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Is It Christmas?

First off, a huge congrats to Jordan and Kajagugu for maximizing a good opportunity and finishing up in 6th place in a major buy-in event. For those that don't know, Kajagoogle (as I call him, though he doesn't know it at this point) had won an entry into the Pokernews Cup Main Event in Australia through Duplicate Poker, but work BS kept him from making the event.

Instead of letting the seat go to waste, he worked it out with Duplicate Poker such that Jordan could use the seat. J was already in Australia so it worked well. Once I realized what was going on, I started keeping up with the live updates on the event. To say the least, J was standing his ground and making some sick reads on people. As he navigated through the field, I tried keeping up as much as possible and was happy to see him continue to do so well.

As always, PokerNews and their dedicated team were on the case keeping up with the action and reporting back details as needed. Good lookin' out yo'z. Check out some of the great pictures here. Once they realized who Jordan was, they started giving him lots of photo love and even started listing him as "JL514" on the news reel. Gotta admit, this picture by Pauly, in his post here, is awesome stuff. Nice going fellas, that's good stuff.



I'd like to introduce you to my new favorite RSS feed, Is It Christmas?

I crack up every time the feed shows up in my Google Reader (once a day). Can't wait to see what happens in a few months. I have this sneaking feeling the word will magically change from two letters to three.



In The Hoy last night I went from above average to out in two hands. I did, however, use a move I love AND hate to use. This time, it didn't work out, but normally it does. It's not really something that comes up very often, and it's nothing unbelievably creative (I certainly didn't come up with it), but it's a good thing to have in your arsenal. It started with a hand where I'm pretty sure I overplayed JJ. With blinds at 200 there was a raise to 750. I reraised to 3000 leaving the player only a small amount behind. He pushed and I called leaving me with about 1500. He had QQ and though we both flopped a set, my hand was always behind and I lost.

On the very next hand I employed the play I love and hate to use. I love it because it is really deceiving, but I hate it because the only time I use it is when I've played a hand badly or been sucked out on. Either way, I've lost a chunk of chips. On the next hand I got AK in early to middle position and pushed all-in for my remaining 1500. I love this move for a couple of reasons.

First, everyone thinks I'm steaming/tilting and am just ready to get things over with. This will often result in a player calling off 1500 from their stack with a lesser hand that they might not normally play. Plenty of times I've seen a player who normally wouldn't go to battle with AT or AJ call a push from someone they believe is tilting off their chips. This makes for a great chance to capitalize on a rare situation, double back up and get right back in the thick of things.

Second, there is a very good chance I take down the 300 in blinds/antes right there and add 20% to my chipstack. Even if I'm called, the only hand I'm hoping I don't see is AA. Of course I'm hurting against KK, but almost anything else I stand a decent chance to take down the hand. If my opponent does wake up with AA or KK on that hand, well it is just unfortunate to run into QQ and AA/KK in two consecutive hands.

Of course, I'd much rather wake up with an absolute monster like AA or KK in my "reverse tilt" hand and still make the same move. In that moment, I'm not slowplaying that hand or even raising 3 times the blind. It just looks stinky to do that. I'd much rather look tilty and stuff my chips in the middle. I almost always get a call and double up there or take down the blinds. As for last night, I was ready and willing to make that move again with AK. As it turns out, I lost to a pocket pair (can't remember what it was) and I was out. I don't regret my decision at all and wasn't steaming even for a moment at any point.



I'm pretty sure I just wrote about poker - nothing new or mind blowing mind you - but I wrote about poker, so I'm going to stop before my head explodes.

Tonight is smokkee's bodonkery and tomorrow is more BBTwo action at The Moooooooooooooooooook. Be there blog dammit!

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 1:30 PM, ,




A Cavalcade Of Foolery

Hows about a little worthless posting for this fine Friday. I offer no rhyme or reason for anything that follows.

Lets start with something simple. I've been pondering of late, if I could eliminate one particular current rock band from existence, which one would it be? I'm not saying the band members need to die a horrible, slow death mind you. I would just like the ability to go back in time and change a simple part of their lives, which would in turn cause them to not start the band. Say instead of a kid getting a guitar for Christmas, I would make sure he gets a clarinet, or something like that.

After some thought, I've decided my choice would be Nickelback. There is nary one song I find even slightly digestible from what I've heard, yet they are played every 1.2 seconds on the radio. It's all rather nauseating to me.

So I ask two questions. First, If you like Nickelback, please tell me how and why? Second, who would be your band/singer of choice?



In my first year of poker blogging, I received a comment from a fellow online poker player who noted we lived in the same city. Always cool to find other folks interested in poker that are nearby. Occasionally we would see each other at the tables and briefly chat. I hadn't chatted with him in ages, but just recently received an email from him the other day.

It turns out he had seen the name Jax in his daughters school classroom and was trying to figure out where he had heard that name. He then saw a picture of Jax in the classroom and again was trying to figure out how he knew that kid. He ended up putting 2 and 2 together and to find that his daughter and my son are in the same class. Small world indeed.

So J.S., if you are reading this, I forgot to mention in my email to you, but we should try and get a home game going sometime. Nothing fancy, just cards, beer, sports on the tube, etc. Let me know if you are interested...



Speaking of kids, we have a pervert in our neighborhood garnering local press (I'm at work and that link is blocked so I'm not really sure what it is...video or story or what). He has no rap sheet and hasn't broken any laws, but we have reason to believe he was bumping uglies with himself in his car while watching our kids play in the yard a few months back. He will park in various areas of the neighborhood - always around children playing - and just sit there for hours.

Two days ago a local news channel came by to interview ChickJax , but she declined to be on camera. She did answer some questions off camera and the crew ended up taking some shots of toys in our yard as filler for the news story. They did finally interview one of our neighbors down the street. We watched the news last night and sure enough, there was the boys big wheel. They zoomed in real close 'cause our yard is pretty horrific. We're in a severe drought right now and that is just a great excuse for the condition of my yard. I'll leave it at that.

I kid you not, if I ever see that pervert parked on my street again, his car and my Louisville Slugger will become acquainted. Sick fuck.



Speaking of POI (people of interest), I'm gonna be hard pressed to one up my Halloween costume from last year. I go to a party every year and last year I went as the P.O.I. you see in the pic to the left. Honestly, looking at that picture still trips/creeps me out. Hard to believe I can look like that. The extra pounds I had last year definitely adds to the character somehow.

Prior to the party last year, which was/is in a large facility deep in the woods, I got permission from the host to show up early and hang wanted posters throughout the building. I then showed up fashionably late and the buzz quickly began that some dude that just showed up is on posters in the building. I should add the building is normally some kind of police or fire department social hall when not being rented out, so not too far fetched that a wanted poster would be there.

The bulk of folks realized it was all part of the Halloween gag, but I'll never forget one dude who fell for the whole bit, hook, line and sinker. He came up to me and said, "Dude, do you know there is a wanted poster of you up in the bathroom? I swear man, you might want to get out of here quick." One to oblige, I quickly darted out of the building towards the parking lot. It was a damn goot time.

This year, the host has asked for a themed affair, with all attendees coming to the party in their best Undead costume. I've decided to go as an Undead Homeless Man. Lets be honest, when zombies start hitting the streets, who are the first people that will be taken down? That's right, the bum sleeping under the newspapers on the street. So it stands to reason that there should be at least one undead bum at the party.

Current accessories to my outfit are a sign around my neck on cardboard that reads, "Will Eat Your Brains For Food" as well as a brown bag for my tasty beverage. I'll be heading to Goodwill for some cheap nasty clothes tomorrow morning to complete the look. I'm hoping ChickJax's sister will hook me up with some make-up artistry as she's good at that shit. If the outfit is a success, I'll take pictures accordingly.

Well that's it for today. See you at the tables folks.

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 5:53 PM, ,




The Mookie Missed

I didn't play one single hand in The Mookie last night. I still managed to finish in 59th place (my favorite number by the way) out of a total - and unbelievable I might add - 112 players.

I flew to New Jersey Tuesday night for a job interview within my company on Wednesday morning and fully expected to be home way, way in time for the tournament start. My flight was at 3pm so I should have been back home by 5pm. When I got to the airport the 3pm flight was cancelled, so they put me on the 5pm flight. With nothing better to do, I started drinking heavily and then found out the 5pm flight was cancelled.

The drinks continued to flow around the time I realized I could use my Blackberry to keep up with my flight status instead of walking through the terminal constantly. The 8pm flight didn't get cancelled, but we didn't start boarding until after 9:30pm. I ended up getting home around 11:45pm, just in time to see I had blinded out. The all day beer drinking was fun though, even though I was by myself. Always interesting to people watch in a busy, busy airport.

Here's an interesting thought about the tournament last night. Had we still been on the 50% of players receive points system, I would have been close to receiving points having not played one single hand. That right there tells me that the 25% point system makes more sense. I'm bummed I didn't get a chance to make some scratch last night, but I'm cool with it as well. I'll get my chance at the Riverchasers tonight. Wanna join me? Just check out my previous post or this graphic for details.

Also, go check out the updated BBTwo points. I'm still top 10 in points and 2nd in money earnings. Not too shabby! On a side note, congrats to the wee one for an impressive win last night. I haven't checked, but I'm guessing the reason he won is he stole a few key dead blinds from me at a crucial point. Yeah, erm, that's it.

Sorry for the previous paid post. I always feel a little dirty doing those things, but I can use the extra scratch here and there.

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 6:18 PM, ,




Rummy Royal

I remember playing Gin Rummy as a child all the way up until I left for college. I can't say I remember much about it these days, but I'm sure it wouldn't take long for me to get the hang of it again. Like me, if you used to play Gin Rummy, but haven't played it in a while, now is your chance. Not only that, but you can play it online...for cash!



So here's the deal, RummyRoyal is a new site offering traditional Gin Rummy and other Rummy games. Just like most poker sites, they have the play money tables, but you can also drop some cash into your account, hoist your cajones up onto the table, and play for real money like the big boys.



It looks as though they also offer games of Kalooki and Oklahoma. Can't say I know what the heck those games are, but luckily for you and I they have a tutorial section to teach you how to play. They even boast you can "learn to play in two minutes." Just check out their demo page for more info on the games.

I've yet to open a Rummy Royal account, but I might give it a chance at some point. If you want to learn more about the company, check out this page.

That is all.

The preceding was a paid review.

posted by TripJax @ 3:53 AM, ,




BBTwo This Week: Lets Light This Candle

Last night got the BBTwo ball rolling and things continue tonight, Wednesday and Thursday. I've signed in to them all for this week. Why don't you join me? Everything you need to know including passwords is in the graphic below...

posted by TripJax @ 10:04 PM, ,




So Close

Prior to last nights Blogger Big Game, the first tournament in the BBTwo series, I was feeling good about my chances of winning. I was being cocky enough to think about what title I would use for my winning post. I was also mapping out the songs I would listen to during my winning run. I felt good about my game having won the previous BBT Big Game.

I then played like a Grade A Vagina the first 90 minutes of the tourney. I let others dictate my play and quickly found myself chipped down to below 2000. I felt like I hadn't played a single hand and I was already near the bottom of the pack. My big hands weren't seeing a flop and my hands that really want to see a flop were bricking on the board. After what felt like ages, I got myself deep into a hand where I lucksacked my way into a ton of chips with a magical turn and river that gave me a straight over the set of Surflexus and TPTK of cracknaces (didn't even realize he had ANOTHER blog until last night). The hand played out strangely, but the end result was I was one lucky mofo.

A couple minutes after that play I got up during the tournament, went to the bathroom to take a wiz, and pretty much slapped myself in the face. I needed a wake up call...and fast. I told myself to quit playing like a tard, trust my reads, and just let things happen as they will. From there I felt in control of my game and I rode that confidence to the final table.

From there I made it heads-up with a commanding chiplead and felt like I was going to win the tournament. I can't remember how many times I had jeciimd on the ropes, but no matter what I did, the board proceeded to hate on me. I was getting my just dues from my early lucksacking I guess. The big hand that really sucker punched me was my AA vs. KK where he flopped a set and subsequently did me in. Only a few hands later my run was over. Guess I'll have to stamp my ticket to the T.O.C. at another BBTwo tourney.

Regardless, my last two Big Games are a 1st and 2nd place finish...

Invested: $150
Payout: $2,068

Fushizzle.

On a side note, this is good stuff. For the record, Goat, I had the chips and had a good feeling so I went with it. I could not be knocked out of the tourney on the play and felt like I could really chip up aginst someone with a small pair or medium suited connectors willing to battle. I knew it was a risk, but I'm willing to take those late in the game in order to chip-up to make a run for a win. Unlike some thought, I hadn't limped, but rather pot bet. At that point, once you pushed it was only 9k more for me to call into a 20k pot when I had +$40k behind (numbers not exact, but you get the idea). Also, I can see your hole cards as well as the FFF-T-R before it comes out, so that helps.


Until next time, may the felt be with you.

Update:
First, I forgot to link jeciimd above, so I wanted to fix that. Second, I want to add that jeciimd played quite well at the final table and played a good heads-up game too. He was very patient heads-up, made good moves at the right time and was willing to push at seemingly the right times every time. He probably didn't know it, but he played right into what I consider a strength of mine I think, which is playing small ball heads-up poker. Still, he managed to take me down with a few timely cards, all-ins and good choices. I don't want my comments above to take away from his nice win. Congrats in silencing the critics man! Now start blogging again blog damnit!

posted by TripJax @ 1:04 PM, ,




Won't You Be My Neighbor?

I'm playing in the first installment of the BBTwo series on Sunday at the Blogger Big Game. Won't you be my neighbor...at the tables?




Quantcast

posted by TripJax @ 1:53 PM, ,




Everyone Has A Story To Tell

Sometimes when you just keep your mouth shut and listen you can hear some fascinating things. Take for instance the following...

Yesterday I was visiting a fellow employee to discuss some business items and, after we got the business stuff out of the way, we started shooting the shit. We've worked together for almost 9 years and I consider him a friend, so sitting in his office wasting precious work time talking randomness comes easy. We had been discussing the craziness with NFL and NCAA Football games this year when he mentioned he played Full Back for East Carolina University 1969 - 1971.

Now that might not seem very interesting on the surface, but if you dig a little deeper, there is a story to tell. On November 14, 1970 his team triumphed over the Marshall Thundering Herd football team 17 - 14. Merely hours later every Marshall player, coach and booster that flew to the game died on the flight back home in a horrific plane crash. In all, including crew members and employees of the charter flight company, 75 people perished.

Today you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who has not heard at least part of the story of the team and the plane crash. This is mainly due to the movie, We Are Marshall, that came out in theaters in 2006 and just recently on DVD. I've yet to see the movie, but I asked my co-worker what he thought of it. He said he thought it was a really good movie and he's glad they decided to film it.

He went on to note that prior to the movie coming out, about 3 years ago ESPN did a story about the Marshall team. There was footage of the final game and apparently he is shown jumping from the bench in celebration of the victory. His kids got a kick out of seeing their dad on ESPN.

In the small world department, his son is now a freshman in college and his roommate also has a connection to the tragedy. The roommates grandparents lost their son, who was a player for Marshall, in the plane crash. After realizing this amazing small world scenario, the grandparents have invited my friend and his family to join them at a Marshall football game this year so both families can meet. That's fascinating to me.

I had planned to watch the movie in the past and just never got around to it. Methinks I'll be renting the DVD this weekend.

Everyone has a story to tell. What's your story?

posted by TripJax @ 12:59 PM, ,




Boss's Day & BBTwo

I didn't even realize today was Boss's Day until I walked into our office kitchen and saw a big ass cake for me and the other "boss's." I'm not big on pulling the boss card 'cause I really don't feel like any one's boss, but I loves me some cake. I did whip out this one this morning...

She: Happy Boss's Day!

Me: Listen...it just doesn't feel right being called your boss. Think of me less as your Boss and more as your Master.

She: Hardy har har.

Yeah, I'm an idiot.

On a side note, the majority of people on the planet are clueless (not you, however, my dear readers). I've had three people come by my office this morning to wish me a Happy Birthday. My birthday is in May and they just didn't take the time to read the cake that had BIG ASS LETTERING that stated Happy BOSS's Day on it. I submit that I still loves me some cake, so it's all good.



As I've been mentioning of late, I just haven't had the motivation to play poker lately. With that said, my interest just took an extreme spike in the positive direction. I don't think there could have been a better time for Al to announce BBTwo.

Seriously, I don't think this could be any cooler. As I mentioned to him briefly in chat yesterday, although the UIGEA is a bit of a bitch to online poker players, right now is actually a pretty cool time to be a poker blogger. I mean we just finished up a $40,000 blogger freeroll with PokerStars and now Full Tilt is whipping out a kick ass series of poker tournaments. And Bodog is even jumping into the ring, albeit it on a much smaller scale, and offering some free shtuff in their weekly tournaments on Tuesdays.

I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying being a poker blogger right now...if but for the french benefits (oui, oui)!



Having coined the term BBTwo (and BBThree bitches!), I feel it necessary to go the same route as Pat Riley and his "Threepeat" by copyrighting those words. To avoid all the riff raff I propose instead that each time you use the phrase in written form, verbally or just as a thought in your head, you transfer $5 to my Full Tilt account. 'Tis the season, and Santa Claus is watching you, so don't try and pretend like you didn't just think the word right now. That'll be $5, thank you.

All kidding aside, why is my Full Tilt account not blowing up right now?



I know you've all been dying to know, so I'll just go ahead and get it out now. I did not win the duffel bag on Sunday. I was well on my way, and even got up to around $35,000 in chips with 500 remaining (above chip average), but a few donk plays by my fiends that went their way and I was on the sidelines licking my wounds. I think I went out around 450. I wept but for a brief moment, then realized I have enough FPP's to get my own little duffel bag, which I won't be purchasing by the way. Gotta save up for the Porsche like Dario.

I realize the err of my ways now in that tournament. I don't' recall ever being behind when I got it all-in. Every time I had the lead going in and that is what ultimately cost me. I need to suck out once or twice to win a tournament and I was just getting my shit in good too much.

That's it for me today folks. I can already feel the motivation to blog and play. Lets light this candle.

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 2:55 PM, ,




Good Call

Almost no poker this week for me. I played in the BoDog tourney, but was ousted when my AA fell to Smokkee's two pair Q's and J's. I had lost about 1/3 of my starting stack and was looking to double through him once we got into the hand, but the end result sent me to the rail. I was happy to see he rode the wave from there to a 2nd place finish. I'll hopefully be playing that tourney regularly.

On that note, I honestly can't remember the last time I played The Hoy and even playing The Mookie lately has been a stretch. The good news is I can feel the restlessness starting to kick in and I know it will be time to get back into the games very soon. I'm pegging the W.B.C.O.P as my launch pad to get back to playing poker regularly. I will admit it has been a nice break from the game. I think everyone that plays poker should take the occasional break.

I actually had planned on playing The Mook this week, but I made a last minute decision to take the boy to see Walking With Dinosaurs. If you haven't seen this show - or even heard of it - I gotta tell ya it is really cool. I'm at work, so I can't view YouTube videos, but I'm pretty sure this one will show some of what is going on...

Walking With Dinosaurs - The Live Experience

I hope that was a good choice of videos...not being able to see it before I post it sucks. Once I get home, I'll switch it up if I find a better example.

If you have young children, I highly suggest catching this show if they make it near you. Boy, who is 6 years old, sat on my lap mesmerized the entire time. On the way out of the Coliseum, he pleaded with me, "Daddy, can I please get a toy???" In a rush to beat the traffic, I was hesitant to stop at the vendor stand, but when I saw one not too busy right at the exit, I decided to oblige.

When we got to the table, I asked him which toy he wanted. "I want the book, Daddy." He was referring to the Program, which seemed a bit pricey at $20, but also looked to be a pretty cool program. I had to ask, "Son, why don't you get one of those cool flashy toys for about the same price?" Once again he chimed in, "Daddy, I really want the book."

I finally caved in and got the boy the program. As we walked towards the exit, he made the following statement that, for a 6 year old, really caught me off guard. "Daddy, I got the book because it will help me remember this night forever, but the toy would have eventually broken and I'd have to shrow it away." For the record, he says shrow instead of throw.

He really impressed me with that line, but then as we crossed the street headed to the car, he grasped a hold of my hand and emphatically said, "Daddy...this...is the greatest day of my life!!!"

Yeah, skipping The Mook to be with boy was a Good Call.

posted by TripJax @ 2:33 PM, ,




I'm Gunnin' For 81st Place...And A Duffle Bag...

Online Poker

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: 5474474

posted by TripJax @ 1:25 PM, ,




Pointless Post

It's probably been easy to see that my posts here of late have been few and far between. The blog is not dying off, but I've needed a break from poker and this space is one of the casualties of that break. Sometimes when I take a break from playing I'm still able to write here, but this is not one of those times.

It seems I slowly but surely fell into a trap I set for myself over the years. I enjoy playing poker and I like that I can make money doing something that I enjoy. I also like that I can help the family once in a while with the proceeds from my winnings or the ad dollars. But that is also where I have hurt my game as well. I've cashed out so much over the years that I've never given myself a chance to build a bankroll. Instead I've forced myself into a seemingly never-ending trap of low buy-in tourneys and sng's. All the while, I feel my game should have progressed by now. It's stupid because I know it, I put myself through it, but I still let it affect me.

That is what sparked the higher buy-in tard fest I went on the last couple of months. I didn't have much of a bankroll, so I wasn't going to lose any sleep if I lost it all, but it is still stupid to play so unbelievably way over your bankroll. Yet, I knowingly did it because I wanted to put myself at a new level that I felt I could handle in all areas except the bankroll. That's just tarded, but it is what it is.

I feel I played well, but in the end I lost about half of what I had built up. Then when I went back down to the level my bankroll could handle, it just felt pointless. That caused even more "awwffuckkits." Thus the break.

I'm trying to put myself into a fresh percpective and I know it will come soon. I haven't played The Hoy in at least 5 or 6 weeks, but I'm starting to get a feeling like it might be time tonight. That or I might just wait until the PokerStars freeroll coming up (still gotta put up the qualifying post). I guess I'll see how things feel tonight. I promise I'll be back at the tables soon - thus writing more here - but I just gotta get my head straight first.

Maybe a laid back home game would be just what the doctor ordered. Gotta work on that.

Oh and the Cubs series was quite painful to experience. I had to get that previous post from the top of the blog so I guess this post wasn't completely pointless. Nah, it was.

Catch you faulkers soon.

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 3:07 PM, ,




Nipple Alert!

I've had my share of ups and downs as a sports fan. As a North Carolina resident and Tarheels fan my entire life, I've had some really great memories. When it comes to basketball, I remember the 1957 UNC mens basketball championship like it was last week. Wait, I'm only 32...strike that.

The 1982 championship was incredible, but I was only 7 so I don't really remember much of the experience. I have, however, grown up with the video highlights from the game for memories sake. The 1993 and 2005 championships are ones I will never forget. Good times.

As for pro football, I grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan. I'm still a fan, but my heart now lies with the Carolina Panthers. It's a shame they came so close to winning a Super Bowl, only to have the lasting memory from that game be a nipple. I have a feeling this year we are looking at one of the "downs as a sports fan." With Delhomme out it will be interesting to see if Carr and his gay ass white gloves can drive the Panthers to the playoffs. Early indications are not promising.

Of course, with college football, I'm a UNC fan, which for the most part has been a downer as a sports fan. We've had our exciting moments, but they are few and far between. I have high hopes for the future with the recruiting machine, Butch Davis, in charge.

As for baseball, I bleed Cubs blue, which brings me to the purpose of this post. Tonight at 10pm EST the Cubs embark on a journey that I hope leads them to the World Series. The end of the 2003 season was a particularly tough pill to swallow and I believe this year is a chance at redemption. When the Cubs are running hot, they are unbeatable. Here's to hoping they run hot!

If you have no allegiance to a particular team, or if your team is not in the playoffs, then send your good mojo the Chicago Cubs way. At the very least, stop over to TBS tonight and yell, Go Cubs Go. This here fan would greatly appreciate it.

I doubt I'll make The Mookie tonight as I'm taking ChickJax out to dinner sans chitterlings, then watching the Cubs game. Gotta keep my focus folks!

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 1:25 PM, ,