JC Satellite via Fuel55, WPBT #4 runner up

Great weekend overall. However, the Canucks not winning game 6 on Saturday still stings. Consequently, leaving a big black cloud hanging over what was otherwise a fantastic 2 days off. I usually try to get as many "activities" in as I can on Saturday and Sunday, and this weekend was full of them. Let's just say tomorrow night's game 7 is about as big as it gets right now... so I don't like my chances of showing up for the MATH tomorrow.

I headed down to the FCPC on Friday night as Fuel55 had invited me out to participate in a private satellite ($55) for the upcoming Johnny Chan Poker Classic being held during the first week of May. There were 19 players, 1st earned a ticket ($550 value) and the next 3 players chopped up the remaining money (silly me, I proposed the chop... and managed to come out ahead). I finished a dissapointing 4th place, but did manage to make it to the money and overall I had a really great time. They had a great tournament structure, and it allowed for a lot of poker to be played (and suckouts of course). Simon, the organizer, and a few other strong and accomplished players tested my game continuously. It was a good time, and I am glad I had chance to meet up with JV. He also made it to the final table, but wasn't as lucky. He got donkey called by the eventual winner who was in the SB. Fuel was on my left and it folded around to him in late position, he raised it 3x and the SB called with 56o!! Fuel hits his K and bets, gets called by the small blind. The turn is another 5 and the rest is history. Fuel was so choked he wasn't there for more than 5 more minutes and then quite possibly headed for the River Rock to let off a little steam. Thanks again for the invite Fuel.

Played golf both Saturday and Sunday. Bleah. I need practice. Lots of practice. I have a tourney next weekend (The "Rattlesnake Open"), which is why I won't be able to play in the blogger bracelet race on the 29th. Make sure you register if you can make it, and good luck!

I played in my second ever Token Frenzy on Sunday and won my second consecutive token. I'll be saving it for the Big Game, unless something else comes along before hand. As I've said before, these token frenzy tourney's are SOFT.

While I was playing in the token tourney, I was also playing in WPBT event #4 - limit holdem'. When it comes to poker, limit poker is the first game that I learned about 5 years ago. The casino, online and with buddies, I always seemed to play limit. When NL exploded, I couldn't resist and honestly over the last 2-3 years, I haven't played it more than a handful of times (not including horse). I started off very poorly, not remembering the differences right away. It took me a few orbits to feel comfortable at my table, and I really just focused and watched the other players. At first I just wanted to get some points. Then when I made it to the final table, I realized that I actually had a chance. When we got past the bubble, I was elated. Not only was I going to cash in my second consecutive WPBT event (I missed event #3 - razz), I was going to earn some good points for the overall race. Things went well for me and I found this hand shortly after the bubble burst:

Full Tilt Poker Game #2268639679: WPBT 07 event #4 (16100008), Table 1 - 600/1200 - Limit Hold'em - 23:27:24 ET - 2007/04/22
Seat 1: Schaubs (11,660)

Seat 7: maigrey (15,120)

Seat 8: change100 (4,720)

maigrey posts the small blind of 300

change100 posts the big blind of 600

The button is in seat #1*** HOLE CARDS ***Dealt to Schaubs [Ac Qc]

Schaubs raises to 1,200 (I should raise right?)

maigrey folds

change100 calls 600

*** FLOP *** [5c 9h 6d]

change100 checks (ok she checks top pair)

Schaubs bets 600

change100 raises to 1,200 (yikes check raise!, if we were on the bubble, I'd be folding)

Schaubs calls 600 (ok I agree, questionable call, but I am in the money and going for first here, so I am willing to gamble a bit more at this point)

*** TURN *** [5c 9h 6d] [Tc] (I now have a flush draw)

change100 bets 1,200

Schaubs calls 1,200 (let's gamble some more, can't look back now)

*** RIVER *** [5c 9h 6d Tc] [Jc]

change100 bets 1,120, and is all in

Schaubs calls 1,120

*** SHOW DOWN ***

change100 shows [Td 9s] (two pair, Tens and Nines)

Schaubs shows [Ac Qc] (a flush, Ace high)

Schaubs wins the pot (9,740) with a flush, Ace high
change100 stands up

Change100 was pretty choked at me and I agree I did suckout, but like I said, once I was in the money I was in gamble mode, and it paid off. Dr.Pauly was there to cheer her on, and she played very very well. GG, I just had some timely luck there, and you are right, I really didn't give you credit for a hand there.

Maigrey ended up kicking my ass when we got to heads up. I was totally dominated and eventually relinquished my chip lead and a few hands later it was over.

Have a good week everyone. Mine's only 3 days long! Lot's to do though.

Sitting 25th BBT & RPT, Canucks, Wii Lebowski

I'm currently sitting at 25th place in both the BBT and the Riverchasers Tour... I haven't played in too many Riverchasers thus far, but I've place well when I've found time. Thursday's seem to be tougher (and harder to justify a third night a week) in playing poker online. There is the odd time that I'll get into a cash game during the Canucks as well which is always nice and the guys I play with are average at best. So it makes it worth it. It's nice that the Riverchasers tournaments aren't every single Thursday though, so it really hasn't been too bad lately.

Last night worked out well, and I did get my share of luck which is necessary to win the Mookie, that I know for sure (just ask pokerpeaker). My final table bubble play has improved and I look forward to the WPBT #4 (Limit Holdem') this Sunday. I managed to win a token last night while playing the Mookie so I'm already registered... are you? Do it.

GO CANUCKS! Game 5 tonight is the real reason I'll be missing RPT event #8. It's all on you Luongo. Sorry TFG, but tonight could be the end of the Dallas Stars.

I thought I'd throw this in here at the end. I am a HUGE "Big Lebowski" fan and when I saw this, I just had to post it.

Some of favorite lines (just off the top of my head) from the movie include:

- Do you mind if I do a J?
- That's just ahhhh your opinon, man.
- This aggression will not stand, man. (the Dude stole that from the Reagan speech)
- You're not wrong Walter, you're just an asshole!
- Obviously, you're not a golfer. (classic stuff).
- I'm not Lebowski... you're Lebowski. I'm the Dude!




Mental note: watch Lebowski this weekend... it's been too long.

See you Sunday.

Which Poker site is #3?

I've been thinking of joining another poker site and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. I currently have accounts with the big two (Full Tilt & Pokerstars) and I do still poke around at my first ever site which was Party Poker. However I don't have much over there anymore. I am getting tired of Pokerstars so I think I would like to dump a few bucks into another site and see how it goes. Please make a suggestion based on this criteria:

1. I want a 100% first deposit bonus (or something of equal value)
2. I want to be able to play in MTT's that would be, in your opinion, "softer than usual."
3. I want to play at a site that offers WSOP qualifiers.
4. I want to be able to transfer funds in from Full Tilt... not sure if this is even possible actually.

Your suggestions and thoughts are much appreciated.

Just from what I've read lately, it seems that Bodog might be the way to go, but I'll see what my small loyal group of readers have to say. If you're new to this blog, I'll listen to you too don't worry. I'm sure you're asking yourself by now "why doesn't this guy just do some due diligence and make his own decision?" Well now that would just be too much work for a guy like me and frankly why would I bother when I can just post this and get some valued opinions. Anyway, hopefully some of the readers who don't comment here, will actually have a say this time. I appreciate it as always.

Make sure you Mook it up tonight during Lost and then Dook it up 1.5 hours later.

MSM and FTOPS ME

MSM = My second Math. It was terrible. I just wasn't into it. I kept getting these borderline hands in the first half hour, and I couldn't drum up the patients to throw ALL of them away. So I donked out very very early in that one. One token spent.

FTOPS ME = After noticing that Fuel had qualified for the FTOPS ME (a buyin of $535) I decided to give it a shot as well. aAccording to Fuel all you have to do is be patient. Apparantly playing ultra conservative is the way to go... just let the bad tokendonks give you their chips. 130 or so runners (his only had 33?)... well you know how that turned out. I just wasn't into it at all. Too many distractions is the best way I can sum it up. My second token spent.

---
It is frustrating when I can spend 2-3 hours on the weekend and hammer out a positive return, just to give it right back on Monday. I won 2 $26 tokens and 2 Sng's for a 100% win ratio on Saturday and Sunday. Big deal. Now all I have to show for it is about half of that. I guess that is variance though. I also managed to lose half a buyin at the $0.25/50 6 handed NL table in roughly 30 minutes. The only reason that happened though was because I was dealt Aces. UTG calls with Js6d... I raise from the button with AA to $2.25. SB & BB fold. UTG (who happens to be the big stack) calls. Flop comes J72 rainbow. he checks. I bet $3 into a $5.25 pot. He calls. The turn is a 3. He checks. I bet $7 into a $11.25 pot. He calls. The river is a 6. He checks. I check (luckily I guess). He tables the fearful J6o. I am not sure what I did wrong there. I guess I should have bet more on the flop and turn? Anyway, everyone called him a donkey for a while. Then I just left because 24 was starting. That show is unbelievable.

Tonight, it's the Canucks vs. Stars game 4. This is a huge game for the Canucks and if they can win this tonight, they will be set up to take it down by either Thursday or Saturday. Luongo has been amazing so far, and I look for many more great saves to come.

I've been invited to play in a Johnny Chan Classic satellite tournament over at the FCPC. Fuel has been trying to get me to come out to his Friday night game for a few weeks now, so I think I will give it shot. $55 could net me $65,000 if I go on a sick sick run of luck and play the best poker of my life. You just never know. I don't see why it can't happen to a guy like me. Why the fuck not.

See you at the Moooook tomorrow.

I prevented the three-peat

That's right, the elusive three-peat is safe... for now. I busted MiamiDon early on at the Mookie yesterday, and it was my KK that took down his JJ in his SB. I'm pretty happy with the way I played it, although he did say it was "so obvious" that I either had KK or AA. Well he was right.

Then I proceeded to GIVE ALL THOSE CHIPS AWAY for no reason whatsoever... in one hand. It wasn't even a bad beat. I got caught making a bluff, and my first mistake was calling the raise from MP in the first place. Sellthekids who, I am not sure has a blog, raised 3X from MP with JKo. Everyone folded. I called for no good efffffing reason with 36s. Oh wait, there's one. I'm a donkey, there I said it. Whenever a bluff goes bad, I seem to beat myself up over it for quite some time. Note to self - don't bluff into the nuts.

Oh well, I guess winning the Hoy's bounty for taking out Miamidon will have to do. Thanks again Hoy, and thanks go out to Mookie as well for hosting another great turnout. I guess that was a free roll for me... however I'll use it for what it was intended and play in a token frenzy this week as instructed. I am not too sure that I'll play in MiamiDon's Big Game because of prior commitments taking place 90 minutes after the scheduled start time, but if I do end up winning a token before Sunday, then I'll sign up regardless. It just makes sense to me. Hoy rocks.

Here's my final hand against Iakaris. If this isn't a BB special then I don't know what is... all in preflop where I just call the SB after EVERYONE folded to me AND I only had 10 BB's left after the above noted DONKEY play, Iak raises and I re-raise all-in as fast as possible... that's poker.

Let the NHL playoffs begin!

Here are my predictions for the first round:

The West:

(1) Red Wings vs. (8) Flames - Wings in 5

(2) Ducks vs. (7) Wild - Ducks in 7

(3) Canucks vs. (6) Stars - Canucks in 6

(4) Senators vs. (5) Penguins - Penguins in 6

The East:

(1) Sabres vs. (8) Islanders - Sabres in 4

(2) Devils vs. (7) Lightning - Devils in 7

(3) Thrashers vs. (6) Rangers - Rangers in 6

(4) Preds vs. (5) Sharks - Sharks in 7

I'm in a few pools this time around, but they are all the "pick a player from this box" type pools. I thought I would just make the picks above for fun, and I'll continue to do so each round.

My Stanley Cup predictions: Canucks vs. Sabres - Canucks win in a dramatic 7th game triple overtime where Daniel Sedin scores on a short handed breakaway.... why not!! Go Canucks Go!

Here's a good one for buddy Astin:

MFM & BRM

MFM = My first MATH of this series where MiamiDon managed to dominate yet a third time. Well done Miami, you Vegas Pro. I finished 9th out of 52 which got me to the final table. But before I could even sit down, I was knocked out. I was in the SB with 10h3h and called the 400 chips (400-800) (I guess I could have folded?). There was myself, MiamiDon in the BB and NewinNov on the button. The flop came 9-10-J rainbow (1 heart) and I checked (maybe I should have just pushed right there?). With 2900 in the POT NewinNov bet 2900. I had about 6100 chips left and really felt like I had the best hand. So I pushed, Miami folded and after after some thinking, NewinNov called with 9-Q. He had bottom pair and an open ender. I was right, however, I was not that big of a favorite with 2 cards to come. The turn brings a King and I am done. GG me. I'll take 9th and another final table. I am really starting to feel like I can take one of these down very soon. I know there are still a ton of leaks that I need to fill... it's the "how" that I seem to struggle with... but the bottom line is - hard work.
Another great turn out and a huge prize pool. I currently sit in 22nd out of 138 which, to me, isn't too shabby for only playing in 2 of the first 4 events. See you at the Mookie.
----

BRM = Bank Roll Management. This is something that has always been in the back of my mind as I continue to nurse my original deposit that I had once increased by 14 times. Since then, I have been back and forth a bit, but have lost about 1/5th of that BR in the last 1.5 months. It has been to any game in particular. I have been running ok in the odd SnG, and have picked up the odd token here and there. I have tried a handfull of times to qualify for the 30k with no luck thus far. I was reading MiamiDon's post about the $14 token frenzy a few nights ago, so when I saw that Hoy and CracknAces were playing in it, I decided to give it a try. In these, the top 15 spots get a $75 token which are great for the Big Game coming up this Sunday. I am not sure if I will be there this time, but I am going to start stock piling these things because trust me when I say they are full of DONKS. Coming from me, that is saying a lot. I won't even get into how dumb people are in these things but let's just say I was doubling up with over pairs with ease, and making people lay down hands and running for the hills regularily. Again, coming from me... let's get serious here. I would say out of the 82 people, MORE than half of them were complete and utter morons.

Ok so back BRM. I guess it all comes down to picking the right games. Picking the right tournament, with the affordable buyin and playing in the them only when I am in the right frame of mind. I mean really, what is the point in wasting $11-$50 on a night where I am really just bored and not into it at all. Overall, I have not fallen into that trap. I just need to keep reminding myself from time to time to stay within my means, in order to continuously increase my BR. I look back at this post and remember that I had said that I would remove some of my bank roll at the end of March... and then I won the Bloggerpods event. Now I am not one to back out of what I have said, but this time... I will. I just don't see the point. Does anyone? I mean why should I withdraw 4/5th's of my current BR and just cash out when I have come this far in so little time? I feel that the only way to survive the highs and lows is to have that cushion in the account. To have a little something to fall back on when I go card dead. We all do. It is a fact, there are times when you are card dead, and there are times when you feel like you can't be beat.
I don't plan on playing much other than these blogger events, however I do find myself wanting to push further for bigger and more lucrative cashes. Don't we all? So enough with the promises. It's time for some new goals. Some actual measurable poker goals. I am going to work on them before I just hammer them down here without truely asking myself if they are achievable. However, in time, I plan on taking the necessary steps to plan out the best methods to continuously grow that BR. If anyone has any tips or tricks, please pass them on. This is the first time I have really had to consider BRM as I can feel that if I don't grab control of it now... all my hard work over the past 3 months could be for nothing. However, just identifying that I have to be aware of this fact will drive me to ensure that it never, ever happens and when I do finally cash out, it will be of Hoyazo proportions. Nice work Hoy!

The Masters Eve, The BBT & a positive Cash game session

Lots to talk about today as you can tell by the title. So away we go...

It almost goes without saying, but The Masters is BY FAR my favorite tournament of the entire year. In fact, it is the Masters that really got me into golf when I was about 11 or 12 years old, and it is the Masters that produced part of my nick name... You see, the year was 1994 and I had just set up my first Masters golf pool with a bunch of buddies. The guy who won it that year was none other than Jose Maria Olazabal. Quickly, guys started to call me Olaschauble... and over the years it was shorted down to just plain "Ola." My weekend plans are... you guess it - sitting on the couch all weekend (I'm so happy its on Easter weekend this year) including Friday! I've even got my own green jacket. Yes, that's right, I made one. Ok so it was for halloween. I went as Mike Weir in October 2003 after Mike pulled off one of the most exciting vicorites that I have ever witnessed. I cut a golf ball in half and stuck it to my head like it was "embedded" in my forehead (fake blood and all). It was pretty funny, I even used a Nike golf ball and put the name "tiger" on the ball. Tiger is and always will be the King (IMHO), and I predict another green jacket for Woods in 2007. I also like Phil's chances along with Adam Scott. This will be Tiger's 5th green jacket and it will continue to soldify the fact that he will go down as the greatest player to ever play the game professionally. Hands down. I am sure everyone remembers 2005 when he made that once in a lifetime chip in on the 16th green on Sunday to set up the playoff and win against Chris Dimarco... maybe this is his year for revenge? The only person that will beat Tiger, is Tiger.

**Edit... It looks like my prediction is not going to come true... However I am putting this in here in the hopes that Tiger somehow makes the cut and stages some sort miraculous comeback (if he makes the cut)... stay tuned... at this moment he is 5 over with 3 to play... the cut looks like it might end up at 6 or 7 over... **
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Well, much to my surprise... bloggers are now betting on me! You see, as many of you know there is a new Blogger tournament series that just got started on Monday (what a turnout for the first event by the way). I couldn't make it out Monday as I had already made plans with some friends. I do plan on making it tonight though to the Mookie as usual. This will be event #2 of a 40 event series. Check it out and be sure to show up as often as possible, because there are some really great bonuses (rake back and Nintendo shit baby) attached to this series that are just too good to pass up. So I'll be there, and I'll be grinding out for the guys that laid some cold hard cash on me. I'm not going to speculate why I was picked by both Sir Al and PokerWolf but I do know that I will try my best to make it out to as many events as possible (ok maybe that is why...?). With the golf season just around the corner, I'll take my best shot at at least playing in one of these, if not two events per week. If I could average 1.5 events per week for the entire series then I think I could make a nice showing overall. Good luck everyone, I look forward to the challenge. I plan on taking my share of wins and losses over the next few months... because "I am a lucky player. A powerful winning force surrounds me." Say it. Believe it.

----
However what I can't believe is that... I actually won cash in a cash game last night! I stuck to my 3 beer rule and it worked to perfection. The Canucks were on (they won... again) and we were all up for some good old $0.50/$1 NL Holdem donkey play. I managed to stay out of the way and watch the game for the most part. I made one great call where I checked top pair with 5 players and called a guys bluff on the river to clean him out... double up! After that we played a bit more, and a few (3 of 8) wanted to play some Omaha as well. So we decided you could deal whatever you wanted each orbit. I've come to the conclusion that there is a lot of cash to be made in Omaha just based on the simple fact that if you are patient enough, you will eventually win your share. The pots just get so huge. Everyone is raising and reraising preflop it is hilarious. No one at this particular table knew what they were doing except for the 3 of us. So everyone would usually fold and the three of us would just battle it out. I want to detail a hand that I played in and get some feedback. I made a laydown at the end of the night and I am not sure if it was correct. Check it out:

6 players
I was in the small blind
LP calls
Button (who is a loose cannon) raises to 10 chips
I call
BB folds
LP calls

I had Ad7d7c10d
(should I have raised knowing that the button plays pretty much anything hoping to hit?)

Flop comes 6d7cAc

I bet 15 chips into a 32 chip pot

LP raises to 30
BB calls
I call (should I have pushed right there? I am covered)

Turn - 5s

I check

LP (chip leader) goes all in!
Button calls!
I put the button on the nut straight
and i had no idea what the LP had, but i wasn't sure if even had him beat... if I was sure, of course I would call, but I wasn't. But really in hindsight, what hand could he realistcally have that would beat my set?

I had to call the rest of my stack because LP had me covered for another $50

There was probably $75 in the pot at the time, plus another $50 from LP to cover me
it was a nice move by him, i just couldn't figure it out, but i knew i was behind, so i folded.

LP has 6c6sragrag (a set of sixes)
Button has 8c9hJs10d (nut straight as predicted).

River 8d

LP rivers the full house and scoops the whole pot.
I would have filled my higher boat and taken down a massive pot.

Instead, later on I turned that $50 into $100 and had my first live winning cash game session in what seems like an eternity. So I'll take it, but I am still reeling as whether or not I made the right lay down. I'm still an Omaha rookie, but its times like these that make me want to be a better player. I just need to do some more work on and off the felt.

Good luck tonight, see you there.

GO TIGER!

Confirmed. Cash games hate me...

...and I hate them. Nevertheless, for whatever the reason, I still find myself playing in cash games knowing full well that I will inevitably make some lazy donkey move at the end of the night and hand back all my hard work. I went to the River Rock last night in the hopes that I would not make said move once again. I was wrong, of course... but I did realize the potential for earnings in the future if I can ever fill in and correct what seems to be some major leaks in my cash game strategy. Oh wait, I don't have one! I'll detail the hand that basically cleaned me out me in a minute, but first let me reflect on what events took place prior to making this decison to try my luck one more time at the $1/2 NL table at the Rock.

It started out at the golf course where I teed it up with the usual weekend crew. This time there was only three of us. Surprisingly, this was my first full round of 2007. I've been itching to play for weeks now, and since the weather was finally cooperating during the week we were finally able to get a full round in without question. I managed to shoot 75 which was 3 over par. I seemed to have this habit though of making a bogey every time I made a birdie. I did that three times, but overall I was happy with my first outting of the year... managing to avoid making a double bogey by relying on my putter to bail me out on a number of occasions. I did manage to miss, what seemed to be, a long two footer for birdie on 15. Note to self: practice short putts. I expected to be a bit rusty so in hindsight, I'm cool with it.

Man, did I ever miss golf... a lot. I'm really looking forward to this season. I'd have to say I'd much rather be golfing than grinding out any sort of card game. Don't get me wrong, I love me some gamble, but I'd rather do it on the golf course where I can control almost every single event that occurs... except, as usual, for what my opponents do on the course and the decisions they make. This sounds similar to poker, however there is one major factor in poker that doesn't apply so much to golf... and that factor is LUCK.

Sure, there are times in golf where you "get lucky" and your ball somehow banks off a tree or two and kicks out into the fairway, but that is rare. Or the time your ball was heading straight for the water and somehow hits a rock or boulder and deflects into play, however that is even MORE rare. Usually its - hit in the trees, stay in the trees. Hit it at the water, go in the water. There are also times where you can get "unlucky" in golf. Such as you hit it in the trees, so now you need to take your medicine and punch out. But wait, for some reason your ball is stuck directly behind a tree, and now you have to hit it out backwards or towards more danger... again, very rare.

Overall though, I'd say there is much less of a reliance on luck in golf than in poker. I pulled this quote from a book I just finished called "Caro's essential secrets of wining poker" which is:

I am a lucky player. A powerful winning force surronds me.

say it with me: I AM A LUCKY PLAYER. A POWERFUL WINNING FORCE SURROUNDS ME.

say it three times, and say it with afirmation.

When you're down in the dumps, say it, believe it. You'll suddenly find yourself playing better, saving money and building that bankroll that we all treasure and nuture.

Ok so we all know we need luck. If that was the only factor that hindered my ability to walk out a winner last night, then I would be fine with that. It is quite obvious though that when I think back about the events that took place last night there is one common theme that seems to support the fact that I seem to toss away my chips at nights end like clock work... and that theme is.... BEER. I was drunk. Beer and poker do not mix... for me that is. Sure some people seem to be able to pull it off, but not me. Therefore I make this promise: I will not play cash games at the casino or any other venue (including online) when I have had more than 3 beers. Simple. Safe. Sensible. I will allow for the odd time when the stakes are small and the focus is "fun."

Now here is the hand in question that I would like some input on. Please note that there are few areas that I screwed up in this hand, but its the final decision to call (never a good decision to have of course) or fold to a re-raise on the turn that has got me questioning myself:

10 players. I am in the CO+1 where there is already two limpers and I look down and see Q-10s. Until this point, I had a very tight image only showing down one hand in the first two hours and that hand was pocket aces... double up. I had almost doubled my starting buyin of $140 to around $270.

I called the $2 (mistake #1), everyone to my left folds so I now have position. The SB raises to $12, BB folds, one limper calls and I call.

The flop: 9h 7s 2d. The SB bets $15 into a pot of $40. The limper folds. My read on this guy was that he was a decent player, but he had not been sitting there for very long at all. I put him on a range of any ace, or pocket pair below 10's. I decided to raise (mistake #2). I raise it another $50, he thinks for about 15 seconds and calls. He now has $140 left in his stack and I have him covered.

The turn is Js. He checks. I now have an open ended straight draw, a gutshot (need an 8) and a flush draw. I decided to be $70 (mistake #3?) and he re-raises all in. It was another $70 for me to call. After some quick calculations in my head I determined that I was priced in to call... so I did.

He flips over pocket 9's for a set and the river is a 7 giving him the full house. I missed every. single. out. GG me.

I'm not even sure where or how to analyze where I went wrong except for the fact that I should have just stuck to my game and not made such dumb donkey moves like raising the flop or even calling the preflop raise. I'm almost certain that I had to make that call for the final $70 at the end... but at that point, it was already too late, and the poker gods did not grace me with some much needed suckout luck.

Any comments? I'd appreciate it if anyone has something constructive to say. You can even call me a dokey, cuz its true. I hate cash games, and cash games hate me... however I think that with a little more work and some clear thinking, I can at least avoid these situations in the future. Clear thinking is the key. Not dumb drunken decision making at 2am.

Have a good week everyone. Anyone have any good "April fool's" pranks stories to tell? Let me know.

Double starting stack controversy at 2007 WSOP

I've been reading various blogs lately about the announcement regarding doubling the starting stack sizes (excluding the main event). I found that Daniel and Fuel had the best take on it all.

Here is Kid Poker's take:

[ "Poker players all across America have been duped by what is nothing more than a marketing ploy and many you have bought in hook, line, and sinker. I believe it was Jack McLelland who started this trend and it's caught on with tournaments all across the country. I'm talking about starting with double chips in tournaments. The idea is that there is "more play" yet that statement is completely ludicrous and unfounded. The amount of play in a tournament is based solely on the tournament structure and the amount of chips you actually start with has no bearing on that at all. Yet, I was shocked to hear so many pros I spoke with recently failing to grasp it.
You could start people off with a million in chips, but if you raise the blinds in correlation to the stack sizes it makes absolutely NO difference.

Examples:A typical structure starting with $20,000 in chips:
50-100
100-200
100-200 (25 ante)
150-300 (25 ante)
200-400 (50 ante)
300-600 (75 ante)
400-800 (100 ante)

Now, here is what the structure should look like with $10,000 in chips:
25-50
50-100
75-150
100-200
100-200 (25 ante)
150-300 (25 ante)
200-400 (50 ante)

As you can see, by level six the structure with $10,000 in chips is exactly half of the $20,000 starting chip tournament.

I think the reason some pros believed that the $20,000 in starting chips is better is because they forget what a good $10,000 structure looks like. It's not the starting chips that matter, it's the structure!

Who knows, maybe someone will start a tournament with $40,000 in starting chips, whoopee!!!! Of course they would start the blinds at 100-200 and basically double everything anyway, but I'm certain they could fool plenty of players into thinking that there tournament has "more play."

Don't get me wrong, starting with double chips isn't a "bad thing" it's just completely irrelevant and meaningless. Seriously, You could start players off with $100,000 each, but if you start the blinds at 2500-5000 it won't be any different than starting them off with $10,000 in chips." ]


I agree 100%. It's always about the structure. Not how many chips you get. I've played in numerous types of structures over the past few years and it always comes down to the number of levels and the length of time allowed for each level.

Making simple statements like "it allows more play" is totally misleading. Of course, most of us with half a brain will realize that this change has almost zero effect... so what is the point? You tell me.

I'll keep digging.

On another note, I'll see you at the Mookie tonight... try not to get too distracted by what should be another fantastic episode of LOST.

NCAA Div 2 basketball

just nuts


This is most amazing comeback that I have ever seen.

No, I am not a Texan... the mookie and dookie

For those of you who were wondering if I was on my way to the Texans... it's not me:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2808100

I'm not related to Matt Schaub... but I am glad that he is finally getting what has been considered long overdue by many. I look forward to following his carreer, and if he is still available, I'll be drafting him in my fantasy keeper league this year.

But this guy is my cousin. He's already retired and a part time announcer for ABC. Not bad for a 30 year old dude who I visited back in 1990. He was the best player in his school at that time and made a pretty good career out of a very very tough sport.

http://redandwhiteonline.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=11800

----

I played in both the mookie and dookie last night without a final table to show for it. Next time...

I partially blame it on the stellar TV lineup last night consisiting of the Canucks and LOST. What a great episode!

Congrats go out to Hoy for taking down the PL HA 2nd chance tourney last night.

I think I'll stop by the riverchaser tonight... see you there.

Canadian Schaubs

Bubble Boiling

Turns out saturday's tournament at the river rock was sold out by the time I had planned to satellite on Friday. So I guess you could say I saved myself some money...? Who knows what would have been, but I guess I'll be a bit more proactive next time and plan accordingly. I anticipated meeting up with Fuel but it didn't work out.

I ended up playing in a live tourney today and bubbled... I should have known when I picked up pocket aces on the first hand and doubled up. I limped UTG, raise from the button (pocket tens), I reraise another 200 chips (starting stack of 1500) and he comes over the top all in... I insta-call double up... and proceed to get zero cards, for the most part, for the rest of the day. I had kings about 30 minutes later and didn't get any action. There were only 22 players and they paid to 4 spots. I really think I need to figure out what I am doing wrong when I get to the final table. Maybe today just wasn't my day... but I think I need to look a bit deeper than that considering the ongoing frequency in which this has taken place over the last 60 days. I guess this could be directly related to the increased amount of poker that I have been playing in that same time span, but something else tells me that it just means that my game is growing and I need to recognize and work on the areas that need help. Spcecifically, bubble play.

I got home and proceeded to bubble in a 18 person Tier 2 token tourney (finished 7th). Then played in a 9 player SnG and came 4th. Bubble bullshit.

Time to figure some stuff out although I'm really not sure where to begin. I guess I could read a bit more, and play less. I'll probably just stick to the odd blogger tourney and go from there.

My first Blogger win

Finally.

Before I get to that, I just wanted to give an update on my live tournament yesterday. 62 runners, unlimited rebuys and a whole lot of donkey's to avoid is a recipe for an early exit right? Well when you are getting NO cards, it is pretty easy to stay out of the way. Sure I got my share of winning hands early and of course I had to bluff with the hammer and show it, and steal blinds and float and all that usual good tournament strategy type stuff. Overall though, I just stuck to my game and didn't let the lack of good cards get the best of me. When we got down to 19, I basically folded to 5th place and $220. I pushed once and doubled with AK. Other than that I folded every hand. I was completely card dead. But I'll take it considering it was only a $80 total investment. The best hand I had all day was pocket 9's (yes that was my highest pocket pair all night) and I pushed with them on the button and didn't get a call (the donkey's can lay down over cards after all!). The guy who won basically owned everyone and was the king of suckouts. It got so bad that when he went all in, a guy on the button (who was second in chips at the time) agonized for 5 minutes before finally calling with his pocket kings with a board of 3-Q-6. He called and said, "I know you have a Queen, and I just feel like you are going to suck out again..." sure enough the chip leader flips over KQo and the Queen on the turn sends him packing... it was extremely erie to say the least. Take that scenario, and vary it about 5 more times over the next hour, and I fold my way into a nice profit.

However, that was not the best part of my weekend. This was:

I finally have an online win that I can be proud of. Actually, at this moment, I am still in shock that I actually pulled it off. This win has finally confirmed that hard work DOES pay off. The top three players won ipods (Congrats to mclarich for third and lillian2611 for a great heads up match). So I have my choice of a 30gb ipod video, or the cash... since I already have a 4gb Nano, I opted for the cash via Full Tilt.

Thanks go out to Mike for hosting a great event. You can also visit him here.

My next goal is to qualify for the $300 St. Patrick's day via a $75 satellite this Friday.

Have a good week everyone.

Cash games hate me...

...and I hate them. I'm only posting today so that I can get this crap off my mind and get to work. Honestly, getting stuck for $60 is really not a big deal to me. I knew heading into the game that there was a pretty good chance I would be handing it all over by the end of the night. The Canucks were on PPV and I was really just there for the game and the beers.
I never play cash, in fact I can't even remember the last time I did. So why am I beating myself up over this? Well, the reason I suck so much at cash games is because I never walk away when I am winning. I find it necessary to keep playing, and find it silly (is this the wrong mindset?) to consider walking away when the going gets good. I even made the usual announcement "I'm cashing out in 30 minutes." This is a requirement when you are winning. If you are losing for the night, you can just walk. I'm not going to go into the details of how unlucky I was getting on the usual unorthodox villian call-in's, that is just mindless boring banter that no one appreciates.
The bottom line is, I was down to my last $20, I rallied back to the tune of $130 (when my AK beat KK... ok I got lucky, but it was bad beats galore prior to that... hence, my last $20 into the pot) only to hand it all back in the last hour of play. I am good. I just can't seem to figure out how to walk away. I get sucked into playing short handed at the end of the night because I've busted half the table and the last two guys who also had healthy stacks wanted to keep playing. I get caught with TPTK (it's official, I'm a cash game donkey) against a set of slow played Jacks and go home empty handed.

In the words of one of the greatest cash game players I know Mr. Fuel55... Cash games FAWKING hate me...

My revenge will be taken out on a donkerifick tournament that I plan on winning this Saturday. $40 will net me over $1500 if all goes well.

Start and finish with Pocket Queens

As a new month appears, so does the latest monthly tournament schedule at the River Rock. Coming off a good showing at the latest WPBT event in PL Omaha, and the fact that I live literally five minutes from the Casino, I decided that I would press my luck and buy into yesterday's $100 PL HA (Holdem and Omaha alternating blind levels). There were only 57 entries so I felt comfortable and confident as I sat down at my first live Casino tournament of 2007.

When I arrived with about five minutes to spare I noticed that most of the players were already seated... which was odd to me because when I registered the day before they told me that we were all going to draw for seats (maybe I was late?), as the printer they used was broken at the time. The other thing that was annoying was the fact that they posted the payout to ten places, and then about an hour into the tournament they decided to change the payout to five (you'll see why it was ultra annoying in a few minutes here). Anyway, it didn't start off how I had envisioned, and I was a little thrown off from the get go.

I was dealt pocket Queens on the button about ten minutes into the day. UTG, a player that I have seen at numerous tournaments over time, and had a lot of respect for, raised it POT (a total of 175 chips). It folded to me where I re-raised it POT for a total of 600 chips of my starting 5,000 chips. UTG had played almost everyhand in this round of holdem since the tournament started (30 minute levels). I noticed this, and decided to take a stand. Well when he re-raised me POT I knew that he had to be VERY strong here (I decided it was AA, KK). Noting his position and mine, I decided that I need to at least see a flop and hopefully hit it hard. So I called the total and saw a low un-connected flop. He bet POT, and I folded. He showed KK. Great start. I guess in hindsight, if I was sure (are we ever?), I could have saved myself some chips by folding preflop to his re-raise.



I continued to grind it out and suprisingly most of my tournament chips came from Omaha. I slow played naked Aces from UTG by limping in and flopping a set. I took the BB's entire stack when he called my POT raise with his set of Queens... he commented "you really do have Aces??" Have I mentioned how much I enjoy Omaha lately? Another hand I remember was betting the turn when I had the nuts... although the BB only had 1000 chips left in a 6,000 chip pot, he folded. At that point I remembered... always check the nuts!! I had the nut flush, and didn't let him catch up... although if the board pairs on the river he may have made a full house or quads... so I think I made the right play there.



I made it to the final table. I won a nice pot when everyone checked around twice and let me catch trips 4's on the river from the SB. I then re-raised with 9's who had raised from the button with a short stack. He called with A-10 and my 9's held up and barely gave me the chip lead for the first time in the tournament. At this point there were 8 players left. After the next short stack got eliminated we were down to 7 and the second highest stack (white affro guy) stopped the action and asked if everyone would like to agree to guaranteeing that all of the last 7 guys get $100 each. Well everyone including myself said yes... except for the guy on my right who happened to be deaf (literally) and wore hearing aids in both ears... I am not sure if everyone at the table understood what white affro guy meant, and too be honest, I wasn't too sure where the money would be coming out of. Undoubtedly, it came back to haunt me.



I lost a a big pot when I folded TPNK to TPTK (he showed A-J). I then picked up 7's in the BB and affro guy raised it POT which basically left me with two decisions. Fold or go for it. Seeing as I had just won a coin flip I decided to fold and wait for a better chance, menawhile hoping that 2 others would go out and I could be at least guaranteed $275 for 5th (first was around $2,500).



The next hand I get dealt pocket Queens in the small blind and hope for some action. UTG (who happens to be short stack by a small margine) raises POT. I re-raise hoping he has a smaller pair... he shows... A-10. Now is that a bad call, I'm not too sure considering the stack sizes were pretty equal and there was no definitive chip leader. The table was divided between medium large stacks and medium small stacks... I was floating somewhere in between. Anyway, as the story goes, he hits his Ace on the flop, and to add fuel to the fire, the BB mentions that he folded and Ace, and I am crippled down to 5,000 chips and IGH shortly after that when my QJ can't hit UTG with the blinds already at 1,500/3,000.



7hrs, 7th place, and nothing to show for it. As always though, I learned a lot, and look forward to the next challenge.



On another note, I can't log into Full tilt right now... damn it.



So I registered for this instead:



Updates to follow... if...

2nd at the Mookie, A good month overall

So as February came to a close, I managed to get another final table under my belt last night at the Mookie... and finish second to BigSlickNuts. I really feel much more comforatable then I did when I started playing in these blogger tourney's at the end of last year. No major wins to report yet, but I am confident (not "WSOP bracelet race" confident like Hoyazo) that I will get there soon. Last night was my best finish ever in one of these blogger tourney's and it fittingly came on the last day in February. Now I'm gunning for that elusive first place. The only thing I've ever concerned myself with since I embarked on this journey of personal poker improvement. With a second and a third at the Mookie, a 9th and a 2nd in the first two WPBT events I feel like my game is coming around nicely. I'm almost at a point now where I should consider using some form of stat tracker or hand reviewing software. It's inevitable.

So can someone please recommend where I should start? Poker tracker?

I guess I've been reluctant to get this underway partly because I've never really considered myself that good (in comparision to the other very successful bloggers) and secondly, if and when I do start reviewing these stats, I'm afraid of the truth. However, this is not the case any longer. I can honestly say that I am ready to venture into the unknown and take the next baby step in my growth as a poker player. I really don't know what to expect next. All I know is that I can compete with some very very excellent poker players and hold my own. Their results speak for themselves. I, however, have no such monetary results that I can ultimately be pround of to post here (just yet). In other words, no major online wins to book yet. My bank roll is as healthy as it has ever been on Full Tilt, and that is obviously a plus. I might even consider a withdrawal shortly just to see how long it takes Full Tilt to mail me my cheque. For some reason though, I am fearful that if I do that, I'll trigger some unknown force and get cold decked for the entire month of March.

So here is what I will do: I will continue this grind for the month of March and a make a withdrawal if my bank roll exceeds what it is at today. Done.

I look forward to an even more successful March where I can speak of some sort of MTT victory. Not a third, not a second, but a win... (sorry but I just don't count 2-5 table SnG's which I have won on various occasions) and hopefully more than one.... but as I have always said and have heard so many times: "One shot at at time, one putt at a time." Now I just need to aply my golf knowledge to my poker game... and keep practicing.

+EV weekend, WPBT Event #2

Saturday went well. The tourney I ran brought in 25 players and it lasted a short 4 hours before the final three decided to chop for $400 each (18 rebuys and 11 add ons). Not a bad payout at all. I think everyone had a good time and after all that hard work, I managed to finish in the top three and be a part of the deal making gone good. A couple of key hands, of course, were the reasons for my good fortune. Once we were in the money I decided to re-raise my 5's after the small blind on my right min-raised me with his AKo. He calls. I felt good about my race situation and my 5's held. 20 Hands later we decided to Chop. I had about 25% of the chips and was the semi-short stack, but an even chop was somehow negotiated and I net $300 for my efforts.

Of course, there are always minor issues such as the pizza being late and the beer being late (which later turned into +EV). Regardless though, it went over well, and it was all over in under 5 hours which worked out well too. Back to the beer. So apparently the beer delivery guy quit that morning and they were running late. No worries, we have other beer to tide us over. So an hour later the beer arrives and it is a 50 litre keg, and not the 30 litre keg that I actually ordered (and paid for). Ok cool... ummmm let's drink. 3o hours later we emptied it. Phew.

What a weekend. So, after finishing the remainder of the keg Sunday evening (before, during and after the Canucks PPV) I logged on to Full Tilt, fully expecting to donk away at the WPBT event #2. I was late. I knew this though (beeeerrrrrr). Luckily, I pre-registered with a token I had won last week sometime. Much to my surprise, I had only spent about 200 in chips on blinds prior to me playing a hand. It seems that Omaha and I get along. I have very little experience in the game, but I must say, I really do enjoy it. It is really does feel like a more complete game with regards to decision making. Paying attention, playing tight and being patient were the keys for me.

Seeing as it was POT limit, that also threw in another version of this great game of poker that I had not had much experience in either. But I was not afraid. Congratulations to Mattazuma... he played very well and managed his stack with patients and aggression. Heads up action was challenging, however I couldn't overcome the 3-1 chip lead that Mattazuma amassed when we got down to the final 4. I did manage to stick to my table image and exploit it, but when I flopped two pair after raising preflop I figured it was time to either take it down or watch the end of the Oscars... Congrats to Martin, Forrest and Jennifer...



Anyway, it worked out about as well as I could have expected. I mean, I can't say I'm not angry that I didn't take it down when I was so close, but I'll take it considering the circumstances. I look forward to event #3 in March.

Tournament Eve, Riverchasers galore

So on the eve of the second poker tournament that I have ever run... no one has anything to say about my previous post? Probably because no one actually reads what I write here, unless they stumble upon it or link to it from a comment that I have made in the past. No big deal though. For the time being, this blog is for me, not for you. So there. I'd like to say I have a good feeling that I am going to do well tomorrow but as most of you already know, its pretty hard to run a tournament and play in it at the same time. I am going to give it a shot though. I am using the software from this site to run my tournament. I have a projector too, so that will be nice for all the participants to see the blind structure and all the tournament details on the wall as they play.

I'm gonna need some luck for sure, seeing as I plan on totally donking it up, slow playing any monsters that I might get, and hopefully doubling or tripling up early so that I can help handle the rebuys and add ons in an efficient manner. 30 minutes for the first break should do it. Pizza is the meal of choice and I've also got a keg of beer to be drank. So either way, I'll be drunk and hopefully have a pocket full of 100's when it turns midnight tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

Played in the Riverchasers 4 last night with no suck-sess. Nuff said.

I also tried to Q for the 30K with Hoy and made it to 22nd and then tried to steal from the button with Q9d when I was down to 10BB and got called by the BB with AKo, no suck out for me...

DQB... Persona non grata, hosting my own tourney

First off check this out:

I pushed all in and he calls with the fonkdified AJo... I flop trips... suck, re-suck. Good times. Of course, I didn't make any money, but I was just donking it up while I checked in on Hoy and Lucko... they both missed the money, but put in a good showing on Friday night.

__

There is this guy and let's call him Thorndog. Now Thorndog grew up in my area and was a member of my golf club for over 10 years. We both joined back in 1990 and played in a bunch of junior events together. He was always much better than I was and proceeded to become a very acomplished local junior golfer. So much that he made various teams throughout his teens. Now as we got older we were introduced to various vices, and we tried most of them together. We both loved beer, and to this day we still do. When Thorndog turned 19 he realized that he would no long be able to afford the golf club membership, I was losing my golfing buddy... and I was sad to see him go. But never, did I think he would pull off the ultimate F-U to the club that always blamed him for everything... because he was a red head. Well, in Thordog type fashion he decided that instead of just "resigning" that he would go out with a bang...

On his final day of golf at the club, he decided that he would invite 3 of his hockey buddies (I refused to be a part of what happens next) and play a friendly round of golf on a Wednesday afternoon where a monthly four man team competition was taking place. After a 26er of Bacardi and numerous other vices... he decided it would be best if he played the last two holes COMPLETELY NAKED. Needless to say, some of the members were not too happy with what they saw... you see, as I stated earlier, he's a red head... so it's very easy to spot Thorndog and nail him for anything. Everytime we used to get in trouble, it was always "two guys and the red head"...

So, he gets to the 18th green, putts out (naked) and proceeds to pee on the side of the green before getting dressed again and heading upstairs for the buffet banquet... He was scolded, pulled aside and told never to step foot on the property again. He then received a letter from the club stating that he is officially "Persona non grata"... which meant he was no longer allowed to play at our club (which he since has, wearing a hat) and was no longer allowed to play at ANY private courses in the province... which of course is total bullshit and could never be enforced and never has.

To this day its still one of the funniest things I have ever heard and I am sooooo glad I wasn't a part of it. He even got t-shirts made up for about 12 of his closest friends. On the back in big letters it just says "Persona non grata" and on the front... it says: "FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING FUCK!"

Good times.

Finally, check this out and let me know what you think. Rebuys for this long... is that a recipe for a long ass tourney or what?

http://schaubs.backpackit.com/pub/947198

What a start to my day

Once again MY WIPERS WERE STOLEN. That makes it twice this year. I want to fucking strangle someone right now. Of course, it is raining too. So I might as well have driven to work with my eyes closed. It was that bad. FUCK.

Just found this, so I think I will give it a shot:

Mac Poker

The fastest poker game I've ever played in...

I started out the evening by jumping onto Fulltilt and trying to qualify for the Monday 30K guaranteed tournament in one of those $6 sat. and managed to hang around for about an hour before donking out. Then I played in a token tourney and who do I see two to my left but none other than Smokkee... ok great, well at least I can try to use that to my advantage. He only raised me on the button once and other than that we basically stayed out of each other's way. He, of course, went on to win a token whereas, I, proceed to donk off another $8 when I pushed all in 3x the raise from the BB with AK (huge donkey move) after UTG+1 raises POT. All the while Smokkee is watching me donk it up and he calls me with AA... GG me. I suck.

So I hit the road and headed over to the club for some live game SnG's where we usually get 5-6 players and we play for either $10 or $20 a shot, 80/20 split. So there is this guy at our regular game, let's call him Wrong Saunders. Wrong seemed to be always right tonight. Regardless of how far ahead a person was pre-flop, he would suck on on either the turn or the river. It was ridiculous. First, let me preface this fine tale with the fact that Wrong is the biggest maniac that you will ever meet at the poker table. I am serious, you would be blown away by how nuts this guy plays sometimes. When he's feelin' it, you are in trouble. There isn't really any other way to say it... he is just. plain. nuts. period.

Needless to say, the title says it all. We were in a 5 man game tonight and big hands were getting called by Wrong non stop and he was crushing them with consistent and fugly donkey calls back to back to back to back. It was sick. He won exactly 4-5 hands to take out 4 people. The only reason he did not win 4 in a row is because I folded to his re-raise preflop. Yes, you got it. I folded my way to second place without even playing a single hand. When I finally picked up AK on the 5th hand of the game I raise it and he reraises me IN THE DARK and I call. He tables 6-9 soooooted and hit his 6 on the flop. GG everyone. I continued to donate and lose every coin flip possible. It just wasn't my night, it certainly wasn't right, and it makes me wonder why I even play this game. Like what the fuck is the point.

I grind away on Fulltilt and have turned my first deposit into a nice little bank roll, but when it comes down to beating a live table with a bunch of donkey's who only play once a week, it makes me sick to my stomach. I'm better off just sticking to online, but I feel like I need more live game experience not only for the person to person aspect and social aspect of hangin with your buddies, but also to WIN in any situation.

I'm just not sure where poker is taking me these days. I'm not sure that the time I am putting in is making a difference. I guess I just need to make better decisions over all. Decisions about work, poker and life in general.

Pro Bowl, token and WBPT event #2

Just checking on the pro bowl and my guy Reggie reeled in a nice catch for a TD from Drew. Played a bit in the past couple of days, a bit of cash and a couple of token's. I finished ITT (in the token) in one of them so now I have a token to use for this:

I'm currently sitting in 9th after the first event and I know I will have a tough time maintaining this position after the second event. Omaha Hi is a pretty easy game to learn, so I plan on brushing up on it shortly. I'll have to develope some sort of strategy going into it, just as I did in the first event. At least it is POT limit, so I like my chances in not going out first... but you never know.

Either way, it's time to break out the material and hit a few similar tournaments in preparation.

I've been looking around a few blogs to see how the first FTOPS event went last night... and just noticed that Chad has a post so I'm gonna check it out and then start some drinkin.'

Have a good weekend.

I

Merry Hammer Day #1

I'm not sure what the politcally correct way to say it is:

Merry Hammer Day
Happy Hammer Day
Congratulahammer day

I guess it really doesn't make a huge difference as long as you acknowledge this important day and recognize the power it posesses.

I really can't comment much further on this day other than to note that there are three more this year:
Feb 27th, 2007
July 2nd, 2007
July 27th, 2007

For more information, visit this post, as it really can't be said any better...

See you all tonight.

The Colts are The Champs

Words can not express the joy and happiness I felt when the clock read 0:00 on Feb 4, 2007 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida where they beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 and brought the trophy home to Indy. This is their first NFL Championship (the big game) and I have a pretty strong feeling that it won't be their last. Even though the San Diego Chargers are the inital favorites for the 2007/2008 season at 9-2, I still feel like it is Peyton's to lose once again.













Here are some milestones that I found:



- It’s the second time in 35 years that they won the Superbowl.
- It’s the first time they’ve won it as the “Indianapolis” Colts. (Baltimore)
- The Colts became the first “dome” team to win in an outdoor stadium.
- Tony Dungy became the first African American coach to win the Superbowl.
- Dungy (Player - Steelers, Coach - Colts) became the only 3rd person in NFL history after Tom Flores (Player - Chiefs, Coach - Raiders) and Mike Ditka (Player - Dolphins, Coach - Bears) to have won the Superbowl both as a player and head coach.





Pretty cool shit. I still don't think the shock has worn off yet... Peyton did it.



The only two guys that I forgot to mention in my post below were Freeny and Rhodes as far as who was going to impact this outcome. The other was Devin Hester. He is, in my books, the best kick returner of all time (sorry Dante Hall). This guy is unreal, and is almost a viable Fantasy Draft pick if your league allows points for kick and punt returns. Just nuts.



Moving on to poker now.... are you ready to drop the hammer???



I AM!!!
It's probably one of my favorite moves in poker... playing the hammer CORRECTLY is a fine art and should not be exploited. But when executed to perfection, it can make the strongest players look very very foolish. It also has a sense of power, like it knows it is being played and the poker gods allow for such wonderful flops like 2-2-7 or 2-2-A! Now that is one that gets people good.

I look forward to the challenge tomorrow. You should stop by and donate like me if you're not busy watching LOST or the Canucks.

The future is bright, no poker yesterday, GO COLTS!

I was talking to my friend who can look into the future, read minds, and lots of other totally real stuff to see if he knew who won the big game this weekend, and (of course) he guaranteed me that the Indy Colts would win this sunday, and by more than 6.5... so take it from me - It's a lock.
Their run defence is going to shut down Da Bears like the City of Vancouver does when there is 2 inches on fresh snow in the morning. With Bob Sanders back in business, look for a big day full of turnovers and 1st attempt tackles. Manning will throw for over 200 and 2 TD's while handing the ball to Addai 15 times and a TD. Heck, Peyton might even decide to call his own number if he needs to. Oh and don't forget Reggie and Marvin... One more win boys, I know you can do it.

I was looking around to find CC's bash and the Riverchaser and it was no where to be found. Although I didn't plan in playing in either, I was looking for them to see how they were going. No luck. Did anyone play in them?

I watched the Canucks squeak out a win against the crappy Oilers with wifey Lola. It was nice to see Naslund look like his former self where he stole the puck and burned a guy and burried it back handed. It turned out to be the game winner...


Go Colts!!

The Mookie, 3rd final table in a row, 3rd again

After finishing third in the Riverchaser last Thursday and 9th on Sunday at event #1 of the WPBT I managed to make my third final table in a row. Feels good to know that I can sling'em around with these talented bloggers, but it still leaves a sour taste in my mouth as the only thing I really was focused on was winning. Alas, it wasn't to be. I had almost a 4-1 chip lead and then my massive wall of chips dwindled away in a matter of a race, and a set over set. Pokerpeaker (who ended up taking it down, great playing by the way) pushed all in with to over cards to my 5's with his last 5K. Here's the live blog comment:



"11:44 … pokerpeaker is all in PF with QJc and Schaubs calls with 55…Queen on the flop and pp doubles up to 10K, Schaubs still has 35K."



OK so I am still doing well, then I get cooled when my set runs into Peaker's set and soon after that... 14 minutes later and only 8k left to get lucky with, and I'm out in 3rd. GG me.

"12:04 … pp raises to 3200 PF and Schaubs calls….J86 (two hearts) on the flop. pp bets 1600 and Schaubs raises to 4000. pp calls and a 5 peels off on the turn, pp checks and Schaubs bets 7000. pp moves all in for 8K more and its set over set…pokerpeaker had 88 and Schaubs 66. Wow…Rigged."

I'll take it I guess. There were a lot of good things that I can reflect on and build. Hello world!

Final table at my first WPBT event, didn't win so who cares right...?

Ok I guess I should be happy about making it to the final table with this talented bunch of poker guru's but it never feels good when you don't win. I mean seriously, that is why we all play poker right? To be the best? I'll have to really brush up on a few other games to ensure I get some points each month... who knows, this could be the only final table I see all year. But I'm staying positive and looking forward to the challenge.

Here is the hand that I went out on (one away from the bubble). I pushed from MP and got called and then re-raised. Just bad timing I guess. I needed to make a move and get lucky anyway. Short stack push with A-10 soooted... I guess I could have folded my way into the money, but honestly I was looking to double and go for the win. I'm learning to roll like this and I owe to the bloggers so far who have helped me realize my potential... unless they're just donks themselves of course... but just based on the results they have posted in their blogs in the past shows me that they've got the skillz... unless they've been making shit up... but Duggles has proven he can play with the best of the bunch... but in my opinion, blogs aren't here so that we can lie to make ourselves feel good or look better to our peers. Now that's Ghey.

WPBT

Do it!!

My first Riverchaser, came third, props to Alcanthang!

It was great to finally meet Sir AlCantHang, that I know for sure. When I got home after work I checked out the lineup for the Thursday blogger tourney's. Since there were two to choose from, it was either going to be the Riverchaser on Full Tilt or CC's Thursday Bash which took place a half hour later... on Joker, err I mean, Pokerstars...

Well based purely on the fact that I wanted to get playing as quickly as possible, I opted for the Riverchaser which paid off and then some. My strategy was to play tight and get lucky, and if I could hang out long enough then I'd be nice and focused and not even worry about trying to play the second tourney at the same time. I mean let's face it, I'm still learning here and consider myself quite the rookie when it comes to these blogger games. Players like Hoy and Tripjax were there along with many other familiar blogger types.

Anyway, the results were favorable and it felt good to make the final table and eventually finish in third. I had the chip lead a few times and I always felt like I was aware of where I was, in relation to the rest of the field. First of all, it wasn't perfect poker. It never is. Secondly, you've gotta get lucky... usually more than once. Thirdly, you've gotta win the races at the right times (get lucky).

I'll try to post more later, maybe.

Colts Joy, live game cancelled

Well the day started off great with the fact that the Colts (GG pokahdave) are going to the big game (a.k.a. - the final table) and are up against DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Bears... I wonder if they will do a SNL skit on that this weekend. I'd say there's a pretty good chance. So I put in the shift at work, rush home to eat, play a couple of hours of $0.10/$0.25 NL (yes I am small time still LOL) and watch the new Prision Break and 24.
I've been caught in this web and I can't get out!! This shit is too good to pass up, which probably explains why I didn't fair to well at poker as I just keep picking up small pots and then spewing half of it away on a hand or two because I'm watching Jack dodge his 82nd bullet in the first 5 hours of his first day of being released from the Chinese... deep breathe... Anyway... so I'd planned to watch them early so I could head over to the golf course to play some live NL and of course... there's no game. So now I sit here, watching Fuel55 play in the Hoy and he's still in it with 4 players to go:

Good Luck Fuel... I'll try to hang in there and rail a little longer.

*EDIT:

Man I need to hit the driving range very soon. I've got a few tourney's coming up starting in April and I'd like to do well in them.

3 rings... BIG DEAL

Go Colts!!

For all you east coast haters out there... Adam V. will get his revenge on Sunday!!

Colts: 30
Pats: 14

This is Peyton's year... mark my words.

My second WWdN, Canucks are on fire right now, NFL preview

Ok so this time I finished 22/53. Not too happy about it but whatever, its always a great $10 investment in my mind. I had Maigrey on my left the entire time (until she went busto) and she put me to the test early. Actually, she got me off my game so bad that I couldn't recover! I guess I need to start listening to myself a little more and learn to put those tough ones behind me and move on... right away!!

Anyway, it was a great play by her and I had to lay down my hooks on the river with a board of 10-Q-10-10-x (can't remember the last one, but it was a brick to me). Oh well, I made it to the break, and I outlasted the host himself. I've been bouncing around the blogs and now I find out how fierce Maig really is. These tournaments can do nothing but good things for my game and I look forward to every challenge and every opportunity to get better.

Hockey: Luongo shows up in Montreal and shuts them out 4-0 after returning from the hospital only 24 hours before. Nutso. He is easily the MVP of the Canucks this year by far.

NFL: Go Colts... I know that a lot of the bloggers are naturally pulling for the Patriots this weekend (a lot of them are from the East). But let's not forget how good the Colts really are. I predict a big win from them this Sunday. The other game looks interesting as well, although the bears look good, the Saints look even better. They just have way too many weapons. A 1-2 punch in the backfield and a QB who can sling it all over the field. I don't care how good the Bears D-Fence is, I can't see them winning this one.

Rivered at the Mookie, SnG redemption

Ok so my first Mookie was nothing to rant and rave about, but I feel like I am not completely out of my league... which is nice.

I got it all in with the best hand as I raised 3X on the button with A-K of clubs and the big blind (DuggleBogey) re-raises me and I hammer the all in button... he flips over A-J and spikes a Jack on the river. GG me I guess... I really felt like I had him beat and that is the only reason I puuuushed it. We were at level 6 at the time and I would have had about T4000 if I dodge that 3 outter twice (12% right?)... anyway, lots of laughs for sure.

I was thinking of joining the second chance but decided to take my $10 and hit up a SnG instead. I figured that I'd just be donating for the second time in one night and my bank roll could use a little boost. So I gave it a run, and run I did... right over everyone. It felt great coming off a decent 1st showing at the Mookie (considering the competition) so I was feeling pretty confident, and it turned out for the best. Overall, it was a great night. I look forward to many more Mookies in 2007.

My first Mookie, my PP account lives on! Donkalism still exists

I'm going to give The Mookie a try tonight. My expectations are pretty low and I am not really looking forward to getting kicked in the junk repeatedly... however the good news is no one knows my game and no one really even knows who I am in bloglandia (except for what I have posted thus far). So I can basically make some ri-donkulous moves and it will be "some hack" who is trying to infultrate the blogging world. I guess the only way to prove to everyone that I belong is to show it on the felt... so good luck to me and hopefully I get a few nice hands to help the cause.

So I'm just "putzin" around at home and I jump on my old beast of a machine that is bascially an email and wireless server (for lack of a better purpose) and decide to upgrade the software for Party Poker... well much to my surprise I still had a small (and i mean very small - less than 7 bucks!) amount of money on there that I had abandoned once I bought my new laptop (I am all about Full Tilt and Pokerstars now). So I decide to kill a few minutes and jump into a $.05/.10 NL cash game... to make a long story short I limp from the button and call the BB raise of another $0.30 (I am on tilt with this 7 bucks with 6 players at the table, the blinds are both in this hand) with QJs and flop top pair (Q-5-2 rainbow)... it checks to me, I bet half the pot, I get the blinds to call... hmmm the BB must have a Q too or a draw... the turn is a wonderful Jack (now I have 2 pair... yippeee, let's get paid)... checks to me again and I bet half the pot again... SB folds and BB calls... the River.... another JACK! woo hoo full house baby! He bets the pot, I raise all in and he insta calls and flips over.... A-Q. Ship that $21 please.

So... what have we learned here? Party Poker is still a joke (they took away all the points I had previously earned) and is still filled with TPTK fish who study Donkalism.

See you on the rail...

Playoff weekend, very little poker

So we've got 4 games this weekend with my Indy Colts looking to be upset by the Chiefs. It all comes down to whether or not Peyton can get it going early and control the clock. If and when Indy gets the lead, they'll need to step up their run defense in order to shut down LJ. Larry Johnson has been a horse for me in Fantasy Football over the past 4 years and if he gets going look for a 200+ yard game from him... but will that be enough? I like the Colts to cover, but I am a bit biased as I have been a colts fan for over 8 years now.

I'd love for the Jets to win this weekend as well. It would easily be the biggest upset of the weekend as they really haven't had a challenging game in the last few weeks of the regular season. I just think that Brady is too damn good and I look for the Pats to cover here as well even though the spread is double digits.

The hawks must win, Owens will be the player of the game, but it won't be enough.

And finally, the Eagles. I have always loved the eagles as well. Even before T.O. Now that Jeff Garcia is in charge, I really think they have a good chance to get to the Superbowl again.

I don't plan on playing much poker this weekend. I did play a few SitnGo's yesterday on Full Tilt and broke even (shocker).

Well it's time to get ready for a bunch of Football and Beers so I must be going.

The bums will always lose... Dude, Zero Poker Content

So I wake up and get ready for work as I usually do every weekday. I make the usual breakfast and run out the door as I am running a bit late (thankfully I can show up whenever I like though) because I hit the snooze button 4 times instead of 3... Anyway I get in the car, and its raining a bit. Ok so big deal right? Well I turn on my windsheild wipers and all i get is this "Click Clack Scrrrrrrrape, Click Clack Scrape" sound and I imediately turn them off and realize... MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE STOLEN!!! Who steals wipers? And not just the rubber parts, but the whole blade. Needless to say I was in a bit of shock. I mean really... don't people in North America just buy their own? I could see it (and know it) happens in Country's like Romania or the Chec Republic (I have confirmed this with my co-workers who are from these Countries)... but seriously...

So here is what I think happened: you see my car has already been broken into 3 times in the last 3 years. So the third time I got the locks shaved off so that the only way you can unlock the door is through the remote (I have a back up as well). So I think these poor under-achievers got to my car, realized they couldn't get in unless they broke my window, and decided that the next best thing would be to take my wiper blades in a "I'll show you" sort of vengence. Little did they know that these wipers were over 3 years old and it was time for new ones anyway...

So $50 later I have new blades that I now remove and attach as necessary... It always nice to pay for stuff like this when you win some poker money... it seems to make it easier mentally. Last time I won some money in a golf tourney I ended up spending on my car too.

Never fails.

Played in the WWdN love_elf, showed the hammer

Here's a hand that hammer lovers will love(elf):

Firstly, as some of you may know, I am new to the blog scene... I created my Stars account in honor of none other than Lucko21 almost 3 months ago... hopefully it brings me some luck in 2007. His blog is where I really started to get serious just over a year ago. I've played for about three years now and love the game of poker... almost as much as my wife, my family and my friends (also family)... golf is a close second... zero (not zeros) and ones (being #1 alot) are a close third... anyway.


This was good times:


PokerStars Game #7738357443: Tournament #39000033, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2007/01/02 - 22:58:11 (ET)
Table '39000033 2' 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: RickyMJr (1700 in chips)
Seat 2: fuzzzy7navel (905 in chips)
Seat 3: LolaLucko15 (2925 in chips)
Seat 4: DuggleBogey (2495 in chips)
Seat 5: Ganton516 (2900 in chips)
Seat 6: Sweet79Chuck (1035 in chips)
Seat 7: lavec3131 (2955 in chips)
Seat 8: -Ori-Prior- (1045 in chips)
Seat 9: deadlast6 (6997 in chips)
-Ori-Prior-: posts small blind 15
deadlast6: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to LolaLucko15 [7d 2s]
RickyMJr: folds
fuzzzy7navel: calls 30
LolaLucko15: calls 30
DuggleBogey: folds
Ganton516: folds
Sweet79Chuck: folds
lavec3131: folds
-Ori-Prior-: calls 15
deadlast6: checks
*** FLOP *** [6c Qs 5s]
-Ori-Prior-: checks
deadlast6: checks
fuzzzy7navel: checks
LolaLucko15: bets 120
DuggleBogey is sitting out
-Ori-Prior-: folds
deadlast6: calls 120
fuzzzy7navel: folds
*** TURN *** [6c Qs 5s] [5h]
deadlast6: checks
LolaLucko15: bets 360
deadlast6: folds
LolaLucko15 collected 360 from pot
LolaLucko15: shows [7d 2s] (a pair of Fives)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 360 Rake 0
Board [6c Qs 5s 5h]
Seat 1: RickyMJr folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: fuzzzy7navel folded on the Flop
Seat 3: LolaLucko15 collected (360)
Seat 4: DuggleBogey folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Ganton516 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Sweet79Chuck folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: lavec3131 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: -Ori-Prior- (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 9: deadlast6 (big blind) folded on the Turn

Lots of laughs on my end anyway...