Check It: CineJax | ScriptJax |

 



This Post Is So 2005

This Post Is Soooo 2005

What the 2006 is going on in here? Wasn't the millennium scare a couple of months ago? Sheesh...time flies. The dawn of the new year brings with it my 3rd year of blogging. Not to say I've been blogging for 36 months, but just that I started writing in 2004 and have almost made it to 2006. That is quite an accomplishment for me. I've been known to leave a few hobbies in beached whale status, but somehow poker and blogging have stuck.

I believe the only reason I've made it this far is the support of fellow bloggers and knowing that people actually read this drivel. Early on I truly thought I was the only person reading what I wrote - and probably was the first month or so - but eventually I started to see some hits on the site which I must admit was pretty exciting. Fast forward to the brink of 2006 and I'm very positive about where this blog is headed. I don't have a covert mission or a plan for each day when I click on the blogger link, but I pump out whatever is on my mind and see what happens. Sometimes it's drivel and sometimes it strikes a chord. I hope for more of the same in 2006.

So, a big thank you to everyone who took a moment in 2005 to check out this here blog. I truly am humbled by the community and the readers and can't wait for a WPBT event that I can actually make so I can get to know everyone even better. To finish off 2005, I want to give a huge thank you to GCox and Jordan who know doubt made blogging much more fun for me and most definitely linked me more than anyone else in 2005. GCox wins the award for sure...whatever that award might be. Thanks Doc!

**********

Have you seen this? Friggin' genius.

Have you seen this? Friggin' idiot.

**********

Watched SinCity last night (note the picture above). Pretty bad ass movie. I wasn't too interested in seeing it when it was in the Theatre as comic books aren't really my bag, but a buddy of mine brought it over last night and I was pleasantly surprised. For those of you who are big fans of hot women, this movie has got its fair share. Definitely worth a viewing if you haven't checked it out yet.

**********

Sorry for the lack of pokery goodness in this post. I plan to play a few MTT's this weekend so hopefully I can ring in 2006 with some good news. Also, look for a Poker Sites Take Notice early next week as well as an update post on sending bloggers to the 2006 WSoP event(s). Finally, we should have a set time for the next DADI event soon. It will be PL Omaha 8OB.

Happy New Year all. Later 2005! What up 2006?!

posted by TripJax @ 10:06 AM, ,




DADI Dearest

DADI Dearest

Let me start by saying THANK YOU to everyone who joined us for the inaugural Donkeys Always Draw Invitational (DADI). When this idea began the thought was to get a few bloggers together to play some poker and just have a good time. Jordan was frustrated that he couldn't seem to make it to any of the WWdN tourneys or any other blogger events lately, so we decided to set a game up we could all hopefully attend. To that end, with a little bit of work, DADI was born.

Cut to last night when I got home and 14 players were signed up. I was happy as it looked like we might fill up 2 tables. We didn't expect many more and figured that would be a nice little tourney. Fast forward to 9:00pm and more than 60 players were signed up. I want to say it was 66 total, but I could be wrong. Regardless, it far exceeded our expectations and was a nice surprise. This is a testament to all the bloggers who helped pimp the event via their blogs and word of mouth.

As for the poker, there was so much chat going on I don't really remember much. I know my first hand of the tournament was AA (so rigged) and I shed a tear when my raise was met with a cavalcade of folds. I would wield AA three more times in the tourney and each time my raise was uncontested. I regret one time, while in the big blind, raising my blind when only the SB had called. Still, I've decided to look at it this way...my AA held up all night. That's better than a Rockets Bad Beat story eh?!

I know at one point I had every table up so I could chat which clearly meant my game was suffering. However, I didn't care. Well into the first hour I was down to below 500, but I was able to battle back to above average. I don't recall ever having a set, but I did fill my flush draws a couple of times to keep me above water. In the end, I made the final table, but went out in 8th place when DeadMoneyInc thrust a 2 outer on me. It was a tough one, but I quickly chippered up and enjoyed watching the rest of the final table. As I'm to understand, while the DADI was finishing up, DeadMoneyInc was 4th in chips at the FTP 10k. That dudes a machine.

As for the bounties, if you knocked someone out that had a bounty and have not been in contact with them directly, shoot me a comment and I'll help work it out for you. So far I only know of the following bounties:

TripJax took out Daddy
GCox took out Surflexus
DeadMoneyInc took out TripJax
JoeSpeaker took out AlCantHang
Change100 took out Jordan
thebeerroom took out BoobieLover
thebeerroom took out Lady Falcon (i weep as i really wanted the porn...damnit!)
BigPirate receives TenMile's gracious offering of a deck of cards (Thank you TenMile)
Change100 won the tournament and receives a two pack of Copag Cards

Well, actually, that's all I can remember. Leave me a comment and I'll update the list. Congratulations to the uber-aggressive Change100 on an impressive win and to JoeSpeaker on yet another excellent final table showing. Early on at the final table I recall being very patient with my small stack and watching players continually get it all-in, but not get knocked out. However, once I got knocked out, it seemed the beats began as I recall numerous times where the best hand did not hold up. Das poker. It was indeed a pretty wild final table.

Looks like there is talk of another DADI in a few weeks, but the theme may be Omaha. As of yet undetermined if it will be High or 8OB. We may lose some players who aren't down with Omaha, but the chance to get bloggers together with a change of pace sounds like fun. If you have any suggestions for future events or ways to improve, by all means shoot me a comment. Also, if you played and I don't have you linked in my blogroll, please comment so I can get you added. Some of you I recognized, but may not have you linked. I would like to remedy that. Again, thank you to all who played. Whether you made money or not, I hope you had a good time.

**********

On a Thank God note, midway into the first hour of the DADI my 8 month old daughter began to choke, but Wifey and I jumped to her aid and were able to swipe what was causing the problem from her mouth. As she always does, baby was standing at the edge of the couch so she could play with her toys on the floor and on the couch. Unbeknownst to us, she had gotten a hold of an insert Wifey had torn from the magazine she was reading.

As we heard her take in one big breath and then start weezing for air, fear gripped every part of my being. I jumped up and started trying to clear it out and thankfully she coughed it up. Quite a scare. You can imagine, in that moment, I could give a fuck about a poker tournament. I'm pretty sure I went into the timebank on a hand and finally got back to fold it, so if you were in the hand where I was delayed, now you know why. All was OK in TripJaxville.

**********

I had a feeling last night was gonna go well for me in the poker department. After I got home and pulled up the DADI tournament, I decided to play a SNG at Party. I ended up winning it. Not long after I signed into Yahoo Chat and Jordan asked me to join him in a 4 Player HU match at Stars. We ended up at seperate tables and both made it to the finals to play each other. Jordan won his first match in two hands. I think mine took about 20 hands. I ended up winning our heads up match to take the $. Couple those with the DADI final table and you could say I had decent night.

**********

Well that will have to do it for me. Again, please comment if you were part of a bounty or if I don't have you linked. Now I'm off to read some blogs...scratch that...do some work, then read some blogs...

posted by TripJax @ 8:49 AM, ,




Bounty Hunting: Donkeys Always Draw Invitational Tonight!

Bounty Hunting: Donkeys Always Draw Invitational Tonight!

If you haven't already, get your ass over to PokerStars and register for tonights blogger tournament (see below). There are bounties abound as you can see. If anyone has added their own bounty and I haven't listed it below leave me a comment so I can add it. I've even jumped in on the bounty fun. Knock me out and win a pretty cool Glass Poker Card Coaster that can also be used as a card protector. Veneno won one from me and can attest that it's pretty cool. I only have a couple left, but I figure now is a good time to offer another one up. A big thank you to all the folks who have been pimping this tournament for us. Details are below:



Wednesday, December 28, 2005 9:00pm EST
PokerStars, Private Tournament
Password: blogsaregay
$10 Buy-In


Bounty For Knocking Out These Players:
Jordan: Rename His Blog For A Week
Surflexus: A package of poker goodies
AlCantHang: The Bible of Thrash CD
TripJax: A
Glass Poker Card Coaster / CardProtector
Daddy: Autographed Script Of Your Fave Daddy Post
BoobyLover: A Poker Book Of Some Sort
Lady Falcon: Autographed Copy of Double Stuffed IV
TraumaPoker: Mystery Prize

Win The Tournament: Get Two Packs Of Copag Cards

posted by TripJax @ 9:28 AM, ,




Wicked Game

Wicked Game

What a wicked game we play, no odds but asshats stay.
What a wicked thing to do, to be drawn out by you.
What a wicked thing to say, did you really like your play?
What a wicked thing to do, make me spill my Dew and

I don't want to lose my chips (This game is gonna break my roll).
No I don't want to lose my chips (This game is gonna break my roll).
Damn you.

I'm sorry I had to put you all through that. To make amends, I at least offer a picture of the model from the Wicked Game video. Feel better? I know I do.

Why the wicked rhyme you ask? Asshats, that's why. Asshats are invading my chipstacks and I'm none too happy about it. After using a $26 tournament token and bubbling(ish) in a large MTT at FullTilt on Sunday, I took my chances with another token and MTT last night. As we were nearing the payout spots I again found myself needing a double up in order to coast into the money and have a chance to make some good dough. If I don't double up I risk being blinded away or having to get my chips in the middle in a bad situation. Then the following hand comes up.

Hero: Raises 3 times big blind with AK
Asshat 1: Calls
Asshat 2: Calls
Flop: A K 7 rainbow
Hero: 3/4 pot bet
Asshat 1: Minimum Raises
Asshat 2: Calls minimum raise
Hero: Pushes all-in
Asshat 1: Folds
Asshat 2: Calls
Asshat 2: Shows QJ
Turn: 10 (of course)
River: Fuck the river
Asshat 2: "I knew it was coming"
Hero: Spills Mountain Dew whilst cursing Asshat 2 and his family

So let me get this straight. I raise preflop, I bet the flop, a guy raises me, and Asshat 2 not only thinks it's a good play to call the raiser, but feels compelled to put all his chips in the middle with QJ and a board showing AK. Nice play, Sir.

Well, there's always Wheaton's tournament tonight or, lest we forget the...

Donkeys Always Draw Invitational!



Wednesday, December 28, 2005 9:00pm EST
PokerStars, Private Tournament
Password: blogsaregay
$10 Buy-In


Knock Out Jordan: Rename His Blog For A Week
Win The Tournament: Get Two Packs Of Copag Cards

posted by TripJax @ 9:22 AM, ,




All I Want For Christmas Is A Strong Connection

All I Want For Christmas Is A Strong Connection

What a weekend of ups and downs. For the most part poker went o.k., but what I thought was an answer to my connection problems hasn't really panned out. I moved my high speed cable modem and wireless router from my bedroom to the living room since I spend most of my computer time in the living room. My thought was if I'm playing poker in the living room and start having connection problems I could just plug in the hardwire from the router to the computer to complete the cable connection.

The first night I did this I was all smiles as it seemed to fix the connection problems I was having at Hollywood poker. No such luck...I must have just been playing at a time where my connection was strong. Yesterday I continued to play connected with the wire and my connection was horrible. I played a tournament on PokerStars and averaged a 10% connection and was constantly being disconnected. It was extremely frustrating and I didn't go back to PokerStars the rest of the day. Same goes for Hollywood as I could never get a strong connection. I have all but resigned myself to missing out on the 100% bonus as I need 350 more points by tomorrow which is not gonna happen considering I can't even keep a connection. That sux.

So far the one and only site I've had no problems with, whether wireless or wired, is FullTilt poker. I have really been enjoying playing there lately. I have won three $24+$2 tournament tokens and used one so far. I entered a $6,000 guarantee tournament yesterday that paid top 27 and I ended up placing 30th. It was pretty painful getting so close and missing out, but I played the best poker I could with the cards I was getting. After more than 30 hands into the tournament I decided to click on the Stats tab and realized I had not played a single hand. I ended up playing my first hand on the 35th hand dealt. It's not that I didn't want to play - and even blind steal on occasion - but my table was very aggressive and very difficult to play cutesy with.

In the end I played 4% of the hands and my best hands were AK and 10 10. In essence I was blinded away. Still, I was happy with my patience and timing for making plays. When I got into a hand I had the best of it, even with the crap cards I was getting. I watched closely to see how often I would have won a hand had I played in a spot I shouldn't have. Almost every time I would have lost big playing suspect hands.

I was so close to breaking that tournament open on my few big hands, but alas I couldn't make it happen. Meanwhile I watched asshat after asshat run away with big pots. In my biggest pot lost I flopped a set of 4's and got it all in against a guy with J5 hearts and one heart on the flop. He called my allin with bottom pair and proceeded to hit runner runner hearts for a soul crushing flush. If I hit that hand I'm well over the average with not many more to go until the money, but instead that put me well below the average and on life support the rest of the way.

Regardless, I've been running hot on the token qualifiers so I still have two tokens towards $26 tournaments. I may have to play another today since I have the day off. We'll see. Well that's gonna have to do it for today. If you haven't seen it already, check the post below for details on a new tourney planned for Wednesday. Get your asses registered early. You too Jordan!

posted by TripJax @ 11:24 AM, ,




Donkeys Always Draw Invitational

Donkeys Always Draw Invitational



Wednesday, December 28, 2005 9:00pm EST
PokerStars, Private Tournament
Password: blogsaregay
$10 Buy-In


Knock Out Jordan: Rename His Blog For A Week
Win The Tournament: Get Two Packs Of Copag Cards

posted by TripJax @ 3:44 PM, ,




Merry Early Christmas Beetches!

Merry Early Christmas Beetches!

I just wanted to get that out of the way in case I'm unable to post again before Christmas. Moving on...If you read my previous post you know I've been pretty frustrated with my wireless connection to poker sites as of late. Of course, on the heels of that post, I played last night with nary a problem to speak of. Still, I have a plan in place to combat the issues, as I know one good night does not a problem fix. Regardless, thanks for the input a few of you left in my comments. I appreciate it.

I played in the WWdN last night - my first chance to do so - and had a great time. I doubled up very early off of Gamecock when his pocket pair went down to my flopped set that turned into a full house by the river. When he got knocked out he noted he misread me and congratulated me, but I immediately got moved and was unable to reply. So, thanks for the comment Gamecock and sorry I had to end your night early. I would have much rather taken out a non-blogging Wheaton fanatic than a fellow blogger, but when most of the field is comprised of bloggers, that's tough to accomplish. I'd like to note I really dig Gamecock's blog and think you should check it out if you haven't already.

I was able to ride my early chip-up to top 5 in chips for most of the first hour, but eventually hit a tough run and was out in the second hour when the blinds were beginning to get hefty. The two hands that hemorrhaged my stack were at the hands of the same player and, though they were boring, I feel compelled to write them down.

With about 1700 in chips and AQ in late position it folds to me and I raise the 100 BB to 300 (maybe 325). Only the BB calls. The flop comes down K 10 X and I make a continuation bet of 400 after he checks. He minimum raises me to 800 and I fold, to which he shows K X and types, "thought I would be nice." I'm still trying to figure out which was the nice part, showing me his hand or check raising me. Needless to say, I took it as a smug comment and did not reply. Of course I'm probably reading too much into it, but whatever.

Not long after I'm around 975 in chips and push in early position with A 10 sooted. Same guy two to my left insta-calls with 4 or 5 players still to act. He had less than 2000 in chips so this was risking more than half of his stack. He flips over K J offsoot and hits his K on the river. I don't mind that I lost the hand at all and certainly know I was not that huge of a favorite when the cards were flipped, but I was still a bit surprised with the insta-calling off of more than half his stack with K J offsoot and numerous other players left to act. I don't know...I try not to vent too often on this here blog so I just had to let it out.

Still, I had a great time and enjoyed the company of other bloggers. It was good to sit at the table with the likes of Maudi and BG, which I have not done in quite a while. A quick side note about BG. I must say I didn't really catch on to OddJack until it was nearing its end (of how it once was). I did enjoy much of the content, but as I've mentioned before, a lot of it was over my head (the non-poker related stuff primarily). Still, I just wanted to thank BG for linking two of my posts on OddJack posts. Those two posts have probably been the most read posts ever for me and I have no doubt it's because of the links from OddJack. Oddly, though I've gotten many reads of the Hansen post, I didn't get any comments.

Regarding my connection I mentioned above, I've decided to take BigPirate's advice and get myself hard wire ready for those times when my connection struggles. I had not done this yet because my modem and router are in my bedroom and I don't like having to go there to play poker. I like being in the living room where everyone is so I can still be around the family.

So, tonight I'm going to move the router and modem to the living room and set it up where I can easily plug in when need be. I'm sure I’ll need to make a quick run to RadioShack for wires and such, but that will be no problem. I hope everything goes smoothly.

One of the poker sites I've been neglecting during my connection problems is Hollywood. I signed up with them near the end of November through VegasPokerPro, a site similar to PokerSourceOnline. I figured I could put them on the backburner for a little while since I have 60 days to clear the VPP promo. Unfortunately I looked a little closer on the Hollywood site last night and realized I have to clear THEIR 100% matching bonus within 30 days. Dohl!

So, I've cleared 60 points and have to clear a total of 450 by December 27th. Time to rock and roll. Me thinks two tabling is in my future, but we'll see how things go. I've stepped down from 1/2 to .50/1, but haven't really seen much of a slow down in the bonus clearing. Last night I played short handed and had numerous maniacs at the table who either paid me off on my big hands or built the pots up during my folded hands, getting me the max rake cleared. I ended up breaking even for the night, but when bonus clearing I consider a break even night to be o.k.

Well, that's it for me folks. Expect limited posting from me through the holidays as I will be off the rest of the week and not sure when I'll have time to write. Still, when I get the chance, I may whip up a post here and there. As noted above, I will definitely be playing poker in order to clear my bonus, so look for me on the felt.

posted by TripJax @ 11:31 AM, ,




Connection Inspection

Connection Inspection

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on my prior post about a potential way to send a blogger to the 2006 WSOP Main Event. It seems I may have underestimated the number of bloggers willing to pony up 100 bones in order for a chance at the big dance. I guess it remains to be seen if this goes anywhere. As a group, I know we will do something to send as many people as possible to an event, but I'm not sure of the when, what, where and how. I like my idea, but there may be a better/easier way to get the job done. Sometimes when my ideas start spinning around in the noggin' I over think things rather than take the simple route.

I think what sort of turned this into a potentially monumental task was thinking that most bloggers would want to stay in the $10 tourney buy-in range as well as have a chance to make there money back even if they don't win a seat. To make that happen you've got to put more time and effort into the logistics, whereas a larger buy-in and no close but no cigar payouts can get it done quicker. There are positives and negatives to both. Yet, maybe there is middle ground.

I'm going to put a little more thought into it, and then maybe throw out a few more options for consideration. Again, thanks to all of you for reading and considering my ideas. It's great to be able to throw some things on the wall and see if they stick. If you haven't commented or have an idea or proposal let me know.

I've played a few of the 18 player $6 SNG's at FullTilt that pay a $26 tournament token to the top 4 places and I'm loving them. I've only played two, but I can tell they are pretty soft and very doable. I bubbled in my 1st one and made the cut in my 2nd one, but already I'm getting a good feel for them. Let the other players battle it out and watch while you move closer to the payday. Then, when the timing is right, get your chips in with the best of it and let mother variance tease you or please you. In the long run (never heard that before) you should come out good to go. Thanks Speaker for putting me onto those. You were right.

Currently, the only site I can play without having connection problems is FullTilt so I may be spending more time there than I have in the past. For a while Party was treating me right, but the last few nights have been pretty brutal at every site but FullTilt. Which brings me to my next section.

Does anyone else out there who uses a wireless laptop to play poker often have problems with their connection? Basically, I will sign on and get playing and not long into it the table will freeze. It will look like someone is taking an extra long time to make a decision, but in reality they are still playing while I'm stuck in la la land. Sometimes it will be 10 seconds or 1 minute before the table cycles forward to the current spot and by that time I'm usually put in sit out mode and I've lost whatever money or chips I had in the hand I had been in. This is happening at Party, Stars, Titan, Hollywood, and BoDog just to name a few. The only sites I seem to be clear on are FullTilt and UltimateBet, though I haven't spent much time at UB since I cashed out of there.

It's gotten so bad that I just have to avoid those sites, but this is a problem as I have bonus money needing to be cleared within a certain timeframe at a couple of those sites. I'll start this sentence noting I'm an e-tard, but what perplexes me is my internet connection is fine, but I still have the problems with the poker sites. I can surf the web and do all the normal things, but my connection to the poker site is wack.

Can anyone offer any insight into what might be wrong or what I can do to fix it? Are there settings on my computer causing this to happen? Is it a computer problem, a wireless router problem, or the high speed internet companies problem? I've had the laptop less than a year, but didn't have these problems early on. It's been the last few months where I've really seen a problem. What's up? I need a connection inspection for realz.

Frustration rant over. Sorry, but I can only take so many hands where I'm ready to take down a pot and get folded before I crack. One positive note, wifey's mom bought a computer last year she's not using so she's going to let me use it until I can afford a new desktop unit. Me thinks I'll have less stress when I can just move over to the desktop when my wireless problems start up.

Well that's gonna have to do it for now. I am serious about this 2006 Main Event gig so I'm gonna keep at it. Even if we only muster up enough $ to do the $1500 events, I still think we can send more than we sent last year.

posted by TripJax @ 1:06 PM, ,




Poker BLOGGERS Take Notice: The 2006 Main Event

Poker BLOGGERS Take Notice: The 2006 Main Event

In my last post I mentioned I was going to unload my next Poker Sites Take Notice, but along the way something else jumped to the front of the line and took priority in my mind. Specifically I was reading BigPirate's recent post about SENDING A BLOGGER TO THE 2006 WSOP MAIN EVENT. We successfully sent a few bloggers to the WSOP last year, but could only conjure up enough support to cover the $1500 event.

If you didn't click the link to BigPirate above, basically he proposes a $100 tournament with 100 bloggers, sending one lucky bastard to the main event. Places 2-11 would receive 5% of any winnings (50% total), leaving 50% of any winnings for said bastard.

I like his idea a lot - especially the other finalists having a stake in the bastard - but I doubt we will be able to come up with 100 bloggers who can afford $100 for a 100 to 1 shot, even though I know it is for a great cause. After some thinking about it this weekend, I have a concept that just might work though it would take some help from a poker site as well as some time from ze bloggers.


The Idea

On a nightly or weekly basis, have a $10 +$1 tournament that pays out half the prize pool to the players in that particular tournament, while the other half would go into a prize pool for a future WPBT WSOP Satellite Tournament (WWST). In that WWST, the prize pool would first pay out the Main Event buy-in to 1st place, then any further money would pay for buy-ins to the $1500 event to 2nd place and so on. All extra money will be paid out to the final table accordingly. As BigPirate mentioned, the players placing 2-11 could win a 5% stake in the winner as well. As for who would play in the WWST, one seat towards the WWST would be earned for every 9 players registered in the night/weekly tournaments.

An Example

Lets say 18 bloggers sign up for the first nightly or weekly tournament, thus $180 would be used as follows:

1st Place / $45 payout / Seat to WWST
2nd Place / $27 payout / Seat to WWST
3rd Place / $17 payout
The other $90 would go into the prize pool for the WWST.


Lets assume we start the nightly or weekly tournaments on January 1st, 2006 and want to have the WWST on April 31st. We would need to average approximately 120 buy-ins a week in order to meet our goal. The 120 buy-ins could be via one weekly tournament or a nightly tournament that draws 2 tables or approzimately 18 bloggers.


It seems, between the hundreds of bloggers we have out there, we could muster up enough support for a nightly 18 person tournament over a 16 week period don't ya think? We can't all play every night, but we can all play on occasion. And the beauty of it is you are not only playing for a seat to the WWST, but also an immediate payout just like a regular tourney. And if need be, we could open up the tourney to readers as well.

Players who win a seat to the WWST could continue playing in these tourneys not only to support the cause, but to also help their chances in the WWST. Each time they win a seat via the nightly/weekly tourney, rather than offer another seat to them, they can receive additional starting chips for the WWST. For instance, if the starting stack is 1500, if they win a second seat they could receive an additional 500 chips for a total starting stack of 2000. Every time they win a seat another 500 would be added to their stack.

Not only does this help their chances via additional chips, but it also helps with overlay. If they are receiving an additional seat they are increasing the prize pool without adding another player to the field. With a seat offered for every full table, there would be approximately 220 players in the WWST if no one won more than one seat. With players winning multiple times, the prize pool will grow, but the overlay will be better for those players.

I foresee a few scenarios occurring:

Scenario 1

This has huge success and we send a blogger to the WSOP 2006 Main Event as well as have 2-11th place staked at 5% each. If we exceed our goal, but don't have a large enough prize pool to send another blogger to the Main Event, we could send more bloggers to the $1500 event and/or pay out the extra $ to the WWST final table
accordingly.


Scenario 2

Not enough success to send a blogger to the Main Event, but enough to send one or more bloggers to the $1500 event. Excess $ paid to final table accordingly.

Scenario 3
Not enough success to send a blogger to any event, but enough to play out the WWST and payout the prize pool like a regular tourney.


Scenario 4

It all fizzles with little success and the money held for the WWST is paid out to the players who won seats to the WWST accordingly. TripJax cries himself to sleep on his wee pillow.

What We Need
A poker site willing to work with us on the prize pool being adjusted for the WWST.

Bloggers willing to spend some time and effort supporting each other.


Private Tables - I can create private tables at Stars so that would be a start if they will work with us.

Why This Is A Good Thing
We would be sending a blogger to the 2006 Main Event!


Each tournament gives you the chance to qualify for the WWST as well as
make money immediately.

Even if you don't win the seat, you could still win a stake in the person who does.


Plenty of chances to play with fellow bloggers on the cheap.


A seat to a WWST for every 9 registrants.


The more seats you win, the more chips you start with and the better the overlay on the WWST.

You could win a seat to the WSOP for $10.

No matter what happens, we're supporting from within when we send a blogger to the big dance.


The Questions
Is there a site out there willing to work with us to send a player to the WSOP through them? When thinking this up I had PokerStars and FullTilt in mind, but maybe another site would work.

Is this too much work for something that might not come to fruition?

Do we have enough bloggers to support 120+ buy-ins a week towards the goal?

Is this a stupid idea?

So that's it. I'm sure I'm missing something or not fully explaining something very well, but for now this will have to do. Leave me a comment with your thoughts or if you see any issue with this. If this is just too much to try and reach the $10,000 goal, we could lower our sights a little and work to send as many $1500 event buy-ins as possible. I would be willing to handle all aspects of coordinating this if there is enough interest and would hopefully be able to work with an administrator at the poker site to handle administrative issues accordingly. In the mean time, let me finish the post with this...


The Tourney Chart

Here's a game grid I put together as an example of what the nightly/weekly tournament could offer. I had the grid going up to 65+, but my spreadsheet cut it off at 42 players. Regardless, I'm sure you get the idea. The numbers shown in green are the winning payouts that also earn a seat to the WWST. If between 6 and 8 players sign up, the game can still be played, but the prize pool would not be split up since it would not be enough to offer a seat to the WWST.





posted by TripJax @ 3:06 AM, ,




Filibustered Out

Filibustered Out

Gonna have to keep this one short today folks. I'm in the process of drafting another Poker Sites Take Notice, but since it is already the afternoon on Friday, I think I'll try and finish it up this weekend and have it ready for Monday. I thought this idea up around the same time I thought up my last idea so I gotta get this one out of my head before it pops out of my ear. Look for it Monday.

I played in an MTT last night and was trying to be frisky by playing a few more hands than usual. My table was very passive and I figured I might be able to take advantage of their submissive ways. What ensued was a classic illustration of how playing a suspect hand can make you feel like you were bad beat, but actually you bad beat yourself since you should have never been in the hand in the first place. And by you, I mean me.

I have 10h5h in MP and limp pretty sure it won't get raised and I can see a cheap flop. The flop comes down with AhKh9h. With 5 or 6 players still in the hand I bet the flop not wanting someone with the lone Jh or Qh to get a free card. I get one caller. The turn is a blank and I make another pot sized bet, which he again calls. The river was the As and I make a decent size bet that puts him near all-in. He raises me and I grimace as He flips over A9 for the rivered full house.

At first I was pretty pissed off cause this pot was for the chip lead in the tournament with 60 players remaining, but I quickly realized there was nothing I could do about it and I should have never been in the hand in the first place. A pretty good lesson on the cheap I can keep fresh in my mind for future tournaments. It's OK to switch it up and get frisky against passive players, but that doesn't mean you should play crap cards every hand. Otherwise, you'll filibuster yourself out of most tournaments. It's just so hard to watch Donky McDonksalot win every single hand with Ace high or bottom pair and I can't even walk away with a flopped flush. Bastardos!

Tonight is our office work party and I'm looking forward to boozing and grubbing it up for free. Wifey and I don't get out together too often sans chitlins so it will be nice to spend some quality time with her. My friend poker and I won't be seeing each other much this weekend as we have the party tonight, my families Christmas get together Saturday, and Wifey's family get together on Sunday. Hopefully I'll be able to sneak some poker in on Sunday when we get back.

I'm planning on playing some FullTilt MTT's this month and was wondering if anyone could suggest a nightly or weekly tourney that is juicy and in the $5 to $15 range. Hook-A-Brotha-Up with a comment. Thanks.

A buddy sent me this link today for a bad ass new product. Talk about destroying workplace productivity.

Well, that will have to do it for today. As always, I have more I want to write about, but I just can't think straight right now or remember what to write about. I really gotta get a small blog notebook. Wait, is that gay?

posted by TripJax @ 3:07 PM, ,




Damn This Guy Is Good?

Damn This Guy Is Good?

Well I don't have a lot to chirp about today. I played limited poker over the weekend, but when I did I continued my strugglefest. After a strong beginning to my Titan Instant Bankroll promotion - running the free $50 up to $200 - I have found a way to give virtually all of it back. I now sit, sadly, at around $20. It's been a tough run of cards, occasional suspect decisions, and numerous river rats. However, this is not a bad beat blog so I'll leave those to myself. If I had to give a visual of the experience, it would be like finding a free ticket to Vegas (read: free $50 from Titan), getting on the plane and finding out they've upgraded you to First Class (read: run the $50 up to $200), then looking out the window and seeing this (see picture). Dohl!

What I'm really bummed about is clearing nearly 4000 of the 6000 required Titan stars and now finding myself near the felt. Even though it will be a crapshoot, playing $1/$2 with my remaining $20, I will continue at that level in order to attempt to finish the promo in this decade. A couple of bad runs and I'll be out, but a couple of hot hands and I could be back rolling towards my goal. If I can just clear the bonus within 30 days, whether I have $.50, $50, or $150, I will receive an extra $25 from Titan for clearing the required number of raked hands. So there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

All the above duly noted, I must note this is still a good promotion to attempt if your bankroll could use a boost on someone else's dime. It is free money people...fuck with that. If you don't have a Titan account and want $75 to play some poker with for free, then go here and tell'em tripjax sent ya. If I'm not your huckleberry, then tell'em dugglebogey sent ya. He's worked hard to get the word out on this promotion and deserves a little help. If you're looking to just open up a new account and take advantage of the huge bonus offers they have, then check out my banner over there on the left. Enough of that...must take shower...feel dirty. I know you hear it often (and despite my bad run of late) the players are pretty damn horrible. There is money to be made there.

~~~~~~~~

I was playing around on Technorati today and noticed a website that links to me that is interesting. It isn't so interesting that they link me, but the words they use. Specifically, my link is listed as Damn These Guys Are Good. I'm not sure what that means or the thoughts behind it, but I don't care...I like it. Thanks Mr. Pulver. I appreciate it.

~~~~~~~~

I had planned on playing in a live game tomorrow night, but it looks like that's not gonna happen, so I think I will spend that time playing a 180 SNG at Stars. I'm gonna first try to make the $20 buy-in via cashing in a 1 table SNG, but if that doesn’t work I may just buy in directly. We'll see. Might even try that tonight if the kiddies hit the sack early enough.

~~~~~~~~
Short post today folks. Work beckons. Damnit! For more weird pics, see the post below...

posted by TripJax @ 3:21 PM, ,




How'z About A Picture Post?

How'z About A Picture Post?

This one goes out to J, and many other poker bloggers out there I'm sure...



This one goes out to G, hang in there man.



This one goes out to DonkeyPuncher. This is what you get for not giving your readers a Dirndl pic recently...


To everyone...think this would get you motivated to play some poker while brushing your teeth every morning?

Or how about getting one of these at your table. A guy can dream...

For some reason, when checking out this picture, I kept thinking about when my Top Pair was not so good...

And this one, I just love. This was a sign for a visitor at my buddies office...

posted by TripJax @ 4:01 PM, ,




Heads-Up Step Challenge Twist

Heads-Up Step Challenge Twist

First off, I gotta say Happy Birthday to Little Trip who turned 5 today. I took the day off so I could spend it with boy on his big day. We had a great time and I'm really glad I spent the day with the fam instead of co-workers. Not working Mondays can be very therapeutic.

Now, on to poker. Part of the day I spent raking the yard rather than being raked at the tables. During the monotony of it all I started thinking about cmitch's Heads-Up Steps Challenge, which I think is an awesome idea for a challenge. Here's my thought...

Why not just play the 4 player Heads-Up matches available on Stars? For those that don't know about these matches, basically you start with 1500 in chips and play one other player heads-up. While you play, two other players are also playing heads-up. The winners of each match take their chips - now 3000 total each - to a final heads-up match where the winner takes all. Thus, a $21 match would give the final winner $80.

With cmitch's plan you basically play until you lose or meet your goal. Once you lose you start back at square one. Also, you play at the same level twice before going up to the higher buy-in. So, in the original format, you start at the $21 level and play two heads-up matches before moving up to the $53 level, and so on.

There's a couple reasons I think the 4 Player Heads-Up matches may be better for this type of challenge. I'll hit them with bullet points:

So, unless I'm missing something, I think it might be beneficial to give the 4 Player matches a test drive for the Heads-Up Step Challenge. I plan to do so, but I'll be starting at the $10 level. Does anyone else see a flaw in my thinking as it compares to the original plan? There are differences in the two which might make you lean one way or the other, but for the most part they are very similar.

Some folks might not like having to win two in a row before you see any money, but if you are treating this as a challenge where you continue until you lose or meet your goal, then it wouldn't be a bad thing to do the 4 Player match and only pay one rake. One negative with the 4 Player matches is they only go up to the $210 level, but if you wanted to continue you could revert back to the normal plan at that point. However, if you make it to level 4 and win you are booking a profit in excess of $1000, which is not too shabby. To the left is a grid for the 4 Player matches. You can see, with this format, the only time you will book a loss is if you lose in the first 4 Player match. So in essence, the WIN column is what you will have if you win that round and stop. The LOSS column is what you will have if you attempt that level, but lose.

Also, one final thought. With the 4 Player mach, in the second round you have 3000 in starting chips. This allows you to be able to withstand a suckout or two from a donk who is catching cards. If the theory stands that more chips with a lower blind structure favor the better player, then this should only be an incentive. It might take 20 minutes longer to finish your match, but the way players push with suspect hands these days, I doubt it would take much longer.

Cmitch and all, I'd lover to hear your thoughts. You've got a great idea C and I just wanted to put a minor twist on it in order to possibly help. However, if you don't dig it, no problemo!

Laterz

posted by TripJax @ 3:49 PM, ,




Friday Randomness

Friday Randomness

I think I will stick with the randomness for the next few days since the readership will undoubtedly be way down with all those bastards enjoying themselves in Vegas (I kid, I kid cause I love). Regardless, the show must go on! Since this post might be boring I figured I should spice it up with a poker babe pic.

~~~~~~~

I spent a little time on the e-Vegas virtual felt last night. I cleared about 100 raked hands at Titan - towards my instant bankroll promotion - so I am getting closer to the light at the end of the 6000 stars tunnel. One raked hand at $1/$2 releases 6 stars, thus 1000 raked hands will get me to my goal. Unfortunately, after nearly tripling my original $50, the downswing at Titan has begun and I've given back the bulk of it. I currently sit at $73 and feel pretty whooped after the last few nights of play.

I won't bore you with bad beats and such, but I will say it is amazing watching donks constantly win with their bottom pair weak kicker when you can't buy a win with TPTK in a heads-up pot. I know top pair top kicker isn't an incredible hand, but when you're watching donk after donk win with crap cards it is hard to believe they can wake up with another wack job hand that will inevitably take down your hand. I think I'm just not used to the higher swings I'm seeing at $1/$2, but I'll get used to it.

~~~~~~~

I did get a chance to chat briefly with V and J last night, which was nice. J and I attempted to enter a $10 SNG at Stars, but unfortunately he was unable to sign up in time. He was in the middle of a heads-up match and I understand how difficult it can be to do anything else when you are put to decisions so quickly and constantly. We'll play again soon J.

I was able to take second for a $27 win in that SNG, but I had 1st place in my sights so I'm a little disappointed. On the last hand I had JJ and raised it up. My opponent minimum raised and I pushed. Of course, she had AA and took me out. Looking back I could have called and played a little more patient, but so often people play very aggressive with small to middle pocket pairs or Ace Crap so I wanted to get my chips in with a distinct advantage. Too bad distinct turned to extinct.

Regardless, I liked my play and actually got to use G's suck out better hands strategy. Early on I had A4 on a 445 flop. The turn brought a 6 and a guy pushed after I had raised. I called his raise, which was not much more, and hit my A on the river for a full boat. He had 23 for the ass end of the straight. He decided to berate me calling me a lucky sob.

I'd like to say I used my own sage advice and just left it alone, but I just wasn't in the mood to let this one go so I gave him a piece of my mind. I think this is not such a big deal at a SNG as opposed to a ring game where you want the donk to stick around after making a fucktard move. But in a SNG where the guy is on the rail and giving you a hard time for something you can't control, I just had to let it out. I won't go into the actual chat, but I enjoyed letting off some steam.

As for the 2nd place finish, my goal was to make enough to pay off my HUC2 $25 debt so I'm happy with the way things went. Jordan, when do we pay and who should I be paying?

~~~~~~~

Two nights ago wifey was changing baby and asked boy to go get the cornstarch from the room since baby had a rash. I realize...Too.Much.Information...sorry. Anyway, boy proceeds to get the bottle of cornstarch and turn our nursery into a winter wonderland shaking the bottle throughout the room and down the hallway. We were unaware of what was going on until he came down the hallway looking like a ghost. Dohl! I was pretty pissed at the time, but looking back it was pretty funny. He was apparently dreaming of a white Christmas a little early.

~~~~~~~

For those of you who watch ESPN SportsCenter all the time like me, is anyone else sick and tired of the "I Love You Too" song they play every freaking Monday after a weekend of NFL games. How much more are we supposed to take of this? Yes, it was a good song for a while and kind of cool since it was catered to that weekend's plays, but damn. If I hear that dudes voice one more time I may just have to take a machete to my TV.

~~~~~~~

I watched the 1996 U.S. Poker Championship last night with Phil Hellmuth Jr. and enjoyed watching his shenanigans. Even back then he was a little toad, maybe even more so. For those that don't know, you can catch some old poker shows on ESPN Classic, which is where I watched this one. Check it out.

~~~~~~~

That's gonna have to do it for me folks. I may not post again until Monday unless I get a wild hair up my ass, which might just happen.

posted by TripJax @ 10:30 AM, ,




About TripJax

About TripJax

I'm TripJax
From Greensboro, NC
My profile
Where I Play
My Story


Last Updated 02/21/08*

*To my faithful RSS readers, I apologize if my updating this post creates another entry in your reader. This section hasn't been updated since 2005, so I needed to make a couple of changes. Fushizzle.

posted by TripJax @ 7:48 PM, ,




Where I Play

Where I Play

Here are the places I play and my screen name for each:

PokerStars: TripJax
FullTilt: TripJax
Noble: TripJax
BoDog: TripJax
UltimateBet: tripjax
Party: trip_jax
Empire: jaxonmanone
Titan: tripjAAx
Hollywood: Trip Jax

Some of these sites are dormant, but I'll go back if the reload bonus is juicy. I just figured with the bulk of poker bloggers off to Vegas this would be a good chance to clean house by putting this in a post I can update periodically. That way I can remove them from my template where it takes up space.

Last updated: 12/08/05

posted by TripJax @ 2:59 PM, ,




Lets Try This Again Shall We?

Lets Try This Again Shall We?

Poker Sites Take Notice: 162 Player 6-Max Shootouts

Geez, you would think I could handle a few calculations considering I work in the Financial Services industry, but apparently I was having an e-tard day Tuesday. In my original entry, I messed up on numerous numbers so I've decided to re-post my thoughts. Thanks to all who commented and made me aware of my miscalculations. As I noted in my comments section, I really need an intern. If Kramer can have one, me thinks I can too.

Anyway, here is the updated idea, adjusted to be a 162 Player 6-Max $10 +$1 Shootout with a Sit-N-Go style (make them available all day and when registration is full open up another to begin registration on).

Again, if you see any issues let me know. I realize not many folks out there will be reading this since the poker blogging masses are headed for Vegas post haste. Still, I digress:

162 Player 6-Max Shootout $10 + $1 Buy-in

Rd 1 / 27 Tables / 162 Players (6 At Each Table)

Place At Each Table

Payout

Result

1st Place

$15

Advance To Round 2

2nd Place

$11

Advance To Round 2

3-6 Place

$0

Out

Rd 2 / 9 Tables / 54 Players (6 At Each Table)

Place At Each Table

Payout

Result

1st Place

$20

Advance To Round 3

2nd Place

$15

Advance To Round 3

3-6 Place

$0

Out

Rd 3 / 3 Tables / 18 Players (6 At Each Table)

Place At Each Table

Payout

Result

1st Place

Final Table

Advance To Final Table

2nd Place

Final Table

Advance To Final Table

3-6 Place

$0

Out

Final Round 1 Table / 6 Players

Place At Final Table

Payout

Result

1st Place

$250

Add up your winnings!

2nd Place

$125

Add up your winnings!

3rd Place

$100

Add up your winnings!

4th Place

$60

Add up your winnings!

5th Place

$45

Add up your winnings!

6th Place

$23

Add up your winnings!

posted by TripJax @ 8:55 PM, ,