Back to back Donakaments, Blogger weekend domination

** edit** I just got through some of the blogs and realized what a crazy weekend of cashes took place. Go check out LJ, Smokkee and Bayne for the real money stories!**



The masses said it couldn't be done...well, just call me the back to back donkey slayer:



In all seriousness, I am pretty happy with the way I played the final table. I used a completely different strategy i nthe early goings this week. Last week I played a full first hour trying to accumulate chips early and often so that I could have a massive stack heading into the 2nd hour and sit out. This time I had people over and planned to not play a single hand for the first half hour (all I missed out on was one pocket pair). I didn't get much going at all during the last half hour but I kept pushing and rebuying. I finally pushed Q3o in the last hand before the add-on and won that to get a 10K starting stack (plus another 1500 for a buck) heading into hour two. From there, I just played my normal game and made it to the final table with a semi-short stack.


The one key hand that sticks out is when I had 99 in the BB and Hoy raised me UTG for the third or fourth time. Once or twice I folded, and I think I might have re-raised once. This time I elected to call. The flop came 9-6-4 with two diamonds. I checked, he led out. I pushed. He called... with pocket sixes. The ol' set over set. That didn't bust him, but he would go out shortly after that.


That set me up to make the final three, and from there we were down to two handed in a matter of minutes. Donkette pushed for a shit load of chips and I called. She had 10's and I had AQs. I won that race. Heads up, lasted about 30 minutes and in the end I just wore down Peacecorn as she admitted that she was very tired (Thanks Kat).


I call it the left coast advantage.


So my roll is now higher than ever (first time into a fourth digit) and it is primed and ready for another week of the BBT. I also won a $75 token with RecessRampage yesterday. Are you in the Big Game yet?


Of course, none of this compares to Dave's big score. Go and give him some high fives!


No Math tonight (sister's bday). There are rumours that Fuel maybe coming to BDR soon, so look forward to him ripping on anything and everyone all night long.

See you at the Mookie and make sure to hit up BDR for some laughs.

----
Golf - well golf was also a success on Saturday. I finally broke par this year for the first time, which is timely. I shot two under (70) when I finished birdie-par-birdie-birdie. If it wasn't for one putting the first 7 holes for par (two fringies) then it wouldn't have been possible. I was draining everything early on and it helped me get around the front 9 in 1 over (I missed a 3 footer on 8 for my only bogey). So close to bogey free (which is always my goal everytime I tee it up). Bogey free 33 on the back nine.


I won $41 from my various matches, so that was a nice plus and afforded numerous rounds in the lounge later that night.

Another $2k Package!

WOW! Another reason why Al is the man!

Brought to you by the
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Brackett Madness

Well it's that time again where we glue ourselves to the TV all weekend and watch all the nail bitting action. Where one kids hopes and dreams are crushed at the drop of a last second free throw.

I've always been a big fan of March Madness. My favorite team is Gonzaga (the bulldogs) for reasons that stem way back to before I was a teenager. My old camp councilor played for them way back in the day, and I still remember the time when he challenged the entire camp to score a single basket on him. If you did, you earned yourself a chocolate bar.

Not a single kid scored a point. No hail mary's, no fluke shots off his tipped block. Nothing. As a young kid this amazed me to no end. It seemed like such a simple thing. Yet, no one could pull it off.

I am in two pools so far:

1. Corron10 is hosting one and we are trying to get a little money involved as well. So far, the turnout hasn't been that great, so get over there quickly and sign up:

http://bloggermadness.mayhem.sportsline.com/e
Our Group password is: bloggermadness

2. Tao of Poker - Just go there and sign up. You can win free shit! Or go directly to it here.

My final picks: NC vs. Duke

Go Zags!


No Mookie for me tonight since my Thursday dinner got moved to tonight. Which just means I'll be at the Riverchasers tomorrow night instead. See you there.

Donkeys and Quads and Tiger... oh my!

Dwal took me out of the Math when I short stack pushed for another 5-8 BB's over his button raise. He called with J9o and spiked a Jack to beat my KQ in the BB. Such is poker I guess. It turned out to be his night after all, so congrats.


Let's go back a few days. Friday started out with a few beers and the Donkament. There were only 13 players, however that didn't stop TwoBlackAces from donating about $100 to the cause. He was all in 8/9 times per orbit for the first hour. It was nuts. My bud Willy was in town from San Fran and he was heading over shortly. My plan was to get a big chip lead in the first hour, sit out the second hour and then play the rest of the tournament while we drank our faces off. Once that was over, we were going to head to the casino for some 1/2 donkey time. It seemed to be the theme of the night.


Willy played for me for a while. He is actually the guy that gave me my first poker book. He's a good player and still plays, but not as much as the average blogger. I ended up getting HU with BuddyDank. It was a great time, as we continuously called each other the usual names. He was my bitch, I was his, yadda yadda. I don't have any HH's, the one big hand that took place was a bit of a set up. I limped with pocket 10's, he raised. I called. The flop came 10-7-4. He bet. I called. We got it all in on the turn. He had.... pocket 7's. Booom.

It was a blast.

Then Willy, Lola and I went over to the nearby casino and goofed around in their new sportsbar - Schanks. This place is massive. They've got a putting course that goes around the bar! We got onto a 1/2 table pretty quickly. I won $107 with QUAD 3's (runner runner lol) which was nice. They have a 23 high hand payout system instead of a bad beat.

Saturday I teed off at 11am with Penski and a couple of others. Actually our fourth was the new General Manager. He was my partner and was getting 11 shots, which a shit load compared to what we are used to based on playing with guys that are usually around the same handicap.

Anyway I make a NINE on the first hole (Quad bogey on a par 5). Nice partner eh! I hit four trees on four individual shots on the first hole alone (no warm up stinks). It was pretty gross. From there I made par on every hole until 12, except for 5 which was a birdie. I made a TRIPLE bogey on 13 when I hit it into the water and then three putted. Good job. So yeah, 7 over on two holes and I was 7 over for the day. Still managed to birdie the 18th to keep my "shoot under 80 every single round this year" goal alive.

More beers after the round, then the Canucks beat up the Dallas Stars and then almost gave it away in the third. After that, we watched the Manny Pacquiao fight on PPV. That was probably the most entertaining boxing match I have seen in years. Just awesome.

And of course, what would a weekend be without watching Tiger pull off something extraodinary... again! I don't think I even need to explain just how clutch this guy is week in and week out. All I know is, this is the year that we will see something great. This is the year that he will shatter all of his own records and blow everyone out of the water. Mark my words.

I've played the last two blogger tournies from someone else's house. Doing this, while drinking beer and other activities, watching hockey and whatever else there was on the PVR makes it an interesting grind. I couldn't really get anything going at all. All I know is Dwal kept raising my BB with air and was getting away with it. I just didn't have a hand to resteal with. When I did, it was the almighty J9o that took me down. Regardless of how many times I folded in a row before that, he still called. GG me.

My Top 25 yet to win

First things first. A HUGE "WAY TO GO SMOKKEE !!" for taking down the PLO skillz tourney last night to earn the 7th TOC seat of the 55 available. I just find it so ironic how Smokkee could potentially win his WSOP seat from Full Tilt when all he does is pimp and play at Bodog now. I wish I could play at Bodog... If you can, I suggest you do because their 2 table SnG for a WSOP seat is about as good as it gets... you don't even have to win a single tournament. Just fold to the points!

I haven't played a blogger tournament for a full week now. However, I plan on making it to the Mookie as usual. It's a tournament that I don't plan on missing much at all this year if I can help it. I'd like to say I'm doing everything I can to chase down that player of the month prize, but I'm not. I just don't seem to be able to commit to these tournaments. Every. Single. Night. (Almost).

So after some not so careful consideration, I have come up with my own top 25. The top 25 bloggers who I think will eventually win a TOC seat at some point before this is over. So here we go in no particular order (sorry no linkage):

1. Hoy - there is no way this guy can't win one of these sooner or later. He is on fire.
2. Bayne - his luckbox skills will activate sooner or later
3. Fuel55 - this one I am not sure of, he might get one outtered right before HU. He's yet to even earn a single point... but he is the type of player to either win it or gigli all series long.
4. Cracknaces - If he can make it to a final table with a stack, he will be tough to beat.
5. CMitch - I just feel like he will win one, maybe even two.
6. Recess Rampage - sooner or later this donk has to get lucky...
7. LJ - her game is coming along fast and furiously and should all the pieces fall into place at the right time it will be a breeze.
8. AlCan'tHang - so close last week, if he drinks enough, he could win one and not even remember playing.
9. Astin - same as Bayne - he just needs Aces about 6 times at the final table.
10. Miami Don - if he shows up as much as I do, then I am not sure if the planets will align. It'd be nice if he won his own tourney to get in though.
11. PokahDave - I think he has a new FT account? not sure. If not, get on it!
12. Lightning36 - If he doesn't get sucked out on at the final table bubble, look out!
13. Kuro Kitty - just a hunch.
14. ScottMc - even if someone doesn't back him, he'll be playing with no fear at all.
15. BuddyDank - just because he is a lucky dooosh bag.
16. GCox - If he sticks to his game, he is very tough.
17. Julius Goat - I never said you couldn't win with your writting skills... and this guy is the cream of the crop.
18. Blinders - if his wife let's him play.
19. JoeSpeaker - I can't see how he won't win one of these sooner or later.
20. Drizz - I see him winning one of the non NL games, but that is not to discount his NL game, it's just as good if not better.
21. HighOnPoker - Again, he's gotta show up more than once a week. I should take that advice.
22. Jamyhawk - as long as he can lay down AK when it's time...
23. Riggstad - another hunch. Boooooom.
24. Surflexus - I said he was the Tiger Woods of the Mookie... I just wonder if he will be able to pull it off when it counts!
25. Mookie! - I mean seriously, he's gotta win sooner or later, and why not his own tournament? That would bring me 5 big ones from Tragedy if that was the case.

Wow that went quick! I thought 25 would be tough, but now I think I'll have to list 5 more honorable mentions:

The Rooster - non NL is my guess.
Katitude - why the hell not!
JustanotherDonkey - he won the mookie a little while back. Now it's time for the big show.
Waffles - I really should include him in the above list, but it's too late. I still think he can win one soon though. Do it.
RaisingCayne - in the points 3 times, money twice. You just never know.

Keep in mind I have not factored in how many tournaments each will play in. I am just pulling these names from the top of my head and really wrote this post in a matter of minutes, ok 20... (although its something I have been thinking about for a week or so now). The players that I listed above are the ones that I think have the game, have the track record and have the skills to win something somewhere at somepoint.

It's just a matter of when... luck will obviously be a big factor, so timing is really everything.

If I haven't mentioned your name above then you take it one of two ways. Either I just don't think you'll ever win a TOC seat (prove me wrong), or I intentionally left your name off the list because I didn't want to jinx you (Bammmmmmm)! I think the latter is a good excuse for you to just step up to the plate and win one of these things.

Notice that I have left plenty of room for the luckbox donks to come out of the woodwork and take one down. There will be at least 20 people (like "hotpants", "hellroy" or gadzooks64) that will earn their seats that I know nothing about. I can guarantee that. I didn't mention any of Lucko's "gbif's" as I am sure they will take a seat or two (Loretta8 for example).

I also think that Summer_Babe (the blogfather), Dr. Pauly and Change100 have a good chance too... if they found the time.

That is the problem when I was trying to make this list. Should I list some of the old crew that might not show up much? Or list a few of the new crew like Corron10 (already won) who have already made a splash in the top 15 on the TLB.

It looks like TwoBlackAces is leading the way for the player of the month. It's a close race though so make sure you get your ass out there, and often. There's only 11 events left in March...

Do it and good luck.

Fantasy Sports Live Schaubs Shootout

Blinders and I wanted to promote Fantasy NHL to all you bloggers out there who think they know a little about hockey... so take a SHOT at beating me to win some cashola.

We'll run it for the rest of the regular season and into the NHL playoffs. The bragging rights alone are worth more than the weekly $18 first prize.

I'm on fantasy tilt right now, so your chances of beating me are actually pretty good...

Do it.

I am a pushfest pro... duh

I've finally found what I am good at. Pushfests! Maybe there is some lucksackery in this here soul of mine afterall... big smile!

On Wednesday night, after my 17th place exit in the Mookie, I jumped into one of those 50 FPP on Full Tilt with the likes of CK, Fuel, BuddyDank, Numbono, twoblackaces, schleppy, donkette. I can honestly say that it was the most fun I've had playing poker in a long time. So much fun that I think I will play in the Donkament tonight and give back a little (ok as much as possible in the first hour) of the $70 I won from the above said pushfest.

I hit runner-runner the first two pushes of the 54 person SnG. Split the first pot with Buddy when I held 47o and he held something like K7o. We both hit rivered straights and we were off and running. I don't have any screen shots but shortly after that (maybe three pushes later) there were only two of us bloggers left in the prop bet. I push with AA, everyone folds. The VERY NEXT hand I get AA again, I push. Knock out someone else.

I think I finished somewhere around 24th. The record is 14th. But man, was that ever fun! Ship it!

We played one more after that and CK was the big winner. She dominated the thing for about 20 straight hands and had 15 times (I'm actually just guessing) as many chips as second place. It was so hilarious and so fun. I was listening to BDR at the time and couldn't help but sign on and re-live the fun on the air. That show rocks!

The best part about these pushfests is pissing off all the other unsuspecting non-blogger types. The ones who have put up their 50 hard earned points and have real hopes of winning the super-sat. into another satellite to the 750K. Pipe dreams I tell ya. Especially when they run into 7-10 pushmonkeys with more money on the line than the actually cost of the entry, and the next combined.

So fun, I'm smiling.

Make sure you smile today, it is good for the poker soul.

I didn't play in the 4 card PLO bingo tourney last night, in fact I don't even know who won the Riverchasers. Whoever it was, congrats on the TOC seat!

I guess I'll go searching now.

Have a good weekend everyone.

It's none of your business what other people think of you...

So here we are heading into event 4 tonight and I already see the blogger drama starting to build like a runaway snowball downhill. I really hope that people just relax and enjoy this unique ride that we are all lucky enough to be a part of. No need to stress about other bloggers hand analysezzzzz and what people are saying. I was chatting with another blogger a few nights ago and he asked me if I noticed anything different lately in the blogs. My response was: not really. At first I didn't really know what he was talking about since I had been behind in bloglines and hadn't had a chance to confirm what he was saying.

He noted that he is not seeing very much content in terms of hand analysis out there lately. His theory is it because the BBT3 started up, and thinks that people are afraid of what others will say if they post a HH (that would abviously include other bloggers and how they played) or ask for advice on what they think went wrong in the hand (whether they are in it or not). I tend to agree that there isn't much out there lately, but really it doesn't matter to me either way. Sure I like to get into a hand and go through the details and read people's comments, that is just part of the learning process. But if people don't find it necessary to get feed back from the blogs, or better yet - don't want to help others because of the fear of being wrong... well then that is their problem.

How many times have you asked a question (let's say in high school, university, or a group meeting of some sort) that you already knew the answer to, but asked anyway - just for the benefit of others?

That is how I feel about the blogs sometimes. It creates discussion. Interesting discussion and analysis. I don't think people should be afraid to post HH's because it "might give away to much information" either about the game of poker in general, or more specifically, about the writer's game. The fear of either being critizied, or allowing people to openly figure out your style of play (if you read a blog and the HH's long enough you can definitly figure out a person's style and how they play big hands etc) seems to have an effect on poker blog content.

The bottom line is, do whatever you want, play your cards however you want, and write whatever you want after (or before if you are some sort of visionary psychic). If there is backlash and negative comments, then so be it. That is a function of a good post, to encourage opinions and critical thinking.

The most important thing for me is to have fun, if I'm not having fun then what is the point! Oh and winning, winning is important... it's a self-fulfilling prophecy!

Be honest with yourself, and good things will happen.

Aces cracked by Scott Fischman

If it wasn't for hitting my two outter (KK vs. AA vs JJ - ScottMc) on the river againsts LJ's Aces I wouldn't have made it to the final table. However, once I got past the money bubble and past the final table bubble I really felt good (and lucky) about my game and my chances of taking down event number one actually seemed within reach. My luck ended abruptly when Fischlucksackman called my "standard Hoy preflop raise" which I have recently incorporated and is working like a charm.

Blinds are 1500/3000 with antes of about 300. I raise it to 10,600 from UTG+1 (no respect!)

He flat calls from the button.

I bet out 25,000 into a 28,000ish pot. Well I make a "this is a c-bet" type of bet on the flop and he pushes. I made that 25K bet because I thought I would push this "pro" off of any sort of straight drawing hand... nope. I actually thought he might have 10-J sooted before I made the instacall. My luck ran out I guess. Stupid pros. Who's next? I guess Ivy or the Mouth will show up tonight...

I had a blast, and actually jumped out of my chair when I hit that two outter against LJ. Very lucky. What a great turnout!

If I win that hand I cripple him and put myself in great shape to take down event #1. Oh... what could have been...

I also blame Instant Tragedy for taking drafting me in his last longest bet with ScottMc.

See you tonight?

2nd in the Dook, Al is God

Took second in the Dookie when Hoy just over powered me with his poker expertise and my weaknesses were finally exposed. Having him on my left the entire tournament probably had something to do with it too... He did have Aces heads up which is always nice, but I still managed to double him up with my shitty AJxx. I am awesome.


Speaking of actual awesomeness - Go check out Al's Blog right now!!!



I've got a token for the first two events... do you?

Do it.

I is a RockStar, Golf, Poker, the usual stuff

Before I go on about how I am considering going pro in RockStar, I'd like to say it was a welcomed surprise to receive a phone call from Astin and the Eh-Vegas crew on Friday night (almost midnight their time) to do a dial-a-shot. Ironically, I had just done two consecutive ear burning shots at the local bar I was at for a fundraiser. It was great to hear a couple of familar voices in the background as I could here CK say "helrr-roh" and Bam-Bam shout out "Tiger sucks" or wait, now that I think about it I think he said "Tiger is the greatest ever!" I talked to Astin for about 5 minutes and he basically told me what I was expecting - everyone was pissed. I wouldn't expect anything less, of course.


Saturday morning was beautiful here, and I am sure you can guess what that means.... Schaubs is going golfing! This would be the second time I teed it up in 2008 and the first time at my home course this year. We went out as a threesome and decided to have individual matches against each other playing a $2-2-2 game with $1 KP's (there are 5, and if you win them all - it doubles). I wasn't too sure about how I would play, but historcally I have been able to hold my own when I have had a lot of time off. I can't explain why, but I seem to play a bit better than usual. I hit the range before we went out, and was feeling indifferent about what my game may bring me, all I knew was that the sun was shinning and it was the weekend. I couldn't really ask for much more on weekend in February.


I'm gonna stop right now with the details, because honestly, reading about someone's golf round is almost as bad as listening to someone talk about their round. It gets very boring, very quickly. heck, it's almost as bad as listening to a bad beat story sometimes. Really it just comes down to the person, and the golf story they are actually going to tell. If it's just going to be about all the near misses and chances and unlucky breaks that you were "dealt" then forget it. I do, however, make time to listen to someone tell me a hole or two without asking for a buck, but usually after that I zone out and find something else to do... like drink beer.



So here is the short version: Rolled in a 20 footer from off the green on #2 to steal the KP from Penski. Miss 4 putts inside 4 feet throughout the day. Chip in on 15 for birdie. Drove the green on the par 5 17th and made the eagle putt. Win all 5 KP's from Penski for $10 and win $25 overall from my two competitors.



The highlight of the day was obviously the 17th hole. The tees were up on this 290 par 4 as they were re-seeding the regular tee box and it was under construction. Therefore, the hole measured 245 yards in total and the pin was in the front left corner. You still had to carry the water (carry it about 230 yards) if you wanted to reach the green. Penski was up first as I had just bogied the 16th to make the match even. He stepped up and drove the green with his choked down driver. Not only was the KP sweep in jeopardy, but so was my chances of winning the match if I didn't step up and hit a good one. Well, I don't think I can remember the last time I hit a shot where I actually thought it might go in the hole right after I hit it. It was flying right at the stick and didn't move... landed 1 yard short of the pin, bounced of the pin and stopped about 8 feet away. I made the putt as mentioned, but still wonder if and when I'll ever get that elusive hole in one. If my first one ever comes on a par 4... then all the better! Oh well.

Saturday night I had planned to try and meet up with Fuel and CC as they were playing a 6 max tournament ($200+20). Neither of them did that great, so when I was done golf, they were already bounced. I think CC finished 25th and Fuel went down in flames early.

After the round Penski and I decided that instead of going to the Casino that we'd go over to our buddies house and watch the Canucks and have some more beers. We played donkey hour poker ($0.25/0.50, $10 buyin) and spewed off about 30 bucks each while we drank. There was also darts and foosball, so overall it was a great time. Then all of the sudden the Miller brother's come in and they have RockStar for PS3. They went home, packed it up, and brought it over.

Now this thing is much more than I expected. Especially the drums... actually I am not sure what I was expecting. Either way, it was awesome. I tried the drums and the guitar first, and pretty sucked ass at the easy level. All it takes is a little practice and by the end of the song I was starting to get the hang of it. The singing is where I excelled at, somehow. I grabbed the mike and jammed with the Miller brothers for a couple of songs and worked my way up to hard. Then I finally said "give me expert" - admittedly I was more than few beers deep at that point. I managed to pull off 86%, and apparantly that is good... so yeah, maybe I should go pro? Since I nailed it? Pfffft. I love drunk singing though, good times. Now I just need to find it for Wii, I hear it is coming out soon.

Sunday was filled with more sunny times. We hung out in Penski's back yard and played washers and drank beer. Went home in the afternoon and instead of watching the Oscars with Lola and the family (I refuse to watch the Oscars if I haven't seen any of the movies) I.... hmmmmm played poker! Obv.

I signed up for one of those 18 person SnG's - the $6 one where they award 4 tokens. I played like a tighty and remember reading Jordan's post about how tight you really should play in these things. Laying down double paint in EP is hard sometimes, but I stuck to it. At the same time, I played in $14 token frenzy and managed to win one of those as well. Bubbled in a $10 KO though so that kinda stung. Overall it was a great weekend.

Congrats to RecesseRampage for beating Fuel 3 straight! I never would have predicted that as I knew that Fuel was on quite the roll heading into the match. He even won 9 straight matches yesterday alone. Go check it out. Recess is already in the Finals and I can't even arrange to play my second round match... Where are you Wes?


Congrats to Hoy as well, 11K holy crap.

Vegas eh, not me this time, but soon...

A big "HAVE AN AWESOME TIME!!!" goes out to all of you who are on their way to Toronto for Eh-Vegas. I should have considered it more seriously, but in the end I just couldn't justify ANOTHER trip, when I have a lot coming up this year already. It's all about choices. Although after reading about Astin's planned menu, it would have been worth it just for the dinner on Saturday night. Crazy cook is he, I agree.

Have fun!

I need your opinion on what the best option is with regards to a Vegas trip. Here is the scenario:

If you had two days holiday days to use for a trip like this would you rather do:

1. Thursday night to Monday morning – Arrive late at night (around midnight before you sit down at a poker table) and be ready for the wedding which is Friday afternoon.

2. Thursday night to Monday evening – same thing, except all I know is leaving in the afternoon kinda sucks because you end up waiting around trying to find something to do, and you end up blowing the last two remaining hundreds that you had hoped to bring home with you. It still gives you more time to sleep in though, and you can check out some last minute attractions and hotels while your bags are checked with the front desk.

3. Thursday morning to Sunday night – Get there, get settled. Nothing is usually happening on Sunday night anyway. But then you have to go to work on Monday.

4. Wednesday night to Sunday night – An extra night in cost, but it might be the best option as far as getting in everything you want in such little time. I am traveling with a couple of newbies that have never been to Vegas. So I am sure they will want to do a bit of the tourist thing. With regards to the wedding, obviously we want to be in decent shape on the wedding day, and have enough time to recover from the craziness that will surely ensue throughout Friday evening and all of Saturday.... So it might be a bit tough to get up and leave on Sunday evening. This is why i need your expert advice people!

Of course, cost comes in to play too. I figure for 4 nights you can usually get a nice place for less than $700. For three nights, it’s about $550. To further the savings we will probably share a room with another couple. We can always pull the old “book a couple of flights only and then sneak in and shack up to save some money” maneuver.

Has anyone every stayed at Harrah’s? It sounds like that is the hotel of choice for the bride and groom.

Have a good weekend everyone.

The Tiger Woods of the Mookie

A HUGE congrats goes out to Surflexus who managed to pull of the victory last night in a heads up battle against NewinNov. That makes it 7, yes SEVEN, Mookie titles for Surf. Just awesome.

I made a prop bet with InstantTragedy last night on whether or not Mookie or Hoy would win a Mookie by the end of the year. He said no, so we made a friendly wager. I figure one of those two is going to win by December. Either of them could take it down at any given time, they just need a little lucksackreversalofthedonkeysuckout magic to ensure victory. One of these weeks one of them will get hit with the deck and take it down and I will have made some lunch money. Good luck boys.

Anyway, BDR was a blast. I have no idea how I did or how I sounded, but I know one thing... I had a fucking great time. So there is that at least. I didn't even have the actual radio on while I was talking so I never ever heard myself or how the conversations were sounding. But whatever, I'm not too worried considering the peak listenership was somewhere near 40 or so at one point in the show. Not that that matters, I think this show is great stuff and I look forward to coming back... if they'll have me.

I played in the Mookie and the Dookie last night, while chatting it up and eventually donking out (you be the judge) in the Mookie. I don't see how I can get away from QQ in the SB, but somehow I need to learn how to lay that down when it is obvious that the raising player has a big hand. I think the blinds were 120/240 or so, there are 20 people left and I was in good shape with about 5300 chips. He raised to 1200 or so (there was an EP limper too who eventually folded), I pushed and he inst-O-called. He flipped over his Aces and that was that.

The Dookie worked out a little better. I didn't plan on paying much attention but once we got to the final table I tried my best to play my game and it worked out well as I took the thing down for a nice $45 win. I know, big buck big bucks, but a win is a win. PLH is a game I enjoy and have had some decent success at, so it was nice to get back into the winner's circle again, even if it was the donkfest otherwise known as the Dookie. I think that is my 3rd Dookie now, although I'd trade all three of them for a Mookie title most def.

The BB3 is upon us so start stacking up those tokens (big and small) and get ready for another 3 months of poker grindage.

Don't! Don't! Don't believe the hype!

Time for some pimpage and some linkage:

First off, there's a very good chance (I'd say better then my Jacks beating your AKo) that I will be chiming in on BuddyDankRadio tonight. I've got all the hardware and software in place now, so hopefully that works out. I am not sure what I'll be able to contribute in terms of content, but at least I have an excuse to do some excessive drinking and what not. Tune in and check it out! I'll probably just lay low and attempt to keep the conversation light and unannoying. I know based on my limited listening experience that it can often turn into the BuddyDoosh show if there isn't much to talk about. Make sure to drop a comment on the BDR website comments section if you think its starting to suck balls. It works out well, because Lola is off to watch some ATM... err I mean some ANTM tonight with her lady friends... which means I can crank it up! See you there, and see you at the Mookie and the Dookie. Thanks for this Mookie.

While all of that is going on, make sure you look up Fuel55 and find his BloggerDeathMatch table and watch the skillededest of the bloggers put up their big bucks and try to beat the self proclaimed God of Poker. Will someone please shut this guy up already? Nice password Dr. Fag.

Other linkage for no reason at all:

I've found this bloggercrusher dude amusing lately. He's hasn't posted much lately, and it seems that no one can really figure out who the hell he is... which is always fun as it seems to create even more drama than usual. I've heard some rumblings that it might be Hoy or someone like that, but still no definitive proof. Anyone out there good at analyzing writing styles? Will someone please out this guy already?

Jordan over at HoP pointed out a few other interesting blogs that I think you would also find good time wasters (a little late to the party I know I know). So go check those out while you are eating your microwaved lunch.

No news on Round 2 of HUC6. I can't seem to get in contact with Wes... although I think he is on vacation. I guess I'll keep practicing at the $2 tables for now. I don't see myslef beating this guy, however Fuel has given me some great insider info. on his game so I will try to use that to my advantage whereever possible.

See ya tonight.

FCPC deepstacks recap-cap... did I just get scammed?

I just spent 20 minutes writing a great recap. Googlefucker fucked me over and nothing was saved. Fuck you googlefucker.

Here is a recap of my FCPC recap:

• I was card dead for the first 2 hours and played 2-3 hands max.
• Made the final table with my starting stack.
• bluffed an inexperienced player with 62o and made her fold her pocket 4's - used table chat to induce a fold with comments like "there's no shame in folding", "I'm a very tight player" and "I've got a very strong hand" and it worked.
• Lost a critical hand where my A10o couldn't hold againsts KJs.
• finished 4th place and made $20.

----

Since I lost my other post I guess I will just write a bit more to satisfy myself.

Saturday night Lola and I went to the Canucks game. We decided to head downtown early to enjoy the sun and do some shopping. As we were heading back to the car this guy came up behind me and the following conversation took place:

Toothless guy: "Excuse me, but can I ask you a question? I'm not from around here. I just got here and I live in Halifax." He wore an old Canadian flag hat, old garbage like clothing and had a disgusting scruffy old beard that hosted who knows what...

Me: "Sure, what's up?"

TG: "Well, you see I am trying to raise another $4 so that I can get a room at the YMCA for the night. Can you spare some change?"

Lola: "Sorry I don't have any change"

Me: I look at Lola and can't figure out if she wants me to give the guy some money or if she is telling me that this is a scam. I dip into my pocket and all I have are bills. I pull out a loose $5 bill and I give it to him. I was feeling generously karmatic at the moment and felt like it was my time to give to someone who was less fortunate. After he left Lola told me that there was this lady behind me give me the "don't do it" type of a look. Of course, I didn't see this and Lola didn't say anything.

I just got scammed! It didn't feel like it was a scam though, and I still insist that part of it was true. It bothered me for the rest of our walk. In fact after we were completely done shopping I spotted the guy again.

Sure enough he was up to his old tricks again outside of Starbucks. I decided to hang out and watch him as he swindled another few bucks from another unsuspecting couple. Eventually the toothless wonder wandered back over to us... and asked us the same question AGAIN!

This was the final nail. I looked and him with a blank stare and said nothing. Lola looked at him, laughed and said "you just asked us the exact same question 10 minutes ago... don't you remember?"

He blankly mumbled something and made it seem like he was confused. He appologized and said he still only needed $4 to get a room and that he be ok.

Ok sure pal. You fucking liar. I hate being lied to right to my face. I fucking hate it.

A part of me still thinks I did the right thing, the other part of me is telling the honorable part of me that I am dumb ass and that I just got picked off and my weakness was exposed. I am a sucker. Although I've never given money to someone on the street before so I figure that I owe someone something out there...

Do I still get karma points? Time will tell.

6 max hand BB vs. SB

I usually hit the 6 max table right after work and grind it out for no more than an hour. After dinner I decided to go back to the table for another 30 minutes...

I shut the computer off and ranted for about... 1 minute about this hand to Lola. Then realized how much variance does suck ass in a majorly ass sucking fucking way. I don't think I made the right decision on any street though so whatever... I wasn't happy about the fact that I didn't raise it pre-flop. I'm not going to say I would raise it 100% of the time in this spot, but I think it was warranted here as I had been consistently aggressive. I don't think he folds anyway:

Seat 1: Studi ($46.95 in chips)
Seat 2: Lola ($27.30 in chips)
Seat 4: sørven ($21.70 in chips)
Seat 5: Ravenater ($12.80 in chips)
Seat 6: sags1866 ($22.25 in chips)
Studi: posts small blind $0.10
Lola: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Lola [Tc Jh]
sørven: folds
Ravenater: folds
sags1866: folds
sørven leaves the table
Studi: calls $0.15
Lola: checks <---- If I make my standard raise to $1 then I think he probably calls (his stack is deep enough)... but I guess I'll never know that!
*** FLOP *** [8s Qd 9h]
Studi: bets $0.75
Lola: calls $0.75 <---- now that I think about it, raising here would have been a good play too... who knew...
*** TURN *** [8s Qd 9h] [Qs]
Studi: bets $1
Lola: raises $1.75 to $2.75 <---- Now I raise here hoping he does have a Queen, but I don't really consider that he may have flopped two pair or a set (although he would raise with 99 or 88)... bad bad poker. I probably should just call here if I think I am already beat and try to control the pot on the river.
Studi: raises $4.75 to $7.50 <--- At the time, I knew he had a Queen, but never thought to myself... "gee I wonder what his other card could be"
Lola: raises $18.80 to $26.30 and is all-in <---- awwww fuck it, all or nothing!
Studi: calls $18.80
*** RIVER *** [8s Qd 9h Qs] [9s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Studi: shows [Qc 9c] (a full house, Queens full of Nines) <--- Fuck a Duck!
Lola: mucks hand
Studi collected $52.60 from pot
Lola leaves the table (in disgust!!)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $54.60 Rake $2
Board [8s Qd 9h Qs 9s]
Seat 1: Studi (small blind) showed [Qc 9c] and won ($52.60) with a full
house, Queens full of Nines
Seat 2: Lola (big blind) mucked [Tc Jh]

If not for this hand my 6 max roll on PS would be at an all time high.

Keep grinding.

HUC 6 - Round 1, PIP Wii

I scheduled my match with knightsridge to be played at around noon on Saturday as he lives in Scotland and is 8 hours ahead of me. This would work to my advantage as I think he had already started drinking in the early evening of his weekend. I, however, was still hung over from the night before. I rarely drink hard booze, but somehow found myself slamming my last double vodka at 2am as my group told me that we were about to leave. We had planned ahead and had a hotel room booked down the street. It was a great call because after I hit up the $2 pizza place I was fast asleep about 45 minutes later.

I woke up with a pounding headache, but was determined to make it home in time to ensure I didn't have to reschedule. I've read in numerous places about how hard it is to actually get seated in HU match with someone you are intending too... and all the reports are true, it's a bitch! Anyway, we finally got a table together at FT (I suggested this because of the rematch feature) and we were off and running.

Match 1: on the 33rd hand we found ourselves dead even in chips:

Seat 1: Schaubs (1,500)
Seat 2: Knightsridge (1,500)
Knightsridge posts the small blind of 15
Schaubs posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Schaubs [Jh Jd]
Knightsridge raises to 90
Schaubs raises to 210
Knightsridge calls 120
*** FLOP *** [4d 9s Th]
Schaubs bets 270
Knightsridge raises to 1,290, and is all in
Schaubs calls 1,020, and is all in
Knightsridge shows [Td Qs]
Schaubs shows [Jh Jd]
Knightsridge: nice
*** TURN *** [4d 9s Th] [2h]
*** RIVER *** [4d 9s Th 2h] [7s]
Knightsridge shows a pair of Tens
Schaubs shows a pair of Jacks
Schaubs wins the pot (3,000) with a pair of Jacks
Knightsridge: nh
Knightsridge stands up
Schaubs stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,000 Rake 0
Board: [4d 9s Th 2h 7s]
Seat 1: Schaubs (big blind) showed [Jh Jd] and won (3,000) with a pair of Jacks
Seat 2: Knightsridge (small blind) showed [Td Qs] and lost with a pair of Tens

Match 2: I made a silly push 23 hands into this one and got caught:

Seat 1: Knightsridge (1,890)
Seat 2: Schaubs (1,110)
Schaubs posts the small blind of 15
Knightsridge posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Schaubs [8c 8h]
Schaubs raises to 90
Knightsridge raises to 295
Schaubs raises to 1,110, and is all in
Knightsridge calls 815
Schaubs shows [8c 8h]
Knightsridge shows [9c 9s]
*** FLOP *** [As Kh 5d]
*** TURN *** [As Kh 5d] [7s]
*** RIVER *** [As Kh 5d 7s] [Jd]
Schaubs shows a pair of Eights
Knightsridge shows a pair of Nines
Knightsridge wins the pot (2,220) with a pair of Nines
Schaubs: gg
Schaubs stands up
Knightsridge: gg
Knightsridge stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2,220 Rake 0
Board: [As Kh 5d 7s Jd]
Seat 1: Knightsridge (big blind) showed [9c 9s] and won (2,220) with a pair of Nines
Seat 2: Schaubs (small blind) showed [8c 8h] and lost with a pair of Eights

Match 3: Tightness ensued.

Seat 1: Schaubs (2,140)
Seat 2: Knightsridge (860)
Knightsridge posts the small blind of 10
Schaubs posts the big blind of 20
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Schaubs [Ac Ah]
Knightsridge folds
Uncalled bet of 10 returned to Schaubs
Schaubs shows [Ac Ah] a pair of Aces
Schaubs wins the pot (20)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 20 Rake 0
Seat 1: Schaubs (big blind) collected (20)
Seat 2: Knightsridge (small blind) folded before the Flop

I kept the pressure on:

Seat 1: Schaubs (2,150)
Seat 2: Knightsridge (850)
Schaubs posts the small blind of 10
Knightsridge posts the big blind of 20
Knightsridge: wow
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Schaubs [Ac 2s]
Schaubs: nice fold
Knightsridge: lol
Schaubs raises to 60
Knightsridge: skill
Knightsridge folds
Uncalled bet of 40 returned to Schaubs
Schaubs mucks
Schaubs wins the pot (40)
The blinds are now 15/30

On the 54th hand I finished him off:

Seat 1: Schaubs (2,265)
Seat 2: Knightsridge (735)
Schaubs posts the small blind of 20
Knightsridge posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Schaubs [Jd Qs]
Schaubs calls 20
Knightsridge checks
*** FLOP *** [2d 6d 5c]
Knightsridge checks
Schaubs checks
*** TURN *** [2d 6d 5c] [Js]
Knightsridge checks
Schaubs bets 80
Knightsridge raises to 160
Schaubs raises to 2,225, and is all in
Knightsridge calls 535, and is all in
Schaubs shows [Jd Qs]
Knightsridge shows [Jc 8s]
Uncalled bet of 1,530 returned to Schaubs
Knightsridge: nh
*** RIVER *** [2d 6d 5c Js] [Kd]
Schaubs shows a pair of Jacks
Knightsridge shows a pair of Jacks
Knightsridge: gg
Schaubs wins the pot (1,470) with a pair of Jacks
Schaubs: gg dude
Knightsridge stands up
Schaubs stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,470 Rake 0
Board: [2d 6d 5c Js Kd]
Seat 1: Schaubs (small blind) showed [Jd Qs] and won (1,470) with a pair of Jacks
Seat 2: Knightsridge (big blind) showed [Jc 8s] and lost with a pair of Jacks

It was a good match, I know they won't get any easier that is for sure.

----

Saturday night we had a couple of friends over and I was finally able to set up my entertainment system the way I have wanted it for over a month now. Then, as we were playing around with the settings we realized that I could set up my Wii on PIP and play it while we were watching the Canucks game! Although it was a little bit small in the bottom right corner, bowling was probably the best game for this. We didn't even try any other games actually, we just kept bowling. I still am yet to beat Lola's high score.

I've also set up the original Nintendo so that it can also be played. In fact, at one point after the hockey game 2 people were playing the Wii tennis full size, while someone else was playing Super Mario Bros. on the PIP. Good times.

----
Congrats to Chad for his recent 35th place finish last night. I watched him for a while and he was handling the big stack at the table very nicely. Good job.

Final Answer & my new investment strategy

Holy crap! Over 5,300 players in the first FTOPS event? That is just plain nuts if you ask me. It's funny because when Goat commented on how how many people he thought it would be I thought he was totally exagerating... I guess there are a lot of Fult Tilt members out there that just decided to buy in directly like I was sillishly contemplating.

I appreciate all the great advice I received yesterday. In the end, I sided with the majority of the comments (by my scientific calculations anyway) and decided that, for various reasons, I was not going to put up the $216 and dent my roll in a major way just to satisfy some sort of urge or need.

Bam Bam's quote was quite fitting:

"Desperation and desire, the creation of a poor man. Innovation and intellect, the creation of something special."Howard Hughes (pre-looney-tunes)

I even had some advice from a self-proclaimed A-lister (who can argue with him anyway when he is the champ):

"Wait until your game is where you need it to be. I'm not saying top notch...but where you say, I'm feeling good enough to take a shot."

That says it right there. I am just not ready (although I sometimes question whether I will EVER be ready). My game is not ready, and my poker midset is not on point. In the end, it was a smart decision and when I woke up this morning, I still had an extra $216 in my poker account. That's like a win right there.

A big congrats goes out to JoeSpeaker who put his money up and ended up finishing somewhere around the 350 mark for a cash of double his buyin. Well done sir, keep running good and keep that game tight and squeaky clean.

So after looking at the schedule, the only tournament that I realistically want to play in now is the main event. I plan on taking that unspent money and using a portion of it for satellites. If I don't make it after 2-3 tries I will just fuck it all together.

However, I've come up with a new way to blow some money: Buy some action of other bloggers... Yep, I mean why not put my money behind some of the best poker players I know. So if you think you'd like to sell a portion of your stake, then let me know. I'm setting a side about a hundo to gamble with. I'd like to spread it out over a few people, although I am not sure anyone will take me up on the offer.

Let's say the cost of a particular tourney is $216. Well I'll buy 1% for $3. That's not a bad return right there. 5% for $15 and so on. I'll rail you, trash talk others and do whatever I can to ensure you go deep in the tourney. I think I'll probably have more fun doing that then stressing over whether I should call OOP with my pocket 4's in the BB.

Which brings me to my current struggle. I constantly am faced with those types of OOP calls these days. It's something I must really work on. I must have seen 77, 66, 44, AQo and 99 OOP within the first 30 minutes of the Mookie last night, and I just couldn't seem to get anything going. It just never felt right at the time. I was always saying to myself "man not again, another decent (not great) hand and I have no idea if I should be calling or raising". Especially since the Mookie moved to 1500 chip starting stack. It made those decisions even harder in the early goings. I need to adjust and learn more that is for sure. I remember doing very well a while back when it was 1500, maybe I played a lot tighter back then, right now I'm just not sure what the difference is.

I'd have to say my preflop calling range is all over the map right now and I just can't seem to find the right formula of when to fold, when to raise etc. Post flop I seem to be more comfortable. I am not sure why, but that is where my head is at these days. It actually kinda sucks when I have that feeling of confusion and the clock is ticking and I can't seem to pull the trigger either way. Post flop I can usually recognize when someone has missed, and I make the effort take the pot away right there.

----
I've started watching season one of the Wire, and so far it is really good. I wouldn't say totally awesome, but good. I guess watching it late at night might have something to do with it too. Whatever it is, I am already hooked and it's only episode 3. Good stuff.

Can't WAIT for LOST tonight, that show is the best thing going right now.

----
Are there any bloggers already in event #2? My best guess would be this guy for sure. If you haven't read his PLO strategy yet, I suggest you do. He's got to be the best Omaha player I know and really has done very well the past few months. Keep it up, and take that thing down tonight! Time for a blogger to go deep and represent!

Bankroll mismanagement? - help

My one and only try at qualifying for FTOPS event #1 last night and who is sitting directly to my left but none other than JoeSpeaker. It tooks us a few hands each to even realize that we were in fact right beside each other in this 97 person field. I went out around 25th (when I gave it the aw-fuck-it and threw my chips in when I knew for certain I was dominated... hoping for a race...and it wasn't... but it was gambling time I told myself) and Speaker was still in it with a healthy stack when I signed off. Hopefully he was able to get one of those three seats for tonight's event.

I've been tossing around the idea of doing something really really stupid. Which is - buying in directly to one of the FTOPS tournies. Please here me out before you chastise me:

• I'd be donating around 1/4 of my entire bank roll to play in tonight's event.
• The money I would be donating would be "free money" as it has come from other sources other than poker
• I've never played an FTOPS event
• My expectations are very low, and I am 90% cetain this is a donation... me? get in the money? win? Ha.
• The money doesn't mean much to me in the sense that it's just sitting there anyway, waiting to be used for blogger tournies or the odd 6 max cash (which is like 4 or 8 BI's).
• I really want to play in an FTOPS event this time around
• I rarely play in big field events for big money
• you only live once
• Instead I could cash that money out and save it for a Vegas trip (so far I have one in May and one in July scheduled)

So those reasons are pretty basic, and only a couple of them really make sense as to why I should fork over the 2 hundo to play in a 1000+ person event.

Please give me your thoughts as I am currently on the fence here and need a reason to pull the trigger either way. I mean what else could I do with that money?

Do you agree with this statement? : If you can't satellite into the event, then you have no business playing in the event in the first place.

I'll be at the Mookie tonight either way. I'll also be watching the Big Cash Game that the Big Shots (and some small shots) will be playing in. I think that goes off at 8:30 left coast time.

----

Other randomness (non poker):

• Lola beat my ass in bowling last night. Her high score: 182. Mine: 146. Wiiiiiii.
• My Wii tennis game is easily the best out of the Wii Sports games... even though I am a golfer first and foremost (I honestly haven't given golf that much of a chance yet). I guess it comes from all my badminton back in the day coupled with my pickleball expertise that I picked up in high school.
• I had a dream last night that I won a Grammy Award, and then when I went to read my acceptance speech... I was given some other crap and I was totally embarassed.
• It really sucks that every show that I watch weekly is now on Thursdays. I heart my PVR.
• My PVR sucks LOL. There are so many little things that I think they can improve on and I am constantly getting annoyed with the inventor's lack of vision. I guess its the first step in many versions to come, but still some of the most basic things are missing.
• I really need to get to the driving range soon and get out and play some golf! The weather here has been shitty, but not cold enough that I can't at least pound some balls to let off a little steam.
• The Canucks are 20-0 this season when they have the lead heading into the 3rd period... The only problem is, they haven't had the lead heading into the 3rd in 10 straight games now... They are terrible at coming from behind and their recent slide into 9th place supports this. Pick it up suckas!

Is 11 straight really within reach?

I am a believer now. This is the one record that I said could not be broken. It's amazing to think that Tiger could actually pull this off. If he can do this, then there is no telling when the next time will come where someone will actually have a chance to win a tournament that Tiger is playing in. Tiger has now proven that he can come from behind and chase down those chokers. If Tiger is in the hunt, the leader tends to choke more often then not. Tiger is technically 9 wins in a row (if you say they have to occur in one calendar year) away from tying Byron Nelson's 11 consecutive wins record. Can he break it on his way to breaking Lord Byron's 18 wins in one season at the same time?

I've said it here before and I'll say it again: I would be completely and utterly crushed if I it ever came out that Tiger was caught taking HGH or worse yet... roids. Fuck that would be then of my Tiger support right then and there. Until I hear otherwise though, I am a 100% Tiger guy. The more he wins, the more I cheer for him. The bigger the margin of victory the better if you ask me.

Tiger said it best yesterday: "I like [winning] by seven or eight a lot," he said. "It's a lot less stressful."

I could care less if people find it boring, the man is going to go down in history as the greatest EVER.

I heard Junior Seau talk about this (being classified in the "ever" category) yesterday during the Superbowl Pregame show.... and I couldn't agree more.

We all want to be known as the best ever, but most of us just settle for "very good" or "great" or "one of best in his era" but it is very very rare to be the one who is in that special category that we all strive for... It's one of those extremely rare (Gretzky like) categories that only the very elite and magical can stake claim to.

Not much to say about the Superbowl... too bad Patriots!!

All I can say is... what goes around comes around.

Back to Back Mannings!!

----

I moved up levels on FT and am now dabbling in $0.25/0.50 with a little bit of success. Still too early to tell. This guy and this guy have been a big help so far. They solidfied my pre-flop raising requirements as well as my re-raising range. This is going to be a big help moving forward and I expect to see more positive results because of it.

I'm playing this guy in my first round match in HUC6. It might be a bit tough to find a time where we both can play considering he is from Scottland... but I am sure we will work it out soon enough.

Have a good week everyone.