10. Home Game Extremes - Lots of people laugh at our $.50/$1.00, $60 buy-in game, but first-time player Charlie and perpetual table captain Thum each had $700+ nights while Darling took home top honors for the year with his $1000 night at RC this summer. There'd be no need to tell you who the biggest loser was if hadn't been Champagne Randy who lost $....a lot a couple weeks ago at Shane's.
**Tulsa obliterated the most lost mark last night in the last game of the year.
9. Austin Pete rarely plays in the home game. Austin Pete rarely blogs on this site. In fact, most of us never hear from Austin Pete unless he wins big playing cards. Anyway, he told me to remind you of his $13k cash on Party Poker for finishing 3rd of 705 in a $215 tourney. He also wanted me to tell you how he fought back from a short-stacked, but do we really care? Nice job, Pete.
8. In the last year, Tulsa has had 5 or 6 jobs. One of them was as editor for American Way. While he was there, he somehow convinced them that he should write a story about our drinky, pokery trip to Tunica and the World Poker Open, which I did not win. Here is that article.
7. Sure it was only a $200 buy-in and sure 8th place only paid $900+, but it was a WSOP Circuit Event and it was Dan who finished in the money. In November, Gonz and Dan ventured to Paris in Vegas for some tournament action. Gonz proved that moving away from the batfaces has hurt his game. Dan proved that the only chance he has of winning is leaving the state.
6. Poker blogs are a dime a dozen. A few of us broke away from the mother ship this fall to start thebatfaces.com. It was TBR’s idea, but Guns made it happen and apparently quit his job to devote himself to the site. In 2006 you should expect more trip reports, poker news, home game talk and Thum babble.
5. The Batface Egg Roll may have been invented in 2004, but it was perfected in 2005. Ericceleste.com was a hit; someone may or may not have top-shelfed Shane; Sang helped convince us that Dan was and wasn't cheating the home game, but there's no doubt that the Batface Eggroller of the year is Guns. How could anyone compete with his brother's muder in Matamoros and testicular cancer in one year? Well done Matt, well done.
4. I hate to admit it, but Tulsa is the 2005 home game schlogger champion. It helps that he flops two pair 78% of the hands he plays. It also helps that certain players (Darling, Dan, Adam, Fawcett) insist on paying him off. The 2006 schlogger will include all Batfaces and will be updated monthly on this site. You can not hide. I have a very slim lead on TBR for 2nd with a few days left in the year.
** Awaiting final schlogger. It could be close.
3. The night Comstock won.
2. We all give Dan lots of crap, but the biggest coup of 2005 was Pokerati correspondents Gentle Shane and Tiny B having press passes to the WSOP. We played in the Media/Celebrity event (I played at a table with Shannon Elizabeth and Nicole Ritchie (yuck)) and we had all access to the floor and the media lounge. I don’t know how to explain it, but watching the Main Event from behind the ropes without a pass looked like it really sucked. I was able to sweat TBR’s play for more than 38 hours and watch him play 7 hands. Doesn’t that sound exciting? Freeze, Fawcett and TBR Senior were able to benefit as well.
1. I don’t know if you heard, but TBR finished 178th in this year’s WSOP Main Event. If you missed out on this, TBR made it possible for you to read about it here and here and here and here and here. If you don’t have the energy, here is a quick overview of the four days. He got hammered, he was lucky and unlucky, he played tight, he got hammered, he played with Gavin Smith, JC Tran and Sammy Farha, all while wearing a goofy hat that said Walter. He was eliminated when he misplayed Kings early on his 4th day of play. The pay day of $39k was split among most of his family and the rest has been passed out to various Batfaces over the last month. All in all it was a very impressive feat, except for this which was gay.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Still the Same Old Me...
On a recent trip to Las vegas to hang out with a few clients, I experienced the highs and lows (well, mostly the lows) of Sin City. Got the trip rolling with a visit to my favorite dining spot in Las Vegas. If you haven't been before, you HAVE to go. Seriously, the lamb burger is the bomb. And for those of you courageous enough to go balls out, I suggest you follow the lead of my client's entourage and try the lamb burger topped with a fried egg and brown gravy. Awesome!
My clients were horny for some low-stakes blackjack action so we headed to the Barbary Coast. Two words: Shit-hole. Then again, perhaps my memories of said establishment are clouded by the fact that I didn't win two hands in a row through 4 shoes. Without altering my betting patters from small multiples of $5 increments, I managed to lose a cool $300...Which is hard to do. I was utilizing a system taught to me by a wise sage, and normally this system kicks ass. I've won about 70 percent of my sessions using the system. Shoot me an e-mail and I might share the secret with you.
So, having had my fill of the Barbary Coast I went back to my hotel planning to go to bed. Of course, the route to my room took me right past the poker room and , of course, there was an open seat. To say that the $1-$2 NL game at Paris is soft would be a gross understatement. There were raises, re-raises, horrible bluffs and idiotic showdowns. Imagine sitting at a table with nine Michalski's and you'll get the gist. Most importantly, it is the kind of game where you can have a monster hand (even represent that you have a monster hand) and still get people to raise into you. Case in point, I was dealt KhQh on my third hand. UTG, an inebriated meathead from Chi-CAH-go, raised to $10 and five (!) players called in front of me. I called the raise. The flop came 3-7-9 all-hearts giving me the next-to-nuts. Meathead bet $30 and got one caller in front of me. I raised to $60. The Meathead called and the third player folded. The turn was a blank and the betting continued with his bet of $30, my raise to $60 and his call. The final card was a blank and Meat checked. I led out for $30 and Meat said call but placed $60 on the table. I asked him if he meant to raise and he stammered, "I guess I did." I then came over the top for another $100. Meat asked if I was "playin' the hearts." Truthfully, I said, "Yeah...in fact, I've got the next-to-nuts." He responded with, "den' I gotta call" and for a moment I felt my blood turn cold, thinking he had the Ace-high flush. I rolled my cards and he turned over 9-10 for top pair. All he could muster was, "Ouch!"
The next orbit, I went at it with the guy to my right. Meathead and his less than demure female companion kept calling him "Texas." When I mentioned I was from Texas as well, the sausage guzzler became extremely confused. For the remainder of the evening, she kept referring to me as "Kansas". Anyway, in late position, I re-raised a $25 raise by Texas with pocket Kings. Texas called. I had to double take when the flop came K-2-2. Texas led out for $50. I figured him for AK and guessed he would call a min raise. So, I came over the top for another $50 and he moved all in. I couldn't shove my chips into the pot fast enough and he turned over Qc-10c. Are you kidding me? The turn put a second club on the board and Texas drunkenly pointed at the table screaming "Oooooohhhhh, here comes my flush!" I replied, "That would be a big second place hand." At this point he realized that his flush draw was a dominant underdog to my full house and he quietly left the table. The Sausage Queen barked,"Ooooooohhhh! The guy from Kansas beats Texas!" When I reminded her that I too was from the Lone Star State, she replied, "I gotta pee!" Awesome.
Of course, all was not golden. Twenty minutes later, I limped into a pot with Ks-9s. With a flop of K-9-6 rainbow, the BB (a Lebanese mush mouth) led out for $20. I raised to $40 and he called. The turn was a harmless deuce. This time he led out for $50. Now, marginally concerned about a set, I raised to $100. He reluctantly called. The river was another 6 and mush mouth mumbled "I go...All...in" and threw his last $60 into the pot. I still figured myself for best hand as I showed him top two pair. He turns over 6-4, proudly proclaiming, "I have set. Three seex." Indeed, as a 19-to-1 underdog, his blessed jihad was rewarded with a miracle card. So, after losing a nice chunk of my stack to "three seex", I cashed out and went to bed...Up $350 at the poker table and up $50 overall.
Interesting sidenote: Meathead and Sausage Queen had been verbally sparring with a kid who looked like a Green Day refugee. Meathead and Green Day had been betting recklessly into each other and their showdowns looked like something from the Gus Hansen Family Christmas $1 tournament. Sausage Queen wasn't even playing. She was just shoving Coronas down her gullet with the dainty aplomb of a crack whore. Still, she and Meathead jabbed at Green Day calling him "Ducky" (due to his mullet) or "Ugly Guy." Green Day responded with less friendly taunts like "Fag" and "Slut." As I would later find out, about an hour after I left the table, Meathead went to the bathroom. Green Day left the table a few seconds later, went to the restroom and punched Meathead. Somehow, the Sausage Queen joined the fracas and they were all escorted off the premises. Sweet!
The next day, I decided to try my hand at some tournament play. I went over the Wynn to enter a $120 satellite for the $500 buy-in event at noon. I played solid and tight and held my own. In third place, with five players left, I moved all-in with AK in an attempt to steal the blinds and a weak-looking call. The short-stacked BB, a nice gentleman from Lubbock, called me with A4, caught his 4 on the turn and I was crippled. I moved all-in shortly thereafter with QQ, only to lose to A-10. I finished fourth, but was pleased with my play.
So, I skipped over to the Bellagio to play in a $240 satellite, hoping to win a $1000 buy-in at the big Friday night tournament. I was fortunate to make the next-to-last satellite before the event started and played extremely well. I was short-stacked for the duration, but never shoved in my chips recklessly. With four players left, I moved all-in with pocket 7s against a meek raise by a player who had been loose and overly aggressive. Surprisingly, he called with J9. My hand held up and I was in second chip position. Under the gun, I moved all-in with Ah9h against the short stack on the big blind. With no choice but to call, he turned over 9-4. My hand held up and I felt the momentum turning my way. I had qualified via satellite for a big event. Wheeeeee!
As for the event, the field was awesome. Amir Vahedi, Freddie Deeb, Minh Ly, T.J. Cloutier and a host of other well knowns were in the field. I took my seat and saw none other than Mel Judah sitting three positions to my left. As play started I had planned to be super, super, super tight. As I sat there playing nothing, Mel ran over the table. He won five of the first seven hands with flopped sets, straights, two pair flops that became the nut straight, etc. He was a force. Incidentally, the way he handles his chips is fascinating. Whenever he is the first into a pot, or whenever he raises, he counts out the chips for his action, plus another set amount which he keeps in his hand. On the next round of betting, the chips still in his hand are his next bet. Completely interesting to see that he is always thinking about his next bet, even when faced with a betting decision.
Anyway, I sat there for three orbits without playing a hand. I still had over $4700 of my original $5000 (three round through the blinds). With blinds still at $25-50, the player to my right raised to $150 under the gun. I looked at my cards to see pocket queens. Not wanting to screw around, I raised to $450. Everyone else folded except the original raiser who called. At this point, I pegged him for a smaller pair or AK. The flop was A-x-x with two clubs. When he checked, mildly concerned about a check raise, I represented strength with another bet of $450. He immediately called. The turn was the beautiful Queen of hearts giving me a powerful set. Again, my opponent checked. I led out for $1200 and my opponent re-raised to $2400. Since a mere call would force me to call on the river as well, I went all-in. When my opponent went in the tank, I knew I was ahead in a big, big way and I was already congratulating myself on taking the chip lead at my table. Reluctantly, my opponent called and said, "Good play. You got me. I have nothing." I began to feel euphoric has he turned over QcJc. Huh? He called me and re-raised me with second pair and a flush draw? All I needed to do now was survive a 4-to-1 draw and I was healthy.
You guessed it, the river was a stinking club and it didn't pair the board. Fuck me. While the rest of the table groaned, I composed myself, smiled quietly and patted my opponent on the back and congratulated him on his win. Mel Judah nodded to me as if to say "that was a tough one". As I stood up, my emotions got the better of me. With an enormous grin on my face, I looked at the table, gave everyone an enormous double-middle-finger salute and said, "Fuck all you people." Everyone chuckled and I left a lonely, dejected loser.
Still I was in Vegas and my fortune could turn in a minute. I had run roughshod over the cash game at the Paris the night before (save that one stupid suck out). It certainly seemed possible to do it again. Next thing I knew, I was back in another game. True to form, the play was stupid and aggressive. Within two hours, I had turned my $300 buy-in into nearly $900. A few more hands and I was going to cash out. Then it happened.
On the button, this stupid a-hole wearing a sweater even Randy Brown wouldn't be caught dead in, raised to $7. After four players called in front of me, I looked at my hand and AQo. Feeling frisky I called the bet as well. The flop was a haymaker -- 10-J-K rainbow giving me the dominant nuts. Anyone else not holding AQ would need at least a card, if not two to beat me. Inexplicably, with barely over $40 in the pot, Mr. Rogers moved all-in for $600. He had consistently been overplaying big hands, so I knew he had cards. I figured him for a big set,but most likely AQ. I knew I had to call, but I was sure we were holding identical hands. I almost passed out when he turned over AA for top pair only. I had a huge lead in a $1200-plus pot! Even with a King on the turn, I still owned him. Cardigan Boy was drawing to a measly three outs to win, with the remaining three queens giving us the chop. Naturally, the turn was the case ace and that jag-off swept most of my impressive chip stacks.
I fought back valiantly to get back to even that evening, and had it not been for a sweet blackjack session (hello, secret system!) the next day at the Excalibur with my aforementioned clients, Las Vegas would have gotten the best of me.
I left town with one thought: is there anyone who is a better candidate for a bad beat jackpot than me?
My clients were horny for some low-stakes blackjack action so we headed to the Barbary Coast. Two words: Shit-hole. Then again, perhaps my memories of said establishment are clouded by the fact that I didn't win two hands in a row through 4 shoes. Without altering my betting patters from small multiples of $5 increments, I managed to lose a cool $300...Which is hard to do. I was utilizing a system taught to me by a wise sage, and normally this system kicks ass. I've won about 70 percent of my sessions using the system. Shoot me an e-mail and I might share the secret with you.
So, having had my fill of the Barbary Coast I went back to my hotel planning to go to bed. Of course, the route to my room took me right past the poker room and , of course, there was an open seat. To say that the $1-$2 NL game at Paris is soft would be a gross understatement. There were raises, re-raises, horrible bluffs and idiotic showdowns. Imagine sitting at a table with nine Michalski's and you'll get the gist. Most importantly, it is the kind of game where you can have a monster hand (even represent that you have a monster hand) and still get people to raise into you. Case in point, I was dealt KhQh on my third hand. UTG, an inebriated meathead from Chi-CAH-go, raised to $10 and five (!) players called in front of me. I called the raise. The flop came 3-7-9 all-hearts giving me the next-to-nuts. Meathead bet $30 and got one caller in front of me. I raised to $60. The Meathead called and the third player folded. The turn was a blank and the betting continued with his bet of $30, my raise to $60 and his call. The final card was a blank and Meat checked. I led out for $30 and Meat said call but placed $60 on the table. I asked him if he meant to raise and he stammered, "I guess I did." I then came over the top for another $100. Meat asked if I was "playin' the hearts." Truthfully, I said, "Yeah...in fact, I've got the next-to-nuts." He responded with, "den' I gotta call" and for a moment I felt my blood turn cold, thinking he had the Ace-high flush. I rolled my cards and he turned over 9-10 for top pair. All he could muster was, "Ouch!"
The next orbit, I went at it with the guy to my right. Meathead and his less than demure female companion kept calling him "Texas." When I mentioned I was from Texas as well, the sausage guzzler became extremely confused. For the remainder of the evening, she kept referring to me as "Kansas". Anyway, in late position, I re-raised a $25 raise by Texas with pocket Kings. Texas called. I had to double take when the flop came K-2-2. Texas led out for $50. I figured him for AK and guessed he would call a min raise. So, I came over the top for another $50 and he moved all in. I couldn't shove my chips into the pot fast enough and he turned over Qc-10c. Are you kidding me? The turn put a second club on the board and Texas drunkenly pointed at the table screaming "Oooooohhhhh, here comes my flush!" I replied, "That would be a big second place hand." At this point he realized that his flush draw was a dominant underdog to my full house and he quietly left the table. The Sausage Queen barked,"Ooooooohhhh! The guy from Kansas beats Texas!" When I reminded her that I too was from the Lone Star State, she replied, "I gotta pee!" Awesome.
Of course, all was not golden. Twenty minutes later, I limped into a pot with Ks-9s. With a flop of K-9-6 rainbow, the BB (a Lebanese mush mouth) led out for $20. I raised to $40 and he called. The turn was a harmless deuce. This time he led out for $50. Now, marginally concerned about a set, I raised to $100. He reluctantly called. The river was another 6 and mush mouth mumbled "I go...All...in" and threw his last $60 into the pot. I still figured myself for best hand as I showed him top two pair. He turns over 6-4, proudly proclaiming, "I have set. Three seex." Indeed, as a 19-to-1 underdog, his blessed jihad was rewarded with a miracle card. So, after losing a nice chunk of my stack to "three seex", I cashed out and went to bed...Up $350 at the poker table and up $50 overall.
Interesting sidenote: Meathead and Sausage Queen had been verbally sparring with a kid who looked like a Green Day refugee. Meathead and Green Day had been betting recklessly into each other and their showdowns looked like something from the Gus Hansen Family Christmas $1 tournament. Sausage Queen wasn't even playing. She was just shoving Coronas down her gullet with the dainty aplomb of a crack whore. Still, she and Meathead jabbed at Green Day calling him "Ducky" (due to his mullet) or "Ugly Guy." Green Day responded with less friendly taunts like "Fag" and "Slut." As I would later find out, about an hour after I left the table, Meathead went to the bathroom. Green Day left the table a few seconds later, went to the restroom and punched Meathead. Somehow, the Sausage Queen joined the fracas and they were all escorted off the premises. Sweet!
The next day, I decided to try my hand at some tournament play. I went over the Wynn to enter a $120 satellite for the $500 buy-in event at noon. I played solid and tight and held my own. In third place, with five players left, I moved all-in with AK in an attempt to steal the blinds and a weak-looking call. The short-stacked BB, a nice gentleman from Lubbock, called me with A4, caught his 4 on the turn and I was crippled. I moved all-in shortly thereafter with QQ, only to lose to A-10. I finished fourth, but was pleased with my play.
So, I skipped over to the Bellagio to play in a $240 satellite, hoping to win a $1000 buy-in at the big Friday night tournament. I was fortunate to make the next-to-last satellite before the event started and played extremely well. I was short-stacked for the duration, but never shoved in my chips recklessly. With four players left, I moved all-in with pocket 7s against a meek raise by a player who had been loose and overly aggressive. Surprisingly, he called with J9. My hand held up and I was in second chip position. Under the gun, I moved all-in with Ah9h against the short stack on the big blind. With no choice but to call, he turned over 9-4. My hand held up and I felt the momentum turning my way. I had qualified via satellite for a big event. Wheeeeee!
As for the event, the field was awesome. Amir Vahedi, Freddie Deeb, Minh Ly, T.J. Cloutier and a host of other well knowns were in the field. I took my seat and saw none other than Mel Judah sitting three positions to my left. As play started I had planned to be super, super, super tight. As I sat there playing nothing, Mel ran over the table. He won five of the first seven hands with flopped sets, straights, two pair flops that became the nut straight, etc. He was a force. Incidentally, the way he handles his chips is fascinating. Whenever he is the first into a pot, or whenever he raises, he counts out the chips for his action, plus another set amount which he keeps in his hand. On the next round of betting, the chips still in his hand are his next bet. Completely interesting to see that he is always thinking about his next bet, even when faced with a betting decision.
Anyway, I sat there for three orbits without playing a hand. I still had over $4700 of my original $5000 (three round through the blinds). With blinds still at $25-50, the player to my right raised to $150 under the gun. I looked at my cards to see pocket queens. Not wanting to screw around, I raised to $450. Everyone else folded except the original raiser who called. At this point, I pegged him for a smaller pair or AK. The flop was A-x-x with two clubs. When he checked, mildly concerned about a check raise, I represented strength with another bet of $450. He immediately called. The turn was the beautiful Queen of hearts giving me a powerful set. Again, my opponent checked. I led out for $1200 and my opponent re-raised to $2400. Since a mere call would force me to call on the river as well, I went all-in. When my opponent went in the tank, I knew I was ahead in a big, big way and I was already congratulating myself on taking the chip lead at my table. Reluctantly, my opponent called and said, "Good play. You got me. I have nothing." I began to feel euphoric has he turned over QcJc. Huh? He called me and re-raised me with second pair and a flush draw? All I needed to do now was survive a 4-to-1 draw and I was healthy.
You guessed it, the river was a stinking club and it didn't pair the board. Fuck me. While the rest of the table groaned, I composed myself, smiled quietly and patted my opponent on the back and congratulated him on his win. Mel Judah nodded to me as if to say "that was a tough one". As I stood up, my emotions got the better of me. With an enormous grin on my face, I looked at the table, gave everyone an enormous double-middle-finger salute and said, "Fuck all you people." Everyone chuckled and I left a lonely, dejected loser.
Still I was in Vegas and my fortune could turn in a minute. I had run roughshod over the cash game at the Paris the night before (save that one stupid suck out). It certainly seemed possible to do it again. Next thing I knew, I was back in another game. True to form, the play was stupid and aggressive. Within two hours, I had turned my $300 buy-in into nearly $900. A few more hands and I was going to cash out. Then it happened.
On the button, this stupid a-hole wearing a sweater even Randy Brown wouldn't be caught dead in, raised to $7. After four players called in front of me, I looked at my hand and AQo. Feeling frisky I called the bet as well. The flop was a haymaker -- 10-J-K rainbow giving me the dominant nuts. Anyone else not holding AQ would need at least a card, if not two to beat me. Inexplicably, with barely over $40 in the pot, Mr. Rogers moved all-in for $600. He had consistently been overplaying big hands, so I knew he had cards. I figured him for a big set,but most likely AQ. I knew I had to call, but I was sure we were holding identical hands. I almost passed out when he turned over AA for top pair only. I had a huge lead in a $1200-plus pot! Even with a King on the turn, I still owned him. Cardigan Boy was drawing to a measly three outs to win, with the remaining three queens giving us the chop. Naturally, the turn was the case ace and that jag-off swept most of my impressive chip stacks.
I fought back valiantly to get back to even that evening, and had it not been for a sweet blackjack session (hello, secret system!) the next day at the Excalibur with my aforementioned clients, Las Vegas would have gotten the best of me.
I left town with one thought: is there anyone who is a better candidate for a bad beat jackpot than me?
Broke, Backed, Countin'
Good column on the ethics of players backing players, some of whom couldn't afford the buy-ins to the major tourneys if they didn't have backing. (Reveals that two players, for example, had a piece of Matusow at the Main Event.)
I have many thoughts on this issue, chief among them being, "Who's backin' me, bitches?!"
I have many thoughts on this issue, chief among them being, "Who's backin' me, bitches?!"
Room Report
Played for the first time at TPC last night in their $70 freeze-out, and I must say that reports as to its awesometacity were accurate. Very nice room, game run very well, lotsa TVs, nice waitstaff, minimum number of douchebags. Well, except for us.
The play was pretty straightforward, nothing too out of line, which allowed me to take fourth by simply betting positionally and taking blinds. (The players were a little cally if you used the 3-4 times the BB formula, so I overbet a bit to compensate, and never got a call when I didn't want one.) Only saw one hand to the river before busting out, and that was when I flopped a boat with 3-4s in the BB (unraised pre-flop) and slow-played it.
Gentle Shane suffered a bad beat and took it well. We're down to two tables, blinds at 400-800, and he makes it $2400 to go from mid-position. He gets one caller, the BB, a guy who was pretty loose pre-flop and who seemed to catch just enough of his crying calls to hang around. Anyway, flop comes something like Q-9-blank with two clubs, BB goes all-in for his last $3K, Shane (who is covered) calls and turns over a set of 9s, of course the guy has a flush draw (5-6 clubs), hits it on the turn, board doesn't pair, Shane is out. He sits there a while, his face gets a little red ... you know the drill. After a bit of a rant at the Gods, as well as a none-too-complimentary recounting of the hand ("nice call of the raise with 5-6"), and in addition to a friendly discussion of between just which of the guy's ribs Shane planned to plunge a knife during said guy's ill-advised parking lot foray, Shane screamed "FOOK!" and left. Only to return a short time later, sit next to me, and berate me every time I threw away Q-3o in first position with the exhortation, "C'mon, you pussy!"
Straight E. says he was the second player busted, and I believe him.
Sommer showed up late and played in the cash game. I also had him walk me to my car in case Shane mistook me for 5-6 clubs.
The play was pretty straightforward, nothing too out of line, which allowed me to take fourth by simply betting positionally and taking blinds. (The players were a little cally if you used the 3-4 times the BB formula, so I overbet a bit to compensate, and never got a call when I didn't want one.) Only saw one hand to the river before busting out, and that was when I flopped a boat with 3-4s in the BB (unraised pre-flop) and slow-played it.
Gentle Shane suffered a bad beat and took it well. We're down to two tables, blinds at 400-800, and he makes it $2400 to go from mid-position. He gets one caller, the BB, a guy who was pretty loose pre-flop and who seemed to catch just enough of his crying calls to hang around. Anyway, flop comes something like Q-9-blank with two clubs, BB goes all-in for his last $3K, Shane (who is covered) calls and turns over a set of 9s, of course the guy has a flush draw (5-6 clubs), hits it on the turn, board doesn't pair, Shane is out. He sits there a while, his face gets a little red ... you know the drill. After a bit of a rant at the Gods, as well as a none-too-complimentary recounting of the hand ("nice call of the raise with 5-6"), and in addition to a friendly discussion of between just which of the guy's ribs Shane planned to plunge a knife during said guy's ill-advised parking lot foray, Shane screamed "FOOK!" and left. Only to return a short time later, sit next to me, and berate me every time I threw away Q-3o in first position with the exhortation, "C'mon, you pussy!"
Straight E. says he was the second player busted, and I believe him.
Sommer showed up late and played in the cash game. I also had him walk me to my car in case Shane mistook me for 5-6 clubs.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Much ado about everything?
If you've been following the WPT at all recently (which I assume the 3 or 4 of you that regularly read this blog do), you've noticed the recent "stink" being created by certain Full Tilters regarding the release the WPT forces its participants to sign beforing entering an event. My initial reaction to this was that it was a gross overreaction by very smart people (even smart law people in Andy Bloch's case). I was in Greenstein's camp in this recent article on ESPN.com:"We were all degenerate gamblers until TV came along,'' Barry Greenstein summarized with a smile, "and now we got made into celebrities and we're complaining to the people who made us marketable and famous that they don't want them to show us anymore without our approval.''
Then I read Negreanu's blog today. At the end (following some rather silly musings regarding the first season of Survivor (?!) and Paula Abdul) he drops what has to be considered a virtual bomb coming from a 2-time WPT winner: "[U]ntil further notice, based on that scary e-mail [from WPT founder Steve Lipscomb], I just don't think I'd be able to play on the WPT." I think it's a "wow" for two reasons. First, obviously, when players like Negreanu start boycotting your tournament (and potentially influencing others to do the same) you've got a problem. And second, less obvious, is the way Danny has, essentially, pulled Lipscomb's pants down in a very public forum. From they way it reads, he's basically saying, "hey man, I trust you and like you and all, but this policy you're trying to perpetuate is patently absurd." Very interesty.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Toot Toot
I don't mean to toot my horn (yes I do), but toot toot. Last night, I attended an underground tourney at a local Austin room. The tourney was small as the room has just gotten started. We had twenty folks paying $70 for the freeze out. Dan and Sweet Texas Jimmy were also playing, though Dan never made it to my table. The long and short of it is that I ended up chopping when I got heads up with an even chip stack. I left after the tournament, but received word that Dan won a lot at the 1-2NL cash game(thus proving how soft the game was and taking away any luster from my tournament vicotry) and that Sweet Texas lost a little. The room runs four days a week, is centrally located and seems like it will do well down here.
Monday, December 19, 2005
New Year's Resolution
I have decided I will, flights and wife willing, play as many tournaments as possible this year. Because of my limited bankroll (read: leftovers from payday), I have tentatively set a sked for 10 or so low-cost tourneys at through March (and later, if it works out well). I will fly up that day and back that eve in most cases. This will not include my desire to start playing jackie’s-type tourneys once a month and such. Nor will it include my probable trip to Vegas with the family the weekend of jan. 28th. (My daughter wants to see the new INXS, and they play Mandalay Bay that weekend. You heard me.)
My tentative sked. If I pull this off, or even half of it, I hope to see you all there:
--Friday, January 6th in LA at the Hollywood Casino. NL multi-rebuy, 100+25
--Thursday, January 19th in LA at the Commerce, NL no-rebuy, 300+30
--Saturday February 4th in LA at the Commerce, NL multi-rebuy, 300+30
--Sunday, February 5th in San Diego at Sycuan Resort/Casino, NL no-rebuy,
110+15
--Monday, February 6th in Tulsa at the Cherokee, NL no-rebuy, 200+30
--Thursday, March 9th in Reno @the Hilton (WPT event), NL no-rebuy, 200+25
--Friday, March 10 in Reno @the Hilton, NL no-rebuy, 300+30
--Saturday and Sunday same event (if thurs and fri go well), NL no-rebuys, 500+50 and 300+30, respectively
--Tuesday, March 29 in Tulsa at the Cherokee, NL
no-rebuy, 100+20.
I invite comments and travel partners.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
You like me! You really like me!
When I started reading poker articles, tips, trip reports, etc. on the internet over 5 years ago, a lot of the best players in the world (or about to be) were writing some of the best stuff. With the hyper-inflated poker boom, it seems like even more and more of the better players are writing. Unfortunately, they're often writing about non-poker stuff these days. Does anyone else feel like articles like this (from Mr. Rocks and Rings) , this from one of the better writers, this from one of my favorites and even these from my man-crush kinda..., well, suck? I mean, I realize we're nerds and all, but can you get back to poker and get over how it feels to finally be liked/cool?
Monday, December 12, 2005
School YOU Go To?
There are several reasons the world of publishing disappoints me. I feel as though, too often, there is nothing new or interesting in monthly magazines. The cover formula of putting a known celeb or a whiny brat with a facemask makes me yawn. And there's never enough about the total awesomeness of poker.
Now, ONE new magazine solves all these problems and more! And no, it's not the long-rumored magazine Dan. Ladies and gentlemen, I offer you five awesome things about the fact that Card Player has a college edition:
- Young hot stud Freddy Deeb is on the cover of the current issue. God, this mag must be scattered across the floors of sorority rooms everywhere.
- Each issue features a "Card Player College Girl"(Say hello to Katie, pictured above, from the University of Michigan. Go Blue!)
- It's got a column by Matt Walczak. That's right, boys. Dare to dream. It might come true.
- It has stories by Card Player interns. They're better than any post Thum has ever typed. Not that this fact will show up on their cover letters.
- B.J. has a tournament report. Shane, take it from here.
(note: please don't tell me that this is issue number seven...I already know this, but I'm just now getting to this post, like, a year after I first saw the mag. go poker!)
Coming to Your Living Room: The Pokerdome
While I was sitting in Central Jury Room waiting to see if I will be called for jury duty, I picked up the USA Today, or as my business professor at Tulane calls it McNews, there was an interesting article about the boys at Fox Sports creating a new poker series in The Pokerdome. Each player will be in his own "cone" against the other players. The cards will have computer chips so the fans will know what cards are still in the deck. My favorite part will be the speed poker aspect with the players having to make a decision in 15 seconds or they are out of the hand. What a great world that would be if we could get Tulsa to abide by those rules.
The article also mentions that there is a $10 million entry with a winner take all tournament in the works. Wonder if Andy Beal will be involved in that. I would worry about the collusion and split pot aspect.
The article also mentions that there is a $10 million entry with a winner take all tournament in the works. Wonder if Andy Beal will be involved in that. I would worry about the collusion and split pot aspect.
Friday, December 09, 2005
The King is Dead; Long Live the King
Looking forward to the posts about last night's home game. I will let the more talented writers do their magic describing one crazy night. Be prepared Randy, very prepared.
I'm also hoping that we will be privileged to review the new set of home rules from Mr. Shane.
I'm also hoping that we will be privileged to review the new set of home rules from Mr. Shane.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Monday, December 05, 2005
Shane Wins!... Again!... sort of (not really)
Received an e-mail this morning from Scott Armstrong, who I'm told runs one of the best monthly tournaments in Dallas over at Kowboys:
Congrats go out to all who participated in the Kowboy's $330 event. We had 56 players with a $21,600 purse. Thanks go out to Kowboy's for hosting a fun evening and the cool raffle prizes.
The winners were:
Mark Farrar 1 $4,575
Greg Winslett 2 $4,575
Shane Kelley 3 $3,575
Arnie Block 4 $3,575
Danny McGowan 5 $1,300
Jeff Gibralter 6 $1,300
Shane Keller 7 $1,000
Greg Merkow 8 $800
Curtis 9 $600
Scott Armstrong 10 $300
Not bad considering:
(a) it's freaking SHANE for crying out loud; and
(b) he outlasted Merkow, clearly a pretty good player.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Go Batfaces!...Shane Wins!
Unfortunately, The Rounder Club is now hosting their Monday/Wednesday night $35 tourneys less than a mile from where I live. For the third time in the last two weeks, Shane, Fawcett and I were in attendence, this time joined by Sang and poker celebrity, Dan Michalski. My tournament poker game reminds me of Joey Harrington's quarterbacking or TBR's home game play.....poo. After a couple hours of throwing chips away with bad bluffs and worse calls, I was crippled by my new nemisis (who busted me on Monday with A2 vs. my AJ), when I went all-in with a straight draw, only to be called by her flopped set, which turned quads. I lost the hand. Soon I was out to her again when she hit an inside straight on the river. In the 70 player field, Fawcett, whose over pair lost to runner runner flush, and I finished 30th-40th. Dan just missed the final table while Sang and Shane, who has finally remembered how to play poker after a 6-month hiatus, finshed in the money. Sang was out in 4th, while Shane came in 2nd, only after he and Como had chopped all but $100 of the top two payouts. If you want details on how the final table went down, you'll have to ask someone else, I had been home for a couple hours by then.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Batface shout out
Not a bad Thanksgiving
It looks like Phil Ivey will be able to afford a bigger turkey after winning two tournaments last week. Still think I could take him.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Doing Dallas Proud
Dallas under-ground poker room specialist, Kido Pham defeated a very foreign final table that included Scotty Nguyen, Minh Ly, Joseph Hachem and the always-Celesty JC Tran to win $453K in the $10K WSOP Circuit Event at Paris/Bally's in Vegas. Before you think this is some kind of fluke (like Michalski last week), this is Kido's third top 4 finish in $10K tournaments in the last 13 months. He's also got a hot wife.
Nominations please.
I'm beginning to put together my Batface top 10 lists for 2005. Here's the list from last year. This year, I'll also put together the Batface Top 10 drunkest moments...(Hong Kong Sue in Tunica, "Did you finger her?", Saturday night, etc). I need your suggestions for both lists. E-mail me or leave a comment here.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Confessions of a Poker A-Hole
Last night, I went with a few of my compadres to a local establishment for some low-stakes $35 NL freeze-out tourney action. Even with 80 or more players I saw a half-dozen or more people I knew from various games around town. Still, I was hoping to get seated at a table with complete strangers so I could try my newest goof -- "Mr. New-to-Poker-Guy."
Fortunately I got my wish, and my table was perfect. Three players quickly tried to establish themselves as poker bad-asses. Two others couldn't help but call every bet on the face of the the planet and one old miscreant overplayed a ton of hands and quietly insulted anyone who folded to one of his overbets. Seriously, with TC700 in one pot, he bet 2000 with a meek board. The first two players behind him folded, but the third slowly contemplated a call. After folding, the crotchety old fart says, "You stupid son-of-a-bitch. You can't fucking call my hand there. No way. This is too fucking easy!" Don't you just love the cocksuckers you meet at the poker table?
Anyway, as I sat down, I opted to pull my best Ackerman routine. I fumbled my chips and kept them in a disorganized mess in front of me. I acted like I never knew when it was my turn and how much I could bet or when I was supposed to fold. I awkwardly fumbled with my cards, acting like I was trying to mimic the card handling skills I had seen on ESPN. I even feigned frustration at one point and began picking up both cards to my chest and staring at them. I never threw my cards into the muck, instead carefully placing them there as if the cards would break. In short, it was the most fun I've had playing poker all year.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, I would highly suggest you give it a go. Here are a few other techniques you might want to employ:
Fortunately I got my wish, and my table was perfect. Three players quickly tried to establish themselves as poker bad-asses. Two others couldn't help but call every bet on the face of the the planet and one old miscreant overplayed a ton of hands and quietly insulted anyone who folded to one of his overbets. Seriously, with TC700 in one pot, he bet 2000 with a meek board. The first two players behind him folded, but the third slowly contemplated a call. After folding, the crotchety old fart says, "You stupid son-of-a-bitch. You can't fucking call my hand there. No way. This is too fucking easy!" Don't you just love the cocksuckers you meet at the poker table?
Anyway, as I sat down, I opted to pull my best Ackerman routine. I fumbled my chips and kept them in a disorganized mess in front of me. I acted like I never knew when it was my turn and how much I could bet or when I was supposed to fold. I awkwardly fumbled with my cards, acting like I was trying to mimic the card handling skills I had seen on ESPN. I even feigned frustration at one point and began picking up both cards to my chest and staring at them. I never threw my cards into the muck, instead carefully placing them there as if the cards would break. In short, it was the most fun I've had playing poker all year.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, I would highly suggest you give it a go. Here are a few other techniques you might want to employ:
- Constantly ask the players around you about the value of the chips.
- Whenever the blinds increase, always post the old blind amounts when it is your turn. On a similar note, any bet you call you call shortly after a blind increase, undercall the bet with the old blind amount.
- Always hold onto your cards. After the dealer has asked you for your cards a half dozen times, the other players will start telling you when it is time to fold.
- Fold pre-flop a ton...and always look like you have no idea what hands you are supposed to play.
- Never raise pre-flop. Yes, this isn't great tournament strategy, but it completely sets you up as the guy who has no fucking clue what he is doing. Case in point, I was dealt KhQh in middle position. Since most hands had been raised (but never re-raised) by the donkeys and bad-asses at the table, this was the kind of hand you had to protect. Instead I just called and joined five other limpers into the pot. The flop was pure trash (2s-6d-8h). I was the the fourth player to check the hand after almost fake-accidentally folding. With a turn of Ks, I was sure I now had the lead in the hand, only cautiously concerned about the possibility of the flush. I only called a meek bet of $200 after three other players called. After the 3 of spades came on the river, the original bettor led out for $200 in a move that looked suspiciously like a made-flush hoping to get a raise, or possibly even a player trying to represent the made-flush. I called knowing that the additional $200 was going to have minimal impact on my chip stack. My queen kicker was good and the player to my right looked at me like I was an idiot. I continued acting like I had no idea what I was doing and clumsily raked the pot as he grumbled, "Nice hand." As if on cue, he blurted,"You did see the flush there didn't you?" I did my best to look bewildered and said, "Flush?"
- Look stupid while playing smart. On another hand, I sheepishly called with AQ suited from the small blind and saw a Queen high flop. This was the first time I had had to act first in a pot. I bet roughly half the pot, but in doing so, I grabbed a handful of chips and audibly counted them out one by one behind my cards. When these chips totalled just over the size of the pot, I began taking chips back out of this pile one by one until I was at half the pot. Then I meekly pushed the stack into the center and announced, "I'll raise that." As all the poker bad-asses folded to me, the final player to lay down his cards stared at me and then muttered, "Good bet." I looked at him like I was stunned and asked "Really?" I then sat there until the dealer told me I won the pot and that I could rake the chips.
- Ask moronic questions to your neighbor like, "how long does this usually last?" When the answer is "about six hours", immediately look at your watch and make a face that implies, "but Jay Leno comes on at 10:30."
- After moving to my third seat, I looked at one of the players from the first table and asked him, "Why do they keep making me move? Did I do something wrong?"
- Occasionally say "check", when someone ahead of you has raised.
- When another player starts shuffling his chips, stare in amazement. Then try to do it yourself, but be sure to spill your chips everywhere.
- Make yourself look lucky. Holding pocket fours on the button, everyone limped to me. In a perfect raising position I called, again looking meek. Both blinds had meager chip stacks, and I had them covered by at least 4x. The small blind folded but the big blind went all-in fully expecting me to fold. I quickly fidgeted, looked at the dealer and asked "call?" Frustrated, the dealer said, "I can't make that decision for you." I said, "Oh, then can I raise?" Now further frustrated, the dealer said, "No, you can only call." I counted out my chips one by one to make the call and the BB turned over J-2 offsuit. My little pair held up and the BB left the table. I saw him look at a friend and say, "How did I get knocked out by him?" Again I didn't touch the pot. When the dealer informed I had won, I replied, "I did?"
- Make inane comments. About every third orbit, I waited for a situation where I had folded, yet the flop was trash. Then I would frown or groan. After one ugly flop of 3-6-9 rainbow I cringed and said "Oh!" I then quietly leaned over to the bad-ass next to me and stated, "I would have had two pair." Patronizingly, he smirked, "Well, you shouldn't have folded it then."
Trust me, it's a hoot. But ultimately all good things must come to an end. I was finally moved to a table where a player knew me. At this point I reverted back to my normal asshole self. Soon, one of the bad-asses at my first table was moved to my table. About six hands in, he noticed that I was clearly a different player than the one he had sized up a few hours earlier. "Oh, now you can play", he said. He looked at me like he thought I was a complete jag-off.
He was right.
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