Hey man nice shot

Finally a shot taken has been rewarded! Just took 2nd in a $13 90 man good for $175 profit.

Roll's now up to 625. ^.^ (I learned that symbol from my work btw)

For those who don't have me on Facebook, I start my new 9pm-6am shift this Sunday night. :/ Tonight (Saturday) will likely be my last on-air shift for a while seeing as this new job has screwed me by scheduling me in the middle of my normal Saturday gig.

I don't particularly like all this change in my life, but perhaps looking back it will all have been good for me. God knows what he's doing up there. I don't have a clue, but He sure does. In the end everything will be OK.

Thank you Sir for the late night victory!

A tale of two Queens

Just did 4 table round on $5.50s with a 7th, two 2nds and a win. That coupled with the nice little cash session I had Saturday night has me up to $460, almost another $100 month at this point. :)


Full Tilt Poker Game #12965361001: $5 +

$0.50 Sit & Go (96290089), Table 1 -

20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 12:07:43 ET

- 2009/06/22
Seat 1: Zimbolyoner (1,470)
Seat 2: Dray (1,555)
Seat 3: genepink (2,220)
Seat 4: screweylouie (1,455)
Seat 5: maindecoeur (2,540)
Seat 8: DerDerSiegt (2,660)
Seat 9: thaifyta2gzz (1,600)
maindecoeur posts the small blind of 20
DerDerSiegt posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [Qs Qc]
thaifyta2gzz folds
Zimbolyoner folds
genepink: joli
Dray raises to 100
genepink folds
screweylouie folds
maindecoeur folds
DerDerSiegt calls 60
*** FLOP *** [4d Ad Jc]
DerDerSiegt checks
Dray bets 120
DerDerSiegt raises to 320
Dray has 15 seconds left to act
Dray folds
Uncalled bet of 200 returned to

DerDerSiegt
DerDerSiegt mucks
DerDerSiegt wins the pot (460)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 460 | Rake 0
Board: [4d Ad Jc]
Seat 1: Zimbolyoner didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: Dray folded on the Flop
Seat 3: genepink didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: screweylouie (button) didn't

bet (folded)
Seat 5: maindecoeur (small blind)

folded before the Flop
Seat 8: DerDerSiegt (big blind)

collected (460), mucked
Seat 9: thaifyta2gzz didn't bet

(folded)




Full Tilt Poker Game #12965886750: $5 +

$0.50 Sit & Go (96290096), Table 1 -

100/200 - No Limit Hold'em - 12:49:55

ET - 2009/06/22
Seat 4: Elminster81 (6,560)
Seat 5: Dray (3,360)
Seat 9: ThePanoramic (3,580)
ThePanoramic posts the small blind of

100
Elminster81 posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [Qd Qs]
Dray raises to 500
ThePanoramic calls 400
Elminster81 folds
*** FLOP *** [Kd 5h 2h]
ThePanoramic has 15 seconds left to act
ThePanoramic checks
Dray checks
*** TURN *** [Kd 5h 2h] [6s]
ThePanoramic bets 1,200
Dray calls 1,200
*** RIVER *** [Kd 5h 2h 6s] [9h]
ThePanoramic has 15 seconds left to act
ThePanoramic checks
Dray checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ThePanoramic shows [As Th] Ace King

high
Dray shows [Qd Qs] a pair of Queens
Dray wins the pot (3,600) with a pair

of Queens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,600 | Rake 0
Board: [Kd 5h 2h 6s 9h]
Seat 4: Elminster81 (big blind) folded

before the Flop
Seat 5: Dray (button) showed [Qd Qs]

and won (3,600) with a pair of Queens
Seat 9: ThePanoramic (small blind)

showed [As Th] and lost with Ace King

high

The hits keep on comin

I had me another nice run in an MTT, 3rd in a $2.25 180 man good for like $45. That boosts me up to like $275. It's funny how streaky poker is. I've actually been indecisive on what to do with this money boost, like what direction to go in. Sometimes I get bit by the tournament bug really bad and that's what I find myself looking for constantly. But I also know that the variance is so high, I don't REALLY want to bang away at them because the money's always few and far between.

Honestly lately I've been so indecisive lately that when I'm not feeling it I either don't play at all or just very little. I haven't started 4 tabling $5 sngs and I'm glad because the $2.25's I've been grinding the last 2 weeks haven't been going well at all. It seems like the last few sessions I've put in I cash in 1 out of the 4 I play and it's usually a 3rd or 2nd. Good thing I'm making up for it in other games!

I'm thinking about straight buying into the $33 WSOP satellite in two Sundays. It's a big guarantee for $2500 packages to the series, $1000 buyin for event #4 and $1500 travel expenses. My interest in tokens and satelliting in for less is really down because I'd probably spend the same amount trying to win the dang buyin. I dunno we'll see. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and take it as it comes.

Real world update I officially have a job with Blizzard Entertainment, the company that created World of Warcraft. I start training in a week. The pay is kind of low so I'm still keeping my eyes out for other opportunities. I actually have an interview with a real estate company tomorrow to be there admin assistant. The pay's a little closer to what I was making at SWA but they don't offer benefits. Whatever happens I'll be happy to be working again. Blizzard seems like a really cool company with a very young employee base. I already have two friends that work for them.

OK I'm getting distracted from the $3.30 90 man I'm in right now. Later!

While Full Tilt's down...

I was just in the middle of 3 games and now Full Tilt's servers went down, so time to catch up.

The good luck last Saturday continued as I took down a $3.30 90 man while working at the station. That boosted my roll up to $250 and I haven't seen that much in my account since NOVEMBER. The one I took down was actually my 3rd shot after doing nothing and being card dead in my first two. I was thinking to myself, maybe 3rd time's the charm in the $3.30 when I entered the last one. The difference between the winning game and the first two? A fuck it mentality. Seriously. In turbo tournament poker, a little bit of fuck it goes a long way.

The hilarious hand that started my run was me reraising the guy on my right with AT and he calls. I hit nothing on the flop but my stack is just slightly over the pot size so when he checks, I just shove and he calls with T5 of hearts with 2 hearts on the board and misses. At the final table I remember winning a big coinflip with 66 against AK to get a decent stack. After that I just ran pretty hot.

It's almost tempting to start multitabling $5.50 SNGs now but I'm going to wait and work up the roll a little bit higher before going there. I'm sure the difficulty level is the same as $2.25's but I want the added protection. And since I've gone back to grinding the $2.25's I've been running/playing not so good.

Before FTP went down I was listening to the 2+2 poker podcast and they were talking about this clip of Annie Duke from the Celebrity Apprentice:



Umm that generated unpleasant images in my brain. I've never been that crazy about Annie Duke. She's one of the most well known female poker players but I really don't consider her to be THAT great. Plus I think she's pretty annoying personally. She gave an interview about the Ultimate Bet scandal on Pokerroad and she straight up filibustered them and wouldn't let them ask any questions. It was stupid.

My favorite female poker player is probably Kathy Liebert, even though some people think she's annoying. LOL Why she doesn't rub me the wrong way I don't know, I guess my respect level for her skill negates me caring about her personality. I've never gotten what the big deal is. Jennifer Harman's a close 2nd for fav female pro.

While we're on the subject if you've never seen this clip of Jennifer Tilly on Poker After Dark it's a classic you must know NOW:



Everyone's reaction to how bad she played the hand is what makes this so awesome. Harman looks disgusted, Lindgren looks like "Wow", and Ivey looks like half shock and half I'm trying so hard not to laugh my ass off.

One last thing, in poker news the WPT Championship is happening right now at the Bellagio. I honestly haven't been keeping up with many of the tourneys since I've been unemployed, but I checked in to see who's left and there are quite a few noticeable names including well known online players. Check it out.

Sweet email this afternoon

I got an email from Full Tilt saying that I can now get rakeback!!!! WOO HOO!!!

It was thought to be that if you already had a preexisting account you couldn't get rakeback. But after poking around on 2+2 I found that some people had managed it by asking for it. I asked a few months ago and the response I got made it seem like I was put on a list to be reviewed later.

Lo and behold today that referred me to a site so I could get it. So now every week I'll get 27% of the fees I pay, and rake collected off the cash games redeposited into my account.

w00t!

Winning anything feels good....gives you hope

I've been working my butt off at the station tonight. We had a meeting this week and I got some good notes from my PD about engaging the listener quickly and emotionally. So there's no poker in the studio tonight, I've been doing actual prep work! I think playing up here is a leak anyway since my attention isn't on the game.

I played two point tourneys before I left the house though, and I took down the 300 point one. These have been my cheap solution for the tournament bug while I'm practicing good bankroll management. The problem is that I was once up to like 18K and have since dropped back down. If I'd hadn't won this one I'd be down to 250 and I haven't been that low in a long time.

I want to build it back up again and use the points to satellite into a big tournament. At this point with where I'm at, it's the cheapest way for me to make a big score and get back to making some actual money. I haven't posted hand histories in a while so here's some significant ones:


Full Tilt Poker Game #10229568972: 300 FTP Sat to $750K satellite (77503113), Table 1 - 20/40 - No Limit Hold'em - 17:58:34 ET - 2009/01/24
Seat 1: wanderwin (1,465)
Seat 3: Pudgypickle (1,395)
Seat 4: sharma187 (3,890)
Seat 5: Mussolini777 (1,415)
Seat 6: sleazychewbacca (1,155)
Seat 7: Dray (1,455)
Seat 8: JMR76 (1,270), is sitting out
Seat 9: arklowman (1,455)
Mussolini777 posts the small blind of 20
sleazychewbacca posts the big blind of 40
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [Ah Kc]
Dray calls 40
JMR76 folds
arklowman folds
wanderwin calls 40
Pudgypickle calls 40
sharma187 raises to 260
Mussolini777 folds
sleazychewbacca calls 220
Dray raises to 1,455, and is all in
wanderwin folds
Pudgypickle folds
sharma187 calls 1,195
sleazychewbacca folds
Dray shows [Ah Kc]
sharma187 shows [9h 9s]
*** FLOP *** [7d 4h 4d]
*** TURN *** [7d 4h 4d] [As]
*** RIVER *** [7d 4h 4d As] [Ac]
Dray shows a full house, Aces full of Fours
sharma187 shows two pair, Aces and Nines
Dray wins the pot (3,270) with a full house, Aces full of Fours
JMR76 has reconnected
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,270 | Rake 0
Board: [7d 4h 4d As Ac]
Seat 1: wanderwin folded before the Flop
Seat 3: Pudgypickle folded before the Flop
Seat 4: sharma187 (button) showed [9h 9s] and lost with two pair, Aces and Nines
Seat 5: Mussolini777 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: sleazychewbacca (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: Dray showed [Ah Kc] and won (3,270) with a full house, Aces full of Fours
Seat 8: JMR76 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: arklowman didn't bet (folded)



Full Tilt Poker Game #10229985013: 300 FTP Sat to $750K satellite (77503113), Table 1 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:22:20 ET - 2009/01/24
Seat 1: wanderwin (3,730)
Seat 5: Mussolini777 (1,590)
Seat 6: sleazychewbacca (815)
Seat 7: Dray (2,845)
Seat 8: JMR76 (3,095)
Seat 9: arklowman (1,425)
Mussolini777 posts the small blind of 50
sleazychewbacca posts the big blind of 100
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [Kd Kh]
Dray has 15 seconds left to act
Dray raises to 250
JMR76 has 15 seconds left to act
JMR76 is sitting out
JMR76 has timed out
JMR76 folds
arklowman folds
wanderwin calls 250
Mussolini777 folds
sleazychewbacca folds
*** FLOP *** [3h 6h 8d]
Dray has 15 seconds left to act
Dray bets 450
wanderwin has 15 seconds left to act
wanderwin calls 450
*** TURN *** [3h 6h 8d] [Jd]
Dray has 15 seconds left to act
Dray bets 2,145, and is all in
wanderwin folds
Uncalled bet of 2,145 returned to Dray
Dray mucks
Dray wins the pot (1,550)
The blinds are now 60/120
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,550 | Rake 0
Board: [3h 6h 8d Jd]
Seat 1: wanderwin (button) folded on the Turn
Seat 5: Mussolini777 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: sleazychewbacca (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: Dray collected (1,550), mucked
Seat 8: JMR76 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: arklowman didn't bet (folded)


When it got shorthanded most of were playing tight except wanderwin. He was raising a lot, stabbing at a lot of pots out of position. This was the biggest move I put on him then entire game. It was probably stupid actually but there's always a Queen to catch!

Full Tilt Poker Game #10230211585: 300 FTP Sat to $750K satellite (77503113), Table 1 - 80/160 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:35:33 ET - 2009/01/24
Seat 1: wanderwin (6,410)
Seat 7: Dray (2,135)
Seat 8: JMR76 (3,275), is sitting out
Seat 9: arklowman (1,680)
wanderwin posts the small blind of 80
Dray posts the big blind of 160
The button is in seat #9
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [9s Jh]
JMR76 folds
arklowman folds
wanderwin calls 80
Dray checks
*** FLOP *** [Th 2d Ks]
wanderwin bets 320
Dray raises to 1,975, and is all in
wanderwin has 15 seconds left to act
wanderwin folds
Uncalled bet of 1,655 returned to Dray
Dray mucks
Dray wins the pot (960)
The blinds are now 100/200
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 960 | Rake 0
Board: [Th 2d Ks]
Seat 1: wanderwin (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: Dray (big blind) collected (960), mucked
Seat 8: JMR76 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: arklowman (button) didn't bet (folded)

Oh yeah and wander also check/min raised me a couple of times. This time I answered back instead of folding:


Full Tilt Poker Game #10230306314: 300 FTP Sat to $750K satellite (77503113), Table 1 - 100/200 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:41:03 ET - 2009/01/24
Seat 1: wanderwin (8,210)
Seat 7: Dray (3,515)
Seat 8: JMR76 (1,775), is sitting out
wanderwin posts the small blind of 100
Dray posts the big blind of 200
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [4h 5h]
JMR76 folds
wanderwin calls 100
Dray checks
*** FLOP *** [6c Ah 7h]
wanderwin checks
Dray bets 200
wanderwin raises to 400
Dray raises to 3,315, and is all in
wanderwin has 15 seconds left to act
wanderwin folds
Uncalled bet of 2,915 returned to Dray
Dray mucks
Dray wins the pot (1,200)
The blinds are now 120/240
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1,200 | Rake 0
Board: [6c Ah 7h]
Seat 1: wanderwin (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 7: Dray (big blind) collected (1,200), mucked
Seat 8: JMR76 (button) didn't bet (folded)

Having someone sitting out sucks because it changes the game dynamic, especially when it comes to blind stealing. Plus you don't want to be the douche that gets knocked out on the bubble while some idiot isn't even playing. I took him out:

Full Tilt Poker Game #10230390192: 300 FTP Sat to $750K satellite (77503113), Table 1 - 120/240 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:45:56 ET - 2009/01/24
Seat 1: wanderwin (7,660)
Seat 7: Dray (5,555)
Seat 8: JMR76 (285)
Dray posts the small blind of 120
JMR76 posts the big blind of 240
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [2d Qh]
wanderwin folds
Dray raises to 480
JMR76 calls 45, and is all in
Dray shows [2d Qh]
JMR76 shows [7d 8c]
Uncalled bet of 195 returned to Dray
*** FLOP *** [6s Kd Ts]
*** TURN *** [6s Kd Ts] [Ad]
*** RIVER *** [6s Kd Ts Ad] [5c]
Dray shows Ace King high
JMR76 shows Ace King high
Dray wins the pot (570) with Ace King high
JMR76 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 570 | Rake 0
Board: [6s Kd Ts Ad 5c]
Seat 1: wanderwin (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: Dray (small blind) showed [2d Qh] and won (570) with Ace King high
Seat 8: JMR76 (big blind) showed [7d 8c] and lost with Ace King high


Grabbed the chip lead heads up:



Full Tilt Poker Game #10230445714: 300 FTP Sat to $750K satellite (77503113), Table 1 - 150/300 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:49:11 ET - 2009/01/24
Seat 1: wanderwin (9,790)
Seat 7: Dray (3,710)
Dray posts the small blind of 150
wanderwin posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [Jh Kc]
Dray raises to 600
wanderwin calls 300
*** FLOP *** [9c Tc Js]
wanderwin checks
Dray bets 600
wanderwin raises to 1,200
Dray raises to 3,110, and is all in
wanderwin calls 1,910
Dray shows [Jh Kc]
wanderwin shows [Kd Td]
*** TURN *** [9c Tc Js] [9s]
*** RIVER *** [9c Tc Js 9s] [8h]
Dray shows two pair, Jacks and Nines
wanderwin shows two pair, Tens and Nines
Dray wins the pot (7,420) with two pair, Jacks and Nines
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 7,420 | Rake 0
Board: [9c Tc Js 9s 8h]
Seat 1: wanderwin (big blind) showed [Kd Td] and lost with two pair, Tens and Nines
Seat 7: Dray (small blind) showed [Jh Kc] and won (7,420) with two pair, Jacks and Nines

Final hand:



Full Tilt Poker Game #10230513358: 300 FTP Sat to $750K satellite (77503113), Table 1 - 150/300 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:53:07 ET - 2009/01/24
Seat 1: wanderwin (5,480)
Seat 7: Dray (8,020)
Dray posts the small blind of 150
wanderwin posts the big blind of 300
The button is in seat #7
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [7s 5d]
Dray calls 150
wanderwin checks
*** FLOP *** [Qh 5c 6d]
wanderwin checks
Dray bets 300
wanderwin calls 300
*** TURN *** [Qh 5c 6d] [6h]
wanderwin checks
Dray checks
*** RIVER *** [Qh 5c 6d 6h] [5h]
wanderwin bets 1,200
Dray has 15 seconds left to act
Dray raises to 7,420, and is all in
wanderwin calls 3,680, and is all in
Uncalled bet of 2,540 returned to Dray
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Dray shows [7s 5d] a full house, Fives full of Sixes
wanderwin mucks
Dray wins the pot (10,960) with a full house, Fives full of Sixes
wanderwin stands up
Dray stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 10,960 | Rake 0
Board: [Qh 5c 6d 6h 5h]
Seat 1: wanderwin (big blind) mucked [Kh 3h] - a flush, King high
Seat 7: Dray (small blind) showed [7s 5d] and won (10,960) with a full house, Fives full of Sixes

It was tempting to try and play the 2500 point tourney I won the seat to, but I can always win another one. :) I want the points so I can keep playing!

Same day turnaround

I'm playing online right now and I just made back up the $ I lost this afternoon. First with two overcards and a flush draw:

FullTiltPoker Game #10179917296: Table Falk (6 max) - $0.05/$0.10 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:25:14 ET - 2009/01/22
Seat 1: Dray ($10.80)
Seat 2: JulieKnighted ($10)
Seat 3: jcn-x ($10.20)
Seat 4: X PEACE X ($10), is sitting out
Seat 5: Mo42186 ($7.85)
Seat 6: 1_All-inandfold ($14.40)
Dray posts the small blind of $0.05
JulieKnighted posts the big blind of $0.10
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [Kc Qc]
jcn-x raises to $0.40
Mo42186 folds
1_All-inandfold has 15 seconds left to act
1_All-inandfold calls $0.40
Dray calls $0.35
JulieKnighted calls $0.30
*** FLOP *** [3c 4h 4c]
Dray checks
JulieKnighted checks
jcn-x bets $1.40
1_All-inandfold has 15 seconds left to act
1_All-inandfold folds
Dray raises to $4
JulieKnighted adds $0.40
JulieKnighted folds
jcn-x raises to $9.80, and is all in
Dray calls $5.80
jcn-x shows [Jc Jh]
Dray shows [Kc Qc]
*** TURN *** [3c 4h 4c] [Ad]
*** RIVER *** [3c 4h 4c Ad] [2c]
jcn-x shows two pair, Jacks and Fours
Dray shows a flush, King high
Dray wins the pot ($20.20) with a flush, King high
jcn-x adds $10
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $21.20 | Rake $1
Board: [3c 4h 4c Ad 2c]
Seat 1: Dray (small blind) showed [Kc Qc] and won ($20.20) with a flush, King high
Seat 2: JulieKnighted (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: jcn-x showed [Jc Jh] and lost with two pair, Jacks and Fours
Seat 4: X PEACE X is sitting out
Seat 5: Mo42186 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: 1_All-inandfold (button) folded on the Flop

Then the nut flush:
FullTiltPoker Game #10180051943: Table Falk (6 max) - $0.05/$0.10 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:34:34 ET - 2009/01/22
Seat 1: Dray ($19.80)
Seat 2: JulieKnighted ($10)
Seat 3: jcn-x ($10.05)
Seat 4: X PEACE X ($10), is sitting out
Seat 5: Mo42186 ($9.20)
Seat 6: 1_All-inandfold ($15.30)
jcn-x posts the small blind of $0.05
Mo42186 posts the big blind of $0.10
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [As 9s]
1_All-inandfold folds
Dray calls $0.10
JulieKnighted folds
jcn-x folds
Mo42186 has 15 seconds left to act
Mo42186 checks
*** FLOP *** [Td 5s 6s]
Mo42186 bets $0.25
Dray has 15 seconds left to act
Dray raises to $1
Mo42186 calls $0.75
*** TURN *** [Td 5s 6s] [8s]
Mo42186 bets $2
Dray has 15 seconds left to act
Dray calls $2
*** RIVER *** [Td 5s 6s 8s] [Kc]
Mo42186 has 15 seconds left to act
Mo42186 bets $2
Dray has 15 seconds left to act
Dray raises to $6.50
Mo42186 calls $4.10, and is all in
Uncalled bet of $0.40 returned to Dray
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Dray shows [As 9s] a flush, Ace high
Mo42186 mucks
Dray wins the pot ($17.45) with a flush, Ace high
Mo42186 is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $18.45 | Rake $1
Board: [Td 5s 6s 8s Kc]
Seat 1: Dray showed [As 9s] and won ($17.45) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 2: JulieKnighted (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: jcn-x (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 4: X PEACE X is sitting out
Seat 5: Mo42186 (big blind) mucked [4s 7c] - a straight, Eight high
Seat 6: 1_All-inandfold didn't bet (folded)

Notice the hand the hand the villain had.....:)

Royal Flush!

This is for anyone who's never seen a royal flush! It's Christmas Day, just before we're about to eat. I'm in my grandmother's living room watching Iron Man, just goofing around, and then I got dealt pocket Queens.

Full Tilt Poker Game #9683352535: Table Armin (6 max) - $0.05/$0.10 - No Limit Hold'em - 18:06:26 ET - 2008/12/25
Seat 1: Dray ($10.20)
Seat 2: Tomps ($2.60)
Seat 3: imawinnababy ($10)
Seat 4: sBad aam ($3.85)
Seat 5: unique777 ($7.70)
Seat 6: Knavish Jivey ($9.80)
unique777 posts the small blind of $0.05
Knavish Jivey posts the big blind of $0.10
The button is in seat #4
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [Qs Qh]
Dray raises to $0.40
Tomps folds
imawinnababy folds
sBad aam calls $0.40
unique777 has 15 seconds left to act
unique777 folds
Knavish Jivey has 15 seconds left to act
Knavish Jivey folds
*** FLOP *** [Ah 4d Th]
Knavish Jivey is sitting out
Knavish Jivey stands up
Dray checks
sBad aam bets $0.30
Dray calls $0.30
*** TURN *** [Ah 4d Th] [Jh]
Dray checks
sBad aam bets $1.30
Dray raises to $9.50, and is all in
sBad aam calls $1.85, and is all in
Dray shows [Qs Qh]
sBad aam shows [Ts Ac]
Uncalled bet of $6.35 returned to Dray
*** RIVER *** [Ah 4d Th Jh] [Kh]
Dray shows a Royal Flush
sBad aam shows two pair, Aces and Tens
Dray wins the pot ($7.10) with a Royal Flush
sBad aam is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $7.85 | Rake $0.75
Board: [Ah 4d Th Jh Kh]
Seat 1: Dray showed [Qs Qh] and won ($7.10) with a Royal Flush
Seat 2: Tomps didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: imawinnababy didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: sBad aam (button) showed [Ts Ac] and lost with two pair, Aces and Tens
Seat 5: unique777 (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: Knavish Jivey (big blind) folded before the Flop

74 wins huge pot in WSOP heads up battle

Taken from PokerNews:

Play slowed down for a bit as Demidov picked his spots carefully to try and grab chips where he could in the face of Eastgate's lead. Finally, the dam burst and the two players collided in another massive confrontation. Demidov opened with a raise to two million from the button, and Eastgate called. Eastgate checked the Kd Td 7c flop, and Demidov checked behind. Eastgate fired out 2.5 million when the Jd hit the turn, and Demidov raised to eight million. Eastgate called, and then checked the river when the 3s came down. Demidov thought for a moment before betting out 12 million, and Eastgate made the call in the biggest pot yet in the heads-up match. Demidov showed Ac 9s for ace-high, but Eastgate tabled 74d for the diamond flush and dragged a pot worth over 44 million.

I sucessfully dodged all spoilers for two days and that made me happy. Before the final table was even decided I really felt this would be the year for the young internet pro, and I was hoping Hellmuths record would be broken and it was! There are just too many of these amazing young kids now for one to not clinch the big one you know?

Moreso I'm happy that a very capable competent player won this year and not a half decent amateur riding a once in a lifetime wave of luck like the last two champs Jerry Yang and Jamie Gold. It's not to detract from their skill, but only to pump up Peter Eastgate's abilities. His win may not bring a slew of new players to the game like a Dennis Phillips win would have, but to me that's ok. Poker's still going strong for now and ultimately I think the defeat of the UIGEA will help usher in a new online boom more than any WSOP champ at this point.

I think the 4 month delay wasn't as bad or as good as everyone thought it would be. I did like the change of venue and having it be in the Penn and Teller theatre, I think that should stay. But as a poker fan I'm still extremely unsatisfied that a 4 hour heads up match can be boiled down to 2 hands. I wish there was a way we could still get ratings and advertising dollars but at the same time show some more actual POKER and not just all-in hands and bustouts you know? People on 2+2 had mentioned doing it Poker After Dark style and chopping it up into multiple episodes and I don't see why it couldn't be done? If it's a matter of scheduling, then don't televise so many prelims, I dunno.

I just think there's so much potential to make it better than it is now. Someone just needs some balls to take a risk and keep experimenting with the format.

Don't be results oriented, another poker-life metaphor.

In poker, especially when it comes to bad beats it's very easy to be results-oriented. You move all in the with the best hand and in a great spot only to get sucked out on. It's easy to say I shouldn't have done that because I lost, when really you should happy be that you did all you could do and after that it was out of your hands. That's the voice of wisdom and common sense speaking.

My head's been swirling with the election results and my crave for bipartisanship among other things today. I was thinking it would be easy to be results oriented voting Democrat in a historically red state (or vice versa). I can understand when people say there's no point in voting [whatever minority party] in this state because it's probably never going to swing that direction anyway. To me that's the same thing as being results oriented.

Just because your man doesn't win doesn't mean you shouldn't do the right thing and exercise your right as an American to vote. If you view the value of your voice by whether or not your vote led to victory, you're missing the f-ing point. You still need to do what you can and accept that it's out of your hands after that. Just because you didn't get what you wanted one time doesn't mean you have to stop playing the game or leave the country.

On the other side of that argument, just because someone wins an election doesn't mean it was the correct decision. Just like idiots who don't really know what they're doing can get lucky and win a poker tournament, so can unqualified politicians win offices. That comes in handy when party leaders start talking about voter "mandates". Maybe it wasn't necessarily your own merit that got you to the top. Maybe you got lucky, maybe the stars aligned and whatever the climate of the country was helped you get there. That doesn't necessarily mean you know what the hell you're doing.

My wife rolls her eyes everytime I try to make these poker to life metaphors but I'm continually amazed at how true they can be. Part of the reason I love the game so much is that while I grow and learn important lessons over the years playing poker, I feel they've helped illuminate and solidify real-life values that I hold. It's a great game and we live in a great country. God Bless America!

Now legalize and regulate online poker already dammit!

The BULLDOZER is back!

Hevad "Rain" Khan just took down the Ceasar's Poker Classic for a cool Mil. I love the winner photo Cardplayer took of him, shows his personality so well. Here's the recap article. Ryan Lucchesi writes:

Khan let out a loud scream and picked up his chair in celebration. A crowd of drunken night clubbers came into chant with the champion as he showed a bit of the old "Rain" Khan after more than a year of self-imposed silence.

Just something devilish-looking about this guy, but I like it. :)

Live fist pump call = thanks Rob!

Well it took a lot of patience on my part, but I was able to take down Craig's tourney on Friday night. It's all thanks in part to Robert "Badger" Purvis, whose blog titled "Today's Milk" I've just added to my links under poker blogs.

I had a lot of fun playing this tournament, and I was a motor mouth the entire night. Rob was at my table and I love the friendly competition. Honestly I don't know if I take any greater pleasure winning someone's chips more than I do this guy. :) But truth be told Rob, while he can be erratic and unpredictable, is one of the most gracious losers I've ever played with. That's something that cannot be said about our host or many other poker players.

So we started out the night where Rob tried to bluff Craig's mom (don't ever try this btw, it's impossible if she has any piece). Anyways on the river she checked, and Rob, with position, folded. I instantly started ragging on him for folding when he could've checked. But he had 7 high and didn't think there was any chance he was good. I said you never know, especially against Bonnie. :)

So anyways Rob started chipping up nicely and I in the meantime stayed pretty even for over an hour. And so being bored, not having hands to play, and bluffing being a futile exercise in this game I started talking smack. Rob loves smack. He loves weird smack that makes absolutely no sense. Anywho...I told Rob that I was going to do a "fist pump call" on him. This is a term that online players love to use, and it implies you knowing you're so incredibly good that you don't even have to think about the decision. You just call and give a fist pump. Maybe even a Pacino-esque hooha ala Scent of a Woman.

So the hand in question was where I raised KJo from middle position, Rob is in the big blind. At this point I'm about 25-30 big blinds deep, so in other words I need chips soon if I want to win. Rob defends with 92 and we're heads up. The flop is J 5 2. He thinks for about 2 seconds and shoves. I think for about 1 second and fist pump call him. (Rob stick with J5s next time buddy).

Anyways, I was joking with him after we went on break that if I won the tourney I'd thank him in my blog so here it is! THANK YOU BADGER! BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME BUDDY!

If anyone actually reads my blog, be sure and check out his blog: "Today's Milk" which again I've added to my links on the right.

I had some really intersting action online this weekend too, but I'll save that for another blog later this week. Toodles!

O-M-G

You would think it would be hard to top last weekend but I just did today and the weekend ain't over yet. :)

Last night went to this cardroom my buddies have been going to to play a $500 freeroll with $240 for first place against only 20x runners. Actually ran into Pat and Bruce and got taken out with QQ vs Bruce's KK in the first level. It's ok though because Kristina got off early so I was able to bum rush back home. Went to bed early and tried to discuss the game as little as possible becuase Kristina was annoyed that I had gone in the first place.

So anyways I wake up early this morning and it doesn't start well. I play 3 games: an 8.70 turbo token two table, a 4.40 token sng, and a 4.40 turbo satellite sing; none of which I did anything in.

Then I enter a $12 single table token sng where the winner gets a $75 token. I win that one. Then soon after I'm looking at my options to use it and impulsively enter a turbo 6 max sng that satellited into a 90K guarantee tourney with a $322 buyin. I run like God and take that down and immediately cash the tourney dollars.

But I still want to get into the FTOPS main event tomorrow. My first cash in it was last August for over a grand and I'm running really hot now so the timing is ripe. I took a break to cook the pot roast and put in the slowcooker for Kristina, showered and then hopped back online. Entered a $5.50 turbo rebuy sng that satellites into the main event for whoever wins it, 2-7 get some cash. I rebought immediately which nobody else at my table did and then added on after the rebuy period and that was it.

AND I TOOK THAT SUCKA DOWN!!!!!!!

I thought I ran hot in the 6 max for the $322 but oh no. Check this hugggeee hand down the stretch before the money:

Full Tilt Poker Game #7672433247: Satellite to FTOPS Main Event (58351384), Table 1 - 400/800 Ante 100 - No Limit Hold'em - 14:22:12 ET - 2008/08/16
Seat 1: Dray (18,908)
Seat 3: riverraker (1,720)
Seat 4: DaveLB420 (16,765)
Seat 7: SENDEROS315 (3,940)
Seat 8: GJY29 (3,294)
Seat 9: toplayr (39,656)
Dray antes 100
riverraker antes 100
DaveLB420 antes 100
SENDEROS315 antes 100
GJY29 antes 100
toplayr antes 100
toplayr posts the small blind of 400
Dray posts the big blind of 800
The button is in seat #8
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Dray [Ts Ks]
riverraker folds
DaveLB420 raises to 1,600
SENDEROS315 folds
GJY29 folds
toplayr folds
Dray calls 800
*** FLOP *** [Kh 9c 8s]
Dray checks
SENDEROS315 has been disconnected
SENDEROS315 has reconnected
DaveLB420 bets 1,600
Dray calls 1,600
*** TURN *** [Kh 9c 8s] [6c]
Dray checks
DaveLB420 bets 4,000
Dray raises to 15,608, and is all in
DaveLB420 calls 9,465, and is all in
Dray shows [Ts Ks]
DaveLB420 shows [Ac As]
Uncalled bet of 2,143 returned to Dray
*** RIVER *** [Kh 9c 8s 6c] [7h]
Dray shows a straight, Ten high
DaveLB420 shows a pair of Aces
Dray wins the pot (34,330) with a straight, Ten high
DaveLB420 stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 34,330 | Rake 0
Board: [Kh 9c 8s 6c 7h]
Seat 1: Dray (big blind) showed [Ts Ks] and won (34,330) with a straight, Ten high
Seat 3: riverraker folded before the Flop
Seat 4: DaveLB420 showed [Ac As] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 7: SENDEROS315 folded before the Flop
Seat 8: GJY29 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 9: toplayr (small blind) folded before the Flop

Here's hoping this kind of luck will carry over tomorrow. I do have one request though that if I'm going to suck out and run like God tomorrow, please let it be later rather than sooner. Thanks!

Lets get it on August!

So this weekend was the best weekend of the entire fucking year! Got a $26 token on Saturday before work. Went to work and made 5th out of 90 in a KO tourney. That was good for a $144 payday plus $16 for the 4 people I knocked out. Big luckbox moment of this tourney was shoving T5o against the bb from sb after it was folded around late. I get snap called by A8o and I hit my 5 and hold. :) I have to say there was slight disappointment in not getting a little further and richer, but not that much.

Yesterday I'm at my inlaws and hop online. I'm looking at what FTOPS tourneys are left and there's the $322 1.5mil guarantee hosted by Eric Seidel. But there's only about an hour and a half before it starts so satellite selection wasn't much. But I saw a $12 6 max turbo double shootout. Winner got the seat and 2-4 got cash.

It was a LUCKFEST and I was the benefactor. :) I hit at least 3 or 4 big suckout cards to stay alive. QJ>QQ for a 4 card straight to split. I know once I was down maybe 2 blinds, put in with K8 and got called in two spots. Hit my 8 on the flop, then one guy bets the turn to push the other out and he's got top pair Ace and I spike the 8 on the river. There was a big hand the 2nd game when we were 3 handed I came over the top of a button raiser with AJ and he had AQ. We flopped the A plus a board pair. Then I turned the J. Woot!

So yeah another $322 to the $144 from earlier. I was very tempted to play the tourney, and if I was at my house I probably would have. But since I was at my inlaws and the money represented a 100% bankroll boost I took the tourney dollars. I really want to play the FTOPS main event on Sunday so I'm going to be using those tourney bucks to try and satellite in.

Lets get it going August!

Trip report

The weekend trip was fun and I really enjoyed spending more time with my family than I usually get to enjoy. My 4 year old nephew especially. He was very entertaining throughout the entire weeked. He's very argumentative and loves the "opposite day" stuff. So throughout the entire weekend we tried to tell him I was his mother's brother and he would just NOT have it. Yet he would still refer to me as uncle Dustin. :) Too cute.

First night in the cabin we didn't play much cards because it got late. My mom, brother and I played a little play chip 3 handed cash game on the bedroom floor. I took the time to try and explain a few topics to them and analyzed a few hands after they were over. My mom took away something from my discussion on image and aggression. I more or less explained that I was dumb for trying to bluff my brother all the time because he hardly ever folds a hand and that I'd be better off bluffing Mom because she played tigther. And likewise I explained I would give Mom more credit for a hand when she bets than Hunter because of his image.

So that set up for the actual tournament we played the next night with three of us and two other older relatives (grandma's cousin and her husband I believe). Mom really tried to be more aggressive than she was the night before based on what I had said about her. And me trying to bluff my brother all night before enabled me to get a lot of value from him when I was hitting the deck. Long story short me and mom ended up heads up and it only lasted one hand. I raised 2.5x the blind from the button with A4o and she called with J6o. Flop came A K Q. She checked and I put her all in and she didn't spike a ten. So I made 30 bucks on that game and she broke even. Overall it wasn't nearly as nerveracking as I thought it could have been and I'm glad to have won it.

Then Kristina and I stopped by the Isle of Capri in Lake Charles on our way back Monday. My plan was to put $100 down on the bonus holdem table game and double it quickly, then take the $200 to the 2/4 no limit table and see what I could do there. Despite the fact there was only me and one other guy at the bonus table (your odds are better if there are more players) I managed to make about $120. Started out by flopping trips, and the biggest pot I won was when I caught the AA and got paid $150 on my bonus bet. Then on top of that I made a full house so the dealer matched all of my other bets on the table. I felt bad for the other guy because the dealer was handing him some pretty brutal beats and he ended up busting.

So I took my profit and went to the poker room but had to wait on a no limit seat so I sat down at limit and lost $30 of my $100 buyin there. There was a very loose aggressive talkative Indian gentlemen to my left who was very fun to sit next to just for entertainment value. We ended up starting a new table for 2/4 no limit and to make a long story short I made about another $100 there.

I really only played two significant pots, with the biggest being AK from the small blind. I raised to $30 after a few people had limped. And older gentlemen who was the first limper called and so did the Indian. Flop came A 7 9 and led for $50 and was called by the older man. Turn is a K and I shove my remaining $96 in the pot. While he's thinking about it I offer to show him a card and turn over the K. Immediately the Indian guy says Ace King for sure! The older guy was pretty sure his hand was no good and folded AQ face up.

I'm really not sure what I was thinking when I did this. It's not something I normally do even in my home games. I guess I just wanted him to call me since he obviously had a piece to think about. But based on my tight image my range was so tight after rasing preflop, betting the flop and shoving the turn that it really wasn't a good idea at all. Oh well at least I got called preflop and on the flop to not make it a complete waste.

One final note before I get back to work here. I've been wanting to hook up my laptop to my flatscreen HDTV to multitable with. I tested it out the other night after buying a wireless keyboard and mouse and alas, I was disappointed. The poker program comes out pretty blurry so it's hard to see people's names and the dollar amounts people have and what they're betting etc. So I'm going to return the keyboard and mouse today on my way home. I just know if I kept them I still probably wouldn't use them that much.

Ooohhhh and one more final final note. The Dark Knight midnight IMAX screening is tonight! W00t! I'm going to lose my fucking mind counting down the hours tonight. :)