Monday, December 14, 2009

KU Football

Turner Gill.

Meh. How I felt about him when first heard the news.

Now, after the press conference, he is starting to grow on me.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Rare "Sport" post

I don't know if anyone really cares about this, but here it goes.

Nebraska vs. Kansas

Jayhawks lost 31-17. Blow out, right? Not really. KU lead with ten minutes to go 17-16. They pooched kicked and got the return stuffed down their throats. NU scores a TD and two point conversion to go up by seven. Okay. Kansas gets the ball back with a few ticks over six minutes left. They had all three time outs. KU starts passing like there is only 2 minutes left. They go three and out and have to punt.

Pissed. Pissed because the previous go ahead drive KU had was a result of running the ball. Opuram was getting four yards a pop (at least) on the vaunted Nebraska defense. And guess what? The passing game blew wide open. KU's coaching staff needs their heads examined. Six minutes is an eternity. Especially with all three time outs left. RUN THE BALL.

Don't fucking panic and stick with what fucking works. FUCK. Win a damn game please. Coach please. Take responsibility please.

I have said it before. You give Bill Snyder the talent that Kansas has and he wins at minimum 10 games. EASY. Probably 11. Only loss at Texas. KU has at least four players on the roster that will play on Sunday's. K-State has maybe one.

No excuse for the train wreck this season has become. KUAC built state of the art football facilities. Mangino and staff are in the top ten highest paid staffs in all NCAA football.

Stop blaming the players and do something to earn you millions.

FUCK.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Convert

Well this guy has been espousing the virtues of the mighty 2-4. I had been a reluctant convert to the cult of the 2-4. Well not anymore. Thanks to the Poker Grump, and a great hand last night, I will never doubt it again.

I have been running poorly at my home game as of late. Getting beat when I "think" I should win. Therefore leading to my poor play. Cause dang it, I'm due. Well last night was poker night. It started off OK but then turned into a grind. Hitting no hands. Even the hands I folded were not hitting. Then it happened. The 2-4 hand.

I am in the cutoff. Nine handed table. 4 limpers to me I call. Button calls. Blinds calls. The big blind makes it three more to go. I should tell you it is a .25/.50 game. Calls all the way around to me I call, you know, pot odds. Button calls and the small blind folds. Lots of money in there. I start chanting in my head, "come on 2/4. Come on 2/4." Over and over. The flop answers me with 3 5 8 with two hearts. Not bad, but predictably annoying. You know. Poker. I am resolved to paying a high price to draw because it is getting late and dang it, I'm due. Then the greatest thing happens, I get a walk. I was dancing in my head. That's where I am with this game. A free draw feels like a win. I know, I know. It's all one long excruciating session. Well it should not be. It is just not fair.

Turn.

ACE OF DIAMONDS. Can you say money card. I have soiled myself. Heart pounding like a..oh I don't know...like a jack rabbit caught in a bug zapper. Anyway. It is checked to me. I bet 3/4 the pot. Original raiser flat calls. Everyone else scatters like a recently liberated jack rabbit running from a bug zapper.

River

ACE OF SPADES, Bleh. Really fun card. Right? Only card that would have been better is the ace of hearts. Small miracle. Well I would like to tell you that I bet $10 at the pot. I only had $11 left after that. I would like to tell you that I got check raised all in. And that I called and he showed AK for a really pretty second best hand. Yay me right?. Well I will then, because that is what happened. He never saw it coming. No way he puts me on that hand. It was awesome. He thought it was a kicker race. No sir that was just a good old fashioned 2/4 butt kicking.

Thanks Poker Gods.

And thank you Poker Grump.

I believe.

Monday, August 24, 2009

End?

Well it happened.

It is no secret that I like to bitch here about running bad. And it continues. The only thing that had not happened, until just now, is the one outer.

KQ vs QQ. He min raises my BB. Flop comes K high. And the case Q on the river to beat me.

I think this is the end. I had to hit rock bottom. I am the drunk in the gutter that is the micro sit n go's on Full Tilt. I can go no lower.

The winds of change are blowing.

Demons exorcised.

The cards are coming back to me.

They better or I am gonna junk punch Howard Lederer.

MT

Friday, July 24, 2009

The Best Things in Life

Just Overheard....

Thunder Son and his friend.

Friend, "What if the best things in life were poop?"

Thunder son, "What if you pooped on the best things in life?"

They both are close

Five year olds are AWESOME!!!!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Live Poker

Went to Harrah's the other day. Had lunch with the wife and after the meal, my car just sorta found it's way there. I have not been playing well and or running well at this room. I think part of it is because I play during the day. Not much loose money laying around at 1 in the afternoon. So I told myself I would really tighten up. And I did, for a while.

I won a few pots here and there. Mostly folded. Cards dictated that. I get QQ under the gun. It is a 1/2 game. I raise it to $12. Guy to my left had called the $2 before I acted. He said sorry and then called my $12. $2 hand or $12 hand. Funny. Shorter stack thinks for a bit and moves all in. He has KK and I am down to $140 of my original $200.

I get TT later on the button and limp with five others. Flop comes 872 with two clubs. Big blind puts out one red chip. Called in two places. I pop it $25 more and action goes to the big blind after the shortie small blind calls. He had less than my re raise. The big blind just sits there. Thinking. He looked super strong. He started sizing up my stack. He is totally ignoring me. I know he has top set. Just know it. He finally looks at me and says he will put me all in. I insta fold. And tell him he looks like a man who has top set and show him my TT. He turns over 88 and it holds. He said he was frightened by the flush draw. OK.

I was down over a hundred now, but felt good about my play. It felt great to read him like an open book. It represents a pretty big leap in my play. So, I reloaded up to $200 and played on.

Later I flopped a full boat with 55 on a 566 board and got paid off by the same guy with A6. This same guy also bet $5 any time he had a big hand. I hope I play with him again soon.

I was up and down from around even for a couple hours. I had to leave soon so I decided to play to my big blind. The guy to my right liked to straddle utg so when he did I called with 8c9c. Four more joined us around to the small blind who make it $16 to go. The original straddler called. I made the loose call as well. You know, go big or go home. Three others come along. The dealer collects the chips and stars to deal the flop. The small blind moves all in blind. Now this is just silly. He gave up so much info here. He is only getting called by a hand that beats him. Any way. The flop come 979 rainbow. Thank you. Straddler folds. I move in for $200 more and snap him off. He is cranky and says he will be back. I basically hit and run and go from $100 down to $50 up for the day. Went from frustration to elation just like that.

One funny story. A 20 something guy sat down next to me half way through the session. He was talkative and soon announced to our end of the table that he was tightening up this session. I asked him what he meant. He said top five hands only with a twinkle in his eye. Fast forward. He ends up wining an hand with 78os. I ask him where in the top five that hand falls. He just chuckled and said #5. Fast forward again. He is leading out at a pot the whole way. Guy at the other end of table is calling the whole way. Now the other guy is a huge stack. Everything is working for him. His bluffs turn into made hands. Kickers always just one above the others. Anyhoo, my neighbor is betting into him through the river. The other end guy then bumps it up. My neighbor agonizes and finally calls. The other end guy flips over the 78os for rivered gut shot straight. Two pair no good. Disgusted, my neighbor mucks. I turn to him and tell him tongue in cheek that he can not be mad because 78os is a top five hand. He laughed.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Jinxed James

James is a friend. James is a friend who lives next door. James loves poker. James is just not very good. He's not bad. He;s not good. This my friends, is James' biggest problem. His mediocre ability costs him money all the time. Call it luck or variance, either one just kicks him squarely in the junk.

I would venture to guess that all thing being equal, James would be about a break even player. That would be true, I am sure, but you see, James is jinxed.

James has occasional flashes of brilliance. He has huge brain farts. Most of these are attributed to alcohol and bong hits. But James' biggest problem has nothing to do with staring hands, pot odds, implied odds, reverse pot odds, percentages, or even gut feeling. He is just plain unlucky.

I have seen him in one session get AK in against AQ and lose. Get one outed on the river. Get AA cracked by 22.

The funny part for me is that every time he gets it in a head, I get that all too familiar feeling that he is gonna get sucked out on. It's like a wave of doom sweeps over the basement that we play in, as if to say, "here we go again".

Well it happened again last night. It was James' announced last hand of the night. James has this quirky thing he likes to do. He min raises. Usually doesn't mean a thing accept he is probably drunk. Well, he min raised under the gun. We were five handed. John, immediately to his left, raised. It folded around to James who then min raised John. John pushed all in. He was the big stack and had James covered. James insta calls and shows AA. John moans "cooler" and flops over KK. Doom began to creep over the room. I swear the light got a little dimmer. Faint deep drum beats floated in through the screen door. The music seemed to muffle. A black bird hit the sliding glass door. It was twelve a.m., but I swear it happened.

Flop

JT4 rainbow.

Turn.

Q

River

A

Q falls and I would have bet my stack that the straight was coming. The worst part is James started to stack the chips. We had to inform him of the straight. John started to talk as he does sometimes. Rationalizing the outcome. I told him to just be quiet and drag the pot. The hand spoke for itself. It was gonna happen no matter how it went down. James, to his credit, laughed it off and went out to smoke. That is just how he rolls. And that is just how his cards run. James would have gone home up $50 for the night. He was counting it in his head. You could see him doing it. Instead, he had to go home and tell his wife he lost again.

She is another story.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Teach me how to play KK

Super Turbo's.....Blah!

Busted out the last two with KK. Got it all in pre-flop against AJos and ATs. The hand against the AJ came 555...4...5. So sick. Spike an Ace like a real player.

The AT hand just came club club diamond club club. At least the board paired on the turn for some hope.

Just busted again AT vs QJ. No justice.

Live Blog Update

88 vs ? A2h flop 234 of course, turn J river 3.

Safety dance is happening right now. I won when I got in ahead.

I'll stay right here and let you know how it goes


32 fold

QTos fold to raise

83 fold

J9d fold to raise

63 fold

AA limp AJ limps AT puses 86 super shortie calls AJ call
Board

4957Q shorties doubles his 10 chips up and I win monster.

If that didn't hold....

Heads up

Karma gets me back

57d > K9
KT > KQ

Then

KJ < Q8 for the win and he flops two pair

No cards for me after that and I take second.

If you read this far you deserve a treat today.

Free Blizzards at DQ if you can find me hehe.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Turkey Sandwich.

It has occurred to me that I am not living up to my blog description. Soooo.... here is a turkey sandwich that me and the wife like.

Turkey (deli style)
Pesto (mine was home made but any will do)
Avocado (sliced)
Swiss cheese
Toasted Bread or roll or whatever.

Toast bread, spread healthy amount of pesto on it lay down avocado, turkey and cheese.
Cut and enjoy

I had a Fuji apple with mine.

Pesto

40 basil leaves, fresh. I grow my own.
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts. or walnuts
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
3 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Toast pine nuts until browned.
Pulse together nuts and basil in food processor just until chopped
Add garlic and pulse until garlic is finely chopped
Continuously add oil and pulse until blended.
Add Parmesan cheese until blended
Add Salt and pepper to taste

I like the pesto a lot. It adds a kick to sandwiches, pasta or pizza.

More food in 6 months.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

I can't shake the doom

I am playing the hell out of the $3 super turbos. Here are my bust outs from the last eleven try's

AK < A7
44 < Q4
AK > AA
AK < AQ
33 < A8
55 < A7
JJ < AK, K9
AK < KQ
66 < A3
KJ < QQ
AQ > TT

Notice I had one truly horrendous suck out. AK vs AA. I put the KJ vs QQ hand in to be fair. The AQ vs TT hand would not have put me out, it just virtually guaranteed me a cash. My only one in the group. I won that one.

I can live with the coin flips. A8 vs 33 or A7 vs 55. It's the JJ vs AK vs K9 with the case K falling on the river that kill me. Or AK losing to AQ or KQ. And 66 going down to A3. Put them all together and they spell doom. Three outed four times. FOUR TIMES. But hey AK made a straight against AA, so I guess we are even. Thanks poker gods.

Every single one would have put me in the money or a virtual lock to cash.

This game is maddening. I keep butting my head against the wall expecting a different outcome.

Am I insane, or just a poker player?

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Poker Crack

I just tried the $3 super turbos on Full Tilt. I am addicted. They kicked my behind for the first 10 or so. I checked the inner tubes, talked to a friend and got some important super turbo tips. Since then my results have improved dramatically. I even signed up for an Omaha one on accident. Took second.

I guess there are people playing 200 or more of these a day and making bank. I am lucky to get two at time going. Good day.

MT

Friday, May 22, 2009

Turning?

Just won a $1 sit n go. I sucked out 3 times to do it. The worst being 99 vs AA to get me ahead. 9 on the river. I rule.

MT

Monday, May 11, 2009

Holy F'n Snot

I run so fucking bad. So bad. It's like my icon on FT is flashing red to all the other players, as if to say call with 2 overs and only two more cards to come, you'll win against this guy. Your card will get there. The doom switch has been pulled and it is stuck on full ram. Fuck you Full Tilt. I will not reload. I will grind it out. I will use all my bajillion points and slum it in the free rolls.

I am not talking about races anymore. Screw that. I know now that 60/40 races are a foregone conclusion. 70/30....not a chance. 80/20....I should just fold. 90/10....is a fifty fifty proposition. I just played a hand really well. I got moved to the final table in a 18 man sit n go. I was 8 in chips and had less than 10 times the blind. I open push a couple of times in late position. I chip up a bit. I cool it on the pushing because the big stack is in the BB when I have the button. He is taking a long time to fold every time. I think he wants to play with me. Lo and behold I get KK in the cut off. I have slipped to less than 10 BB's. I pause for effect then push. Big stack instant calls me with KJos. I am 90% here. Flop TT3. I am 97% here. Turn Q. 80% here so I know I have lost River 9 Of fucking course.

I haven't hit a set in days.

Maybe I can get together with LJ and do a dance or exorcism or sacrifice or something.


As I write this just watched some guy with KK get cracked by KT 3T7TT board. I must be contagious. Like the Swine flu. Stay off my tables.

Oooooh! Oooooh! I just busted out. KQs vs TT. The drums of doom continue to beat.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Doom switch hath been flipped

I don't know what the hell is going on, but I cannot win races in live and virtual poker alike. I have read about this happening to people via various blogs, but I have never had the first hand experience of being violated repeatedly on the felt. I play mostly tournaments. If I have AJ vs 66 late in a sit n go, the 6's hold. Reverse it, and the Ace falls. AK vs AJ, three outer falls on river. Call a smallish raise with 44, set mining. Flop comes J55. Guy fires out continuation bet. I know he missed and I push for most of his stack. He thinks and finally calls. He has AQ and the board counterfeits my pair. On top of that I am getting way below my fair share of premium hands. I can go on and on. It is nothing new for most of you. It's a big problem for me.

Confidence. Mine is shot. I just know I am going to lose. It would make me feel a hell of a lot better if I had ever been on an equally good run. How do you power through this? Do you just stop playing for a while and hope the Gods direct their wrath elsewhere? Do you just play through it. Most of these losses are at that critical point in a tournament where if your hand holds, you cruise to the money. It's just breaking my balls.

OK. Whining is over.

MT

Friday, April 24, 2009

An Empty Feeling at the Mookie

The Mookie came to a screeching halt the other night. It has caused quite a stir in this here little community. Hoy is in there. Others have left comments. I really do not have a dog in this fight. My schedule does not allow me to play in many BBT4 events. The best finish I have had is 4th.

But, leave it to this E list blogger to ask the tough question. One that could unravel the poker blogging community if not resolved. Who won the Dookie?

Yeah, you are right, who cares?

MT

Friday, April 17, 2009

Pocket 8's

I have been playing just tourney's and sit n go's lately. I have been getting pocket 8's a lot. I don't have specific stats on the hand but if I had been getting Aces as often, I probably would be purchasing lottery tickets. The thing is I can't win with the 8's. I have played them all different ways and only won for the first time last night while heads up, uncontested. I have had them easily 10 times a day for the last 3 days. One tourney, I had them 5 out of 20 hands. I am probably being conservative in my count here. The thing is I have yet to flop a set with them. In fact the set has not gotten there on either the turn or river as well. The only hand they would have won was to a raise and re-raise AK vs AQ that never improved.

My question is this. When a scenario such as this occurs, how does it affect your play concerning the individual hand in question? Do you get to the point that you fold it immediately? Or do you play it hard? Just knowing that the set, or even the quads must be coming. You are due, aren't you? Or do you play it just as always? Like the weak middle pair it is.

I know the answer is that results should never affect the way you play the game. But come on, we are all human. The answer is in the margins. It is the gray part of poker that may or may not make us winners or losers. I would bet that if you could look at your play objectively, you would see that you tend to drift one way or the other. I am in the camp that says I am due. I will pay steeper prices to see flops. Float bigger bets for just one more card. Even call all in pushes in 2 spots.

I know this is a leak. And the fact that I have not gone broke with 8's in the last few day's tells me it is a small leak. I can live with that. I can live with that because if I were to go the other way, I shouldn't be playing the game. Overplaying an individual pair because you think it is due speaks to aggression. And we all know you need aggression to win at this game.

I played in the 1 p.m. tourney at Harrahs yesterday. I took fourth for a nice little win. My first table I sat next to a really nice twenty something guy who really livened up the table. He talked about hands he wasn't involved with a little too much, but other than that he was fun to play with. If checked to him, this guy never looked at his BB and always checked. A check in the dark always followed if the SB did not raise. He said it was because he always loses with his BB. This is so bad and we all know why. He let past results dictate his future play. He gave up the greatest advantage that playing the BB gives you and I am sure it has cost him money.

He is a glass half empty guy. I guess that makes me a glass slightly fuller guy.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

KC Run bad,. Kids run goot and LOST anticipation.

Went up to Harrahs yesterday to play the $30 tourney. I finished 13th out of 60 when my AQ ran into the mighty KQ and got runner runnered for the flush.

Played 1-2 nl then and got hammered by a 7 outer on the river, a 5 outer on the river, and the icing on the cake, a 2 outer on the river. I can deal with it. Nothing unusual about any of those. I just needed one of those to hold to turn a smallish loss into a decent day. I was betting while ahead and shut down when I knew to be behind. The last one I called totally on tilt just so I could pull the oh so effective ridicule as you leave ploy. I just can not seem to dodge top pair top bad kicker and or non nut flush drawing fools. They always seem to get me no matter how priced out of a pot they are.

While waiting for a table, I put $5 in a slot machine and got three 7's on the 3rd spin. Knew that had to be pretty good. $50 good. Helped to sooth the poker injustice that follows me around like a cloud whilst at Harrahs.

Yesterday morning I was getting Thunder Son ready for school. He looks at me and says while sniffing, "What is that smell? It smells, it smells like toots." I leaned forward and blew in his face and asked him if it was my breath. He screamed yes and ran away from me. Up the stairs I go to give my the one two punch of Mentadent and Listerine. What can I say my Wife loves tossed salad. Or, I have a cold, you decide.

Looking forward to Lost tonight. I hope they focus some more on Miles and his Haley Joel abilities. I would love to see a flash back episode centered around his time on the island. I have to believe he has seen some shit he just keeps to himself. Do you think he will be the vehicle to bringing back characters...say like Charlie, Mr Eko, buried alive couple etc...? But wait you say, wouldn't he have said something already about some of the stuff he has seen. No way. First he is in it for himself. That is who he is. Second, they wouldn't believe him anyway so why try. I hope we get his perspective soon. Judging by the preview, it may be tonight.

MT

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

LOST

Best episode ever.

Monday, April 6, 2009

MMMM..........Bacon

Yep, that's right Bacon. I blogged about the three foods that make every thing better. Butter being here. Bacon may be the the just a hair above the rest. It is my favorite by far. I have been extollling the virtues of bacon for years. Long before Jim Gaffigan so wonderfully captured my feelings. As he say's, bacon is the fairy dust of the food world. It makes everything better. EVERYTHING. Try arguing this and you will eventually come around to the inevitable conclusion that bacon does in fact help everything. See.




Any guesses as to the last of the great three foods?

MT

Friday, March 27, 2009

Well Hello

Long time no post

Big day for us KU fans here. Rematch with Michigan State. They pretty much manhandled the Hawks earlier this season. KU is a different team now, so it should be a better game. The prevailing feeling around Jayhawk Nation is any thing past the second round is gravy. Kansas lost all five starters from the National Championship team. (Man, it is still fun to say that a year later). Not many people expected them to make the tourny let alone win the Big 12 and advance to the sweet 16. So hopefully the team plays loose and free.

Poker has been killing me lately. Same old stuff. Get in 4 to 1 favorite and watch the runner runner to counterfeit. Slow play AA and get the guy to go all in with top pair crappy kicker only to watch a third queen to peel off on the river. $300 wins become $250 losses really fast.

I have been trying to put a wrinkle in my game. After reading and reading about the power of the 24, I have deployed it in my arsenal. Results have been less than great. The Grump would say that I just don't believe enough. My faith is weak. Taking this advice to heart I recently gave the old 24 one more try, limping early with the pseudo monster. I prayed a whole lot. Low and behold I rivered the wheel with mini-slick. Have faith and ye shall be rewarded to the tune of exactly 2 blinds. Yep, made a huge dent in the over all profitability of the hand. I think it has just edged past 93os in total profits. It's like Alabama saying, "yeah we are stupid, but we are way smarter than Mississippi".

Played at the Harrah's KC recently. Had AA utg and decided to limp as raises were almost automatic in this loose 1/2 game. Of course 7 of us see the flop. Long story short. Q high board, I bet, get min rasied by younger guy wearing a pencil thin hair head band. I know all he has is top pair and I put him all in. He calls and rivers the Q. He then says "Sorry man" Does anything piss you off more than this occurance? Tip to you shaking hand, sorry types out there. If you beat me in a hand when I outplayed you big time, and you put your whole stack in as a big dog, don't say "sorry". Please, do not shake my hand. Stack your chips and move on. I love all the excuses too. Please!!!!, be quiet and move on. I was already on tilt from an earllier hand when my flopped two pair, A3, got counterfieted by runner runner. I had check raised his flop bet and he tanked finally moving all in while admitting he was behind and needed help. No flush draw, no straight draw.....A9. He put $100 in knowing he was way behind. The point is I snapped at the sorry guy later, and I shouldn't have. When he said he was sorry I told him "no you're not". He said something about being a nice guy while trailing off. Bad for the game. I do not want nice guys turning into me.

MT

Friday, January 9, 2009

Here I am

Sorry for the lack of posting. Poker run bad. Jayhawk football run goot. I am going to Vegas next week. Hooray me. If anyone is reading, and knows Vegas well, let me know where the softest games are.

Mucho appreciato

MT