Ode To Leonard
Monday, October 31, 2005
Fuck! That's the best I can come up with right now. Double fuck!
We got the call this morning about 6:30 am. I lost a brother today. I don't have any real brothers, but I'm sure the bond between real brothers is exactly the type of bond I shared with Leonard.
Leonard was a semi-truck drivin', fishin', guitar-pickin', whiskey drinkin' mother fucker. He was the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back, the last dollar in his pocket or the last pull off his bottle of whiskey.
Fuck you, cancer.
Someone, anyone, answer this question for me:
Why is it that only good people get cancer?
It's always somebody's buddy or uncle or grandpa. Meanwhile, the child-abusing, raping, wife-beating, murdering cocksuckers live to be 97 in prison, sitting on their fat asses, not working a day in their life, sponging off the tax-payers. Fuck them, too.
I met Leonard about six years ago. We immediately hit it off and he turned me on to Windsor Canadian and Pepsi. Very.Little.Pepsi. His saying went like this: Whiskey's cheap, Pepsi's expensive. That was his reasoning for mixing his (and my) drink strong enough to choke a horse.
My wife and I originally ran karaoke for Leonard's mom, Shirley, at her bar at the lake. She kept telling us about her son, the truck driver, and about how we just had to hear him pick a guitar and sing. Needless to say, she was absolutely correct. The man could make you cry listening to him play a guitar. He could sing too, but that's a whole nother story entirely.
Shirley retired and Leonard and his wife, Janet, took over the bar. That was about four years ago now. So, for the last four years, once or twice a month, we head down to the lake to do karaoke. Every time, without exception, I got to hang out with my brother and enjoy some Windsor........ and some tall tales.
Man, Leonard could tell a story. I always tell everyone we meet that you can tell when Leonard is pulling your leg. Whenever he starts or ends a story in full "Larry the cable guy" voice with "now, I ain't bullshittin," you know right then and there that you've been had.
No more of those good times. Fuck you cancer!
Janet, God bless you sweetheart. We love you and will continue to support you every chance we get. You know you can count on us.
Leonard, I know you're up there grinning from ear to ear, pickin' that guitar and drinking some whiskey. My glass is in the air brother. It will never be the same down here at the lake. Never. God bless and godspeed.
I love you and miss you already.
G
posted by GaryC @ 8:55 AM,
,
Rainy Days and Mondays......
.........always get me down.
Well, mainly it's the Monday part, but rain doesn't help when it is time to get up and go to work.
First things first, thanks for the e-mails regarding the new look on the blog. I will have my new IT guy, TripJax, to work on the comments section soon, so you can leave me a comment there. It just came live last night, so we, er he, still has a few bugs to work out. Bare with us and we will get it fixed as soon as possible. You know what an e- tard I am, so when he has time to work on it, it will be fixed. Again, I want to express my sincere gratitude for all the work, buddy, I really appreciate it.
______
We had a busy weekend singing karaoke, but a very profitable weekend singing, so it was all worthwhile. Normally, we have to take our profit and pay off a bar tab that can be significant. This weekend the bar owners picked up both bar tabs, so we saved at least $80 over the two nights. They are both beer-only bars, so the expensive stuff was outside in the truck.
______
I played two SNG's with Juice, the Edge and LittleAcornMan yesterday. Needless to say, my UK buddies know what the hell they are doing. I hung on for third place in the first one in which the Edge took down 2nd. Nice job, buddy.
The second one I don't really remember much of, only that I went out about 5th or 6th when my A-K ran into a medium pocket pair and I got no love from the board. Royal Vegas has the shortest SNG's this side of Party Poker. I don't think we even signed up for a turbo, but the blinds are insanely high from about the 3rd level on. You had better chip up during the first three rounds because after that it becomes a push-fest very quickly.
I enjoyed playing with fellow bloggers and in the future, we are planning this thing out better. LittleAcornMan had a private SNG table set up, but we only had 5 sign up this week. Next weeks turn out must be better than that. It will be at 4 pm EST and 3 pm CST here in the states. Look for more information here later in the week and plan on joining us. The more bloggers, the merrier.
_______
Jordan and I signed up for the PSO freeroll last night at Absolute. Wow, cold freaking decked and the tightest players on the planet. You would have thought every one of them was grinding away a bonus the entire time. I went out in 174th when my pocket Jacks ran into pocket Queens and pocket Aces. Nice. I played three hands the entire time. Oh well, like I told Jordan, at least it was free. I also want to send out a thank you to Mike at PSO for his patience in getting everybody signed in for the tournament. Thanks again, Mike.
_______
Following the freeroll, I realized just how sleepy I was and logged off to hit the sack. I switched over to ESPN 2 just in time to catch Hellmuth's whining 1st day at the Main Event. What an ass! I swear, if that had been me with the K-J or the 7-7, I would have dotted his eye. His antics are so old that even his wife must be tired of hearing that bullshit. Shut up and play poker, you dick-head. My only regret was that the little man with the pocket Aces didn't bust his ass. What's my name?????? Uh, Dick......Head!
I recieved some bad news this morning, but will be posting about it later this afternoon. Hope everyone has at least an acceptable Monday. Talk to you later.
G
posted by GaryC @ 5:36 AM,
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How Ya Like Me Now?
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Just trying out my first post with the new template to see how it works. Let me know what you think.
My sincere thanks go out to TripJax for all the work he has done on it. I love the look and really appreciate the help, buddy. Thank you.
Talk at you tomorrow.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:03 PM,
,
You Know You're From Oklahoma If...
Friday, October 28, 2005
After seeing DuggleBogey's reference to Jeff Foxworthy this morning, I opened my e-mail and found this forwarded from a friend and thought I would share it with you.
You know you are from Oklahoma if....
1. You can properly pronounce Eufala (You-Fall-uh) Gotebo (go-dee-bow) Okemah (Oh-key-muh) and Chickasha (chick-uh-shay).
2. You think people who complain about the wind in their state are sissies.
3. A tornado warning siren is your signal to go out in the yard and look for a funnel.
4. Your idea of a traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a tractor on a two lane highway.
5. You've ever had to switch the heat off and the air conditioning on (or vice versa) in the same day.
6. Stores don't have bags, they have sacks.
7. You think everyone from a bigger city has an accent.
8. You measure distance in minutes. (or time in amount of beers)
9. You refer to the capital of Oklahoma as "the city."
10. It doesn't bother you to use an airport named after a man that died in an airplane crash.
11. Little smokies are served only on "special" occasions.
12. You listen to the weather forecast before getting dressed.
13. You know that cowpies are not made of beef.
14. Someone you know has used a football schedule to plan their wedding.
15. You know which state has Miam-uh and which state has Miam-ee.
16. You aren't surprised to find a movie rental, ammunition and bait at the same store.
17. Your "place at the lake" has wheels. (I pissed my pants when I read this one)
18. You know that "everything goes better with Ranch."
19. You learned how to shoot a gun before you learned to multiply.
20. You actually "get" all these jokes and are "fixin" to forward them to your friends.
21. And finally, you are 100% Oklahoman if you have ever heard this conversation:
"You want a Coke?"
"Yeah"
"what kind?"
"Dr. Pepper"
I just thought I would pass on a little humor this afternoon. This is what you guys have to look forward to come June of 06. Have a good weekend.
G
posted by GaryC @ 8:46 AM,
,
Dismality Continued
No, nothing much has gone wrong on the "life" side of things in the last two days, but poker and bowling, well, that's another story entirely.
Bowling has been pitiful lately. Not. "look! I did break a hundred" pitiful, but in comparison to my average pitiful. I started out the first game last night with 5 strikes in a row......and finished with a 209. Pitiful! I did manage to shoot 609 for the series, but averaging 203 when your "average" is 232 does not cut it. I think my teammates were a bit disappointed in my performance, as well. Oh well, you can't win them all, right?
It's time to head home for some poker. I informed the wife that I would be playing for a while since I won't get to play Friday or Saturday this weekend. I stayed up until around 1:00 am and ran into all kinds of people via AIM. I talked to Jordan for a short while and managed to donk off about $30 at Titan on the 1/2 tables. I then moved over to Party Poker looking for a juicier game. Twitch rang me up and we chatted for a few minutes after he got off work. I made my way to a 2/4 Bad Beat Jackpot table at Party and, lo and behold, Surflexus showed up and played a few hands. I actually held my own at an extremely loose table, even for Party Poker. Veneno then rang me up and we had a nice conversation that ranged from California to Oklahoma to country music and everywhere in between. I enjoyed the conversation Poison, nice talking to you. Here are the links you were asking about. Here, here and here.
We have a very busy weekend set up for Karaoke. We are doing a grand opening of a new bar tonight and then driving on down to the lake to do their Halloween party on Saturday night. I will be playing the part of Pimp Daddy this year. I'm not much on dressing up and will be shedding the costume for my traditional "Toby Keith" look by 10:00 pm. We did an outdoor "Fall Festival" last Saturday and we had probably 10 different people come up and tell us that they thought Toby Keith was performing until they got up real close and could see that it was me. For a wannabe like me, that was a pretty cool compliment.
Check out TripJax's latest post on new tournament possibilities for the poker sites. Very interesting possibilities, I must say. I'm not a huge fan of playing heads up, but for you aggressive fookers, that would be a cool tourney. It is patterned a bit after the Shootout and Steps tournies that Party is already offering and I do like those alot. I just missed you last night, J. You logged off as I was talking to Jordan and I didn't have a chance to invite you. I'll look for you Sunday.
Kipper had a great post for all the e-tards out there this week. Go by and check out his second or third post down that calls me out. I might take offense at that if it weren't the absolute truth. Good stuff, as always, Kip.
Dugglebogey's post yesterday was excellent also. He talked about being on the shoulders of giants, in reference to the blogs out there that have paved the way for the billions of poker blogs that now exist. We owe them indeed. I know exactly what he is talking about. I sometimes read the big boys and just sit here in awe of how they convey their stories. It certainly makes for an entertaining way to kill a boring afternoon in cubicle hell. Nice post, Duggle.
Jordan has many entertaining posts up from the last few days. He sometimes post two or three times a day, whenever the mood hits him, and is always an entertaining read. He also just had one of his short stories, "Message In A Bottle," published in Truckin'. Go give it a read if you haven't seen it. It's a priceless story about hating your job. I'm sure none of you can relate to that. Truckin' is Pauly's on-line e-zine. If I have to tell you to go read Pauly everyday, then there isn't much help for you.
It's been a long and shit-filled week here and I am ready for the shit to stop. At around 7:30 tonight, I will be bellied up to a bar and "getting my fill," then heading down to the lake to sleep off a hangover before starting again the next night. I will be dragging ass on Sunday, but am going to try to make it home and play some poker.
Talk to y'all later.
G
posted by GaryC @ 5:37 AM,
,
2nd Post Time
Thursday, October 27, 2005
As things have been a little crazy around here lately, I haven't been able to come up with my 2nd post of the day in a while, so here goes nothing.
I'm sitting here in cubicle hell, awaiting the after-lunch onslaught of people needing parts. That's what I do you see, I sell parts for heavy equipment, Cranes, specifically. When I first started this job, almost 9 years ago, it was something new every day. I didn't know the first thing about the equipment we were working on and every day presented a new challenge. Now, after almost 9 years of doing it, there is very little that comes through my door that I haven't done before. I guess it is up to me to make that interesting again, but at this point in time, I don't have the slightest idea how to do that.
Thankfully, the career is the only thing in a rut right now. My personal life is going at top-speed and I couldn't be happier with my wife, family and all other things considered. We get to do something that we love to do (Karaoke) during our spare time and we even get paid to do it. My girls are growing up right before my eyes and I couldn't be prouder of either one of them.
My oldest daughter, Alexandra, will be 16 next month. She is an almost honor student and is going to be a very good softball player. She is hoping to get a scholarship to play softball and go to college and we have our fingers crossed for that, as well. She already has her car and is rearing to go and start driving. She lives with her mom (my ex-wife) about 30 miles from us, so when she gets her license and is able to drive, it will save us a lot of time. It will probably cost us more in the long run trying to help her keep gas in the car, though.
My younger daughter, CaSandra, is 9 and is a bundle of energy all.the.time.24.7.non-stop! She's into gymnastics, all sorts of sports, dancing and music. She has really taken to singing with us whenever we have the karaoke stuff set up. At first, she had a difficult time with pitch control, but as she has gotten older, that has really improved. Last year, she sang with us at a show in front of 500 people and got a standing ovation. She definitely ain't scared of nothin'! She currently has a broken thumb from a playground accident and a god-awful neon pink cast up to her elbow to keep her thumb immobilized.
My wife, MrsGCox25, is 44 and will be 45 just 11 days after I turn the glorious 40.(January) She is a sales rep for an insurance broker and makes mad amounts of money. Several years ago, while working for a National Insurance company, she was making even more money, but the stress and obligations got the better of her, so she went to work with a local broker and is working her way back up to the level she was at before and stressing out alot less. She is my best friend and soul-mate.
My Mother-in-law is our singing partner. My wife's mom is a unique individual who hangs out and parties with us at every opportunity. I've been on the bad end of the mother-in-law situation and believe me, I am truly thankful to have the second Mom that I have now. She can embarrass even the rudest, drunkest individuals at the bar with her stories and joke-telling and is always the life of the party, wherever we go.
My Mom still lives in my hometown, so we don't get to see her as often as we would like. She is getting better all the time, learning to cope with living alone. She got herself a part-time job and is travelling more and doing alot of things that she wasn't able to do during the last few years of my Dad's life. I'm very proud of her also for the way she has bounced back.
I, myself, still struggle at times dealing with the loss of my Dad, but am getting better about it. It seems the older we get, the more people we see die and the more funerals we have to attend. I have another one for a very close friend right around the corner. He's been dealing with cancer for the last six months and does not have long at all. It's very difficult to get used to not seeing my Dad every Christmas and Thanksgiving, but over time, I'm sure that will get better. I think it is hardest for me at Christmas, because my Dad always had his own "special" gifts for my girls that he went out and bought himself. I just hope one day that my girls realize how much their "Papaw" cared about them.
Well, that in a nut-shell is GCox-ville in all it's splendor. Pretty boring, standard stuff, but I felt like sharing. If you are coming to Okie-Vegas in June of next year, this is what you have to look forward to. That and having to record your own "demo" CD through our Karaoke machine. Who's down for that?
posted by GaryC @ 10:07 AM,
,
"Punched"
Entering last night's match with DonkeyPuncher as the last remaining contestant alive from the first HU Challenge caused more than a little bit of nerves on my part. DP said he was a tad nervous at the start, but I found that I was the one that was more worried about the outcome. Needless to say, I should not have been worried about the outcome for a minute. It seemed to have been decided before we ever got started.
DP played great during both matches and deserved to move on. Drizz, I'll warn you now, he means business and plays a tight, aggressive game. Nice match, DP. The better man certainly won last night. Good job and good luck with the rest of your matches.
DP even managed a screen shot of dropping the hammer with a beautiful hammer flop. Thankfully, I was folding like a cheap suit. See the screen shot here.
________
I played a couple of SNG's with Jordan last night. It was nice to be back to "normal." Chatted it up with Kipper, DNasty, Will and SteelerJosh also during the HU match. Thanks for the support guys, I do appreciate it.
After the SNG's I headed to Party for a little Limit action. I play a few hands, scoop one pot and somebody says nice hand. It's none other than Surflexus, seated immediately to my left. I hadn't even noticed him there, as I was watching TV and half-heartedly playing poker. Nice playing with you Surflexus. I think we both took a little profit off of that table.
________
My new plan of moving back down in Limits is paying dividends. Of course, the dividends are much slower coming than at the higher levels, but slow and steady is okay with me as long as it is slowly and steadily swinging up.
I started my PokerSourceOnline promotion at Caribbean Sun this weekend before my internet connection died. I have been playing .35/.70 Limit in an effort to shield my paltry $100. The good news is that these Europeans are for the most part, horrible. I'm up about $80 in the two days that I've actually gotten to play. Clearing the bonus and raked hands will be a chore at the Limit I'm at right now, but I have to walk before I run. It has been the running that has gotten me in trouble more often than not in the past. I've said this many times in the past, but it bears repeating, if you aren't signed up for PokerSourceOnline , (referral code: HighOnPoker) what are you waiting for?
That's all I got for today folks. I want to send a thank you out to all that were worried about me on Sunday and for checking in on me. Thanks to all of you. It's been a crazy few days here in GCox-ville, but hopefully things are starting to get back to normal.
I'll be playing for a while tonight after about 9:00 pm, but that will be it for the weekend until Sunday. Again, we have Karaoke scheduled on Friday night and Saturday night this weekend. I will sure be glad when this little rush we are on slows down. I like the money and I love to sing, but I'd also like to stay home one weekend in the near future.
Later,
G
posted by GaryC @ 5:32 AM,
,
Update to my 3 days of Dismality
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Is that a word? I'm pretty sure it isn't but it fits here, so I'm going with it.
I have a new tire on my truck and am now at work, monkey-cubicling with my fellow slaves. Drizz said yesterday that he was in a good mood, til he got up. Well, folks, I went to bed in a shitty mood and woke up in an even shittier mood. Damn the luck and damn that fooking lock on my spare tire. My Dad has been dead for nearly three years and he's still getting even with me for my raising. Good one, Dad. I get it.
So, no poker updates from last night. I did, however, meet two of Oklahoma City's finest whilst on the side of the road. You would have thought that I had a flashing sign up saying "I've had a few beers and I'm an idiot that can't change his own tire. Please come and arrest me!" After assuring them that I didn't need any help, my wife showed up, also not in the best of moods. It was 11:45. Oops.
I do plan on playing tonight. Ha ha. My internet is up and running, I have a new tire on my truck and I am out of monkey-hell around 2:30 today. Assuming no tornadoes or other natural disasters occur in Oklahoma today, I will be playing tonight and hopefully DonkeyPuncher can find time to join me for our first round matchup. I'll be around all evening.
Talk to you all later and thanks for listening to the last three days worth of bitching and moaning. I hope to have a better post tomorrow.
G
***I also wanted to say Congrats to Drizz for making the money in his bowling tournament. Us bowling, blogging, poker players got to stick together you know. Good job!
posted by GaryC @ 9:08 AM,
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Murphy's Law
Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
I'm on my way home from the bowling alley last night, anticipating my HU battle with DonkeyPuncher and the next thing you know, I'm on the side of the road with a flat tire. Whoever designed these little jacks and spare tire systems on my Dodge truck obviously never tried to work the damn thing with a good buzz on. Fook!
Turns out my spare has a lock on it for which I have no key. I wasted two hours of my life trying to figure out how to get it off and finally gave up and called the wifey. The truck is still there and I am waiting on my mechanic to call me with a new tire.
I hope to get to play tonight, but with the last three days under my belt, I make no promises.
G
posted by GaryC @ 5:12 AM,
,
Woot! Woot!
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
I have internet access.
Be home around 10:30 and ready to get "Punched."
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:43 PM,
,
Quick Update
INTERNET ACCESS UPDATE:
It appears that I might have internet access tonight by the time I get home from the bowling alley. I allowed the dear and patient wife to call the cable provider today. (I think I might possibly have been barred from calling back in there after my temper tantrum of Sunday afternoon) She, with all her charms, was able to schedule them to meet her at the house this evening between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm. When she called in she was told they had us scheduled this coming Friday for a service call. She was quick to point out that if I indeed had to wait until Friday that they might have a visitor down there to corporate headquarters well before then. Have you seen the credit card commercial (David Spade?) where the big guy comes in on his cell phone telling the rep. he's coming up there to kick his ass? That would be the picture she portrayed to them.
So, hopefully (cross your fingers folks) I will have internet access tonight when I get home. I am having some serious withdrawls, even though I did get my fix playing live last night.
Look for me on late tonight and if we do get access back, I would like to schedule the match with DonkeyPuncher for Wednesday night this week. That might be the only time I have other than late Thursday.(or late tonight, if that works for you.)
I'm out, work is kicking my ass today.
G
posted by GaryC @ 7:50 AM,
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Apologies and Absenteeisms
Flashback to Sunday afternoon, 2:56 P.M. Central Standard Time.
I have three or four chat rooms open, along with PokerStars and a fresh cooler of cold beer. The tournament is almost under way and I'm taken to my table where I know nary a soul. Surflexus stops by and says good luck GCox25. I do appreciate that Surflexus, however, that is where every bit of my luck went directly into the toilet.
Bam! I am disconnected from all the chat rooms just as Maudie makes her first appearance. TripJax is trying to reinvite me to the Mafia chat room and Bam! Absolute deadness sinks all over me. Okay, this is no big deal, this has happened before. Re-start! ........... nothing.at.all. This is where the afternoon goes terribly wrong. I get on the line with Cox Communications (no relation at all, unfortunately) and they confirm that, yes indeed, your entire block is off-line. Thanks alot brain surgeon.
(At this point, there is alot of curse words, a temper tantrum and various objects being tossed around the room)
I spend the next three hours dutifully checking the four green lights on my modem for availability to no avail. I took yesterday off work (which I was already planning on doing) and called Cox Communications again. They put in an order for someone to come out yesterday, since I was off work and nobody else would be available for the rest of the week. No show.
It has been a pitiful weekend/Monday in GCox-ville. I am sick to death that I missed the blogger tournament and even more sick that I missed the chat that went along with the tourney. At this point, I have no time frame from "The Man" as to when I will be back on-line at home. I tried everything in my limited range of e-tardish capabilities to no avail, so I am left twiddling my thumbs and hoping for the best. I will be in touch as soon as I am able.
_________
I do have a bit of a poker update from prior to the "outage." I started Caribbean Sun through PokerSourceOnline this weekend. That has gone fairly well, thus far. I am plus $80 thus far, very early on in this promotion. They do have an interesting option built into their software that allowed me to make an extra $25 on one specific hand. When you are heads up with a player at the river, there are unlimited re-raises, just like playing live. Well, he tilted off his entire stack when I held the nut full house to his 2nd nut full house. I like that option, so far.
I played live last night in a 16 person tourney. I lasted until 5th, but was out-raced when my A-J ran into K-Q. I caught my Jack but he caught his Q on the river to send me to the rail, er, more accurately, he sent me directly to the cash game. Thankfully, that went very well and I recouped all my losses and then some. Plus $100 for the night after paying my tab.
_________
I don't know when I'm going to be able to play in the HU Challenge due to my internet problems at the house. Hopefully, when I get home tonight, all will be copasetic. I will be in touch.
G
posted by GaryC @ 5:22 AM,
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Friday Okie-Vegas Update
Friday, October 21, 2005
Hell, it's only eight short months away, a guy can dream, can't he?
By the way, I've added the dates at the top of the Okie-Vegas links on the right. If you would like to attend, those dates are June 7-11, 2006. (Eight short months away, plenty of time to make travel arrangements)
The week/weekend is going to be filled with pokery goodness/degeneracy/debauchery and I am proud to announce that I have secured the unmentioned spot for our No Limit Tournament on Saturday evening, June 10th, 2006.
The place that we will be hosting our tourney can accomodate up to probably 60 players, although I don't expect that large a turnout.(surprise me here people) It is a regular place that I play and I am going to allow their "regulars" to join our tournament in an effort to make the field larger. (i.e. better payout) I would guess right now that we would have around 40 people in the field allowing them to join. I can also assure anyone that's wondering that I can supply enough "inside information" to make this +EV for the blogging contingent.
Right now we have these tentative plans:
Wednesday night: head to Lucky Star Casino after everyone arrives and gets lubed up.
Thursday: head to the lake for some drinking and water fiascos.
Thursday night: SnG's at the lake, followed by more alcohol consumption and dial-a-shots.
Friday: head to Thunderbird Wild Wild West Casino.
Saturday: up in the air and open to suggestions.
Saturday evening: NL tournament at an unspecified location.
The "surprise" that I am working on is "in the works" as we speak, but will probably end up being a game time decision. I'm hoping for the best in that regard. Maybe Maudie could help me out with it.
_______
The State Of My Game:
It's been a rough couple of weeks, er, months in GCox-ville on the poker front. I've made some moves up in limits and was greeted with less-than-minor successes and more-than-minor failures. I realize that I am playing too much right now and plan to deviate from that in the very near future. I'm also headed back to my old stand-by, .25/.50 Limit, for a while, in order to determine just what I am doing wrong. It has to be a combination of things: Not playing particularly good cards and not being able to stomach the inevitable swings that accompany such a move up in limits.
I'm basically a sally-girl when it comes to protecting my bankroll and the dramatic decrease over the last two months has been more than this "Low Limit Grinder" can handle. So, I am officially moving back down to the lower limits and probably the $5 SNG's as well. Hopefully, this will allow me to get back to feeling "comfortable" again and also allow me to start a move in the positive direction.
________
The Heads Up Challenge II is under way and we already know that we will not have a two-time winner, as the defending champion, TripJax, was eliminated in the first round by CMitch. Congratulations to CMitch and condolences to TripJax. All that tells me is that CMitch is going to be a player to be reckoned with in this challenge.
Jordan, the Commisioner and Devil's Advocate of Poker Bloggers, was also eliminated in his first round match last night. Congratulations to 100-2-infinity on the momentous victory and, again, condolences to the Commish. Get to work on that loser's bracket, because I'm sure I will be joining you soon.
In other news, DonkeyPuncher and I are planning our first round match for Sunday evening following the Blogger Championship. Anyone interested in railbirding that match, hit me up on AIM or Yahoo. The more observers the better, as far as I'm concerned.
Good luck to all the other challengers in their first round matches. Will, you and SirFWalgman have to let me know when you guys are playing, because I don't want to miss it, if at all possible.
_________
Another interesting topic has come up on LittleAcornMan's blog, involving Juice and The Edge. (Sorry I don't have you linked yet Edge, I will remedy that later today) It seems these three across-the-ponders have run into a fellow that fancies himself a pretty strong poker player. Juice has offered up a bounty on this fellow and is looking for bounty hunters to take him down. Apparently, this gentleman is not scared a bit and is welcoming all comers.
The thought is this: It would take some serious planning due to the time differences, but if we were to all meet up on Royal Vegas, perhaps they would allow us to arrange a private tourney and possibly make it a bi-monthly or monthly type of thing. (that is a fortnight, right Acorn?)
I am up for it, so I'm tossing it out there to the Po-ke-r M-af-ia. If you are down, I will let the powers-that-be across the pond know of our willingness. Let me know.
Have a great weekend and, if possible, slow play a monster this weekend.
G
posted by GaryC @ 8:26 AM,
,
Addictions
I have alot of addictions in my life, as I suppose we all do. When you sit back and think about it, it's very easy to become addicted to something. Here is a list, in no particular order, of things in my life that I would classify myself as being addicted to:
1) Family - this is a good thing. If nothing else, I am loyal.
2) Cigarettes - I know, this is a bad thing. I don't need a sermon, I already know, just being honest.
3) Beer - this one is up in the air, because I have gone two or three weeks without a beer and not broken out in cold sweats or anything like that. I don't have to have a beer, I just prefer to have a beer.
4) On-Line Poker - though I don't play as much as I was for a while, it is still an addiction.
5) Blogging - I sometimes think this addiction is stronger than the poker addiction.
I am certainly addicted to playing poker. When I first started for play money a long time ago, I might play for an hour, a few nights a week. That all changed when I made that first deposit. Soon, I was playing every waking minute that I was at home. Thankfully, I have an understanding family and after a short time, it dawned on me what I was doing and have slowed it down. I probably still play a little too much, but not nearly as much as I used to play. That may be changing in the future even more, as a break in the near future could probably help my outlook at the tables immensely.
I am also currently addicted to blogging. I have rearranged all of my job priorities around the fact that I write and read blogs on a very regular basis. I am not disregarding any of my duties at work, I've just managed to develop a new way to keep up with my work and my blog habit. If something were to happen at work that disallowed internet access, my days would be completely in the toilet. I don't think that will ever be a problem as long as I'm still able to get my required work done, but damn, how long would the day be without blogs?
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I played for a lone hour last night when I got home from the Lodge. A short session that saw me add $17 dollars to my bankroll. Wow, what a night. I was already tired from a long week at work and have a long weekend or work starting tonight and all day Saturday, so I logged off and went to bed. Bankroll-wise, it was the smartest decision I've made in weeks. Addiction-wise, it took me two hours to get to sleep even though I was dog tired.
Like I've said, I won't be available to play tonight or Saturday until probably 10:00 pm at the earliest. It's not that I want to take a break, it's just that real life has reared its' ugly head and I have some committments that I cannot get out of. We have Karaoke tonight at the VFW in El Reno and then tomorrow, all day Karaoke at my in-laws for some kind of outdoor pre-Halloween
Party. I'm really looking forward to being finished with both of these functions and getting some time to relax.
We've got a nice cool front blowing through Oklahoma right now. It was 54 degrees this morning when I left for work, down right nippy. It is definitely that time of year here, as we usually get at least one light freeze on or before Halloween.
Speaking of Halloween, my wife and I always do a big Halloween party at the lake and dress up for the contest. We have won the contest twice dressing up as 1) the B-52's and 2) Drew Carey and Mimi. It was about 6 years ago when we went as Drew and Mimi, back when I still weighed about 285. The wife had to use pillows, but me, uh, no extra padding was needed. I had a flat-top haircut then and we won the thing hands down. This year she is going as a sexy cave-woman and I will be your typical, everyday PIMP! My pimp hand is strong too, Jordan.
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I want to send out a special thank you to Sir AlCantHang also for the pimping and the link-up yesterday. I appreciate you taking the time to help new bloggers out and I definitely want in on a dial-a-shot one of these days. Thanks again.
________
I'm through rambling, feel free to move along to your regularly scheduled programming. Be sure to check out all the new links I've added in the last few days. These guys have good blogs and deserve your attention. Besides, what the hell else do you have to do?
G
Oh, btw, fellahs, can we get an update on the HUC2?
posted by GaryC @ 5:58 AM,
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Preparing To Be "Punched"
Thursday, October 20, 2005
With the HUC2 announced, the field set and the first round matches already laid out, this humble blogerator is preparing to be "punched."
Me being a donkey and all already, Donkey Puncher is my first round opponent in the Heads Up Challenge 2. I don't know a thing about him, other than I've read his blog and like his blog alot. He definitely gets more points for computer saavy than I do, because if you've seen his blog, you'll know he does alot more with it than just type a bunch of words over and over again. If you haven't seen his blog, get the hell over there and see for yourself.
Welcome to the challenge Donkey Puncher and I look forward to our first round match. You can find me on UltimateBet (GCox25) or on AIM or Yahoo messenger (Gcoxy25). I probably won't be able to play before Sunday this week due to some scheduling conflicts, but if you find me on-line, give me a shout and we will set up a time to get the match in. You probably better set aside a couple of hours, at least, when you are ready, because I am very hard-headed. I was involved in two of the three longest games recorded in the first round.(both well over 225 hands each) That being said, I think I lost both of those matches also. Doh!
Looking at some of the other first round matches has provided some intrigue. I am, of course, interested in the Drizz/MtDewVirus(2holecards) matchup because that will be my second round matchup, should I be lucky enough to make it that far. I am interested in all the matchups and will railbird as many as humanly possible, but these two look to be really good matchups.
1)SirFWalgman/Will-Wonka - having played with and against both of these players, I think I have a pretty good idea that this will be a damned exciting match. These two will definitely bump heads, hard!
2)HighOnPoker/100-2-infiniti - I don't know 100-2-infiniti but I do know Jordan and his style brings out the best and worst of everybody he plays against. Trust me on that. This will probably be the most entertaining of all the first round matches.
So, let's get ready to rumble! Get those matches set up and advertised so anyone wanting to railbird has the opportunity. Good luck to all the challengers.
G
posted by GaryC @ 10:36 AM,
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FreeRollin' - Parts 1 and 2
First things first, the Heads Up Challenge-Part 2 is full. We have 16 entrants and the bracket is drawn. Go by here to see the matchups for the first round. Then go by here for the rules and regulations. If he hasn't posted them yet, leave him a nasty comment telling him to get off his ass and post the rules, regulations and start date. I want to wish best of luck to all the challengers and give a hearty welcome to all the newcomers that I haven't spoken to yet. Welcome aboard, this will be a good time.
______
Part 1
I have a freeroll, other than the entry fees for the matches, into the Heads Up Challenge-Part 2. Haha. I was fortunate enough to back into 2nd place in the original HU Challenge and Jordan still owes me the $25 from that one, so, suckers, I'm playing with house money this time.
Much has been made by TripJax, Will-Wonka, etc. that I should not be considered an underdog in HU matches. I beg to differ. All of you people that are playing in this challenge and against this group of bloggers for the first time, please disregard any talk as to me not being an underdog. I put the current line at 450 to 1 that I win this thing. I respectfully request that the rest of you fookers(you know who you are) that know me let me continue this little strategy of mine. It works well for me.
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Part 2
I have written in several posts lately about the new Shootout Tournaments on Party Poker. The $5 + .50 variety begin every night at 10:40 PM CST. It is awfully late for an old man like me, but the tournaments are +EV all the way.
For a person that has had success in the SNG-variety tournaments, this set-up is for you. There is hardly any way to not make money, short of a soul-crushing suck-out. 70% of the field is gone after the first "SNG" and you get paid 1st, 2nd and 3rd places at every step. Basically, if you last to the final three at your first table, you are freerolling for the rest of the time, because third place pays slightly more than your entry fee. They also add 800 chips to everyone's stack before starting the second round with 100-200 blinds.
After the second round, same thing. 1st, 2nd and 3rd are awarded their payouts (immediately to your PP account) and another 3000 chips is added to all stacks. Same thing on the third round placers, but this time they add 5000 chips to all stacks.
At this point, the remaining players play to the finish with a payout structure akin to a MTT tournament. I didn't check the payout structure out yet, but the prize pools are large enough that I'm sure it is a pretty good deal. 1253 entries x 5 (to the prize pool) = $6,265 total pool.
My strategy for these things has been pretty simple. Dan Harrington, oversimplified: "It's all about survival." I do not risk my stack until it becomes absolutely necessary or I know that I'm ahead or I think I can push a player around. Survive to the final three and then do the same thing again. After all, it doesn't matter if you finish 3rd in all of the first three steps, it only matters that you made the top three. Overall first place prize money is in your grasp no matter if you were 1st, 2nd or 3rd.
I had planned to write up a tourney report here, as Drizz, TripJax and myself were planning on playing the 10:40 Shootout last night, but when I got home, Party did not have one scheduled. It appears that their scheduling of these tournaments is random, so you just have to check the Shootout tab every time you log in. Bah!
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Workplace productivity
It's been mentioned in the comment section of another blog that some of us might, how should I say this?, not be pulling our weight when it comes to our own, personal monkey cubicles. I thought I would address this issue today.
When I first began to read blogs on a regular basis, I developed some creative short-cuts to ease my daily routine, in order to give myself more time to read. It was much easier then, because my work load was much less also. I always found the time to read and stay ahead of the game here at work.
When I first started my blog, that task became much more difficult. Also, at about the same time, my work load here at work increased dramatically mainly due to the upturn of the economy and the oil business here in Oklahoma. To put it simply, I have my ass loaded down from 7:30 to 5:00 nearly every day, if you take into account work, reading and blogging.
I won't let my work efficiency slip, because I cannot afford to be without a job, regardless of how I feel about my current job. I just received my annual review and while the raise was not as much as I would have liked, I got a great review and a little shot to the paycheck every month. My employers are happy with the job I do for the most part and what they don't know about blogging and how much time I have on my hands won't hurt them.
I haven't let my productivity slip, I've just become amazingly efficient at juggling between the two. Now, if only I could manage to keep up with a MTT, a SNG, two cash tables and three chat rooms at the same time.
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I played for a little while last night, but my heart was not in it. The wife and I went to Applebee's after work for dinner and I ate entirely too much. When we got home I sat down to play and could tell I wasn't into it. I lost $30 really quick, played one MTT on UB and a SNG on Pacific. No good at all.
I am going to play for just a short time tonight before and after a meeting I have to attend, but am taking Friday and Saturday off to try and re-charge my batteries and to try and make a run in the Blogger Championship on Sunday. I look forward to chatting and slinging chips with many bloggers that I know and many that I've only read or heard of.
Have a good Thursday.
G
posted by GaryC @ 5:54 AM,
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Have Tables, Have Chips...Will You Travel?
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Date: June 7 - June 11, 2006
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Reason: Okie-Vegas Blogger Gathering
DuggleBogey and I have enough chips and tables between us to run a 300 person NL tournament, so all you need to bring is maybe a change of clothes and, of course, some greenbacks.
Cost of meals for trip: +/- $100.00
Cost of Airfare: +/- $250.00
Cost of Hotel for 4 days: +/- $200.00
Cost of Booze for 4 days: +/- $500.00
Meeting up with fellow bloggers from all over the country: PRICELESS!
Be here or be square. Let me know if you are interested and I will try to answer any questions you might have. I will be posting updates between now and then with attendees, agendas and any other random details I feel like giving up. There is a "surprise" looming, but it is not confirmed yet, so I won't be giving it up for a while.
_________
HUC2-The second installment of the Heads Up Challenge is about to get under way. We currently have 13 bloggers signed on and await three more contestants to balance the bracket. The first round will consist of best 2 of 3 matches with the winners advancing bracket -style.
Only three spots left, get in where you fit in.
G
posted by GaryC @ 12:20 PM,
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Hump-Day Randomness
Wow, it's only Wednesday and I feel like it's next Friday already. Something has got to be done about that. I think I'm going to start a petition to eliminate Mondays and Tuesdays altogether, who's with me?
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Bowling alley update:
I put on a classic exhibition of how NOT to bowl your average at the bowling alley last night. Coming in with a 220 average, I started off with a 170. Hmmm, gonna be tough but still doable. 212 in the second game, uh, still not making up any ground. 278 in the final game for a 660 series and to keep my average at 220.
The funny thing was that in the first game, I was struggling my ass off until the 9th frame when I got a strike. I'm the anchorman on our team and our fourth bowler struck out to give me a chance to beat the other team. I had to double to win the game and I struck out for 170 and to win the game by two pins. Sweet!
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HUC2 Update:
I'm going to let Jordan handle the updating of this on his blog. With 16 contestants, he will have a better handle on who is in and who is out than I do. It looks like an interesting format this time with a bracket and best two of three matches from the start.
As always, I will be playing the part of underdog again in this challenge. Will-Wonka has expressed his opinion that he should be the underdog, but we all know from past experience that I am always the underdog in these challenges. What can I say? It works for me and I will continue to play that song until the cows come home.
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Shootout Update:
I really like these tournaments on Party, but they are going to have to offer them at another time or I will not be able to play in them. They start at 10:40 PM CST and that means a 2:00 AM finish or thereabouts. I love the structure and the set up but that time is going to have to change if I'm going to continue to play them.
I got home just in time to enter last night and finished 2nd at my table in the first round. Sweet! Free-rolling from here on out. There were 1390 players at the start, but after round one we were down to 417.
I started the 2nd round with 4225 chips, a little above average for the tourney and right at average for my table. Nothing craptacular to report as I got sucked out on and didn't make the 3rd round this time. With 5 players left, the small blind pushed and I called with J-J. He had 10-10 and had me covered. Guess what came on the turn? IGHN.
It's still a great structure and I will be playing these occasionally, as I have time. I'm hoping they start scheduling them earlier in the evening.
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Tonight is probably the only night I will have a chance to play much, until Sunday. Lots of stuff going on but I will be ready to play in the Blogger Championship come Sunday. I plan on trying to take some detailed notes and posting a tournament recap on Monday. Hopefully, I will have some bloggers that I know at my table. That is going to be a good time.
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Thoughts on Omaha:
I am going to go back to an old stand-by in an effort to grow my bankroll. I'm going to start playing alot more Limit Omaha 8b. While these games are growing in popularity and getting decidedly harder than they used to be, I still think a man can make money playing them.
My efforts at Limit Hold Em have, for the most part, been more of a learning experience than a bankroll builder. I haven't lost a lot playing Hold Em, but I certainly haven't had any sustained growth either. I do feel like I am better prepared to go to a casino and play live No Fold Em Hold Em than I was before, but for now I'm going to concentrate on tournies and Omaha.
As soon as I get my cashout from Poker Rewards, I will be starting another PokerSourceOnline promotion, probably with Caribbean Sun this time. Will has mentioned that the players on the Crypto sites are some crazy players, but I still think that is where I'm headed. I am going to sign up for Rakeback this time and see how that goes. I might not want to make that my home site in order to maximize my rakeback, but if it is profitable to do, then I will continue.
My new chips and Copag cards are being delivered today. I now have two 300 piece chip sets, a table and the playing cards all set aside for one thing: Okie-Vegas, baby.
June 7-11, 2006.
Make your plans and mark your calendars. Anybody that is interested in attending is welcome. The more the merrier. It will be a large time.
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That's about all I've got for today, just another rambling, go-nowhere post. Have a good humpday and remember: Never slowplay Aces!
G
posted by GaryC @ 6:09 AM,
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Contest Within A Contest
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
I have registered to play in the
Online Poker Blogger Championship!
This event is powered by PokerStars.
Registration code: 5348617
PokerStars is announcing ANOTHER contest within a contest. For all registrants of PokerStars Blogger Championship, we are giving out a cool PokerStars Fleece for the following contest:In your own words (any length you think is appropriate), tell PokerStars what makes a good blog. If you have a poker blog or one that has this as a major topic, please add relevance to poker in your topic.
What makes a good blog?
Excellent question to ponder as I sit in cubicle-hell that is my real life. Obviously, if we knew all of the possible answers to that question, we would all get 50,000 hits a day and be doing it for a living like others in the field.
I have been reading others' blogs for over a year and I read a wide range of blogs on a daily basis. Some are funny, some are insightful and some are just plain old hand histories. I read them all and I enjoy them all.
I think the answer to the question lies in the mind of the readers of blogs. As nearly every poker strategy question has more than one right answer, this question also has many, many answers. Here are a few that I came up with:
-Entertainment. Tell me a joke or make me laugh. Make me sit back and think about something, anything to break the monotony that is my daily existence.
-Links. Send me on a journey through a hundred different web-sites and pictures. Click here, click here.
-Personal. Tell me something about you that may or may not interest me. We come to think of these fellow bloggers as "friends" and it is nice to actually get to know someone beyond a screen name.
-Strategy. Tell me how you played a hand and why. Give me distinct reasoning in hopes that I might improve my game or play a hand differently(better) in the future.
-Experience. Tell me about your life experiences, your poker experiences, hell, tell me about your ex-wife experiences. Take me away from my cubicle, if even for five minutes.
In summary, a blog doesn't have to be all of these things to be interesting to me. It only has to be one of those things or one of many different other things to keep me coming back. I'm relatively new to the blogging scene, but the main reason I started my blog was to try and become a part of this growing community and get to know some of the people that I was reading on a daily basis. I don't feel like my blog is anything special, but I do feel like I am getting better and as time has moved on, I feel like I am being accepted and welcomed into this community, which was the goal in the first place. And, I have the fantastic ability to write long-ass, run-on sentences, so, yeah, I got that going for me.
G
posted by GaryC @ 7:56 AM,
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MTT in the Money
Well, it wasn't very much money, but I did make the money last night in a MTT.
I got home after an extra hour and a half "meeting" at work last night and wasn't in a great mood. I was hungry, but luckily, the wifey had dinner on the table, so that problem was solved immediately. After dinner, I flipped on the baseball game and the computer and sat down at my desk.
What to play? All of the sudden, I realized that I wasn't in that great a mood to play. I perused the MTT's on UltimateBet and noticed I had about 15 minutes until a 5+ .50 Omaha tournament started. I haven't played much Omaha lately, except for the blogger table on Stars, so I decided to give it a go. Try a little change of pace, mix up my game, etc.(add in any cliche you can think of that applies)
This tournament was a Limit Omaha 8b tourney and by the time it kicked off, there were 221 runners with the top 30 making the money. I won or split the first three hands and then about 10 hands later, I realized that I had seen every flop. Ingenious! That is a sure recipe for busting out well before the first break, so I tightened up and became patient.
After the 2nd break and approaching the money came the hand that made me my "Supersize Me" profit for the tourney. The blinds are plenty high by now and I've already made up my mind that if I'm playing a hand, we're playing it for all my chips. I picked up A-K-2-5 double-suited. With three limpers in front of me in the Big Blind, I decided to just see the flop, since nobody raised. The flop came down 3-4-J, all clubs. Sweet! This is it, I have the nut flush with the nut low re-draw, so I lead out and am raised. Three of us cap it on the turn and river and I am all-in. 10 on the turn and the most beautiful 2 of clubs I've ever seen in my life for 3/4 of a huge pot. Folding to the money, thank you very much. Thanks to SteelerJosh and to Jordan for railbirding me for a while.
Extremely uneventful final three tables. I lasted until 17th and received $17.40 return on my investment. Yes, yes I would like to super-size that and give me one of those apple pies also. As I told Jordan, pure profit, since I entered the tourney with UB points as opposed to paying the entry fee. Sweet, indeed.
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We have a busy weekend planned in GCox-ville. Everybody we know wants us to do Karaoke for their birthday party, bar opening, wedding reception, company function, etc. right now and it is by far the busiest we have been since we stopped doing it 3-4 nights a week. That was 4 years ago, when I finally decided that my old ass couldn't get up and make it to monkey-hell after drinking hard 3-4 nights a week. What's that? You don't have to drink to enjoy Karaoke? Uh, you obviously haven't been to my Karaoke show.
Anyway, we have a show Friday night at the VFW and then Saturday at an outdoor party at some of my in-laws. I hope to be home fairly early Saturday night because I definitely want to get some rest before the big tournament on Sunday. That should be a rocking good time.
__________
Be sure to hit up Jordan's blog for details on the HeadsUp Challenge II. That will be a great time and the more entrants we have, the more fun it will be.
I played on the blogger table (PLO-.01/.02) at PokerStars for a little while last night. Why is it that I cannot get away from a set, when it is painfully obvious that On_THG has flopped the nut straight? Oh well, at least it was just $5.00. I made it back later off another player when the same situation arose and I caught my 9-outer.
Lots of bloggers at the table last night. Iggy, Maigrey, Drizz, JoAnne, CJ and On_THG. Fun times indeed.
Bowling night tonight, but I will be lubed up and ready for some .01/.02 Pot Limit Omaha when I get home.
Later.
G
posted by GaryC @ 6:19 AM,
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HUC2-on the horizon.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Jordan posted this morning the details surrounding the HeadsUp Challenge-Part II. I have the links here for you to go by and check out the rules and regs. He is the Commissioner and the Devil's Advocate of Poker Bloggers. Go by there and check it out, I promise you it will be a good time. I'll play the part of "dead money."
He is hoping to have as many as 16 participants this time and, of course, the more bloggers the better. It's always enjoyable reading two write-ups of how such-and-such sucked out on what's-his-name. I will definitley be participating and hope more of you will consider it, this time. Drizz, I'm talking at you!
It's not a very expensive challenge, as it costs you $25 to enter, payable at the conclusion of the challenge, and we will be playing the $5 variety HU SNG's on UltimateBet. Their challenge function just makes it much easier to get matched up than any of the other rooms I know of.
____________
This Sunday marks the inaugural On-Line Blogger Poker Championship at PokerStars. I am definitely looking forward to playing in the tourney and to chatting it up with fellow bloggers. With over 1200 entrants the last time I checked, I give myself about a 50/50 chance of making the first break. It will probably be late into the night before it is finished also, but I will be there hoping for the best for me and my b-u-d-d-i-e-s.
Good luck to everybody that plans on participating. It should be a good time.
posted by GaryC @ 10:35 AM,
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Guinea Pig
TripJax mentioned to me last week that I should take a look at the "new" Shoutout Tournaments on Party Poker, that he thought the structure would suit my game well. I had my doubts due to the fact that I detest their SNG structure and assumed these Shootout Tournaments would be much the same. That would be incorrect.
I had a meeting at the Lodge last night and got back home around 8:00 pm. I logged on and settled into a UB SNG and to watch the baseball playoff game. Things go fairly well and we get down to 4 players and TripJax pings me that he is railbirding. Cool, I like to have someone to talk to and to know that someone is watching me play. I go out in 4th when one of the chipleaders calls my push with 10-6 soooooted and makes his flush. Ass-hat!
TripJax again brings up the Shootout Tourney on Party, says he watched part of one this weekend and they look pretty cool. By this time, Will-Wonka has entered our chat room, fresh off a nice MTT win at Poker World. Good going, Will. Long story short, there was a Shootout starting in 15 minutes and I decided to be the "guinea pig" and try it out first, along with 1253 of my closest friends. This particular tourney was a $5 + .50 entry fee, making the total prize pool $6,265.00.
The premise of these tournies is that to advance to the next round, you have to finish in the top three at your table and your table only. In other words, 70% of the field is gone after one SNG. I finished the first table in 2nd position and received $7.45 prize money. Once all the tables have finished, there is a five minute break and everyone that is left receives another 800 chips for the next round. The next round begins with the blinds at 100-200. Another thing that is different than Party's normal structures is that the blind levels are 10 minutes, rather than 10 hands like their normal SNG's.
The second round begins with 378 of the original 1253 still playing and I am an average stack with 3660. When we reach the final five, the blinds are really getting up there and the time for patience has ended. I luckily made it into 3rd place and received another $10.30 for my effort.
The 3rd round starts with the blinds at 500-1000, but, again, they tack 3000 more chips onto everybody's stack before you begin. I am a little below average with 13,020. During this round, the blinds are really up there and it is difficult to play any hand that isn't for all your chips. I made it to the bubble and woke up with the Hilton Sluts and pushed over the top of the chip leader's A-K hearts. An all heart flop sealed my fate and I was bubble boy. No fourth (and final) round for me.
The fourth round is like the finish of a MTT from then on. I believe they add even more chips on to all the stacks (only about 30 left, in this instance) and you finish a MTT with payout structures like normal. Everyone that made the top three of the 3rd round got paid a small amount again, also. Bubble boy made no more money.
Overall impression of the tourney: Two enthusiastic thumbs up!
TripJax was right on the money when he said he thought the structure would suit my game. If you are a good, patient SNG player that makes the money often, you will do well in these Shootout tournies. I am very pleased with the results and will definitely be playing these things again in the future. Thanks to Will and TripJax for railbirding during the tourney. I appreciate the support.
________
I played quite a bit of poker this weekend with Jordan, SirFWalgman and Veneno. Good times, indeed. Jordan and I entered a MTT on UB and then ran into the others on a cash table at Titan. Thankfully, it was early yet and I hadn't been drinking, so I was playing my usual "tight" game. SirF has me tagged as a "fish", but only when it's late and I've been drinking. Apparently, I'm tagged as a "buddy" during the day time.
The Shootout tournaments are alot of fun and I will definitely be playing more of these in the future. If you are good at and enjoy SNG's, then this tournament can be a money-maker.
Have a good Monday.
G
Side Note: I believe I could take the worst, soul-crushing suckout in ages to win the bad beat jackpot that dude won saturday. Damn.
posted by GaryC @ 6:01 AM,
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Party Poker Bad Beat Jackpot Tables....
Saturday, October 15, 2005
........are a gold mine, indeed. Not only is the jack-pot over $600,000 but the fish are schooling in force right now.
I've had money at Party two or three times before and busted out every time, playing mainly 25NL. Since I've begun playing Limit, I decided that this time will be different. Boy, so far, that was an understatement.
I'm playing 2/4 Limit and crossing every appendage I have that I can pick up big pocket pairs. I'm up $124 in two nights playing 2/4. To be totally honest, some of that is at 1/2, because I dropped $50 real quick when I got home from work yesterday and moved down for a while to build the roll back up. Success.
It hasn't carried over to Titan, because while playing with SirFWALgman there, I am continuing a losing trend that has reached three nights in a row. Nothing major, but it's like a different game entirely over there. All my big hands seem to end up 2nd best and I haven't found a way to determine that until the cards are flipped up and the chips are sliding the other way.
Since my pouting earlier this week, I feel much better about my game. I have tightened up and am playing two tables less and less, focusing instead on one table and trying to develop reads on the players at that table.
Another change I've made, really in the last two days, is playing full 10-person tables instead of the 6-Max variety. I had been playing strictly 6-Max and going up and down. Since the Party BBJ tables are all 10-handed, that's where I've been the last two nights and that has seemed to help. I don't find myself limping in with speculative hands only to fold immediately after the flop and I'm playing closer to my normal SNG game, as far as starting hand selection. It has certainly helped.
I am sitting at work at 6:45 on this beautiful Saturday morning and Heather was right, it's dark as shit this time of day. I've got to sing tonight, but look for me after I get home, around 11:00.
Have a good weekend.
G
posted by GaryC @ 4:52 AM,
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Friday Blues
Friday, October 14, 2005
Well, it is finally Friday and I'm not all that excited about it. I have to work tomorrow from 7 til noon and then the wifey and I have to do a karaoke show tomorrow night. So, the weekend is pretty much shot for me. I really hate work.
________
Actual IM conversation from last night:
WillWonka: Aren't you supposed to be at the bowling alley?
GCox25: Already been, got done early.
TripJax: and?
GCox25: 234, 231, 220
WillWonka: Wow
TripJax: nice
GCox25: It could have been much better
GCox25: I shot 9 ten pins tonight
WillWonka: Stop whining, it's not my fault you can't carry a ten pin
TripJax: Haha
GCox25: LOL
Bowling continues to go very well. O.S.I.M.A. swept their team last night and surged into first place by a game. It's a big league and we likely won't stay there all year, but it's nice to be there for now.
_______
When I got home from work yesterday at about 5:00, I received an e-mail from a long lost brother. Jordan is back in the city and well rested after his two week hiatus, er, honeymoon. Welcome back, brother, and congrats to you and the wife. He was noticably absent when I returned from the bowling alley. I took that to mean he was carrying out "husbandly" duties.
_______
TripJax, Will-Wonka, D-Nasty and I were chatting it up while I played on the Party 2-4 Bad Beat Jackpot Tables. Wow, those swings are huge. I was flush with $100 from my PSO gift certificate and the jackpot is over $500,000.00 now, so I thought, what the hell? I bought in short for $50 (my version of a stop/loss) and went from $50 to $75 to $22 and then back up to $100. I'm not sure if I can stomach those swings but with the jackpot that high, I feel like I need to try it. By the way, Okie-Vegas will be on me if I happen to win the bad beat jackpot, but I reserve the right to bitch about the bad beat, especially if it's a two-outer or less!
I met up with SirFWalgman and Veneno at Noble a little later. Actually, it was too late for me, as I was tired and was working on a little too much buzz. We chatted for a while, but it became apparent early on that I was not playing good poker, so I had to get out of there. I enjoyed it though and it was nice meeting you Veneno. We'll do it again some time when I'm ready to play better cards.
After logging off of Noble, Drizz IM'ed me and had a whole gang of bloggers in an IM chat room. I stopped in to say hello, but was in no mood to play any more, so I didn't stay long. I do appreciate the invite, Drizz, next time will be better.
_______
Things are happening so fast in this bloggerland right now. I am thrilled with all the new friends and bloggers that I have met. It continues to be a great experience that I am glad I undertook. I'm still not much of a writer, but I'm working on it. Hopefully, one of these days, I'll be able to post something of interest to more than one or two people.
_______
After complaining about my downswing and deciding to step back and play less, I, er, have done exactly the opposite. I'm nothing if not hard-headed. Thankfully, the variance swing has gone the other way and I've been smart, er, drunk enough to log off when I felt I was starting to play poorly. It hasn't been any huge boost to the bankroll, but, right now, I will take little wins, solid wins.
I am excited to play in the Poker Stars Blogger Championship on the 23rd. That fooking tournament might take three days to complete. Over 1200 at last check, does anybody know if all of those 1200 have been confirmed yet? Good god, that is alot of dead money, to go along with my dead money.
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Finally, I would like to offer up my congratulations to TripJax. Yesterday, he was chosen by Poker Stars as their daily "best blog" winner and will receive some cool swag from their store. So, not only is his not the "shittiest blog of the day" but many people "in the know" think it's a damn good blog, as do I. Congrats, brother, and don't sweat that other shit. Homey doesn't know shit.
Have a good weekend and read somebody else's blog for better results.
G
posted by GaryC @ 5:32 AM,
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Catch And Release With Drizz and SirFWalgman
Thursday, October 13, 2005
I got home last night early from work and ready to get down to business at the poker tables. I fired up UltimateBet and Titan Poker and found a table on each. Is it a good thing when you have notes on three of the five players at your table? I thought you would agree.
I had tagged three of these jopkers in the last couple of weeks and they did not fail to dissappoint me. The only problem I had was that the other two players at the table were solid and seemed to be waiting, just like me, to bust these guys in the chops. Unfortunately, I wasn't catching anything remotely playable and by the time the three fish had left, I had won a total of $1.00.
When they swam off to wherever fish swim off to, the game got decidedly more difficult. What's a fisherman to do? Fire up the boat and move to fresh waters.
I was watching baseball by this time and received an IM from Drizz. PLO8b was happening at PokerStars and how could I say no. The .01/.02 tables really allow a guy the chance to experiment with the game and to find out what cards are playable and what cards aren't playable. A bare A-2 is really not even playable at Pot Limit, unless you are just insanely lucky. You had better have another wheel card or redraws to straights or flushes, because one of your two low cards will get counterfeited.
The Poker Princess was there for a little while also. She was her usual ramming and jamming self, raising every pot she entered. I sure wish I could force myself to play that way. It's just not my nature, I guess. Nice playing with you again Maigrey.
_________
Drizz and I had a discussion last night regarding rakeback and PokerSourceOnline. He had a few questions, so I thought I would attempt to answer them here today. Anyone else interested in PSO promotions, feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to get the answer you are looking for.
PSO is affiliated with 13 different sites. The biggest "problem" is that most poker players, especially players that have played for a while, already have accounts at alot of their rooms. They still offer a variety of lesser known rooms also, but if you already have a real money account with the room, you cannot do that one as a PSO promotion.
Basically, you open an account with PSO and choose which gift (PSO points, chipsets, tables, etc) you want for completing the promotion. Then, you choose a room that you've never had an account with and download it through PSO. Open an account there and confirm that with PSO and deposit at least $100 and start clearing requirements. All the rooms are a little different with their requirements, but most are fairly easy to finish.(Titan, for example, requires 3500 Titan Points, with no requirement for size of game) Some sites do require that you play at .50/1.00 or higher, but not all. Be sure to read all the requirements and fine print when you sign up and post questions on their forum if you aren't sure. Their customer service is superb and they usually answer legitimate questions in under an hour.
Once, you have started with PSO, you can become a referrer and get your own referral code. (GCox25, in my case) Then, when somebody signs up with PSO and uses your referral code, you get 1000 PSO points for every promotion they finish. Their standard promotions are worth 6000 PSO points or a 300 piece chip set. They continually offer upgrades and special promotions that are worth 9000 points or upgraded gifts.
When I started this blog, I was reading alot of different folks on a daily basis. DuggleBogey caught my eye because he lives here in Oklahoma, plus he is a very funny guy.(even funnier once you have met him in person, btw) He was singing the praises of PSO on his blog and I decided to give it a try. After a short while(and some help from DuggleBogey) I was signed up and had my own referral code, with the links on my blog.
I'm not sure of everyone that has signed up using my code, but, so far, I have 13 paid referrals and 4 more pending. The cool thing about somebody signing up using your code is that every time they finish a promotion, you get 1000 points, if they used your code the first time. So, once someone signs up using your referral code, they are your referral for life.
So far, I have (2) 300 piece chipsets, one folding table, two sets of Copag playing cards, Poker Tracker and (2) $100 Party Poker gift certificates. That's quite a bit of swag for doing something that I am going to do anyway: Play on-line poker!
So, in closing, I cannot recommend PokerSourceOnline any more than I already do. It is a fantastic operation with first class customer service. Titan Poker recently balked and denied my promotion, originally saying that I had signed up through another affilliate. Within a couple of days, PSO had the matter cleared up and I had my 9000 points. They handle their shit, I promise you.
I haven't done much research on their rakeback programs, but that is something I'm going to have to consider in the future. Maybe DuggleBogey can leave a comment letting us know about their rakeback deals.
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Later in the evening at Titan again and who sits down immediately to my right? SirFWalgman. We were playing .25/.50 and when the table broke, I suggested a move to 1/2 and he agreed. He was playing solid and I was playing pretty solid, but the fish (particularly CEV3) were taking an early lead. We both ended up getting back up to our buy-in before we left the table and got notes on several new fish. I enjoyed playing and chatting with you Sir. Good times.
_______
Thanks for the comments on the hand from yesterday. I wish I was the guy with A-J suited, but lately I've been the guppy with K-K in that scenario way too often. Have.to.work.on.that.
Have a good one.
G
posted by GaryC @ 5:47 AM,
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