On Stuff...
Friday, April 28, 2006
On Stuff...
On Blogs...
I think it is great that Jordan wrote the post, On Blogs. It is interesting to see one persons take on this little thing I try to do on a daily basis. I also enjoyed BG's post, On Blogs, as well. I love to see posts that spark interest amongst the community, whether good or bad. Whether you agree with Jordan or not, he brings up many interesting points. To that end, so does BG.
On My Blog...
I started blogging back in 2004 when I was looking for a place to spew out my poker thoughts without constantly bugging my friends and family. My closest friends enjoyed poker, but not with the same gusto as I. Looking back, I'm not sure if they were relieved that I started a poker blog or worried I was just digging myself deeper into this poker craze. I think they now know it is a part of me and is no different than someone who is fascinated with model airplanes or tennis (or insert hobby of choice).
My foray into poker blogging began when I happened upon HDouble's blog while searching for poker related articles. From there I read many a blog and it was not long before I was firing up my own Blogger account. I naively thought no one was reading for months until Iggy left me a comment. Suddenly I went from feeling out there on my own to a part of the community.
We are now in 2006 and I feel a closeness with quite a few bloggers. I've missed both chances to attend blogger events in Vegas due to a mixture of financial and work constraints, as well as the birth of TripBaby. However, as time goes by, I'm trying my best to meet as many bloggers as possible. I can't wait to meet all you biotches.
When it comes to Jordan's post, I don't know if I am an A, B, C, or Z lister, but I enjoy what I do and that is what matters. When I started my blog I never once thought about making money from it. Who in their right mind would pay an amateur writer (and a bad one at that) from Greensboro, NC to write a blog? Yet, today I am making a few dollars off this thing. I realize I'm not actually being paid for what I write, but I also know if I don't write, eventually that cashola goes bye-bye. I enjoy keeping up with this blog and I also enjoy getting money every month for whatever reason.
When I started adding banners to my site I wanted to make sure they did not take over my site. I've said no to so many good deals, because I do not want this site to be a banner farm. The only affiliate link I have on my main template is PokerStars and that is because I like their site and enjoy being able to create private tournaments. The other four banners I felt were good advertising deals and are all sites I endorse. If the revenue goes away tomorrow, I won't stop this blog. It's not why I started this venture and it won't be the reason I exit.
On The WPBT...
To me, the WPBT is, and it isn't.
It is first and foremost a real world experience created by sage poker bloggers who just wanted to meet each other. It is a kindred spirit of like minded individuals who had a vision to come together and see what happens. To put it less fru-fru, it was just a bunch of fuckers getting together to have a good time. And, in between those trips, it is a series of scheduled online tournaments that keep the group together playing the game they love. And sometimes it even helps send a blogger or two to the WSoP. It is simple, or at least it should be. It is what it is.
It is not a superpower or controlling force. It is not a members only club, business, or organization with a President, Treasurer, and Board of Directors. It is not a group of people seeking to accomplish a stated agenda. If it were, that would be ubergeigh.
The WPBT is a good thing, born from good intentions and for the good of the community.
On The DADI...
The DADI is the brainchild of Jordan, but back when it was a child in his brain, it was not the DADI. At that time it was a random attempt to get a few bloggers together on occasion to play some poker. He could never seem to make it to the WWdN events and, at that time, the WPBT was dormant. There was not a lot going on other than the WWdN.
As is the norm, Jordan, GCox and I put our noggin's together and figured out what we should do. It was quite simple really. Plan a little tournament where we three knew we could make it, then let others know about it too. I had the ability to create private tournaments at Stars so I set out to give it a try. As I started creating the private tournament I realized it required a name for the tournament. We had not discussed a name as it was just a little blogger tournament. Still, I thought about it for a few minutes then came up with the Donkeys Always Draw Invitational. It wasn't really an invitational, but I liked the sound of DADI, so I ran with it. Thankfully, Jordan liked it too so we were able to stick with it.
We then set out to let other bloggers get the skinny. We were hoping for a 2 table tournament figuring around 18 sign-ups would be phenomenal. We got quite a few more. After that first DADI we started getting inquiries on when the next one would be. Wow, people actually wanted to do it again. Again, Jordan, GCox and I put our heads together and figured we should give it another try, and if it sticks, maybe do it once a month. The DADI was born.
Somewhere along the way the WPBT online tournaments rekindled and suddenly there was a whole lot of poker blogger tournament action going on. It seemed almost every week there were numerous tournaments to play. Mixed in there was an occasional WSoP WPBT satellite, for good measure. Nothing like sending a poker blogger to the WSoP!
After DADI 4, those WSoP satellites I mentioned above got me thinking. The DADI was actually bringing enough players that we might could help send a blogger to the WSoP as well. We had a few bloggers ask if it was something we would ever do, and we had not given it much thought, but suddenly it seemed feasable. The DADI 5 successfully helped send another poker blogger to the WSoP and I'm proud to have been a part of that.
Here is where I want to clarify a few things about the DADI and its roll in the community.
Like the WPBT, the DADI is and it isn't
The DADI is a once a month tournament bringing bloggers together to play. It is laid back and simple.
The DADI is not competition for the WPBT or any other poker blogger tournament or event, nor does it want to be. As I said before, when we started this thing, the WPBT was taking a break (whether intentional or not) and we just put together something we thought would be fun that we knew we could play in. The DADI is also not a revenue source for Jordan and I. We make zero dollars, but don't care because we enjoy it for what it is.
The DADI is what it is, and I'm very happy to have been a part of what has happened so far and what will happen in the future. Jordan and I are open to suggestions and or concerns from any and all in the community. I do not want to conflict with the going-ons in the community and if we ever do so I hope you, dear readers and bloggers, will let us know. You are always welcome to send me a comment or an email if you have anything you want to say. And, if you get a hankerin', I'm down with dial-a-shots too.
Please note, none of the above was a knee jerk reaction to negative comments or inquiries. In fact, it is the opposite. I just want to make sure everyone knows what we are all about, why/how the DADI came about, and how we view ourselves in the community. In the end, the DADI is just a goofus little donkey tournament that a few people enjoy playing in. I've been happy to see any and all folks who have joined us in one or more of the DADI events.
I had no idea where this post was going when I started it and I'm still not sure where it went, but I'll stick with it. As I've said before, I think getting things out of the noggin' is therapeutic and often opens up a forum for further discussion. I may have a follow-up post Monday if I can put my thoughts together better over the weekend. I've never been good at that though so we'll see. I just write what I'm thinking and at the moment, this is what I'm thinking.
Follow-Up Thoughts From My Previous Post:
In my comments CLRusso was wondering how they can continue the no rake with so little traffic. They are basically doing this as a loss leader in hopes that people will sign-up for the no rake, then use the extra gank to check out their sportsbook. The sportsbook is their true cash cow and we'll see if their plan works out in the long run.
Big Ups To These Fine Folks Who Left A Comment In the Last Post:
Wes
mookie
haley
lifesagrind
clrusso
posted by TripJax @ 12:51 PM,
,
We Don't Want No Stinkin' Rake
Thursday, April 27, 2006
We Don't Want No Stinkin' Rake
Having discussed the World Poker Exchange in a previous post last week, I finally pulled the trigger and signed up through them this past weekend. I had just been knocked out of a Titan Rio SNG on the very first hand and needed some busy work away from the felt to settle my nerves, so I figured signing up for a new poker site would do the trick.The sign-up process was very easy and I was on the felt in no time. Most of my bankroll is tied up at other poker sites, and I only had $58 in my Neteller account, so I ended up depositing that amount. My thoughts were, since this was not a bonus whoring promo, I could deposit a smaller amount to give the site a test drive before I add more money. When I am bonus whoring I like to deposit the maximum I can handle so I can take advantage of the bonus offer, but this was one of the few times I didn't have to worry with that.
Though there are a few things I don't like about the site, I must say I am rather pleased so far. The biggest negative so far is the traffic. The most I have ever seen on the site is about 1400 players, and the least was hovering around 700. Not so goot. However, at the stakes I'm currently playing, I've been able to find 2 - 4 tables available consistently. If you are looking to play something other than hold'em, however, expect there to be little to no traffic.
One of the biggest positives has a correlation with the negative above. They are offering tons of guaranteed tournaments that almost never reach the guaranteed payout (read: overlay). On the night I signed up, I played a $1000 guarantee $10 + $1 tournament that only had 69 entries. Though I did not make the money, I was particularly happy with the overlay. I've watched other guarantees they offer and have seen the same thing. They had a $1500 WSoP Satellite for $30 that only had about 40 players signed up. Damn.
The thing about great overlay, however, is that eventually the site has to increase traffic or the guarantees go bye-bye. On top of that, when you are offering a guaranteed prize pool AND offering 100% rake back, you really have to start getting traffic or those things become costly.
The biggest positive for the site is what I briefly mentioned in the above paragraph. Folks, they are reimbursing 100% of your rake back to you each week, whether cash game or tournament fee. That is just wild to me. If you have a great week at the tables, the rake back is gravy. If you have a tough week at the tables, the rake back is a safety net. And again, we're not talking about 30% rake back here people, we're talking 100%.
I'm slightly torn about what I have just written. On the one hand, I would love to see the overlay remain at the tournaments, because they are just so damn juicy. However, I know that if things remain the way they are, the No Rake gig will not last because it will cost them too much money. Therefore I urge you all to go check out the World Poker Exchange if you are looking for a new site. I'm not pimping them for referral business, I just think you should check them out.
I am for serious busy today so I'm going to have to cut this post a little short. If you are still looking for something to read, check out
these two posts if you have not done so already. I rather enjoyed them.Follow-Up Thoughts From My Previous Post:
None
Big Ups To These Fine Folks Who Left A Comment In the Last Post:
drewspop
bloodyp
drizztdj
fastpitch27
gcox25
edit
After reading over my post I wanted to make one thing clear. I realize a few of our fellow broggers put food on the table via paychecks from fine establishments that depend on rake to pay the bills. I was not suggesting you supplant your poker play with this site, but rather offer it as another option. Those fine establishments pump out a quality product and platform, which makes it worth the rake to play on their site. There, I just wanted to get that out.
/edit
posted by TripJax @ 3:09 PM,
,
The Aftermath
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
The Aftermath
For those interested, the WPBT-POY points have been updated here. Thanks go out to Biggestron for being quick to update the info after I sent him a half ass list of DADI 5 attendees. If you do not see your name listed, but feel that it should be based on your DADI 5 finish, please let Biggestron know. Some of you folks have some random screen names that do not correlate with your blog so it can be difficult to put them together.Somehow it seems I have managed to remain in the top 40 in WPBT-POY points. Of my 4 attempts so far, I think the only time I received points was from my final table 6th place finish in Iggy's WSoP Satellite. So I'm in the top 40 in points, but have $0 won to show for it. Sounds like I need to get my ass in gear.
To be honest, I have not been putting much time into keeping up with the WPBT schedule. Lately, if I've been in an event it is because I happened to be on Yahoo Chat and was reminded by another brogger that it was getting ready to start. I'm going to try and remedy this by trying to schedule my poker playing around the WPBT events. I really want to do well in these things and I do have the most fun when playing with you donkeys so I might as well play them as often as possible. Therefore, look for me and my C- game at a WPBT event near you.
The second place finisher, LifesAGrind, is also having his iPod shipped today so he should see it soon. Having made a deal with The SNG Machine when they got heads-up that still allowed for The Machine to play in an event, it looks like DADI 5 was good to Mr. Life (iPod + $400 + $100). Nice job, Sir.
And finishing off the players who placed in the money and received prizes, illinifan has received his 10,000 PSO points and Drizztdj has received his 5,000 PSO points. Fantazmic job fellas.
Having controlled much of the action the whole SNG, I see AdQd on the first hand of heads up and pop it up to 1000. My opponent pushes and I decide to call, but hate seeing him flip over AcKs. No help for me and just like that I'm out. Now don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with my play and my finish, but sometimes it smarts to play so well an entire SNG only to watch another player reap the 1st place rewards. As I've said a 1000 times, Das Pokah.
On a side note, Jordan never could get the right cards at the right time and ended up going out with about 5 left. I ended up knocking him out with my AdQd versus his A9 offsuit after he was very low on chips and had to make a move. I never like to knock out a fellow brogger, but again, Das Pokah. I know J would have done the same thing in that position.
Follow-Up Thoughts From My Previous Post:
As usual, I was a little off on my recollection of the hands I played in the DADI 5, but it was cleared up in the comments section. Thanks darval for the reminder. I really need to live blog these things or take notes so I'm not always misrepresenting how I played. Donkeys have a tendency to do that ya know.
Big Ups To These Fine Folks Who Left A Comment In the Last Post:
kaellin18
presdavelee
mookie99
ingoal
highonpoker
darval
drizztdj
jestocost
gcox25
gunsandpoker
tonysaprano0
posted by TripJax @ 11:07 AM,
,
Tony Saprano Is Indeed The DADI
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Tony Saprano Is Indeed The DADI
Me thinks DADI 5 went off without a hitch last night. I ended up playing donktastic during an incredible run of cards, but we'll get to that in a moment. A hearty congrats to the winner, The SNG Machine, a newbie brogger whose got game.After reading his blog this morning I see he has already won a seat to the main event and another smaller event, so his DADI 5 win will give him his 3rd seat. As I wrote in his comments, color me impressed. Can I be you for a couple of months Mr. Machine?
To the top 4 finishers, please email me at jaxon59atyahoodotcom so I can respond back with details regarding your winnings. Once we hash out everything I'll be in touch with the sponsors to get you the goods. Again, congrats to all who made the money and thank you to everyone who signed up to play. Whether you won money or not, I hope you had a great time.
To the player that knocked me out, I believe it was Gailin, please email me as well so we can set up a time for the bounty heads-up match you won. I will exact my revenge for my last hand where you held AA to my 10 10. I mean, the nerve of some people to have their hands hold up. Bastardos! I keed I keed.
As for WPBT points, I'll be working with Biggestron to make sure everyone who made it into the points gets theirs. Please give a little time before you contact he or I regarding the points being updated.
On the fourth hand I get QQ AGAIN and get it all-in against, I believe KK. I lose that hand and drop back to around 1000 in chips. On the next hand I get 10 10 and get it all-in against A A as I mentioned earlier. Though my play is a tad questionable on the 4th hand, this is the hand that was donktastic. Yes I am getting low on chips, but this is going to be a long tournament and I'm in the first hour, so I do not need to get it all-in in that situation. I hate my play, but was enthralled with my run of cards and let the excitement get the best of me. Heeeeee Haaaaaaw.
Follow-Up Thoughts From My Previous Post:
Blogger ate my balls yesterday. It took me 4 hours to put up one post. I know free is free, but that sucked.
Big Ups To These Fine Folks Who Left A Comment In the Last Post:
jjok
cmitch
littleacornman
garyc
bloodyp
surflexus
kaellin18
slimeface
tonysaprano0
posted by TripJax @ 11:09 AM,
,
DADI Does Vegas Tonight!
Monday, April 24, 2006
DADI Does Vegas Tonight!
It's that time again folks. DADI 5 is tonight and if you have not signed up, now is as good a time as any. As of this morning there were 24 sign ups and we need a minimum of 54 to guarantee one seat. In the past we've seen the bulk of sign ups the day of the tournament and, to be more exact, in the last few hours. I'm hoping this is the case and we get a huge turnout tonight.The good doctor Pauly is going to be live blogging the final table of the WPT Championship and attempting to play in DADI 5. Now if he can manage that, don't you think you can manage playing the DADI while surfing porn as is your normal routine? Get with it ya wankers.
Over the last few weeks a fellow brogger, Slimeface, has gone all out in promoting the DADI 5. Since the time is nigh I felt like this would be a great time to give a thank you by showcasing his work. I also want to thank everyone who has mentioned the DADI in their posts recently. Without word of mouth from you all, these events do not happen. Here are Slimeface's pics (including the one above). Well, the pics were destroying my template for some reason so I instead created a slideshow of them below. Hope that is a little easier to work with...
DADI 5 banners by Slimeface
Thanks again Slimeface, I appreciate it tremendously.
Follow-Up Thoughts From My Previous Post:
I mentioned in my last post that we would finally be having TripBaby's birthday party after missing the original date due to her being sick. During that rough time not long ago, with all the people who prayed for and/or kept her in their thoughts, I felt like it would be nice for everyone to see a happy TripBaby. Thanks again to all the well wishers. You guys and gals do indeed rock. Here she is, the Birthday Princess.
Big Ups To These Fine Folks Who Left A Comment In the Last Post:
IamHoff
posted by TripJax @ 1:40 PM,
,
Okie Is OK With Me
Friday, April 21, 2006
Okie Is OK With Me
On Wednesday I did something I just realized I have never done before. I bought a round trip plane ticket on my own dime. I can count on both hands how many times I've flown and every time it has been on the companies books. So forking out my own forking money was new to me, but I must say I had a smile on my face as I finalized the transaction.You see, this plane ticket is for Okie-Vegas, and is fully funded with poker profits. Mmmm that smells good. It did hurt to take the bankroll hit, but considering it is poker related I don't mind. It felt good to see my work on the felt go towards something I've been striving for.
For those that don't know about Okie-Vegas, take a look see here and then let GCox know in his latest comments if you are interested. I will say this, if you are thinking of going, or definitely going, but have not bought your plane tickets, do it! Gas prices are on the rise so tickets will be on the rise as well. Get with it people!
Like me, if you are unable to make the WPBT event in July (work obligations) then maybe Okie-Vegas will be your answer.
On the second SNG, we were down to the final 3 with only top 2 getting paid and I was a huge chip leader. The other players were about even with not a lot of chips left relative to the blinds. I was in the big blind and after the button folded the small blind pushed. I held K 5 off suit and was thinking about calling when the button, jjrob, typed in, "CALL!" I had planned on calling, but didn't like the fact that some joker was going to think I did it because of him. After a few seconds I made the call and my opponent flipped over A 8, which held up.
After the hand I typed, "stay out of it" to jjrob to which he promptly replied, "**** u tripjax." Now I don't normally chat or respond to jokers, but I felt like my "stay out of it" comment was legit. I did not initially respond to his fuck u comment, but about 3 minutes later I got all-in against him with a dominating hand and knocked him out on the bubble. After knocking him out, I promptly responded, "no jjrob F U!" They no longer allow observer chat at UB so I know he was just steaming after my comment, but there was nothing he could do. I'm sure I was added to his "buddy" list.
There were some great comments from my last couple of bankroll posts. I definitely like Jordan's separate wallet idea and think I'm going to give that a whirl.
Big Ups To These Fine Folks Who Left A Comment In the Last Post:
HighOnPoker
csquard
Falstaff
BloodyP
SloeJack
hoyaza
MiamiDon
littleacornman
Drizztdj
guin
drewspop
FatDan
posted by TripJax @ 12:34 PM,
,
Bankroll: Online vs. Live
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Bankroll: Online vs. Live
If you missed yesterdays post, Bank Rock and/or Roll, check it out before moving on here.The online vs. live bankroll is where things get a little tricky for me, and where I'm guessing many poker broggers differ in their ways. For me, I don't really have a live bankroll. I only play about 2 times a month live and typically it is a small game of 6 or 8 buddies playing a SNG for $10 or $20. For all of us, it is just for fun. We grab some beers, talk it up, and just play for a few hours. Typically I just use whatever money I have at that time. If I win, I have more money in my pocket, and if I lose, my pants are a little lighter. No blood, no foul.
While I know I am up over the long haul in my live play, I've just never felt like the game I mentioned above is part of my bankroll. It would be too much trouble to transfer money and track this game with my online roll. I don't need the hassle of withdrawing and depositing money constantly over a quick, friendly game with friends. Maybe I'm wrong and I'm not giving it the thought I should, but that is just how I feel about my live game right now. If I was playing live often and playing more serious cash games and tournaments, then I would definitely change my ways, but for the time being, it just doesn't make sense.
My online bankroll, on the other hand, is a big deal to me. I track my progress and treat it with as much care as I treat our family money. I actually have a bank account that is solely used for poker. I have it linked with all the transfer web sites (like Neteller) so that I can make timely transfers as needed. This is important when you move money quite a bit to bonus chase or take advantage of sites offering special promotions.
And as I've mentioned before, I treat my online bankroll very seriously. Sure there are the occasional blogger tournaments or cash game tables that are probably -EV, but for the most part I have one goal which is to grow the roll and meet my goals. If I'm not making money, I'm taking a break and finding out what I need to do. Whether it is a site change, a game change or just getting back to my bread and butter games, I figure out what's up and try and fix it.
In reading Jordan's past posts, I think his views on his bankroll are quite different. I think he monitors his live game roll more like a true bankroll than his online roll. At least that is what I took from reading it. I'd be interested to hear some comments or follow-up posts from broggers/readers about how they treat their bankroll, especially online vs. live.
Time is money folks, thus I must end this now. Thanks for reading.
posted by TripJax @ 11:39 AM,
,
Bank Rock and/or Roll
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Bank Rock and/or Roll
First things third, I'm looking for a creative bounty to offer on my head in the upcoming DADI 5 tourney. The last bounty I offered was never "redeemed" as AussieDave did not get back to me on what he wanted to rename my brog for a week. If you have any ideas for a new bounty, please leave a comment and I'll definitely consider them all.I've given away all my cool poker goodies so I'm just not sure what to do. The only things I have left in my arsenal are a small sample of poker chips that are great for practicing chip tricks. They are the perfect weight and texture for honing your chip trick skills. I sent DrewsPop 10 of the chips as part of my last bounty to him in case he needed to work on his chip tricks.
As for me, if you don't already know, I primarily use my bankroll to fund our family vacations and any other poker related trips I might take. Our last two family vacations were fully funded from poker money. This not only makes me super happy, but helps validate the time I put in at the tables, reading books and brogs on the subject, and writing this brog.
Sure cashing out for vacations every year makes it hard to ever build a huge bankroll, but right now I'm doing what makes me happy and I've been successful at it so far. It makes TripWife and TripFamily very happy when vacation time rolls around and, in the end, that is what matters to me. Now if I can just hit that one big tournament payday I could then renegotiate with myself what I want my bankroll to do for me. Ask not what your bankroll can do for you...yeah yeah you get the idea.
As for me and my roll, I don't have much gambool in that I tend to get pretty protective once it gets at or near the goals I set for myself. This is good and bad...good cause I don't donk off half my roll in a tiltfest...bad cause I rarely find myself taking huge steps beyond my goals since I tend to just not play after a downswing for fear I will dip below my goal. Hopefully I can continue to better learn the aspects of properly managing, while still growing the "roll of my dreams." We'll see.
And if you're wondering, the awwfukkits are a distant memory.
I'm running out of time today so I'm going to continue this topic tomorrow with the focus on onrine versus live game bankroll. Is there a difference? Should there be? More news at 11...am...tomorrow...
posted by TripJax @ 11:10 AM,
,
Rake This Biotch
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Rake This Biotch
I've been thinking about what my next bonus chase would be to fit between my SNG and MTT play and was actually leaning towards trying something new. Call it a gift that could keep on giving if you will. I'm talking about the NO RAKE action occurring over at the World Poker Exchange. I've seen a few brogs mention this pretty amazing offer they have running, but I'm wondering if anyone has signed up and can give any commentary regarding the site, the games in general, and the rakeback process. As I'm to understand, they take the rake up fron then reimburse it back to your account each week, but I'm just wondering if everything is kosher. Comment if you've got any scoop.
Also, I did a little research on any bonuses that might be out there and noticed Poker Listings has a bonus code for the World Poker Exchange. So let me get this straight...not only are they giving the players 100% rakeback, but they are also offering bonus codes where you receive 20% for signing up. On top of that they are giving Poker Listings something (not sure if it is a percentage of rakeback or a one time payment per sign-up). Talk about a serious loss leader. I have a feeling those bonus codes may go bye-bye soon as they were probably created before this fushizzle NO RAKE idea came into play.
Dutch Boyd must be squirming in his straight jacket after seeing this NO RAKE news from World Poker Exchange. He's been trying to work out a rakefree site for years and a gambling site with very deep pockets comes around and says, "Rake This Biotch." Of course there is always room for competition, but why do I get the feeling Dutch's business plan might not pan out?!
I look forward to seeing any and all regular WWdn readers and players at DADI 5.
I taped a Speed Tournament last night, but have yet to watch it. I'll let you all know if it was craptastic or not. Other than that, I'm checking out pretty much any show I notice coming on that involves poker, but just because it involves poker does not make it a good production. Anyways, just wondering if there is anything I should be looking for coming up or already out that I can check on.
posted by TripJax @ 5:14 PM,
,
Rotavirus That's The Name
Monday, April 17, 2006
Rotavirus That's The Name...
...And Away Go Troubles Down The Drain.
So we finally have an answer regarding TripBaby. The very long story made very short (I've written about it enough) is that she originally had a blood infection, and while in the hospital treating said blood infection, she apparently got the rotavirus. Thankfully, it has pretty much run its course and she is feeling much better. Though we did have to cancel her 1st birthday party on Saturday, she did have a great birthday and Easter yesterday with just the family. She is feeling great now and I am very, very happy to have this episode behind us.
I had Friday off from work and decided to take it off from blogging as well. It is strange how I correlate blogging and work. Usually if I have a day away from the job, I feel the need to stay away from blogging as well. It's like a day of rest and, though I love doing this blog, sometimes it can feel like work. I think that is why so many blogs end up dying in there first few months.
Amateur writers get gung ho about a topic they want to blog about and start off with a bang. Then life gets in the way and the next thing you know the blog is 59th on the list of things to do. That is why I commend any blogger who makes it to their 1st anniversary of writing and keeps at it. When I started this here TripJax venture back in 2004, I never thought I would go more than a year, but here I am in year three and I'm not ready to give it up. It feels like a part of me and I'm proud of that.
A while back I read where Pauly said if you are going to write you should write everyday. After I read that I decided to look back at my archives and noticed I probably was not writing enough. I decided that I liked his idea, but I needed to make it work for me. I resolved to blog every week day possible and take a break on the weekends.
It's actually pretty interesting that I am even sitting here writing these words right now. I never liked writing growing up and, to be honest, I'm not even sure I "like" writing now. Being passionate about something like poker has given me a drive to tolerate writing, become a better writer, and not be afraid to have my words read by others. I don't think I will ever have the writing skills of a Joe Speaker or Pauly, but I don't expect to. I am happy with who I am and what I write about and that is good enough for me.
What I have found at Paradise is the players are not that great at those levels, but it is hard to find a table that you can play big pots in. Usually if a table like that is available, there are 5+ people on the waiting list. Not goot. So, me thinks I'm going to head to another site for my limit play and see if I can't find some fishier waters with bigger pots. I did manage to take my $200 deposit and make it $350, and that includes the cost of $33 WPBT buy-in I paid for Iggy's WPBT tourney.
We are getting into crunch time with the DADI 5 being one week away. If you plan to play please go ahead and sign up. Whether you plan to play or not, if you would like to help spread the word, we would very much appreciate it. We can use all the word of mouth we can get in order to get enough players to send a blogger/reader to the WSOP. Thanks again for all the pimpage we have received so far and any pimpage you hook us up with this coming week.DADI 5 OR BUST!
posted by TripJax @ 2:40 PM,
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The Mookster
Thursday, April 13, 2006
The Mookster
I'm short on time, so if this post TripSux, blame the guy in the picture. I mean seriously, WTF?I know this sounds ridiculous, but last night was another trip to the hospital for TripBaby. I would call the situation comical if it weren't putting her through a ton of pain and anguish, not to mention the stress it is putting on TripWifey.
I'm a "things are going to be fine" type of person so I'm not worried, but I am ready for this shit to be over with. Six visits to the doctor and 3 hospital visits in one week is enough for the little one. They've got to figure this shit out. Her birthday is on Easter and the birthday party is this Saturday, so I'm hoping things will be good to go by then. The roller coaster continues.
I was able to play in Mookie's tourney last night (live blogging here) and as usual had a great time. Always a ton of great chat at his events. I was a little perplexed on the hand I went out on and thought I would play it out here. I don't usually analyze hands in my posts, but I thought I would take a look at this one a little closer and try and figure out what we were all thinking.
With the blinds at 75/150, and getting close to the final table, I'm dealt 77 in the small blind. It folds around to Hoff on the button and he calls the BB. I push all-in with my remaining stack of approximately 2500. Rocco in the big blind has probably 3500 and thinks for a moment before calling my all-in. Hoff insta-calls his remaining stack which was less than mine, but I don't think by too much.
Rocco flips over A 10 offsuit, and Hoff flips over 2 2. Rocco hits a ten on the flop and may have even turned it into a straight by the end of the hand. Hoff and I were sent packing.
A few thoughts on the hand...
At the time I liked my play of pushing there in order to aggressively play for the pot which was around 400. Hoff showed weakness by just calling and if Rocco wakes up with a monster in the big blind then so be it.
If I'm in Rocco's seat, I think I fold A 10 there and look for a better spot. That is not a terrible hand to be the aggressor with in that situation, but to call off 2/3 of your stack with it is a little bit suspect since there are so many ways that hand could be dominated. As it were, he called himself into a coin flip and took down the pot. Das Poka.
As for Hoff, if I'm in his seat I'm thinking the only way I call is if I think the two players that have pushed all-in in front of me are sharing an Ace. Even then I'm in a coin flip against two opponents. I don't think any of us were in a situations where we had to be all-in, but the pot size might have looked to juicy for him to let the pair go. He was probably also looking to get busy livin' (chip up) or get busy dyin' (to the rail) since he had less chips than me and meant he needed to eventually make a move.
As for my thinking, at that point I am ramping up my aggression and in take down pots mode. Pots are quickly reaching 500 chips with blinds and callers and those are pots I want. With 77 and no raisers, I am looking to own those chips. I need to chip up in prep for the final table and that felt like as good a chance as any. I definitely didn't think there would be 3 of us all in there. Whoever takes down that pot is looking good for a final table run and Rocco took it down and later finished 3rd or 4th on a serious bad beat by DrewsPop. I missed seeing it live, but just reading about it hurt my crotch. Regardless, DrewsPop played a great game and impressively won the whole thing after getting heads up with Waffles. Nice job guys.
I hope Rocco or Hoff don't take the above as a negative critique. Like I said, I rarely play out hands in my posts, but occasionally I like to get a better understanding of the situation and figure out if I could have played it differently/better. My one thought is a raise to 500 probably would have been just as good as pushing, but I didn't really want to get into a confrontation with that hand. I wanted the chips in the middle with a strong aggression play.
Well, I've taken more time than I wanted too. Does anyone have any thoughts on the hand above? Thanks for reading…
posted by TripJax @ 11:25 AM,
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Damn It Was A Good Day
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Damn It Was A Good Day
After all the hullabaloo that has happened lately, it was nice to have a good day. When I got home yesterday I noticed an email from FullTilt noting I had a referral come through and $65 was waiting for me. I have no idea who signed up through me so if it was a reader/brogger, I thank you. Free money is a good thing.
Then, after a little yard work and some grub, I hunkered down on the couch at 7:25 to get ready for the Poker Savvy free roll on Titan set to start at 7:30. Doh! I must have mixed up the times as it didn't start till 8:30 EST. That's plenty of time for a heads-up match. My opponent ends up being a push monkey who went all-in 6 of the first 10 hands when the blinds were 5-10. I pick up 9-9 on the 11th hand and insta-call when he pushes again. He has A-4 and goes down in flames. Nice.
I decide rather than play some more I'll hang with the kiddies till the free roll starts.
8:30 quickly rolls around and we're off. 47 punters and 15 get paid so chances of at least some payday are looking good. That is until I get QQ and get into a hand against BrainMC. I aggressively bet a King high flop to which he calls. Uh Oh. He throws out a strong turn bet and I meekly fold leaving me with about 1000. I donked that down to about 500 before going on a serious rush to take the chip lead. My hand with a set of 3's against Garthmeister was the beginning of the rush for me.
I then overplayed a medium pocket pair and ran into Blood's KK to drop me back down a bit, only to chip back up when someone gifted me their chips over playing a weak Ace to my Ace Queen. That again put me on a rush. Once we got into the money I woke up with KK on Blood's big blind and decided to limp one of the button and see if I could get a raise. I got my wish when Blood put a strong raise out and then called my all-in. This time the rolls were reversed and my KK did the damage. At that point I was over 12k and a contender. I wanted to ramp up my aggression, but I was getting horrible cards. I was biding my time which ended up working well as players continued to get knocked out.
Before I knew it we were down to three and I was guaranteed at least $150, with $250 still within grasp. I ended up getting it all-in against GunsAndPoker with my A9 against his K4 and he hit a 4 on the turn and river to for trip 4's to knock me out. The heads-up match lasted longer than I was able to stay, so I'm not sure who won it, but whoever did, congrats.
So all in all I made nearly $225 yesterday between winnings and the referral bonus. Not a bad boost to the ole bankroll. As DrewsPop noted in an IM chat after the tourney, "Now you're out of the awwfukkits at Titan." He's right. I now have a decent amount there. Guess it is time to hit the Rio's again. Awwfukkit.
I must end this post, but first I want to give congrats to GCox on a nice finish in a large field MTT and a thank you to Matt at Poker Savvy for putting on a great free roll. I hope it is the first of many.
posted by TripJax @ 10:06 AM,
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Lets Lighten The Mood A Bit
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Lets Lighten The Mood A Bit
After a week of depressing posts that don't even include bad beats, I need to lighten the mood. A few years back I opened a Cafe Press store and sold absolutely 0 products, probably because I never promoted them. I wasn't really looking to sell them, just trying to get a few of my dumbass ideas out of the ole noggin'. Lately I've been seeing shirts pop up around the poker blogosphere and figured it was high time I join the fun.
I moved my ideas (shown below) over to a competitor, Spreadshirt, and have finally taken the time to put a few of them up in all their lameness. Great, just what we need, another fukking shirt shop that no one will look at or buy from. Oh well, at least I'm getting this crap out of my head. Here are a few of my ideas with some thoughts below each. Enjoy and if you get a hankerin' click on them to buy. If not, well fugg off!
But wait...100% of any profit from any and all items bought during the month of April will go towards donating to this. In other words, whatever Spreadshirt pays me after they take their cut will go to help Bob raise money for The 1st Annual Celebration of the Life of Natasha Novoa And The Fight Against Small Cell Ovarian Cancer. In fact, I'll personally match whatever profit is made up to $25 (I don't have much of a bankroll folks). So, if $25 is made from items below being sold, then $50 will go towards the donation. If $50 is made, then $75 will go to the donation ($50 from sales and $25 from me). Either way, I'm going to be giving and whether you buy a shirt or not I hope you will give too, even if it is a small amount.
Now on to the shirts...
LONG SLEEVE SHIRT & HAT - These two are a continuation of the "Ovious Series" that I started with my SHIRT shirt above. I promise you will turn heads when people look at these items. The back of the LONG SLEEVE SHIRT says BACK OF LONG SLEEVE SHIRT. Never forget what you are wearing again!
WAKE ME FOR THE RAPTURE - Seriously, who wants to sleep through that one? I think a certain someone should buy this one.
You'll notice a lack of poker shirts, but eventually I'll put some up. I just haven't had the light bulb go off in my head with a great poker shirt. When it happens, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed my shirts. If you have any requests for minor changes like color or wording, let me know.
More to come soon...
posted by TripJax @ 3:12 AM,
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Savvy Titled Post: Part II
Monday, April 10, 2006
Savvy Titled Post: Part II
If you like freerolls with nice overlay that are for bloggers only, then you'll dig this. Now go sign up for the freeroll tomorrow night! Remember, it is for bloggers only.
posted by TripJax @ 6:54 PM,
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RollerCoaster
RollerCoaster
Poker and life have been quite a roller coaster these last few days. On Friday, after my update post, things settled down and I started to feel much better, so I decided to hit the virtual tables. TripBaby seemed much better and was even playful so I felt ok with putting a little time into slinging chips since I was not at work. I ended up finishing the day up over $100 playing both cash games and SNG's at almost every site I have money on.Then it happened. *Back to pokery stuff in a moment*
We got a call from the hospital around 11:30pm Friday night letting us know that the blood tests they had on TripBaby were coming back with a more serious infection than they first realized. They wanted her back at the hospital right away. We informed them that she had been fine all day and was finally sleeping after a long day and they finally decided that we should take her to our family doctor the next day and then they would make a decision from there.
On Saturday we were at the family doctor early and things really started getting serious. They told us her blood and urine samples both had serious infections and they were afraid of numerous potential problems, including spinal menangitis. We were advised to immediately go to the hospital and prepare to give her another chest x-ray, a spinal tap, and IV treatment. They also told us she could be in the hospital for days or even weeks. This obviously put TripWifey and I in WTF? mode. Here our little baby is seemingly doing fine on the outside, but we're being told she is not ok on the inside.
We of course did what they said and headed for the hospital. TripWifey brokedown on the way there and I was doing my best to hold back the tears myself. We have had serious stuff come up with TripBoy and TripBaby in the past, but nothing like this. We made it to the hospital post haste and an eerie feeling came over me. As we made it to the 6th floor I realized this was the same exact area of the hospital I took TripBoy and his classroom to for their field trip last month. I wrote about that here.
We spent 3 hours in the treatment room and again ended up having to hold TripBaby down for 10 minutes to insert the IV. This time they were able to do it on the first try. It was a good thing too cause they were running out of places to poke the little one. She is now very gun shy around anyone she does not already know for fear that they have a needle in their hand and are going to prick her. I'm amazed she still found comfort in my holding her after having to help hold her down so many times. It would have crushed me if she was scared of me, but our bond is very strong.
As the hour neared for the spinal tap, we received incredible news. It seems there were some outside contaminants that had entered the blood samples and they were causing the culture growth in the sample. Not only did she not have any serious infection, but the virus she originally had (when she had the 105.5 temp) was working its way out with the antibiotics we have been giving her since all this started. Can you see why I title the post Roller Coaster.
At this point, I wanted to be pissed about all the conflicting info we were receiving, but all I could think about was our baby not getting a spinal tap and not having to spend her birthday in the hospital. It was quite surreal. At 8:30 am we were being told to prepare for a long stay in the hospital and at 5:30 pm we were back at home in the clear. She's still on the antibiotics since she did have a virus that needed to be dealt with, but damn what an emotional 4 days.
Back to poker. *I can sense the sigh of relief from my readers*
After my $100+ day on Friday, I've taken a bit of a nosedive. I've won a few SNG's, but my MTT play has been rough. I was in line to have a HUGE chip lead in a rubuy tournament after the rebuy period was over, but was counterfeited on the river. I win that hand and I have 55k in chips and the next closest would have been 20k. Instead I was down to the felt and out on the next hand. Then I got into a $20 SNG and was down to the bubble when I got it all in against the chip leader and we both turned over A K unsuited. A four flush by him sent me packing and put a real bad taste in my mouth. Me thinks I'm done with poker till, erm, the freeroll by PokerSavvy Monday night.
I did have something happen this weekend that had not happened in a while, but I must watch out for. When I find myself low in money at a poker site, say $50 or less, I sometimes get the "awwfukkits" and start playing $20 or more SNG's. This can be great for a quick bankroll boost, but can also be a disaster if you hit a bad run. It seems like no big deal since it is a small amount, but wasting $50 playing beyond your roll is just stupid. No more awwfukkits for me. Anybody else have the same problem?
Well, that is it for me. Like I mentioned before, hopefully the drama from TripFamily is beyond us. Time will tell. Thanks for reading and commenting over the last week folks.
posted by TripJax @ 3:01 AM,
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TripBaby Update
Friday, April 07, 2006
TripBaby Update
I can't tell you how awesome it feels to know that people are out there thinking about TripFamily. I've read through the comments numerous times and they have most definitely helped my spirits. For that, I thank you all.
Update:
TripBaby is feeling much better, but is still not 100%. After one emergency room visit and two doctors visits, they have determined it is a blood infection that is treatable with antibiotics. When Wifey was taking TripBaby to the doctors office this morning, she (TripBaby) started crying the minute they entered the door. She obviously remembered it as one of the two places that people stick her with pointy things that hurt. Poor girl. We expect her to be right as rain very soon.
As for me, I'm feeling better, but not 100%. Strange how the nights are just horrible, but when it gets to be the afternoon I start feeling a little better. Nothing like a shower to make you feel human again. I did stay home again today as I still was not up to par and it is a good day to be away since I have no deadlines this week. I've been coughing up lung all day so it is clear I made the right choice by not going in.
Well, that's it for me today. Again, thank you all for visiting. I'll be back with some real content Monday or earlier. Oh, and the blood came out of my army pants. That's a good thing cause they are my favorite pants, especially when playing poker live.
posted by TripJax @ 3:23 PM,
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Thursday Bloody Thursday
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Thursday Bloody Thursday
Uuuggghhh. Wednesday started out like any other day. I was still a bit under the weather and by the time I got home from work I knew I was down with the sickness. I figured I would be hitting the sack early to hopefully get some much needed rest. Life had other plans for me. Around 10pm it was clear things were not kosher with TripBaby. She's a week away from turning 1 years old and it was clear she too was coming down with the sickness, though much different from the way I was feeling.
She seemed very lethargic and her temperature was 103. By 11:30 she was on fire, in a real bad mood, and her temerature was 105.5. When she threw up in wifeys lap we knew it was time to do something. We called the on call nurse for our doctor and she said we needed to take her to the hospital since the fever was so high. It was creeping towards 106, and at one point when we checked it was 106.2, though I'm not sure if that reading was accurate.
Over the next 5 hours we spent our time in the hospital dealing with a very unhappy baby as she was poked, prodded, and pricked all over. It was brutal having to hold her down so the nurses could do this or that to her. At one point they had to put an IV in and her vein exploded so blood went all over the place. Once that was resolved they hooked her up to all these monitors to keep up with her vitals.
Around 4:00 am they finally told us she did not have any serious virus, but it was clear she had something. Yeah thanks, I wasn't sure. We were told to take her home and let her family doctor check on her again today. As they were removing the IV from her foot, I was holding her to comfort her and blood went all over my pants. I was wearing army pants at the time so when we walked out of the hospital I looked like I was coming from combat. Except for the Nike shoes and IZOD jacket.
In the end, we got home close to 5am and I was out of it. I was still stick, but TripBaby was the priority. Wifey took her to the doctor so I could try and sleep off my sickness. The docs think TripBaby has a blood infection so we are treating it as such. Poor baby has been through a lot since last night.
Sorry this post had no poker content, but poker has been the last thing on my mind since last night. I still wanted to get this out of my head though, so there you have it. Not sure if I'll be back tomorrow with a post. We'll see. Thanks for reading.
posted by TripJax @ 3:59 PM,
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Lets Light This Candle
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Lets Light This Candle
I must admit, I still feel a little groggy from Iggy's tournament on Monday and I didn't even drink 20 beers during that 7 hour poker session. I think late night/early morning poker mixed with getting up early for work and being a tad under the weather have just set me back a bit. I wanted to play in Wil's WWdn weekly tournament last night, but I was just too pooped and thought it would be a smart move to refrain from the felt for a night. I plan to play next Tuesday.Moving on, now that Iggy's tourney is over, I'm ready to do some pimping of our own little monster, the DADI 5. Let's get a few thoughts out of the way before I give details on the prize pool and goodies.
93 people showed up for Iggy's tournament and 91 missed out on Vegas. That can be a hard pill to swallow for some, but I hope you see what is going on here. Of course you want to win the damn thing, but when you don't, at least you know you are helping send a blogger to Vegas to represent the poker blogging community. That is a good thing. I, for one, earmarked at least $100 of the roll this year for WSoP Blogger Satellites. I then went out and made it a point to try and win back all my buy-ins via SNG's and cash games and so far so good.
In Iggy's last tournament, I loved the idea of the deep stacks. It is rare I get a chance to play a tournament like this and I was happy to see I could play my game and have success. I don't recall having to put my whole stack at risk very often and that was pretty cool. There was plenty of room to breathe and work to build a stack. All that said, DADI 5 is going to be somewhere in the middle of your typical PokerStars tourney and Mondays deep stack tourney.
For DADI 5 there will be 3000 in chips and 20 minute blinds. Double the regular starting stack and blind minutes, but not as deep as the 5000 chips/30 minute blinds from Monday. I think that should hopefully work well for everyone.
OK, lets get to the prize pool and goodies. For those who have not seen this already, here are details for DADI 5:
The Winner Receives:
-$1500 WSOP Seat for every 54 Players (Travel Expenses not Included)
-Naming Rights to the Next WWdn Tournament
-A free Seat in the WWdn Tournament of Champions
Along with the following special prizes for 2nd - 4th, any remaining prize pool after the WSoP seat(s) are secured will be paid out in increments of $100. Example: If prize pool is $2100, payout will be 1st/WSoP Seat, 2nd through 7th/$100 each.
2nd Place Receives:
An iPod shuffle, compliments of PokerOnAMac.com.
3rd Place Receives:
10,000 PSO Points , compliments of PokerSourceOnline.com.*
4th Place Receives:
5,000 PSO Points, compliments of PokerSourceOnline.com.*
*PSO Points redeemable at PokerSourceOnline.com at the PSO Points Store.
WPBT Player Of The Year Points will be awarded for this tournament!
In addition, for this week only, DADI has joined forces with the WWdn, thus there will be no WWdn on Tuesday, April 25th. We hope all WWdn regulars will play in DADI 5 to support sending another player to the WSoP through a blogger event.
For clarification, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th prizes are meant for the players directly after the WSoP seat winners. Therefore, if enough people play so that 2 seats are offered, then the iPod would actually go to the 3rd place finisher, and so on.
I want to personally thank...
Mike (from PSO for offering the PSO Points)
dbirider (from PokerOnAMac for offering the iPod Shuffle)
Wil (from WWdn for working with us on the timeframe of DADI and WWdn)
Biggestron (from WPBT-POY for working with us to offer Player of Year points)
GCox (for always being an Advisor Extraordinaire)
Katitude (for turning Jordan's banner above into a small animated DADI 5 banner)
Iggy (for the recent talks and for the past WSoP Satellites)
I also want to thank all the bloggers out there who have made the last 4 DADI's a major success and will be integral in helping DADI 5 send more bloggers on their way to Vegas.
Now...
Lets light this candle. Sign up playas.
posted by TripJax @ 11:11 AM,
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Post Like A Champion Today!
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Post Like A Champion Today!
I am Poker Champ.
Haters.
posted by TripJax @ 6:37 PM,
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Dates With Rivered Straights
Dates With Rivered Straights
I just got bounced from Iggy's WSoP Blogger Satellite Tourney. It is 3:45am and I'm beat. I finished 6th out of 93 after two straight tough hands. The first one I got it all in with GCox with top pair and he rivered his straight. I win that hand and I'm near 90k with chip leader at 150k...ish. As it were, we were both near 45k which was still ok cause GCox is my boy and I want to see him do well too. A few hands later I get it all in against Lucko21 with my AA against his 66. He also rivers a straight to knock me out. I win that hand I'm again around 75k and back in contention. Oh well. Das Poka. Top 2 receive seats to any $1500 WSoP event so congrats to whoever ends up winning them. I'm too tired to stay up and watch the rest, but I'm excited to hear about who will represent the bloggers in Vegas.I have no regrets on this tournament. I relished the chance to play in a big stack tourney with great players, but I am bummed I have to be at work in a couple of hours. I promise the DADI 5 won't take as long, even though I thought the deep stack was a good idea. The DADI will be 3000 chips / 20 minute blinds so probably more like 3 to 4 hours instead of 7 hours.
Kudos to Iggy for throwing a great tourney and for ponying up some extra dough to help 2nd place out. If you didn't know it already, Iggy is what is right about the poker community. Thanks man.
If GCox or Lucko get a seat I want 5% of that action biotches. That's it for me. Bedtime beckons.
***edit***
I couldn't leave my boy hangin' so I watched it all the way through. GCox made it to the final 3, but was the most brutal of bubble boys. Unfortunately it was by another straight versus Lucko21. I have to say, Lucko pounded the table with constant betting, putting the pressure on others. And, like you need along the way, he got lucko at the right time. Good game to all and congrats to Lucko and MyRadioHead. Good luck in Vegas. Condolences to GCox and Maigrey and Champ finishing 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively.
***end edit***
***2nd edit***
In hindsight, and after a few hours of so-called sleep to mull it over, I should be happy I got as far as I did. I won a key race situation against, I believe, easy_wind when I rivered my Ace with AQ against his middle pair. Without that hit I am asleep at 2am, and not pondering what could have been, and he is off to the races with probably over 100k. And I think GCox would a agree he hit some key hands to make it as far as he did. Who doesn't in a big tournament? All that said, it still smarts, but I am again happy with the way things went down. Thank you to those who have already or eventually comment here and to those who railed the tournament last night. Support kicks ass and it is nice to know some folks think I played a pretty decent game.
***end 2nd edit***
posted by TripJax @ 6:45 AM,
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