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April 30, 2005Super Satellite last night...I went to the club and played in a 'super satellite' last night. It was a texas holdem freezout tournanment, and we had about 30 players. I played tight ( my usual style ), but I have started to play more aggressively when I have a good starting hand ( my defination of that would be the top 15 or so starting hands ), or after I see a flop WITH a good hand. In the past, I was content to just see the flop with a limp in if possible, and not get too aggressive with betting. I changed that last night! When I had a good hand I put out a standard 3X bet. Ya, I only pulled in blinds in a lot of cases, but it took some of the risk factors out of getting boned on the flop! LOL I really did not have that many hands to play. I think in the first three blinds I played 3 hands. It's boring, but I was able to maximize my few good hands, and kept my chip count pretty even throughout those rounds. After round 4, I got more good hands in a rush ( it's funny how that always seems to happen ) and was able to push my stack up above the average. When things got nearer the final table count, play tightened up quite a bit. Blinds were still relatively small ( 25/100/200 ) so I was not in any jeapardy of being blinded, but the small ante was adding up. I made the final table with only about 4K in chips ( middle of the pack ), but I was able to pull in a good pot with an AKs when the flop pulled a K. I pushed all in, and everyone folded. I moved the stack up to about 5.8K. Several hands later, I moved with another AK when the flop came up Q rag-rag.... I was called by the chip leader who called my opening bet with a Q4o ( getting called with that bet, from him, is another topic for discussion that I will leave for another time ). I really felt he didnt hit, as he had been calling with crap hands, and pushing his stack around to intimidate players. Unfortunately for me, he made the Q's, and I didnt hit! As a side note... wilcone ALSO made the final table! He played solid all night, and really made very few mistakes, so thats encouraging! Posted by fatbill at 10:33 AM | Comments (0) April 29, 2005Played an online TourneyI played in an online tournament of No Limit Texas Holdem at Empire Poker today. There were 110 entries, so it was a bit of a grind. I played very well, made very good decisions on what NOT to play, as well as what TO play in a variety of situations. I was up and down quite a bit throughout the tournament, but I REALLY caught a good string of cards mid-way, putting me in the top few in chips. When it got down to 30 players, the cards went cold, so I just tightened up, and waited patiently. Thats a lot easier said than done, but I managed to do it fairly well. I managed to make it to the final table, but I was THE short stack. NOT an unfamiliar position for me! ;-) I waited for a hand... and got it on the BB when I was down to 3K in chips ( average stack was 9K at that point ). Fortunately for me, when I pushed all in, I was called by TWO players, and tripled up! Shortly after that, I caught another good hand, and was up to over 10K. I waited again, mainly because there were about 5 of us that had about the same stack size, and every position in the event meant additional prize money! I got pocket 8's late, and again on the BB. A player that had been tilting pretty badly pushed all in... I called him, since I had more than enough to cover his 3K bet, AND because I figured he was pushing a couple of face cards only. I was right! He had QKo! The flop gave me a set! Unfortunately, the turn and river gave him a straight! ;-( Two hands later, I got JJ, and pushed again. Again up against two overs, which hit.... so I got bounced in 7th. Going to go to the club to night to play in a super satellite.... feeling good about how I'm playin! Posted by fatbill at 04:05 PM | Comments (0) Online Gambling AdvertisingI ran across a REALLY good article that just did a fantastic job of outlining the issues and realities of not only online gambling advertising, but online gambling as a whole. Read the entire article HERE The heart of the matter is this point: "The British move to regulate is a precedent that should be followed by both U.S. and Canadian authorities. The simple reality is that online gaming is here to stay -- the only question is whether governments such as that of the U.S. will choose to ignore this reality or will decide to share in the benefits of regulation." When is the US legislature going to get it's head out of the sand and wake up to this simple fact? Posted by fatbill at 07:05 AM | Comments (0) Played some single table Texas HoldemWe went to the club tonight and played in a few games of texas holdem, mainly because we had not played in almost two weeks, and we needed some playing time. Took a horrible beat in the first game.. had pocked Aces, and KNEW I had the guy beat... that is until he rivered a set.... guy was catching that kind of thing all night... At least Wilcone played well! He ended up taking third, after making a great comback from the felt. Second game went pretty much the same... move in with the best hand, and get sucked out... Third game got down to four of us, me being the short stack. I got dealt AKo in the big blind. First player made a standard raise. I moved ALL IN with my AK... My decision was right, he had JTs... of course he flops a ten, and I dont catch anything... oh well, thats texas holdem! Posted by fatbill at 12:49 AM | Comments (0) April 27, 2005Justice Department serving supoenas...The US DOJ must be bored... they have issued supeoneas at Esquire Magazine over Poker Sites advertising in their publication... The story is Here An interesting exerpt from that article is: "Online gambling operators seem to have two choices when deciding how to advertise their sites in the United States: They can either go about promoting their business with blatant disregard for the Department of Justice or they can pitch free-play sites. " When are they going to realize that the American people WANT to play poker, both Online AND off, and that they ARE their constituancy??? This BS is gettting old... people play poker.. people have played poker for YEARS... people WANT TO PLAY POKER... they see poker on Television and they LIKE IT... so... its time for the politicians to get off their asses and FIX this problem.... that, of course, is my humble opinion! ;-) Posted by fatbill at 12:42 PM | Comments (0) April 26, 2005Fun little game with the boys...So after bowling a couple buddies deceide to play in a little stupid Texas Holdem game. Now, most of my friends are not to serious and will just about call or raise with nothing. I hadnt seen anything but aces and i moved all in, but noone would call me. I got ace-8 suited on the button and deceided it was destiny with 4 people left, with 2 big stacks. Well i ran into pocket queens and couldnt hit an ace, im glad i lost to my buddy who knows what hes doing but it still sucked seeing as i havent played cards in about a MONTH! oh well thats poker i guess, its not like it hurt to lose that one, but id like to win them all. Posted by wilcone at 11:45 AM | Comments (0) About Cigars ( and poker )Smoking a good cigar while sitting at a poker table is probably one of the oldest impressions people have, when picturing the game of poker being played in a back room. A smoke filled room.... a table of men chomping their cigars, and a stack of chips.... I recently sampled a cigar that I was so impressed with, that I put up a page here as a recommendation for them. They are a new cigar out of florida, and will soon be written up in a couple of magazines, including Cigar Affectionato..... If you enjoy a good smoke, that is smooth and easy to enjoy, even if you are not a 'traditional' smoker... I'd suggest having a look at what they offer! Posted by fatbill at 09:03 AM | Comments (0) I decided to play online some...As I mentioned previously, I decided to play some online texas holdem, and entered a couple of sit-n-go single table games. ( Normally I play two at a time, so I don't get bored ) I played tight in both, and was doing well... one table was loose as a goose, and one was tight as hell. Down to 5 players in the Loose table, and I'm one of the chip leaders.... I get AKs in position.... I call, and get check raised by one of the loose players.... I move all in, knowing he will go with just about anything from watching him. I was right, he had A5o.... Unfortunately, he catches the wheel on the river ending my game..... Down to 5 players on the Tight table.... I get Pocket 10's.... I call the modest raise... flop comes 10 rag-rag... I move in..... I'm called by a pair of 4's.... he hits runner-runner to make a flush.... sigh.... you do the right thing, at the right time, you move in with the best hand, and thats about all you can do... Posted by fatbill at 08:57 AM | Comments (0) April 25, 2005Have not played...I have not played a single hand of texas holdem poker in more than 8 days.... I think I'm going into withdrawl! ;-) The wife and I went out of town for a few days to get away, and spent a couple nights at a casino mid state. They had an active poker room, which I looked in on, but they only had limit games. I just was not in the mood to sit for long hours scratching out a few hands where you would be called down to the river on every hand. I was hoping they would at least have a No Limit table like most of the casino's are starting to do these days.... no dice. So, instead, I spent two days tossing the dice... that was fun... and profitable! ;-) Posted by fatbill at 09:47 AM | Comments (0) April 18, 2005About playing KJ...I was looking for some interesting news articles for the blog, when I ran across a GREAT article at pplayer.com about playing KJo! It is definately recommended reading! WAY too many people get blinded by the paint, and push chips with this type of hand. AND.. going ALL IN PRE-FLOP with these cards is usually suicidal. I hear people touting 'I have two over's' all the time, in justification of playing these types of cards, and frankly, thats simply rationalization, not smart cards. Read what this article has to say about this.... it will save you a lot of chips! ;-) Posted by fatbill at 10:55 AM | Comments (0) April 17, 2005Need to work on my staminaI played in a rebuy event last night that started later than normal... about 7:30. It had 50 Minute levels throughout the first three levels where there were unlimited rebuys. This took forever! Once the rebuy period was over, and the REAL tournament started, people generally tightened up quite a bit. I was in decent chip position ( about average ) and playing tight. When the blinds got up and an ante was introduced, I was getting down around 3500. Fortunately I got pocket 10's and the big stack called my all in with AQs, and my 10's held when I caught a set. A couple hands later I caught Pocket Aces, and found my stack up over 8000, so I was pretty comfortable for the time being. I was having one of those nights, where I could not flop anything that helped my hole cards, and started dwindling my stack away, and with the blinds at 400/800 and a 75 ante, I moved all in with QJo, from the blind, when someone looked to be making a move to steal them. Unfortunately, that move was made with Pocket Aces, and I found myself out of the tournament at 14th. I would never play a hand like that under normal circumstances, and I really was not in THAT bad of shape. I had 4400 left if I just gave up my blind, and could have easily gone on for at least another couple of rounds, hoping to catch a hand. The problem? It was 4AM and we'd been at it since 6PM the previous day, and I was tired. Not sure what the answer is, but it's a definate stamina problem for me at that hour, and one I have to work through, or face similar results down the road Posted by fatbill at 11:52 AM | Comments (0) April 16, 2005Poker Articles of interestFound these articles of interest... Internet sites show poker pros the money "In the last couple of years poker professionals -- many of them Las Vegas residents -- have struck endorsement deals with Internet poker sites and regularly tout them during casino appearances."
Whiz-kids gamble on TV channel for poker "As a theatre of cruelty, it is held by many to be the latest thing in cool. But can poker, possibly less exciting to watch than even synchronised swimming, really become a spectator sport? A small team of City whiz-kids and London media figures - one, improbably, is an Oxford classicist - have put their shirts on it. This week they launched the world's first television channel dedicated to poker." I wondered how long it would be before this came about.... absolutely amazed it was not an american company taking the lead with all the TV coverage out there on it... Posted by fatbill at 07:23 AM | Comments (0) April 15, 2005Not so fruitful...My son and I decided to go play some texas holdem last night at the club. Since it's been a while since he has played, I decided to go also, even though I had played quite a lot the night before... We played in a couple of No Limit Texas Holdem WSOP qualifiers. Unfortunately, I was not really on my game, and the cards were not as kind to me as the previous night, even though I tried to maintain my patience. I was not having any luck hitting any flops, and really won very few hands... went out early in the first game, and the second. Decided to sit in on a two table 'club credit' game with 18 players. I held my own for most of the game, and made the top 5, but had a pretty bad run of cards at the end, forcing me to go all in with 89o when I was short and in the BB. Ran up against JJ, and that was it for me! Posted by fatbill at 10:47 AM | Comments (0) April 14, 2005Return to my Texas Holdem styleI went to the club last night ( there is legal drama there that I will leave for another day, or at least until more information comes forth ) and played in a single table game. I had not played since the weekend, where I was dissapointed in how I played in that Texas Holdem Tournament.... I went back to my normal tight/aggressive style, and really did not play many hands outside of those when I was the BB, and just played against limpers. The table got off to a screaming loose start, with people making HUGE bets, right out of the box with the blinds at $25/$25. I mean... betting $500 on a $25 blind is a bit excessive... I just watched! ;-) I played when the cards dictated it... I folded when I thought I was beat, I raised when I was pretty sure my read was good and I had the best of it... I was able to hold my own for most of the game, but when it got down to three players, I found myself short. Thankfully, the big stack called an all-in when My pocked 9's held to double me up. Right after that hand, I moved pre-flop with AKs, and picked up some early raises. I took out the small stack, and when we got down to heads up, the stacks were almost identicle in size... I got A8s, and called the raise pre-flop... the flop came Q 8 3 rainbow.... he raised... I moved all in figureing the odds of him having the Q were slim... I was wrong of course! ;-) Posted by fatbill at 10:37 AM | Comments (0) April 12, 2005Holdem Poker Scratch OffsWell i was on my way home from a friends when i stopped at the local party store and seen these Texas Holdem Scratch offs. 5 dollars a card, but it seemed interesting. I deceided i would get a couple just because i have never played this kind before. The whole object is you're heads up with the card pretty much, and they teased me every time.
The first hand i was dealt J-Q off suit against pocket 8s, they gave me three of a kind which gave him his boat. The second hand i got dealt A-Q of diamonds against 10-K of hearts. I got a full house off the flop, he turned a straight flush, and i rivered 4 of a kind, talk about a teaser 4 ACES!! The third hand i got pocket 9's against 10-J of clubs, I rivered the straight and he turned and rivered a flush AGAIN to beat me. Then i got dealt pocket 8's against 8-9 of hearts, and this time i got two pair, and he rivered his straight WIERD! Every hand was for over 10,000, talk about the disappointment. Posted by wilcone at 11:49 AM | Comments (0) April 11, 2005Saturday Night Satellite resultsI played in a Texas Holdem satelitte saturday night that offered a couple of seats to the upcoming Mirage WPT event in May.... I've been replaying my game that night, and have decided that I took too many risks and played too loose. Normally I dont even look to see flops with a number of hands in the first several levels, and I was doing it a LOT in this event. Silly thing is, I have no idea WHY I deviated from my normal 'tight agressive' game. I was looking up silly hands like A4s, K9s, Q9s, and never hit a flop. It was an aggressive table, and the cost of seeing those flops took a big chunk of my stack in the first several rounds. I managed to get my stack back up around 'average' in the 5th round, only to see it dwindle away again by playing too loose..... I was playing well leading up to this event, and was looking forward to it.... the way I was playing leading up to the event was NOT the way I played IN the event. I think my brain took a vacation.... largely due to the lack of sleep from playing untill 4AM the previous night, I'm sure.... I'll have to make sure I am better rested before I attempt the next event.... Posted by fatbill at 08:49 AM | Comments (0) April 09, 2005Played a LOT of Texas HoldemWent to the club last night and played a LOT. Thats what I like about being a member of the club.. you can ALWAYS find a good game of Texas Holdem, against some very good players! Played in THREE single table texas holdem table events for club credits.... took a second and a thrird, so I was up for the night. Played in one other single table event for the WPT Satellite scheduled for tonight... I already have an entry, but figured the credits were always good at the club. I'm happy with how I played, and how things worked out for the most part. I really only made one error, and that was when I was short stacked and playing only against the big blind from the small. I hit the flop, and moved, hoping that the big blind didnt catch... he did! LOL I am really looking forward to tonight's event with the way I'm playing, and looking for vindication for the poor showing I had the last time! Posted by fatbill at 12:52 PM | Comments (0) April 08, 2005Got back to Texas HoldemWell, after a week off I got back into playing texas holdem at the club on Wednesday night! It felt good to sit down to some serious card playing, and the week off helped clear the mind! Played very well all night, which was encouraging. I was patient, and pushed when I needed to but really did not make a major mistake all night. Played in a two table satellite for this weekends Mirage Tournament, and won an entry. Had some luck along the way, which felt good after the beats I had been taking... looking forward to playing this weekend now! Posted by fatbill at 07:42 AM | Comments (0) April 06, 2005Bullets with no lead...I deceided last night i would try to play a little online tournament, hence my last post about the horrible run im having. I actually am having a great start, up aroun 500 in chips. I get dealt aces, and i get raised by the player in first position....ok im all in fuck the raise. Im called after no hesitation with pocket 9s, he must think im a shmuck. ANYHOW I LOST, to TRIPS.
Posted by wilcone at 03:51 AM | Comments (0) April 05, 2005Bad beats and lucky draws...I havent been playing a lot of poker lately, and frankly havent wanted to. I've had the worst luck of cards and beats i was disgusted. I understand that its poker but its horrible the way it happens. So i deceided to play some online poker, in a three table tournament, didnt make one mistake all tournament. I was dealt J-4 of spades in my blind, not the type of hand i like to play, but i flopped the draw....so i played it out. The turn was an 8 pairing the board so i figured he had 3 of a kind, making my flush golden or so i thought. The river gave him his ace to pair his trips into the full boat, disgusted i havent played since. BUT I WILL BE BACK, and im gonna fight harder than ever, maybe its my gameplay or something but im gonna fix it! Posted by wilcone at 10:46 PM | Comments (0) Back from PhoenixJust got back from Phoenix, after a week off, and ABSOLUTELY NO POKER! Damn, it hurts just typing that! ;-) Went to one of the local casino's in Phoenix one evening trying to find a texas holdem game, and was somewhat dissapointed. The casino had probably the LARGEST Poker Room I have seen... must have been 60+ table, but the wait was so long, we didnt bother playing.... The problem with the place was that there were NO other poker rooms at ANY of the other casino's in the area, from what we were told by limo and taxi drivers... so anyone wanting to play, had only one place to go.... If we had more time, we might have waited out the long list and sat in on a few hands.... Oh well... theres always action at the poker club and not much wait to get in on a game! ;-) Posted by fatbill at 08:48 AM | Comments (0) |
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