Life's a JOPKE, el-o-el...

That was some year...

2011-12-31T01:09:00.002-05:00

Man, the dust collects quickly when you're all distracted and busy and whatnot...

What's been up? Life, basically. Between this new job and a bunch of other things going on, I've barely had a chance to even think about blogging, or even what to write about.

I still have the same feeds in my Reader (oh, GFY Google for changing Reader's UI, booooooo) and keep up with things, whether it's LJ's little baby, or VeryJosie's evolving live exploits, or the various Vegas shenanigans in December - and still have a lot of opinions about all sorts of things I read and hear on a daily basis - but I don't really have an urge to write about any of it.

It's very strange, actually. The older I get, the less important I think my opinions are - or more properly, I don't think those opinions are really important or interesting to anyone but myself.

-BabyGirlHeff: Now 2 and incredibly demanding, as I'm told most girls are at that age.

Very verbal and intelligent (most fathers say that, I wouldn't unless it were actually true.)

She likes counting to 12, is a whiz with an iPhone, and continually asks to watch either Spiderman (the old TV cartoons of the 60s and 80s) on Netflix or that horrible, whiny bitch of a Canadian kid, Caillou (F U Pebble. Stupidest name ever.)

She photographs well, too, as you can tell from the top right of the page...

- Poker - What's that? Well, I do have an iPad2 now courtesy of bonus grinding, but hardly have time to play anymore.

I have the original bankroll I deposited post-Black Friday and when I have some time, I goof around, lose $$ at cash and MTTs, scoop it back up at SnGs, and try to tilt as many randoms as possible with idiotic chat. So that much hasn't changed... :-)

I haven't played live since that double dip final tabling two daily MTTs at Delaware Park in May - I don't count the silly free bar poker tourneys I dabble in around here - so I have to have a lot of rust in my game. It can't be in that bad of a shape - I still think about the game and try to read and learn about hands when I can - but I'm certainly not getting the trigger time in to remain on top of things.

Oh, and DoJ hurry plz and get my FTP money back to me. Part of the reason I haven't played since May is I don't have a live bankroll to splash around with - going job hunting for a few months will evaporate that in a jiffy.

- Fantasy Football - I actually managed to ride Purple Jesus and Breesus to a nice 6-2 start - and then I couldn't beat anyone but this guy for two months and missed the money bracket of my league. That was disappointing. I think I've been playing with this same crew of bloggers for 2-3 seasons of football and baseball and keep pulling an 0-fer. I just don't research and pay attention as much as I used to.

- I'm not sure how I feel about leaving the media industry. I don't really miss it, and yet every day had a youneverknowwhatwillhappen feel to it, no matter how mundane. Now I work with much smarter people, in a more professional industry, and am a lot more challenged on a daily basis - but I do it for less pay over more hours. Still, I'm more blessed than most of my former co-workers - as difficult as 2011 was for me, I came through the other side pretty well all things considered.

So who knows what 2012 will bring.

Maybe I figure out a way to leverage 15 years of experience into something else and start another adventure...

Maybe I realize that I'm hitting 39 this year and have to get to the gym more often before I really grow a pot...

I just hope I get to play some cards this year and live to see 2013.

I have simple goals. 2012 being better than 2011 would be one of them.

Good times to all (any?) of you reading. Happy New Year!!!

iOur iLives....

2011-10-05T23:02:00.001-04:00

So yeah, my Twitter/Reader/Facebook exploded after 7pm last night with everyone's reactions to Steve Jobs' death. My wife even teared up a little bit - more so because you're talking about someone passing at 56 after battling cancer for most of the last 7-8 years - but also because as a former photojournalist like me, we both have been avid fans and users of Apple products for over two decades.

I wouldn't be where I am today without Apple's influence - from the Apple II's I remember in our elementary school classes that let us program BASIC - to the all-Mac newsroom I walked into as a freshman in college, with a bunch of Mac Plus stations for writers and editors, running System 6.x with floppy drives - to the house I live in now with four MacBooks/iMacs and about 8 iPods/iPhones of various makes, models, and sizes.

We probably would have gotten to where we are today one way or another - but we wouldn't have gotten there as fast, or with the same refinement - if Apple would have gone under any of the multiple times it was on its deathbed since 1976. There's an obvious influence on all of our ways of life, on how we choose, ingest, and manage our media consumption, that's been incredibly disruptive over the last 40 years, and it's largely due to Jobs' reality distortion shield and force of personality as a product visionary.

To expand upon I point I made elsewhere - I find his comeback to Apple after 1997 far more compelling and influential than the original creation of the Macintosh in the 1980s. Hey, even Microsoft finally figured out GUIs after 10-15 years: the concept wasn't that hard to execute.

It's the aesthetic approach, the attention to detail, the overall package, the user interface - combined with the ability to ENFORCE that philosophy from concept to design to implementation to manufacture - that made all these iMacs, iBooks, iPods, iPhones, and iPads such pleasing, entertaining, almost addictive products.

It was arbitrary and tyrannical at times - but the consistent ability to deliver an experience that eliminated the product itself as an obstacle to what the customer wants to do - that's the true legacy of Steve Jobs.

Probably just thinking in this framework to prep myself for the first day on the new job Monday.

Are you there, muppets? It's me, Heff!

2011-10-04T23:46:00.000-04:00

So yeah, I left this blog in the dark after July 1st. At least there aren't too many cobwebs...

Basically, while I was seeking some kind of new job, I thought it was prudent to take this silly blog offline and keep quiet in the cyberworld. I quit paying attention to a lot of distractions - let my roto baseball team plummet into last place and stay there all summer, cut out live and online poker almost entirely except for one trip to Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh on a U2 concert junket, skipped the monthly BBT in Exile tourney in September, and instead worked on the resume, networking, and interview skills while being a househusband and watching BabyGirlHeff.

Well, it finally paid off at the end of September. I haz job.

Fulltime, for just a touch less $$ than I was making for AOLolol, but with a lot of growth opportunities and future development, which is the way I needed to go. Cliff Notes, I'll start off performing functional business analysis with some product management/webmaster responsibilities to come.

The downside is, I'm leaving photojournalism and the communications industry, which is how I've made a buck ever since I was 15. But, no one is going to pay me the kind of salary I need to support this family in 5, 10 years if I continue to do what I've done all my life and stay in a comfort zone. So, it's time to put myself in an uncomfortable spot and learn some new skills and tricks…

In the meantime, I will continue to post occasionally here - mostly a look back at odd unemployment adventures - while I figure out what I'm going to do with this blog - I keep thinking I will eventually move it to a hosting site where I can combine some ongoing web development work and work examples with personal branding, yaddayaddayadda… The content will likely become less cards and more life and other observations… (the wife keeps saying I need to post a daily "AngryAsianMan" rant just for laughs and see how entertaining I can be)

Speaking of cards:

- I finally grinded out the iPad2 bonus on Lock - it only took me almost five months… so we'll see if and when I get it. I spun up the original $250 deposit up over 1K twice - right before the little climber fell off the mountain twice, leaving me with… $250 in the account. I will likely either cash it out to break even - or more likely do a NewInNov thing and play way over my head one day to either go BUSTO or ROBUSTO first. Either way, I'm pretty sure it's time to retire from online poker for actual $$$ unless and until it comes back as a regulated industry in the U.S.

- Hey, so we're getting FTP moneys back? Maybe? No? Does anyone really know? I'd like my roll back, even if the DOJ takes a finder's fee out of it. At least then the wife and I can have fun on some cardroomjunkets.

- Lightning had a heart attack? VeryJosie made bank and is mad at the Borgata? Waffles is waffles? Ok, some things haven't changed that much. Good to know.

Here's to grinding and perseverance.
It's the only way I made it through the last three months.

No really, I am awake and working now.

2011-10-02T15:11:00.001-04:00

Ok, last minute BBT in Exile tourney tonight, since it's the first Sunday of the month and I forgot about it last month... actually, forgot about it until today.

9:30ET on Stars for play money, you know the drill.

Club ID: 415619
Invitation Code: wolverines

At least I can celebrate finding a job now, so all is relatively well. :-)

More details TK in the days ahead.

New Day Rising....

2011-07-01T09:34:00.003-04:00

So, what does starting the second half of 2011 bring us?

*** How about a holiday BBT tourney?

Shorter levels this time so the whole thing should last under two hours. I've been a little busy over the last couple of weeks (see below) so I've been a bad advertiser, but I'll try over the weekend to see what we can do and get some peoples out for mixed games...

*** More FTP rollercoaster shenanigans?

One thing pointed out earlier this month is probably in play here. I tweeted about it, but the software/IP attached to FTP is its most(or only)valuable asset now and might actually be worth what is allegedly being paid for it.

Hopefully it bodes well for U.S players. I'd like a few K back in my pocket, plsthx.

For sure, Hoy's post whipped everyone into shape and set the stage for this.

*** And, end scene.

Thursday was finally my last day at work. All in all, I spent over eight years at everyone's favorite online company, AOL. You can shoot me now.

God knows there are all sorts of legitimate and justified reasons to crush the company for everything it did over the last decade, for being a directionless, second rate media company lacking unique, compelling content. However, at the worker bee/front line level I operated in, it was a wonderful place to work with the least amount of friction and workplace annoyance I've ever been around.

Then again, I came from a journalism background, what the wife loves to call "the land of misfit toys" with all sorts of office static, so I may not have the best perspective on this...

Regardless, business models and priorities change, and leaving was long overdue - after all, I was originally cut in March with 90% of my department, brought back a week later, and quickly figured out no one really knew why I was back or what I was supposed to be doing for three months. (#insertfavoritefacepalmhere).

I'm not sure if the AOL/Huffington Post media model has enough maneuvering room and time to boost their ad revenues and traffic to cover expenses and keep everything afloat - I'm not exactly bullish on that - but we all will see.

The upshot of all this is I have about three months worth of salary to float with while I look for a new gig. It means I will probably cut back on this blog and some other distractions (I already blew off Pokermeister on heading out for a live poker run today b/c I have so many loose ends to square away between the job/house/family this weekend.) while I focus on figuring out whatever I'm going to do with myself moving forward.

For now, I'm going to enjoy the holiday weekend with the family.
Tuesday will be odd, free, uplifting and weird all at once.

See you all Sunday. Bonus for recognizing this post's title reference.

More LOL Rise-aments.

2011-06-24T14:29:00.002-04:00

So I wasn't going to bother with all the freeroll qualifiers for Thursday's WSOP ME satellite on Rise, mainly because I didn't feel like wading through hundreds of chipstacks for one seat like this guy. But, I kept seeing posts on how, if you decided to sign up for a VIP membership, you'd have an automatic entry to the satty. So WTF. It's a two-week trial before you get charged, let's give RISE another shot and see what happens, and after noticing only 2200 players registered Thursday night, I decided to give it a go.

So I signed up for VIP, tried to register for the tourney, and no dice. Didn't work.
A review of Rise's twitter feed and mentions (search rise_poker) is in order:

------------

Today's the day! Our $12,500 World Series Main Event Championship starts at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. All VIP members can play! http://t.co/eb1MfRB

@JamesDaBear We always intended that VIP players should be able to play w/o qualifying. We screwed up when the qualifiers were implemented.

@JamesDaBear Again, we screwed up and only realized the error this week. We apologize for our growing pains. This error won't happen again.

@lasvegaspokers You *will* be able to play. Our tech dept will manually add you to the reg list before the tourney starts.

@nowitrocks We are manually adding all VIPs to the tourney. If you're not already on the registration list (pls check) you will be shortly.

@lasvegaspokers @JenShahade All you have to do is sign up for VIP but there was a technical screw-up on our end.

@lasvegaspokers @JenShahade We are manually adding VIPs as a result. We are on the phone with tech right now to make sure it happens.

@JenShahade @lasvegaspokers Tech assured me 2 minutes ago that every VIP *will* be added to the reg list manually. Good luck in the tourney!

If you signed up for VIP but got shut out of the WSOP tourney pls email John@zenentertainment.com with your RISE name and email.

Correction on email address--contact Johng@zenentertainment.com.

------------------

Basically, you finally pitch a tournament that was advertised as qualifiers only for weeks, as something now open to all VIPs.

You do this for two days or so, finally figure out that VIPs aren't being auto-entered, but can't technically puzzle out how to fix it with an hour's worth of notice.

When you are alerted that people didn't make the tournament - you say you will email people (which hasn't happened), then instead put out an email address seeking contact (passive vs.active response) - which is wrong and has to be corrected.

This makes FTP support look supergenius.

I could give Rise credit for having a Twitter presence that looks like it really tried to be proactive and customer-friendly - or rip all of this as a ploy to gather more VIP signups and credit card information w/o actually delivering anything.

The truth, as always, is somewhere in between.

But actually backing this kind of innocent yet bumbling incompetence for $20/month? No thank you.

I just went ahead and cancelled that membership around 9:10.

----

Of course, the Merge experiment finally fell off a cliff where I dropped like all the profit (six BI) in the span of 500 cash hands by playing bad and running worse. If I didn't run into the top of someone's range, I got it in good and got three outed. I should have stopped the bleeding halfway through, but since it's play money anyway, I figured I was either going to double back up to where I was or flatline - and thus I'm back where I started...

There are other crazy life things happening as the month closes. Maybe I'll know more next week.

this is my life...

2011-06-19T13:05:00.004-04:00

I get to read about all sorts of people heading to Vegas and tossing cards around, and yet I am spending my Saturday getting up at 6:45am to work swim meets and mulch the yard.

But at least I get a neat picture out of it.

catching up, profit time....

2011-06-12T15:40:00.005-04:00

*So it was nice - I finally made a short-term investment backing a blogger in a live tourney that paid off as NumbBono cashed in the $1500 HORSE tourney at the Rio over the weekend. Man can nurse a stack far deeper than anyone should be able to - well done on his part.

*More and more I'm wondering if the increased WSOP entry numbers are the classic dead cat bounce as everyone scrapes up the last of their bankrolls for one final push.

*I did run the BBT in Exile #3 tourney last weekend - and it was pretty obvious that I wasn't paying attention at all b/c I donked off 60BB preflop in an obvious 80/20 spot by four-bet jamming fives or something stupid like that right into Kings to Gigli out.

1) NumbBono
2) wolfshead
3) CEMfromMD
4) PinkyStin771
5) xkm1245
6) FullHouse538
7) SmBoatDrinks
8) KingDonk himself.

Thanks to all that came out - accelerated structure got it done in just over 40 minutes, which is a little too fast but closer to right - I think I'm going to just keep this a once a month deal on the first Sunday night - and make it a mix game, simply because 1) that's probably the right amount of interest we can sustain over time and 2) everyone can play NLHE whenever they want, you can't always generate mix games, and that should make the tourneys a little more notable and unique.

After that spewage, I ended up focusing a lot more on the Merge experiment - where I'm still managing to spin that imaginary bankroll up pretty consistently - I really thought I'd run into... I don't know, better/more solid/not so predictable play, but the games are nothing like they were pre-Black Friday at the levels I'm running - $20-30 SnGs, $10-20 MTTs, $50 cash tables. It probably makes me think I'm better than I actually am.

*Both the NBA and NHL Finals have been nothing short of awesome, especially since I have nothing invested in any of the teams and can just appreciate the games w/o the horror of watching my team go busto.

*For anyone who actually remembers - Supposedly my return to the job runs out at the end of the month. I have no idea if that will actually happen. Maybe I go permanent, maybe I just hang out another few months, maybe I get to take my original severance and have three months to find another gig. The fact I'm completely ambivalent to any or all of these scenarios isn't a great sign.

What I do know is that my wedding anniversary is this week - and by the end of the week the house will be filled with the mother-in-law and niece/nephew on a summer visit, one wife, three kids, one nanny, three cats - and one dude just trying to survive and puzzle it all out... :-)

Rise against wha? More BBT in Exile too...

2011-06-03T01:48:00.005-04:00

In the pokah for free realm this week..

-Yes, I have taken the RISE Poker plunge... Ran a freeroll last night for 15 minutes and played so lol awesome NOT. Played a couple of quick SnGs... And um, look, I know they're trying to push a subscription online poker site, there's quite a few bloggers doing some work for them at the WSOP, I really hope they succeed...

But the software is just dreadful. I mean, it's borderline unplayable. Maybe if I was a VIP member and didn't have the ads flying around, that would help - but even then...

Look, as much as everyone wants to crush Full Tilt now, the one thing they always had going for them was a friendly, fun, inviting user interface. It sounded fun, looked good, was customizable - and even though many people complained about lag, I never experienced it. The software worked - it was pleasant to use.

I've had moments where I couldn't type a numerical bet into RISE - the dialog box wouldn't work. Nothing feels like it's where it should be, from the labels and menus to the controls at the tables. I can't find a MTT structure anywhere. Dragging a window around the screen makes it vibrate like an earthquake's hit. The lobby's horrible - and don't try to flip through any list that's more than 20 deep...

Basically, the RISE software does everything to make me want to uninstall it at the slightest drop of a hat. It makes Bodog look good. Merge is so mediocre, and it's ridiculously better than this. I hopehopehope it gets better. It has to.

Put it this way, I'm going to wait and see before dropping $20/month on RISE, and this is from a donk that tossed moneys onto Merge... And none of this even addresses the kind of players you run into on a freeroll site - subscription sites should be able to work long-term, but not like this.

-Played a pseudo-Dank/Mookie Wednesday with 9-10 runners and won that. Ended up with a very loud and cranky daughter that wouldn't sleep throughout the night, so didn't really chat or listen in to anything during the tourney. Still was nice to drop in and play a Stars Home Game...

-Which is a segue to this: yes, this Sunday is another BBT in Exile event.

I haven't pimped it that much at all, so I don't expect numbers to be too big. Bigger stacks with quicker levels, so hopefully the end game moves faster than the last NLHE tourney we ran. I will try and publicize effectively over the next few days.

Now in real poker news....

-Merge experiment is going well. Running smooth, sir.... Hope to get out live again soon, whether it be to AC for an Ante Up meet up or out to Charles Town sometime in June.

-I know I will buy a piece of a blogger for a live tournament and be rewarded soon. I can sense it... ;-)

-The whole Ivey/FTP debacle... sigh. The lawsuit is something he has to do for a number of reasons - and player cashouts is like #206 on the list - but it will make those cashouts harder if they ever come. Brilliant PR move, though, even if it doesn't accomplish anything of merit...

FTP's pissant response, though, makes me wonder if their PR department consists of one angry twentysomething chick who just got dumped by her man and SHE BE ONE BITTER BITCH BABY! I mean, you are (or were) a multi-milliondollar company. This is your professional, measured response? Really?

Anyhow - it all makes for some random times.

In someways, poker, especially at the WSOP (nicely large fields for the early events, almost live-streaming on ESPN3, the improved production/FT setup) seems like it's never been better, but there's always that sketch underneath the surface to remind you this isn't all for fun - that's there's big $$$, and the greed to snag/milk/steal as much of it as you can, driving it all.

the grind keeps on and on

2011-05-28T23:23:00.002-04:00

and on.

Decided to piddle around in a couple of Lock Poker MTTs tonight.

$11 freezeout with over 300 runners. Finish 4th. Win only 20 buy-ins and feel completely hosed.

At 300/1500/3000 seven-handed, someone opens for 7800, donk threeballs to 18.9K, I flat AA in the cutoff. Folds around, opener jams for 45K total, donk folds, I snap call. Naturally KK hits a King in the door, I could've had a third of the chips in play. Booooooooo.

Other tourney, I crush a $22 FO with 180 runners for a couple of hours and finally stall out near the bubble - and run TT into JJ after it breaks and mincash 15/180 for $40.

So, I should be up +$1K or something, and instead it's just plus $200 or so. PFFFFFTTTT.

People play MTTs weird on Merge. So many insane resteals for 25-40BB effective where the risk/reward just isn't there. Overbet jam flops with one pair. Strange play, but it can be dealt with.

At least I've doubled my deposit. But will I ever see it?

It's a lot easier to play when you don't think you're playing with real mobney.. ;-)

so what about Delaware Park anyway?

2011-05-25T11:25:00.003-04:00

Let me preface this by saying I haven't had the chance to visit a live room in over two years - having a baby will do that to you. So I don't really have an updated frame of reference for this - but here goes.

Delaware Park is closer to NoVa/DC than any other card room except for Charles Town. That is its main good point. Because every good thing that the cardroom management accomplishes is undercut by the fact that this is an old facility with a meh environment and player base.

Now, I'm sure I could go to any of the Hollywood venues in the mid-Atlantic like Charles Town and really go ewww - and to Delaware Park's credit, it's not that blah - but it's still a converted track. It's not AC or Biloxi. It's like Florida and Pennsylvania with animal racing around an oval.

Anyway, right now there's two card rooms at DP, as they just switched out the tournament and cash rooms on the second floor. Supposedly the room in the middle of the casino will be the tournament room, and the one all the way at the west end of the facility will be the cash room.

I played the 11am in the west room, which has older tables with cupholders, quite a few bigscreen TVs, and a decent bar and rail just outside of it that's shared with the horse bettors. The West end wall is actually a large window that was screened off for more of day, which lends a light, open feel to the room (though not a gigantic cavern like the main Borgata room)

and the 7pm in the middle room, which is a darker, more upscale looking area with a lot of wood and newer tables ringed with that marble racetrack everyone hates, but without any bar or rail near it. (although a badly working beverage station is a few feet away if you want to pour yourself a Pepsi with no ice...)

Now, I'm not sure why you'd move the cash tables away from all the foot traffic - because not only do you miss out on the casual dropins from other games - but when there isn't a tournament running, there's this giant empty space in the middle of the building that isn't generating any money. Someone said that eventually both rooms would be consolidated at the west end of the building, but I'll believe that when I see it.

So, the good of playing at Delaware Park as they hit one year of table games in June.

-Autoshufflers and that check-in card system at all tables, no glitches

-Dealers reasonably good, although they struggled with dealing Omaha and chopping the split pots.

-Support staff - floor, cage, brush, people behind the desk - were all efficient and professional. You didn't even notice them doing their jobs, as it should be.

-They pay out tourney winnings in chips. less paperwork.

-Player base was generally well behaved and knew how to conduct themselves at the tables. Very little grumpy bullshit, petty angleshooting, etc. Of course, maybe I just caught a good day.

-THEY WILL SPREAD SOMETHING BESIDES 1/2NL, 2/5NL, and 2/4LHE.

They spread an 8/16 LHE game with reduced $2 rake that ran pretty well, until the 4/8 Omaha8 table kind of cannibalized it. I know they will run mix games on occasion. They actually run Omaha tournaments twice a week.

In general, it's an extremely player-friendly room. Much kudos for that.

And the down side...

- It costs extra money to go there. Thanks to silly Maryland and Delaware, tolls from NoVa to Del Park run about $15-20 round trip, and you've got the gas for a 250mi trip as well. Drinks cost $$ as well. It all adds up. Of course, this was always true of AC as well for me.

-Drink service was pretty sketchy. Wait staff was pleasant enough, but there just wasn't enough of them. With Delaware gaming law preventing comped alcohol, you're basically in for a five spot for every beer or drink including tip. Coffee was uh, a coffee-like substance. I already pointed out the sort-of-working beverage station, which was sad and depressing.

-Tournament chips were sticky. Not Taj-level sticky, but damn, they needed a wash. It got to the point that I'd announce a bet, and by the time I could cut the chips and push them forward, the pot was already coming my way.

-There's nothing else there - for me, anyway. Meaning it's a racino and nothing else. There's a couple of restaurants, but if the deli is any indication, God help who ever eats there and pays those prices. Of course, there's no hotel or entertainment of note, and although they have a golf course and occasional live horse racing, I don't play or bet horses, and I avoid slots and the pit like the plague.

-There are few small things about Delaware Park tournaments that raise a eyebrow.

* They didn't quite make their Friday guarantees for either tourney I played, so there were slight overlays both times. They do try to give away 10 tourney seats to players at the cash game tables - not sure how many got used, but even with that, the two tourneys I played barely hit 80 players, and the PLO 3pm tourney only had 30 or so.
* Even with the $5 staff/chip bonus tacked onto every tourney, and the fact they do takeout 3-5% of the prize pool for staff - which they don't hide - I'm still wondering if they make any money hosting these tourneys. In June they will run four tourneys at day (Noon/4pm/7pm/10pm) - and while I'm hoping Del Park will remain a great low-buyin tournament room, I'm not so sure it's a viable business model in the long run.
* Yeah, the structure is what you deserve for $100. However, the end game moves too quick - blinds doubling every other level just makes for too much allin-or-fold poker. Those intermediate levels (500/1000, 1200/2400, 2500/5000, 5k/10k, etc) should get tossed back in at some point, especially once you hit the last two tables. You're only burning up one or two dealers, and that stage is where all the money's actually decided. Then again, I'm actually good maneuvering around a 10-15BB stack, so maybe this isn't such a good idea for me.

- It's just a blah buzzless, downer place - atmosphere just doesn't feel upbeat or happy. That's probably because I ended up walking around a bunch of oldster slot players and wasn't around the table games - and also because people can't get as sloshed for free. The poker areas themselves are fine, but they are attached to the rest of the building, unfortunately :-)

Of course, I'm a critical dude at heart - but despite all of that, I still liked playing at Delaware Park, and it's an acceptable substitute for AC since it's 90 minutes closer. I just wish it was another hour closer and not located off a toll road so I could run a tourney on a whim instead of doing it as a special day trip.

From morning to night at Delaware Park... more $$$

2011-05-22T21:20:00.003-04:00

So after the 6th place cash, I checked emails/made phone calls and decided to wait in the looonnnnggggest deli line ever for a $4 hot dog which was - well, it was grilled, hot, and on a bun with sauerkraut, so at least it was as ordered. By the time I wandered back to the main room, it was almost 6, and the only game without a list was... 8/16 limit?

Well, what the hell, why not, give me two racks of yellow and let's spew chips...

On the good side, they were running the game with reduced $2 rake, and the two chip/four chip structure should have made it a fun action game. What it actually turned out to be was a bunch of older momos limp/calling everything, so you ended up with fourway raised pots on the flop and turn needing to show down a pretty good hand to scoop the pot - and that wasn't really what I had in mind. Then again, it was live limit poker - so I was expecting that and adjusted - but I never made anything except a running straight to bink someone's flopped set, and ended up down 5-6 bets after 30-40 minutes. Then the floor finally announced that the 4/8 Omaha H/L game was starting - a game I put my name on the list for like five hours earlier.

So I figured I should get over there and at least make sure the game started - see how it was for 30 minutes, and then decide if I was going to play the 7pm tourney or just donk around at a cash game until midnight, when I'd have to leave and drive back home. We got a full table and started the game - but after watching the first half orbit, with people limping behind preflop with A23x and the dealer almost biffing quartered pots twice - I got up and bought into the 7pm tourney before I really went on tilt.

That's the bad side about no online poker - you just can't run a split pot game with any kind of speed or pep to make it worth playing. Live PLO or PLO8 might be worthwhile - but limit Omaha live is pure agony, and this is coming from someone who actually likes four card bingo.

The 7pm tourney crowd was an older mix of players - the morning tourney had quite a few guys I could tell were slumming b/c they couldn't play on Stars or Tilt - not so much on a Friday night. I don't remember as much from this run b/c I didn't take as many notes - but I was on another heater of chip accumulation throughout the tourney. From 10K starting chips to 52K at the second break to 130K as we got to two tables left (which was 2X average stack, but only 20 big blinds.)

I was always well ahead of the average stack, was able to win a lot of pots without showdowns, and then took those extra chips to gamble with small stacks for the knockout. I remember having to ask for a count from the dealer a lot, b/c I was always having to call someone's shove or big turn bet. In fact the only time all day I was allin and covered was when I jammed into the aces during the morning tourney - and that's always a good thing.

*I boned one player early in a couple of smallish pots (Ax over KK on a AAx pot, Aces full over Kings full on a AAKKx board) , and he tilt-went out of his way to try and win a hand against me, calling every hand I opened. I ended up taking his original stack and his re-entry as well.

*Got all in with someone preflop on a coin flip, they hit a set on the flop and I runner runnered a flush on them.

*Heffed Hand #onebillion - With two tables left, I open in MP with 98s for a standard raise, big blind defends. Flop J67r and villain instantly shoves for a little over pot, about 40K, which is about 1/3rd of my stack. I think for a minute, count it out, feel like GAMBOOL and say "hey, it's only chips" and toss in the call. I'm up against JT.

Turn T. Half the table goes "whoa." Villain doesn't fill up. My only reaction is a barely audible "boom" on the river. I don't think he was very amused.

By this point all the old nits start talking about chops and bubble saves - which I'm really trying to ignore. I mean, I didn't buy in to play 4-5 hours and end up with a 14-way chop. I finally say I'll listen with 12 players left just to get a couple of the more insistent ones to shut up, hoping they just go busto soon - which they do, thankfully enough.

In the meantime, I actually start hitting some rough waters.

I open AKo, a short stacked big blind decides to properly call off with T8o and hits.

That player then jams into my blind and I call with 33. He shows 88. I call for a three ball which hits the flop. I didn't call for the eight on the turn.

When we get to 10 players, we consolidate to one table, agree to a $100 bubble save for 10th out of our pockets - and then I get to jam aces into the same player's open raise. He calls, I show, he says, "I need Broadway" as he flips over AKo. Flop is QJT. Ahem.

I turn a flush draw, but I ended up under 70K and a below-average stack for the first time in forever. But, I did just let it all go after the hand was over. It's poker. It happens. I cracked aces to cash in the morning, it's all karma, blah blah.

Luckily, there were still shorter stacks to pick on and I can play a 10-15BB stack better than most people. Soon enough the bubble burst and I had scrounged just enough chips to where I could start raise/jamming/winning pots for free like it was my job or something, I was up over 200k seven-handed and 300K six handed, which was over 1/3 of the chips in play. Got to admit, it was fun to play like that.

It was past 1am, though, I still had that drive in front of me, and I started to run out of gas at the table. My opens started getting flatted a lot more, and I couldn't hit a flop. Basically, I kept maintaining my stack and let everyone else knock each other out.

When we finally got heads up, I was probably down in chips 2-1 or so with that same 250-300K stack, but we were at 3K/10K/20K blinds. First was 2400, second was 1500, it was after 1:30am by now, there wasn't any postflop play left for us - and so I figured I had nothing to lose by offering a chop to the 40ish woman across the table who looked like she knew enough to do some business.

"You really feel like flipping for $900? I'll play it either way, but hey, one double up and I'm back in front. How about we chop?"
"What's the chop number?"
TD runs it - $1950 for an even chop.
"Give me $2000 and it's a deal."

Hell yeah it's a deal. $400 free mobneys. Yeah, I would have loved to play it out and see, but that was too good of spot to pass up. We signed for the adjusted payout, I got my chips, left about $100 for tip (with a 3-5% takeout already, that's perfectly fair) cashed out the rest, and I was in my car 10 minutes later on the way home. Not that I got home before 5am thanks to overnight construction and a couple of accidents that blocked traffic on the interstate.

But, it was a fun drive back with a roll of C-notes in my pocket. That's actually my biggest win in a single tournament ever. While I've final tabled some 50-50s before, I never cashed for the big bucks - well, except for the Main Event satellite I won once, but that's not the same thing.

This is obviously sustainable and real and means I should expect to final table a live MTT oh, every other time I play one..... Not.

Delaware Park trip report... $$$

2011-05-21T14:42:00.005-04:00

So, I finally got the chance to go out an hit a live session of poker Friday. I took some of the Stars cashout and headed up I-95 to Delaware Park. It's funny, I had no idea I hadn't played a real live tournament since this over two years ago.

Long story short:

I final tabled the $65 11am tourney - about 90 runners - in 6th for $275.
I final tabled the $100 7pm tourney - about 80 runners - and chop it HU for $1900.

So that was nice. Live poker can be fun.

Long story long:

Since it had been awhile between live sessions, I didn't really want to jump right in and play cash - so even though Charles Town is a lot closer to me, they don't run anywhere near the amount of tournaments that Delaware Park does and I ended up driving there.

Took me about 2 hours and change to drive Friday morning, I pull up and valet park at the main entrance on the East end of the building - and realize that the poker room is at the complete opposite West end of the building.

LOL walking through all the slots, but since I'd only been there once before to check out the place pre-table games, it wasn't bad to get up to speed on what it all looked like now.

Get to the room, get a player card, buy into the 11am tourney, find my seat, and we let it rip. 7500 starting stacks, 20 min levels, standard fast AC/East Coast daily tourney structure.

At first it takes a little while to get back into the feel and flow of things. I'm used to handling chips and whatnot - but at a bar, not on green felt with padded rails. I don't have a hat on, but I've got my prescription sunglasses and my little Eeyore, so I'm trying to look a little noobish.

Anyway, I start making hands quickly. I stack a poorly played AA when I flop a set on a monotone board and villain jams 60BB, extract value from KQ with AQ in a limped multiway pot after a QQx flop - and then I pull off the first of many Heffed Hands on the day.

I get frisky at 100/200 and open 86o in EP for 600 and get flatted in LP and by the big blind.
Flop 873r, I decide to lead 1200, LP flats, blind folds.
Turn 4, I check, LP jams for a little over pot. Again, I'm thinking online (hey, people try to take pots away from you all the time in these kind of spots) instead of live (people don't bluff spots like this), decide I can bink a 5, 6 or 8 if I need to, and I've got enough of a stack built up to take a shot like this.

I call, see I'm up against 99, say, "Ooh, I've got some outs" - and watch a 5 hit the river.

This is how the AM tourney ran - I just kept building up a stack. 20K at 100/200, 28K when the antes kick in, 45K (3x average stack) by the second break. I kept picking my spots and decided to station people when appropriate..

Another table, I think this was at 75/300/600. EP opens to 1500, I flat behind him in MP with KJs.
Flop Jack high rainbow, he donks like 2500, I call.
Turn blank without any realistic draws, he donks 4K, I call.
River blank, he donks 5500... and I don't get an overpair/JackAce read.
I call and win vs. ATo.

I get moved around a lot, end up next to a local dude who 1) could play 2) was funny and 3) was on a stupid sick heater. I get moved to his right with a nice 50K stack and proceed to tread water while I watch him go from 30K to like 170K in two orbits.

But, at least I was amused with some decent live poker banter while I turtled up in massive card death as we neared the final table bubble for payouts. That nice, 2x, 3x average stack was rapidly becoming a shortie as we got through hour four. I wanted to play the 3pm PLO tourney, but I'm not going to punt a stack. Not really.

13 players left, I'm down to like 45K at 400/2k/4k. I look down at QTs UTG and figure why not, it's a suited one-gapper and likely live vs. Ax hands that will call. I ship, folds around to some Asian kid in the small blind who instantly reships. Oops.

Now earlier, he opened 3K from MP, I repopped the button to 11K with air, and he jammed 30K more with AJo (he showed after I tank folded and asked to see a card) But of course he has Aces this time.

Flop JJ7. That's not good.
Turn 9. Hey I have a chance.
River 8. So, so silly.

Kid only had 10K more than me. Naturally he was next out. He came back to the final table later and said he ran a boat into quads for stacks at a 1/2 NL table. So yeah, I basically cost him at least $400 or so.

After that doubleup, a few hands later the local grinder busts two short stacks in one hand - and we pop the final table bubble without anyone even realizing it. Yay cash and no bitching about chops or bubble saves...

Final table was pretty nondescript. I actually got up to about 140, 150K, which was above average six handed - but we were playing 2K/6k/12k blinds, so like that actually matters. Last hand, it folds around to me and I ship about 130K with A9s from the small blind. Big blind who covers me tanks and says, "I know I have the best hand here." and I think, well hurry up and call me then. He calls with 55 and I don't hit.

I was a little surprised to see a pair that small, because he's essentially flipping 2/3rd of his stack if he's right and crushed if I actually have it. But hey, it's a short stacked low buyin live tourney final table, like there's time to wait around for a bigger hand.

So I go to the cage, sign for sixth, pick up my chips, and have a little under two hours to kill until the 7pm starts.

More TK, including a mini-review of Delaware Park....

BBT Exile #2, and more silliness

2011-05-16T00:21:00.006-04:00

I was pleased and surprised we had almost three full tables for a blogger mixed game Sunday night. It was nice - and I ran like I usually do for a couple of hours - until I ran out of gas at the final table. I open jammed TT fourhanded BvB in unlimited hold them for about 16BB and wolfshead called with A9o.

Flop QQ9. I might actually have this one.

Turn 9.
River Ace.

Pfft. 4/16. Thanks to everyone who came out, though. It's fun to do this.

Next game is June 5th - standard NLHE with deeper stacks (3K) and shorter levels (3 minutes) - reminders will go out as the date gets closer, but I'm planning on doing this the first Sunday of every month until no one shows up...

1- sportingimag
2- wolfshead
3- yestbay1
4- heffmike
5- xkm1245
6- PinkyStin771
7- PokerBrian22
8- SmBoatDrinks
9- lightning36
10-the mortal 1
11-NumbBono
12-BuddyDank
13-CEMfromMD
14-PushAddict
15-LunaPiena
16-FullHouse538

In other news, Full Tilt continues to a be a textbook example of how NOT to communicate with your best customers in the 21st century. While I still believe that U.S players will get cashed out at some point in 2011, with the rapid PokerStars cashouts and the WSOP starting next month - players want some transparency and legitimate answers.

You give the people Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, they get pissed.

Regardless of the situation, the communication, to not only the frequent players at 2+2, but the rest of the U.S. market that doesn't visit an internet poker board, has been dreadful.

it will shake down in a simple fashion, but I'm not so sure anymore.

Declaring that FTP points will be redeemed in merchandise, not straight cash bonuses like Stars declared, is a huge red flag IMO. Smarter people than me say that things should still be fine, but we shall see.

phoenix time...

2011-05-13T12:54:00.002-04:00

News and notes:

**LOL Blogger for being down for half day and eating posts since some Wednesday maintenance. Oopsie.

**Ron Swanson fucking rocks:

**Yeah, I'm trying play money MTTs again for the blogger nation.
This time an 8-game on Stars Sunday night. Details here....

As it's 8-game and I'm sure a lot of people came out to game #1 for Last Call, as it were, I'd be surprised if there was more than one table for this. But you tell me where else you can play a mixed game MTT right now for less than four figures?

**It's annoying that FTP still can't puzzle out where all their player vs. operational funds are - I would figure cashouts should happen by the WSOP next month, if only to quell all the griping and chatter that would happen if they end up weeks behind Stars in getting moneys back to players. I still believe funds are coming, so I'm not that worried yet... at least I haven't had money on UB since 2007, so I really don't care about the angleshooting scum that run that company.

**In the meantime, I've managed to get a small amount of funds onto Merge - nothing I won't miss if it vanishes tomorrow - and have started playing again, mostly $5-10 tourneys, SnGs and some $25NL and PLO8 tables.

Won a SnG last night, final tabled a $3 turbo - 4th of 100 - for $24 (payout structures are too flat and blow) and am basically just screwing around for enjoyment's sake more than anything else, and to keep the rust off my game.

It's a refreshing change of pace - no notes or history with anyone, everyone's a random, I've even got a different screenname - so it's like being born again, now I'm just another anonymous momo....

Software's OK, game selection sucks, players seem fairly straightforward - and are probably better than your average online donk at this point - but it's not what it used to be by a long shot. I haven't run into anything I can't handle at the low buyin levels I'm playing - but I'd shoot myself if I had to play higher there for a living.

more free play if you want it...

2011-05-07T13:51:00.003-04:00

Ok, we'll try this a couple more times and see what happens...

BBT in Exile Tourneys

Next Sunday, the 15th - #2 will be a silly 8-game tourney, 2K in chips, 5-minute levels.

And the first Sunday of June, the 5th - let's run #3 - back to a straight NLHE tourney, but this time with more starting chips (3K) and much shorter levels (3min) to speed up the endgame once the final table gets shorthanded...

Full details to register here:

In the meantime, I'm still a little disappointed and frosted over how meekly the Caps got pwned by the Lightning last week. Something must change with the team - but I think we're talking more of a GM issue with George McPhee and the construction of the team than the players or coach.

While the team is talented, I don't think it's as good or deep as the locals think once you get past their top lines - and while Bruce Boudreau hasn't come off well in the playoffs or in the HBO 24/7 series, there's no denying that he's developed a lot of young talent the last few seasons. However, the team's made a pretty paltry effort at upgrades through free agency or the trade deadline over the years - and if the Caps are viewed as soft and lacking enough grit - well, if you don't have those type of players, you've got to try harder to go get them, right?

I would like to believe that Ovie = Steve Yzerman, who struggled early on in his Red Wings career in the postseason and didn't win a Cup until year 12... but that's pretty much wishcasting at this point.

When you look at the D.C. sports landscape - it's pretty damn bleak - to have this one bit of actual competence flame out so badly in the spring every year...

Gee, it's almost as annoying as Black Friday or something...

BBT in Exile, Game 1 of ???

2011-05-02T00:17:00.008-04:00

We had 30 runners for the first BBT in Exile game.
So that was super great.

However, the freaking Caps lost in OT to go down to the Lightning 0-2, which took up most of my interest for the first half hour - and I did not play very well overall.

Never really had a stack, and when Jamyhawk opened the button with a big stack, I three-balled with fives from the SB - and when Lana reshoved from the big blind - well it's a great spot to make a move light - so I got dopey and called off over 40BB - and ran right into sixes for the super notch.

Board ran out low too, so I'm good v AK/AQ/random trash.
GG me, 23/30, I get pwned.

Anyway thanks to everyone that came out. Seemed like structure was about right - about three hours for 30 players, good without being too long

1 jamyhawk
2 NYRambler
3 SmBoatDrinks
4 yestbay1
5 PokerBrian22
6 HighOnPokr
7 NumbBono
8 mooninjune
9 CKBwop
10 princeharibo
11 md_joel
12 MiamiDon
13 on_thg
14 bayne_s
15 Katitude
16 FullHouse538
17 IAHawx985
18 texar
19 LunaPiena
20 BuddyDank
21 veryjosie
22 lightning36
23 heffmike
24 joanne1111
25 nonSensible
26 Mike_Maloney
27 Bone_Daddy84
28 xkm1245
29 the mortal 1
30 Julius_Goat

(let me know if I need to add/edit/take off a blog link as needed...)

If there's moderate interest, I will try and do this twice a month/every other week, and maybe play around with some odd structures and different games just to keep things interesting and sustain a little bit of blogger community through what looks to be a looooooong Dark Age of online poker.

I know NumbBono's working on some things, Grump's still got a private game, so does the PokerSlut series... there are ways to make this happen for the long term...

Oh, and yeah, the last part of the game got overshadowed by events.

It's important. I hate to soft pedal it, because I know it's so meaningful to a lot of people - but it would have been so much more important 7-8 years ago.

But there still are plenty of evildoers out there.
Smoking Osama doesn't make them all go away.
Channel Winston Wolfe - let's not go celebrating too soon yet.

But it is a good thing.

Come play tonight! - Home game on Stars...

2011-05-01T11:44:00.004-04:00

Well, today's the day - log in and join the home game club, and don't forget to actually register for the tourney once you join - it's a two step process.

Hope to see a bunch of you there... Hopefully I will have a lovely Caps victory to finish watching so I can change the counter in the right rail of the blog...

*****

The long story is here:

- Open the Stars main poker lobby, then click on the Home Games tab
- Click the 'Join a Poker Club' button
- Enter my Club ID number: 415619
- Enter my Invitation Code: wolverines

Sunday Sunday Sunday

2011-04-27T15:54:00.002-04:00

The long story is here, cliffs below:

- Open the Stars main poker lobby, then click on the Home Games tab
- Click the 'Join a Poker Club' button
- Enter my Club ID number: 415619
- Enter my Invitation Code: wolverines

You have to be registered to play.

So far we got two tables easy: I think we can double that easily by Sunday.

************

The home office is pleased that the Washington Capitals finally managed to win a series without going seven games - it would be nice to see this team again..

but whatever next round, 12 more wins please thank you.

I will have to ruminate some more on non-poker/hockey things when I have a moment.

Probably some profound observation on the Internet's power to isolate and connect.
Or a review of the clusterfuck that is Glee Season 2.

It's a tossup.

Let's all freaking play cards one time.....

2011-04-21T23:47:00.004-04:00

"Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. "

OK, here's what I figure.

What most of you really miss after Black Friday is sitting down and playing cards with each other.

Some of us played for fun, some for side money, some for an actual living... That's the big uberpicture, and it's being well covered in many, many places...

The smaller, Blogger Tourney picture - is that with all the tourneys people hosted over the years -

the WWdN,
the Mookie/Dank,
the MATH,
the Skillz game,
Riverchasers,
PokerSlut,
AIPS,
Friday Donkaments,
WPBTs,
BBTs,
VeryJosie,
Survivor Island, yadayadayada
(and sorry if I missed something!)

People were essentially playing for pocket change and entertainment.

It wasn't really about the money. It was about the play, the competition and the win.

While you can recreate a lot about online poker by going to play live, what you can't recreate is bringing everyone together from across the country in one virtual place at the drop of a hat.

So, just because the DoJ stopped everyone in the U.S. for doing it for money - doesn't mean you have to stop playing period.

I'm setting up a Home Game for play money on PokerStars.
I assume most of Blogger Nation has a Stars account.
You can still get a .net one if you don't.

There will be a tourney on Sunday night, May 1, at 9:30ET.

There is NO LEGAL DANGER for doing this.
No money is at stake.
Come out and play, or don't.
But I think by May, people will want to push some chips around and just see what's up with everyone else.

2000 chips/10 minute levels with standard Stars setup, so it'll be a decent structure without taking all night.

Let's just play some cards and have a few hours of fun.
There might be 3 players, there might be 30.

If it works out OK, maybe there will be some occasional tourneys that are something else besides unlimited hold them on Sundays. That's probably the best time of the week to do something like this, with no football/Sunday majors/like you're really watching Brothers & Sisters anyway you momo...

If not - we'll that's OK too.

I know it's hard to sit there and play for a couple hours with nothing but pride at stake.

I just figured that it's silly to just throw in the towel when there is an avenue for everyone to get together and play. While I doubt anything about online poker will be the same whenever it's legal for Americans to play for real $$ again, this is what we have right now.

It's a small gesture of civil disobedience. Club is named BBT in Exile.

*****
- Open the main poker lobby, then click on the Home Games tab
- Click the 'Join a Poker Club' button
- Enter my Club ID number: 415619
- Enter my Invitation Code: wolverines
*****

EDIT: Hey, since I don't know everyone's Stars' SNs, drop me a line if it's not something I'm going to recognize right away. heffmike at aol, send the email there.

Weekend and more De-Throning...

2011-04-18T08:16:00.003-04:00

Since there's nothing better to talk about at the moment, let's revisit our last little bit of glory - the De-Throning of VeryJosie, Part the Second!

Game 2

VJ gets out to a small lead early - then she opens 3x to 60, I flat with T8o.
Flop 997, two hearts, I check/call 80.
Turn Td, now two diamonds as well, I check/call 180.
River 4d, I check/tank call 300, see Ah5c, I win and take a 2-1 chip lead.

veryjosie: i am soooo on tilt
veryjosie raises to 80
heffmike: obv/
heffmike folds
Uncalled bet of 60 returned to veryjosie
veryjosie: lol
veryjosie shows [7c 2d] Seven Two high

She does know how to fill up, though

Seat 1: veryjosie (735)
Seat 2: heffmike (2,265)
heffmike posts the small blind of 15
veryjosie posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [8d Ad]
heffmike raises to 80
veryjosie calls 50
*** FLOP *** [Qc 4s 7d]
veryjosie checks
heffmike checks
*** TURN *** [Qc 4s 7d] [7c]
veryjosie checks
heffmike checks
*** RIVER *** [Qc 4s 7d 7c] [9s]
veryjosie bets 655, and is all in
heffmike has 15 seconds left to act
heffmike: I should call you with Ace high, but no easy chips.
heffmike folds
Uncalled bet of 655 returned to veryjosie
veryjosie shows [7h 9d] a full house, Sevens full of Nines
veryjosie wins the pot (160)

A little later, I open/limp 5s3s for 40 with a 3-1 chip lead. VJ raises to 120, I call.
Flop 432r, she jams 640 into a 240 pot. Even if she has an overpair, I have a lot of outs.
Bet sizing screams Ax more than a second-level bet for value.

I call, see AKo, I hold and win, and I'm up 2-0.
Took about twice as long as game 1, but I felt in control both times and was just riding the wave.

Game 3 was a hell of a lot more work and lasted over 30 minutes.

First hand, I limp the button, VJ raises, I fold, she shows AA.

Second hand, VJ raises her button, I fold, she shows 66.

Third hand, the one time I make a move all night:
I raise AJo to 50, she calls.
Flop Q66, two clubs, she donks 60 and I call.
Turn Ks, she checks, I check behind.
River 5c, completing the flush, she bets 60, I raise to 200, she calls with Qd2d and PWNS.

Fourth hand, VJ completes, I check A5o.
Flop AT5 with a heart draw, I bet 60, she calls.
Turn Jc, I bet 80 and she calls again,
River 9c for a backdoor flush, I check/call 80 and beat her QQ no club.

VJ turns on her boat switch later. She makes them twice and notches me, once when I have an underboat and the other with top pair - and I'm down almost 3-1 pretty quickly. I grind it back to even, then start falling behind again when I gambool silly...

VJ opens 3x to 150, I repop to 450 with KTo, VJ jams 1745 and obviously covers.
I figure I've got a 1/3 of the stack in already and with a 2-0 lead, it's gambool time.
Flop KT8.
Turn Ace
River blank. Now I'm up 5-1.

Of course it's not that simple.
Twice I get it in pre with overcards vs. her small pocket pairs and lose flips, but I still maintain a small chip lead until we get it in for the last time.

I openlimp to 60 with A8, VJ repops to 240, I decide to jam,and VJ tank calls off with 55.
I flop an Ace and fade the the two outer FTW.

***********

Looking back, man I was playing passive/trappy on purpose.

Limping a lot of buttons, keeping pots fairly small preflop, flatting preflop raises with a wide-ass range - then trying to play more postflop...

It wasn't really by design - well, not entirely.

But I do have a pretty good bead on VJ's play, recognized some tendencies over time... and adjusted what I normally do accordingly.

Anyhow, we were going to try another best-of-five sometime this week... but unless there's some other avenue for HU SnGs for free on the interwebz... so much for that.

***********

I did decide to have a last call/one more session Friday before all the doors slammed shut - burned up all my FTP points for $26 tokens (and a deck of cards, whee!) and jumped in a bunch of 90-mans and Rush MTTs. I ran into overpairs a couple of times - but I did manage to final table the last tourney I'll probably ever get to play on FTP, the ol' reliable 90-man $24+2.

I do my usual silly shit:

I jam A7s into an openlimped 44, board runs T85T8 and I counterfeit on the river.
I jam KTs into the same guy openlimping A2s, board runs J95AQ and I spike the river again.
I jam QTs into 22 and AK, board runs AJ5K5 - and I'm a genius again.
On the final table bubble I call off to a 10BB shove with ATs and hold vs. KQo

I hit the FT 3rd in chips with 20BB.
Nothing happens until we're five-handed, I shove 8BB with K8, get called by A7 and make trip eights.
I'm jamming a lot, so when the button opens four handed, I have an easy 25BB reshove with AKs - he tank calls with AQo and suddenly I've got the chip lead with a little under half the chips in play.

So of course I finally quit hitting everything.
KT vs. a shorty KJ.
99 vs. AQ
I jams 15BB BvB with A2 and run into A7 - and that's that.

4th/90 for $190 more I won't see until the DoJ figures out what it wants to do...

Microcosm of the overall run online run for me.

I only get deep when I spew and donk around early and hit - but I play really well with shallow stacks near bubbles - and naturally, when I'm close enough to get the W that's when I quit spiking everything and miss the big pay bumps.

So it's fitting I close this poker chapter this way - consistently profitable, but never making a really big score.

************

This blog won't go dark - although there will be less to talk about obviously, there still are some loose ends...

- Caps playoff run, of course... 2 down, 14 to go...

- Hey, I still need a new job - the old one is extended until the end of June, but the half-life is rapidly fading on it.

- Maybe some live play to talk about - although I was going to do it out of the online roll, so we'll see how that will work out in the near future...

Regardless of what happens with the future of online poker - the sad thing is, good luck finding a low or mid-stakes live game that's NOT unlimited hold them - or finding a quick one-table SnG - or playing a friendly blogger game like smboatdrink's 10-game tourney.

All those type of things are going by the boards without some kind of virtual poker room to support it.

Maybe if something was organized as a free home game on one of the sites for teh bloggerz - but somehow I don't think that would fly longterm - it's not really poker if there's not money at stake, even if it's only a five spot.

Just keep up with the smart bloggers and posters out there, and we'll all see what transpires...

Iike a dinosaur watching the asteroid hit.

2011-04-15T16:37:00.005-04:00

Could be worse, I suppose.

I don't make a living at this, and I have mobney stuck on the sites rather than in payment processor limbo.

However, I would have liked to have an offline roll - I've got enough online poker-only mobney to play indefinitely live, but that's what I get for being slack in 2011 and not pulling it off sooner. Who knows when/if it'll ever be freed up or not.

I guess this means I'm not playing the Ante Up PLO tourney tomorrow.

At least I'll have some more free time now.

EDIT: just read this and sit tight. Nothing else to do at the moment. Nothing else you can do.

The De-Throning, Part The First:

2011-04-15T11:49:00.001-04:00

So VeryJosie and I are playing 1500 starting stacks, starting at 10/20.

Very first hand, I limp the suited Grump (4s2s) on the button, VJ raises to 80, I call.
Flop A82 with two clubs, she donks 1/2 pot, I call.
Turn another deuce. She checks, I bet 240 into the 320 pot, she folds, I show.

We're off and running now.

VJ opens 3x to 60, I flat with das Hämmerchen (72o)
Flop 743 with club draw, I check/call 80.
Turn 8, it checks through.
River 2, I donk 1/2 pot, she folds what she says is AKs, I show.

So I'm playing fairly wide open and free, obviously.

VJ opens 3x to 60 again, I repop to 225 with AQo, she folds.

I'm up 1800 to 1200 when she opens her button again 3x to 60.
I repop again to 225, this time with TT.
She types grrrr in the chat and flats.
I don't really like that. Probably walking into a big hand.

Flop T53 with a spade draw. I can like that.

I check, she bets 120 into the 450 pot - sketchy, like it's meant to induce.
I can either jam or just reraise - trying to figure out what gets the rest in better.
I reraise to 450. VJ tank jams for 975 total, and I hold vs. her KK no spade for the 1-0 lead.
Spade draw with the 2s got there on the river, so my other likely semibluffs would've hit as well.

Only 20 hands, one level of play.
Six minutes, Doug E. Fresh, you're on.

Of course, I basically coolered VJ with a two outer to win Game 1.
If the flop comes all undercards, I certainly double her up.
I probably get away on a rainbow flop with a couple of overcards.

But that's poker. 60BB on the flop with an overpair should be good more often than not HU.

Heff 1, VJ 0.

Sweep the leg, and everything else of Joe C's

2011-04-14T23:07:00.002-04:00

Ah, what a glorious night.

New Office and Parks and Rec episodes. Caps won Game 1 Wednesday night.

And then I get the email I was waiting for.

VeryJosie wants to go best-of-5 in a HU series.
I offered the challenge after her post about pwning Jordan earlier Thursday.
Woot.

Game 1- Heff
Game 2- Heff
Game 3- Heff.

Games 4 and 5, not necessary....

SWEEP!

I'll post some hands over the next five days - because VJ owes me a link every day, bitches.

So she's not a Terminator after all.

The rest of you guys can thank me now for revealing the wizard behind the curtain.

To be fair, she played well. Definitely a dangerous HU player.

But I played and hit better. Dangerous combination. That'll happen.

Winz at Grumps....

2011-04-09T00:22:00.006-04:00

So there was a very late email about a quickie $3.30 Stars home game Grump was putting together - since I was watching the baby while all sorts of other stuff was going on around the house on a Friday night - sure, why not?

A good mix of nine players, including cardgrrl, Goat, Captain, and Boat - which meant the prize pool was winner-take-all for the top 10% - and that happened to be me. I got HU with Grump down 2-1 and hit enough hands and boards to grind out a solid W.

I hit so many 40/60 hands with live cards it wasn't even funny.

***

Rereading all the recap Donkey Island posts, including Jamyhawk's Hoy-length review... It pains me to say this, but Hoy's analysis is the most spot on -

"Josie undeniably played a great game, but this shit was also handed to her. Absolutely handed to her. I mean, not literally handed to her. But the Donkeys had Josie and the entire Fish team dead to rights, and then they fucked it up. They made a terrible decision like four straight weeks, and just stood there and let Josie's rise to power be consummated."

I'm still not sure why Jamy and Jordan decided to reach out for a cross alliance to VJ in the first place - WHEN SHE NEEDED THE HELP A LOT MORE THAN THEY DID - and then decided to tell us Donkeys about it to boot. Did you think we were just going to let that happen, instead of making the logical connections and start to cut you off pre-emptively?

To fill in some knowledge gaps for the record beyond this post:

- I had already decided to be Goat's humble servant from the get-go, way before anyone else even asked, for a lot of reasons. You have to trust someone - I decided it was him. Maybe he was going to screw me in the end - it's certainly possible, although I'm pretty sure we had a solid working relationship. Everyone else I talked to, I basically told them what I thought they needed to know.

I didn't really have a Plan B, and after the Donkeys got out to a big advantage in team play, I didn't bother to find one. I never watched Survivor and don't have patience for all this alliance building and breaking everyone else loves. I picked a horse and strategy and was going to ride it into the ground - way too simple, I know.

- In retrospect, we should have realized that Jordan would have reacted a lot better to clipping Jamy than the other way around. We had to stop this cross-team alliance momentum while we could, figured Jordan was a more dangerous organizer and plotter - and it looks like we came pretty close to pulling it off. But, I think Jordan would have realized the overall danger of working with VJ and the Fish and figured out another way to make things happen within the team of Donkeys.
Instead, Jamy basically gave VJ free reign to use him to flip the power structure to the Fish and take us all out. She's too nice to say so, but there's really no way she wins anything in Survivor without that gift.

- Once Goat got voted off, it was pretty obvious I was a dead man walking b/c I really had nothing to offer to VJ (she already had her people lined up) and I was not about to listen to anything Jamy had to say (b/c there was no way I was going to trust his decision making).

Still, it was strange because the night Jamy got voted off, because both VJ and Jamy were IMing me at the same time asking for my vote. Of course I amused myself stringing them both along until it was obvious my vote didn't matter - but the fact that VJ worked so hard to get my vote when she had to know that she really didn't need it - told me she wasn't missing any angles in this competition.

So it was just a matter of time - by then my only hope was to manufacture a tie vote and get to play my way on or off the island - but I couldn't manage that. Still fun, though. You got to learn a lot about other people's thought process, and I got tighter with some blogger players as a result. Plus, I spewed back close to $200 with all the Mookie bounties I offered during the series, so at least I made it rain for everyone else and paid it forward.

If I do it again, maybe I'll try to actually "play" the Survivor game - but to be honest I'd probably just duck my head, try to winz as much as I can, and finish in the middle of the pack again.

Oh and to complete a lingering question from the other night - the Heff is..

*half-Okinawan (hello Miyagi-san! - Mom grew up on the island. Not really Japanese, Okinawans have an odd relationship with their bigger Northern neighbor that annexed them way back in the 19th century.)

*half-Eastern European Slav (Austrian, I think, or maybe further east than that. Pop's family came over around 1900 - very Eastern Orthodox, so they know about pierogis, kolackies, Easter bread and what not. Pop grew up a few clicks from Apalachin in a heavily Italian town and remembers that infamous 1957 mob raid.)

So that's that. Half grinder bee, half crasian gambool. Figures.

Spew times two. Boo (hey, that rhymes!)

2011-04-06T22:59:00.002-04:00

So let's see, that was a night of running into the nits... POOF!

Spew around in the VeryJosie for a half hour until I hit AQs in back to back hands.

Texar opens 2.5BB in the cutoff, I jam 20BB, he snaps with AKs.
ATT flop, 6 turn, Q river. Yeah, I'm really good.

Next hand, BamBam opens for pot, I reraise in position to 960, he flats.
Flop A65 with a diamond draw...

BamBamCan checks
heffmike bets 2,140, and is all in
BamBamCan: folding slick heff
BamBamCan folds
Uncalled bet of 2,140 returned to heffmike
heffmike wins the pot (2,040)

So apparently I dodge a bullet twice. Unreal.

So when this happens... well, poker>karma>instant, you know.

EP limper for 40, texar raises 3x to 240 from the SB, I threeball with AKs to 975, limper folds, texar FLATS.
Flop QT6r, texar jams for LESS THAN POT, I snap, I see AJs.
running hearts for the nut flush, I loser... :-(

and then of course, I get slowrolled by JOELPOKERGOD when I openshove 13BB from the cutoff with KK and he does his standard tank douche move with a big covering stack...

Dealer: heffmike raises to 1,360, and is all in
Dealer: wolfshead folds
Dealer: 1racerx folds
JOELPOKERGOD: gl mike
JOELPOKERGOD: think im calling for the 2$
JOELPOKERGOD has 15 seconds left to act
JOELPOKERGOD calls 1,260
Dealer: heffmike shows [Kh Kc]
Dealer: JOELPOKERGOD shows [Ad 7d]

Dealer: The flop is [Th Jd Kd]
Dealer: The turn is [4d]
Dealer: The river is [As]
Dealer: heffmike shows three of a kind, Kings
Dealer: JOELPOKERGOD shows a flush, Ace high

JOELPOKERGOD: bounty game is why i called sir
heffmike (Observer): whatever. you were calling anyway don't try to make it out like that.
heffmike (Observer): but nice slowroll.
JOELPOKERGOD: i dint slow roll did i?
JOELPOKERGOD: i acutally have an once of respect for mike
heffmike (Observer): uh, you always slowroll people. It's what you do. no surprise.
JOELPOKERGOD: i called in 3 secs
JOELPOKERGOD: and told u i was calling

So anyway, 12/17. Karma's a bitch during the long run.
Given I burned up two lives early to survive, it all balanced out...

Meanwhile in the Dank, I got ate up in another NIT spot.
Although honestly, I probably wouldn't bet/fold here either.
However, in real life, I can beat an overpair here every time, or at worst have a 50/50 to get there.

Full Tilt Poker Game #29690015526: The Dank (230456659), Table 2 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:32:49 ET - 2011/04/06
Seat 1: heffmike (3,725)
Seat 2: muhctim (2,425)
Seat 3: Joanne1111 (2,830)
Seat 4: jimdniacc (3,165)
Seat 7: xkm1245 (2,280)
Seat 8: MiamiDon (3,295)
Seat 9: AgSweep (3,280)
muhctim posts the small blind of 30
Joanne1111 posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [Ac Tc]
jimdniacc has 15 seconds left to act
jimdniacc calls 60
xkm1245 folds
MiamiDon folds
AgSweep raises to 180
heffmike calls 180
muhctim has 15 seconds left to act
muhctim folds
Joanne1111 folds
jimdniacc calls 120
*** FLOP *** [8c 4h 7c]
jimdniacc has 15 seconds left to act
jimdniacc checks
AgSweep bets 660
heffmike has 15 seconds left to act
heffmike raises to 2,000
jimdniacc has 15 seconds left to act
jimdniacc folds
AgSweep raises to 3,100, and is all in
heffmike calls 1,100
AgSweep shows [Kd Kc]
heffmike shows [Ac Tc]
*** TURN *** [8c 4h 7c] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [8c 4h 7c 6h] [Td]
AgSweep shows a pair of Kings
heffmike shows a pair of Tens
AgSweep wins the pot (6,830) with a pair of Kings
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6,830 | Rake 0
Board: [8c 4h 7c 6h Td]
Seat 1: heffmike (button) showed [Ac Tc] and lost with a pair of Tens
Seat 2: muhctim (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Joanne1111 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: jimdniacc folded on the Flop
Seat 7: xkm1245 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: MiamiDon didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: AgSweep showed [Kd Kc] and won (6,830) with a pair of Kings

Earlier villain check/called the nizzles HU on the turn to me BvB, so I was really certain my Ace was a clean out, oddly enough.

OK, I'm a moron. Seriously.

Anyway, who cares, I got PWNED again, 19/20.
Basically a waste of $22 and 90 minutes.

cruising.

2011-04-05T23:55:00.002-04:00

Played SmBoatDrinks 10-game tourney last night.
I miss the old Skillz Series, at least this fills the gap...

Ran OK, went runner runner on VJ in NLHE as a short stack after I called off with no pair/no kicker to stay alive early on.
People obviously forgot I play O8 like it's my job, that's where I got most of my chips.

Again, I build up a big ass stack as we get to HU play, a nice 3-1 chip lead.
And I lost to wolfshead. 2/9.

Went through five rotations, so we played for like 30 minutes.
I probably let up too easy in Stud/8 and didn't force the action enough - and just got pummeled in 2-7 TD.

To be honest, I'm a lot torked right now.

Bottom line, I should not be losing a mixed game HU with that much of a chip lead, period.
I don't care how high the blinds are or who I'm playing.

But, at least I cashed in a blogger game on FTP for the first time in a month, so that's nice.

Although, if I'm this annoyed, I obviously don't do this for the mobneys.

Wednesday is VJ/Dank time? Fun. Maybe BBT6 info will be revealed.
Too many hints in the air for the details not to drop soon.

Oh, one last game for the day.
Questions about my background came up in chat last night.

Yeah, I'm a half and half mongrel. Guesses on the halves in the comments, please!

The wife is Irish/Italian, btw. Explains the red hair and hot temper....

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 15 - Finale

2011-04-04T02:23:00.004-04:00

Why dime rebuys are LOL - I win the first hand calling a shove with J4 v. 84 and doubled thru.
I keep doubling with QJs, A6o, and QQ, all in the first orbit, and get up to 23K just like that. So once you've got that kind of stack, you really don't want to punt it against other big stacks - you'd rather just keep pecking away at the double rebuys 2K at a time. But no, that's not how a dime rebuy works, obviously... :-)

I basically lose it all getting it in good in multiway pots with AT, AK, and JJ, the last in a nine way allin.. Meanwhile I keep folding good stuff (for rebuys) like A6s and A9o against multiple shoves like a dummy and watch the nizzles get made without me.

So I actually did start rebuying in Level 3 after going busto and played the way I'm supposed to play a rebuy.

Of course, after the break I actually ended up winning big four way allins with JJ and KK and made it back to 30K to be 3/18 once the rebuy period ended. But when BrainMC has 130K - well, who cares about my stack.

I only was in for 70 cents, though, so it wasn't that bad. But this sure was a tourney that could have used the AlCan'tHang free mobneys from FTP - which dried up as soon as he got voted off and the Sunday tournaments started changing formats.. :-(

Later I got coolered with the second nut flush vs the nuts and should have resisted raising Muhctim's donkbet for pot on the river and saved 5K in chips. It's hard to stop going for thin value when you have 400BB behind.

Nothing good really happened to me after that. Numb decided to keep flatting me and screwing around with a big stack in spots where even if I'm good I'm ridiculously vulnerable. I spiraled down pretty quickly to 10K at 150/300, I restole KJ into JJ BvB for 25 BB like a momo, basically played like shit and bounced 14/18.

Which is a stupid, lame way to be done with the Survivor series - but for under a dollar buyin and less than $20 for first, I did not want to fuck around all night at this. I still played pretty bad regardless. Plus I owe at least $10 in a Brain vs. the field bet I made at the second break to jamyhawk and gpjacobs. I run horrid at prop bets.

Oh, yeah, so Boat won the last longer for 40% and VJ wins voting for the other 60% of the prize pool, almost $200. That seems about right...

I did remember to play PokerSlut and finished 2/7 in the razz tourney. I had a ton of chips and then got pwned HU by Gadzooks. I played way too loose and she kept catching every hand when I decided to look her up. So I got steamrolled as bad as you can get in HU Razz.

After all of that, I got my ass handed to me for a while in SnGs- bubbled 2-3 in a row- but then finally broke through with a 1st/3rd/3rd in a quick PLO8 set for +$150. So maybe I am finally breaking the seal on a shitty March and will enjoy April a lot more.

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 14

2011-03-31T01:03:00.000-04:00

I actually ran OK early on at the Dank. Got in with jackace vs. Rakewell's AT on a A789 board with three clubs (no club in either hand) and held, then kept spiking turns vs. VJ when she kept playing Qx to my raises with AK and flopping top pair on dangerous boards.

Got up to 6K by the first break and kept sailing in hour two. Made some good reraises to get laydowns, held up with a flopped top two vs. a six-high flush draw and hit a 10K stack first for the chip lead.

Then the bottom started to fall out.

I openraise 66 on button to 975 with that 10K stack at 120/240/25, VJ jams for 1660 from the SB, and Numbbono finds a fold with AT and a 4K stack.

I'm up against VJ's 88, there's Ace on flop, and I drop back to 8K. Of course, if Numb has a little testosterone here, he rejams given our ranges to isolate and bounces Joe C out.

So Numb should get an extra special TY from VJ, since that helped her run deep enough to get immunity and take smboatdrinks with her to the Sunday final. As it was, with muhctim going out first, that was probably a given anyway...

Back to my silliness -

*openraise KQs, get shoved on with 55 for 10BB, can't get there, down to 5K
*run AK into KK for 7BB. down to 3500. I hit second break with just under a starting stack, 11/13.
*roached for a while, jammed a lot of hands, including the hammer, and made the final table. whee.
*got myself back up to an average stack seven handed... and then I bubbled.

Rejammed A7s for 13BB over a 4BB open, 23Warsaw/skidoo decided to call off half his stack with 66 from the big blind and flop a set.

I had third best hand anyway by the river. 5/35. BOOOOOOO.

By the way, who's idea was it to make me Hevad "BULLDOZER" Khan in the tribute video? At least get a Plankton vid to add to it, le sigh....

Roto Baseball! (non poker content)

2011-03-28T23:14:00.005-04:00

So, another baseball season approaches, and the only way I can keep myself interested in fantasy baseball is to do yet another all-Latin team.

Latest draft was Monday night - and of course I get the ass end of the snake draft in a nine team league...

9 Evan Longoria, TB 3B (U.S-Mexico)
10 Adrian Gonzalez, Bos 1B (U.S-Mexico)
27 Jose Reyes, NYM SS (Dominican Republic)
28 Dustin Pedroia, Bos 2B (U.S.-Portuguese)
45 Ubaldo Jimenez, Col SP (Dominican Republic)
46 Alex Rios, CWS OF (U.S.-Puerto Rico)
63 Yovani Gallardo, Mil SP (Mexico)
64 Neftali Feliz, Tex RP (Dominican Republic)
81 Carlos Santana, Cle C (Dominican Republic)
82 Elvis Andrus, Tex SS (Venezuela)
99 Francisco Rodriguez, NYM RP (Venezuela)
100 Pedro Alvarez, Pit 3B (Dominican Republic)
117 Jonathan Sanchez, SF SP (Puerto Rico)
118 Aroldis Chapman, Cin RP (Cuba)
135 Bobby Abreu, LAA OF (Venezuela)
136 Angel Pagan, NYM OF (Puerto Rico)
153 Edinson Volquez, Cin SP (Dominican Republic)
154 Andres Torres, SF OF (Puerto Rico)
171 Carlos Beltran, NYM OF (Puerto Rico)
172 Jose Contreras, Phi RP (Cuba)
189 Alfonso Soriano, ChC OF (Dominican Republic)
190 Fernando Rodney, LAA RP (Dominican Republic)
207 Brian Fuentes, Oak RP (U.S.-Mexico)
208 Michael Pineda, Sea SP
225 Jose Tabata, Pit OF (Venezuela)
226 Edwin Encarnacion, Tor 3B (Dominican Republic)

I actually like this team a lot. Infield is diesel - OF is old and weak - but I think there's some nice pitching - and in a nine-team league, I've got a lot more waiver options to shuffle around than in a standard size league.

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 13: Badugi!

2011-03-27T22:30:00.003-04:00

Well, this one will be brief.

I won the first hand of Badugi vs VeryJosie (those ten-high pat Badugis are death) and scooped a pretty decent pot, got myself almost over 2K in chips right off the bat.

I never won anything but the blinds after that.

CK raises a KQ Badugi from the blinds, and I can't make a 5 draw with multiple shots at it.
I raise a 9 Badugi, VJ notches it on the third draw after taking three shots at getting there OOP.

That kind of night. 14/22.

Fun railing the VJ/xkm HU match for survival after Rambler decided to make every four-card hand known to man to winz the tourney.

T3 is the FREAKING NIZZLES when it flops two pair and cracks AA for like 30BB.
Go Go Joe C. :-)

(In case it's not clear - we approve this play here - I have much love for junk cracking overpairs for over 20BB!)

Looking at the stat page, I should have known that I would give myself the reverse mojo once I started tracking it.. No mobneys for a while... :-(

AIPS Saturday was just as much of a disaster - 20/45 or something like that. Ran into monsters every time I played a big pot.

I actually made a little bit of money on real SnGs/MTTs/tables over the last few days, but I'm still flailing around. Everything is a struggle right now, which is standard this time of year. It seems like I run well in Jan/Feb and always hit a wall/valley in March.

But I'm having fun nevertheless.

hey hey CAA

2011-03-27T16:44:00.002-04:00

from the 17th:

"I do have a good feeling about the Commonwealth's entries, though - between George Mason, VCU and ODU, there's a Sweet Sixteen flyer in there somewhere for Virginia. "

Of course, even I wasn't thinking about another Final Four run for the CAA.
But hey, there it is.

Best part is all the point/counterpoint flying around the 'Net relating to college football and the BCS/bowl system vs. a playoff bracket.

No, Butler and VCU are not the best teams out there and would never even sniff any reasonable football-style bracket. But hey, they make compelling storylines...

Yay Badugi tonite for Survivor.
Anything that makes all the NLHE players squirrelly I likes...
Will try to hit the 8-game PokerSlut tourney as well.

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 12 (DANK!)

2011-03-24T00:41:00.005-04:00

Lessons learned from the Inaugural Dank.

1) Joe C plays great:

IAHawx985 raises 3X UTG at 25/50.
VJ reraises from MP to 400, Both have 3100 stacks.
All fold, IAHawx986 repops to 1000, Joe C flats in position.

Flop 772r. IAHawx985 bets half his stack, VJ jams, and a snapcall.
VJ's JJ spikes the turn vs. IAHawx985's QQ. Double up on a two outer.

I like you, VJ, but geez, the entire freaking table could have told you JJ was no goot.
For someone who acted like they had to win immunity to survive, that was pretty light.
Well, until the turn, anyway.

2) I spew easier than I thought:

I ran into two weird spots where I bet or raised the river really thin with two scut pairs, got shoved into, and figured there was no way I was good - and spewed off a lot of chips. In between I kept getting it in preflop on 80/20s and doubling up, before I boned VJ with this one...

Full Tilt Poker Game #29292215107: The Dank (226599650), Table 1 - 100/200 - No Limit
Hold'em - 23:29:42 ET - 2011/03/23
Seat 2: gpjacobs (2,850)
Seat 4: BrainMc (2,425)
Seat 5: neophyte17 (10,110)
Seat 6: Julius_Goat (11,070)
Seat 7: heffmike (5,260)
Seat 8: hoyazo (4,320)
Seat 9: veryjosie (5,700)
veryjosie: wow
Julius_Goat posts the small blind of 100
heffmike posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [5s As]
veryjosie: gg brain
hoyazo folds
veryjosie raises to 600
Julius_Goat: brain is still in
gpjacobs folds
veryjosie: lol oh
BrainMc folds
neophyte17 folds
veryjosie: nevah mind
Julius_Goat calls 500
heffmike has 15 seconds left to act
heffmike calls 400
*** FLOP *** [9s 9c 6s]
Julius_Goat has 15 seconds left to act
Julius_Goat: but a samurai must always live with the knowledge that he is already dead
Julius_Goat checks
veryjosie: lol
veryjosie: a goat too
heffmike has 15 seconds left to act
BrainMc: are you calling me tom cruise
heffmike: I've worried about that for years'
heffmike checks
Julius_Goat: I am long dead
veryjosie bets 1,800
Julius_Goat has 15 seconds left to act
Julius_Goat: eaten by lambs and pecked by the dove
Julius_Goat folds
heffmike raises to 4,660, and is all in
veryjosie calls 2,860
heffmike shows [5s As]
veryjosie shows [8c 8s]
*** TURN *** [9s 9c 6s] [Th]
*** RIVER *** [9s 9c 6s Th] [4s]
heffmike shows a flush, Ace high
veryjosie shows two pair, Nines and Eights
heffmike wins the pot (11,120) with a flush, Ace high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 11,120 | Rake 0
Board: [9s 9c 6s Th 4s]
Seat 2: gpjacobs didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: BrainMc didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: neophyte17 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: Julius_Goat (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: heffmike (big blind) showed [5s As] and won (11,120) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 8: hoyazo didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: veryjosie showed [8c 8s] and lost with two pair, Nines and Eights

Of course, I start on the downswing soon enough - I button raise/call off to Waffles' 10BB jam with 99, see his KK... and then watch a K9x flop. Whee.

Very dreary after that:
*I somehow make the final table:
*I pay off a 5BB shove from Turtle with A2c and don't get there v AKo. Shocking.
*I shove AQs over an open jam with K2s and lose to a rivered deuce.
*I end up jamming 6BB into Hoy's UTG open from the big blind with KQs and see AA. So boring and trivial.

8/26. So I final tabled, but I don't even think I did anything notable or interesting - other than make river raises for what I thought were for value - and then be jammed into and have to fold.

Note to myself - don't that in the future.

And Turtle loses a tight 3-2 vote to be bounced off the Island.
So credit to muchtim to leveraging the advantage Bayne pointed out and sticking around.
He's the only Donk to get deep. So I guess it worked out for him... :-)

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 11

2011-03-20T23:07:00.003-04:00

I winz PLO8 PokerSlut tourney - only 4 players though. Cmon, there's at least 20+ people in the home game group.

Maybe the Stars switch, the new HomeGame setup, and dropping the buy-in down to $1.10 makes a difference. I'd like to see the series weather the turbulence and build back up. But yay $3 profit nevertheless.

Donk Island was only a turbo, not a pushfest. Which is a shame, because coolers, setups, and binked river cards were outFUCKINGstanding. I can only imagine it would have been even sillier with 300 chip stacks.

So I just watched TBA bink every pot against everyone else, but I kept winning pots off of him, including calling him down with 5th pair FTW.

Then I tried to flip with BuddyDank with AK, which was a bad idea, since he made quads. He's good at that, it seems. And then, I punted a stack with this:

Full Tilt Poker Game #29206014938: Survive Donkey Island Event #11 (226093186), Table 2 - 60/120 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:49:15 ET - 2011/03/20
Seat 1: twoblackaces (4,575)
Seat 2: SmBoatDrinks (1,615)
Seat 3: lightning36 (1,525)
Seat 4: BrainMc (2,275)
Seat 7: heffmike (1,410)
Seat 8: xkm1245 (1,315)
Seat 9: BuddyDank (2,440)
BrainMc posts the small blind of 60
heffmike posts the big blind of 120
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [Qs Qc]
xkm1245 raises to 1,315, and is all in
BuddyDank folds
twoblackaces folds
SmBoatDrinks raises to 1,615, and is all in
lightning36 calls 1,525, and is all in
BrainMc folds
heffmike has 15 seconds left to act
heffmike: not folding this. maybe I hit a Q.
heffmike calls 1,290, and is all in
SmBoatDrinks shows [Kd Ah]
lightning36 shows [Ac Ad]
heffmike shows [Qs Qc]
xkm1245 shows [Qd Qh]
Uncalled bet of 90 returned to SmBoatDrinks
*** FLOP *** [6c 3c Kc]
*** TURN *** [6c 3c Kc] [9d]
*** RIVER *** [6c 3c Kc 9d] [2s]
SmBoatDrinks shows a pair of Kings
lightning36 shows a pair of Aces
lightning36 wins side pot #2 (230) with a pair of Aces
heffmike shows a pair of Queens
lightning36 wins side pot #1 (285) with a pair of Aces
xkm1245 shows a pair of Queens
lightning36 wins the main pot (5,320) with a pair of Aces
heffmike: boo
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5,835 Main pot 5,320. Side pot 1 285. Side pot 2 230. | Rake 0
Board: [6c 3c Kc 9d 2s]
Seat 1: twoblackaces didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: SmBoatDrinks showed [Kd Ah] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 3: lightning36 (button) showed [Ac Ad] and won (5,835) with a pair of Aces
Seat 4: BrainMc (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: heffmike (big blind) showed [Qs Qc] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 8: xkm1245 showed [Qd Qh] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 9: BuddyDank didn't bet (folded)

Honestly, I should fold this with three allins in front of me, even with 10BB.
But, it's a turbo and I said fuck it.
Stupid. I'm running into KK/AA here every freaking time.
For a second there I though I could fourflush FTW until I saw Lightning's Ac.
14/20. I've not been running well here lately.

But nice for a Survivor series tourney to last under an hour one time.

Somewhat surprising that there was a 3-3 voting tie with SmBoatDrinks and BrainMc, so there will be a HU match Monday night to bounce the next Survivor.

Afterwards I sat around in a $5 PLO8 blogger table for a little bit, made some minor coin while watching the end of the NCAA's.

Go Richmond/VCU. Potentially most hilarious Elite Eight matchup ever.

Outside of Mason's vivisection by OSU, and Hampton being the #16 sacrifice to Duke, Commonwealth teams represented nicely...

I go back to the old job tomorrow. Should be interesting...

Weekend update...

2011-03-20T09:46:00.003-04:00

* Well, if not for a Butler tip-in, those Virginia teams from the CAA would've been 3-0 in the 1st(2nd) round - and of course, I forgot to mention former CAA member Richmond, who actually did make the Sweet 16 yesterday. I still have a good feeling about Mason or VCU today. There's some decent hoops played in this state - too bad James Madison isn't one of those schools :-(

* Will try to remember to play the PokerSlut Home Game on Stars tonight (PLO8, why not?) and I think this is the night of the Survivor SuperTurbo pushfest - so at least the tourney shouldn't take that long to play out for once.

* In Real Life: So apparently I was just on a paid furlough for a week.

Work decided that they laid off too many people after all and asked some of us back for six more weeks until May to transition/turn out the lights. So why not? More $$$ and more time to figure out what the next move is. At some point I'll amuse with more detail, but that's the jist of it for now.

At least I can search in a more deliberate fashion, and the resume is in refined shape now for the ongoing quest - or some other fancy turn of the phrase I can invent out of thin air.

Cheers.

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 10 (bye!)

2011-03-17T08:41:00.006-04:00

My back is killing me, and I'm feeling a bit sick and salty. Ugh.

Played the opener of AIPS VI last night. Freaking Stud. I hate stud. Invitation for every momo to sit there with trash and try to spike running cards on sixth and seventh b/c they think they're priced in, even when they aren't. Got in a bad mood and made it worse my spewing off my stack and finishing 40/45.

Moo(yournamehere)kie was a wonderment of getting raised on the turn or river when I'm holding a polarized bluffcatcher every freaking time - and realizing villains were more likely going for value instead of bluffing. Anyway, I jammed 15BB on a flip and lost it to bounce 21/29.

And apparently I got voted off last night. (guessing from emails and posts - I was so tired I fell asleep at 11:30). Which I could see coming a mile away.

****

I seriously doubt I'm screwing up anyone's future plans by stating the obvious. Goat already did. and it didn't change anything. Whatever is in motion is already set, I'm certain.

Team Donkey had everything worked out with a nice 7-4 advantage until VeryJosie started sniffing around looking for post-merge alliances. It was a smart move that really shouldn't have worked, but it Jedi Mind Trick'd everyone.

I'll admit fault here - it was easy for Goat and I to believe that Jordan and Jamyhawk would go off with VJ and do their own thing. I was not the best consigliere, obviously.

That triggered the whole Jordan/Goat fiasco where somehow it became more important to plan three, four steps ahead instead of just taking out one Fish at a time.

Goat leaving was the turning point. If he survives that vote, all of us Donkeys should have been home free and the game completely changes.

Even then, things weren't over yet - I actually tried to rally everyone around a simple team line vote once we got down to 5-4 - but Kat didn't play or vote that night, and Jamyhawk outsmarted himself by playing both sides of the street to try and prolong his stay - and got himself voted off a lot faster as a result. More Joe C genius.

Basically, no one on Team Donkey is going to get any further than they would have if we all would have just stuck together, voted off all the Fish, and then let everything rip - if that's wrong, then BrainMc and muhctim are crafty supergeniuses. What was the point of team play if we were going to just piss away our substantial advantage to begin with?

It's instructive that outside of VJ, no one else still left in this game has hardly blogged about anything Survivor-related. Which makes for very little buzz, but is probably best from a strategic standpoint to have a information blackout.

Anyway, much like Captain Ramius, it's likely VeryJosie has already figured out how to get the crew/donks off the boat and take this Team Fish ship into port FTW. There may be more palace intrigue, but probably not until we get down to 4 players. I think all of us in the game would be surprised if any other scenario played out.

I suspect once it's said and done, it will be revealed to be a lot simpler and easier than anyone thought. Of course, I'm certainly missing some vital intel, but still, it couldn't have been that complicated. She's a wizard. Or a Terminator, I can't decide which... There were two people I figured were dangerous in this game. VeryJosie's proven that half of the analysis was way good.

I second everyone's overall reaction to Donkey Island - freaking supergenius concept. I'd do it again, but next time around there really should be 16 new players - at least I hope so. It's too silly and fun an idea to pass up.

****

I still owe some $20 bonuses for the leaders at the break. I'll get those out later today.
But that's the end of the Heff superbounty for the moment.
Only goot while I'm still on the Island.

I swear I've been so freaking tired and distracted lately it's hard to find time for a decent session.
I need to get back to playing non-blogger tourneys and make some money.

Well, I need to get a job too. Priorities, of course.

But, I do get to sit at home with BabyGirlHeff today and watch the NCAAs.
Which is silly, since I haven't watched college basketball all year.

I do have a good feeling about the Commonwealth's entries, though - between George Mason, VCU and ODU, there's a Sweet Sixteen flyer in there somewhere for Virginia. Yeah, I know that would involve a #1 seed going out this weekend. Just a hunch....

My hand is dead, I guess.

2011-03-15T09:27:00.003-04:00

So, the angleshot story.

I head out to the local bar where I've played a lot of free bar poker, but haven't been at all in the last year because my Sunday work schedule conflicted. But, I'm free now...

I build up from a 7K starting stack to over 20K pretty quickly, but then start running into AK every time I open raise and keep having to lay down hands. So I'm down to 12K by the time we get to the 400/800 level.

Villain is the type of mid-40s guy you know plays a lot without really being any good. Knows his way around the game and table, but usually manages to go broke with top pair/overpair. He opens to 2K from EP, and he's clear at the other end of the table from me. I have AQs on the button and a pretty easy reshove for 15BB, blinds fold, and he says, "That's a big overbet.." as he starts to move his cards forward.

So I try to cut him some slack and roll over my hand and do a friendly show - because he's obviously snapping me off with a better hand - only he hasn't folded yet.

Soon there's a cry for "floor" (or host, whatever you get in these games) and sure enough, villain wants my hand killed because I exposed my cards.

Now, I know this is pretty much my fault, because I'm the one that tried to be nice and show.

I wasn't going to make a big deal about whatever the host ruled - my default attitude in sticky spots like this is punish the person that screwed up first, namely me.

But, to be honest, what should really happen is my cards stay face up, villain gets to do whatever he wants, call or fold, hand plays out, then I go sit out for an orbit or level as a penalty.

It's what would happen in a cash game, or in most any legitimate tournament.

2010 WSOP Official Tournament Rules - 94. A player exposing his or her cards with action pending will incur a penalty, but will not have a dead hand. The penalty will begin at the end of the hand. All players at the table are entitled to see the exposed card(s), if requested.

Roberts Rules of Poker, Section 15, Tournaments - 22. Showing cards from a live hand during the action injures the rights of other players still competing in an event, who wish to see contestants eliminated. A player in a multihanded pot may not show any cards during a deal. Heads-up, a player may not show any cards unless the event has only two remaining players, or is winner-take-all. If a player deliberately shows a card, the player may be penalized (but his hand will not be ruled dead)

But, since this bar poker league has a weird exposed hand rule - put in basically to reduce arguments and tilt-inducing moments when players show each other cards - what ended up happening is, I lost the 2K call but was able to take back the rest of my stack I shoved. Villain got what was left of the pot in the middle.

Fucking pure angleshot. And I pretty much told him that - I would never do that to anyone in a free game.

He gave me the usual, "Oh, I play here just like I play live" line - Which is even worse, because then he DEFINITELY should know my hand would never get killed in a real game and he took advantage of a bad rule to scoop up chips.

Basically, the moment anyone tries to get a hand killed at the table to win a pot, unless it's mucked AND COMPLETELY IRRETRIEVABLE - they're an angleshooting dick.

I don't care how you try to justify it, you're trying to win chips on a technicality, and that's flat out low.

It pissed me off for a bit, but I moved on.

Although I may just sit on his left every time I see him and threeball every single one of his opens from here on out.

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 9

2011-03-14T01:14:00.002-04:00

So let's evaluate the glory of this week's multi-entry MTT in the latest edition of Donkey Island...

**One entry got set-over-setted in a stupid cooler with Hoy and Miami Don = 66 is NOT goot on a A96r flop vs. AQ and AA, go figure. Le Sigh.

**Another entry runs JJ into KK, and then 44 into A8 for 8BB and loses the flip.

**The third one hangs out for a while, then NYRambler decides to raise/jam KQ from the button when I repop him with a JackAce. - Two queens on the board, so he crushes all my range anyway. My short stack jams K7s into Ax from the button and hits the flop but gets four flushed anyway... :(

**So I'm down to one entry when we're still at three tables and I'm flailing around. Hoy openlimps/calls in EP when I raise him in position with JJ and checks a nine-high flop HU. I jam a little over pot, not expecting to be good but hoping to get there. He takes his time calling with AA and I spike the river. I'm so skilled.

Don't worry, I got paid back. I end up with all-in pre with KK against Rambler's JJ and a J falls on the river, then on the money bubble, I'm BvB with Kat and jam 77 into her K7s. She flops a flush. GG me 10 of 73 entries. No mobneys at all for $22.

Jamyhawk gets voted off. This shit is getting real and whatnot. Seven players left.
How all of Team Donkey is getting smoked is freaking beyond me.

Plus, I have no idea how to figure out these MET stats past the cash places.
I jury-rigged it last time - so this stats page is not the word of God, peoples. I try.

More TK tomorrow, including:

-Gee, your job disappeared! WTF are you going to do now? (I sort of know. Sort of.)

-How I got angleshot at a free bar poker tournament.(Srsly? Douchebags.)

-Is Heff putting out another superbounty Wednesday? (Probably. Is $40 paying my mortgage? Not.)

Survivor: Donkey Island Round 8 (with special surprise ending!)

2011-03-10T00:36:00.006-05:00

it's funny, I played the Moo(yournamehere)kie like a ridiculous nit for once, but it didn't help me get any deeper than when I spewtard off my stack....

Grind the first hour like crazy, I finally get KK in vs. Goat's 88 and get up to 7K when we consolidate to two tables. I lose a bunch of chips, then double through again with AA vs VeryJosie's JackAceoff, then flop a set vs. TBA's top pair with 44 and get up to an average 10K stack by the final table.

After a few more hands where nothing happens, I finally openjam aces into xkm's TT for 10BB - and watch a T55 flop hit. Awesome two-outer, but I deserve that after a lot of the shit I pull. Dunzo 8/29.

I'd talk more about the tourney, but it was one of those MTTs where literally nothing happens that's an interesting spot or something of note. Bleh.

So I shipped the sniper bounty to shockin and twoblackaces, who split it between them with two scalps apiece, and then Katitude (probably because she didn't play) got voted off to make this last 8 be a 4-4 split down the middle between Fish and Donkeys. So yeah, life will even get more silly than it has over the last couple of weeks.

EDIT: Even sillier. Yeah, I survived Donkey Island.
But, I did not survive the latest round of layoffs at my job Thursday. Le sigh.
So yeah, there will be a lot of changes coming up for me. Whee.

More Survivor Poker tonight...

2011-03-09T13:23:00.003-05:00

at the Moo(yournamehere)kie.

Usual drill, 10pm ET, FTP.

Bring $11 and a drink, this one will probably take a while

To get the word out to everyone beforehand - tonight's Heff-approved $40 superbounty is simple and open to all.

There are nine players left alive on Donkey Island.

me
BrainMC
jamyhawk
Katitude
muhctim
iaatg6296
SmBoatDrinks
veryjosie
xkm1245

Whoever binks the most of us out of tonight's tourney gets the $40. Ties split the money.

See you all around. I'm sure BDR will keep track of all the shenanigans.

Survivor: Donkey Island Round 7

2011-03-07T00:11:00.003-05:00

So, there were 26 runners for Event 7 - kind of a small prize pool compared to other events, with only an average of 6 rebuys per player - hey, I only took 3 myself plus the add-on - I kept getting in with Paint-Ten suited and eventually got there enough times to build up to 7K by the end of the rebuy period. Yeah, I'm happy Goat's not having anymore rebuys, to be honest.

After that, I ran horrid as people kept calling me OOP and holding - made what I thought was a good fold with 17BB at 60/120 when UTG with 12BB raised and what I thought was a nitty cutoff repotted and I folded TT in the blinds. Hello AQs and 88, I would've tripled up.

So anyway, I rode the roller coaster to the door in three hands 20 minutes later.

*Jamy raises UTG, Rakewell jams 15 BB right behind him with 75s. I fold Ax in the small blind, Jamy calls with JJ, board runs 255A6.
* I open jam Q8s on the button into Jamy's A9s in the big blind and bink the river,
* Then I jam A7s from the CO into Rakewell's TT, again in the big blind, and this time couldn't suck out again. Done 20/26.

All of which means, jam shite and ye godz will reward your boldness.

Oh, and that was the best debut ever on BDR last night, VJ.
Obviously you need a little tech advice. or something.

Anyway, the Goat himself got bounced last night. Which is somewhat surprising, but mob rule, what can you do? Should make Wednesday night even more interesting as we hit the halfway point of the series.

Freaking chop for the final three will fuck with my stats to be sure...

quick survivor notes and nuggets.

2011-03-06T13:18:00.002-05:00

As event #7 kicks off in a few hours...

1) Jordan has the right approach and attitude. Set the tone, sir.

Quick hits on proposals mentioned by him, VeryJosie, Hoy:

*Yes to immunity for last survivor on the losing team - which I why I set the last Moo(yournamehere)kie superbounty for that player - I'm sure a lot of what's happened in the first six tournaments would have been different if this were in effect, considering that person's been voted off three times already...
It's the whole skill vs. game argument. Yeah, skill should be a factor, but that's what the BBT tourneys have been for. This is a game - I don't mind playing something for once where you've got more goals than just WINNING and mobneymobneymobney.

*Maybe to moving tourney times up (average Donkey Island tourney is ending around 1:15am Eastern, lasting about 3.5 hours. Yeah, that's a little late and long for tourneys under 50 people.) but I'm pretty agnostic about it.

* I don't care about rebuys or not, it's a nice homage to the old Friday Donkament... but only 30 minutes, please. A hour of $1 rebuys can drive anyone nuts.

* Sure, Buddy can throw as many twists in the game as necessary. Spice things up!

2) Figured I'd use my noodle and track Donkey Island stats like I did with BBT5, which can be found here.

-Rambler, quit stealing our money, k thx :-)
-Buddy and Joanne like playing with us...
-More non-Donkey Island players, pls.

See you all tonight. I'll be making it rain, or at least trying to...

Survivor: Donkey Island Round 6

2011-03-03T01:54:00.000-05:00

Boy, I felt a dark cloud over my head today, and it sure sat there tonight.

VeryJosie went pretty bad from the get go. Never made a hand and couldn't bet my way around it, so I bled off half my stack in half an hour. Then, I got bounced in a spot where you run into a cash player dabbling in MTTs, they decide to take a stand, and basically say "f it" as they call off knowing they're getting the worst of it..

Full Tilt Poker Game #28679388453: Very Josie Poker (221454389), Table 1 - 30/60 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:31:55 ET - 2011/03/02
Seat 1: 1racerx (5,960)
Seat 2: gpjacobs (1,405)
Seat 3: Thorn In Side (3,420)
Seat 4: KeepFloppin (1,818)
Seat 5: heffmike (1,420)
Seat 7: wolfshead (3,747)
Seat 8: IAHawx985 (2,675)
Seat 9: veryjosie (3,555)
wolfshead posts the small blind of 30
IAHawx985 posts the big blind of 60
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [Ah Th]
veryjosie calls 60
1racerx calls 60
gpjacobs folds
Thorn In Side folds
veryjosie: fold adam!!!
KeepFloppin raises to 300
veryjosie: ut oh
heffmike raises to 1,420, and is all in
wolfshead folds
1racerx: ok
veryjosie: doube that
IAHawx985 folds
veryjosie folds
1racerx folds
veryjosie: call now
veryjosie: lol
Thorn In Side: didn't you put an extra bounty on mike?
KeepFloppin calls 1,120
heffmike shows [Ah Th]
KeepFloppin shows [Ks Qh]
KeepFloppin: f it
*** FLOP *** [Qc 5h Tc]
veryjosie: i folded 33
*** TURN *** [Qc 5h Tc] [9c]
*** RIVER *** [Qc 5h Tc 9c] [Kc]
heffmike: different tourney
heffmike shows a pair of Tens
KeepFloppin shows two pair, Kings and Queens
KeepFloppin wins the pot (3,050) with two pair, Kings and Queens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,050 | Rake 0
Board: [Qc 5h Tc 9c Kc]
Seat 1: 1racerx folded before the Flop
Seat 2: gpjacobs didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: Thorn In Side didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: KeepFloppin showed [Ks Qh] and won (3,050) with two pair, Kings and Queens
Seat 5: heffmike (button) showed [Ah Th] and lost with a pair of Tens
Seat 7: wolfshead (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: IAHawx985 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: veryjosie folded before the Flop

Would I normally squeeze 25BB with ATs when UTG and UTG+1 limps and the cutoff iso-raises?
Not really, because I'm running into a buzzsaw often enough where it's just not a good move.

But this spot, yeah, I'll be honest, I couldn't wait to stick it in b/c I was really sure I had the best of it.
Just a gut feeling. Oh well.

To be fair, I'm sure villain's thought is, "he can have air or JJ and below and I'm flipping."
Which is true. Not actually likely jamming into two EP limpers and a threebet, but possible. I've been known to do worse... :-)

Regardless, Gigli, 15/15. Not like getting called there stopped me from riche$...

For once, this tourney was an opening act instead of a co-headliner because of all the Survivor intrigue and sidebets.

------

Did OK early in the Moo(yournamehere)kee too, then I flatted AA on the button v. Jamyhawk's 4x EP raise to drag the blinds in. Of course he hit the nizzles on a J23 two spade flop and I ended up doubling him up with half my stack. Which to be honest, wasn't smart, especially after the Q turn. I'm like ahead of KK and nothing else.

And yeah, he's my teammate, but I'm not softplaying anyone for shit here. Besides, it really doesn't matter moving forward.

After that it went downhill as fuck. Eventually, I ended up letting Hoy spew with 44 in the BB and getting into a 15BB flip I lost.

Full Tilt Poker Game #28680870540: The Mookie (221464173), Table 3 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:41:37 ET - 2011/03/02
Seat 1: veryjosie (5,165)
Seat 2: jamyhawk (4,855)
Seat 3: twoblackaces (1,030)
Seat 4: Joanne1111 (8,278)
Seat 5: JOELPOKERGOD (1,321)
Seat 6: heffmike (1,055)
Seat 7: hoyazo (1,100)
Seat 8: IAHawx985 (7,640)
Seat 9: NYRambler (2,421)
heffmike posts the small blind of 40
hoyazo posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [Jd Kh]
IAHawx985 folds
NYRambler has 15 seconds left to act
NYRambler folds
veryjosie calls 80
jamyhawk has 15 seconds left to act
jamyhawk has timed out
jamyhawk folds
jamyhawk is sitting out
twoblackaces folds
Joanne1111 folds
JOELPOKERGOD folds
heffmike calls 40
hoyazo has 15 seconds left to act
jamyhawk has returned
hoyazo raises to 320
veryjosie has 15 seconds left to act
veryjosie folds
heffmike has 15 seconds left to act
heffmike raises to 1,055, and is all in
hoyazo calls 735
heffmike shows [Jd Kh]
hoyazo shows [4c 4s]
*** FLOP *** [6h 8c Ad]
veryjosie: gooo hoy
*** TURN *** [6h 8c Ad] [7h]
*** RIVER *** [6h 8c Ad 7h] [6d]
veryjosie: yes
heffmike shows a pair of Sixes
hoyazo shows two pair, Sixes and Fours
hoyazo wins the pot (2,190) with two pair, Sixes and Fours
veryjosie: yes!!!!!
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,190 | Rake 0
Board: [6h 8c Ad 7h 6d]
Seat 1: veryjosie folded before the Flop
Seat 2: jamyhawk didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: twoblackaces didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Joanne1111 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: JOELPOKERGOD (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: heffmike (small blind) showed [Jd Kh] and lost with a pair of Sixes
Seat 7: hoyazo (big blind) showed [4c 4s] and won (2,190) with two pair, Sixes and Fours
Seat 8: IAHawx985 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: NYRambler didn't bet (folded)

I actually thought about raise/jamming pre, but I figured Hoy would do what he does in a limped pot and I'd be able to play HU, without VeryJosie getting involved, against a holding I'd actually have a decent shot against to double up. Of course, I'd do this with a big hand, small hand - a lot of holdings, so whatever, we're playing chicken, shoveling in chips and trying to get there/hold.

26/33. And yeah, Hoy got the $20 bounty VJ put on my head. As if he needs a 20 spot. Does Hoy even play anything outside of blogger tourneys you can buy into for $20?

Anyhow the whole evening was a complete disaster. I ended up donking around in 100NL Rush for a while - and when I shoved AA into KK preflop and watched a Q-high straight hit the board... yeah, it was time to shut it down..

I shipped the $40 last longer superbounty to Jordan... which should make up for the fact that he's no longer a part of the game. Yes, apparently HighOnPoker is no more - which I'm a little surprised about. I really need to pay attention more to WTF is going on.

On to the big clusterfuck that's one big bulldog team of people trying to hold on for 10 more tournaments... wheeeeeeeee

And, TBA's a freaking wizard. To play from my iPhone? ah, perchance to dream...

Part the sixth on tap....

2011-03-02T11:56:00.006-05:00

It seems like with the last night of team play in Survivor: Donkey Island tonight, things are really starting to come into focus.

It's kind of early - or is it? I have no fucking idea, I never watch the show... and I hate diplomacy.

I'm just going to go play some cards tonight, probably double shot the Very Josie and the Moo(yournamehere)kie. Oh, apparently there's a $20 bounty on me: I hope VJ can afford it, I don't want to be responsible for putting a big dent in her bankroll.

Apparently it is a big deal: while I have been willing to give a targeted person their bounty if they win, VJ isn't as generous. Definitely un-balla.

So anyway, I'll probably issue another superbounty this week. Target TK. I'll probably make it a civilian just because, but I haven't decided yet. Whatever I figure out, it'll be on BDR.

This will probably be the night I quit spiking three outers.
I'm actually looking for runner-runner perfect if I can do it.

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 5

2011-02-28T00:57:00.000-05:00

OMG, what a night.

First off, it was just a silly silly distracting night. But I think I am PokerSlut Season XX winnarwinnarchickindinnar... Of course, I kind of bought it, spewing for 11 rebuys/addon, then outlasting Gadzooks to make sure I held on for the victory and cashed 3/8 to make a 40 cent profit.

Which just goes to show, overall series championships can be won by the most persistent player, not the best player. Of course, that means I'm going to try to go back to back anyway because I'm a monkey.

Then, the multi-entry Survivor tourney. Ok, so it's really like a Matrix SNG that never ends. Joy, I hated those.

My first two entries couldn't win flips. My other two make the final table out of 81 entries. So I got that going for me to at least break even.

I really nitted up and didn't do anything amazing until the final table. Then I pulled the usual Heff Suckout Rungoot (95 into Q5, hit a 9, KT into TT, hit a K, then ran AA into AQ, flopping a set, seeing a flush hit the turn, but filling up on the river) and had a chip lead with four players left. I was feeling goot and having fun.

Then the wife and nanny show up and tell me there's a water leak downstairs in the basement. Oh Joy.

Now, of course I'm like, WTF, it's 12:30, how does this happen? Obviously, everyone knows where the master shutoff is, it's in the basement, and I don't hear a leak. By now I'm off of BDR and try to ask what exactly is going on. while trying to play and win. After all, I have my priorities, and I don't know if this is a major leak or a drip.

Eventually, I have to look at the laundry room (right above the leak) and the garage, and end up guessing that maybe all the rain combined with the tree that was on our roof for a week after the last big snow, may have sprung a leak from the roof through the walls that let go tonight in the basement. Water downstairs was visible, but minimal - didn't seem like something from a leaking pipe or from the washer. I guess I get to be more of a detective Monday. But it was less of a gusher and more of a slow drip that had run its course by the time I looked at it.

All of which is to say, after the AA hand, I didn't even notice what was going on. I look back now and it wouldn't have mattered anyway - I never had a hand and would have had to manufacture every pot for the last 25 hands I basically missed. GG NYRambler for pwning me HU.

2/81 is another good result for me. Dawn Summers says buh-bye.
Team Fish is down to minnows.

Meanwhile I've finished 1st or 2nd three of the five tourneys. Luckbox, I know.

Alpha squirrel, I guess.

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 4

2011-02-24T00:55:00.006-05:00

So, uh, that wasn't as fruitful as the series has been for me so far...

I spewed a lot early, mostly to VeryJosie , who I put the SuperBounty on b/c she had to repeatedly call me out this week...

She valuetowned me early with AQ v Q8 while I was defending my blind and the Q hit the turn - I got it back making a nut flush vs. her really weak top pair - then I took a chance trying to take her out with 44 vs. AT when she jammed over my raise for 17BB and she hit the river.

After that, I just hung out for 30 minutes until this brilliance...

The easy call is, I got HEFFED.

The real call is, at least when I do this stupid shit, I raise and jam and make people call off, not flat OOP for almost 1/2 effective stacks with 64s.

Full Tilt Poker Game #28477543748: The Mookie (219825226), Table 7 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:47:31 ET - 2011/02/23
Seat 1: HarmanIsHot (3,085)
Seat 2: HighOnPoker (6,255)
Seat 3: KeepFloppin (2,525)
Seat 4: Maniac57 (3,570)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 (2,875)
Seat 6: scottc25 (4,540)
Seat 7: heffmike (2,315)
Seat 8: ReRivers (2,790)
Seat 9: hoyazo (3,480)
HarmanIsHot posts the small blind of 40
HighOnPoker posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [Qs Ac]
KeepFloppin folds
Maniac57 folds
pushmonkey72 raises to 240
scottc25 folds
Maniac57: some Mr. T wanna be is like rich today
heffmike raises to 1,000
ReRivers folds
hoyazo folds
HarmanIsHot folds
HighOnPoker has 15 seconds left to act
HighOnPoker folds
pushmonkey72 has 15 seconds left to act
heffmike: you know I'm getting there anyway
pushmonkey72 calls 760
*** FLOP *** [6h 9d 4d]
pushmonkey72 checks
heffmike bets 1,315, and is all in
Maniac57: lol id put Pushmonkey suckout vs Heffmike anyday
pushmonkey72 calls 1,315
heffmike shows [Qs Ac]
pushmonkey72 shows [6s 4s]
*** TURN *** [6h 9d 4d] [Qh]
Maniac57: see
*** RIVER *** [6h 9d 4d Qh] [Jd]
KeepFloppin: 64
heffmike shows a pair of Queens
pushmonkey72 shows two pair, Sixes and Fours
pushmonkey72 wins the pot (4,750) with two pair, Sixes and Fours
heffmike: wow
KeepFloppin: jsees
HighOnPoker: dawn has immunity?
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4,750 | Rake 0
Board: [6h 9d 4d Qh Jd]
Seat 1: HarmanIsHot (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 2: HighOnPoker (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 3: KeepFloppin didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Maniac57 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 5: pushmonkey72 showed [6s 4s] and won (4,750) with two pair, Sixes and Fours
Seat 6: scottc25 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: heffmike showed [Qs Ac] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 8: ReRivers didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: hoyazo (button) didn't bet (folded)

To be honest, it's one of those specific spots where I'm going to get it in no matter what given stack sizes and opponents, so whatever, I can't complain. Most of the time this works out for me, especially when the Queen on the turn puts me ahead of like ALL of pushmonkey72's range - but that'll happen, out 35/42.

Oh, and FU WAFFLES for calling this in advance, fucking Nostradamus. Go play some chess. :-)

Thanks to Jamyhawk's run - Team Fish had to vote another teammate off. and they bounced Hoy - which is just so appropos. Period.

Of course, then I spewed 2-3 BI at 100NL Rush by having people spike runner runner with overpairs vs. a flopped top two pair... not once, twice, but three times. - which, if you run the numbers, is really hard to do 3/3 times. Just the other day I mentioned I only had one losing Rush session all year, which was just asking for the anvil to fall on my head....

This is probably why I don't play cash games all the time. I expect bullshit/run bad in tourneys, but not so much in cash. Which should really be the complete opposite of normal expectation... and probably why I've always been a better tourney player than cash - my mindset just deals better with the swings.

Anyhow, let me try and make it back playing randoms instead of bloggers and get my head right for the first multi-entry tourney I'm ever going to play Sunday night....

How to beat top pair: spike, of course...

2011-02-21T22:48:00.003-05:00

DDionysus (Observer): what's with all the Heffhate?
heffmike: I get there too often.
heffmike: I guess
heffmike: If I lost more, I get more luv

So, how does the shortstack for the vast majority of a blogger tourney final table manage to become winnerwinnerchickendinner?

I mean, I have a secret formula I utilize combining ideal bluffing frequency, optimally sized value bets, and a customized HU display with all the latest VPIP/WTSD/PDA/XYZ numbers....

But really, none of you want to hear about that.
You want to know how I really roll, how I manage to BINK more often than I should.

Well, here's one top secret piece of information I can share with everyone, free of charge, right here on this very blog, that is the key to blogger tourney success.

**** Keep getting there vs. Buddy and Joanne ****

**1**

Seat 1: Joanne1111 (7,550)
Seat 7: heffmike (15,820)

Joanne1111 posts the big blind of 60

heffmike raises to 150
Joanne1111 calls 90

*** FLOP *** [7d 5d Jh]
Joanne1111 checks
heffmike bets 220
Joanne1111 calls 220
*** TURN *** [7d 5d Jh] [4h]
Joanne1111 checks
heffmike bets 550
Joanne1111 calls 550
*** RIVER *** [7d 5d Jh 4h] [4s]
Joanne1111 checks
heffmike bets 1,275
Joanne1111: just not believing you
Joanne1111 calls 1,275

Seat 7: heffmike showed [Ac Jd] and won (4,420) with two pair, Jacks and Fours
Seat 1: Joanne1111 (big blind) mucked [9s 9h] - two pair, Nines and Fours

**2**

Seat 2: Joanne1111 (50,749)
Seat 8: heffmike (28,525)

Rakewell posts the big blind of 2,000
The button is in seat #2

heffmike raises to 28,275, and is all in
Joanne1111 raises to 50,499, and is all in

Joanne1111 shows [As Kd]
heffmike shows [6h 6c]

*** RIVER *** [Th Kh 5d 6d] [2h]
Joanne1111 shows a pair of Kings
heffmike shows three of a kind, Sixes
heffmike wins the pot (61,050) with three of a kind, Sixes
AlCantHang: sweet jesus

**3**

Seat 7: BuddyDank (72,466)
Seat 8: heffmike (59,100)

BuddyDank posts the small blind of 1,200
heffmike posts the big blind of 2,400
The button is in seat #6

BuddyDank calls 1,200
heffmike checks

*** FLOP *** [3c Kc 9d]
BuddyDank bets 2,400
heffmike raises to 8,225
BuddyDank has 15 seconds left to act
BuddyDank calls 5,825
*** TURN *** [3c Kc 9d] [9h]
BuddyDank checks
heffmike: @$@&
heffmike bets 23,050
BuddyDank has 15 seconds left to act
BuddyDank folds

**4**

Seat 2: Joanne1111 (22,649)
Seat 8: heffmike (81,725)

Joanne1111 posts the big blind of 2,400
The button is in seat #8

heffmike raises to 7,225
Joanne1111 calls 4,825

*** FLOP *** [2c Qh 6h]
Joanne1111 checks
heffmike bets 17,450
Joanne1111 has 15 seconds left to act
Joanne1111 calls 15,124, and is all in
heffmike shows [8h 7s]
Joanne1111 shows [Tc Qc]

*** RIVER *** [2c Qh 6h 4h] [Kh]
heffmike shows a flush, King high
Joanne1111 shows a pair of Queens
heffmike wins the pot (47,698) with a flush, King high

**5**

Seat 6: Rakewell (118,350)
Seat 7: BuddyDank (32,281)
Seat 8: heffmike (135,869)

BuddyDank posts the small blind of 2,500
heffmike posts the big blind of 5,000
The button is in seat #6

Rakewell folds
BuddyDank has 15 seconds left to act
BuddyDank calls 2,500
heffmike checks

*** FLOP *** [6d Ah 4c]
BuddyDank bets 10,000
heffmike raises to 30,000
BuddyDank has 15 seconds left to act
BuddyDank calls 16,681, and is all in
heffmike shows [3d 6h]
BuddyDank shows [Ac 2s]

*** RIVER *** [6d Ah 4c 3h] [8s]
heffmike shows two pair, Sixes and Threes
BuddyDank shows a pair of Aces
heffmike wins the pot (65,162) with two pair, Sixes and Threes

AlCantHang: keeps changing names from Captain TwoOutter to Admiral Runner Runner
heffmike: that's Commodore Heff, to you, sir.
iaatg6296 (Observer): how about sgt suckout?
AlCantHang: Mr. Get It In Bad
heffmike: General Donk, Lower Half.
DDionysus (Observer): Maybe he's just better than most of you at poker?
heffmike: no no Dave. I SUCK.
heffmike: shush
heffmike: I really just push buttons

Yeah, I might get a little aggressive/reckless once stacks get shallow and I cover people.

But there is a method here. Someday I might even be able to explain it....

Now I do feel kind of bad doing it to this couple over and over again - they didn't deserve it.
It was just their time in the box.

Deciding what to do Wednesday night for Event #4 - if I put another superBounty out there, or if I try to get the software running long enough to hook into BDR for a few minutes as a very special guest and take my verbal abuse for being a lucksack.

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 3

2011-02-21T01:57:00.005-05:00

Well, Survivor Donkey Island #3 went off Sunday night - Basically, I tarded around for only 9 BI during the rebuy period - which thank god to Goat, was ONLY 30 minutes instead of 60.

Now, I would do an overinvolved, ridiclously silly recap like some people when I exert my superiority/run goot... but basically, it would be tedious. Either I got it in good and held, or got it in bad and spiked. ZZZZ.

I built a small stack at the final table, tarded it off like a champion, got it in with 8 high near the money bubble on Joanne and ran runner runner there for the personal immunity spike... and then I waited out the last member of Team Fish (Al jammed in front with AA vs 65 on the flop and lost) to make sure our team was good to go.

So I'm NOT a selfish asshole. So there.

I might have had a few scotch and gingers along the way. Maybe.

After all of that, I held on and chopped HU with Rakewell for +$140, but I had more chips, so it went in the records as a HEFFMIKE WIN. Whee me.

I can take 13/22, 2/28, 1/27 for one week's work.

And it's a shame Alcanthang is gone, but that'll happen.

During this, I quit paying attention to PokerSlut Stud/8 once the rebuy started cooking. which was a problem, because I had a decent stack and played like shit to spewtard it off.

Although when I got it all in the middle (like it matters in Stud games when you're shortstacked) I was in front and got hosed by running tens to kill Kings up.

So I got bounced on the bubble 4/8, but should have a slight lead (7 points or so) heading into next's week's final event of the 20th season, a (UHOH) $1+1 rebuy. It would be nice to winz a season title, basically because I'm motivated by silly little trinkets like that. I'm a poo-flinging monkey, isn't it obvious?

quattro banana...

2011-02-19T18:06:00.006-05:00

It's been a busy weekend, but at least this made me smile when it came in the mail today.

Anyhow, I haven't even had time to listen to the podcast and see what's on tap for AIPS VI, but whenever I can, deets will be posted. I'll figure out a way to update the sidebar pic too.

EDIT: Ok, finally listened in and hit the site - Cliffs for AIPS VI are:

*20 events, twice monthly through December, down from 24 events in AIPS V
3 NLHE tourneys and the HOSE event get cut.
PLO8 now LO8 (boooooooo)
2-7 Triple Draw now NL Single Draw
2 NLHE tourneys switched to PLHE and a half-and-half NLHE/PLO tourney

*Freeroll gone in place of a once-monthly $1.10 satellite to the $5.50 main tourneys.

*Schedule is really odd - as it's the sixth season, all tourneys are on days with a 6.
6th - Freerolls
16th, and 26th - Tournaments.

Now, the start times are the same (9pm Eastern on weekdays, Noon on weekends) but hopscotching the days around even more than last season should be an interesting experiment.

*ToC expanded to at least 48 players with tourney winners plus points leaders, sponsor exemptions and those who play most (18/20) of the events. Stars freeroll money will go to this prize pool instead.

*With some Blue Shark Optics sunglasses given to AIPS tourney winners, there's an over 4K overlay in the prize pool for the series.

Assuming you can remember when the tourneys are, it's worth mixing it up with these guys... I think for the most part these changes are for the good, and it's a credit to Chris and Scott that they've been able to run such a solid series, and built so much from the ground up with the whole Ante Up operation.

Go play already.

Survivor: Donkey Poker Round 2

2011-02-17T01:09:00.005-05:00

LOLOL. so Event 2 of Survivor: Donkey Island Season 1 went off swimmingly.

Waffles spewed his immunity bounty in like .1 seconds with AK.

I decided to put a $40 bounty on Numbbono b/c he wouldn't stop crying about being voted off Sunday...

Is this open to people who were recently eliminated by their backstabbing idiot teammates?

- Hide quoted text -

On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 4:07 PM,(jordan) wrote:
I'm offering a last longer bet against anyone, either team. I'll pick horses if you'd prefer, or we can just do it heads up. I'll take any bets from $5 to $20. Any takers?

And somehow, Team Donkey managed to CRUSH by having five players alive when the last Team Fish player bounced 11/28. So the night was eazy peazy, except for the Numb bounty (you're welcome, muhctim, who would have been bubble boy otherwise and made out better than if he finished 4th... :-) To be honest, I roached like crazy until the final table, restole way too much (it worked), then jammed A5s into ATs and rivered the five to build a chip leading stack with five players left. Standard Heff stumbling around to build a stack.

So when wigginx, HighOnPoker and I hit the third break with immunity decided, we just chopped the freaking thing three ways - although I'm sure the way I run against him, Jordan would have crushed me like a bug HU anyway. So I got a little above second place mobney (+$74 overall) and still was up despite my bounty spewing self. I'll have to keep it up for the Mookie/Dank/insertsponsornamehere tourneys from here on out. It won't be Numb everytime unless he earns it or something,

Riggstad is second to go. 14 left.
Back for the rebuy spewtardness Sunday.
Maybe I can dump 20 BI before the break this time....

Babygirlheff says Happy Valentine's Day.

2011-02-14T14:10:00.002-05:00

The main reason why I'm such a prickly bear - all the good essence took off to make this...

and the adventure begins...

2011-02-14T01:15:00.003-05:00

So, Donkey Island began. $1+1 rebuy, which is POISON for me, because I'm horribly bad at rebuys. Case in point - while I didn't even bother to jam my stack until almost halfway through the rebuy period - I still spewed 19 BI before the break, counting the add-on - and I think I was in front one time sticking it in. ROFL. Pfft. I'm such a fucking fish, why am I on Team Donkey...

Anyhow, I was ok post-rebuy until I ran A2 into T6 on a TTA flop, and AK into JJ when I got fourflushed on the turn. I'm so skilled, not. I played so freaking horrid. I was lucky to be 13/22.

Hoy managed to get there for the win - sorry that NumbBono had to go- but gee, when you go out of your way to bounce almost your entire squad - that'll happen.

I ran the PokerSlut HORSE tourney too, which was only seven players, but I cashed (big $1.50 profit) and I think managed enough points to take the season lead with two tourneys to go - which are Stud/8 (woot!) and another rebuy (lemon!) so yeah, that's a lost cause...

Come out for the Mookie Wednesday> I might actually play better in a freezeout. I've gotten so little table time this month - I'm ripe for the picking and whatnot, you know? I mean, I just runner-runnered some Russian who flopped top set on a Rush 100NL table to make up for all the spewtardness tonight - so my $11 has to be EZ mobney...

Hey, a win HU!

2011-02-07T17:05:00.003-05:00

Nothing like using IM with three people in three different places to make a work decision.

Me: short straw then? I guess J and I can roshambo.
J: should we IM C our choice?
Me: that would be hilarious
J: totally. let's do it.

J: sent mine
Me: fine, 2 of 3. who knew
C: mike wins round one with rock

J: shit
J: round 2
C: ok, two rocks

C: two rocks again

J: dammit
Me: battle of wills

C: mike wins round 2 with paper
Me: woot.
J: sigh

C: seriously lol'ing
J: that was hella fun
C: I was waiting for an endless rock battle
J: I was hoping Mike would THINK I was going to paper to kill his rock
Me: tactical brilliance, sir.

So keep throwing rock, and throwing rock, and change gears at the last minute. Whee.

In other news. freerolled about $55 from the AIPS ToC.

6-way chop at the final table, which I was fine with, especially after I finished 5th (However, I wouldn't have bluffed off half my stack in NLHE with ten-high if I was still grinding for top three/cash spots, so it all balances out.)

This guy was in a hurry to get it done - obviously had bigger fish to fry.. :-)

sometimes it doesn't matter what you do...

2011-02-03T01:07:00.002-05:00

Because you're going to lose flips, make laughable reads, get coolered, spew stacks and just play shitty in general...

You may be smrter than me and get away from this stuff.
I just shovel it in and hope I get there/hold.

*** I last one orbit in the VeryJosie - I end up with 43 vs a3 in a limped five way pot on a 3356A board...

I donk three streets in a row OOP and can't fold to the river shove for the last half of my stack even though I don't beat a damn thing.
If the turn doesn't give me an OESD and put a flush draw out there - maybe I pot control a little better.
But I just got too greedy on the river and stuck myself. GIGLI!!!!!!

*** Play a RushonDemand, build a good stack, limp behind an UTG limper holding QQ with 20BB.
I have a Scandi pot it behind me, and I backraise jam right into KK. Dunzo. And bleh.

*** Play a 90-man, reraise an EP raiser with QQ, have a blind jam and get there with AKo when I call him. That'll happen.
I somehow build back from 4bb to avg 25BB stack, then get it in pre with KK vs 99 and A2 for a 15K pot and there's a 9 on the flop. Sigh.

But no worries, my AJ is the nizzles again vs. A5 and T9 and I have a 9K above average stack yet again...

I finally jam AQ and get called by TT. A turn, T river :-(
Nice roller coaster ride on the variance express.

*** Mookie/Dank/yournamehere tourney runs a little better, I get to the final table and have a good stack halfway through it, then I screw around too much, especially with MiamiDon when I jam 50BB pre over his raises 3-4 times like a monkey just to get silly - then I end up on "let's try to get baby back asleep after siblings wake her up" patrol and go into autofold mode - and when that's over (after midnight, are you kidding me, babies are still awake?), I get silly and raise/call off 20BB to MiamiNit's jam threehanded with A9s and OF COURSE I'm dominated vs. AQs and bounce 3/19 for minimal cash.

I just hate when I lose focus during these tourneys and start doing stupid shit - jamming too much, folding too much, hero calling too much - instead of just playing and doing what I usually do - spiking 30/70s and pissing people off by getting there.

Hey, Survivor Poker starts soon. Someday I'll remember which team I'm on and who's on it. Not like I don't have somewhere to reference it...

as usual, Goat slays...

2011-01-31T21:03:00.002-05:00

with the program for all Donkey Island followers. Much chuckles in there.

In other quick updates, finished 3/9 in PLO PokerSlut. Built a huge stack, then boned myself three-handed in three standard four-card bingo spots to dust those chips off to Snuffy. Pfft.

Otherwise, life is life. I have no profound statements. Except this was really weird.

This is what you get when you watch Yo Gabba Gabba with 1-year olds....

hardest, longest grind EVER.

2011-01-29T16:40:00.003-05:00

It took over four hours, and the last tourney of a 24-event season - but I FINALLY got that fourth banana.

Boy o boy did I grind this one out. Short stacked most of the final two tables, really had to pick my spots, make some tough laydowns and borderline moves. If I wasn't trying so hard, I'd have punted my stack way way earlier, but I was really motivated to play well and get there.

Best part - I was down almost 5-1 in chips HU and got it all back in the LO8 rotation with nine scoops in a row FTW. Yay split pot games.

So I finally didn't finish first loser, tie the series all-time lead at four bananas, and make the TOC next Saturday.

20 players for a $500 freeroll in another 8-game tourney. I likes that.

well, that was pleasant.

2011-01-27T19:31:00.005-05:00

Power went out 7pm Wednesday for, oh, over 24 hours due to snowpocalypse.

Missed two more WBCOOP events, 0-fer so far.
Missed Mookie/Dank/VeryJosie winner.
Missed Top Chef.

Luckily, this tree missed the house. It's been wanting to go since last winter's blizzard.

At least I played poker and Risk with the kids last night while we sat in the dark and they were amused.

Stepdaughter from this post managed to limp in with 42o four-handed, flop bottom two, turn a boat, and get paid off by both her brothers after I called her hand. Obv inspired by the Grump.

At least things are warming up now. One little fireplace does not heat an entire house.

current results not in line with actual ability (hopefully)

2011-01-25T22:12:00.003-05:00

So I'm not the best blogger tourney player this week.

PokerSlut LHE - I get impatient and way too aggressive at tournament limit. I had a decent chip lead early until I ran into AA blind v. blind, and then I decided to push buttons and monkey off my stack in obvious spots. Done like 11/12 or something like that. Stupid.

Turbo Spewday - When I raise AA/KK, no action. When I raise something else, I get played back at. Standard.

Manage to tread water and get something going at the final table until a guy opens limps the hijack sixhanded with 15BB, which is a HUGE RED FLAG.

I check ATs in the big blind, c/c a A25 flop, but manage to stack off on a 9 turn that misses the flush draw - and see AQo.

So freaking obvious. I could call a second barrel and the river would have probably checked through (J completing the flush) and at least I still would have had a workable stack. Of course, call/call/call three streets is even sillier.... Anyway, ul, obv - or just unable to trust a read and stick with it.

I jam 5BB into VeryJosie with A9s and have her dominated but A8s spikes on the flop and I'm done 6/13.

Superturbo - God they're like silly crack. I thought I was registered, realized I wasn't, then late registered with four players left - so I basically came in on the money bubble like the biggest angle shot ever. Three hands later I jam 55 into A3 and Goat's AK, don't hold, and bubble anyway. 4/9.

You're welcome, Goat. Six minutes, Doug E. Goat, you're on....
***
There's one last AIPS this Saturday to make that series' TOC - of course, with three first loser finishes and five final tables this year, it's my own fault for not getting there.

I've also managed to miss the first two WBCOOP freerolls due to life... but at least Wednesday's PLO8 tourney is during Mook time, so I shouldn't forget to register for that one.

At least I've had a solid tourney/cash month - for once in the black in both phases - and that's a nice feeling....

quickie pimp - spew tonight.

2011-01-25T16:04:00.001-05:00

http://www.cardrunners.com/blog/lana/tuesday-spewday-tonight-125

Extenuating circumstances, but hey, that'll happen. Play anyway.

so so so ridiculous...

2011-01-21T00:50:00.003-05:00

another ROD $24+2. Final Table.

I play up and down, but start crushing and getting a stack.

I get HU with a 3-1 chip lead. I'm up 300K to 90K at 4k/8k/1k when we start. All 5 hands follow.

*I have 43o on the button and fold. (I just jammed A8 into QQ and rivered the Ace to take out the third player, so I dump it.)
*I have 97o in the blind and check. I check/fold a 824 two heart flop.
*I limp 63o on the button, villain jams 12BB, I fold.
*I have ATs in the blind, villain minraises, I pot, they jam, I call. Hey, they have AKo, I do not get there.
*I have K2o on the button for 15BB and jam, get snap called by KTo (srsly, dominated two hands in a row). Flop has a 2 (yay), Turn has a T (of course), FIRST LOSER AGAIN....

$800 profit is nice.... BUT WTF< AM I ALLOWED TO WIN A TOURNAMENT OR NOT?????

Going oh-for-five at that point is oh-so-nice.

yeah, again. cloud is still overhead.

2011-01-20T01:29:00.003-05:00

playing an over three hour Mookie/Dank/whatever it's called now is not amusing when you finish first loser AGAIN after playing heads up for over 30 minutes....

...especially when you're up 4-1 in chips twice and can't quite close the deal b/c everytime you're set for the knockout blow, villain finds a hand with less than 10BB and you double him up.

* openjam A6 on button, he wakes up with A9, flop 567, turn 8.
* openlimp K8 with the intention of calling a 7BB shove, call and see 66, flop 6xx, turn K.
* have T7 in a limped pot for 14BB effective, flop T98, lede from the blind/stack off to a shove right into... QQ. I do not get there and it's over one hand later.

...especially when it's JOELPOKERGOD. Who actually does play a decent enough game, once you get past all the mind game chit-chat and erratic betting. But still, I let him off too easy, toyed around too much instead dictating the action.

Xerox the story: I accumulate mad chips again, fail to keep the pedal down again, play too patiently again, let it go again. This has GOT to stop sometime soon.

The three hours before that were full of such silly play by me - I get it in behind and get there, I call shoves when obviously in bad shape - then I managed to go from FT short stack to crushing with 1/2 the chips five-handed by catching every hand and flop.

Anyhow, I guess I'm going to try this Donkey Island out. Never let it be said I don't give back to the blogger nation - that $20 is as good as gone - I mean, I've NEVER watched an episode of Survivor ever. I heard it was just like LOST and didn't want to confuse myself keeping track of two different shows...

In other news: Docs finally figured out I herniated a disc in my back a couple of months ago for some unknown reason, and their recommendation is just to let time settle it out and the body will heal itself. Which it's doing - but hurry up - I can feel myself growing a pot and really need to get back to some kind of active gym work, but anything over a light jog starts irritating everything at this point.

Probably need to transfer poker patience to life patience for maximum results.

one pair does not mean shove/call shove.

2011-01-13T10:29:00.004-05:00

Overplayed TPTK against overpairs last night in AIPS and Mookie play and basically knew I was stacking off with bluff catchers but did it anyway. Nowhere near cash moneys, honestly played pretty bleh and just went through the motions. When you hit the call button thinking, "I either will have a big tourney-leading stack, or be done and not have to come back after break..." - that's a silly place to be.

Still a little annoyed over the whole deal clownishness from the other night. Probably should play more ROD tourneys, as they seem like a better value than the 90-mans I do pretty well in, even if you wouldn't necessarily final table them as much. I will have to run a few sets and see.

Big time painting and renovating weekend in the basement. Good times all around.

almost again - and we hate JailedFISHY.

2011-01-12T00:52:00.004-05:00

So I came THIS close to taking down a $24+2 Rush On Demand for over a K last night.

I limp, JailedFISHY raises, I jam Ace-rag for 20BB b/c I KNOW IT'S THE BEST HAND... and JailedFISHY calls off dominated with Jack-high.
Freaking RNG.

Here's what was really bad - we get HU and I'm down 3-1, but I immediately offer a deal just to see the reaction. Nothing happens, but JailedFISHY is really bad and spewy, so it's easy to lock down, reraise for value and soon enough we're almost even in chips.

Then the deal box comes up. And this muppet says he can't submit a deal. JailedFISHY tries for 10 minutes. Finally JailedFISHY figures out how to pass control to me, and I can submit an ICM deal in 5 seconds - and it gets rejected. Multiple times. JailedFISHY claims he can't accept, like the button is greyed out or whatever.

So I say, let's play one more hand and try again.
JailedFISHY minraises his button.

Now I feel like I'm either getting angleshot, intentionally tilted, or playing an actual poo-flinging monkey. (I checked later on OPR. Dude has less than 100 MTTs since December, basically can't play dead and just tripled his lifetime winnings. He might just be stupid.)

I reclick the deal box, jam my Ax, get a snapfold from JailedFISHY, and try again - This time I can submit a deal first b/c I have a chip lead - and it gets rejected again. OK, whatever. I just played a smart, patient game and waited for him to spew off his stack - which he did, so the plan was good - the results just didn't follow. Basically shorted me $200 in the deal, at least.

Like almost every deep run, of course I caught some luck too - jammed 99 into KK near the cash bubble and four-flushed the river... But I had such a great feeling about this one - especially because I finally snapped a 0/20 SNG/MTT slide with 4-5 bubbles - ARRRRGH.

There's an AIPS Wednesday night. Maybe one time I don't finish second...

now this is Wile E. Coyote supergenius,,,

2011-01-10T12:34:00.002-05:00

http://www.pokerstars.net/poker/home-games/

Not sure how well this will sustain with online poker's cloudy future - but paralleling how everyone handles fantasy sports (offline payouts, online statkeeping and play among a small group that knows each other) seems like a savvy move to make, at least keep your brand viable...

and it's back - Susan Lucci all in this house...

2011-01-06T00:02:00.000-05:00

Cliffs: First loser in Very Josie again. Srsly. That's like 2-3 times now?

So I doubleshot the Very Josie and the Mookie/Dank. 20 runners in both.

I'm really paying more attention to BabyGirlHeff and Top Chef on Bravo (Jamie is the ultimate ROACH) and have an unevenful hour one, but make the final table in the VJ. I claim Lightning's bounty with this really, really bad call and suckout...

Blinds 100/200, we're still nine-handed, I've got 4K in the big blind with Ks6s.
xkm1245 limps UTG, josie completes in the SB, I check. They both have less than 3K.
Flop KT9r, Josie checks, I check (though I should bet, but UTG limps with less than 15BB are sketchy to me) xkm checks.
Turn 8s, giving me a flush draw. Josie leads pot for 600, I flat, xkm jams, Josie jams... and I make a pretty shady call, inspired by MiamiDon, getting 3-1.

heffmike: guess I'll do a don.
heffmike calls 2,000
xkm1245 shows [8c 9c]
veryjosie shows [4s As]
heffmike shows [Ks 6s]

Oops. Thought I had spades covered, obviously.

*** RIVER *** [Ts 9h Kh 8s] [6c]

Big time BINK for an 8K pot. I reproduce relevant chat because I can.

veryjosie (Observer): grrrr
xkm1245 (Observer): god you're @!&$ing awesome
veryjosie (Observer): i needed a spade
heffmike: whee. and lightning owes me
veryjosie (Observer): lol
veryjosie (Observer): bastid
veryjosie (Observer): i shoulda folded
veryjosie (Observer): u def shoulda folded
heffmike: I'm just waiting for xkm to yell at me some more
xkm1245 (Observer): trying to figure out if i need two hands for your outs.
veryjosie (Observer): lol
xkm1245 (Observer): i don't, right? you called with 5 outs?
heffmike: YES> you want that. remember how this works?
xkm1245 (Observer): did i say i didn't want it?

lightning36 (Observer): *yawn* This is still going on? lol
heffmike: you owes me dude.
heffmike: I play bad and get there.
lightning36 (Observer): YOU knocked her out?
veryjosie (Observer): ya
veryjosie (Observer): he fricking did
heffmike: yeah, I hit like a one outer or something, ask xkm.
lightning36 (Observer): On a bad beat?
veryjosie (Observer): i made one dumb move
heffmike: I think I was drawing dead on the flop and got there.
veryjosie (Observer): would been brilliant if i sucked out
veryjosie (Observer): instead heff sucked out
xkm1245 (Observer): you're such a whiny @%%& all the #!!%ing time
lightning36 (Observer): EXCELLENT !!!
xkm1245 (Observer): i didn't say a #$#$ing word
veryjosie (Observer): NOOO not fricking excellent
veryjosie (Observer): ya
veryjosie (Observer): leave xkm alone
heffmike: am I. I'm not the one dropping F bombs all over the place. this must be hoy's second account
xkm1245 (Observer): but like a little !$#@ing %#&% you have to open your &%#!ing piehole
xkm1245 (Observer): does anybody like you mike?
lightning36 (Observer): I do
heffmike: wife. kids. coworkers. family.
heffmike: I'm happy. are you?
xkm1245 (Observer): i will be if you stop being a @!!!ing db

Anyhow, somehow I end up HU with gpjacobs down 3-1, but I actually manage to pull almost even in chips with 50BB stacks.

Then I raise A5o on my button, get threebet, call, and have him donk pot into me on a AT3 two spade flop... and I fold like a girl. He almost certainly has a better Ace or a huge draw I'm flipping against. Probably should have called and chopped the pot.

Four hands, later, I raise my button again with QJo, get called. Flop 983 two hearts, I get donked into pot again, but this time I raise pot with my overs and gutterball - and get called. Oops again. Turn is an Ace, and I'm really fucked now but call off my last 6BB anyway and see A8o for a turned two pair. I don't spike this time and lose, deservedly so. But, I'll take $48+8 for four KOs....

Mookie was like a disaster where nothing happened, I spewed like an idiot, eventually I reshoved K5s into AA and 66 and was out 13/20. Pfft.

Still deliberating the whole withdraw mobney offline vs. play more decision - this doesn't make it any easier...

broke first loser jinx - by not playing HU...

2011-01-02T23:45:00.001-05:00

Sort of won the PokerSlut Razz tourney.

We cut an ICM deal three-handed, I had the most chips.

Uber GHEY, I know.

I have no doubt I finish second if we took another 30 minutes to play it out.

I was going to deal three handed with predator06 and scottc25/snuffy at the second break - but then BabyGirlHeff started getting ornery, the godawful Seahawks-Rams game was on, I had to pee, the wife needed some water, I realized there were ALL-IMPORTANT POKERSLUT POINTS on the line - and went back to mashing buttons for a few minutes post-break.

I play Razz like such a tight-weak nit - I'm certainly the worst player of the three of us. Of course Razz is a stupid game, which it probably why I'm actually good at it.

Anyhow, sometime soon I'll play a tourney over 20 entrants and make a run that actually means something... I hope.

VeryJosie challenge doesn't stop first loser meme...

2010-12-30T00:54:00.007-05:00

Cliffs: Very Josie HU challenge ends up 2-2. Best results for a challenger so far, sounds good to me.

Game 1 - back and forth for about 50 hands, I limp KQo at 20/40 down a bit, we see a 987 all spade flop, I have the Ks, and I check/call a pot bet. Turn's a blank, I check/shove into Josie's T6s, no spade - only the flopped second nut straight. I do not get there on the river. Down 0-1.

Game 2 - much quicker, four hands in, I raise AA to 2.5xBB, Josie 3x's that, I flat. Flop comes J77, she checks, I lead, she raises, I wonder, for realz? - and go ahead and shove. Josie calls with AJs, and I hold. Three hands later I manage to get her last 40 chips and even things up.

Game 3 - another quick one, Josie raises her button, I repop with ATo, she calls. Flop 987 with two spades, I check and it checks through. Turn 5c, I check, Josie pots it, and I make an ill-advised jam... right into Ts8s for the flopped straight flush draw with middle pair. I whiff the river again. Down 1-2..

Game 4 - This was the marathon - over 120 hands.. early on I raise JJ and Josie jams, I decide to flip and hold vs. AQo - so I've got her down to 180 chips and this should be OVAR, right...?

Well, I decide to be careful and not double her up too easily - eventually I minraise AKo, get her to shove A3o for 12BB and get fourflushed on the river - and after that, I get into the worst carddead stretch ever. I don't even hold bluffcatchers, I can't make a hand, and she starts climbing back... first to even, and then I'm down 3-1.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I could have done about it. Put it this way, I was fairly sure I was getting outplayed and outflopped. But, maybe I'm starting to learn some patience and not force the issue when things aren't going my way. I waited, waited, and finally got it in good preflop with TT vs. A4s and 77 vs. A8o and held both times to finally even things up at 2-2.

Since things were running so long (it took an hour to play 4 matches) we left things at that, dead even - which is probably for the best... I felt very evenly matched. I didn't even mind losing the two games the way I did, b/c I probably would have tried to get it in on the flop if I was playing more aggressively anyway.

I did change up how I usually play HU, and I noticed Josie changing gears at times as well. Mad, silly credit to her for cockroaching in the last game from T180 to a 3-1 lead. I wouldn't mind doing it again to break the tie - but to be honest, we both should probably be playing other people HU a lot more than each other.

Then I rolled into the Mookie and ended up in the longest bubble ever with some tuff villains - twoblackaces, highonpoker and buddydank. I had to get tarpy with big pairs, manufacture a ton of pots, keep jamming into shortstacks BvB and sucking out - and I finally get HU against Jordan with a decent chip lead - and piss it away jamming an OESD into top two pair on the flop, in a spot where I really didn't need to defend my blind in the first place.

Full Tilt Poker Game #26819874801: The Mookie (206713892), Table 2 - 500/1000 Ante 125 - No Limit Hold'em - 00:44:47 ET - 2010/12/30
Seat 4: HighOnPoker (19,130)
Seat 6: heffmike (25,870)
HighOnPoker antes 125
heffmike antes 125
HighOnPoker posts the small blind of 500
heffmike posts the big blind of 1,000
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [Jd 9h]
HighOnPoker raises to 4,000
heffmike calls 3,000
*** FLOP *** [Qc Ts Ad]
heffmike checks
HighOnPoker bets 6,000
heffmike has 15 seconds left to act
heffmike raises to 21,745, and is all in
HighOnPoker calls 9,005, and is all in
heffmike shows [Jd 9h]
HighOnPoker shows [Qd Ac]
Uncalled bet of 6,740 returned to heffmike
*** TURN *** [Qc Ts Ad] [4s]
*** RIVER *** [Qc Ts Ad 4s] [5h]
heffmike shows Ace Queen high
HighOnPoker shows two pair, Aces and Queens
HighOnPoker wins the pot (38,260) with two pair, Aces and Queens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 38,260 | Rake 0
Board: [Qc Ts Ad 4s 5h]
Seat 4: HighOnPoker (small blind) showed [Qd Ac] and won (38,260) with two pair, Aces and Queens
Seat 6: heffmike (big blind) showed [Jd 9h] and lost with Ace Queen high

Naturally the next two hands I flop a set to no action and another OESD that whiffs two streets to finish FIRST LOSER AGAIN. Would have been nice to get #6 Mook win to close 2010.

At least I feel like I stretched out my poker mind more than I usually do. Maybe if I applied that focus to real SnGs/MTTs, I'd make more money in 2011.

and here we go..

2010-12-28T16:46:00.002-05:00

9pm Wednesday for an hour or so.

I try to crack the Very Josie nut Lightning and Waffles whiffed at.

on FTP - rail to amuse yourself as needed.

and so Xmas is upon us again...

2010-12-24T09:38:00.004-05:00

Happy Holidays, world!

At least whatever happened to my hip/back/ass is starting to straighten itself out - I can actually stretch everything out fully again and only feel occasional twinges - although no one can tell me yet how or why my body went haywire for a month - but it's good nevertheless because I'm way behind on a ton of house/renovating work that needs to be done between the holidays.

Looks like 2010 will be a barely breakeven year for me - up in tourneys, down in cash - as I never made a huge score this year or a huge deep run in a large field MTT - I only play like 10-15 a month and just ran completely horrible at them this year. As much as I love PLO8, I completely flatlined those SnGs this year after lighting them up in '09 - basically, I smoked the 90-man double stack turbos on FTP for mad profit and was treading water everywhere else. So, there's probably room to reevaluate my game and approach and try some new things out in 2011.

I think I will try to work through my first loser skid by donating to the VeryJosieUniversity if she will let me next week.

I'm actually deliberating whether or not to pull most of my roll offline for occasional live play in 2011 (still have NOT been to Charles Town, Del Park, or PARX) and just leave a couple of hundred on FTP and Stars in 2011, grind the $5 tourneys, and see what happens. Then again, I'd never get to actually go play live but maybe once a month, so maybe spewing it all online is for the best.

Have a good one, everyone...

trend spotted!

2010-12-13T00:04:00.003-05:00

So I'm setting a trend here. Played PokerSlut PLO8 tourney. Finished 2/9.

Which was really annoying because 1) I loves me some PLO8 and 2) I actually managed to get a 9-1 chip lead and still not close the deal.

Anyhow, I'm HU with SmBoatDrinks, slightly outchipped but still 30-some BB deep, and say

heffmike: cool we can try and trap each other for the next 30 min.
SmBoatDrinks: lol

which is about how long it took - 70 hands and 30 minutes - and how it went.

AAQ2ss doubles through A853 on a K76r flop fading nine zillion outs, then later I turn a steel wheel to 3/4 a pot, and got him down to 6BB.

But then I can't make a hand hold/get there no matter how hard I try.

-can't beat AAJ5ds with 8442, lol.
-can't hold with K432 after jamming a KJ3 flop when the gutterball Broadway comes on the turn for AT95.
-A322ss doesn't get there vs. KKJ6
-Flop nut flush, wheel draw gets there on the turn for a chop.

I finally lose twice in a row getting it in preflop with suited Ace/wheel sidecard hands vs. AAxx - AQ32ss vs. AA87, AQ73ss vs, AAQ3 - to finish first loser again.

I actually forgot Drinks boned me last week by shipping 40bb when I three-bet him with AKo - and then spiked a deuce on the flop with his A2s - and won that tourney as well.

It was pretty good HU match... but I would rather win one of these every now and again.

Looking forward to random blog posts from the WPBT. This is a good one already...

first loser trends suck, part one billion

2010-12-09T00:03:00.003-05:00

so yeah, 2/33 in AIPS HOSE tonight. Third time this year. Arrrgh.

Drifted around for a while and didn't get on a heater until late in the tourney - I basically lost every medium pot and sucked out on all the big ones - I finally got going at the final table once we got shorthanded in the stud rounds... and then I was heads up against a guy (nala1988) I hadn't ever played before in Stud/8, which should have made me really happy...

...and I couldn't get a damn thing going. Spent the entire rotation making up for one hand where I made Queens up to his Kings up on fifth street - we got to LHE basically even with 10BB stacks - and I spewed it off in two hands, jamming bottom pair and a backdoor flush draw into a flopped set.

Yeah, probably not good timing on my part. Best shot at getting banana #4 this year, when I really should have closed the door, and poof.

Also, not very many opportunities to make the AIPS V ToC either. I got three shots left.

This has not been a good year for me in tournament series.

since we all have an opinion (which doesn't matter now, or maybe not)

2010-12-08T14:19:00.007-05:00

on Harry Reid's angleshooting backdoor plan to "regulate" online poker, in response to the similarly sneaky UIGEA's passing back in 2006... (gee, and Senators wonder why we think they are scum...)

It just looks like a bad idea. Some regulation is probably coming soon, but this shouldn't be it, shouldn't be what people settle for as "Yes, this is the solution!".

F-Train and Grump probably have the best analysis. Neither is all that excited, which sounds about right.

EDIT: I hate being overtaken by events- http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/policy-racket/2010/dec/08/harry-reid-online-poker-legalization-falls-agenda/

DOUBLE EDIT: because at 4pm, the Sun article said the attempt was D.O.A, and now at 8pm, uh, no never mind. Sometimes I hate being a "journalist" or "mass communications major", or at least hate who I get grouped with under that job description - a job that unlike lawyer or doctor or even freaking electrician doesn't have any licensing guidelines. Sigh.

If it does come down - oh, live games could get very interesting for the next couple of years, and when all the U.S. players can get back online, I can only imagine how silly the games will be.

Anyhow, while I surf the twitters and intertubes to see the latest updates from WPBT this week (and this particular get-together sounds way interesting) - I will try to tool around in AIPS tonite and whatever other silliness I can stumble into.

Congratulate Jordan on running deep at the Atlantic City WSOPC last weekend -

Managed to final table a Rush On Demand this week (3/125 for +400) - but left $500 on the table by punting a chip-leading stack four handed - jamming Q4 into the shortstack's AA for 7BB, then K7 into AK, and 33 into AK again - all against the same guy, all blind v blind, all within 10 hands.

I run so good - especially when I spew and get it in bad like a monkee.

But I'm still having fun.

why the interwebz needs instruktions, #34, w/poll!

2010-12-02T10:08:00.004-05:00

Ok, last year I emailed a small company out in the sticks about some firewood prices, but didn't actually buy from them. A couple of days ago I got a random email from some other customer asking if their wood was seasoned.

1) Obviously Mr. Momo Customer, Esq. used the REPLY ALL button when sending his mail. Annoying, but semi-honest mistake.

2) However, Ms. Dodo Small Business Owner is unfamiliar with the BCC addressing function, and sends her announcements trolling for business with regular CC's where everyone sees ALL the email addresses. FML, cmon, man, this is 2010. That's just horrible.

So now I've gotten like 30 emails over the last two days, all of which are people whining about getting spammed and asking to be taken off the email list... WHICH MEANS THEY ARE USING THE REPLY ALL FUNCTION AS WELL!!!.

So, que es the biggest moron?

-Momo Customer.

-Dodo Small Business Owner.

-Muppets who can't use email correctly.

-Me for even posting about this.

Not a total donator tonite.

2010-12-01T23:33:00.003-05:00

Moneyed the VeryJosie, 3/10. no shirt for me.

Played fine, but not well enough, too quiet during the second hour while moving the sleeping baby and watching Top Chef because I'm so ghey underneath it all.... ;-)

Got my Rush points in while not doing anything stupid and making 1.5 BI.
I continue to crack KK like it's my freaking job.

Found that prescribed physical therapy >>> chiropractic care for whatever I've got. I still hurt, but at least I am relatively mobile and the stabbing sensation in my hip/ass/leg/calf doesn't make me wish I stepped on a mine. Maybe in a couple of weeks I can actually break a sweat and move my silly self to exhaustion.

someday, spewday will not be spew.

2010-11-30T21:51:00.003-05:00

Great to see Waffles and Rambler out for once, since I rarely play with them anymore - and I had a lot of fun playing HORSE at Spewday. I sat top5 in chips for most of the first rotation, but started leaking oil once VeryJosie (mojo'd me per usual) was moved to the table, and then got boned in the second razz rotation when I bricked seven draws on fourth street while ahead two hands in a row to drop half my stack.

Finally raised split jacks into waffles' spade draw in Stud and he got there on sixth after we were allin to bounce me 15/20. Sigh. I'm usually really good at blogger rotational games - most of my blogger/BBT wins were in the old Skillz games, after all.

Will try again tomorrow and see what I can do. VJ, maybe Mook, depending on mood.

rush poker arrgh, but you already know this.

2010-11-30T10:16:00.005-05:00

had a decent post written up, but the laptop battery ate it by not warning me before running dead. HP FAIL.

so Cliffs:

- Rush Poker is EVIL. Chased bonus points like a moron in a two-hour session at 100NL. Went up 2 buyins, then down 1, then even, then down 3, then finished up ahead $10. I am a variance fiend in cash games.

Someday I'll learn not to three-barrel into trips, or call down three streets in position to see someone river me, or try to catch the river bluff that is always for value.

However, flatting big pairs behind a raiser and backraising/making a flop move does work for making mobney, so I got that working for me. Just generating rakeback, I guess...

- Not only do I spend every morning wondering which unique way my back/hip/legs are going to hurt today, but the last few days have been spent fighting a mini-cholera epidemic at the house. At one point four different people were laid out in various states of ugh/running to bathroom every half-hour. Damn noroviruses or whatever. At least it looks like it's over now...

- Played a live bar poker tournament for the first time in forever this week since my work schedule changed this year. People have gotten much better, shockingly enough. Still finished 3/25 and played pretty damn well, except when I kept paying off river bets with bluff catchers (this may be a pattern)

- Playing Spewday and Very Josie this week and we'll see what happens.

Sorry about the tumbleweeds...

2010-11-24T01:17:00.003-05:00

Holidays can create a lot of distractions, you know... That, and somehow I pissed off a nerve or disc in my back a few weeks ago and have been trying all sorts of medical remedies and tweaks to quit having my leg feel like it's en fuego... Some uberanti-inflammatories and a little PT are attempting to solve the issue, but it's really annoying. At least sitting isn't a problem, it's standing and moving...

Found out after the PLO8 debacle that in Rush MTTs, you can sit out, and you don't get moved to another table until AFTER the hand is completed at your current table... which is kind of a sketchy angleshot for the shortstacks, especially if you can't tell that they're sitting out (Tilt doesn't show you if a player is sitting out until they time out once - and since you don't normally see the same player two tables in a row...) and they get that extra 20-30 seconds without being dealt into a new hand or into a blind...

Half the table was sitting out when I bubbled. If I knew that... well, I'd have sat out too, which would have been great for me, but bad for the game on the whole.

Solution? Well, I mentioned it to support for the future..

1) go hand for hand at the bubble (2-3 players outside it, I was surprised a $322 wasn't going hand for hand, Rush format or not)
2) change the software - when you fold your hand, sitting out or not, get moved to a new table immediately and be dealt into a new hand. None of this buying extra seconds you shouldn't have b/c you autofold.
3) if someone's sitting out, display it underneath the avatar. (this may be the way I set up my tables, so might be my fault to begin with)

But it's FTP support, not Stars, so I'm probably pissing uphill to begin with.

GobbleGobble.

well, that was a large bubble.

2010-11-17T19:26:00.003-05:00

So, cluetime here - Rush PLO8 may not be the best structured FTOPS tournament ever.

Almost popped the bubble before the first break.

Actually, since I play a lot of turbo SnGs and handle a 15-20BB stack pretty well, I didn't mind a structure that wasn't going to ask me to play until midnight just to cash.

No No, instead I was the one who bounced out 15 minutes later ON THE FUCKING BUBBLE and screwed myself out of $500, at least.

I had at least 2-3 pro bounties poof to chops/quarters on the river along the way, too.

So, instead of making a few hundred, put a big -$322 in the stat sheet.

I should have farmed a 2BB stack in at the bubble, but no, I had to stick it in in a multiway spot and not get there. I knew it was a bad idea, but part of me was like, win a pot or two and really try to do something post-bubble to make serious $$.

By the way, having a Rush MTT without antes NOT go hand for hand near the bubble is a complete and utter joke, bottom line. Someone with a 30-chip stack should not be able to cash b/c of randomly being able to avoid the blinds.

Anyway, I'm way tilted. At least that was a shot-taker off of this month's profits, but pfft, it still pisses me off.

Banana efforts whiff again

2010-11-11T00:52:00.004-05:00

11/50 in last night's AIPS. Nothing of note. I played, got a decent stack, kept getting three-balled in ick spots, jammed with a pair for 10BB and ran into a bigger one, gg me.

I did manage to luckbox my way into the FTOPS Rush HORSE tourney Thursday night via satellite - so I'll mull over whether or not to burn up $216 doing that.

This, after turning a Step 3 ticket... ...into a Step 3 ticket... and calling off with the jackace in a 90man SnG for 25BB on the bubble, being shown 44, and losing the flip - which I probably deserved anyway, even though I made the right read, b/c it wasn't smart.

I loves me some T.O! Got the 30-odd points I needed and binked a FF win last week.

Otherwise, it's been kind of standard around these parts...

(no, not a duplicate post) I am the first loser MASTER.

2010-11-07T23:29:00.002-05:00

OK, now I'm starting to get steamed. 2/12 in the Pokerslut HORSE tourney Sunday night.

-standard rotational game play - lots of odd holdings showing down in all the rounds.
-survive, get rolling, start accumulating chips once we get shorthanded and near the bubble.
-get HU with a slight chip deficit,
-get boned and go down to 4BB in O8,
- just light everything on fire from there in the rotation and win every single pot because I loves me some fourcardbingo,
- get our villain ELM22 all in and thin a couple of times in stud rounds but can't finish him off,
- flip the chip lead back and forth a few times in over 100 hands.

and finally can't get 34569 with a flush draw to beat one pair and finish second again. Le sigh.

Obviously I will not be specializing in HU SnGs anytime soon. Although, maybe I can run bad in blogger tourneys for $10, $20 and run good in a real MTT for a four figure payjump someday...

WSOP ME stream was certainly entertaining over the weekend. I'm curious how it will be shown Tuesday - despite some stack-punting during the final table, it felt like there was a much higher level and thought process of poker play on display than in the past few years.

I have no preference HU. Neither player really excites me, or looks they'll take the game anywhere out of the ordinary. (No spoilers here, like I should worry about that)

Oh, and all the Texas NFL teams can BLOW. Just killing my FF team - Schaub, AJ, Miles Austin.

When you have to rely on a 30-point night from TO against the Steelers, you know you're drawing thin.

I am the first loser MASTER.

2010-11-04T13:16:00.003-04:00

And I did it again last night. 2/13 in the Very Josie.

Topped off a run where I binked 1st or 2nd in like six straight SnGs for +$400 - which is nice and completely unsustainable....

Basic wrapup is here - Outside of openjamming 20BB into the hostess BvB fivehanded and having her hero call with 66 for 3/4 of her stack and fading the two outer - nothing that interesting for me. Basically, I never got action with a big hand and had to manufacture a lot of small pots until I doubled through there - and them I kind of got quiet with a big stack and picked my spots, maybe a little too carefully

I started HU with a 2-1 chip lead 50BB deep - and I can honestly say this time I actually played decent for about 60 hands (and what seemed longer than 20 minutes) - and only made a couple of loose moves...

* Jam A4s for 13BB effective, get snapped off by A8. Flop a 4, turn an 8.
* About 22BB stacks, I openraise KJs, Acornman jams AQo, I call off b/c I want to gambool, not because I think it's a good call, and I figure I'm live at least. Flop a J, turn a Q.

GG me. If I'd have known winners were getting shirts, I fold and keep grinding some more. But lesson learned.

Oooh, Tilt has draw games now. Fun, if it wasn't for grinders complaining about rakeback and FTP points all through the thread.

AIPS report

2010-10-30T14:05:00.004-04:00

Fucking bubble.

Play smart in hour one, rack up a huge chip lead in hour two and hit the final table with about 9K in chips. Feel very good about banana #4 sitting on a 50BB stack.

Win like one hand in 40 minutes in the worst carddead stretch I've had in a MTT in a LOOOONG time and spew half my stack when I have to raise/fold to shoves preflop over and over.

Finally jam AKs over a raise, AT calls, and I hold - very next hand openraise AhQh, have KhJh shove into me and hit a six outer. Big difference at that stage between 11K and 5K.

Sit on the bubble, decide to repop a raiser with AJo from the blinds for 20BB effective and have him snap shove with AQo. I don't spike.

Shove 66 for my last 1BB into 65s and 44. Have the third best hand by the river. 6/33.

Probably going to watch someone else get a fourth banana before me - so tilted right now b/c I run bad, then play worse in a spot where I didn't need to try to pick someone off. Just stupid.

spew report

2010-10-26T21:47:00.001-04:00

I'm tired of sucking in Spewday.

I play meh for 30 minutes. Get up to 3500, nothing special happens. Raise/fold pre a couple of times. Finally get tired of doing that when I open KQs UTG to 300 with a 2600 stack, have the button repop to 750 and decide to jam - and get shown AKs. Boy, I pick stupid spots in this MTT.

A pocket pair would have won after the board ran out, joy me. 24/33.

The good players in this tournament don't seem to show up with shit when you jam on them.

Then again, I watched Josie jam pre with QQ twice when she raised and got repopped, but 53o and J4s are the nizzles and she bounced before I did.

Final tabled the superturbo, but then ATs can't fade K9s and 55, and I drift for a while before getting it in three ways with live cards and not spiking to finish 7/36 for a bunch of $1 knockouts but no real money.

Good investing by me.

whooooooooooooooooooooooo.....

2010-10-26T00:08:00.001-04:00

And what have we learned from this weekend's experience?

-Sports betting is stupid - even when you know, you don't know, you know?

-Prop betting, however, rocks, because there's no skill involved. All ruckbox!

-Tony Momo can't screw up anything as bad as Wade Phillips and the Double J can - after all, they had a damn lead when he got hurt.

I broke a clavicle once, diving to catch a pass. It sucked. That shoulder still isn't completely right compared to the other one over 10 years later.

That's as bad as I feel about the Cowboys and their 1-5 start.

To quote Minor Threat- boofuckinghoo.

Anyhow, I hope to be freerolling Spewday later tonite. :-)

Actually, I will cut an extra special magnanimous deal for VeryJosie - ship me the $18 for both Spewday buyins - and if you play both tourneys tonite, I'll ship it back as a rebate. All I'll need is a VJ buyin for next week and all is even.

good monday night sweat..

2010-10-25T08:51:00.002-04:00

So when I noticed Josie and Waffles were running a pick 'em contest this weekend, I had to get in with a side bet to drive the action.

Cliffs are, Giants win is good for Waffles(and me), Cowboys win good for Josie.

About $30 of MTT buyins on the line here, so a fun little wager to liven up the intertubes.

I'm just happy to build up Spewday a little bit more - not that LJ needs any help (more rungoot for her this morning, I see)

So come play Tuesday after the sure-to-be-awesome Rocky Horror Glee!

Oh, and babygirlheff turned one this weekend - joy - but I cracked a crown that just got put in and need to go to the dentist now - boo.

Tonite will be amusing.

5-card draw is a silly game.

2010-10-13T21:43:00.005-04:00

Look, I've had people tell me that, oh, the old school games are purer poker. And that may be true from a cash game standpoint - I can see in a deep-stacked enviroment how this would be a ton of fun. But jeez, PL 5-card draw is a NITS game at heart, like most oldschool pokah is.

Yeah, I didn't win the AIPS tourney Wednesday. Pretty long dry spell here...

I'll freely admit, I don't know what I'm talking about - I never play 5CD, but I do play some 2-7 on occasion, so I understand some basic draw game concepts. But apparently, success in tournament 5CD comes down to

1) getting dealt the pat nizzles, like a straight or better
2) hope someone else raises the pot
3) hoping that someone else has a hand like AAxxx in the reraised pot and improves on the draw.
4) profit.

So many times, I'm looking at spots where people should really be trying to get value postdraw, and it goes check/check or check/call. Anyway, I think I made one overly tight fold here, but it was such a nitfest I didn't think I was getting bluff-raised very often here. Yeah, I should probably check behind here like everyone else was, right?

PokerStars Game #51063651069: Tournament #307170033, $5.00+$0.50 USD 5 Card Draw Pot Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2010/10/13 21:27:38 ET
Table '307170033 7' 6-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: aun2112 (1345 in chips)
Seat 2: heffmike (1645 in chips)
Seat 4: PottyTrainMe (995 in chips)
Seat 5: OddsmanJTo (2650 in chips)
Seat 6: Bruckner_7th (1155 in chips)
PottyTrainMe: posts small blind 25
OddsmanJTo: posts big blind 50
*** DEALING HANDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [2d Ts Ah Ad Qs]
Bruckner_7th: calls 50
aun2112: folds
heffmike: raises 150 to 200
PottyTrainMe: folds
OddsmanJTo: folds
Bruckner_7th: calls 150
Bruckner_7th: discards 1 card
heffmike: discards 2 cards [2d Ts]
Dealt to heffmike [Ah Ad Qs] [Qh 3h]
Bruckner_7th: checks
heffmike: bets 250
Bruckner_7th: raises 400 to 650
heffmike said, "guess I have to fold aces up. oh well,"
heffmike: folds
Uncalled bet (400) returned to Bruckner_7th
Bruckner_7th collected 975 from pot
Bruckner_7th: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 975 | Rake 0
Seat 1: aun2112 folded before the Draw (didn't bet)
Seat 2: heffmike (button) folded after the Draw
Seat 4: PottyTrainMe (small blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 5: OddsmanJTo (big blind) folded before the Draw
Seat 6: Bruckner_7th collected (975)

Anyway, I raise/folded one time to the big stack when he repopped from the blinds, so when he did it the next orbit I got it in for 12BB with AAxxx and a four flush and ran smack into a pat King-high flush. 28/37, gg me.

Obviously I have a lot to learn about this game. Like only play it a couple of times a year.

It should be obvious from the above I have no freaking clue how to play this game and would get destroyed by anyone who actually likes 5CD.

Seven more events this year - at least I like all the formats left.

Wednesday fun....

2010-10-07T00:03:00.001-04:00

VeryJosie only had one table Wednesday - which was fine, I enjoyed it anyway. I ended up HU with the hostess- and despite having over 50BB in my stack and down only 60-40, it was over in less than 20 hands. She crushed every board and I paid her off with bluffcatchers every time - Six pots were worth more than the blinds and I lost 5 of them.

MY HU GAME SUCKS.

I'm probably getting pwned anyway - some players have my number, she's one of them - but geez, I didn't even put up a decent fight. Felt like a damn Polish Army grunt in 1939.

I played the Mookie b/c of who I saw logged in. Early on I lose a ton with 99 on an T847 turn to a genius with 44 - but I get back up to 6K quickly w/o even paying attention - seriously, between home/kid duties and watching the ALDS, I don't even remember most of the first hour.

Get to the final table with a good stack, then drop a ton on a 7d5d2x flop with AdJd when UTG raised with the hammer and I didn't get there after getting it in on the flop... then I just hung out for another 40 minutes and watched Joanne quit being the ubernit of all nits - jamming overs and third pair on flops - before I finally bubbled 4/16 jamming Ace high into her top pair on a BvB turn like a complete dipshit.

So basically I wasted almost three hours to break even. I make wonderful EV decisions.

The other night I finally cashed in one of those 135-man Rush tourneys - and then gave it right back at Rush cash games.

Treading water. I am AWESOME at this.

Heff playing MTTs/SnGs - good
Heff playing cash - bad.

Must remember this.

silly streaky

2010-09-30T10:29:00.002-04:00

I play Spewday very badly. Finish 40th in both flights and am done by 9:30.

SuperTurbo was a matter of jamming ATs second hand into a openlimped AQo.

In the main I get overly cute, defend my blind with 86s and check/raise/call off 45BB when shoved on after an 854 flop and can't get there vs. TT.

I go on a ridiculous dry spell for the last two nights where I can't do anything in my usual SnGs... until I finally string together four firsts, including another $26 90-man, to finish things up way in the positive.

I do what I think are smart things - like flat AA to a preflop raise and make a delayed move on the flop - or raise/jam nut/nut PLO8 draws - and don't hold.

I do what I know are really bad things - like jam 42o into A3, or Q6 into AK - and get there.

So Bizaro Poker works best for me. And the roller coaster continues.

spew!

2010-09-28T10:21:00.001-04:00

Because obviously she can afford a $25 bounty now...

I may actually get to play a little bit for the first time in forever.

Ireland - dublin, last set of pix...

2010-09-20T23:57:00.001-04:00

So, by the time we got to Dublin, we were halfway through the trip. We stayed close to St. Stephen's Green, met up with one of our former exchange students from England - (redhead with an Irish father, so really Jenn's long lost little twin sister) and wandered around Dublin for a few days..

Christ Church Cathedral

River Liffey, which runs right through the middle of town

Whiskey tasting at the Jameson Distillery. Johnnie Walker, Jameson, and Jack Daniels. Not surprisingly, JW tastes like peat/dirt, JD like burnt corn/gasoline, and Jameson so light and smooth (triple distilling) that's it's almost too neutral, like vodka. Note to self, if you become a distiller, naming product J-something is good luck.

We liked our beverages. I'm still mostly a Scotch man, though.

Kilmingham Gaol. This, and Dublin Castle (no pix, oops) were some of the better historic sites we saw in Dublin. The Office of Public Works really has a bunch of top-notch guides walking you through Irish history...

Random band playing on the streets of Temple Bar.
To be honest, they were actually pretty good.

Wall of Fame in Temple Bar with the usual suspects (U2, Thin Lizzy, etc) - and a lovely CCTV camera watching everything. Hello!

The baby makes more friends in Dun Laoghaire. This old couple was so hilarious sitting on a bench near the harbor. They weren't following the open container law either..

Jedward. These jagoffs need to disappear. Quickly. I saw far too much of them in Ireland, count yourself lucky they have not spread across the Atlantic yet. At least they can sell a nacho to their fellow Irishmen.

Streets of Kilkenny - we took a day trip to get out of the city and popped into a couple of places..

like Glendalough, where BabyGirlHeff got to do another fun thing - touch the historic rocks around this 6th century monastic settlement. That, she loved. The rain, not so much. Very soaked after this.

and the view flying out of Dublin across the countryside and hedgerows as we left for the States.

It's been about a month since we got back - and I do miss it. I think, if we could find equivalent jobs in Ireland (doesn't Tiltware have a presence in Dublin - or maybe I would just pour pints because I'm so chatty and conversational with strangers, not...) or if we won the lottery, we'd move there in a heartbeat.

We'd definitely be in the sticks, though. Not that Dublin wasn't bad... but I'm around a big city, I know what they are like. We both preferred the Irish countryside much, much more.

Living somewhere out near Dingle or Kenmare... now that would be an interesting life. In this day and age, you're so globally connected - those remote places just don't seem that far away anymore.

I'm just happy I got the chance to see Ireland. That's probably the best thing about my wife - she ends up making me do things I'd never get around to under normal circumstances. I feel bad for my daughter - she'll never remember any of this as she gets older - unless we take her again, of course.

OK, maybe this week I'll get the chance to actually play some cards and make $$$ like LJ.

As it is, I've got to go to New York (not the city, the state) with my pop to catch up with family for a couple of days, so any WCOOP play is probably not going to happen. Even AIPS may be tight on Saturday, and I'd hate to miss PLO8... :-(

This is a really low-volume month for me. A nice change of pace.

hey, it's a non irish post!

2010-09-09T23:47:00.002-04:00

the usual odds and ends...

- for a 14-9 competitive game, man that NFL opener was a little bit of a downer. When you watch and think about what people aren't doing, instead of what people are doing... well, it's not as fun, bottom line. Viking fan should be worried about a 6-10 freefall, that's for sure...

- not playing a lot because there's a ton of stuff going on around the house - school starting, work, etc... and with BabyGirlHeff hitting 1 soon, she's active enough at night to where I have a triage list of
1) take care of baby
2) watch TV/surf internet/ do something with my mind I can stop for a minute when she gets silly
3) play cards and try and focus while she needs my attention every few minutes.

So, yeah, I'd like to play and watch NFL and watch her... but I'm not a 20-something multitabling bot, I have limits, something has to give. Of course I'm still trying to figure out what miniFTOPS or WCOOP I can play in the next couple of weeks - I'll try to fit something cool in. I'm running well enough to where I paid back what I took offline for Ireland spending money, so at least I'm in a good spot to take a shot or two.

Why are people thinking the Redskins are a dark horse this season? WTF, have they been paying attention at all since January? 8-8 at best, and probably not even that.

Oh, and F DAN SNYDER for his money/publicity-grubbing Papa John's commercial with Jerry Jones. Jack Kent Cooke would never have done that. The DANNY can go screw himself just like he's been doing to the fanbase for the last 10+ years.

I'll wind up the Ireland trip with a Dublin/odds-n-ends post soon. Gotta move on with real life, you know...

Ireland - driving, from Kenmare to Dublin...

2010-09-05T20:51:00.012-04:00

Driving in Ireland was... interesting..

First off, there's that driving on the left thing, with the steering wheel on the right. That was weird enough.

wishing this was Mario Kart Wii and I had that bullet power-up

And there there was the other issue our one-day delay caused... We lost the automatic transmission for the rental car and had to drive a stick shift... - which wouldn't be so bad, after all, I learned to drive on a stick and my first car was a 1971 baby blue VW Beetle.

Of course, I got rid of that car at 18 and have only used a clutch a handful of times since. So there was an adjustment period. Plus, I was sleep-deprived, the gear shift was in my left hand, the roads have like no shoulder whatsoever... did I mention they were a little narrow?

Driving these buses through the passes must suck.

So yeah, that first day or so, I must have stalled out/missed shifts every 10 minutes, almost hit a car in the first roundabout I came across, and probably scraped something on the shoulder five or six times. It was not a relaxing experience. Oh, it took me a couple of hours and looking it up in the driver's manual to figure out where Reverse was - I knew where it was, but figuring out where the interlock/catch was to slide the gearshift over into it was another matter.

But, every day got better and better, to the point that by the time we were leaving Dingle for Kenmare, I was a reasonably competent driver. By then, it was just the small things - getting used to pulling into traffic... I felt like I was driving the mirror tracks on Mario Kart Wii.

No, I didn't buy the hat. I'm not that good of a driver.

So, picking back up the trip, we drove from Inch Beach to Killarney -

Inch Beach, which is actually like five miles long. Irish humor?

and yeah, Killarney, as has been written about, was a very touristy town with a lot of tour buses and it felt... a little busy (it was a Saturday) and far more... commercial than anything we'd seen so far on the western coast. I grew up in Virginia Beach, I have a pretty good feel for a "resort town" - and it's not a favored atmosphere to hang out in, We did stop and check out Ross Castle, which was a pretty interesting restored 15th century stronghold

Ross Castle, on the Lakes of Killarney

and Muckross House, which is as much a monument to 19th century largesse and going broke to impress royalty as anything else - and then a really nice drive through Killarney National Park on the way to the B&B just outside Kenmare.

Near Ladies View, Killarney National Park

View back through the park at Moll's Gap.

Had a wonderful lamb stew for dinner with some pints, and a good night's sleep.

Sunday morning we decided to check out the fair in Kenmare - Jenn has timed this stop to coincide with the biggest fair of the year in Kenmare - which was a odd mix of a flea market, farmer's market, and bazaar with all sorts of stuff. If you were into pellet guns, tools, or animals (yep, for sale there too) you were in luck.

Main Street in Kenmare

BabyGirlHeff wants a pet. Not.

Since we needed to be in Dublin by Monday morning to meet one of our former exchange students from England for a few days, we skipped out on the Ring of Kerry drive most books recommend, and started making our way across the country. We stopped at the Rock of Cashel, which dates back from the 12th century, midday

Impressive. And pretty high up too.

Rock of Cashel with Hore Abbey in foreground - not as close a walk as it appears

and then got bit by the biggest bugaboo of the trip - no iPhone data because we didn't want to get hosed by Verizon international data roaming charges. We drove into Dublin - and then almost immediately got lost because while there are a ton of signs all over the road, the one thing there wasn't enough of were street signs for the actual road you were on. Yeah, they are supposed to be up on the corner buildings... but in reality, you only see them a third of the time... Ordinarly, you just fire up the Maps App and get to where you're going that way... but now, we were doing this manually, me driving, Jenn reading the map.

So, at first, we kept stopping short (oh, we're too far deep into the city, we must be past the hotel) and once we finally got our bearings on the map - then it became, oh, how do we get there (all the one way streets and "you can't turn right" here intersections) before we finally puzzled it out after an extra 60 minutes tooling around the city... then we had to drive out to the airport to drop off the rental car (didn't need it in the city) and come back....

By the way, you drop off the rental at a major Irish airport... by parking it in the garage, bringing the key to the desk and telling them the mileage. Very different from the American experience.

So, we spent that day driving waywayway too much. But we were in Dublin for the second part of the trip, and we had a friend coming in Monday. All was still good, even if we wanted to kill each other by the end of the night ;-).

Hello Dublin. Boy are you hard to find stuff in...

first loser is getting old....

2010-09-03T14:14:00.002-04:00

Off day today, so I fire up a couple of tourneys on Stars, where I always run bad.

$33 PLO8 tourney with 96 players - and I finish second. Again. +$460 in profit, but this horrid headsup play is getting old.

This time, we get HU almost even in chips and over 40BB - and it's over in three hands when I get notched AJ93ss vs. A753 and I let myself get valuetowned by a solid player who never bluffed postflop - but I called the river all in anyway.

Yeah, I'm playing well lately, but man there are leaks galore. Stay away from blogger tourneys and I may be able to sustain a profit or something.. :-)

I'll find time for more Ireland fun posts this weekend.

how to light $40 on fire and waste three hours...

2010-09-01T23:33:00.001-04:00

Tuesday:

Awesome, out first hand of the Spewday turbo, I jam KQs UTG for the 10BB starting stack, big blind calls with TT and flops a set. 30/30. HELLO GIGLI!

Regular Spewday, I lose half my stack second hand when I bet/threebet/fold the river in position on a AA9TQ board (I like never do that, period) - then hang out for another twenty minutes until I limp KcJc UTG, the blinds call, and when the flop comes AcJx8c, you're damn straight I'm raise/stacking off on the flop, limped pot be dammed. SB flopped bottom set and I didn't get there. 21/23.

Wednesday:

Registered for the VeryJosie, actually played seriously with the wifey on my left, and bubbled 4/13 when I stop and go AJ into JT on a Q9x flop and watch the straight fall on the turn. Boo.

By this time I don't even care about the Mookie. I log in late because of who else I see in the tourney, fire up the spewtard chip, and do silly things like open jam any pair or blackjack hand and barely pay attention. I jam 77 into 88 and spike on the river, 55 into QQ and lose, then finally AQ into AK and 77 and bounce 14 of 20.

I swear, I need to take these blogger tourneys just a touch more seriously. It's fun, but I really don't need to be lighting $40 on fire every week just for shits and giggles.

Ireland - baabaabaabaa

2010-08-31T14:27:00.010-04:00

A pause traveling between Dingle and Kenmare - now that I remembered something.

We drive out to Brandon Point. Tiny, tiny road for like 10 miles. Small town with three buildings, two pubs and a breakwater/boat launch area three miles from the point.

Even tinier road past that leading to the point, right on the Atlantic. We see sheep all up and down the mountainside - because obviously no horse or cattle can get up and down the terrain.

We get there - windy and breathtaking. Jenn takes photos, I walk around with BabyGirlHeff in one of those Hangover-style Baby Bjorns. We're about done, and Jenn says something about wanting to see a flock of sheep being driven down the middle of the road while we're in country.

And sure enough, on cue, as we get ready to leave - there's a flock of sheep changing pastures, coming up the road.

There's video of this that's just priceless...

witty and roto FB...

2010-08-30T23:32:00.005-04:00

Well, decided to jump into BamBam's tournament while waiting on my roto draft and try my luck - and that was kind of ghey. Only two hands worth looking at...

eight-handed at 20/40, I've got the starting 1500 stack.
veryjosie openlimps UTG+1, Yor66 calls, I raise to 275 from the button with AKo, all fold around, Yor66 jams 700 total, I snapcall.

Yor66 managed to call down in position with AJ on a KJx flop vs. Lightning36 and lose 1/3rd of his stack, then dribbled the rest down in three orbits, so I wasn't giving him much credit - I actually overraised to induce a jam. Sure enough, he shoves KQo, but there's the three-outer Queen on the flop.

Not the best endorsement for Pokerwit, natch.

So three hands later, I open UTG+2 for 120 with 44 and a 800-chip stack, veryjosie jams 1250 from the button - and I would normally snap fold, but hey, I have a roto draft in 20 minutes, it's a blogger tourney, maybe she's light (riiiight!) - so I tank call pretty light myself, see AQs (probably the bottom of her jamming range) and lose the flip to finish 29/31.

So yeah, I guess that's better than finishing second after 2-3 hours of play, if you look on the bright side.

In draft news I'm in the same league I was in last year - where I finished second loser, 9/10.

I'm horribly bad at roto football - while I can pretty much guarantee a podium finish in roto baseball no matter how I draft, I can't build a football team to save my life, and I have an irrational hate/fear of every running back in the NFL. Every year I don't really prep at all and immediately puke looking at my squad as soon as the draft is over - fifth pick in a twelve-team league, by the way.

Andre Johnson
Miles Austin
Matt Schaub
Jonathan Stewart
Vernon Davis
Jerome Harrison
Marion Barber
Thomas Jones
Derrick Mason
Terrell Owens
Legegu Naanee
Kyle Orton
Tashard Choice
Dallas D/ST
Rob Bironas

Hello second division. You can build a strong roto baseball team out of B-level talent and waiver pickups over a six-month season, but not a football team... :-(

Play Spewday and the VeryJosie this week - I have a very special sheep post coming soon.

Ireland, County Clare and Dingle

2010-08-29T20:46:00.016-04:00

enough silly stuff about Ireland for now. Where did we actually go?

Cliffs of Moher/ The Burren - this was the first day after our missed connection, so I was sosotired and sleep deprived I barely remember it after landing in Shannon - but it was notable that 1) it was clear and sunny on the cliffs and 2) the wild landscape was such a headtrip - you hear about different countries and their unique topography, but to actually see it was another matter all together. Dopey Colgan Air cost us a night staying in County Claire over in Doolin...

Cliffs of Moher

The Burren

Dingle Peninsula - we made our way down, over the ferry from Killimer to Tarbert, and through Tralee to the B&B we were staying at for a couple of days. Freaking awesome view of the Atlantic Ocean from here

Yeah, ocean's just close enough to touch, great elevation.

The mountains are so close, looking back from the beach here.

After sleeping like nine billion hours, we traveled around, over to Brandon Point for a closeup view of the ocean.

Brandon Point from afar and closeup...

and then through Conor Pass to get to Dingle.

barely 3000ft. up, but yeah, that's a small road.

and then around the Dingle Peninsula

pretty much as far west as you can get and still be in Ireland..

and back to Dingle for a meal and some traditional music to wind up the day.

Dingle's a nice little town, just touristy enough without being annoying.

The next day, we took another pass across the peninsula through to Inch Beach

This road really wasn't on a map. "just turn left at the corner and go... lol"

before heading off the Dingle Peninsula to Killarney, Kenmare, and the Iveragh Peninsula.

We started the trip off on a high point. Jenn and I both enjoyed the trip around the Dingle Peninsula: it was our favorite area of Ireland, and we really could have used an extra day there. Just a nice, scenic, relaxed region - we joked if our jobs allowed it and we still got paid, we'd pick up and move in a heartbeat.

More to come...

well, xerox time

2010-08-28T14:22:00.004-04:00

So it's the second time I've been heads up in this AIPS series in 2010 and lost. Pfft.

So instead of getting my fourth banana, I let someone else get their third. Getting crowded on top of the leaderboards...

A pretty loaded final table with PokerGeekMN and edwardm111. I must be really off my game, because while I'm usually comfortable shorthanded and make some decent reads, they just pwned me far too often in small pots - and I ended up playing dopey longball to change things up. (lot of jamming preflop/on flop)

I let edward setmine for a 1/4 of his stack preflop with 77 and double through me to piss away half of a pretty substantial stack during the final table, and I never got the momentum back. Got to heads up down 4-1 in chips and actually grinded back up to just down 2-1 until I got QT in vs. QJ on a QJ8 flop.

At least I actually didn't bust myself in hour one for once... More Ireland stuff coming soon.

poker time, the more things change...

2010-08-27T21:47:00.005-04:00

Ok, so I decide to play a $44 PLO8 tourney, finish 2/40 for +$300 or so. Scandis run so good, he took out everyone starting five-handed - and being down 4-1 in chips, I'll take second and deal with it.

I also play the 32k... take some beats, make it to the bubble with an average stack... then have some noob donk who's -30%ROI on MTTs with like one cash over $200 hose me badly here... Nice play all the way around sir, you call off on the flop ahead of T9 and nothing else.

Freaking three outers (yeah, I know his pair outs are good, but most of the time, they're not, let's be honest.)

Full Tilt Poker Game #23418575248: $32,000 Guarantee (180806926), Table 95 - 800/1600 Ante 200 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:42:21 ET - 2010/08/27
Seat 1: WASSUPBRA (32,547)
Seat 2: mmmooi (40,031), is sitting out
Seat 3: Mycology (73,110)
Seat 4: heffmike (37,143)
Seat 5: Sergeth (33,258)
Seat 6: Edcjy (43,467)
Seat 7: billapop (120,021)
Seat 8: constanzo (36,850)
Seat 9: berserker46 (27,453)
WASSUPBRA antes 200
mmmooi antes 200
Mycology antes 200
heffmike antes 200
Sergeth antes 200
Edcjy antes 200
billapop antes 200
constanzo antes 200
berserker46 antes 200
Edcjy posts the small blind of 800
billapop posts the big blind of 1,600
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to heffmike [6d 6h]
constanzo folds
berserker46 folds
WASSUPBRA folds
mmmooi folds
Mycology folds
heffmike raises to 6,225
Sergeth folds
Edcjy calls 5,425
billapop folds
*** FLOP *** [Js 8d 3c]
Edcjy bets 3,200
heffmike raises to 30,718, and is all in
Edcjy calls 27,518
heffmike shows [6d 6h]
Edcjy shows [Th Qh]
*** TURN *** [Js 8d 3c] [9c]
*** RIVER *** [Js 8d 3c 9c] [4h]
heffmike shows a pair of Sixes
Edcjy shows a straight, Queen high
Edcjy wins the pot (77,286) with a straight, Queen high
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 77,286 | Rake 0
Board: [Js 8d 3c 9c 4h]
Seat 1: WASSUPBRA folded before the Flop
Seat 2: mmmooi folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Mycology folded before the Flop
Seat 4: heffmike showed [6d 6h] and lost with a pair of Sixes
Seat 5: Sergeth (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: Edcjy (small blind) showed [Th Qh] and won (77,286) with a straight, Queen high
Seat 7: billapop (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 8: constanzo folded before the Flop
Seat 9: berserker46 folded before the Flop

Ireland - the beer report....

2010-08-27T13:12:00.008-04:00

Ok, so what's the most obvious, cliched bit about the Irish?

actual sign in Dun Laoghaire prohibiting drinking in public. Nice hat.

That they're drunk all the time. Well, with baby in tow, we didn't exactly go out and get sloshed at night - our drinking was more of the stop and have a pint 2 or 3 different places during the day while driving around. So, I did very little whiskey drinking and more beer drinking.

Guinness - yeah, it's the gold standard over there. To be honest, I didn't taste that much of a difference over a proper draft poured in the states - Sure it's better, but it's not ambrosia compared to our swill. What is different is that everyone pours it properly, with the right temperature, head, and time to pour - almost two minutes - no one half-asses the pint, it's good every time.

We did the tourist tour of the St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin - which is tucked way in the middle of a huge, sketchy industrial area in the middle of the city - and to be honest, it was a lot better than I thought it would be. Sure, there's a lot of BS about Arthur Guinness being a paragon, genius, and savior of the Irish, instead of just a big-time brewer - but there's a lot of historical bits and nuggets in the tour, and the Gravity Bar, where you get your comped pint and a 360 view of the city, is worth the stop all by itself.

SE view of Dublin from the Gravity Bar at Guinness Storehouse.

One thing I was able to taste there was a couple of bottles of Foreign Extra Stout, which isn't distributed in the U.S. 7.5% ABV and very tasty, much different than the standard draft. I only brought one bottle back, though... :-(

Beamish -
Pretty good actually, a nice option for a stout if you're tired of getting Guinness all the time. While I've had Guinness and Murphy's, I haven't bothered to notice Beamish before. I'm sure beer aficionados can split the difference between the two, but in reality, they both are dry stouts with similar characteristics. Since it's brewed in Cork, Ireland's second-largest city, I'm sure this is a regional preference as much as anything else.

Murphy's - decidedly different stout from Guinness and Beamish. lighter, less head, supposedly sweeter.. and I really didn't care for it in comparison with the other stouts.

In the non-stout category...

Smithwick's - Since Jenn isn't a big fan of stouts - she likes Harp, but it wasn't on tap in everwhere we stopped - she ended up having this ale more often than not. Solid, very similar to our pale ales. We were in Kilkenny and wanted to do a tour of the original brewery, since it's on an old Franciscan Abbey site - but they weren't open before we had to leave.. :-(

Of course, by now everything's owned by a multinational conglomerate - Diageo, Heineken, whatever - speaking of which...

Budwieser Ice Cold - LOLOLOL. This was advertised all over the place in Dublin, on buses, and in bars. Gee, what is it? As near as I can tell, standard Budweiser at 1 C, poured out of special taps to keep it ice cold. Gotta love marketing.

Not a Bud Ice Cold.

To come, all sorts of driving fun. and a look at where we actually went in Ireland...