Tuesday Night High Stakes Poker....

LOL. That's what it has turned into anyways. I know that "High Stakes" is all relative but with the recent crazy action from Eli, the Juice, et al (just for you Chad), we're getting close.

Let me give you an example.... the last couple of hands: I probably have about $1500 or so in front of me and my hole cards are Qh, Qd, 3h, 3s.... there's a straddle pre-flop of $30 and it is raised to $75 with 5 callers. The flop Qs, 10s, 6h. Eli leads out with an $85 bet and gets 1 caller and I push all-in for about $1350... Rick says "Here's a gift" and pushes in about $800-$900 and of course Eli calls. Everyone else folds and I'm not happy about the callers. I was really just hoping to isolate Eli. My hand is very vulnerable especially against 2 players. Rick turns over 2 spades and some sort of funky straight draw that somehow doesn't get there. Eli doesn't show and my set holds up! Nice...

The last hand of the night.... everyone who just busted out in the hand with me buys in for $1k and somehow Rick and Eli get them all-in pre-flop. About a $2500 pot or so and Rick scoops it with 2nd Nut-No Pair ... Ax, Qx.

Well, there you go....

Let the suck outs begin!

Chip Reese on Poker

The object of the game is to increase your wealth, improve your lifestyle and provide for your family.

------ Chip Reese


Interview


Tribute

Famous Poker Quotes....

"Give them everything.... take from them nothing."

-------------Eli, Saturday

My 10 Golden Rules of Poker

For those of you that may be new to the game of Poker, I have made up ten thoroughly comprehensive commandments to follow at your local game. Following these rules will ensure you a tidy profit and hours of fun!

1 - Never Fold Aces. Ever.
No one can possibly make a pair higher than yours, so you have no reason to fold! That jackass raising you on the JhTh9h board is putting you exactly on what you have, two black aces, and that bastard is going to try to bluff you out of the pot you rightly claimed with your under-the-gun limp! Nothing says strength like the UTG limp with aces, and there's no way you're beat here! ALL IN! This rule leads us into number two!

2- Never fold Kings. Ever.
6-way flop with a board of A 6 2? Three's a 0% chance anyone has an ace. Call any and all bets down and pump your fist after the showdown. Remember, poker players are deceitful, so if they is an ace on the board, they're just trying to trick you into making you fold! Shovel it baby! Rules one and two are sort of a corollary to rule number three...

3- Never fold top pair, top kicker.
Of course you're going to play any ace for any amount pre-flop, and when you dominate the flop 9 5 5 with A9, there is no sense in folding. That butt-pirate in sunglasses who made it $50 pre-flop is just continuation betting. Like the song says, you gotta know when to Hold'em, and know when to Hold'em longer!

4- Pot odds ALWAYS favor your flush draw.
You could read Theorm of Poker for this, but I'll spell it out here...never fold your flush draw. There's $8 in the pot, you flop a beautiful 7-high flush draw on a 988 board. One of them jackass players from Duke open pushes all in for 3,200, and accidentally flips over his measly pocket pair of 9's. He has three nines and is going to pay you off when you hit! Do the Math! 3200/8 = 97.4% chance of completing your flush. Ship it!

5- Drink copious amounts of alcohol while playing.
Tom Cruise will suddenly appear and tell you everyone's hole cards. After 10 shots of tequila, L. Ron Hubbard's spirit will enter the dealer and give you pocket aces every time so you NEVER have to fold!

6- Supplement your bankroll by mortgaging your house.
In this time of economic strength and the housing market at an all-time high, take out some equity in your home to play poker. Bring 20k to your friendly 1-2 game and never fold. The odds will crush your opponents and you'll walk away $400 richer! Nothing says Economic Stimulus like non-taxable income!

7- Educate your fellow players.
Someone call you down with middle pair and cost you a big pot when you were trying to represent the nuts?!? Let them know! Because you have special Tom Cruise powers, they should never have the audacity to think you're bluffing! You have a wide variety of words to chose from. Try Donkey, Nit, Idiot, lactating hermaphroditic hamster, and smelly yellow discharge from a polar bears butt! It's your responsibility to make this world a better poker playing place.

8- Whenever you lose, it's a bad beat
And whenever you win against that other nit's AA, it's "poker justice". After all, no player can expect to beat you with any sensible consistency. Hit your gutshot on the river? Stand up, pump your first, and ask him IF IT HURT!!!!

9- Each runner runner draw is +20% to your chances of winning.
If you think you completely missed the flop, look again! That lone spade on the board is your ticket to a monster! Call any and all bets with any 3 to a flush or three to a strait!

and finally....

10- Start your own game!
Bring all the donkeys to your house, and make money the easy way, RAK(P)E them! Everyone knows the acceptable limit to a house rake is 40% of each pot with more than one player involved. For advanced tactics, develop your card mechanic skills and deliver cooler after cooler! A few hours of hearty fun and all your friends will go home laughing and broke while you work towards paying off all those court costs!


Hope this helps everyone play better poker!

The Original Poker Movie

BBV TPJ Style

For most of you I would assume that you have no idea what BBV is but then again maybe most of you do. For those who don't. BBV stands for Brag, Beat Variance. If you ever go to 2+2 Forums, you'll see a BBV section which is full of graphs about guys bragging about how much money they've made each month, bad beats, posted hands and some hilarious stories. For the real action, mostly not poker related, BBV4Life is great. Pics and topics of just about anything you could think of. So let's bring it to the blog one time.


Brag: Starting to turn a very nice profit with Razz now that I switched over to Stars and left FullTilt

Beat: Need to find new employment quick. Going on commission for sales when residential market is starting to tighten up, er.. tank for more expensive products like the one I sale for new construction (one of the most energy efficient, safest, most durable products on the construction market today...precast concrete wall panels, the right choice for your next home!). foreseeable financial stability, -EV.....HUGE -EV!!!

Variance: There still is a chance I can hit the lottery....or someone reading this has a position open. Any position.

----------------

Razz- from the start of this year, I have been really focusing on Razz at FullTilt b/c I really thought I had the advantage. It was only break even poker at the 2/4 HU tables and I hated the full ring games there. The only way I put in over 2k hands at .25/.50 was sitting and then leaving after more then three players sat down. Another issue with FT is the antes. The rake pisses me off also but now that I have a rakeback, its not as bad but it stil sucks. Think about it, if you play FT where the antes are nearly twice, and some cases are, as much as PS, then you're behind even if you win the same amount on both sites. $0.25 doesn't seem like much but when you play so many hands and hour/day/month/year....your profit is cut and I've finally have realized its not about how many pots you can win each session but how much you can win in each pot! Maybe I should post that quote from Mike Caro. So then I decided to go back to PokerStars where the fish are plenty and try my best to stay away from Triple Draw (which I haven't been doing a very good job of mind you....I love that game so much). Since playing on PS, I've taken my tiny deposit of $25 and rolled up to close to $400 and just two days. Why not more you ask... triple draw is the devil's game and a each time I built up some scratch I would venture over there a few times loosing 7 pots, count it, SEVEN pots with either 765 vs 764 or 86 vs 85. So sick. A few buyins of $25 here, $50 there, it adds up quick to deplete a small bankroll. Overall my stats are horrible but that's b/c of FT. PS is running pretty decent so far. See:

I was sick when I had to end my 2/4 game during lunch today and I was another +$100 for the 3/6 game until I took a brutal beat when we were capping it just about every street and when I had a made 6543A on 5th street and he bricked 5th & 6th only to cut me with a 64 on 7th. I didn't tilt which was a show of just how much I'm growing here lately as a player. The action was incredible but that's how it goes. Its a start in the right direction and once I'm able to put in another 1k hands tonight, I hope to be running steady at 4-5BB/100 building a very nice roll quickly and by the weekend should be a regular at the 2/4 & 3/6 tables. I would be there now but I can't stand playing one or two tables and I have to play six in order for me to stay focused and zoned into everything that is going on and so far I'm getting some very solid results for doing so. My goal is to play smart and I would really like to have my 5k in hands before the weekend but that means I can't play or deal at the local games. As for FT, I'm done for now until the FTOPS starts up in February and the Razz event on Feb 14th. Shows you how much FT thinks of Razz, they put it on Valentine's Day. Then again, first place pays out at least $35k so its worth a try. Now if I can only find a stable job.... Feel free to email me with any opportunities or if you would like to know more about the exciting future of precast concrete and how we can save you money and time or your new home....

EuropeanPokerTour - Poker with an accent.....

Cary O8 Pot Limit

It was the first time in a couple of weeks that I have played in Cary and it was a juicy night.... All the usual suspects plus a couple of new guys "to me" anyways.... Daniel, who I gathered plays mostly online and Theron (sp.?) who came in late and I only played a few hands with before I cashed out... There was one monster pot, the biggest pot of the night before I left anyways. And it was sort of interesting in that I was in late position with Ad, 2c, 4d, 6c when I believe two guys managed to get all of their chips in pre-flop (I think it was Super Playa and Chad). They only had about $100-$150 so from late position with a stack of chips in front of me it was a pretty easy call. The flop missed me completely, but by the time it got to me Big Dave was all in and now it's just another $165 to see the turn. The flop was Kh, Jd, 5s. I know it's runner/runner, but (as Rick pointed out earlier in the evening), I did have a flush draw on the flop. So I call and the turn is a low diamond. Now I've got all kinds of outs.... I think it was the 4d. There is a bet from someone (it was all kind of running together at this point) of about $150 and I can't wait to get my chips in the pot. This pot is up around $2800 or so and there's like 4 people already all in. It checks to me and I over bet hoping that someone will think that I missed and am trying to steal it.... no such luck. Everyone folds. Still, a very nice pot. If I had it to do over again... I probably would have bet about $500 or so to see if someone else had anything. Oh well... next time... which is tonight by the way.....

poker with the juice....

Let the suck outs begin!

Top 8 Poker Etiquette Rules.....LOL...yea right

Top 8 Poker Etiquette Rules from about.com with my 2 cents worth

1. Don’t Play Out of Turn

While you may be so excited about how good your hand is you can hardly wait to raise the pot, you have to wait until it's your turn to do so. Same goes for folding hands you can't wait to get away from. If you jump the gun, it gives other players information they shouldn't have before they make their own decision and can confuse the action.

As we always say "Order is just a suggestion"

2. Don't Talk About Your Cards While the Hand is Still Going On

Once you've folded, it's tempting to chat about what would have happened if you had stayed in, but if anyone who's still in the hand hears, it'll give them information that they might use to their advantage. For instance, if you had a 7-2 as your pocket cards in Hold'em and the flop comes 7-7-2, if you blurt out that you would have had a full house, everyone will know that it's unlikely that any player still in the hand has the full house, making it hard to bluff and represent that hand.

If you can't talk about your hand, what else is there to lie about? Or am I really lieing? Hmmmm. Btw, I think the writer could have come up with a much better example b/c if the flop does come 772 and you say you have a full house, who's going to believe you, it's the perfect hand to tell the truth about and get paid off on.

3. Don't Show Your Cards (Until the Showdown)

When you fold, make sure you don't flash or flip over your cards as you toss them into the muck. Again, if players know what you fold, it'll give them information that may change how the rest of the hand plays out. Unless you are all-in and heads up, there is no reason to show or expose your cards until the showdown.

Are you kidding me? I agree with the first part, but I'm showing cards every chance I get to confuse people in a hand. There IS a reason to show your cards.

4. Don't Splash the Pot.

There are two bad betting habits that you see a lot in the movies which are no-nos in real life. The first is when a player tosses his bet in a big mess in the center of the pot. That's called Splashing the Pot, and it makes it hard to tell how much you've bet. A better way is just to stack your chips neatly in front of you to bet.

In my club and I will splash the pot whenever the f^

5. Don't Make String Bets

The second bad habit from movies is the string bet, which is when a player goes "I'll call your 500.... and raise another 1000!" You have to declare whether you're simply calling or raising right away -- once you say "call," that's all you can do. If you're going to raise, say raise and the amount right away. This is especially important in casinos.

Why is this such a hard concept to understand? We have one guy is horrible about this but he's so bad that we've gotten used to it, and allow it most of the time b/c he a gimme to loose a few hundred each time he plays. Of course, this is also the same guy who brings the game to a halt since we have to wait 2 minutes ever hand for him to look at his cards....so frustrating.

6. Don't Be Rude or Mean

Even if you're having a bad losing streak, it doesn't give you the right to curse other players or be rude to the dealer. It will win you neither pots nor friends.

Sorry, I was on the floor laughing at this one for the past 5 minutes before I could type. Umm, yea, not being rude.... that'll be the day. LMAO-It will win you neither pots nor friends- classic

7. If You Show One, Show All

If you win a hand before the showdown but want to show your cards anyway, you can't just show them to the one player to your left or right, you have to turn them up for the whole table to see. After all, why should only the lucky players next to you get to know what you were holding?

This "rule" is blown so out of proportion. You can and should be able to just show certain people out the table 1 or both cards dependent upon the situation especially to the player that you just beat out of money. On top of that, its a cash game so you can pretty much do just about anything you want anyways. Just b/c they see it done a certain way on TV in a tournament they assume that it must be done that way at home. Getting off my soapbox now.

8. Do Pay Attention

If you're in a hand, don't make everyone remind you that it's your turn -- keep up with the action so the game keeps moving. Talking on cell phones is a bad idea.

LMAO...keeping the game moving. We have 2 human stop signs at some of the games. When the action stops it's on JJ or Coach....every time.

High Stakes Poker

Friday PLO8 in Cary

JC, who apparently has not yet mastered the intracacies of the computer keyboard, has asked me to pass on the following info: The Friday game will start at 7:00pm from this point on. Please (that's me talking, you know JC would never say please...) be there as close to 7:00pm as possible. See ya there...

Quagmire - Let's Get It On

High Stakes Poker - Get the Monkey!

Educational Programming......

Bad All in + Bad Call = Monster Pot

I would take about me but I really don't feel like admitting I made an $600 mistake by laying down the nut straight on the turn in NLO8 Sunday b/c there were 3 all ins before me and I thought at best I would only quarter. Well, let's review that hand anyway now that I have it on my mind. We're playing 5 handed NLO8 and this hand comes up. I'm on the button with the but straight of 6 high, the board I was something like 2h3s9c6s. UTG goes all in and both players behind him call with one folding. So I have the nut straight on the turn but the way I figure it was that Dusty had the A4 and flush draw for the low, JJ had a bad low w/ 2 pair maybe and Frank has the straight w/ possible flush cards and a redraw to a higher straight. I think for a second and lay it down thinking that I'm really not a favorite in that spot and would effectively be loosing money by going all in and possibly loosing everything if the flush hits. I'm still not sure about that play. Its so easy to sit back and say I should have called b/c a blank came on the river and I actually would have scooped a very healthy pot that would quadrupled me up (damn pots odds probably required me to call and if I had my balls with me and not here at the house I would have made that call). But I didn't b/c I forgot that sometimes I over analyze a hand and the situation and make -EV laydowns where I have great equity in the pot. But realize that a locks player made a beg bet in first position, a wild man made the call, and a very solid player also insta-called...what was I to think? If $500 was in the pot and I have $140 to call which gives me 3.5:1 for the call and if I'm at convinced that I'm at best getting quartered in that spot I'm putting $140 to win $20 but if a flush comes I loose all of my stack. I'm a puss.. I know. But that's not the hand I really wanted to talk about. This is....

The two biggest stacks at the table are NB and Coach who both have in excess of $500 when this hand comes up. Again we're playing NLO8 and the board is 5xQxTxTx. Now that I think about it, they both have well over $500 when on the turn which meant that they started off with more preflop. Anyway, Coach which is the tightest and most boring, and whiniest player in NC pushed all in on the turn. NB, who is a true gambler, insta-calls KNOWING he's beat and only had 1 out. Now what puzzles me is why would Coach ever push all in when he has the pocket Qs giving him Q's full and the only hand that would, normally, ever call is quads? I mean WTF? Either value bet to entice a reraise or check it to let the other player catch up. It was by far the worst play of the day....except for the fact that he was called! NB had to know that Coach had him crushed. Before they even turn the cards up, everyone at the table said that Coach had Qs full. WE all knew it, even NB knew it but he "had" to call since he had QT giving him T's full. Now I know what some of you good players are thinking. Coach knows NB well enough that he knew that if he pushed the NB would call. BS. Coach played that hand like an idiot and was lucky enough that NB had a full house and was willing to make a horrible call knowing he was beat but NB has never, nor will never make a hard laydown in his life. He would have laid down every other hand possible but Coach could have showed him his cards and NB still would have called out of principle. I'd be bragging about how great I am to make such a tough lay down. Anyway, so I'm dealing and by this time I'm pretty much fed up with Coach's whining and complaining and locked down style and I give him the KOD (kiss of death) for Omaha. I say "Well Coach, there's only one card that can beat you so nice hand." And I burn and turn up the card and just stare at it because it was that only card that would have ever give NB the win. The case 10 giving NB a $1200 pot and gave the rest of the table an empty seat b/c coach was gone before we all were done laughing. I'll be honest though, I didn't feel bad for Coach for a split second. Now I like him as a person but I have really grown to hate playing with him. All he did all day long was complain about how long everyone was taking only to take f'ing 30 seconds to fold each hand but the 5 he plays all day long. And then he sits there and runs his mouth complaining and never shuts up about how much he has lost even though he's always up the vast majority of the time b/c he never plays a hand. When he wins he gives a speech, when he loses he gives a speech, when he folds he gives a speech. Of course now we're going to hear for the next three months about how he lost $1200 yesterday even though he only bought in for $200!

High Stakes Poker Season 4 - Duck Butter Raise!

Family Guy Funny Moments Part 1

Stewie Griffin Meets Wall Street

It's time for you to blog....

I know its not a huge number but right now we're averaging between 100-175 fresh new hits to the blog site per day and for some peculiar reason, we're getting the same group of guys willing to step up and tell us about their donkey plays and their great ones of course. Well, I'm hoping that some of you will take this invitation to belly-up and share your poker hands and stories with the group!

Come on... it won't hurt long!

Movie Review....3:10 to Yuma

This is actually poker related, well not really but I'll explain that in a minute, but first....this was an awesome movie. Last night at the game, which I talk about tomorrow, we starting talking about movies out right now and this one came up so while at Target tonight I went ahead and bought it. I love Tombstone and this movie ranks right up there with greatest "westerns" ever. Not nearly as quotable as Tombstone but has far more action in it and very intense drama. Yuma is now the second greatest "western" movie, behind only to Tombstone. Go out and watch it, you'll love it! Russell Crowe and Christian Bale are great and the gun fight seen at the end is incredible.

Now for the poker related item (not really but hey, why not ad this bit of trivia in the write up)...... you're going to see an attractive blond in the movie that we've all seen before. Some of you die hards my get it right of the bat, others will have to think about it even though she really hasn't changed much in 9 yrs. What other great movie was she in? Rounders. Yep, that's Jo (Mike's girlfriend for those of you who don't watch the movie weekly like myself) Imo she looks better now at 35 then she did then.

Isn't this write up better then me whining about me going broke to a donk catching a straight on the turn after I flop a set of As on the flop last night?

Fellow PPA Member, join our 2008 PPA State Director Program

Dear Fellow PPA Member,
Happy New Year! Please read this important email. Poker needs you!

2008 will be a critical year for poker. The success and momentum we built together in 2007 must continue into a more vocal and mobilized grassroots efforts this year. We cannot move forward without broad support and active involvement from our members. With that in mind, I am pleased to extend to you an invitation to become a State Director for the Poker Players Alliance.

I can tell you from my own political experience that there is no more important mission for the PPA than to have a strong, vocal and coordinated grassroots effort. With 2008 being a major election year, it is even more pressing that the PPA become a player in the key battleground states and districts.

We are taking steps to empower our State Directors. Currently we have state directors in 30 states, but this important component of our organization will not be complete until every state in the Union is fully represented. State Directors are volunteer positions. You will not be compensated monetarily for your work; however, neither will you be expected to incur any expenses of your own. We are expanding the program so that there are multiple representatives from each state. And then, with guidance and support from the PPA, State Directors will engage in activities at the local and national level that are aimed at building the organization while promoting and defending the great game of poker.

These activities will include:

**Training from grassroots professionals who will teach you grassroots tactics and share ideas
Active recruitment of new PPA members
**Direct communications with the thousands of PPA members in your state
**Organizing local events/poker tournaments to promote the PPA and/or raise monies for charity
**Participation in local political events and arranging meetings between poker players and elected officials
**Engaging in PPA national initiatives such as our planned voter registration campaign

PPA State Directors will also receive access to special events planned for the 2008 World Series of Poker and in Washington D.C. You will also be given recognition on the PPA Web site and in leading poker publications. State Directors will be the frontline in the fight for poker. Your fellow poker players will know you are a leader in the fight to protect the great game.

If you are interested in becoming more actively involved in the PPA, please apply today to be a State Director by filling out this simple online application (https://ppa-application.dabbledb.com/page/ppa-application/TBGQnKiq). Current PPA State Directors needn’t apply again. The submission period ends on Monday, January 28th. The PPA will review all applications and selections will be made in early February.

Again, a strong a viable State Directors program will be a major thrust of the PPA’s efforts in 2008. I hope you will consider applying for these important positions.

Proud to Play Poker,

Alfonse D'Amato,

ChairmanPoker Players Alliance

Double Nuts!

Nope, its not some gay porn buffet item.... although the Juice would like to think so. It is the sweetest proclamation possible from anyone who likes to play the high/low split games. It is a proclamation I've had the pleasure of announcing for my own hands only a few rare times although I'd seen tricky-ricky get it several times a night. Elli wrote the book on it! And although I haven't seen him in some time, Elvie seemed to get the double nuts quite often.

However I've been the very thankful recipient of the double nuts about 5 times over the past week to 10 days. Now that I've tried it, I think I'll get it more often.... so look out boys, there's a new sheriff in town. And his name is Reggie Hammond. Sorry... got hung up in the movie.

Let the suck outs begin!

Atlantic City Outlook for 2008

Atlantic City's facelift to begin in 2008
By Mel Evans, AP

Part of the way Atlantic City is dealing with the revenue downturn is by adding hotel rooms. Three new casino hotel towers will open this year, adding more than 2,500 rooms to a city where it can be difficult to book a room at a casino hotel on a weekend.

ATLANTIC CITY (AP) - In the facelift that will gradually transform the way Atlantic City looks, 2008 promises to be the year the surgery begins.

The new year will see three new hotel towers open, the Tropicana Casino and Resort will get a new owner, work will pick up on a new $2 billion casino, details on yet another new casino will be unveiled, and gambling halls may finally start to recover from the beating that out-of-state slots parlors put on them last year.

It's an era of change in Atlantic City, as it struggles to reinvent itself as a hipper, national destination resort, and to fight off competition from New York and Pennsylvania slots parlors.
"My only fear is that with all that happens in '08, there's not a lull in '09 and 10," said Kim Townsend, CEO of Pinnacle Atlantic City, which will build a new $1.5 billion to $2 billion casino on the site of the former Sands Casino Hotel, which it imploded last October.

"The momentum of this type of progress is important to changing Atlantic City into a full-fledged destination," she added.

Figures to be released Thursday will formalize what everyone here knew since about last March: that 2007 was a year best forgotten in terms of casino revenue. It will go down as the first in the 30-year history of casino gambling here that revenues did not increase from the previous year.

That's due largely to out-of-state slots parlors cutting into the most profitable part of casinos' revenue base, and stealing customers who for decades have belonged exclusively to Atlantic City. A partial smoking ban that restricts patrons from lighting up 75% of the casino floor didn't help, either.

Many observers expect the overall decline in revenue to be in the range of 4% to 5% for the year.

Part of the way Atlantic City is dealing with the revenue downturn is by adding hotel rooms. Three new casino hotel towers will open this year, adding more than 2,500 rooms to a city where it can be difficult to book a room at a casino hotel on a weekend.

The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa will open its Water Club tower with 800 rooms and a host of amenities; Harrah's is opening a second tower with 941 rooms, and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort is adding nearly 800 more in its second tower.

Construction work will pick up this year on the $2 billion ocean-themed Revel casino at the end of the Boardwalk next to the Showboat. And by spring, Pinnacle Entertainment will reveal details about its Atlantic City casino.

The new casinos, and expansions of old ones, encourages Joe Corbo, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey.

"This is establishing a favorable cycle in which success begets additional investment and further success," he said. "This is reminiscent of the incredible winning streak that Las Vegas has enjoyed for the last generation."

The Tropicana will soon have a new owner. The state Casino Control Commission stripped its previous owners, Columbia Sussex Corp. of their license last month, ruling that they did not have the ability to run the type of first-class facility required by New Jersey law. More than 900 job cuts led to embarrassing revelations about cleanliness and service levels at the casino, which includes the state's largest hotel at 2,129 rooms.

A state-appointed conservator is fielding offers from more than a half-dozen potential buyers, and a sale could be made within a few weeks.

What else might happen in Atlantic City this year?

There has long been talk of yet another new casino project on land next to the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort, but no plans have been unveiled. And the city and state are studying the possibility of allowing casino development at Bader Field, nearly 150 acres of undeveloped land that used to be an airport.

Benyamine vs Negreanu .....when a bluff goes bad

Poker After Dark - Betting with nothing....

Whoever heard of such a thing?

HIGH STAKES POKER - Esfandiari

Poker After Dark

Whoever heard of confrontation at a poker table? Hmmmm.....

Suggestions to speed up the game....

I know that practically every game.... yep, every game has that player that seems to take way too much times on practically every card, every bet, every call, every action.... unfortunately for me.... we've got about 3 in our game. I won't name names but you know who you are..... I realize that there is some value in taking time to make certain that you are making the right play. Oh, if I could only slow down some times. I know that in some instances I make the play way too fast. I guess the Juice is right... I am an action junkie. And slow is not good for someone who really wants action! It seems that every time I try to make suggestions at the game, it ticks someone off at the table so I thought that I might do it here so that you can read them without the pressure of everyone at the table waiting for you to act..... LOL.

At any rate, here are a few ideas that might speed up the game just a little and it would give you plenty of time to consider your action in those circumstances where it is justified. Well, here you go....

1) Don't wait until its your turn to look at your cards. I know that the poker pros say wait, but they haven't been in our game. Go ahead, take a peek. No one else is paying any attention to you. They're dealing with their own crappy cards.

2) When you do look at them, go ahead and look.... don't peek one card at a time, Dean.... oops... I shouldn't have said that.... LOL.

3) If you are going to bet $70 into a $50 pot, at least have given the idea that someone is going to raise your bet $250ish some thought, Bill.... oops... I shouldn't have said that.... LOL.

4) When you are definitely calling the $300 bet and you plan on counting out the 60 $5 chips to make the call around and over your stacks of $25 and $100 chips at least announce that you're calling so that the action can move around the table while you stack up the 60 $5 chips, Elli.... damn it, I shouldn't have said that.... LOL.

5) Whatever you do, don't distract Bill.... he is very focused, but its just not on whatever it will take to speed up the game.

6) And then you've got the story-teller.... always sharing some war-story about the good 'ol days when we all thought that something we said or did was actually somehow important. I like to hear them too, but just don't let them slow up the game, Juice.... crap... did it again.

These are just a few suggestions that I put together pretty quickly. I know that you have some other ideas and I would really encourage you to share them with the group either by commenting on this particular blog entry or by creating your own. I look forward with great anticipation to your next move, hopefully it'll be pretty quick.

So, let the suck outs begin!

Where did the weekend go?

Well, I've heard of "all-nighters" before, but this was pretty unbelievable.... First of all, I went down to the Omaha 8 Pot Limit to donk off my usual amount and played till about 3 in the morning on Friday night.... got into bed around 5am or so and got up at 8:30am... about 2-3 hours sleep. Nice! Have a normal Saturday and then show up at the Juice's game around 7pm Saturday night to play Omaha 8 No Limit.... the absolute craziest action game that I've ever been a part of in my life! There have been 2 times out of the last 5 games that on the very first hand with $500 buy-ins in front of each player... practically every one at the game is all-in pre-flop! So there you go.... need I say anymore?

Well, this was not an unusual start.... the Juice busted out the other four players at the table TWICE each in the first half hour. One of the bust-outs happened in one hand for practically everyone there! The Juice really likes it when he (he gets just as excited about it when someone else does it too) takes every one's chips at the table in one hand and everybody else has to re-buy.... he just loves it! This night was going to be special.... I could tell!

So somewhere around 4 or so the Juice has to leave for some family holiday crap and the entire table does NOT want to quit... so after much tongue-lashing (which I think he thoroughly enjoyed) he agreed to let me deal and let the game carry on.... so on we played.... and played.... and played.... we dropped the first guy around 4pm on Sunday! The game finally broke up around 7pm Sunday evening.... I know you've got stories of longer games, but this one was my record.... only one other time came close for me. Rick and I continued playing at Corey's house one night from a 9pm start, the rest left somewhere around 5am and we wrapped up with a horrible boat against boat hand in heads up hold'em at 4pm the next day! We're junkies! What can I say....

So I get a call from the Juice this afternoon telling me that not only can I not play poker, but I can't count either... the bags short. So we're getting together today to figure exactly where the "missing" dollars are.... I didn't tell him yet that our last hand of the night... we took half the rake and played one hand of O8 Showdown....

We didn't really, but we did talk about it.... so till next time ---- let the suck outs begin!