play was to stay in with my girl. Paul stayed in as well, and Doug and Sonny went out and got more drunk, apparently seeing some free concert in downtown Louisville, where they played a lot of Bon Jovi.

Saturday (Derby Day) - Sonny’s trip gets worse…much worse

Derby day started off with a bad beat, as the track doesn’t allow you to bring sunscreen or coolers inside, we were planning on buying both of those on the track. Unfortunately the place was sold out of both by 10am (nice planning). I bribed the beer people for a box (makeshift cooler) and some ice, and bribed someone else to get Victory some suntan lotion.

Derby day was awesome, not too hot, not too cool, and we got a nice spot on the far turn. Betting was difficult as they decided not to put the TV’s out near the betting windows like EVERY other Derby I’ve been to. This made it impossible to really see the odds on the horses I was betting. The lines were huge, and the tellers were the dumbest/slowest/worst that I had ever seen. I was losing, but a little more slowly then the Derby. Sonny started making out of control bets, with tickets that cost $1000+. After the Derby, in which me and Sonny hit a pick 4 (pick winners of 4 straight races) that paid about $1500, we just standing around bullshitting. At that point the track is starting to clear out, even though there are 2 more races. People are throwing footballs and Frisbees all around. All of us were within a few feet of each other talking when a football, thrown from at least 30 yards away, hits Sonny right in the back of the head. The ball just dropped straight to the ground after hitting him, as his head seemed to absorb most of the blow. Fortunately we had all had about 6-8 big beers at that point (except for Victory), so Sonny didn’t quite feel it.

After the Derby, we got cleaned up (not Doug and Paul…Doug decided he was afraid of the water outside of Michigan and went showerless for the trip). We went to Caesars Indiana for some more gambling and dinner. Sonny was in degenerate mode, and instead of eating went straight into the casino to either do some damage to himself or the casino. I was playing 2/5NL, Paul 10/20, Victory 2/4, and Doug was just drinking at the bar and then eventually went to sleep in the car. About 130am, Sonny came down drunk as hell and said “The casino took a bad beat.” That translated to Sonny being up about 8K. I told him to sit down at poker with me, but he disappeared after I told him Doug was in the car. I wrongly assumed he was at the car.

After my game broke up, I got in the 20/40 game, and started running it over. As I got my last beer at 230am at last call, Sonny came up and said “I think I’m about to get kicked out of here, are you ready to go?” I told him I would be ready after I finished the 2 beers in front of me. 5-10 minutes later his self fulfilling prophecy came true, as he came over with 3 members of the security team, telling me he had to leave. At this point I was pissed as he has gotten me kicked out of several casinos, and was tired of that ruining my fun, so I told them to get him a taxi. Their claim was that he threw a bottle at somebody. I knew he wouldn’t do that, but I’ve seen childish outbursts at the casino before and figured he knocked an empty off the table with a pseudo Karate chop (this he later confirmed). I thought that was the end of the story, so we decided to leave about 330am. I was up about 750, so poker was nice to me for the weekend.

Walking out of the casino, Sonny is walking towards us, with security again, but this time in handcuffs. Apparently after waiting with them for the cab, he refused to get in it. After some give and take with the security (who actually were cops), and him refusing their choices to get out of there, they arrested him. At that point, they wouldn’t release him to me, and gave me a phone number and address to the jail.

There is no official word on how Sonny finished for the night, but suffice it to say if he was throwing/hitting bottles around, it was not a good night.

Sunday morning – The culmination

I called the jail at 9am, and they told me he wouldn’t be released until 515pm. This put a crimp in all plans, as we were supposed to drop him off in Indianapolis for a 130pm flight. The cops wouldn’t let me drop his bag off either, so we were forced to leave his bag at the hotel front desk. To make a long story short, he finally got out of jail after a big struggle with the bail bondsmen, and has a court date set for trespassing and public intoxication (or something to that effect). I’m not sure how the court date will shake down since he lives in Vegas. Maybe we can somehow tie it in to next years Derby.

We got back into town at about 6pm. My end result for the trip was down about $500 or so…including all of the money I spent on admission, food, beer, etc….Thankfully Caesars was there, as I have won a decent amount of money every time I have played poker there….which is probably 5-6 times at least.

Derby time!!!

Missed my Derby scratch goal, but that was mostly because I didn't have much desire to play. I did win some money on baseball and basketball since that time, so I'm feeling comfortable for the Derby.

Should be a great time, can hardly wait.

My new spam filter

This topic could probably go under my "General Annoyances" entry, but since it's something I will likely have to deal with every day (except Sunday and holidays) for the rest of my life in the US, I thought it deserved it's very own entry.

If I had a spam filter on my physical mailbox at my house, I would likely have 3 extra minutes of time every day. It's beyond ridiculous all of the crap that I get. If I accepted all of the offers I get, I would likely have 150 Capital One credit cards, I would have refinanced my house 124 times since I bought it (almost 2 years ago), and I would have 10 different lawn services working in my yard.

It's definitely at the point where that mail is almost completely worthless to me. Aside from the occasional magazine I get to which I subscribe or get for free, I have no need for it anymore. Invariably, nearly everything I get is immediately thrown in the trash, most of it without even reading it....bills, take care of them all online....checks, direct deposit....letters, get them on e-mail...nothing else worthwile. The only thing that I can think of that I don't get online is a water bill, which of course is a 3x5 index card which I never seem to get anyway as it's probably stuck in the Gardner White mailer that I receive 3 times a week. I honestly can't recall paying a water bill in a long time. It sure isn't because I quit using water.

Oh well, there is no good close to this topic, so that's it.

I need some Derby scratch...

Since the Super Bowl, I've been running bad, betting bad, etc.... Through some frivilous spending and poor budgeting, I've allowed my bankroll to slip to the lowest point it's been in over a year.

So basically, I need to build up some money. The first step is to win/earn some spending/gambling money for the Kentucky Derby in less than 2 weeks. To do that, I've decided to go back to my bread and butter, and exclusively play the $200 SNG's on Partypoker. I also decided to give the regular SNG's a shot, foregoing the faster and more frantic Turbo version of the SNG's. I realize that I may be sacrificing my hourly rate by doing this, but I also think I will be able to decrease my variance and improve my ROI (return on investment). I haven't played any SNG's for a few weeks (aside from a few cheapies with the girl on her account), so I feel re-invigorated.

Before I started last night, I had an abstract goal of 2K in earnings by the Derby. Assuming a conservative 10% ROI, this would require playing 93 SNG's. Possible, but not likely, especially being the non-speed variety. So I guess I just have to run good.

I played about a 2 hour session last night, keeping 3 SNG's open at a time. The first one I made a miscalculation and moved in with Ah9h on a 6 high flop. Too bad my opponent had 99 and eliminated me in 7th. I won the next 2 that I finished, then grabbed a 2nd, finished 7th when my KK ran into AA and grabbed third (losing with AA to 99 all-in preflop). All told I played 6 SNG's with 2-1st, 1-2nd and 1-3rd for a nice $1700+ profit.

Generally I will get more than 6 of them finished in 2 hours, but I tried to keep extremely focused, and only kept 3 of them open.

Hopefully I can build on this result in the next few days and go on a major heater. I will be happy just meeting my goal, but after nearly getting there in 1 day, it will be a disappointment to not build on it further.

The honeymoon is over

A few weeks after the "Boston Lobster Feast" crab leg fiasco, I decided to roll the dice and have some crab legs along with my steak at "Outback Steakhouse". As the title indicates, the honeymoon is definitely over, and me and crab legs will be taking an extended break from one another. Within 4 hours of eating them, I had severe stomach issues. Part of it was our last week of basketball, with the gym very hot due to the warm weather and the fact that it's an elementary school gym, but I would say the crab legs were the straw that broke the camel's back.

General annoyances

I've been kicking around starting a bitching blog, about certain things that just annoy the piss out of me. This list will constantly be added to as more things come to my mind. After a month or two, I should have a pretty good list, and realize that I probably shouldn't socialize with people.

• Traffic lights that are out - 4 way stop signs aren't that complicated, and people handle them with ease every day in residential neigborhoods. So what is it about the 4-way stop being on a main road that causes all hell to break loose
• Construction - I realize that living in Michigan makes it a living hell every Summer, but is every project an 8 month long fiasco? The construction is made worse by the assholes that ride in the left lane all the way down to where it narrows. This is a civilized society, chances are you are less important than me so wait your god-damned turn. They should make a Budweiser Real Men of Genius commercial for the guy that plays sheriff with his large truck/SUV and blocks the 2 lanes of traffic to stop these dildo's from cutting in line.
• Customer Service - Customer service in retail outlets continue to go downhill as people get more and more lazy. I am a very easy person to speak to in a store, generally when I go there, I know what I want, how I want it, what I'm going to pay, etc....in essence I do my homework before I get there. All that I require is a brief acknowledgement of me being in the store, and perhaps the associate pointing me in the right direction. What I don't need is you sitting on your fat ass behind the counter, chatting away with your co-workers pretending I'm not even there.
• People who park 2/3 or more shaded to one side of the line, forcing me to either match their parking job, or risk having all of the paint removed from either my driver or passenger side door. Is parking really that difficult that you can't park straight???? Trust me, you aren't that important that you can't take an extra 30 seconds and straighten your shit out.
• People who "must" back their cars into their parking spot. This usually happens at work, and invariably, they are the ones who can't park straight in the first place.
• Restaurants that insist on having their employees sing some stupid Happy Birthday song to a middle aged person. You can tell the dishwasher in the back who is just mouthing the words doesn't want to be there. You can also tell that the annoyingly perky waitress in the front loves this part of her job as well. (This annoyance is not as valid when dealing with a child's birthday.

Orlando Trip Report

Wednesday

Flight was supposed to leave at 7:45pm, out of the Northwest terminal. Got to the airport early, and decided to have a few drinks at a bar I don’t remember. We go to the gate to board at 7:15ish, and they say the plane is having a problem with the “Reverse thruster” and we will have to wait another hour before they decide what to do. This is worse than an hour delay, as this is an hour and then decide. I wondered what the significance of the reverse thruster was, as we were likely to be flying forward the entire way. Apparently it is a big problem as they determined we would be taking off from a different gate at 9:00pm. We went back to the bar and played two small games of poker. Since none of us had chips, sugar packets had to suffice. Out of the 2 games we played, I won 1 and finished 2nd out of the 3 of us in the other. Profit of $5!!!

On the flight I sat in the middle, it was miserable trying to get my armrest position comfortable, and was a very long 2.5 hours. After waiting to get our bags, and car, we finally got out of the airport. By the time we checked into our condo, it was 1:30am. Too late to go to the bar. Fortunately we picked up beer and played some poker with far more important stakes. With a 3 bedroom condo and 4 of us, 2 people would have to share a room. Since Jim wasn’t coming in til Thursday, he lost by default. The winner would get the big bedroom with a double bed, it’s own bathroom and a TV. We dispatched Greg and Dan and I went headsup. I managed to survive him hitting trips on me twice, and I caught him on a bad bluff when I had trips, and managed to win around 4am. (Golf tees were used for chips) It was time for bed and a 9am tee time.

Thursday

Damn that alarm went off quick. Pretty warm day, 70-75ish, but overcast. The finger I hurt in flag football was somewhat painful, but didn’t affect my game. I played god awful and shot 89. Greg birdied the first hole but that was among his lone highlights. Dan struggled mightily if I remember. The course was Forest Lake (I believe). Tale of two different 9’s…front 9 was links style, back 9 was cut out of the forest. I putted absolutely horrendous (a recurring theme throughout the trip).

After golf we played some tennis. First I played Greg, and since it was only my second time playing this year (and in the last 4 years for that matter) it started ugly, as I went down 2-0. I came back and won that set 6-2. Then I played Dan and waxed him 6-0. After Dan and Greg played, me and Dan played again, and it was a game of runs, I was down 1-0, up 4-1, down 5-4, then won 7-5. At that point we were pretty exhausted and decided to take a nap. I couldn’t really sleep as I was enthralled in “Titanic”, so I was tired when we got ready to go eat and drink.

Dinner was at Longhorn Steakhouse. Got a tasty filet and then it was off to the festivities. We went to Rachel’s, a strip club / bar near the airport. We went there 2 years ago but I didn’t remember much of it. Apparently Orlando is notorius for having terrible titty bars though. The girls were very attractive, but the law requires them to cover their nipples, so they wear tan round band aids over them. How I failed to notice this 2 years ago is beyond me. Other than the band aids their boobs just hang out like any other titty bar. So what is the point of the band aid???? Must be conservative bible thumping law making at it’s finest. Jim got in and we picked him up at the airport and it was back to the titty bar. Stayed til close to 2am, then went back to the condo. Also watched the basketball…amazing comeback by UCLA against Gonzaga.

Friday

Damn that alarm went off quick for another 9am tee time. It was incredibly windy, and a little cooler, probably only 65 or so. Played Stoneybrook, in the middle of a housing development. My putting was again dismal, as was the rest of my game, and I struggled to an 85. I did get my first birdie of the trip, rolling in a long putt on a par 3. Everyone else struggled again on the course, could have been the booze, etc…. On the 2nd hole Jim couldn’t find his sand wedge. He started blaming Northwest, etc….it turns out the group behind us found it on the first tee. I remembered after the fact him chipping around the tee with it while we were waiting, and I even commented on him “chili-dipping” a chip. He had no recollection of this.

After golf, went back and played some doubles. It was me and Jim against Dan and Greg. Jim and I won in 2 pretty close sets, and it was quite a few laughs.

After attempting a short nap, it was off to eat. We all craved seafood, so we first went to Joe’s Crab Shack, longer than an hour wait…next we went to Captain Nemo’s all you can eat buffet, smelled shady and had quite a wait, so we tried a place called Boston Lobster Feast, for a seafood buffet. As far as seafood, I only eat Crab legs, and occasionally lobster, so that’s what I focused on. For $32 you can be sure I was going to get my money’s worth. The food was ok, but a little nauseating having to clean the lobster yourself…fortunately the waitress did mine. After what seemed like a dozen trips to the buffet, we were finally full (and they were shutting down the buffet). After that we went to Universal Studios City Walk, a big group of bars/clubs/etc….first stop was Pat O’Briens…by this point Greg and I were both having major intestinal issues, and in a race to the bathroom he beat me to the only stall. Waiting for him I nearly sharted myself, and finally was able to relieve the pressure. While at the bar, all 4 of us had to visit the restroom multiple times. Needless to say, Boston Lobster Feast would not be a repeat destination. Watched the end of the basketball at Pat O’Briens and in the courtyard, then went to dance club that was a sausage fest, then went to a Cigar/Martini bar, and bought some cigars for the course and home. Following that it was to Margaritaville to close out the night. Pretty good times aside from the crappy seafood.

Saturday

Again the alarm came fast for our 9am tee time. It was chilly and windy, and I was the only one in the group smart enough to wear pants. The course was the worst and easiest of the bunch, I shot 79, with 1 birdie. Everybody played better, but I think it had a lot to do with the course. I did 3 putt a par 5 I hit in 2, and then 4 putt a par 3 that I hit in regulation….all on back to back holes. Jim lost his camera on the course, although based on his incident yesterday, we weren’t sure whether to believe him or not. It still hasn’t turned up, and somebody at the course likely gained a camera. I think Jim is losing his mind, or early Alzheimers is setting in.

After that we went on a snipe hunt trying to find a Sonic Burger joint, or any other place that we can’t get at home (as I generally do with Jack in the Box any time I go out west). The trip was fruitless, so we went to Steak and Shake. Went back to the condo and took a nap through the Texas/Louisville game. For dinner we played it safe and hit Hooters. After Hooters we went to the Boardwalk (lame) where we were accosted by girls on a Bachelorette party. Jim got conned into giving the chick a $1 to suck some beads on her neck. Unfortunately for us, it was all he could talk/think about the rest of the night. We went to House of Blues next at Pleasure Island, and listened to a blues band headed by a 15 year old kid. Incredible guitarist, and pretty good voice too. He tried to sing/portray body language with a little too much soul, but in time he’ll learn substance over style. I was a mess that night as I was dead tired, so I just kinda sat there and watched.

Sunday

Last day of our trip, we moved our tee time back to 11:40, giving us a few more hours of sleep. Packed our stuff in the car and left early for breakfast. I had been craving Waffle House, but they were packed….2 Waffle Houses and 1 IHOP later, we were eating Shoney’s….a real downer to Waffle House.

The course was Shingle Creek, on a resort and conference center which hadn’t opened yet. Very nice course and area. I played terrible, and lost interest on quite a few holes, shooting 89 with 2 birdies. But they did have some pretty good Bloody Mary’s.

For the trip my putting was awful, and the rest of my game wasn’t much better. It was my worst stretch of golf in years, bar none.

After the golf, we got to the airport, ran into Chris Collinsworth, but didn’t get a picture, just said hello. We were welcomed to the airport with a 1.5 hour delay…..perfect, just what I wanted, to get in at 1:30am and have to work at 8am. Jim decided to get a Fantasy baseball magazine, and proceeded to buy a Sports Illustrated. He started reading it and exclaimed “Why is everything in Spanish???” It turns out he bought an SI Latino. The flight was pleasant though, as we got an exit row. I sat in the aisle and had the seat in the middle empty, so I sprawled.

As a wonderful side note to the weekend, I left my car in the street at Dan’s house, and his paper delivery woman backed into it, scratching the back bumper and misshaping it slightly. You know how those Envoy’s like to hide in a blind spot.

Fantasy Baseball Draft #1

Last night I had my fantasy baseball draft. We use fantasy points scoring as opposed to roto, with 12 teams and weekly scoring. My plan was to avoid overpaying for closers, as that has happened in the past. I also intended to focus on hitters this season, as I thought the pitching crop was very deep and even. The only closer I was targeting was Chris Ray, as I think he is going to have a very nice season for a later pick. I had the 2nd overall pick in the draft.

Below are my picks, and my thought process:

1st: Albert Pujols – 1B: I actually had Texiera ranked slightly higher, but think Pujols is the far safer pick. His production has been unmatched since his rookie season. The key is to get somebody in this round to get guaranteed numbers.

2nd: Michael Young – SS: I like to have strength up the middle, and have Young as my top rated SS. I also have him 5th overall on my draft board.

3rd: Chone Figgins – 3B, 2B, OF: I wasn’t very big on him last year, but he was my highest rated 3B left, and his positional versatility is huge. Getting him gives me a lot of flexibility later on.

4th: Rich Harden – SP: He was the pitcher I was targeting all along. As long as he stays healthy, I have him pegged for a breakout season.

5th: Victor Martinez – C: Anyone who has played with me knows I love to have a great catcher, and I got the best by far here. This guy is only going to get better, is in a potent lineup in a great ballpark. I had him 8th overall on my draft board.

6th: Brad Wilkerson – OF: This was the first of my picks that I didn’t really feel great about. I needed to get some OF’s, and he was my top rated one left. He had a bad season last year, but was injured and playing in the cavernous ballpark in Washington. This season he moves to the bandbox in Arlington, and I think he returns to his 25+ HR numbers.

7th: Matt Holliday – OF: Might have been a reach here, but I liked him a lot. I think he has the potential to make a big jump from last years nice numbers, and like the Colorado ballpark factor. Since I don’t have any stud OF’s, I wanted to try to get some guys with upside to make up the gap.

8th: Noah Lowry – SP: This guy was lights out last season, and is very underrated. With Bonds back, his win numbers may make a big jump if he pitches like he did last season.

9th: Rickie Weeks – 2B: Another very young player with a very high ceiling. Played great in limited duty last season. 2nd base is a very thin position, and even with Figgins versatility, I thought it would be important to jump on him here. My alternatives were another pitcher or outfielder, but nobody was really jumping off the page.

10th: Jason Isringhausen – RP: So much for not grabbing any closers. His value here was great. This guy is the unquestioned guy in STL, and gets a lot of save opportunities. Generally only works 1 inning tops, so is not asked to do too much. I was actually surprised looking at his numbers at how consistently good he really is. I was targeting Coco Crisp with this pick, and he went 3 before me.

11th: Troy Glaus – 3B: I think he’s a season ending injury waiting to happen, but couldn’t believe he was still here, after guys like Rolen, Beltre, Ensberg and Blalock were taken (I had Glaus as my 5th 3B, ahead of all of the guys mentioned). Getting him allows me to DH him, or play him at 3B and let Figgins play OF or 2B.

12th: Doug Davis – SP: I needed to grab some more pitching, and he was my 15th rated SP. Gets a lot of K’s, and plays on a team that many feel are up and coming, which should help his win total.

13th: Chris Ray – RP: The closer I was targeting the whole time. I didn’t think I could afford to wait another 20+ picks. The guy has nasty stuff, and his progression looks very similar to BJ Ryan last year.

14th: Geoff Jenkins – OF: Needed another OF, and he was my highest rated. Won’t put up huge numbers, but is very consistent and you can likely pencil him in for 25HR and 85 RBI’s.

15th: Austin Kearns – OF: Here’s upside. The guy has had huge injury problems and could be a complete bust, but that’s what the 15th round is for. I’m basing a lot of this pick on Cincy trading Sean Casey and Wily Mo Pena in the offseason, meaning that they are clearing a spot for Kearns full time. Some could argue that trusting an organization as inept as Cincy is a recipe for disaster, and I can’t argue it.

16th: Jon Lieber – SP: Don’t particularly like him, and he plays in a bad ballpark for pitchers. But the guy is an innings eater, and will get some wins. He’ll give up a lot of hits too. He’s a guy that I am counting on for my 4th SP, basically a spot starter. I was thinking about taking Foulke but he went 1 pick before me.

17th: Jose Guillen – OF: This guy won’t be good for clubhouse morale, but when he is right, man can he hit. Plays in a bad ballpark, otherwise he might be picked 5 rounds earlier. He seems over his wrist injury, and I’m hoping he can be a starter in weeks where his team is on the road. There is also the potential of Washington trading him at the midseason point to a team in need of hitting.

18th: Brad Penny – SP: Panicked with this pick, as I wasn’t really prepared for it as the picks went really fast right before it. I decided my pitching was my weakest spot so I grabbed another starter in Penny. If he’s healthy, he is very solid. Plays in a pitcher friendly ballpark.

19th: Mike Gonzalez – RP: 19th round and still an unquestioned closer?? Pitt has gotten a lot save opportunities in the past few years (how else could Mesa put the save numbers up that he did??). Gonzalez did well in this capacity last year, and I think 30 saves is very possible here.

20th: Brad Radke – SP: Don’t really like it, as he is on the downside of his career. But again I thought SP needed some work, so I grabbed him. The nice part is that he is a #2 or 3 pitcher there, so he won’t be going up against aces all the time. A bounceback year makes this a great pick. Otherwise he’s a spot starter at best. Fortunately that’s all I need from him.

21st: Jeff Francis – SP: Yuck. Can’t believe I took a Colorado SP. He has been decent in Colorado as well as on the road. Merely a spot starter at this point.

22nd: Wily Mo Pena – OF: In a platoon situation still, but man can he hit HR. Should love the Monster in LF, and if he can beat Trot Nixon out, he is in a potent lineup. Strictly bench material at first.

23rd: Chad Orvella – RP: Another closer??? WTF??? At this point the pitchers are garbage, so I figured getting another potential closer was a coup here. If he does get the closer job, it’s a great pick, otherwise it’s waiver wire fodder.

24th: Paul Byrd – SP: Never liked him, but he’s the #3 starter on an improving team. Showed some life last season, so it seemed worth a shot. Don’t be surprised to see him on the waiver wire shortly.

25th: Jason Vargas – SP: Tough to find anything in the scrap heap of pitchers now. This guy does get some strikeouts and is pure upside. If the Marlins somehow surprise everyone, this guy could have a nice season.

26th: Craig Wilson – OF: 2nd to last pick of the draft, and a pretty nice one. Adds to the OF depth.

Overall very happy with the draft, stayed with my plan of focusing on hitting, and have some question marks at pitcher. But I have a nice mix of innings eaters and guys with upside for the back end of the pitching staff. I think this team will be top 3 in the regular season.

No deal!

Was flipping through the channels tonight and stumbled upon the "hit" show "Deal or No Deal". This might be the worst, most mindless television show ever shown on television, which is saying a shit ton considering the garbage that's on TV now.

Are we as a society actually this stupid to actually enjoy this crap??? Oh wait, I already know the answer to that.

Party Acceler-8-tor Bonus Week 6

Week 6 Results:

SNG play only this week
$200's (38 played, 4-5-5): +$830
$500's (23 played, 3-3-4): +$3810

Week 6 results: +$4190.00 plus bonus money (approximately $200)

Net results (for the full 6 weeks)
Cash tables
50/100 (128 hands): +$112.50
30/60 (550 hands): +$741.21
20/40 (111 hands): +$117.50
NL 3/6 (23 hands): +$31.39
1/2 PL Omaha: -$192.00

Sit and Go's
$1000's (4 played, 1-1-2-0): +$2040.00
$500's (82 played, 6-10-10): -$3460.00
$200's (252 played, 32-35-32): +$10680.00

Multi-tables tourney's
$100's (7 played, 2 cashed): +$103.90
$200's (2 played, 0 cashed): -$430.00
$350's (1 played, 0 cashed): -$375.00

Total poker results: $9369.50
Bonus dollars earned: $1025.00+$200(approximate)
Total for 6 weeks: $10594.50

Florida time

I leave for Orlando tomorrow for the annual golf vacation. 4 rounds on Thursday thru Sunday. Much needed respite from life. Warm weather, beer, debauchery, etc....good times.

I'm in 1st place in the lone NCAA bracket pool, but lost one final 4 team in Pitt...I am still looking good if UConn wins, with Duke making the final 4, we'll see...it's not really the money in that, it's the pride of beating 37 other people.

Probably will have a poker update tomorrow with the past weeks results. I have a lot of play that I need to get done to make my bonus (next week will even be tougher being out of town for 5 days). Also have a few errands to run before my trip. Haircut, bank, sunglasses, etc....

Oh what a night!!!

After my fantasy football game last night (incidentally a 42-37 win where I scored 2 TD's and had 2 INT's), I decided to log a very short SNG session.

I played 9 SNG's, with 3 1st's and 3 2nd's for a very tidy profit. All of this was done at the $200 level, save for 1 loss at the $500 level. I was running exceptionally well, getting great cards for the most part, having them hold up, and having people just giving me their chips. I also was making very good decisions, and not running into too many big hands. I can only think of one bad beat put on me, and I put probably 2-3 on people, which isn't that many considering how many bad beats occur in these speed SNG's.

My lone regret from the session was the short length of it, as I had to go to bed to be able to work this AM.

Party Acceler-8-tor Week 5 Bonus

Week 5 Results:

SNG play only this week

$200's (33 played, 3-7-6): +$2505
$500's (19 played, 2-2-1): -$1070
$1000's (1 played, 0-0-1): +$735

Week 3 results: +$2170.00 (buddy was -$800), +$2970.00 plus bonus money (approximately $175)


Net results (for the full 5 weeks)
Cash tables
50/100 (128 hands): +$112.50
30/60 (550 hands): +$741.21
20/40 (111 hands): +$117.50
NL 3/6 (23 hands): +$31.39
1/2 PL Omaha: -$192.00

Sit and Go's
$1000's (4 played, 1-1-2-0): +$2040.00
$500's (59 played, 3-7-6): -$7270.00
$200's (214 played, 28-30-27): +$9850.00

Multi-tables tourney's
$100's (7 played, 2 cashed): +$103.90
$200's (2 played, 0 cashed): -$430.00
$350's (1 played, 0 cashed): -$375.00

Total poker results: $5177.50
Bonus dollars earned: $1025.00

Total for 5 weeks: $6202.50

Walmart Trip report part deux

Last night I was playing tennis with Mert and 10pm. At 9:30 I was on my way to the Livonia Y. The only convenient places to buy tennis balls was Walmart or Meijer. Since Walmart is a little more convenient to 96, I decided to roll the dice once again. What followed was the Walmart I’ve grown to know and love.

Got in there, and guided by intuition I found the sporting goods (mind you, I was not guided by any signs). Got the balls I needed and I was up and running. Apparently the store closes at 10pm, and in order to get a headstart on their night operations, there were large cardboard boxes of stock on the floor of nearly every aisle. Cute.

Got to the checkout and this is where the fun begins. I have two cans of tennis balls, so I’m looking for a quick checkout. Of the 2 aisles open (aisles 8 and 22 for those keeping track, on opposite sides of the checkout area), aisle 22 is the “speedy” checkout. Both lines are long. I am the 8th person in line. Apparently they have not heard of the self checkout…although I have a hunch that given the clientele as well as the staff, this would be a huge bottleneck. Anyways, as the line is SLOWLY moving forward, I notice the woman in front of me had a damn near full cart. I try to draw attention to this by looking at the cart, looking at the sign, looking back at the cart and laughing, but she is oblivious. I am hesitant to say anything to her, for fear of her (A) popping a cap in my ass, or (B) sitting on me.

The “Speedy” checkout has a clearly marked sign saying “10 items or less”. I attempt to count as she is unloading onto the conveyor that will only comfortably hold 2 items. I get to 28, with a tolerance of +5/-2 items. The cashier says, “You have more than 12 items.”, apparently completely inventing the 12 item rule, and the woman (you can imagine what she looks like) says something about them only having 2 aisles open, which apparently allows you to skirt any limits that said Walmart imposes.

This experience was a flat 1 on a scale of 1-10, they could have been giving the tennis balls away and it wouldn’t have been worth the aggravation.

On a tennis note, despite not playing in 4-5 years, having a raquet with less tension then desired, and having a grip crumble in my hands (apparently raquet grips tend to degrade when in the basement for years), I easily handled Mert 6-0, and was up 3-1 in the 2nd set when the Y closed.

Party Acceler-8-tor Week 4 bonus

Week 4 results:

Cash Tables:
50/100 (128 hands): +$112.50 (damn nice since I lost 1K on one hand where I flopped middle set and my opponent flopped top set)
30/60 (60 hands): +$492.00
3/6 NL (23 hands): +$31.39

Sit and Go's
$1000's (3 played, 1-0-0): +$1305.00 (buddy was +$1185.00): +$120.00
$500's (21 played, 0-3-3): -$3630.00 (buddy was +$380.00): -$4010.00
$200's (9 played, 1-2-1): +$665.00

Multi-table tourney's
None that I can remember

Week 3 results: -$2589.11 (plus bonus money - $175)

Net Results (for the full 4 weeks):
Cash Tables
50/100 (128 hands): +$112.50
30/60 (550 hands): +$741.21
20/40 (111 hands): +$117.50
NL 3/6 (23 hands): +$31.39
1/2 PL Omaha: -$192.00

Sit and Go's
$1000's (3 played, 1-1-1): +$1305.00 (buddy was +$1185.00): +$120.00
$500's (40 played, 1-5-5): -$6200.00 (buddy was -$360.00): -$5840.00
$200's (181 played, 25-23-21): +$7345.00
$100's (3 played, 1-1-0): +$473.00

Multi-table tourney's
$100's (7 played, 2 cashed): +$103.90
$200's (2 played, 0 cashed): -$430.00
$350’s (1 played, 0 cashed): -$375.00

Total Poker results: +$2207.50

Bonus dollars earned: $850.00

Total for 4 weeks: $3057.50

Right after a very nice week comes an ugly week. My record in the $500 SNG's has been dismal. Amazingly for the entire week I didn't finish worse than 7th. That could tell me that I am playing too tight early (though I don't think I'm doing anything different), not catching any cards early, not catching any cards at bubble time or getting unlucky at bubble time. It's likely a combination of all of those factors, plus I am probably not playing aggressive enough. The play has continued to be downright terrible, which is what is the most frustrating about it.

For this week, I think I need to focus on the $200 SNG's to get my confidence (and bankroll) boosted. I probably won't get a lot of play in this weekend. I just need to get in enough time to earn the week 5 bonus, as the end bonus is adding up (should be around 2K at the end).

Quizno's Prime Rib sandwich report

Quizno’s has been heavily advertising their new Prime Rib sandwich, so I decided since I am a regular there, I would give it a shot.

The Sandwich:
It has a generous helping of sliced Prime Rib, peppercorn sauce, mozzarella cheese, and onions (of which I didn’t get). The price is $1.50 more expensive than most subs on the menu. It comes with white bread as the default selection.

Sandwich presentation:
I will hold off and not grade this portion. The bread was kind of soggy, and the cheese was not very evenly distributed. However, it is well known that at the Ann Arbor Quizno’s I frequent that the particular person who made my sandwich is the worst sandwich preparer I have ever dealt with. Meat, cheese and lettuce regularly hang off of the bread, and dressing is unevenly distributed. She basically takes no pride in the artistry of sandwich presentation. She is the younger, large woman for anyone who has visited that location.

Unlike Arby’s though, the commercials are indicative of the amount of meat you will get.

Taste:
Overall pretty good, as stated above, the poor presentation likely did not allow this sandwich justice. The peppercorn sauce is not as zesty as I anticipated, though reasonably tasty. I would recommend getting this sandwich with extra cheese (as you can never have too much). I will be giving this sub another chance, but at this point it is not good enough to take over for the usual Mesquite Chicken, and I would even rank it below the Chicken Carbonara.

What's so Civil about war?

The intention of this blog isn’t to highlight my views on this Presidential administration, as those views are very well known.

There are several reports out of Iraq that says the country is about to go into a Civil War, but the Bush administration continues to deny this rumor. Based on previous incidents involving this administration, a denial is just about the surest sign of a report being true. They couldn’t even come clean about a simple hunting accident, but we honestly expect them to tell the truth about the war that they created?

Anyways, back to the Civil War thing. Our government doesn’t really like us to think on our own, but I’m going to do a novel thing and perform some critical thinking. This seems like a natural progression for a country that is creating a brand new government. Our own nation went through a Civil War some 75 years after the nation was formed. There have been several Civil Wars throughout history. Is this not a good thing (loss of life and damage to the country neglected)? These people have never fought for their own rights and ideology before. Isn’t that the point of this “liberation” we performed? The truth is that we only want to create a government that agrees with us, which while understandable, is an incredibly naive and unrealistic approach.

The simple truth is that this is an unwinnable war. Any government that is supported/approved by the US is not going to work there, as we are viewed as imperialistic at best. The country is going to continue to spiral out of control until we get the hell out. Things are getting worse over there all the time. I suppose the argument is that an Al Qaida government could start, which is why we can't allow the civil war to happen. But aren't the only Al Qaida in Iraq the ones that we created by going to war with them?

But George Bush refuses to ever admit a mistake, and he believes that by admitting that there is civil unrest and possibly a Civil War, he thinks it would be portrayed a failure. His PR/Spin machine needs to get completely revamped. I could spin this thing perfect for him…this is what his next statement should be…“Of course a Civil War is starting, these people are finally fighting for their beliefs. This often happens when a nation begins. This is a complete success for our Iraq policies.”

Now back to reality, we know that none of the above will happen, except an actual Civil War and denials of it actually taking place, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Party Accel Bonus Week 3 results

Week 3 results:

Cash Tables:
None

Sit and Go's
$500's (10 played, 1-1-2): +$700.00
$200's (56 played, 8-6-6): +$1960.00
$100’s (2 played, 1-0-0): +$282.00

Multi-table tourney's
$100's (2 played, 2 cashed, 16th and 22nd out of nearly 600): +$648.90
$200's (1 played, 0 cashed): -$215.00
$350’s (1 played, 0 cashed): -$375.00

Week 3 results: +$3000.90 (plus bonus money - likely to be another 200 or so)

Net Results (for the full 3 weeks):

Cash Tables
30/60 (490 hands): +$249.21
20/40 (111 hands): +117.50
1/2 PL Omaha: -$192.00

Sit and Go's
$500's (19 played, 1-2-2): -$2570 (buddy owned 840 of this): -$1730.00
$200's (172 played, 24-21-20): +$6680.00
$100's (3 played, 1-1-0): +$473.00

Multi-table tourney's
$100's (7 played, 2 cashed): +$103.90
$200's (2 played, 0 cashed): -$430.00
$350’s (1 played, 0 cashed): -$375.00

Total Poker results: +$4895.61
Bonus dollars earned: $460.00 + this week’s bonus (like 215 or so)
Total for 2 weeks: $5355.61 + this week’s bonus

I finally had the kind of week that I had been waiting for. I still don’t feel like I’ve been running good, but my numbers suggest otherwise.

A few comments about the new Party SNG structure, and the speed tourney’s. This past week all of my results were in Speed tourney’s. You can get many more finished in the same amount of time. The quality of play across all levels has been atrocious. That being said, they take some getting used to, and one is going to have to deal with a tremendous amount of bad beats. You also can’t try to accomplish other tasks (like laundry) while multi-tabling these, as the action is far too fast and furious. The play is very mechanical and boring as well, but it is a cash cow. Long term I can see these adversely affecting my game due to the ultra aggressive play required. But at this point I’m just going to try to bank as much profit as possible during the last 5 weeks of this Party Bonus offer.

Johnny Carino's trip report

Background:
My parents got me a gift card for my birthday to Johnny Carino’s. Victory and I went on Saturday night around 7pm to the one right next to Westland mall. Apparently they are a chain, but I have never been to one.

Seating:
We were immediately seated, which was impressive, given the business of that area. Perhaps that area has finally built enough restaurants to satisfy the overwhelming demand. The restaurant ambience reminded me of a Papa Vinos/Macaroni Grill, with a very open kitchen adjacent to the seating area.

Bread:
Some of the best bread I’ve had at an Italian restaurant in a while. They do the whole oil on plate thing for butter. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but it’s a nice change of pace. The two of us finished the roll, and decided it was best to not ask for more.

Salad:
Both of us got a Caesar salad. We swapped because I tend to like more dressing, but this thing was damn near inedible, as it was literally coated in Caesar. I asked the waitress about it and she said she didn’t know why they were putting so much today, so it wasn’t typical. She offered more, but I was quite happy waiting for my entrée.

Entrée’s:
I got Chicken Alfredo, while she got the special, which included Lasagna, Chicken Parm and Spaghetti. The Alfredo was very good, with the chicken cut into very small strips, which is different than what I am used to. The serving size was gigantic to me, and I could barely eat half of it. The lasagna was very cheesy and good. The chicken parm had a zesty breading on it which was pretty tasty as well. The spaghetti was average. Again the serving size was enormous.

Service:
Young girl who was pretty good. Food came out in good time, drinks stayed full, etc…basically what you ask for in service. She also took much of my good natured ribbing very well (salad comment among others). Victory seemed to like her too so I tipped her over $6 on our $29 bill.

Ratings:
Seating: 9
Bread: 8.5
Salad: 3
Entrée: 7.5
Service: 8.5

Overall rating: 7.5 (a solid 7.5 though, the overall rating can never be better than the entrée, and while the salad is a minor hiccup, docking significant points due to a salad is queer)

Multi-table cash

Finished 15th out of 584 last night in the Party 35K guaranteed. That was only good for a little less than $500. Haven't cashed in a multi in a while, so it was nice to get that monkey off my back, but it wasn't high enough to be anything more than encouraged. I never could get anything going once we hit 35 people or so. There was a huge stack opening nearly every hand before me, which forced me to be very selective. Finally my AJ went into a different big stack's KK, and I missed my 3 outer...which sucks as a shorter stack hit their 3 outer on me earlier with K9 against my JJ.

As a side note, the hand for hand play on Party is excruciating, you lose 1-2 levels of blinds, turning it into an all-in fest for all but the biggest stacks. Instead of going hand for hand 10 spots from the money, how about 3 or 5 spots?

Worked out last night for the first time in a while, man are there a lot of hugely fat people in the world, with a majority of the ones (at least at the gym), being women. Makes me feel better about myself. I like to think it helped me play better too, as I felt a little better, and hopefully that helps me make good decisions.

The picture shown is one of a woman working out a few spots away from me at the gym.

Party Acceler-8-tor bonus week 2

Week 2 results: (further explanation to be done later):

Cash Tables
30/60 (273 hands): -$189.29

1/2 PL Omaha Hi: -$192.00

Sit and Go's
$500's (9 played, 0 1st/ 1 2nd/ 0 3rd): -3270 (buddy owned 840 of this): -$2430.00
$200's (47 played, 8 1st/ 7 2nd/ 6 3rd): +$4495.00
$100 SNG (1 played, 0 1st/ 1 2nd/ 0 3rd): +$191.00

Multi-table tourney's
$100's (3 played, 0 cashed): -$327.00
$200's (1 played, 0 cashed): -$215.00

Week 2 results: +$1232.71 (plus bonus money - likely to be another 225 or so)


Net Results (for the full 2 weeks):
Cash Tables
30/60 (490 hands): +$249.21
20/40 (111 hands): +117.50
1/2 PL Omaha: -$192.00

Sit and Go's
$500's (9 played, 0-1-0): -3270 (buddy owned 840 of this): -$2430.00
$200's (126 played, 16-15-14): +$4710.00
$100's (1 played, 0-1-0): +$191.00

Multi-table tourney's
$100's (5 played, 0 cashed): -$545.00
$200's (1 played, 0 cashed): -$215.00

Total Poker results: +1885.71
Bonus dollars earned: $215+ this week
Total for 2 weeks: $2100.71 + this week's bonus

Been running really bad, can't believe I turned a profit. When things turn around for me, watch out.

Faith in sports

My faith in the integrity of sporting events continues to get shaken.

NCAA basketball officiating is a joke, favoring the home team nearly all the time. I hate it getting justified as “that’s home court advantage”. How tough is it to call a game down the middle and not get influenced by where the game is at? I continue to see home teams get ridiculous number of free throw attempts vs. visitors. Some of that can be explained off by aggressiveness, but I’m sorry, not all of it.

MLB umpiring was pretty terrible in the playoffs as well. They gift wrapped at least one game to the White Sox with the AJ “dropped” third strike play.

The NFL has been getting worse throughout the years, but the Indy-Pitt game, where the Polamalu INT was overturned was one of the first times I’ve seen what looked like an absolute agenda. Then the debacle of a Super Bowl happened, with the Jerome Bettis agenda.

The NBA has always been suspected of having agendas. The following example is very loosely defined as a sporting event. The slam dunk contest was an absolute farce. It was crystal clear to me that they wanted Nate Washington (another Spud Webb) to win it, to help keep the contest alive. While I’ll agree Iguodala wasn’t very imaginative with his remaining dunks (after the ridiculous alley oop off of the back of the backboard), it was absurd for Washington to win. What is the criteria for the dunk contest, judge the dunk on level of difficulty? Do you incorporate a players height into it? I personally don’t think you should, otherwise a short person should win every time. Lastly, something needs to be done with a system in which a player requires 7 tries before they make it once and 14 tries before they succeed again. How can that not penalize a player?? Without a penalty, I would try to dunk with the ball hanging from my teeth over and over again until I finally made it.

The 3-point contest was also a joke. In the first round eventual champion Dirk Nowitski released his last money ball clearly after the buzzer. This allowed him to make the finals and denied two other competitors the chance. I always wondered why they had officials there during this contest, and after the ref missed this one, I still wonder the same thing. It’s not like he had anything to look at other than his feet when he released and whether or not he beat the clock. There were no potential fouls, no 3-seconds, no traveling, etc…just a joke.

And no, I didn’t have money on any of the NBA events.

I find myself being less and less interested in sports as these things happen.

Just a test

Wanted to test posting images on here, so I figured I'd go with one of my favorite.

Del Taco Trip report

Background:
I was hungry and didn’t feel like cooking. I could throw a pigskin to the Taco Bell by my house, but I decided to make the drive to Del Taco (3 miles). Contrary to my Walmart experience, this required bringing the Ford Road traffic into play.

Parking/Entrance:
Bad idea from the start, traffic was miserable, and I thought about turning around several times. But I stuck it out. Finally I made the turnaround past Ford Road, and was in the second to the right lane. But traffic was so heavy and people were driving like such assholes, I was forced to overshoot the entrance by a 100+ yards. I was able to cut through parking lots and make it in relative short order.

Shopping/Drive thru experience:
The drive thru people are always very pleasant and have yet to mess up my order. I ordered a combo meal, which included 3 tacos and a cheddar quesadilla (plain, I know, not living up to my Mexican heritage).

Eating experience:
Cheddar quesadillas are usually an 8, but this time it was about a 4-5. The amount of cheese on it has decreased each time I have been in there, and yesterday it was reminiscent of a Taco Bell quesadilla, which is garbage. The tacos as usual included real shredded cheese, unlike T-Bell, however, the presentation was lacking as the cheese was not very lovingly distributed throughout the taco. Once the cheese melted, this created the undesirable consequence of some of the taco being a cheese bounty and the rest being cheeseless.

The taco sauce comes in Hot and Mild, actually the hot as a different title that eludes me at the moment. Unfortunately, the hot is in a black package, and the mild in a red package, which is the opposite of what my intuition tells me is correct. Therefore, the first two tacos I ate were with mild sauce until I noticed the error in my ways.

Side note:
I have been to Del Taco 3-4 times in the past month, and it has grown on me everytime. This experience was well below par on most levels. I have changed my perspective on the place to recommending going there, at least for comparison sake. Also keep in mind that on the Fast Food rating scale, all things are compared to Jack in the Box, which I know is an unfair comparison. The number in the paranthesis is the rating I would give based on the work of the past month.

Overall ratings:
Parking/Entrance: 3 (5.5)
Shopping/Drive thru experience: 7.5 (8)
Eating Experience: 5 (7)
Intangibles: 6 (6)
Overall Rating: 5.5 (7)

Walmart Trip report

Background:
Yesterday I decided to pick up some new headphones (for my MP3 player) as my last ones had broken, and get a combination lock with the intention of getting rid of all excuses to not go to the gym. On the way home, Target (my intended destination) was not desirable due to traffic. I got off at Middlebelt with the intention of going to Target, but saw Walmart and decided to roll the dice. I tried not to let my expectations get in the way of honestly evaluating my shopping experience.

Parking/Entrance:
Very crowded, and I had to park pretty far back. Not a big deal as the weather was unseasonably warm, and there were actually cars in every spot, as opposed to randomly strewn shopping carts. Entering the store became the first real adventure. There was somebody about 5-10 yards in front of me, and they went through the automatic door. I proceeded to follow and the automatic door nearly closed on me. It literally got within inches of me, causing me to make a retarded jump backwards in order to avoid it. This must have looked rather silly to an observer as it looked like I had never seen an automatic door. This got my experience off to a poor start.

Shopping experience:
The store is dark (poorly lit), messy, and the signs are not very clear to tell you that you are in the right department. I expected the locks would be difficult to find, and they would have been if I hadn’t been lucky and guided by the force yesterday. I found exactly what I was looking for in a reasonable time. On to the headphones, found what I wanted, again pretty cheap, grabbed it off the shelf and it was already open….oops. Fortunately they had one more that was already sealed. I also made an impulse buy of a $5.00 hand AM/FM radio, to listen to at the Kentucky Derby, and the few times where I actually go to Sporting Events (if I so choose to listen). I suspect that if you were looking to purchase any items over $10, this is not the store to go to. If I were looking for any sales assistance I would have struck out like Labelle at a bar not named Kickers, as I never saw an employee in the sales aisles.

It should be noted that the experience would have been more pleasurable had an annoying black woman’s voice not been playing over the PA telling employees to move anything that didn’t belong in their area (of which there was a lot of) to the front of the store for organization.

Checkout experience:
Not very many lanes open, and they had some long lines. I found one at the far end titled “Speedy Checkout”, where I was 3rd in line. It was far from speedy, the scanner wouldn’t work to scan the 1st person’s prescription. Then the 2nd person required a price check on their Selsun Blue. By this point I was fed up with being there, and just paid cash, even though I intended to pay with my credit card.

Side note:
Near the corner of the store, they have a Subway. The décor is a very nice brick, well lit, looks like it belongs in Ford Field, and not a ghetto Walmart. No report on the dining at said Subway.

Overall ratings:
Parking/Entrance: 3.5
Shopping Experience: 6
Checkout Experience: 3
Intangibles: 2
Overall Rating: 4 (I expected a 1)

Party Acceler-8-tor bonus week 1

Week 1 results:
I earned 2500+ points, so with a target of 2000, I should get 20% over my bonus amount, meaning they should give me a $200 bonus for the week.

It's a good thing to, because I ran god-awful.

Cash Tables
30/60 (217 hands): +$438.50
20/40 (111 hands): +$117.50

Sit and Go's
$215's (79 played, 8 1st/8 2nd/8 3rds): +$215.00

Multi-table tourney's
$100's (2 played, 0 cashed): -$218.00

The sit and go results are the most disturbing. After getting off to a bangup start, I got my ass kicked the rest of the week. Some was due to bad play, but for the most part I ran awful. I can't even count the number of 2 and 3 outers hit on me. Normally with that many sit and go's I can expect to make about 2K. Oh well, hopefully next week I'll run really good and make 4K.

Week 1 results: +$533.00 (plus bonus money)

Latest tournament controversy

So it turns out JJProdigy, a prominent online player, won 140K on the big one on Party (I believe) this weekend. The thing is, JJProdigy actually finished somewhere out of the money, but then he won the tournament on his "grandma"'s account, after he took over for her. Apparently he stakes her and then took over for her in this instance. Is the Bush administration writing his responses to?? Does he think everyone is that stupid?

Basically he was playing in the same tournament with more than 1 entry. Not such a big deal until you consider the possibility of both players being on the same table at some point. Then collusion, chip dumping, cheating, sandwiching, etc....come into play.

There are a few posts on 2+2 saying he should lose the money, and I tend to agree. It turns out this practice is very widespread, and sending a message like this would definitely help reduce/eliminate this issue. If they do take the money, they should use this as an example of the consequences of cheating.

Now I don't have the time to e-mail the sites and basically start a crusade against this type of practice, I'll leave that to the people without real jobs, children, girlfriends, lives, etc....

My favorite quote about this practice came from a thread on 2+2. Here is the quote from a poster named Roman: "I personally have multiaccounted in a few tournaments in the past, however I realized this was a mistake and stopped. When I first started doing this, I FTed a 109r on 2 accounts and realized that even though I would never collude, this is a huge problem. It definitely damages the integrity of the game."

Huh???

So you made the final table with 2 accounts, yet would never collude???? Were you playing with split personalities? It would be impossible to not collude in this situation, even with the best of intentions. In the least you would know 2 of the hands at the table.

There is way too much money at stake for this type of thing to not be taken seriously. Otherwise the integrity of the game is ruined. Then all we have is the NFL.

A quick shout out....

....to my only loyal reader.

Happy Valentines Day babe!

The beats keep coming

It's hard not to get discouraged when you take a few bad ones in a row. These were the first two SNG's of the night for me.

SNG 1: Blinds 10/15, I limp KK UTG. MP raises to 60, everyone folds, and I decide to just call and check raise any non-ace flop. Flop comes Txx rainbow, I check, he bets 85. I raise to 250, and he moves all-in. I quickly call and he has JJ. The turn is immediately a J, and I am crippled to 30 chips and soon after am eliminated.

SNG 2: 5 players left, blinds are 100/200, I am in the BB with about 1500 chips and 99. UTG moves all-in (he has me covered). I think for a while and decide that I am ahead of his range of hands (put him on QQ-22, AK-A7, KQ, KJ, with a slight chance of AA or KK), and given my short stack position I call. He has 55. I can barely be happy long enough for a 5 to flop, and I am eliminated from that one.

The rest of the night wasn't as bad (though it was bad) and it set the tone. I played 13 SNG's for the night, with 1 win and 1 3rd. The win was in the last one of the night. Overall very ugly results. But I feel that I was playing pretty well, so I need to press on, as the luck will turn around.

The Nuts!!!

Maybe I missed the memo sent out to the entire poker community, because that's the only possible explanation I can come up with for why people are playing KQ like it's the nuts against me. It's generally an all-in battle involving my ace high, or my pair against their KQ, in which generally they are calling all-in bets that they don't have the pot odds to make. It wouldn't bother me so much if not for the fact that they were hitting them far too often.

I got a pretty good Party VIP offer, so I am focused on getting the required amount of points for my bonus, and plan on doing it for as many of the 8 weeks as possible. 95% of my play has been multi-tabling the 200 SNG's. Made a decent profit, but I feel like it's been a tough week. I've had far too many loss with dominating hands. The worst of which was when I got all-in heads-up to win it with AQ against QT on a Q52 flop. The river T did me in. I'll update these results after Tuesday night's play, when the VIP "week" ends.

I've made back about half of the money I lost on the Superbowl. It feels good to get some of that back this fast, as it was a bankroll setback.

Looking forward to a big, but brief night of SNG'ing tonight.

Super Bowl thoughts

First and foremost I got whitewashed, basically every bet I made lost, which was ugly because I took a lot of proposition bets.

But that game was an absolute abomination, a travesty, a hijacking. The referees did everything they possibly could to make sure Pittsburgh won, from phantom or questionable interference calls, invented penalties to questionable goalline decisions. Several of the decisions were made very late also, in a manner that can only be construed as questionable.

I basically felt like I was watching something scripted, like wrestling. The officiating in the playoffs was horrendous all playoffs, starting with the Polamalu INT that was overturned against Indy, and culminating in the debacle of the Super Bowl. As a Seattle fan, I would be incensed, and as a Pittsburgh fan I would be embarrassed that my team won in that manner. The MVP was Hines Ward, but the entire officiating crew should have gotten it. Seattle dominated the game from start to finish, and save for 3 Pitt plays that totaled 150+ yards, they could have been shut out.

The entire fiasco leaves a very bad taste in my mouth about the NFL. I have never been one to believe in conspiracy theories, but this game really makes one question their beliefs. I hope that the fallout from this forces the NFL (or somebody/something else) to investigate the officiating, and take a hard look at the entire system. The worst thing that can happen is have people give up on this and forget about it. Without the integrity of the officiating, the game becomes nothing more than wrestling. But then again, maybe scripted finishes that satisfy the majority of fans are exactly what the NFL wants....

Another summary post

It’s very tough to update a blog when real life happens…a few random things.

Poker: After some slight losses, I decided that my SNG game had slipped in the past month, probably a result of playing too many multi-table tournaments, and trying to get creative with speculative hands. Since SNG’s are my bread and butter, I decided I better get back to basics. To do that, I started 4-tabling the Party 215’s, with some nice success. I was really rolling along when “Real Life #1” (see below) happened. Still turned a nice profit over a few days.

Real Life #1: Got food poisoning Monday night. I theorize that it came from some lunch meat that might have sat out too long after Abby’s birthday party. I ate it two days after the party. In any case, I was violently ill for about 24 hours.

Real Life #2: Turned 30 last Sunday. Doesn’t feel markedly different, age is just a number. I like to joke about being an old man, but it really is no big deal. Went to the bar to celebrate with a bunch of people. Good times. My GF took me to a great dinner and a comedy club on Sunday as well. Going out again this weekend to close out my “birthday week”.

Real Life #3: Had Abby’s 2nd b-day party this weekend. Really fun watching her open presents, eat cake, etc… She is so damn smart and growing up so fast it’s killing me. At the same time, she’s stepping into her terrible two’s, and can be very headstrong at times. I’m just trying to take it all in stride and not get frustrated, because usually that makes things worse. You just need to change your approach when dealing with a hysterical child. Turn their attention to something else, and their mood will likely change as well.

Sports: Been a very solid week in wagering, top to bottom. Makes up for my lack of success in the NFL playoffs. To build on that topic, I like Seattle +4. They should be the favorite in this game, by 1-3 points. Public perception has moved it to Pitt -4. Great value on this game, as I think the field favors the Seabags.

Random annoyance: I was watching basketball the other night, and the color commentator made a point, to which the play-by-play man said “I agree 110%.” Huh??? How is it possible to agree with someone any more than completely, let alone 10% more???

Adios.

Last few days in review

Been a few days since the last update.

Friday:
After work I got a hot stone massage. Very relaxing, highly recommend to anyone. And no, getting one is not gay. The masseuse said that my entire right side was very tight, except that my left ankle was tighter. I rationalize that my right side is my dominant side and my “mouse” side, and my left leg is my plant and jumping foot for basketball, which I played on Friday.

Played 4 multi-table tourney’s, and took losses in about every way I could, including bad beats and bad play. Made some cash back at 30/60 though.

Saturday:
Drove to Grand Rapids to visit my buddy and play a 21 man tourney, $20 buy-in. Terrible play, but I couldn’t catch anything. Most of the players were unbluffable too, so you had to show the best hand. My demise was when we were down to 2 tables, 10 total people, blinds were 50/100 and I was on the button with 825 left. Folds to me and I move all-in with A2o. The SB (one of the wives, bigger girl who took forever to call an all-in earlier with top 2 pair on a rainbow non-coordinated board) thinks for a while and says that she is making a bad call and calls. The BB folds. I think I’m way behind at this point and she turns over 86s???? Did she think I had 7 high? Inevitably a 6 hit on the river and I was out of the main tourney.

My buddy Mike wanted to play me heads-up, and was very sure he would beat me. I tend to pride myself on my heads up play, so I figured I would handle him. First game was for $20, and after he took an early lead, I out aggressived him and won. Later we played for $10 and I totally dominated him. Then somebody challenged me to a heads up battle for $100…I gladly avoided the $5 buy-in about to start, and played him. I lost game #1 when I got all-in with AA against 64 on a J632 board, when he hit a 5 on the river. I then won game 2 for $100, and also game 3 for $50. I also won a last longer bet in the main tourney with 2 of my buddies for $20 apiece, so when all was said and done I made about $80 for the trip.

Sunday:
Drove home and watched the football games. I thought Indy would roll the Steelers, boy was I wrong there. Somebody should have told the Colts the game started at 1pm and not 3pm. It was a disgrace the way the officiating tried to take the game away from the Steelers. Fortunately Vandershank missed and all was right with the world again.

In poker news, I pissed away about 1K on multi-tables, and a little more on SNG’s. Took a few bad beats, but for the most part, it was bad play. I wasn’t folding when I knew I was beat, and was basically making plays I knew I shouldn’t make. Basically telling me to take a break.

Monday:
Had my daughter tonight, she was adorable as usual. First night in her big girl bed at my house. She woke up a few times through the night yapping away, but I just told her to lay back down and she was fine.

Didn’t play any poker that night, but my girlfriend played a free-roll at school on Absolute Poker. Out of 396 entrants, she finished 4th for $25. At this point she may be the best player of the two of us. At least I can say that I taught her.

Tuesday:
Set up the cake and lunch for Abby’s birthday party on Saturday. Should be a small but fun get together. Played a little cash poker before bed, with a small profit.

Out of shape

Every Thursday is basketball night, so today I am a little bit sore. Played decent last night, but my shot was off (after last week being unable to miss). At least my team won every game. On the basketball court, my neglect to my own fitness has become more apparent. Aside from the overall lack of conditioning, I can tell that the few extra pounds I have put on since high school / college has taken away from my first step quickness and acceleration. This allows a new short term goal…to get back down to my “playing” weight of 175 lbs. That means I have to drop 11 lbs, which I hope won’t be all that difficult, with a little more activity mixed in with some “healthier” eating. By “healthier” I don’t necessarily mean healthy, I just mean less “unhealthy”.

What would a blog be without some reference to poker. I played one SNG last night, of the 1K variety last night on Party. There are a lot of regulars that play in those games, but I checked it out and noticed a lot of players I didn’t recognize, so I decided to join. 45 minutes later I had won the thing for a 4.5K payoff. I guess my read was right, as I didn’t suck out any to win that one.

The month of January isn’t even half over, but it’s shaping up to be one of my best months ever. Hopefully that can continue. I won’t be able to play any next weekend, with my daughters 2nd b-day and my 30th b-day, and I’m going up to Grand Rapids for my buddies friendly $25 game. More for the social function than the money, as I could make (or lose) far more money from the comfort of my own couch.

Taxes and Gambling

Just an example to show how dumb the tax laws are with respect to gambling (as I understand them):

Regular job: Earn 40K
Poker earnings: 10K
Other gambling losses: -5K

Net income is 45K, yet you have to pay state income taxes on the 40K + 10K, disregarding any losses. You are not allowed to net wins/losses, you must declare all wins, and then deduct all losses.

The other problem with this is that in many cases, you lose some of the standard deductions that you would normally get, when your adjusted gross income reaches a certain point.

Hopefully with the proliferation of online gaming, the tax laws are modified to actually make a little bit of sense in this regard.

I imagine that in the end the IRS is screwing themselves, as people who either don't understand or don't want to bother with an "unfair" system don't bother declaring anything.

For the record I do declare my gambling, as much as I disagree with the present system. Dealing with an unjust system sounds like a better alternative then (a) jail time - however unlikely, or (b) a large fine, penalties and interest.

2K buy-in SNG

Two nights ago I played a 500 buy-in Party Step 3 Higher, with the top 2 finishers earning 2K Step 4 Higher buyins. I was one of the lucky 2, and last night I played in the 2K SNG when I saw one filling up (they don't fill up often, I guess a lot of people don't like to risk 2K on an hour of poker).

Played pretty solid, as they normally play very tight, and before I knew it I was heads up. Winner gets 10K, 2nd place gets 5K. 2nd hand of heads up, I am at a 5800-4200 chip disadvantage, and in the BB for 300. SB completes (he hadn't done that all tourney), I have A9 so I decided to raise. I raise to 12oo and he immediately goes all-in. Being in all-in robot mode I called and he unsurpisingly showed me KK. I failed to improve and I was out...at least I got 5K for my trouble. Not bad off of a $500 investment.

I also played the $100 buy-in 35K guaranteed at 7pm on Party. I had built my stack up to about 2500+ a little more than an hour in, and we had lost more than half the field. I pick up AA in the BB. To make a long story short, I get it all-in pre-flop against KK, and wouldn't you know he flops a K. After the turn K I was drawing dead. So in tourney's that I can think of, my last 4 adventures with or against KK are as follows.

1) Full Tilt Sunday special, KK all-in preflop against AA...I lose most of my stack.
2) Full Tilt Sunday special KK all-in preflop against T9...I again lose most of my stack to a straight.
3) 2K buy-in SNG...A9 all-in preflop against KK....I am eliminated.
4) Party 35K guaranteed....AA all-in preflop against KK....2 Kings later I am eliminated.

No problem with incidents 1 and 3...but 2 and 4 smart. And if I am going to lose 2 and 4, at least let me suck out and win one of the others. Sigh, I realize it's a small sample size, just venting a little as a decent profit could have been a huge profit.

In football this weekend, I like the Colts to throttle the Steelers, they did it once before, and nothing has changed to make me think otherwise. The Pit defense just isn't good enough to slow them down. The only reason Pit made it past Cincy is because of Jon Kitna's 2nd half ineptitude.

Year in review

It’s been a long time since I updated this blog…way too long in fact, since an awful lot has happened since then.

So what’s new in life. First off, I have a new girlfriend now, her name is Victoria and she is absolutely wonderful. She is the most thoughtful girl that I have ever met, is wonderful to my daughter, Abby, and most importantly supports me in everything that I do. This mostly refers to poker, whether it be a trip to Vegas or an all-night tournament, she has been very supportive.

2006 REVIEW

So I basically wanted this to be a recap of the 2005 year, to analyze my game on all levels, and set some modest expectations for 2006.

I like to pride myself on playing all forms of poker (at least Hold’em, as my Omaha game sucks right now). I’ve been known to play limit, no-limit, sit and go tournaments, and multi-table tournaments, with success at all levels.

Cash Games

Last year around this time I was playing 3-4 tables at a time of the Party 15/30 game. A definite money maker, but I had been doing that for several months and started to get burned out on it. The up/down swings can be incredible for a game that was as aggressive as that. For the year, about 15% of my poker profits were derived from cash tables. This was very low because of some bad sessions, as well as lack of desire to play these levels. This year, I have dabbled in some 20/40 and 30/60, as well as a bit of 50/100. I am killing the 20/40 game lately, so I think if anything I will play that more than anything else.

As far as Limit Holdem, I don’t feel like I have any weaknesses. I am able to change gears very well between short handed and full table. I would like to improve my shorthanded game to be able to win more hands where I don’t catch a piece of the flop, but who wouldn’t. For the year I would like to improve my discipline in a few different areas. Firstly, improved table selection, and secondly, walking away from an unprofitable table instead of chasing losses.

As far as No Limit Holdem, I have had some very solid sessions at the cash tables, but feel that my game is very weak. I need to be able to get away from big pairs / overpairs when the evidence is starting to show that I am beaten. In tournaments this leak isn’t very costly, as you see more bluffing or raising with just top pair. This is an adjustment I need to make to my NL cash game.

Sit and Go tourneys

Sit and Go tourneys became my bread and butter last year. They accounted for over 50% of my profit for the year. I started at the 100 level, and spent at least half of the year at the 200 level, basically accounting for a huge amount of my profits. But the game got boring multi-tabling, and I looked to improve and move up. I eventually started playing the Pokerstars 500 games, which include several top players, including a few WSOP bracelet winners. I have more than held my own in that game, turning a nice profit. I have also been playing occasionally in the 1K step tourneys on Party, again with some success. As far as sit and go’s, I don’t see any glaring leaks. I would like to improve my bubble play even more, as that is where the money is really won or lost. My playbook used to involve playing ULTRA tight in the beginning, but I have sinced loosened up, even limping (and re-raising) big pairs early on. This has increased my variance, but it has also improved my game and made me more difficult to play (IMO). These sit and go’s are already the biggest online, so I would like to play many more of them and hopefully rack up the profit.

Multi-Table tourney's

The last category is multi-table tournaments. For at least the first half of the year, I didn’t play them at all. The prospect of having to be available for 6-8 hours in a row, with the chance of very little profit to show for it was not all that enticing. But as I started playing them more, I have become re-hooked. First I won a limit (of all things) tourney on Pokerstars for $4200 in June….then in November I won a NL tourney for $11K. In December I had several other scores of 1K and up, and made the money a large portion of the time. The closest I came to a huge score was one of the nightly tourney’s on Party, where I finished 9th out of 1200+, getting me 3700. First place was worth 51K, so I fell a bit short there. A lot of these fields are filled by satellites, and the caliber of player tends to be very weak. I think I am on the cusp of doing something really great in one of these, I just have to be patient as it is VERY tough to win a 3700 person tourney.

Improvements to my game need to come in picking my spots and opponents, especially in regards to re-steals. It would also help me if I was playing and focusing more on the game, as opposed to watching TV, betting on sports, etc….

This year I really would like to qualify/play in one big buy-in event. The ones to target would be the Ultimate Bet (Aruba) tourney, the Pokerstars Bahamas, or the WSOP (in order of preference). I won’t buy-in direct unless something life changing happens (like winning 100K).

Hopefully my game (and profit) takes the same leaps forward in 2006 that it did in 2005.