I apologize to the folks that have been emailing about me not blogging recently, but I have been very busy with work, my pregnant wife and getting some stories out for a new venture we are pursuing here at GCP.Net. This blog is going to ramble a little bit
WCOOP:
Wow...poker is just soooooooo easy for these guys...Yevgeniy Timoshenko (known as "bballer88" on Full Tilt Poker and "Jovial Gent" on Pokerstars) snaps off the WCOOP Main Event for 1.7 million...then a couple of hours later...He takes down the $1k Monday tournament on FTP for $75k. ElkY...move over as we have another player that just runs good...in life...so sick
Sebok and UB:
I have a bad feeling that the reason that they are not naming the people (31 of them) who signed up all those superuser accounts(There has to be a name with each account) is that...there are some highly rated/respected players that are in the crossfire. I listened to Neverwin Radio last week and Detective DanDruff is "hot" on Freddie Deebs tail. I will post the link here
September 16 2009 edition...
http://www.neverwinpoker.com/nwpradio/archive
and they get Sebok and Hollywood Dave in the "Hotseat" this week (Going to listen to it on the way home today)
OK...Druff is the real deal here...to quote Micon...hes "Tough but Fair". (I am going to wet your appetite a little but you all need to listed to this stuff he dug up) He dug into Freddie Deeb ...who we all know was a UB pro and friend of Russ Hamilton. Freddie's name on UB was "Kid55" (k.i.d is his initials...Kassem Idid Deeb...or something like that). Freddie has a fascination with the number 55 as that's the year he was born...Druff claims he identified several of Freddie's email addys with the number 55 in it also. Well...when you look into the superuser list...there are several superuser names that had 55 in them...including..."Crackcorn 55"...and "Dannyboy55" as well as a few others. Well UB in 2005 listed all the entrants to the Aruba Classic that won their seats online ...the one Freddie Deeb snapped off for 1 million...almost 4 years to the day. Well, "kid55" is not listed as winning their seat into the Aruba classic....BUT...you guessed it..."Dannyboy55" did in fact win his seat into the Aruba Classic...HHHHHHmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Anyhow...Listen if you want...make your own conclusions...and what other players have been on the UB as sponsored pros during this time? I can remember...The Magician?? Devilfish?? We will see how it all shakes out.
World Softball Championship in Panama City:
I have to give a shout out to my baby brother, James (I say baby but he is 6'3 ...and built like a brickhouse...cock strong) who along with his team, The "Cross Seekers", won the World Softball Championship of Class D in Panama City, FL ...2 weekends ago. There has been no other softball team from Louisiana that has ever achieved this feat...and the sponsors of the tournament and the other teams were shocked that they were not even sponsored. This group of individuals who all live in the South Louisiana area within 20 minutes of each other went there and kicked ass on teams that were pooled from entire states. The team they beat in the finals was a team put together from across the state of North Carolina and had a "Major" sponsor. (Mike Vicks little brother Marcus was also on the team).
James was voted MVP of the tournament...Julie and I could not be more proud of him.
This segways into a story I told some of my close poker buddies months ago as well as my other brother Charles. I am sitting in a poker tournament 3-4 months ago next to a guy I have played with on numerous occasions whose name is Sparky. We are friendly and we chat when we see each other and I know him as a good...solid player. Well, he knew everyone called me GeneD but didn't know my last name was Dudek. Sparky over hears someone call me by my last name and says, "Hey man...your last name is Dudek", ...to which I replied "Yes...why?". He says, "You James Dudeks brother?"... I give an affirmative and Sparky calls over 2 other guys from other tables...all softball players...and says, "Hey guys...that's James Dudeks brother right there"...to which I get stared at as someone semi-famous. One of them says, "Dude...your brother is a beast...he crushes the ball...hits harder than anybody I have ever seen"...the other says "Your brother could probably play softball for a living...people would pay him to play...hes that good".
James...if you ever read this...We are proud of you...and I want you to know that moment meant alot to me
"Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies" Tim Robbins as Andy Dufrene in his letter to Red in the "Shawshank Redemption"
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Running around with my head cut off... part 2
I am here typing this out at the Beau Rivage where the Gulf Coast Poker Championship is going strong. The Main Event starts on Saturday, and we are working on getting some material for a new venture Bill and I have got into...and we may be around snapping some pics of all the Gulf Coast players.
I was all set to play in 2 of the events and wound up not playing either one. The first one was last week when I wasn't feeling all that hot, and I when I got down to sign up ...the line was huge and we would have had to go in as alternates...I passed.
The 2nd one was in yesterdays 2pm $340.00 that was pushed back because of the power outage...what a mess they had on their hands. Johnny G and company did a great job under the circumstances though. I was in line with 2 of my friends ....Jared from Lafayette and Quatersack. I gave up and decided not to play. Both of them got in after standing around for an hour or so with about 5 min left in the 100-200 level. At least they got to sit down with 10k in chips.
I had to stay at the IP as the Beau had booked all their "Poker rate" rooms...checked out the new IP poker room. I liked it. The bright purplish/bright blue felt definitely "Jumps" out at yea. They also now have those tables where they "swipe" you in for comps. Don't care much for those. If you feel I have been playing poker in your poker room...write me a comp to get something to eat...pretty simple. Well...I played for several hours and then had to go thru the, "Well...you only have enough time on here for $7.00 worth"...whatever.
I am in the 1 seat and halfway thru my session BJ McBrayer and his girlfriend come sit in the 2 seat. We chatted and had a good time...I made a sick laydown with AA when a player in LP called my preflop raise to $20.00 with Q-10o. Flop comes down 8-8-J rainbow. I c-bet up to $45.00 and villain calls. 9 on the turn and the guy grabs a hand full of chips and sticks them over the line like hes going to count them out and I grab a handfull also and say, "Im probably gonna call" and started to put my hand out over the line. The player sees this and reaches back and grabs a $100.00 bill ...and puts all the red chips he had in his hand on top of the bill. I now put down my chips and go in the tank. I ask him if he will show me if I fold and he says the standard, "You call and you can see them"...damn...hes got it. I fold face-up and he does in fact show me the Q-10o...NH sir...WP.
Watched the WSOP episode with the PokerBrat and Dandruff...WHAT??? you mean they edited out all the stuff about UB? Yeaaaaaaaaaaaa
Been staying extremely busy at my new job as I am trying to get acclimated to a new company and position.
Gotta go...
"I wonder... do we all know where we belong? And if we do, in our hearts, why do we so often do nothing about it? There must be more to this life, a purpose for us all, a place to belong" Angelina Jolie as Sara Jordan in "Beyond Borders"
I was all set to play in 2 of the events and wound up not playing either one. The first one was last week when I wasn't feeling all that hot, and I when I got down to sign up ...the line was huge and we would have had to go in as alternates...I passed.
The 2nd one was in yesterdays 2pm $340.00 that was pushed back because of the power outage...what a mess they had on their hands. Johnny G and company did a great job under the circumstances though. I was in line with 2 of my friends ....Jared from Lafayette and Quatersack. I gave up and decided not to play. Both of them got in after standing around for an hour or so with about 5 min left in the 100-200 level. At least they got to sit down with 10k in chips.
I had to stay at the IP as the Beau had booked all their "Poker rate" rooms...checked out the new IP poker room. I liked it. The bright purplish/bright blue felt definitely "Jumps" out at yea. They also now have those tables where they "swipe" you in for comps. Don't care much for those. If you feel I have been playing poker in your poker room...write me a comp to get something to eat...pretty simple. Well...I played for several hours and then had to go thru the, "Well...you only have enough time on here for $7.00 worth"...whatever.
I am in the 1 seat and halfway thru my session BJ McBrayer and his girlfriend come sit in the 2 seat. We chatted and had a good time...I made a sick laydown with AA when a player in LP called my preflop raise to $20.00 with Q-10o. Flop comes down 8-8-J rainbow. I c-bet up to $45.00 and villain calls. 9 on the turn and the guy grabs a hand full of chips and sticks them over the line like hes going to count them out and I grab a handfull also and say, "Im probably gonna call" and started to put my hand out over the line. The player sees this and reaches back and grabs a $100.00 bill ...and puts all the red chips he had in his hand on top of the bill. I now put down my chips and go in the tank. I ask him if he will show me if I fold and he says the standard, "You call and you can see them"...damn...hes got it. I fold face-up and he does in fact show me the Q-10o...NH sir...WP.
Watched the WSOP episode with the PokerBrat and Dandruff...WHAT??? you mean they edited out all the stuff about UB? Yeaaaaaaaaaaaa
Been staying extremely busy at my new job as I am trying to get acclimated to a new company and position.
Gotta go...
"I wonder... do we all know where we belong? And if we do, in our hearts, why do we so often do nothing about it? There must be more to this life, a purpose for us all, a place to belong" Angelina Jolie as Sara Jordan in "Beyond Borders"
Friday, August 21, 2009
Running around with my head cut off...
...Thats what I have been doing lately. It seemed to pile up...and pile up on me. This blog is going to be bullet points I have made notes about
-First...Congrats to Wild Bill and Jess for their new born. I am pretty excited for them and then nervous for me as ...I don't know. I guess I had some kind of warped feeling that I really didn't have to worry much ...kind of like parachuting as long as the guy in front of you goes out well your good...so with that analogy...Bill was going to have to "Go out first" so in all actuality...Im was kind of like "2nd in line"...well GeneD...guess what...your at the doorstep of that plane buddy...looking out at...shit...I have no idea what...but you have to jump...theres no turning back now. "But wait isn't there SOMEONE else I know having a child before early November I can get back behind?"....Uhhhh...My Cousin Julie and John have their bundle of Joy a couple of weeks ago...nope...oh well...Its me...I plan on doing a cartwheel out the door...somersault when I hit the air...followed by a backflip gainers going down.
(Side Note on my Cousin: congrats to them by the way ...funny note on how I found out....my nanny texted me "Its a Boy"...thats it ;-) ...just digging.... she knows we love her).
-My 2nd Tunica trip was sooooooo cool. I got to fly on one of my buddy's private planes in a Twin Commander where we flew out of Baton Rouge and right into Tunica airport. I got to where the headphones where we could all talk to each other and we also got to hear the interaction between the pilot/owner Dave and all the land based towers. I got to hear "echo" and "Bravo" and all the pilot lingo....as "We are November 9 Tunica tower...I have a visual...preparing for approach"....kind of stuff. verrrry cool and fun. The guys I went with were great and we had a blast. You will read about how they did in limit tourney on the main site when I update it again.
-My Poker exploits are I continue to beat the cash games which keeps me where I need to be as far as bankroll goes as its steady climbing getting ready for the Beau. I am skipping Oklahoma obv...I have my online bankroll nice and healthy for when the baby gets here so I can start focusing on online play as I am sure my live play will take a backseat for awhile.
-To give you an idea of how bad the play was in Tunica...I witnessed the following hand in a tournament. We are on the 2nd round with the button...maybe 17th hand of the tournament.
You know where the blinds antes are so I complete from SB and see the flop with 6 other people.
Flop comes out AhKhJh. UTG old guy local with his NRA hat on with a pic of an AK-47 on his shirt fires out a 4x bet....Guy in 7 seat ....same age only with cowboy hat and a "Vietnam Veterans" pin on it 3 bets to a total of 10x of the BB....everyone pitches to the muck except gun toter...who gets all aggressive and 4 bets....Vietnam guy just decides to flat....turn was the 10h to which NRA boy fires a healthy bet...gets smoothes by Vietnam guy. Now the river brings a meaningless 2s. NOW...gun boy checks to which the Cowboy Hat Veteran says outloud, "Oh well...what do I do now....Hmmmm....how much is in there?" and proceeds to bet about 1/3 of the pot...and NRA gun guy insta-shoves...and gets insta-called. Cowboy Hat has (Duhhhh) A-Q with the Qh....gun guy who needs to shake some of that gunpowder out of his head...tables 6h2h.
Several people at the table snicker...a couple of online guys are still in shock...and I simply say, "Wow sir...you had to know you were beat", to which he says "I flopped a flush...what are talking about...you don't know shit"...I said sir..."The 7-8-9 of hearts was in his range but his range became even more polarised when he made that speech about what to do and he only bet 1/3 of the pot...he had the royal flush...I would have bet my house on it"...he says..."What are talking about kid ...range....what range...what are talking about"...I answered him..."Sir...the shooting range sir....I am talking about the shooting range...I will meet you there later and we can pop off a few rounds...and by the way...your right...I don't know shit"
"And you know what's going to happen now. You should admit your situation. There would be more dignity in it....and Let me ask you something... If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule? Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh the Homicidal Maniac in "No Country foir Old Men"...right before executing Woody Harrelson's Character Carson Wells
-First...Congrats to Wild Bill and Jess for their new born. I am pretty excited for them and then nervous for me as ...I don't know. I guess I had some kind of warped feeling that I really didn't have to worry much ...kind of like parachuting as long as the guy in front of you goes out well your good...so with that analogy...Bill was going to have to "Go out first" so in all actuality...Im was kind of like "2nd in line"...well GeneD...guess what...your at the doorstep of that plane buddy...looking out at...shit...I have no idea what...but you have to jump...theres no turning back now. "But wait isn't there SOMEONE else I know having a child before early November I can get back behind?"....Uhhhh...My Cousin Julie and John have their bundle of Joy a couple of weeks ago...nope...oh well...Its me...I plan on doing a cartwheel out the door...somersault when I hit the air...followed by a backflip gainers going down.
(Side Note on my Cousin: congrats to them by the way ...funny note on how I found out....my nanny texted me "Its a Boy"...thats it ;-) ...just digging.... she knows we love her).
-My 2nd Tunica trip was sooooooo cool. I got to fly on one of my buddy's private planes in a Twin Commander where we flew out of Baton Rouge and right into Tunica airport. I got to where the headphones where we could all talk to each other and we also got to hear the interaction between the pilot/owner Dave and all the land based towers. I got to hear "echo" and "Bravo" and all the pilot lingo....as "We are November 9 Tunica tower...I have a visual...preparing for approach"....kind of stuff. verrrry cool and fun. The guys I went with were great and we had a blast. You will read about how they did in limit tourney on the main site when I update it again.
-My Poker exploits are I continue to beat the cash games which keeps me where I need to be as far as bankroll goes as its steady climbing getting ready for the Beau. I am skipping Oklahoma obv...I have my online bankroll nice and healthy for when the baby gets here so I can start focusing on online play as I am sure my live play will take a backseat for awhile.
-To give you an idea of how bad the play was in Tunica...I witnessed the following hand in a tournament. We are on the 2nd round with the button...maybe 17th hand of the tournament.
You know where the blinds antes are so I complete from SB and see the flop with 6 other people.
Flop comes out AhKhJh. UTG old guy local with his NRA hat on with a pic of an AK-47 on his shirt fires out a 4x bet....Guy in 7 seat ....same age only with cowboy hat and a "Vietnam Veterans" pin on it 3 bets to a total of 10x of the BB....everyone pitches to the muck except gun toter...who gets all aggressive and 4 bets....Vietnam guy just decides to flat....turn was the 10h to which NRA boy fires a healthy bet...gets smoothes by Vietnam guy. Now the river brings a meaningless 2s. NOW...gun boy checks to which the Cowboy Hat Veteran says outloud, "Oh well...what do I do now....Hmmmm....how much is in there?" and proceeds to bet about 1/3 of the pot...and NRA gun guy insta-shoves...and gets insta-called. Cowboy Hat has (Duhhhh) A-Q with the Qh....gun guy who needs to shake some of that gunpowder out of his head...tables 6h2h.
Several people at the table snicker...a couple of online guys are still in shock...and I simply say, "Wow sir...you had to know you were beat", to which he says "I flopped a flush...what are talking about...you don't know shit"...I said sir..."The 7-8-9 of hearts was in his range but his range became even more polarised when he made that speech about what to do and he only bet 1/3 of the pot...he had the royal flush...I would have bet my house on it"...he says..."What are talking about kid ...range....what range...what are talking about"...I answered him..."Sir...the shooting range sir....I am talking about the shooting range...I will meet you there later and we can pop off a few rounds...and by the way...your right...I don't know shit"
"And you know what's going to happen now. You should admit your situation. There would be more dignity in it....and Let me ask you something... If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule? Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh the Homicidal Maniac in "No Country foir Old Men"...right before executing Woody Harrelson's Character Carson Wells
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Chopped the Beau Nightly...Tales from Tunica...
I have been meaning to getting around to putting up a new blog, but I have been very busy lately with my job and some new business ventures as well as I got so many good comments on my last one...I wanted to "Milk" it for everything it was worth. My family also enjoyed it as we have been pounded about questions on what we were going to name our son.
I am currently in and the Beau Rivage typing this up waiting to get kicked out my room by the maids as its now 1pm and check out was noon. I left a crack in the door and came back to do some work, and put up a blog. I chopped the Beau Nightly last night night 3 ways for $1040.00, and it was probably a mistake as I know I was the best player left, but there was this one girl at the table from Tallahasse, Fl that talked just like Alabama Worley in True Romance...and she was lets say...I want to be polite here as she may read this..."still learning the game" LOL. I took the chop because this girl just got it in bad time after time and somehow she was the CL at with 3 of us left and she was just tooooooo unpredictable. You never knew what she was going to do from hand to hand so I agreed to the chop. After my payouts to the players I had deals with and towards my makeup with my backer...I walked away with over $800.00. We had a full GCP.Net crew in this one as Goondingy, SPR, Reid G, Alex and Wild Bill were in it also. Bill and I played some 1-2 after and he made a nice score.
Tunica Mississippi....yeaaaaaaaaaaa. What a place. I am going to have to start on my Tunica stories by taking a play from Monkey...and hack on Tunica.
-I counted 4 cars out in the parking lot with miss-matched fenders/quaterpanels that were different colors ...obviously junk yard parts that the owner just does not care that they have a blue car and a red front quarter panel.
-In same parking lots I counted 3 cars that had one of the side windows busted out ...and managed to stop the rain from getting in by patching the window up with garbage bags and duck tape
-In same parking lot saw 2 cars with same patch job on the Back Glass
Now the sick part about this is that these people would rather come to a casino and gamble their money away instead of fixing their windows...The thought process...lets see ...I have $75...Passenger Car Window or The Price is Right Slot at the Gold Strike???...I'll take the latter.
And to give you an idea of the attitude of the employees there...I am at the concierges desk faxing some copies for work and their is the Concierge and 2 Bell guys behind the front desk when we all witness the following interaction. Nice old lady walks up and tries to grab one of the bell carts and is stopped by the bell guy and the following conversation takes place,
Bell Guy-"Lady...you cant take the cart its a bell cart used by us Bell guys
NOL-"I need something to carry our luggage down as we have a bunch of stuff including an ice chest"
BG-"But Lady...We are the only ones who can use these carts...I can come up with you and help you if you would like"
NOL-"But I have we no money...we are flat busted from the Casino"
To which a Mexican staredown standoff ensues until the NOL walks away. I say "Incredible"...to what the Concierge says, "Yea Man...Can you believe that...we get people like that all the time"
Now at this point I realize that he mis-understood what I was implying thinking I was hacking on the NOL...and I proceeded to tell him that I felt he and the Bell Guy were as rude as hell and that they should get their asses up their and help the lady...that at least she was honest enough to tell them she was busted when in all actuality all she had to do was go to her room...call the bell desk...get them to come get her stuff...pull the car around and load up...and hit the road. That they should appreciate her honesty in not wanting to "Stiff" anyone and that in fact...you dont have to tip the bell guy at all...its a service of the Casino...which just took all her money.
Mexican Staredown standoff now commences with Me and Concierge...he says "Whatever"...and I say, "Only in Tunica MS...Karmas a bitch buddy"...and I walk away.
Anyyyyhow. ...Played the Deep Stack event and went fairly deep to around 5-6 tables left and they were paying 38 out of over 400. I get it in a 4-1 fav in a +80k pot ...with 10-10 vs 6-6 where I cruise into the money if I win...6 ball on the river...bounced but not frustrated as I played as well as I could. I played one hand bad the whole Tournament and it was in the 4th level right after the break. I had to end up folding on the river, so I dont know what the person had...but I played the hand terrible...but it had nothing to do with my results as I went on a rush after that to get up to around the 40k I had. Ben "The Destroyer" Mintz was at my table for awhile and is a nice guy...we chatted for awhile.
I wiffed 5 tournaments overall on the weekend including a couple of $150.00 buy-in 10k guaranteed events at other Casinos...but I was able to beat this new "Cash Blast" tournament and the cash games in general to cover my tournament losses...I am flying back tomorrow morning with some buddies on a private jet to play some more tournies/megas...and will be returning next week.
Sights and Sounds of Tunica...here are some quotes:
Ben "The Destroyer" Mintz to Phillip "Quatersack" Walsh on break in Deepstack event:
The Destroyer-"Dude...I cant believe that guy flatted your Kings with Queen/4...and hits a queen and a 4 on the flop...that was sick"
Quatersack-"Superusers man...Superusers"
I went chat with Jason Gladden as he was in the 2-7 lowball event as he was in the 7 seat and Robert Williamson was in the 3 seat...Jason says, "Only tournament I have played in so far and its a game I have never played before"...Classic
Songs I was listening to on Ipod when I went on my "Rush"
-"Jane Says"-Janes Addiction
-"Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground"-White Stripes
"Tunica Mississippi Bro...what a hellhole bro...THATS a place I never want to go back to bro" Eugene Todd Bro on a old Pokerroad Radio show
I am currently in and the Beau Rivage typing this up waiting to get kicked out my room by the maids as its now 1pm and check out was noon. I left a crack in the door and came back to do some work, and put up a blog. I chopped the Beau Nightly last night night 3 ways for $1040.00, and it was probably a mistake as I know I was the best player left, but there was this one girl at the table from Tallahasse, Fl that talked just like Alabama Worley in True Romance...and she was lets say...I want to be polite here as she may read this..."still learning the game" LOL. I took the chop because this girl just got it in bad time after time and somehow she was the CL at with 3 of us left and she was just tooooooo unpredictable. You never knew what she was going to do from hand to hand so I agreed to the chop. After my payouts to the players I had deals with and towards my makeup with my backer...I walked away with over $800.00. We had a full GCP.Net crew in this one as Goondingy, SPR, Reid G, Alex and Wild Bill were in it also. Bill and I played some 1-2 after and he made a nice score.
Tunica Mississippi....yeaaaaaaaaaaa. What a place. I am going to have to start on my Tunica stories by taking a play from Monkey...and hack on Tunica.
-I counted 4 cars out in the parking lot with miss-matched fenders/quaterpanels that were different colors ...obviously junk yard parts that the owner just does not care that they have a blue car and a red front quarter panel.
-In same parking lots I counted 3 cars that had one of the side windows busted out ...and managed to stop the rain from getting in by patching the window up with garbage bags and duck tape
-In same parking lot saw 2 cars with same patch job on the Back Glass
Now the sick part about this is that these people would rather come to a casino and gamble their money away instead of fixing their windows...The thought process...lets see ...I have $75...Passenger Car Window or The Price is Right Slot at the Gold Strike???...I'll take the latter.
And to give you an idea of the attitude of the employees there...I am at the concierges desk faxing some copies for work and their is the Concierge and 2 Bell guys behind the front desk when we all witness the following interaction. Nice old lady walks up and tries to grab one of the bell carts and is stopped by the bell guy and the following conversation takes place,
Bell Guy-"Lady...you cant take the cart its a bell cart used by us Bell guys
NOL-"I need something to carry our luggage down as we have a bunch of stuff including an ice chest"
BG-"But Lady...We are the only ones who can use these carts...I can come up with you and help you if you would like"
NOL-"But I have we no money...we are flat busted from the Casino"
To which a Mexican staredown standoff ensues until the NOL walks away. I say "Incredible"...to what the Concierge says, "Yea Man...Can you believe that...we get people like that all the time"
Now at this point I realize that he mis-understood what I was implying thinking I was hacking on the NOL...and I proceeded to tell him that I felt he and the Bell Guy were as rude as hell and that they should get their asses up their and help the lady...that at least she was honest enough to tell them she was busted when in all actuality all she had to do was go to her room...call the bell desk...get them to come get her stuff...pull the car around and load up...and hit the road. That they should appreciate her honesty in not wanting to "Stiff" anyone and that in fact...you dont have to tip the bell guy at all...its a service of the Casino...which just took all her money.
Mexican Staredown standoff now commences with Me and Concierge...he says "Whatever"...and I say, "Only in Tunica MS...Karmas a bitch buddy"...and I walk away.
Anyyyyhow. ...Played the Deep Stack event and went fairly deep to around 5-6 tables left and they were paying 38 out of over 400. I get it in a 4-1 fav in a +80k pot ...with 10-10 vs 6-6 where I cruise into the money if I win...6 ball on the river...bounced but not frustrated as I played as well as I could. I played one hand bad the whole Tournament and it was in the 4th level right after the break. I had to end up folding on the river, so I dont know what the person had...but I played the hand terrible...but it had nothing to do with my results as I went on a rush after that to get up to around the 40k I had. Ben "The Destroyer" Mintz was at my table for awhile and is a nice guy...we chatted for awhile.
I wiffed 5 tournaments overall on the weekend including a couple of $150.00 buy-in 10k guaranteed events at other Casinos...but I was able to beat this new "Cash Blast" tournament and the cash games in general to cover my tournament losses...I am flying back tomorrow morning with some buddies on a private jet to play some more tournies/megas...and will be returning next week.
Sights and Sounds of Tunica...here are some quotes:
Ben "The Destroyer" Mintz to Phillip "Quatersack" Walsh on break in Deepstack event:
The Destroyer-"Dude...I cant believe that guy flatted your Kings with Queen/4...and hits a queen and a 4 on the flop...that was sick"
Quatersack-"Superusers man...Superusers"
I went chat with Jason Gladden as he was in the 2-7 lowball event as he was in the 7 seat and Robert Williamson was in the 3 seat...Jason says, "Only tournament I have played in so far and its a game I have never played before"...Classic
Songs I was listening to on Ipod when I went on my "Rush"
-"Jane Says"-Janes Addiction
-"Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground"-White Stripes
"Tunica Mississippi Bro...what a hellhole bro...THATS a place I never want to go back to bro" Eugene Todd Bro on a old Pokerroad Radio show
Thursday, July 23, 2009
"What about Iveeeyyyyyyyyy?"...Durrrr
That drop is from Durrrr on the old Poker Road Radio from years ago. They use to use that drop alot when Justin Shronk handled the boards, and it is from right when Durrrr put his challenge out when there was so much speculation about who/what/when anybody was going to accept the challenge. They were discussing all the potentials ...Kid Poker...Joe Cassidy...Benyamine...and Antonius when Durrrr says, "What about Iveeeyyyyyyyyyyy"...it was a classic drop.
Well...what about Ivey? As The Bear and all the guys on The Poker Beat have said. The "November Nine" were built around trying to get one of the premier poker players in the world...the poker celebrity per say...to the November Nine so the media outlets would light up...the major sponsors would come calling...and Conan and Letterman will be clearing their slates to book them on the talk shows. With Ivey being my (and many others) favorite player, I guess our dreams have come true. There is a defining moment in my poker career several years ago when Ivey became my favorite player. You can follow this link and see when this happened.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=--Qap3VT_ZY
Wow...what a hand
So Phil Ivey has made it to the November Nine and I personally think this is going to make or break the November Nine concept. Was it a good decision to make the November Nine? We will see...
Other poker ramblings:
Todd "DanDruff" Witteles calls out Phil Hellmuth on the TV table:
This was about the UB scandal and the fact that UB has not properly responded to the players on the scandal. I think that this was a good thing...even though it will probably be edited out on the TV broadcast. You have to give Druff some credit for sticking up for his principals and making the comments to try to bring light to the scandal. Todd was not the only person in this years WSOP to try to keep this issue from getting swept under the rug and forgot about.
Adam Richardson:
He won 2nd place in the "Ante up for Africa" tournament and held out on his donation to also try to bring attention to the scandal. Richardson made it clear to several of his online pals what he was planning on doing if he made a big cash...and from the podcast that I have listened too...had many in his corner that were going to do the same if they too...made a nice cash. Richardson had an emergency with his family that caused him to leave right after the tournament to go home...I think it had to do with his wife being pregnant and having some complications...but from what I heard...he was going to leave a donation...after the UB scandal was discussed. I am under the understanding that he did intend to donate after he shed light on the scandal (Not sure if he did or not).
GeneD's poker exploits:
The negative variance in my live cash games has gotten better, and I have been able to book some solid wins in the live arena lately. I had a nice score at Shorty's for a few thousand the other night in a real tough game. I was able to sit and chat for quite awhile with Tim "Rasin Cajun" Hebert as he was in the game for quite awhile. Tim has been spending alot of time in LA as he is dating a girl from that area. There was several other tough players in the game also including one of his buddies that I call, "Solid Play Dave" as he is a good player that is hard to read and very seldom gets out of line. There were some other regulars that play well like Phil and John....and some "Any 2 card" players such as Big O. I played solid poker and built a nice stack and then opened up my game and started with the pressure in spots where I thought I could use my stack to my advantage...and it worked
Got in a couple of good cash games also recently at the Amelia Belle where I was able to book some winners. Nothing like walking into your local Casino and seeing a 1-2nl game going strong with a decent amount of money on the table...and you dont know anyone at the table...sweet
Tunica:
I am taking a play from Monks book as I also plan on watching the first few events to see how things look...and how many runners they get in the first few events. I plan on making it there at some point...probably next weekend depending on how my job shakes out.
Monkeys Run at the Venetian:
Good stuff brother...Congrats on the whole experience
WSOP main Event:
I am also glad that Jeff Shulman made the November Nine also with Ivey as you cant have too many name pros to go until November. I was personally pulling for TK once Kia went down...until he got bounced also...then started to pull for Dave "Love Shack Dave" Gafford from Baton Rouge...and Joe Sebok. I think Joe would have been good for the N9 also
My Job:
Wow...I am sitting tight with the same job with some uncertainty about my position in the company with the merger. These things happen in big mergers in Corporate America...but there have also been several opportunities that have surfaced that I am trying to make decisions about...probably... the most anxiety I have experienced in my day job in 10 years...but like I said in a previous blog...I think it will all work itself out...one way or the other.
My Blog:
Sorry to all the people sending me emails/text about getting my blog updated
Now to the part alot of were asking about and I decided to post it on my blog. The big question is, "What are we going to name our boy". I said that the poker players on here were going to like it...but actually...it was my wife that picked the name
Where going to name him "Eugene M Dudek IV"...and we are going to call him "Ivey"...after the IV in the Roman Numerals "I" and "V" for the 4th
There you have it...
Jack Singer: Do you know what a straight flush is? It's like... unbeatable.
Betsy: "Like unbeatable" is not unbeatable.
Jack Singer: HEY!!!! I KNOW THAT NOW!!!!!!!
Interaction between Nicholas Cage (Jack) and Sara Jessica Parker(Betsy) in "Honeymoon in Vegas"...when Cage loses a hand in poker where his payout is for his fiance to spend the weekend with the winner of the hand
Well...what about Ivey? As The Bear and all the guys on The Poker Beat have said. The "November Nine" were built around trying to get one of the premier poker players in the world...the poker celebrity per say...to the November Nine so the media outlets would light up...the major sponsors would come calling...and Conan and Letterman will be clearing their slates to book them on the talk shows. With Ivey being my (and many others) favorite player, I guess our dreams have come true. There is a defining moment in my poker career several years ago when Ivey became my favorite player. You can follow this link and see when this happened.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=--Qap3VT_ZY
Wow...what a hand
So Phil Ivey has made it to the November Nine and I personally think this is going to make or break the November Nine concept. Was it a good decision to make the November Nine? We will see...
Other poker ramblings:
Todd "DanDruff" Witteles calls out Phil Hellmuth on the TV table:
This was about the UB scandal and the fact that UB has not properly responded to the players on the scandal. I think that this was a good thing...even though it will probably be edited out on the TV broadcast. You have to give Druff some credit for sticking up for his principals and making the comments to try to bring light to the scandal. Todd was not the only person in this years WSOP to try to keep this issue from getting swept under the rug and forgot about.
Adam Richardson:
He won 2nd place in the "Ante up for Africa" tournament and held out on his donation to also try to bring attention to the scandal. Richardson made it clear to several of his online pals what he was planning on doing if he made a big cash...and from the podcast that I have listened too...had many in his corner that were going to do the same if they too...made a nice cash. Richardson had an emergency with his family that caused him to leave right after the tournament to go home...I think it had to do with his wife being pregnant and having some complications...but from what I heard...he was going to leave a donation...after the UB scandal was discussed. I am under the understanding that he did intend to donate after he shed light on the scandal (Not sure if he did or not).
GeneD's poker exploits:
The negative variance in my live cash games has gotten better, and I have been able to book some solid wins in the live arena lately. I had a nice score at Shorty's for a few thousand the other night in a real tough game. I was able to sit and chat for quite awhile with Tim "Rasin Cajun" Hebert as he was in the game for quite awhile. Tim has been spending alot of time in LA as he is dating a girl from that area. There was several other tough players in the game also including one of his buddies that I call, "Solid Play Dave" as he is a good player that is hard to read and very seldom gets out of line. There were some other regulars that play well like Phil and John....and some "Any 2 card" players such as Big O. I played solid poker and built a nice stack and then opened up my game and started with the pressure in spots where I thought I could use my stack to my advantage...and it worked
Got in a couple of good cash games also recently at the Amelia Belle where I was able to book some winners. Nothing like walking into your local Casino and seeing a 1-2nl game going strong with a decent amount of money on the table...and you dont know anyone at the table...sweet
Tunica:
I am taking a play from Monks book as I also plan on watching the first few events to see how things look...and how many runners they get in the first few events. I plan on making it there at some point...probably next weekend depending on how my job shakes out.
Monkeys Run at the Venetian:
Good stuff brother...Congrats on the whole experience
WSOP main Event:
I am also glad that Jeff Shulman made the November Nine also with Ivey as you cant have too many name pros to go until November. I was personally pulling for TK once Kia went down...until he got bounced also...then started to pull for Dave "Love Shack Dave" Gafford from Baton Rouge...and Joe Sebok. I think Joe would have been good for the N9 also
My Job:
Wow...I am sitting tight with the same job with some uncertainty about my position in the company with the merger. These things happen in big mergers in Corporate America...but there have also been several opportunities that have surfaced that I am trying to make decisions about...probably... the most anxiety I have experienced in my day job in 10 years...but like I said in a previous blog...I think it will all work itself out...one way or the other.
My Blog:
Sorry to all the people sending me emails/text about getting my blog updated
Now to the part alot of were asking about and I decided to post it on my blog. The big question is, "What are we going to name our boy". I said that the poker players on here were going to like it...but actually...it was my wife that picked the name
Where going to name him "Eugene M Dudek IV"...and we are going to call him "Ivey"...after the IV in the Roman Numerals "I" and "V" for the 4th
There you have it...
Jack Singer: Do you know what a straight flush is? It's like... unbeatable.
Betsy: "Like unbeatable" is not unbeatable.
Jack Singer: HEY!!!! I KNOW THAT NOW!!!!!!!
Interaction between Nicholas Cage (Jack) and Sara Jessica Parker(Betsy) in "Honeymoon in Vegas"...when Cage loses a hand in poker where his payout is for his fiance to spend the weekend with the winner of the hand
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Poker Ramblings...and GeneD's going to be a Dad
I have finally mustered up the time to post a blog as I have been avoiding it as I am dealing with a downward live variance...and WSOP blues. The Main Event is in Full Swing and I was able to get some sweat equity in Cobra Kai. He is going into day 2B with over 50bbs so there is still lots of play to be had. I am also dealing with some anxiety over my new job (6 months) as in Corporate America...when you have mergers and acquisitions (M&A)...you have changes and uncertainty. I am confident that things will work out though.
I was told by some of my buddys and family members (who I did not know lurk and read my blog) that I have not mentioned on here that me and my wife are expecting a baby in early November. We have been trying for some time and was very frustrated. Everyone kept telling us, "As soon as you stop trying and stop worrying so much about it...it will happen". I heard that so many times from so many people that it felt like the person telling you the worst bad beat story you could possibly hear...x5. We looked into adopting...we looked into invetro...and other things happened in or lives that for a brief 3 months ...took our minds off the anxiety and the worry of it all...and BAM!!!...YAHTZEE!!!! ...and we found out its going to be a boy. With the price of invetro...its like a 20k freeroll.
Poker Ramblings:
What about the guy Thang Luu, who has a bracelet already under his belt, breaks the hand of a WSOP dealer when the dealer goes to "Move Up" his tabled hand in Omaha8...and then he balls a fist and slams the dealers hand breaking bones between the dealers knuckles and wrist. They are saying he will probably be arrested and he is 86'ed from Harrahs properties...Unbelievable.
Been listening to all the Pokerroad Radio shows during my windshield time and I am a little confused as is Ali Nejad coming back. They have Joe "Staps" Stapelton filling in during the WSOP...I guess...as I never heard it actually discussed on the show. They had on Roland DeWolf the other day and it was a good show. Roland is a hoot and I love it when he hassles the "Magic the Gathering" players...he can be heard saying to David Williams something like , "I raise you 2 hobgoblins" on a TV table years ago...he has said similar things when in hands with ElKy...etc
PRR Shows: I have to admit that I do find my self looking forward to the "B Team" show more than the regular show. They could not have found 3 of the most likable people to run the B Team sho in Devo, Court "The Hick" and Gobboboy. They have a real chemistry that I like and they give a whole new perspective on the poker community. I read Devo's blog and have admitted on a previous blog that i relate to him as I too am/was an outdoors adventurer ...liking to hike/camp/whitewater/jetski/fish...etc. I think he is just an overall cool guy.
The B Team shows: I just listened to the Matt Garham show and really enjoyed the lake story about Matt getting pulled over by the Lake Police on Devo's jetski...classic
The show where Staps fills in for the Hick and details a drunkin Jeff Madsen story at a strip club...Hilarious.
What else...oh...you want to know about how I have been doing lately playing poker...gettin reamed live...and losing crucial flips deep in the mid-level MTTs online. Last night at Harrahs I got my opponents twice to put all their chips in the middle post turn as a huge dog...and they got there both times.
First hand I flop 2 pair with K7c on a 4 way K72 flop with 2 diamonds. I make a 2/3 size bet and get one caller...Duh...I have him dead on the diamond draw. Turn bricks...I bet out $130.00 on the turn where the villain has only $160.00 left in his stack..."Call" ...WTF???? and ladies and gentleman the idiot that called off 95% of his chips and saved the last $30.00 for what?...Cab ride home??? I dont know...gets his diamond on the river. He bets out his last $30.00 to what I say sarcastically, "No way man...jeeze...I just dont know whether I can call that last $30.00 in a pot over $450.00"...he tables 2 baby diamonds and again sarcasm on my part, "No way man...you mean you have a flush? oh my oh my...how could I have been so stupid to bet into a flush draw...do the numbers 80-20 mean anything to you?"
2nd hand...wash rinse repeat ....except this time Im holding 2 black queens on a board of 4s7dJd5c...OK....this one is 70-30 because the guy also had a gutterball draw...but still...there getting there on me.
Enough Negativity...Lets go Kia what is 1% of 8.5 million anyway?
"Strippers are -EV" Bryan "Devo" Devonshire on PRR B team addition when discussing Staps and Madsens crazy night out when Staps was "Rapping" with a stripper
I was told by some of my buddys and family members (who I did not know lurk and read my blog) that I have not mentioned on here that me and my wife are expecting a baby in early November. We have been trying for some time and was very frustrated. Everyone kept telling us, "As soon as you stop trying and stop worrying so much about it...it will happen". I heard that so many times from so many people that it felt like the person telling you the worst bad beat story you could possibly hear...x5. We looked into adopting...we looked into invetro...and other things happened in or lives that for a brief 3 months ...took our minds off the anxiety and the worry of it all...and BAM!!!...YAHTZEE!!!! ...and we found out its going to be a boy. With the price of invetro...its like a 20k freeroll.
Poker Ramblings:
What about the guy Thang Luu, who has a bracelet already under his belt, breaks the hand of a WSOP dealer when the dealer goes to "Move Up" his tabled hand in Omaha8...and then he balls a fist and slams the dealers hand breaking bones between the dealers knuckles and wrist. They are saying he will probably be arrested and he is 86'ed from Harrahs properties...Unbelievable.
Been listening to all the Pokerroad Radio shows during my windshield time and I am a little confused as is Ali Nejad coming back. They have Joe "Staps" Stapelton filling in during the WSOP...I guess...as I never heard it actually discussed on the show. They had on Roland DeWolf the other day and it was a good show. Roland is a hoot and I love it when he hassles the "Magic the Gathering" players...he can be heard saying to David Williams something like , "I raise you 2 hobgoblins" on a TV table years ago...he has said similar things when in hands with ElKy...etc
PRR Shows: I have to admit that I do find my self looking forward to the "B Team" show more than the regular show. They could not have found 3 of the most likable people to run the B Team sho in Devo, Court "The Hick" and Gobboboy. They have a real chemistry that I like and they give a whole new perspective on the poker community. I read Devo's blog and have admitted on a previous blog that i relate to him as I too am/was an outdoors adventurer ...liking to hike/camp/whitewater/jetski/fish...etc. I think he is just an overall cool guy.
The B Team shows: I just listened to the Matt Garham show and really enjoyed the lake story about Matt getting pulled over by the Lake Police on Devo's jetski...classic
The show where Staps fills in for the Hick and details a drunkin Jeff Madsen story at a strip club...Hilarious.
What else...oh...you want to know about how I have been doing lately playing poker...gettin reamed live...and losing crucial flips deep in the mid-level MTTs online. Last night at Harrahs I got my opponents twice to put all their chips in the middle post turn as a huge dog...and they got there both times.
First hand I flop 2 pair with K7c on a 4 way K72 flop with 2 diamonds. I make a 2/3 size bet and get one caller...Duh...I have him dead on the diamond draw. Turn bricks...I bet out $130.00 on the turn where the villain has only $160.00 left in his stack..."Call" ...WTF???? and ladies and gentleman the idiot that called off 95% of his chips and saved the last $30.00 for what?...Cab ride home??? I dont know...gets his diamond on the river. He bets out his last $30.00 to what I say sarcastically, "No way man...jeeze...I just dont know whether I can call that last $30.00 in a pot over $450.00"...he tables 2 baby diamonds and again sarcasm on my part, "No way man...you mean you have a flush? oh my oh my...how could I have been so stupid to bet into a flush draw...do the numbers 80-20 mean anything to you?"
2nd hand...wash rinse repeat ....except this time Im holding 2 black queens on a board of 4s7dJd5c...OK....this one is 70-30 because the guy also had a gutterball draw...but still...there getting there on me.
Enough Negativity...Lets go Kia what is 1% of 8.5 million anyway?
"Strippers are -EV" Bryan "Devo" Devonshire on PRR B team addition when discussing Staps and Madsens crazy night out when Staps was "Rapping" with a stripper
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Mis-click from Hell ..."Redemption"
Well...lets see here...I left off my last blog speaking of getting "Dialed in" as we were close to the money in the Sat. $11.00 Deep Stack event on Stars. This was the same tournament that I "mis-clicked" in the previous weekend...Well...as some of you already know...I was able to get a little redemption for myself as was able to pull off a 2nd place finish:
PokerStars Tournament #169968468, No Limit Hold'emBuy-In: $10.00/$1.00
1224 playersTotal Prize Pool: $12240.00 Tournament started 2009/06/13 12:00:00 ET
Dear GCPGeneD,
You finished the tournament in 2nd place. A $1,493.29 award has been credited to your Real Money account.You earned 497.43 tournament leader points in this tournament.
Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.
I felt good about the score but also a little disappointed as I wanted to win sooooooo bad I could taste it. The guy that won first was from Minsk, somewhere in Russia and he played very well. There were 2 hand I will breakdown a little later where I felt I had him "stone cold dead"...and either he sniffed out of it or the cards counterfeited my action. The tournament started at 11am and did not finish until around 2:30am...with a good hour of HU play. The difference between 1st and 2nd was only $500.00.
The tourney...I felt I played really well and once we got down to 4 tables, everything came together for me. I was seeing things clearly and had picked up on several patterns on my opponents that I was able to exploit. I also was taking hot showers...and I mean steaming hot...on every break to stay focused and dialed in. I went to the FT as the chip leader and did not relinquish the CL until we were 4 handed...I never had my tournament life on the line the entire tourney until we got to FT...we went into HU him having me 2 to 1 in chips...45 minuted later I had him 2 to 1 in chips and the see-saw battle continued.
At this point in the tourney where I had him 2 to 1 (a little over 6 million in chips total). When the following hands played out...I am going by memory as I haven't dug into my hand history's just yet for analysis:
-I flopped a medium size flush (I think I was holding 6-8h) and the flop came out K high with all of them being hearts. I check and he makes a huge bet...I flat. Turn bricks and he again makes a decent bet...I raise and he flats...I now thought I had him as I felt he at least had a King in his hand...river is terrible for me as the 2hearts peels out and I make a blocking bet for pot control just in case he has a heart higher that the 8h...he folds and admitted he had a King.
-The next one was in a very similar situation where I flop a straight where I three bet with J9o...villain flats and the flop shows K-Q-10...and dont remember the exact action but there were some bets, raises and calls on flop and turn...and a J hits the river to cause me to shut down and hand cuffed me...we checked it down and he showed 2 pair...I think he had K-10.
Again...I think he played the well, and I felt my HU games was formidable. I could have easily won this tourney with either of the hands above...but it wasnt meant to be...and again...these 2 hands are what I remember it from a week ago ...Tha.nks to those that came bird dog it also
If I could sum up my entire tournament experience with what I have been learning recently would be a couple of things:
1) I learned alot being able to shadow TK, Fish and Tyler in the FTOPs ME recently. (There was a guy named Trey there also but he wasnt playing just like me). I touched on this experience in a previous Blog and my thoughts leaving TKs that night was my knowing that Fish is going to be making an impact...somewhere...its just a matter of time. I know Bill and I discussed this that day and I told him, "Fish has the sharpest instincts if seen playing online, and I was able to learn alot from just watching and asking questions"
2) I just finish the poker book from John Vorhaus Killer Poker series "Killer Poker by the Numbers" which was written by Tony Guerrera. Its a "Math" book no doubt, but I think he explains the math portions a little simpler that Bill Chen's book. Some of the formulas were confusing for me but I got a solid grasped of everything he wrote and it wasnt that difficult to follow. The thing that I learned that was the most crucial was not the odds on your starting hands vs your players range...but the odds that your opponents have nothing but air...and the odds that they whiffed the flop with random hands...that your opponents has nothing. My only suggestion is to get familiar with pokerstove before you read it...again...watching fish work pokerstove was very impressive and helped my reading the book.
I went fishing several times recently to "Unplug" for awhile...and I went deep sea fishing today with some of buddies I grew up with in Tim B's 24 foot boat. I had a great time, and we killed the Red Snapper and Mangroves...but it was hot as hell and the sun kicked my ass. It was very peaceful watching the sun come up over the horizon as the Gulf was slick and calm...good times with good people. I talked to people who haven't got many close friends like that...that I would call "Life Long" friends. I have been friends with these guys since 6th or 7th grade ...which I value very much
What else...My tomato plants are just humming along...I am having to give away tomato's before they go bad...and I am heading to a Family reunion on my Sonnier side of my family...looking forward to see all my cousins (Which on both sides of my family combined...I think I have something like 33 first cousins.
Good Luck to everyone at the WSOP..Cobra Kai, TK, Monk, Fish...and all the rest. Plan on getting back to the online grind after I savor the moment for a few days.
"Poker is the ultimate game of pain...you re either giving it or getting it...and sometimes it only 30 seconds between the two" David Grey in Cardplayer Magazine/Vol 22c/No 12c/Jan 17the 2009.
PokerStars Tournament #169968468, No Limit Hold'emBuy-In: $10.00/$1.00
1224 playersTotal Prize Pool: $12240.00 Tournament started 2009/06/13 12:00:00 ET
Dear GCPGeneD,
You finished the tournament in 2nd place. A $1,493.29 award has been credited to your Real Money account.You earned 497.43 tournament leader points in this tournament.
Congratulations!
Thank you for participating.
I felt good about the score but also a little disappointed as I wanted to win sooooooo bad I could taste it. The guy that won first was from Minsk, somewhere in Russia and he played very well. There were 2 hand I will breakdown a little later where I felt I had him "stone cold dead"...and either he sniffed out of it or the cards counterfeited my action. The tournament started at 11am and did not finish until around 2:30am...with a good hour of HU play. The difference between 1st and 2nd was only $500.00.
The tourney...I felt I played really well and once we got down to 4 tables, everything came together for me. I was seeing things clearly and had picked up on several patterns on my opponents that I was able to exploit. I also was taking hot showers...and I mean steaming hot...on every break to stay focused and dialed in. I went to the FT as the chip leader and did not relinquish the CL until we were 4 handed...I never had my tournament life on the line the entire tourney until we got to FT...we went into HU him having me 2 to 1 in chips...45 minuted later I had him 2 to 1 in chips and the see-saw battle continued.
At this point in the tourney where I had him 2 to 1 (a little over 6 million in chips total). When the following hands played out...I am going by memory as I haven't dug into my hand history's just yet for analysis:
-I flopped a medium size flush (I think I was holding 6-8h) and the flop came out K high with all of them being hearts. I check and he makes a huge bet...I flat. Turn bricks and he again makes a decent bet...I raise and he flats...I now thought I had him as I felt he at least had a King in his hand...river is terrible for me as the 2hearts peels out and I make a blocking bet for pot control just in case he has a heart higher that the 8h...he folds and admitted he had a King.
-The next one was in a very similar situation where I flop a straight where I three bet with J9o...villain flats and the flop shows K-Q-10...and dont remember the exact action but there were some bets, raises and calls on flop and turn...and a J hits the river to cause me to shut down and hand cuffed me...we checked it down and he showed 2 pair...I think he had K-10.
Again...I think he played the well, and I felt my HU games was formidable. I could have easily won this tourney with either of the hands above...but it wasnt meant to be...and again...these 2 hands are what I remember it from a week ago ...Tha.nks to those that came bird dog it also
If I could sum up my entire tournament experience with what I have been learning recently would be a couple of things:
1) I learned alot being able to shadow TK, Fish and Tyler in the FTOPs ME recently. (There was a guy named Trey there also but he wasnt playing just like me). I touched on this experience in a previous Blog and my thoughts leaving TKs that night was my knowing that Fish is going to be making an impact...somewhere...its just a matter of time. I know Bill and I discussed this that day and I told him, "Fish has the sharpest instincts if seen playing online, and I was able to learn alot from just watching and asking questions"
2) I just finish the poker book from John Vorhaus Killer Poker series "Killer Poker by the Numbers" which was written by Tony Guerrera. Its a "Math" book no doubt, but I think he explains the math portions a little simpler that Bill Chen's book. Some of the formulas were confusing for me but I got a solid grasped of everything he wrote and it wasnt that difficult to follow. The thing that I learned that was the most crucial was not the odds on your starting hands vs your players range...but the odds that your opponents have nothing but air...and the odds that they whiffed the flop with random hands...that your opponents has nothing. My only suggestion is to get familiar with pokerstove before you read it...again...watching fish work pokerstove was very impressive and helped my reading the book.
I went fishing several times recently to "Unplug" for awhile...and I went deep sea fishing today with some of buddies I grew up with in Tim B's 24 foot boat. I had a great time, and we killed the Red Snapper and Mangroves...but it was hot as hell and the sun kicked my ass. It was very peaceful watching the sun come up over the horizon as the Gulf was slick and calm...good times with good people. I talked to people who haven't got many close friends like that...that I would call "Life Long" friends. I have been friends with these guys since 6th or 7th grade ...which I value very much
What else...My tomato plants are just humming along...I am having to give away tomato's before they go bad...and I am heading to a Family reunion on my Sonnier side of my family...looking forward to see all my cousins (Which on both sides of my family combined...I think I have something like 33 first cousins.
Good Luck to everyone at the WSOP..Cobra Kai, TK, Monk, Fish...and all the rest. Plan on getting back to the online grind after I savor the moment for a few days.
"Poker is the ultimate game of pain...you re either giving it or getting it...and sometimes it only 30 seconds between the two" David Grey in Cardplayer Magazine/Vol 22c/No 12c/Jan 17the 2009.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Poker Shenanigans...misclick from hell
***Quick clarification on something posted on the site***
Got back into some live poker action last week as I played several live tournaments...and many online. Thomkat17 and I both cashed in the Monday weekly at the Amelia Belle...whiffed the weekly at Harrahs Wednesday (congrats to Wild Bill who has been pwning that tourney for several months now...kids on a nice heater in that tourney)...then business took me to Biloxi and got to fire at a couple of tourneys on the coast. At the Beau's nightly Super Stack, I was able to chip up quick and hoover around one of the top 10 in chips. There was this one guy at the table that caught some cards and chipped up...but made several bad plays to donate some chips my way. One was when I raised 3x the bb with AQo and got 2 callers along with our villain. Flop hits QQ3 rainbow. Villain fires and everybody folds to me and I decide to flat here. Turn bricks with a 2 and he checks...I fire a 1/2 size pot bet...he flats...river bricks a meaningless 4...he checks...I fire a 3/4 size pot bet and he calls and tables 77...needless to say...I had my eye on this guy and wanted to get his chips
I would lose 3/4 of my stack to this same guy later in tournament when he was the CL at my table and I was 2nd in chips. I played this hand bad, and I cant believe I could not get away from QQ on a King high board here. Action went like this. Villain limps utg and everyone folds to me and I pop it to 4-5x the bbs...everyones out and Villain flats...Flop comes King high and he knuckles...I knuckle...turn bricks and he fires out 5k and I flat...river bricks and he again fires 5k and I flat and he tables AA ...I muck my QQ and slowly start looking for something sharp in my backpack to poke my eyes out with...I went out soon after.
Funny moment in this tourney (I know I texted some of you this so you can skip this part)...Johnny Grooms is running the tournament and poker room and after the tourney gets started he announces to the cash players about the "Aces Cracked" promo in the 4-8 limit game. There is this lady at our table who is totally clueless and doesn't understand poker tourneys at all...didn't understand when we raced off the green chips...asked a bunch of dumb questions...etc. Well our lady friend gets in a hand where she gets all in on the turn with her AA vs a set of Queens ...and she starts to get excited and jumps up and down going, "Yes...Im going to win the $100.00"...the river brings an Ace and her face drops like someone had just shot her dog and she exclaims, "nooooooooooo...oh well...maybe next time"...you could about imagine the stunned silence at the table as we all stared in amazement...until I just couldn't hold it in any more and busted out laughing BWAAAAAAHAHAHHAA...LOL.
My mis-click from hell happened last weekend in the $11.00 Deepstack event on Stars at 11am on Saturday. Over 1200 people in (im going to to try to keep this quick as I am almost in the money in this same tourney right now as I type this)...we are 8 1/2 hours into the tourney...there are a little over 60 players left...I am 9th in chips with over 100 bbs...and very comfortable with my stack...my play so far...my image at the table...etc. Physically, I am sitting on my couch with my laptop on a kitchen chair watching the WPT Bad Boys of poker...the one where TonyG wears the Japanese kimono...just cruising along....I'm at 170,000 in chips
I am OTB and the person in 11th place with 160,000 in chips open shoves from mid-position...for over 100bbs also...everyone folds and I glance away from the TV and reached my hand over to hit the touch pad as my arrow was over "Call"...and my pinkie knuckle hit the button on my laptop...and to my horror...I watched as 95% my chips got shipped to the villain...next hand I get AK with 3 bbs left...and lost that...I was bounced all in a matter of 90 sec. The only good thing to come out of this is my laptop did not take any damage as it got punted into my loveseat on the other side of the room. Now...this was my fault...no questions asked as I should have been more "Dialed In"...and not so non-chalant about playing for 1000's of dollars...but also on the flip side...this would never happen in a live setting.
The thing that tiled me the most was that...just when you think that everything in the poker world that could tilt you like a "Tilt-a world" has already happened...they just keep on coming
;-)
Speaking of being "Dialed In"...let me get back to my tourney as we are near the bubble and I am a little above avg in chips.
"Yeah... well...sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand" Paul Newman as Luke in "Cool Hand Luke"...this responding to another inmate when Luke wins a poker game by bluffing when inmate says "Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin"
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Poker Blues
Sorry for not blogging lately to the people sending me emails...I have been kind of bummed lately as it looks like I may not make the WSOP this year. Theres just no feeling like it when you go for 3 years back to back...and then realize theres a chance you wont be making it. I didn't go last year either, but I thought last year, "Well...I will just skip a year...it will be back next year". I was actually making plans last week to go when something at work came up that will make it hard for me to make. There is still a small chance I may bolt out there if I can take care of this stuff at work, but it looks bleaker everyday that passes. My wife can see it in me also, and she is starting to encourage me to go...I don;t know...we will see
I want to give a shout out to my boys Virge and Lusky who have set up their own training website...not videos...you can actually have one of them on the phone with you (Or in person if you live in Vegas) while they coach you. Go check out there site at http://www.pokerimmersion.com/.
I went play the weekly at Harrahs yesterday and rode up there with SPR...also saw Wild Bill, Alex Todd, Alex Wood and Mitch. Alex T, Mitch and I all wound up on the same starting table and I commenced to donk off my chips in a ridiculous...embarrassing way thinking I was trying to "portray" that I had a big hand to my buddy AT...ignoring the fact and completely blinded in that he was also trying to tell me to get "out of his pot" as he had a big hand also...we got it all in on the turn...he had my "Big Hand" crushed by a monster. There's nothing like getting all your chips in the middle ...and after the hands revealed...your stone cold dead in the water...My "Big Hand" (Top-Top) didn't even have any outs against his flopped set of 9's...just disgusting...terriable...but it happens. I come home and grind online and, of course, you have to watch TIVO'ed poker while you grind...the first hand I watched was The unabomber making the same disgusting play as I did, only he was on a stone cold bluff even though he had the same hand I did. The venue was the WSOP Europe ME in London...3 days in...Kid Poker turns a straight on a 9 high board (I think)...and our hero check-shoves with A-Q. Phil starts to look to see if he has any outs...nope...zilch. I actually rewinded it several times to just see his reaction...just so I know Im not the only knucklehead that gets it in worst than bad...oh well...it happens and if I was going to Donk out...Im glad I gave my chips to one of my buds
I caught myself pulling for Isaac Haxton in the 40k. I was listening to Pokerroad/The circuit years ago when Sebok called him out for what Joe said was a terriable play...only seebs got tortured on 2+2 as Haxton and his online posse broke down the hand from a mathematical perspective...and Haxton had +EV. That is where you hear the drop all the time on the show where seebs says, "Math is idiotic...yada...yada". Anyhow, they had him on the show after seebs apologized over and over...and I was impressed with the way Haxton handled the situation. In fact, I just downloaded the new Pokerroad radio show where they have him on after his 2nd place finish in the 40k...I am looking forward to the drive home so I can listen to it.
I also got to listen to the Pokerroad show with Prahlad Friedman, and they talked about the emotional turmoil he encountered playing through the cheating scandal at UB. On UB as "Spirit Rock"...it is said that Prahlad was person most cheated in the scandal. He talks about how mind f#$*ed he was after losing so much money to the same player and tryin to figure out what he was doing wrong. Imagine it...your one of the best players on the internet pawning the biggest games at he time...your nickname alone would strike fear in poker players the world over...and then you all of a sudden...you just start getting pawned by a couple of users. How do you adjust and adapt to that situation...it must be hard.
What else...David Carradine was found hanged today in Singapore...below is part of the press release..."The officer responsible for investigating the death, Teerapop Luanseng, said Carradine was staying at a suite at the luxury Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel.
"I can confirm that we found his body, naked, hanging in the closet," Teerapop said. He said police suspected suicide". I wonder if the Singapore Cops found porno mags laying around...or a porno on the TV in a continuous play format. Hey guys...ever hear of auto-erotic asphyxiation...yea...I watched something about that on Oprah. If im going to hang myself, Im sure as hell not going to get buck naked to do it.
And...what about that plane that crashed around Brazil...if anybody thinks this was NOT a terroist attack, then I have some cherry flavored Kool-aid for you to drink. Lets see...here is some more press releases:
"They detail a series of failures that end with its systems shutting down, suggesting the plane broke apart in the sky and their were two debris fields found, according to an aviation industry official with knowledge of the investigation. He spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because he was not authorized to discuss the crash"
Uhhh...2 (two) debris fields means the plane exploded in mid air (One field)...and the other is when it hit the water (2nd Field). Or what about this report that hit the wires today below:
"The pilot of a Spanish airliner flying near where the Airbus is believed to have gone down reported seeing a bright flash of white light that quickly plunged to the ocean, said Angel del Rio, spokesman for the Spanish airline Air Comet."Suddenly, off in the distance, we observed a strong and bright flash of white light that took a downward and vertical trajectory and vanished in six seconds," the pilot wrote in a report for the airline and Spanish civil aviation authorities, del Rio told the AP. This Spanish plane was flying from Lima, Peru to Madrid. The pilot said he heard no emergency calls from the plane."
Now...their going to try to cover this up ...and cover it up fast as they don't want people to be wary of flying. The plane was leaving Rio De Jeanero...Do you think the Government of Brazil really has safety precautions comparable to the US? Good luck getting on a plane in any other country and thinking your safe.
Good Luck to everyone at the WSOP!!!!
"Ah, hell. We played a rough game... and we lost"
David Carradine as Cole Younger is "The Long Riders"...when asked by a Pinkerton Man, "What do you and your brothers think about a life sentence? I mean, you're lucky they don't allow hanging in this state. Come on, Cole, tell me what you think about this?"
I want to give a shout out to my boys Virge and Lusky who have set up their own training website...not videos...you can actually have one of them on the phone with you (Or in person if you live in Vegas) while they coach you. Go check out there site at http://www.pokerimmersion.com/.
I went play the weekly at Harrahs yesterday and rode up there with SPR...also saw Wild Bill, Alex Todd, Alex Wood and Mitch. Alex T, Mitch and I all wound up on the same starting table and I commenced to donk off my chips in a ridiculous...embarrassing way thinking I was trying to "portray" that I had a big hand to my buddy AT...ignoring the fact and completely blinded in that he was also trying to tell me to get "out of his pot" as he had a big hand also...we got it all in on the turn...he had my "Big Hand" crushed by a monster. There's nothing like getting all your chips in the middle ...and after the hands revealed...your stone cold dead in the water...My "Big Hand" (Top-Top) didn't even have any outs against his flopped set of 9's...just disgusting...terriable...but it happens. I come home and grind online and, of course, you have to watch TIVO'ed poker while you grind...the first hand I watched was The unabomber making the same disgusting play as I did, only he was on a stone cold bluff even though he had the same hand I did. The venue was the WSOP Europe ME in London...3 days in...Kid Poker turns a straight on a 9 high board (I think)...and our hero check-shoves with A-Q. Phil starts to look to see if he has any outs...nope...zilch. I actually rewinded it several times to just see his reaction...just so I know Im not the only knucklehead that gets it in worst than bad...oh well...it happens and if I was going to Donk out...Im glad I gave my chips to one of my buds
I caught myself pulling for Isaac Haxton in the 40k. I was listening to Pokerroad/The circuit years ago when Sebok called him out for what Joe said was a terriable play...only seebs got tortured on 2+2 as Haxton and his online posse broke down the hand from a mathematical perspective...and Haxton had +EV. That is where you hear the drop all the time on the show where seebs says, "Math is idiotic...yada...yada". Anyhow, they had him on the show after seebs apologized over and over...and I was impressed with the way Haxton handled the situation. In fact, I just downloaded the new Pokerroad radio show where they have him on after his 2nd place finish in the 40k...I am looking forward to the drive home so I can listen to it.
I also got to listen to the Pokerroad show with Prahlad Friedman, and they talked about the emotional turmoil he encountered playing through the cheating scandal at UB. On UB as "Spirit Rock"...it is said that Prahlad was person most cheated in the scandal. He talks about how mind f#$*ed he was after losing so much money to the same player and tryin to figure out what he was doing wrong. Imagine it...your one of the best players on the internet pawning the biggest games at he time...your nickname alone would strike fear in poker players the world over...and then you all of a sudden...you just start getting pawned by a couple of users. How do you adjust and adapt to that situation...it must be hard.
What else...David Carradine was found hanged today in Singapore...below is part of the press release..."The officer responsible for investigating the death, Teerapop Luanseng, said Carradine was staying at a suite at the luxury Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel.
"I can confirm that we found his body, naked, hanging in the closet," Teerapop said. He said police suspected suicide". I wonder if the Singapore Cops found porno mags laying around...or a porno on the TV in a continuous play format. Hey guys...ever hear of auto-erotic asphyxiation...yea...I watched something about that on Oprah. If im going to hang myself, Im sure as hell not going to get buck naked to do it.
And...what about that plane that crashed around Brazil...if anybody thinks this was NOT a terroist attack, then I have some cherry flavored Kool-aid for you to drink. Lets see...here is some more press releases:
"They detail a series of failures that end with its systems shutting down, suggesting the plane broke apart in the sky and their were two debris fields found, according to an aviation industry official with knowledge of the investigation. He spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday because he was not authorized to discuss the crash"
Uhhh...2 (two) debris fields means the plane exploded in mid air (One field)...and the other is when it hit the water (2nd Field). Or what about this report that hit the wires today below:
"The pilot of a Spanish airliner flying near where the Airbus is believed to have gone down reported seeing a bright flash of white light that quickly plunged to the ocean, said Angel del Rio, spokesman for the Spanish airline Air Comet."Suddenly, off in the distance, we observed a strong and bright flash of white light that took a downward and vertical trajectory and vanished in six seconds," the pilot wrote in a report for the airline and Spanish civil aviation authorities, del Rio told the AP. This Spanish plane was flying from Lima, Peru to Madrid. The pilot said he heard no emergency calls from the plane."
Now...their going to try to cover this up ...and cover it up fast as they don't want people to be wary of flying. The plane was leaving Rio De Jeanero...Do you think the Government of Brazil really has safety precautions comparable to the US? Good luck getting on a plane in any other country and thinking your safe.
Good Luck to everyone at the WSOP!!!!
"Ah, hell. We played a rough game... and we lost"
David Carradine as Cole Younger is "The Long Riders"...when asked by a Pinkerton Man, "What do you and your brothers think about a life sentence? I mean, you're lucky they don't allow hanging in this state. Come on, Cole, tell me what you think about this?"
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The WSOP circuit event ends
The circuit event running at Harrah's ended last week, and a friend of GCP's...Dan Walsh picked up 50k for finishing 5th. Dan has played some great poker in the past few months, and he deserved the good score...even though he was a little disappointed by the finishing 5th as well as the hand he went out on. I had the pleasure of joining Dan and his wife Amanda for a celebratory dinner at Dickie Brennans steakhouse. There was alot of poker talk (Sorry Amanda), and the things that I tried to get Dan to understand above all else is...the below hand history's from Kaelaine Minton coverage:
On a flop of Q T 3 rainbow, Dan Walsh and Shaun Deeb got all in. Shaun held pocket Aces but was crushed by Dan's pocket 3s (bottom set). The last two came 6 4 and Dan doubled up to over 300k. Shaun was still a bit over 200k.
Shaun Deeb didn't learn his lesson earlier. This time he ran AQ into Dan Walsh's pocket Aces...and this time Dan had him covered...and this time the Aces held up. Dan has now chipped up to almost 600k
Taking on the best online player in the world (at the time...he has since moved the 2nd). He got him to put his chips in the middle with AQ with the blinds at 500-3000-6000 when he still had close to 200k…and he took out the defending champion along the way…Dan…Great job…and Thanks for taking me to dinner with you and Amanda…I had a great time!!!
I was able to pull off a min-cash in a $340.00 buy-in event, and I feel I played the tournament well. I was able to chip up early, but then had Dana Diephouse (Dealer/Supervisor at the Belle of Baton Rouge…and a final tabler in this event years ago) on my left who also chipped up…and took the chip lead for some time. I had to be careful and I was trying to play as “Robotic” as possible as Dana has dealt to me many times in the past. I was able to keep my stack healthy until he busted out. Wild Bill got moved to my table after the dinner break, and we both cruised into the money. I got moved to another table about 15 minutes after the bubble burst, and got seated to the left of Mark Wilds. I had 20k left and on the 2nd hand with me in the SB, I glance down at KhKc. Mark makes it 10k to go from the button and I figured he was raising light here…but I also new that he was not going to fold to a min-raise which is all I had left (20k)…I ship it…he call with K-10o with one of the them a diamond…I don’t remember what card…I am sure that comment gave away the ending as the flop came out with 2 diamonds…runner-runner diamonds and GeneD hit the rail. I don’t think Mark did anything wrong here…The hand was going to play itself…I knew he could never fold here and I just got beat by the cards. I can live with that…I got it in good.
Tilt fading during this tourney? There was a guy sitting between Dana and I for more than 6 hours that I swear…did not bath in a week. His BO was sooooo bad…people at the other tables were commenting on it…People…take a bath will ya!!!! On top of that …on break I saw 2 people at my table use the restroom and not wash their hands…sickos.
What else is happening? We are trying to help TK to get staked in the 40k event…see the post on our webpage. We do have a significant amount committed already…but we still need some more stakers to step up.
I got to go sweat TK, Fish and Tyler Smith in the FTOPs main event. I got to hang out and do some hand evaluations…eat some philly cheese-steaks…and just chill with those guys. I learned a lot, and got to see just how sick Fish’s game is…That guy can do deductive reasoning as good as anybody I have ever seen. TK and his wife Karol have a beautiful home in the French quarter also…Good people…and good times…Thanks for having me over.
There’s kind of a funny story behind how I got there. TK told me that it was “A Hike” to walk from Harrah’s, so I was going to grab a Taxi. I walked out the casino and there were no cabs, so I started to walk and got a little ways before I stopped at a Tourist Booth to see how far it actually was. The guy asked me where I was going and I told him the address…he says, “Ah…your going to see Brad and Angelina’s house right?”…uhhhh…no. He tells me that it is pretty far, so I step outside and grab a cab…give the cab guy the address…you guessed it, “You going check out Brad and Angelina’s house right ace”…that would be a negative sir…just going visit some friends.
I have been working on the “Emotional Factor” lately and I have been trying to stay as calm as possible…no mater what happens at the table…win or lose…just keep the same demeanor. I was able to keep my emotions even keel the whole circuit event, even though I got fussed…well…more like yelled at during the 6 handed event over nothing. The floor guy, literally, was yelling at me and another guy at the table over some very minor table banter…all I could say was, “That was weak man…weak…we didn’t even do anything”…oh well.
So I make it through the circuit event without any major tilt issues …and then I get in a 2-5 cash game at the Belle of Baton Rouge last week and some Mofo “Slow Rolls” me like you have never seen before. I flop top 2…and fire post flop…villain flats…turn is a brick…I fire out…villain flats again…The flush gets there on the river so I knuckle…Villain fires a ¼ size pot bet…I say, “I call”…and the Villain says, “Good call man…your good”…so I say “what?”…he says again…louder, “Good call”. I table my top 2 pair. The dealer pushes out the cards on the table, and starts to pile the chips and push them in my direction…dipshit says, “Hold on”…and tables the K high flush. I blew up…and we went at it verbally. Oh well….back to square one.
A little …“Old School” vs “The Sheltered”… incident last week. I am driving in my car with a co-worker (She’s about 26 years old) in Baton Rouge last week coming thru Denham Springs when there are cars coming at us that are flashing their lights on and off. The girl is asking, “Why are all these cars flashing their lights on and off?”…I ask, “You don’t know what that means?”…of course she doesn’t. I explained, “Well…it probably means that there is a cop up the road that is set up trying to give out tickets…everybody knows that”…she doesn’t believe me…I siiggggghhhhhhhhhh as we pass the said cop…and I start to flick my lights on and off to warn people coming the other way…
"Now remember, things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is" Clint Eastwood as Josey Wales in "The Outlaw Josey Wales"
On a flop of Q T 3 rainbow, Dan Walsh and Shaun Deeb got all in. Shaun held pocket Aces but was crushed by Dan's pocket 3s (bottom set). The last two came 6 4 and Dan doubled up to over 300k. Shaun was still a bit over 200k.
Shaun Deeb didn't learn his lesson earlier. This time he ran AQ into Dan Walsh's pocket Aces...and this time Dan had him covered...and this time the Aces held up. Dan has now chipped up to almost 600k
Taking on the best online player in the world (at the time...he has since moved the 2nd). He got him to put his chips in the middle with AQ with the blinds at 500-3000-6000 when he still had close to 200k…and he took out the defending champion along the way…Dan…Great job…and Thanks for taking me to dinner with you and Amanda…I had a great time!!!
I was able to pull off a min-cash in a $340.00 buy-in event, and I feel I played the tournament well. I was able to chip up early, but then had Dana Diephouse (Dealer/Supervisor at the Belle of Baton Rouge…and a final tabler in this event years ago) on my left who also chipped up…and took the chip lead for some time. I had to be careful and I was trying to play as “Robotic” as possible as Dana has dealt to me many times in the past. I was able to keep my stack healthy until he busted out. Wild Bill got moved to my table after the dinner break, and we both cruised into the money. I got moved to another table about 15 minutes after the bubble burst, and got seated to the left of Mark Wilds. I had 20k left and on the 2nd hand with me in the SB, I glance down at KhKc. Mark makes it 10k to go from the button and I figured he was raising light here…but I also new that he was not going to fold to a min-raise which is all I had left (20k)…I ship it…he call with K-10o with one of the them a diamond…I don’t remember what card…I am sure that comment gave away the ending as the flop came out with 2 diamonds…runner-runner diamonds and GeneD hit the rail. I don’t think Mark did anything wrong here…The hand was going to play itself…I knew he could never fold here and I just got beat by the cards. I can live with that…I got it in good.
Tilt fading during this tourney? There was a guy sitting between Dana and I for more than 6 hours that I swear…did not bath in a week. His BO was sooooo bad…people at the other tables were commenting on it…People…take a bath will ya!!!! On top of that …on break I saw 2 people at my table use the restroom and not wash their hands…sickos.
What else is happening? We are trying to help TK to get staked in the 40k event…see the post on our webpage. We do have a significant amount committed already…but we still need some more stakers to step up.
I got to go sweat TK, Fish and Tyler Smith in the FTOPs main event. I got to hang out and do some hand evaluations…eat some philly cheese-steaks…and just chill with those guys. I learned a lot, and got to see just how sick Fish’s game is…That guy can do deductive reasoning as good as anybody I have ever seen. TK and his wife Karol have a beautiful home in the French quarter also…Good people…and good times…Thanks for having me over.
There’s kind of a funny story behind how I got there. TK told me that it was “A Hike” to walk from Harrah’s, so I was going to grab a Taxi. I walked out the casino and there were no cabs, so I started to walk and got a little ways before I stopped at a Tourist Booth to see how far it actually was. The guy asked me where I was going and I told him the address…he says, “Ah…your going to see Brad and Angelina’s house right?”…uhhhh…no. He tells me that it is pretty far, so I step outside and grab a cab…give the cab guy the address…you guessed it, “You going check out Brad and Angelina’s house right ace”…that would be a negative sir…just going visit some friends.
I have been working on the “Emotional Factor” lately and I have been trying to stay as calm as possible…no mater what happens at the table…win or lose…just keep the same demeanor. I was able to keep my emotions even keel the whole circuit event, even though I got fussed…well…more like yelled at during the 6 handed event over nothing. The floor guy, literally, was yelling at me and another guy at the table over some very minor table banter…all I could say was, “That was weak man…weak…we didn’t even do anything”…oh well.
So I make it through the circuit event without any major tilt issues …and then I get in a 2-5 cash game at the Belle of Baton Rouge last week and some Mofo “Slow Rolls” me like you have never seen before. I flop top 2…and fire post flop…villain flats…turn is a brick…I fire out…villain flats again…The flush gets there on the river so I knuckle…Villain fires a ¼ size pot bet…I say, “I call”…and the Villain says, “Good call man…your good”…so I say “what?”…he says again…louder, “Good call”. I table my top 2 pair. The dealer pushes out the cards on the table, and starts to pile the chips and push them in my direction…dipshit says, “Hold on”…and tables the K high flush. I blew up…and we went at it verbally. Oh well….back to square one.
A little …“Old School” vs “The Sheltered”… incident last week. I am driving in my car with a co-worker (She’s about 26 years old) in Baton Rouge last week coming thru Denham Springs when there are cars coming at us that are flashing their lights on and off. The girl is asking, “Why are all these cars flashing their lights on and off?”…I ask, “You don’t know what that means?”…of course she doesn’t. I explained, “Well…it probably means that there is a cop up the road that is set up trying to give out tickets…everybody knows that”…she doesn’t believe me…I siiggggghhhhhhhhhh as we pass the said cop…and I start to flick my lights on and off to warn people coming the other way…
"Now remember, things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is" Clint Eastwood as Josey Wales in "The Outlaw Josey Wales"
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Circuit event in New Orleans kicks off...
The circuit event in New Orleans is in full steam, and it looks like it might bea pretty good series. Harrahs has went above and beyond to accommodatethe players and the chatter is all positive. Some of the other bloggers mayhave commented on it, but I wanted to also on the IPod issue.
FINALLY...FINALLY...They have listened to the masses and acknowledged that their "Interpretation" of whatever law they thought was banning ipods at the table ...was F'ed up.
I actually got into another debate yesterday
...even after the ban was lifted...with a dealer about this crap. I have my same argument
I have been spewing for years, "How can it be against any state law to listen to ipods at the
table when Uhhhhhhh...lets see...you can listen to them in Lake Charles...uhhhh...Baton Rouge...or how about Shreveport. The guy says, "Yea...but those are all boats...theres different laws for land based casinos"...well then kind sir...I listened to my ipod at the 7 Clan Tournament series in Coushatta a couple of months back...then I stopped him, "Oh ...I know what your going to say now...its an Indian Casino"...yea...right. Annnnnnnyhooooooow!!
My Play...not happy with it. I have been making mistakes that are really frustrating and I continue to have the "Hero Call" mentality. I was at break even so far for the series but it took a down turn yesterday. I also have been making mistakes on my bet sizing and value bets where I could have extracted more chips in certain situations. I plan on playing the 6 Handed event today which is the event I hit for 3rd during the WSOP in 07' at the Binions Poker Classic running in parallel to the WSOP.
Congrats going out...Damn...where do I start? There are several people I know that are doing well. Lets start with the GCP bloggers:
"The Honest Player" AKA Parfait-
Biggest score so far goes to Parf who made a strong showing in the 5PM $340.00. We started at the same table and he got to see me chip up quick...and then spew them off. Im not sure exactly what place he got but I think he got $2400.00
Cobra Kia-
The venom spewer was also at that same Final Table with Parf. I think he was the chip leader at some point, but couldn't hold on...I think he went out 7th
Southpawrounder (SPR)-
Cashed yesterday in the $500 nooner...got it in good with QQ vs KJ...2 jacks hit the board....yuck!!
Poker Monkey-
Has cashed already in the first event...and as of yesterday he played in 3 tournaments for a total of 35 hours...frustrating going that deep and not getting a solid score I know.
Monk and I ate lunch yesterday at Bamboo with Jacob "Nocko" Naquin who has come out from semi-retirement and is planning on playing some more events. Nocko is known as a cash game specialist, but if the way he played the first event is any indication...he could burn it up this circuit series.
We have a long way to go...another whole week...and alot more poker to play. Hopefully all our bankrolls grow... instead of shrink...were at the midway point.
"Peter, do you know where you are? Above 24,000 ft, you're at the vertical limit, you're already dying. Look at you. You can hardly stand" Scott Glenn as Montgomery Wick in "Vertical Limit"
FINALLY...FINALLY...They have listened to the masses and acknowledged that their "Interpretation" of whatever law they thought was banning ipods at the table ...was F'ed up.
I actually got into another debate yesterday
...even after the ban was lifted...with a dealer about this crap. I have my same argument
I have been spewing for years, "How can it be against any state law to listen to ipods at the
table when Uhhhhhhh...lets see...you can listen to them in Lake Charles...uhhhh...Baton Rouge...or how about Shreveport. The guy says, "Yea...but those are all boats...theres different laws for land based casinos"...well then kind sir...I listened to my ipod at the 7 Clan Tournament series in Coushatta a couple of months back...then I stopped him, "Oh ...I know what your going to say now...its an Indian Casino"...yea...right. Annnnnnnyhooooooow!!
My Play...not happy with it. I have been making mistakes that are really frustrating and I continue to have the "Hero Call" mentality. I was at break even so far for the series but it took a down turn yesterday. I also have been making mistakes on my bet sizing and value bets where I could have extracted more chips in certain situations. I plan on playing the 6 Handed event today which is the event I hit for 3rd during the WSOP in 07' at the Binions Poker Classic running in parallel to the WSOP.
Congrats going out...Damn...where do I start? There are several people I know that are doing well. Lets start with the GCP bloggers:
"The Honest Player" AKA Parfait-
Biggest score so far goes to Parf who made a strong showing in the 5PM $340.00. We started at the same table and he got to see me chip up quick...and then spew them off. Im not sure exactly what place he got but I think he got $2400.00
Cobra Kia-
The venom spewer was also at that same Final Table with Parf. I think he was the chip leader at some point, but couldn't hold on...I think he went out 7th
Southpawrounder (SPR)-
Cashed yesterday in the $500 nooner...got it in good with QQ vs KJ...2 jacks hit the board....yuck!!
Poker Monkey-
Has cashed already in the first event...and as of yesterday he played in 3 tournaments for a total of 35 hours...frustrating going that deep and not getting a solid score I know.
Monk and I ate lunch yesterday at Bamboo with Jacob "Nocko" Naquin who has come out from semi-retirement and is planning on playing some more events. Nocko is known as a cash game specialist, but if the way he played the first event is any indication...he could burn it up this circuit series.
We have a long way to go...another whole week...and alot more poker to play. Hopefully all our bankrolls grow... instead of shrink...were at the midway point.
"Peter, do you know where you are? Above 24,000 ft, you're at the vertical limit, you're already dying. Look at you. You can hardly stand" Scott Glenn as Montgomery Wick in "Vertical Limit"
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Finally a small tournament score...Fleetwood Mac
I was able to break out of my tournament funk last Monday night in the $50.00 freeze-out at the Amelia Belle. The bad play was somewhat astonishing ...as well as welcomed. I saw some very strange hands. I became the chip leader at the FT when we got down to 6 handed with the following hand.
There is one lunchbox at the table that is the chipleader in the 1 seat, and the rest of us are all hovering around 12-13 bbs. I am in the 6 seat and there is only one person at the table I am remotely worried about and that was sparky on my left in the 7 seat. blinds are at 1000-2000 and the lunchbox min-raises to 4000 from utg. I ship it for 25k with 7c7h, and everyone folds to said lunchbox. He tank-calls my shove with J3o to double me up. Yeeeaaaaaaaaaa...thanks buddy.
We wind up getting 3 handed with me, sparky and LB, and the blinds got so high that we decided to chop 3 ways. We (Sparky and Me) offered a chop 4 handed with us each taking 30% and the other 2 splitting the remaining 40% of the prize money...even though the LB was still the chip leader...but they balked...oh well. The LB agreed to the 3-way chop, and I agreed just because of the fact that this F'eer was just toooooo unpredictable...he had no range at all. He still had the chip lead, but he knew he was the worst player left. I was in for $50...out for over $500.00
Played in the Harrah's weekly and got there to sign in a little late...right behind Wild Bill, SPR and Mayor Ed. I wind up in the 10 seat with SPR in the 1 seat. I got chipped up early and ran into a couple of coolers...and made a couple of bad "Hero" calls...I was out before the first break.
I have a nice stack when I flop a set of 10's on a 9-10-J rainbow board. I bet out after the flop...villain flats...I fire on the brick-turn...He flats again...I check the brick-river as red flags were going up and he fires a nice bet..."I call"...he tables K-Qo...yuck. I get it in with 10 bbs left with A-9 and someone has A-K...see ya.
My wife and I went to see the Fleetwood Mac concert for her Valentine's Day present this week, and it was amazing. We had so much fun. I really didn't know much about Lindsey Buckingham, but oh my...can that dude play the guitar. It was probably one of my favorite concerts ever behind U2 years ago when I saw them for the "Rattle and Hum" tour. The crowd was electric and they came out for several encores...good stuff. Stevie Nicks is rocking that cougar look even near 60 years old.
Speaking of cougars...oh my god. I saw more Stevie impersonators at the show than Elvis impersonators in "Honeymoon in Vegas"...they were everywhere. I think even Virge could have gotten laid that night. You actually saw a whole spectrum of fans encompassing the hard core 50-60 year old hard core fans...too the parents with their teenage children...the concert was great.
Made a small score on the Kentucky Derby today. I went in for $25.oo with $10.00 each on my wifes 2 picks..."Desert Party" and "Chocolate Candy". I decided to go ahead and throw $5.00 on a long-shot for shits and giggles ...and took "Mine that Bird" in the 8th spot for 50 to 1...ship it to the colonel!!!
"Players...only love you when their playing" Fleetwood Mac lyrics in Dreams
There is one lunchbox at the table that is the chipleader in the 1 seat, and the rest of us are all hovering around 12-13 bbs. I am in the 6 seat and there is only one person at the table I am remotely worried about and that was sparky on my left in the 7 seat. blinds are at 1000-2000 and the lunchbox min-raises to 4000 from utg. I ship it for 25k with 7c7h, and everyone folds to said lunchbox. He tank-calls my shove with J3o to double me up. Yeeeaaaaaaaaaa...thanks buddy.
We wind up getting 3 handed with me, sparky and LB, and the blinds got so high that we decided to chop 3 ways. We (Sparky and Me) offered a chop 4 handed with us each taking 30% and the other 2 splitting the remaining 40% of the prize money...even though the LB was still the chip leader...but they balked...oh well. The LB agreed to the 3-way chop, and I agreed just because of the fact that this F'eer was just toooooo unpredictable...he had no range at all. He still had the chip lead, but he knew he was the worst player left. I was in for $50...out for over $500.00
Played in the Harrah's weekly and got there to sign in a little late...right behind Wild Bill, SPR and Mayor Ed. I wind up in the 10 seat with SPR in the 1 seat. I got chipped up early and ran into a couple of coolers...and made a couple of bad "Hero" calls...I was out before the first break.
I have a nice stack when I flop a set of 10's on a 9-10-J rainbow board. I bet out after the flop...villain flats...I fire on the brick-turn...He flats again...I check the brick-river as red flags were going up and he fires a nice bet..."I call"...he tables K-Qo...yuck. I get it in with 10 bbs left with A-9 and someone has A-K...see ya.
My wife and I went to see the Fleetwood Mac concert for her Valentine's Day present this week, and it was amazing. We had so much fun. I really didn't know much about Lindsey Buckingham, but oh my...can that dude play the guitar. It was probably one of my favorite concerts ever behind U2 years ago when I saw them for the "Rattle and Hum" tour. The crowd was electric and they came out for several encores...good stuff. Stevie Nicks is rocking that cougar look even near 60 years old.
Speaking of cougars...oh my god. I saw more Stevie impersonators at the show than Elvis impersonators in "Honeymoon in Vegas"...they were everywhere. I think even Virge could have gotten laid that night. You actually saw a whole spectrum of fans encompassing the hard core 50-60 year old hard core fans...too the parents with their teenage children...the concert was great.
Made a small score on the Kentucky Derby today. I went in for $25.oo with $10.00 each on my wifes 2 picks..."Desert Party" and "Chocolate Candy". I decided to go ahead and throw $5.00 on a long-shot for shits and giggles ...and took "Mine that Bird" in the 8th spot for 50 to 1...ship it to the colonel!!!
"Players...only love you when their playing" Fleetwood Mac lyrics in Dreams
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Biloxi...Shreveport...and "The Grand"
My frustration with my tournament game continues, going deep for squadouche, as I made the final table in both tourneys I played last weekend in Biloxi...to come up empty handed. I came in 8th in one where I got my money in good. I called a min raise to 4000 from the sb (Maniac dude that looked like Big Paulie on Orange County Choppers) when the blinds were 1000-2000 with me having 17.5 k to start the hand with 8-10h. The flop comes 8d4s2h...He checks...I shove...he snap calls with A-Jo...you know the drill. The 2nd one I came in 9th where I jam with A-10o with 14 bbs left and the BB wakes up with AK...thats a wrap. A very frustrating weekend and it made me start to break down my game more as I feel I may be tightening up at times where I should shift gears to LAG. I am told that Harrington says that if you continue to get through fields and get close...don't get discouraged that your playing good tournament poker...Thats easy for him to say
I started to play some chess again online to game up on something else besides poker, and I need to start playing pool again. Chess is such a fun game, and chess and pool have alot of the same strategies...you can sacrifice some of your pieces to save others...playing defense...and waiting for your opening to get in line and get out.
I was able to catch the poker movie "The Grand" on showtime this month...absolutely hilarious. Even my wife liked as I had to hear, "Oh shit...not another damn Poker movie" when she walked in...but she liked it and laughed. It is a must see for any serious poker player. I am going to break down some of the Characters as I saw it because there is so much reference to real players that we all love and hate. (Spoiler Alert...I will try not give too much of the movie away)
One Eyed Jack Faro: Played by Woody Harrelson and is portrayed as a cross between Stuey Unger and the hard parting with one of the Binions...either Jack or Becky's son Benny as his Grandfather started Las Vegas with the Casino called the Rabbits Foot...its hilarious as the show starts out with someone coming check him out of rehab...where he was living permanently. His famous quote, "Yes...I did get kicked out of my own Casino". He also is called "One Eye" because in pressure situations, instead of putting on sunglasses to throw off his opponents, he puts on an eye patch....or... it was because he was always loaded and used the patch to correct his cross-eyedness from the drugs and alcohol.
Lainie and Larry Shwartzman: The brother sister team here...I wonder who they could be portraying? David Cross plays Larry and Larry David's wife on his HBO special plays Lainie...and shes a dead ringer for our favorite Celebrity Apprentice. She even has the braided hair that Annie Rocks now and then. Shes the poker playing Mom thats married to Ray Ramano. Her brother Larry also has some poker brat rolled into his persona ...imagine that ....a cross between Lederer and the Poker Brat. Gabe "Mr. Kooootteeerrrr" Kaplain plays their Dad.
Duece Fairbacks: Played by Dennis Ferina, is the old timer that hates all this new crap and hijinks that comes with game. Think Doyle/Dewey Tomko/Sam Grizzle all rolled into one. Cruises around on one of those little carts like Doyle and plays poker because he loves the game of poker...period.
Harold Melvin: is the Math guy in the movie. Think all of the online math guys rolled into one...he also lives and is taken care of by his mom. The camera crew goes to his house to talk to his mom ...ala Daniel Negreanu. He would say things at the table to the other like, "Your a bad player because thats a Jack high flop and you just moved all in with AK or AQ and I have pocket tens so your a 75-25 dog...I call" (Not quoted word for word...but you get the picture)
Andy Andrew: the famous online qualifier with the all the party poker gear. Obviously, think Moneymaker and Raymer rolled into one. He claimed to have never played poker before, but was on the internet searching for "Fireplace Pokers"...and stumbled upon PartyPoker...and just started playing.
Word has it that the director, Zac Penn, let the final table happen as the "Cards Layed". They final table was played for real and whoever won...just won...no script
I just got back from Shreveport where I beat the cash games every night I was there at the "Hell-derado". I played well, and didn't have many big decisions to make. Actually, there were 3 times I tanked-folded and made good lay downs...and all three times my opponents showed me their hole cards and I was beat. Twice I had 2 pair against a set and straight...and the third time I layed down top-top...and the guy showed me 2 pair.
I am looking forward to the Harrahs event coming up. I have some buddies coming into town from "Hotlanta"...He won 4th for 12k in Tunica recently...also got an e-mail from Big Dan...hes suppose to come down also. Also looking to play some tourneys...trying to get out of make-up with my backer and win enough money to get to the WSOP with SPR and Parf in June.
Random Thoughts:
-R.I.P...Justin Shronk and Casey Reese
-Random bumper sticker: "Don't be a Communist American...be a True Texan...Support Succession"
Drive time listening on my IPOD:
-The Poker Beat...I love the "Insider"...everyone knows its the Bear...but its still funny when he puts them in their place
-NWP Poker Radio with "Fiery Justice" and another show with "The Maven"...This kid "The Maven" and his roommate "Bodog Ari" ...are animals...pure and simple. You can see their poker dojo in the newest version of BLUFF...The Kid has ...three 30' monitors to play on and a 24' for his lobbys...11 other work stations around the house. Big Screen so people can sit in the leather couches with head phones on and watch and learn...this show was good. The "Fiery Justice" show turns into a dumpster fire at some point
-Saw an ESPN show on Pat Tillman...pure heart...the guy was driven by morals, values and creeds that he believed in pedal to the metal...a true hero in every sense of the word
"Life has a way of making the foreseeable... that which never happens... and the unforeseeable that which your life becomes" Viggo Mortensen as Everitt Hitch in "Appaloosa"
I started to play some chess again online to game up on something else besides poker, and I need to start playing pool again. Chess is such a fun game, and chess and pool have alot of the same strategies...you can sacrifice some of your pieces to save others...playing defense...and waiting for your opening to get in line and get out.
I was able to catch the poker movie "The Grand" on showtime this month...absolutely hilarious. Even my wife liked as I had to hear, "Oh shit...not another damn Poker movie" when she walked in...but she liked it and laughed. It is a must see for any serious poker player. I am going to break down some of the Characters as I saw it because there is so much reference to real players that we all love and hate. (Spoiler Alert...I will try not give too much of the movie away)
One Eyed Jack Faro: Played by Woody Harrelson and is portrayed as a cross between Stuey Unger and the hard parting with one of the Binions...either Jack or Becky's son Benny as his Grandfather started Las Vegas with the Casino called the Rabbits Foot...its hilarious as the show starts out with someone coming check him out of rehab...where he was living permanently. His famous quote, "Yes...I did get kicked out of my own Casino". He also is called "One Eye" because in pressure situations, instead of putting on sunglasses to throw off his opponents, he puts on an eye patch....or... it was because he was always loaded and used the patch to correct his cross-eyedness from the drugs and alcohol.
Lainie and Larry Shwartzman: The brother sister team here...I wonder who they could be portraying? David Cross plays Larry and Larry David's wife on his HBO special plays Lainie...and shes a dead ringer for our favorite Celebrity Apprentice. She even has the braided hair that Annie Rocks now and then. Shes the poker playing Mom thats married to Ray Ramano. Her brother Larry also has some poker brat rolled into his persona ...imagine that ....a cross between Lederer and the Poker Brat. Gabe "Mr. Kooootteeerrrr" Kaplain plays their Dad.
Duece Fairbacks: Played by Dennis Ferina, is the old timer that hates all this new crap and hijinks that comes with game. Think Doyle/Dewey Tomko/Sam Grizzle all rolled into one. Cruises around on one of those little carts like Doyle and plays poker because he loves the game of poker...period.
Harold Melvin: is the Math guy in the movie. Think all of the online math guys rolled into one...he also lives and is taken care of by his mom. The camera crew goes to his house to talk to his mom ...ala Daniel Negreanu. He would say things at the table to the other like, "Your a bad player because thats a Jack high flop and you just moved all in with AK or AQ and I have pocket tens so your a 75-25 dog...I call" (Not quoted word for word...but you get the picture)
Andy Andrew: the famous online qualifier with the all the party poker gear. Obviously, think Moneymaker and Raymer rolled into one. He claimed to have never played poker before, but was on the internet searching for "Fireplace Pokers"...and stumbled upon PartyPoker...and just started playing.
Word has it that the director, Zac Penn, let the final table happen as the "Cards Layed". They final table was played for real and whoever won...just won...no script
I just got back from Shreveport where I beat the cash games every night I was there at the "Hell-derado". I played well, and didn't have many big decisions to make. Actually, there were 3 times I tanked-folded and made good lay downs...and all three times my opponents showed me their hole cards and I was beat. Twice I had 2 pair against a set and straight...and the third time I layed down top-top...and the guy showed me 2 pair.
I am looking forward to the Harrahs event coming up. I have some buddies coming into town from "Hotlanta"...He won 4th for 12k in Tunica recently...also got an e-mail from Big Dan...hes suppose to come down also. Also looking to play some tourneys...trying to get out of make-up with my backer and win enough money to get to the WSOP with SPR and Parf in June.
Random Thoughts:
-R.I.P...Justin Shronk and Casey Reese
-Random bumper sticker: "Don't be a Communist American...be a True Texan...Support Succession"
Drive time listening on my IPOD:
-The Poker Beat...I love the "Insider"...everyone knows its the Bear...but its still funny when he puts them in their place
-NWP Poker Radio with "Fiery Justice" and another show with "The Maven"...This kid "The Maven" and his roommate "Bodog Ari" ...are animals...pure and simple. You can see their poker dojo in the newest version of BLUFF...The Kid has ...three 30' monitors to play on and a 24' for his lobbys...11 other work stations around the house. Big Screen so people can sit in the leather couches with head phones on and watch and learn...this show was good. The "Fiery Justice" show turns into a dumpster fire at some point
-Saw an ESPN show on Pat Tillman...pure heart...the guy was driven by morals, values and creeds that he believed in pedal to the metal...a true hero in every sense of the word
"Life has a way of making the foreseeable... that which never happens... and the unforeseeable that which your life becomes" Viggo Mortensen as Everitt Hitch in "Appaloosa"
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