On Monday my favorite strategy posting, king of the screen shots aka the POD, hammerplayer extraordinaire Hoyazo did a recap of those bloggers/players knock knock knocking on the basement ceiling of the top 50 for the BBT.. Yours truly, was sitting in 51st place needing to either make a move up the leader board with four games to go or play the remaining 4 to get her twenty in to assure her spot in the freeroll.
I started off by getting myself into the points in the MATH. Two hours of boring poker where I was literally card dead and struggling but I moved into 45th spot. I saw no pocket pair larger then tens.. One time I got a walk in the BB with them another time I had to lay the bastards down to what I am pretty sure was a better hand/overpair to my tens (or I was bluffed off them by STB). And the last time I had them I think I just stole the blinds.
Now the Mookie started with Snake getting his Main Event Mojo going with the following statement to me during our phone chat:
Snake5970: You better be ready because I'm going to kick your arse.
IG: I'm ready baby.. Good luck storming the castle.
Snake mentions something about us both going deep, unfortunately he didnt quite get there at the end with me.
IG: Guess I wont be bending over for you tonite!
Snake5970: How many times are you going to remind me of that?
IG: Oh, a few more at least.
First thanks to all the railbirds who were rooting for me to take down my first Mookie and to Main Event bound Snake5970 for the sweat (two nites in a row) Alas it was not to be but I battled/grinded/stole my way to a third place finish and third final table of the year (not bad for an old gal, eh?). This moved me further up the leaderboard. I then followed it up with a final table bubble finish in tenth in Riverchasers... I knocked Hoy out of the Mookie in 11th I believe (see his blog for a complete recap) and he returned the favor by knocking me out of Riverchasers in tenth. I am an extremely good sport and had no problem getting knocked out by one of my favorite bloggers who I had the pleasure to meet in Vegas. Hoy raised me with 55. I had a beautiful suited ATh in the BB and I was short to boot. I had no choice here but to call and fight for my tourney life (as I had lost a good chunk of my stack with me holding AQ in the SB and running it once again into AK in the BB at a short-handed table...so rigged) and although I hit an Ace on the flop, presto was gold and he turned the set. I'm not sure if Hoy saw my remarks but I said as I exited the person who knocks me out usually goes on to the win and he did.. Congratulations Hoyazo!!!
The three tourneys are such a study in contrast. The Math albeit late for me on a Monday nite suits me best with its Deep Stack format (the Marathon). The Mookie can be sheer mayhem with raising and reraising and hammering right out of the gate (a sprint) and the Riverchasers is well lets just say its the Varsity team scrimmaging against the freshman team. I said to Snake, this tourney is a bunch of bloggers/pure players vs a bunch of drunks playing poker (some folks fall into both categories). Some of the play was far from stellar. And if you look at the top 11 there was only a nonblogger or two in the midst and I'm not counting my buddy Shamanalix who is a fringe blogger by virtue of his freelance writing profession and who final tabled this summer's WPBT event at the Orleans. One comment made by a blogger about a KO'd riverchaser caused the riverchaser to say with a laugh-out-loud (probably sarcastic): "So I guess you guys are all pros?"
So I'm now up into like 35th place and could rest on my placement with one game to go in the BBT, but I'm a player and I'm going to either token my way into the bad ass Big Game hosted by the Big Handsome Guy (even if he voted for George Bush, and i learned a long time ago to agree to disagree about politics and religion), and my pal: MiamiDon. Plus I cant think of a better group of players to prepare myself for some bigger live tourneys I hope to be adding to my schedule.
Unfortunately, IG had to take a early evening siesta today so I missed the Donkament. I was up to the wee hours Wednesday nite into Thursday and last nite another after midnite nite. Coupled with my lower back bordering on spasms (its muscular caused by the tight muscles in my Italian booty) which is draining in and of itself (and I have no Flexerall left) I was tired... Even though I dont start work till 9:30 AM, I usually am up early to do some overtime. Fortunately, I can just roll out of bed and literally go to work. Thats what I pretty much did today.. I rolled out of bed, Watered my plants and then worked in my Adidas Capris and Cami top without combing my hair or taking a shower.
That's all for this Friday nite.. Peace!!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Set over Set Boat over Boat
Just recently the Hammerman himself, Hoyazo posted how in the course of one evening he ran into set over set not just once, twice or three times, but a ridonkulous 6 or 7 times ('m too lazy to go back and check the post and I said near-photographic memory not perfect :). I posted that it in fact had happened to me and it smarts but Alas what can you do? I know Phil Gordon tells you to not really worry about it in the Little Green Book because the odds of that happening are 1 out of a hundred times (see page 82). But it does and you will go broke.
So after my Poker Analysis win of last weekend on Pstars I decided to play a early Sunday evening league game on Poker.com $5.50 buyin T2000 starting chips and only 11 players signed up. I was actually able to hit straights with 48os out of the SB and another straight with another LAGGY play with lots of limpers, but I had no payoffs early on. I seesawed back and forth and never really got over the 2000 starting chips after folding my raise with 88 to a board of AJK (with two others in the pot). I then was dealt 33... Again multiway pot I'm early position I think I limped.....Now I will tell you something (and goodness I'm beginning to sound like Hoy!!). My raises get no respect normally against this crew and I often say to myself... "Do you think its statistically possible for me to not have a hand all that often???" so I tend to limp or min raise against these folks because value betting seems to work best and lets face it why lose a ton of chips when you are going to more often then not fold post flop. Which is the reason you have to play all sorts of people and not just bloggers because you need to see all types of players.
Board 346 or 7..... I've hit bottom set.... So I fire out small overbet (because the slider thingee wont cooperate and I'm too lazy to type in a pot sized bet) and get a caller and the rest of the limpers go bye bye... There is no flush draw possible but there is str8 possiblity. Although I'm kind of familiar with the dudes play who called, I wouldnt call him LAGGY and I was more worried about a possible str8 then set over set.. Regardless the next card is either a blank or the 6 and the river is definitely a 6 so now Im hoping he does have the str8 and I think i shall catapault into the lead...... So now I push all in with the boat of 33366 and am shell shocked to find the dude had 44 in the whole and middle set. And I go out in 10th place. Big ouch and just maybe a touch of Hubris
Not to be undaunted and feeling like I had not gotten my Poker jones (I missed Katitude's Donkament Friday nite and only played a Razz game Saturday nite for the Poker Analysis Freeroll league while railing Snake5970 in his pre-Vegas warmup of The Saturday nite Deep stacker on Pstars.), I decided to earn my way into the MATH by tokening it..... And BooYah.. I actually maded it into the tokens without really having to worry about the bubble or scrambling for once.. My JJ and QQ held early on and I had a nice enough stack. And when I needed to make a move just to stay out of harms way of possibly losing the token, I hit a flush out of the SB with a shortie all in and showed to let the big stack no I wasnt being bitchy that I had a hand and Boom token for IG for the MATH for $6.50.. Now Im a gal who loves a good bargain and to get into the MATH which has my favoritist format of a deep stack and has a $26 buy-in is better then chocolate (I didnt say SEX, I said Chocolate!!!)
See you all in the MATH.
So after my Poker Analysis win of last weekend on Pstars I decided to play a early Sunday evening league game on Poker.com $5.50 buyin T2000 starting chips and only 11 players signed up. I was actually able to hit straights with 48os out of the SB and another straight with another LAGGY play with lots of limpers, but I had no payoffs early on. I seesawed back and forth and never really got over the 2000 starting chips after folding my raise with 88 to a board of AJK (with two others in the pot). I then was dealt 33... Again multiway pot I'm early position I think I limped.....Now I will tell you something (and goodness I'm beginning to sound like Hoy!!). My raises get no respect normally against this crew and I often say to myself... "Do you think its statistically possible for me to not have a hand all that often???" so I tend to limp or min raise against these folks because value betting seems to work best and lets face it why lose a ton of chips when you are going to more often then not fold post flop. Which is the reason you have to play all sorts of people and not just bloggers because you need to see all types of players.
Board 346 or 7..... I've hit bottom set.... So I fire out small overbet (because the slider thingee wont cooperate and I'm too lazy to type in a pot sized bet) and get a caller and the rest of the limpers go bye bye... There is no flush draw possible but there is str8 possiblity. Although I'm kind of familiar with the dudes play who called, I wouldnt call him LAGGY and I was more worried about a possible str8 then set over set.. Regardless the next card is either a blank or the 6 and the river is definitely a 6 so now Im hoping he does have the str8 and I think i shall catapault into the lead...... So now I push all in with the boat of 33366 and am shell shocked to find the dude had 44 in the whole and middle set. And I go out in 10th place. Big ouch and just maybe a touch of Hubris
Not to be undaunted and feeling like I had not gotten my Poker jones (I missed Katitude's Donkament Friday nite and only played a Razz game Saturday nite for the Poker Analysis Freeroll league while railing Snake5970 in his pre-Vegas warmup of The Saturday nite Deep stacker on Pstars.), I decided to earn my way into the MATH by tokening it..... And BooYah.. I actually maded it into the tokens without really having to worry about the bubble or scrambling for once.. My JJ and QQ held early on and I had a nice enough stack. And when I needed to make a move just to stay out of harms way of possibly losing the token, I hit a flush out of the SB with a shortie all in and showed to let the big stack no I wasnt being bitchy that I had a hand and Boom token for IG for the MATH for $6.50.. Now Im a gal who loves a good bargain and to get into the MATH which has my favoritist format of a deep stack and has a $26 buy-in is better then chocolate (I didnt say SEX, I said Chocolate!!!)
See you all in the MATH.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Rock it Doc!!
Some people head to the NY Times for all the News Thats Fit to Print. For those of us interested in Poker News we head to the Blogfather's site or to the Tao of Poker by none other then the world's fav internet Doctor: Pauly McGuire.
Pauly has a rare day off and is playing todays event which has had a record turnout. So head to his site and send your most positive vibes. Change100 is doing the chip counts for PokerNews so be sure to check out the chip count updates and live reporting as well.
So to my fellow NYer, Wall Street drop out, Deadhead and poker player Monster Pots and Good Cardma Doc!!
I havent played a hand of poker since Wednesday nite. After working some over-time from home I headed to my favorite NY style Deli for a rare roast beef sandwich on pumpernickel and am enjoying a Saturday of gardening (I visited a bunch of nurseries early afternoon looking for a new planter) and gardening research and just kicking back.
Now Ladies... I have to pimp this handsome dudes blog. I met this guy in Vegas and 1) he has the most beautiful eyes other then me if I say so myself. 2) Hes also mighty fine looking and 3)what's more this guy can cook. 4) He is no slouch on the felt either 5) Did I mention he has a great personality?. I didnt know he loves to cook as much as me but his recent menus have inspired me to make some homemade salsa and guacamole and demo a chimichurri sauce for steak. Me, I'm old enough to be his big sister so you young lasses in your late twenties or thirties snap this guy up would you!! He's Canadian too!!
Pauly has a rare day off and is playing todays event which has had a record turnout. So head to his site and send your most positive vibes. Change100 is doing the chip counts for PokerNews so be sure to check out the chip count updates and live reporting as well.
So to my fellow NYer, Wall Street drop out, Deadhead and poker player Monster Pots and Good Cardma Doc!!
I havent played a hand of poker since Wednesday nite. After working some over-time from home I headed to my favorite NY style Deli for a rare roast beef sandwich on pumpernickel and am enjoying a Saturday of gardening (I visited a bunch of nurseries early afternoon looking for a new planter) and gardening research and just kicking back.
Now Ladies... I have to pimp this handsome dudes blog. I met this guy in Vegas and 1) he has the most beautiful eyes other then me if I say so myself. 2) Hes also mighty fine looking and 3)what's more this guy can cook. 4) He is no slouch on the felt either 5) Did I mention he has a great personality?. I didnt know he loves to cook as much as me but his recent menus have inspired me to make some homemade salsa and guacamole and demo a chimichurri sauce for steak. Me, I'm old enough to be his big sister so you young lasses in your late twenties or thirties snap this guy up would you!! He's Canadian too!!
Friday, June 22, 2007
The Week in Review
I played the MATH and the MOOKIE this week and have now moved into the bottom qualifying spot (50th) of the BBT. That's not acceptable and I will be playing all the remaining events to get my twenty in sans the Riverchasers Deep Stack HORSE. Lets face it I'm just not a limit girl. I went pretty deep in the Mookie finishing 17th of 81 or 82 (record turnout I believe). But since the BBT began, I've come short of the actual cash after some deep finishes in the MATH, my one BIG GAME and the MOOKIE. I'm not going to rant about this weeks MATH where I couldn't hit a flop to save my life and got chased down to the river by a weak tight calling station (who pulled the same crap on Miami Don). I took notes on the player and pitched a fit to Katitude and MD already. Time to move on.
Tuesday evening I was playing a 9 person SNG on FTP. Snake popped up to rail me to a second place finish which I lost when I got rivered and I was only slightly outchipped. In turn, I fired up Pokerstars where he was deep in a $20 buy-in 180 person SNG. He was just into the money and the call came thru:
Snake5970: Do you want to take over for me? I have the early shift tomorrow?
IG: Hmmm Sure (with a little fear and trepidation since I had no reads on anyone).
Snake5970: I'm in the money already (for about $40 at the time) just play your game, dont worry about it.
IG: Im on it. (so Snake signed off and I signed in as him)
I'm a player and my goal was to take this bad boy down. I observed for a few orbits folding folding folding... I then raised out of the SB with a gapped suited connector. Hit a 4 flush, semi bluffed the river and doubled up off a slightly bigger stack when I called his all-in with the four flush and found I had a better nothing then his nothing.. In fact my suited 89 or 78 dominated his hand of another gapper!!
From there I rolled and got myself onto the final table and into 4th position. We got down to 5 way and I open raised off the button with KJ to $9000 which was a third of my stack and I was still in 4th. I wound up (after thinking thinking thinking for a good part of the time bank) laying it down to a tighter players reraise. Hindsight is twenty twenty and he may have just been on a re-raise steal but that didnt dawn on me at the time and I gave him credit for a stronger hand since he had been playing tight. I probably should have open shoved there. That caused me to lose 1/3 of my chips and in the course of three hands I busted out in 5th for $234.. Disappointed but in general pleased with my play for the most part.
Last nite Snake called me to fill me in on some really big news of his. He then confessed that he had actually watched my entire play from the moment I took over. Immediately I get that feeling of Oh what did I do wrong and a critique is eminent? I was pleased when he gave me his two thumbs up with a resounding... You played fantastic!!! I almost was going to call you to fill you in on that one dude but know your scouting and reads are better then mine (I'm ten times better live when I can see my opponents then just watching betting patterns on-line). In fact I had emailed him during my run that the BluffinX dude was a LAGGie luckbox (and that took all of a few hands to ascertain)
I went to Vegas with a win under my belt in the monthly finale for Poker Analysis. Cashed in two of four tourneys in Vegas, Came back and won a buy-in on pokerstars, Cashed in the two sngs I played on Full Tilt and played a tough two final tables in a 180 person $20 sng on stars with limited information. My game continues to evolve and I'm at the crossroads that with a little more work I'll be taking down a bigger score then my $1165 very soon. That is the beauty of this game. We can always get better and learn from our mistakes and from others if we are open to improving.
Tuesday evening I was playing a 9 person SNG on FTP. Snake popped up to rail me to a second place finish which I lost when I got rivered and I was only slightly outchipped. In turn, I fired up Pokerstars where he was deep in a $20 buy-in 180 person SNG. He was just into the money and the call came thru:
Snake5970: Do you want to take over for me? I have the early shift tomorrow?
IG: Hmmm Sure (with a little fear and trepidation since I had no reads on anyone).
Snake5970: I'm in the money already (for about $40 at the time) just play your game, dont worry about it.
IG: Im on it. (so Snake signed off and I signed in as him)
I'm a player and my goal was to take this bad boy down. I observed for a few orbits folding folding folding... I then raised out of the SB with a gapped suited connector. Hit a 4 flush, semi bluffed the river and doubled up off a slightly bigger stack when I called his all-in with the four flush and found I had a better nothing then his nothing.. In fact my suited 89 or 78 dominated his hand of another gapper!!
From there I rolled and got myself onto the final table and into 4th position. We got down to 5 way and I open raised off the button with KJ to $9000 which was a third of my stack and I was still in 4th. I wound up (after thinking thinking thinking for a good part of the time bank) laying it down to a tighter players reraise. Hindsight is twenty twenty and he may have just been on a re-raise steal but that didnt dawn on me at the time and I gave him credit for a stronger hand since he had been playing tight. I probably should have open shoved there. That caused me to lose 1/3 of my chips and in the course of three hands I busted out in 5th for $234.. Disappointed but in general pleased with my play for the most part.
Last nite Snake called me to fill me in on some really big news of his. He then confessed that he had actually watched my entire play from the moment I took over. Immediately I get that feeling of Oh what did I do wrong and a critique is eminent? I was pleased when he gave me his two thumbs up with a resounding... You played fantastic!!! I almost was going to call you to fill you in on that one dude but know your scouting and reads are better then mine (I'm ten times better live when I can see my opponents then just watching betting patterns on-line). In fact I had emailed him during my run that the BluffinX dude was a LAGGie luckbox (and that took all of a few hands to ascertain)
I went to Vegas with a win under my belt in the monthly finale for Poker Analysis. Cashed in two of four tourneys in Vegas, Came back and won a buy-in on pokerstars, Cashed in the two sngs I played on Full Tilt and played a tough two final tables in a 180 person $20 sng on stars with limited information. My game continues to evolve and I'm at the crossroads that with a little more work I'll be taking down a bigger score then my $1165 very soon. That is the beauty of this game. We can always get better and learn from our mistakes and from others if we are open to improving.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Winnah Winnah - Poker Analysis Buy-In League
Thanks to LJ and Snake5970 for railing me thru this. Shamanalix had thrown out a bet that I wouldnt be able to hold my lead and take down the win regardless of how good a player I am. I promptly sent his arse to the rail and went on to the win. Seems kind of paltry after the Orleans score but a win is a win and any little addition to the on-line bankroll is a plus.
Rumors of me pole dancing in Vegas were circulating pokerstars. I may have been bowl dancing at the Orleans but I certainly wasnt pole dancing. I save my best moves for one on one. And lets face it, I wouldn't be pole dancing for free. Its gonna cost you all to see me getting down with my bad self.
Snake5970 was rolling nicely in the 150 seat Pokerstars guarantee (hes a ballah and was trying for seat #2) until a deja vu of last years Main Event sent him to the rail. His flopped set got rivered by a dude holding some raggedy arse club holding (104c) The dude called his 3x bb raise from the button out of the big blind. Let the river gods be cruel to you now and good things will happen in Vegas.
I'm not sure how any bloggers are fairing in the two Main Event donkathons. I know LJ and MiamiDon and a few others were in the $100 satellite and came up a little short of qualifying. Cracknaces and CMitch are out of the seat tourney. As for me, I think my best shot is playing a live qualifier somewhere (we are talking 2008) as that is where I really excel.
And yes I still gotta post the rest of my trip report.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Full Tilt TiltFest
---I hate online poker. I hate Full Tilt you bastids... I blew threw my last $26 on FTP playing the donkament and one sitngo... Yeah baby I had KK cracked in the sng by 78suited rivering two pair after the asshat called my pot sized raise just because he was the bigstack. The donkament was another test of my patience. If it wasnt for MiamiDon doubling my sorry arse up twice (and MD I told you to throw your chips out before the AA was dealt on hand #2) and Katitude sending me $10 on FTP for $10 on stars I would have been out of there way sooner... As it was I was the official Gigli after the rebuy/addon period was over. I think I forgot how to play online poker.
So I'm going to sulk today and play on other sites and punish Full Tilt for not being nice to me. And maybe I wont play at all since we all know online poker is rigged.
As I said to Katitude (and Im not talking about the donkament rebuy hour). These bozos wouldnt make half the calls they do if they were sitting across from me in a live tourney...
As Iakaris (and Iak your newly acquired poundage just means there is more of you to adore!!) would say: Whadddevah Fawkers!!!
Lets just suffice it to say that in my last twelve live tourneys I have cashed 8 times and my stats go something like this (1-1st, 1-2nd, 3 3rds, 1 4th, 1-5th and 1 14th (Caesars Las Vegas $200 buyin). Of course the fact that I have a nice pile of live cash doesnt help when its aggravating as all hell trying to get money back online to the sites you play on the most. Most of my roll is on Absolute and its skin Vegas 24/7 along with Bugsy's Club, Pokerstars, Poker.com and Bodog (where I am now sitting plush with $315 in tourney credits because of that WSOP snafu).
What's a gal to do? Off to Walgreens....
So I'm going to sulk today and play on other sites and punish Full Tilt for not being nice to me. And maybe I wont play at all since we all know online poker is rigged.
As I said to Katitude (and Im not talking about the donkament rebuy hour). These bozos wouldnt make half the calls they do if they were sitting across from me in a live tourney...
As Iakaris (and Iak your newly acquired poundage just means there is more of you to adore!!) would say: Whadddevah Fawkers!!!
Lets just suffice it to say that in my last twelve live tourneys I have cashed 8 times and my stats go something like this (1-1st, 1-2nd, 3 3rds, 1 4th, 1-5th and 1 14th (Caesars Las Vegas $200 buyin). Of course the fact that I have a nice pile of live cash doesnt help when its aggravating as all hell trying to get money back online to the sites you play on the most. Most of my roll is on Absolute and its skin Vegas 24/7 along with Bugsy's Club, Pokerstars, Poker.com and Bodog (where I am now sitting plush with $315 in tourney credits because of that WSOP snafu).
What's a gal to do? Off to Walgreens....
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Vegas Trip Report Day I
Momma IG picked me up at the condo right on time and dropped me off at Smallbany International Airport. My departure was scheduled for a 10:20 AM flight on Southwest non-stop to Las Vegas. Arriving approximately at 12:30 PM PDT.
The check-in dude at the counter sees my Pokerstars bag that Snake had given me from his 2006 WSOP haul and asks if I play. I tell him yes and that I'm on my way out to play in the Ladies WSOP event and to meet up with a bunch of fellow poker players/bloggers for our semi-annual jamboree. He looks at me and says I have something for you and runs into the back.
He comes out with a copy of a book called Dead Money written by Capital District local Rudy Stegemoeller. Its a no-limit poker mystery. He gives it to me and asks that I spread the word on this book. Per his bio, Rudy is a former Jeopardy champion and is a lawyer to boot. So here goes the pimpage Rudy and thanks for a copy.
One of our flight attendents is a hoot. Her pre-flight instructions have me laughing. I especially liked it when she said: "If you are travelling with small children, I'm so sorry!!" When the part comes about assisting your child with the gas mask in case we need oxygen she advises "to pick the child with the most potential and do that child first". Another classic was about the $2000 fine for tampering with the smoke detectors in the bathroom... "Let's face it" she says, "If you could afford the $2000 you'd be flying Delta." There were more classic one-liners but those stood out.
I lose my first $1 on the flight to Vegas. I throw a $1 bill with my seat number on it into a bag. Winner take all.. I lose... I doze on the plane and read Harrington on Holdem II and Cosmo. I retrieve my bag once on ground at McCarren and sign up for a shuttle to the Orleans.
Now a cab is quicker but, a round-trip shuttle is only $13 for me which is about half of what round-trip cab fare would be. Sure I have to stop at a bunch of hotels along the way. But Im really in no hurry. Im the last one off. I look at the driver and state.. That means Im going to be last out of my big tourney!!
Check-in is uneventful, I unpack which is unusual for me as I usually live out of a suitcase.. I packed about 7 pairs of shoes (New balances, Reebok Sport sandals, Birkies and about 3 pair of sandals. I hang up the Tilly tops and put the rest of the stuff in the drawer. I actually packed very light for me.
I call Shamanalix and Penn's room but get no answer. I then go down to do a tour of the Orleans and get a bite to eat at Terrible Mikes. I have a big burger, fries and a mambo sized Diet Pepsi... Not the healthiest start to my Vegas meals but I wanted something quick. When I finish my fine dining I head back to the room and decide to hit the pool. I had promised mamma IG that I would not spend all my time in casinos or playing poker. I have a message waiting and its Penn telling me hes busted out of the Orleans 12 noon tourney, but Sham is still in and I can find him in the poker room. I change into my swimsuit pull a skirt and T-shirt over the swimsuit and bring some poker books and the IPOD and SPF 30 down with me.
I stop in the poker room and even though I have never met Sham before, I recognize him by the description of what he's wearing given to me by Penn, plus I had a general idea of what he looked like based on his pokerstars avatar. Sham gives me a hug when he is out of his hand and we chat for a bit. Tentative plans are made to perhaps do the Sahara tourney at 11 PM when RK gets in from KS. I hit the pool and hang out there for a bit. Then I head back up to my room and talk to both Sham (I think) and Randy for a bit when he gets checked into the Sahara. I take a shower and quick catnap and get ready to meet the bloggers in the bowling alley at 9PM.
I put on my newest Tilly top. I'm pulling out the stops for the Blogger boyz. I head up to the bowling alley and dont see anyone. I look for Penn who is the Aces Cracked forum owner and dont see him. After going out and about and up and down the alley I remember Falstaff had said get drunk at the bowling alley so I head into the bar there. I see a dude who might be Penn based on description or it could be a blogger. I wander over and ask.. Are you a blogger? (not one WPBT crossed hammer logo was on display). It is Bayne.. And Bayne is the first blogger I have ever met live. Bayne buys me a soda since Im a sober gal and we shoot the shit.. He's wearing his Aussie Millions stuff and we talk about his experience there.
Finally the blogger crew pours in...Lets see Falstaff who quotes me lovely lines from the Taming of the Shrew if I remember correctly, Mattazuma, Zeem, STB, Penner2 and Penner3 (Allen and John), Brdweb, MHG, and Brandon Schaefer. I look at Brdweb and say.. Oh so your the dude I have a piece of. It is then some of us are told about Jason getting jacked of his bankroll and his WSOP buy-in (details are on his blog). MHG wants to play Chinese Poker which I am really the only one who knows how to play except for Brandon, but Brandon forgot his deck of cards and I didnt bring one either. So we decide to bowl.
Now, I used to bowl in a league in another times forgotten place (like junior high), but probably havent bowled since my 20's and I was probably stoned or drunk or both then, but Im a player and I agree to play. Now Alan Penner brought his bowling ball so you know that this dude is all serious. The teams are set.... Me, John P (who became my buddy for most of the weekend) and Falstaff (kiltless tonite but resplendent in a Full Tilt Jersey) against MeanHappyGuy (aka MHG), Alan P and Brdweb.
I gutterball my first toss and I dont mean in the poker sense.. Im absolutely horrible. I bowl a 63 but do throw a strike. I just couldnt get a feel for the lanes, nor release the ball off my hand the same way each time at the line. . Im all over the place, I pull a muscle in my ass which gets lots of requests to help massage it out. But at least I showed Im a sport and Im sure I gave the guys a good show in the Tilly top. Good Cleavage like good shoes (although the bowling shoes were heinous) is paramount at all times.
We then decide to prop bet for the bowling tab. The other team spots us 150 points. Do you think we can cover the spread??? Of course not.. Falstaff bowls a 1 on the final frame and we need ten to cover. I gutterball both shots on the lane that has been my problem one all evening.. Fortunately I had my coupon book and we got three games free.. My share of the tab is $15. Im know down $16 without playing a hand of Poker, pai gow, or Roshambo. I did bowl a 67 my last game and beat Falstaff's score.
During the course of the bowling the twin towers of poker make their entrance from the deep-stack extravaganza over at the Venetian. It is then I finally meet MiamiDon (he could be a quarterback) and Chad (he could be a lineman). Chad is a big teddy bear. We all know how he as lost his chat on Full Tilt but live he is one mellow laid-back dude. And MiamiDon is equally as cool and funny as all hell. I spent a bit of time talking to them and got some Vegas inside info on the pros. Lets just say that the guys feel one name female pro is a bitch and doesnt change her clothes for days nor wash her hair and she smells, another female pro is a poor loser and another one, well they feel she needs a crotch check or at least her DNA. Chad strokes me when he says the only way the women's bracelet would be considered serious is if IG wins it. There is further venting about Jennifer Tilly checking down a full house on Poker After Dark and how her WPT win was really only a 6 person SNG.
MD and Chad look at me in horror when I tell them that I walked from the Stratosphere to the Sahara last year in daylight by myself. I promised I would not do that again. I then freaked out and decided that as soon as I got up the next day I would hi-tail it over to the RIO to register for the Ladies event and purge myself of the cash I was carrying. John was going to do the same and I gave him my room number so he could call me when he woke up. Then we would go to Caesars for the nooner which he had final tabled and cashed in that day.
I never made it to the Sahara 11 PMer which was really 2 AM EDT.. I did spend lots of time talking to Chad, Don and John Penner and avoided Pai Gow and then made my way up to my room at about 1:30 AM PDT which was like 4:30 my time...
To be continued---
The check-in dude at the counter sees my Pokerstars bag that Snake had given me from his 2006 WSOP haul and asks if I play. I tell him yes and that I'm on my way out to play in the Ladies WSOP event and to meet up with a bunch of fellow poker players/bloggers for our semi-annual jamboree. He looks at me and says I have something for you and runs into the back.
He comes out with a copy of a book called Dead Money written by Capital District local Rudy Stegemoeller. Its a no-limit poker mystery. He gives it to me and asks that I spread the word on this book. Per his bio, Rudy is a former Jeopardy champion and is a lawyer to boot. So here goes the pimpage Rudy and thanks for a copy.
One of our flight attendents is a hoot. Her pre-flight instructions have me laughing. I especially liked it when she said: "If you are travelling with small children, I'm so sorry!!" When the part comes about assisting your child with the gas mask in case we need oxygen she advises "to pick the child with the most potential and do that child first". Another classic was about the $2000 fine for tampering with the smoke detectors in the bathroom... "Let's face it" she says, "If you could afford the $2000 you'd be flying Delta." There were more classic one-liners but those stood out.
I lose my first $1 on the flight to Vegas. I throw a $1 bill with my seat number on it into a bag. Winner take all.. I lose... I doze on the plane and read Harrington on Holdem II and Cosmo. I retrieve my bag once on ground at McCarren and sign up for a shuttle to the Orleans.
Now a cab is quicker but, a round-trip shuttle is only $13 for me which is about half of what round-trip cab fare would be. Sure I have to stop at a bunch of hotels along the way. But Im really in no hurry. Im the last one off. I look at the driver and state.. That means Im going to be last out of my big tourney!!
Check-in is uneventful, I unpack which is unusual for me as I usually live out of a suitcase.. I packed about 7 pairs of shoes (New balances, Reebok Sport sandals, Birkies and about 3 pair of sandals. I hang up the Tilly tops and put the rest of the stuff in the drawer. I actually packed very light for me.
I call Shamanalix and Penn's room but get no answer. I then go down to do a tour of the Orleans and get a bite to eat at Terrible Mikes. I have a big burger, fries and a mambo sized Diet Pepsi... Not the healthiest start to my Vegas meals but I wanted something quick. When I finish my fine dining I head back to the room and decide to hit the pool. I had promised mamma IG that I would not spend all my time in casinos or playing poker. I have a message waiting and its Penn telling me hes busted out of the Orleans 12 noon tourney, but Sham is still in and I can find him in the poker room. I change into my swimsuit pull a skirt and T-shirt over the swimsuit and bring some poker books and the IPOD and SPF 30 down with me.
I stop in the poker room and even though I have never met Sham before, I recognize him by the description of what he's wearing given to me by Penn, plus I had a general idea of what he looked like based on his pokerstars avatar. Sham gives me a hug when he is out of his hand and we chat for a bit. Tentative plans are made to perhaps do the Sahara tourney at 11 PM when RK gets in from KS. I hit the pool and hang out there for a bit. Then I head back up to my room and talk to both Sham (I think) and Randy for a bit when he gets checked into the Sahara. I take a shower and quick catnap and get ready to meet the bloggers in the bowling alley at 9PM.
I put on my newest Tilly top. I'm pulling out the stops for the Blogger boyz. I head up to the bowling alley and dont see anyone. I look for Penn who is the Aces Cracked forum owner and dont see him. After going out and about and up and down the alley I remember Falstaff had said get drunk at the bowling alley so I head into the bar there. I see a dude who might be Penn based on description or it could be a blogger. I wander over and ask.. Are you a blogger? (not one WPBT crossed hammer logo was on display). It is Bayne.. And Bayne is the first blogger I have ever met live. Bayne buys me a soda since Im a sober gal and we shoot the shit.. He's wearing his Aussie Millions stuff and we talk about his experience there.
Finally the blogger crew pours in...Lets see Falstaff who quotes me lovely lines from the Taming of the Shrew if I remember correctly, Mattazuma, Zeem, STB, Penner2 and Penner3 (Allen and John), Brdweb, MHG, and Brandon Schaefer. I look at Brdweb and say.. Oh so your the dude I have a piece of. It is then some of us are told about Jason getting jacked of his bankroll and his WSOP buy-in (details are on his blog). MHG wants to play Chinese Poker which I am really the only one who knows how to play except for Brandon, but Brandon forgot his deck of cards and I didnt bring one either. So we decide to bowl.
Now, I used to bowl in a league in another times forgotten place (like junior high), but probably havent bowled since my 20's and I was probably stoned or drunk or both then, but Im a player and I agree to play. Now Alan Penner brought his bowling ball so you know that this dude is all serious. The teams are set.... Me, John P (who became my buddy for most of the weekend) and Falstaff (kiltless tonite but resplendent in a Full Tilt Jersey) against MeanHappyGuy (aka MHG), Alan P and Brdweb.
I gutterball my first toss and I dont mean in the poker sense.. Im absolutely horrible. I bowl a 63 but do throw a strike. I just couldnt get a feel for the lanes, nor release the ball off my hand the same way each time at the line. . Im all over the place, I pull a muscle in my ass which gets lots of requests to help massage it out. But at least I showed Im a sport and Im sure I gave the guys a good show in the Tilly top. Good Cleavage like good shoes (although the bowling shoes were heinous) is paramount at all times.
We then decide to prop bet for the bowling tab. The other team spots us 150 points. Do you think we can cover the spread??? Of course not.. Falstaff bowls a 1 on the final frame and we need ten to cover. I gutterball both shots on the lane that has been my problem one all evening.. Fortunately I had my coupon book and we got three games free.. My share of the tab is $15. Im know down $16 without playing a hand of Poker, pai gow, or Roshambo. I did bowl a 67 my last game and beat Falstaff's score.
During the course of the bowling the twin towers of poker make their entrance from the deep-stack extravaganza over at the Venetian. It is then I finally meet MiamiDon (he could be a quarterback) and Chad (he could be a lineman). Chad is a big teddy bear. We all know how he as lost his chat on Full Tilt but live he is one mellow laid-back dude. And MiamiDon is equally as cool and funny as all hell. I spent a bit of time talking to them and got some Vegas inside info on the pros. Lets just say that the guys feel one name female pro is a bitch and doesnt change her clothes for days nor wash her hair and she smells, another female pro is a poor loser and another one, well they feel she needs a crotch check or at least her DNA. Chad strokes me when he says the only way the women's bracelet would be considered serious is if IG wins it. There is further venting about Jennifer Tilly checking down a full house on Poker After Dark and how her WPT win was really only a 6 person SNG.
MD and Chad look at me in horror when I tell them that I walked from the Stratosphere to the Sahara last year in daylight by myself. I promised I would not do that again. I then freaked out and decided that as soon as I got up the next day I would hi-tail it over to the RIO to register for the Ladies event and purge myself of the cash I was carrying. John was going to do the same and I gave him my room number so he could call me when he woke up. Then we would go to Caesars for the nooner which he had final tabled and cashed in that day.
I never made it to the Sahara 11 PMer which was really 2 AM EDT.. I did spend lots of time talking to Chad, Don and John Penner and avoided Pai Gow and then made my way up to my room at about 1:30 AM PDT which was like 4:30 my time...
To be continued---
Breaking News
My interview is up. Writen by my galpal the vivacious CarmenSinCity. Im on the front page of Pokerworks in a Grateful Dead American Beauty T. I was having bad hair days in Vegas. No humidity made my hair dull and lifeless and I had to pull it back.
Here is the direct link to the article Titled Until We Meet Again at the Tables:
http://pokerworks.com/article-963.html
Next year... extensions... But I must say I dont look too horrendous for a gal who will be hitting the big 50 in a few years... As I said to Falstaff when he was shocked to hear that I was 46: Chemical Preservatives back in the day Baby and I dont mean Botox!!
Here is the direct link to the article Titled Until We Meet Again at the Tables:
http://pokerworks.com/article-963.html
Next year... extensions... But I must say I dont look too horrendous for a gal who will be hitting the big 50 in a few years... As I said to Falstaff when he was shocked to hear that I was 46: Chemical Preservatives back in the day Baby and I dont mean Botox!!
Another Live Cash!!
I got a follow-up call to our AM convo from Snake about 6:40 PM advising me of a home tourney at the Commish's house (our live league manager). So I jump into the Santa Fe, throwing Snake's goodies I have brought back from Vegas into my Pstars bag and I high-tailed it up the Northway. Its a good 40 minute drive up to exit 18 but I drive fast and made it with a little time to spare.
Besides Mike (the Commish), Ray, Trent and myself, present are Juddy and Bill (married) and Zoe (their daughter) and Karen M and Blake who isnt an APler but Ive played against at Trent's. I plop down between Snake and Karen. Then I realize my mistake. Why do I want Snake on my left and Trent two seats over.
My early raises get respect and little more then the blinds. During the first blind level I open raise with a suited 79 from EP and show and get a few looks.
Blake is first out then Bill then Juddy then Zoe then Karen and its 4 way. Me last gal standing and the boyz...
Now to back track a second, I hadnt played Trent or Ray live since APL ended (Snake and I had played some Chinese Poker but no heads-up NLHE). I did play against the rest of the crew back in February so it was a good 4 months and a retooled/improved game since they had seen me last.
Earlier I had gotten short throwing away a pair of tens (again) to Juddy who probably had A5 on a board of 532 or something like that. Some people wont throw away ace rag anything, and of course when they have a piece they wont lay it down. I thought about putting Juddy all in there. SHe was not going to let it go if I bet or checked so I let her get a free card... Of course, when a 5 hit the turn and I faced an all in I had to fold the over pair to what was certain trips.
Snake had raised to $1500 earlier with the blinds at $150/$300. I looked at him and said. Protecting that middle pair Huh? He flips up 77. A bunch of hands later he limps UTG... I believe it folded around to me and I raised. Snake reraises me and I just give him a look and a little speech that went down something like this.....
IG- You limp from under the gun and then come back over the top of my raise. Hmm thats really interesting. (now if I lay this down Im going to be really short).
Snake5970 Cat has his tongue.
I am pretty sure I know what he has and his reraise sends a warning bell. Its a discussion Chad and I had had in Vegas... I re-raise with AK IG... the only way I can see where I stand..... Now Snake doesnt know about this little convo I had had with the Sit-N-Go machine.
IG- Okay lets gamble baby... I flip up Pocket 77's and indeed its a race....
My 77's hold and I double thru...
Snake5970 I was hoping you had AQ
IG- Dont you think Ive learned my lesson with AQ?
I take another big pot down when my rivered set of QQ and three hearts on board force Snake to fold the IG on a board that also had an A and a K.
Now its fun playing against your mentors and Ray and Trent have been instrumental in my improvement, but they both admitted I had a few new moves that even they hadnt seen. Mike even said "I guess I dont know what your hand ranges are anymore since you raised with 79 out of position."
Bubble time saw a lot of chips moving around. Trent who had been short got a big stack. His lag style of play is dangerous when he has a stack because you cant put him on a hand. Finally after he had stolen one two many times. Ray takes a stand with A3 suited or black offsuit and runs into Trent's AT. Ray is the bubble.
I look at Ray as I hand him the swag I brought back from Vegas (magazines and tourney schedules etc) and said.... Promise me you wont do that in Vegas and jokingly you better go start reading this stuff.
Trent is a thief and I decided if im going to double thru its gonna be thru Mike. I raise with 55 and Mike reraises all in and I call with a PRESTO be good. Presto is up against the HOY... (AJos) and Presto is Gold!!!
Finally I decide I have to take a stand against the anti-Robin Hood. Mike and I are even stacked about about 17-20k each or so and Trent has us at least 2:1. SO I raise off the button with K9os to 40000 blinds are $500/$1000 still and he puts me all in. I pretty much have to call as K9 threeway is as good a hand as I can hope for, and I figure I have overcards. Trent flips up 66 and hits a 6 on the flop for a set. I get a couple cards for my str8 but fail to improve and I go home
$30 buyin I cashed for $60 3rd of 9 just like an online sng....
Im up $1265 and have now cashed in 3/5 live tourneys since last Thursday!!
Full Vegas recap to come tomorrow
Besides Mike (the Commish), Ray, Trent and myself, present are Juddy and Bill (married) and Zoe (their daughter) and Karen M and Blake who isnt an APler but Ive played against at Trent's. I plop down between Snake and Karen. Then I realize my mistake. Why do I want Snake on my left and Trent two seats over.
My early raises get respect and little more then the blinds. During the first blind level I open raise with a suited 79 from EP and show and get a few looks.
Blake is first out then Bill then Juddy then Zoe then Karen and its 4 way. Me last gal standing and the boyz...
Now to back track a second, I hadnt played Trent or Ray live since APL ended (Snake and I had played some Chinese Poker but no heads-up NLHE). I did play against the rest of the crew back in February so it was a good 4 months and a retooled/improved game since they had seen me last.
Earlier I had gotten short throwing away a pair of tens (again) to Juddy who probably had A5 on a board of 532 or something like that. Some people wont throw away ace rag anything, and of course when they have a piece they wont lay it down. I thought about putting Juddy all in there. SHe was not going to let it go if I bet or checked so I let her get a free card... Of course, when a 5 hit the turn and I faced an all in I had to fold the over pair to what was certain trips.
Snake had raised to $1500 earlier with the blinds at $150/$300. I looked at him and said. Protecting that middle pair Huh? He flips up 77. A bunch of hands later he limps UTG... I believe it folded around to me and I raised. Snake reraises me and I just give him a look and a little speech that went down something like this.....
IG- You limp from under the gun and then come back over the top of my raise. Hmm thats really interesting. (now if I lay this down Im going to be really short).
Snake5970 Cat has his tongue.
I am pretty sure I know what he has and his reraise sends a warning bell. Its a discussion Chad and I had had in Vegas... I re-raise with AK IG... the only way I can see where I stand..... Now Snake doesnt know about this little convo I had had with the Sit-N-Go machine.
IG- Okay lets gamble baby... I flip up Pocket 77's and indeed its a race....
My 77's hold and I double thru...
Snake5970 I was hoping you had AQ
IG- Dont you think Ive learned my lesson with AQ?
I take another big pot down when my rivered set of QQ and three hearts on board force Snake to fold the IG on a board that also had an A and a K.
Now its fun playing against your mentors and Ray and Trent have been instrumental in my improvement, but they both admitted I had a few new moves that even they hadnt seen. Mike even said "I guess I dont know what your hand ranges are anymore since you raised with 79 out of position."
Bubble time saw a lot of chips moving around. Trent who had been short got a big stack. His lag style of play is dangerous when he has a stack because you cant put him on a hand. Finally after he had stolen one two many times. Ray takes a stand with A3 suited or black offsuit and runs into Trent's AT. Ray is the bubble.
I look at Ray as I hand him the swag I brought back from Vegas (magazines and tourney schedules etc) and said.... Promise me you wont do that in Vegas and jokingly you better go start reading this stuff.
Trent is a thief and I decided if im going to double thru its gonna be thru Mike. I raise with 55 and Mike reraises all in and I call with a PRESTO be good. Presto is up against the HOY... (AJos) and Presto is Gold!!!
Finally I decide I have to take a stand against the anti-Robin Hood. Mike and I are even stacked about about 17-20k each or so and Trent has us at least 2:1. SO I raise off the button with K9os to 40000 blinds are $500/$1000 still and he puts me all in. I pretty much have to call as K9 threeway is as good a hand as I can hope for, and I figure I have overcards. Trent flips up 66 and hits a 6 on the flop for a set. I get a couple cards for my str8 but fail to improve and I go home
$30 buyin I cashed for $60 3rd of 9 just like an online sng....
Im up $1265 and have now cashed in 3/5 live tourneys since last Thursday!!
Full Vegas recap to come tomorrow
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Congrats to BigTai (Lex) and Snake5970 (Ray)
I just got off the phone with Snake.... We APLers (Adirondack Poker Leaguers) and Upstate NYers sure can play (well some of us anyway)...While I was returning from Sin City on a high note, Snake, BigTai, Silo (Rich), Smellydigits (aka Cocky aka Joe Jr) and 3 others ventured up to TROCK (Turning Stone) for event two of the Heartland Poker Tour.
In a field that contained Annette15, Gobboboy and Mkind16 etc..... (its an Indian Reservation so the under 21ers can play.. Snake5970 finished 10th for $1100 and BigTai cut an 8 way deal for over $5500 as a shortstack.
I had emailed Snake upon my return to tell him I hoped he wasnt reading my email yet (I couldn't get thru on his cell) and hoped he was doing well. I was still lazing around in bed when his call came in this AM.. I looked at the clock and said Dang had you called me earlier we could have gone back up to play today. Snake of course laughed and would have been game.
19 Days till Snake leaves for Vegas and the 2007 WSOP Main Event. He will start play on Day 3 which is Sunday July 8th.
In a field that contained Annette15, Gobboboy and Mkind16 etc..... (its an Indian Reservation so the under 21ers can play.. Snake5970 finished 10th for $1100 and BigTai cut an 8 way deal for over $5500 as a shortstack.
I had emailed Snake upon my return to tell him I hoped he wasnt reading my email yet (I couldn't get thru on his cell) and hoped he was doing well. I was still lazing around in bed when his call came in this AM.. I looked at the clock and said Dang had you called me earlier we could have gone back up to play today. Snake of course laughed and would have been game.
19 Days till Snake leaves for Vegas and the 2007 WSOP Main Event. He will start play on Day 3 which is Sunday July 8th.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Vegas Teaser
Im Back....SIGH.....
I didnt cash in the ladies event. I'll go into more of that in a thorough trip report. My feelings on the structure may be part of an interview CarmenSinCity is doing for Pokerworks. Yes I was interviewed along with Change100 and another gal Carm met at the MGM (Kelley) .
All I can say is a blogger gathering is much like Dead Tour. A bunch of like minded kewl/kind people or friends who have never met. Its gonna take a bit to compose all my thoughts on the weekend.
After my red carpet walk of shame out of the RIO with Carmen, (and yes its much as Snake5970 told me it would be, when you bust out of your event it is a bad sickening feeling of Oh what could have been) I went back to the Orleans where I was staying and had some Mexican food.. I then went down to the Orleans Poker Room and played the 7 PM tourney......
AT 2AM THIS MORNING I BUSTED OUT IN 3RD PLACE FOR $1130 AND $35 IN BOUNTIES. . On a $100 buyin. Thats a little bit better Rate of return then I would have made for the low cash in the ladies event. I also cashed in Caesars Palace noon NLHE $200 buy-in finishing 14th of 187 for $370. These were both very tough fields.
More later.. I literally busted out finished packing caught a one hour cat nap and caught the 4:15AM shuttle to the airport.
I didnt cash in the ladies event. I'll go into more of that in a thorough trip report. My feelings on the structure may be part of an interview CarmenSinCity is doing for Pokerworks. Yes I was interviewed along with Change100 and another gal Carm met at the MGM (Kelley) .
All I can say is a blogger gathering is much like Dead Tour. A bunch of like minded kewl/kind people or friends who have never met. Its gonna take a bit to compose all my thoughts on the weekend.
After my red carpet walk of shame out of the RIO with Carmen, (and yes its much as Snake5970 told me it would be, when you bust out of your event it is a bad sickening feeling of Oh what could have been) I went back to the Orleans where I was staying and had some Mexican food.. I then went down to the Orleans Poker Room and played the 7 PM tourney......
AT 2AM THIS MORNING I BUSTED OUT IN 3RD PLACE FOR $1130 AND $35 IN BOUNTIES. . On a $100 buyin. Thats a little bit better Rate of return then I would have made for the low cash in the ladies event. I also cashed in Caesars Palace noon NLHE $200 buy-in finishing 14th of 187 for $370. These were both very tough fields.
More later.. I literally busted out finished packing caught a one hour cat nap and caught the 4:15AM shuttle to the airport.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
I leave for Vegas in 14 hours
The good news at work this morning was the first hour I was off the phones and processing claims. That meant only 3.5 hours of phone time as I decided to only work a half day. Of course, on my last day before vacation our customer service system decided to have web/server issues and we were all clocking and timing out and basically getting the customer service version of the blue screen of death. Even the back up system was largely unavailable so for about an hour I simply stated. Thank you for calling XXXXX, we are currently experiencing system issues and ask that you try again sometime after 1 or 2 PM (which of course was after my departure for vacation!!). Finally the system came up for my last twenty minutes. I should have put myself into aftercall/aux mode 5 minutes to 2 PM if not before that. Of course being the trooper I am I stayed auto'd in and got a phone call at like 1:56 PM, and then I was asked to hold and then I was asked to do one more client, and then its after 2 Pm and she still has one more (total 3) and when she asks me to hold again, I'm about ready to go on Customer Service Tilt... So, I tell a little white lie and say.... (and if I was silent monitored on this call Im going to get dinged and loose my bonus for the month).. Ma'am, I cant hold I supposed to be out of here and on my way to the airport ASAP... I normally dont do this but I gotta go!!!... She understood and said she'd call back. Now of course I dont leave till tomorrow but at 2 PM when my vacation is about to start Im out of there and after the day we had, Im really out of there.
I got finished packing for Vegas and Snake came by on his way to SmAllbany and took me to a late lunch (pizza with artichokes and feta and other good stuff) and he showed me his pictures from last years Main Event (he made it to day three and busted about two hours before the money) which got me excited and of course at lunch I look at him and state... "Based on my starting chip stack for the tourney I plan on doing, If I get up to 20000 chips that means thats 19 other players chips I have and they are out of there... And do you know that AK has a 73% chance of winning vs AQ 23%? And then I state that I am a total geek for even thinking about stuff like that!". Hell other gals are thinking about Jimmy Choo shoes and the newest shade of OPI nail color or having a bad hair day and Im thinking about pot and implied odds and probabilities and how many hands I'll see in a blind level and how I need to grow my stack and which Tilly tops will look best on me in Vegas..
And then I handed off some books I am not lugging to Vegas: My Harrington III, my Frommers Vegas guide, my Joe Navarro book on Poker Tells (very good by the way) and a little chart I made for him from Phil Gordens little green book and said you need to do your homework while Im gone to get ready for the Main Event. Plus he and his brother Rich and perhaps Lex and Trent from our live league are heading up to T-ROCK to play the Heartland Poker Tour Monday and possibly Tuesday of next week.
I promised to get my money in with the best hand and not go busto on AK or AQ.
And now my dilemma of the evening to Mookie or not to Mookie.
The Ipod is fully charged
The boarding pass is printed.
I have my bankroll for my tourneys
I get into McCarren at 12:30 PM nonstop flight will shuttle to the Hotel..
I plan to be look up Penn and Sham when I get in and Head down to the bowling alley for the 9PM blogger gathering. Maybe do a late tourney at the Sahara.
Friday I plan to possibly play Caesars nooner then do a nice dinner somewhere and Maybe hit up PURE and the MGM. Plus a stop at the RIO.
Saturday Breakfast at Binions with the Lady PokerSharks and Tina B. Back to the Orleans for the Summer Classic and to sign into Bodog for a WSOP main event seat I qualified for which Snake will take over the reins for me. If I bust out in the first hour a mad dash back down to Binions for the Ladies Lips event.. Or back to the RIO to watch how BRDweb and Hoyazo are doing. Hopefully meet Pauly and Change and Otis at the Tilted Kilt. Another nice dinner and early to bed.
Sunday early early nice brunch and then...... Ladies WSOP event starting at noon. Much like Hoyazo I'm scheduled to be return home Monday. I dont have to be back to work till Thursday as I increased my vacation and took Wednesday off too. If I make it to Monday I may go to the airport early to see if they need someone bumped and get bumped and then reschedule my flight out for Tuesday.. If I do the unthinkable and make it to the final table then I take the red eye out Tuesday nite and arrive back Wednesday. I then Cab home as my mom will be in NYC for a couple days taking in a show and shopping. But heck Ill be in the money and it wont care if I need to cab home 10 miles or so.
I got finished packing for Vegas and Snake came by on his way to SmAllbany and took me to a late lunch (pizza with artichokes and feta and other good stuff) and he showed me his pictures from last years Main Event (he made it to day three and busted about two hours before the money) which got me excited and of course at lunch I look at him and state... "Based on my starting chip stack for the tourney I plan on doing, If I get up to 20000 chips that means thats 19 other players chips I have and they are out of there... And do you know that AK has a 73% chance of winning vs AQ 23%? And then I state that I am a total geek for even thinking about stuff like that!". Hell other gals are thinking about Jimmy Choo shoes and the newest shade of OPI nail color or having a bad hair day and Im thinking about pot and implied odds and probabilities and how many hands I'll see in a blind level and how I need to grow my stack and which Tilly tops will look best on me in Vegas..
And then I handed off some books I am not lugging to Vegas: My Harrington III, my Frommers Vegas guide, my Joe Navarro book on Poker Tells (very good by the way) and a little chart I made for him from Phil Gordens little green book and said you need to do your homework while Im gone to get ready for the Main Event. Plus he and his brother Rich and perhaps Lex and Trent from our live league are heading up to T-ROCK to play the Heartland Poker Tour Monday and possibly Tuesday of next week.
I promised to get my money in with the best hand and not go busto on AK or AQ.
And now my dilemma of the evening to Mookie or not to Mookie.
The Ipod is fully charged
The boarding pass is printed.
I have my bankroll for my tourneys
I get into McCarren at 12:30 PM nonstop flight will shuttle to the Hotel..
I plan to be look up Penn and Sham when I get in and Head down to the bowling alley for the 9PM blogger gathering. Maybe do a late tourney at the Sahara.
Friday I plan to possibly play Caesars nooner then do a nice dinner somewhere and Maybe hit up PURE and the MGM. Plus a stop at the RIO.
Saturday Breakfast at Binions with the Lady PokerSharks and Tina B. Back to the Orleans for the Summer Classic and to sign into Bodog for a WSOP main event seat I qualified for which Snake will take over the reins for me. If I bust out in the first hour a mad dash back down to Binions for the Ladies Lips event.. Or back to the RIO to watch how BRDweb and Hoyazo are doing. Hopefully meet Pauly and Change and Otis at the Tilted Kilt. Another nice dinner and early to bed.
Sunday early early nice brunch and then...... Ladies WSOP event starting at noon. Much like Hoyazo I'm scheduled to be return home Monday. I dont have to be back to work till Thursday as I increased my vacation and took Wednesday off too. If I make it to Monday I may go to the airport early to see if they need someone bumped and get bumped and then reschedule my flight out for Tuesday.. If I do the unthinkable and make it to the final table then I take the red eye out Tuesday nite and arrive back Wednesday. I then Cab home as my mom will be in NYC for a couple days taking in a show and shopping. But heck Ill be in the money and it wont care if I need to cab home 10 miles or so.
Monday, June 04, 2007
I was scooped!! Good Neteller News
I survived a nine hour day of work (no overtime today as I am in the middle of a garden crisis). Thankfully I got pulled to process claims starting at about 4:30 PM (an hour earlier then originally planned) and the afternoon was peaceful as I jammed down to MaxCreek and Ratdog courtesy of my Itunes Library.
No sooner then I sign off the work computer at 7 PM and give Bailey a brush as hes craving attention the phone rings. I knew it wasnt my mom. I usually cringe when she doesnt give me enough time to take off my work cap and decompress for a while. Plus her number comes up on my caller ID. When it came up NY Call I knew it could only be one person and I was right it was Snake calling me from his cell phone from his live game.
Now normally, I am the intrepid reporter filling him in on the comings and goings of poker news but not tonite.. His live league mate and sub for APL who Ive played against a bunch --Joe Jr aka Cocky had this joyful news:
http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/article/2180
So what if my Dahlias are swimming in a pool of muck due to the deluge of rain that we are being inundated with in Upstate NY. I took avasive measures and got two repotted. Suquirrels have eaten a few of the bulbs and although I like wildlife, Im beginning to think of them as nothing but rats with tails. Its going to be war if they ruin any more of my gardening efforts.
Early this year my patience was tried to the max with a ton of crap hitting me at once. Some good, some bad: like the Neteller fiasco. I'm a firm believer that if I keep on keeping on it all works out in the end as its supposed to.
I'm heading to Vegas firing on all cylinders... Life is Good
No sooner then I sign off the work computer at 7 PM and give Bailey a brush as hes craving attention the phone rings. I knew it wasnt my mom. I usually cringe when she doesnt give me enough time to take off my work cap and decompress for a while. Plus her number comes up on my caller ID. When it came up NY Call I knew it could only be one person and I was right it was Snake calling me from his cell phone from his live game.
Now normally, I am the intrepid reporter filling him in on the comings and goings of poker news but not tonite.. His live league mate and sub for APL who Ive played against a bunch --Joe Jr aka Cocky had this joyful news:
http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/article/2180
So what if my Dahlias are swimming in a pool of muck due to the deluge of rain that we are being inundated with in Upstate NY. I took avasive measures and got two repotted. Suquirrels have eaten a few of the bulbs and although I like wildlife, Im beginning to think of them as nothing but rats with tails. Its going to be war if they ruin any more of my gardening efforts.
Early this year my patience was tried to the max with a ton of crap hitting me at once. Some good, some bad: like the Neteller fiasco. I'm a firm believer that if I keep on keeping on it all works out in the end as its supposed to.
I'm heading to Vegas firing on all cylinders... Life is Good
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Vegas in less then 80 hours
Today is my last day to get things done before three long days of work and my departure for sin city on Thursday AM.
Things Ive done:
Purchased New ink Cartridges for HP printer.... Have to be able to print out the boarding pass. Plus RK from AcesCracked posted the best link to Las Vegas daily poker tourneys and I printed that out (beats packing cardplayer).
Printed out $5 off coupon for Pet Smart and got Bailey loaded up on his Tuna Flakes and fancy feast. He already has a good supply of his Maine Coon Kibble and Friskies Feline Favorites.
Bikini wax.. I got smart and left a strip (no fancy design) and it didnt hurt at all. Of course the fact that I had gone wild with Veet a week prior to get ready to hang out at the pool made this wax a snap.
Facial and Glycolic Peel- Used up Xmas gift certificate. My face now no longer looks like raw meat as it does sometimes after I have a peel. I have a skin condition noticeable on my forehead the drives me bonkers. Ive been told Retinol would clear it up. Saving money for dermatologist for a look see and perhaps real chemical peel.
Pedicure- used up another certificate and my toes are magnificent in OPI One Helluva Color. No manicure I break my nails way to easy on poker chips.
Won a tourney Thursday nite after Gigli-ing the Mookie.. Thats right, I was first out of the Mookie.. I re-raised Iakaris with KK and he pushed all in with QQ and hit a set about three hands in.....Then still needing a poker fix, I did a turbo sng and was down to 15 chips early after running my flopped top two pair into a set of fours which turned into quads. I almost pulled off what would have been the comeback of the century and finished in the money in 3rd place.
Anyway, bonus monthly 1eague game for Poker Analysis on Absolute Poker didnt cost me a dime and I won $60. I played pretty much the perfect game and took out the final three players one by one. Played Katitude's donkament and went out about 7th (still a final table). Got impatient at the end and I had not slept well the night before.
I was doing some blog catching up and saw that Richard 'Quiet Lion' Brodie has been banned from Harrahs and cant play the WSOP. Seems that Richard had hit a bunch of royal flushes on one of Caesar's super high-limit Video Poker Machines. Guess Harrah's doesnt like big winners (even though as Richard stated on his blog hes given back 80%) and sent him a letter stating he's not welcome on their properties.
Miami Don, Pauly, Shamanalix (via the Aces Cracked forum) and Tina Bergstrom (aka Survivor) have been keeping me on the edge of my seat with great first hand accounts of WSOP goings on.
Re-reading and taking notes from a couple of my poker books which I will hand off to Snake before I go. Ive made up index cards so I dont have to lug these books. Plus this is going to be a great read for him as he gets ready for the Main Event. Harrington on Holdem goes with me. Its my bible!!
I should get into Vegas about 12:30 PM PST on Thursday.. I plan on taking the shuttle for $5 (will probably buy a round tripper as its cheaper then cab fare to and from the aiport)
---And for the number three thing you didnt know about me.:
3. I blew a .21 Blood alcohol level when I was arrested for my DWI (reduced to a DWAI) back in 1989. Most gals at the size I was then would have been in the hospital with Alcohol poisoning. Not IG. When I made my appearance at the Alcohol counselors doorstep with my mother in tow (I couldnt drive as my license was suspended and I hadnt gotten my conditional yet), He looked at my mother and said "Your daughter is addicted to alcohol, you dont blow that high without having a tolerance". I guess he spoke to her because he figured I wasnt ready to hear it. I white knuckle detoxed in my moms basement where I was living with my 3 cats (IKO, CC and Casey all gone to kitty heaven now) for about 6 weeks before I got myself into out-patient re-hab. I ate a ton of Tootsie Rolls, Hershey's Kisses and Reese's peanut butter cups during this time, creating little mounds of wrappers.
Enough of that trip down memory lane.. Back to packing!! Im traveling light this time. I wont fill one whole section of the suitcase with shoes. I am however packing energy bars.
Things Ive done:
Purchased New ink Cartridges for HP printer.... Have to be able to print out the boarding pass. Plus RK from AcesCracked posted the best link to Las Vegas daily poker tourneys and I printed that out (beats packing cardplayer).
Printed out $5 off coupon for Pet Smart and got Bailey loaded up on his Tuna Flakes and fancy feast. He already has a good supply of his Maine Coon Kibble and Friskies Feline Favorites.
Bikini wax.. I got smart and left a strip (no fancy design) and it didnt hurt at all. Of course the fact that I had gone wild with Veet a week prior to get ready to hang out at the pool made this wax a snap.
Facial and Glycolic Peel- Used up Xmas gift certificate. My face now no longer looks like raw meat as it does sometimes after I have a peel. I have a skin condition noticeable on my forehead the drives me bonkers. Ive been told Retinol would clear it up. Saving money for dermatologist for a look see and perhaps real chemical peel.
Pedicure- used up another certificate and my toes are magnificent in OPI One Helluva Color. No manicure I break my nails way to easy on poker chips.
Won a tourney Thursday nite after Gigli-ing the Mookie.. Thats right, I was first out of the Mookie.. I re-raised Iakaris with KK and he pushed all in with QQ and hit a set about three hands in.....Then still needing a poker fix, I did a turbo sng and was down to 15 chips early after running my flopped top two pair into a set of fours which turned into quads. I almost pulled off what would have been the comeback of the century and finished in the money in 3rd place.
Anyway, bonus monthly 1eague game for Poker Analysis on Absolute Poker didnt cost me a dime and I won $60. I played pretty much the perfect game and took out the final three players one by one. Played Katitude's donkament and went out about 7th (still a final table). Got impatient at the end and I had not slept well the night before.
I was doing some blog catching up and saw that Richard 'Quiet Lion' Brodie has been banned from Harrahs and cant play the WSOP. Seems that Richard had hit a bunch of royal flushes on one of Caesar's super high-limit Video Poker Machines. Guess Harrah's doesnt like big winners (even though as Richard stated on his blog hes given back 80%) and sent him a letter stating he's not welcome on their properties.
Miami Don, Pauly, Shamanalix (via the Aces Cracked forum) and Tina Bergstrom (aka Survivor) have been keeping me on the edge of my seat with great first hand accounts of WSOP goings on.
Re-reading and taking notes from a couple of my poker books which I will hand off to Snake before I go. Ive made up index cards so I dont have to lug these books. Plus this is going to be a great read for him as he gets ready for the Main Event. Harrington on Holdem goes with me. Its my bible!!
I should get into Vegas about 12:30 PM PST on Thursday.. I plan on taking the shuttle for $5 (will probably buy a round tripper as its cheaper then cab fare to and from the aiport)
---And for the number three thing you didnt know about me.:
3. I blew a .21 Blood alcohol level when I was arrested for my DWI (reduced to a DWAI) back in 1989. Most gals at the size I was then would have been in the hospital with Alcohol poisoning. Not IG. When I made my appearance at the Alcohol counselors doorstep with my mother in tow (I couldnt drive as my license was suspended and I hadnt gotten my conditional yet), He looked at my mother and said "Your daughter is addicted to alcohol, you dont blow that high without having a tolerance". I guess he spoke to her because he figured I wasnt ready to hear it. I white knuckle detoxed in my moms basement where I was living with my 3 cats (IKO, CC and Casey all gone to kitty heaven now) for about 6 weeks before I got myself into out-patient re-hab. I ate a ton of Tootsie Rolls, Hershey's Kisses and Reese's peanut butter cups during this time, creating little mounds of wrappers.
Enough of that trip down memory lane.. Back to packing!! Im traveling light this time. I wont fill one whole section of the suitcase with shoes. I am however packing energy bars.
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