Sunday, September 17, 2006

IG's Football Picks week II

Well I missed the win last week but am in a solid third place two games out of first. Of course its still early in the season. I'm looking good for season to date points in the league going into Monday nite this week. Here were this weeks picks

Sunday games
>
> MIA
> ATL
> BAL
> PHI
> NO
> IND
> CHI
> CIN
> MIN
> STL
> SEA
> NE
> DEN
>SD
>DAL
>
>Monday game
>
> JAX

11-3 after the early games. For once Minnesota didnt screw me over.

Didn't play much poker today but I did get myself out of a ticket. There was a safety check on Sitterly Road. I always wear my seat belt but my inspection had lapsed in August and I knew it. I had no outs so I soldiered on. The officer looked in the car saw I was wearing my belt but then he pointed at the windshield. "Ma'am we have a problem do you know your inspection is lapsed. It expired in August". And in my best poker face I bluffed him. 'Oh shit' I mutter feigning ignorance. "Oops, Officer would you like me to pull over". He looked at me and smiled No just go get it taken care of. I thanked him nicely and said "I'll go over to Hoffman's right now". Inspection and oil change done. Poker winnings saved.

I stopped at PetSmart to get Maine Coon Kibble for Bailey and some other kitty treats. Maine Coons are the giants of the cat world. Bailey is a big boy. Hell be three in December but Maine Coons dont fully develop or mature till they are between 3-5. His dad Reed is a very big boy at about 22 lbs. Grandpa Gorham is also a big boy. Mom, Carousel is pretty and dainty. Bailey is long and lean like Mom but has the big ruff (mane), tufted paws, lynx tips on his ears and size of his dad and Grandpa just not the weight yet. The interesting thing about Maine Coons is that they tend to swallow food whole. The Maine Coon kibble is big pellets designed to make them chew it and therefore digest it better. It is also what I throw up in the air for him to catch. It is always much better to Baboo if he has to hunt it down. He has caught it in his paws mid-air. He will bring it back to me, spit it out and want me to throw it again. He is a character but can be a handful. A strong-willed kitty (much like his mommy at times. I've had to put him down a few times to show who is Alpha when he has gotten playfully aggressive we me. Ears go back and he likes to use his claws and grab on to my arm and kick. Normally he is a mush mellon and very laid back and affectionate. Usually at my feet when I play online or in his kitty bed (which is a dog bed).

I also spent some time tending my mums. Because I have a second floor condo I am limited pretty much to container gardening. It was a nice day so I spent some time on the balcony tending to the mums I had bought. I never got a real garden going early spring. The rain on the weekends kept me inside. Then since I was heading to Vegas I figured I'd wait till I got back and plant some containers. Never got to it. But there is nothing more satisfying then digging in the dirt. So I deadheaded my mums. May have to repot them soon.

I played the PA buyin game on Royal Vegas Poker. Lou Krieger was supposed to join us but he was a sit-out. Something must have come up as he usually always shows unless he is traveling or lecturing or off doing poker press. His ghost beat me. On the hand that was the start of my undoing, I hit a non-nut four flush and open ender on the flop. I fired a pot sized bet on the flop, then an overbet on the turn to shake everyone out. I lost two but should have known better as the lone caller, (A friend of mine who wont let go of hands) raised all in with a four flush holding A2 diamonds. I had her covered but it was going to cost me if the flush hit and not the str8. I had outs and was pot committed and called. Wrong move. Out I went in 9th with top 5 paying. Criminey!!!

I then caught up with Mike from my live league on Full Tilt Poker and railed him for a bit in his tourney. Also railed Lee from Poker Analysis in WCOOP #2 he, Tilter and The Student all played and didnt fair very well. I won a little contest that Tilter had on Poker Analysis. It was a nice stake into a WCOOP sat to attempt to qualify for today's event. Kevin overslept (heck hes still in College and entitled too oversleep)so he announced I had won it after it was too late. He sent me the money on Stars to use for another buy-in. I may attempt to satellite into the Omaha Hi Lo. tourney later this month.

Catching up on the 2006 WSOP right now. Ray had mentioned the reads Danny Negreanu made in the episode where he was featured. Sheer genius. I also caught Dr Pauly in the background and caught Eric Lynch's aka Rizen's segment. Will be interesting to see what he post's about the WSOP after the final episode airs. I would have placed my money on Lisandro decking Friedman if that had escalated into a shoving match. Reminded me of the Grizzle vs Hellmuth confrontation a few years back. I also learned how Carlos Mortenson got his name 'The Matador'. I must say, I root for the bulls when they run. Anyone drunk and stupid enough to try to outrun a nasty bull deserves what they get. I remember as a little girl going into the wrong field at my Grandpa's dairy farm with my friend and neighbor, Brenda. King Tut got into the field and charged us. That's where my track and field/cross country career got its start!!!!

Saturday, September 16, 2006

APL Week II-Live Play

Last night it was back up to Fort Edward for week II of the Adirondack Poker League. Never really knowing how much traffic I am going to find on a Friday night on the Northway I leave about 5PM and get there about 30 minutes early. I help Mike set up as does Ray for tonights league action. Let me just preface the nights action by saying I had finished 4th and in the money in a 45 person sng on stars (Lee showing me some love) earlier in the afternoon. I cranked some Grateful Dead on my way up and was ready to rock and roll.

3 tables with 24 members. Karen and Steve are away in Arkansas for a music festival featuring Little Feat( I've seen them a bunch in my day) and have a sub sitting in for them. I draw the red table, and to my immediate liking, I have no women at my table which means the league ATM is wreaking havoc at another one. The other three ladies Tracy, Zoe, and Juddy are at the other table, as is Ray. I'm in the 3 seat which is also to my liking as far as me having to deal from, but I'm also the BB first hand. Trent is at my table, a few spots to my right. Exactly where you want a LAG player. Trent plays LAG extremely well and it beats having him on my left. He announces he is going to play extremely tight which means he doesn't come in for a raise until hand Two!!. Mike our League, manager is also at my table. I post the BB of $50. A bunch of limpers and I check with A9 spades, figuring I'll just see a flop. I hit top pair on the flop with my 9 and top kicker and take down the first hand right there. It always feels good to take down your first hand especially when it is the first hand of the tourney.

A few hands from my first table of note. I call a raise from Bill (an older gent-Juddy's hubby and Zoe's Dad), with KQos. I hit my King. Figuring I have top pair with a decent kicker I bet. Bill either smooth called me or raised me Trent folds, I call the raise as there is a J and I figure I can semi bluff two pair. When the hand plays out I am down a bunch of chips as Bill played a pair of pocket Aces very nicely for value. Turns out Trent folded the same hand as me. KQos will be a major hand for me later on it will turn out. Hand II of note is a nice win for me. I am dealt pocket KK. I raise it up 4x BB. I get one caller in the form of Darren. I hit my set and check. He bets about $400 and I re-raise him. He mulls it over and calls. When I fire another bet. Darren announces Nice Bet and flashes me his hand A7 diamonds. I show him my Cowboys. Shortly, thereafter Doug pulls the same AA move on Bill as Bill had pulled on me. Table I is playing solid poker and Doug seems to have the momentum. Another losing hand of note is when I raise with TT and get called by George. George is another older fellow. He played in this years WSOP on a direct buy-in. One thing I noticed about George is, his hands shake when he has a hand. I would say ROCK. The board is not nice for my TT nor is it nice apparently for George. He bets the turn after I check and I decide to pay to see the cards. My read was off he had pocket JJ to my TT and it costs me about $1800. The hand that proves my turning point as far as momentum going my way involves Doug. He raises to $900 (3X). I call the raise with AJd. I hit my Ace on the flop and one of the other cards is a 7 . Doug bets I call. Another Ace hits he bets harder I just smooth call. River a 7. I fill up and take down a huge pot against Doug's QQ. No fiasco like my infamous JJ J33 during prseason.

I get moved and am at a table where a few of the guys have nice stacks because they have emptied the ATM who apparently went all in when she hit a 6 and that was like the low pair on the board. I've played Lex before, and Rich (Ray's bro who was last weeks runner-up). Mark (Steve and Karen's sub), is playing very well and Dane last weeks first out are also at this table and I have no info on them. Rich gets bounced, then I bounce Lex when he is short stacked and pushes all-in. I move in from relatively EP when I am dealt KK to discourage any callers. Lex flips AK and my Cowboys hold. Cowboys were extremely nice to me last nite as I had them about 3 times, maybe 4. I then get moved back to my original table when we condense down to two.

The overwhelming theme of the nite was that the players who did extremely well first week are first out(Remember it was a full moon). What is the saying the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

Finally, it is down to the final table. Eric (E-dawg) is the short stack. He's between me and Ray. Other players at the FT were Mark (the sub), Tracy, Zoe, George, Darren, Dane and Doug. Eric and Doug hit the rail. Mark pushes in and I call his all in with TT. Darren and George both call. They have AK and AJ neither one hits. Mark does have a Q and the board hits a Q and he quads up. Ray coaches me that I should have moved in to push out other callers. That would have prevented Mark from quading up. I completely understand his reasoning there but was gun shy at the time after my previous foray. George busts out next. Tracy busts out to Ray when I'm the Dealer. Both of them have High connectors. Tracy hits first and it looks like a double up for her, but I deal Ray the card he needs to take the hand and he has accumulated a nice stack of chips. For Tracy's bubble efforts she wins a nice pokerstars sweatshirt. I refuse to go down without a fight and push first with JJ (no callers) to stay ahead of the blinds. I push with AQ and get Zoey to call with KT (if I remember right) and double thru her. She's now the short stack. She double's back up thru Ray who is now playing big stack poker and Ray's A5d runs into either AK or AQ. I'm into the money and most importantly my points earned are a big improvement over last weeks 17th place. 6th will earn the buy-in back. I'm now playing to win and am in okay shape but with a fairly low M I really am playing short stack poker which is one of my strengths. I was extremely aware of my chip stack in relation to the other smaller stacks vs Rays big stack.

Mark and Darren bust out in 5th and 6th (cant remember which order and results aren't posted yet). Zoe goes out 4th. After Eric had busted, Ray was on my immediate right a reversal of our table last week. Last week we never tangled. He mentions this and I make the statement that before the season is out the two of us will be heads-up for the weekly title probably at least once, if not a couple of times. When it is still 4-way I point at him and at me and our stacks and nod my head meaning I'm predicting we will go heads-up tonite. Now if only I can predict my cards that well!!

After busting out first last week, Dane is now playing for the win too. He got so annoyed by Joyce last week it sent him on Tilt. I also correctly assume he is the man to go after. I am tourney Savvy enough to not mess with the big stack. Ray is going to have to come after me. Besides he has 35 years of poker under his belt (started playing at about 8) and big tourney experience. The person who he most reminds me of as far as style of play is Poker Analysis Elite 9 member Clark (Kelarob/Razrback-blog link at right). Just like Clark, (who has staked me and who I met in Vegas) he has absolutely no ego and besides being fun to play against has been generous with poker advice. Plays with controlled aggession extremely well. Hard to get any reads on but will blush on occasion!! Thats okay, Im close to breaking out in hives at this point.

Ray puts me all in from the little blind at one point. I have KQos which I fold. He flashes me AK and I show him my hand. He had me dominated. I know Harrington would say it was an auto call there but I had taken a hit with the same hand earlier against Bill. I consider it a trap hand meaning play it and you get trapped. I had to respect the raise from Ray and I want to be the one pushing not the one being pushed. It proves to be a brilliant move on my part.

I immediately go in Kill Phil mode and start pushing against Dane I push with all my Aces, I push with 88, we see a flop with me SB vs BB and I have J9s. I hit an open ender on the turn and semi bluff the pot. I then look down and am dealt AKc. I push again and I reckon by this time he was tired of my antics. He asks Mike the league manager what 2nd vs 3rd prize money is. He decides to call with connectors 78 I believe it was. He hits two pair but there are two clubs on the flop. I'm thinking I go home but the river card is a JC. Ray and I are looking at the two pair thinking Dane had me (that would have left me with T100) but Lex announces "Look at the board, she caught her flush". I have now doubled up and knocked out Dane.

My bold prediction holds true just a little sooner then expected. Ray and I are going heads-up. I am about a two to one dog to his stack. But thats okay. I've won tourneys where I have been a ten to 1 dog going into heads up. Lex takes over the deal so we can concentrate. We go round and round battling the blinds which are now 1500/3000. I raise Ray with KJ. He contemplates the call and I believe pushing me all in but folds. I tell him I'll tell him later what I had. Lex pipes in with "how much later". That gets me blushing. I look down and have 55 in the BB. Ray puts me all in. In retrospect I should have called here. I look at him and ask how big is his pocket pair. Nothing but his poker face. I lay down. The next hand is the hand that does me in. I cant remember if Ray raised and I called from the BB but regardless, holding Q5 I hit my Q. He puts me in on the flop and I call. His Q6 vs my Q5 is no good for me when he turns two pair. There was a chance of a split pot until he got his two pair. The best player last nite won.

$100 for my runner-up finish after 5+ hours of poker last nite and good leaderboard points. Always feels good to drive home with more money in your pocket then you started with. I decided my live winnings are going to go into an envelope for next year and Vegas. That was only my 13th live tourney (two at the Taj, the Ladies event at the Orleans this year, three tourneys at Treasure Island, two at the Sahara, one home game at Trent's, two preseason APL's and two actual league events. I've cashed twice, both times finishing #2. I've bubbled twice and finished one off the bubble another time (5 Final tables total) and went deep in two of the other Vegas tourneys but missed the money. Not really a bad start to live play.

I found out later that the hand I had 55 on Ray had mid connectors (79 if I recall our post match convo correctly) and it would have been a race with my small pair. I proved a quick study of his use of gappers which he used on me effectively: I knocked Sham out of the Aces Cracked tourney with 79s tonite and took a big pot down with 8Tos. Unfortunately I ran my TT into QQ when we were three way tonite on pokerstars. I read the board correctly that CNS1 had no Ace or J but didnt think he had QQ or KK. I put him on 99 or 88 incorrectly. Still cashed for more then my buy-in of $11 winning $20 for third.

Aces Cracked was all for today as I'm over-tired. By the time I got home last nite it was after midnight, Bailey my kitty was hell-bent for action and so I played catch with him (I got a cat that plays catch like a dog). Then I couldn't fall asleep because I was replaying hands in my head. I worked over-time this morning from 7 AM to 12PM and was up at 5:30 with about 2.5 hours sleep. Tried a quick catnap this afternoon but the sun was beaming in thru the skylights of my condo and I only dozed. I'm running well again in bigger buy ins and figure a good sized win is right around the corner.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Blogger Poker Tour-Season II

After playing in Matt's PokerSavvy Blogger tourney on Wednesday nite (made the final table but only top 3 paid) as well as The MOOKIE, I decided to check out the Blogger Poker Tour site to see when Season II would begin. My timing is impeccable except when it comes to me making a stand with my AQ and running it into AA (The Mookie) and my AK into AA (pokerstars PPA $1 tourney). Not to mention when down to three in a buy-in tourney last nite I run KK into Ace-rag and of course the Ace hits.

I headed over to the BPT site which is held on Poker.com and season II is kicking off on September 23, 2006. Not only will the winner of Season II win a trip to the Aussie Millions but the person who blogs the best about Season II wins a trip to the Aussie Millions as the official poker.com blogger for the event. Now, I may not have the writing chops of Dr Pauly, but I do have some writing experience having written enough articles for THE PACESETTER which is the magazine of the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners (HMRRC)as well as being the editor of the Profile of a Runner Column for many years. Originally, I was going to take this week off from live blogging the Aces Cracked Weekly game to concentrate on playing but I figure I Can use all the experience I can get if I am going to win this contest. It would be totally awesome to win a trip to Australia and be able to visit with El Ing and Synergy (Ellen & Dean) before Vegas next year. The only problem is getting vacation time in January. The phones go wild in January with all the new plans and members coming on board and time off is restricted. Fortunately, I'm pretty friendly with my manager who I've been a sounding board for thru his running aches and pains and his rapid rise up the Masters Ranks.

Even though I only work 4 hours on Friday, I decided to take the whole day off to get my eyebrows done, do my hair and measure my windows for new curtains etc. Then it's off to Fort Edward for Week II of the APL. I went thru a whole bunch of accumulated junk mail and my postman must think I am some kind of degenerate gambler. I have received so much mail and CD's from Online casinos, Sports Books, and Poker rooms etc., that next I expect a pamphlet on Gambler's Anonymous to be popped in my mailbox.


Finally, as a show of solidarity to my Poker playing friends who reside in the STUPID SEVEN STATES of Illinois, Nevada, Indiana, Washington, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Missouri, I have decided to withdraw my money from Dream Poker. I pulled from Purple Lounge the other nite (they did charge a $1 withdrawal fee the bastards) and I decided to Pull from Trident last nite to consolidate down and get my money off the poker rooms in case all hell breaks lose. Rest assured Congressman Sweeney will not be getting my vote this November as he voted on the online gambling ban.








Get Flash



I play poker at Poker.com

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Full Circle to Full Tilt

The Mookie has moved to Full Tilt Poker (FTP henceforth) from Pokerstars and I have joined tonites tourney after missing last weeks Charity tourney for Tanner Evans.

Two years ago August, I started on FTP when it was still in Beta mode and I was a play money player. Originally, that was going to be my home site because I had a crush on Phil Gorden (since ended since he went and got himself engaged!!) I still have a gazillion play money chips from my month or two of play money play. I never deposited there because I felt at the time most of the buy-ins were a little to steep for me to justify the outlay. I soon discovered poker forums and Freerolls and built my bankroll up from a few small deposits on a few sites. My learning curve was short and sweet. I'm one of those folks that cashed in the first NLHE MTT they ever played as well as the first Omaha Hi/Lo tourney I ever played. I won my first tourney about 3 months after I started buy-ins and went on a roll from there.

I made my first deposit to Full Tilt poker today from Neteller after closing down a few Prima sites like Purple Lounge that are getting all antsy about the arrests of gambling execs etc. I Feel like I'm coming back to where it originally started for me.

You can find me on FTP Mookie-ing it up with other bloggers and friends of the Mookie from Austin on Wednesday nites at 10PM EST and on Thursday nites at 8 PM EST for the Aces Cracked mid-week $5.50 special ( all listed under the private tab).

Monday, September 11, 2006

Royal Flush (Omaha Hi/Lo) 9/11/2006

Im not much for hand histories but I figured I'd capture my Royal Flush even if it is in Omaha Hi Lo ($2 buy-in for PokerCards). The result was a split pot with me taking the Hi. I was off today and figured I'd get my Omaha Hi/Lo mojo going. To no avail. I'm out 13th. AP still not showing me any love. Just might withdraw the remaining $98 from the site.


Stage #495702409 Tourney ID 1200407 Omaha Hi/Lo Multi Normal Tournament Pot Limit $75 - 2006-09-11 19:07:20 (ET)
Table: 3 (Real Money) Seat #6 is the dealer
Seat 1 - MOTHURA ($635 in chips)
Seat 2 - BOOZA37 ($790 in chips)
Seat 3 - STEPHDANNY ($2333.75 in chips)
Seat 4 - LADYLISA ($5201.87 in chips)
Seat 5 - GRANDMASUGAR ($4150 in chips)
Seat 6 - MAGPOT ($5741.27 in chips)
Seat 7 - IRONGIRL01 ($1162.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ARIZONA1 ($3125 in chips)
IRONGIRL01 - Posts small blind $75
ARIZONA1 - Posts big blind $150
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to IRONGIRL01 [10d 10s Kh Jh]
MOTHURA - Folds
BOOZA37 - Folds
STEPHDANNY - Folds
LADYLISA - Folds
GRANDMASUGAR - Folds
MAGPOT - Calls $150
IRONGIRL01 - Calls $75
ARIZONA1 - Checks
*** FLOP *** [6c Qh 4s]
IRONGIRL01 - Checks
ARIZONA1 - Checks
MAGPOT - Checks
*** TURN *** [6c Qh 4s] [Ah]
IRONGIRL01 - Checks
ARIZONA1 - Bets $150
MAGPOT - Calls $150
IRONGIRL01 - Calls $150
*** RIVER *** [6c Qh 4s Ah] [10h]
IRONGIRL01 - Checks
ARIZONA1 - Bets $150
MAGPOT - Calls $150
IRONGIRL01 - Raises $450 to $450
ARIZONA1 - Calls $300
MAGPOT - Folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
IRONGIRL01 - Shows [10d 10s Kh Jh] (Royal flush)
ARIZONA1 - Shows [2c 5d As Qc] (Two Pair, aces and queens)
IRONGIRL01 Collects $975 from main pot
ARIZONA1 Collects $975 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($1950)
Board [6c Qh 4s Ah 10h]
Seat 1: MOTHURA Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: BOOZA37 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 3: STEPHDANNY Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: LADYLISA Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 5: GRANDMASUGAR Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 6: MAGPOT (dealer) Folded on the RIVER
Seat 7: IRONGIRL01 (small blind) won Total ($975) HI:($975) with Royal flush [10d 10s Kh Jh - B:Ah,P:Kh,B:Qh,P:Jh,B:10h]
Seat 8: ARIZONA1 (big blind) won Total ($975) HI:with Two Pair, aces and queens [2c 5d As Qc - P:As,B:Ah,B:Qh,P:Qc,B:10h] LO:($975) [B:Ah,P:2c,B:4s,P:5d,B:6c]

I then boat up and scoop on this hand getting myself back into contention for the final table

Stage #495703405 Tourney ID 1200407 Omaha Hi/Lo Multi Normal Tournament Pot Limit $75 - 2006-09-11 19:08:53 (ET)
Table: 3 (Real Money) Seat #8 is the dealer
Seat 2 - BOOZA37 ($640 in chips)
Seat 3 - STEPHDANNY ($2333.75 in chips)
Seat 4 - LADYLISA ($5201.87 in chips)
Seat 5 - GRANDMASUGAR ($4150 in chips)
Seat 6 - MAGPOT ($5291.27 in chips)
Seat 7 - IRONGIRL01 ($1387.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ARIZONA1 ($3500 in chips)
BOOZA37 - Posts small blind $75
STEPHDANNY - Posts big blind $150
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to IRONGIRL01 [2c Ac Jc Js]
LADYLISA - Folds
GRANDMASUGAR - Calls $150
MAGPOT - Folds
IRONGIRL01 - Calls $150
ARIZONA1 - Folds
BOOZA37 - Calls $75
STEPHDANNY - Checks
*** FLOP *** [4s 3h 7s]
BOOZA37 - Checks
STEPHDANNY - Checks
GRANDMASUGAR - Checks
IRONGIRL01 - Bets $300
BOOZA37 - Folds
STEPHDANNY - Folds
GRANDMASUGAR - Calls $300
*** TURN *** [4s 3h 7s] [3d]
GRANDMASUGAR - Bets $150
IRONGIRL01 - Calls $150
*** RIVER *** [4s 3h 7s 3d] [Jh]
GRANDMASUGAR - Checks
IRONGIRL01 - Bets $450
GRANDMASUGAR - Calls $450
*** SHOW DOWN ***
IRONGIRL01 - Shows [2c Ac Jc Js] (Full house, jacks full of threes)
GRANDMASUGAR - Shows [5c Qc Jd Ad] (Two Pair, jacks and threes)
IRONGIRL01 Collects $2400 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($2400)
Board [4s 3h 7s 3d Jh]
Seat 2: BOOZA37 (small blind) Folded on the FLOP
Seat 3: STEPHDANNY (big blind) Folded on the FLOP
Seat 4: LADYLISA Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 5: GRANDMASUGAR HI:lost with Two Pair, jacks and threes [5c Qc Jd Ad - B:Jh,P:Jd,B:3h,B:3d,P:Ad] LO: [P:Ad,B:3h,B:4s,P:5c,B:7s]
Seat 6: MAGPOT Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 7: IRONGIRL01 won Total ($2400) HI:($1200) with Full house, jacks full of threes [2c Ac Jc Js - P:Js,B:Jh,P:Jc,B:3h,B:3d] LO:($1200) [P:Ac,P:2c,B:3h,B:4s,B:7s]
Seat 8: ARIZONA1 (dealer) Folded on the POCKET CARDS

Twas all for naught. I split another pot with a 6 high str8 to A wheel low. After that it was all busted draws and being counterfeited that sent me packing. Should have picked my spots better and in better position. Live and Learn.

Phone March on Capitol Hill 9/12/06

The U.S. Senate is Seeking to Ban Online Poker
PPA Phone March on Capitol Hill Scheduled for Sept. 12

Dear PPA Member:

Your urgent action is needed! On September 12th the Poker Players Alliance with the support of leading poker blogs and forums, PocketFives.com, Wicked Chops Poker and others are organizing a "Phone March" on Capitol Hill. From 9:00 AM Eastern Time, until 5:30 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 12th, we are asking all PPA members and anyone interested in defending poker to call this toll free number, 800-289-1136 and be patched through to one of your two U.S. Senators in Washington D.C. When you call the 800 number you will hear a recording from fellow PPA member Greg "Fossilman" Raymer and then you will be prompted to enter your five digit zip code so you can be directed, free of charge, to your Senator's office.

Note: The 800 number will only be active between 9:00 AM EST and 5:30 PM EST on Tuesday September 12.

Key points you should make:

* I am voter in your state.
* I strongly oppose any legislation that would prohibit online poker, and urge the Senator to vote against such legislation.
* Poker is a skill game enjoyed by 70 Million Americans.
* The Senator should seek to regulate online poker much like the government regulates other forms of gaming, like lotteries.
* Prohibitions don't work. Any legislation that tries to ban online poker will only drive those players underground.
* Again, I urge the Senator to oppose any attempts to prohibit me from playing the great American game of poker on the Internet.

The threat to poker is real. Please forward this information to everyone you know who cares about poker and an American's freedom to use the Internet. We need everyone possible to make their voice heard on September 12th!

Sincerely,

Michael Bolcerek
President
Poker Players Alliance

This and That/That and This

With two games to go I am at 9-5 for my weekly football picks. I have taken Washington and San Diego so hope to improve to 11-5. I also picked Minnesota for the AcesCracked Pick a Loser contest we have going. I was hoping to get off to a better start then a possible 11-5 but Im okay with the picks. My faux pas was changing Baltimore to Tampa Bay. Go with your gut I always say.

Tomorrow nite I have to play a tourney on Hollywood Poker before the coupon expires. I won a ticket into the weekly play a celebrity tourney or the Michael Woods Invitational for having my blog piece titled "Jennifer Tilly wears the coolest T-shirts" winning a best blog entry contest. It was voted on and I won. Ive been getting some nice compliments on my writing ability lately. Perhaps that Chick Lit book is just around the corner.

The week turned around for me yesterday. I'm blaming it on the full moon which is now past. Ray asked me Friday nite if I believed in that stuff. My answer was nope, but it does make for a good excuse as to why you suck. I had received an invitation to beta test Royal Vegas Casino (microgaming) from Royal Vegas and a few gambling sites reminded me of the offer. I was going thru emails and decided what the Hell and what do I have to lose. You were given 200 free credits and spins. I tried out a bunch of different games and was down about 40 bucks. I then switched I think to Lucky 777 and Holy Mother of Pearl Batman IG hits for over $1200 credits. KA CHING KA CHING. It finally dawns on me that I am a winner and to play it safe. I move on to Cosmic Cat and hit a few $10 winners. When I finish the beta test I am at $1050 or so. Take away the $200 to start and I would have won $850. The only condition was to do a deposit on the site so I moved $50 from Neteller there and earned a nice profit of $200 for this test. I just checked out Grubby's blog and he has a whole post on it.

After my $200 cash I found DCI/Carol on MSN to tell her my good fortune. Carol is the queen of Casino whoring. Unfortunately, she couldnt get the beta room to load. I'm all excited and tell her to share the keys to the kingdom when it comes to bonus whoring etc. So now I have to sign up for Casino Rewards frequent player perk thing. I then ran out to pay my Discover bill at Sears and decided to play the Poker Analysis freeroll league game on Fair Poker. Fair requires 40 players to start and we just made it. I take a hit a few hands in but IG turns it around and goes on a nice run to Finish 4th.

I spent the afternoon doing some housework before sitting down to play a few league buy-ins. I final table at a bunch of small dollar buy-ins for various leagues that range from $1-$5.50 with my best finish a second and 4th. I only lost money on one league buy-in I did when the money I won was 53 cents short of the original buy-in. I then thru away another dollar on soon to be closed prima site All-IN poker where I had a whopping $2.14 or so of earnings. This site never took off. It was set up like a multi-level marketing business where you signed up under someones link and then when they were full you were assigned players. The idea was to earn extra money while you play. I never deposited and have till 9/22/06 to blow the last $1 and change. I wound up netting about $50 for the day from poker on a couple of tourneys so I had a nice $250 day. I was disappointed about the headsup. I had a nice lead and was showing early momentum and the I just went card dead and couldnt hit a thing. I even semi slow-played aces, got some action. When I raised on the turn I got no where. I lost a few hands I had to get off of was down to a 3-1 deficit doubled back up and then it all just went south again. We battled for close to 45 minutes I think. I made some really really good raises and bets and moves during the main tourney without a single suckout that reaffirmed my slump was just short term.

I'm off work today. Originally, I was going to go up to the Racino and play some more -EV games. After my on-line casino foray yesterday I figure I'll quit when Im ahead and just read, blog and play a little later on.

I just saw an advertisement on ESPN that said register now for the 2007 World Series of Poker. Christmas is just around the corner and I don't mean 12/25/2006. It will soon be time to make another pilgrimage to the gambling mecca of Las Vegas.

Late Breaking Updates:

Just got the recap from Rob in California that I'm in the running for this weeks Football Pool Woo Hoo. I must win my two games and win the point tiebreaker.

Secondly this from a forum I belong too.

Prima poker is locking accounts from 7 states that have laws set against online gambling. From what I was told if you have deposited or met the requirements on freeroll winnings you have to contact support and the will open your account to withdraw your funds. The first one is Dreampoker you can find a list of all the primapoker sites view this link: Click here
States are: Illinois, Nevada, Indiana, Washington, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Missouri

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Aces Cracked Tourney I

The chips are in the air at 8 PM. For some ungodly reason they have all 8 of us split into two tables. This is making it hard to live blog. I have the other table pulled up and we are chatting between the two tables. Hopefully we will combine after the first orbit.

Two of Penn's Predictions have come true in the first 30 minutes:

We have been asked for money. The going rate has gone up to $1. Im totally pissed at the moment and tell the dude to go get a job. Then I add that if he is panhandling for money he shouldnt be playing poker. He leaves and another surfaces shortly thereafter.

Mark has mentioned pudding at least 7 times. That got JBaldwin into the mix when his newborn made baby mess in his diaper and JB had to go change the diaper.

I am on the schneid. My set of 777 on the flop got flushed by PLJ1. Here is the hand that I got outplayed on. It hurts it hurts.

PokerStars Game #6229926184: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level I (10/20) - 2006/09/09 - 20:13:35 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: cns1 (900 in chips)
Seat 2: plj1 (995 in chips)
Seat 3: irongirl01 (1580 in chips)
Seat 4: MarkGreb (1430 in chips)
Seat 5: mcash2 (1535 in chips)
Seat 6: Penfolio (790 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (1860 in chips)
Seat 9: JBaldwin (2910 in chips)
taxidermist: posts small blind 10
JBaldwin: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to irongirl01 [7h 7c]
cns1: folds
plj1: calls 20
irongirl01: calls 20
MarkGreb: calls 20
mcash2: folds
Penfolio: folds
taxidermist: folds
JBaldwin: checks
*** FLOP *** [Js 7s Kd]
JBaldwin: checks
plj1: checks
mcash2 said, "dead animals ain't all rk wants to stiff"
taxidermist said, "wanna see the naked ones?"
irongirl01: bets 60
MarkGreb: folds
JBaldwin: folds
plj1: calls 60
*** TURN *** [Js 7s Kd] [9s]
mcash2 said, "+stuff"
plj1: checks
irongirl01: bets 180
plj1: raises 180 to 360
irongirl01: raises 1140 to 1500 and is all-in
plj1: calls 555 and is all-in
mcash2 said, "sorry ladies I'm a sicko I know"
*** RIVER *** [Js 7s Kd 9s] [3h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plj1: shows [6s As] (a flush, Ace high)
irongirl01: shows [7h 7c] (three of a kind, Sevens)
plj1 collected 2040 from pot
Penfolio said, "u just want teh game we got mike"


8:35PM I have now taken the walk of shame and gone out first. In typical riverstars fashion I lose with the better hand pre-flop. Poker is a cruel cruel game


PokerStars Game #6230107380: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level III (25/50) - 2006/09/09 - 20:30:10 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: cns1 (910 in chips)
Seat 2: plj1 (2335 in chips)
Seat 3: irongirl01 (345 in chips)
Seat 4: MarkGreb (1405 in chips)
Seat 5: mcash2 (1520 in chips)
Seat 6: Penfolio (950 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (1670 in chips)
Seat 9: JBaldwin (2865 in chips) is sitting out
JBaldwin: posts small blind 25
cns1: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to irongirl01 [Ad Jd]
plj1: folds
irongirl01: raises 295 to 345 and is all-in
MarkGreb: folds
mcash2: folds
Penfolio: folds
taxidermist: folds
JBaldwin: folds
cns1: calls 295
*** FLOP *** [9d 3h Kc]
*** TURN *** [9d 3h Kc] [Th]
*** RIVER *** [9d 3h Kc Th] [7s]
Penfolio said, "ouch"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
cns1: shows [Ts As] (a pair of Tens)
irongirl01: shows [Ad Jd] (high card Ace)
mcash2 said, "ouch"
irongirl01 said, "good game"
cns1 collected 715 from pot
taxidermist said, "omg"
cns1 said, "gg"


8:43 PM- Last years champ is now the short stack at T555. How is that pudding coming mark? Think he mentioned the flavor of the day is Butterscotch.

8:48 PM Fellow blogger ashmc2 (mcash2 on pokerstars) has joined me in the AC loser's lounge taken out by another blogger JBaldwin"

PokerStars Game #6230286450: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2006/09/09 - 20:46:35 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: cns1 (2055 in chips)
Seat 2: plj1 (2335 in chips)
Seat 4: MarkGreb (755 in chips)
Seat 5: mcash2 (1720 in chips)
Seat 6: Penfolio (1525 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (1670 in chips)
Seat 9: JBaldwin (1940 in chips)
MarkGreb: posts small blind 50
mcash2: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Penfolio: folds
taxidermist: folds
JBaldwin: raises 200 to 300
cns1: folds
plj1: folds
MarkGreb: folds
mcash2: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [5c Ah 2d]
mcash2: checks
JBaldwin: checks
*** TURN *** [5c Ah 2d] [7s]
mcash2: bets 100
JBaldwin: calls 100
*** RIVER *** [5c Ah 2d 7s] [Ad]
mcash2: bets 300
JBaldwin: raises 400 to 700
mcash2: raises 620 to 1320 and is all-in
JBaldwin: calls 620
*** SHOW DOWN ***
mcash2: shows [As Th] (three of a kind, Aces)
JBaldwin: shows [Ac Kd] (three of a kind, Aces - King kicker)
JBaldwin collected 3490 from pot
taxidermist said, "eeek"
Seat 9: JBaldwin showed [Ac Kd] and won (3490) with three of a kind, Aces

IG's prediction holds true. Two bloggers down and she predicts blogger MarkGreb will hit the rail next. He mentions something about wanting to be out to watch the Ohio State Game.........River stars is now Flop stars and turn stars....


PokerStars Game #6230364372: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2006/09/09 - 20:53:50 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: cns1 (1805 in chips)
Seat 2: plj1 (1985 in chips)
Seat 4: MarkGreb (655 in chips)
Seat 6: Penfolio (1425 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (1670 in chips)
Seat 9: JBaldwin (4460 in chips)
plj1: posts small blind 50
MarkGreb: posts big blind 100
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Penfolio: folds
taxidermist: calls 100
JBaldwin: folds
cns1: folds
plj1: calls 50
MarkGreb: raises 555 to 655 and is all-in
taxidermist: calls 555
plj1: folds
*** FLOP *** [Js Jh 7d]
*** TURN *** [Js Jh 7d] [Ks]
*** RIVER *** [Js Jh 7d Ks] [8s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MarkGreb: shows [4h 4d] (two pair, Jacks and Fours)
taxidermist: shows [Ad Jd] (three of a kind, Jacks)
taxidermist said, "ta ta"
taxidermist collected 1410 from pot
Penfolio said, "hes used to cleaning up the s**t, so this is just another day at the office"

We are at the break and the short stack at T1555 is cns1 from Binghamton. I have no goods on these Western New Yorkers including PLJ1 who hails from Vestal. PLJ1 is another female, or so Ive been told but says very little. Gotta watch them quiet ones. JB is our chip leader with T4760. He has a big lead over The Taxidermist who has T2125. The ACers can blame me for bringing JB into the mix.

RNG on poker stars = River no GOOD.

Back from the break and CNS1 has doubled up off of JBaldwin. JB's JJ got str8d by 8d9h with a str8 6-10

9:24 PM. After some technical difficulties (disconnect and freeze up from Pokerstars Im back in blogging form)another freeloader pesters the remaining 5.

jonnypodo [observer]: hey could anyone lend me a dollar?

THE SOUND OF A SUCKOUT:
The hand of all hands. I feel JB's pain. I feel Taxidermists pain. He was enjoying his gumbo (must be better then Marks pudding)

PokerStars Game #6230716958: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2006/09/09 - 21:26:27 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: cns1 (1685 in chips)
Seat 2: plj1 (1260 in chips)
Seat 6: Penfolio (1875 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (3250 in chips)
Seat 9: JBaldwin (3930 in chips)
Penfolio: posts small blind 100
taxidermist: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
JBaldwin: raises 400 to 600
cns1: folds
plj1: folds
Penfolio: raises 1275 to 1875 and is all-in
taxidermist: raises 1275 to 3150
JBaldwin: raises 780 to 3930 and is all-in
taxidermist: calls 100 and is all-in
Penfolio said, "lol"
*** FLOP *** [Th 7d 4h]
*** TURN *** [Th 7d 4h] [6s]
*** RIVER *** [Th 7d 4h 6s] [As]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
taxidermist: shows [Ks Kc] (a pair of Kings)
JBaldwin: shows [Kd Kh] (a pair of Kings)
taxidermist collected 1375 from side pot
JBaldwin collected 1375 from side pot
Penfolio: shows [Tc Ah] (two pair, Aces and Tens)
Penfolio collected 5625 from main pot

9:35 PM we are down to 4. Taxidermist has taken CNS1 hide....

PokerStars Game #6230801269: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2006/09/09 - 21:34:06 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: cns1 (785 in chips)
Seat 2: plj1 (1060 in chips)
Seat 6: Penfolio (6025 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (2275 in chips)
Seat 9: JBaldwin (1855 in chips)
taxidermist: posts small blind 100
JBaldwin: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Penfolio said, "dont bother posting it"
cns1: raises 585 to 785 and is all-in
plj1: folds
Penfolio: folds
taxidermist: raises 1490 to 2275 and is all-in
JBaldwin: folds
*** FLOP *** [3h 6h Qc]
Penfolio said, "its not worth the webspace"
Penfolio said, ";)"
*** TURN *** [3h 6h Qc] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [3h 6h Qc Kd] [Td]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
taxidermist: shows [Kc As] (a pair of Kings)
cns1: shows [7d 7s] (a pair of Sevens)
taxidermist said, "gg"
taxidermist collected 1770 from pot
taxidermist said, "cns"
JBaldwin said, "gg cns"

and then this hand:

PokerStars Game #6230822099: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2006/09/09 - 21:36:01 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: plj1 (760 in chips)
Seat 6: Penfolio (6325 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (3060 in chips)
Seat 9: JBaldwin (1855 in chips)
taxidermist: posts small blind 100
JBaldwin: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
plj1: folds
Penfolio: raises 400 to 600
taxidermist: folds
JBaldwin: raises 1255 to 1855 and is all-in
Penfolio: calls 1255
*** FLOP *** [9h 7h 4s]
JBaldwin said, "damn"
JBaldwin said, "gg all"
*** TURN *** [9h 7h 4s] [4c]
*** RIVER *** [9h 7h 4s 4c] [8s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JBaldwin: shows [8c 8h] (a full house, Eights full of Fours)
Penfolio: shows [Qd Qh] (two pair, Queens and Fours)
taxidermist said, "right"
JBaldwin collected 3810 from pot
Penfolio said, "payback"

First Penn (split pot with PLJ1 all-in) and then JB tries to take out PLJ1 to no avail:

PokerStars Game #6230842396: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2006/09/09 - 21:37:52 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: plj1 (560 in chips)
Seat 6: Penfolio (4370 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (3360 in chips)
Seat 9: JBaldwin (3710 in chips)
taxidermist: posts small blind 100
JBaldwin: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Penfolio said, "make sure u blog the payback ig!!! ;)"
plj1: raises 360 to 560 and is all-in
Penfolio: folds
taxidermist: folds
JBaldwin: calls 360
*** FLOP *** [7c 3h Qc]
*** TURN *** [7c 3h Qc] [Jh]
Penfolio said, "lessen my shame"
*** RIVER *** [7c 3h Qc Jh] [7d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JBaldwin: shows [8c 6h] (a pair of Sevens)
plj1: shows [Ad 7h] (three of a kind, Sevens)
plj1 collected 1220 from pot

PLJ1 is proving a tough nut to crack. Shes on a run and into 2nd place. Penn just doubled her up when he ran his JJ into her KK.

Bouncing round the room or in this case the virtual felt. The remaining four are switching off the lead. As quick as I think someone has taken a lead it changes. Who will be the bubble? This is where Patience is paramount (I Know Ive finished on it enough but also have more then my fair share of wins). I turn around and JB is out on the bubble. The last blogger standing taken out by PLJ1. My money is on her. Usually the person who takes me out goes on to win.


PokerStars Game #6230978644: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (100/200) - 2006/09/09 - 21:50:09 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 2: plj1 (2990 in chips)
Seat 6: Penfolio (3750 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (2285 in chips)
Seat 9: JBaldwin (2975 in chips)
plj1: posts the ante 25
Penfolio: posts the ante 25
taxidermist: posts the ante 25
JBaldwin: posts the ante 25
JBaldwin: posts small blind 100
plj1: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Penfolio: folds
taxidermist: folds
JBaldwin: raises 400 to 600
plj1: calls 400
*** FLOP *** [2s 7s Ts]
JBaldwin: bets 600
plj1: calls 600
*** TURN *** [2s 7s Ts] [4s]
JBaldwin: bets 1750 and is all-in
plj1: calls 1750
*** RIVER *** [2s 7s Ts 4s] [6c]
JBaldwin said, "gg"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JBaldwin: shows [Js 5s] (a flush, Jack high)
plj1: shows [As 4d] (a flush, Ace high)
taxidermist said, "yikes"
plj1 collected 6000 from pot
taxidermist said, "gg"
taxidermist said, "JB"
Penfolio said, "vgg jb"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 6000 | Rake 0
Board [2s 7s Ts 4s 6c]
Seat 2: plj1 (big blind) showed [As 4d] and won (6000) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 6: Penfolio folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: taxidermist (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: JBaldwin (small blind) showed [Js 5s] and lost with a flush, Jack high


9:54 PM Taxidermist takes a huge pot off Penn. Penn is the short stack

9:59 PM Penn is sent to the rail when he is quaded by PLJ1

PokerStars Game #6231076643: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2006/09/09 - 21:58:49 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 2: plj1 (8415 in chips)
Seat 6: Penfolio (1065 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (2520 in chips)
plj1: posts the ante 25
Penfolio: posts the ante 25
taxidermist: posts the ante 25
taxidermist: posts small blind 200
plj1: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Penfolio: raises 640 to 1040 and is all-in
taxidermist: folds
plj1: calls 640
*** FLOP *** [7c As 6h]
*** TURN *** [7c As 6h] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [7c As 6h 8c] [8s]
taxidermist said, "gg"
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plj1: shows [8h 8d] (four of a kind, Eights)
Penfolio: shows [Qs 7s] (two pair, Eights and Sevens)
taxidermist said, "wow"
plj1 collected 2355 from pot
plj1 said, "gg"

My Prediction holds true.. the winning hand at 10:01 PM. This after Taxi had just taken a T5440 pot down off PLJ1 with a king high flush.

PokerStars Game #6231099068: Tournament #29838033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2006/09/09 - 22:00:48 (ET)
Table '29838033 1' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 2: plj1 (6560 in chips)
Seat 8: taxidermist (5440 in chips)
plj1: posts the ante 25
taxidermist: posts the ante 25
taxidermist: posts small blind 200
plj1: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
taxidermist: calls 200
plj1: raises 400 to 800
taxidermist: raises 4615 to 5415 and is all-in
plj1: calls 4615
*** FLOP *** [4h 6c 3c]
*** TURN *** [4h 6c 3c] [Ts]
*** RIVER *** [4h 6c 3c Ts] [6d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
plj1: shows [Ks Kc] (two pair, Kings and Sixes)
taxidermist: shows [Th Ah] (two pair, Tens and Sixes)
taxidermist said, "gg"
plj1 collected 10880 from pot

Aces Cracked Season II Opener (Prologue)

Mookie gave me the idea of live blogging the Aces Cracked Season Opener which is tonite on pokerstars at 8 PM EST. Since the chat is usually far more interesting then the hands Lee Jones deals to me, I figured I can work on my note-taking skills while I hit fold. Besides do you think IG will let her guys be all Gay for a Day? Of course not. Throw a female into the mix and watch these men start marking territory while they try to impress her with their poker skills. I've seen it all guys and I'll just let you fish fry yourselves.

A little bit of info on some of the colorful characters follows. Some of the details were provided by the players themselves and others I may have embellished upon. Names will not be changed to protect the innocent just because!!!

Mark Greb-Season I champ. Of course he had it easy since I didnt play. He should be afraid very afraid. This Straight from the horses mouth:

"Chicks dig me, because I rarely wear underwear and when I do it's usually something unusual." (okie dokie Mark, My little pony perhaps??)

Favorite Book: Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopie Pants-sure its written for Kindergarteners but Mark has never seemed to advance beyond Freud's stage of anal fixation. Think I need to send him over to Hench and Bluu on Poker Analysis as a Primo candidate for membership in Team Anal.

His poker philosophy:

"There's a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the cards"

My New Mantra: See the Cards Be the Cards

His lame poker blog can be found at LowStakesOnlinePoker

Taxidermist(aka RK92559)

In his words:

When I am not messing with dead stuff, I am a master electrician, refrigeration guy, and poker degenerate. . (Women love guys that are good with their hands and good around the house). Extreme rugged good looks (so he says, Im getting a visual of Grizzly Adams right now).

Struggles at times with bouts of retardation....(Proud rider of a short bus I see)


Taxidermist was willing to post a pic:...... the clean one...the other??..."well..I was young, and needed the money for school." (Yeah and so did David Williams, you'll have to do better then that excuse)

ashmc2

A Cryptical Name wasnt too forth-coming on personal details other then inking his Johnson. This is how Ashmc2 rolls:

I usually just sit back in my Lazy-boy, which is positioned conveniently, smack-dab in front of my computer-stand. (Yes, I know, I like hyphens too much.) I write notes in my notebook like; Penn's the biggest runner-runner hittin' luckbox I ever have been fortune enough to meet, I think I shall deem him Rail Road or RR for short, rk calls with shit, rk raises with shit, rk calls and raises with shit and then blames Lee or the RNG, and the always endearing, Greb you are full of shit, you know you don't have shit so stop min-raisin' you bastard, Greb you lucky, lucky fag, I can't believe you hit that junk. This is about the time I scribble all over my notes, break my pen, and go wash the ink off myself. (And don't ask how I got got ink on my Johnson, because I don't remember, I just remember it felt good.)

IG must ask the question about Mark hitting his Junk. Ashmc2 are we talking about cards here or The Junk in Mark Grebs pants? And if the later how do you know? Inquiring minds want to know.

PENN

Our Fearless leader from across the pond (thats England for you geographically challenged short bus riders). Thinks we have enough juicy info on him and wasn't too forthcoming. He can predict the future however. His predictions on tonites chat:

At some point we will all have a go at mark for sucking out on a big one with rags

we'll also berate him for his inane min raises

Mark will discuss his plans for making pudding

Taxidermist will type 'online video game' whilst referring to the big hand that Mark sucks out on

ashmc will sit n play tight and then pull a big bluff when he thinks no one is looking

rk will ask, where's plj1?

some panhandler will ask for 10 cents


There you have it. Prop bet anyone?

Shamanalix

Forum dippy hippie. Dragged me over to Aces Cracked under the premises of improving his Omaha. He then proceeded to give me a bitch slapping in a three-way with our buddy GMROZ. Bruce and I probably met years ago at some Dead show and havent figured it out yet. Unfortunately he is from the wrong side of the BIG TWELVE tracks in the state of Misery. I can forgive a fellow hippie for that. Its all about Peace love and understanding right Bud? Sham a lama ding dong is off to celebrate his moms birthday tonite and is going to the Races. Negative EV horse-racing is Dude. I will go easy on him tonite.

Other possible players:

Hench18- Bruce and I got Hench to come over from Poker Analysis. He is the team Anal Captain of PA. I have an idea he only joined because he thought the Forum name was AssesCracked not AcesCracked. A solid player if he shows.

JBaldwin- Another friend of mine, and owner of Absolutely Freerolls as well as another Poker Analysis member. He may be called to diaper duty tonite. No not Mark Greb's. He and his wife have a recent addition to their family.

and let us not forget our Heroine

IRONGIRL

As comfortable in Prada or Manolo Blaniks (though she might just fall off and out of the high heels) as she is space-dancing in Tye-dye. This gal can do it all: She make's a mean Shrimp Scampi, is a good gardener (had some practice back in the day with weeds that cultivated her green thumb), Has completed a marathon (that's 26.2 miles), and triathlons (swim bike and run all in the same day)!!. Doesnt really look her age because of Chemical Preservatives largely taken when on Dead Tour in the Eighties. She is not only good with numbers ( an accountant by training), she can Dance too. Definitely knows how to use both sides of her brain. Little Known fact for you poker players. IG was President of one of the Largest running clubs in the country: the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners and directed the clubs showcase fall marathon for 5 years: The Mohawk Hudson River Marathon. A perfect Amazing Race teammate and a cheap date.



-----To be continued-----

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Are You Ready For Some Football!!

It's that special time of the year where IG morphs into the Fabulous Sports Babe and takes on a bunch of guys in her weekly football pool. Not that that is much different from IG taking on a bunch of guys on the poker table.

Last year, ( my season II) I was the queen of point suckouts. 4 times I failed to win the weekly pool because I was just over on points and lost to the person way under or just below the weekly winner by a point. I failed to bring home the weekly $130 prize at all last year. This year I am determined to go for the title that I lost with a week 16 choke in season I. At least I won during Season I. My football winnings and birthday money bought me my Maine Coon Cat- Bailey when he was retired off the show circuit.

Here are IG's winning week I picks. Because of the Thursday nite game which is currently underway and the fact that I had to have my picks into Rob in California by 5:30 PM PST I didnt have access to USA Today's football report, nor did I study the line at all. I picked them all shall we say IN THE DARK last night!! BTW, I do not need to pick against the spread.

Thursday game
>
> PIT
>
> Sunday games
>
> SEA
> PHI
> TEN
> CLE
> DEN
> CIN
> NE
> TB
> CAR
> CHI
> AZ
> JAX
> IND
>
> Monday games
>
> WAS
> SD
>
> POINTS - 36

Now onto Poker, tomorrow nite the APL kicks off. I work till 1:30 PM and then its off to Macy's for a mini-SPA day. I will get pampered, relaxed and a free make-over before I play. Actually the make-over wont be free becuase I will wind up dropping a wad on my mushroom serum and a bunch of other skin care products. I'll then run home pop in my contacts and grab my Starbucks on the way up to Ft Edward. I've got some good info on some of my league mates stored away in my near photographic memory which I will hopefully use to get me off the friggin bubble and into the money.

Saturday I plan on live blogging the Aces Cracked $10 buy-in on Pokerstars and have asked the usual suspects for their profiles. Lets just say the chat is as colorful as the players themselves. Since I can't use my cleavage to my advantage on-line or bat my eyelashes at the guys, I have to resort to other tactics to gain a mental edge on them. The TLB for Season II kicks off Saturday night... all are welcome to join in by joining the forum at http://www.aces-cracked.net. I must give Mookie99 credit for the idea of live blogging. He does a great job live blogging the Mookie which has now moved to Full Tilt Poker on Wednesday nites.

As I end tonites post it is the 3rd quarter and the Fins are up over the Steelers 17-14 with 1:30 remaining.... %@!#^* GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. OMG FUMBLE!!!! No Bettis to the rescue....