Wow
Friday, March 31, 2006
Wow...
It has been a long day and I only have about 5 minutes to post, so let me just make a few announcements...
First, Iggy is running a tournament on Monday to send a blogger to the WSoP. Details can be found here. I implore you to go sign up for that tournament. They are fun, you are supporting other bloggers, you have a chance to win a seat at any $1500 WSoP event, and if you don't win you can at least say that your buy-in went towards a fellow poker blogger in the community making it to an event. He gets nothing out of this other than the smile on his face to say he helped send a blogger to Vegas. That's a good thing and we gotta roll with the punches.
So many people enter these satellites feeling in their head that they can't win, or they don't enter for the same reason. The only way you can win one of these is to play. So play on playa. OK that last setence should be removed, but I'm in a hurry. Go sign up now, mmmkay?!
Have a good weekend and thanks for reading.
posted by TripJax @ 4:52 PM,
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I Think It Moved
Thursday, March 30, 2006
I Think It Moved
I took the day off yesterday to watch the kids so my wife could get some dental work done. She did not see the doc until the afternoon and ended up taking the little one with her to baby sit for the morning, so I only had boy for most of the day. We spent the day together and even hit up Mickey D's for some fun in their playroom, which was a good time. I was, however, able to get a few hours of poker in before we went out which was nice.I decided on some limit poker, which was a welcome change from the SNG's and MTT's I've been hacking away at lately. I do not fancy myself a great limit player, but I want to continue to play and learn. One trend I've found with my limit play is I always seem to put myself in a hole early. Usually a small hole, but a hole nonetheless. And when I two table it becomes two holes. I always feel like I am treading water and occasionally flailing around just to stay even. I often finish a session wondering what the hell was the point. Then there are sessions like yesterday.
As usual, I put myself into a hole and wondered what it was going to take to get out. I was getting monster hands, but only winning a few of them. I think I got AA four times, KK three times, and QQ four times in a matter of 90 minutes, but won 3 of those hands. Then it happened. I went on a serious rush at one of my tables and before I knew it I had nearly doubled my buy-in. At my other table I was break even so the session was looking good.
Then I got into a multi-way pot with 10 J suited where it was capped pre-flop. I knew I needed a good flop to play on and was happy when I hit 10 Q K with the Q and K my suit. We played on and before I knew it there was a ton of money in the pot and I was still hoping for a pretty river. An offsuit Ace hit the river and, while I was happy to see something that would give me a piece of the pot with the nut straight, I figured I was splitting it with at least one other player. I gave out a hearty "booya" when the entire pot was pushed my way. I couldn't believe with the number of players in the pot that I took it down. I was so happy, I think it moved. I'll leave it at that.
That above hand ended up being the largest limit pot I have ever won and though I gave some back before I quit, I still ended up more than doubling my buy-in. A nice change from the norm. I decided to take an extended break from the computer and came back around 8pm to play some more.
I played some donktastic poker in my first SNG of the night, pushing all-in with absolutely nothing while my opponent held TPTK. Moving on, I played an 18 player SNG with GCox and KJ and played well, but didn't cash in that one either. I then took my chances at Mookies weekly tournament and ended up bubble boy when my AK with an AX5 board ran into 55. I feel I played well in that tournament, caught a few breaks in race situations, and still had $0 to show for it. Das poker. It most definitely did not move when Nacho flipped over 55 and I knew my fate was bubble boy. Congrats to Kat who won the whole thing. Poker likes her. Mookie has a tourney recap here.
Big news in DADI-ville, hopefully will be announced today, but definitely by tomorrow. Can't wait!
posted by TripJax @ 9:50 AM,
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The Diablo Stache
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
The Diablo Stache
I received the below via email the other day from a buddy of mine and felt it worthy of its own post. I have no idea who the guy in the picture is, nor do I know who wrote the below piece. I just dig his stache and it goes well with the paragraph below. I added the link just for a little extra spice.
The Diablo stache:First made popular by Satan himself, it, like most mustaches, has dwindled in numbers in recent years. However, Dwight (seen here) has attempted a revival after claiming the Devil's mustache is responsible for his loss in a poker game between Dwight, Satan and Chuck Norris.
What Dwight doesn't know is he would have won the game had Chuck Norris not knocked him out with a roundhouse kick to the face to allow the Devil to switch cards with him before the turn of the final card.
posted by TripJax @ 3:32 PM,
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Blogger Spotlight: Quest Of A Closet Poker Player
Blogger Spotlight: Quest Of A Closet Poker Player
I've been planning to feature CC and his blog, Quest Of A Closet Poker Player, since I started the Blogger Spotlight series, and now is a great time as he is currently writing some capital content. Obviously great minds think alike as Jordan at High On Poker mentioned CC in his blog post yesterday.I came across CC when he linked me in one of his Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon posts, where he starts by visiting a blog link and then travels through a different/new blog link on each site until he has visited six blogs. I think this is a great way to find new and interesting blogs and content. I knew right away I was probably going to like this guys writing.
CC has a knack for continually coming up with interesting content that keeps you coming back for more. I've mentioned in previous Spotlights other blogs that often rise to the top of my reading and CC has gradually been on the up and up. Here are just a few things you should check out if you have never read CC or if you haven't been over his way in a while.
When Is Poker A Sin In this post, CC explores the difficult task of balancing faith and poker.
Relationships And Poker: Part I
Relationships And Poker: Part II
Relationships And Poker: Part III
Relationships And Poker: Addendum A
This is just an absolute great series of posts that CC threw together for his readers. If you are in a relationship and play poker, check them out. The last link includes a response CC received from Barry Greenstein. Pretty cool.
Well, I'm gonna leave the rest of the quest to you. If you feel like spelunking, I'd dive into CC's archives and give him a try. I've only been reading him for a couple months, but I've enjoyed what I've read so far and I hope he keeps spitting out similar content.
Previous Blogger Spotlights:
9 2 Offsuit
Will Wonka
O-Poker
Sir Waffles
posted by TripJax @ 10:32 AM,
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Mundaneday
Monday, March 27, 2006
Mundaneday
Last week I wrote a post titled What Do You Do, WHAT DO YOU DO?! asking for responses about a specific poker scenario. If you missed it, click the link before you read on. I have not given my response in a post and thought I would give that now. In that particular scenario, if I get the 5 of diamonds as my first card, I would like to the get the 6 of diamonds as my second card. The possibilities with this hand are many, with a flush, straight, trips, and two pair being potential hands that could be winners. However, if the flop doesn't give you action cards, then it is easy to get away from. And I would probably check in the BB in that position, though I could see raising also. My next choices would be another 5 or an Ace of diamonds. Check out the comments in that post to get plenty of input from other folks. If there was an award for most creative response, Drizz would win it.
posted by TripJax @ 11:31 AM,
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I Fought The Boobs And The Boobs Won
Friday, March 24, 2006
I Fought The Boobs And The Boobs Won
In honor of my heads-up match with Wes (a.k.a. boobie lover), in the first round of the HUC3 last night, I offer the picture you see to the left (click to ENLARGE). Though we played at FullTilt, which does not have pictures for avatars, I know Elisha is his pic at Stars so I figured this would do the trick.In the early rounds of our match I felt I played smashingly, taking down the bulk of the hands and mounting a nice chip lead. I did not have monsters, and often didn't have jackshit, but my bets and raises were timed correctly leaving Wes with primarily one action early on...FOLD. I had a buddy over watching the game and I was thoroughly enjoying playing while he was watching. I did something that I've found myself doing a lot lately in my heads-up matches. I announced what I thought my opponent, in this case Wes, was going to do when it was his turn to act. More often than not I was correct, which made for a fun game.
My favorite chat exchange of the match, which happened while I was running hot, was...
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boobielover: are my hole cards face-up?
tripjax: yes
tripjax: contact tech support
boobielover: lol
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OK, I don't really remember if he typed lol, but I like to think he laughed out loud.
Then it happened...
...the wheels fell off.
I'm not sure when it happened, but in one hand I went from a more than double chip lead to right back at even. The blinds were going up so raises and re-raises made the pots quite hefty. Before I knew it I was the small stack and ended up all in with an inferior hand. My name sake, TripJax, brought me back from the brink of extinction when I had a Jack in the hole, a Jack on the flop, and a beautiful Jack on the river. It was the first suck out and I hoped it would be the last I would need.
That hand put us back to even and we battled it out for a while longer staying pretty even in chips. Then, just like before, I found myself the shorty of the two and needing another double up. Down to less than 600 and the BB at, I think 80 or 100, I made what I believe to be my one mistake. I called an all-in with Jack high. Granted I was short stacked and needed chips, but I like to be the one pushing all-in in that situation, not calling. Still, my cards were live, but suck out #2 was not to be.
Wes played a great game, overcame an early chip deficit, and sent me packing. In heads-up, when you get down early, you can't let it get to you and you can't feel like you have to push your chips in the middle. If the blinds are still small, you have time to get your chips back. If you are down to around 700 in chips, it only takes one all-in win to get back to even. That said, Wes played the match exactly how he should have, being patient early, giving me small pots, then pouncing when I was weak and the blinds were big. Kudos to you boobie lover
Unfortunately, Wes, I see you did not outlast AussieDave, so congratulations are further in order for him.
T'was a good time, and I'm glad I joined HUC3, even with my final result. Good luck to everyone who made it to Round 2!
posted by TripJax @ 11:27 AM,
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Anti Uber
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Anti Uber
Time is money and today I have neither, so this post will be anti uber. By anti uber I mean short, not necessarily little person short, but not many words short. Confused? Me too.I bombed out of both live games last night, but don't hate my play at any point so it is all good. I have nothing interesting to report from the first game other than the guy who eventually won was down to 200 chips with blinds at 300/600. At that time I had an average chip stack and didn't even expect him to make it another hand. However, he doubled up through me twice and never looked back as he got red hot the rest of the way.
On the second hand of the second game I lost a monster pot when we had 3 people all in and my 2nd best hand - a Jack high heart flush - lost to the nut Queen high heart flush with the Ace and King of hearts on the board. The way the hand played out I put one guy on Ace King for two pair and the other guy on a straight. Since the flush filled runner, runner on the turn and river (King then Five) I felt pretty good about my 2nd best hand. Unfortunately I was wrong. I was gone not much longer so I could get back to the house and hang with wifey.
Tonight, I'm pressing my luck since I've already played two nights in a row, but alas the HUC3 calls and I must answer. If you don't know about the HUC3, click the picture in this post for details. Kudos to Veneno for working her ass off and making this challenge happen.
I leave you with a quote I read earlier today in an email.
Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will.
posted by TripJax @ 11:09 AM,
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What Do You Do, WHAT DO YOU DO?!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
What Do You Do, WHAT DO YOU DO?!
I have a home game tonight so I'll be slingin' chips live instead of on the virtual felt. The last time I played with this group, it was very interesting, but was one of the best times I've had playing live in quite a while. Two ladies ended up playing with us that night which was a nice change of pace. One was the wife of our host, who knew how to play Hold'em, and the other was a friend of a regular, who had never played before in her life. She got her first lesson on how to play on the first hand.This girl was truly clueless, but ended up rolling over the table for the first 30 minutes by playing really aggressive. I was starting to think we were getting sharked until she made the comment, "Oh you mean I can use the cards on the board too?" She was serious. Ay Carumba! Her naked aggression (not that kind ya pervs) ended up catching up to her and she went out during the first hour of the first game. I ended up winning that game with some strong play and lucky suck outs at the end. Not the soul crushing two outer suck outs, but the we both have live cards and the flop helps me type.
For the second game, I ended up going out first and found out later on that the new girl won the whole thing. Hell yeah, she'll be back for more!
Under the table conditions described above, and knowing your first hole card, if you could choose what your next hole card would be, what would you choose and why? Next, with the two cards you now have, what would you do when the action gets to you in the big blind and 6 people have called, but no one has raised?
What do you do, WHAT DO YOU DO?!
This is not a hand that happened to me and I'm not looking to play it to the end, but I do want to see the different answers and reasoning from my readers. However, if I get some good responses I may follow up the above scenario with a flop, turn and river.
Comment, people, comment!
posted by TripJax @ 10:42 AM,
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Phucking Amazing
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Phucking Amazing
You are in a major tournament and have outlasted 850+ people to get heads-up with a 4 to 1 chiplead (approximately 4,000,000 to 1,000,000). You are in the big blind and look down at...
Qh 8h
Your opponent calls from the small blind to bring the pot to 56,000 total. You raise 60,000 and he calls bringing the pot to 176,000. The flop comes down...
7c Jc Jh
You toss out a feeler bet of 80,000 bringing the pot to 256,000.
You are re-raised 90,000 bringing the total pot to 426,000.
You have Q high.
You think about it for a moment and re-re-raise 150,000 bringing the total pot to 666,000.
Your opponent also thinks for a moment and then announces a re-re-re-raise of another 150,000 bringing the pot to 966,000 total.
You have been called pre-flop and re-raised twice on the flop.
You have Q high.
You think about it for a moment and, after requesting a chip count from your opponent, announce "All-In."
Your opponent looks befuddled and shows...
6s 5d
...as he mucks his cards leaving him with less than 400,000 in chips and giving you a stronghold on the tournament.
You are Phil Phucking Ivey, the best poker player in the world.
Even the announcers were insisting that he had to fold each time he was raised, but instead he analyzed the situation and came up with the scenario he felt was appropriate. It was incredible poker by an incredible player. That is why he is winning million dollar tournaments and I am sitting here writing about him. Unreal.
posted by TripJax @ 3:28 AM,
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Be Healed!
Monday, March 20, 2006
Be Healed!
What a weekend. Friday was quite a blur, though not nearly what Al experienced. We had folks meeting at our house for pre St. Patrick's Day bar hoppin' and I showed one of my buddies Al's live brogging adventure. He got a kick out of all of it. Some pretty funny stuff. I ended up putting a dent in a SoCo bottle that night as well, but nothing close to SirAl.The picture on the left was the start of the drunken escapade that turned out to be our Friday night. It is quite an odd picture, and though it looks like I'm attempting to heal the little one, I was just checking her temperature as she had a pretty high temperature.
At the time her head was burning and it just happened that my buddy snapped that pic right when I was checking on her. She's much better now, but are still taking her to the Doc today to make sure everything is okay. As for the picture, you'll note the first of many beers is in my other hand and, though you can't see it, I'm wearing my "Worlds Greatest Grandpa" shirt. That one always confuses the folks at the bars (I'm 30 years old and my oldest child is 5).
Speaking of shirts, the brogosphere seems to have been bitten by the t-shirt making bug. I've had a Cafe Press shop for a few years now, but never really done anything with promoting it. I've decide to follow the path of Falstaff and make the move over to Zazzle. I'll hopefully have some stuff up that no one will buy soon.
Well, that's it for me. I'm a busy man these days. I wish I could finish this post by rooting, "Go Heels!", but alas that will have to wait till next year. Oh well.
posted by TripJax @ 11:09 AM,
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The Squishiest Muscle?
Friday, March 17, 2006
The Squishiest Muscle?
I took the day off from work yesterday and I'm glad I did. I had originally only planned to take the morning off so I could help Jax's class with a field trip, but as the day moved on I realized it would be much better for me to skip the afternoon as well. As a result, I ended up having a great morning with the boy on the field trip, and then spent the afternoon watching basketball with baby girl (11 months old). Man the BC and Tennessee games were exciting.As for the field trip, we took 13 five year olds on a trek through one of the local hospitals and I'm very surprised to say they were well behaved. I was expecting it to be bad news having that many kids wandering around a hospital, but they were all really cool. Most of them were shy about any situation that involved a doctor, but not Jax. He loves bones and muscles and all that human body stuff.
When we got to the orthopedic surgeon, he asked who would like to pretend they broke their arm and get a cast. While the other kids started pacing backwards and putting their heads down, Jax had his hands in the air saying, "me, me, me!" He is now the proud owner of a cast and arm sling compliments of Moses Cone Hospital. He was pimping around the hospital in that sling the rest of the morning.
Before we went on the field trip Jax's aunt told him to ask the doctor if the tongue was the strongest muscle in the body. After nearing the end of the tour, Jax finally found a moment to pose the question, but he must have gotten a bit confused cause he said, "Mr. Doctor, is the tongue the squishiest muscle in the body?" Everybody got a kick out of that one.
Having missed work yesterday, I also decided to play hooky at my brog as well by not posting. I knew I needed a break from posting and taking yesterday off was a good idea for me. I did however do some house cleaning with the template, though nothing exciting.
I did play some poker, but pretty much broke even on the day. I am now 0-8 in the 45 Player SNG Challenge and I'm pretty disappointed in my results. Just before the challenge I was running hot, but since then I've just hit a road block. I've had numerous matches where I get to around 10 players remaining and then can't get the hands or flops I need at that time. It is very frustrating. I'm going to really have to light it up down the back stretch if I want to win any money on this challenge.
I want to end this post by pimping Iggy's tournament this Sunday. He is trying to send a blogger to the WSoP and I really hope there will be enough sign-ups to get it done. I was the 18th person to sign up yesterday and he needs 55 to get it done. Here are the details:
WPBT WSoP Satellite
This Sunday, March 19th
9:00 pm EST
Paradise Poker
$30 NL
password: email iggy
Let's get a blogger to a WSoP event! If you don't currently have an account with Paradise, one cool thing is you can use Neteller InstaCash and Paradise will pay the 8.9% fee that Neteller charges. Very cool. If you need to open an account, go to Iggy's post and use his Paradise link. Also, to get the password, his email info is on his sidebar at the bottom. Now go sign up damnit!
I did play some poker, but pretty much broke even on the day. I am now 0-8 in the 45 Player SNG Challenge and I'm pretty disappointed in my results. Just before the challenge I was running hot, but since then I've just hit a road block. I've had numerous matches where I get to around 10 players remaining and then can't get the hands or flops I need at that time. It is very frustrating. I'm going to really have to light it up down the back stretch if I want to win any money on this challenge.
I want to end this post by pimping Iggy's tournament this Sunday. He is trying to send a blogger to the WSoP and I really hope there will be enough sign-ups to get it done. I was the 18th person to sign up yesterday and he needs 55 to get it done. Here are the details:
WPBT WSoP Satellite
This Sunday, March 19th
9:00 pm EST
Paradise Poker
$30 NL
password: email iggy
Let's get a blogger to a WSoP event! If you don't currently have an account with Paradise, one cool thing is you can use Neteller InstaCash and Paradise will pay the 8.9% fee that Neteller charges. Very cool. If you need to open an account, go to Iggy's post and use his Paradise link. Also, to get the password, his email info is on his sidebar at the bottom. Now go sign up damnit!
I also need to pimp the HUC3, but that will have to come on my next post as this one has to end here. Thanks for reading.
posted by TripJax @ 9:49 AM,
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The Onus Is Squarely On You!
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
The Onus Is Squarely On You!
I did a pretty ratty job yesterday of announcing the NCAA brackets KJ and I are offering this year so I thought I would go over it again today. I know there are other broggers out there offering brackets, but lets be honest, there's no such thing as too many NCAA bracket pools. I may jump into those other brogger pools as well. We'll see.
In the meantime, here is the deal for our pool. The cost is $10 which can be transferred to my Stars account (TripJax) or, if you need to pay another way, let me know. Your money will not be used as part of my donkroll. I have enough there to keep all funds separate. Payouts to winners will be swift. The plan is to payout similar to a SNG/MTT payout, unless it doesn't make sense to payout that many people. For instance, if there are 10 or less people who sign up, we may just need to do winner take all or pay top two at 80% / 20% or something like that. Once we know how many sign-ups we have we'll clear all that up and make sure everyone is cool with it.
Here is what you do. Click on THIS LINK and sign up with whatever screen name you want to use. Preferably a screen name we can recognize. Once you go through that process there will be an option to join an established league using the Group ID #. You want to do that. Sign in with Group ID #: 90867 and password: hammer. The system should confirm you are signing up for the Poker Bloggers league. From there just follow the directions for making your picks.
The deadline is Thursday by 12:10, but make sure I receive the transfer before the games start to avoid your picks being voided. And of course, make sure you put your picks in before that time as well. Like I noted earlier, once we know how many sign-ups we have, KJ and I will discuss and come up with a payout that everyone will be cool with. If you guys want winner take all that can be arranged. If you want a percentage of people paid we can figure that out too. We'll get it done. Let me know if you have any questions.
The only thing that has bugged me - and this is a stretch to even bring this up as a negative - is one of the announcers uses the word ONUS atleast 5 times every episode. "He's certainly put the onus on Mike with that move." Or, "The onus is squarely on John now." The first couple of times it was all good, I mean I like the word too, but after a while I'm just cringing when the guy talks cause I know the word is about to come out of his mouth.
Otherwise, I really dig it and I hope we see more poker action as such.
That's it for me folks. I hope you sign up for our NCAA bracket!
posted by TripJax @ 10:13 AM,
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Blogger Spotlight: 9 2 Offsuit (And Other Random Stuff Too)
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Blogger Spotlight: 9 2 Offsuit (And Other Random Stuff Too)
I'll be getting to the DADI details from last night, but first, how about another installment of Blogger Spotlight?! I have mentioned 9 2 Offsuit once or twice in my posts, but today I think they deserve the Spotlight. They are always updating there brog with fresh and interesting material which is nice.9 2 Offsuit is the type of brog where I know when I check my bloglines, there will be a new post from them. It helps that they have numerous contributors, but that also makes for different perspectives on the game of poker from one brog. If I'm not mistaken, there are 4 contributors, Radii, Simms, Malificient, and Chris.
Their brog template is pretty slick and real easy on the eyes. If you have not had a chance to check out their brog, now is your chance. Click on the pic to the left and give them a whirl. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Biggestron and The Poker Bus ended up getting Heads-Up and Big was able to take it down. Congrats to everyone who made it in the money, including Ingoal, LifesAGrind, and FishyMcDonk. Again, I appreciate everyone who signed up to play. There are no plans as of yet for DADI 5, but when the time is right we'll let everyone know the deal.
I did actually win an 18 player to begin the night and won both hands where I held AA so I can't complain too much. That win helped me remain up nearly $35 for the night even with the bad showing at the DADI and the 45 Player SNG Challenge. I'll take a +$35 session any night.
Well, that's gonna have to do it for me today. Thanks for reading. Leave a comment if you have any questions about the NCAA brackets...
posted by TripJax @ 10:38 AM,
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DADI IV Tonight!
Monday, March 13, 2006
DADI IV Tonight!
One of the following happened to you last night...
1) You played in the WPBT and donked off $22 (like me).
2) You played in the WPBT and made it in the money (unlike me).
3) You did not play in the WPBT (shame shame I know your name).
If you fall under #1, you need to redeem yourself by playing in DADI IV tonight.
If you fall under #2, you now have a little extra dough to play in DADI IV tonight.
If you fall under #3, then you saved some money and can now play DADI IV tonight.
Either way, I hope to see you there! Details below...
Not much else going on in blogland for yours truly. I've been a bit under the weather for about 5 days now (stomach) so the motivation to write or play has been slim to none. I did manage to take 2nd in a 45 Player $12 SNG for a $107 payday. That helped the roll after having 4 straight losing sessions. With that 2nd place, I'm now ready to begin the 45 Player SNG Challenge.
Back tomorrow with a new Blogger Spotlight. Oh, and I added a nifty little background to the blog the other night. Kinda cool huh?!
posted by TripJax @ 10:34 AM,
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It's Friday, You Ain't Got No Job, You Ain't Got Sh!t To Do...I'm Gonna Get You HighOnPoker
Friday, March 10, 2006
It's Friday, You Ain't Got No Job, You Ain't Got Sh!t To Do...I'm Gonna Get You HighOnPoker
A classic line from the classic movie Friday with a few liberties taken on my part in order to honor another poker blogger. Happy Brogday to Jordan from HighOnPoker who just hit his one year of brogging. Damn fine broggin' J.
Speaking of Jordan, I was voice chatting with him and GCox a week or two ago when a funny exchange occurred. I had forgotten about it until J mentioned Wifey Kim in his brog recently. I am taking liberties as I didn't write anything down and don't remember the exact context, but this is pretty much how it went...
TripJax: Jordan, tell Wifey Kim she kicks ass.
Jordan (Speaking to Wifey Kim): Trip thinks you're a bitch.
Jordan (Speaking to Wifey Kim): I'm just kidding, he thinks you rock.
Jordan (Speaking to Wifey Kim): His sons name is Jaxon, with an x.
Jordan (Speaking to Wifey Kim): That is a really cool name. Don't you think we should name our first child Jaxon, with an x?
Wifey Kim (In The Background): Only if his middle name will be GCoxy.
That may not be funny now, as it is written, but at the time we all got a good laugh out of it. Wifey Kim rocks. Nice pull Jordan. Can't wait to meet Wifey GCox at Okie-Vegas. Bad day at work for me...must go...
posted by TripJax @ 10:57 AM,
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What's A Meta For?
Thursday, March 09, 2006
What's A Meta For?
If you're not playing, then you're not losing money, but you're most definitely not making money either. Lately I've gotten into a trend of getting stuck early and just quitting before I take a bigger hit to the roll. The problem with this is I never give myself a chance to come back. I feel like my bankroll is like water in a clogged sink. It just sits around, sometimes seeping down the drain very slowly, but progressively starting to stink.Hey, I think I'll run with this metaphor for a moment. I've got to unclog the sink, which may sound like I bad idea to let the water (my bankroll) go down the drain. However, that is not what I'm getting at. I also need to turn the faucet back on (my game) and let it flow so the water is fresh. Sure some water will go down the drain, but if it is flowing from the faucet, then all is well. At that point, I can put the stopper in on my terms and gaze at the fresh water that is my bankroll. That may sound like the gayest/stupidest/wtf? metaphor ever, but just writing that down makes me feel better.
I certainly think the above is a bit dramatic as I haven't even played enough to warrant worry regarding my bankroll. It is just the funk I've been in lately about playing. The vexing part is when I have played, I feel like I've been playing well. Maybe I'm blind to my own mistakes, but I just feel like I've been playing a good game and not winning the big hands to put me over the top. Das Poka.
My last few 45 Player SNG's have gone something like this. Play well early and breeze to the final 15. Hold an average to above average stack when nearing the bubble, but need to take action with blinds getting huge. Get a big hand that, if I can take down, will put me at or near the chiplead and definitely in the money. I get it all in with someone and watch as absolutely nothing goes my way. It is short term variance and I won't harp on it, but it is nice to get it out of my system. There, I feel better already.
I hate that I must end this now, but be sure and check out the DADI pic in this post for details about our tourney on Monday. Be there yo.
posted by TripJax @ 10:35 AM,
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The Challenge Is The Destination
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
The Challenge Is The Destination
I have a book titled The Journey Is The Destination. I always liked that title. For todays post, I'm going with The Challenge Is The Destination. The 45 Player SNG Challenge is exactly what I need right now. Yes, I have started back again on my own SNG Challenge, but it is nice to jump into another challenge that includes other broggers to keep me motivated to play. My game has not been on its mark lately because I haven't had any drive to play. This is not to say I've been playing bad, but I have been playing flat caused by not having the desire to log on and hit the tables. Now, however, I'm ready to roll. For details on the 45 Player SNG Challenge click the link.
As for my personal SNG Challenge noted above, I made it to Level 2 ($140+) a while back, then hit a rough patch of ice and skidded into a ditch. The tow truck came and pulled me out, but when I finally got the damage estimate, I was right back in the middle of level 1 ($80). In other words, I gotta get my ass in gear.
People say Tuan Lee is just plain lucky. I take it one step further. I think he is also decidedly not unlucky. To me, those are two different things. When he has the goods they will usually hold up (not unlucky). When he needs help he knows his cards are coming (lucky). He exudes confidence and it comes out in his play. To be a good player, a risk taker, a lucky (and not unlucky) player and an overall bad ass rolled up into one player...why wouldn't he be a champion?!
I want to discuss one particular hand I think has already been discussed in some other brogs, but I can't remember where. It was a classic example of Tuan Lee looking lucky, but really playing the hand correctly. Tuan Lee raises it up pre-flop with AJ. He has been raising with crap often, so it is a great move for him to be the first to raise with a semi legit hand now. Eli Elezra re-raises Tuan with, I believe, pocket 8's. Mark Gracz is short stacked with pocket 6's and re-re-raises, but does not have enough to double Eli. This is where it gets interesting.
I think if Mark was not short stacked he would fold his pocket 6's and let Tuan and Eli battle it out. Tuan would have called Eli and the hand would play out from there. However, Mark felt that, even with a raise and a re-raise, getting his chips in the middle with a pocket pair and a chance to triple up were best for him at that point. I agree with him. What if both Tuan and Eli both had A Big. And even if they don't, Mark could get the board he needs and be back in the running. Otherwise, he is going to have his short stack blinded away and possibly not have another good scenario to get his chips in the middle to triple up.
So here is where I believe Tuan played the hand correctly, but some might think he was wrong if they don't know the full deal. Tuan knows that because Mark could not double Eli's raise, that Eli cannot go all-in if he just calls Mark's bet. He can get a relatively small amount of chips (relative to his chipstack) in the middle with a chance to knock two players out. Knowing Eli can only call Mark and not raise him makes Tuan's decision to call the re-re-raise quite simple. I would do the exact same thing. From there an Ace hit the board and Eli and Tuan checked it down giving Tuan the pot. Again, I probably play the post flop play the same way as those guys did as well.
So it might look like a bad play to call a re-re-raise with AJ in that position, but under the circumstances, I say nice play Sir (and for once it is not facetious).
That will have to do it for me today. Please comment on the above hand if you feel differently or if you recall it going down differently. And don't forget the DADI event in my Announcements section.Thanks for reading!
posted by TripJax @ 9:51 AM,
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I'm Such An Alpaca
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
I'm Such An Alpaca
It's been a rough couple of days at work and its really got me reeling. On Friday we lost our largest producing Financial Advisor to a competitor, which really puts a damper in my diaper. Over the last 6 months, in our triad offices, we've lost about 6 Financial Advisors representing nearly 3/4 of a billion dollars in assets under management. Yes, billion. Ouch. Hopefully the rest of the year will improve.OK, on to poker as that work stuff just brings me down and, like I wrote yesterday, I want to try and keep this from being a bummer, non-poker blog. I played two 45 player SNG's and went out 15th on one and 10th on the other. I don't mind the one where I went out 15th, but the 10th place finish really put a bad taste in my mouth. I played great all the way to that point, then I alpaca-ed my chips off in a matter of 2 hands when I could have probably drifted easily into the money. But in the money was not what I wanted, so I pushed my hands aggressively once the blinds were huge. My reads were way off and it cost me. Oh well. I do want to play in the 45 player SNG Challenge if we can get the details cleared up. I need something like that to keep me motivated.
Since last Friday poker hasn't really been any where near the top of my priority list, so for now I won't bore you with the tripe I'm oozing out in this post. To be honest, I stared at the blogger screen for about 10 minutes then decided to go do something worthwhile. So, I created an unsolicited banner for Big Slick Nuts. BSN, if you want it, just let me know and I'll set it up for you. If you don't want it, you won't hurt my feelings at all. Well, that will have to do it for me tonight.
posted by TripJax @ 3:13 AM,
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Futility
Monday, March 06, 2006
Futility
Work is kicking my ass today. Everytime I think I have a moment to breathe, I get sucker punched. But this is not a bitch and moan blog, so enough of that. I don't have time to put up a real poker post today, so instead please enjoy this pic I received via email today.Yes, I am a Tarheel fan, however I think I would have enjoyed this one even if the roles were reversed. Regardless, go Heels!
Back tomorrow with pokery goodness. And, oh yea, if you missed it, be sure and check out the post below or my Announcements section for details on the next DADI event.
posted by TripJax @ 3:56 PM,
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DADI IV: 6-handed No Limit Hold'em
Saturday, March 04, 2006
DADI IV: 6-handed No Limit Hold'em
It's official...DADI IV has been set for March 13th. This months event will be a shorthanded tournament (6-max players per table). Should be fun. Looks like there is a WPBT tournament scheduled for March 12th so I hope everyone can make it to both events.
For now, click Jordan's picture for full details.
Oh yeah, one more thing. This 6-handed tournament is not available when creating private tourneys so I had to make a special request to the PokerStars support team. As usual, they rocked and helped me out. PokerStars gets it. Thanks guys.
posted by TripJax @ 3:43 PM,
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The Future of Casino Poker?
Friday, March 03, 2006
The Future of Casino Poker?
In August of last year I wrote about a company based out of Matthews, North Carolina that was revolutionizing the way casinos offer poker to their clientele. I had totally forgotten about the company, PokerTek, until their name popped up during my daily routine at work. Specifically, I was reviewing an account and noticed PokerTek was one of their holdings. I had no idea the company was public, but lo and behold, there it was.I decided to go check out the company's website, as when I did so back in August, it was a basic "coming soon" website with no real pertinent info. Now, however, the website gives more information about the company and even gives some video showcasing the table in action. Furthermore, check out some of the pictures they offer of poker pros trying out the table.
This type of technology is exciting to me and, I believe, is the future of casino poker. It makes sense to migrate the the slow B & M process casinos currently use to this technology. A recent Full Tilt magazine article highlighted the PokerPro table and offered numerous quotes from Lou White, CEO of PokerTek. Here are few of the excerpts from the article in which Lou speaks about this new technology:
The article goes on to explain how the table works and the easy process involving the casino and the client. Here's another excerpt:"To us it's simply a question of technology adoption. Technology is kind of like water, it finds its place. A computer is the ultimate poker dealer, and it's different agreed, but it's better. It will take time for the players to experience it and understand the benefits and, whether it takes five years or ten years, there will come a time when the vast majority of poker tables in the world are automated because it just makes too much sense for the casino and the players."
"You've seen what happens at a poker table. The types of mistakes are endless, and when a mistake does happen and a decision is finally made someone wins and someone loses, somebody's happy and somebody's mad. This table eliminates all the mistakes. It wont allow a mistake to happen."
Along with the PokerPro table comes a simple process for checking in when you get to the poker room. When you enter the poker room, you'll go to a kiosk where you will swipe your card, pick your game, and your name will be added to an automated list. When your seat becomes available, it locks that seat for you automatically at the table by putting your name on it and then displays where your seat is located on a screen. This eliminates all of the confusion of dealers yelling out "Open seat on ten!" and "Lock it up Sid!" This just simply goes away.
"On a manual table we know a seat is open, but we don't know who sat there. The casino can get true player tracking. This system gives the casino perfect information on who is playing where and when," White said.
"It's an account based system. A player goes to the brush and creates an account which is backed up with a picture of his license and a pin. Once that account is established, they simply put money in that account at the cage. So let's say I have $400 in my account. I go on the automated waiting list, I get sat, I swipe my card at the table. It says 'Lou, you have $400 in your account, how much do you want to bring to the table.' You say $200, now you have $200 in chips at the table and $200 in your account. When you leave, the money is automatically put back in your account and you can go to the cage and cash it out or since people tend to play in the same poker rooms consistently, you can just leave it in your account and come back and play the next day."
"You look at some of the $5/$10 games and there are mountains of chips on the table and it's a hassle to carry them around. Now it's very easy, you sit down, bring in your money, and you play poker." As far as game play itself, each hand begins with the deck being shuffled and fixed. Unlike many online sites which use a flutter shuffle (just because an 8 of clubs came on the turn doesn''t mean an 8 of clubs would have come out), the PokerPro table uses a true fixed deck so it is determined at the beginning of the hand what cards are coming out.
Each player at the table has his own monitor on which to view the cards. When the cards are dealt, the cards you see on your screen are face down. It is each player's responsibility to protect their hole cards so when you want to view your cards you cup your hands over the cards on your monitor and view an animation of the cards rolling up. Let go and it's the back of the cards again.
The technology also allows a casino to run timed games, where as with manual tables it is almost impossible to run a timed game. The casino has the option to run a timed game or not, it's their choice - and they can set the timer at whatever they want. "If you look at internet poker, some of the speed tournaments and what not, I think there is a market for even a live ring game where you have ten seconds to make a decision. They can let the customers decide what they want," says White.
I would be interested to hear what my readers think about this technology and the above information. I, for one, am interested in learning more about the tables and the company, so I will be keeping my eye on them.To be honest, this is the type of company I could see working for if it were the right scenario. Having a background in Hospitality & Tourism Management as well as being a manager for a top financial firm for the last 7+ years, not to mention my love for the game of poker and all aspects involved, I think I could bring something to the table for these guys.
It is strange, I have never really pondered exploring the opportunities of a job outside the financial services industry since I took the plunge as an Operations Manager with my current firm way back when. Even as I watched the likes of HDouble, Bill Rini, Otis, Chris, and Pauly (to name a few) land jobs in the poker industry, I didn't so much as flinch at the thought of making a similar career change. But a company like this, for some reason, electrifies my senses and gives me the enthusiasm I haven't had at my current job in quite a while. OK, enough of that.
Due to the nature of my current employment, I feel compelled to note that everything above regarding PokerTek is simply my opinion. I do not officially endorse the company or any of its products, nor do I own any stock or interest in the company. I am not writing this piece to hype up the company in a way to manipulate the stock price. I simply think they have a cool product that is poker related, and this here happens to be a poker blog. That should be enough covering my ass in case anyone at my job happens to read this.
That's it for me today. As always, may the felt be with you.
posted by TripJax @ 10:35 AM,
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Hooked On Poker
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Hooked On Poker
I have to keep this one short today. I'm on a half day at work and have plenty to keep me busy. Last night I put together a new template for Fat Dan The Fat Fish, so if you've never read him or haven't made it over to his brog in a while, take a moment and check him out. I've used that particular template for two other broggers, so I think it is time to retire it from my arsenal. You can click the pic to go to Fat Dans brog, but read my post first!
I played some poker with fellow broggers last night and had a ton of fun. The action was extremely fast so trying to chat and play became pretty tough. I ended up getting heads-up in the first SNG Jordan and I played and was also down to the final 3 in the other with Jordan, DNasty, and SteelerJosh. When we got down to very shorthanded, it seemed like every time I took action on one table I was up with a decision on the other.
At one point the second table popped up and I had AcKc with an all-in in front of me. I had enough chips to play and called the all-in. I immediately got whisked away to the other table and didn't even realize it was Jordan I ended up knocking out with my AK. Not sure what he had, but I'm guessing an A with a lower card, though I don't even know if I improved on the hand or needed to. Jordan, sorry I had to be the one knocking you out, but I would have done the same thing knowing it was you, and I'm sure you would have done the same. Like we've said before, we gotta play our games.
I ended up winning the 1st SNG and placing 3rd in the other. DNasty took 2nd place in the second one so I was happy to see another brogger earn some cash. I also played in mookie's tourney and donked off all my chips in the first 20 minutes when I had a low pair with a weak ass kicker, but didn't think my opponent had anything. He never raised, but kept calling my bets, so he played me well with his top pair. Oh well. I was pretty drained from the action of the first 2 SNG's, but that is no excuse for being a donk. I think mookie was live brogging that event, so click his link above for that.
I finished up the night playing a 6-handed 12 player SNG with Surflexus and DuggleBogey and I think I went out in 5th place, two away from the money. Still, with the win in my first SNG, I was up nearly $20 for the night, so I'm happy. Strangely, though I chatted with GCox a plenty, I don't think we ever actually played a game together. Maybe next time G.
I've finally pushed the meager bankroll over $600 and I am setting a goal for $800 by the end of March. I've been averaging about $150 gain for each of the last 2 months so I think hitting $800 is feasible. I've increased my buy-ins so I will most likely either hit it easily or find myself back lower than I want to be. Of course, there's always the chance I have a breakeven month, so we'll see. It is tough starting at $50 every year after we take the family vacation, but it is also nice to have a challenge to keep me motivated to grow the roll.
Tonight I have a home game, but those are more for fun and we never seem to get more than 8 people at $10 a pop so nothing life changing. May the felt be with you.
posted by TripJax @ 9:29 AM,
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PokerSource Online Turns 25,000...Members
PokerSource Online Turns 25,000...Members
I've got your attention now right? Excellent. I'm gonna make this short and sweet. If you play poker online and aren't using Poker Source Online (PSO) you're missing out big time. And if you do use PSO, but don't use referral code TripJax, well then you're a wanker. O.K. maybe I was a bit harsh on that last sentence, but you get the idea.
If I've unleashed the curious bug and you've been bitten, then spend all of 2 minutes and go check out the site. It is pretty friggin' sweet. And there's no catch. Just sign up, pick out the gift you'd like, and get to playing poker. On top of the gift you get, you normally get a better deposit bonus as well. From there just clear the bonus which doesn't take long and the gift will be sent to you. My last promotion was for a Poker Chip Set and I finished it in 1 week and had the set within 2 days.
And as the title states, they've just celebrated their 25,000th PSO Poker Forum member. 25,000 people can't be wrong, eh?! So take a minute to go check out the site and the forum. You won't be let down. I'd like to congratulate Mike and all the PSO crew for a job well done.
Well, sorry about the horrendous picture, but if you're interested, here's a link to check it out...
posted by TripJax @ 3:11 AM,
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Radio Free TripJax
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Radio Free TripJax
Last night I had the pleasure of giving listeners of WWPR 1490 the displeasure of hearing my ghastly voice over the radio via the show WebPokerRadio. Like many, I don't mind my voice when everyday speaking, but when I hear it on recordings or answering machines I can't bear to listen. I guess you could say those who want to have their voice heard, without having their voice heard, blog.Still, when Mark - host of the radio show and winner of the last DADI event - invited Jordan and I to speak on his show, I jumped at the offer. I don't know what clicked in my head that made me not give a shit how I sound on radio, but I wanted to do this. I think a lot had to do with Jordan also being on the show. I knew whenever I didn't have anything to say Jordan would chime in right on time. And true to form, I believe he did a great job.
Over the span of maybe 10 minutes, we discussed numerous topics including what a blog actually is and the impact they have on the poker community. We also discussed the DADI events as well as our personal blogs. Jordan mentioned a few other bloggers - I think Pauly and DoubleAs - in an attempt get a few names out there, but the fast pace of the program made it difficult to chime in with any other names. I wanted to plug Iggy in there somewhere, but never had a chance to so I'm bummed about that. I think he deserved a mention. However, Mark did invite us back sometime in the near future, so I'll be sure to get the blogfather some play next time.
If you haven't had a chance to check out WebPokerRadio, I implore you to give it a moment of your time. In addition to interviewing such greats as Jordan and myself, Mark has also found the time to interview a few no names such as Phil "the Gabillionaire" Gordan, Mike "the Mouth" Matusow, Thomas "Thunder" Kellar, and Tom "the Champ" McEvoy. Whoever those guys are.
The archived podcast of last nights show as well as all the prior shows are, or will eventually be, available here.
Mark, if you are reading this, thank you for having Jordan and I on the show. It was an absolute pleasure and I hope you didn't get cancelled after we aired. If you didn't, we look forward to spending more time with you either on the radio or on the felt.
Oh yeah, Jordan was live blogging the experience, and you can check that out here.
posted by TripJax @ 9:31 AM,
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