Whew!!! Found It!!!

Been a while. My computer got sick. Really sick. It kept redirecting my searches. It would not let me get on blogger. I could not get on Full Tilt or Cake. It took me four days and a friends help too realize I had smss.exe. Nasty little thing. I had to reset my computer back to factory settings. Works great now.

No online poker, but I have been playing some live poker. Played at Harrahs Tuesday. I went out in the tourney right in the middle. Older gentleman open raises. I call and we are heads up. I had about starting chips. I have QJs. Flop is J83 with one spade. He over bets the pot. I read this as he wanted to win it there with brute strength. I should have shipped it. My gut said I was ahead. The call committed me. It was half my stack. I just called. The turn was the king of spades. He pushes all in. Barely had me covered. I beat him in the pot. He turns over 9Ts. I receive the six outer when the 7h comes. Blind aggression pays off some times. I don't think he folds the flop if I push.

Played cash after that. Up and down. Up a bit on my $200 buy in. Go to the bathroom. Get a drink. Come back and two new guys are sitting to my left. I sit down and straddle in middle position. I get 99. First new guy limps. Second new guy raises to $20. We are playing 1/2. I call. First new guy calls. Flop is 975 rainbow. Bingo!!. I just check, obviously. First new guy bets $`0. Second guy pops it to $20. Me? I crap my pants. I'm getting paid. Woot woot. I decide to raise it up another $100. First guy instant calls. If you have 68, well played sir. He was short though, only had around $60. Second guy agonizes. I have him where I want him. He has an over pair. Everybody knows it. He finally folds JJ. First guy has QQ. Turn is a 7. River is a J. Dodged a bullet. Put me over $400 in my stack. I go home happy.

In the tourney, there was a guy sitting next to me that just kept on complaining. He kept forecasting doom. And it came. Was glad he left. I can handle most people at the poker tournament, but those guys just bug me.

The Chiefs

Things are looking good here in Chiefs country. They are 4-2. A full two games up in the loss column over the Raiders. The Chargers are cooked. They have a Tennessee at home, then on the road to Houston. And, they still have to go on the road to play the Colts. Denver is done too.

That leaves the Chiefs and Raiders. I do not know what to make of their sick 59-14 win over the donkeys. Unless they start backing it up, I am going to call it an aberration.

I think 9-7 wins this division. If the Chiefs can hold serve at home, they go 9-7. That is 5-5 the rest of the way. Granted one of those wins would have to come against the Titans. Not easy. But road games at Denver and St Louis are winnable. The Raiders have to win six to get there. They too have five home games. They get Seattle, Indy, Miami and KC . They have to win all of those and pick up a road win to get to 9-7. Jacksonville is really the only option. The other road games are KC, Pittsburgh, and San Diego.

I am not ready to anoint KC the AFC West Champions. It is just really fun to explore the possibilities. The Chiefs should bet the hapless Bills next week at Arrowhead. If Seattle can somehow knock of Oakland on the road, then I would buy the banner.

Zen

I have been reading Zen and the Art of Poker. I am only half way through it but I think it has helped me out quite a bit. My last two big losing sessions at the casino would not have happened if I had read the book. The biggest ideas I have taken away from it is the idea that it is not my turn and learn to love the fold. In my past two losing sessions I called (ugh) all in against the nuts, and in the other I pushed with a weak holding that had little hope of pushing the original raiser off his hand. Yesterday, I broke even and felt pretty good about it. I was on one of the biggest action tables I had seen in a while. I was card dead. Stone dead. I kept repeating my mantra. "It's not my turn". Over and over. My original $200 had dwindled down to $60 over three hours mostly due to a nut flush not getting there and my only pair, 99, running into a shorties AA. Finally the dam broke. Got KK and took down some blinds and limpers. Read a player right and called down his bets with my AT. He had 57 off suit, ace high good. I pick up 77 and it was my turn. Flopped a set on a 79Q board, in position. Early position player bets the pot. Me and my neighbor call. Turn is the five of hearts. This puts the flush draw out there. The original raiser bets $18 and my neighbor flats. I push all in for $51 more. The original raiser tanks then calls. My neighbor super tanks and says he thinks he is priced in now. He finally folds T8 for the flopped oesd. I wish he had called after the four of diamond blanked the river. The original guy showed a naked queen and said he made a bad call on the flush draw as well. I am pretty sure he just had a queen. I have played with him a lot and he is a pay off wizard. I flop another set with 66 later and I end up even for the day.

Zen worked for me this day. There were many times in the game that I felt like pushing with less than great holdings but then listened to my mantra.

I bubbled the tourney as well. It got heads up and the stacks were near even. The lady did not want the chop. First was $544, second $344. Of course she lost. Cost her $100 or so. It never ceases to amaze me how often people fail to realize the nature of this turbo tournament. It is a crap shoot at the end. Take the guarantee and do something else.


Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

MOOKIE WIN!!!!!

Took down my first Mookie tonight. It was a deep, tough, and talented field of five.

A win is a win.




Say hello to the defending Mookie Champ.

Boo ya!!!!

The Other Side

Gotta be fair.




They say you have to get lucky to win tourney's. I did so twice here. Third time was not the charm as my JJ went down to obvious min raised AA. Could not get away since my open raise pretty much committed me to the pot. Ahhhhhhh.

Satan Does Exist

Back door flushes prove that.

Got that from lighting.


True. Too True.

At least it happened in the cash. Won $37. First was over 3k.

Some things

Went to Harrahs Tuesday. Not much to say played for three hours at a 1/2 table. Left up $70. I'll take that win rate. I wish I could have stayed. I was sitting at one of the weakest tables I have ever seen at Harrahs. When I got there I took the seven seat between two guys that seemed to be having a good time. Lively conversation and all. I talked a little with them and they were nice guys. Their ideas on poker were fun too. The guy to my right told us that he rarely folds a suited ace to a raise. Great! Then they both agreed that they preferred KJ to AJ. I almost blurted out "donkey hand", but stopped myself. The drunk lady in seat 4 was spewing chips. The rest of the table was all ABC. It is probably the first time ever that I have sat at a table and felt like I was the best player there. I had played for an hour and had not raised a thing. I look down in the big blind and find QQ. Raise it up to $15 with three limpers. Fold, button calls and the small blind calls. Flop is ace jack junk. I c-bet and get called at both spots. The turn is another blank. OK. I am done. I slow down and check. The button instant shoves all in. The small blind (I play any suited ace dude) beats him into the pot. The button has A4os. The small blind has JhTh. The river is the jack and the small blind wins. That is the table I was at. No awareness of what is going on with calling the first raise. They were playing their cards and it did not occur to them that it was the first time I had raised since I sat down. And the small blind getting himself all in on that board. I don't know how he could think he was good there but he did.

Fun stuff

Word of the Day

Pudenda

This is Just How I Roll

The money went in on the turn. FML

Edit: Umm I meant flop.

The Mighty Duece Four

For Poker Grump

The Chiefs

I would have bet any amount of money that the Chiefs would not be the only undefeated team left in the NFL after four weeks. I will also bet any amount of money today that the Colts will beat the Chiefs next Sunday.

I am just glad to watch some meaningful football. It has been so long since Kansas City has had anything to cheer about with the Royals and the Chiefs being equally pathetic. Even with two tough road games at Indy and Houston in the next two weeks, the Chiefs will still be tied for first in their division at worst. Then the schedule gets super soft. Hell they get to play the NFC west.

Can not predict if they make the playoffs, but it will be fun to watch football that matters to me.