Casino Ownage

BBT5 Consolation prize

2010-06-07T20:36:00.003-04:00

The BBT5 quest for a wsop me seat was a failure for me this year, even though according to HeffMike's bbt report in 9 events I had 3 final tables, and 5 cashes, I still blew it and never got into the TOC. But a week later there was this consolation prize, a $4k freeroll where the winner gets a $2k wsop package.

Shipped it!

My headsup play has been pretty bad lately so I tried something new and I think it worked.

Thanks again to AL and Full Tilt for making this happen, I'm sure I'll have a PARTY of a time out there.

Still not sure what I am going to play, it all depends if I qualify for the main event or not. My options are:

Event #42 - $1500 NL - Wed June 23
Event #45 - $1000 NL - Fri June 25
Event #49 - $1500 NL - Mon June 29
Event #54 - $1000 NL - Thu July 1
Event #59 - $2500 NL - Fri July 2

I'm such a last minute planner.

BBT5 is here - 2010

2010-04-19T21:23:00.002-04:00

Tournament: Poker From the Rail
When: Monday, April 19th through May 24th starting at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $24+2 (or token)*
Password: 2010WSOP

Tournament: The Mookie
When: Wednesday, April 21st through May 26th starting at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $10+1*
Password: vegas1

*Winner also receives ToC entry

Tournament: Battle of the Blogger Tournaments Invitational
When: Sunday, April 18th through May 23rd starting at 19:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: Restricted freeroll**

**$2,000 Prizepool + 1st and 2nd place receive ToC entry

Tournament: Blogger Battle Royale
When: Sunday, June 6th starting at 14:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: Freeroll for BBT participating bloggers

The Battle of the Blogger 5 Tournament of Champions: May 27

The BBT5 will last six weeks, culminating in a Tournaments of Champions scheduled for Thursday, May 27th. The prizepool for the ToC is impressive: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers will each receive a $10,000 entry into the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event as well as room accommodations at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. 4th and 5th place finishers will receive a $2,000 Bracelet Race package good for many of the preliminary 2010 WSOP events.

Online Casinos Planet

2010-02-19T21:26:00.002-05:00

The follow is a paid review for Online Casinos Planet

Online Casinos Planet is an online casino directory listing all the reliable and most generous online casinos within the industry. Along with online casinos there is also a listing of real brick and mortar casinos across the world.

The top online casinos according to online casinos planet is Online Vegas, Go Casino, Crazy Slots, OK Online Casino, and Commodore Casino. They list the initial signup bonus of each site, what the payout percentage is, as well as a detailed review and rank. Each detailed review details the software type, deposit options, what games they offer, and also what countries and language is supported.

If your searching for an international casino to visit, and don't know where to look, look no further. A full address book of global casinos in countries such as the united states, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, Hong Kong, Spain, United Kingdom, Greece, and many more. Easy to find land based casinos with locations and contact info included.

There is also help guides for popular casino games such as american roulette, progressive slots, and blackjack. Free online casino flash games directory is included. Also view casino tips, info on casino jackpots and bonuses, various casino tournament information, and even jackpot winner information!

Online Casinos Planet is your one stop shop for all your casino information needs, whether at the comfort of your own home playing online casinos, or travelling the world at a land based casino. You do not need to go elsewhere but online casinos planet.

World Blogger Championships of Online Poker

2010-01-08T19:27:00.000-05:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! This PokerStars tournament is a No Limit Texas Hold’em event exclusive to Bloggers, you too can take part by registering on WBCOOP

Registration code: 027746

Happy Holidays everybody!

2010-01-02T19:25:00.000-05:00

Haven't blogged too much lately, but just wanted to wish everybody a happy holidays. Hopefully 2010 will be a "Shipping" year for you!

Off to Vegas

2009-07-02T16:42:00.002-04:00

Leaving for Vegas tonight, not sure which day I'll be playing the wsop main event. Most likely playing the Venetian deep stack tomorrow.

Updates will be at http://www.twitter.com/AshPoker

WSOP shipament x2

2009-06-07T18:55:00.001-04:00

BBT4 TOC tonight.

Oh well, already got my seat! :)

Oh thanks to Al, FT, and the BBT I just got my 2nd seat.

I think the first key was that a sat out most of the 1st hour. Seemed like a waste to play much then, and wanted to rest up, eat dinner, just chill for a bit. After the first break I pretty much turned it on. Had a yo-yo stack for much of the first few hrs as I was opening up a lot on a rather passive table. Made a good read on a hand with Smokee, with a bluff catcher for lots of chips. Once I got it up there, pretty much stayed top 3 for the rest of the tourney.

FT I was able to agro it up as most didn't want to leave with nothing. Used my stack on a few hands and pretty much got lucky when people pushed or raised me when I actually had hands. A flopped set on Hoyazo's utg raise, after getting all his chips after that hand, I knew it was a lock for the seat. CK gutted me on a flopped set earlier, I think that was the only big hand I lost. Final 4 time, I knocked out Karma(sp) 88 > AQ? Down to 3, ck shoved with somewhere around 8bbs. I looked down at Q8 and figured I had to make the call with our stack sizes, even though her range was probably a lot smaller than standard in that spot. She flipped over Ax. Lucky 8 on the turn, and river blanked.

Ship the wsop seat! GG all and thanks again to alcanthang and ft.

Shipament

2009-03-15T22:52:00.001-04:00

Finally got out of the negative for the year. The first 2.5 months were tough.

Boo Feb

2009-03-02T13:31:00.000-05:00

Did shit in Feb. Some deep finishes but no big $. 3rd in a wsop sat, only paid out first. Yesterday Aces full losing to quads started my downfall after starting every tourney pretty good. I hate poker.

BBT4

2009-03-02T13:30:00.001-05:00

Didn't even realize it started yesterday

Attention: Battle of the Blogger Tournament 4 Starts This Sunday, March 1st

You’ve been waiting and now it’s back, Battle of the Blogger Tournament 4; 13 total weeks, 4 events each week plus 3 "Blogger Big Games" – including your shot at a $10K WSOP* Main Event prize package.

Fight your way to Vegas starting Sunday, March 1st and battle for your entry to the Big Dance ending on Sunday, May 31st. The winner of each blogger-hosted event will automatically be entered into the Tournament of Champions for the chance to claim a seat at the Main Event.

Win your way into the Tournament of Champions, to be held on Sunday, May 31st, and you could be going to Las Vegas. First and second place will be awarded $10K Main Event packages, while third and fourth places will win $2K Bracelet Race packages.

But that’s not all that you stand to win. Make the top 20 in the final Battle of the Bloggers 4 Leaderboard standings and you’ll earn even more:

* First Place - $750
* Second Place - $600
* Third Place - $500
* Fourth Place - $400
* Fifth Place - $350
* Sixth through 20th places will receive custom Full Tilt Poker jersey

Here is the tournament schedule:

Tournament: Blogger Big Game
When: March 1st, April 19th, May 31st
Game: Superstack NLHE
Buyin: $69+6 or token
Password: donkey

Tournament: Brit Blogger Game
When: Every Sunday at 16:00ET
Game: NLHE
Buyin: $5+.50
Password: donkament

Tournament: PPI / Riverchasers Tournament
When: Every Monday at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $24+2 or token
Password: riverchasers

Tournament: Blogger Skillz Game
When: Every Tuesday at 21:30ET
Game: rotation of non-NLHE games
Buyin: $10+1
Password: skillz

Tournament: The Mookie
When: Every Wednesday at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $10+1
Password: vegas1

Poker Rake Races

2009-02-20T00:00:00.004-05:00

Just finished up my new site: RakeRaceNews.com All the information and news about Poker Rake Races. At Rake Race News you can learn more about the $1.5 million Titan Poker Rake Race, $1,000,000 Ladbrokes Poker Rake Race,$80,000 Purple Lounge Rake Race,$1,000,000 Bet365 Rake Race,$500,000 Sun Poker Rake Race, and $400,000 PokerPlex Rake Race.

Also a basic strategy guide on How to win a rake race

January Recap

2009-02-02T14:03:00.002-05:00

Pretty much a wasted month here. Small loss for the month, and didn't play the hours I wanted, less than 40 when I budgeted for 60 at least. Still playing pretty well in mtts, just not getting the results. Satellites are still happening, have been pretty much qualifying for any event at will. Frustrating day yesterday,t hough technically should be Feb recap. In the party million, I had a huge stack, top 10 or 20 about 3-4hrs in, in a deep stack tourney. For some reason I decided to risk about 1/2 of it pre with AK. Lost a flip to JJ, even though the flop came AKQ. Sometimes I just get too greedy I suppose. In the Sunday Brawl I once again have a huge stack, but I played passively and let my stack dwindle away. Got to work on my big stack play more.

I have a new goal now, and that is to work out a schedule. I want to play more mtts, but lack of desire during weeknights is killing me. The holiday times were great, didn't have to worry about waking up early the next day, nor was I tired during the evening. I have a pretty good idea of what to play on sundays, just have to figure out weeknights. With Ftops coming up this week, it'll prob be easy to schedule, I always play the opener for sure.

Here is my Sunday schedule if your curious. Most of the majors ($200+), i'll try to sat in.

Party Million $640 (1st sunday of month) 12pm
Pokerroom Championchip $300k. $200 (1st sunday of month. Weekly but too early) 12pm
FT $32k $24 2pm
PS $40k $26 2pm
Pokerroom Bounty $100k $100 (2nd sunday) 2pm
Cake $250k 5pm (last sunday)
Pokerroom $100k 100+1r 3pm
Hollywood Celebrity $20 2pm

Other major tournaments I randomly play if I sat in are ipoker $250k, Boss $250k, stars million, FT million, Stars Turbo Takedown, Cake $150k

Other random tournaments include ipoker rebuys ($10/$5), pokerroom $10k turbo, Stars $10k turbo, FT double deuce, Stars $200k

If you think of any other sunday tournies I should check out let me know.

2008 Recap / 2009 Goals

2009-01-05T13:26:00.002-05:00

2008 Goals

1. Hourly Rate. I finished at an approx $50/hr rate. Had a losing July and a couple of sub 1k months which screwed it up. I'm setting my goal for $100/hr. I averaged 48hrs per month in 07, I should have that up to at least 60.

Got about halfway there in the $70s/hr

2. Cash Games. Same as last year, get to $1000NL. Limit $10/20 which should be no prob.

Epic Fail, not even close. Still playing mostly $200nl, some $400nl. Though a lot has to do with not having a regular site. Beginning of the year was playing on mostly cake, but that site turned incredibly tight. So now I have my rolls spread across multiple sites and no home cash game site. As of right now it is Carbon. Limit wise I had been playing 20/40 but the variance was too big for me right now. So I consider myself a regular 10/20 player if I play limit. Haven't touched limit poker for many months now though.

3. Tournaments. Definately should be able to get a 5 digit score.

3x 5 digit scores.

4. Satellites. Qualify for WSOP ME, WPT Niagara, Aussie or PCA Jan 09.

Qualified for WSOP ME. Bubbled WPT Niagara twice. Bubbled another WPT seat. Aussie/PCA didn't really try as hard to get in as I could of.

5. Live Poker. Honestly not much, would rather play online

Played jack all live poker except for trips to Vegas and friendly home games.

6. Education. Continue learning and improving.

www.pokertrainingguide.com Nuff said, I guess I watched a lot of videos. Have the oppurtunity to watch a lot more.

Will also do a 2008 site by site recap later.

2009 Goals

1. $100k. Want to try and reach $100k profit for the year. That is with part time hours, approx 60hrs per month or $130/hr.

2. Tournaments. Min 5x 5 digit scores. Will have to if I want to reach $100k. Also want to do better in the major tournies. In 2008 I sucked in major tournies, best I did were min cashes. I could sat in them fine but I'd choke in the big game.

3. Live qualifiers. Pretty much only WSOP ME and WPT Niagara are the big ones. Still tough to get time off to play many of the others. Might play a few of the Port Perry CPT monthly tournies. $550 freezeouts. Will try for the BC Open as well.

4. Cash games. I dunno what to do here. Probably continue at $200nl at one site until I have a roll there to play $400nl. Or just cheat and transfer funds from one site to another. I don't see myself playing limit for a while, puts me on tilt a lot. I still believe that limit players are overall weaker though.

5. Staking. I might pursue this further. Only have 1 regular horse right now, but since end of july has turned $2k to $10k+. Will start scouting I guess. Low levels only though, can't afford to big time stake.

In conclusion, i'd have to say 2008 had more positives than negatives. Made more $ than the previous year, had some decent tourney results. Cash games were a dissapointment as I didn't progress, and live cash games in Vegas I still suck at. I also got more confident that I can do this sucessfully full time if I get canned at work. Automotive sector, yippee! So at least I have a nice bailout job for now. Blogging wise, i've lost the desire to write. Seems like its the same with most of the other casual bloggers. Kinda lost its appeal, and just don't want to take the time and effort. I'll still blog my brags though. :)

Finally a shipament post

2008-12-31T04:48:00.001-05:00

Finally a sweet score. Ship the $14k after 7 grueling hours

100% Rakeback Poker

2008-12-05T14:49:00.002-05:00

A new site has appeared, Paynorake.com which gives players the ability to earn 100% rakeback. There is a level in which you must play, but the minimum they pay out is 50% rakeback. Rakeback is paid daily, and tracking is live 24/7. Paynorake is on the action poker network so unfortunately US players are not able to play on there.

For more information and for a PaynoRake review, please visit PayNoRake Poker

I love to torture myself

2008-09-22T00:56:00.003-04:00

Started the hand in 2nd chip position. ep big stack raise, i 3bet in mp with KK, folds around and he shoves. If for whatever reason I fold there I would have ended up in 4th chip position. So I called and end up against AA.

I own WPT seat bubbling

2008-09-08T09:20:00.003-04:00

Another WPT seat bubble for me. Weird, I played like crap the first hour, just donking off my chips, not really into it. Was down to like 2000 chips (10,000 to start) after 15mins I think. After that poker got easy, and had the chip lead with 20 to go. Final table I kept losing to shorties and when 5 handed it got down to two big stacks and 3 smallish (12 bbs or less) stacks including myself. Eliminated 5th, AT > Q7. Now the 4th place guy kept surviving his allins, including J8 > AK. My downfall ended up being an $11k flip. 99 <>

Win a wpt seat one time! Only a month left.

The rest of my sunday tournies were crap. ipoker $2.5 million I was completely card dead. Went out in 500ish. Pokerroom $500k I was dominating, until I kept losing at the end just shy of the $. Same with the pokerroom $20k rehab.

lol I got slowrolled!

2008-08-16T19:13:00.001-04:00

I open, blind raises leaving behind $954 at 1k/2k blinds, I raise on top. Dude then proceeds to time clock all the way down, then calls flipping up the rockets.

Stage #1253844479 Tourney ID 2055534 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $2000 - 2008-08-16 19:00:38 (ET)
Table: 16 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - PCH180 ($76357.92 in chips)
Seat 2 - ACTYPER ($82719.70 in chips)
Seat 3 - MERKER777 ($66815.48 in chips)
Seat 4 - BADBEETE ($23985.32 in chips)
Seat 5 - MINDISMAN ($38713.28 in chips)
Seat 7 - FRANKIEBUS ($25153.84 in chips)
Seat 8 - VIKESFAN353 ($13754.46 in chips)
PCH180 - Ante $200
ACTYPER - Ante $200
MERKER777 - Ante $200
BADBEETE - Ante $200
MINDISMAN - Ante $200
FRANKIEBUS - Ante $200
VIKESFAN353 - Ante $200
FRANKIEBUS - Posts small blind $1000
VIKESFAN353 - Posts big blind $2000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to ACTYPER [Ac Kd]
PCH180 - Folds
ACTYPER - Raises $5000 to $5000
MERKER777 - Folds
BADBEETE - Folds
MINDISMAN - Folds
FRANKIEBUS - Raises $23000 to $24000
VIKESFAN353 - Folds
ACTYPER - Raises $43000 to $48000
FRANKIEBUS - All-In $953.84
ACTYPER - returned ($23046.16) : not called
*** FLOP *** [10d Qc Jd]
*** TURN *** [10d Qc Jd] [8d]
*** RIVER *** [10d Qc Jd 8d] [7c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ACTYPER - Shows [Ac Kd] (Straight, ten to ace)
FRANKIEBUS - Shows [Ad Ah] (One pair, aces)
ACTYPER Collects $53307.68 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($53307.68)
Board [10d Qc Jd 8d 7c]
Seat 1: PCH180 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 2: ACTYPER won Total ($53307.68) HI:($53307.68) with Straight, ten to ace [Ac Kd - P:Ac,P:Kd,B:Qc,B:Jd,B:10d]
Seat 3: MERKER777 Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: BADBEETE Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 5: MINDISMAN (dealer) Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 7: FRANKIEBUS (small blind) HI:lost with One pair, aces [Ad Ah - P:Ah,P:Ad,B:Qc,B:Jd,B:10d]
Seat 8: VIKESFAN353 (big blind) Folded on the POCKET CARDS

PWND!!!!!!!!!!

Don't slowroll, it's not nice!

Boo, just lost headsup. AA < JJ allin preflop. $1,310, not bad. 3 final tables this afternoon.

Back to Vegas & Free Cardrunners videos!

2008-08-08T09:09:00.003-04:00

First, yes I am going back to Vegas, about a month since I left there. Won't be much poker play this time around (though there wasn't much last time either). Friend's wedding at the Bellagio, should be around 30 or us alltogether, so some good drunken times lie ahead. Me and my liver are ready.

Did you ever want to invest in a poker training website, but just too cheap to get one. Now you can get a FREE Cardrunners account! PokerTrainingGuide will pay for the signup fee and your first month ($128 value) as long as you play at one of our partnered poker rooms. Choose from: RedKingsPoker, Ladbrokes, Sun Poker, Bodog, Duplicate Poker, Cake Poker, PokerRoom, Mansion Poker, Lucky Ace Poker, PKR Poker, Carbon Poker, Poker Kings, and Titan Poker. As long as you are a New Player to that poker site and meet the minimum playing requirements, you will receive your free cardrunners membership. Several of these rooms allow american poker players as well. We will be adding several other training sites to this promotion as time goes on, but might as well start with one of the best training sites out there. There is nowhere else where you can get access to free cardrunners videos, anywhere but at PokerTrainingGuide.com

Got my $10k back :)

2008-07-13T21:51:00.004-04:00

Not too bad of a comeback. Was about a bit under average when the $ bubble broke. After at one point got down to 1.5BB. A few double ups and some weird non calls, I was back up to a decent stack. With about 30 left I was amongst the chip leaders, and started the final table 2/10. Let some other guys battle it out, and stayed out of the path of the cl. Won some pots here and there, chip leads kept changing hands. Lost a bunch when my set was overturned by a river flush. Battled back and with 4 left was the chip leader 1.2 - 800k - 800k - 200k. Though I got lucky though as Ax > TT. A few double ups by the little stack and at one point, all of us were about even. 3/4 of us played pretty tough poker, resteals galore so chips were moving. 4th place was eliminated, can't remember the hand now. A bowed out when I tried a resteal with A4, but ran against 88. 4 on the turn, but blank river. Had a feeling I was going to have a nice score today, though in honesty I thought it would be in the 2million+ tourney on Pokerstars. KK < AA to an uber donk killed those dreams. Also played a €100k on Poker Heaven (Boss), which I dominated but just ran so bad late.

http://www.pokerroom.com/poker/tournaments/info/37731961/

My first Uber beat

2008-07-11T23:22:00.001-04:00

Stage #1025854414: Holdem Normal $10/$20 - 2008-07-11 23:16:36 (ET)
Table: RAKOF AVE (Real Money) Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 4 - JOHNFRUGBY ($605.50 in chips)
Seat 5 - ACTYPER ($651 in chips)
Seat 6 - 1MOREFISH ($1235.97 in chips)
Seat 1 - JESSMPG ($420.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - HARDSHELL ($131.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GRIMNOK ($86.50 in chips)
ACTYPER - Posts small blind $5
1MOREFISH - Posts big blind $10
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to ACTYPER [6h 5h]
JESSMPG - Raises $20 to $20
HARDSHELL - Calls $20
GRIMNOK - Folds
JOHNFRUGBY - Calls $20
ACTYPER - Calls $15
1MOREFISH - Calls $10
*** FLOP *** [9h 7h 10h]
ACTYPER - Bets $10
1MOREFISH - Calls $10
JESSMPG - Calls $10
HARDSHELL - Calls $10
JOHNFRUGBY - Calls $10
*** TURN *** [9h 7h 10h] [2s]
ACTYPER - Bets $20
1MOREFISH - Raises $40 to $40
JESSMPG - Calls $40
HARDSHELL - Folds
JOHNFRUGBY - Calls $40
ACTYPER - Calls $20
*** RIVER *** [9h 7h 10h 2s] [8h]
ACTYPER - Bets $20
1MOREFISH - Folds
JESSMPG - Calls $20
JOHNFRUGBY - Raises $40 to $40
ACTYPER - Raises $40 to $60
JESSMPG - Folds
JOHNFRUGBY - Raises $40 to $80
ACTYPER - Calls $20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JOHNFRUGBY - Shows [Jd Jh] (Straight flush, jack)
ACTYPER - Mucks
JOHNFRUGBY Collects $486.50 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total Pot($490) | Rake ($3) | Jackpot Rake ($0.50)
Board [9h 7h 10h 2s 8h]
Seat 1: JESSMPG Folded on the RIVER
Seat 2: HARDSHELL Folded on the TURN
Seat 3: GRIMNOK Folded on the POCKET CARDS
Seat 4: JOHNFRUGBY (dealer) won Total ($486.50) HI:($486.50) with Straight flush, jack [Jd Jh - P:Jh,B:10h,B:9h,B:8h,B:7h]
Seat 5: ACTYPER (small blind) HI: [Mucked] [6h 5h]
Seat 6: 1MOREFISH (big blind) Folded on the RIVER

Bye!

2008-07-06T15:32:00.002-04:00

A few parting comments before I leave Vegas. Yes unfortunately my time here will be cut way short. Stomach flu or something like that has got me tilted. Can't keep anything in, and don't feel like playing a tournament like this. Wanted to play the Caesars deep stack today, and if I did well would play the main event on Tues. Kinda pissed, I'll only end up playing the one tournament here, and that didn't last too long. Oh well, next year.

I just also wanted to say thanks to Pokerroom. Their first impression wasn't that great, communication was horrible. I had no idea what i was supposed to do, and when I arrived at Mandalay Bay, was just praying that there was a room for me here.

Well there was, plus more. A huge basket full of snacks was waiting here for me. Unfortunately I did not get notice that there was a greeting party that night, and I arrived late for it. So never got my duffel bag full of clothes, will just settle for one hoodie instead. Part of the package pokerroom offered their players were complimentary events including: Hoover Dam visit, Grand Canyon tour, 18 holes and desert sands, various parties and more. They made sure you had a good time here, and made sure you always had plenty to drink!

wsop Busto

2008-07-04T04:47:00.001-04:00

I guess better go out early than bubble, but still feels pretty shitty.

Got up to about 25k early. Limped JTs, next player raises 3x, a couple calls and i call. Flop AKsx. Somehow checked around. Turn Q, sweet. I lead out for 750 into 1200. Original raiser calls, fold, fold. Turn is a blank, I bet out 1500 and he calls. Flips over AA. If I had knew would have tried taking more. Very surprised he played it so passively.

Lost a lot of chips when i raised utg with AA and was smoked by QTo with a river straight.

Final hand was limp, limp, I raise it up with KK on the bottom. Fold, call. Flop Q88. He bets out 2/3 here, I raise, he reraises, and I just shove, and he calls. Dominated by A8. I guess i was still deep enough to get away from this, but couldn't find a fold.

Will prob hang around here for a bit longer, play some other tournies. Caesars etc. Will keep you guys updated on the other stuff

WSOP Update Wed July 2

2008-07-02T22:13:00.002-04:00

So I arrived last night. Too tired to do anything, so stayed at Mandalay Bay. Found out that the pokerroom info/party was that night but started at 5. Ran over to the hall where it was up, luckily it was just finishing. Got some stuff, but still not much info, like when I would be playing. Ended the night just playing some tight ass 1/2 at MBay.

Went to the Rio today. Had some meetings. Played a quick satellite. Played some 10/20limit. Went to check WSOP registration to see if I was registered!

So low and behold I am playing tomorrow, Thursday! Thanks pokerroom for letting me know, I still don't have the duffel bags with all the clothing.

I still suck headsup

2008-06-30T20:09:00.002-04:00

Today a got a newspaper article written about me (Toronto Sun: June 30, 2008). I also got a tv interview (City TV News, June 30, 2008)

But.... I still suck headsup

Never been so dominated headsup. I started HU down 3:1 after i dominated the final table. At one point 3 handed I had 1/2 the chips in play. What it boiled down to was I had the 2nd best hand all the time. My opponenet always hit at least top pair. Was an opponent who never raised preflop, ever...

So I would lose, lose, lose, get low, double up. Rinse and repeat. At one point I evened it up, but that trend continued. I eventually pushed 94s into A7o and couldn't hit.

Was a winner take all and I left with nothing. Damn I suck headsup.

You Wanna Piece of Me?

2008-06-24T13:15:00.010-04:00

Since some of you asked, I will be selling a piece of me for the WSOP 08 Main Event.

I will only be selling 10% of me for now.

A straight 1:1 ratio. 1% = $100.

Will be updating this blog throughout the wsop. Pokerroom blog should have me covered as well. If I get chips the Pokernews will have coverage. Pocketfiveslive. I might signup for FTSweat as well.

So here is the list of those who own me.

Vince - 1%
Darren - 1%
Mathieu - 1% (pending)
Ryan/Chris - 1%
Barb - 0.5%
Scott - 0.5%
Tylor - 1.5%
John - 1%
Wes - 1.5% (swap)
Kash - 1%

Just won my WSOP main event seat! See you in vegas!

2008-06-15T20:16:00.009-04:00

edit: I think this is what I won, found it on the forums.

Congratulations.You won a $17,500 package including:
$10,500 tournament fee
$4,000 hotel
$2,000 travel and spending money
$1,000 entry fees for other poker events

If you want the $2,000 travel money put into your account, you should contact support asap. They will send you a contract that you should sign and send back.You will have to book your flights yourself.Your room is booked in the Mandalay Bay hotel from june 30 to july 17. Breakfast is included.You will be wined and dined and pampered, but hardly anything is known about when and how exactly.
--------------------------------------------

OK I'll go throught the list first.

8) Betfair (sat in) - Failed. Super aggro preflop action all the time. Unfortunately I never got any traps set.
9) Mansion (sat in) - Failed. First Tilt of the day. Build up a nice stack. Then got aggro monkey to shove into my turned set. He rivered a gutshot.

10) Pokerroom Bounty - Winner, woot woot! See pic above, TR below.

11) Full Tilt OFC ($2k subevent) - Failed. Once again built up a nice stack, but just ran bad late.

12) Pokerroom (sat in) - Failed. Same story as usual. Built up a nice stack, top 10. A whole bunch of limpers and I find myself with QQ. I value squeeze shove to portray a bluff or AK hoping a smaller pair calls. EP ends up with KK, gg stack.

13) PokerStars 200 seat - Failed. Lost interest when I won my seat. Hovered around 10BB most of the time.

14) Cake 8 seat -(sat in) Failed. Kept on getting reshoved, and bled chips.

15) Full Tilt 150 seat - still playing. Lost interest, then rededicated myself. Solid players on my table so my stack has been moving up and down. Lots of restealing going on by me and others. Bah.. got myself back with a good stack, but just let it bleed down. Finished 280 I think.

Ok so here is the story of how I won the seat.

Pokerroom $100 Bounty tourney with 2 $17,500 wsop prize packages added. 1200+ players.

Honestly I can't remember much up until the $ bubble period. I had 8 tables going at one point. When I noticed that players were already stalling with 20 to go, thats when my aggro started. I built an avg stack to a top 30ish (130 bubble), all without showdown. I continued my aggressiveness preflop as there were a lot of Tight passives. There must have been a lot of satelliting into this thing. I easily built that into a top 3 stack by the time final table hit. Losing a chunk KK vs AQ.

No difference when the final table played out, everybody was trying to move up payouts or sneak into a wsop spot. I just kept taking and taking as people kept leaving their chips exposed. Once in a while i'd lose to shorties, but there wasn't much of a dent. Won a bunch of Ax vs Ax better kicker hands to eliminate some players. Even a JJ held to knock out a guy. When it got down to 3 handed I had a pretty good chip lead so I was excited. First hand I raise with JJ on the button, sb folds, bb shoves. I call, he flips over KK. Shit. Flop comes Jxx. Gin! x turn, x river. I love Jacks! At that point I was super excited, and pretty much forgot there was a $4k payout difference from 1st to 2nd. I had a huge lead, but he doubled up on me 89 > QT. I turned a straight and money went in. He made a flush. I still had the nut flush draw, but it didn't hit. Then i lost some more chips 77 vs QT. Lost the rest of my chips 33 vs AA a few hands later. I got pwnd headsup, but I don't think I cared too much.

So I ended up winning a $10k seat, $7500 in expenses, and $3700+ cash for the 2nd. I have no idea what I get for $7500, there is no info on their website. Just give me that in cash. :) My first intent was to fly down Thurs night, July 3. So much stuff going on the nights before that I don't want to miss though (PSO party, Bluff party). I think I might have to though, but pokerroom might also have a set schedule I have to follow. Anybody else going who likes UFC, I want to get tickets for the July 5 show. I'm going to try and play on sunday, though I have no idea how to register. Got a bunch of stuff to take of before I guess, was much easier when they were allowed to do everything for you.

For those who asked about staking, i'll give out details later.

Good luck with your wsop quest!

Last month of WSOP qualifying

2008-06-06T10:37:00.002-04:00

Well so far no luck in my WSOP quest. Haven't posted much as i've been on such a downer. After posting my best month, May was my worst. I just sucked ass / ran bad in everythng. Started off June bad as well, but my last 2 sessions have gone ok. I turned down my aggro level a bit as the variance of playing that way gives you heart burn when things don't go right. Thats for NL, limit wise i'm just running super bad.

So here are my plans for WSOP qualifiers

Pokerroom - sats are super easy, I should have played these weekly. A qualifier everyday until the 15th. I can't make the weekday ones, but I should be able to play at least 3/4 weekend ones. Have 1 ticket right now.

PokerStars - I've given up on the steps. Sunday $650 25 seats are good value, just haven't been able to sat in. Will be playing the 200 seater $320 on the 15th.

Full Tilt - I think just the $500 150 seater on the 15th for me. Will try to sat in. BBT3 I just stunk it up. Two 2nd places in the final 2 weeks. Will play the subevent giveaway on the 8th though.

Mansion - Will play the 20seat $320 on the 15th

SunPoker - prob play the 1seat guarantee on the 8th. $220?

Betfair - 7 seat guarantee on the 15th is intriging. $500. 1st wins a wsope and wsop me seat. Will prob play

Action Poker Still have a step 7 to play. 10 person sng, winner gets seat. Sat or Sun night at 9pm. Prob is they hardly ever fill up.

Cake Poker Will continue playing these on Sunday. $215. Sat in with cake points if I have. Those sats are so bad though, players are awful.

ClubBluff ClubUBT skin from Bluff Magazine that uses subscripton style for buyins. ie) $20 a month will give you a bunch of points/freerolls. If i'm bored i'll try it out, theres a wsop me giveaway in a couple of weeks but need to sat in.

Will be playing in the P5 Open (stars, 1 seat added) on the 7th, and the PSO Absolute Poker seat giveaway on the 22nd. Played about 50 points yesterday (need 100 to qualify) and was prety easy. I so wish I had rakeback on here. I forgot about their double stack cash games.

Will prob skip

Everest - 10 seat on the 15th. $1000 buyin. If theres a good sat on the weekend i'll play, but the sats they have now are weekdays or just garbage (non guarantee, hardly ever reach min)

AP/UB - meh. If theres a big one coming up i'll play.

Party - I think they are on Fri. 6:30. Too early imo.

Hollywood - $320 if I sat. I recently had pokerroom and hollywood open at the same time, didnt' know you could do that. Not same tourney of course :)

Prima ones = meh

iPoker = don't like the satellite structures for any tournies on ipoker. Plus their jackpot sngs never run because the structures are so bad. 1000 starting chips.

Wish me luck!

P5 Open

2008-06-04T15:20:00.001-04:00

I'll be playing as a blogger in the PocketFives Open. P5s is adding some $530 Sunday Million seats for the poker bloggers out there.The PocketFives Poker Forum is source of the best online poker rankings in the world.In addition, PocketFives features regular content contributions in the forms of poker articles from top poker players such as AJKHoosier1 and USCphildo.Registered:1739844208

Saying Uncle

2008-05-26T08:54:00.003-04:00

Just about ready to give up on my WSOP chase. Too frustrating qualifying in all those events and with nothing to show for in the end. Failed in the Ultimate Bet 25 seat, Pokerroom 10 seat, Pokerroom 40 player, Cake ME and subevent. In all these events I played well, made it semi deep, but just couldn't run well when it counted. But its jsut monday morning talking, i'll be back at it spewing money by tonight.

Looking for Online Poker Training?

2008-05-02T21:49:00.006-04:00

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April Recap

2008-05-01T17:29:00.000-04:00

In short, had my best month of the year so far playing the least amount of hours so far. What gives??

Played 43hrs, have been averaging about 60
Only 1 significant tourney cash - 2nd in Absolute $11k for just under $2k
Owned at limit, especially at 20/40
Not much happening in NL
About 7-8k hands altogether
Still no WSOP ME seat
Pretty good at satelliting
Pretty bad at sng'ing (except for those Action poker ones)
Total of a $6k month

May I'll prob play about the same or less. Too many busy sundays, damn running out of time for these wsop qualifiers.

A real post!

2008-04-14T08:27:00.004-04:00

Been a while since I've made a real post without any shilling! Just wanted to give an update on my poker life. I still suck at donkaments, I still own at satellites, I still suck at Pokerstars WSOP steps, I'm decent at regular sitngos, my NL cash game is playing well just have to get my hands to hold, my limit cash game is still owning (unfortunately 20/40 on cake doesn't run enough).

Took my money out of Poker Heaven and Paradise Poker due to the Boss / Poker Trillion dispute. This is just in case, I don't want my money locked up as I have a good chunk on Heaven. Too bad, their cash games are still juicy, and I sorta enjoy the 5max tables.

Action poker network 50x tournament was a sham. They eventually let it all players who deposited and played a qualifying sit and go. 150+ players and stalling began after 5 exits. I think I was one of the top 5 out. With 8 minute blinds and 1500 starting chips, I wasn't going to let go of KQ on a QJT board. 100th would have paid out $200, but I was more interested in the $10k 1st payout.

I might completely take a break from tournaments for a while, I can't seem to run well in them at all. Maybe I'm just putting too much pressure on myself to win a WSOP seat. Reminds me, haven't played a BBT3 tourney in many weeks now, I should start again, maybe next week though.

Cash games I just need a heater. I feel as if i'm making the +ev decision in most hands i'm involved with. Still need to work on extracting max amounts. I've been getting hands, hitting hands, flopping sets, but not getting paid off on them, especially sets. Been a long time since i've gone set vs overpair.

Started reading Harrington on Cash Volume 1. 1/2 way through it and wow, this might be one of the worst books I have ever read. Perhaps I'm just disappointed since HOH MTT was so valuable. Does Harrington even play cash games? Has he ever played an online game? I don't really know what I expected, but it feels like asking Wayne Gretzky to coach the Toronto Raptors. wtf. His pansy ass approach towards cash games is not how you make money. He fails to realize that NL cash games is a game of stacks. You attempt to win the big pots, not the little ones. Another peeve is that a lot of his examples are off High Stakes Poker (the tv show). C'mon, your using examples that are pretty much irrelevant to the readers of your book. Praising Doyle's play of cold calling on the SB with 1 caller already behind you on a definate call in the BB (Elezera calls with ATC at that point).

Picked up UFC83 tickets, so buddies and I are off to Montreal for the weekend. Going to be some sick parties and a sick event. Going to be crazy loud when GSP walks to the octagon. Can't wait, WAR GSP!!!!

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2008-04-06T11:05:00.002-04:00

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Finally a decent mtt, though I still can't win a wsop seat

2008-03-23T23:37:00.003-04:00

Came 2nd for a score of €2400, or about $3600. Was supposed to be a wsop me sat, but only 16 people entered, needed 20. Kinda sad, I'm guessing it was mostly satellite qualifiers as well. Pretty much chipped up early, trying to remember the hand, but can't remember. Stayed 1/15 for pretty much the entire way until 6 left or so. Didn't really lose any pots, just others won some big ones. Bubble didn't last too long so couldn't take advantage of that. 3 handed, the other 2 players got involved. Under pair vs flush draw, underpair ended with a full house, and most of the chips. Other than that, 3 handed wasn't that eventfull. When it got down to headsup, was about 3:1 over me and I had approx 10BB. He slow played 88, and I shoved on the BB with 65s. I think that was the 2nd hand HU. I could have easily dominated this tourney, but the eventual winner was a calling station, don't bluff him, never raises pf kind of player. I wasn't too sure how to play against him. I tried overbetting for value which didn't work, I was just lost. Oh well, the money is good, and luckily there was no wsop seat, I would have bubbled!

Cake WSOP I final tabled, but exited in 9th. At that time I was 8/9 with about 10BB. I thought the button was stealing so I shoved in SB with A9o. I should have figured a button pot bet was not a steal attempt. He had KK and it held up. This was a tourney where I was pretty much average stack all day. Nothing else for the day, bubbled the Party 18k 6 away from the $.

Spent the weekend in Niagara. I really don't like live cash games, or maybe its just there at Fallsview. Service is slow, have to wait forever for a table. Most management types there are pricks, and I just don't get how inefficient the whole poker room is run. Is there something against the gambling commission that makes it illegal to run a good room? Empty seats galores, empty tables with dealers sitting there with no work to do. I waited about 1.5hrs for a 5/5 table. Some guy who joined later said he waited 3hrs. I called out the assistant prick telling him I've just watched him add his buddies and regulars to the top of the list. He gave excuses about callins blah blah, whatever. Other than for WPT sats, I can't see myself going there again anytime soon.

On the playing side, I just don't win live. Extremely card dead, and having to win with garbage. I think I don't know how to bet size properly live. People are willing to pay you off based on the $ amount, and not the pot value of it. Overbetting gets paid off, not sure why I don't do it. Something to learn. And just the retardness of players. 3 limpers to the highjack who limps behind. I limp on the button with T6o, wheee! T69 flop. Bet call. Turn Q or something. Bet call. River was something to complete a flush. check, and I decide to just check behind. He turns over AA, wtf!!! If I knew I'd have your stack you dumbass.

Partied that night at Dragonfly. No redbull... wtf? They give you Rockstar instead. Rockstar and Smirnoff doesn't really taste that great, but it'll do. Next round I ask for Goose, no goose, Belvedere was the premium there. WTF?? Tasted better than Smirnoff at least. By the end of the night was just zoned out.

But all this just gives me a taste of Vegas, can't wait till I go again. Hopefully in July :)

March Break / Reading Week

2008-03-09T20:29:00.003-04:00

A couple days ago I decided that next week I would dedicate purely to traing. Watching videos and reading books. Running bad and not playing well, I just have to get my mind in the right direction again. I'll still play the blogger events but thats about it.

I posted on a few message boards but that Cross Country Tour is a bust. Not really worth the free entry in terms of the knowledge you receive back. Probably end up more confused afterwards. I'd skip it.

Been a while since a won a tourney, but I did win a small one.

Was a fun super turbo. 90 players, lasted about 45min. Just pushed at the right times I guess.

I've been pretty killer with my satellites again, with another 2 wsop main qualifiers. Failed my cake one just now in 22nd. TT < AK. K turn. Lost a pokerroom yesterday. So I still have 1 more pokerroom one left and now a Party one. I stink badly at steps, maybe i'll watch some turbo sng videos to improve. Can't get past step 3.

Never going to win a live seat Part III

2008-03-02T23:46:00.004-05:00

Wow didn't think the next post in this series would be the day after!

My fault, played like a pansy 3 handed. The two luckboxes are 1 and 2, what can you do. Better lucky than skilled.

Never gonnna win a live seat again part 2

2008-03-01T19:30:00.003-05:00

Was a freeroll with optional $25 rebuy/addon. Didn't do either, by the time the break hit, the addon would have bought 3BB. Very weak field so didn't take much thinking to get to the final table. Knocked out most of the players and stayed within the 1st/2nd range. Lost a crucial 3outer with 5 to go. KQ < Ax with a K on the flop. Then lost a flip Q9s vs 33 with 9 possible outs after the flop. By the time it got down to 6 handed, there wasn't much play available, push shove mode. Next time...

I did manage to win 2 $535 buyins for the pokerroom wsop sats though. Didn't realize it was 55 player max so didn't get to play today. Good thing about the pokerroom ones is that it pays out to 7. :)

Thank God Feb is a short month

2008-03-01T10:02:00.002-05:00

February sucked, plain and simple. Couldn't get any runs going, couldn't get hands to hold up. My mtt results just sucked, FTOPS was a bust. I guess satellite play was good as I got into most of the events I wanted. Even after all my rakeback numbers are in, I lost money this month. What this does is:

Screws up your confidence
Puts you in a sour mood
Crushes thoughts of starting the year off strong
Forces you to make it up the month after
More training/schooling

On the cash game side, my NL game was a big loser. Not ready to step back down as I think I'm still playing ok, just on a bad side of variance. My limit game is pretty good, well maybe 20/40 only. For some reason I lost $ at 10/20 and 5/10, so I'll stay away from those.

Tournament side I better get something going, not sure what leaks I have right now. Probably something on the aggression side as I go into too many lulls and watch my stack disappear. With the BBT3 coming up I have to start winning.

This month my cash games will be mostly on Cake Poker. I'll probably tryout some cryptologic games as they have some good wsop/wpt promos. Earlier read that some bonuses might be gone though. I'll prob play some tournies on saturday instead, and nothing on sunday. Need a sunday break. Will be back sunday night though for the kickoff of BBT3.

Sunday Madness

2008-02-10T21:17:00.001-05:00

Decided to just go crazy on mtts today. Was profitable, but not what I expected, could have been better.

WPT Celebrity Inv Sat: -$11 (2nd)
FTOPS KO: -$129
FTOPS NL Sat: -$55
Prima $175k rebuy: -$245 (4 to the bubble, even though I had a top 50 stack with 5 to go)
Titan $200k: -$215
Mansion $150k: +$1650 (10th). Lost many flips to A rag. Otherwise Super Ninja mode activated.
FTOPS NL: -$320 (i just sucked this one)
Action Poker $25k: -$108. Flopped trips, got flushed.
Cake $100k: Still playing. Freerolled a gold chip sat to get in.

20/40 Limit: +$340
5/10 Limit: -$286
10/20 Limit: +$376

Tired, need redbull. 8.5hrs now. damn Sundays.

I don't think i'll ever win a live satellite package again

2008-02-10T16:10:00.000-05:00

He had a 3:1 chip advantage going on. Due to a lot of 1ups on me, ie flush over flush. Headsup was back and forth. Sucked out on him 33 > 66. But he often had a hand a bit better than me. Ended up losing 33 < QQ. Man so close once again. Hopefully he doesn't have a passport or something. :)

The Official Mike McDonald thread

2008-02-03T10:43:00.000-05:00

From Casino Whore -> Poker Super Balla in 2 years. gg Mike!!! gg Timex!!! gg Hit_21_Hit!!!

http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2008/02/ept-dortmund-18-year-old-mike-mcdonald.html

EPT Dortmund: 18 year-old Mike McDonald becomes youngest ever EPT winner
By Stephen Bartley on February 2, 2008 6:29 PM | Permalink

It can sometimes feel like a relief when the best man wins. There were a few likely candidates when play began this afternoon, but it muddies the sceptics view when skill, talent and potential combine in a player and are so easy to spot. Sometimes it can be tougher to put your finger on, but it was punctuated nicely tonight by 18 year-old Canadian Mike McDonald.

His is a fledgling poker career officially just six months old and it’s hard to imagine him having already had a bad patch. He did, but it only last three months and in the last five weeks his upturn in form has involved five cashes now totalling over $1.5 million. And judging by the way he plays – calm, considered, with less gamble than most – it’s hard to see him returning to those ‘dark’ days.

Mike McDonald
McDonald literally leapt into poker the day he turned 18, playing in the World Series of Poker Europe in London. His birthday coincided with day 1b of the event and he turned up, promptly paid his ten grand to play, found himself at the feature table and was eliminated by 2006 World Champion Jamie Gold. But McDonald took few negatives from this experience, playing live more and more and recording his first cash in the EPT Prague back in December.

Back then he seemed like dozens of other young players making their EPT debut, perhaps a little tidier and clean cut than most, but eager, aggressive and with little regard for the value of the chips he was playing with. He finished 14th in the Czech capital, collecting €20,200 before heading to Australia, the Aussie millions festival where a second and first place ignited his form. There was nothing stopping him and the EPT Dortmund was about to see that for itself.

So back to where we started today...

Seat 1 -- Mike McDonald – Canada -- 862k
Seat 2 -- Diego Perez – Spain -- 744k
Seat 3 -- Thibaut Durand – France – 148k
Seat 4 -- Johannes Strassmann – Germany – PokerStars sponsored player -- 827k
Seat 5 -- Christian Harder – United States – PokerStars qualifier -- 339k
Seat 6 -- Andreas Gulunay – Germany -- 560k
Seat 7 -- Torsten Haase – Germany - 369k
Seat 8 -- Claudio Rinaldi – Switzerland – 276k

At the start of the day this one seemed straight forward. The story would be simple – Johannes Strassmann and Mike McDonald would gradually eliminate the rest of the field (McDonald in fact saw off five), the two would then shake hands and face a heads-up battle equal in chips with everything to play for. They seemed more confident and skilled than the others – both to people watching and to themselves. McDonald would later say that he had a visit from Strassmann at 3am the night before – with friendly rivalry Strassmann said he was determined to win his home EPT.

And no-one doubted him for the first few hours of the final. The 22 year-old German, likely to feature regularly on this tour in the future, was alive at the table – talking, cajoling, using table talk that was great to watch and harked back to last year’s final when Andreas Hoivold talked to the other finalists into submission without reply.

American PokerStars qualifier Christian Harder, or ‘Charder’ would go first. He was one of the short stacks and took his chance finding A-K in the hole. What he couldn’t predict was Mike McDonald holding aces. The inevitable happened and we were quickly down to seven with Harder picking up €85,500.

An hour later we were down to six. This time it was Frenchman Thibaut Durand pushing with A-4 straight after the break, called by Johannes Strassmann. So far the blue print for the final of McDonald and Strassmann seemed to be playing out. Strassmann held pocket eights which proved enough, sending Durand to the rail with €120,200.

Thibaut Durand
But things would soon go wrong for Strassmann. Keeping his aggression in check ultimately cost him - big raises would be trumped by re-raises all-in and whilst he proved most entertaining, he was also most volatile. Up to over a million in chips he then went through a black period that would see him out earlier than anyone imagined.

Then for a while we hardly saw a flop. A hand would be folded or re-raised all-in and when it was it tended to be Strassmann who suffered. The first two players had gone within the first 90 minutes but now there was a sense of the long haul. Three players, McDonald, Strassmann and another German Torsten Haase were all within a few grand of each other whilst no one, with the exception of Claudio Rinaldi, was ever close to being so low that an all or nothing move was required.

Torsten Haase – Germany -- 863,000
Diego Perez – Spain -- 851,000
Johannes Strassmann – Germany -- PokerStars sponsored player -- 825,000
Andreas Gülünay – Germany -- 643,000
Mike McDonald – Canada -- 528,000
Claudio Rinaldi – Switzerland -- 383,000

To the Strassmann demise, which started with a raise re-raised by McDonald. Painful as it was Johannes had to fold. Whilst Torsten Haase worked his way further ahead attention was still on the two favourites. Then another hand - Diego Perez raised, Strassmann re-raised and Perez moved all-in. He might have been ahead but Strassmann couldn’t risk it – another pot lost.

Then, two hours after Durand’s exit the hand came to send Strassmann out. A raise, a McDonald re-raise and an all-in move from the German – perhaps intended to put an end to this nonsense. But McDonald called, and why wouldn’t he? Holding kings he was way ahead of Strassmann who simply mucked. It was over. Like Michael Norinder in Prague - a million to none in quick time - Strassmann was out, for €152,000.
Strassmann in seventh had taken two hours to depart. Now the other players could relax a little. One of the major threats had gone - no more raising, no more table talk that could open them up at any moment for all to see.

Claudio Rinaldi, who had hung on well, went next. He pushed in against Andreas Gulunay with A-9; pocket sevens for Gulunay which did the honourable thing and held steady. Rinaldi out in fifth for €193,000.
As predicted it was not long before the next player was counting cash on the rail.

Claudio Rinaldi
Diego Perez had spent a good deal of the week as chip leader, holding it on day three well enough to stretch it to the final, third in chips. That he didn’t advance any further was largely due to Mike McDonald. By now the Canadian had manoeuvred passed a few awkward hours and was in a good gear. He raised, Perez moved in and after a few analytical moments picked apart on EPT Live, the press room and McDonald’s head, he called. It was a good one. The 18 year-old only had deuces but was ahead of Perez holding J-T. We were down to three with Perez going out for €193,000.

Spaniard Diego Perez
It didn’t stay that way for long. Third place was taken a short while later by Torsten Haase. The German had become the dark horse of this final, slipping by the favourites to spend a pleasant few hours with the chip lead - the only player with a seven figure stack. But again it was Mike McDonald busy setting himself up nicely, calling Torsten’s all-in on a flop of Q-5-3.

Heads up McDonald held the advantage...

Mike McDonald -- 2,900,000
Andreas Gulunay -- 1,200,000

Was there a gulf between the two player’s outlooks? A solid player s he was Andreas Gulunay had achieved something he hadn’t expected a few days ago. He had survived a volatile final table, kept out of trouble, and secured himself a guaranteed €528,500, and soon his play began to reflect this.

Andreas Gulunay
A McDonald bet saw Andreas moved all-in. Not the gambling type, with the chip lead and feeling no rush, McDonald mucked. Cue the German supporters on the rail to begin chants of “Andy!” Gulunay raised a drink to them and said a few words, all lapped up by the rail. But all the while the flash moves seemed to be heading towards something ready to stop him in his tracks.

The best analogy I could think of was from the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. In it there’s a scene where Indiana Jones, in the midst of a chase to find the girl, runs into a mercenary in full battle dress who parts the crowds and prepares to destroy the hero. He puts on display of spectacular swordsmanship intended to frighten the bejesus out of Jones, impressing the crowd who await the final act of victory. Indiana Jones simply removes his pistol, shoots the man, ends the fight, and gets on with the chase.

Mike McDonald tonight performed the poker equivalent.

Bang!

The hand was well underway – a flop of K-7-J. Andreas had checked allowing Mike to bet 120k. Andreas, perhaps underestimating the Canadian or perhaps ready to end this once and for all, re-raised – 300k more which McDonald called. This was now a big pot and the king on the turn would make it even bigger.

300k from Andreas who was reaching terminal velocity – again he was called. The river a deuce and the pot grew to over 1.4 million. Some hands go your way by accident but McDonald had played this one perfectly – Andreas moved all-in leaving the words “I call” the only thing separating himself from an EPT title. Andreas looked over. When McDonald called he simply said “you win”, mucking his cards.

Lee Jones, watching from the press room summed it up, “He played it perfectly – he let him walk right into it.”

Even with the crowd’s heavy preference for the German players there was nothing but applause for McDonald, not yet legally old enough to buy a victory drink in his hometown of Waterloo, Canada.

Gulunay accepted defeat graciously and was a worthy crowd favourite but he had been beaten by the better player - fact he acknowledged in a touching moment as the photographers swarmed around his victor, where he shook hands with McDonald and told him he’d deserved the win.

Some said Mike looked overawed with the result, not quite knowing how to react to the typical media onslaught that accompanies an EPT final hand worth €933,600. But I suspect this was all-in the original plan – that if he played well, didn’t go against his instincts and stayed focused, he could win and win well. He is after all no stranger to success, just the obligations to the press afterwards.

Regardless, at 18 there was something special with this win, the realisation that perhaps we’d seen something more than a simply tournament win – a tournament that will be referred to again and again in the future as the start of a career that will be followed closely. With just three semesters at Waterloo University completed he may opt for a return to college life, but his short term future is one of more EPTs and poker, starting in Copenhagen.

Final table result of EPT Dortmund

1st -- Mike McDonald – Canada -- €933,600
2nd -- Andreas Gulunay – Germany -- €528,500
3rd -- Torsten Haase – Germany -- €307,000
4th -- Diego Perez – Spain -- €234,200
5th -- Claudio Rinaldi – Switzerland -- €193,000
6th -- Johannes Strassmann – Germany -- PokerStars sponsored player -- €152,000
7th -- Thibaut Durand – France -- €120,200
8th -- Christian Harder – United States – PokerStars qualifier -- €85,500

Not yet out of braces, you have to wonder how better he can become. If this performance is anything to go by he may need to get used to the media attention sooner rather than later.

January Review

2008-02-02T15:18:00.001-05:00

January was a very up and down month for me. Started off blazing hot, thought I would finish up a huge month. Then I dropped about $2k within a week, and it didn't look as nice anymore. I finished up decently though. My NLH was decent, numerous sets over sets killed me. My LH was hot, I think I made more on LH than NLH. Right now its mostly 5/10 limit with a couple 10/20s thrown in, but going to try and do more 10/20s.

My mtts were just awful, down over $1k on those, and I think I only had $1k in winnings. Lack of patience as previously described, but hopefully that will remain a thing of the past. Looking forward to FTOPs next week, I should be satelliting into a lot of those, though I have yet to play one. Lazy, and want to just wait for the super sats, the ones with like 100 seats guaranteed etc.
Will buy into at least 2 if I can't sat into them, probably the limit one as I'm feeling good about my game.

Finished just short of the 60hours that I wanted to play. Didn't quite average the $100 per hour either, but was at least in the $70 range. Once the rest of my rakeback payments come in, should jump a bit higher.

Feb not looking good so far. Have to dig out of a hole now.

Reminder to stay patient and focused

2008-01-28T08:56:00.001-05:00

This is in regards to mtts (donkaments) which I seem to suck at this year. I guess that long xmas break I took really messed up my head. I can't seem to focus in these things, and I'm getting extremely impatient. Like getting a decent stack in with only a slight edge early just aint worth it. Though I have over 1k in mtt winnings this year I'm still down for the month, and playing these things kill my hourly rate. Will more than likely take this weekend off (da bowl) so will regroup by then, hopefully.

On the cash game front, I'm doing ok. Was running extremely well in NL, but coolers = tilt. I have numerous sets over set losses that hurt. But I'm still playing well though my profit should be a lot higher than it is. Limit poker I'm doing very well and loving it. I feel like I have the good fundamentals down pat, while my opponents are mostly clueless as when to bet, when to raise, check, call, etc.. Mixing in some 10/20 games now, though I feel the difference in level of play is huge.

damn donkaments

2008-01-15T02:06:00.000-05:00

Its 2am and I've been playing a pretty damn good tourney. $50k on stars, $50+5. Got lucky close to the bubble when button decides to open shove, and magically i'm holding AA on the BB to double to 30bb. Made some great reads like this:

PokerStars Game #14568085330: Tournament #73676345, $50+$5 Hold'em No Limit - Level XII (600/1200) - 2008/01/15 - 00:34:07 (ET)
Table '73676345 33' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Eschilo (15595 in chips)
Seat 2: cheers98 (28098 in chips)
Seat 3: NewPokerKid (55812 in chips)
Seat 4: ZedzDed81 (32083 in chips)
Seat 5: actyper (24615 in chips)
Seat 6: bigcil (30300 in chips)
Seat 7: graslevy (14948 in chips)
Seat 8: acesupyrs (9185 in chips)
Seat 9: TrackStar488 (11146 in chips)
Eschilo: posts the ante 125
cheers98: posts the ante 125
NewPokerKid: posts the ante 125
ZedzDed81: posts the ante 125
actyper: posts the ante 125
bigcil: posts the ante 125
graslevy: posts the ante 125
acesupyrs: posts the ante 125
TrackStar488: posts the ante 125
actyper: posts small blind 600
bigcil: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to actyper [2d Td]
graslevy: folds
acesupyrs: folds
TrackStar488: folds
Eschilo: folds
cheers98: folds
NewPokerKid: folds
ZedzDed81: folds
actyper: raises 1800 to 3000
bigcil: calls 1800
*** FLOP *** [Qs Jc 6c]
actyper: bets 3675
bigcil: calls 3675
*** TURN *** [Qs Jc 6c] [5s]
actyper: checks
bigcil: checks
*** RIVER *** [Qs Jc 6c 5s] [2s]
actyper: bets 3500
bigcil: raises 6500 to 10000
actyper: calls 6500
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bigcil: shows [9c 8c] (high card Queen)
actyper: shows [2d Td] (a pair of Deuces)
actyper collected 34475 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 34475 | Rake 0
Board [Qs Jc 6c 5s 2s]
Seat 1: Eschilo folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: cheers98 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: NewPokerKid folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: ZedzDed81 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: actyper (small blind) showed [2d Td] and won (34475) with a pair of Deuces
Seat 6: bigcil (big blind) showed [9c 8c] and lost with high card Queen
Seat 7: graslevy folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: acesupyrs folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: TrackStar488 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lost a lot of chips later though with TT when bigger stack decides to check raise shove a K high rainbow flop (stop tangling with the big boys). Continued up and down until I got low.

Out Hand

PokerStars Game #14569296452: Tournament #73676345, $50+$5 Hold'em No Limit - Level XVII (2500/5000) - 2008/01/15 - 02:03:06 (ET)
Table '73676345 106' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: Wabs10 (89244 in chips)
Seat 3: THE BURGLER (55610 in chips)
Seat 4: jasray (115713 in chips)
Seat 5: cguido10 (114392 in chips)
Seat 6: wausau1 (105361 in chips)
Seat 7: herschelw (213328 in chips)
Seat 8: HR_Dub (191232 in chips)
Seat 9: actyper (44898 in chips)
Wabs10: posts the ante 500
THE BURGLER: posts the ante 500
jasray: posts the ante 500
cguido10: posts the ante 500
wausau1: posts the ante 500
herschelw: posts the ante 500
HR_Dub: posts the ante 500
actyper: posts the ante 500
actyper: posts small blind 2500
Wabs10: posts big blind 5000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to actyper [Td Qd]
THE BURGLER: folds
jasray: folds
cguido10: folds
wausau1: folds
herschelw: raises 7500 to 12500
HR_Dub: folds
actyper: raises 31898 to 44398 and is all-in
Wabs10: folds
herschelw: calls 31898
*** FLOP *** [4d 8s Jc]
*** TURN *** [4d 8s Jc] [7h]
*** RIVER *** [4d 8s Jc 7h] [2h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
actyper: shows [Td Qd] (high card Queen)
herschelw: shows [7c Qh] (a pair of Sevens)
herschelw collected 97796 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 97796 | Rake 0
Board [4d 8s Jc 7h 2h]
Seat 1: Wabs10 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: THE BURGLER folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: jasray folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: cguido10 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: wausau1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: herschelw showed [7c Qh] and won (97796) with a pair of Sevens
Seat 8: HR_Dub (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: actyper (small blind) showed [Td Qd] and lost with high card Queen

Booo, when you play for 5hrs you except to go pretty deep, at least final 2. Baaah just watched that luckbox knock out another huge stack AT > KK allin preflop. Time to sleep

Limit Post

2008-01-09T10:30:00.000-05:00

Been playing a lot of limit short handed cash games lately, and done pretty well, so might as well share what I've improved in my game.

Most important rule: Preflop = Raise or Fold
Pretty much always either raise or fold preflop. If you are the blinds it is ok to call, and sometimes in a 3bet pot, but the main idea is that if your hand is not good enough to raise then its probably better off left unplayed.

Building pots
If you have a good draw, always build the pot. Don't take free cards, take them if you have a crappy draw.

Don't get sucked in
If your pretty sure your beat after the turn comes out, just give up on the hand. The 4th/5th street hands are expensive, and trying to beat bluffs all the time is -EV. I'm not saying to lay down all the time, just don't think A high or mid pair is always good.

Checking rivers to induce bets
If oop and you figure our oponent has air, check to induce the bluff, they will bet 95% of the time.

Thats all I can think of for now.

2007 Recap / 2008 Goals

2008-01-01T15:11:00.000-05:00

2007 Goals
1) Better tracking. I was going to make my own tracking spreadsheet, but I a am pretty lazy. Done. New 2008 version available at VPIPoker.com
2) $ Amount. I'm not going to set a $ amount goal this year. I'll express it this way. Cash games I want to move up to $1000NL by the end of the year. I'm ready to play $400NL now anyways so its only 1 more step higher. Limit I'll stick with 5/10. Don't really want to play higher yet. Tournament goals below.
Boo. Still at $400/500NL after not doing as well, dropped back to $200NL. Very confident at that level. Went back to 400/500 end of the year with mixed success. Limit at 5/10 but didn't really play too much.
3) Qualify for another major event. WSOP/WPT/CPT. Due to vacation time, I don't think I'll be able to take that much time off work. So no week long ones such as Aruba, Atlantis, WPS, Aussie. WSOP will be tough. I need more vacation time, or just go pro.
Boo. No sat entries won, came close many times though.
4) Tournament Cash winnings. First goal is to get to $2k, then take home $5k, then $10k+. Going to try and play at least 1 $50+ tourney a week. Will continue to improve my tourney skills. Maybe rejoin pokerxfactor, though I probably won't have time to watch the videos again.
Boo. Had a few 1k+ cashes but highest was $3800. By november though my tournament game was pretty "on" so I'm confident for 2008.
5) Omaha/Horse. Learn and get better. Seems like more and more players are enjoying Horse games. I might as well join in the fun. I guess I'm an average Omaha/hi or lo player, I know I have a lot of room to improve though. Maybe I'll buy a book.
Boo. Didn't play much of any other games, prob even less than before.
6) Read. I have books galore that I have yet to read or finish yet.
?. Read a few more books, but joined pxf and watched card runner videos which are way better than books.
7) More Live Poker. Port Perry is only 45mins away. Fallsview/Niagara/Brantford are only 1.5hrs away. Yet I don't play much live poker at casinos. I should. Plus more home games as well. Maybe hit some undergrounds.
Boo. Pretty much only played live for WPT Niagara satellites and Vegas. Undergrounds are pretty much out of the question now since too many gone busto.

Even though I failed most of my goals, I had a successful 2007. Made more than any other previous year. Maybe too hard on myself, but I do like to push myself further. I know I've gotten a lot better, so hopefully that continues onto 2008.

2008 Goals

Hourly Rate. I finished at an approx $50/hr rate. Had a losing July and a couple of sub 1k months which screwed it up. I'm setting my goal for $100/hr. I averaged 48hrs per month in 07, I should have that up to at least 60.
Cash Games. Same as last year, get to $1000NL. Limit $10/20 which should be no prob.
Tournaments. Definately should be able to get a 5 digit score.
Satellites. Qualify for WSOP ME, WPT Niagara, Aussie or PCA Jan 09.
Live Poker. Honestly not much, would rather play online
Education. Continue learning and improving.

In summary I would like to be able to step into this full time if something should happen to my regular job either voluntarily or not. Time to make some serious money.

F**k Presto

2007-12-18T23:54:00.000-05:00

Was already on Tilt prior to this hand but presto sucks ass if played like a donk.

Hand #1352012030001415: Amsterdam (6-max) 12030
Seat 1: lSmokRcks (948.00 in chips)
Seat 3: QQ1Cup (783.00 in chips)
Seat 8: turtlehed11 (400.00 in chips)
Seat 9: thoue77 (757.95 in chips)
Seat 10: actyper (362.20 in chips)
lSmokRcks: posts small blind $2
QQ1Cup: posts big blind $4
Dealt to actyper [ 5d 5s ]
thoue77: folds
actyper: raises to $14l
SmokRcks: raises to $46
QQ1Cup: folds
actyper: calls
*** FLOP *** [ Ts Kh 5c ]
lSmokRcks: bets $60
actyper: calls
*** TURN *** [ 8d ]
lSmokRcks: checks
actyper: checks
*** RIVER *** [ Qh ]
lSmokRcks: bets $176
actyper: is all in
lSmokRcks: calls
*** SHOW DOWN ***
actyper: shows [ 5d 5s ] (Three of a Kind, Fives )
lSmokRcks: shows [ Qd Qs ] (Three of a Kind, Queens )
lSmokRcks wins $726.40 with Three of a Kind, Queens

Weekend Recap

2007-12-17T11:03:00.000-05:00

Nothing too exciting this weekend. Tried satelliting into the sunday majors, FT million and the UBOC ME, but failed. I dunno how I failed the FT one, was chip leader at one point. I guess with turbo tournies, anything can happen. Not sure why UB didn't run any multiple guaranteed seats tournies. All they had were $10r, $30r, and $75rs. For a premium tournament series they sure didn't give many opportunities to get in through satellites. Final tabled a Betfair $5k tourney, and came 20th in the Cake $100k. Betfair took a nice beat KK <> Adanthar's AA. I was reshoving a lot on the bubble with decent holdings, and this time I got caught. Other than that I don't think I won a showdown after that, pretty much just accumulating chips from steals and resteals. Lost a big chunk of chips QQ < 99. But all that aggressive play got me in trouble late, and eventually out 55 < 77.

Cash game side I was tearing it up. 2/4NL and 5/10limit. I've rediscovered my love for limit. Its so easy, and the majority are just so bad. But went on a total downswing yesterday. At one point I was up a buyin on 2 of my NL games and 10bbs on my limit game, but just swung right back down. Stoopid fn short stackers, they are my nemesis. Always manage to suckout on me.

Got Rockband for my birthday, and it rocks. I can't sing for shit, but can bang the drums pretty good. Not that good though, still on the medium level, hard is pretty difficult. The guitar playing is easier than guitar hero though, I can play the songs on hard pretty good.

Last week of poker for 2007 for me, actually probably only 4 days. Off to Mexico (Mayan Riviera) again for another wedding. Will prob do a recap/goal post later this week if nothing exciting happens in between.

World Series of Poker 2008 Schedule

2007-12-12T00:33:00.000-05:00

Harrah’s Entertainment Announces 2008 Schedule For 39th World Series Of Poker® Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light TUESDAY DECEMBER 11, 2007 6:14pm PT LAS VEGAS

– December 11, 2007 – Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) said today the 2008 World Series of Poker Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light and televised exclusively on ESPN will – for the first time ever – begin and end with $10,000 buy-in World Championship events and feature a total of eight $10,000 championships. In addition, the 55-event schedule for 2008 includes a total of eight $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournaments, which traditionally draw the largest fields except for the Main Event. The WSOP has also added a second start day for the first of the $1,500 no-limit competitions to accommodate the expected number of entrants.

“This is our most exciting schedule yet,” said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the WSOP. “Both amateur and professional poker players will have new opportunities to compete for a WSOP bracelet and can choose from the widest variety of games and buy-ins ever offered in one poker tournament and certainly at the WSOP. “We’re holding steady at 55 events this year,” said Pollack. “But, we’ve mixed it up a bit to keep it interesting for our players and fans.” The 2008 WSOP starts May 30 with the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot-Limit Hold’Em and ends July 16 with the Final Table of the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em – best known as the WSOP Main Event.

The six other $10,000 buy-in events – all World Championship competitions – include: Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’Em; Seven-Card Stud; Limit Hold’Em; Omaha Hi-Low Split Eight or Better; Pot-Limit Omaha; and a new Mixed Event. The Mixed Event will feature eight variations of poker: Limit and No-Limit Hold’Em; Omaha Hi-Low and Pot-Limit Omaha; Seven Card Stud; Razz; Seven Card Hi-Low Split; and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. The second event of the 2008 WSOP is a $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament with two starting days – May 31 and June 1. Pre-registration for the 2008 WSOP can be made beginning in February on-site at the Main Cage of the Rio® All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas or at http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/.

In addition to the largest cash prizes in poker, winners of each of the 55 events will receive an exclusive World Series of Poker gold bracelet crafted by the luxury Swiss watchmaker CORUM. Last year, 54,288 entrants who ranged in age from 21 (bracelet winner Steve Billirakis) to 94 (Main Event contestant Jack Ury) competed for the poker world’s largest total prize pool of nearly $160 million. The 2008 WSOP will be staged inside the Rio Convention Center from May 30 through July 16. WSOP officials plan a “soft opening” of the tournament room on May 28 and 29 for players to register early and play in satellite tournaments and cash games. “The poker tent is gone,” said Pollack. “We heard folks loud and clear last year, and there will be no tents used for tournament play at the 2008 WSOP.”

On July 2, and in conjunction with the WSOP, Oscar nominee Don Cheadle and poker professional Annie Duke will host the second annual Ante Up For Africa charity tournament at the Rio. Last year’s AUFA event featured dozens of Hollywood celebrities and poker professionals and raised more than $700,000 for charity. Ante Up For Africa is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Cheadle, Duke and Norman Epstein and is dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need.

July 3 is the first of four start days for the 2008 Main Event. Last year, a total of 6,358 entrants competed for a Main Event prize pool of $59.8 million. Players may choose their Main Event start dates as long as seats are available on the selected dates. More information about the World Series of Poker is available at the Web site www.worldseriesofpoker.com. Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, nearly 70 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The Company's properties operate primarily under the Harrah's, Caesars and Horseshoe brand names; Harrah's also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. For more information, please visit http://www.harrahs.com/.

The complete schedule of 2008 World Series of Poker events follows:

Date Day Time EV# 2008 Buy-In

5/28/2008 Wednesday 9:00 AM Registration Opens, Live Action & Satellites Begin

5/29/2008 Thursday Registration, Live Action & Satellites

5/30/2008 Friday 12 noon 1 World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $10,000

5/31/2008 Saturday 12 noon 2A No-Limit Hold'em (4 day event) Day 1A $1,500 6/1/2008 Sunday 12 noon 2B No-Limit Hold'em Day 1B

6/2/2008 Monday 12 noon 3 Pot-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/2/2008 Monday 5:00 PM 4 Mixed Hold'em (Limit/No-Limit) (3 Day event) $5,000

6/3/2008 Tuesday 12 noon 5 No-Limit Hold'em w/Re-Buys (3 day event) $1,000

6/3/2008 Tuesday 5:00 PM 6 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (3 day event) $1,500

6/4/2008 Wednesday 12 noon 7 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,000

6/4/2008 Wednesday 5:00 PM 8 World Championship Mixed Event (3 day event) Limit Holdem, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz , Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, No-Limit Holdem, Pot-Limit Omaha, 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball $10,000

6/5/2008 Thursday 12 noon 9 No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed (3 day event) $1,500

6/5/2008 Thursday 5:00 PM 10 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better (3 day event) $2,500

6/6/2008 Friday 12 noon 11 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout (3 day event) $5,000

6/6/2008 Friday 5:00 PM 12 Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/7/2008 Saturday 12 noon 13 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,500

6/7/2008 Saturday 5:00 PM 14 World Championship Seven Card Stud (3 day event) $10,000

6/8/2008 Sunday 12 noon 15 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em World Championship (3 day event) $1,000

6/8/2008 Sunday 5:00 PM 16 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (3 day event) $2,000

6/9/2008 Monday 12 noon 17 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout (3 day event) $1,500

6/9/2008 Monday 5:00 PM 18 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/Re-Buys (3 day event) $5,000

6/10/2008 Tuesday 12 noon 19 Pot-Limit Omaha (3 day event) $1,500

6/10/2008 Tuesday 5:00 PM 20 Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,000

6/11/2008 Wednesday 12 noon 21 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $5,000

6/11/2008 Wednesday 5:00 PM 22 H.O.R.S.E. (3 day event) Limit Holdem, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better $3,000

6/12/2008 Thursday 12 noon 23 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,000

6/12/2008 Thursday 5:00 PM 24 Pot-Limit Holdem/Omaha (3 day event) $2,500

6/13/2008 Friday 12 noon 25 World Championship Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em (256 player max) (3 day event) $10,000

6/13/2008 Friday 5:00 PM 26 Seven Card Razz (3 day event) $1,500

6/14/2008 Saturday 12 noon 27 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/14/2008 Saturday 5PM 28 Pot-Limit Omaha W/Rebuys (3 day event) $5,000

6/15/2008 Sunday 12 noon 29 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $3,000

6/15/2008 Sunday 5:00 PM 30 World Championship Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $10,000

6/16/2008 Monday 12 noon 31 No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed (3 day event) $2,500

6/17/2008 Tuesday 12 noon 32 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/17/2008 Tuesday 5:00 PM 33 World Championship Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (3 day event) $5,000

6/18/2008 Wednesday 12 noon 34 Pot-Limit Omaha W/Re-Buys (3 day event) $1,500

6/18/2008 Wednesday 5:00 PM 35 Seven Card Stud (3 day event) $1,500

6/19/2008 Thursday 12 noon 36 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/19/2008 Thursday 5:00 PM 37 World Championship Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better (3 day event) $10,000

6/20/2008 Friday 12 noon 38 Pot-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,000

6/21/2008 Saturday 12 noon 39 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/22/2008 Sunday 12 noon 40 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. (5 day event) Limit Holdem, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better $50,000

6/22/2008 Sunday 5:00 PM 41 Mixed Hold'em (limit/no-limit) (3 Day event) $1,500

6/23/2008 Monday 12 noon 42 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em World Championship (3 day event) $1,000

6/24/2008 Tuesday 12 noon 43 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better (3 day event) $1,500

6/25/2008 Wednesday 12 noon 44 No-Limit Hold'em w/Re-Buys (3 day event) $1,000

6/25/2008 Wednesday 5:00 PM 45 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit) (3 day event) $2,500

6/26/2008 Thursday 12 noon 46 No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed (3 day event) $5,000

6/26/2008 Thursday 5:00 PM 47 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better (3 day event) $1,500

6/27/2008 Friday 12 noon 48 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $2,000 6/28/2008 Saturday 12 noon 49 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

6/29/2008 Sunday 12 noon 50 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha (3 day event) $10,000

6/29/2008 Sunday 5:00 PM 51 H.O.R.S.E. (3 day event) Limit Holdem, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better $1,500

6/30/2008 Monday 12 noon 52 No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event) $1,500

7/1/2008 Tuesday 12 noon 53 Limit Hold'em Shootout (2 day event) $1,500

7/2/2008 Wednesday 10:00 AM Media Event

7/2/2008 Wednesday Satellite Day

7/2/2008 Wednesday 2:00 PM Ante Up For Africa Charity Event (1 day event) $5,000

7/3/2008 Thursday 12 noon

54A World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold'em Day 1A 2,500 Players $10,000

7/4/2008 Friday 12 noon 54B Day 1B 2,500 Players

7/5/2008 Saturday 12 noon 54C Day 1C 2,500 Players

7/6/2008 Sunday 12 noon 54D Day 1D 2,500 Players

7/7/2008 Monday OFF

7/8/2008 Tuesday 12 noon Day 2A

7/9/2008 Wednesday 12 noon Day 2B

7/10/2008 Thursday 12 noon Day 3

7/11/2008 Friday 12 noon Day 4

7/12/2008 Saturday 12 noon Day 5

7/13/2008 Sunday 12 noon Day 6

7/14/2008 Monday 12 noon Day 7

7/15/2008 Tuesday OFF

7/16/2008 Wednesday 12 noon Final Table

59. 7/7/2008 Monday 12 noon 55 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em (2 day event) $500

Very early this year, wonder why. I screwed up the count above, supposed to be 55 events. No fn way I'm going to reformat this. Go make your plans!

Abusing the bubble

2007-12-04T02:07:00.001-05:00

I wish I could show hand histories on cake, as it would be a great example of how to abuse the bubble. Was approx 25/50. By the time the bubble burst ended up 1/40 and only 1 showdown and not an allin. I raised most hands, made calculated cbets and check raises, and it worked.

Went card dead after it got down to 2 tables, could only gather chips off of blind steals and I think 1 resteal. Got really low and had to shove any 2 on the SB. 84s < TT to deny me another 1k+ score. This tourney takes longer than I thought, gonna be at least 5hrs.

Another close Sunday

2007-12-02T23:35:00.000-05:00

This time to a big score

Was playing well, getting my chips in with the best hand, restealing at the right times. Almost bubbled the money after taking some tough beats on the bubble. AK < xx, 99 < 67 (that was to ch0ppy). Lucky they were both shorties. Battle my way to the final tables staying within the median stack but at the end just lost all my flips.

Was seriously abusing the guy to my right, everytime it was folded to me I would shove in the SB. 3 times in a row and on the 4th time he decided to make his stand, with T2s!!!! Bastard hits his river T. Next orbit I do the same thing with JT, called by A7. J on the flop, river A. So now I"m a shorty. Double up with AQ vs A5. Then go busto 99 vs AQ. Turn Q. Finish in 12th, 2 shie of the final table and an extra G payout. I know I"ll hit a bigpayout soon, just have to keep plugging away.

My other tournies were nothing. Went deep in the Cake Aussie again, but just 17th this time, lost a flip to go busto. The cake $10k 3pm turned into a $20r instead of a $30 freezeout. I like that better. Was crushing it then took beat after beat pretty close to the $. Mansion I think I busted within the first 1/2 hr.

November recap, was my best month so far. Also my most hours put in at 65. The two aussie scores helped, but I also had some decent other mtt results, and my cash games were solid. Hopefully I'll run good in Dec as well, so far not bad.

At least I'm improving!

2007-11-25T21:58:00.001-05:00

My last 3 finishes in this thing. 5th, 4th, 3rd...

F*** me, so close, and I easily had the table outskilled too.

Started the tourney off on a good note, doubling up within the first 5 hands with KK vs JJ. Continued to play solid poker and chip accumulation. Took a hit when JJ <> avg through to the final table. Then I just ran hot as hell. Can't remember my first double up hand, just remembered my oponent had squat. Put a beat on the guy who sucked out with that K6 hand, KK > AA. Haha revenge is sweet. Then every time I raised pf, I hit the flop hard. Raise JT, TTJ flop. Raise 7Ts, JQKs flop, etc. Most of those times I eliminated others as well. When it got down to 4 handed, my stack was a bit bigger than the others combined.

When it got down to 3handed I started losing chips. Lost A9s <> AK or else I would have gone headsup which I'm sure I would have dominated. The game altering hand was this. Can't remember action pf, I think I was BB and got in free. Flop comes 98x with 2 suits. SB bets out 3/4. Even though I had him pegged as min bet weak, other bet = some sort of hand, I thought I still had the best hand and could get him off of whatever he had, so I shoved with 97o. He used his whole timebank and decided to call with JT. obv Q turn, and I was hurt badly. With about 12bb left in the BB I decided to get cute with AA and just flat call the sb raise. Flop comes 7 high, he shoves, I instacall. Another miracle turn for this guy and I'm eliminated. So gay, I'm pissed. Really want to go play the Aussie, since that was my original vacation plan from last year. I have 4 more chances left, actually 3 since the last week of Dec headed back to the Mayan Riviera (Mexico) for yet another wedding there. I think my stomach can handle Tequila again, don't think my ass can handle the food though. Anal leakage = -EV.

All my PCA sats are done, and failed all my steps, going as far as step 5 a few times. Just choked when it counted. Got deep in a couple other tournies on FullTilt, a $24 knockout, and the $14.5k guar. Didn't get any big money in those though, about $200ish total. I know I'm so due, till next sunday.

WPT Sweetness

2007-11-16T12:12:00.000-05:00

Layla Kayleigh + Kimberly Lansing = WPT Hotties

Sweet Video

High Stakes FTP nicknames

2007-11-13T15:33:00.001-05:00

Found this on Highstakesdb, supposdly the Full Tilt Poker nicknames of all the highstakes players.

"888poker" - Chau Chiang
"$tinger 88" - Brian Hastings
"AaronBeen" - Aaron Been
"ActionJeff" - Jeff Garza
"Actyper" - Sick player
"ADZ124" - Matt Marafioti
"AJunglen7" - Adam Junglen
"AK87" - Alex Kim
"All In At 420" - Matthew Stout
"Annette_15" - Annette Obrestad
"apestyles" - John VanFleet
"Arbianight" - Rami Boukai
"Area23JC" - JC Tran
"BABYHAB" - Tuan Lam
"bacina" -
"bad_ip" - Johnny Lodden
"Ballsrider" - David Benyamine
"barryg1" - Barry Greens
"batoelrob" - Rob Hollink
"BeL0WaB0Ve" - Kevin Saul
"BigBadMomma6" - Chris Gantile
"bigfish" - Johnny Lodden/Tore Lagerborg
"BiggestFish" - Ville Wahlbeck
"birdguts" - Gavin Smith
"BlackMetalHead" - Tommy Rau
"BodogAri" - Ari Engel
"Boosted J" - Justin Smith
"Butch Acidy" Joe Cassidy
"CaseyAtTheBat" - Chip Reese
"ch0ppy" - Matt Kay
"CHUFTY" - Richard Ashby
"cmynuts" - Chris Gentile
"-Colossus-" - Same as "Laaur2". Young Norwegian player
"ComeOnPhish" - Paul Lieu
"CrazyZachary" - ?
"crippoli" - John Persson
"CryMeARiver8" - Patrik Antonius
"DaEvils" - Prahlad Friedman
"dazzy" - Dennis Kobbero
"Devilfish" - Dave Ulliot
"DontBluffMePLZZ" - Jerry VanStrydonck
"Durian" - Janne Juutilainen
"durrrr" - Tom Dwan
"Dustin Dirksen" - Dustin Dirksen
"eastsideslim" - Dustin Woolf
"EazyPeazy" - Abe Mosseri
"ecolico" - Freddy Deeb
"ElkY" - Bertrand Grosspellier
"emptyseat88" - Scott Fischman
"eps" - Eli Elezra
"Erik1223" - Erik Sagström
"Exclusive" - Noah Boeken
"ex_Noose" - Riku Vihreäsaari
"Fakesky" - Daniel Alaei
"Fast_freddie" - Mohammed Kowssarie
"fidelio" - Joe Sebok
"FinddaGrind" - Patrik Antonius
"Fossillman" - Grag Raymer
"Frooodo" - William Thorsson
"funku" - Bengt Sonnert
"GambleAB" - Aaron Bartley
"gank" - Brett Jungblut
"Genius28" - Chris Lee
"GigaBet" - Darrell Dicken
"Gobboboy" - Jimmy Fricke
"Good2CU" - Andrew T Robl
"Green Plastic" - Taylor Caby
"Guguguy" - Young guy from Oulu (Finland)
"Gutshot Hansen" - Ilari Sahamies
"H@££INGGOL" - Fredrik Halling
"Hilary1" - Same as "Guguguy"
"hihhuli" - Patrik Antonius
"Holdem_NL" - Tom Dwan
"HOSS_TBF" - Matt Hawrilenko
"howitfellslike" - Rafi Amit
"Icre84U" - Martin DeKnijff
"IDreamOfJenna" - Same as "Guguguy"
"i_grind_on_you" - Fuat Can
"ILARI_FIN" - Ilari Sahamies
"Imper1um" - Sorel Mizzi
"iMsoLucky0" - Jordan Morgan
"iRockHoes" - Scott Augustine
"Isokala" - Ville Wahlbeck
"jennicide" - Jennifer Leigh
"Jew anda" - Todd Brunson
"JohhnyBax" - Cliff Josephy
"jse81" - Chad Batista
"KaiBuxxe" - Nikolaus Jedlicka
"KidPoker" - Daniel Negreanu
"kiiski" - Jani Vilmunen
"KObyTAPOUT" - Jani Vilmunen
"Kris85" - Kristian Kjöndal
"kwob20" - Kyle Bowker
"Laaur2" - Same as "-Colossus-"
"LadyMaverick" - Vanessa Rousso
"LarsLuzak" - 20-year old guy from Helsinki
"Lars-Magne" - Johnny Lodden
"LEGATO" - Bo Sehlstedt
"LFISGD" - Brad Booth
"lilholdem954" - Chad Batista
"liraerik" - Erik Friberg
"livewinner" - ?
"lolmenot" - Johnny Lodden
"looselots" - David Benyamine
"LrsLzk" - Same as "LarsLuzak" obv.
"luckyULSA" - Christoffer Ulsrud
"Luigi66369" - Patrik Antonius
"Macigpitch1" - David Benyamine
"Mafews" - Rory Mathews
"mahony" - Andreas Hagen
"MavFish" - J.P. Kelly
"mig.com" - James Mackey
"Miss Lulu" - Robert Williamsson
"mjorgensen13" - Isaac Baron
"m8kingmoves" - Chad Batista
"Money800" - Chris Moneymaker
"MrCasino" - Graig Gray
"mrnuts" - Thomas Keller
"MrPoker KDH" - Chau Chiang
"MrSmokey1" - Steve Billirakis
"MUCKEMSAYUHH" - Cole South
"_myst_" - Marc Karam
"Nebuchad" - Jonas Danielsson
"neverwin" - Dustin Woolf
"Newhizzle" - Mark Newhouse
"NEW_YORK" - Bengt Sonnert
"Nizot Skizard" - Joe Cassidy/Tomer Benvenisti
"noataima" - Guy Laliberte
"no it all" - JC Tran
"NoMercy" - Isabelle Mercier
"Noose" - Riku Vihreäsaari
"OMGClayAiken" - Phil Galfond
"omgwhatafish" - William Thorsson
"Operation" - Ben Grundy
"Ozzy 87" - Aurangzeb Sheikh
"Panella86" - Jordan Berkowitz
"PearlJammer" -Jon Turner
"p10ker" - Gary Jones
"pokergirl1" - Morten Erlandsen
"Pokerkong1" - Kristian Kjöndal
"POKERPR0" - James Campbell
"Poltergeist" - Ray Dehkharghani
"Profbackwards" - Ted Forrest
"puculucy" - Tom Dwan
"RaiNKhaN" - Hevad Khan
"RealAndyBeal" - Nikolaus Jedlicka
"Rekrul" - Dan Schreiber
"reloadthis" - Layne Flack
"Riise" - Erik Riise
"Rizen" - Eric Lynch
"sbrugby" - Brian Townsend
"SCTrojans" - Scott Freeman
"secret" - Tore Lagerborg
"serb2127" - Nenad Medic
"Shaniac" - Shane Schleger
"SheFaLLs" - ?
"SirWatts" - Mike Watson
"Son-in-law" - Zupin Patel
"Spirit Rock" - Prahlad Friedman
"StandingWave" - Janne Juutilainen
"stevesbets" - Steven Jacobs
"strassa2" - Jason Strasser
"sunnyCR" -
"SuperMazak" - Mats Rahmn
"susisisu" - Thomas Wahlroos
"SxMxF" - rumoreud Michael Mizrahi
"Tay" - Taylor Caby
"TeeDitty" - Tuan Le
"Terken89" - Norwegian guy. Born is 1989
"TerrorOfSweden" - Mohammed Kowssarie
"TexasLimitKing" - Aleksandros Dalaklis
"tex dolly" - Doyle Brunson
"THAY3R" - Thayer Rasmussen
"THE__D__RY" - Danny Ryan
"TheSalmon" - Erik Sagsröm
"TheSea" - Fuat Can
"TheTerrorist" - Mohammed Kowssarie
"TheWacoKidd" - Jared Hamby
"TiLLerMan" - Ian Girdwood
"Till_I_collapse" - Mikko Pispala
"TiltMeNot" - Bengt Sonner
"tina1" - Tobias Persson
"thecranium" - John Hanson
"Tmay420" - Tim West
"Tony G" - Tony Guoga
"Traheho" - Alec Torelli
"t soprano" - Brock Parker
"tunaeater" - Tore Lagerborg
"twin-caracas" - Jorge Arias
"yellowsub86" - Jeff Williams
"UFPokerStar" - Jonathan Westra
"Ugadabugada" - Finnish players account (Sahamies, Wahlbeck, Vilmunen)
"undercover" - Ram Vaswani
"ulle11" - Kristian Ulriksen
"UltimateButt" - Luke Neely
"vietcong01" - Juan Maceiras Barros
"WaterIntoWine" - Riku Vihreäsaari
"WestmenloAA" - Isaac Baron
"Wetoddid" - Luke Neely
"Whitelime" - Emil Patel
"Who is next?" - Noah Boeken
"Willis Fillers" - Robert Willis
"Woolworths" - Young Finnish guy
"zangbezan24" - Sorel Mizzi
"ZeeJustin" - Justin Bonomo
"Ziigmund" - Ilari Sahamies
"zupp_3" - Peter Jepsen
"Zweig" - Prahlad Friedman

Running like David Benyamine

2007-11-13T15:26:00.000-05:00

David Benyamine: good luck
David Benyamine: im done on full tilt
David Benyamine: finished 4 me
David Benyamine: 6.5 million loser
David Benyamine: got myword

David Benyamine: i ll stay here
David Benyamine: but nomore game

Losing 6.5 mil is pretty crazy. Supposdly he's good at Omaha, but an uber donk at every other game. Probaby staked by Erica Schoenberg! :)

Sunday = Most frustrating day ever

2007-11-11T21:39:00.000-05:00

Sundays, where some poker players earn their riches, others go busto, and for everyone else it is the most frustrating day of poker.

Here was my day

1) Betfair 1/2NL. +1.5 buyins
2) WPT satellite. 1 seat. 10th. AQ < A8
3) Ftops satellite. Won a seat but had to shove on the bubble with AJs. doubled up
4) Cake $10k. Built up a good stack, then donked it away. My fault
5) PokerinCanada wpt sng step sat. Heads up even in chips, AK < A7 allin preflop
6) Carbon $20k. Wasn't really paying attention to this one and let myself bleed away
7) Cake 1/2NL. +1/2 buyin
8) Pokerstars PCA Step 3. Won.
9) Pokerstars PCA Step 4. Man there are some star studded lineups on sundays. Was about to register then saw the lineup: Timex, SP Ambrose, mig.com, bigjoe2003, and more. Waited for the next one, Timex and bigjoe were at this one. Was top 2 most of the sng. Couldn't knock anybody out when it counted though. 3 handed bigjoe2003 pretty much went allin every hand. Caught him with JJ once and doubled up. A river Ace saved him from elimination from the other guy. Then I caught him with ATs vs 72o. No not really, flopped a 2 and I'm pretty much out by the hammer. WTF!!!! Replay Step 4 for me.
10) Mansion $150k. Was doing ok. Ran into AA and it was goodnight.
11) Cake Aussie sat. Played pretty good poker. When it got down to 2 tables, turned AA into a nice win and 2nd in chips. Lost a few pots and entered the final table 6/10. Screwed up a hand: JT on KQJx board, and found myself 10/10. Tripled up with 88 not long after and I was back in business. Now remember a few posts ago I bubbled this same tourney in 5th. During the bubble we couldn't knock any of the short stacks out, and eventually I found myself 5/5! Oh no, here we go again.
In the sb I find myself with AQo with about 8BB. UTG bigstack raises, I shove, he and he calls with T8. Flop 558. Turn T. Fuck I'm out. River Q. Slam the desk, curse like Mother Teresa, and turn around. But then I look back at the screen and notice I'm still in. WTF!. Have to check the HH and finally realized what happened. Eventually one guy gets knocked out with donkey full house, and I sigh with relief. I eventually run my short stack KTs vs A5o, flop A and I'm out. Happy about the $1500 score, but still looking for an Aussie trip.
12) Ftops $320. Played pretty solid throughout, small ball strategy. Go card dead after the 3rd break. Out hand was UTG minraise, and I call with J8s. Flop AJ8r. Check raise, and he decides to shove. Already had this guy labeled with the donk tag, so I insta call. He flips over JT. ??? Didn't really have too much fold equity. River A and his T kicker is good. He did apologize in the lobby though. Like I care, fn donk!!!!
13) PSO league. Still playing as I type. Not really playing, just donking it up.

So there it is, 8+ hours of I dunno what I would call it.

I like the winner of the Aussie Seat though, rigged!

HH of my PCA seat crippling by the hammer

PokerStars Game #13184118950: Tournament #66900467, $200+$15 Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (200/400) - 2007/11/11 - 19:20:45 (ET) Table '66900467 1' 9-max Seat #7 is the button Seat 1: bigjoe2003 (4260 in chips) Seat 3: actyper (5115 in chips) Seat 7: Dapper Dan G (4125 in chips)
bigjoe2003: posts the ante 25
actyper: posts the ante 25
Dapper Dan G: posts the ante 25
bigjoe2003: posts small blind 200
actyper: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to actyper [Th Ah]
Dapper Dan G: folds
bigjoe2003: raises 3835 to 4235 and is all-in
actyper: calls 3835
*** FLOP *** [9s Qs 2d]
*** TURN *** [9s Qs 2d] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [9s Qs 2d Kd] [8s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bigjoe2003: shows [2h 7s] (a pair of Deuces)
actyper: shows [Th Ah] (high card Ace)
bigjoe2003 collected 8545 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 8545 | Rake 0
Board [9s Qs 2d Kd 8s]
Seat 1: bigjoe2003 (small blind) showed [2h 7s] and won (8545) with a pair of Deuces Seat 3: actyper (big blind) showed [Th Ah] and lost with high card Ace Seat 7: Dapper Dan G (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)

NAPC Final Table set

2007-11-01T16:10:00.000-04:00

Here are the official chip counts for the nine-handed final table:

Seat 1 - Kofi Farkye - 1,421,000 redsoxsox - banned pstars account)
Seat 2 - Jonathan Little - 2,149,000 (fieryjustice)
Seat 3 - Cheryl Lynn Deleon - 1,321,000 (local Fallsview player)
Seat 4 - "Action Jeff" Garza - 469,000 (ActionJeff)
Seat 5 - Adam Levy - 379,000 (Roothlus)
Seat 6 - David Cloutier - 1,563,000 (local Toronto player)
Seat 7 - Barry Greenstein - 1,226,000 (lol donkaments!)
Seat 8 - Dale Pinchot - 374,000 (decent live mtt player)
Seat 9 - Scott Clements - 1,095,000 (Big Riisky)

Play will continue until three more players are eliminated, setting the six-handed WPT Final Table that starts tomorrow (Friday) at 4:00 pm Eastern

No WPT Fallsview for me

2007-10-22T09:15:00.000-04:00

After failing all my online and live sats, no wpt fallsview for me this year either. There wen't too many online sats this year, plus I missed out on all the Party ones. I hate playing Sunday nights. I did well in my live sats but couldn't close the deal. Yesterday was my final live sat, single table 10 seater, 1st gets the seat. I short stacked myself early, but then doubled up when a shoved with T7 on a double belly buster flop. Increased to one of the bigger stacks with a set of Qs vs 2pair. Lucky for him it wasn't all his chips. Stole a few blinds, and then it was all downhill. Raised in CO with AQo. Button hadn't played a single hand yet, shoves. I so wanted to fold for that reason, but it was only 1400 more to me in a 2900 pot. So I called and ran into KK. Didn't win a hand after that. On my outage hand I raised utg with 99. Had 12bb, so was going to call any rereaise. Call from hijack bigstack. Flop 568 so I shove. He calls and turns over AA so goodnight.

Next year I promise not to wait until the last minute to play these sats!!!!

BBT2

2007-10-16T11:51:00.000-04:00

Sick Blogger Challenge! Check out

Full Tilt Poker has given us an $18k Aussie Millions package to give away for our next challenge.
$18,000 Prize Package for you and a friend

The 2008 Aussie Millions Main Event begins Monday, January 14th and promises to be bigger than ever. Play for your $18K prize package, including:

* Aussie Millions Main Event entry worth AUD $10,500
* 10 nights stay at the luxurious Crown Casino Resort
* Round-trip airfare for the winner and a guest from Los Angeles to Melbourne
* $3,000 in spending money
* Winner & Pro golf outings, dinners, winery tours, seminars and a bounty tournament
Pretty god damn cool if you ask me and I was stunned when they brought it up. This was the package I really hoped to give away but thought was lost since I started so late on the planning. An opportunity to send a player and companion to the Land of Oz for 10 days with a $10k tournament thrown in there.

During the original BBT there was some positive and negative comments about the point system plus the number of people awarded points. For the BBTwo you won't have to worry about those points. We will be awarding the Aussie Millions package to the winner of a Tournament of Champions. So if you'd like to win the trip, you have to win one of the events during the eight week run. No worrying about making the points. No worrying about who made the most money during the challenge. Win an event and you are in the TOC and a shot at the Aussie Millions package.

So if you are interested in winning the Aussie Millions package, play them to win them.

But only so many people can win an event during this stretch so what about everyone else? We want everyone to play, enjoy themselves, and have a shot at winning something. Full Tilt Poker has given us the Aussie Millions Package but that's not all they're giving us.

FTP is giving us an entry into their weekly big Sunday guarantee tournaments whic we will reward to the Player of the Week. This is where that pesky point system comes in again. We will be using the same point formula as the last Challenge but this time around only the top 25% of players in each event will receive points. Whoever earns the most points during the week will get a ticket into the FTP Sunday Guarantee Tournament.

The point system will also be used to determine players to qualify for an end of challenge freeroll which is still being worked out.

There are just a couple more things to finalize and we'll get back to you with the details. I have an FTOPS Main Event seat to give away and we're just kicking around ideas of what to do with it. I also have an iPod Touch to give away courtesy of the folks at donkit.com. So many things to give away, so little time to figure out how to give them away.

So there you have it. BBTwo is about to kick off and it's time to reload your FTP account, start firing up those Token Frenzies, and strap in for an 8 week, 27 tournament challenge to see what you are made of.

We are going to kick things off on Sunday, October 21st with the big prizepool in Miami Don's Big Game. The rest of the Blogger Schedule will go as planned except now the Riverchasers events will also be weekly during the challenge. The challenge will run for 8 weeks ending on Sunday, December 16th with another Big Game.

Tournaments:

Tournament: Mondays at the Hoy
When: Every Monday. 10pm ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $24+2
Password: hammer

Tournament: The Mookie
When: Every Wednesday. 10pm ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $10+1
Password: vegas1

Tournament: Riverchasers Online Poker Tour
When: Every Thursday. 21:00 ET
Game: NLHE Deepstack
Buyin: $10+1
Password: Riverchasers

Be careful what you wish for ...

2007-10-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was reading a post on 2+2 about a guy on party who was just throwing his $ away, shoving with complete air, and fluctuating his stack from $600 up to $9k and back down to 0 at 3/6NL. After reading that I thought, damn why couldn't I have gotten in on that.

Well yesterday I found a guy on cake doing pretty much that. I catch this guy on air, but proceeds with a runner runner flush on me. Then I have him AQs vs A6o, catches a 6. Then I have him AJ vs 73 or something like that, and catches a river 3 for trips. Goodbye 3 buyins at 2/4NL. I managed to win a buyin at other tables so was a -$800 loss only.

Tourney side was very frustrating. I know i'm playing well in tournies right now, making +ev decisions. Playing the stars $20r, I would build my stack, then lose it all when I have my opponents dominated. Went like that the whole tourney and eventually I couldn't rebuy anymore. Should have had a top 20 stack with about 200 left, but as was the case the whole night, miracles ...

On the other side of variance, I won my small Titan World Challenge tourney. This is the 2nd round now. I already made it through the first round, top 35 advanced from Canada. I think I only played 5/8 events and final tabled 3 of them and ended up 5th overall or so. In the 2nd round top 5 of the Americas advance to the final. This is match 2/8 or so. In the final round first place gets a Porsche Cayman (or $100k cash), easy decision, and the rest (35 players) play a $55k freeroll with each position guaranteed payout.

This tourney was in the background until I realized, hey I only have 6BBs left! So I shove with A5s in the highjack, and the BB uses almost all his time to finally call with AK. I spike a 5 and laugh at his slowroll. From then on I just hammered away at all the small/medium stacks. Since this is a position based tourney, players care more about placing, therefore even small stacks don't play proper stack size ratio poker. I had a top 2 stack with 3 tables left and never fell under that. 3 handed was my favourite though, I think 2nd place thought I was a donk. I would continously let the 3rd place small stack in the game, giving him walks. In the mean time I would chip away at the 2nd place guys stack. He didn't want to play big pots with me at all. By the time headsup started I had a 2.5:1 edge after being even with him 3 handed. Headsup lasted 3 hands after I raised all 3 hands pf. He ended up shoving K3 on me and my A6 held. The porsche will be mine!!!!

Fallsview

2007-10-09T10:16:00.000-04:00

Wife and friends decided to do some cross border shopping yesterday, $1.02 USD = $1.00 CAD!, so I said just drop me off at the casino on the way.

Went there mainly for the WPT sats, but since I got there at 10am and sats don't start until noon, played some 5/5NL. I'm really not that good at live full ring. Live players are so bad, and flushes always hit. And what I find the biggest difference between live and online is actual $ amount. These guys don't care about odds etc. You hear the guys at the table say something like I'll call a $45 bet but not a $50 bet, when in both cases it might be the right odds to call. Or this case when one player made a $100 min raise and berated the other player for chasing his flush. Lost about $100 at that table. I like to play big pots and nobody else wanted to play big pots with me :(

The $90 wpt sats were pretty much super turbos. 10 players, 1000 chips, 10 min blinds, and they last about 1hr. Even though they are crapshoots, theres no reason why I shouldn't be able to win about 50% of these. Most of these guys don't know odds, and they don't understand push/fold strategy. Bonehead play on my part during the 1st sat 4handed. Short stack moves allin utg, fold, in the SB I grab a stack of chips and push to the middle with A7o, then after realizing damn I only just called. BB has an easy call now and ends up taking the pot on a pot i wanted to isolate on. Then i made a stupid call with 22 which i lost a flip on, and made me super short stack and eventually out 3rd.

The 2nd sat I won pretty easily. I pretty much stayed as either big or 2nd stack throughout the tourney and just hammered away at the other guys. Got caught a few times, but pretty easy to reload my stack again. Headsup the other guy, winner of the 1st sat i played, wanted me to buy him out. No thanks, I know i can own this guy 9/10 times. HU only last 2 hands, I shoved on him preflop the first hand with Kxs, and the 2nd hand he tried shoving on me with 86o. I had A8s. Funniest thing about this sat was the hilarious lying about hands. The headsup tool told me he folded QQ when the short stack went allin and I isolated with an allin. Another lie by the short stack when he said he folded TT after just calling preflop to my raise. Problem is there was a T on the flop. These tools, why bother lying about hands when you're not going to be realistic with it and really doesn't accomplish much other than to say you are tools.

The 3rd sat I pretty much was card dead. I don't think I won a single hand. Out when i pushed on the button with Qxs and Jx won with a rivered straight.

Had the crowd tell me that at least 8/10 of these guys in the sats were pros, though they all counted me as a pro. Not sure if they were all guessing or they've seen these guys before. No way these guys are pros, and if they are, they would last a session online. :) Live players are so baaad.

Have to head back this friday or next to play my $640 sat. 2table winner gets a $10k seat.

So close ... Mansion

2007-09-30T21:11:00.000-04:00

Just missed out on final tabling and the juicier payouts. I think I played pretty solid throughout. As always potential for bubble boy as I reshoved with KK right on the bubble. As soon as I built up an above average stack I was easily the tables most active blind stealer. Only got caught twice, but with these blind levels that still hurt. Whenever the "hand for hand" signal went up I turned it on even more. In the end the blind levels rose too fast, everybody 20BB or less, and I shoved on the button with KQs. Ran into JJ and couldn't hit. I was confident on a big score tonight too.

Other tournaments I got deep in were the Betfair $5k rtr freeroll and the Cake WPT. Betfair crashed 4 times throughout the tourney and finally for good with 10 left. I was 3/10 at the time. I believe the table all agreed on 50% share and 50% chipcount distribution. I didn't mind whatever they voted on, with the structure anybody still had a chance to win. The cake wpt event I played solid until late. Going card dead I didn't have the balls to resteal as I saw too many loose calls. Huge stack tried shoving on me twice and I caught him both times with Arag. 3rd time was not the charm though as he finally had a hand as my KJ < AK. Finished 14th I think. 1st paid a seat to the WPT North American championships and 2-4th split about $10k. This is a relatively easy tourney to sat into, and the actual sat has a very nice structure. 10k starting chip style tourney.

Tournies I failed in were cake $10k (close to bubble, QQ
I'm feeling decent about my tourney game again so hopefully Oct will show some good results. Cash game I'm very confident about. I had a 4 buyin loss one day that was frustrating, but in that case had my $ in while I was ahead in each case. Still want to get to Niagara, other than Cake the other options aren't as appealling. Might have to force myself to go down there and play some live sats. Maybe next weekend.

How much have you lost?

2007-09-17T10:48:00.000-04:00

For the Canadians out there, how much have you lost due to the exchange rate? With it hovering around 1.03/0.97, I'm just getting killed. Theres always gripes about having to pay an exchange fee when withdrawing, but I would have been way better off paying that and converting back and forth. This is ugly, in Jan 05 it was 1.23. If I sat with $10k usd then, it would be worth $2kcad less now. This is the real bad beat of online poker!

Sept 20: Now its even money!!! Booooo

Dirty Mexican Fun

2007-09-12T14:03:00.000-04:00

Heres a quick update of my Mexico trip to the Mayan Riviera. I'm lazy so it will be point form BBV.

Brags

Very nice hotel, 5 star resort (Grand Sirenis).
Crazy xrated wedding involving various body shots, and special sausage shots for the ladies
Muchos Tequila
Muchos Mohitos. Used to think they taste like ass juice, but when made with sugar cane, yummy!
Asking bartender to steal us some bottles of Sauza
Huge pool with with swim up bar. Plus health drink bar which was refreshing (hang over cure)
Hot Mexican Pepper sauces
Nice sunny weather. Only spot showers. Felix missed
Swimming in a cave with waterfall and jump off cliff. Theres a name for it but cant remember

Beats

Huge resort = lots of walking
Food was hit or miss
No poker room :). Had to own at Dominos instead.
Pretty quiet resort, about 25% capacity due to hurricanes. Also a brag though
Beach wasn't that nice. Rocky. Highly rated snorkling was overated
2hr bus ride to and from the airport
Seeing a wonder of the world, Chichen Itza, but only being able to climb one of them

Variance

Mexican food = My ass, my ass, my ass is on fire. We don't need no water let the motherfucker burn!
Crazy chicks at the discotheque. Including one who wanted to prove to everybody that she had the cutest cooch.
Iguanas run goot! I couldn't catch them.
So tempted to tryout a Mexican taco stand while in town. Locals stuffing their faces, looked so good.

Off to Mehico!

2007-08-31T10:34:00.000-04:00

Off to do some relaxing in Mexico tomorrow. Mayan Riviera. Buddy's wedding so a lot of tequila will be involved. Good thing, I need a short break from poker, I run not so good. You know your not running good when your sets are losing, a lot. :(

muchos suckouts

So much for Underground Poker

2007-08-29T08:31:00.000-04:00

I was actually planning on playing some underground games too, so much for that idea.

http://www.thestar.com/article/250852

Police smoke out gambling dens in industrial malls, charge unlucky 7Aug 29, 2007 04:30 AM
Curtis Rush
Staff Reporter

Police have charged seven people with running illegal gambling houses as a result of a series of raids in Mississauga.

Culminating an investigation begun in December, the OPP's illegal gambling unit and Peel Region police busted two operations on Sunday and one on Monday, following a July 21 raid at another location.

The illicit gaming houses, set up independently in industrial malls, were charging people fees to play Texas hold 'em poker and other games of chance, according to Det. Staff Sgt. Clint Hunter.

The search warrants were executed at Topflight Poker Club at 125 Topflight Dr.; Pockets at unit 10, 6160 Netherhart Rd.; No Limit Club at unit 8, 5500 Tomken Rd.; and Hollywood, at unit 5, 2408 Haines Rd.

The raids also netted a total of 76 players at the locations, but after being interviewed by police, they were released without being charged.

Police noted that the raids did not turn up any drugs or weapons on the premises.

The OPP anti-gambling unit is part of its organized crime section, which along with Peel, is operated in partnership with police services in Toronto, London, York, Windsor and Ottawa.

Vegas Trip Report: Aug 3-6 2007

2007-08-09T17:22:00.000-04:00

I guess I better start my trip report while I have a few minutes here.

Friday night, arrive around 11pm. Staying at Harrahs. We decided to choose I nice cheap package, but also stay on the strip. Location wise, I don't think theres a better location. Tried paying off for an ugraded suite, but I guess there were too many people hanging around, and the desk clerk wouldn't go for it. Alltogether we were in a group of 6, 2 were already here and at Tao, and the other couple were due to arrive, but a delay forced their arrival after midnight. We waited for them and didn't do much that night, just walked up to the Wynn and back. Everyone was tired to they hit the sac, I figured I'd hit the tables. Waited 1/2hr and by that time it was 3am, so I gave up.

I woke up about 4hrs later and hit the tables downstairs. Harrahs pretty much only spreads 1/2NL and 3/6limit. Hit the NL table, but it was pretty dry. I think I lost about $20 after sitting down for a couple hours. We then headed out to the outlets to do some shopping. Looking for a nice money clip, but didn't see anything that caught my eye. Went to the Caesars forums after that and did more shopping. Everytime I go there Pete Rose is always in that sports memorbillia shop. Though last year I also bumped into Mini Me, who is > than Rose. After a whole day of shopping, went back to the hotel and played poker for an hour. I think I was $50 or so up this time.

Dinner was at Mesa at Caesars. Ribeye steak was pretty good, needed to fill my stomach because being a cheap drunk is gay. We were going to head to Pure sat night. Walked over there about 9:45 and stood in line. When the club opened at 10:30, the line was just sick. Huge line, and a huge crowd standing in front. We ended up just juicing the bouncer, $150 for 6. Also had to pay cover which was another 30 bones. That juice was pretty cheap, a lot of people offered a bill just for themselves. Pure is a nice club, especially the patio. I'd imagine any rooftop patio on the strip would be nice, the view is incredible. Started the night off with of course a jaeggerbomb, and a few bones later, the buzz was nice. Spent most of the night on the patio as inside was just rammed pack. Can't remember when we left, not that late. Even though I was nicely buzzed, I still decided to hit the tables. Had a decent session, but of course I decided to retun it all to the cursed Wheel of Fortune. Wow did I lose fast!!! Especially on the giant one, I think I dropped $50 straight without a single win.

Sunday morning poker was where the morons come out. I lost big money either when guys hit, or decided bottom pair was good enough to gamble with. My buddy had one had where a dude who limped in behind everyone, ended up stacking him. Dude had AK and hit trips, while my buddy also had trips. Who limps in with position with AK? Screw breakfast poker, time for some In n Out burger! Was good, probably overated, but was still good and cheap.

Later on the afternoon we watched Cirque du Soleil: Mystere at Treasure Island. Wasn't bad, I think I expected more. Crazy stunts, maybe some accidents. There were some annoying parts, some slow parts, and one really gay scene. 2 body builders got awfully close to eachother. Only paid $50 a seat for them, so it was worth it. Theatre was nice, I don't think there are too many bad seats in the house.

Dinner was da bomb ... Rio Buffet. So much good food, takes a bit of time to make your way from one end to the other. mmm Crab legs...

After dinner deciding on whether to hit a club/lounge or hit the tables. Decided to hit a quick tourney, as I had a 6am flight the next morning. Played a $50 + $40 addon at Harrahs. Structure was quick, but not as bad as some others. Some freeroll type players, some other players that think they're good, generally weak. One hand I push preflop with AK. Get called by 75s and A9? Surprised I held. Lost most of my chips when a guy flat called me with bottom pair on a AQJs board. Not sure how I couldn't get him off his hand. I held Ksx. My out hand was against the same player, he limped, I pushed with 10+BB with 55, he called with QT and I'm out in 15th. Top 5 was the payout. Ended up hit the cash tables after that and made some money, no biggie. By that time I was pretty dead tired, and wanted to crash for an hour before I had to pack.

So there was my weekend, nothing major, good times, and as always VEgas is da shit. Next time I promise to play other casinos, and more tournies. Stamp that in my agenda.

July sucks

2007-08-01T12:19:00.000-04:00

Had my worst month of the year, actually my only negative month so far. Just ran bad this month. Had one day where I dropped 4 buyins at 500nl on Betfair. Was also my least played month. Was actually about to win a tourney this month but I runner runner flush killed me heads up. Not sure he was doing calling my allin on the flop with A7 on a Kxx board. He loses that I pretty much win the tourney.

Heading to Vegas on Friday, booya!

Doubt I'll be playing much the next 2 days.

August I might take a break on cash games on try out some tournies again. FTOPS, and start satelliting for WCOOP. Still have to get off my lazy ass and play some live games. Also need to start satelliting for WPT Niagara.

Increasing my odds

2007-07-18T09:07:00.000-04:00

I think the odds of me winning next year's wsop main event just went up a few points, well at least my confidence did. For the 2nd straight year a lagtard has won the wsop me, Jerry Yang. I do think Jamie Gold is a much better player than this guy though. From what I watched, this guy has no concept of fold equity, player ranges, and who the hell raises preflop 10xBB?

This guy just made Baby Jesus a very rich man!

Hey if I can take home 8.25 mill, maybe you'll see me in God's house on Sundays rather than in front of my computer.

WSOP Main Event Final Table Tonight!

2007-07-17T08:46:00.000-04:00

The final table is set and here are the participants:

Seat 1: Jon Kalmar – 20,320,000
Seat 2: Lee Childs – 13,240,000
Seat 3: Philip Hilm – 22,070,000
Seat 4: Jerry Yang – 8,450,000
Seat 5: Raymond Rahme – 16,320,000
Seat 6: Tuan Lam – 21,315,000
Seat 7: Alex Kravchenko – 6,570,000
Seat 8: Lee Watkinson – 9,925,000
Seat 9: Hevad Khan – 9,205,000

Prize Pool Below:

1st: $8,250,000
2nd: $4,840,981
3rd: $3,048,025
4th: $1,852,721
5th: $1,255,069
6th: $956,243
7th: $705,229
8th: $585,934
9th: $525,934

You can catch it on ESPN PPV today at 3pm EST. I'm probably not going to pay for it, hopefully it will leak out again.

Personally I'm going to cheer for Tuan Lam. Asian dude from Kitchener, represent!

Brief Update

2007-07-16T08:41:00.000-04:00

Hey an actual post! I guess like everyone else, summer season is pretty slow and we all get pretty lazy when it comes to blogging. I wanted to play less online poker during July and try to enjoy some sun. Also wanted to tryout some underground live games, but have yet to do so.

In terms of online, this is what I've been up to.

Played Sunday tournies for the first time in July yesterday. I wish I hadn't, its just damn frustrating. Most of my tournies I built up a nice stack early, and just can't win the big pots later on. I'm making the right reads, making the right plays, just not winning the flips or the favourites. No real bad beats, but often just winning the right pot at the right time becomes a tournament altering situation. One play that is really a major pet peeve of mine are those who still love Ace rag! These guys are calling off stacks without odds or stack ratios with that crap, and just seeing that Ace hit on the board makes me cringe. I guess if these guys weren't around a wouldn't have built my stack up anyways.

A couple of those put me on tilt in another tourney. So pissed that I hit the wrong button, ended up minreraising a pot with Q3o. I wish that site had an allin button instead, probaby would have gotten that guy to fold, he only had 55 but it held. At that time I had a decent stack and good read on the table, and could have taken it down.

No more MTTs until august. Nothing major this month anyways, might as well regroup for FTOPS.

For those Canadians with time to kill, check out www.scorepoker.com Easy freerolls to win a trip to Vegas. I usually have it in the background when I'm playing or doing something else. Don't really need to think, just shove when you have something and you'll often get called.

On the cash games side, I've pretty much been on Party working off a bonus. They're not really as soft as I was hoping, probably because its bonus time. I really got to stop chasing bonuses and just play one site and build it up. A free $100 bonus or whatever is fine, but playing against weaker oponents is greater EV. After this party bonus is done, going to stick to Betfair and nothing else. Hopefully I stick to my plans this time. I think I said I wouldn't play any tournies in July = X. I think I also said no more Limit = X.

Still in the red for the month, but hopefully I'll turn it around the 2nd half of the month which should only be cash games. The only other tournament I believe I'm going to play is some Titan world challenge where you can win a Porsche. A $5 league. Already missed the first 2, but you only need to be top 35 to move on. Should be relatively easy. Mondays at 10pm est I think. I missed last weeks because it shows Tuesday on the Titan site. Stupid me forgot Tues 3am BST = Monday night.

Noooooo Limit

2007-06-28T08:42:00.000-04:00

I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit ... I will not play limit

June has definately been my worse month so far. My only positive has been my no limit cash games. Limit is just killing me, I have no luck in that game. Even lost to a straight flush last night! I'm down in my omaha cash games, though my last couple of sessions I'm pretty sure I'm making the right decisions, I'm just not benefiting from them yet.

ex)
Preflop: ep pot raise, mp call, I call on the button with AKxx ds
Flop: 985 ep pot raise, mp call. I flop top 2 with nut flush draw.

easy allin?

Omaha is fun, and I do want to improve on it. Still have the Slotsboom and Ciaffone books sitting on my shelf I have to read though. I definately to get more practice on this though.

I'm down on my mtts as well, though its mostly from wsop sats.

Doubt I'll be playing much more with the long weekend coming up, maybe watch some videos, haven't watched as much as I planned to.

Book Recommendation - The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide : Tournament Edition

2007-06-27T08:53:00.000-04:00

I hardly ever do book reviews, better yet I never to book reviews before I have finished a book, but this book deserves a recommendation. I guess its mostly because I thought it would just be nothing more than a "shill" book, not sure why I got it in the first place. I've only started through the first few chapters, but I can honestly admit that Andy Bloch writes one of the most resourceful sections I have ever read in a poker strategy book. His section is just sick full of wisdom.

Here are the authors in this book:

Andy Bloch
Richard Brodie
Chris Ferguson
Ted Forrest
Rafe Furst
Phil Gordon
David Grey
Howard Lederer
Mike Matusow
Huckleberry Seed
Keith Sexton
Gavin Smith
and edited by Michael Craig

I have just started the Chris Ferguson section, and so far so good. I'd definately recommend picking up this book if you want to improve your tournament game.

Chokage Sunday

2007-06-18T08:50:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was WSOP qualifying Sunday. Played the Full Tilt 100seat and the Poker Stars 150 seat guarantees. I'm pretty sure if I qualified, I would have just taken the cash, but I guess no decision was necessary, I choked.

I believe I played very well in both tournies, at least until the end. Continuosly building my stack and not looking back. In both cases though I know where my problem was. When I turned off the aggressive switch, I forgot to turn it back on when required. When I played aggressively, I won chips easily. I even dropped the hammer once! I barely lost chips from confrontations, I lost them cause I bled them away. I let my stacks drop to the 10-12xBB range, and pretty much played push/fold mode till the end. In this type of satellite tourney, I can't get those bets called though unless I'm up against legitimate hands, so all I could pick up were blinds.

I eventually lost on Stars on a blind protection from the cutoff stealer with A9s. Had about 12x BB at that time. Villian had stolen from me before, but this time wokeup with AK. 420/6200
Full Tilt I got knocked out 1min later. Another CO steal attempt, but my stack, 9xBB was not big enough to resteal. 33 vs KJ and I couldn't hold. 300/1700? So I made it deep in both tournies, but rewarded with nothing.

I did a minor cash in Mansion though, 58th for $200. Same problem as above, plus a miscue on my part when I folded AJ to a shove after I made an MP raise. Left myself with 7-8BB. I should have shoved myself. I also managed to finally qualify for the ipoker $500k freeroll. I probably played that about 7 times, top ten qualify. Usually about 500 players. 900mpp to enter, figured I might as well use my points.

On that note I think I'm done with Sunday tournies for a while. Weather is nice outside, and hate being stuck indoors. I'll stick to weeknight cash games, and watch a ton of videos. Paying for it might as well watch them. I'll prob even read a book or two!

Hey, an actual satellite win!

2007-06-12T08:52:00.000-04:00

Finally after feeling like years between satellite wins, I actually finally won one. Its actually probably only been a couple weeks, but feels like a while. I am now entered in the $500 100 WSOP seat guaranteed on Full Tilt this Sunday. I've given up trying to qualify on Stars, because I suck. The double shootouts there are good value, but they are turbos. Instead I just bought some W$ for about 90% and I'll just buyin. Now if my plan runs accordingly, I'll have 2 seats by monday morning. :)

May Recap

2007-05-31T08:47:00.000-04:00

Feels like I haven't made a post in forever. Not much to say, just grinding away. May isn't over yet but i doubt I'll be playing tonight, family wants to come over for some Mario Party 8 action on the wii. Haven't tried it out yet, looks fun though.

Recap
Cash Games = I run goot! I'm finally playing my cash games at a consistant level. Other than a couple of days this month, I'm pretty much positive for the day. Had it not been for a -$1,700 2 day downswing, would have looked even sweeter. That damage was done mostly at the $500NL tables so I've held back and deciding not to play more than 2 of those at a time. What I think I've improved on now is adapting my style to the table. I don't always need to turn on the extra aggression, if others are willing to bet for me, go ahead, I'll call down the rest of your chips if I think I'm holding the best hand.

What I need to work on though is my limit game. Played some hands at 5/10, and after each hand I always question why I played it that way. I'm not raising/folding at the right times, and I think I'm calling too much.

Completed the Pokersourceonline GNUF poker promo. Easy stuff, 4-5 hours 4 tabling 1/2NL 6max (of course). Made about $1200 after a $50 bonus, plus i'm in this Sunday's wsop satellite. Should be less than 100 players.

MTTs
I still suck at satellites. I'm not sure whats wrong with me, I can't win them. Even last night I went 0 for 2 and the $24 double shootout 6max to the 150 wsop seat guaranteed. Went out like 1st hand in one of them when I slowplayed top 2 (KQ), and let dude catch up with a straight. Then went out 3rd overall when I tried to steal the blinds. Not sure what the chip leader was doing. Called the short stack for 1/2 his chips with 45o? I don't think it was collusion, probably misclick as he didn't play like it before. That put the other 2 tied and me as the short stack. Lost a flip earlier that would have eliminated the other player. Will still keep playing these, relatively easy.
On the regular mtt side, I'm playing decent, just not running good late in tournies. Losing dominated hands where it would make me amongst the chip leaders had it held up. Probably had about $1100 in tourny winnings this month, but could easily have been more. Didn't do any damage in the majors this month though.

June
- continue cash games. Mostly on Interpoker/Sunpoker, and Betfair depending on the bonus/rakeback situation
- might do Hollywood Poker PSO promo
- WSOP sats:

Pokerstars 150 seat guaranteed is June 17. (Where I won last year!). Will continue playing $24 6max double shootouts
FullTilt one is this month as well
Online Forum Challenge is this June 3
Hollywood Poker has one June 3
GNUF PSO Freeroll June 3
Pokerroom $30 WSOP subevent sats

- Usual sunday tournies (Mansion $100k, Prima $200k, Cake $20k, Poker.com $20k, other deepstack tournies

- Some sats: Stars million, Titan $500k fpp, other sunday majors

Thats about it. Wanted to book vegas for Aug long weekend. Waited a day too long and price jumped +$200! Will have to look for another deal. Also remember to visit www.worldseriesofpoker.com for your chance to win a free WSOP ME seat!

New WPT Hostess!

2007-05-24T15:50:00.000-04:00

Layla Kayleigh

http://www.laylakayleigh.com/

Curtousy of Pokernews

And the New World Poker Tour Hostess is ... Layla Kayleigh
May 23, 2007BJ Nemeth

Rumors recently surfaced that Season V WPT Hostess Sabina Gadecki would not be returning for Season VI. For whatever reason, the World Poker Tour would be turning to its fourth hostess in four years. So far neither Courtney Friel or Sabina Gadecki have been able to fill the high-heeled shoes of Shana Hiatt. The poker world would have to wait until the final table of the Mirage Poker Showdown before seeing the new hostess, but PokerNews caught up with her a day early as she taped her first segments for the WPT. We are pleased to announce that the new hostess is -- drumroll, please -- Layla Kayleigh. The first question on the minds of most fans

-- how does Kayleigh compare to those who came before her? Shana Hiatt (Seasons I-III) was the incredibly-hot-but-seemingly-accessible girl next door. Courtney Friel (Season IV) was the attractive broadcast journalist. And Sabina Gadecki (Season V) was our sweet and innocent younger sister. Layla Kayleigh (Season VI) creates a new category of WPT hostess -- one that radiates sex appeal. Not just with her looks, but with her attitude and personality. Born and raised in London to parents with a diverse ethnic background (she is a mix of Caucasian, African, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern ancestry), this beautiful brunette will bring a bit of international flair to the World Poker Tour. While Layla is young (23 years old) and petite (5'3" tall), she's not innocent or naive

this is a girl who knows who she is and can take care of herself. She can be sexy without going too far, and vivacious without being an airhead. She also has plenty of on-camera experience, serving as a host on MTV2 in Britain, and as a correspondent for ABC Football and "The Best Damn Sports Show Period." Layla currently hosts a segment called "The Feed" on the G4 network, where she reports on the latest tech news, and she can be heard weekly on the "Covino and Rich Show," which broadcasts on Sirius Maxim Radio. If that's not enough, she has a role in the upcoming film, "A Simple Promise," set to be released later this year. In late 2005, she was tapped to be a political correspondent on Al Gore's fledgling cable network, Current TV. But when Current TV learned she had posed for a sexy spread in Maxim magazine, she was promptly fired. She later told Maxim that she had no regrets, pointing out that the network wasn't as progressive as it claimed, and that hers was "the voice of women who can be sexy, smart, and intelligent while posing in lingerie."

Layla's introduction to the poker world came in the summer of 2006, when she was invited to play in (and report on) a charity tournament sponsored by Stuff Magazine. She was a true poker rookie at that point, but after interviewing Jennifer Tilly, the actress/WSOP bracelet winner would spend three hours teaching Layla the basics of the game. Once the tournament began, Layla found herself seated next to the legendary Johnny Chan, and he took her under his wing that night and taught her some of the finer points of the game. The Tilly-Chan system served her well, and Layla played her way to the final table. The World Poker Tour recently contacted her about potentially hosting their sixth season, and Layla went through five separate auditions, feeling less confident about her chances each time.

To her surprise, she was offered the job, and she happily accepted. WPT Executive Vice President Robyn Moder calls Layla "energetic, intelligent and strikingly beautiful -- the perfect combination to engage WPT fans." Taping her first segments out in front of the Mirage Tuesday night, Layla is definitely comfortable in front of a camera. She thinks quickly on her feet, and seems to have a bit of an edge to her. If Sabina had a flaw at all, it was that she exuded purity and innocence

and poker isn't an innocent game. It's dark, and it has an edgy quality that makes it much cooler than games like chess or backgammon. Layla can tap into that edginess. Tonight will be her first test as the new hostess, presiding over the first WPT final table of Season VI. Will she be able to crack Phil Ivey's media-proof shell? Can she get online pros Cory Carroll and Darrell Dicken to open up? Will she draw more viewers to the show when it switches to GSN? Ultimately, we won't know the answers until her episodes air, sometime in 2008. Layla knows that the previous two hostesses were let go after a single season, and she plans to work hard so she'll be asked back for Season VII. Nobody will ever be able to fill Shana's shoes -- she was one of a kind. But Shana has moved on to another show, so it's time we moved on as well. If we let Layla be herself, she could potentially do more for the show than even the return of Shana Hiatt.

Mother F*cker Part 2!

2007-05-20T16:11:00.000-04:00

18 damn hands away from $10k guaranteed, and $100k if I won the hand with a decent hand.

PokerStars Game #10000000018: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2007/05/19 - 16:51:41 (ET)
Table 'Ursa III' 6-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: actyper ($2.35 in chips)
Seat 2: BoogeeMan2 ($4.97 in chips)
Seat 3: Mishcalu73 ($2.08 in chips)
Seat 4: jfg1234 ($0.98 in chips)
Seat 5: KSfoldorall ($0.99 in chips)
Seat 6: Joroy70 ($2.77 in chips)
Joroy70: posts small blind $0.01
actyper: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to actyper [Jh As]
BoogeeMan2: folds
Mishcalu73: folds
jfg1234: folds
KSfoldorall: folds
Joroy70: folds
Joroy70 is sitting out
actyper collected $0.02 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $0.02 | Rake $0
Seat 1: actyper (big blind) collected ($0.02)
Seat 2: BoogeeMan2 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Mishcalu73 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: jfg1234 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: KSfoldorall (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Joroy70 (small blind) folded before Flop

Stars 10 Billionth Hand

2007-05-19T12:46:00.000-04:00

Go log onto Stars approximately 5pm EST today! 10 billionth hand should arrive +/- 1 hour of that time.

I was so close on an earlier hand, 4 hands off!

Mother F*cker!

2007-05-16T15:59:00.000-04:00

This guy stole my jackpot

World Record Online Jackpot Win!
Our world famous ‘Millionaires Club Slot’ has done it again and this time in record breaking style!InterCasino player Obaesso was crowned our latest multi millionaire after he landed the world’s biggest ever online casino jackpot on Tuesday 15th May 2007. We spoke to him late last night and he was understandably still in shock but ecstatic about winning over $8million! Obaesso is a factory worker and along with his wife decided to play Millionaires Club for the first time yesterday. At first he did not believe he had reached the jackpot so he phoned us to get confirmation. When we gave him the news he jumped for joy and couldn't believe his luck! Obaesso has never travelled more than 50km from his home town but is now currently planning his trip to London to receive his huge check!Congratulations to both him and his family!

Degree Poker 2007 Details

2007-05-11T17:19:00.001-04:00

Canada's Most Watched Poker Tournament Returns to TSN for Third Season
Toronto, ON (April 19, 2007) – Armchair poker players from across Canada have the opportunity to showcase their card playing talents in front of a national TV audience once again, as TSN and Degree Men today announced the return of Canada's most watched poker tournament, the Degree Poker Championship. Now in its third season, the TSN original production will air in September in seven, one-hour prime-time episodes on TSN, TSN HD and TSN Broadband.
A group of 72 contestants (see contestant breakdown below) will compete in this annual Texas Hold 'Em event. This year's smaller playing field allows for a more intense atmosphere, as participants in the Degree Poker Championship compete for the grand prize of $100,000 as well as a chance to win an additional $1 million (all figures Canadian), and a paid seat at the 2007 World Series of Poker.
The 72 participants will play in one of two preliminary rounds for a limited number of seats in the tournament's televised playoff and championship rounds. Each of the six playoff broadcasts features a table of six players, with the winner of each table moving on to the final championship round.
"The success of the 'Degree Poker Championship' has paved the way for the type of tournament activity we see in Canada today," said Adam Ashton, Vice-President of Marketing, TSN and TSN Events. "To have this original Canadian programming property flourish the way it has would not be possible without our devoted team of partners."
Last year's Degree Poker Championship was the most watched poker tournament in Canada, attracting a national average audience of 126,000 viewers per premiere telecast. The show attracted an impressive 247,000 viewers per episode when the premiere and two encore broadcasts were taken into account.
This year's event will be held June 25 to 29 at Casino Rama, a world-class casino-resort located 90 minutes north of Toronto. Casino Rama is Ontario's Favourite Casino*, a first-class entertainment facility specializing in gaming, concerts and production shows.
"At Casino Rama we're known for dealing big-time excitement and this tournament is exactly the edge-of-your-seat, thrilling event we love to be part of," said Jeff Craik, Vice-President of Marketing, Casino Rama.
New to the event this year is the return of past Degree Poker champions and finalists, creating the potential for a repeat champion. This year, the event also welcomes Bic Inc. as a new sponsor and official lighter of the Degree Poker Championship.
Contestant Breakdown:
The following is an outline of how the group of 72 players will be determined:
Last year's winner Jim Rich of Sarnia, ON, and 2005 inaugural champion Liam Greig of Vancouver join nine other finalists from the past two tournaments (11 players)
Casino Rama will be giving away five seats to winners of a select in-house poker tournament (5 players)
Degree is giving away a pair of seats through contests associated with its products sold at retailers Pharma Plus and Safeway (2 players)
The remaining players will be randomly selected in an online draw on May 29 (54 players)
Registration for the online draw is free and open to all Canadians over the age of 21 (excluding residents of Quebec). Those interested can visit www.degreepoker.com to enter the contest.
"The Degree Men brand is a natural fit for the guy who isn't afraid to take a calculated risk. And going 'all-in' on a national stage against Canada's best poker players, what could be more exciting?" said Izabela Kvesic, Brand Manager, Degree Men, which is the title sponsor of the event for the third consecutive year. "Our consumers are into playing poker with their friends and always get into the game. Combine that with Degree's commitment to providing men with the protection they need to take on risk and challenge, not to mention the chance to partner with TSN, and it was something we just had to do again."
A general overview of the tournament, photos from previous years, poker strategy tips and trivia, and Degree Men product information are also available on the Degree Poker Championship's designated website at www.degreepoker.com.
TSN Events owns the Degree Poker Championship broadcast, which is managed in conjunction with Segal Communications acting on behalf of Unilever, Degree Men's parent company. TSN has retained the services of WhistleStop Productions to handle TV production for the event.
Casino Amusements Canada (CAC), a registered, non-gaming related supplier with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, continues its valued partnership with the event by once again managing the championship component. CAC is the developer and implementer of this world class event in Canada and, this year, the sponsor of the $100,000 first place prize.
TSN has been televising poker since 1998 and viewers can look forward to more than 150 hours of poker coverage on the network in 2007. TSN has a full slate of poker on the schedule in addition to the Degree Poker Championship, including such high profile tournaments as the World Series of Poker, Poker Million, U.S. Poker Championship, as well as the Legends Cup of Poker and European Poker Tour.

Thank goodness I can learn from my mistakes

2007-05-06T20:36:00.000-04:00

Nothing big yet, but this will get my mtt confiedence back. Listened to my self and regained my composure by playing with patience, and taking time before making moves.

Mansion I played a strong aggressive game for the first couple of hours. Then I lost some chips when I went card dead and stayed passive, but patient. :)

Tripled up late with AA vs KK vs KQ.

Down to 21 folds to me in the SB, I shove and am called by the BB. A8 vs A7, and the river 7 sucks me out.

FT I knew I would do decent since it was a deep stack tourney. I'm pretty sure the added patience with especially help me in the deeper stack tournies.

I remained as a shorter stack during the late stages and prior to the final table, but I played great short stack poker. I shoved at the proper moments, and never left myself as a huge underdog. 87 was my favourite shoving hand! Except for my out hand though, 4 handed I shoved with A5s and was caught by AJo. 2 spades on the flop, but I couldn't suckout. GG Me!

Turning point of the day though was my first tournament. CAke poker $25 - $8k guaranteed. 3 to the money, folded to the SB who shoves on me. I'm holding 55 and for some reason called. I wasn't in great shape but I could have found a better moment to shove. He flipped over AA, and an A on the flop sealed the deal. Right after that I picked up a yellow sticky note and wrote:

PATIENCE!!! THINK!!!

and stuck it on my monitor. I think it worked!

Getting back on track MTT wise

2007-05-04T08:55:00.000-04:00

Wow i'm sucking at mtts right now. Though I took a break in April from them, I still played a few with 0 cashes. The few that I've played this month, next to nothing in cashes. Though I do realize what my problem is...

NO PATIENCE!

I'm making too many moves, playing too many pots, trying to win too many pots! I'm also lacking focus, and making decisions rather quickly. I don't remember the last time I've gone into extra time, and its unusual for me to use more than half my time allowance.

The fix

Take more time making decisions
I don't need to win every pot
I don't need to risk my stack in winning a pot
I don't need to win a tourney during the early stages
I might cut down on multitabling for now.
Not everybody is bluffing me!!

I'll try this out on Sunday, see if it helps.

50k milestone!

2007-04-24T11:24:00.000-04:00

Finally hit the $50k career profit mark last night! woohoo!!!

This is from the period starting Jan 1, 2005 to present. I did start my online poker play mid 2004, but I never kept track of anything, and it was only minor profits, break even plays just to get comps from Pokersourceonline.

I actually thought I was almost there a couple weeks ago, but then I realized I overstated by $1k, so I was really $1.5k off. Then came an ugly downswing and I was almost $2.5k away. But the past couple weeks have been pretty profitable.

I have enjoyed playing strictly cash games this month. I've played maybe 5-7 mtts, nothing major. Played a few satellites but I suck at those now. Cash games I'm playing 1/2nl, 2/5nl, 2/4nl, and 5/10 limit. All shorthanded. Getting more comfortable at the 2/5nl limit now so I should be fulltime there soon.

I have also realized that my numbers on weekends is far worse than my weeknight results, for cash games. Therefore my schedule will be Mon-Fri night = cash games. Sun = mtts. Fri will also be sats and smaller mtts. I don't usually play saturdays at all, and usually just 4/7 days in total. The one stat I wish increased more though was my hours, I don't play enough as I would like to. With cash games I can only sit and play them for 2hrs max then I just don't feel like it anymore. Usually I only play for 1-1.5 hrs per session.

lol banaments!

2007-04-19T09:00:00.000-04:00

This is Real L. from the Operations Department at Cassava (Gibraltar) Ltd. Cassava (Gibraltar) Ltd operates "Pacific Poker".This Email is to inform you of the blocking of your accounts owned and operated by 888.com.Routine checks of your account revealed that your are attempting to abuse our IAF bonus scheme.In the event that the Company believes a user is abusing or attempting to abuse a bonus or other promotion, or is likely to benefit through abuse or lack of good faith from a gaming policy adopted by the Company, then the Company may, at its sole discretion, deny, withhold or withdraw from any user any bonus or promotion, or rescind any policy with respect to that user, either temporarily or permanently, or terminate that user's access to the Service and/or block that user's account. Therefore, as per our Terms and Conditions, we have permanently blocked your accounts with our sites. Your membership is no longer welcome at the sites owned by 888.com. Please refrain from opening any new accounts with our sites, as any deposits made on new accounts will not be refunded, and any cashout requests made will not be honoured.

Unbelievable. They send me a bonus to promote their site, and then they ban me! Glad I opted for 1 shirt and 1 $30 bonus so I'll at least get something. Fuckem! But I'll still continue to promote them as I want everyone to whore the crap out of them.

I guess they forgot I've actually recently deposited on Pacific and play real $ poker there. That account better not be blocked, I want my $.

Fallsview Report

2007-04-16T11:26:00.000-04:00

Decided to head down to Fallsview on saturday, put on some gambool. Had to go down to hamilton at night for some party, so might as well make it an afternoon at niagara.

1.5 hr wait to get on a 2/5NL table. Was also on the 5/5NL list but by the time I got called for that, I was already comfortable in my seat and too lazy to move. I had no problems waiting that long, the only problem I had was the unobservant casino hosts. There were 3 seats open at the 2/5 table for about 20mins. The lady kept calling the same 3 names over and over again, duh they're gone, move on.

Was on a pretty timid table. Players would rather limp than raise preflop. After noting the good players at the table, pretty much just picked on the weaklings. No real big pots for me, just some average ones, and left after only 1.5hrs. Was hungry and the buffet was calling my name. Left with a modest $130 so pretty good hourly rate. Was outearned by the wife though, she made $320 on wheel of fortune slots in 15mins!!! Whose the casino whore, me or her? :)

After about a 45mins wait for the buffet, was kind of disappointed. Food was good, but was looking forward to the crab legs that everybody was raving about. For some reason there was none. Oh well, still left with a belly full.

End of Session Blues

2007-04-10T23:11:00.000-04:00

Ever happen to you?

Your up a nice amount of money and figure you've had enough. Last orbit coming up. You get a good starting hand but just get a nasty feeling that you might end up blowing some money on that hand.

AQs < 45s vs a guy that I completely owned during the session. Q36 flop. He ended up catching the straight and I lost some hard earned $.

Bastard!

Getting owned with big pairs

2007-04-09T08:38:00.000-04:00

Most normal people were hunting for eggs on the weekend, I was hunting fishes and donkeys. I did not find any, thus I was the donkafish.

I lost 4 buyins in total with the big pairs: AA & KK. One AA allin preflop against a smaller pair, one KK allin preflop against AA. Another AA I limped squeezed but still got called with 78s By that time the pot was too big to lay down. The other KK I lost to AA again with a paired flop.

I still can't laydown KK preflop, even though I know the other guy has a good chance of AA. At this level I still see a lot of AK, QQ, JJ etc allin preflop.

I used to be able to keep the pot sizes containable with these big pairs, but lately I've gotten paid off big time with the big 2, so I didn't mind the big pots.

I guess I should have said a prayer before playing this holy weekend.

I'll post my updated action plan later tonight. Still have a few hundred sitting in neteller, not sure if I'm going to deposit it somewhere or just cash it out.

Post Neteller Plan of Action

2007-04-04T18:04:00.000-04:00

So here is my plan of action. I am keeping all my funds in play for now. I'm going to use 2 ewallets, moneybookers and click2pay. Neither currently funded, they will be used just in case I need to use something. Below are the sites I will continue to play on, or have potential. I think this is the end of bonus hunting and promo comps for me. Time to play some good pokah.

Cash/Rakeback are my cash game / rakeback rooms. If cryptos make their no deposit reloads the same as their deposit ones, then they will be my main cash game sites. If not it will be Betfair through RaketheRAke RTR03416 :). If you haven't signed up for raketherake yet, please use me as a referrer. My interpoker rakeback jumps to 40% if I get a referrer. Same for you if you refer somebody. I'll ship a nice gift back. Fast loose european action there. I've seen 1/2 SH games with average pots over $70, even over $100, though I think there might be something wrong with their calculations. Mostly short handed games but there are a couple full rings for each level.

MTT will be primarily my major tournament rooms, cash games on those sites are definately possibilities. This also includes Paradise where I'll do the reload bonuses and one day thinking of actually clearing my outstanding bonus. Pokerstars will be my homebase, and Full Tilt #2. Absolute will be used with the PSO League and other promos they might have.

I plan on keeping some funds on each of the major networks. About $300 on each. This includes Pacific which should have some new tourney promos when the new software is released. I might change my mind on funding Full Contact, I don't have too much faith that it or the network will ever grow.

"Playout" are the rooms where I have some money on that if I bust, I'll just simply uninstall. Some of these I have < $20 on, so no worries.

I'd like to hear everybody elses action plan. Also if you think I'm missing something please let me know, and preferably by Friday! I think that will be my actual action date.

Screw neteller and Party for jumping the gun!!!!

EDIT: April 6

Changed a few things around..

- withdrew 1/2 of my paradise funds. Still planning on doing the reloads. Hasn't hit my neteller yet though.
- signed up with pokerheaven through raketherake. Wanted a rakeback on Boss in case it goes good.
- signed up on CDPoker through pokersavvy Man is this room easy. 3 table 1/2NL SH for 45min and I'm 1/2 way done the promo. Over $100 in extra gifts. Average pots are pretty big on these tables.
- ended up adding a couple hundred to Cake poker with their new bunny reload, just in case.
- thinking I should have taken some $ out of sun poker, probably too late now.
- still undecided on full contact funding

Reminded to start moving on your action plans. Rooms like stars have max daily deposit limits!!!

Plan of Action tonight, I promise...

2007-04-04T07:14:00.000-04:00

Wanted to put together my plan of action yesterday, regarding the relocation of funds. Ended up picking up Guitar Hero 2 for xbox360, so that took up my time instead. Great addictive game. I'm not even a big fan of rock music, but who can't appreciate a nice Nirvanna tune.

My plan of action though is pretty much complete, just wanted to confirm a few things before I actually do it. Though cake poker denying my request to switch to rakeback helps clear one of my options. Should have it all posted by tonight.

Moneybookers

2007-03-29T20:40:00.000-04:00

If you need a Moneybookers account, feel free to signup here.
Referal code 2533033

Canadian eWallet Discussion

2007-03-29T15:42:00.000-04:00

The most up to date thread on Canadian eWallet Option is here on 2+2. Thanks to user BoboFett for starting it up.

Neteller - NO
Firepay - NO
myCitadel - NO

Moneybookers - AP, b2b, Party, UB, Everest, iPoker, Microgaming (some), OnGame, Pacific, WSEX
Click2Pay - AP, UB, Crypto (some), Everest, iPoker, Microgaming (some), OnGame, Boss (some), FT
ePassporte - AP, Stars, UB, FT
ATMOnline - UB
EcoCard - iPoker, Microgaming (some)

Credit Cards:
No - Royal Bank

Notes:
Click2Pay is Canadian funds only but there is absolute no exchange fee.
Moneybookers requires some sort of Swift# to withdraw, but I would just use moneybookers to deposit into Party. Then use Party to withdraw to my bank account because of its favourable exchange rates. There might be some problems with depositing into a moneybooker account via credit card though. My moneybooker account was originally setup i think when I withdrew from Best Casino.

Did we just f*cked up the ass? Neteller withdraws from Canada

2007-03-26T08:55:00.000-04:00

Neteller Exiting Canada, Turkey
Published: Monday, March 26, 2007

Online payment processor, Neteller, announced today that it is withdrawing from both the Canadian and Turkish markets. Cited as reason for the decision were “Recent actions by regulators, payment processors, and online gaming operators have increased the uncertainty around certain activities related to online gambling in some jurisdiction.” The primary reason for the closure to Turkish customers is legislation passed on February 28, 2007 “which prohibits certain forms of online gambling to be offered by any “unauthorised” domestic or foreign company to citizens in Turkey.” Neteller apparently see this as a signal to get out, even though the company does not actually engage in online gambling. Online gambling transactions are no longer available in Turkey as of March 26, 2007.No specific reason was given for the cessation of online gambling transactions for Canadian residents. Unlike Turkey, customers in Canada can still engage in online gambling transactions until April 9, although InstaCASH transactions are no longer available as of Monday. Non-gambling transactions can still be made, which includes peer-to-peer and pre-paid debit transactions.Neteller says that the elimination of its Canadian business will have a “…material negative impact on the Group’s results for the full year ending 31 December 2007.” Considering that in the first half of 2006, 85 percent of Neteller’s $5.1 billion in revenue came from North America, this is not hard to believe.The company does not expect to make any more layoffs, even at its Calgary office, and says its shares will remain suspended from trading.Neteller reiterated that it still expects to announce within 75 days of March 21 a plan to return frozen U.S. customer funds, and that all customer funds are safe in segregated accounts. Below is the complete press release regarding the Canadian and Turkish markets.

*********************************NETELLER Announces Service Changes to Canadian and Turkish MarketMonday, 26 March 2007 – The NETELLER Plc Group (“NETELLER” or the “Group”) (LSE: NLR), the leading global independent online money transfer business, today announced several significant changes to its services in a number of markets.The Group continually assesses the risk profile and status of the markets its serves. Recent actions by regulators, payment processors, and online gaming operators have increased the uncertainty around certain activities related to online gambling in some jurisdictions. The Board of Directors of the Company reached a decision, on 25 March 2007, that the risk to the Group’s ongoing business in Canada and Turkey has increased in the light of such developments. The Board has therefore concluded that the Group will no longer process transfers related to online gambling sites on behalf of Canada or Turkey resident customers.Reduced Service to Canada • Cessation of Canadian transfers to gambling merchants: the Group will cease processing online gambling related transactions for Canada-resident customers with effect from 12.01 AM MST Monday 9 April 2007. • Suspension of InstaCASH transactions: As of today Monday 26 March 2007, at 12:01 AM MST, Canada-resident customers were no longer able to deposit funds using NETELLER’s instaCASH service either directly or from any online gambling site. • Non-gambling services continue: Canada-resident customers will continue to be able to use their e-wallet accounts for non-gambling transactions, including peer-to-peer and pre-paid debit transactions. • Available customer funds: Customer funds, including those of Canadian residents, are held in a pooled, segregated trust account and will be available for withdrawal by customers, on demand. Canadian customers continue to be able to use their e-wallet accounts for non-gambling transactions. Reduced Service to TurkeyIn light of recent legislation passed in Turkey on 28 February 2007, which prohibits certain forms of online gambling to be offered by any “unauthorised” domestic or foreign company to citizens in Turkey, NETELLER has decided to implement a voluntary phased withdrawal of the payment services related to online gambling that it offers customers to the Turkish market.• Withdrawal of local bank funding options: Local bank deposit options for Turkey-resident customers were withdrawn on Friday 9 March 2007. • Cessation of Turkish transfers to and from online gambling merchants: The Group has ceased processing online gambling related transactions for Turkey-resident customers with effect from 6.01 AM GMT Monday 26 March 2007. • Non-gambling related services continue: Turkey-resident customers will be able to continue to use their NETELLER e-wallet account for any non-gambling related money transfers and withdrawals. Customers located in other parts of the world are not affected by this change, and NETELLER continues to service these customers in the normal manner. Group Business Impact The Canadian business of the NETELLER Group would likely have contributed significantly to the Group’s revenue and profitability during 2007 and the loss of this business is now likely to have a material negative impact on the Group’s results for the full year ending 31 December 2007. The Turkish business of the Group does not represent a material proportion of the Group’s overall customer base, revenue or profitability.The Group does not anticipate making further significant reductions in staff as a result of these service changes as the Board believes that its Calgary-based operations are appropriately sized to handle the remaining non-North American business of the Group. The Group will continue to focus on the growth markets of Europe and Asia.Other UpdatesThe Group’s shares will continue to be suspended from trading on AIM in view of the continuing uncertainties the Group faces. Further announcements will be made as appropriate.The Company is working towards the finalisation of its audited annual results for the year ended 31 December 2006 and will announce the date on which these will be published to the market in due course.The Company would, in light of recent press comment concerning its announcement of 21 March 2007, like to make clear that the 75 day period referred to in that announcement was for agreement of a plan of distribution with the United States Attorney's Office. It would remain to be determined, as part of that plan, the precise timing of the distribution of funds to US customers.Further information is available on the Group’s website in the form of updated FAQs. About the NETELLER GroupTrusted by millions of consumers in over 160 countries to move and manage billions of dollars each year, the NETELLER Group operates the largest independent online money transfer business in the world. The Group specializes in providing innovative and instant payment services where money transfer is difficult or risky due to identity, trust, currency exchange, or distance. Being independent has allowed the Group to support thousands of retailers and merchants in many geographies and across multiple industries.The Group is quoted on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market, with a ticker symbol of NLR. NETELLER (UK) Limited is authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to operate as a regulated e-money issuer. For more information about the Group visit www.netellergroup.com. Media and Investor ContactsCitigate Dewe Rogerson Sarah Gestetner or George CazenoveTel: +44 (0) 207 638 9571*********************************Originally published 7:10 AM Monday, March 26, 2007

Fat Finger Bluff

2007-03-26T08:50:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I had my fat finger bluff backfire.

Blinds 15/30. I'm holding AA in EP.

Raise to 1000.

LP pushes allin. Obv call.

AA vs JJ.

Flop: AQT Turn: 9

He rivers a straight on me, doh!!!

I love this bluff. Sucks when it backfires though.

Help Wanted: Need Heads Up Coach!

2007-03-23T09:09:00.000-04:00

I used to think that I was pretty good HeadsUp. Now I realize that I suck!!! Its been a while since I've won a tournament, sit and gos not included. I have over $7k in tournament winnings this year without a first. In fact I have 3 2nd place finishes! The difference in those 2nds equates to roughly $1700 difference, so thats some nice lost equity.

Last night I lost headsup twice. First one we were about even. Was against a loose passive preflop player who slowplayed everything. Unfortunately he took a lot of my chips playing that way as he hit a lot of boards. Down to 2:1 for him, all my chips are in 88 vs 55. River 5.

2nd headsup I was 8:1 underdog with an M of around 7. Lost 1/2 my chips with 2nd pair, and then I just through the rest in preflop the next hand with J9o.

I need to practice my headsup, finishing 2nd sucks. Anybody want to coach?

Are you a diehard online poker player?

2007-03-20T11:54:00.000-04:00

If yes, then buy this now!!!

Dell Deal of the Day

The Dell™ UltraSharp™ 2407WFP is one of the latest model in the Dell lineup, replacing the Dell™ UltraSharp 2405FPW.
The Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP 24.0-inch Flat Panel LCD Monitor is a wide aspect desktop display that redefines the performance of LCD displays with a stylish new Dell industrial design, and advanced functionality. Improve productivity with less scrolling and toggling. The 2407WFP wide aspect Flat Panel LCD also provides an excellent option for video editing and 3D imaging as both source and destination video can be viewed in a single window! With 5.1 inches (130 mm) of height adjustment virtually every user can adjust the display to their exact comfort level and help reduce eye and neck strain.
To optimize this monitor's performance, your system must be able to support WUXGA resolution (1920x1200).

Only $649 CAD!!!

I believe thats the lowest price its ever been in Canada.

New Blog - MMA Ownage

2007-03-19T20:29:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to introduce my new blog, MMA Ownage. With the increase in popularity in the MMA (mixed martial arts) world, I needed an extra outlet to discuss the latest news and happenings. If your a casual fan, or an MMA newbie, head on over!

Sick Cash Players

2007-03-19T08:57:00.000-04:00

Check out these sick cash game stats for this year

NLHE Full Tilt 2007

Winners
Results Sessions Hands Hours
sbrugby
$1.503.279,30 238 32092 262,47

durrrr
$1.337.717,20 229 37159 307,31

Genius28
$833.205,80 203 26049 203,74

luckyULSA
$829.842,50 157 17228 124,48

ActionJeff
$545.339,60 32 2975 26,4

hcdnttb
$500.946,65 111 12660 93,3

toesanders
$408.685,40 73 5507 35,27

The Gift of Gab
$405.747,85 138 31434 206,98

OMGClayAiken
$390.644,70 401 43107 348,17

Vera15
$378.238,30 151 19561 143,72

Loosers
Results Sessions Hands Hours
noataima
$-1.359.722,70 93 21683 220,74

magicpitch1
$-1.207.884,35 112 22848 191,28

Gus Hansen
$-575.890,50 44 4453 51,96

Ozzy 87
$-546.643,95 108 8435 74,77

SheFaLLs
$-531.084,45 80 9640 84,89

Mike Matusow
$-453.181,65 133 16000 153,33

LFISGD
$-307.397,65 104 10567 71

moneyhungryhoe
$-279.181,25 6 2670 14,87

KOMIJENDO
$-224.376,35 250 29157 225,89

Anderzone
$-197.487,25 11 1784 20,41

PL Omaha Full Tilt 2007

Winners
Results Sessions Hands Hours
ballsrider
$1.074.380,00 101 15631 200,36

Luigi66369
$1.028.898,00 71 8646 121,59

magicpitch1
$682.215,50 112 18138 220,66

Ugadabugada
$505.056,75 14 1824 20,99

KObyTAPOUT
$495.558,25 38 3605 39,69

MySiteNowMupps
$487.632,80 60 6333 63,13

bacina
$474.835,90 45 4682 58,89

halibut2
$384.851,55 48 5792 76,3

cmynuts
$348.432,30 145 14377 187,43

sbrugby
$269.356,10 234 27349 303,86

Loosers
Results Sessions Hands Hours
Ziigmund
$-741.083,00 150 20255 193,03

Gus Hansen
$-475.220,75 239 30969 425,79

John DAgostino
$-450.176,00 22 2346 24,76

CrazyZachary
$-443.167,50 101 7244 96,76

newhizzle
$-313.778,00 11 1515 17,22

Grimstarr
$-266.285,50 29 3106 27,27

peterpan777
$-251.573,50 19 3119 37,79

batoelrob
$-241.238,50 15 428 5,12

luther41
$-213.183,55 12 924 13,86

Mr Poker KDH
$-208.215,50 26 1554 19,8

Chuck Norris says "Ship It!"

2007-03-16T12:04:00.000-04:00

Holy schnikes, Chuck Norris owns at Poker! Atlantic City Caesars.

EVENT: No-Limit Hold'em Championship Event 8

BUY IN$4,900
TOTAL PRIZE POOL$1,538,600
ENTRIES314

PLACE
PLAYER
PRIZE/CHIPS
POY POINTS

1
Danny Yousefzadeh
$488,828
1,116

9
Charles Norris
$30,552
93