Things I learned this weekend...

1) When the bill at Ninja is $117, and the other guy hands her $200 and tells her to keep the change, you have automatically lost the war to pay the bill.

2) Signing up for Rapid Rewards negates at least one Secondary Search flag. I was not searched during my three trips Saturday morning at all.

3) I do not have the patience for Audio Books. After the first flight, I turned off my IPod and bought two paper backs.

4) People in the poker lifestyle have no concept of time. Both people were late to meet me, and I almost missed the last two flights.

5) I do not win raffles. Ever.

6) My son likes MiniGolf.

7) Southwest's Boarding Pass system has a glitch, and you can never print out more than two boarding passes for a single trip. This proved to be a problem for me since I had three trips to make on Saturday.

Other notes for the weekend. I have both my WoW characters that are active over 100G now, so mount money is no longer a problem. That makes me happy. I also have not played poker if about 5 days, and am not missing it too much. Apparently I need a bit of a break.

Dan comes to town tomorrow. Woot. Halloween with the kids tonight.. All good over all..

Mule

Some of you will get that topic, some of you will not.

Busy weekend for Halloween. Lots of stuff to do when you have kids, and the company party is this weekend. Ninja tonight, good times! Strange adventures tomorrow, scary times. Is it a bad thing when you have to take a flight, and you have a nightmare about your plane crashing, or have I just watched too many episodes of Lost?

No Poker this weekend I think. Too busy.

Have a good weekend all.

not a lot.

Nothing happened at pub poker. I mean I just never ever got a hand, and never hit a flop, and my only shining moment was actually having a real reason todo a live straddle. With 1800 in chips and about to hit the big blind, they raised the blinds to 400/800 on me. I live stradled all in. People are less likely to call 1800 flat than to call 800, then 1000 more, and I'd prefer not to have to play against 3 or 4 people with whatever random junk hand I get...

Just was not a great night for poker. *shrug* It happens.

This weekend is the company halloween party, that should be fun.

Some highlights

Reviewing my play of the PS Blogger tournament and thought I'd share a few hands.

---

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (9 handed)


Preflop: Hero is SB with 6d, 4c.

6 folds, Button calls t200, Hero raises to t400, 1 fold, Button calls t200.

Flop: (t1000) Js, 3h, 9d (2 players)

Hero bets t800, Button folds.

Final Pot: t1800

Yay for raw naked aggression winning pots. I knew Button was weak tight. Not a play I make nearly enough. I am a crappy stealer.

---

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t400 (9 handed)


Preflop: Hero is SB with 6h, Js.

7 folds, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop: (t800) 2h, 3d, 4h (2 players)

Hero checks, BB checks.

Turn: (t800) 5d (2 players)

Hero checks, BB bets t800, Hero raises to t1600, BB calls t800.

River: (t4000) 7c (2 players)

Hero bets t1600, BB calls t1600.

Final Pot: t7200

This one was just a funny hand. BB had J6 off as well. :)

XaQ Morphy said, "I have a tell on Ray, I know how he plays J6"
Ray_Powers said, "Our donkey styles cancel out"

---

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (9 handed)


Preflop: Hero is UTG with As, 5s.

Hero calls t600, 5 folds, Button raises to t2165, 2 folds, Hero calls t1565.

Flop: (t4730) 8c, Ad, 2s (2 players)

Turn: (t4730) 8s (2 players)

River: (t4730) Ks (2 players)

Final Pot: t4730

Results in white below:

Hero has As 5s (flush, ace high).

Button has 4s 8h (three of a kind, eights).

Outcome: Hero wins t4730.

Here I get totally effing lucky. This is the only hand I can remember where I laid a beat on someone else in this tournament.

---

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (9 handed)


Preflop: Hero is BB with Kd, As.

5 folds, CO raises to t2400, 2 folds, Hero calls t1800.

Flop: (t4600) 6s, 8h, 5h (2 players)

Hero checks, CO checks.

Turn: (t4600) 6d (2 players)

Hero bets t1800, CO calls t1800.

River: (t8200) Ad (2 players)

Hero bets t1800, CO calls t1800.

Final Pot: t11800

Results in white below:

Hero has Kd As (two pair, aces and sixes).

CO has Ah 7c (two pair, aces and sixes).

Outcome: Hero wins t11800.

That whole hand was an exercise in "wtf." His preflop raise with A7 off was weird. CO should have bet his open ended straight draw on the flop. I priced him out of his draw on the turn but he called anyways, and the ace on the river got me an extra 1800 out of the deal.

---

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t800 (8 handed)


Preflop: Hero is SB with 5d, Jd.

6 folds, Hero raises to t1600, BB calls t800.

Flop: (t2750) 7d, 9s, Qc (2 players)

Hero checks, BB bets t1200, Hero raises to t2400, BB calls t1200.

Turn: (t7550) 3s (2 players)

Hero bets t800, BB calls t800.

River: (t9150) 6d (2 players)

Hero bets t2400, BB folds.

Final Pot: t11550

Results in white below:

Hero has 5d Jd (high card, queen).

Outcome: Hero wins t11550.

More aggression versus the weak tight!

---

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t1200 (9 handed)


Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 9d, 8d.

2 folds, MP1 raises to t3600, 5 folds, BB calls t2400.

Flop: (t6600) 6s, 7d, 6d (2 players)

BB checks, MP1 bets t7200, BB folds.

Final Pot: t13800

Results in white below:

No showdown. MP1 wins t13800.

I think I should have played this one. I was running real dry, and a call here was 10% of my chipstack. The real question is if I should have pushed on a big gamble on that flop with the straight flush draw...

---

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t3000 (9 handed)


Preflop: Hero is UTG with 5s, 5h.

Hero raises to t15642, UTG+1 raises to t54000, 4 folds, Button calls t31471 (All-In), 2 folds.

Flop: (t102163) 4s, 3d, 6h (3 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t102163) 9h (3 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t102163) Ac (3 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: t102163

Results in white below:

Hero has 5s 5h (one pair, fives).

UTG+1 has Qh Qd (one pair, queens).

Button has Ad Ah (three of a kind, aces).

Outcome: UTG+1 wins t54337. Button wins t47826.

And the hand that did me in. Ah well.

Was a great time. :)

Ray

Sick of Sick

I'm sick of being sick. Really. My body needs to get its act together or I am trading it in for a new one.

That is all.

States and the Blogger Tournament

This weekend was a whirlwind. Friday at around 6pm I started becoming feverish and having dizzy spells, and in general just go deliriously sick. But I had to go run states, so off I went Saturday morning to hold what I thought would be a huge states tournament.

85 people. Bleh.

The event was relatively boring (thank goodness since I was sick as a dog), except for one funny exchange.

I had put up a booster draft for $20 for Japanese Ravnica. I announce it and a girl and guy together walk by. The guy is still in tournament and mentions that he wants to sign the girl up for it just to draft cards. The girl then goes off about the cost and how it s junk not worth $20. Then , to "Prove her point" she says (and I quote) "That's junk! That's not worth $20. For $20 I could get a lipstick and two eyeliners!"

Mental note to girl, when trying to prove our stuff is junk, do not try to equate it to what we would consider your junk in terms of value. Seriously, I would have taken nearly any answer there that made sense, like "four books" or "a nice dinner." But "a lipstick and two eyeliner" is not a compelling argument.

After states I went home and died a horrible sickly death, then got up Sunday, did some morning chores and settled in to play in the Pokerstars Blogger Invitational. 1473 people total. Sheesh.

I start off badly, and go from 2000 all the way down to 475 in short order, and at one point even go down to 410. But I was determined to remain focused and not just give up, and it paid off, as I clawed my way up from 410 to average chipstack, then, at one point, top 50 chip stacks. I maintained focus for hour after hour, but it was not meant to be, and I went out in 54th when my push with pocket 5's ran into pocket queens and pocket aces. Sheesh. Still, that's top 5%. I am happy with that result and had a blast, and I get a Pokerstars Shirt and Cap for being in the top 99!

Everyone seemed to have fun too, there was a lot of friendly banter back and forth, except for IanBarns, who seemed intent on calling me a donkey all day long when I called his all in push with pocket Queens when he had pocket jacks. *shrug* I had fun with it and set him back on tilt, but honestly, how dumb can some players be. If you think I suck, shut up and take all my money. Telling me I suck is not advantageous to you at all since, if I do believe you, I will then try to get better, and then you can't take my money. If he was trying to set me on tilt, he did a pretty horrible job of it. He called me a donkey, I told him to share the hay, etc. So in general, all got out of the whole thing was that he was a rude jackass, but overall the event was great, so who cares...

A couple links before I quit for the day.

The worst beat I took in this tournament.

Hurmmm, can't link the second one so I'll do a small paste:

IanBarns
Total Winnings: $1,214 Total Final Tables: 8

From pokerdb.com.

That's for the past YEAR of what looks like consistent play. That's the guy calling me a donkey? No offense, but I don't think I get the right to call someone a donkey until I at least have a five digit win under my belt....

Ray

Blogger Tournament!

My pokerstars Blogger Login, Yay!!!!

I have registered to play in the
Online Poker Blogger Championship!

This event is powered by PokerStars.

Registration code: 6511753

Who let the dogs out?

Last night was pub poker night. I normally leave work, run home, then go straight to the bar to eat dinner and then play. This time I surprised the family by stopping off at the SwimKids, where my kids are taking a tumbling class. I met up with the wife and kids, and we went to Red Robin to eat before I headed out to play poker.

While we were waiting for the food to arrive, the kids were doing their normal playing and singing. Suddenly, out of the blue, my son starts to sing 'Who let the dogs out? Woof Woof Woof!"

I have no idea where he has ever heard this song before. Apparently its actually a popular kids song now. How funny. He learned it at school and is singing it. Weird.

Then it was off to pub poker. I think I played fine last night. I just never caught anything, and twice when I did, I was rivered for a massive pot loss. Such is life.

I want to highlight one of these cases to see what people thing. My play was probably controversial here, so I wanted to know what others thought.

I am late position with K-10 offsuit. Blinds are 50-100. I have an ok stack (about 3k).

Players I have no read on limps in from middle position. I call, guy to my left, who has been hitting hands all night, calls. Small blind folds. Big blind checks.

Flop is K 7 10 rainbow. Top two pair seems good to me. Big blind checks. Small blind bets out 300. I want overcalls here, so I think I can slow play it and I just call. Hand catcher calls, big blind folds.

Turn is a 6. No flush possible. First guy checks. I think the guy after me is going to bet (he hasn't checked around all night that I remember), so I check to let him do my betting for me. He bets 500. The first guy calls. I call.

River is a J. First guy checks. I check to the better, who obligingly fires out 1000. First guy folds. I raise 1000, leaving me with about 700 left. He has me outstacked by a lot. He calls.

He flips over AQ for the nut straight. Why he didn't raise me all in for my last 700 is beyond me, but honestly, how we played the whole thing is beyond me. He called and bet drawing to an inside straight, and hit it.

The question, though, is did I let him do it? I'm trying to decide if my slow play was good or bad. I think it was good the more I think about it. The fact that he hit his four outer sucks, but I had put him on KX, so I think I was right in letting him bet out for me. Both players were aggressive enough that the betting would keep going, and I got to hide the strength of my hand.

Thoughts?

Leaving money out there

The topic applies to poker and life. Last night I finally sold all fo the games workshop inventory I had in the garage after the store closed for a price that was a win win for both of us. The new store guy got a smoking deal, and I got enough to pay off the last of the store debt. It took some pushing to get this sale to go through, mainly because getting a response from him at all was quite a challenge, and then getting him to actually come out and look at the inventory was even harder. But once he was here, it was an easy sell. I had put this off way too long, there was a significant amount of money to be gathered by selling this stuff, and I just sat on it for four months. Bad me. That's a habit I need to stop. Its as if I took 3K, then left it in my garage for four months for no reason.

My hand of the day exemplifies this habit of leaving money out there that should be mine..

***** Hand History for Game 13393652 *****
0.10/0.20 Texas Hold'em (Split Limit)
Table Seed (10 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 1 is the button
Seat 1: Ray_Powers ($12.87)
Seat 2: LUCASSY ($1.15)
Seat 3: philb_damase ($4.10)
Seat 4: Hampfred ($1.75)
Seat 5: ARook ($2.50)
Seat 6: macchine1 ($3.40)
Seat 7: stevepar78 ($4.85)
Seat 8: capthook006 ($7.61)
LUCASSY : Small Blind ($0.05)
philb_damase : Big Blind ($0.10)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Ray_Powers [ Ac 6c ]
Hampfred : Call ($0.10)
ARook : Call ($0.10)
macchine1 : Call ($0.10)
stevepar78 : Call ($0.10)
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.10)
--- Yes, I call here. I already have pot odds for the nut flush draw. It seems weird to play Ace junk, but Ace junk suited often has odds to play at this loose of a table.
LUCASSY : Fold
philb_damase : Raise ($0.10)
Hampfred : Call ($0.10)
ARook : Call ($0.10)
macchine1 : Call ($0.10)
stevepar78 : Call ($0.10)
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.10)
--- Ok, so someone had a hand. That's fine. All the better to break off if my flush hits.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 5h 9c Kc ]
--- Woot! Two clubs!
philb_damase : Bet ($0.10)
Hampfred : Call ($0.10)
ARook : Call ($0.10)
macchine1 : Raise ($0.20)
stevepar78 : Raise ($0.30)
--- Wow. bet, raise, reraise. I get scared and fold like a little girl here. I should have stopped to think about it. I will have to put in 30. The current pot is 215, so really, I do I have better than 7-1 odds to make my flush? I do. I should have called this. :(
Ray_Powers : Fold
philb_damase : Raise ($0.30)
Hampfred : Fold
ARook : Fold
macchine1 : Call ($0.20)
stevepar78 : Call ($0.10)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Ah ]
-- Now I woudl have had top pair with a weak kicker too, but if everyone was betting on kings, or two pair, or even a set, this card gives me more outs.
philb_damase : Check
macchine1 : Bet ($0.20)
stevepar78 : Call ($0.20)
philb_damase : Call ($0.20)
--- I still would have had odds to call here.
** Dealing River ** : [ 7c ]
--- And to add insult to injury, I would have made my nut flush.
philb_damase : Check
macchine1 : Check
stevepar78 : Bet ($0.20)
philb_damase : Raise ($0.40)
macchine1 : Call ($0.40)
stevepar78 : Raise ($0.40)
philb_damase : Raise ($0.40)
macchine1 : Call ($0.40)
stevepar78 : Call ($0.20)
--- And to add MORE insult to injury, someone had the king of clubs, and I would have made a monster of a pot.
** Summary **
Main Pot: $5.40 | Rake: $0.25
Board: [ 5h 9c Kc Ah 7c ]
Ray_Powers lost $0.20
LUCASSY lost $0.05
philb_damase lost $1.60 [ 7d 9d ] [ two pairs, nines and sevens -- 9d
9c 7d 7c Ah ]
Hampfred lost $0.30
ARook lost $0.30
macchine1 lost $1.60 [ Ks 3c ] [ one pair of kings -- Ks Kc Ah 9c 7c ]
stevepar78 bet $1.60, collected $5.40, net +$3.80 [ 4c 5c ] [ a flush,
king high -- Kc 9c 7c 5c 4c ]
capthook006 sits out
stevepar78 wins $5.40 from the main pot with a flush, king high

This was a HUGE mistake. This is something I really need to fix in my game. :(

Pub poker is tonight. If somebody sees me do this again tonight, bitchslap me.

Ping!

After work today I spent about 3 hours typing in Games Workshop inventory, trying desperately to get the inventory ready to sell to someone opening up a new store. I hate Games Workshop. I hate it I hate it I hate it. Bleh.

At least I had the Coyotes game to keep me company. And during the game of Phoenix vs Calgary, I was amazed to hear the "voice of the coyotes" diss Canada! It wasn't the best diss ever but it was damn funny for television.

Color Commentary Guy: Calgary has only scored on their power plays 7% of the time this year.
Play by Play guy: Less than that now! (Referring ot the fact that they did not score for SIX power plays this game.)
Color Commentary Guy: I didn't want to do the math.
Play by Play guy: It doesn't matter, the math is different in Canada.

Nice.

I also played some World of Warcraft, mainly just auction housing and fishing. I installed new updates of Titan Bar, Fishing buddy, Auctioneer, and Fish Ping! Oh wow do I love Fish Ping. When the bobber splashes it plays a splash sound you can easily here, so instead of staring at the screen until your eyes bleed, you can cast, move your mouse over the bobber, then close your eyes or look at something else until you hear the "Bloop!" sound. So much easier, and making up for the fact that Oily Blackmouths and Firefin Snappers seem to be showing up only half as often as I am used to. Damn random variance.

I didn't play poker last night, but I have to whip up an e-mail for a poker game for my dad. I'm kind of annoyed at this. My dad wants to have a poker game at his house, that's great. He can organize it. Why am I organizing his game? Bleh, anyways, those of you who know me will likely get an e-mail soon.

And now, today's hand for review:

***** Hand History for Game 13393450 *****
0.10/0.20 Texas Hold'em (Split Limit)
Table Seed (10 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 4 is the button
ARook : Small Blind ($0.05)
macchine1 : Big Blind ($0.10)
philb_damase : Big Blind ($0.10)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Ray_Powers [ 2c Ac ]
stevepar78 : Fold
Antonella16 : Fold
Ray_Powers : Raise ($0.20)
-- First question to answer is why play A2. Mainly, I am playing for the flush capabilities, because at this table, I almost always have odds to draw to my nut flush. This table is very loose preflop. Why raise? Because I like being the aggressor, and I hate being the first one to limp in on a pot. I want people to think I have a hand, so that I can hopefully push someone else off a weaker hand, like an ace medium kicker. In retrospect, these ideas clash a little bit, because by raising, I forced out the usual limpers and did not have my odds for the flush draw really.
LUCASSY : Fold
philb_damase : Call ($0.10)
Hampfred : Call ($0.20)
ARook : Fold
macchine1 : Fold
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 8c 4c 9h ]
--- Well, my flush draw hit, and the blinds folded, so I have a good feeling that this did not hit anyone, so I want to bet it to just try to take down the pot right here.
Ray_Powers : Bet ($0.10)
philb_damase : Call ($0.10)
Hampfred : Call ($0.10)
--- Hurm, they both stayed in. Do they just have overs? What the heck?
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 9c ]
--- Well, my flush hit, If someone else is on the flush draw, they will raise me here thinking I was betting AK or a pocket pair. Let's see if I can extract some bets out of anyone.
Ray_Powers : Bet ($0.20)
philb_damase : Call ($0.20)
Hampfred : Call ($0.20)
--- Er?
** Dealing River ** : [ Jc ]
--- Now its four to the flush! Someone has to have a club and can raise me with it, right? I mean, I know no one has a full house by now..
Ray_Powers : Bet ($0.20)
philb_damase : Fold
Hampfred : Fold
Ray_Powers does not show cards
Ray_Powers wins $1.60

I seriously do not get this hand. Anyone want to throw out some guesses as to what the other two people had?

Monday Monday

First, I'd like to note I have added Mark Cuban to my blog links, a reference from Wakko. I read it off and on for a bit, but this blog convinced me he was a man worth linking: Television DRM

I really didn't play any poker this weekend except a couple hands on party poker where I just couldn't get anything going. What they say about mood affecting your game is so true. Its not that I was in a bad mood, I just wasn't in the mood to play, and my game reflected that.

I had some fun with the wife playing World of Warcraft and we both hit 24. I got her a new bow to use. I still need a new axe and some leather wrist equipment that doesn't suck, because they all seem to right now. I'm up to 56 gold with my level 24 guy, and my level 40 has gone from 42 to 68 gold in the past two weeks through auction house whoring. I need to get to 200 minimum so both the wife and I have mount money. Fun Fun.

I also watched the first half of season one of Lost. I really can not decide if I like it yet or not. I wonder if its even possible for them to make Shannon a more annoying character though? I have want the island to turn barbaric and make her a sex slave to the rest of the crew; it's her only possible use.

Ok, on to today's hand to analyze. Comments in bold as always. This is a short one.

***** Hand History for Game 13392893 *****
0.10/0.20 Texas Hold'em (Split Limit)
Table Seed (10 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 4 is the button
macchine1 : Small Blind ($0.05)
stevepar78 : Big Blind ($0.10)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Ray_Powers [ Kc Ah ]
--- Middle position with AKo seems ok. I want to try to raise with this to narrow the field, or at least bet for value.
capthook006 : Call ($0.10)
Antonella16 : Call ($0.10)
cantwin : Fold
Ray_Powers : Raise ($0.20)
LUCASSY : Call ($0.20)
jtom72 : Fold
Hampfred : Fold
macchine1 : Fold
stevepar78 : Fold
--- What the? People folded to my preflop raise?! What is this table coming to? :)
capthook006 : Call ($0.10)
Antonella16 : Call ($0.10)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Qc 8h 3s ]
--- Bleh :( At least I have two overs.
capthook006 : Check
Antonella16 : Bet ($0.10)
Ray_Powers : Fold
--- But apparently I will fold anyways. Seriously, that's the big blind that bet. He probably has an 8. There is $1.00 (minus rake) in the pot, so I need better than 1-10 odds to hit my A or K or runner runner straight, which I have. I should have called this I think. :(
LUCASSY : Raise ($0.20)
--- This is much scarier. If I think he has two pair or a set, I need to fold. If he has queens, I am still in the same odds boat. Knowing this guy, I would put him on a queen, but not two pair.
capthook006 : Fold
Antonella16 : Raise ($0.20)
--- Woah. Here is where I should have folded. I must be WAY WAY behind at this point.

Rest of the hand shown here just for people's curiosity. The obvious questions come for when/if I should have folded here. Thoughts?

LUCASSY : Raise ($0.20)
Antonella16 : Call ($0.10)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 2s ]
Antonella16 : Bet ($0.20)
LUCASSY : Raise ($0.40)
Antonella16 : Call ($0.20)
** Dealing River ** : [ Qd ]
Antonella16 : Bet ($0.20)
LUCASSY : Raise ($0.40)
Antonella16 : Raise ($0.40)
LUCASSY : Raise ($0.40)
Antonella16 : Call ($0.20)
** Summary **
Main Pot: $3.95 | Rake: $0.20
Board: [ Qc 8h 3s 2s Qd ]
Ray_Powers lost $0.20
LUCASSY lost $1.80 [ Tc Qh ] [ three of a kind, queens -- Qh Qd Qc Tc
8h ]
jtom72 didn't bet
Hampfred didn't bet
macchine1 lost $0.05
stevepar78 lost $0.10
capthook006 lost $0.20
Antonella16 bet $1.80, collected $3.95, net +$2.15 [ 3h Qs ] [ a full
house, queens full of threes -- Qs Qd Qc 3s 3h ]
cantwin didn't bet
Antonella16 wins $3.95 from the main pot with a full house, queens full
of threes

Dan Update and Next hand

First, Dan accepted the job out here in Phoenix, so he'll be moving here in abotu two months, kick ass! He'll be back November first for training, so we'll meet up then for more fun..

Ok, now for my donk hand of the day.

***** Hand History for Game 13383361 *****
0.10/0.20 Texas Hold'em (Split Limit) - Sun Oct 9 20:28:24 GMT 2005
Table Shiner (10 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 2 is the button
Seat 1: king_king ($4.25)
Seat 2: beejay ($1.44)
Seat 3: Mini ($1.20)
Seat 4: LaughingPenguin ($2.65)
Seat 5: Steeevee ($26.52)
Seat 7: Ray_Powers ($15.22)
Seat 8: adpres ($3.60)
Seat 9: ottoto ($2.85)
Seat 10: LUCASSY ($6.29)
Mini : Small Blind ($0.05)
LaughingPenguin : Big Blind ($0.10)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Ray_Powers [ Td Ac ]
Steeevee : Call ($0.10)
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.10)
-- Slightly suspect calling here in early position, but the game is pretty lose, so it seems ok.
adpres : Fold
ottoto : Fold
LUCASSY : Call ($0.10)
king_king : Call ($0.10)
beejay : Raise ($0.20)
Mini : Call ($0.15)
LaughingPenguin : Call ($0.10)
Steeevee : Call ($0.10)
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.10)
--- Calling this though was ludicrous. What exactly did I think I was beating here?
LUCASSY : Call ($0.10)
king_king : Call ($0.10)
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 9h 2c 8s ]
Mini : Check
LaughingPenguin : Check
Steeevee : Fold
--- Hehehehehehehe.
Ray_Powers : Check
--- I don't know if I should have bet here or not since the board likely missed everyone. Thoughts?
LUCASSY : Check
king_king : Check
beejay : Bet ($0.10)
Mini : Call ($0.10)
LaughingPenguin : Call ($0.10)
Ray_Powers : Fold
--- I think this was right though since I did check, as I was likely drawing to 3 outs (the tens).
LUCASSY : Call ($0.10)
king_king : Fold
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 2s ]
Mini : Check
LaughingPenguin : Check
LUCASSY : Bet ($0.20)
beejay : Call ($0.20)
Mini : Call ($0.20)
LaughingPenguin : Fold
** Dealing River ** : [ Kd ]
Mini : Check
LUCASSY : Bet ($0.20)
beejay : Call ($0.20)
Mini : Fold
** Summary **
Main Pot: $2.70 | Rake: $0.10
Board: [ 9h 2c 8s 2s Kd ]
king_king lost $0.20
beejay lost $0.70 [ 8h 6d ] [ two pairs, eights and twos -- 8s 8h 2s
2c Kd ]
Mini lost $0.50
LaughingPenguin lost $0.30
Steeevee lost $0.20
Ray_Powers lost $0.20
adpres didn't bet
ottoto didn't bet
LUCASSY bet $0.70, collected $2.70, net +$2 [ 2d As ] [ three of a
kind, twos -- 2s 2d 2c As Kd ]
LUCASSY wins $2.70 from the main pot with three of a kind, twos
--- Seriously, how much softer can these games be?

Pub Poker, and the next donkey hand

Played Pub Poker with the whole crew last night and had a blast. I honestly felt like I played pretty good until I moved tables and saw Dan just kind of hanging out after being knocked out early. Realizing that my wife would probably like to hang out with him more, I pushed all in with KQ suited ( not horrible, but really totally unnecessary, I had plenty of chips), and got called by two people, one with AK. oops. I mean, I half wanted to go home, so its fine, but still.

I was also bitter when not once, but twice, people violated the check it down idea (see earlier blog), once tripling up a guy, and then, in a fit of karmic injustice, the guy who screwed it up the first time got to quadruple up when he was all in and was the recipient of another bad bluff bet at the side pot that let him back in the game.

And now for today's analysis of a hand:

***** Hand History for Game 13382713 *****
0.10/0.20 Texas Hold'em (Split Limit) - Sun Oct 9 20:17:24 GMT 2005
Table Shiner (10 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 3 is the button
Seat 1: king_king ($4.35)
Seat 2: beejay ($3.16)
Seat 3: Mini ($1.40)
Seat 4: LaughingPenguin ($2)
Seat 5: Steeevee ($26.80)
Seat 6: achi007 ($1.40)
Seat 7: Ray_Powers ($10.62)
Seat 8: adpres ($4.50)
Seat 10: LUCASSY ($4.14)
LaughingPenguin : Small Blind ($0.05)
Steeevee : Big Blind ($0.10)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Ray_Powers [ Qc Jc ]
achi007 : Fold
Ray_Powers : Raise ($0.20)
--- While I would not normally advocate raising with Queen Jack suited, I also aboslutely hate limping as the first one in a pot. I don't think I am going to do as well in a multiway pot with this hand, so I want to try to eliminate people.
adpres : Fold
LUCASSY : Fold
king_king : Call ($0.20)
beejay : Call ($0.20)
Mini : Call ($0.20)
LaughingPenguin : Fold
Steeevee : Fold
** Dealing Flop ** : [ Jh Ah Kd ]
--- Jesus. That was an interesting flop. Flush draw, straight draw, plenty of paint. I have bottom pair and a gutshot straight draw. I think I have to bet to see where I am. I think I am behind though.
Ray_Powers : Bet ($0.10)
king_king : Call ($0.10)
beejay : Fold
Mini : Call ($0.10)
--- Yeah, somebody has an ace I think. Normally I would not be so sure, but with these people calling my preflop raise from early position, I am almost positive.
** Dealing Turn ** : [ Js ]
--- WOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO! Praises be to the poker gods! Well, I already have the lead, and it's going to look like continuation betting, so might as well keep firing. In retrospect, I should have check raised here. I missed a bet.
Ray_Powers : Bet ($0.20)
king_king : Call ($0.20)
Mini : Call ($0.20)
** Dealing River ** : [ 2d ]
--- Yeah right, like that helped anyone. Fire!
Ray_Powers : Bet ($0.20)
king_king : Raise ($0.40)
Mini : Fold
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.20)
--- Another missed bet. WTF did I think, he was slow playign Q10, KK, or AA? I should have pumped this to his likely two pair.
** Summary **
Main Pot: $2.55 | Rake: $0.10
Board: [ Jh Ah Kd Js 2d ]
king_king lost $0.90 [ Qd Ad ] [ two pairs, aces and jacks -- Ah Ad Js
Jh Kd ]
--- I hate it when I am right. :(
beejay lost $0.20
Mini lost $0.50
LaughingPenguin lost $0.05
Steeevee lost $0.10
achi007 didn't bet
Ray_Powers bet $0.90, collected $2.55, net +$1.65 [ Qc Jc ] [ three of
a kind, jacks -- Js Jh Jc Ah Kd ]
adpres didn't bet
LUCASSY didn't bet
Ray_Powers wins $2.55 from the main pot with three of a kind, jacks


Any thoughts on this one?

Constantine

So, my brother in law lent me Constantine, and I finally got around to watching it last night. All i have to say is "I want my two hours back."

This is hands down the worst comic to movie adaptation I have ever seen in my life. Allow me several moments of rant on this one.

1) Worst casting ever? Keanu is not, nor will ever be Constantine. He's not even close, and can't even act like Constantine. Chaz, while a fun character for the movie, is not close to the comic Chaz except a little bit in his opening scene. Midnite was the only good casting in the whole movie where they stayed close to character.

2) Los Angeles? WTF? Did anyone even read the comic first? Constantine lives in London. They could pawn it off as him visiting there, but, uh, he has a place to live, and Chaz is there. Chaz's wife would not let him live in LA for a while, and even if she did, he woudl not magically have his cab in LA.

3) The lung cancer story was totally mutilated fromt he comic book version.

4) It wasn't even scary. I knew it would be bad with the casting what it was, so I determined to at leats try to enjoy it as a horror movie. But it wasn't scary. Not at all.

I rate this movie a 1 out of 10. And it only gets a one because it had cool special effects.

On to Poker, for the next few days I'll do a hand a day. Yesterday's hand was played ok in my opinion, but I had a concern about missing bets which it seems Full Contact Poker universally agreed with.

This hand... has no redeeming qualities, and if I had to topic my post based on the hand, I'd title it "Donkey Anonymous"

Comments in bold as always:

***** Hand History for Game 13330752 *****
0.10/0.20 Texas Hold'em (Split Limit) - Sun Oct 9 02:50:10 GMT 2005
Table Shiner (10 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 1 is the button
Seat 1: homebrew ($1.60)
Seat 3: Kinbaku ($2.91)
Seat 4: Ray_Powers ($12.32)
Seat 5: biltmore ($4.40)
Seat 6: thebandit1 ($8.08)
Seat 7: glenndo ($1.90)
Seat 8: LUCASSY ($3.85)
Seat 10: S1LLYRABB1T ($3.55)
Kinbaku : Small Blind ($0.05)
Ray_Powers : Big Blind ($0.10)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Ray_Powers [ 7c 5c ]
--- Now that's a big blind special if I ever saw one. :(
biltmore : Call ($0.10)
thebandit1 : Fold
glenndo : Call ($0.10)
LUCASSY : Raise ($0.20)
S1LLYRABB1T : Call ($0.20)
homebrew : Fold
Kinbaku : Fold
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.10)
--- Rage of the donkey, the beginning. My reasoning at the time was that I was putting 1 small bet into a 7 small bet pot, which is good odds for the flush draw and one gap straight draw. Maybe not the best logic, but possible. The real answer of course is that I am likely dominated, and quite possible smashed even if I did make the flush due to flush over cards.
biltmore : Call ($0.10)
glenndo : Call ($0.10)
--- Espexially when there were TWO more callers.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 4h 8c 8h ]
Ray_Powers : Check
--- Like what am I gonna do? bet here?
biltmore : Check
glenndo : Check
LUCASSY : Bet ($0.10)
S1LLYRABB1T : Call ($0.10)
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.10)
--- Maybe not, but I am gonna call! My thought process was that the betting could easily be done by two overcards, and my gutshot straight draw and backdoor flush draw still had possibilities. Why my brain did not think Pocket pair is beyond me.
biltmore : Call ($0.10)
glenndo : Call ($0.10)
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 7d ]
--- And now my 7 paired! My flush draw is gone tho, so I don't feel too confident in this hand. If I was going to be a raging donkey, I should have at least bet this out to see where I stood.
Ray_Powers : Check
biltmore : Check
glenndo : Check
LUCASSY : Bet ($0.20)
S1LLYRABB1T : Fold
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.20)
--- But no, instead i will be a raging.... calling station.
biltmore : Call ($0.20)
glenndo : Call ($0.20)
** Dealing River ** : [ 9c ]
--- Yes, I still have... a pair of sevens. My only redeeming hope here is that everyone had overs.
Ray_Powers : Check
biltmore : Check
glenndo : Check
LUCASSY : Bet ($0.20)
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.20)
--- So I shall continue to be a raging... calling station.
biltmore : Call ($0.20)
glenndo : Fold
** Summary **
Main Pot: $2.85 | Rake: $0.10
Board: [ 4h 8c 8h 7d 9c ]
homebrew didn't bet
Kinbaku lost $0.05
Ray_Powers lost $0.70 [ 7c 5c ] [ two pairs, eights and sevens -- 8h
8c 7d 7c 9c ]
biltmore lost $0.70 [ 9h Jh ] [ two pairs, nines and eights -- 9h 9c
8h 8c Jh ]
thebandit1 didn't bet
glenndo lost $0.50
LUCASSY bet $0.70, collected $2.85, net +$2.15 [ 7h 7s ] [ a full
house, sevens full of eights -- 7s 7h 7d 8h 8c ]
S1LLYRABB1T lost $0.30
LUCASSY wins $2.85 from the main pot with a full house, sevens full of
eights

I honestly have no excuse for this hand.

Am I missing bets here?

I really want comments on this one. I like to go back over my hands and see where I may have missed bets... Comments in bold.

***** Hand History for Game 13330443 *****
0.10/0.20 Texas Hold'em (Split Limit) - Sun Oct 9 02:43:12 GMT 2005
Table Shiner (10 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 6 is the button
Seat 1: homebrew ($3.70)
Seat 2: goriver ($5.60)
Seat 3: Kinbaku ($1.65)
Seat 4: Ray_Powers ($10.42)
Seat 5: biltmore ($4.50)
Seat 6: thebandit1 ($8.13)
Seat 7: glenndo ($3.60)
Seat 8: LUCASSY ($5.45)
Seat 9: player25 ($6.32)
Seat 10: S1LLYRABB1T ($4.35)
glenndo : Small Blind ($0.05)
LUCASSY : Big Blind ($0.10)
biltmore : Big Blind ($0.10)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Ray_Powers [ Js Ts ]
--- My self admitted favorite hand. Its a loose game, and I am in middle position. I would either limp in with this, call a limp, or fold it to a raise.
player25 : Fold
S1LLYRABB1T : Call ($0.10)
homebrew : Fold
goriver : Call ($0.10)
Kinbaku : Fold
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.10)
--- Call a limp it is.
biltmore : Check
thebandit1 : Call ($0.10)
glenndo : Call ($0.05)
LUCASSY : Check
--- Seven people in the pot, that's a lot, but its good for my flush theoretically.
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 4s 8s 3c ]
--- Well, I have my flush draw, and two overs.
glenndo : Check
LUCASSY : Check
S1LLYRABB1T : Bet ($0.10)
goriver : Call ($0.10)
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.10)
--- I decided to call here. Folding seems out of the question. I wonder about a raise though. I do have a flush draw and two overs. The two blinds checked, and I don't see who else would have hit this flop. Worst case scenario is pocket 3's limped in and then hit? Unlikely. I think, in the end, I don't raise because I want to keep people in to pay off my flush if it hits, but I want opinions here.
biltmore : Fold
thebandit1 : Call ($0.10)
glenndo : Call ($0.10)
LUCASSY : Fold
--- Down to five people now
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 9c ]
--- Now I have an open ended straight draw and STILL have two overs. Theoretically any spade, 7, 10, J, or Queen can win me the pot. That's 19 (9 Spades, 2 non spade sevens, 3 non spade 10's, 3 non spade jacks, 2 non spade queens) outs.
glenndo : Check
S1LLYRABB1T : Bet ($0.20)
goriver : Call ($0.20)
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.20)
--- I think I question not raising here the most. During the turn the people with missed draws will fold whether its 20 or 40. The people with something will stay in either way. My biggest fear is a high flush draw out there than mine, and if that happens, well then I am fucked and need to deal. Do I bet for value here? This is my biggest concern.
thebandit1 : Fold
glenndo : Call ($0.20)
** Dealing River ** : [ 3s ]
--- As seems to happen to me all the time, I hit my flush, but paired the board. So I lose to any higher flush draw, and anything that make a fullhouse. I like my flush, but if ahead of me I see bet, raise, reraise, I am probably laying this down.
glenndo : Check
S1LLYRABB1T : Bet ($0.20)
goriver : Call ($0.20)
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.20)
--- Everyone saw the same cards I did. With a bet, call, I have to assume people have something they are willing to play with. I think a raise here will turn into a reraise if I am beat, and I should take my bets and be happy if my flush holds up, especially with someone after me left to act. I think some people would raise here and call this play too tight, and if so I want to hear that opinion, but for now, I think just calling was the correct answer.
glenndo : Fold
** Summary **
Main Pot: $2.50 | Rake: $0.10
Board: [ 4s 8s 3c 9c 3s ]
homebrew didn't bet
goriver lost $0.60 [ 8c Kh ] [ two pairs, eights and threes -- 8s 8c
3s 3c Kh ]
Kinbaku didn't bet
Ray_Powers bet $0.60, collected $2.50, net +$1.90 [ Js Ts ] [ a flush,
jack high -- Js Ts 8s 4s 3s ]
biltmore lost $0.10
thebandit1 lost $0.20
glenndo lost $0.40
LUCASSY lost $0.10
player25 didn't bet
S1LLYRABB1T lost $0.60 [ Qd Qs ] [ two pairs, queens and threes -- Qs
Qd 3s 3c 9c ]
--- Interesting to note that if he had raised with his queens, I would have folded and therefore he would have won the pot....
Ray_Powers wins $2.50 from the main pot with a flush, jack high


Ok, opinions?

The overcall

This blog is a quick hand analysis I thought I'd go over in here that highlights the importance of the overcall. For those of you not familiar with the concept, an overcall is an idea whereby you do not raise a bet with a great hand because you want the people following you to call as well, making you more bets in the long run. I had a hand that exemplified this concept last night so I figured I'd discuss it here. Comment included in the hand.

***** Hand History for Game 13417192 *****
0.10/0.20 Texas Hold'em (Split Limit) - Mon Oct 10 05:28:45 GMT 2005
Table Rotation (10 max) (Real Money) -- Seat 10 is the button
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Ray_Powers [ Th Js ]
AzAce : Call ($0.10)
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.10)
--- Okay, lets not mince words here. This is a bad call. Jack Ten offsuit in early position? WTF am I thinking? Well, I was thinking "Its my last hand of the night, this table is unlikely to raise preflop, and I am already up for the night. Let me see a flop for my last hand for fun." That's my excuse and I am sticking to it.
blondine : Call ($0.10)
LUCASSY : Fold
Hawkeye1997 : Fold
casinoman : Check
sheldon : Fold
1917 : Call ($0.05)
spyderblack : Check
** Dealing Flop ** : [ 9d 8h 3c ]
--- Well, that is quite the flop for me. I have an open ended straight draw, two overs, and there is no flush draw whatsoever. The table is very loose passive, with a couple maniacs (one directly before me in the betting), so anyone could have paired up on this board.
1917 : Check
spyderblack : Check
AzAce : Bet ($0.10)
--- Including this guy. But he is also a maniac at the table, so he could also be betting with nothing. I don't think its good to raise here because if I do hit my straight draw, it's going to be the nut straight, so I want more people in to call the bets.
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.10)
blondine : Fold
casinoman : Call ($0.10)
1917 : Call ($0.10)
spyderblack : Call ($0.10)
--- Wow, that was a lot of callers. Sounds good to me I guess. Weird calling station tables.
** Dealing Turn ** : [ 7s ]
--- BOO YA!
1917 : Check
spyderblack : Check
AzAce : Bet ($0.20)
--- Here we get to the overcall idea. If I raise, now that the bet has already doubled since its the turn, I am going to start pushing people out. If I just call, people still on a draw, or with a pair somewhere in there, are likely to call. So if I raise, I am likely to only get a call from the original better, which is +1 Big bet, if I call, I may get everyone else to call, which is +3 big bets.
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.20)
casinoman : Call ($0.20)
1917 : Call ($0.20)
spyderblack : Call ($0.20)
--- The best possible thing in the world for me could have been for spyderblack to raise here, but I'll take the extra two big bets I just got by not raising.
** Dealing River ** : [ 8c ]
--- This is a little scary, with a pair now on the board, its entirely possible that there is a full house out there. With the amount of money in the pot, there is no question I will need to call it down here, but I still need to think about overcalls or not. I have to assume AzAce will bet now matter what, since he's playing super aggressive.
1917 : Check
spyderblack : Check
AzAce : Bet ($0.20)
--- And of course he does bet. I think raising here is bad. If I raise, I will scare out anyone who does not have a full house, getting no more bets. A full house will reraise me, meaning I LOSE one extra bet in raising (since I still have to call it down). My best bet here is to call, and hope to get some overcalls if my hand is indeed still best.
Ray_Powers : Call ($0.20)
casinoman : Fold
1917 : Fold
spyderblack : Fold
--- Aww, pickles. No more free big bets for me.
** Summary **
Main Pot: $2.40 | Rake: $0.10
Board: [ 9d 8h 3c 7s 8c ]
1917 lost $0.40
spyderblack lost $0.40
AzAce lost $0.60 [ Jc Qs ] [ one pair of eights -- 8h 8c Qs Jc 9d ]
Ray_Powers bet $0.60, collected $2.40, net +$1.80 [ Th Js ] [ a
straight, jack to seven -- Js Th 9d 8h 7s ]
blondine lost $0.10
LUCASSY didn't bet
Hawkeye1997 didn't bet
casinoman lost $0.40
sheldon didn't bet
Ray_Powers wins $2.40 from the main pot with a straight, jack to seven


So, AzAce was semi-bluffing the whole way with two overs and a gutshot straight draw. I am not really faulting his super aggressive style for this hand, since the board looked like total crap, and it was easy to assume that he could get someone with two overs or a low pair to throw it away when they saw how aggressively he was betting. It was just his bad luck that I happened to hit my straight on the turn.

All in all though, a good final pot for the night, even though it was a hand I likely shouldn't have been in to begin with. :)

Check it down?

I seem to be in a habit of re-using content lately, but this is a post I did to Full Contact I wanted people's opinions on.

-----

I'm just curious as to what everyone's feeling is on this nowadays.

Its late in a no limit tournament, getting close to the bubble. You, and two others are in a pot. One guy is all in for his last few chips preflop and you two are playing with an addition small side pot (less than 2 big blinds). The flop comes up blanks, missing you. Do you bet to try to bluff the guy out of the side pot to win those chips, or check it down to try to make sure you knock out the all in guy, betting only when you are confident you have the all in guy.

Last night I had this happen twice, and it went both ways. The first time a guy bet the flop, the other guy folded, the first guy proudly flipped over j-10 (which hit none of the board) and took his small pot, but also effectively tripled the all in guy with his ace rag when the board blanked, and I wanted to strangle the better.

In the second situation I was allin with AK, and two people had me covered. The flop came 2-10-2 and the small blind bet, the other guy folded, and the small blind flipped over A-10, which to me seemed fair, as the guy was saying with that bet 'Look, I have a top pair top kicker, unless you can beat that, I'll just take this guy out.'

Thoughts?

-----

I know they have it, but what is "it"

The original blog here has turned into a CardPlayer.com article, so I thought I'd post the (unedited) Article here in place of the original blog.....

Cardplayer Article 29# Submission Sept 30th, 2005

by Thomas 'Thunder' Keller

Column Name: Thunder on Poker

Article Name: Pub Poker

One of my good friends Ray Powers from Chandler, AZ - an avid pub poker fan - and I have been discussing poker a lot lately via aol instant messenger as he is trying desperately to improve his game and I often have a lot of deadtime between playing people 300-600 headup holdem, omaha 8 or better, and tripledraw on ultimatebet.com. Recently he described his last pub poker foray and I found it so amusing that I felt compelled to share it with all of you guys my wonderful readers! So without further adeui, here is a brave step into the unknown, mans' final frontier, pub poker! The following tale is told by my friend Ray Powers with my commentary interwined in italics.

Last night was pub poker night. Jay, Mike, Leigh, and Brad were all there with me to play (well except Leigh, who does not play). Dan did not show, the slacker. The best part was his reason was that he was broke. Uh, it's a free event, and its not like one of us wouldn't have bought him a beer or something. Whatever. Ray chose not to envite me this time, I guess he probably thinks that I would find playing poker for free boring, and he is probably right, but I am always up for having a drink with good company, even if poker has to be involved.

I told the group that we had been slacking, and at least two of us need to make the final table tonight. Alas though, it was not meant to be as I was the only one to survive past the second break, and that was mainly because I had no hands the whole night. I literally played five hands the entire night. I went out 12th out of 64. Thats okay Ray, you have to learn to enjoy losing, plus finishing 12th in a tourney is a lot better than I have done lately.

However, all was not lost as I did have a fun time when we had "poker kid" at our table. This kid looks like he should not even be in the bar, as I would put him at 19 or so at best. He appears to have spent a long time practicing chip tricks, and whenever he gets in a hand, he puts on his cool reflective sun glasses so we can't read him, and acts like Mr. Professional at a free pub poker tournament. Its pretty funny. It was made all the more funny when, short stacked on the big blind, he folded in an unraised pot thinking the pot had been raised and would have ended up winning the monster pot with a full house. When we pointed out his mistake, he through his glasses and chips down and got all pissed off. Sounds like a young Mike Matusow. Just kidding, love ya Mikey!

Hey poker kid, this is free pub poker. I'd tell you to have a drink and chill, but I don't think you're old enough to drink. Regardless, play 'seriously' if you want, but realize that this is a free event for basically nothing, and stop treating it like the final table of the World Series of Poker.

I think I am misplaying these free events because my rockish tendencies towards hands is leading me to believe that people have more than they actually do more often than not. During one of the hands I did get to play, I looked down at pocket tens.This looked like a gold mine compared to my average nightly hand of 2-5 or 3-9 so I raised from late position to three times the big blind and got two callers.

The flop came down K54 with two clubs. I figured the action would check to me and I would place out a feeler bet to see if this flop hit anyone big. Things did not happen as I envisioned. The first person very confidently bet about three-forths the pot and the next played called with no hesitation. Both players looked extremely confident, so I figured at least one or maybe both had a king. If not, one or both could easily of had a straight or a flushdraw giving the field a ton of outs to beat me even if my tens were actually the best hand at the moment, so I folded when the action got to me. If only one player had stayed in I would have considered calling or coming over the top, but with both just oozing the feeling that they had the best hand, I decided to muck and live to fight another day, I still had a decent sized stack at this point so I did not feel committed to this pot.

They continued to bet and call down to the river, where one player turned over A-5, and the other A-4 respectively. So as it turns out I actually mucked the best hand when both of my opponents combined had only six outs to beat me, the remaining two fours, fives, and aces. Both players were extremely confident in their middle and bottom pairs respectively, and I bailed on the pot thinking I was beat to two outs, whereas if I felt confident that I had the best hand I would have definitely stayed in and likely raised the flop.

While its easy to think that I just got outplayed in this spot by someone trying to force me off my medium pair, that's not what I got from these two opponents. They both honestly felt their lower pairs were good, and exuded the confidence of having the "best hand." This makes it extremely difficult for me to read them since I get the feeling from them that they are very confident that they are holding the best hand, but don't have the slightest idea of what a strong or weak hand really is considering the board and the previous action.

I told my friend Ray that I actually liked his play of laying down on the flop in this spot (especially since he still had a lot of chips left) and that one of the toughest part of playing amatuers is reading them since as the old poker proverb goes, you cant read someone who doesn't even know what they are holding themselves. Luckily though, against amatuer players like these one can afford to lay down the best hand frequently since these players are often all to willing to get all their chips in with any pair when your holding a very big hand (at least top pair top kicker on a nonthreatening board.) Now if Ray was short-stacked in this spot I definitely think he has to move in here and hope to pick the pot up right then or hope that if one of his opponents does call then that his tens hold up or that he spikes a wonderful ten on the turn or the river if he is in fact beat.

Thomas "Thunder" Keller is a 25-year-old professional poker player and one of poker's young and rising stars. He can often be found playing at UltimateBet.com under the name thunderkeller. To learn more about him, go to his website at www.thunderkeller.com. Feel free to contact him at thunderkeller@yahoo.com. Also feel free to contact my friend Ray Powers at raymodnjpowers@yahoo.com and check out his blog at http://raypowers.blogspot.com/ .

Poker, Flowers, and WoW

I feel very Poker rutted lately, so I posted a big rant on Full Contact about my poker woes, and got some good advice. I am going to cut back on poker for a couple weeks, doing only the Pub Poker nights, and no more online play for a while. I just need a break from it.

Instead, I'm playing more world of warcraft, I am leveling with the wife, and playing some more on my won, mainly trying to make some auction house work go so we have plenty of money. In addition, I am going to have to level my level 38 guy to level 40 so I can get the top levels of tailoring and enchanting for my other characters. My "main" right now though is still the level 23 I play with my wife. Yeah I know, level 23 is nothing, but I am putting a lot of effort into this guy. At 23 he is already maxed on Fishing and Cooking, and I'm trying to max out his engineering. Its tough at this level.

So tonight is supposed to be a date night, but the wife and I had a fight this morning, so who knows. So, here's a weird thing. When I have a fight with the wife, or when things are not going well in our relation ship, I often am tempted to buy her flowers. Much more often than when things are going well. It's not to apologize either, because, while it sounds macho and braggart, I am right in our arguments much more than average. If I had to guess a percentage, it is likely in the 90% + range. So I rarely have anything to apologize about.

So why do I want to buy her flowers? Its a reminder for me that regardless of all the bullshit fights we have, I still love her, and I still want her to be happy, even when she is driving me absolutely fucking crazy right this instant, the long term thought in the back of my head is that I love her, and buying her flowers reminds me of that. If they remind her of that as well, all the better.

Have a good day all.

Lots of little things

I got to see my son's first T-Ball game on Saturday. It's pretty funny watching a bunch of 3-5 year olds run around, not really understanding what they are doing. My son caught one ball and threw it to first, and got a couple of good hits, so no complaints. He is having fun, but doesn't have the patience for a whole game yet. I think that will come.

I also got and read Freakonomics over the weekend. I highly recommend it. Its got some great (and surprising) information inside of it, and is highly entertaining. It has a weird feel of Fight Club to it while at the same time being dry, data full, and well, non-fiction. But it gives you a distinct feeling of "the world does not work how you think it does."

I had very little poker this weekend. I was in one multitable tournament and I raised a pot with AQ, and got a caller. The flop and turn came out rags, but I stayed aggro with my two over cards as it kept getting checked to me. Finally, I went over aggro and pushed all in. I had a very good feeling that he had nothing, maybe a low pair with tons of overs on the board, but likely a weak ace, or very small pocket pair, and there would be no way he could call for his whole stack so early on in the event.

Well, I had the first part right. He had a pair of fours , bottom pair. But he called, and an ace or queen did not come and I was out less than 15 minutes into the tournament. It was a very maniac play I admit, and I would not do it again. While my read was dead on, I forgot the golden rule that, at the early levels, all the idiots are still in the tournament, and they're willing to make bad calls like that. Early Rock is the way to go.

I played some World of Warcraft this weekend as well. I did some Auction House work on my higher level character, did some fishing with my character I play with my wife to make more money, and did some solo on my lowbie priest to get him up in levels and try to pump up his alchemy a bit. The wife and I tried to do Wailing Caverns by ourselves (both level 22). It went ok for a while, but not great. Was fun still though, so who cares.

That's about it for now. Have a good one!