Party Poker Blog

"Blogging community: Losers, goths, bedwetters, and journalism dropouts."

Don't forget Donkeyfuckers!
I saw the above anon comment on a poker blog and felt compelled to post it.
I'm funny that way.

I've shifted gears the last few days on Party Poker. I'm so freaking burnt on grinding that I've been sitting in the NL ring games as well as playing lots of SNG's. Thanks to the folks who gave me some advice.

Burn-out is a tricky thing. Habitual play can lead to some expensive leaks.
So it'll be fun to see where this twist leads me. I'm planning on spending quality time at the boat this weekend, playing NL with the goofs. Wish me luck.

I have a jillion things to blog about but no time. Lots of good stuff to post - stay tuned.

But for now, a reminder about the Wil Wheaton tournament TONIGHT on Poker Stars. I've really enjoyed playing in Wil's tourneys and encourage you to jump in and play with Wil's posse and plenty of poker bloggers.

Here's the details.

What: WWdN: Up4Poker Invitational
Where: Poker Stars
When: Friday, October 28th. 9:00 PM EST
Password: monkey
Tournament number: 14090593
Buy-in: $10+1

If you bust Wil out, you get naming rights for next week's tournament.

PLUS, I'm quite certain there will be a bloggers cash game going once players start to bust out. We've been playing microlimits, sadly. $10 NL tables on Stars and I imagine that's where we'll be tonight, as well. Feel free to look us up. I'll be the player with 90% VPIP.

Let's leave you with a nice little parable from RGP.


------

Subject: The Homeless Lady & Hollywood Casino

For the last several years, each afternoon on my walk from my office to the train station I have had the pleasure of passing 5 to 6 of the same homeless people begging for money. Each person has their own way of trying to get people to give money. I pass by the guy on the saxophone, the blind guy, the stranded traveler and the mentally handicapped women with no shoes always reading the latest paperback bestseller. I have probably given each of them a buck or two the first year I started taking this route to work and nothing since. A few weeks ago, it was a Friday, I am in a good mood and leaving work early to go to Hollywood Casino to play poker.

On my way to the train, and about 15 feet away from the mentally handicapped woman with no shoes who is also reading the latest paperback bestseller, screams out in a southern accent "can you spuuuur meeeee some change." I have only heard her use this line several thousand times over the previous few years and am often annoyed by it. But my good mood gets the better of me and with a pocket full of singles, I decide to give her a couple of dollars. Maybe it would bring me luck at the poker tables.

After my one hour commute to Aurora, IL, and short walk to Hollywood Casino I find my way to the poker room to discover that there is a two hour wait. I decide to play some Blackjack but after 45 minutes I am about even and extremely bored. I walk over to the buffet and decide to go for the Friday night seafood special. To my suprise, it was pretty good. After eating dinner, I walk over to the poker room just as my name is being called. I sit down at the 5/10 table and find myself at a table of guys who all work together and many of them playing poker for the first time. I get a few good hands early and raise but not once did I get any callers. Table is pretty tight. Usually the 5/10 game we have several people playing No Foldem Holdem and I am quite suprised by how tight this table is. The action is slow and I am getting bored. I could be at home playing poker online and having a much better time than sitting at this table. I get up and cash in for $60 profit.

On my way out of the casino, I decide to stop at a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. They get me everytime and I am a big sucker everytime I walk by one of those machines. Something about being able to get a chance to spin the big wheel. I deposit $40 dollars and on the very first press of the button, I land on Wheel of Fortune for the chance to spin the wheel.

Just as I am getting ready to spin the wheel, I look to the open seats on my left and then to my right and I quickly look back to my left to notice the very same homeless woman who I had given money to earlier that afternoon sitting down two slots machines away from me..

HOLY COW!!!!!!!! WTF!!!!!!! She can't be in here, she is homeless and she can't afford to be playing slots. She feeds the machine at least 150 singles, one by one with an occasional five dollar bill. No doubt that one of my singles is being fed into the slot machine. As I sat there in amazement, I spin the wheel to pick up $30 dollars that I go on to donate it back to the casino over the next 10 to 15 minutes.

Now that I have blown my forty dollars, I step by behind the homeless lady to watch her play. She does not recognize me or at least pretends to not recognize me. Lucky for her, she chooses probably the hottest slot machine in the casino. She was getting chance to spin the wheel every few tries on the slot machine. Each time hitting anywhere from $30 to 150 dollars. I am cracking up, but can no longer watch and I head home.

Come Monday, I was looking forward to asking the homeless lady how she did at the casino. She is not there and she does not take up her usual spot near the train station for several weeks after that. Either she found a new spot in the city or she hit it big. After about a month, she was back to her old routine. I tell a coworker about what had happened and after noticing her for the first time in about a month we stop to talk to her and ask how she did in the casino. Her only response to each of our questions is "could you spuuuuur meeeee some change?"

For all the people who use RGP to beg for money, maybe you can take lessons from the
homeless lady......

"We are all in the gutters, but some of us are looking at the stars."
Oscar Wilde

This here humble poker blog is brought to you by Bonus Code IGGY on Party Poker.

Someday I'll get tired of writing that.
Today is not that day.

As penance, I'm gonna load up on goofy pictures tonight.



Commence drunken pre-Halloween rambling.

It's interesting to look back upon the last two years, ain't it? I've spent a lot of time here typing away in this silly blog thingy. I can't even really remember why I started mine outside of enjoying reading early adopters such as Linda, BG, Mr. Decker, Jeremy &, of course, my heroes at UpForPoker. I just figured it would be an interesting experiment. To document my poker play and thoughts and see if I'd actually stick to it.

And now look at us. I never imagined we'd have a bona fide community. A sewing circle, even. Funny how things work out, isn't it?

But hell, I can easily be accused of doing everything BUT documenting my own play on this here poker blog. And that's fine, I'm not a results-oriented thinker, anyway. The fact that I'm still not back in corporate America should speak for itself.

But I'm tempted sometimes.

Again, I'm not sure if it's residual Catholic guilt or Protestant work ethic that's causing this little issue. Does it even matter? Hell, I've whipped this whiny voice down so much that it's just a litle squeak on most days. But my trip to Europe woke his little ass up. Damn history and perspective and all that.

That's about it. I am not prepared, at this time, to get into the character issue. There are some things you just don't discuss this late in the evening, and this is one of them.

I enjoyed Pauly's post detailing some of the sayings and meme's out here in the poker blogging world. Weird myths and unlikely legends are coins of the realm in our culture, like passwords or keys to survival. Truth is always stranger than fiction.

Anyway, sorry for this lame, scattered post but everything I want to write about isn't about poker. Fuck it, let's move along, shall we? Let's get to why you're really here.

Tasty poker goodness.

Here's a truly interesting tidbit. Can one of you dozen poker bloggers working at Full Tilt get the full skinny on this story about Chris Ferguson for us? Pretty please? But at least we have Perry Friedman confirming the rumours are true.

Subject: Chris Jesus Ferguson Question?

I saw Annie Duke speaking at a book signing recently and she made the statement that she had put one dollar in an online account for Chris Ferguson and that he had turned it into $20,000 within a few months.

Now I'm not saying Annie is stretching the truth or anything but has anyone else ever heard this claim and has it or can it be confirmed?

It seems almost impossible based on my observations of online games, even for a player as good as Ferguson.

That is an annualized rate of return in the 10,000 percent range. If he is good enough to achieve that rate of return at the penny limit tables on UB why doesn't he turn his $10,000 stake in the big tournaments into a hundred million or so within the same few months?

And here's Perry's post:

I can confirm the basic story, although I think it was me who transferred him the money. One of us transferred him $1, and he went broke. Then he was transferred a second $1, and he parlayed that into over $20,000. I think he actually cracked $25,000. Obviously, he started at the 1c/2c, and worked his way up from there until he was playing $25/$50 NL. He also had a decent tourney win in there was well (over $1K).

He did it as a challenge/experiment. I think he is currently working on an article about the experience.

Perry

Yikes, I'm looking forward to reading about that.

If, for some reason, you haven't read the book Bringing Down the House, please go read this excerpt from Wired. Great, great stuff and should provide enough fodder for you to buy the book. Six pages of exciting MIT teamplay blackjack.
Hacking Las Vegas

Interesting article about the TV broadcasting of poker starting to level out.
GSN Ups Ante as Poker Fades
Professional Players, Amateurs to Risk Own Money as Part of New Show

One of the cool perks of this poker blog is that I sometimes get cool stories and books and DVD's. Here's a great story about cheating I'd like to pass along.

--

In the history of poker, there are countless stories of riverboat operators throwing crooked players into the Mississippi, and brave passengers like Alamo hero James Bowie who came to the aid of a young passenger cheated out of $50,000 by pulling his now-famous Bowie knife after spotting crooked play. But for every one of these tales, historians believe, ten captains and passerby were on the take.

Back then, cheating was very unsubtle. Marked decks, one of the favorite tools of cardsharps, were so common and accepted that in the mid 1800's nationally known playing card manufacturers would advertise their marked decks on the same posters and billboards used to promote their fair cards. Their popularity was for the most part due to the fact that marked decks were the form of cheating that required the least skill. almost anybody could use them - the only tough part was getting the deck into the game.

Jimmy Altman, a gambler from Nevada, is said to be the only person to ever get a dirty deck into Bugsy Siegel's famous poker game at the Flamingo. Altman had the assistance of three accomplices to run his scam. It began with an unknown gentleman walking into the Flamingo gift shop and buying every pack of cards in the store. About an hour later, Mr. Altman himself entered the store and asked to buy a deck of cards. He, of course, was told by the cashier that they were sold out.

Altman then went upstairs and sat down at the game. Right around the time the first hand was being dealt, Altman's second accomplice entered the gift shop and also requested a deck. When he was told by the shopkeeper that all the cards were sold out, the accomplice became very angry and berated the man. The store owner, incredibly apologetic, swore he would remedy the situation as soon as possible.

About an hour into the big game, Altman started to examine the cards they were playing with. He didn't make an accusation about their fairness, he just wanted to make sure that the other players could see that he was checking them out. At the same exact time, the third partner walked into the hotle shop, handed the man behind the desk a business card, and introduced himself as a playing card salesman. The proprietor was so relieved that he bought every deck the salesman had to offer. Each one, of course, was marked.

Afte noticing Altman looking at the cards so intensely, other players in Siegel's game began to do the same thing. Finally Altman asked to play with a new deck. When a fresh deck was opened, Altman politely asked if someone could just run down to the hotel giftshop and buy a few decks from there. All the other players agreed, and Altman took the game for almost a million dollars.

---


Good Lord, this too is a crazy story.
Enjoy this amazing tale while I go and refill.

A couple from Montana were out riding on the range, he with his rifle and she (fortunately) with her camera. Their dogs always followed them, but on this occasion a Mountain Lion decided that he wanted to stalk the dogs (you'll see the dogs in the background watching). Very, very bad decision...

The hunter got off the mule with his rifle and decided to shoot in the air to scare away the lion, but before he could get off a shot the lion charged in and decided he wanted a piece of those dogs. With that, the mule took off and decided he wanted a piece of that lion. That's when all hell broke loose... for the lion.

As the lion approached the dogs the mule snatched him up by the tail and started whirling him around. Banging its head on the ground on every pass. Then he dropped it, stomped on it and held it to the ground by the throat. The mule then got down on his knees and bit the thing all over a couple of dozen times to make sure it was dead, than whipped it into the air again, walked back over to the couple (that were stunned in silence) and stood there ready to continue his ride... as if nothing had just happened.

Fortunately even though the hunter didn't get off a shot, his wife got off these 4...




- insert donkeyfucker joke here -

Anyone else getting slightly excited about the bloggers meeting up in Vegas in about five weeks? I've been having some hilarious memories pop back into my brain from our last Gatherings. I enjoyed Maudie's answer to Al's question: ""Are you glad you decided to come to the first blogger gathering last December? 'cause we're glad you showed."

edit: Chad/Rama has a nice post up about being the anti-maudie at our last gathering. i never did blog about that incredible weekend. sad, ain't it?

Tying into my past post about why I'm stuck playing online versus B&M right now:

Subject: TOP TEN REASONS I’VE COME TO PREFER ONLINE POKER

10. Lots of game selection, plus the ability to check instantly the average pot sizes and number of players, which provides at least some indication of the character of the players/games at the different tables.

9. No lines to wait in for games—unless you choose to wait for one.

8. Ability to see exactly how many ‘player points’ you’ve accumulated at any given time, and the ability to use them on freerolls or other freebies at *your* convenience. Online freerolls pop up pretty often, at least on PokerStars and other sites I enjoy, as compared to having to rearrange your schedule to show up at the B&M casino’s monthly freeroll—which, I can’t help but notice, always seems to be scheduled in the middle of a WORKDAY!! Grrrr!

7. No parking spots to search for.

6. No B.O. to smell—from other players, at least. :-)

5. No chip runners to wait for or dealers to tip.

4. No ‘smokers lounge’ to hold your breath through on the way in. (At least that’s the way it is here in Southern California.)

3. No poor losers—or ugly gloating winners—demanding to see your face-down mucked cards. (This has happened to me so many times recently at B&Ms, with so many different reasons given by so many half-assed dealers as to why they can see mine when they ask but I can’t see theirs when I ask, that I barely care if I ever play live again.)

2. Micro limits, providing the ability to play longer with $10 than I usually can with $200 at a B&M.

1. Using the ‘Ignore Chat’ button on boorish, profane morons who can’t lose a 25-cent pot without going off like Phil Hellmuth on PCP.

** STEVE from Long Beach CA **

Segue. Check out this page for a laugh. Safe For work.
Work Well With Others

Here's another positive report on the Caesars Indiana WSOP circuit events going on right now. If you want a schedule, here you go: ESPN World Series of Poker Circuit Event

Subject: Caesars Indiana WSOP Update

I think it's safe to say that today's $300 + $40 NLHE event of the World Series of Poker circuit at Caesars Indiana FAR exceeded the wildest expectations of anybody involved. The event attracted not only a full house of 583 players (53 tables of 11 players each), but another 371 alternates also eventually got in for a total of 954 paid entrants. The prize pool amounts to $277,614 with the winners share amounting to a cool $72,165 and 81 places being paid.

Personally I want to commend the staff for doing a wonderful job of coordinating and handling the huge overflow crowd. Things were obviously somewhat hectic. But overall they made sure everything went off smoothly.

On a personal note - I can't figure out why someone would want to enter as an alternate so late after the start. They seated the alternates at active tables as players were eliminated. With 371 alternates to be seated, some of the last ones were initially being seated with their $1500 starting chips even though we were already on level 5 with blinds of $100/$200 and antes of $25.

However, I was told the staff did offer to allow the alternates to withdraw and get a refund of the entry fee. I would guess there was at least another 100 or so alternates that just decided to withdraw since they were calling alternate numbers around 500. I know at our table some of the intial starting players were holding in the neighborhood of $15,000 in tourney chips as alternates were being seated with their starting $1500 chip

As someone who just recently started reading the Motley Fool books and such, I took notice of this. This is a followup to my prior post about the introduction of this product. Sure didn't take long for the IPO.

Subject: Poker Tek Went Public
PokerTek sets $11 per share price on public offering

They raised over $22 Million with one product. Making B&M tables into online tables and getting rid of dealers. Unbelievable really.

I enjoyed this fresh twist on the "turn the switch from lose to win for me" post about Poker Stars. Sure, he failed but at least he Tried to be original.

Subject: Letter to poker stars

Dear Pokerstars...

I know I won a bunch of money last month and then made a big withdrawal from your site. You see, I needed the money for bills and such.

Since I took the money out, you've been creaming me with horrible cards and beats. I know you're angry with me and you've helped my playing bankroll dwindle down to about $100. All this despite my propensity for playing AA aggressively, making pot bets in Omaha with 30 outs, and getting it all in with KK on a flop of K 7 2.

I know you're angry with me, but I want you to know that I wasn't taking the money to another site. I was using it to buy gas and food.

You can still make it up to me. You can cut the bullshit and start making my favourites hold up again. There is no reason that I have to lose another showdown with JJ vs, 75o. You can make it all right again.

If you won't correct this horrible streak and make amends, then I'm picking up whatever I have left and moving it to another site. And do you know which site I'm going to? Oh yeah... I'm going to GoldenPalace. That's right. She's a total whore and she gives it to me however I like it. So... get things straightened out or you can spend the rest of your nights thinking about me raising it all into that fresh new bitch.

ty

Anyone who spends any time in an active newsgroup will probably enjoy this satire. I thought it apropos, anyway:

Q: How many newsgroup subscribers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Exactly five hundred.

1 to change the light bulb and to post to the newsgroup that the light bulb has been changed.

7 to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently or to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs.

17 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs.

21 to flame the spell checkers.

49 to write to the list administrator complaining about the light bulb discussion and its inappropriateness to this mail list.

20 to correct spelling in the spelling/grammar flames.

32 to post that this list is not about light bulbs and to please take this email exchange to alt.lite.bulb.

69 to demand that cross posting to alt.grammar, alt.spelling and alt.punctuation about changing light bulbs be stopped.

41 to defend the posting to this list saying that we all use light bulbs and therefore the posts are relevant to this mail list.

106 to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this technique, and what brands are faulty.

12 to post URLs where one can see examples of different light bulbs.

8 to post that the URLs were posted incorrectly, and to post corrected URLs.

2 to post about links they found from the URLs that are relevant to this list which makes light bulbs relevant to this list.

15 to concatenate all posts to date, then quote them including all headers and footers, and then add pointedly, "Me Too."

6 to post to the list that they are unsubscribing because they cannot handle the light bulb controversy.

9 to quote the "Me Too's" and happily add, "Me Three!"

3 to suggest that posters request the light bulb FAQ.

1 to propose new alt.change.lite.bulb newsgroup.

24 to say this is just what alt.physic.cold_fusion was meant for, leave it here.

53 votes for alt.lite.bulb.

I don't understand all the talk about the Party Poker sidebets and blackjack? I mean, why the fuck would any poker player care about this? It's a non-damn-issue.

Here's a taste from RGP:

They now add blackjack and side bets giving them an interest in how the flops come. The already large group of players who think the games are rigged will have even more reason to believe so now.

Good gravy.

On the other hand, I've been thinking these past few minutes about dropping limit poker and becoming a professional Side Bet Player.

Thoughts?



Man oh man, this next snippet is sooooo classic. It's been well documented that Gary Carson does not give two fucks about marketing himself on RGP and such. And to help with that documentation, here's a wonderful exchange between an earnest poster asking Gary a question and Gary delivering a response as only he can.

Attn: Gary Carson

Had a look at the site. What's the deal with your ebook costing only $4.50?
How many pages does it have??

--------


How many do you want? I'll increase the type size, double space, and add a couple of blank pages for you.

What a stupid fucking question.

Gary Carson

Yes, people got offended by Gary the Crank. He responded thusly:

Whenever I have to make a choice between making $4 or pretending something really, really stupid isn't stupid I always decide the $4 just isn't worth the pretence.

And, you're right, I'd make more money if I was a phoney shit, but that's just the way it goes.

You asked a really stupid question and I just wasn't going to even try to figure out the answer. I don't know how many pages the manuscript is, and dont even remember whether the version I distribute is single spaced or not.

Learning how to ask the right question is an important tool in life. I might be wrong, but I think it's more important than learning to deal with idiots.

If you normally get offended when someone points out you asked a really stupid question then you'd just be wasting your time reading my book anyway.

It's a manuscript edition of "The Complete Book of Hold'em Poker". The manuscript edition of "The Complete Book of Casino Poker" is even cheaper.

It sold for $29 before the dead tree edition was published. The dead tree edition sells for $15 cover price.

There are many reviews of the book on Amazon.com and there has been much discussion about it on this newsgroup.

I think that's all on the website.
You can pay more if you want.

But, don't identify yourself if you try to buy it, I don't want to sell it to you. It's really just for my friends and I've decided I don't like you.

Gary Carson

And just to continue the Carson theme, and besides, I find him entertaining, here's some summed up thoughts from a few vitriolic anti-Daniel Negreaneu threads. Danny really has some Haters out there. Tis sad.

And there's no love lost between Daniel and Gary. So here's his two cents, responding to comments in threads.

>I wonder how much Daniel is making from his new video game STACKED coming out in December?


He's a paid endorser, not an owner. But, he probably got paid well, which is one reason I don't think he'll go busted this year.

It's hard to tell though, because all his life he's pretended to have more money than he actually had.

An entourage of agents, and publisists, and gophers, and managers, and others who get a big enough piece of you to be willing to be on call as a drinking buddy tends to get pricey.

I actually read his blog. He's amazing. He buys his mother a house then won't help her move. It's great material.

Gary Carson

--

>> He's always struck me as a little odd. I respect him as a poker player though.


I'm not convinced about that. Have you read some of his old nonsense on rgp? He actually had a learning curve to overcome when moving from 100/200 to 200/400.

He really doesn't understand the game, he does have the abiity to learn quickly how to exploit certain types of players.

But, what I found interesting about his latest blog as his mention about heading to "the poker room" and he meant Bellagio, not Wynn.

Did he get fired?

Gary Carson

----


>> That would be kinda funny if they fired him...I'd be willing to say that once
>> the "newness" of the whole thing wore off both parties would want to end it...


I wonder about it. It just seems odd. It doesn't really matter.

A friend tells me that the Wynn has a regular 10/20 mixed game going for a coupld of months. I can't see where Danny has done anything to promote it, and it would seem to me that if Danny just tried a little he could make that an everyday 20/40 mixed game that drew a lot of out of town players.

The Wynn is still my favorite room, whether Danny works there or not.

I don't know if Wynn is going to let him go or not, but it has nothing to do with tournaments. Danny was hired as a host -- to build games. The published terms of the contract caled for Danny to play at the Wynn

200 days a year. I think he's spent more days getting restuarant comps for his enterouge than actually playing, and the playing he has done hasn't been enough to build any games.

When I was in Las Vegas during the WSOP for about a month I played a the Wynn almost every day -- I saw Danny 3 times, two days playing his private headsup matches and one day standing around the podium mooching comps. He probably showed up a couple of times that I missed for his private headup matches, I heard people mention it a few times. But, I never saw or heard it mentioned that he played in any open games. And, that was a month he was in town every day.

Danny's never had a job before and it's my guess that he has trouble with the concept that you actually have to show up.

Gary Carson

Speaking of Daniel Negreanu, I think I forgot to mention his CardPlayer poker article entitled:
Asian poker players

Also, here's Thomas "Thunder" Keller article for Card Player called
Interview With a Poker Player's Spouse, Part 1, A Wife's Perspective.



For those of you who enjoy deep stacks and longer tournament structures, these new ones announced at Poker Stars oughta be right up your alley.

Subject: Freaking Awesome: $11 Deep Stack tourneys on Poker Stars

I can't afford the $33 ones, but I can splurge on an $11 tournament once or twice a week:

Schedule of new tournaments:

DeepStack
DeepStack tourneys run just like regular tournaments except the players start
with 5,000 chips and the blinds last 30 minutes.

Mon 18:15 No Limit Hold'em $30+$3
Tue 18:15 Pot Limit Omaha $20+$2
Wed 18:15 No Limit Hold'em $20+$2
Thu 18:15 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo $20+$2
Fri 18:15 Limit Hold'em $20+$2
Sat 12:00 No Limit Hold'em $10+$1
Sat 19:15 No Limit Hold'em $100+$9
Sun 12:00 No Limit Hold'em $10+$1

6-Handed

Six-Handed tourneys run just like any regular tourney except there are six
players at the table (as opposed to a regular tourney's nine players).

Mon 20:45 Pot Limit Omaha $20+$2
Tue 20:45 No Limit Hold'em $30+$3
Wed 20:45 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo $20+$2
Thu 20:45 No Limit Hold'em $10+$1
Fri 20:45 Limit Hold'em $20+$2
Sat 20:45 No Limit Hold'em $20+$2

Hell, if I don't wrap this up now, I'll have to wait till tommorrow.
Damn Guinness. This is uber-fueled enough, methinks.

I'm going to leave you with a Vegas Trip Report from my RGP hero, Howard Beale.
Thanks for reading.

Subject: Me & Mom do Las Vegas: Fri. - Mon. (long)

Preface:

I am petrified of thrill rides. It would take a baby-oiled Jessica Alba lying on a bed of oil-sheik money to get me on one of the rides on the top of the Stratosphere and that would be with 2mg of Xanax in me but driving on AZ Rt. 93 between Wikieup and I-40 (a 30+ mi., narrow, 2 lane, no shoulder, no exit, rough pavement stretch of road with trucks) at night is no problem?

Once you start you've got to finish and God forbid you break down. Move at 75 or get run off the road. Instant death is just one driver's lapse away. Why should I bother to keep an eye on the semi's hurtling at me? If he wanders over the center line, a matter of a few feet, it's either a head-on or flying off into the desert. On the drive home, in the pouring rain, I chickened out and took the long way home.

- - - - - - - -

After a frenzied preparation on Friday afternoon when I had 2 hours to go to the bank, get a hotel room, stop the mail, board the dog and have the oil changed we headed off to the Monte Carlo. Mom swore that she would never drive to LV again (as if she does any of the driving) and I supported her decision because I am charged with finding bathrooms where none exist and must listen to threats of what is going to happen if I don't find one soon.

She didn't have to use the towel filled garbage bag that I brought along, after all, and we finally got to the hotel. I had only been in the Monte Carlo once and mom not at all. She's familiar with the Orleans where I take her because there isn't much walking necessary and she was thrilled with the new digs. When I take her to the big hotels I put her in a wheel chair or else we'd never get anywhere. At the Monte Carlo she can get to the Wheel of Fortune, the coffee shop and the gift shop. That's all she needs. I feel that the Monte Carlo is a perfectly respectable hotel with a decent standard room, a place that you can't knock, but it's also a place that you can't brag about. I wish I'd had time to shop around but we were paying full price and that was a drag. The Monte Carlo does have a tram to Bellagio which is a plus.

We got in at 2am and I went to their little poker room to unwind. The 1-2 NL has a $100 max buy-in (ridiculous IMO) and I sat in the 4-8 which has 1-2 blinds. Played at the Orleans that structure kills all the action but at the Monte Carlo it's a jumping game where I still couldn't make a hand. That's been going on for quite a while now. When I sat down the dealer asked if I'd ever played HE before and I acted like a total doofus but when he saw that I was the only player to ever fold he gave me a strange look. Add him to the long list.

I took the opportunity to have 4 strawberry julius's. One new player without chips was inadvertantly dealt in by a new dealer and when asked how many chips he had coming the player said "none." The dealer explained that he had to have chips and the player answered "I'll get chips eventually but let's play this hand
first." That was the best line of the trip.

Mom lost $200 at the Wheel of Fortune. I've tried to teach her basic blackjack strategy and pass line craps betting all to no use. Her mantra to my repeated explanations of how bad slots are is "But what if I win?" Sigh.

Saturday was Bellagio day. It's the best casino to play my favorite game:
"I bet SHE'S a hooker! If I could get 5-1 it would be +EV for sure.

The Bellagio had a tourney going on that I didn't know about. It was held in some emptied out bar across the way from the poker room which was a mob scene on Sat and on Mon. It was actually quite uncomfortable with long lists, tables much too close to each other and a lot of noise. I played the 8-16 and they use 5's and 1's which is a real action killer and also makes betting awkward. I didn't care for it at all.

The big limit room had a bunch of the usual suspects with the addition of Larry Flynt and Gus Hansen who puts his tomatos on his bagel with his fingers. Barry Greenstein looks a lot better in person which is almost a given since he couldn't look worse. The beard also suits him.

I wandered over to the tourney room to star gaze and walking in just in front of me was a 6ft+ 20 something baby got back OMG they're real why can't I have that just one time hoochie mamasita who sashayed and jiggled her way around the room, turning all heads, until she stopped to talk to some gnome for a moment and then bounced her no bra way right back out. At 5-1 I bet SHE'S a hooker!

It seems that this tourney is associated with Doyle Brunson and there was a "Doyle Brunson player appreciation" party at Light on Mon. night. All you had to do was fill out an invitation with your name and email and like an imbecile I put down the real deal thinking that they'd check somehow and I knew this was the only time I'd ever get into that place both by inclination and lack of the stylish graces. I was somewhat disappointed. I suppose it's a classy nightclub but I was expecting a lot more *flash.* They did treat the guests well, though. Good music and every side table had a huge bottle of Grey Goose and plenty of juices, ice, glasses and lemons, limes to mix your own free drinks. Too bad I don't drink but plenty of others were and the staff kept the stuff coming.

I took mom to the Cafe Bellagio which I had thought was a coffee shop with like prices. Now I know better. Mom may feign all sorts of illnesses but she can really put on the feedbag. $70 for lunch at a coffee shop? At least I can recommend the chilled creme brulee. 3 sections with fruit on top. The part with the bananas (chocolate underneath) is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten.

I went over to Wynn on Monday and walked in a mild drizzle from Bellagio. I really like that room. They weren't crowded with everybody over at Bellagio for the tourney but the 8-16, with $2 chips, was far better. Most of the players were tourists, the chairs, tables, staff and ambience were great. Some of the locals were talking about the LV poker scene. It seems that Ceasar's is opening a 63 table room with 30 of them dedicated to tourneys. Someone said that the Venetian was going to open a poker
room. I think the Venetian is the best hotel in town and with a good poker room that would confirm it for me. I wonder if LV can support all of these tables. They've gone from very few to a whole darn bunch in just a few years, but time will tell. I have the feeling that they might be stretched too thin. The folks were also saying that the Mirage is real slow and that in order to attract players back they are giving away comps being *friendlier* than they were. This according to some locals.

Special addendum:

I headed over to the San Remo on a tip posted here (sorry, I don't remember by who) that the back bar served a *White Castle like* burger. As you know the hotel is going *Hooters* and they are doing the conversion without closing. From what I saw they intend to simply convert what is there into a gigantic Hooters bar with gambling. What they are going to do about the double ugly dealing and floor staff I don't know.

The back bar serves *Shorty Burgers* and they are good. I really enjoyed them, esp. the buns. Soft and sort of sweet. They are kind of like White Castles and you get them by the half-dozen so the feel was the same. The meat was too good for total accuracy. If we ever find out what crap goes into a White Castle it will probably be the end of their business.

Mom says the Monte Carlos spa is nice. With all the facials, manicures and pedicures I'm betting that she's the best groomed mom around.

One more thing: Want to make a fortune? Smuggle Lotto tickets into LV tonight. We stopped at Grasshopper Junction (I swear they told me that is the name of the place) on I-40 so mom could pee (again) and there were a bunch of Nevadans buying tickets by the hundreds. FOOLS, ALL OF THEM! I've got it locked up!

As soon as I win (it will be official on Thursday) I'm inviting everybody who wants to come to the San Remo for all the Shorty Burgers that you can eat, ON ME! Beer included!

Howard Beale

Whew, I'm glad I pounded this out.
Hope I destroyed some workplace productivity.

Bonus Code IGGY on Party Poker, damnit.
If you aren't playing there, trust me, you are deeply and profoundly retarded.

Link of the Day:
Angry Stripper, Empty Wallet
Titty bar customers want to be stripped of their money, according to former moneymaker-shaker Elizabeth Eaves, author of Bare: Give Me All Your Money and Get the Hell Out.

I'm contemplating an uber post, it's true.

But while catching up on my reading I found this Trip Report from the WSOP circuit events at Caesers in Indiana. I feel like an idiot for not playing in these events, but quite frankly, it's too easy to fire up Party Poker and grind away.

not wearing pants > wearing pants

Thanks to my Danish reader, Robin, for providing the translation from the prior post:

One of the more interesting bloggers is Iggy, who writes one of the most visited poker blogs. He doesn't conseal the fact that besides poker he fancy a drink. So you can also read about his "wet" travels around UK and Ireland, which very apropriate is called Guinness and Poker. Iggy also entertains his visitors with links to strange artikels, interviews, and different discussions groups

Thanks to whomever linked us up. Seriously.

Anyway, here's the trip report, fresh from the field. I'm really impressed with the damn poker memory this guy has. And the cash games are juicy at this boat....read on...

-----------

Subject: Hail Caesar! Headhunter's Trip/Tourney report


So my 40th birthday happened to coincide with the WSOP Circuit event at
Caesar's IN. Some call it coincidence; I decided to call it fate, and
Mrs. Headhunter wished me a happy birthday, good luck, and I was off.
Unfortunately, neither of the docs, with whom I always hit the poker
rooms were able to make it that weekend, so the Headhunter flew solo
for the trip.

It's a 3 1/2 hour drive from here to Louisville (well, Caesar's is
actually 20 minutes west of Louisville in New Albany IN, so I got the
chance to drive from New Albany, OH to New Albany, IN). A little
longer than I would prefer, but being in the Poker Hell known as Ohio,
I wasn't about to complain. Besides, I didn't have to fly (which I
hate).

For those of you who haven't been there, let me tell you that I was
very impressed with the hotel and the casino itself. If I had been
blindfolded and dropped in the middle of the hotel or the casino, I
wouldn't have known that I wasn't in Vegas/Foxwoods, etc. The hotel
room was nice (as much as I cared about it), with the only downside
being that it was a good 10 minute walk to the riverboat (albeit
completely under roof). You walk on to the 4th deck of the boat, and
with all the carpeting, and decorating, you can't REALLY tell you are
on a boat until you see the stairs. The poker room is on the 1st deck,
so you have to walk down three flights of stairs. My understanding is
that they cleared out an entire room to make the poker room larger for
the WSOP, but that it won't stay that size. For this trip, the room
was plenty big --with enough room between tables (unlike the "newly
renovated" but hardly improved Bellagio), and very comfortable chairs.

I get there very early Friday morning, and am staying with Morey,
another poker player from here, who is there for 7-10 days or so.
Throw my stuff in the room, and we head to the poker room. Morey is
telling me that the only downside to the poker room is that when the
tournament is playing or they are running the super sat qualifiers for
the Main Event, it ties up many of the tables, and the wait is very
long to get on a table. Morey gets something to eat, but I can't eat
before I get some cards in my hands. I sign up for a $120 one table
sat, and the winner gets 2 $500 chips and some cash. 1000 starting
chips, and blinds basically double very 15 minutes.

In the first blind level, the guy next to me raises, and has the player
two to his left re-raise. First guy moves all-in, and the other guy
calls. First guy has AsKs, and other player has TT. The pocket pair
holds up, and Mr. AK suited goes home. Basic poker, right? Well, not
according to the self-anointed Table Captain of Caesars (TCC). He goes
on an on about how he has never seen AK so overplayed as he has this
weekend. After all, it's nothing but AK, right? I bite my tongue as I
agree with his basic premise, but when you are playing a satellite, and
you're down to 850 or so in chips, and you make it 100 to go, and the
next guy makes it 400 to go, do you just fold? In some satellites, you
might not even sniff a hand close to that. He continues lecturing the
table, and then moves all-in on the next hand. He gets called in two
places. When the smoke clears, TCC has 7s8s, first caller has AsKs,
and third caller has 99. K on the flop gives Big Slick the pot, and
TCC goes home (or to my dismay DOESN'T go home, but wanders around the
poker room for quite a while). I consider making a comment about how
I've never seen suited connectors so overplayed in my life, but bite my
tongue, and keep quiet. We are into the third blind level, and I
haven't seen a pocket pair, or an A with a kicker higher than 4. Mid
player raises and I see AQ. It looks like manna from heaven at this
point, and I move all-in. He agonizes FOREVER, and reluctantly calls,
saying that he is WAAAAAAAY behind. I tell him that if he called, I
can't imagine he's that far behind, if at all. When he shows AK I
realize I am right and I am out in a matter of seconds.

I decide that I don't like the satellites, and decide to buy into the
1k NL event that I came down for. I then joined the newly opened 2-5
NL game ($200 min, no max). I'm mainly a limit player (having started
playing in 2000 when everyone played limit, and the only NL game in
town had Doyle Brunson sitting in it), but wanted to give it a shot. I
buy in for $500, which is close to the table average I was guessing.
Morey was also at the table. When I play limit (mostly 20/40-40/80) I
like to play a wide range of hands and generally loosen the table up
and have a good time. Well, in NL, if you throw in IMPLIED odds, I'm
CERTAINLY going to open up the range of hands I play. I played several
hands, missed most of the flops, and was down a little, when I picked
up 66 and open raised, getting a couple of callers. Flop was 67x with
2 of a suit. I bet hard at the pot not wanting to price in any of the
draws, and got one caller. The turn was a high card, and the caller
check-raised me all-in. I called in a heartbeat with my Devil (666),
and he turned over 67 for two pair. My set held up, and I was off to
the races.

I won a few more pots, and was really starting to like this game when
George the Greek (a local?) sat down on my left with close to 4k.
Morey told me he saw him in the 10-25 NL game the night before. Well,
if there's one thing I DO know about NL poker, is that it's just like
real estate: Location Location Location, and I knew I didn't like this
guy owning the property directly to the west of me. He had a habit of
grabbing a handful of chips, and then just sliding them into the pot,
and saying "I bet whatever is here." If the standard opening raise was
25-30, he'd open for 45 or 50, and then make a massive overbet on the
flop. When some poor fool stuck around, George always showed a big
hand. He showed AA 3 times, and KK once and claimed to have had the
rockets one other time when he lost a pot to a flopped set (and the way
he bet it I was convinced he did have the Airlines).

As soon as another seat opened up, I moved away from him, and enjoyed
the distance. The game was actually quite loose with preflop raises of
30 and 40 and 3-5 callers. Another local, Elton, open raised to 30,
and I decide to re-raise to about 75-80 with 77. Unfortunately for me
George the Greek calls out of the blinds, and the first player just
calls. I decide I'm done with the hand unless I nail it. Flop is A T
8, so at least I'm overlayed only THREE times. They check to me, and I
opt for my free card. Turn is the loveliest 7 I've ever seen. George
checks, other player makes a hard bet, and I move all-in. George
folds, and other player thinks for a long time. I have him covered,
and maybe he has 300-350 or so in his stack. He calls, and when I flip
over my hand, I'm pretty sure he's drawing dead as he didn't care much
what the river was. A little while later, UTG raised to 30 or so, and
we had a few callers, so I called with Ac2c (heck, who am I kidding, I
would have called him heads-up with that hand) on the button. Flop
came Ad 2s 8s. UTG bet out 75, next player made it 175, and I raised
it to 500. Everyone folded except for the other raiser, and the turn
was the beautiful red deuce. He checked, and I checked behind him.
River was a nine, and when he checked, I moved all-in. I had him
covered, and he had almost 700. He thought for a VERY long time, and
then finally called. I showed my boat, and he turned over As9s for
flopping top pair, nut flush draw, and then had to hit his kicker on
the river. Soon after, I went for a dinner break, up $2500.

Unfortunately my luck did not continue when I came back from dinner. A
young kid was on my left and I quickly figured out he was the best
player at the table. (That's the other thing I've learned is that
table selection and player selection are two of the most critical
pieces to your success at that tables. I may not be the most talented
player there, but as long as I can avoid the ones who are, I'll be OK).
I lost a few pots, missed a few draws (and when the pots were as big
as ours were, the made hands were betting a lot to price out the
draws), and then got crushed when my flopped top two pair lost to a
flopped set). I had given back half of my winnings and decided that
was enough. The problem is that it was only 9:00 -- what else was I
going to do? I had kept my name on the 20-40 list, and took the seat
when it came open.

At least I can lose my money a little more slowly, in 20-40 limit,
right? Not necessarily. It is a VERY tight table, and I didn't switch
gears from NL to limit very well. I played many of the same hands, but
without the implied odds, I wasn't getting paid off. What's worse is
that the table was very talented, so my check-raises didn't even get
paid off. I chased too much, played too much, and gave even more back,
before I moved back to a different 2-5 NL table.

My second foray into NL land was much less exciting. There was one
player who bought in for $200, and had almost $2500 in front of him.
Unfortunately for him he was very soft spoken and it almost cost him
dearly. He called a raise from an early player, and the flop came all
diamonds. The raiser bet hard at the pot, and this guy thought for a
long time before calling. The turn put a fourth diamond on the board,
and when the first player bet at it, he moved all in. However, the
dealer didn't hear him, and when she saw him match the bet, thought
the round was over, and burned a turned a blank on the river. The
table erupted, and the floor was called. Of course the river card was
brought back and shuffled back into the deck, but this time, the river
card paired the board. As he showed his Ad, we all assumed the pair
cost him the pot, as the first player had to have a set, right? Nope.
He called the massive all-in bet with no diamond and no set. I didn't
catch many cards, caught fewer draws, and ended the night down $800 or
so. Major disappointment considering where I started, but .....

The next day was the 1k NL event. Not only did I draw the dreaded 1
seat, but I was in the "auxiliary" section. There were about a
dozen or so poker tables set up in a room across from the poker room.
They had cleared out several banks of slot machines, and set up this
auxiliary section in the middle of the slots making for a VERY noisy
tournament. In addition, it was cordoned off by flimsy theater ropes,
but since it was the "poker room" you could not smoke INSIDE the
ropes, but you could smoke OUTSIDE the ropes, harkening back to the
days of smoking and non-smoking sections on airplanes.

You started with 2000 chips, 25-25 blinds, and 60 minute blind levels.
Tournament started at noon, and in classic Harrah's fashion, cards
were in the air at 12:15. A couple of locals were at my table, and a
couple of friends who traveled for the tournament and were a little
disappointed to be seated at the same table. I was all set to play,
but who joins my table? None other than TCC himself from the
satellite. Great! Between the smoke, the clanging of the slots, and
his lecturing, it's going to make for a LONG day!!

Sure enough, TCC is playing tons of hands. In his defense, he did
catch a ton of cards. How do I know this? Because every time he
folded, he did so face up, claiming that HE could make those kind of
lay downs. I kept thinking I was playing with Hellmuth and his "who
else can get away from that hand? I'm dodging bullets today"
comments. On one hand, he folds KT on a Kd Td 5d board when he gets
monster raised late. Of course his opponent had the flush (showed it),
but it didn't stop TCC from talking about - or telling everyone who
wandered by what great folds he was making.

I play a couple of cheap flops, take a stab at one I pre-flop raised,
and am catching nothing and am down to 1500 or so when I catch a break.
I see a flop for free in the BB with Q8. Flop is Q85 with 2 hearts,
and I bet the size of the pot. Folded to the button (who plays 90% of
the hands) who raises me, and I move all in. He calls in a heartbeat,
and I assume he's got Presto, but instead of the set, he shows me Q5.
He's way behind, and soon gone as the turn and river are of no help.
In the next blind level, I don't get anything big pre-flop, but I
gamble a little, and catch a ton of flops. At the first break, I have
tripled up to 7200 in chips. However, the chip leader at my table has
8k and is on my left. In two orbits, I have 99 TT AK and AJs and lose
all of them. My 99 and TT lost on J high boards to the chip leader who
called with JQ and KJ respectively. I am now down to 2000 or so in
chips. I grind my way back up, and just before the next break, I find
77 on the button. Late player moves all-in with slightly less than I
have, and I move in over the top. He has KJ and the A Q x flop gives
him most of broadway to beat me, but the board pairs then blanks. He's
gone and I'm up to 5k.

After break, I find 88 in the SB. The short stack second to act moves
all-in, and it's folded to me. I pick up my chips to raise, when the
dealer's cuff catches the muck and flips over THE ENTIRE MUCK FACE UP.
She quickly puts her hands over it and calls for the floor. Floor
rules that she must remove her hands, spread the muck so we can see ALL
the cards. I see something like A Q K 5 5 2 Q 6 -- basically no 8's
and quite afew high cards. I raise to freeze out the BB who dutifully
folds. Raiser has ThJh, and when the flop comes A K Q, I'm drawing
real thin, and drawing dead when the blank hits the turn. They then
break our table. We come back from break, and they break our table.
We're down to 12 tables, and I have the average stack of 5k. Not for
long. I find AQ three hands in a row. The first one, AQs , I raise,
and the next player makes a big re-raise. I lay it down, and he shows
the rockets. Next hand, I try it again, only to see the SB double my
raise, and the BB move all-in. I fold again, and SB has KK and BB has
AK. Next hand I have it again, suited once again, and raise. Only
the BB calls. Flop is KQx, and when he checks to me, I move all-in
(2800 or so) and he calls, with KQ. T on the turn gives me some
straight hopes, but he catches a boat on the river, and IGHN.

I wander around the boat for a while with that
just-got-kicked-in-the-gut-and-now-I'm-sick-to-my-stomach feeling. I
put my name on a few lists for cash games, and move on. The tournament
is over, I'm leaving the next day, time to win some of my money back.

I finally get on a table around 6:30 or so. We had a great table, and
most everyone was very friendly. From 8:00 until 3:30, none of us
left. On my immediate right was Larry who owns the company or works for
the company (not sure which) that makes table tops (screen printing,
material, etc) for casinos and his company had done them for Caesars.
If there weren't already a Mrs. Headhunter in the picture, the woman on
my left would have been the top candidate. She is a pilot, and is
heading off to Harvard for B-school next fall. Smart, attractive, AND
she plays poker? What else can you ask for? Oh well, there IS a Mrs.
Headhunter, so I guess it's the pilot's loss. She was very tight, so
most of the time she raised preflop, we all folded and she showed her
big pocket pair.

I went to work, and proceeded to go through my initial buy-in very
quickly. Missed some draws, and got a couple of hands rivered. One
player in particular who was from Venezuela but now lived in Atlanta
had my number. No matter what I did, I could not beat him. It got to
the point where I would raise, and when it came to him, I would just
ask him to fold. His friend came by and I asked if they were ready to
leave. I offered the friend $100 to take Mr. Venezuela away. I'm not
sure if I was joking or not. I kept getting close to even, and then
take a huge hit and get buried again. Finally, I had Qc4c in the BB.
5 way action for 15, I called the extra $10. Flop came 2c 4 9c. I
checked, original raiser made it $75, and the next player made it $175
to go. Folded to me, I decided that they had a big 9, or maybe even an
overpair, I probably have 15 outs twice, so I moved all in for my
remaining $325. Original raiser folded, but the other player called,
showing AA (but not the Ac). The club came on the turn, and I was
healthy again. Rocket Man admitted to misplaying his AA. He should
have re-raised pre-flop, and then I'm never in the hand. I add further
injury to him later on when I play the suited Doyle Brunson from the
BB, flop trips, and turn quads.

A few hands later, I called a raise with 68o. Flop came 279, and a guy
with sunglasses and a hooded sweatshirt (Unabomber) bet about $75 into
a $75 pot. There were 2 callers including me. Turn was a King, and he
fired $200. Only I called. River was the lovely 10, and when he bet
out again, I raised $400. He thought forever, and finally called. I
showed my straight, and he said something about cracking his Kings. He
then commented on how I was obviously willing to gamble on my draws,
and so I used this to my advantage. The next couple of draws that got
home on the river, I bet hard at the pot, and my opponents folded. But
NL is a huuuuuuge roller coaster, and playing lots of draws can get
costly.

Around 4:00, the game started getting short handed. We were actually
playing 4 handed for a while, when we decided to play one last hand.
Pilot limped first to act, button called, SB completed, and I checked
from the BB. Flop came out 2h4h5h and I announced I was checking my
straight flush draw. It checked around. Turn was a blank, and I made
the same announcement, and it got checked around. River was a blank,
and I checked, announcing that I missed my straight flush. Pilot bet
$5 and we all folded. She turned over Ah3h for a flopped straight
flush that was worth exactly $20!!!!!! That's rough.

The table broke up, and I followed her to the $1/2 NL table. Stayed
there long enough to drop $100, and called it a night/morning and went
to sleep at 6:00, up $300 or so on the session, but down $600 in the
cash games on the trip.

Overall, I was very impressed with the poker room, with the one
exception of how inconsistent the rulings were. In the NL games,
sometimes the $1 chips (less than 5) played, other times they did not.
Some dealers made you turn up your hands when there was no more
betting, some didn't. I finally called for the floor just to get a
ruling on it. The ruling was that you didn't have to show your hand
until after the river, and then only if you were the bettor, or had the
winning hand. Of course, this didn't stop other dealers from asking
for the cards to be flipped up, so we had the floor come over several
times. Posting was the other big issue. I moved seats often, and even
when I moved INTO the blinds, the dealer made me post. The next player
did the same thing, but didn't have to post, so the next time I moved,
and the dealer asked me to post, I called for the floor. The floor
advised the dealer that when you move INTO the blinds, you need not
post. I really didn't care what the rule was -- I just wanted to know
what it was and keep it enforced uniformally. And then there was the
line. Whenever you bring chips over the line, it is a bet. If you
bring more than 50% more chips than necessary to call the bet, it is a
raise. Fine. I have no problem with that. Except that sometimes it
was enforced, and other times not. And one time I was stuck at a stud
table that was so tight, and the line so close to the edge, that my
chip stack almost touched the line. The mere act of picking chips off
my stack to count them had me crossing the line.

All in all, a great time, and if you haven't been to the Caesar's
Riverboat in Louisville/Indiana, I highly recommend it.

16 days and counting to Vegas!!!

-- Headhunter

Wow, I just realized I missed the two year anniversary of this here poker blog.

And two years may not seem that long to you.
But, in dog years, that means this blog is 14.

I've written over 1 million words on here.

Kudos to me.

Anyway, I've been playing a buttload of poker lately. Yes, almost exclusively on Party Poker. And I'm playing much better poker, thank you very much. It's nice to see the upwards tick in my poker graph. Tis been awhile.

And now that I'm back on the saddle, I feel compelled to start an uber post. Perhaps tonight.

Funny how many links this humble poker blog gets. Seems folks enjoy what I'm doing here, much to my constant surprise. Hell, I even got interviewed by CardPlayer last week. But I just noticed that Professional Poker Player^TM
Chris Halverson and I just got pimped in this site.

----

En anden af de interessante bloggere er Iggy, der er skriver en af de mest besøgte pokerblogs. Han lægger ikke skjul på, at han ud over poker også holder af en god brandert, så du kan blandt andet læse om hans fugtige rejse rundt i Storbritannien og Irland på bloggen, der meget passende hedder Guinness and Poker. Iggy underholder også sine besøgende med links til mærkværdige artikler og klip fra interviews og diskussionsgrupper.

----

I sure hope he's saying nice things in the above. Translation, anyone?

Anyway, I discovered that Harrah's has announced the 2006 World Series of Poker Schedule.

Here's the press release from Yahoo:
Harrah's Announces 2006 World Series of Poker Schedule

---


Harrah's Announces 2006 WSOP Schedule

World's Top Poker Tournament to Run June 25 to August 10

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET - News) today announced the schedule for the 2006 World Series of Poker. Harrah's will stage the world's richest poker tournament at its Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino for the second year in a row.


Satellites and live action begins June 25, 2006, and the $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'em World Championship Event starts July 28, 2006. In all, the 2006 World Series of Poker will consist of 44 separate events in which players can compete for coveted World Series of Poker gold bracelets.

"The World Series of Poker is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world and every poker enthusiast is invited to enter and become part of its time-honored tradition," said Jeffrey Pollack, Harrah's vice president of sports and entertainment marketing. "We're thrilled to be back at the Rio. Last year, the team there did a magnificent job and we know that players and fans alike will be treated to an outstanding experience in 2006."

Last year's World Series of Poker shattered all participation and prize money records for a live poker tournament. The 45 events generated 32,341 player entries and more than $106 million in gross prize money. Joseph Hachem of Melbourne, Australia, won the World Series of Poker Championship and an unprecedented $7.5 million.

Harrah's also announced the Rio will host the Second Annual World Series of Poker Lifestyle Show July 27 through July 30. A trade show featuring exhibitors from around the globe, the World Series of Poker Lifestyle Show will showcase a broad array of new poker products, websites, books and clothing. Last year, more than 50,000 people, including celebrities and athletes, visited the show.

The complete schedule of 2006 World Series of Poker events is as follows:


Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV

Date Day Time Event # Event Name Buy-In
25-Jun-06 Sunday 9:00 AM Satellites/Live Action
begins
26-Jun-06 Monday 12 noon 1 Casino Employee No-Limit $500.00
Event
27-Jun-06 Tuesday 12 noon 2 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
28-Jun-06 Wednesday 12 noon 3 Pot-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
29-Jun-06 Thursday 12 noon 4 Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
30-Jun-06 Friday 12 noon 5 Short Handed (6/table) $2,500.00
No-Limit Hold'em
1-Jul-06 Saturday 12 noon 6 No-Limit Hold'em $2,000.00
2-Jul-06 Sunday 12 noon 7 Limit Hold'em $3,000.00
3-Jul-06 Monday 12 noon 8 Omaha Hi-low Split $2,000.00
4-Jul-06 Tuesday 12 noon 9 No-Limit Hold'em $5,000.00
5-Jul-06 Wednesday 12 noon 10 Seven Card Stud $1,500.00
6-Jul-06 Thursday 12 noon 11 Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
6-Jul-06 Thursday 2:00 PM 12 Omaha Hi-low Split $5,000.00
7-Jul-06 Friday 12 noon 13 No-Limit Hold'em $2,500.00
8-Jul-06 Saturday 12 noon 14 No-Limit Hold'em $1,000.00
w/re-buys
9-Jul-06 Sunday 11:00 AM 15 Ladies Event No-Limit $1,000.00
Hold'em 1 day event
9-Jul-06 Sunday 12 noon 16 Pot-Limit Omaha $10,000.00
10-Jul-06 Monday 12 noon 17 No-Limit Hold'em $1,000.00
11-Jul-06 Tuesday 12 noon 18 Pot-Limit Hold'em $2,000.00
12-Jul-06 Wednesday 11:00 AM 19 Seniors No-Limit $1,000.00
Hold'em 1 day event
12-Jul-06 Wednesday 12 noon 20 No-Limit 2-7 Draw $5,000.00
Lowball w/rebuys
13-Jul-06 Thursday 12 noon 21 No-Limit Hold'em- $2,500.00
Short handed 6/table
14-Jul-06 Friday 12 noon 22 No-Limit Hold'em $2,000.00
15-Jul-06 Saturday 12 noon 23 Limit Hold'em $3,000.00
15-Jul-06 Saturday 2:00 PM 24 Omaha Hi-low Split $3,000.00
16-Jul-06 Sunday 12 noon 25 No-Limit Hold'em $2,000.00
Shootout
17-Jul-06 Monday 12 noon 26 Pot-Limit Omaha $1,500.00
18-Jul-06 Tuesday 12 noon 27 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
19-Jul-06 Wednesday 12 noon 28 Seven Card Stud $5,000.00
19-Jul-06 Wednesday 2:00 PM 29 Pot-Limit Hold'em $2,500.00
20-Jul-06 Thursday 12 noon 30 No-Limit Hold'em- $5,000.00
Short handed 6/table
21-Jul-06 Friday 12 noon 31 No-Limit Hold'em $2,000.00
22-Jul-06 Saturday 12 noon 32 Pot-Limit Hold'em $5,000.00
22-Jul-06 Saturday 2:00 PM 33 Seven Card Razz $1,500.00
23-Jul-06 Sunday 12 noon 34 No-Limit Hold'em $1,000.00
w/re-buys
24-Jul-06 Monday 12 noon 35 Seven Card Hi Low $1,000.00
Split
24-Jul-06 Monday 2:00 PM 36 Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
Shootout
25-Jul-06 Tuesday 12 noon 37 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
26-Jul-06 Wednesday see below Satellite Day
27-Jul-06 Thursday see below Media/Celebrity Event
and Satellite Day

28-Jul-06 Friday 38 No-Limit Texas Hold'em $10,000.00
World Championship
Event
28-Jul-06 Friday 12 Noon Day 1A 2000 play down to 800
29-Jul-06 Saturday 12 Noon Day 1B 2000 play down to 800
30-Jul-06 Sunday 12 Noon Day 1C 2000 play down to 800
31-Jul-06 Monday 12 Noon Day 1D 2000 play down to 800
1-Aug-06 Tuesday 12 noon A + B 1600 to 700
2-Aug-06 Wednesday 12 noon C + D 1600 to 700
3-Aug-06 Thursday Day off for main event
3-Aug-06 Thursday 10:00 AM 39 No-Limit Hold'em $1,000.00
1 day event
4-Aug-06 Friday 12 noon ABCD Play 1400 down to 600
5-Aug-06 Saturday 12 noon Play 600 down to 300
5-Aug-06 Saturday 10:00 AM 40 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
6-Aug-06 Sunday 12 noon Play 300 down to 150
6-Aug-06 Sunday 10:00 AM 41 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
7-Aug-06 Monday 12 noon Play 150 down to 60
7-Aug-06 Monday 10:00 AM 42 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
8-Aug-06 Tuesday 12 noon Play 60 down to 27
8-Aug-06 Tuesday 10:00 AM 43 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
9-Aug-06 Wednesday 12 noon Play 27 down to 9
9-Aug-06 Wednesday 10:00 AM 44 No-Limit Hold'em $1,500.00
10-Aug-06 Thursday 12 noon Final Table

General Information:

Lifestyle Show begins on July 27 and concludes on July 30. For vendor information, please call 702-777-2756.

Super Satellite Schedule:
$230 buy-in Super Satellites will take place daily at 3 p.m.
$1060 buy-in Mega Super Satellites will take place nightly at 7 p.m.

Super Satellite Days on July 26 and July 27:
$230 buy-in Super Satellite will take place at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
$1060 buy-in Mega Super Satellite will take place at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Second Chance Tournament:
$540 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournaments will take place daily at 5 p.m.
$225 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournaments will take place nightly at 11
p.m.

For Tournament Information:

Visit World Series of Poker or call us at 1-877-FOR-WSOP (1-877-367-9767).

For Room Information:

Please call 1-877-746-5693

The following percentages will be withheld from each buy-in for each
event:

Buy-in Take-Out
$500 10%
$1,000.00 9%
$1,500.00 9%
$2,000.00 9%
$2,500.00 8%
$3,000.00 8%
$5,000.00 6%
$10,000.00 6%

Quick reminder before I watch my Bungals play their biggest game in 15 years.

Today's the day!

I did manage to finish in the money in Wil's poker tourney, so I'm hoping to get lucky today, as well.