Well, I sent an email to this worthless and deceitful poker site after they decided to halt US poker players play at their site and thus, suspended all US player's accounts on October 3rd (they unprofessionally sent an email on the same day and gave no warning beforehand that they would be suspending the US' accounts)...
Today, eight long days later, I finally get a reply from those fuck-nuts and here is what they "professionally" said:
Hi there Joey,
Account pppr00884982
Kindly note that unfortunately the balance of $138.00 will not be refunded to your NETeller due to the fact that you have not met the
Terms and Conditions of the no deposit bonus which you received on the
31 March 2005.
We trust that we have been of assistance.
Should you require any further assistance or have any suggestions,
please feel free to contact our friendly help desk. We are available 24
hours a day
7 days a week for your convenience.
Kindest regards,
Justin
Customer Service Representative
POKER 333
MEMBER OF THE PALACE GROUP
www.thepalacegroupgaming.com
Note that I bolded some of the texts in the email. How the fuck could they use the words "Kindly" and the phrase, "We trust that we have been of assistance." Well, gluckity-fuck! I am happy as a clam that I won't be getting my $138. You will never see another cent from me and it's my given right to make sure that nobody else gets screwed by your sorry-ass company and poor business professionalism! Eat my shorts with ketchup!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Let's Start a Black Armband Weekend!!
We all know how strong and how successful Lance Armstrong "Livestrong" yellow armbands were when the athlete was biking the Tour De France.
Now during the poker debacle and turmoil in the US, our time of playing online poker could be running out thanks to one numb-nuts catalyst Senator Bill Frist. I have posted about signing an online petition to protest the ban of online poker and to join the Poker Player's Alliance and now, another idea has been generated by my poker buddy Bruce (Williams). Here is what Bruce suggests to all poker players:
A form of civil protest against the "anti-poker bill", especialy since res. George W. Bush will be signing it into law on Friday, Oct. 13.
My plan: Poker players and their supporters wear black armbands for the (hopefully temporary) death of some of their freedom of choice. Wear it if you're playing in a brick&mortar. Wear it if you're playing online. Wear it if you're going to the store or a concert or a ballgame or a jog in the park. When someone asks what's that about, say how you're supporting poker and protesting government infringement and sneakiness on your freedom.
A few more details: Wear the armband 72 hours (good ol' 7-2, a poker icon), from 10:02 am ET Friday Oct. 13 to 10:02 am ET Monday Oct. 16 (10:02 in honor of Doyle Brunson; the ET because that's the time zone where Congress came up with the law; don't know if Bush is signing it in D.C. or on the campaign trail). Friday-Monday because many poker players play into the wee hours and to/past breakfast with a good game going.
If we wanted to do something more organized, we could do it (again) the weekend of Nov. 3-6 -- which is the weekend before the U.S. elections. But some kind of gesture after the bill's signed Friday would be timely and important; this issue and the evil political games can't get swept under the rug by apathy. I will be wearing a black armband for poker this weekend, online, at Harrah's and everywhere!
Thanks for listening. Feel free to spread this idea/post any way you think will help.
Now during the poker debacle and turmoil in the US, our time of playing online poker could be running out thanks to one numb-nuts catalyst Senator Bill Frist. I have posted about signing an online petition to protest the ban of online poker and to join the Poker Player's Alliance and now, another idea has been generated by my poker buddy Bruce (Williams). Here is what Bruce suggests to all poker players:
A form of civil protest against the "anti-poker bill", especialy since res. George W. Bush will be signing it into law on Friday, Oct. 13.
My plan: Poker players and their supporters wear black armbands for the (hopefully temporary) death of some of their freedom of choice. Wear it if you're playing in a brick&mortar. Wear it if you're playing online. Wear it if you're going to the store or a concert or a ballgame or a jog in the park. When someone asks what's that about, say how you're supporting poker and protesting government infringement and sneakiness on your freedom.
A few more details: Wear the armband 72 hours (good ol' 7-2, a poker icon), from 10:02 am ET Friday Oct. 13 to 10:02 am ET Monday Oct. 16 (10:02 in honor of Doyle Brunson; the ET because that's the time zone where Congress came up with the law; don't know if Bush is signing it in D.C. or on the campaign trail). Friday-Monday because many poker players play into the wee hours and to/past breakfast with a good game going.
If we wanted to do something more organized, we could do it (again) the weekend of Nov. 3-6 -- which is the weekend before the U.S. elections. But some kind of gesture after the bill's signed Friday would be timely and important; this issue and the evil political games can't get swept under the rug by apathy. I will be wearing a black armband for poker this weekend, online, at Harrah's and everywhere!
Thanks for listening. Feel free to spread this idea/post any way you think will help.
World Poker Tour, What are you Thinking?!
Posted by Earl Burton, The World Poker Tour has expressed its thoughts about the online gaming crisis in the US. It's quite different than the thoughts of their lead commentator Mike Sexton and certainly surprised the shit out of me since I thought us poker players were suppose to stand together:
In an oddly optimistic press release following the passage (and pending signing) of legislation regarding financing of online gaming and poker accounts, World Poker Tour Enterprises added their thoughts to the current situation recently. In the communiqué, WPTE encouraged poker players worldwide to focus on the bright future ahead for poker instead of the downsides of the current legislation.
With the passage by Congress of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 last week, "The Justice Department has been very clear that it believes online gaming to be illegal in the United States and our policies have been always been tailored accordingly," said Adam Pliska, General Counsel of WPTE. "This law clarifies the rules and makes it possible for everyone to move forward on an even footing."
Steve Lipscomb also added his bright outlook when he commented, "It was a wide-spread love of this game and the reinvention of poker as a televised sport that ignited the poker phenomenon and that is what will continue to drive the future of the sport. WPTE remains committed to growing the domestic poker market through traditional franchise opportunities like consumer products, sponsorship and events."
While WPTE will not be directly affected by the recent legislation (their online poker site has always refused American action as they are an American company), the bright outlook the company is espousing is strange at the minimum. Part of the drive that has brought many to the poker community has been the advent of online poker. People who may have played only a few times a year on vacation trips to gaming Meccas could play at any point with the online game. This added to their excitement for the game and also allowed them to become proficient enough to be able to battle against some of the greatest players in the world.
Another factor to consider on this front is the effect that the loss of online satellites will have on tournaments in the future. Both the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker have seen tournament fields explode due to the opportunity of players to earn their way into events through inexpensive online satellites. In 2005, of the 5619 players who came to the felt, PokerStars alone sent almost twenty percent of the field to the Championship Event of the World Series. Poker historian and "jack of all trades" Nolan Dalla emphasized this point when he discussed his thoughts on the ramifications of the online legislation and noted with sadness that future tournament participation will actually fall as these online satellites are eliminated.
While many might like the departure of online players from B&M tournaments, it is extremely possible that the tournament poker scene could revert back to the point where only the richest (and, in some cases, the best) poker players can afford to participate. The potential dream of an online qualifier vanquishing the best in the world (such as the startling Chris Moneymaker breakthrough at the 2003 WSOP) will vanish and the sharks will once again have to compete amongst each other. We could be potentially looking at tournament fields falling now instead of showing the steady increases of the past few years (and, in the case of the WSOP Main Event, massive increase) and slowly falling back to levels of the pre-Internet days, where only those who can afford it or can qualify in live satellites make the fields.
Even though there are an estimated 50 million poker players in the U. S. alone and casinos adding poker rooms left and right, most Americans aren't within a two hour drive of those rooms. This is one of the reasons that the online game is necessary. It gives Joe Sixpack the opportunity to participate in an American pastime, potentially earn his way to a major tournament and, if the stars align, make a significant change in their life. These are a few of the reasons that this writer feels the WPTE's rosy look at the online legislation is puzzling, to say the least.
In an oddly optimistic press release following the passage (and pending signing) of legislation regarding financing of online gaming and poker accounts, World Poker Tour Enterprises added their thoughts to the current situation recently. In the communiqué, WPTE encouraged poker players worldwide to focus on the bright future ahead for poker instead of the downsides of the current legislation.
With the passage by Congress of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 last week, "The Justice Department has been very clear that it believes online gaming to be illegal in the United States and our policies have been always been tailored accordingly," said Adam Pliska, General Counsel of WPTE. "This law clarifies the rules and makes it possible for everyone to move forward on an even footing."
Steve Lipscomb also added his bright outlook when he commented, "It was a wide-spread love of this game and the reinvention of poker as a televised sport that ignited the poker phenomenon and that is what will continue to drive the future of the sport. WPTE remains committed to growing the domestic poker market through traditional franchise opportunities like consumer products, sponsorship and events."
While WPTE will not be directly affected by the recent legislation (their online poker site has always refused American action as they are an American company), the bright outlook the company is espousing is strange at the minimum. Part of the drive that has brought many to the poker community has been the advent of online poker. People who may have played only a few times a year on vacation trips to gaming Meccas could play at any point with the online game. This added to their excitement for the game and also allowed them to become proficient enough to be able to battle against some of the greatest players in the world.
Another factor to consider on this front is the effect that the loss of online satellites will have on tournaments in the future. Both the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker have seen tournament fields explode due to the opportunity of players to earn their way into events through inexpensive online satellites. In 2005, of the 5619 players who came to the felt, PokerStars alone sent almost twenty percent of the field to the Championship Event of the World Series. Poker historian and "jack of all trades" Nolan Dalla emphasized this point when he discussed his thoughts on the ramifications of the online legislation and noted with sadness that future tournament participation will actually fall as these online satellites are eliminated.
While many might like the departure of online players from B&M tournaments, it is extremely possible that the tournament poker scene could revert back to the point where only the richest (and, in some cases, the best) poker players can afford to participate. The potential dream of an online qualifier vanquishing the best in the world (such as the startling Chris Moneymaker breakthrough at the 2003 WSOP) will vanish and the sharks will once again have to compete amongst each other. We could be potentially looking at tournament fields falling now instead of showing the steady increases of the past few years (and, in the case of the WSOP Main Event, massive increase) and slowly falling back to levels of the pre-Internet days, where only those who can afford it or can qualify in live satellites make the fields.
Even though there are an estimated 50 million poker players in the U. S. alone and casinos adding poker rooms left and right, most Americans aren't within a two hour drive of those rooms. This is one of the reasons that the online game is necessary. It gives Joe Sixpack the opportunity to participate in an American pastime, potentially earn his way to a major tournament and, if the stars align, make a significant change in their life. These are a few of the reasons that this writer feels the WPTE's rosy look at the online legislation is puzzling, to say the least.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Wrestling Wars are Heating Up Again!
It's not the great "Monday Night War" that was once a showdown between the WCW and WWE(F), but the WWE's competition is getting stiffer. This week mark's a big week in wrestling starting off with the mediocure PPV WWE No Mercy. Thing's will be interesting in that the Raw this week will be a "homecoming" episode and will be three hours long. The question is, "Will there be any big surprises or better yet, will there be any five-star matches? I'm thinking there will be some surprises but I am not counting on any superb matches and will be lucky if there are a few matches greater than 3.5 stars. One thing for sure is that Kurt Angle won't be at "homecoming."
Now on to the main event IMO. Although only sixty-minutes long, this week's TNA Impact is a must watch. After 2 weeks of teasing of a Kurt Angle appearance, Kurt Angle will debut on Impact and will be interviewed. Rumor has it that Angle will talk about the reason why he joined TNA and will talk about his former boss Vince McMahon, who amazingly said some noble things about Kurt on a recent WWE Byte this Q&A session. Plus, the storylines of Sting debuting some "color" paint on his face has me in a nostalgia for seeing the old colorful paint Sting with short blond hair once more. Is that the angle (no pun intended) they are shooting for...?!
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Final Table: BPT Event # 2
Well, last time during the BPT Event #1, the final hand I mercifully went out on was with pocket 6s where I floped a set and my opponent flopped top pair and ended up hitting running flush cards to knock me out in 23rd.
Disappointing as that was, it was time to rebound. Different from last year, these events are now only once every other week instead of weekly, so if you screw up once, its an up-hill climb to try to reach the top 20 to get a chance to play for the seat to the Aussie Millions.
As Shark lonnie and master Omaha player Doug "Conn-man" would say, onward. BPT's Event # 2 Royal's Bluff Til You Drop Tourny with a coincidence is at my first table immediately to my left.
I managed to keep my stack healthy throughout most of the tourny for the 1st two hours (well last time for the 1st Event, I should up like 45 minutes late so I better be doing better). Speaking of Royal Bluff, I made a nifty bluff in this hand. I get dealt an Ace-Jack of diamonds from the BB when I was raised 5x the big blind by "stuarthomegame" so I figured my opponent wasn't as strong as Popeye (well maybe since spinach is all that safe now, his hand was like that of a greasy fried chicken from Popeye's). I call his raise and the flop came Q-4-2 with 2 spades so I completely wiffed like A-Rod of the Yankees has been doing lately. I checked and he put out a very small bet so I popped it and got a fold. I had the chips to make the moves now so I was cruising as if I would make the final table as one of the chip leaders...
(Side note on the Royal Bluff theme going on: There was one hand were I got dealt K-5o in the BB with the button and the SB in play. Flop came 2-4-K. I bet and then got raised like 6x my bet. It was still early so I didn't want to go out with a situation like this so I fold the mofo. My buddy and skilled poker player "Beerman" Mike says that my King was good. My oppenent said he had a King with as well so the only hand I could have barely beat was K-3 if that was the case.)
However, right before the final table came (maybe 11 or 12 people left), I took a hit with one of my jinxed hands recently of AK and raised 3x only to get reraised to Quackpot's QQ where I was committed and Quack's QQ held up and took my chip count down from about T15,000 to about T8,000. I went into the final table in 9th place and things didn't look to good. I finally get a big hand of Kings in the SB with about T6,000 after an UTG limp in to booboy119543 (I think it was this screen name or the one next to him) and fold arounds from everyone else. He had a lot of chips at the time of over T30,000. Blinds were 750-1500 so I push my 6,000 and change in there and he calls with A-10o. Somehow, my hand holds up and am back into the game right...
Wrong, a couple hands later, after Porkrind333 had lost a big pot, and accussed (in last year's Grand Final) screen name purechaos of being a "maniac", "Porkrind333" became the maniac. I raised in an unopened pot in middle position with A10o to 4500 (same blinds as before). Porkrind pushes all in for about 2100 more so I have to call and he flips over 5-6 of diamonds and manages to pair instead of the CDU I should have gotten there.
Now I am in second to last in chips. The play had loosened up so I was folding for the next 8-12 hands and I don't have the chips to bluffy anybody. I finally get Queens and raise to 3x and Porkrind is in the BB again and pushes allin. I have to call and to my surprise, he only has a A-2o. I end up hitting the Queen on the flop and it holds up. I steal some pots and get my chips up to about T60,000, almost as much as the chip leader for the longest time at the final table "natsdad" (who once was literally hanging on by a g-string bikini!! Great job coming back!!). The final three included me, "natsdad", and "iyatoni". "Iyatoni" was pretty short and was pushing all-in or folding every hand. With Q-9 on the button, he pushes about 15,000 or so in and gets called my "natsdad" with A-7. A nine flops and that's all she wrote as "iyatoni" doubles and is now in the game.
The dagger in my heart came when I get an AKs on the button and raised 3x. "natsdad" in the SB makes an over-raise and pushed all-in. I say its my jinx hand but don't think I could fold as I put him on a weaker Ace actually, but instead he turns over "The Gretsky Hand" of 9-9. Glory be, I see a nice looking flop of 6-K-7 with no flush draw possibility. The turn is the 2nd worse card I could have seen )(behind the 9) of an 8 giving "natsdad" an open-end and holy hell to my luck, the 10 peels on the river completing the straight and knocking me out disappointingly in 3rd (site note: "natsdad" ends up winning so congrats to him and everybody else that made the final table).
Well on the bright side of things, I won $75 and accurred a great amount of points to be in the top 20... for now. Look forward to the next one and maybe, your's truely will be the host.
On another side note (I got to be more organized when I write these things but it's hard after poker-gods awful beat I just took. Hint, another side note, check out "Stone-cold" Beermans blog for in depth and probably number 1 recap of the BPT!), I am surprised that there aren't many more people in these tournys. It is a free chance at $500 every other week with only 72 participants, and then a shot of 1 and 20 to win a seat at the Aussie Millions if you do well. Please support poker.com for that they also have made to the public that they will continue to allow US players to play at their great site. Come one, come all. It's not too late to sign up!!
Disappointing as that was, it was time to rebound. Different from last year, these events are now only once every other week instead of weekly, so if you screw up once, its an up-hill climb to try to reach the top 20 to get a chance to play for the seat to the Aussie Millions.
As Shark lonnie and master Omaha player Doug "Conn-man" would say, onward. BPT's Event # 2 Royal's Bluff Til You Drop Tourny with a coincidence is at my first table immediately to my left.
I managed to keep my stack healthy throughout most of the tourny for the 1st two hours (well last time for the 1st Event, I should up like 45 minutes late so I better be doing better). Speaking of Royal Bluff, I made a nifty bluff in this hand. I get dealt an Ace-Jack of diamonds from the BB when I was raised 5x the big blind by "stuarthomegame" so I figured my opponent wasn't as strong as Popeye (well maybe since spinach is all that safe now, his hand was like that of a greasy fried chicken from Popeye's). I call his raise and the flop came Q-4-2 with 2 spades so I completely wiffed like A-Rod of the Yankees has been doing lately. I checked and he put out a very small bet so I popped it and got a fold. I had the chips to make the moves now so I was cruising as if I would make the final table as one of the chip leaders...
(Side note on the Royal Bluff theme going on: There was one hand were I got dealt K-5o in the BB with the button and the SB in play. Flop came 2-4-K. I bet and then got raised like 6x my bet. It was still early so I didn't want to go out with a situation like this so I fold the mofo. My buddy and skilled poker player "Beerman" Mike says that my King was good. My oppenent said he had a King with as well so the only hand I could have barely beat was K-3 if that was the case.)
However, right before the final table came (maybe 11 or 12 people left), I took a hit with one of my jinxed hands recently of AK and raised 3x only to get reraised to Quackpot's QQ where I was committed and Quack's QQ held up and took my chip count down from about T15,000 to about T8,000. I went into the final table in 9th place and things didn't look to good. I finally get a big hand of Kings in the SB with about T6,000 after an UTG limp in to booboy119543 (I think it was this screen name or the one next to him) and fold arounds from everyone else. He had a lot of chips at the time of over T30,000. Blinds were 750-1500 so I push my 6,000 and change in there and he calls with A-10o. Somehow, my hand holds up and am back into the game right...
Wrong, a couple hands later, after Porkrind333 had lost a big pot, and accussed (in last year's Grand Final) screen name purechaos of being a "maniac", "Porkrind333" became the maniac. I raised in an unopened pot in middle position with A10o to 4500 (same blinds as before). Porkrind pushes all in for about 2100 more so I have to call and he flips over 5-6 of diamonds and manages to pair instead of the CDU I should have gotten there.
Now I am in second to last in chips. The play had loosened up so I was folding for the next 8-12 hands and I don't have the chips to bluffy anybody. I finally get Queens and raise to 3x and Porkrind is in the BB again and pushes allin. I have to call and to my surprise, he only has a A-2o. I end up hitting the Queen on the flop and it holds up. I steal some pots and get my chips up to about T60,000, almost as much as the chip leader for the longest time at the final table "natsdad" (who once was literally hanging on by a g-string bikini!! Great job coming back!!). The final three included me, "natsdad", and "iyatoni". "Iyatoni" was pretty short and was pushing all-in or folding every hand. With Q-9 on the button, he pushes about 15,000 or so in and gets called my "natsdad" with A-7. A nine flops and that's all she wrote as "iyatoni" doubles and is now in the game.
The dagger in my heart came when I get an AKs on the button and raised 3x. "natsdad" in the SB makes an over-raise and pushed all-in. I say its my jinx hand but don't think I could fold as I put him on a weaker Ace actually, but instead he turns over "The Gretsky Hand" of 9-9. Glory be, I see a nice looking flop of 6-K-7 with no flush draw possibility. The turn is the 2nd worse card I could have seen )(behind the 9) of an 8 giving "natsdad" an open-end and holy hell to my luck, the 10 peels on the river completing the straight and knocking me out disappointingly in 3rd (site note: "natsdad" ends up winning so congrats to him and everybody else that made the final table).
Well on the bright side of things, I won $75 and accurred a great amount of points to be in the top 20... for now. Look forward to the next one and maybe, your's truely will be the host.
On another side note (I got to be more organized when I write these things but it's hard after poker-gods awful beat I just took. Hint, another side note, check out "Stone-cold" Beermans blog for in depth and probably number 1 recap of the BPT!), I am surprised that there aren't many more people in these tournys. It is a free chance at $500 every other week with only 72 participants, and then a shot of 1 and 20 to win a seat at the Aussie Millions if you do well. Please support poker.com for that they also have made to the public that they will continue to allow US players to play at their great site. Come one, come all. It's not too late to sign up!!
Friday, October 06, 2006
Warning: Stay Away from PiggsPeak aka Poker333
As the title says, don't play at this untrustworth site. Poker333 is a skin of Prima, which usually has great sites like Royal, bet365, etc. They gave no previous warnings of shutting out US player's accounts untit an email sent on October 3rd, in which they said that my account would be suspended as of October 3rd. What kind of horse shit timeline is less than 24 hours?! I have over a hundred bucks in my account there so this really sucks like a fat kid playing Dodgeball. Therefore, I also encourage non-US players to abandon Poker333 before something could happen to you to!!
Dear Joey
I regret to inform you that, in line with our terms and
conditions, we will be forced to close your casino account,
pppr00884982, with immediate effect.
This is due to uncertain legislation in your state with
regards to online gaming.
Please note that any funds in your account balance greater
than $20 will be refunded back to you via a payment
method of your choice.
On behalf of all at Piggs Casino, I thank you for your loyalty
up to now and we hope to be able to provide you with a premier
online gaming experience sometime in the future.
Regards,
Samantha White
Casino Manager
Dear Joey
I regret to inform you that, in line with our terms and
conditions, we will be forced to close your casino account,
pppr00884982, with immediate effect.
This is due to uncertain legislation in your state with
regards to online gaming.
Please note that any funds in your account balance greater
than $20 will be refunded back to you via a payment
method of your choice.
On behalf of all at Piggs Casino, I thank you for your loyalty
up to now and we hope to be able to provide you with a premier
online gaming experience sometime in the future.
Regards,
Samantha White
Casino Manager
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Reminder: TNA Impact Tonight at 11pm!!
Alright folks, time for a break from the poker posting. I know this ain't a wrestling blog, but dammit, I've been a wrestling fan for too damn long to ignore. Well maybe not a full ignorance from poker as I would love to see the most hated man in the poker world today and as Daniel Negreanu put it, the "Slimey" and snake-like Senator Bill Frist be put inside the six-sided ring against the likes of a wrestler like Samoa Joe and over course, the crowd of course will be chanting, "Joe's gonna kill you!" Whata fantasy that would be!!
Now to current wrestling: Most people that watch wrestling probably are WWE fans (formerly the WWF). Well, there is another (and better) alternative out there today that I think many aren't aware of and that many should be aware of if they are going to watch "wrestling" at its best. I've side-shifted the WWE and have a new favorite in TNA. As the WWE is tanking downhil (lose of Austin, Rock, and more recently, the stunning Trish Stratus, and TNA big acquisitions from the WWE Christian, and the biggest hit, Kurt Angle). TNA is also on the rise in that it finally received a prime time slot which will be affective in November.
Not convinced, here are some photos courtesy of TNAwrestling.com of some of the recent action at the No Surrender event.
Now to current wrestling: Most people that watch wrestling probably are WWE fans (formerly the WWF). Well, there is another (and better) alternative out there today that I think many aren't aware of and that many should be aware of if they are going to watch "wrestling" at its best. I've side-shifted the WWE and have a new favorite in TNA. As the WWE is tanking downhil (lose of Austin, Rock, and more recently, the stunning Trish Stratus, and TNA big acquisitions from the WWE Christian, and the biggest hit, Kurt Angle). TNA is also on the rise in that it finally received a prime time slot which will be affective in November.
Not convinced, here are some photos courtesy of TNAwrestling.com of some of the recent action at the No Surrender event.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Bill Frist, You are a Disgrace to (the) US. All US Poker Players Make your Voices Heard!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/30/AR2006093000024_pf.html
Internet Gambling, Port Deals Reached
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 30, 2006; A08
House and Senate negotiators reached agreement last night on legislation to tighten maritime and port security regulations and, in a last-minute move, added an unrelated measure that seeks to ban Internet gambling.
At the same time, House negotiators prevailed in their fight to strip out $4.5 billion in rail and mass-transit security funds included in the Senate provision.
The port security and Internet gambling legislation was headed for passage in both the House and Senate last night, as lawmakers rushed to leave Washington for their fall reelection campaigns. Senate Republican and Democratic leaders announced it would be passed by voice vote after the House's late-night vote.
Lawmakers from both parties had been crafting the port security measure for more than a year, but its passage became politically critical after a Middle Eastern government-owned company's purchase of U.S. port operations triggered a political melee in Washington early this year.
The final agreement requires radiation scanning of all containers at the top 22 U.S. seaports, orders the Department of Homeland Security to develop response and recovery plans for a terrorist attack, and sets firm deadlines for the implementation of a transportation worker identification and screening system. It authorizes $2 billion in port security grants between 2001 and 2011.
The changes angered some Democrats, who helped craft the original port security legislation but were largely blocked from the final negotiations. The Senate had overwhelmingly approved the authorization of $3.5 billion for mass-transit security grants and $1 billion for freight and passenger rail programs, but House Republicans balked at the cost.
"If Republicans leave town [after] stripping out all the sections protecting major sectors of out transportation sector, God help us if there's an attack," said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).
Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), whose home-state casinos are split over the Internet gambling measure, briefly weighed scuttling the bill over the provision before agreeing to go along, aides said.
House and Senate Republican leaders pushed hard to secure the Internet gambling measure, which some Republicans viewed as a chance to clear their names after they allowed disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to scuttle a similar measure six years ago.
Proponents of the crackdown said the industry, which is mostly based overseas, provides a front for money laundering, some of it by drug sellers and terrorist groups, while preying on children and gambling addicts. Americans bet an estimated $6 billion per year online, accounting for half the worldwide market, according to analysis by the Congressional Research Service.
A coalition of on-line poker players and gambling Web sites tried to thwart the Internet gambling provision. Michael Bolcerek, president of the Poker Players Alliance, argued that it could put familiar Web sites such as Party Poker and Pacific Poker out of business while pushing gamblers to "rogue Web sites with no protection for children and no protection for problem gamblers."
If you are like me and don't believe this horse shit that's coming out, we need to get our voices out there dammit!! Sign a petition here if you are one of the multi-millions of Americans that play online poker.
For the jackasses from your state that voted to ban online poker just because the damn bill was attached to Port Security (total irrelevant to the poker topic), without debate a.k.a. no good reason, please do not re-elect them for their stupity. To find out who voted to ban online poker, click this link and while your at it, join the PPA to get your voice heard and to prevent the ban of online poker!!
Internet Gambling, Port Deals Reached
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 30, 2006; A08
House and Senate negotiators reached agreement last night on legislation to tighten maritime and port security regulations and, in a last-minute move, added an unrelated measure that seeks to ban Internet gambling.
At the same time, House negotiators prevailed in their fight to strip out $4.5 billion in rail and mass-transit security funds included in the Senate provision.
The port security and Internet gambling legislation was headed for passage in both the House and Senate last night, as lawmakers rushed to leave Washington for their fall reelection campaigns. Senate Republican and Democratic leaders announced it would be passed by voice vote after the House's late-night vote.
Lawmakers from both parties had been crafting the port security measure for more than a year, but its passage became politically critical after a Middle Eastern government-owned company's purchase of U.S. port operations triggered a political melee in Washington early this year.
The final agreement requires radiation scanning of all containers at the top 22 U.S. seaports, orders the Department of Homeland Security to develop response and recovery plans for a terrorist attack, and sets firm deadlines for the implementation of a transportation worker identification and screening system. It authorizes $2 billion in port security grants between 2001 and 2011.
The changes angered some Democrats, who helped craft the original port security legislation but were largely blocked from the final negotiations. The Senate had overwhelmingly approved the authorization of $3.5 billion for mass-transit security grants and $1 billion for freight and passenger rail programs, but House Republicans balked at the cost.
"If Republicans leave town [after] stripping out all the sections protecting major sectors of out transportation sector, God help us if there's an attack," said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).
Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), whose home-state casinos are split over the Internet gambling measure, briefly weighed scuttling the bill over the provision before agreeing to go along, aides said.
House and Senate Republican leaders pushed hard to secure the Internet gambling measure, which some Republicans viewed as a chance to clear their names after they allowed disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to scuttle a similar measure six years ago.
Proponents of the crackdown said the industry, which is mostly based overseas, provides a front for money laundering, some of it by drug sellers and terrorist groups, while preying on children and gambling addicts. Americans bet an estimated $6 billion per year online, accounting for half the worldwide market, according to analysis by the Congressional Research Service.
A coalition of on-line poker players and gambling Web sites tried to thwart the Internet gambling provision. Michael Bolcerek, president of the Poker Players Alliance, argued that it could put familiar Web sites such as Party Poker and Pacific Poker out of business while pushing gamblers to "rogue Web sites with no protection for children and no protection for problem gamblers."
If you are like me and don't believe this horse shit that's coming out, we need to get our voices out there dammit!! Sign a petition here if you are one of the multi-millions of Americans that play online poker.
For the jackasses from your state that voted to ban online poker just because the damn bill was attached to Port Security (total irrelevant to the poker topic), without debate a.k.a. no good reason, please do not re-elect them for their stupity. To find out who voted to ban online poker, click this link and while your at it, join the PPA to get your voice heard and to prevent the ban of online poker!!
Friday, September 29, 2006
What Comes Around, Goes Around
Now I know many people love Absolute Poker because of the many bonuses they offer and the weak fishies that play there... However, I could care less for the absolutely BS poker company. You are probably wondering, "Why am I saying this if the facts above are true?" Well, its not the crappy-ass software they have had for awhile but their support to me. Let me explain:
First off, I was looking for RB (rake back) as that is the thing to go for nowadays. This occurred in November of 2005. I brought my query to AP support memeber Lindsay. I told her that I had an account BUT never made an initial deposit and that my account had been idle over a year and was wondering if I could receive the RB from them. She okayed my question so I talked with an RB site and they confirmed everything. I made the deposit and started playing. A week into play, I still noticed that I haven't received any RB from AP so I email both parties back. Lindsay reassures me that I will be getting RB and to keep on playing. I do and more days pass and I still haven't received anything. I email my both parties again and now Lindsay isn't responding and would never respond again.
I am frustrated and cease play from the untrustworthy site. I email another member of AP support and they now say that they won't let me receive RB after a guarantee from one of their staff. I respond to them by saying that I even saved the mails from Lindsay but I didn't get a response back... I never contributed another cent of rake to this (AP = Absolutely Poor) poker site...
There are two things I can't stand from a poker site: (1) Support that doesn't help or respond (a Party Poker special may I add) and (2) People that lie. Absolute has done them both and therefore is on my ban list!
Now on to the goods news I just read from an article about the "karma" for AP involving them ponying up money for the players of their skin of Goal Poker. However, its sort of a good-bad deal as this gesture makes them come off like heros when I know that they are the scum of the poker world. Here's the article written by Dan Druff of NPW (not sure what that stands for):
Some of you (fortunately not many of you) may have an account on Goal Poker, which is an Absolute Poker skin based out of Europe. If you have any money there, it is time to stop playing and cash out now.
I cannot give details at this time, but I will shortly. Goal Poker is in grave danger of going under, and your money will likely go with it.
Here's one detail I'll let you guys in on:
During the WSOP, Goal generously gave a few seats away to the main event through freerolls. One problem: They never actually bought the seats, and the players were left high and dry! The panicky players complained to Absolute, who fortunately did the right thing and put these people in at their own expense. Absolute should have terminated their relationship with Goal at this point, but for some reason, they didn't.
As bad as things looked then, it has gotten worse. Again, I can't go into details at this time, but you would be wise to cash out every single dollar immediately. Fortunately, Goal is still processing cashouts at this time, but that could change any day.
Finally, take this situation as a reminder that you are not wise to leave large sums of money on poker sites. The smallest sites and skins are the most dangerous, as they could literally go under at any moment. The smaller sites also often have a dishonesty factor to them, where they are not reputable and will find flimsy excuses to freeze your account and funds. Your money isn't even completely safe on a larger site. While rooms like Stars and Party are rock-solid financially and are unlikely to steal your money, you are still susceptible to hackers and keyloggers, who could dump your chips and leave you with no recourse. It's best to consistently cash out and only leave the minimum of what you need to play
Although this is a small kink in AP's armor, I am glad some karma came around and bit them in the ass. More to come perhaps (and hopefully)...
First off, I was looking for RB (rake back) as that is the thing to go for nowadays. This occurred in November of 2005. I brought my query to AP support memeber Lindsay. I told her that I had an account BUT never made an initial deposit and that my account had been idle over a year and was wondering if I could receive the RB from them. She okayed my question so I talked with an RB site and they confirmed everything. I made the deposit and started playing. A week into play, I still noticed that I haven't received any RB from AP so I email both parties back. Lindsay reassures me that I will be getting RB and to keep on playing. I do and more days pass and I still haven't received anything. I email my both parties again and now Lindsay isn't responding and would never respond again.
I am frustrated and cease play from the untrustworthy site. I email another member of AP support and they now say that they won't let me receive RB after a guarantee from one of their staff. I respond to them by saying that I even saved the mails from Lindsay but I didn't get a response back... I never contributed another cent of rake to this (AP = Absolutely Poor) poker site...
There are two things I can't stand from a poker site: (1) Support that doesn't help or respond (a Party Poker special may I add) and (2) People that lie. Absolute has done them both and therefore is on my ban list!
Now on to the goods news I just read from an article about the "karma" for AP involving them ponying up money for the players of their skin of Goal Poker. However, its sort of a good-bad deal as this gesture makes them come off like heros when I know that they are the scum of the poker world. Here's the article written by Dan Druff of NPW (not sure what that stands for):
Some of you (fortunately not many of you) may have an account on Goal Poker, which is an Absolute Poker skin based out of Europe. If you have any money there, it is time to stop playing and cash out now.
I cannot give details at this time, but I will shortly. Goal Poker is in grave danger of going under, and your money will likely go with it.
Here's one detail I'll let you guys in on:
During the WSOP, Goal generously gave a few seats away to the main event through freerolls. One problem: They never actually bought the seats, and the players were left high and dry! The panicky players complained to Absolute, who fortunately did the right thing and put these people in at their own expense. Absolute should have terminated their relationship with Goal at this point, but for some reason, they didn't.
As bad as things looked then, it has gotten worse. Again, I can't go into details at this time, but you would be wise to cash out every single dollar immediately. Fortunately, Goal is still processing cashouts at this time, but that could change any day.
Finally, take this situation as a reminder that you are not wise to leave large sums of money on poker sites. The smallest sites and skins are the most dangerous, as they could literally go under at any moment. The smaller sites also often have a dishonesty factor to them, where they are not reputable and will find flimsy excuses to freeze your account and funds. Your money isn't even completely safe on a larger site. While rooms like Stars and Party are rock-solid financially and are unlikely to steal your money, you are still susceptible to hackers and keyloggers, who could dump your chips and leave you with no recourse. It's best to consistently cash out and only leave the minimum of what you need to play
Although this is a small kink in AP's armor, I am glad some karma came around and bit them in the ass. More to come perhaps (and hopefully)...
Thursday, September 28, 2006
TNA Impact Tonight
If you are a wrestling junky and still haven't discovered TNA, how the hell can you call yourself that?! Tonight's TNA Impact could mark the debut of one Kurt Angle. I know Angle has had neck problems and personal problems but the word around is that he is backk with his wife (Karen) and it appears the neck is good (has to be if you wrestle in TNA). So at 11pm tonight ladies and gents, turn your tubes to Spike TV for your "60 minute adrenaline rush" as Mike Tenay puts it.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
WSOP Main Event Final Table and Kurt Angle Thoughts!
WSOP Main Event Final Table
Well, I wasn't impressed with this year's WSOP Main Event coverage (I guess the duo of Lon and Norm doesn't help. Why does Lon always get so excited when somebody hits bottom pair...), seeing the luckbox Jamie Gold and his antics wasn't a pleasant thing for me. You might be surprised that I say this as I am a liker of Mike Matasow and a BIG fan of Phil Hellmuth. Mike has been brutal before (i.e. 2 years ago saying Raymer had little Chiquitas), but I don't recall him being a complete jackass in the middle of a hand nor telling his hands to his opponents. And of course, you have Phil Hellmuth who is quite as can be after making a bet and is a sore loser (which is ok and big reason why I like him. Who's antics are better than Phils?!). Boy when Jamie Gold took that one beat of AK losing to K10, he really exploded. But when you keep getting Q-Q going up against J-J after that beat, all is golden I guess...
Speaking of Phil Hellmuth, I bet you the hand Allen Cunningham busted out on (after making some impecable reads on Gold folding top pair a few times when it was no good and calling down with an Ace high for the winner!! Not easy against a monster chip leader that kept on getting lucky) when he saw Gold flip over the KJ, he said that I think I'm gonna puke... which translates to Phil's remark, "That maniac put all his money in with K-J?!" (vomit bucket ready)
Kurt Angle going to TNA... Yeah baby
Just when you thought Kurt Angle was done with wrestling, Angle will be moving to the big boys of wrestling TNA, which will also be moving to prime time in November. Angle left the WWE "for personal reasons" it stated (trying to get back with wife, bad neck, etc) but all appears to be well now. He made a shocking video appearance at the TNA No Surrender PPV on Sunday. I for one am very happy as a clam to see not only Angle back, but in the best wrestling business today. I haven't read the spoilers for Impact yet, but I sure damn hope to be surprised and see his debut the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling!!
Well, I wasn't impressed with this year's WSOP Main Event coverage (I guess the duo of Lon and Norm doesn't help. Why does Lon always get so excited when somebody hits bottom pair...), seeing the luckbox Jamie Gold and his antics wasn't a pleasant thing for me. You might be surprised that I say this as I am a liker of Mike Matasow and a BIG fan of Phil Hellmuth. Mike has been brutal before (i.e. 2 years ago saying Raymer had little Chiquitas), but I don't recall him being a complete jackass in the middle of a hand nor telling his hands to his opponents. And of course, you have Phil Hellmuth who is quite as can be after making a bet and is a sore loser (which is ok and big reason why I like him. Who's antics are better than Phils?!). Boy when Jamie Gold took that one beat of AK losing to K10, he really exploded. But when you keep getting Q-Q going up against J-J after that beat, all is golden I guess...
Speaking of Phil Hellmuth, I bet you the hand Allen Cunningham busted out on (after making some impecable reads on Gold folding top pair a few times when it was no good and calling down with an Ace high for the winner!! Not easy against a monster chip leader that kept on getting lucky) when he saw Gold flip over the KJ, he said that I think I'm gonna puke... which translates to Phil's remark, "That maniac put all his money in with K-J?!" (vomit bucket ready)
Kurt Angle going to TNA... Yeah baby
Just when you thought Kurt Angle was done with wrestling, Angle will be moving to the big boys of wrestling TNA, which will also be moving to prime time in November. Angle left the WWE "for personal reasons" it stated (trying to get back with wife, bad neck, etc) but all appears to be well now. He made a shocking video appearance at the TNA No Surrender PPV on Sunday. I for one am very happy as a clam to see not only Angle back, but in the best wrestling business today. I haven't read the spoilers for Impact yet, but I sure damn hope to be surprised and see his debut the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling!!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
BPT Event # 1 and Feast of Love Take 2... Lights, Camera, Backround!
BPT
Well, I was probably at least 30 mins late for the inaugurial event of season 2 of the BPT. I guess you could say I pulled a Beerman, who has been known to be late for a few of these, but his reasons are legit at least. Just kiddin Mike and promoting your site ;-) Your coverage is great and if your great poker skills somehow short you to win this nice Aussie Millions package, Mike will be blogging his way there.
I lost about half my chips but manage to steal blinds. The fatal blow came when I got dealt Route 66 in the BB. The button and SB call my BB of 300 and I push my just less than stack of 1500 in. Button folds (he said he really wanted to call so I was surprised he didn't) and SB makes a questionable call with KQ off. Flop comes 6-K-3 giving me a set but my opponent isn't completely dead pairing and having the Q of spades for the flush draw. He gets there on the river and I'm out in 22nd.
Feast of Love
I didn't have to get up at 4:00 this time as I got a later call time. Got to about NW 4th and Glisan at about 7:15, 15 mins early and they had a shuttle ready to take all the extras. Amazingly, the parking structure they told us to go to was almost empty so I was skeptic if I was in the right spot but the gentleman working there said so.
It was pretty much a similar shoot to that that occurred at Reed College. Students going wild after a football game while the actors try to drive through trying to get their friend to the hospital. I didn't get the thrill of almost getting hit by a car again, but got up close to the actors car (an old crappy Volvo) acting fanatic! Once again, Greg Kinnear (and his double stunt driver who looks like Greg's bro) is an animal behind the wheel as he made other peoples dreams/adrenaline go up by almost hitting them with the Volvo!
On a sidenote, Morgan Freeman was once again MIA (missing in action) although I heard that all his scenes were done shooting before yesterday. Too bad...
Well, I was probably at least 30 mins late for the inaugurial event of season 2 of the BPT. I guess you could say I pulled a Beerman, who has been known to be late for a few of these, but his reasons are legit at least. Just kiddin Mike and promoting your site ;-) Your coverage is great and if your great poker skills somehow short you to win this nice Aussie Millions package, Mike will be blogging his way there.
I lost about half my chips but manage to steal blinds. The fatal blow came when I got dealt Route 66 in the BB. The button and SB call my BB of 300 and I push my just less than stack of 1500 in. Button folds (he said he really wanted to call so I was surprised he didn't) and SB makes a questionable call with KQ off. Flop comes 6-K-3 giving me a set but my opponent isn't completely dead pairing and having the Q of spades for the flush draw. He gets there on the river and I'm out in 22nd.
Feast of Love
I didn't have to get up at 4:00 this time as I got a later call time. Got to about NW 4th and Glisan at about 7:15, 15 mins early and they had a shuttle ready to take all the extras. Amazingly, the parking structure they told us to go to was almost empty so I was skeptic if I was in the right spot but the gentleman working there said so.
It was pretty much a similar shoot to that that occurred at Reed College. Students going wild after a football game while the actors try to drive through trying to get their friend to the hospital. I didn't get the thrill of almost getting hit by a car again, but got up close to the actors car (an old crappy Volvo) acting fanatic! Once again, Greg Kinnear (and his double stunt driver who looks like Greg's bro) is an animal behind the wheel as he made other peoples dreams/adrenaline go up by almost hitting them with the Volvo!
On a sidenote, Morgan Freeman was once again MIA (missing in action) although I heard that all his scenes were done shooting before yesterday. Too bad...
Friday, September 22, 2006
The BPT is Back at poker.com!!
The BPT aka "Blogger Poker Tour" (arguably "The Best Poker Tour") is making its return tomorrow at poker.com and is bigger and more bad ass!! What is the BPT you ask? Well junior, it's a series of $500 FREEROLL events hosted by poker.com open to people with a consistent poker blog. Last year, numerous prizes were given away like poker.com gear, iPods, poker tables, a new computer, and of course the main prize, a seat at the 2006 WSOP Main Event!!
I was really surprised on how small the fields for these tournaments were. Well, since the first series of freeroll tournaments, the traffic has substantially increased so I am expecting some stiff and fun (that sounds funny...) competition. The prizes are legit as well as I had my share of cashes (3 cashes, including 2 in the top 5. I won the BPT Event III last year) and scored some nice poker swag as well (shirt, cards, card holder, key chain, sandals). Still not convinced, ask player EgonOlson who won his seat to the WSOP through a minute field... for free!!
Well ladies and gents, boys and girls, children of all agaes (well people above 18 I guess): Season two is going to try to top that with more luxiourious prizes including more poker.com customized tables, more Ipods, and of course the grand prize, a trip to Australia and a seat into the prestigous Aussie Millions event in January!
Remember, these events are absolutely free with no slouch prizes. What other chance are you going to get to win a trip to Australia and play in the Aussie Millions for free?! Need to make a new account at "pokerdotcom"... use this link here
To register for the BPT, you can use this link here.
Good luck everybody!!
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Stars 1.5 Million Guarantee
Haven't posted much about poker lately because of bad sessions and bad luck and nobody wants to hear another bad beat story right...? ( ;-D )
Well, I'll be brief on this, but first, I would like to thank Ellen from PA Forum for putting a satellite together in which I happened to win my seat to this prestigious event.
2500 in starting chips and 30 minute levels. Never could get out of the gates. Bluffs didn't work and when I had K-K a few times in multi-way pots, an ace would hit. I somehow make it to hour 2 and near the end of it, I'm down to 1250. Blinds are 75-150. I get those dreaded Kings again in the BB and and its folded around to the cutoff who raises to 450. I decide to just call 300 so I could possibly throw my hand away if an Ace or a scary flop came. Flop came J-8-2 rainbow. I check, she bets and I push all-in and she instantly calls and turns over 8-8 for a set. Jesus Christ how I hate pocket Kings... King on turn wow and it holds up! I steal some blinds with my then decent stack with mediocure hands and then get an AK and double threw that. I somehow get my stack to over 1400 going into the 3rd hour.
Well, that didn't last long as my KQ from the small blind took on a raise from mid position. He has a semi-low stack and I called his 3x raise. Flop comes 2-10-K. I made a mistake by check raising making me pot committed (should have led bet and fold to his raise) and he flips over 10-10 for the set and it holds. Jesus, I these kings of hell. (There was also one hand where I had KQo and the flop came 6-K-6. I bet and got raised and my opponent showed 7-6 for trips. Why didn't apply this same strategy here?!).
So now I have about 7000 in chips and 2 hands later I get an AK of spades and pot for 3x on the cutoff. I get a call from the button (who had chips but had been really tight lately) and the BB. Flop comes A-K-8 with 2 clubs. There is 2700 in the pot and I bet 1800. Only the button calls. I figured the button to have a weaker ace like A-5, A-6, A-7. No way I'd put him on 2 suited cards the way he'd been playing. Turn is a 6 of clubs. I bet and we eventually get all our chips in and he flips over 10-9 of clubs and the river doesn't improve me and go out in about 1300th out of 4495 peeps.
Fuck, I feel deflated and very shitty after hanging in and playing awful the 1st two-and-a-half hours and then playing well for about 40 mins or so to get my stack up and then to play the 2nd shittiest poker of my career (other than the 1st 5-6 hours in Day 1 of the WPT World Poker Challenge this year). For those poker junkies out there, how would you have played the AK hand I mentioned above? I mean I overbet the flop and he still called and the way he played, I don't think he would be chasing a flush and if he had a set, so be it with my top 2 their? It's time to take a break from the tourny world until I find a way to improve my luck (any1 have any ideas?) What can you do when you get your money in as the favorite and your hand doesn't hold after playing for over 3 hours (or more)?
Hope you enjoyed reading kiddies.
Well, I'll be brief on this, but first, I would like to thank Ellen from PA Forum for putting a satellite together in which I happened to win my seat to this prestigious event.
2500 in starting chips and 30 minute levels. Never could get out of the gates. Bluffs didn't work and when I had K-K a few times in multi-way pots, an ace would hit. I somehow make it to hour 2 and near the end of it, I'm down to 1250. Blinds are 75-150. I get those dreaded Kings again in the BB and and its folded around to the cutoff who raises to 450. I decide to just call 300 so I could possibly throw my hand away if an Ace or a scary flop came. Flop came J-8-2 rainbow. I check, she bets and I push all-in and she instantly calls and turns over 8-8 for a set. Jesus Christ how I hate pocket Kings... King on turn wow and it holds up! I steal some blinds with my then decent stack with mediocure hands and then get an AK and double threw that. I somehow get my stack to over 1400 going into the 3rd hour.
Well, that didn't last long as my KQ from the small blind took on a raise from mid position. He has a semi-low stack and I called his 3x raise. Flop comes 2-10-K. I made a mistake by check raising making me pot committed (should have led bet and fold to his raise) and he flips over 10-10 for the set and it holds. Jesus, I these kings of hell. (There was also one hand where I had KQo and the flop came 6-K-6. I bet and got raised and my opponent showed 7-6 for trips. Why didn't apply this same strategy here?!).
So now I have about 7000 in chips and 2 hands later I get an AK of spades and pot for 3x on the cutoff. I get a call from the button (who had chips but had been really tight lately) and the BB. Flop comes A-K-8 with 2 clubs. There is 2700 in the pot and I bet 1800. Only the button calls. I figured the button to have a weaker ace like A-5, A-6, A-7. No way I'd put him on 2 suited cards the way he'd been playing. Turn is a 6 of clubs. I bet and we eventually get all our chips in and he flips over 10-9 of clubs and the river doesn't improve me and go out in about 1300th out of 4495 peeps.
Fuck, I feel deflated and very shitty after hanging in and playing awful the 1st two-and-a-half hours and then playing well for about 40 mins or so to get my stack up and then to play the 2nd shittiest poker of my career (other than the 1st 5-6 hours in Day 1 of the WPT World Poker Challenge this year). For those poker junkies out there, how would you have played the AK hand I mentioned above? I mean I overbet the flop and he still called and the way he played, I don't think he would be chasing a flush and if he had a set, so be it with my top 2 their? It's time to take a break from the tourny world until I find a way to improve my luck (any1 have any ideas?) What can you do when you get your money in as the favorite and your hand doesn't hold after playing for over 3 hours (or more)?
Hope you enjoyed reading kiddies.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Dancing with the Stars and Farewell Trish
I meant to touch on the topic of WWE Diva Trish Stratus yesterday, but I was catching the likes of Joey Lawrence, Emmit Smith, Mario Lopez, and Jerry Springer on Dancing with the Stars. Opps, did I just admit that, but really, it is a great great show. I didn't see the 1st season of the show but since Jerry Rice and Stacy Kiebler were on the last season, I had to watch and you know what, the dancing is damn empressive. Bruno the judge is hilarious and his comment toward Mario about having some extra batteries in his pants made almost piss myself! Ah, Mario Lopez stoll the show last night. I remember a certain episode of Saved by the Bell where Mario danced the ballet and it was very funny and impressive. Mario appeared to be the goof in his extras before the dance but in the end, it pulled it off as I thought he would and got the highest score. At a boy AC Slater... I mean Super Mario.
Jerry Springer's performance was obviously not the best but his dancing and facial expressions reminded me of George Hamilton from last season which is a very good thing. Bruno even gives Springer the remark of being similar to Hamilton and I'm thinking I should be a judge on that show. If only they'd get rid of that snotty Carrie Ann judge...
On to Trish Stratus now... When I first saw this beautiful diva enter the WWF (now WWE), I thought she was just an eye-candy attraction. But little would the cacoon become a shinning butterfly in the ring dominating the women's division and holding a record 6-time Woman's Championship. Monday night marked the last appearance of Trish on cable TV. Although not as eye-tearing as Agassi's speech, Trish said her goodbye to the fans and this Sunday will mark her final match at Unforgiven in her hometown of Toronto where she'll try to go out a 7-time champion. Best of luck in the future careers Trish!!
Jerry Springer's performance was obviously not the best but his dancing and facial expressions reminded me of George Hamilton from last season which is a very good thing. Bruno even gives Springer the remark of being similar to Hamilton and I'm thinking I should be a judge on that show. If only they'd get rid of that snotty Carrie Ann judge...
On to Trish Stratus now... When I first saw this beautiful diva enter the WWF (now WWE), I thought she was just an eye-candy attraction. But little would the cacoon become a shinning butterfly in the ring dominating the women's division and holding a record 6-time Woman's Championship. Monday night marked the last appearance of Trish on cable TV. Although not as eye-tearing as Agassi's speech, Trish said her goodbye to the fans and this Sunday will mark her final match at Unforgiven in her hometown of Toronto where she'll try to go out a 7-time champion. Best of luck in the future careers Trish!!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Kiss Goodbye
The final chapter in the great Andre Agassi's tennis career has been written after following to legend "B. Becker"... Borris Becker... no wait, "B" as is young up-and-coming star Benjamin Becker.
What was a very emotional scene and speech delivered by the poker legend brought tears to my eyes. Best of luck in the tennis after life Andre!!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Just a Living Agassi and the Winner of his 2nd Round Match
Wowzers!! I didn't think that Andre Agassi's match on Monday vs Andrei Pavel could be topped but then again... it's the US Open, the New York mojo, and of course, Andre Agassi! This was suppose to be Andre's "last match" as he would be taking on a sizzling player and the number 8 seat Marcos "Who's your Baghdaddy" Baghdatis. But wait a tic, Andre comes out scorching hot taking the first two sets 6-4, 6-4. Baghdatis would finally break and take the 3rd set 3-6 and it would look like Marcos was getting the momentum to come back.
Fourth set however, Agassi jumps up to a 4-0 lead. Two points away from advancing and then dejovo happens from Monday where the 4-0 lead is like a one point lead in basketball. Only this time, it would be Agassi losing a 4-0 lead and Baghdatis would rally and end up winning the set and 5-7. What kind of bizarre thing are the tennis gods playing when there are two 4-0 leads that can't hold.
All the momentum in the world has now shifted to Marcos Baghdatis. Agassi starts the 5th set losing serve after a Baghdatis break but then, Baghdatis starts getting cramps. Oh, the tennis gods must be shinning down on Andre. Agassi would take the break point in the immediate round. Baghdatis would get some minor relief from his trainer and the serves would hold up with the score 5-5. It's Agassi's serve and Baghdatis would get the point to a Deuce before reaggravating his cramps. Unbelievable, Baghdatis would still hit winners and hard-earned some break points before finally faultering after the 8th Deuce.
The end finally comes as Baghdatis' legs cannot hold up and loses serve next point and our Hero Andre Agassi advances. As much as we all want Andre to do well for his finale, Marcos Baghdatis definitely deserved to win this match. The tennis world will definitely be seeing more of him, but for now, its onward for Andre as he plays "B. Becker" as Jonny-Mac put it. Best of skill and luck Andre!!
Fourth set however, Agassi jumps up to a 4-0 lead. Two points away from advancing and then dejovo happens from Monday where the 4-0 lead is like a one point lead in basketball. Only this time, it would be Agassi losing a 4-0 lead and Baghdatis would rally and end up winning the set and 5-7. What kind of bizarre thing are the tennis gods playing when there are two 4-0 leads that can't hold.
All the momentum in the world has now shifted to Marcos Baghdatis. Agassi starts the 5th set losing serve after a Baghdatis break but then, Baghdatis starts getting cramps. Oh, the tennis gods must be shinning down on Andre. Agassi would take the break point in the immediate round. Baghdatis would get some minor relief from his trainer and the serves would hold up with the score 5-5. It's Agassi's serve and Baghdatis would get the point to a Deuce before reaggravating his cramps. Unbelievable, Baghdatis would still hit winners and hard-earned some break points before finally faultering after the 8th Deuce.
The end finally comes as Baghdatis' legs cannot hold up and loses serve next point and our Hero Andre Agassi advances. As much as we all want Andre to do well for his finale, Marcos Baghdatis definitely deserved to win this match. The tennis world will definitely be seeing more of him, but for now, its onward for Andre as he plays "B. Becker" as Jonny-Mac put it. Best of skill and luck Andre!!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
New York Mojo and Magic
Earlier this year, tennis legend Andre Agassi remarked that he'd be retiring after this year's US Open.Yesterday marked the beginning of Andre Agassi's "Farewell Tour" at the Open. The Living Agassi and the Leader of the Band (that's a song lyric somewhere I believe...) drew a first round opponent of another Andre... Andre Pavel. Although unseated, Pavel was no slouch. Pavel's backhand shots were very impressive that it would have Rick James jealous. Things didn't look all that stellar to start as Pavel would take the 1st set 7-6.
It seemed as if Pavel would also take the 2nd set as Pavel seemed to win his points more easily than Andre. New York, however, wouldn't let our hero die. Agassi, saying that he was determined to stay the entire 2 weeks of the Open (post-interview), dug down and lit a fire taking the 2nd set tie break.
After the intermission, the camera catches Agassi doing a happy skip. My man Jonny-Mac in the booth makes fun of Pavel taking offense to that and I guess it showed. Maybe, Agassi was winded playing his A+ game just to win a tie-break 2nd set. Whatever it was, it looked dreary as Andre would lose his first two serves and trail 0-4. After this, I jokingly posted on my computer that Pavel wasn't suppose to win. I was about to just switch the channels and decided to hang tough like the NY faithful. Well, the tennis gods must of heard me... After this bleak situation and my praying words, Andre, changes his racket and Pavel appears to get stomach problems affecting his movement. I would assume it was stomach problems because they didn't show Pavel get injuried in any replays. I belive Jonny-Mac makes a great line of an antiacid will be given to Pavel after the next break... Holy smokes, after 5 straight points, Agassi now leads the 3rd set 5-4!! Andre goes on to win the 3rd set in a 8-6 tie-break.
Pavel is obviously frustrated. He kicks the ball after so much heat from the crowd and the crowd gets on him even more. This is something John McEnroe would be proud of along with his killer backhand. I gotta feeling this Pavel could be a great Jonny-Mac to come.
As the tennis gods came to their senses, the New York magic, and Agassi's mojo, there was no way Andre would go out in the first round as Agassi comes back literally from the cliff of Mt. Everest and climbs to the top! If Pete Sampras can go out on top by winning the US Open, I sure hope the magic is still alive for our American hero Andre Agassi to fulfill the same destiny...
Thursday, August 17, 2006
I'm in "The Feast of Love"... as a Movie Extra...
As if you thought I'd become a pimp or something and you are thinking, "No way in hell," you would be correct. However, yesterday, I had the opportunity and privilege to be in a few of the shoots and one out of the few 300 hundred backround extras in the upcoming movie, "The Feast of Love."
I heard about this opportunity from one of the production guys that got his car fixed at my father's shop. He had been a repeat customer of my dad's and he knew that Danny (that was his name) had been doing a lot in commercial shoots... Well, this time, Danny had moved up to this "Feast of Love" movie that has stars of Morgan Freeman (who unfortunately MIA yesterday), Selma Blair, and Greg Kinnear (who is quite the stunt driver, read below to find out) to name a few. Danny was in charge of finding extras so by chance, I got to meet him and get a spot as an extra.
Got up at about 4:50am and ended driving about 30 mins to Reed College where the shoot was being held. In the extras' roles, which was compressed with many college students, we are leaving a football game. Some of us are happy that we won (me) and some are bummed out from losing. As we are making our way back to our cars/shuttle buses, somebody playing recreational football, gets a hard attack or some heart failure. They, then rush an old piece of crap Volvo in (I said it was symbolic for a Hurst, the vechicle that usually caries the dead in a casket) and storms off. Greg Kinnear is driving the car, and I am surprised this guy isn't competing against Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr!! Kinnear pushes the Volvo, like a rocket into the streets not before almost hitting some of the students. I had jokingly requested to be almost be run-over by the car to the poeple next, but as faith had it, I was near the front of the line when the Volvo came a-charging!! The first take, I was in the front of the line, and I feel hard on my ass trying to back-peddle and the guy behind me grabbed me as a kept a very good paniced look on my face. Unfortunately, there was only one camera moving around at the time and I believed they missed me and only got the car shoot. I got moved back to the 3rd row after that so I don't know how well that turned out. This was definitely the highlight of the shoot and I'll have to buy a ticket sometime when this movie comes out in 2007 to see if I made the cut...
I heard about this opportunity from one of the production guys that got his car fixed at my father's shop. He had been a repeat customer of my dad's and he knew that Danny (that was his name) had been doing a lot in commercial shoots... Well, this time, Danny had moved up to this "Feast of Love" movie that has stars of Morgan Freeman (who unfortunately MIA yesterday), Selma Blair, and Greg Kinnear (who is quite the stunt driver, read below to find out) to name a few. Danny was in charge of finding extras so by chance, I got to meet him and get a spot as an extra.
Got up at about 4:50am and ended driving about 30 mins to Reed College where the shoot was being held. In the extras' roles, which was compressed with many college students, we are leaving a football game. Some of us are happy that we won (me) and some are bummed out from losing. As we are making our way back to our cars/shuttle buses, somebody playing recreational football, gets a hard attack or some heart failure. They, then rush an old piece of crap Volvo in (I said it was symbolic for a Hurst, the vechicle that usually caries the dead in a casket) and storms off. Greg Kinnear is driving the car, and I am surprised this guy isn't competing against Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt Jr!! Kinnear pushes the Volvo, like a rocket into the streets not before almost hitting some of the students. I had jokingly requested to be almost be run-over by the car to the poeple next, but as faith had it, I was near the front of the line when the Volvo came a-charging!! The first take, I was in the front of the line, and I feel hard on my ass trying to back-peddle and the guy behind me grabbed me as a kept a very good paniced look on my face. Unfortunately, there was only one camera moving around at the time and I believed they missed me and only got the car shoot. I got moved back to the 3rd row after that so I don't know how well that turned out. This was definitely the highlight of the shoot and I'll have to buy a ticket sometime when this movie comes out in 2007 to see if I made the cut...
Friday, August 11, 2006
Fool's Gold: Second Thoughts of the "Golden Boy" Jamie Gold
Stumbling upon an ESPN interview with Jamie Gold, I have to change my congrats to Mr. Gold to a plain ol' quote from my hero Phil Hellmuth: "No Comment..."
Well, ok one comment. After this interview, I must critique Jamie's call of 5.5 million with K-J after only having 1 million invested was a terrible play. I guess he really was playing for anything but first, but since he was such a luckbox, he was unfortunately bound for first...
Well, ok one comment. After this interview, I must critique Jamie's call of 5.5 million with K-J after only having 1 million invested was a terrible play. I guess he really was playing for anything but first, but since he was such a luckbox, he was unfortunately bound for first...
Golden Main Event for Jamie Gold
For the past three and a half day, Jamie Gold was the chip leader in this year's WSOP Main Event and he would never relinquish that lead going into the final table. During the final table play, he would further seperate himself from his opponents with no body coming near him which ultimately led to his destiny to capture the convenent bracelet. How about that: a guy named "Moneymaker" does the unthinkable and now a guy name "Gold" achieves the same... Maybe I should change my last name to "Plantinum"...
My pick and probably favorite to win the Main Event was seasoned pro Allen Cunningham. Cunningham came into the final table starting out in a distanced 2nd in chips and could never really get over the barrier. From reading Allen's last hand, he pushed all-in for 6.5 million with a pair of 10s, and Gold, only having 1 million in the pot, commits another 5.5 million with only a K-J... (We all know how Phil Hellmuth feels about K-J :-D). I don't know all the details, but I have to say that was a bad call. Allen could have easily had a big pair or AK and out of all the people at the table, Cunningham is the one you don't want to double up. However, since Gold had such a MONSTER chip lead, I can't complete fault the play of calling and it turned out well for Gold as he spiked his King.
Congrats to the final 12 that made a instant million plus and congrats to Jamie Gold, the new "Golden Boy" of poker!
My pick and probably favorite to win the Main Event was seasoned pro Allen Cunningham. Cunningham came into the final table starting out in a distanced 2nd in chips and could never really get over the barrier. From reading Allen's last hand, he pushed all-in for 6.5 million with a pair of 10s, and Gold, only having 1 million in the pot, commits another 5.5 million with only a K-J... (We all know how Phil Hellmuth feels about K-J :-D). I don't know all the details, but I have to say that was a bad call. Allen could have easily had a big pair or AK and out of all the people at the table, Cunningham is the one you don't want to double up. However, since Gold had such a MONSTER chip lead, I can't complete fault the play of calling and it turned out well for Gold as he spiked his King.
Congrats to the final 12 that made a instant million plus and congrats to Jamie Gold, the new "Golden Boy" of poker!
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Nice Guys Finish...
We all heard the saying, "Nice guys finish last." Well, try telling that to "The Nicest Guy in Poker" Allen Cunningham. In 2005, not only did Cunningham take home a bracelet, but he also took the prize of becoming WSOP Player of the year. Tonight, but most likely early tomorrow mourning, Allen will have a shot at finishing 1st in the (Big One) WSOP Main Event. Cunningham will enter today's final table 2nd in chips just under 18 million only trailing the chip leader for the past 3 days or so, Jamie Gold (22,650,000 TC). So as other saying goes, "First is the worst (though not true here IMO), second is the best (argueably the best at this final table)," I'm going to go on a bold predictiom on saying that the nice guy will finish first...
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Joe Sebok, "The Boy Wonder"
Guys, if you haven't heard about the bet between Joe Sebok and Gavin Smith, these 2 poker behemoths (well actually Joe isn't that colossal of a figure but hey, he has made quite a name for himself in the poker world recently) made a prop bet on who would perform better in the WSOP Events before the Main Event. The loser of the bet would have to come to the WSOP Main Event dressed up as a superhero. Unfortunately for my buddy Joe, he came up on the short end of the bet and would have dawn the Robin tights (and probably to the likes of many others in not seeing Gavin in a dress or tights!!)
To see Joe as "The Boy Wonder" courteousy of Card Player, click here!
Ok now, for those of you that care about me (maybe 2 of you or so I hope...), the poker gods haven't been that kind to me. Especially getting pocket rockets, I don't recall winning at all for the longest time with this hand. If reminds of the luck Antonio Esfandiari has on High Stakes Poker with this truely hand of weapons of mass destruction. Two times today, I've lost including this dandy of a hand here where I get all my money in preflop vs. Kings. I'll be thinking about this nightmare in my dreams as I try sleep now...
To see Joe as "The Boy Wonder" courteousy of Card Player, click here!
Ok now, for those of you that care about me (maybe 2 of you or so I hope...), the poker gods haven't been that kind to me. Especially getting pocket rockets, I don't recall winning at all for the longest time with this hand. If reminds of the luck Antonio Esfandiari has on High Stakes Poker with this truely hand of weapons of mass destruction. Two times today, I've lost including this dandy of a hand here where I get all my money in preflop vs. Kings. I'll be thinking about this nightmare in my dreams as I try sleep now...
Thursday, July 27, 2006
I have Conformed to MySpace...
Alright, if the facebook thing wasn't enough, the MySpace thing has been even more addictive that I thought it could have been. Hearing all these famous peeps that have MySpace, I decided to open an account. Right now, I have Phil Gordon, Clonie Gowen, and Joe Sebok on my buddy lists that I know are legit. I even have Phil Hellmuth as a buddy but I am uncertain if its him or not... Be the judge for yourself. Check my profile, and find Phil under my "Friends" area. I also have buddy accounts with some of my wrestling heroes like "Canadian Destroyer" Petey Williams, Chris "Hail" Sabin, and "Showtime" Eric Young. If you don't have an account, I suggest you give it a shot. If you have one and would like to add me as a buddy, check my profile and hit add kiddos!!
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Full-Philled!!
History in the making early this mourning as "Poker Brat" Phil Hellmuth tied legends Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan by winning his 10th bracelet. As mentioned earlier, Phil had a tremendous opportunity in the $5000 Holdem Event, but the poker gods had contradicting thoughts and wanted to see a Hellmuth blowup. Well, to the surprise of many, there was no Hellmuth erruption after he blew a huge lead HU vs. Jeff Cabanillas.
The $1000 NL Holdem Event w/Rebuys saw Hellmuth enter the final table as the chip leader. Things looked stellar as Phil maintained and developed an adequate chip lead. However, when the final remained between Hellmuth, WPT Paris Finalist Juha Helppi, and Dayrn Firicano, Phil was the shortstack. Could this be another debacle/choke?
A key hand in the tourny where Phil is getting shortstacked and pushes with pocket fives and Juha's makes the call with Ah, 6d. Presto, as a five peels off but so do 3 diamonds which gives Helppi the flush draw. The Queen of diamonds hits and now Phil is one card away from falling short of number 10 again. The board pairs Queens and now Phil is rejuvinated and the chip count is about even.
The poker gods wouldn't be able to stop the man that has been claiming to be playing the best poker of his career this time as my man Phil Hellmuth rose above the challenge and pressure and finally captured number 10!! Well, the poker gods will definitely see an erruption from Phil this time, but this time, it will be a that of a joyous celebration instead of a ranting tantrum. Congrats Phil!! Most deserved and long overdue!!
The $1000 NL Holdem Event w/Rebuys saw Hellmuth enter the final table as the chip leader. Things looked stellar as Phil maintained and developed an adequate chip lead. However, when the final remained between Hellmuth, WPT Paris Finalist Juha Helppi, and Dayrn Firicano, Phil was the shortstack. Could this be another debacle/choke?
A key hand in the tourny where Phil is getting shortstacked and pushes with pocket fives and Juha's makes the call with Ah, 6d. Presto, as a five peels off but so do 3 diamonds which gives Helppi the flush draw. The Queen of diamonds hits and now Phil is one card away from falling short of number 10 again. The board pairs Queens and now Phil is rejuvinated and the chip count is about even.
The poker gods wouldn't be able to stop the man that has been claiming to be playing the best poker of his career this time as my man Phil Hellmuth rose above the challenge and pressure and finally captured number 10!! Well, the poker gods will definitely see an erruption from Phil this time, but this time, it will be a that of a joyous celebration instead of a ranting tantrum. Congrats Phil!! Most deserved and long overdue!!
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Unfull-Philled Still... Is Tonight the Night...?!
So far, Phil Ivey has made two final tables at this year's WSOP and has finished 2nd and 3rd which is good enough for multi-thousands of dollars of pay, but no bracelet.
My man, Phil Hellmuth, also making two final tables, blew one big lead heads-up and finished 2nd along with a 6th place finish is good enough for well, basically nothing. Phil has said numerous times that he doesn't care about the money. Well, tonight, Phil Hellmuth enters the final table of $1000 + 1000 rebuy tournament in 1st place and has another sublime opportunity to make history. I'm pulling for ya Phil!
I am also pulling for ESPN to actually put this event on TV for future broadcasting. Rumor has it that when Phil Hellmuth finished 2nd in the $5000 Holdem Event, they only had one frickin camera sent to the table and decided to feature another event that day. Well, dammit, you (the chip leader) whose name is Phil Hellmuth and you got (short stack) Tong G at the same final table. "Poker Brat" vs. "The Australian Airbag" = RATINGS!! Could this get any better?! ESPN, don't muck this up!!
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My slump of winning/cashing decently in a tournament slump is finally over. I cashed for $187.5 (big to me) last Saturday but am unfullifilled because I also blew a good chips lead after being down heads up, somehow recovered, and then choked.
My man, Phil Hellmuth, also making two final tables, blew one big lead heads-up and finished 2nd along with a 6th place finish is good enough for well, basically nothing. Phil has said numerous times that he doesn't care about the money. Well, tonight, Phil Hellmuth enters the final table of $1000 + 1000 rebuy tournament in 1st place and has another sublime opportunity to make history. I'm pulling for ya Phil!
I am also pulling for ESPN to actually put this event on TV for future broadcasting. Rumor has it that when Phil Hellmuth finished 2nd in the $5000 Holdem Event, they only had one frickin camera sent to the table and decided to feature another event that day. Well, dammit, you (the chip leader) whose name is Phil Hellmuth and you got (short stack) Tong G at the same final table. "Poker Brat" vs. "The Australian Airbag" = RATINGS!! Could this get any better?! ESPN, don't muck this up!!
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My slump of winning/cashing decently in a tournament slump is finally over. I cashed for $187.5 (big to me) last Saturday but am unfullifilled because I also blew a good chips lead after being down heads up, somehow recovered, and then choked.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Hellmuth Gets a Second Chance at History
Oh boy. Legend poker brat Phil Hellmuth recently came up just shy of capturing his 10th bracelet in the $5,000 NL holdem event at this year's WSOP. Tonight, Phil gets another chance to join godfather of poker Doyle Brunson and the Oriental Express Johnny Chan to hold 10 bracelet. However, all of Hellmuth's bracelets have come from Holdem events. The event tonight will be Omaha 8/B. Currently, Phil is in 2nd in chips so it's not a long shot and it's about time Hellmuth captured a bracelet in a WSOP other than Holdem.
I meant to write about this earlier, but I somehow forgot. On a different note, the poker site PokerHost appears to be going south. When I went to Reno, they had a whole bunch of people from their brand at tables and wandering around trying to get their cards out. Well, at Vegas, there was no site of them. On another interesting note, I've noticed that all of their pros that have sponsored them have abandoned their ship. Men "The Master" Nguyen has made a move to Poker4Ever, Hoyt Corkins has moved over to Doyle Brunson's site, and Ted Forrest, who recently wore a PokerHost shirt at the NBC Headsup Championships, has switched over to join Yosh Nakano as co-captain at PokBlue. What does this mean for PokerHost? Well, I don't really give a damn as I've don't have an account there and probably won't because of all the flaky things I've heard about them, and I guess the pros have discovered the same. I thought I'd pass this along with some free time on my hand.
Hope you enjoyed.
I meant to write about this earlier, but I somehow forgot. On a different note, the poker site PokerHost appears to be going south. When I went to Reno, they had a whole bunch of people from their brand at tables and wandering around trying to get their cards out. Well, at Vegas, there was no site of them. On another interesting note, I've noticed that all of their pros that have sponsored them have abandoned their ship. Men "The Master" Nguyen has made a move to Poker4Ever, Hoyt Corkins has moved over to Doyle Brunson's site, and Ted Forrest, who recently wore a PokerHost shirt at the NBC Headsup Championships, has switched over to join Yosh Nakano as co-captain at PokBlue. What does this mean for PokerHost? Well, I don't really give a damn as I've don't have an account there and probably won't because of all the flaky things I've heard about them, and I guess the pros have discovered the same. I thought I'd pass this along with some free time on my hand.
Hope you enjoyed.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
I Got My Ass Whipped in Vegas
I thought my performance in Reno was pretty bad the first 2 hours of that tournament but if I thought that was horrific, the $1000 WSOP NL event was even worse as I didn't even make it to the 2nd hour.
A combination of bad luck and bad playing on my behalf that could be equivalent (or worse) to James Van Alstine's WPT World Championship performance would be a good analagy (or the way David Matthew shuffled his chips) to the way I played. Starting off with a meager $1000TC instead of $10,000TC limited you to make mistakes early. The fact that I was dealt pocket kings about the 10th hand of the tourny on the cutoff (sounds good) only to lose to the big blind's spectacular hand of J8 (this guy was very loose throughout my stay didn't make things worse (good thing an ace hit or I probably would have been broke there).
Twenty minutes into the tourny, "The Hitman" Ted Forrest shows up to the tourny 2 seats to my left. I had a feeling that maybe the great Phil Hellmuth had a seat next to me because of his many infamous appearances. I even joke to Ted that I thought Phil had that seat reserved but it was fine that he appeared (actually no, I wanted a table change!) Even Ted has to show his ID to the dealer before he can go on and I remark, "Even Ted has to show his ID. I see Ted and his aggressive style bluff his was to a good amount of chips with one hand with an AK to the loose-goose that cracked my kings where Ted bet out every street and won with Ace high.
Then, this doozy of a hand came up. Blinds are at 25-50. Ted smooth calls in early position and the small blind calls and check for free from the BB with 5-7. Flop comes A-7-2 with 2 clubs. I bet 100, Ted calls and the SB folds. Right now, I am putting Ted on a flush draw. Turn is another ace. I decide to check and Ted bets 200. I think and put Ted on a hand like QJ or J10 of clubs seeing his aggressive style. River is a 7 giving me 7s full of aces. I check and Ted fires 400. I stare at Ted, and he doesn't flinch like one of those London guards. I call and Ted flips over an Ace-rag for the better full house and am crippled to 125 chips and was never able to recover. At least I can say that I got my ass crippled by Ted Forrest.
Highlights
With an early bust out, I decided to check out some of the poker sites' lounges. Some highlights included an autograph from Hoyt Corkins and Doyle Brunson. When meeting Hoyt, somebody asked him, "Hey Hoyt, are you playing today?" Hoyt replies that he had already busted out which got some chuckles. Then when meeting Doyle, somebody asked, "Hey Doyle, are you gonna play in the Senior's Event?" Doyle says, "Nah, I'm probably gonna play in the HORSE Event on the same day. Besides, I'm not old enough to play in the Seniors Event yet. That got some chuckles as well. Turned out to be a wise decision as Doyle made the final table in the HORSE Event.
Other highlights included pictures below. In particular, the most popular player had to be "The Flying Dutchman" Marcel Luske. Luske wasn't wearing any poker site's swag. Dressed for success in the $5000 suit and probably limousine riding, jet slinging, son of a gun (wooo!!), he probably had 1000s of people swarm him outside taking autographs and picture. He even got "Bobby" John-Robert Bellande to bend over to use his back to sign shirts!!
Me and 2 time WPT Champ Erick Lindgren
Me and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
Me and Marcel Luske. He even let me wear his sunglasses upside-down! Picture is off-centered but thats the idiot's fault who took it.
Me and reigning 2005 WSOP Champ Joe Hachem. Very genuine and cool guy. Signed my shirt, "Pass the sugar!"
Me and eROCKtica girl! She was passin out ticket discounts to the show eROCKtica. My eyes aren't that small.. they happened to be blink-closing when the camera snapped... :-D
A combination of bad luck and bad playing on my behalf that could be equivalent (or worse) to James Van Alstine's WPT World Championship performance would be a good analagy (or the way David Matthew shuffled his chips) to the way I played. Starting off with a meager $1000TC instead of $10,000TC limited you to make mistakes early. The fact that I was dealt pocket kings about the 10th hand of the tourny on the cutoff (sounds good) only to lose to the big blind's spectacular hand of J8 (this guy was very loose throughout my stay didn't make things worse (good thing an ace hit or I probably would have been broke there).
Twenty minutes into the tourny, "The Hitman" Ted Forrest shows up to the tourny 2 seats to my left. I had a feeling that maybe the great Phil Hellmuth had a seat next to me because of his many infamous appearances. I even joke to Ted that I thought Phil had that seat reserved but it was fine that he appeared (actually no, I wanted a table change!) Even Ted has to show his ID to the dealer before he can go on and I remark, "Even Ted has to show his ID. I see Ted and his aggressive style bluff his was to a good amount of chips with one hand with an AK to the loose-goose that cracked my kings where Ted bet out every street and won with Ace high.
Then, this doozy of a hand came up. Blinds are at 25-50. Ted smooth calls in early position and the small blind calls and check for free from the BB with 5-7. Flop comes A-7-2 with 2 clubs. I bet 100, Ted calls and the SB folds. Right now, I am putting Ted on a flush draw. Turn is another ace. I decide to check and Ted bets 200. I think and put Ted on a hand like QJ or J10 of clubs seeing his aggressive style. River is a 7 giving me 7s full of aces. I check and Ted fires 400. I stare at Ted, and he doesn't flinch like one of those London guards. I call and Ted flips over an Ace-rag for the better full house and am crippled to 125 chips and was never able to recover. At least I can say that I got my ass crippled by Ted Forrest.
Highlights
With an early bust out, I decided to check out some of the poker sites' lounges. Some highlights included an autograph from Hoyt Corkins and Doyle Brunson. When meeting Hoyt, somebody asked him, "Hey Hoyt, are you playing today?" Hoyt replies that he had already busted out which got some chuckles. Then when meeting Doyle, somebody asked, "Hey Doyle, are you gonna play in the Senior's Event?" Doyle says, "Nah, I'm probably gonna play in the HORSE Event on the same day. Besides, I'm not old enough to play in the Seniors Event yet. That got some chuckles as well. Turned out to be a wise decision as Doyle made the final table in the HORSE Event.
Other highlights included pictures below. In particular, the most popular player had to be "The Flying Dutchman" Marcel Luske. Luske wasn't wearing any poker site's swag. Dressed for success in the $5000 suit and probably limousine riding, jet slinging, son of a gun (wooo!!), he probably had 1000s of people swarm him outside taking autographs and picture. He even got "Bobby" John-Robert Bellande to bend over to use his back to sign shirts!!
Me and 2 time WPT Champ Erick Lindgren
Me and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
Me and Marcel Luske. He even let me wear his sunglasses upside-down! Picture is off-centered but thats the idiot's fault who took it.
Me and reigning 2005 WSOP Champ Joe Hachem. Very genuine and cool guy. Signed my shirt, "Pass the sugar!"
Me and eROCKtica girl! She was passin out ticket discounts to the show eROCKtica. My eyes aren't that small.. they happened to be blink-closing when the camera snapped... :-D
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Phil Hellmuth Goes for History Tonight
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, "The Poker Brat" and nine-time WSOP Bracelet winner Phill Hellmuth tries to make history tonight as he has made the final table (2nd in chips) of the NL $5,000 buyin. On the line will be a possible 10th WSOP to tie the legendary Johnny Chan and godfather Doyle Brunson.
All I can say is that Phil is due. Out of the nine-winners last year, Phil obviously was the one that came up short and of course in the WSOP Main Event, some donkey named Jim Pittman put it all in with KJ vs Phil's AK to get jacked on the river by a Jack. I am pulling for you Phil. Best of luck.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Even More Reasons to Download Poker.com
If you don't have a poker.com account, this is the time to get one. Poker.com is offering its 1st time depositers a chance at a seat to the WSOP for free. Use this link now and deposit using bonus code "WSOPFREEROLL" to receive an entry to this prestigous event!! Use must hurry though!! The event is on July 15 and you must have made a deposit no later than July 14th! As of right now, there are only 75 players! Your chances to get into the WSOP Main Event with this few amount of people for free!! What could be better!! You will also receive a 100% matching bonus on up to $100!
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Three strikes at WSOP seats at Poker.com and I am out and 1 at Titan.
Well 2 hours down the drain playin for a WSOP Main Even seat at Titan. Out of about 200 peeps, yours truely finishes in 11th for no seat, no pay, and another groggy feeling in my gut. The final hand of the tourny, I get dealt AKo in the BB. I have about 7500 total with blinds being 750-1500. It is 6 seated. UTG raises to 3000. Folded to button who puts his 900 all in. I push and get called by the initial raiser who flips over 10s. No help on flop but an Ace hits on the turn only for the river to hit the miracle 10 and I'm sent to the e-rail.
BPT at poker.com coming off 2 "suspended" tournaments that had WSOP seats online. And when the third time came around, I (and 29 others) weren't there to playing leaving a private tourny for 11 players to win a seat to the big dance at the WSOP Main Event!! Good deal huh?! Luckily though, I didn't leave empty handed as the poker.com support and my favorite rep out of all the sites Kris came to the rescue and compensated my account wish some good cash. Thank you again Kris. With great support like Kris, (unlike the crap I got with Absolute), I will continue to support poker.com despite missing 2 golden opportunities at a WSOP seat.
Now, here comes strike three in the BPT. I am out early and probably played it too aggressively.I have J8 of diamonds and see a cheap flop of AK8 with 2 (AK)diamonds. The BB bets out 200 and I raise it to 700. He calls and I put him on a King for 2 weaker diamonds. Turn is a 4 and he checks and I bet a 1000. He calls and I am now convinced that he has a flush draw. I say this b/c BPT players are pretty good solid players that normally don't chase gutshots at this price. Turn is a Jack giving me 2 pair. He checks and I put my 2500 or so into a 3200 pot and he calls and flips over the A4 for a higher 2 pair.
This week has been a nightmare for me and am glad is almost over. Guys, Steve "Sharky" Hathaway and "beerman" Mike still runnin in the tourny (sn: steamrayz and imjusther4thebeer). Been playin 2 tournys all day and now its time for my break. Drop bye and say hi and gl to those LAGs!!
BPT at poker.com coming off 2 "suspended" tournaments that had WSOP seats online. And when the third time came around, I (and 29 others) weren't there to playing leaving a private tourny for 11 players to win a seat to the big dance at the WSOP Main Event!! Good deal huh?! Luckily though, I didn't leave empty handed as the poker.com support and my favorite rep out of all the sites Kris came to the rescue and compensated my account wish some good cash. Thank you again Kris. With great support like Kris, (unlike the crap I got with Absolute), I will continue to support poker.com despite missing 2 golden opportunities at a WSOP seat.
Now, here comes strike three in the BPT. I am out early and probably played it too aggressively.I have J8 of diamonds and see a cheap flop of AK8 with 2 (AK)diamonds. The BB bets out 200 and I raise it to 700. He calls and I put him on a King for 2 weaker diamonds. Turn is a 4 and he checks and I bet a 1000. He calls and I am now convinced that he has a flush draw. I say this b/c BPT players are pretty good solid players that normally don't chase gutshots at this price. Turn is a Jack giving me 2 pair. He checks and I put my 2500 or so into a 3200 pot and he calls and flips over the A4 for a higher 2 pair.
This week has been a nightmare for me and am glad is almost over. Guys, Steve "Sharky" Hathaway and "beerman" Mike still runnin in the tourny (sn: steamrayz and imjusther4thebeer). Been playin 2 tournys all day and now its time for my break. Drop bye and say hi and gl to those LAGs!!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Thoughts on Tonight's WPT Event
First off, I got the privilege of seeing myself on TV a few times on last night's broadcast so wahoo!!
I was a little stunned on the editing of the show. First off, that Jonas Normmas played very weak throughout most of the broadcast and the only time they showed his lack of skills was when he did a string bet, in which he did multiple times throughout the broadcast (hint to why Jason was throwing a fit the only time they showed him doing this). Jonas, besides Tom, was probably the tightest player at the table and many times when he raised, he would get re-popped and then fold (also known as my man "Phil Hellmuth-poker" as he quoted during a PokerSuperstars tourny). They said that Normmas was the $6 man, for winning multiple satellites and reaching this event and saying this was his 2nd live tourny. The build him up as a Cinderella but he was more like Humpty-Dumpty ready to fall off the wall.
They called Tom "TheDonkey" because last year's champion Arnold Spee dawned the nickname to him. However, I thought Tom's play was fairly well and that the name should have been given to one Michael Simon. Did you see this guy's $600K with KQo raise with the blinds being 40K and 80K and Greg "FBT" Mueller picked him off with A8 and got rewarded with a first-class ticket to the rail?! There was a hand I recall that happened earlier that wasn't broadcasted on TV between Simon and Mueller when the blinds where very small (30K and 60K I believe) where Simon raises allin UTG PF for a little over a million total. Only Stern has him covered and he folds and so does everyone else. Mueller is in the BB w/AK and has about 700TC and calls and surprisingly Mueller doubles up b/c Simon was known for winning when only having 3 outs. This put Simon on the short-stack but then he'd win literally every all-in he'd play from there.
How about Jason Stern?! When I first saw him before the tourny and his chip stack, I didn't think he could pull this out. And how about all the times he kept on getting pocket Kings?! Wowzers! When I saw him play so aggressive after all these raises in person, I thought that this guy had some big cajones. I couldn't believe when seeing the broadcast on The Travel Channel that he had Kings all these times. Well, this still made me think he was playing extremely well. When it got to headsup between him and Simon, Jason definitely had this won. Jason won so many little pots with 5-high, 8-high, and so on. Despite his 2-7o debacle, Jason gets Simon in a dream position where Stern has about a 4-1 chip lead and gets the AKs of hearts vs. Simon's K6o. Flop came 4-5-7 all spades and now I get to see Stern's priceless emotions close-up. River a useless 10 but the river was a 6 to pair "The Donkey" Simon.
Here a HUUUGGGEEE headsup hand that was NOT on TV where Jason is probably ahead of Simon by a million chips. I am shocked this one wasn't on TV but if you listen to Mike Sexton's postgame interview with Simon, he says something in the likes of "those were probably the most back-to-back beats he had witnessed on the WPT", this was the other hand he meant. Simon is on the button with J-10o and raises. Stern re-raises all-in with a Q-J and Simon calls. Again, Stern has Simon in a dream position (or should I say Simon has him in a dream position being a huge dog) and the 10 flops and there's no help for Stern and now Simon is the 4.5-1 favorite in chips.
Was happy to be apart of the final tapping and enjoyed seeing these guy's cards. From watching the broadcast on TV, I picked up a tell on Stern. Did you guy's notice that whenever he went for the sip of water, he was weak...? Use this tip; if you're playin against him one day (I'm sure we'll see his face again, lots of skill), it could have you thousands of chippies.
Hope you enjoyed reading/skimming through my post.
I was a little stunned on the editing of the show. First off, that Jonas Normmas played very weak throughout most of the broadcast and the only time they showed his lack of skills was when he did a string bet, in which he did multiple times throughout the broadcast (hint to why Jason was throwing a fit the only time they showed him doing this). Jonas, besides Tom, was probably the tightest player at the table and many times when he raised, he would get re-popped and then fold (also known as my man "Phil Hellmuth-poker" as he quoted during a PokerSuperstars tourny). They said that Normmas was the $6 man, for winning multiple satellites and reaching this event and saying this was his 2nd live tourny. The build him up as a Cinderella but he was more like Humpty-Dumpty ready to fall off the wall.
They called Tom "TheDonkey" because last year's champion Arnold Spee dawned the nickname to him. However, I thought Tom's play was fairly well and that the name should have been given to one Michael Simon. Did you see this guy's $600K with KQo raise with the blinds being 40K and 80K and Greg "FBT" Mueller picked him off with A8 and got rewarded with a first-class ticket to the rail?! There was a hand I recall that happened earlier that wasn't broadcasted on TV between Simon and Mueller when the blinds where very small (30K and 60K I believe) where Simon raises allin UTG PF for a little over a million total. Only Stern has him covered and he folds and so does everyone else. Mueller is in the BB w/AK and has about 700TC and calls and surprisingly Mueller doubles up b/c Simon was known for winning when only having 3 outs. This put Simon on the short-stack but then he'd win literally every all-in he'd play from there.
How about Jason Stern?! When I first saw him before the tourny and his chip stack, I didn't think he could pull this out. And how about all the times he kept on getting pocket Kings?! Wowzers! When I saw him play so aggressive after all these raises in person, I thought that this guy had some big cajones. I couldn't believe when seeing the broadcast on The Travel Channel that he had Kings all these times. Well, this still made me think he was playing extremely well. When it got to headsup between him and Simon, Jason definitely had this won. Jason won so many little pots with 5-high, 8-high, and so on. Despite his 2-7o debacle, Jason gets Simon in a dream position where Stern has about a 4-1 chip lead and gets the AKs of hearts vs. Simon's K6o. Flop came 4-5-7 all spades and now I get to see Stern's priceless emotions close-up. River a useless 10 but the river was a 6 to pair "The Donkey" Simon.
Here a HUUUGGGEEE headsup hand that was NOT on TV where Jason is probably ahead of Simon by a million chips. I am shocked this one wasn't on TV but if you listen to Mike Sexton's postgame interview with Simon, he says something in the likes of "those were probably the most back-to-back beats he had witnessed on the WPT", this was the other hand he meant. Simon is on the button with J-10o and raises. Stern re-raises all-in with a Q-J and Simon calls. Again, Stern has Simon in a dream position (or should I say Simon has him in a dream position being a huge dog) and the 10 flops and there's no help for Stern and now Simon is the 4.5-1 favorite in chips.
Was happy to be apart of the final tapping and enjoyed seeing these guy's cards. From watching the broadcast on TV, I picked up a tell on Stern. Did you guy's notice that whenever he went for the sip of water, he was weak...? Use this tip; if you're playin against him one day (I'm sure we'll see his face again, lots of skill), it could have you thousands of chippies.
Hope you enjoyed reading/skimming through my post.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The Heat is on...
How appropriately titled is this anticipated entry for my fellow blog readers (probably 8 of you ;-D). The first day of summer, Mark Cuban's tantrums costing him a cool $250K, and the Miami Heat are somehow the NBA champions after Shaq's spectacular 9 point game. I tell ya something. Dwayne Wade played just like MJ. Playing sick didn't even stop him as he was the undestructable phenom. If it weren't for him, they don't get past my Pistons, and they would be out in 5 games vs. the Mavs. I tell ya what though. This has gotta be the biggest choke EVER in playoff history; even more than our beloved Blazer's choke of Game 7 vs. the Lakers back in 2001. The Mavs literally where up 3-0 (or 2.87 games to 0) when leading by 13 with six and a half to go and Game 3 and it went down the toilet from there. Sure, I thought the refs where conspired to help the Heat in all the games, but last night, the Mavs struggled like a fat kid in PE class. After blowing a 14 point lead in Game 6, the Heat comeback and never trail again as they (or should I say Dwayne Wade) take 'er down. I am happy that GP (Gary Payton) finally got his ring but am pissed that Zo' Mourning (who I've always thought to be overrated) and bum and former Blazer Derek Anderson now also have 1 championship to their name.
Enough of the NBA. Tonight marks the premiere of the televised WPT World Poker Challenge that I played in and attended the final table. I was pretty animated and wild throughout the big hands so look for yours truely on TV. I even still remember all the big hands that happened, even the 1 being advertised on TV (spoiler coming up so stop reading if you don't want to be spoiled) where Jonas (the guy with the huge sunglasses and weak play) puts it all in w/an AJ vs. Jason Stern's (who probably deserved to win this whole thing if he could only win the hands where he was a 3-1 favorite or better) pocket Kings. You guessed it... ace on flop but thats not all. You are gonna have to watch the HU match to see how brutal of the beats that this man takes. Let's say it'll make Tuan Le proud.
Enough of the NBA. Tonight marks the premiere of the televised WPT World Poker Challenge that I played in and attended the final table. I was pretty animated and wild throughout the big hands so look for yours truely on TV. I even still remember all the big hands that happened, even the 1 being advertised on TV (spoiler coming up so stop reading if you don't want to be spoiled) where Jonas (the guy with the huge sunglasses and weak play) puts it all in w/an AJ vs. Jason Stern's (who probably deserved to win this whole thing if he could only win the hands where he was a 3-1 favorite or better) pocket Kings. You guessed it... ace on flop but thats not all. You are gonna have to watch the HU match to see how brutal of the beats that this man takes. Let's say it'll make Tuan Le proud.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Done w/Finals.. Time for Some Mo' Pokah
The title of this says it all, although in about 9 days, I'll be taking a real estate class instructed by some of Donald Trump's finest employees. I sure hope this works out for me as they said, "If you can't get rich with the help of the Donald, then there's no hope for ya." It will be a 2-day class seminar on Sat June 24 to Sunday the 25th from "Dolly Parton" 9-5 as Vince Van Patten always says with this hand.
I recently just got some mo' pokah gear. I just receive at College Poker Championship hat, shirt, and sweater in the mail yesterday. Looks GQ... well maybe that extreme but I likey. I would like to thank RVP and the CPC for putting these tournaments together and for sending me this swag despite my unimpressive 34th place or so finish in the finale.
Ok, enough of the yappin'! Time fo' some action!
I recently just got some mo' pokah gear. I just receive at College Poker Championship hat, shirt, and sweater in the mail yesterday. Looks GQ... well maybe that extreme but I likey. I would like to thank RVP and the CPC for putting these tournaments together and for sending me this swag despite my unimpressive 34th place or so finish in the finale.
Ok, enough of the yappin'! Time fo' some action!
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Joe Rogan Throws Down
It's been a while, bad luck at the e-felts so I won't ramble about that. Imagine that: finals week and ol' Joey fits time in the week to play pokah.
I just checked out one of the sickest (if not the sickest) tag team matches ever from TNA's Turning Point 2004 that featured America's Most Wanted's (AMW) "Wildcat" Chris Harris and "Cowboy" James Storm vs. the now defunct Triple X tag team of "Prime Time" Elix Skipper and "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. Within the 1st 3 mins or so of the match, Daniel's gets busted open from gettin' darted into the cage and continues to work (close to 20 min match). If you guys aren't the wrasslin' fans, you gotta check this match out. Nineteen minute mark spots Elix's monsterous and unbelievable Hurricanrana from the top of the cage and that's followed by the ginormous quad suplex.
Speakin of wrasslin, UFC Commentator and Fear Factor host Joe Rogan had a pretty good battle on his reality show. One of the contestants (from The Amazing Race) got into a fight after his wife punched Survivor heel (and my personal fav Survivor) Johnny Fairplay. Of all people to defend, Joe defends Johnny and gets into her face only to have that a-hold Amazing Race guy come in and Joe handles his own and gives him what looked like to be a front tranchea (headlock)! Boy, I would have liked to be the ref in that match or in the demolition derby stunt and run that clown over. Don't mess with Joe!!
I just checked out one of the sickest (if not the sickest) tag team matches ever from TNA's Turning Point 2004 that featured America's Most Wanted's (AMW) "Wildcat" Chris Harris and "Cowboy" James Storm vs. the now defunct Triple X tag team of "Prime Time" Elix Skipper and "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. Within the 1st 3 mins or so of the match, Daniel's gets busted open from gettin' darted into the cage and continues to work (close to 20 min match). If you guys aren't the wrasslin' fans, you gotta check this match out. Nineteen minute mark spots Elix's monsterous and unbelievable Hurricanrana from the top of the cage and that's followed by the ginormous quad suplex.
Speakin of wrasslin, UFC Commentator and Fear Factor host Joe Rogan had a pretty good battle on his reality show. One of the contestants (from The Amazing Race) got into a fight after his wife punched Survivor heel (and my personal fav Survivor) Johnny Fairplay. Of all people to defend, Joe defends Johnny and gets into her face only to have that a-hold Amazing Race guy come in and Joe handles his own and gives him what looked like to be a front tranchea (headlock)! Boy, I would have liked to be the ref in that match or in the demolition derby stunt and run that clown over. Don't mess with Joe!!
Friday, June 02, 2006
Phil Hellmuth vs. Randy Savage... Let's get Ready to RUUUMMBBLLEEE!!!
http://www.powerwrestling.com/news/board.php?Show=2537
"A professional poker player by the name of Phil Hellmuth did an interview on Sirius Satellite Radio earlier today. He said that he will be on the next season of VH1's Surreal Life along with Playboy Playmate Tina Jordan, rock musician Peter Steel, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage. At the moment, there is no word yet as to when the new season will kick off."
In this corner, from Sarasota, Florida... weighing in at 230 pds... "The Macho Man" Raaaaaandddyyy Savaaagggeee!!
O boy!! The last time I saw the Madness of the "Macho Man" Randy Savage was in was in the good ol' WCW days when he was part of the one-time most dominate group in wrasslin: the nWo. O wait, Savage was Bonesaw in the Spiderman movie. Man he was still ripped in the movie. I hope he ain't takin the juice if ya know what I mean. I missed his 1 day stint in TNA (b/c it was PPV) and do not recall the grey-bearded Savage pic I've recently seen of the Mach'. Though I am not a big fan of the Surreal Life show, I know that the past couple seasons have included ex-pro wrasslers like Chyna (yikes) and this season Maven. Not a fan of both of these ex-stars, but am actually looking forward to seeing Hellmuth and Savage with Playboy bunny Tina Jordan as the ref inside the 6 sides of steel baby!! Let's get ready to suck it... Well wrong line here but hey, it looks like D-Generation X could be making a comeback with HBK and HHH taking on The McMahons and/or The Spirit Squad.
On a downer note, my Pistons have been blown away by the ever powerful D-Wade and Shaq's body odor and Heat. Here are the great 8 things I'll miss in the NBA Finals:
- Sheed taunting refs after picking up fouls he though he didn't commit.
- Sheed getting technicals that would not be called on other players, thus causing a blowup.
- Sheed getting tossed out of a Game 3 or Game 4. Sheed flings headband and starts arguing with Dallas (yeah I said Dallas) fans.
- Sheed's post game rants/interviews. Sheed then guaran-sheed's victory next game
- Pistons PA announcer Mason introducing the team. Only in the Finals is where they show the intros of the team and there ain't none betta than Mason dammit!
- Mason saying, "Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba Ben...!" (just wish he could shot a damn free throw)
- Mason saying, "Chaun-cey... Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba!"
- Mason saying, "Pistons basketball on the da side-lin!'
- And of course, Mason's, "DEEETROOIITT BASKETBAAALLL!!!
"A professional poker player by the name of Phil Hellmuth did an interview on Sirius Satellite Radio earlier today. He said that he will be on the next season of VH1's Surreal Life along with Playboy Playmate Tina Jordan, rock musician Peter Steel, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage. At the moment, there is no word yet as to when the new season will kick off."
In this corner, from Sarasota, Florida... weighing in at 230 pds... "The Macho Man" Raaaaaandddyyy Savaaagggeee!!
O boy!! The last time I saw the Madness of the "Macho Man" Randy Savage was in was in the good ol' WCW days when he was part of the one-time most dominate group in wrasslin: the nWo. O wait, Savage was Bonesaw in the Spiderman movie. Man he was still ripped in the movie. I hope he ain't takin the juice if ya know what I mean. I missed his 1 day stint in TNA (b/c it was PPV) and do not recall the grey-bearded Savage pic I've recently seen of the Mach'. Though I am not a big fan of the Surreal Life show, I know that the past couple seasons have included ex-pro wrasslers like Chyna (yikes) and this season Maven. Not a fan of both of these ex-stars, but am actually looking forward to seeing Hellmuth and Savage with Playboy bunny Tina Jordan as the ref inside the 6 sides of steel baby!! Let's get ready to suck it... Well wrong line here but hey, it looks like D-Generation X could be making a comeback with HBK and HHH taking on The McMahons and/or The Spirit Squad.
On a downer note, my Pistons have been blown away by the ever powerful D-Wade and Shaq's body odor and Heat. Here are the great 8 things I'll miss in the NBA Finals:
- Sheed taunting refs after picking up fouls he though he didn't commit.
- Sheed getting technicals that would not be called on other players, thus causing a blowup.
- Sheed getting tossed out of a Game 3 or Game 4. Sheed flings headband and starts arguing with Dallas (yeah I said Dallas) fans.
- Sheed's post game rants/interviews. Sheed then guaran-sheed's victory next game
- Pistons PA announcer Mason introducing the team. Only in the Finals is where they show the intros of the team and there ain't none betta than Mason dammit!
- Mason saying, "Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba Ben...!" (just wish he could shot a damn free throw)
- Mason saying, "Chaun-cey... Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba!"
- Mason saying, "Pistons basketball on the da side-lin!'
- And of course, Mason's, "DEEETROOIITT BASKETBAAALLL!!!
Monday, May 29, 2006
I Can't Take or Stand the Heat...
Ninety degree weather in Portland this time of year is pretty unbelievable, but wait, that's not what I am referrin' to.
With basically the same dominant Piston team last year that triumphantly beat the heat last year, I thought that the same would happen again this year. Unfortunately, with the new supporting cast of Walker, Posey, and Williams along with Dwayne Wade's drastic rise in his game (IMO the leader of their team or at least in this series with Detroit), I feared that the Heat would take it to my Pistons. As I write this, the Heat lead 3-1. The Pistons play their best ball when there backs are against the wall, but I fear that this task is gonna be Mission Impossible.
If this is "Mission Impossible Hollywood", some how the good guys (or the "bad boys" as the Pistons are known as) will some how light a fire from their asses and pull this cinderella off. Come on Sheeeeeeddd!!
With basically the same dominant Piston team last year that triumphantly beat the heat last year, I thought that the same would happen again this year. Unfortunately, with the new supporting cast of Walker, Posey, and Williams along with Dwayne Wade's drastic rise in his game (IMO the leader of their team or at least in this series with Detroit), I feared that the Heat would take it to my Pistons. As I write this, the Heat lead 3-1. The Pistons play their best ball when there backs are against the wall, but I fear that this task is gonna be Mission Impossible.
If this is "Mission Impossible Hollywood", some how the good guys (or the "bad boys" as the Pistons are known as) will some how light a fire from their asses and pull this cinderella off. Come on Sheeeeeeddd!!
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Back from Spirit Mtn Again...
First off, I have to say I feel for JC Tran after watching last week's airing of the WPT LA Poker Classic. I got to meet and shake JC's hand in Reno and was appeared to be a down to earth guy. Seeing that 1 outer that Alan Goehring hit on Tran on the riva made me wanna vomit. This also made me think of the other two bad beats on the riva on previous WPT tapings that I'll never forget... Fishy Danny Nguyen's A-7 cracking an A-K after a King flopped and the donk hit running 7s to win the pot and Daniel Negreanu's 1 outer vs. Michael Mizrachi, but I must say, JC's one had to be the worst as it literally cost him $2.4 million dollars.
Just got back from Spirit Mtn about 2 hours ago. The poker room was flooded with a mine field of players. Probably was a 1 hr plus wait and didn't have the patience. I decided to stick around a lil' and watch the table in the entry that was a $3-6 FL table. One young and arrogant gun was dominating the table basically raising or betting the pots post flop and taking it down. Two donks at the table; an old guy and a young Asian guy felt the charity cause as they kept donating their mollah to him. I saw the old man chase an Ace high to showdown when the board came K-7-7-K-8 and the dominating young gun flipped over the double chickies (Queens). Another hand vs. an unexperienced Azn (in the BB) came where the young gun limped in middle position vs. the BB who had K5o. Flop came 5-4-2 with 2 hearts. BB bets and gets raised by our hero (the winning playa). Ace on turn which 4 straights the board. Donk checks; Hero bets and donk calls. Riva is Jack and check-bet-call. Hero flips over 4-2 of hearts for the straight. Wow what a table.
I go over to the Pai Gow table and tray my luck at it again as last time, I faired pretty well. Its hard to get into depth of Pai Gow since it basically is a lucky game with little or no skill. I start off well. I go up about $60 and buy the end of the day, I increase my bets (jinx) and go down $71 total in about 4+ hours of play. The majority of my ass-lashing came from the final dealer of the day (Fuck, thats normally the case. Why can't I just quit while I'm ahead at this game called Pai Gow?). Fat 280pd Stan blubbered his way to the felt and Dealt out Pai Gow's gallore. Stan, you ain't the man! Stan made my $50 profit into a $121 reverse into oblivion. A good leason one can take from this is to get away from hot (not sexually but card-wise) dealers because it was fuckin contagious and outragious and made me egregious.
Just got back from Spirit Mtn about 2 hours ago. The poker room was flooded with a mine field of players. Probably was a 1 hr plus wait and didn't have the patience. I decided to stick around a lil' and watch the table in the entry that was a $3-6 FL table. One young and arrogant gun was dominating the table basically raising or betting the pots post flop and taking it down. Two donks at the table; an old guy and a young Asian guy felt the charity cause as they kept donating their mollah to him. I saw the old man chase an Ace high to showdown when the board came K-7-7-K-8 and the dominating young gun flipped over the double chickies (Queens). Another hand vs. an unexperienced Azn (in the BB) came where the young gun limped in middle position vs. the BB who had K5o. Flop came 5-4-2 with 2 hearts. BB bets and gets raised by our hero (the winning playa). Ace on turn which 4 straights the board. Donk checks; Hero bets and donk calls. Riva is Jack and check-bet-call. Hero flips over 4-2 of hearts for the straight. Wow what a table.
I go over to the Pai Gow table and tray my luck at it again as last time, I faired pretty well. Its hard to get into depth of Pai Gow since it basically is a lucky game with little or no skill. I start off well. I go up about $60 and buy the end of the day, I increase my bets (jinx) and go down $71 total in about 4+ hours of play. The majority of my ass-lashing came from the final dealer of the day (Fuck, thats normally the case. Why can't I just quit while I'm ahead at this game called Pai Gow?). Fat 280pd Stan blubbered his way to the felt and Dealt out Pai Gow's gallore. Stan, you ain't the man! Stan made my $50 profit into a $121 reverse into oblivion. A good leason one can take from this is to get away from hot (not sexually but card-wise) dealers because it was fuckin contagious and outragious and made me egregious.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Upsets
Upset 1
Well another brutal week at the e-felt. Numerous times that my top pair lost to 3 outin' 2 pairs (i.e. this last one was a doozy where my K-Qs that I raised PF on the cutoff seat 6 handed got beat by some1 UTG who just posted his bet and called my raise w/Q-2o in which he hit a Queen and a duece on the flop).
Upset 2
Played in the College Poker Championship finals and finished an unspectacular 34th out of 102. 1st place paid $50,000 in scholarships where $10K was donated to a charity of your choice so $40,000 was 1st which is no chump change. Card dead throughout tourny and brutally placed at tables where there were monster stacks with a few times with 3 of the top 5 chip leaders. Bust out hand where I am 2nd to act at a 10 seated table with AKo. Blinds are 150-300 and I have 2,930 left. I pop to 1,000 and am re-raised all in. I call it and he flips over AKs of spades. Flop brings 1 spade, turn brings another, and so does the damn river and I'm sent to the e-rail.
Upset 3
Thank goodness it wasn't the Pistons as they struggled early but turned on the jets in the 4th quarter and defeated a very good and up-and-coming Cavs team. Ballah of the game had to be Tayshaun Prince. This guy is so underrated and so damn smooth on the court, I don't see how he was overlooked as an all-star. Remember his block shot on Reggie Miller 2 years ago...? If Prince doesn't do that, Pistons don't beat the Pacers and don't win the championship that year. Strong slasher, superb defense with his branch like arms. I remember when (the overrated) coach Larry Brown let this guy warm the bench as he did with Darko. Only because of injuries did Brown let Prince play and boy did he make the best out of it. No rest as my Pistons take on the Heat tonight. It's burning up in here!!
Whoops back to the upset part. So my pick of the Clips clipping the Suns didn't happen but damn, how about the resilence of the Mavs? To go into a game 7 on the road after blowing game 6 and to have a 20 pt lead evaporate and still somehow manage a way to victory is mind-boggling to me. Dirk Nowistski is definitely the da man. Should be interesting to see if MVP Steve Nash can lead his team vs. his old team and IMO playoff MVP so far, Mr. Dirk himself.
My spiel is over... Go Pistons!!
Well another brutal week at the e-felt. Numerous times that my top pair lost to 3 outin' 2 pairs (i.e. this last one was a doozy where my K-Qs that I raised PF on the cutoff seat 6 handed got beat by some1 UTG who just posted his bet and called my raise w/Q-2o in which he hit a Queen and a duece on the flop).
Upset 2
Played in the College Poker Championship finals and finished an unspectacular 34th out of 102. 1st place paid $50,000 in scholarships where $10K was donated to a charity of your choice so $40,000 was 1st which is no chump change. Card dead throughout tourny and brutally placed at tables where there were monster stacks with a few times with 3 of the top 5 chip leaders. Bust out hand where I am 2nd to act at a 10 seated table with AKo. Blinds are 150-300 and I have 2,930 left. I pop to 1,000 and am re-raised all in. I call it and he flips over AKs of spades. Flop brings 1 spade, turn brings another, and so does the damn river and I'm sent to the e-rail.
Upset 3
Thank goodness it wasn't the Pistons as they struggled early but turned on the jets in the 4th quarter and defeated a very good and up-and-coming Cavs team. Ballah of the game had to be Tayshaun Prince. This guy is so underrated and so damn smooth on the court, I don't see how he was overlooked as an all-star. Remember his block shot on Reggie Miller 2 years ago...? If Prince doesn't do that, Pistons don't beat the Pacers and don't win the championship that year. Strong slasher, superb defense with his branch like arms. I remember when (the overrated) coach Larry Brown let this guy warm the bench as he did with Darko. Only because of injuries did Brown let Prince play and boy did he make the best out of it. No rest as my Pistons take on the Heat tonight. It's burning up in here!!
Whoops back to the upset part. So my pick of the Clips clipping the Suns didn't happen but damn, how about the resilence of the Mavs? To go into a game 7 on the road after blowing game 6 and to have a 20 pt lead evaporate and still somehow manage a way to victory is mind-boggling to me. Dirk Nowistski is definitely the da man. Should be interesting to see if MVP Steve Nash can lead his team vs. his old team and IMO playoff MVP so far, Mr. Dirk himself.
My spiel is over... Go Pistons!!
Saturday, May 20, 2006
May Mayhem
Another atrocious weeks of poker so I'll spare you my bad beat stories and what not. This month has definitely caused some mayhem and has severely made my ass turn black and blue from the lashing I've received.
Speaking of mayhem, how about the "May Mayhem" of the NBA playoffs. I know the craze of College "March Madness" is insane but holy shit, this year's NBA Playoffs have been one of the best I can recall. So many great matches and close games every night that you shouldn't be oblivious to. My Pistons just barely escaped Game 6 vs. a very talented, and unbelievable Cavalier team led by King James, but I must say, he sort of choked there at the end when he didn't shoot the three-ball. My man Sheed was cool as the other side of the pillow scoring a monstrous 24 points and shot 4-8 from downtown. You see, he does walk-the-walk and talks-the-talk... Whoooo!!! Although he missed some crucial free-throws late, "Mr. Big Shot" Chauncey Billups made some key shots and free throws to bail the Pistons out. I can't forget Big Ben and Prince for keeping the ball alive on those huge 3 offensive rebounds during the final seconds of the game. And what about Sheed's post game interview that went something of the lines like this:
Interviewer: What was going through your mind after you missed those two free throws down the strech?
Sheed: I f'ed up...
Ok, now for Joey's pics for all the Game 7s coming up:
- Pistons over Cav's and hopefully, it's guaran-sheed!!
- Spurs over Mavs. I really thought the Mavs would win this series when they were ahead 3-1 and last night's lost may be to devestating to overcome. I expect this game to be close, but since the Spurs got the home court, I'll roll with them.
- Upset special pick: Clips over Suns. Yes, you heard me right and I can't believe I'm predicting the Clippers will make the Western Conference Finals. Has hell really frozen over?! Amazingly, some of the experts picked them to beat the Suns before this series started and I was like WTF. Now after watching this series so far, I don't believe they were smoking crack. Momentum is on their side and lets not hope the Mike Dunleavy jinx takes into effect like he did with the Blazers against the Lakers (ugh).
Speaking of mayhem, how about the "May Mayhem" of the NBA playoffs. I know the craze of College "March Madness" is insane but holy shit, this year's NBA Playoffs have been one of the best I can recall. So many great matches and close games every night that you shouldn't be oblivious to. My Pistons just barely escaped Game 6 vs. a very talented, and unbelievable Cavalier team led by King James, but I must say, he sort of choked there at the end when he didn't shoot the three-ball. My man Sheed was cool as the other side of the pillow scoring a monstrous 24 points and shot 4-8 from downtown. You see, he does walk-the-walk and talks-the-talk... Whoooo!!! Although he missed some crucial free-throws late, "Mr. Big Shot" Chauncey Billups made some key shots and free throws to bail the Pistons out. I can't forget Big Ben and Prince for keeping the ball alive on those huge 3 offensive rebounds during the final seconds of the game. And what about Sheed's post game interview that went something of the lines like this:
Interviewer: What was going through your mind after you missed those two free throws down the strech?
Sheed: I f'ed up...
Ok, now for Joey's pics for all the Game 7s coming up:
- Pistons over Cav's and hopefully, it's guaran-sheed!!
- Spurs over Mavs. I really thought the Mavs would win this series when they were ahead 3-1 and last night's lost may be to devestating to overcome. I expect this game to be close, but since the Spurs got the home court, I'll roll with them.
- Upset special pick: Clips over Suns. Yes, you heard me right and I can't believe I'm predicting the Clippers will make the Western Conference Finals. Has hell really frozen over?! Amazingly, some of the experts picked them to beat the Suns before this series started and I was like WTF. Now after watching this series so far, I don't believe they were smoking crack. Momentum is on their side and lets not hope the Mike Dunleavy jinx takes into effect like he did with the Blazers against the Lakers (ugh).
Monday, May 15, 2006
Living "The College Life" (See Title of the Blog Page), BUT Came up Short Again...
"Close but no cigar" as the saying I've once heard. Play in Royal's College Poker Championships quarterfinals where it'd pay the top 10 with a $2500 prize pool with a cool $1000 for first. Another catch was that the top 10% would make it to the finals which in this case would have been the top 12 since there were 112 peeps representing the West Side!
Start off w/2K and 12 min blinds. I bluff my way to some pots early and win a pretty good pot w/3s full of Aces vs. some guy that mucked his hand and am in 2nd early. A good catalyst for me as I remain in the top 15 for alot of the tourny and survive bubble boy 12th and make the final table. I had two tight people to my right but so was the monster chip leader and the 2nd monster stack of my left so my seat was decent.
The big stacks took care of some small stacks and we are down to five. I make some bad bluffs but I had to try to make some moves or I'd be anted away. The short stacked tripled up with A-A (tight player) and ended up taking the chip lead and knocking me out eventually after I'd had bullied him so many times. He finally got tired and called my all in with 6-4 after he'd limped from the SB (blinds are 2000 and 4000). I had an unspectacular Dolly Parton 9-5 but decide to try to press my luck against the tight-wad but he calls over 16K more with the 6-4o and know his excuse was that he had chips... So I unhappily go out in 4th and get $225 for my 3 hours and 20 mins of play.
CPC Finals are on the 21st. Wish me luck!
Start off w/2K and 12 min blinds. I bluff my way to some pots early and win a pretty good pot w/3s full of Aces vs. some guy that mucked his hand and am in 2nd early. A good catalyst for me as I remain in the top 15 for alot of the tourny and survive bubble boy 12th and make the final table. I had two tight people to my right but so was the monster chip leader and the 2nd monster stack of my left so my seat was decent.
The big stacks took care of some small stacks and we are down to five. I make some bad bluffs but I had to try to make some moves or I'd be anted away. The short stacked tripled up with A-A (tight player) and ended up taking the chip lead and knocking me out eventually after I'd had bullied him so many times. He finally got tired and called my all in with 6-4 after he'd limped from the SB (blinds are 2000 and 4000). I had an unspectacular Dolly Parton 9-5 but decide to try to press my luck against the tight-wad but he calls over 16K more with the 6-4o and know his excuse was that he had chips... So I unhappily go out in 4th and get $225 for my 3 hours and 20 mins of play.
CPC Finals are on the 21st. Wish me luck!
Saturday, May 13, 2006
"Miz-step" and a Disappointing Finish in the BPT
First off, I re-watched the beginning of this week's WPT event where Michael Mizrachi really shot himself in the foot with that one blunder hand (nut straight vs. a set) that would have crippled Scotty Nguyen, who ironically would beat "The Grinder" heads up. Turns out that its not all Mizrachi's fault for his "miz-step." Scotty first says, "I can't believe I'm gonna call you with this hand" and then delays and then says, "raise" and puts some of his chips in and then Linda Johnson says, "Scotty calls" and then Mizrachi immediately turns his cards over... I know Matt Savage was removed from last year's WSOP b/c he screwed up how will this affect Linda Johnson. Did anybody else even notice this?! Being the gentleman and professional Mizrachi is (or unshown because it was edited), "The Miz" mentions nothing about Linda or Scotty's remark of "I can't believe I'm just gonna call you" (word bets are binding right?), but it cost "The Grinder" $500K and a WPT Title!
On to the BPT. I got dwindled away early bluffing and somehow managed to hang in there and get a good stack. I won't run through many hands that helped but a good KJ vs K10 where we got all the chips in gave me a comfy chip lead and was chip leader with about 20 to go and started at the final table in 2nd. Took small pots here and there and got to the final 3. I'm in the BB with J8o and the SB raises minimum. I call and hit an 8 with 3 clubs. I bet and he calls. Turn is a paint I believe and it goes check-check. River is another 8 and he bets out 6000... I take my time and raise minimum and he calls with AK of clubs for the flush. I am down to 9000 and don't recover and finish in a disappointing 3rd. Three previous bloggers made the final table including PearlSnapMan who has placed in 3 events I belie
On to the BPT. I got dwindled away early bluffing and somehow managed to hang in there and get a good stack. I won't run through many hands that helped but a good KJ vs K10 where we got all the chips in gave me a comfy chip lead and was chip leader with about 20 to go and started at the final table in 2nd. Took small pots here and there and got to the final 3. I'm in the BB with J8o and the SB raises minimum. I call and hit an 8 with 3 clubs. I bet and he calls. Turn is a paint I believe and it goes check-check. River is another 8 and he bets out 6000... I take my time and raise minimum and he calls with AK of clubs for the flush. I am down to 9000 and don't recover and finish in a disappointing 3rd. Three previous bloggers made the final table including PearlSnapMan who has placed in 3 events I belie
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Scotty Baybee!!
After 5 previous WPT final tables, "The Prince of Poker" Scotty Nguyen took down his first WPT Championship at Gold Strike! The poker gods were definitely looking down on the phenom early as his set of 4s were rivered by Michael Mizrachi's nut straight only for "The Miz" to accidently show his cards to save about 90% of Scotty's chippies. With luck like this, you are probably destined to win. Other than this hand, I don't recall a sick/bad beat televised for this episode. Great poker with lot of bluffing as Raul Paez was everybody's whipping boy!
The lucky jade of Scotty vs. Gavin Smith's new lucky charm of the buddah would clash head-on as Smith's Q-7 took Nguyen's 7-5 to the flop where both players hit top pair of 7s and get all their chips in. A duece pairs the board on the turn giving Scotty some "chop" outs with a King or an Ace or a five to win and low and behold, a King rivers and Scotty celebrates as if he'd won the pot. Probably the happiest chop pot I've ever seen.
Headups featured Mizrachi vs. Nguyen and how ironic that Mizrachi could have severely crippled Scotty earlier on. One hand was only needed as "The Prince Of Poker picked up an AQ of spades on the button and pops it. "The Grinder" gets dealt AJo and recaps it to about 1.2 million as Scotty then puts the rest in (remember the saying don't go broke with a queen in your hand, well not for Scotty baybee!!) and Mizrachi has to call. Scotty hits an overkill flush on the river and finally gets the monkey off his back!
Interesting notes:
Nguyen and Mizrachi both made the final table at the previous year's event which was the 1st time ever on the WPT that 2 players have ever accomplished. Congrats to both.
Last year's 1st place prize that John Stolzmann won was over $1.51 million compared to Scotty's win this year of $969,000. This is the biggest drop I've seen so far in the prize pool/entrants from last year's event to this year's event but every other event has increased.
The lucky jade of Scotty vs. Gavin Smith's new lucky charm of the buddah would clash head-on as Smith's Q-7 took Nguyen's 7-5 to the flop where both players hit top pair of 7s and get all their chips in. A duece pairs the board on the turn giving Scotty some "chop" outs with a King or an Ace or a five to win and low and behold, a King rivers and Scotty celebrates as if he'd won the pot. Probably the happiest chop pot I've ever seen.
Headups featured Mizrachi vs. Nguyen and how ironic that Mizrachi could have severely crippled Scotty earlier on. One hand was only needed as "The Prince Of Poker picked up an AQ of spades on the button and pops it. "The Grinder" gets dealt AJo and recaps it to about 1.2 million as Scotty then puts the rest in (remember the saying don't go broke with a queen in your hand, well not for Scotty baybee!!) and Mizrachi has to call. Scotty hits an overkill flush on the river and finally gets the monkey off his back!
Interesting notes:
Nguyen and Mizrachi both made the final table at the previous year's event which was the 1st time ever on the WPT that 2 players have ever accomplished. Congrats to both.
Last year's 1st place prize that John Stolzmann won was over $1.51 million compared to Scotty's win this year of $969,000. This is the biggest drop I've seen so far in the prize pool/entrants from last year's event to this year's event but every other event has increased.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
To Spirit Mtn. Casino and More...
Live your dream at DreamPoker
First off, I've added a DreamPoker banner to the left of this page. There is a $10 freebie with no deposit necessary and offers to win a "dream" of yours. Isn't it ironic that my screen name for this blogger site is "PokerDreamer" and my slogan is "Eat, Sleep, Poker" is both similar to the site name "DreamPoker" and its slogan, "Eat, Sleep, DreamPoker." I could have sworn they took this idea from looking at my blog but what can I say, I guess we are a dream match.
What a Rocky Start: Fucked by the Traffic Officer! That's not the Spirit
To take a break from school and online poker that has been pretty atrocious to me the past couple weeks, I decided to acompany my parents to Spirit Mountain today. They even let me drive the Mercedes! We stopped by a little down called Manzanita to look at some real estate property they had purchased. As I tried to drove out of the little down, I see the most dreaded thing I've seen in a while... that's it... a copper with his lights on. He pulls me over as I was "speeding" in a 25 MPH zone at 41. Funny, I didn't see the sign as I was yappin with my pappy and when my dad saw the sign, he said I should slow down and I did and when I look at my rear view mirror, the cop has suddenly darted out and I am at about 30 MPH and pull over immediately.
He comes up and actually appears more gentleman telling me that I sped and my pappy and I tell him we were talking and didn't notice the sign fast enough hopping to catch a break. He appears cool and just asks for my license and insurance and says he'll be back. Maybe w/my parents and legitimate excuse and ability to slow down at some point, I would catch a break. The mother-fucking pig comes back and says, here's your citation, directions to the Manzanita court house, date, etc, and then tells me to don't speed and darts off immediately like The Flash. Fucking, c***-sucking, bastard appeared cool and then hit me hard and hits it before we can get a rebuttal. Like I'm gonna drive a 90 minutes or so to fight the tix. What a prick, asshole, shithead, you name it. Basically, the $150 ticket ruined my day and the only thing that could save this was a good day at the casino. Advice to all: Be careful if you ever drive through a small town in Manzinita, Oregon.
Spirits Slightly Strengthen
We arrive at the Spirit Mtn. and check the tables. My parents are a sucker for Pai Gow Poker and head toward the 3 tables that offer it. I head to the back poker room. To my surprise, it's not full but I figured people had to work tomorrow so it wouldn't be full. The only tables open were $3-6 and $4-8 which was beyond my limits I planned on playing. I go back out and check the Pai Gow tables and my parents are there and there is an open seat. I decide, why not get away from hold'em for a day and try my luck at Pai Gow, the game with no bad beats right?
I buy in for $100 and bet $10 a hand normally with no gimmicky "Fortune Bets" that usually cripple my parents. I start off shitty immediately losing 3 $15 hands to this brutal dealer and think about quitting and going back to the hold'em room, but the dealer change was next. It was a fellow Asian; young female and I start winning with mediocure pair-pair up and down or Ace-paint up and 2 pair down and even Pai Gow hands (junk/nothing hands) vs the dealers Pai Gow hands. A battle of who's shit is worse and for once this month, it's not mine!! If I'd had fortune bet these, I'd have lost my shorts as they only pay 3 of a kind and better. Not many monster hands as I only hit 3 of a kind 2 times, a straight 2 times, and a flush once and nothing higher for the night. Take that fortune/sucker bets.
Dealer change and its another Asian female. I start off rocky with her but then get a nice rush of mediocure cards and lucky higher Pai Gows. High hand of the night came when this fat lady comes to the table and buys in for $50. She practically loses every hand and is down to her last $10 as she puts $10 on the bet and $5 on the bonus and is dealt an 8-4 and then an authentic 10-J-Q-K-A of clubs for a Royal Flush!! She picks up $625 for that one hand and does the old hit and run! Never seen a fat lady move so fast to the exit before in my life either! By the time this dealer was done, I turned my $100 into $240 in two hours! I almost had enough to pay for my dreaded ticket.
Next dealer was a Caucasian zit-prone named Desiree. Scary face and creepy name. Not a good combo. However, she was very polite and chatty but my luck was about to change. Pai Gow after one another and her hitting staights, 3 of a kinds, 3 pair in consecutive hands but a dent in everybody's bankroll. I decided to quit and end up on top $84 but with the ticket, I am down $66. My mom went up $48 total which is good compared to her normal loses at this game and my dad went up a superb $150 in just over 2 and a half hours for us all. This was the 1st time we all ended up in the green ink and hopefully, won't be the last time and hopefully is the last time I run into the pigs of Manzanita or anywhere else.
First off, I've added a DreamPoker banner to the left of this page. There is a $10 freebie with no deposit necessary and offers to win a "dream" of yours. Isn't it ironic that my screen name for this blogger site is "PokerDreamer" and my slogan is "Eat, Sleep, Poker" is both similar to the site name "DreamPoker" and its slogan, "Eat, Sleep, DreamPoker." I could have sworn they took this idea from looking at my blog but what can I say, I guess we are a dream match.
What a Rocky Start: Fucked by the Traffic Officer! That's not the Spirit
To take a break from school and online poker that has been pretty atrocious to me the past couple weeks, I decided to acompany my parents to Spirit Mountain today. They even let me drive the Mercedes! We stopped by a little down called Manzanita to look at some real estate property they had purchased. As I tried to drove out of the little down, I see the most dreaded thing I've seen in a while... that's it... a copper with his lights on. He pulls me over as I was "speeding" in a 25 MPH zone at 41. Funny, I didn't see the sign as I was yappin with my pappy and when my dad saw the sign, he said I should slow down and I did and when I look at my rear view mirror, the cop has suddenly darted out and I am at about 30 MPH and pull over immediately.
He comes up and actually appears more gentleman telling me that I sped and my pappy and I tell him we were talking and didn't notice the sign fast enough hopping to catch a break. He appears cool and just asks for my license and insurance and says he'll be back. Maybe w/my parents and legitimate excuse and ability to slow down at some point, I would catch a break. The mother-fucking pig comes back and says, here's your citation, directions to the Manzanita court house, date, etc, and then tells me to don't speed and darts off immediately like The Flash. Fucking, c***-sucking, bastard appeared cool and then hit me hard and hits it before we can get a rebuttal. Like I'm gonna drive a 90 minutes or so to fight the tix. What a prick, asshole, shithead, you name it. Basically, the $150 ticket ruined my day and the only thing that could save this was a good day at the casino. Advice to all: Be careful if you ever drive through a small town in Manzinita, Oregon.
Spirits Slightly Strengthen
We arrive at the Spirit Mtn. and check the tables. My parents are a sucker for Pai Gow Poker and head toward the 3 tables that offer it. I head to the back poker room. To my surprise, it's not full but I figured people had to work tomorrow so it wouldn't be full. The only tables open were $3-6 and $4-8 which was beyond my limits I planned on playing. I go back out and check the Pai Gow tables and my parents are there and there is an open seat. I decide, why not get away from hold'em for a day and try my luck at Pai Gow, the game with no bad beats right?
I buy in for $100 and bet $10 a hand normally with no gimmicky "Fortune Bets" that usually cripple my parents. I start off shitty immediately losing 3 $15 hands to this brutal dealer and think about quitting and going back to the hold'em room, but the dealer change was next. It was a fellow Asian; young female and I start winning with mediocure pair-pair up and down or Ace-paint up and 2 pair down and even Pai Gow hands (junk/nothing hands) vs the dealers Pai Gow hands. A battle of who's shit is worse and for once this month, it's not mine!! If I'd had fortune bet these, I'd have lost my shorts as they only pay 3 of a kind and better. Not many monster hands as I only hit 3 of a kind 2 times, a straight 2 times, and a flush once and nothing higher for the night. Take that fortune/sucker bets.
Dealer change and its another Asian female. I start off rocky with her but then get a nice rush of mediocure cards and lucky higher Pai Gows. High hand of the night came when this fat lady comes to the table and buys in for $50. She practically loses every hand and is down to her last $10 as she puts $10 on the bet and $5 on the bonus and is dealt an 8-4 and then an authentic 10-J-Q-K-A of clubs for a Royal Flush!! She picks up $625 for that one hand and does the old hit and run! Never seen a fat lady move so fast to the exit before in my life either! By the time this dealer was done, I turned my $100 into $240 in two hours! I almost had enough to pay for my dreaded ticket.
Next dealer was a Caucasian zit-prone named Desiree. Scary face and creepy name. Not a good combo. However, she was very polite and chatty but my luck was about to change. Pai Gow after one another and her hitting staights, 3 of a kinds, 3 pair in consecutive hands but a dent in everybody's bankroll. I decided to quit and end up on top $84 but with the ticket, I am down $66. My mom went up $48 total which is good compared to her normal loses at this game and my dad went up a superb $150 in just over 2 and a half hours for us all. This was the 1st time we all ended up in the green ink and hopefully, won't be the last time and hopefully is the last time I run into the pigs of Manzanita or anywhere else.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Worst Weak of Poker for Me Ever...
"I'm glad I didn't get jiggy with it that hand." - Phil Hellmuth, Jr from Poker SuperStars III.
Hellmuth played some superb poker in this episode making incredible reads and then of course finished 2nd after 2 bad beats heads-up vs. Freedy Deeb where his K-Q lost to Freedy's unspectacular 4-9 after Phil flopped his Queen and Freedy hit running cards for a straight and then Phil's AK lost to Freedy's KJ after the KJ flopped. Boy, this guy is truely unlucky :-D
This quote also gets me wondering what kind of music Phil listens to under his headphones. I couldn't imagine him listening to some gansta rap but after this quote, I picture him being the next Vanilla Ice... o wait, he's gone... Eminem??
The quote I wish I had done this week as I suffered a 100% ass-kicking at a combined 3 poker sites. A week where I wish I did my homework instead of play poker. So many damn rivers that I lost track of (and don't remember all my beats so don't worry, I won't be ranting on them) and so many missed draws between the $2-4 and $3-6 really put a dent in my bankroll. They said there'd be days/weeks like this and this was it.
Does this mean I will stop playing? Will I stop playing at these sites? Of course not. Every fish has to have his day otherwise they wouldn't come back. Sure $800 is alot for a college student like me. I could have bought a nice laptop or an X-BOX 360 with that kind of money, but I am confident that I can regain my dough back. Maybe not in a span of a week, but that's poker. A game of patience grasshoppers.
Hellmuth played some superb poker in this episode making incredible reads and then of course finished 2nd after 2 bad beats heads-up vs. Freedy Deeb where his K-Q lost to Freedy's unspectacular 4-9 after Phil flopped his Queen and Freedy hit running cards for a straight and then Phil's AK lost to Freedy's KJ after the KJ flopped. Boy, this guy is truely unlucky :-D
This quote also gets me wondering what kind of music Phil listens to under his headphones. I couldn't imagine him listening to some gansta rap but after this quote, I picture him being the next Vanilla Ice... o wait, he's gone... Eminem??
The quote I wish I had done this week as I suffered a 100% ass-kicking at a combined 3 poker sites. A week where I wish I did my homework instead of play poker. So many damn rivers that I lost track of (and don't remember all my beats so don't worry, I won't be ranting on them) and so many missed draws between the $2-4 and $3-6 really put a dent in my bankroll. They said there'd be days/weeks like this and this was it.
Does this mean I will stop playing? Will I stop playing at these sites? Of course not. Every fish has to have his day otherwise they wouldn't come back. Sure $800 is alot for a college student like me. I could have bought a nice laptop or an X-BOX 360 with that kind of money, but I am confident that I can regain my dough back. Maybe not in a span of a week, but that's poker. A game of patience grasshoppers.
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