Dead Money Inc. A For Profit Corporation
Friday, June 30, 2006
Dead Money Inc. Proves They Are A For Profit Corporation
Dead Money Inc CEO, Scott McMillan, emphatically announced at DADI 7, his corporation is indeed For Profit. In a move that should surprise few, he placed 1st.In reviewing his corporate resolution we at tripjax.com confirm everything at Dead Money Inc seems to be in order.
We do, however, anticipate a company name change to Not Dead Money Inc in the near future. Congrats to you Scott.
I must confess, even though I went out well before the first break, I had a great time at DADI 7. For me, this was something that was missing from DADI 6. I think I was drained from DADI 5 and just didn't have it in me for DADI 6. However, I had a great time last night. It was a good feeling and gave me the zeal I need to keep going at these DADI tourneys. They are a good ole time and I hope you folks enjoy them as well.
As for my game, on the hand I went out on, I thought I was playing the player, when I was actually being played. My memory of details is vague, but I think I raised from 30 to 100 in early position with AK. I believe Bluto392 min raised me which, in hindsight, should have been my first warning. The flop came down with an Ace and I had feeling he held AQ sooted, QQ, or JJ so I felt I was good to go. I don't recall the betting from there, but we went back and forth a bit before we got it all-in. He flipped over his AA for a set of aces and I was riggidy rocked. All good though, das pokah.
I did manage to drop a reverse hoy on Jestocost which was fun. Jest, for the record, I had QQ. I hope that you feel better about your fold. For those of you who don't know what a reverse hoy is, let me drop two quick definitions to clear up any confusion.
Hoy --- To go all-in except for $1, thus you are not blocked from chat, allowing the opportunity to still gather or give info to the others in the hand via chat. Plus it just tilts people sometimes. It is rather cool.
Reverse Hoy --- To set your opponent all-in, minus $1 (leave them with $1 if they call). I really like this one cause it often confuses the player or really makes them think about what the hell is going on.
See Hoyazo for more details on the ingenious Hoy.
Later y'allz
posted by TripJax @ 11:18 AM,
,
CC Explores
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
CC Explores
First, don't forget that DADI 7 is tonight! Most, if not all of you, are aware of CC and his blog, Quest Of A Closet Poker Player. What you may not know is he is out in Vegas covering the WSOP with the likes of Pauly, Otis and I'm sure many others. In a recent post CC wrote:"Also, Mook had a good idea, creating a banner that folks can use to pimp CC's coverage."
He's right ya know, thus I made a couple of little banners for the cause. The small one is over on the left (obviously) and the other one is below in different sizes. He is running a little contest, so we'll see if any of these make the cut. Not sure if he or others will like them, but I've obviously been in a banner making mood lately, so why the hell not.
If any of these end up being the one he wants to use, then if you need help using it, let me know. Check his blog for updates.
Small Version
Medium Version
edit
edit
I removed the medium version as it was bogarting my template due to the size.
Here's the link to it though.
/edit
Largest Version
Click HERE.
posted by TripJax @ 8:16 PM,
,
Uh Oh...
Uh Oh...
...Sounds like somebody's got a case of the "don't have shit to write abouts." Actually, Wednesday is a busy day for me at work and I really don't have much to write about, so I thought I would put a little effort into something else with the little time I can spare.
I noticed Hoyazo does not have a banner to promote his weekly tourney on Mondays, so I figured I would run with an idea I got in the ole noggin the other day. If Hoy approves, maybe this can be used when folks are pimping the tourney he hosts every Monday. As for the scene and the quote I used for the banner, if you don't recognize it, it's time to step away from the monitor and the raise/check/fold button and go rent Office Space. For realz.
If you want to put this in your blog posts, but don't know how, let me know. I would suggest using the smaller version (at the bottom of this post) and just having it link to the larger picture. If you use any of the larger versions like I did below, it might mess up your template. In other words, if you think you'll fuck it up, just leave me a comment and I'll help.
Click the picture for a larger version
edit
I removed the large picture as it was bogarting my template.
You can still click the below picture to get to the larger version if need be.
/edit
Or here is a smaller version that can link to the bigger picture
Don't forget, DADI 7 is this Thursday, so be sure and sign up and join in all the fun. We've got all kinds of prizes from some great sponsors (O-Poker, VegasPokerPro, and PokerOnAMac) and even some side bet action you might can still get in on if'n ya hurry. Below is the banner for details. Two things I should note...it is NL Hold'em and the password is case sensitive and should be pokertrust.
posted by TripJax @ 3:37 AM,
,
"Cause I'm Good Son" or Halleluja It's Raining Kahn
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
"Cause I'm Good Son" or Halleluja It's Raining Kahn
Intro to quite possibly the craziest poker video I've ever seen.
Quite possibly the craziest poker video I've ever seen.
Props to G3 where I found the above links (here).
Apologies for the short ass post, but time is money and I gotz neitha.
posted by TripJax @ 6:15 PM,
,
Let The Games Begin
Monday, June 26, 2006
Let The Games Begin
You may recall, back in April, the winner of DADI 5, The SNG Machine, won a seat to a $1500 WSoP seat of his choice. Over the weekend I received an email from him to let me know he was going to be using the money from the tourney to enter Event #2.
If you are in Vegas during Event #2, and notice a 6'5" dude wearing a football jersey and a white hat with a block "O" on the front, just yell out "Tony Saprono" or "SNG Machine" or "Crack-N-Aces" and see if he turns around. If so, you've found him...
Good luck to all the winners of WSoP seats...I hope you all do well! Let the games begin!
I do plan to get back into the swing of things soon, especially considering I have to get some money back onto Stars for DADI 7 that is coming up this week. I also still owe Gilain a heads-up match way back from DADI 5, but just haven't gotten around to getting the game done. We were scheduled to play a while back, but I was having trouble with Time Warner so that one got scratched. Gilain, sorry for the delay, but I'll be in touch soon to reschedule mmmkay?!
I don't plan on letting this brog suffer just because I'm not playing, so look for continued content and hopefully I'll be back at the gaming in no time. At the very least, I'll see you at DADI 7!
He plays tournaments live for buy-ins between $20 and $60, but online he has never played for real money. He has been hesitant to do so and has never really known what it takes to get money onto a poker site. After we talked about things for a while, I told him I was going to cover his buy-in so he could play in DADI 7 (he has a play money account their, but that is all). You should have seen his eyes light up when I told him that...he was like a kid in a candy store. I hope he gets in the money so it can be the start of an onrine roll for him.
Well, that will have to do it for today. See you all at DADI 7!
posted by TripJax @ 11:13 AM,
,
Blog Spotlight: Flights of Iakaris
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Blog Spotlight: Flights of Iakaris
It's been a while since I dropped a Blog Spotlight on thine asses, so I decided to remedy that shit right here and now. I had planned to do this a few weeks ago, but I've been waffling back and forth on which blog to highlight. After looking through my blogroll about fiddy nine times, I finally honed in on a relatively new member of the poker blog brethren...Iakaris. Iak (think Ike) is like no other blogger I've read before. He's got a style his own and seems to let it out in each post. He's only been at it for 3 months, but I have high hopes that quality posts will keep-a-comin' (how's that for pressure). Something about Iak makes me think I'd get along with him like I've known him for years. Actually, I get that feeling quite often with the great group of people that comprise this little corner of the internet known as the poker blogging community.
As I normally do, I was going to take a screen shot of his blog for this post, but instead I decided to take it one step further. Since his blog does not have a banner, I quickly put together one he might want to use at least for a little while. This is 100% unsolicited and he might not like it, which is cool, but I just figured I would give it a try. It's quite plain, nothing flashy, but it gets the job done me thinks. Iak, if you like it, let me know, but if you don't it is no sweat off my sack. For serious.
If you haven't read Iak, go check him out. I recommend this post for starters as it really showcases his whacktastic writing style. So there you have it, short and sweet, ready to eat. I hope you enjoy.
Previous Blog Spotlights:
CCExplore
9 2 Offsuit
Will Wonka
O-Poker
Sir Waffles
posted by TripJax @ 3:23 AM,
,
Prize Patrol
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Prize Patrol
I didn't really go into much detail in my last post about all the prizes out there for DADI 7, so I thought I would do that real quick. The people and sites who are kind enough to offer up free stuff for our tourneys deserve that so, without further delay, lets light this candle...
Fourth Place: Will receive 400 VPP Points**, courtesy of VegasPokerPro.com .
The Bubble: Will receive 400 VPP Points**, courtesy of VegasPokerPro.com .
Bounty on VPP_Dave: 400 VPP Points**, courtesy of VegasPokerPro.com .Check out the DADI website for future updates!
* Points are redeemable at the VPP store for various prizes, including $50 in Amazon.com or BestBuy gift certificates for the 800 points awarded.
**Points are redeemable at the VPP store for various prizes, including $25 in Amazon.com or BestBuy gift certificates for the 400 points awarded.
All the above is in addition to the prize pool which will be determined at the close of registration. As always, you can get full details at the DADI blog. As mentioned in the previous post, the tourney is June 29th at 9pm EST in the Private section of PokerStars and is a $10 + $1 NLHE event.
posted by TripJax @ 11:46 AM,
,
DADI, Cool Bloggers & Hockey Champs
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
DADI, Cool Bloggers & Hockey Champs
Lets start things off today with a little DADI pimpage. Click on the pic to the left for more detailed info. We decided to get back to the basics with a simple $10 + $1 NLHE tourney this time. I know Drizz will be disappointed with that silly TWO card game, but thems the breaks.As has been the norm with the last few DADI events, we've got a few cool prizes to give away. Please click the pic to get all the details and prize info. I do want to highlight one of the prizes in particular. After DADI 6 I got an email from cmitch letting me know he wanted to offer a $215 token to the Sunday Stars tourney.
I don't know about you, but this strikes me as incredibly generous. Mitch said the community has given him a lot throughout the last year -- with great reading and plenty of strategy posts -- and with his recent success he just wanted to give back to the community. I appreciate the fact that Mitch chose a DADI event to offer the token.
When I got the email from Mitch I immediately thought back to another fine blogger who gave back to the community when there was an immediate need. Lest we forget our mini-Cinci friend stepped up to the plate during his WSOP satellite when a 2nd seat was short by a couple of hundred bucks. With nary a flinch (that I could tell), he offered to cover the difference to make sure a 2nd $1500 seat would be given.
It's bloggers like Mitch and Iggy (and many more for that matter) that keep me going at this silly little totally gay online diary. Thanks guys for your generosity.
North Carolina has seen many college sports championships in its day. And though it has been on the list of things to do for North Carolina, a major sports championship has never made it our way (we came close in Super Bowl XXXVIII, New England 32, Carolina 29). That is until last night.The Hurricanes finished off a very impressive season, and a very intense series, by beating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. They are now The Champions! How sweet it is.
Other than that, I played the PokerStars blogger freeroll and felt like I played a pretty good game. I ended up finishing right at the top 10% when I was ousted in 263rd place. I was happy with my performance, especially since I have not played any large MTT's in a while. Of course I would rather money or win some prizes, but sometimes just gaining the experience is just as good...especially in a freeroll where it does not end up costing you anything. Well, that's it for me for now. Thanks for reading
Follow-Up Thoughts From My Previous Post:
Jordan was wondering if my last post was an original or an Onion rip-off. It was 100% original, but I am an avid Onion fan so I honed that style of writing from my many years of reading their online mag.
posted by TripJax @ 11:45 AM,
,
Blogger Founder Confirms Blogs Are Indeed Gay
Monday, June 19, 2006
Blogger Founder Confirms Blogs Are Indeed Gay
Greensboro, NC - In a move many critics view as "a long time coming", Blogger founder and former CEO, Evan Williams, announced in a press conference today that blogs are in fact gay. Said Williams, "The signs have always been there...it was just time to put the speculation to rest." While Williams sees this as a liberating move for bloggers across the nation, he also knows it may come as a shock to many. "It's not easy finding out your blog about sci-fi movies, playstation games, or whatever is viewed as a totally gay online diary to the rest of the world."
Williams cited an early staff meeting in 1999 as the first indicator that his creation might be totally gay. "When the idea of shortening the name from weblog to blog was mentioned, my gaydar immediately went off," Williams said.
When asked which sect of bloggerdom was emerging as the gayest of all totally gay online diaries, Williams admitted, "There's just something about poker blogs that is altogether gay. They play poker online, chat in the girlie instant message rooms, then write about someone sucking out on them...I mean what's going on there?"
While Williams is no longer affiliated with Blogger, he is quick to note that he also has his own blog up and running. In response to the many inquiries Willaims received during the press conference, Williams said, "I'm straight and all, but my blog is totally gay...not that there is anything wrong with that."
posted by TripJax @ 3:05 AM,
,
Pops
Friday, June 16, 2006
Pops
When I was but a young lad, I took a liking to little league baseball. There was always something about having family and friends in the stands that made me feel better about my game. I recall one particular important game where my Dad was going to be out of town on business, thus unable to see me play. With the start of the game only minutes away, what had been a beautiful day quickly turned sour as the bottom fell out of the sky and it rained buckets. As we all rushed under the snack stand for shelter, I noticed a familiar car pulling into the parking lot. It was my Dad. He had driven a long way to see me play.
Something clicked right then and I just broke down and cried. At the time it probably looked like I was crying because the game would be cancelled, but I was crying because I felt like I had let my Dad down. I'm old enough now to know I was not letting him down, but to this day I still think about that moment and how it has helped shape the Father I am today. He was just doing what Dads do and he may not know it, but that meant the world to me.
A few years ago my Dad went to the doctor due to a severe pain behind his ear causing some pretty harsh headaches. The doctor could have easily prescribed some meds and sent him on his way, but instead he sent him to a specialist to check things out. It turns out he had a very serious tumor that required immediate brain surgery.
The day of the surgery I could not stay still. After hours of fidgeting in my seat and pacing the floor, I was told I should go to the hospital cafeteria and settle my nerves with something to eat or drink. I didn't want to, but I knew it might help and, at the very least, keep my mind busy on something else. After about 30 minutes at the cafeteria I made my wake back up the hospital elevator to the waiting room.
As the doors to the elevator opened I saw my entire family huddled in the middle of the hallway, every single one of them crying. Time seemed to go into slow motion in that moment as my eyes started to swell. For the first time in my life I was crying not knowing if they were tears of joy or sorrow. As I made my way towards my family, my sister broke free to hug me and let me know that he was going to be fine. Though the tumor was larger than a golf ball, it was thankfully benign and was successfully removed. It was one of the greatest things I had ever heard in my life and the tears of joy just kept flowing for quite some time.
I have so many memories of the times I've had with my father. At times, in the past, I know I've put him through anguish. Looking back, through the good times and bad, he has always been there for me. He has always done what Dads are supposed to do, and he may not know it, but that has always meant the world to me.
His example has helped mold the man I am today and given me the groundwork to be the Father I continually strive to be. This coming Sunday my wife and kids will celebrate Father's Day with me, which I am truly grateful for, but I know none of that would be possible without my Dad.
Happy Fathers Day Pops.
posted by TripJax @ 4:10 PM,
,
Okie-Vegas: Thursday At The Lake
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Okie-Vegas: Thursday At The Lake
After being relatively light booze hounds on Wednesday, I knew Thursday at the lake would bring with it many more opportunities to drop cans. What I didn't expect would be many chances to play poker. I was wrong. More on that later.
Poker Poker Everywhere, But Not A Chip To Sling
Before we made the 1 hour trek to the lake, we decided to fill up at Buffalo Wild Wings. I had never been there and was pretty excited when G mentioned we should go there. My meal was hella good, but more importantly the tea was giving me my legs back. Something about iced tea cures what ails ya...especially when it is alcamahol related. I think I drank 5 huge glasses of the stuff.Something I started to notice at BWW's was there is plenty of poker on TV in Okie. On Wednesday at the Half Time Bar there were 2 or 3 different poker shows playing. At BWW's there was a virtual poker game available on their trivia system that some people at the bar were playing. I'm sure if we were not in a hurry to get to the lake we would have hit up the poker game at BWW's as well. As it were, we had bigger fish to fry. Lots of poker going on in Okie for sure.
Sport Touring
After the quick jaunt to the lake we did some cruising around the houses. Some were rather run down, but many others were really cool. One dude had his own airplane - you know the kind that is a one seater and has a huge ass fan on the back. No fucking way I ride on that bad boy. As for G's lake house, it fit right in with the cool houses with plenty of room in the house, a great front lawn, and a couple of storage rooms. One of the rooms held my crotch rocket for the day - the jet ski I would end up riding for a couple of hours.
After some boozin' for a while, G prepped the Sport Tourer jet skis and Josh and I took them out on the lake. Josh mentioned the motor on the jet skis were similar to the one on his bike. Hitting the lake that day is one of my top memories of the trip. That was so friggin' awesome. At one point I had gone my own way for a while and was headed back to our dock area and noticed Josh standing on the water in the middle of the lake. As I neared closer I was wondering if he had learned how to walk on water, but then I could see the red sand that was very close to the top of the water. He had hit a sand bar. Luckily he was slowing down when he saw the color of the water change so he didn't damage himself or the jet ski. He did, however, get that bad boy stuck and had to use some brute force to get it unstuck. Nice. We both topped off at about 60mph so we were flying all over that lake. Damnit that was a good time.
Truck In
After we finished jet skiing we made our way lakeside and started boozin' around Timmy's truck. Timmy is a lake local and the resident handy man for much of the community. Earlier that day he fixed G's lawnmower for $20. By the end of the night that $20 would be in my pocket. More on that later. Hangin' around Timmy's truck was another great memory as we just shot the shit for a while, drank some beers and started taking shots of SoCo. It was still pretty early so I knew it was going to be a wicked night if we were starting the SoCo that early.Let The Games Begin
After we left the lake we made our way back to the house to settle things before heading to the local bar. At the moment I can't think of the name of the bar, but it was quite a little dive bar. It was an excellent hang out for the locals and visitors and everyone met us with a warm welcome. Quite a few characters in the joint. They did not serve liquor in the joint so frequent trips to the bed of the truck were on tap.
Not long after we had been at the bar, one of the local yocals, Kay Kay, was itching to play some poker. Before I knew it we were playing poker in the bar. At this point I was getting pretty lit so loosey goosey TripJax poker was making its way into my game again. I tend to either flame out early or win the damn thing when I start getting ripped. That was pretty much exactly what I did.
For some reason my game was on in both tournaments. I was calling out G's hands, making pretty good moves, and even sucking out here and there. All recipes for a good tournament. Unfortunately the first game saw me flame out next to last after one of the locals put me near the felt when I was leading in the hand, but he hit his card on the river. I couldn't complain as I had sucked out hard on Josh just a few minutes earlier to put him out 1st.
In the second tournament I was all over the place. Once I got a big stack I pretty much felt unstoppable. I recall going all in with the hammer, but not being called. I also recall going all-in blind, but don't recall if I was called or not. In the end Josh and I chopped the pot in the final game and Timmy was the bubble boy. That's the part where I got his $20 from earlier. Actually, he didn't have any cash on him and he ended up writing a check to the bar and the bar gave Josh and I our cut from him. Doh!
For more info on the local drinking hole and the tourneys, I'll refer you to G's post here.
After getting knocked out of the 1st tourney, Timmy and I made our way out to the truck and polished off about 6 shots worth each of SoCo. We put a dent in that biatch for sure. Things would not be the same from there on out.
Are You Shithead?
When we first got to the bar, I remember seeing a neon sign that had birthdays listed for a bunch of the locals. One of the names was Shithead. I inquired as to the name and found out it was one of the locals who always seemed to win the dart tournaments. Thus, he was Shithead.
By the time I had downed all the SoCo shots, I was asking anyone I didn't already know that walked in the bar if they were Shithead. Not exactly a smart thing to do in a bar where you are not a local, but looking back it was pretty funny (at least to me).
Wanna Bet
Two of the guys that came in the bar late were Ray and Tater. Ray was good for a prop bet at any moment and Tater was quick to tell a funny story. Ray convinced me to bet $10 on a coin flip, let me pick heads or tails, then promptly took my money. He then offered Josh $500 to his $200 on a coin flip. He was tempted, but passed. Ray also tried to get me to bet on about 20 other things that night, but I passed.
At some point, I'm not sure how or when, but we ended up arm wrestling. Tater had guns and took me down easily. Ray suprisingly (to me) took me down, though he refused to go left-handed which is my stronger arm.
All in all it was probably my favorite day of the trip and a day I'll never forget. I know I missed a ton of content, but it is hard to rehash it all. Now I know why so many folks had a hard time with WPBT trip recaps.
Still, thanks for reading.
posted by TripJax @ 11:18 AM,
,
Lets Light This Candle
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Lets Light This Candle
I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!
This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.
Registration code: 6945087
posted by TripJax @ 9:42 PM,
,
Okie-Vegas: Wednesday
Okie-Vegas: Wednesday
Yeesh...after getting home early Sunday I took the day off Monday and I'm still whooped. Regardless, let me see if I can at least start to put the pieces of Okie-Vegas together. It was quite a blur of alcamahol and cards.
Planes, Planes, And Automobeers
Wednesday started very early as my flight took off at 7:00am en route to Chicago. This was bitter sweet as I knew it was the first step to get me to Okie, but was also a punch to the gut in a way. You see, I'm a Chicago Cubs fan and I could never imagine heading to Chicago without making my first trip to Wrigley field. Yet, there I was traipsing through O'Hare airport at 8:10am with nothing better to do than find some airport breakfast and sit around until 11:55am.
Suprisingly, Chili's had a pretty damn good breakfast and the bar was already packed with 3 guys drinking bloody mary's. I couldn't bring myself to drink a liquor drink on a Wednesday morning in an airport - Okie-Vegas or not - but it was nice to know others were preparing there day with a mixed drink.
The second flight felt pretty quick and the next thing I knew I was in Will Rogers airport at about 2:00pm. As I rounded the corner to the welcome area, I immediately saw GCox since he towers over most folks. I made my way through the crowd and there he was standing with 3 cards in his hand. It took me a second to realize they were all Jacks. That was pretty friggin' cool G.
Me thinks it took about 4 minutes before I had my first beer in Okie. We had to wait for SteelerJosh to arrive around 3:30pm so we went to G's truck at the airport parking lot and started pounding some brews. We had a few laughs checking out the locals - one with the worst set of teeth I've ever seen in my life - then continued downing the Keystone Lights. About 4 beers later it was time to go pick up Josh. It wasn't very difficult for him to pick us out of the crowd as we were the only dumb asses strolling down the escalator with cards in our hands...7 2 offsuit of course.
Newcastle...Not The Beer
We decided to forego a trip to G's house so we could go ahead and hit a casino for some pokery goodness. First, however, we stopped off at the Half Time Bar & Grille for some grub and a bucket of beers. That laid the ground work for the day and night ahead. The bar was only a mile or so from the casino so it was no time before we were slinging chips live.
For those that don't know, this was only the second time I had ever played poker live and my first time was not much of an experience. I played about an hour at a casino boat in Indiana last year so I was still a little green when we hit the Newcastle Gaming Center (or something like that). Our gaming choice ending up being 3/6 limit and I must say I never felt out of my element.
Unfortunately, though I felt like I fit right in, the cards didn't exactly want to work for me. If my hole cards were great to start with, the flop would miss me completely and the betting would put me out. If my hole cards were not so great, but I was still able to see a flop, it would miss me completely. If I had suited black, the flop would come all red. It was just that type of night. Before I knew it I was down a buy-in and had not won ONE FREAKING HAND.
I think I managed to win two hands that hole night and walked out the one buy-in short. I wasn't disheartened as I knew the experience at the tables was worth much more than the money I lost. I also knew that Newcastle was no where near done with me, and I was no where near done with it. By the way, who names a casino Newcastle when they don't serve beer?!
Carrie-Okie
Knowing we had to meet up with the GCox fam as well as get back for the Mookie, we busted down the highway en route to the GCox house. That didn't take long and before we knew it we were touring G's pad. The highlights of his pad are the HUGE master bedroom as well as a cool Karaoke set up in the den. As for G's wife, Carrie, she is one cool chick, as hospitable as you can get, quite a karaoke singer, and a cutie to boot. G's a lucky man and the whole family are just super dupe.
After hanging with the family for a while it wasn't long before the Mookie was set to start. The beers were once again flowing so my game quickly went loosey goosey. I recall bluffing at a number of pots and obviously got lucky with no calls. After a while I chipped up to about 5k or more and woke up with aces. I don't recall the action before the flop, but on the flop I got it all in with a King on the board and jjok showed down KK to give him the set. That AA vs. KK hand sent me packing and pushed him to the chiplead, laying the ground work for an impressive final 3 finish. As always, I had a great time at "the best home game on the net."
After the Mookie we putzed around a bit, drank some Guinness (I love that stuff), then decided to play some .25/.50 dealers choice poker. G took a tough run early going down a buy-in ($20) while I ended up being the beneficiary of said buy-in. I don't recall much of the games, but they were pretty crazy shit like Acey Deucey where the pots got pretty damn big. In the end Josh pretty much broke even and I ended up whatever amount G was down. It was good to get a little of the money back from my lost buy-in, but it was even better to sneak it out of G's roll like that. HaHa.
As 3:00am came and went, it was time to hit the sack. I had been awake nearly 24 hours and my body was letting me know it. There were a few SoCo shots that first night, but I'd say we barely put a dent in the half gallon. I didn't worry as I knew that bottle was going to take a huge hit at the lake, and damn was I right. Thursday at the splendiferous lake was an adventure in booze and poker. I've got plenty more to write about, but at the least, look for the Okie-Vegas Thursday write up here soon...
posted by TripJax @ 3:01 AM,
,
Next Stop...
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Next Stop...
Okie-Vegas! Yeah, it seems the time is nigh. Tomorrow morning I hit the airport en route to Okie-Vegas. I've been waiting for quite some time for this event and I am pumped. Before I even get there, I have to thank GCox for all the things he as done to prepare for this event. I know there is only one person more excited about this trip than me and that his him.He's gone out of his way to get this gig ready and for that I am thankful. I can't wait to crash his tournaments, casinos, and any other events where I can leave my mark. G, thanks again. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone soon! And thanks to Duggle for the picture on the left. I ganked it from his site, but I don't think he'll mind. It is a great picture for this post so I had to do it.
Hhhhmmm...let's see...
Have I packed? Nope
Did I drink 4 beers and 3 shots of SoCo in less than 1 hour yesterday to prepare? Yep
Good to know I have my priorities in order.
I ended up selling that old car to my sister/brother-in-law and they gave me a scratch off lottery ticket to seal the deal. I ended up winning another lottery ticket with that one, but haven't gone back to try again. Hopefully that old car will win me some fat cash. Surprisingly, though I was told it would be between 1 - 2k to fix the old car, he was able to get it all done for around $250. Actually, that shouldn't be too surprising. I would normally be pissed about this, but I'm happy with my new car and I'm glad I could help their family out. So it is all good.
Follow-Up Thoughts From My Previous Post:
It's a good idea, it just needs work.
Big Ups To These Fine Folks Who Left A Comment In the Last Post:
hoyazo
deadmeek
pokerwolf
kgblovesoreos
highonpoker
posted by TripJax @ 10:08 AM,
,
Poker Sites Take Notice: The Bankroll Builder
Friday, June 02, 2006
Poker Sites Take Notice: The Bankroll Builder
It's been a while since I dropped a Poker Sites Take Notice here, so I figured I would put one together. First, let me throw a few words of warning. I haven't really put a ton of thought into this one, just slapped it together all quick like, so if you see a better way to make it work, by all means let me know. These ideas I try to come up with are building blocks and often need adjusting. Also, I'm not inventing the wheel here, just finding a different way to roll it. With that said, I give you The Bankroll Builder.
The concept behind TBB is simple. Use a Steps platform to allow anyone with a small bankroll a chance to build it fast with a very small up-front investment. I've created a couple of examples, but let's go with the cheapest one first.
The starting point is buying into a Step 1, 10-Player SNG for $1 + $.10. Once 7 players are eliminated, the top 3 advance to Step 2, regardless of their chip counts. They can buy into the Step 2 whenever they would like, using the "Step Token" they earned from winning Step 1. Step 2 is a $3 + $.30 SNG and follows the same path as Step 1. At every Step, the prize pool is split among the top 3 finishers accordingly such that their buy-in for the next Step is paid for in Step Tokens. Any excess amounts above and beyond the buy-in and fee is split accordingly between the 3 winners as readily available funds. I'll go into more detail on that in a minute.
The goal with the TBB is to make it to Step 5 and place in the top 3 to earn a large payoff in real money (not "Step Tokens"). Lets take a look at a nifty little graph that might explain the whole system a bit better.
Buy-In | Fee | 1st - 3rd Earn | |
Step 1 | $1 | $0.10 | Entry To Step 2 & $.03 |
Step 2 | $3 | $0.30 | Entry To Step 3 & $.10 |
Step 3 | $9 | $0.90 | Entry To Step 4 & $3.00 |
Step 4 | $25 | $2.00 | Entry To Step 5 |
Step 5 | $75 | $5.00 | $250 each |
So the concept is pretty simple and is nothing too groundbreaking or original, but as far as I can tell, no sites are offering something like this for newbies or play money players ready to take a chance in the money games. For a $1.10 investment, you get the chance to earn $250, just by staying in the top 30% of 5 SNG's. Yeah, that's a 25,000 % increase on investment.
And as you can see from the graph above, at each of the levels, except Step 4, you earn a small amount of readily available funds. This is just the money that was left over after the buy-in and fee were paid out. Thus, if you make it to Level 4, but do not advance, you have earned $3.13 towards at least 2 more Step 1 entries.
The Pros
-A chance to win $250 with little up-front cost.
-As long as you finish in the Top 3, regardless of chip count, you advance.
-If you make it to level 4, but do not advance, you earn enough to try again at least twice.
-Using the Step/Token system allows players to take shots at higher buy-ins, which they might not do at that point in time on their own. This allows them to give it a try on a $1.10 budget.
The Cons
You have to place "In The Money" in 5 straight SNG's, which is not the easiest task.
You are unable to collect any actual winnings until you place ITM on Step 5.
At any given moment, a site like PokerStars has thousands of play money players that may never make the transition to real money games. And how about the many, many players who have only a few dollars left in their account. Even still, there are players who just want a chance to make a huge profit on a small investment. Offering something like this might give players the drive to make the move to money games.
Even better, if the poker site could somehow offer a program where they offer the $1.10 buy-in to play money players that meet certain criteria then it would entice even more players to their real money games. The more people they offer the $1.10 to, the more money they will make in rake/fee from those players that advance at each level. Lots of fees to be collected, and even better that it is a step program with a very cheap entry fee that feeds into higher buy-in events.
So there you have it. I've probably left some pretty gaping holes in my idea or totally forgotten how one little change would make it better/easier, but it is a start. Let's face it, you could do this for any buy-in and it would work, but other sites already offer comparable step programs at those level buy-ins (Party comes to mind). Think of this as baby steps.
posted by TripJax @ 3:04 PM,
,
Withdrawal Tilt
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Withdrawal Tilt
Leave it to me to find a new way to tilt. Actually, I'm not the tiltish type, but once in a blue moon something happens to piss me off and I should probably just log off, but instead I play poker. This time, it was Titan Poker that sent me in a spiral. Nothing major, but I'll write about it anyway.
Over the last couple of weeks I've been cashing out of most of my poker sites in preparation for Okie-Vegas next week. At Titan I had $300 and attempted to do a cash out to Neteller, but was denied as I had never done a deposit or withdrawal via that method. I deposited $50 and waited a day or two, then requested a withdrawal. I mistakenly forgot that I had deposited the $50 and made the request to withrdraw only the $300 I originally had in my account.
After the $300 finally hit my account (which takes 4+ days which is ridiculous), I went to my account and saw that I had $62 remaining. I decided to just cash out the $50 I had most recently deposited and play a few SNG's with the remaining $12. I donked off most of the $12, but was cool with it as I didn't plan on playing there anytime soon anyway. That is until I went to check on my withdrawal request earlier this week. Turns out it was denied because, unbenounced to me, they had given me a $10 bonus that required a certain number of hands to be cleared before it could be cashed out. Basically $10 of the $12 was their bonus to me. So, after donking off the $12 I had remaining, the people who approve or deny the withdrawals denied my $50 cash out because it now technically included the $10 they had given me.
The $50 went back into my account and suddenly I was pissed off at Titan and just wanted to be done with them. Yes they gave me a bonus, but at the time I didn't care. I wanted to just get my balance back above $60 so I could take my $50 and get the fuck out. Fuck them.
I ended up playing a $10 HU match and lost. I then played a $30 HU match (there is the tilt part) and took a tough beat when my KK ran into 55 and he turned a 5. So, in a span of 20 minutes I lost $40 of the $50 I had remaining. Luckily, even after my withdrawal tilt, I managed to win a few 6-max SNG's and I'm back near $40. If I can just get the balance back to $60 I'm gone from Titan. Jordan I know you dig them, and I do love the fish, but something about the way they do business gives me a stomach ache.
Seriously, why the fuck does it take 4+ days to get MY money from MY account?
I played in the Mookie last night and played well, but didn't really get to play very much. I saw a pretty ghastly string of cards throughout. It was tough to experience. Sometimes, however, having ass for cards allows you the chance to sit back, pick your spots wisely, and play extremely tight aggressive. I tend to be more aggressive than the way I played last night, but I refused to go out on a crap hand unless my chip stack and the blinds warranted such a move.
As a result, I ended up making the final table and making a little bit of money. I came into the final table very low on chips and think I finished either 7th or 8th. I'll take it. At the beginning of the tourney I got an IM from GCox asking how I was doing. At the time I was a little above average and the following chat ensued...
TripJax: I'm going to make the final table.
GCox: I'll see you there.
TripJax: Indeed.
Like I said above, I did make the final table and GCox not only made the final table, but ended up heads-up against Waffles and took down 2nd place. Nice play Sir. Throw in a final table appearance by Jordan and we three had ourselves a nice little outing. I do enjoy those Mookie tourneys and I have to give a hearty congrats to all the others who made the money. Thanks Mookie for a great time as always.
Man sues casino, alleging he was allowed to bet while drunk
BRIDGEPORT, Ind. (AP
A Kentucky man is suing Caesars Indiana, alleging that he was drunk when casino employees offered him $75,000 in credit that he quickly gambled away in a drunken blur of blackjack and craps.Caesars officials sued Jimmy L. Vance, 64, in October for failing to repay the $75,000. Vance's countersuit, filed last month, claims he was drunk the night he accepted the credit and then lost it gambling at the casino about
15 miles southwest of Louisville, Ky."They kept serving me till I was totally intoxicated. In fact, I don't remember losing all the money," said Vance, a developer from Corbin, Ky.He maintains he was visibly drunk the night of Sept. 22, 2004, and was "induced" by Caesars employees to take several credit advances while gambling that night.His suit claims the casino is responsible for his losses and violated state law by serving him alcohol while he was drunk, impairing his ability to enter into a contractual agreement.Vance's lawyer, Larry Wilder, cited "dram-shop" laws that make taverns liable for damages if they serve an intoxicated customer who leaves the premises and harms himself or others."Does Indiana, where gambling is now encouraged and permitted, have any duty to expect its gambling boats not to serve (patrons) when they become blind, running drunk?" he asked.Vance, who says he's lost at least $500,000 over the years at Caesars, said people might think he's getting what he deserves by gambling while knocking back cocktails for hours on end.But when he has had too much to drink on occasional trips to Atlantic City, he said casino bosses refused to let him continue gambling.For its part, Caesars is seeking triple damages - $225,000 - plus 18 percent interest, court costs and legal fees from Vance for the unpaid $75,000. Its lawyers have asked a judge to dismiss Vance's suit."Vance is certainly not the first unsuccessful gambler to want his money back," Caesars' lawyer Gregory Taylor wrote.Some drunken gamblers win and sober gamblers lose big, Taylor noted, so it's impossible to pinpoint Vance's intoxication as the cause of his losses.Caesars said Vance had agreed to repay the $75,000 balance within 28 days, but his checks to cover the debt were returned for insufficient funds, according to court records.Since early last year, Caesars has filed nearly identical suits seeking unpaid credit from 14 other men and three women from Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and South Carolina. Information from: The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., http://www.courier-journal.com---Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. Teh phaonmneal pweor of teh hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
My spell checker destroyed that paragraph, obviously, but man isn't it cool how you can still read it regardless of the spelling?!
Follow-Up Thoughts From My Previous Post:
Thank you to all the people who commented. I have a pretty cool family and a great wife. I'm glad I could take a moment and give them some props.
Big Ups To These Fine Folks Who Left A Comment In the Last Post:
drewspop
pokerenthusiast
cmitch
falstaff
bloodyp
adamlabare
pokerpeaker
iakiris
clrusso
felty
hoyazo
garyc
csquard
posted by TripJax @ 10:30 AM,
,