Juice Poker

It was a fun-filled night with the Juice Tuesday. We had much discussion about the house ra"p"e, oops, that is supposed to be a K. His goal is to pay for his kids education with money from the rake over a 2 week period. And I think we have a touch down. LOL.

Much to his sha-grin, he doubled me up twice early on and then accused me of being on CHIP PRESERVE the rest of the night. I hope always to be on CHIP PRESERVE. It was fun watching him roll over and piss on himself 2 or 10 times that night. I will say that it has been quite encouraging to see him and John M bet at each other for a change. I did get a few monster cards and they actually either hit or held up.

We played Omaha 8 all night and I limped in early position with Ac, Ad, 5c, 4c to a flop that was something like Ax, 5h, 9h and when I checked Tom J made a bet of approximately $125 leaving him with about $180 or so behind. It folded to me and I decided to isolate to get Rick out and I pushed all-in and everyone folds to Tom, he calls. He's got a set also and my set holds up, no low, scooper. The only hand that I was really worried about after the flop was if he was betting a heart draw with a low wrap. Fortunately he didn't have that one.

There was one other hand that smacked me right in the mouth! I'm SB I believe and there is a straddle of course of approximately $30 or so and I'm not certain who's it was, but either Tom or the Juice raised it another $75 or so pre-flop. I've got a great starting hand of Ad, 2d, 3h, 6h and there are 4-5 callers and I smooth call. The flop was 2s, 4h, 9h.... I really like this flop as it has given me the nut low draw and a flush draw. I believe that it is Tom who leads out with a $80 bet or so and of course everyone calls, except Dean. I'm over here screaming (inside) FIVE-OF-HEARTS, FIVE-OF-HEARTS and I can't believe it.... I get the 5 of hearts. Now I have the nut low, the wheel and a heart flush and a straight flush draw so I cannot contain myself and I bet out for about $150 hoping that someone else made the wheel and that I might bet out any full-house draws. If there is a bigger flush, we'll probably chop. Tom calls and I believe there's one or two other callers including Elvie (seated to my immediate right). The river pairs the board with a 9 and I immediately push all-in and everyone folds. Still, it was a nice pot!

Oh well... back to the felt!

WSOP Stories - One Tight Player

While playing cash games at Rio, I mostly divided my time between $5/10 NLHE and $2/5 PL Omaha 8. I tried to play at whatever game looked the juiciest. Although I was at a couple tight O8 tables, the action was mostly fast and loose (like Dean after a wine cooler).

I had been playing at one fairly loose table for a couple hours, when a new player sat down on my immediate right. It became evident pretty quickly that this guy was a tight player. Most hands we had a straddle from either UTG or from the button (a Mississippi Straddle), with mostly the entire table limping and seeing a flop, but this guy never played a hand for the first hour or so. Now, when I say he never played a hand, I mean that he folded his small blind even if it was only $3 to complete, and folded his big blind if there was a raise or straddle. On those rare occasions he got "stuck" in the hand from the big blind, he folded to any bet. The entire table was giving this guy a good-natured ribbing. He would just smile and tell us that once he did play a hand, then we should get out, because he’ll have the goods. I don’t think any of us needed convincing.

And then it finally happened. He limps into the pot - and from early position no less! The sirens are so loud that players from across the room start lining up single-file to evacuate the building. Although we had a few $1,000+ pots up to this point, my interest is piqued like never before. I have some kind of crap hand that I would normally limp in with, but I fold instead. A couple others fold, and of course everyone is teasing him, saying he must have A-A-2-3 double-suited.

The flop brings all Broadway cards, with a couple spades. His tightness makes a small bet, and gets two callers. I suspect they’re more curious than anything. Another big spade comes on the turn, and it checks around. Now there’s a possible flush and straight out there. The river pairs the board with a queen, and our hero bets $50 into a pot of about $90. After he gets one caller (a guy who apparently has no regard for money), the guys turns over his hand and states matter-of-factly “I got the royal.”

The guy turns over a royal flush! The entire table erupts in laughter. The guy who called him turns over kings-full (the third nut) and to his credit, says he didn’t think for more than a few seconds about raising. He got out pretty cheaply considering. The tight player’s starting hand was As-Ad-Js-10d. He flopped the Broadway straight, turned the royal flush, and probably got paid the least amount possible.

I thought maybe this might be the beginning of a nice little rush for the guy, or at the very least it might loosen him up a bit. Nope. He played for another 30 minutes or so, folding every hand until cashing out up enough to maybe buy a cup of coffee and a bagel. This guy will be one of the lasting memories from my first WSOP – the tightest player I’ve ever seen.

See ya at the tables…
Rick

A quick thought on Gambling Law...

I was bored for a few min at work, and had an argument with a friend over skill v luck in poker, so I was looking up case law.

I came across some interesting posts that compared poker to golf.

Much of the plaintiffs in such cases argue "long run" in poker of skill vs luck. But none do a decent job in proving that the court should look at "long run" to determine whether poker is luck or skill. Without this proof, the courts return to the odds of a single hand, and poker doesn't stand a chance.

My argument would first convince the courts they MUST look at long run, as any game of skill shows. No game of skill that I am aware of tests the competitors and announces a winner in such a narrow scope... why? because there is too much chance in those narrow scopes, even in games of skill. A golf championship is not decided over a single swing of the clubs with a "who's closest" decision. It is decided over 4 days, 72 holes, 200+ swings. Why? There are factors of luck in a single swing of the club. Wind. The way the blades of grass are bent. Etc. Chess champions are not crowned on the basis of a single move. Often not even a single game. Baseball games dont' end after 1 pitch. Shoot, not even a game, but a single at-bat looks at wider scope. Batters get at least 3 pitches.

Once we successfully argue that the courts must look at the longer term we might be able to argue that skill becomes the predominant factor. Until then, we're doomed to get raided.

Just my thought.

Family Guy - In Honor of the release of Sicko

WSOP Trip

Well, I’m back from my first trip to the WSOP – it was an interesting experience. Before the trip, I was much more excited about playing the tournaments then the cash games. The three tournaments I played in, however, left me feeling fairly unimpressed. Considering it’s arguably the most important and prestigious series of tournaments in the world, I didn’t feel like it was very well run, or very well organized. Perhaps it was the shear sea of people. Perhaps it was playing in a makeshift tent. Perhaps it was the PL Omaha dealers who didn’t know how to split a pot or how much a player could raise. Perhaps it was the fact I didn’t even cash, much less win a bracelet. :-)

I was expecting to get butterflies as the first hand was dealt, but instead I felt like I was in a cold, sterile environment, like the waiting room of a doctor’s office. So, with no warm, fuzzy feeling, and (sadly) a moderate degree of apathy, I set out to try and play some solid tournament poker.

My first tournament was $1,500 PL Omaha 8, and we started out with 3k in chips. With not many chips to play with, I figure the first hand I play had better be a good one. I fold the first dozen hands or so before picking up Ad-2c-3d-Kc, a very nice starting hand. A player in front of me raises the pot pre-flop, I re-raise the pot, and he calls. Since he doesn’t re-raise, I figure there’s a decent chance he doesn’t have aces. The flop comes Kd-4d-8s, giving me top pair with top kicker, and nut flush and low draws. I’m now officially excited about my hand. He pots, I re-pot, and we get all the chips in on the flop. He turns over Ax-2x-4x-7x (four-suited!), and is drawing pretty thin. The turn brings the Qc, a great card for me. Now any A-2-8-9-10-J-Q-K doubles me up, and any 3-5-6 or the 7d gives me ¾. Of course, he hits a miracle 7c on the river, giving both of us the nut low, but giving him two-pair and quartering me in the process. I guess I should be thankful it wasn’t a four…

Turns out the guy is a lunatic (as if you couldn’t tell from the way he overplayed that hand). He actually busted out before I did. Crippled, I continue folding crap hands until I can’t wait any longer. With blinds at $75/150, I’m down to $775 in chips and pick up 2s-3s-4c-5c in late position. No ace, but with two limpers I decide I need to take a chance. With no raise, there’s a decent chance I can spike an ace and maybe get lucky, or better yet, take down the pot right there. I raise the pot (which is most of my chips), and get one caller. I’m hoping to see the As on the flop, and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t pop up in the window. Sadly, there are two red face cards along with it. I push (“flick” may be the more correct term) my few remaining chips into the pot, and get called. Two more big red bricks come, and I’m out the door. I don’t even remember looking at my opponent’s hand, but I presumed he could beat five-high…

I’ll write more about the trip over the next week or so as time allows. There were a few interesting hands and stories from the cash games!

See ya at the tables…
Rick

John Shirk Cashes Event 42 WSOP 2007

John Shirk of Clayton cashed $3939, 48th place, in the 2007 38th Annual World Series of PokerPot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better (Event 42), $1,500 buy-in.

Embarrassing Yourself

I have thought about this for a long time and I felt it was time to actually put my thoughts on paper. I have played with just about every poker player that makes the rounds in the greater Raleigh RTP area and I am embarrassed for a number of so called poker players.

Why must someone feel the need to speak poorly or critical of another player at the table? What sense of entitlement do you feel that gives you the right to talk down to another player? If the stakes are too high that having your pocket aces cracked or having someone draw out on you brings you to such anger and grief that you lash out maybe you should step down to a lower limit game that won’t put quite so much stress on you.

The poker table is where you see the true colors of another person. Forced to make decisions that can double you up or break you will make the good and bad come out. Unfortunately I see the same people acting like 9 year old jilted girls time and time again. In what other social setting is it acceptable to speak to someone the way some players feel it is ok at the poker table? Show some class and dignity people!

Once you put that bet in the middle of the table what you are saying is I don’t mind if you call as long as you call for this much. Once they put their money in the middle and call your bet then they paid your price to see the next card. Don’t be mad at them if they hit their one outer or 9 outer or whatever it is they hit. They paid your admission fee. If you are afraid they will call your bet and draw out on you then don’t bet. The point being if they pay the cost you are charging then shut up if they hit their card. The hand is not over before the flop, after the flop or after the turn. The hand ends when the river hits the board and the betting ends thereafter. Just because you have the best hand at any point before then does not mean you get the end the hand then and there. That is the beauty of poker.

We all have our moments where the cards just don’t fall our way and from time to time we let a rude comment or two out to make us feel better and let the other player know how lucky he just got. That happens, what I am talking about is the same players over and over again berating other players and acting like they are Phil Helmuth or something. It is even funnier when they do the exact same thing to someone else (suck out) they act like they did nothing wrong and that is poker but when it happens to them they throw a tantrum and really show their ass.

I did not name names for a reason. Think about the games you go to and the people you play with. I am sure you can think of a few players who fit the bill. This is just a friendly reminder to treat everyone at the table with dignity and respect and if you can’t do that maybe you should just play online.

Poker After Dark - Gabe Kaplan's Set vs. Ali Nejad's Set

Friday Night Omaha 8 Pot Limit

First of all, let me say to say to JC.... "Get out of my damn seat!" LOL. I do hate it when someone comes in and for no obvious reason, selects a seat that forces me to re-locate. Then, have that seat catch great cards all night long. He did it to me last night. With plenty of room to my right, squeezes in on my left and then between him and $$$, played well, but also caught some great cards last night.

There were a couple of big flops for me that as fate would have it turned out to be nothing by the end of the hand. Elvie was on rush and played well too. What a combination! I don't think that has ever happened to me... LOL.

At any rate, I had a great time and donkeyed off a bunch of chips.... I think I've said it before, "If I ever quit playing poker, all of you guys will have to get real jobs!"

Back to the felt! only with fewer chips!

PS... I can't believe that when I run the spell-check that donkeyed is not a word!

Your opinion counts....

I just wanted to make another request to some of you regular readers to become regular contributors.... Practically everywhere I go where there are poker players, people are discussing the blogs posted here, but very few of you are regularly BLOGGING! That is what this site is all about! I've seen from your reaction to my play in games that you really don't think I know what I'm doing or talking about, so please feel free to jump in and make comments.

Again, you're not going to hurt my feelings and if what you say really pisses me off, I'm the administrator, I can delete it! So when you have a comment, blog it. I would prefer that if you are going to criticize specific people or local poker games in a non-joking manner that you not name those donkeys and backyard dung-heaps, but speak generically about play, policies, facilities, etc.,

I would tell you that I've really heard from many of you about the blog on the Rake... I'm continuing to do some research and will post a more complete review as soon as I have it ready.

At any rate, I appreciate that our reader count continues to grow, but I would encourage all of you to log in and let us know your opinion.

Thanks again for your continued support!

My WSOP Experience

Greetings everyone in Carolina-land. And beyond. Just wanted to jot a few thoughts down for the entertainment or disgust of the board. Whichever. Both feelings rot your stomach like an "animal style" In-and-Out burger, so who gives a rats petute whether this post bores you or makes you take your manhood in your hand. I sure don't ;)

Ever since I've moved to Atlanta and been bitch-slapped by the woman I was dating (two weeks after moving) I decided I was going to play in a couple WSOP events. See... and I'm sure many of you have this identical argument with your significant other or friends... we had this constant bickering about how poker was gambling and how it wasn't approved of. My advice? Chop HER up "animal style" and sacrifice her carnage to the poker gods for better luck at having the winning hand hold up. So since its end, I swore I was going to play... Oh, and in case she's reading this, I also have the lesbian porn on automatic loop... deal with it.

So Mr. Shirk gave me a place to crash on the floor of a Binion hotel room. The kind of place even a $6 hooker would have been leery of. I wish I had taken 6 valium and stayed there for 3 days instead of venture out to play cards. But I had skipped the step of worshipping the poker gods with the bloody remnants of my ex. So they took it out on me. Or rather, I played like a donk. The ultimate eeyore. It's like I forgot how to play. I must have bluffed off $1000 in the first night. Lesson to self: Just because you haven't played in 3 months doesn't mean you have to get into every pot and win every hand. Lesson #2 to self: The Juice's style of play doesn't translate well to some 2-5 NL games.

I entered a $550 tourney at the Venetian, and actually played well. Couldn't get too many hands, but lasted about halfway through when I pushed all in with 42s against a late-position raiser who had done alot of it. Of course AA was what he flipped over.

The PLO8 tourney at Binions was an effort in retardedness for me. I played semi well for a very short time, and pulled 2 hands in a row that left me with 20+ outs to the nuts after the flop. Of course, nothing catches either time. It reminded me of the 7 times in a row that the roullette table hit Red while a drunk Shirk and I were firing chips at the leatherfaced fake-hair twig of a pit boss flirted with us. She actually brought out a paddle.

So a gallon of bad play and a little bad luck, I was ready to take on the $1500 PLO8 event. Joe Hatchem's Aussie friend was on my right, and Hatchem kept coming over to our table until I broke his friend. Cornflake Turner was ironically at the table on my left. I played well. Very well. Stole some small pots. Made some great plays. Folded hands that I would have called $140 with preflop in Juice's game, but would just get me in trouble in a tourney. Played outstanding. Until the hand. THE hand.

QcQx2c4x. Mildly interesting at this table. Blinds $75/150. I have about $6-7K (starting and average were 3K) after a few good hands. I'm in late position, and after a limper I call. The SB raises pot, to like $600. He's got about $13K in chips, and is easily the big stack at the table. I'm probably in 3rd place in stack size, but way above average. Implied odds are nice, so I make the call to spike something. Everyone else folds.

Lo and behold. Qh5c7c flops.

Tell me I'm not jizzing my pants against the big stack when he leads out betting pot.

What do I do? I almost want to trap him and see a cheap turn to make sure things are golden and get more chips. Nah... the pot is about $3000 after his pot bet, and I'm happy with that right now. So I repot.

He re-pots.

Uh oh.

We get all the chips in.

He shows AhAx2x9h. I've got him crippled.

If he catches an A, I get half the pot for the low. If I catch a club, I'm almost a lock. Things were marvelous. Alas... you know what's coming...

Runner runner heart heart, I can't remember if they were low or not, but his low had me beat. Does it really matter? Ugh. What a cheap way to get busted out of the biggest tourney I've ever played in. DANGIT!

All in all, I had a wonderful time losing a ton of hard-earned cash. I saw so many pros, your head would spin if I listed them all. Rick and I had alot of fun watching Shirk instigate a bunch of fights at his table with Marcel Luske. The floorman must have made a trip over about 5 times while we watched. And John was always quiet as a churchmouse when he did.

Right ;)

It was a great trip though despite the bad cards. Great to see some familiar faces and to be in the middle of it all. To experience an event and play like I'm capable of, and know that I'd have had a *ton* of chips had I won that hand. Could have ridden those a long way. Maybe next year.

In the meantime... the lesson learned is... if your girl doesn't like you playing poker... make sure you dump her ass in time for the WSOP. I'll see you there next year.

Local Boy Does Good.... John Shirk

Congratulations to John Shirk of Raleigh. John cashed in Event #42, Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better. I don't have all the specifics at this time, but he was knocked out late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning in 40-something position. I'll update this post as soon as I get the final details.

The $1500 Buy-in event that begain on June 25 attracted 687 players who ponied up to splash around with some of the best poker players in the world. This event attracted a lot of them as Omaha 8 is still new to most players and the small field meant that there would be a better than normal opportunity to snag a bracelet.

Total prize money was just under $940K!

I've spent the past hour or so trying to find the article on PokerListings.com that talks of John being sandwiched between two of poker's best. I'll bring it in when I find it.....

Again, congratulations John! Nice going!

Prop Bets and lots of action on a slow day! - 2007 WSOP

New Jersey Card Room Busted Last Thursday

Copied from the Triangle Poker Journal

It was a somber evening for poker players in Piscataway, Edison, Highland Park, South Plainfield, East Brunswick, Succasunna and Ogdensburg, New Jersey, as 14 of their regulars were arrested in an early morning raid last Thursday.

A police spokesman said five of the men were arrested for running an illegal gambling operation and nine were arrested for participating in the games.

The operation had been gong since March, the officer said, and players were solicited through the internet, e-mails and word of mouth to play at the non-descript office complex in Edison.

A membership fee was charged and players forked over about 10% of the pot in rake, police said, in the month-long investigation and subsequent arrests.

Two 23-year-olds were charged with promoting gambling and maintaining gambling records. One of them also got busted for marijuana possession.

About $3,000 in cash and various gambling paraphenalia - including poker tables, chips and computers - was also seized in the raid.

Copied from the Triangle Poker Journal

How much is a fair rake?

I've had a couple of guys approach me over the past few weeks about what should be an acceptable and fair rake? I'm no authority as the only games which I have ever run have been home or office games which were rake-free. I have always held them to play the game and have entrusted my financial gains to my ability to play. Which probably explains why I'm always down lifetime-to-date.... LOL.

At any rate, the few games which I have regularly attended locally have all seemed to have a fair rake. I believe based on what I've seen and heard from AC and Vegas that a fair rake should be approximately $1 from every $20 in the pot up to a maximum rake of $5 for cash games. So there's no question about how much rake is taken, most professional games will have a spot on the table in front of the dealer where they will accumulate the rake during a hand and not pull any chips from the pot until the hand is completed. MMC's dealers did that over at the Chapel Hill Road/Johnson Street location before it was busted and I really liked it. There was never a question as to how much rake was taken from the pot. I know that some casinos charge an hourly fee which usually totals about $5 per seat per hour.

For tournaments, I believe that most tend to fall in a 5% to %10 amount of your buy-ins, re-buys and add-ons. In some instances, the percentage fluctuates higher on the re-buys and add-ons, but most totals would be around the 5%-10% mark.

That's my 2 cents worth... let me know your thoughts.

WSOP Updates?

Just a reminder that if any of you have any updates about any of our local players, please update us. I have voice mails from one or two that seem to be having some trouble connecting to the internet out there.

Thanks and good luck to all....

Cary O8 Pot Limit

Well, the Juice would probably argue the point, but I do believe that I am trainable. After showing up minutes late the past couple of weeks for the PL O8 game in Cary, I decided to be one of the first there. I arrived just a few minutes before 7PM and was second only to Tom. I was hoping to get the center seat at the table as I believe that I can see the cards better when I am not constantly looking through and around my glasses to see the cards. I'm near sighted so sitting close is a good thing. I did make a call last night believing that I had the nut heart flush draw when there was a heart and a diamond on the flop. Nice!

There was a period of about 45 minutes when the board was hitting me like crazy.... unfortunately I wasn't in all of the hands. LOL. In one hand, I folded pre-flop to an Ellie re-raise on his straddle when I had the Ah, Qh, Kc, 9c... the flop was Ac, 10h, 7h. The turn the Jc and the river would have given the nut flush in hearts. Wow!

One of the big pots of the night for me came on another Ellie pre-flop raise of about $90. Before the flop there was $560 in the pot... I've got the Ah, Qs, 2s, Kh and the flop was Jh, 10h, 7c. I didn't have anything but monster draws so I checked hoping that someone behind me would bet, but unfortunately it didn't work. It checked all the way around. The turn was 5s and I couldn't wait any longer.... armed only with hellacious (sp.) draws I potted it and got 2 callers. I'm pretty certain that there were only like 2 cards in the deck that didn't hit me... The river completed my wrap and I scooped the pot.

There were several hands where I had 4 wheel cards, sometimes paired, sometimes double-suited, only to see the flop of J, J, 10 or something like it. Probably my best pre-flop drawing hand ended up being a mis-deal, AA35 double suited and Chuck didn't stop at 4 cards and apparently Stone didn't like the first four he saw so he went ahead and looked at the 5th card and we had to re-deal. There were 2 other guys with 4 wheel cards but not quite as good as mine..... I would have loved to seen that flop!

We kept a full table till around 1:30 when some busted out and one went to re-load and while he was gone, the game broke. I cashed out for a tidy profit and headed up and ended up watching a movie till 4 in the morning.

Rick headed out to Vegas this a.m. and I have great expectations for him. Not only is he playing some great poker, but he continues to have a good run of cards going. That is a very tough combination to beat! So, look out Vegas... life as you know it, is over.

Tonight.... Juice Part II.

I finally hit the nuts!!!!

I finally made a royal flush last night! And it was the worst thing ever!! We're playing O8 and I'm in first position and complaining about my luck in O8. "I will not play this game all night" I said at the start of that hand so I checked blind til the river when all of a sudden I looked at my cards and there she is.... a royal heart flush....I'm getting paid off!!!! So I check figuring that there is no way on earth that this hand with 6 people playing could ever check down the entire way. But it does. There's a monster pot of $12 and I really thought about mucking it and not saying a word. But I say that I have the straight flush (thought saying royal would make it hurt worse) and they think I'm joking.....but I'm not. One played did offer to take up a collection of $5 per player but it fell of deaf ears. Not to worry though, 6 hours later I made sure to go all in on the flop with a royal flush draw only to be called by two horrible hands and no diamond, not even a red card, came to give me redemption for my sin of checking the absolute nuts earlier. So once again I lost and I went down the road with my head held low, mumbling and kicking rocks once again. I will win against those donks one of these days!

TM

WSOP Trip - Day 1

Played my first tourney today. It was relatively uneventful I'm afriad. I played about 5 hours and picked up one good starting hand (KK) which I only won a small pot with. Eventually the blinds were getting big (200/400) and my stack was getting small (5kish). The big stack raised from MP and I looked down at AQsuited and decided to push all in. A girl behind me (who I had recently discovered was the wife of professional poker player Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi") went all in as well (she had me covered). The original raiser folded and she turned over pocket Aces. Great timing Derek! And that was the end of my day.

The $500 buy in tourney is tomorrow...so hopefully I'll get a better run of cards.

Frustrated Poker Player Hilarious!

As requested....

Quads vs. Quads!

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. With all the crazy action normally happening in our game with The Juice, I’m surprised it took this long. While it wasn’t quite as dramatic as the quads vs. quads hand at PKR a few months back (one-outer for Eli on the turn, followed by a one-outer for Akash on the river), it was brutal nonetheless.

We’re playing $5/10 NL Omaha 8, we have our usual pre-flop straddle, the usual pre-flop raise, the usual 58 callers with one guy all-in, etc., and we have a nice little pot a-brewing. I’m in middle position with Q-Q-J-8, and see a flop of Q-Q-10 rainbow – woo hoo! The great thing about this situation (other than the obvious!), is that there’s no chance for low, and the only way I can lose is if it comes running aces, kings, or straight flush cards (still, it is Omaha…). The one bad thing is that, unless someone has pocket tens, I’m unlikely to get any action. Fine with me, as there’s already over $400 out there.

The action checks around on the flop. Since nobody in their right mind would’ve checked pocket tens here, I’ve pretty much resigned myself to the probability of just taking down what’s currently in the pot. Still, I’m hoping for a big card that will make someone a straight, or best case scenario, aces or kings full. Instead, the turn brings a 10. Not all bad, as I might get a little action from someone holding a 10. Dean pushes in the rest of his chips ($98 I believe), I Hollywood a bit before calling, and John M calls as well. Nice!

I assume each of them has one of the remaining tens, until to my surprise, one of them pops up on the river! The board shows Q-Q-10-10-10, and now all of a sudden my interest has peaked. John and I are the only ones left with chips, and he has a nice little stack. With any luck he has the case 10. I toss in a $125 bet, and John immediately goes all-in for over $800. I call, of course, and he excitedly announces “I’ve got quads!” I say “I know, me too” as I show him my quatro reinas.

Unfortunately for John, he learned the hard way one of the Laws of Omaha – When you’re drawing dead, the card that costs you the most money will always come. Luckily for me, what started out as a nice flop and a decent pot, turned out to be a sweet turn and river, and a $2,400 pot! You’ve gotta love this game…

See ya at the tables…
Rick

Remind ya of anyone you play with?

I'm not sure how to bring the entire video here so that you just have to hit play. Charles help me out on that if ya can.....heres the link to it


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i5DAVR1ElU

Famous Poker Quotes...

"Try to decide how good your hand is at a given moment. Nothing else matters. Nothing!"



------------- Doyle Bunson

New Game in Raleigh

I'd like to announce a new game for the Raleigh area. It's actually been up and running for a few months now, but I just got the invite to post it here. Here are the details: Wednesdays starting around 7:00, 1/3 NL Holdem. Fridays starting around 7:00, 1/3 NL Holdem. Sundays starting around 2:00 1/3 NL Holdem. Also, the last Sunday of every month around 5:30, we have a No Limit Tourney. $60 buyin, with rebuys for the 1st hour and 1 add-on at the end of the first hour. Email me if you have any questions. winwithmike@hotmail.com

North Carolina Poker Players

Hey all, I'm a long time reader, and decided to start posting. Some of you know me as Hopper, and if you don't, it's because I've been gone for over a month now and am suffering from extreme poker withdrawal. Either way, continuous checking of cardplayer.com showed me something interesting........Event 8 of the WSOP (NLHE $1000+rebuy) results:
Michael Gracz 6th
Jason Strasser 12th
Mark Newhouse 18th

and in a strange coincedence, Tommy Vu placed 2nd....unfortunately this wasn't Raleigh's own Tommy Vu, but actually Tuan "Tommy" Vu. Either way, just between Gracz, Newhouse, and Strasser, we have Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham well represented. When the Triangle places 1/6th of the final two tables, you know the competition must be tough here! Enjoy the games gentlemen, and please keep blogging so I can live vicariously through your bad beats and scooped pots!

The Juice loves me.... he loves me not!

Much to his dismay..... and Rick's I might add, the Juice and I got tied up in a couple of big pots last evening and I ended up taking all his chips two different times. There have been a couple of times over the past year when the Juice has stated that he would rather be gang raped in front of his family than to give me any of his chips. And, just for the record, I would be more than happy to surrender all the chips that I've ever won to be able to witness that act..... Any takers? Oh, and the reason Rick doesn't like seeing the Juice give any of his chips to me or anyone else for that matter is that Rick has this relationship with the Juice where the Juice begins his aggressive play early and accumulates a mountain of chips and then at several points during the evening he somehow manages to give them all to Rick! So, I don't believe that Rick would be upset about any particular person taking the Juice's chips except that means that he didn't take them. LOL.

We got off to a little bit of a late start and were a little short-handed for an hour or so and the Juice was on a rampage. I actually arrived after the game had begun and he had already doubled up at least once in just a few hands. Within an hour or so the steaks were about ready and I must say that they were absolutely awesome! We have been eating special meals prepared by a lady that does a great job, but we have just been missing the steaks! And they were unbelievable! He had seasoned them perfectly and they were of size that almost prevented you from being able to put any sides on your plate. You almost had to pile the sides on top of the steaks! They definitely have been sorely missed and they were delicious! At any rate, there was some joke about the Juice busting out before the dinner break and I delivered the crushing blow just as the meal was about prepared. I'm in middle position with the Juice to my right and he has straddled the O8 $5/$10 Blind for about $40 and there are about 5-6 callers. I limped along with the gang and if I remember correctly he bumped it up when it got back to him about $100 or so. Although I would have preferred to have a decent low draw in that position, I decided to play along and hope for luck with Qd, Qh, 9d, 9s and wham!!!!! the flop was Q, 4, 4! And as unbelievable as it may sound before it got to me, Rick checked, Bill T bet $30, the Juice raised it to $100. I re-raised another $250 and Bill T called as he had less than $250 and was getting a discount. Dave pushed all-in and I immediately called. Both Bill T and the Juice had a 4 and when the turn was another high card were both drawing dead! Not the biggest of the night, but about $1700 pot and we were ready to eat.

There were a couple of other big hands for me but I am actually having computer problems tonight and I am blogging from my son's laptop. It's OK, but I was wanting to utilize the card images to let you see the hands instead of just hearing about them. So I'll just blog another one where I scooped the Juice's chips. HeeHee. I'm in middle position with As, 6s, 2h, Qh and the Juice straddles and then raises to about $100 pre-flop. I smooth call along with everyone at the table and 2 pedestrians on Capital Boulevard. The flop 3d, 8s, Jh (I believe) and the Juice leads out with $75 bet and there are about 4 callers. The turn was a beautiful low spade (the 5s) giving me the nut low (with a back-up strategy), a gut-shot wheel draw and the nut flush draw so when the Juice pushed with a $200 bet, I raised it to $600 which was enough to put Bill T all-in and at least make the Juice think about it a little, but he didn't. He pushed all-in and I called and the river was a 4 giving me the wheel and another very nice scooper!

Unfortunately because of late night play in Cary on Friday night/Saturday morning, I was worn out and had already made a call of a $200 bet from Elvie thinking that my low might be good when there wasn't a low on the board. Nice! Brain-dead me! So I played a couple more rounds and cashed out with very nice total!

Here's to the Juice for preparing the steaks for us! They are the best!

Back to the felt!

Just my luck!

Well, after reading this blog for some time now, I figure that it was time to post my bad run for everyone to see. This night actually took place the last week of May.

We're playing 1/2NL mix between HE and O8 with just me calling straight Omaha every time. So I buy-in short stacked with $60 and there is only 5 of us playing to start. I'm first to act in the HE game, I think this is the 6th hand of the night, and I see 7S 4S so I just call and the table limps in. The flop comes 10 4 4, SWEETTTTT!!! "Coach" is first to act and bets $10 into a $10 pot and I just call with everyone else folding. The turn comes a 5 and we both check and the river comes my 7 to fill me up. I'm in great shape now. I figure Coach has 10 with a face card and I slow played my way into a quick double up. Right?!....WRONG!!!!!!!! Coach bets $20 and I have only have another $26 left so I reraise just as sure as can be that he has the 10 or maybe even a big pair and I'm getting paid off. So he calls and as I start to turn my hand over and pull those lovely chips to me.......Coach says "I've got a boat!" What?! Did he just say that? How? When? No way he has me! I look over and see him turn over pocket 5s. OUCH! I'm crushed. I just got hit by a freight train that I NEVER saw coming. NEVER. So I say nice catch and all of you can kiss my.... well, let's just say I was on tilt. I mean, I played it perfect right? Well, maybe not. So I stand up and leave and go to the store to clear my mind and get a drink.

A few minutes later I come back level headed. I realize what and where I went wrong and some of the tells I missed on Coach and I was ready to return and crush everyone! So buy-in again short staked at $60 (btw, everyone else was sitting with at least $200 buy-in so I figured if I just play tight and smart I'll be a winner in no time b/c they all will just try and push me around). So a few hours have gone by and I'm really just playing great. Making great lay downs and solid calls the entire time. Building my stack to over $200 and then back down to $150 or so when this hand comes up. I'm on the button and I call Omaha High. I look down and see the most incredible O8 hand and just my luck I called high....that'll teach me. So everyone is limping in and I raise to $10. I get three callers behind. One of which is a very solid Omaha player and the other 2 are....call and pray to hit types. So I'm sitting on the button and the flop comes As8c3c, There's around $50 in the pot and it goes check, check, and then "Jav" bets $100. Wait, $100? What the? Well I have AhAd2h4d and sitting now with $141 total and figure that Jav has a weak flush draw and 2 pr so I raise all in and "JD", the solid player, stands up and starts to really think. So I figure JD has a big flush draw and is already sitting with a very nice stack and is starting to think things through. After a minute or so, JD finally folds, Mr B folds and Jav has to call. Jav turns over 8s8h9c5c. JD shows where he folded A8 so I don't have to worry about the 8 spiking and he also had a club. No let's do the math real quick. 9 of us are dealt in, so there's 36 cards plus the flop and burn so we're at 40. The turn comes a blank which brings our total to only 10 cards left in the deck including the burn card. Playing three handed I am a 65% favorite, playing 9 handed, I'm even higher, over 90% I think... I should have chopped it right then and there with my luck. Just break even and live to fight another day. But here's the thing, I'm not a chopper. I got for it and maybe that's way I loose every time I play. And by now you know that the river was a CLUB and gives him the less then 10% chance to when the pot. Now if I had played O8, I would have won low, him high, and I would be complaining about how I didn't win it all but now I'm going down the road, mumbling and kicking rocks with my head held low.

Omaha is such a brutal game. There is only one game that is more brutal and that's PL or NL Triple Draw (which no one plays around here, only online). That's my story and I text'd JD that night after I got home saying I was going back into retirement and wouldn't be back until June. That's right June! Which at the time was only 4 days away. I meant July but they all know I can't make it past a week without loosing money to those donks.

TM

Juicy O8 with no J-Rod

By now you have probably surmised that we lost our dealer over the weekend.... probably to some random rant by our friendly neighborhood Juice! But the old saying still works, "the boss may not always be right, but he is always the boss!" So Tuesday we tee'd it up with our team of regulars with a couple of noticeable absentee's - for most of the night, it was Ellie, Rick, Dean, John M, me, Elvie and Jim L - the Juice was present but he was dealing. That doesn't hardly seem right... although he did a memorable job, making only one or two small errors but definitely controlling the table. Then there was that one instance....



There were a several big hands during the night but, fortunately or unfortunately, I managed to stay clear of the big pots. I have been working on my table manners and there were only a couple of times last evening when I just couldn't contain it anymore... fortunately I didn't lose any limbs. LOL. No pun intended. Elvie and I got hooked up for all his chips several times and I think he was quartered all three times. So although I didn't have a huge stack, I did stay ahead all night long. Probably the one hand that the Juice could have used his dealing skills to really make a hand for me was against Rick. I believe that I was in middle position and Rick was one of the blinds. I limped hoping that someone would raise as I held Ac, Ad, 3c, 3d... not spectacular but I really liked it. The flop was good..... Kc, Jc, 8x. Rick led out with a pot sized bet of about $75. I quickly called with my nut flush draw and Elvie called right behind me and everyone else folded. I thought that Rick probably flopped a set. I'm pretty sure that everyone could hear my thought transmission to the dealer.... deuce of clubs... please! He tried.... delivering the 2d. Now I've got nut flush draw and nut low draw. Rick led out with a $150 bet and I almost pushed, but I smooth called thinking that I wanted Elvie to play too. I haven't run the numbers yet, but I believe I had around 84 outs. Any low card that doesn't pair the board other than the Ace or the three gives me the nut low. Any club that doesn't pair the board gives me nut flush. I was also thinking that if by chance I did hit an Ace that the set of Aces would be good. Yep.... 84 outs. Elvie called and the river was do-nothing 10x. It was enough of a scare card that Rick could no longer bet and turned over his set of 8's and scooped a very nice pot.



I didn't stay much longer after that and headed for home with decent profit for the night!



Back to the felt!

Top Ten Reasons To Bring J-Rod Back!

10- uhhh- okay
9- What other guy sleeps cuddled up with an Asian dude with a spent condom beside him? Let's you take a picture? Blow it up? And hang it on the wall for all to see?
8- If he's not there, who will we get to pick on?
7- "I've got to take a huge crap!"
6- Dave and Mikey should be playing.... not dealing!
5- Nobody sticks it to us on the river like J-Rod.
4- Oh, you mean, he didn't get half the pot?
3- "I pumped one out in the trash can..."
2- "Dean, you've got 5 seconds!"
1- Sure, he can't deal, he can't count, he can't take control of the game and he has no idea how to determine who won the low, but he's our bitch... and we want him back!

O8 Cary Pot Limit

Back to Cary last night, but got there too late... full table before 8pm. Still not certain that I agree with the house about limiting the table to just 9 players, but it is the house. I respect the rules, I just don't have to like it. I guess we could start a discussion. My position is that there are enough cards and why should you make someone wait and not be able to play if there are enough cards, the table is big enough? JC's position (and mine in parenthesis) is I believe two-fold: 1) it slows down play (not certain that I buy it, there are a couple of players who slow down the play.... make THEM speed up); 2) available cards.... (as long as there is not a mechanic dealing... please? the cards are random and whatever is going to come is random, who cares?) Well, let me know your thoughts on it.

I arrived shortly after 8 and there was a full table and 1 player waiting. Just about 20 minutes in, I got a call from the family stating that there was a waiting list at the hockey rink and they were heading back home so I went back home and watched a movie with the family.... BIG! Haven't seen that in a long time and it was great! I still Elizabeth Perkins is hot. LOL.

Shortly after the movie was over, I headed back to Cary and when I arrived there was only one guy waiting in front of me at around midnight. Bill $$$... very nice guy that I'd met in Benson prior. At any rate, it wasn't long before Frank showed up and it was nearly 2AM before I got a seat at the table. Akash was hot... probably with about $3500 in front of him. There were a couple of others with nice stacks including one guy that Joe called and Ed and everyone else seemed to be calling Chad... oh well! We'll just call him..... Ched. LOL.

I only got hooked up in a couple of hands and I'll bet Frank is still mumbling about it..... I've got 2s, 3d, 5d, 8d and there was a $15 straddle. The flop was 2c, 4c, 6d and being in early position, I checked hoping that someone would push. I believe that Brendan opened with about a $25 bet, Superplaya (I think) just smooth called and Tom pushed all-in for about $65. Akash calls, Frank calls and it folds to me. I pot it and everyone folds except Tom who is all-in. He turns over top and bottom pair and my straight holds up.... the Ace came and actually gave me the wheel. Frank would have made a higher straight.

The next big hand..... I didn't know how lucky I was. In late position with Ac, 4c, 5d, 7s and the flop was 2x, 3x, 7x. It checks completely around and the turn is a queen. Brendan leads out with a $25 bet and Superplaya calls. I raise it up $75 and Brendan quickly calls. Superplaya folds. The river is a 5 giving me the wheel but there is a higher straight on the board for the high hand. Brendan bets pot and I quickly call. We both had Ax, 4x, but he had two pair.... Queens and deuces. He had me quartered until the river gave us both the wheel. Whee! Nice playing! I thought that my nut low with a backup was ahead, but I got saved on the river.....

We didn't play much longer and I cashed out ahead, but not much. I'll either be there before 8pm or not going in the future. I ended up waiting almost 4 hours.... about 3 of them first in line for a 9-handed game. Oh well.... house rules!

Famous Poker Quotes

"He had the calm confidence of a Christian with four aces."

---------------Mark Twain

PPA Needs Our Urgent Help!

Dear Fellow PPA Member:

As your chairman, it brings me great pride to report that HR 2046 is beginning to move through the legislative process. Your grassroots efforts are making an enormous difference!

HR 2046 was introduced on April 26, 2007 by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank. If HR 2046 becomes law, online poker will be safe, secure and regulated.

The bill would create stringent licensing to ensure that poker players and consumers are protected.

Thanks to the great work of grassroots poker activists like you, HR 2046 will have a hearing in the House Financial Services Committee on Friday, June 8th. But your Representative, who is a member of this important committee, still has not agreed to cosponsor this common-sense reform bill.

Please take a moment - right now, before the hearing on Friday June 8th - to call your Representative. Please ask them to attend the Friday hearing so they can learn more about this important subject.

As a former Senator, I can tell you that lawmakers need to hear this kind of feedback. They need to know what the voters back home are thinking.

Please call the Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121. Give the operator your ZIP code and you will be connected to your Representative's office. Tell them:

- You are a constituent and voter in the district (they may ask for your address to confirm that you live in the district. Please furnish this information if they ask.)

- You support HR 2046 to protect your rights to play poker online

- Ask your Representative to attend the hearing on Friday, learn more about the issue, and support and cosponsor HR 2046.

And stay tuned for more updates, as Congress continues to move closer to protecting our rights to play the great game of poker. Together, we will prevail!

Sincerely,

The Honorable Alfonse D'AmatoPPA Chairman

Harrah's should be ashamed

Coming into their third year of running the WSOP, Harrah's and the Rio has been assuring players its plenty capable of handling the big crowd expected at this year's events. To the disappointment of myself and everyone else trying to play, this has not been the case.

I arrived in Vegas around 10, got set up at the Flamingo and headed over to the Rio to register for Event #3, the 1,500 Dollar buy-in No Limit event being held at 12PM the next day. I got in what seemed to be a reasonable line around 11:30PM. The line was about 25-30 yards long outside of the convention room, I went inside to check out the cashiers cage and saw they had 6 cages open to handle the players. I felt pretty good that I'd only have to stand in line a couple hours to get registered, as 6 cages should be able to handle the 250 or so people in front of me fairly quickly.

I've never been more wrong about anything else in my life.

My girlfriend and I had stood in line a good 2 hours and moved maybe 20 feet. There was no guidance from any employee's there, and to top off the chaos, people were jumping ahead with their buddies all over the place. We stood in line hour after hour, barely moving towards the poker room. Finally, around 3:15AM, I got registered. I took me two minutes.

The next morning Brian, Marlon and I arrived at the Rio around 11 to grab some food and to make sure we are not pressed for any times. I dismissed the SNAFU of the night before as just apart of the event and hoped for a smoother day. That didn't happen.

The players were not allowed into the room until 11:50AM, five minutes before the event. Then, all the folks that pre-registered had to stand in their own lines to get their seat assignments. This line had several hundred people in it and there were 2 people handling this. So, all these forward-thinking people signed up weeks before and paid their money only to come and to stand in line again to get a seat assignment. It took over an hour before they finally started the tournament at 1PM, and all those pre-registered folks still hadn't gotten seated.

I found myself as the 8th alternate, and they decided to seat us is the Casino Poker Room, a good 1/4th of a mile away from the tournament. About 80 of us were seated over there and didn't get started playing until 20 minutes left in the first level.

The cards we played with were horrible. Dealers were good enough to read the board to us, as it was very difficult to discern the 6's and the 9's and I had problems telling the suites apart as well. I saw one guy make a T500 river bet (out of T3000 starting chips) only to have the dealer read his hand as a pair of sixes (he thought he had a strait with the 9) and lose a big pot to another player. My play was rather uneventful for the first few levels, I had managed to get to around T4200 chips by the time we were all broken up and sent back to the poker room again just after the start of the 4th level.

I took a half-hour or so to get the players moved down to the tournament poker room, and by the time we played our next hand there was only 20 minutes left in the 4th level. Play continued and with the blinds at 100-200 with a 25 ante, I was slowly eroding away back down to my original chip stack of 3000. I got moved to my next (and final) table and was up against some big stacks, with the chip leader at my table close to the top with 25,000 chips. I simply couldn't get anything going, I moved in with AK a few times and didn't get called, and just as it seemed I could get some momentum I lost an important pot when my KQ paired a Q on the flop but was out kicked by AQ. The 6th level brought the blinds at 200-400 with a 50 ante, I was on life support with a stack around 2800.

A maniac player in seat 10 rose from the cutoff to 1,200, and I pushed all in with the rest of my 2800 stack with As 9s. This guy had been raising virtually every pot and I figured him entering an un-raised pot here to be a steal or some kind of K at best. He flipped over KJ-offsuit and I felt great about my read and doubling through to get back into the swing of things. The flop was great for me - 9c 10s 6s, giving me middle pair and a the nut flush draw and leaving him with a gut shot and two overs - a 4-1 dog. Of course, the dagger came with the Qc on the turn and a worthless 2h on the river gave him my stack and sent me to the rail.

Brian had about as many chips as I did at that point but doubled through a few times with some big pairs and got up to around 7,000 in chips. An hour or so later and he was out when he re-raised all-in with AQ and was called by AJ and the flop came J J x.

I ended up playing just slightly more than I spent standing in line, and the combination of poor planning and execution by the Rio and Harrah's along with a completely card-dead tournament left me feeling like I wasted my time. I give their whole operation a D- in how they're doing so far and feel like they are poor hosts for such a prestigious event.

The cash games over the weekend were much kinder to us, so the weekend wasn't much of a bust after all. Oh well, at least I outlasted Jamie Gold! See you at the tables!

-Chris

Juice O8

Another spicy night of No Limit Omaha 8 but ... no Juice! What's up with that? As is usually the case, the room is quieter and the pots are smaller without the Juice.... but as I understand it, something that happened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas. J-Rod said it was some sort of stomach virus. That's was 4-5 days with no sleep and non-stop alcohol will do to you.

There were only a few big hands for me, Tom J made a pre-flop raise with pocket Aces and a deuce and ended up doubling through me in a very well-played hand. Elvie bet me out of the pot 3-4 times when I would have won the high, if not scooped the pot. That's just good poker! Nice going guys.....

I did have one nice little scooper against Rick when I was holding the Ah, 6h, 9d, 8d. It seems as if there was a pre-flop $20 straddle or so and the flop was 8h, 9h, 3c, 4s (I think). Rick led out with a pot sized bet and I smooth called. The turn was a low brick and Rick apparently thought that I was on a decent low and when I checked, he checked. The river was another 9 and I led out with a $150 bet and Rick, having put me on the low, called with just a 9 and I scooped with 9's full of 8's and a shabby low.

I believe Ellie won big and so did Tom... nice playing guys!

Back to the felt!

Famous Poker Quotes...

"The strong point in poker is never to lose your temper, either with those you are playing with or, more particularly, with the cards. There is no sympathy in poker. Always keep cool. If you lose your head you will lose all your chips."

-------------William J. Florence

Short-handed O8

Last night at the Juice's was very short-handed... as a matter of fact, it was 3-handed! Me, Rick and Elvie! LOL. We started around 8:30 or so and were done by 11:00PM. Must be some kind of record! At any rate, I hit quads twice and got no action. Which reminds me, I need to go find a replacement monkey. The one that we've been using to announce quads, well, he's in worst physical condition than I am! LOL.

The biggest pot of the night came around 10:45 or so. We're playing $5/$5 O8 NO LIMIT and Rick had straddled for $20. When it gets back to him, he raises it $50. I'm a little frustrated having been pushed off a couple of big hands by all-ins after having the flopped the nuts and the board either pairing or flushing on the river. Nice! At any rate, I had 2c, 3c, 8s, Ks and decided to play along. So did Elvie.

The flop was beautiful... Ax, 6x, 8x, giving me the nut low and a pair so why not push. I'm all-in for an additional $330 and everyone calls including the Juice who dialed in from Vegas! LOL. He still owes me the $400 for the pot, but as I understand it, he can afford it as he is doing great in Vegas. He is playing in the WSOP $1500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event and as of last night around 11 had multiplied his $3,000 original chip stack to well over $30K! And he hit $21K in a $30 slot! Nice!

The turn and the river... a 7x and another 8x. Of course my 2x, 3x held up for low and the trip 8's gave me the scooper. Although there was a little drama when Elvie announced that he had a straight but didn't and Rick and Elvie chopped the side-pot when Elvie turned two pair to beat the two pair which Rick flopped, but Rick had a low.

So, we played one or two more hands and Elvie busted out and Rick and I decided to call it a night.

Back to the felt and good luck to the Juice in Vegas for a few more days and I'm certain that this is one trip which we can only hope that "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"

Late Night O8 Pot Limit with JC

Another wild and wooly night with JC and Pot Limit O8... We had a full table for quite some time and Elvie and Ed were both hot early. Ed slow played an Aces full of Jacks flop when the board came Ax, Jx, Jx and I bet out with my loan Jack and lots of paint and took a nice pot from me.... the way he played it, he had me completely fooled. I thought that he had hit a 6 on the turn to give him either J's full of sixes or sixes full of Jacks. No such luck, when he turned over the Aces, I had to hit the one and only remaining Jack to take the pot.... dang! That's a Rick move that I haven't mastered as of yet.... I'm working on it!

There were several very interesting hands and one that I hope either Elvie or Rick will blog where Rick potted every chance he had all the way to the river with absolutely nothing.... Sheriff Elvie looked him all the way down with nothing but running cards to the low and they chopped it with Rick taking the high hand with 8 high! LOL. Sweet! Dave, you would have been proud!

One of the last hands of the morning for me came around 3AM when I found this hand....

There was a $20 straddle and five of us went to the flop.... me, Elvie, Rick, Mike D and Ellie... and what a flop it was.....

Rick is used to getting a flop to hit him like this.... it's still very new to me! Four to the nut flush and two to the nut low.... I'm in early position and I check hoping that someone will lead out with a bet. Elvie checks behind me and Rick bets the pot.... Dang! He's been running so well against me that I decide not to re-raise and Elvie and I smooth call the $100 bet.

The turn..... oh my!



I lead out with a pot sized bet of $400 and Elvie calls all-in with about $330. Rick.... folds! What was he thinking.... he knows that he is always going to hit his card against me. Just like the juice!

The river.... yuck!

Elvie turned over two cards that I don't remember and a baby flush and a good low, but not quite good enough.... and I scoop the pot....

Elvie's hand (what I can remember)

All-in-all... one of the most fun nights of poker I had in a long time..... there was some excellent play all-around and I probably made the most bad calls and poor-timing of raises that I've done in a while, but it was just a fun night! There were definitely some suck-outs going on... Rick busted Brenden (sp?) about 2AM. If I remember correctly Rick and I flopped an open ended straight with a K, 3, 6 flop... and Brenden slow-played a set of Kings. (But Brenden, you didn't have to slow play Rick.... you couldn't have gotten him out of the hand with a hand gun.) I believe that Brenden check-raised the flop to $200 and Rick smooth called and all the chips were in on the turn.... the 6 came and gave Rick the nuts... who would have thunk it?

I left Rick, Mike D and Ellie playing $5/$10.... they're probably still there!

Off to poker with the Juice.... Saturday night poker! Whee!

Tues Evening with the Juice, May 29

Things started slow at the Juice's this Tuesday. Most of the usual suspects were running late to the game. It was probably 9:30 before the table was full and things began to hop. We were doing a round of Holdem and then a round of Omaha. The action always got exciting when it was Omaha time. The Juice (SOP) standard operating procedure almost always had a Straddle with a guaranteed bump pre-flop. I was holding my own as the evening pasted and had managed to build up a chip stack of about 1000 bucks worth when my first notable hand came. I was the Button and had a Kx 9x 4x 4x. The flop was Jx 9x 9x. How nice, I flopped a three 9's. Bill T to my left and I had it all in after the turn hit hard with a Kx. The river was another K and Bill T throws out his hand and annouced Jacks over Kings....he flopped the nuts - Jacks over nines. I said Kings over nines and scoupped a nice pot to give me a stack of around 1600.

The next notable hand that I was involed in came around 2 AM. I had 2x 5x 5x 8x. The Juice jazzed up the pot preflop to about 150 to call. The usual suspects were in the pot - just about everyone! The flop comes Jx 6x 7x. I like my hand and hope I can see the turn. The action is on me so I make a 100 bet and get about six callers. The turn comes a 4x and I have the nut straight. The flop and turn are rainbow. I go all in and get the same six callers. I am praying that the board doesn't pair or a card that destroys my existing nut straight doesn't fall. The river is a miracle Ax. I said double nuts out of excitement as I through out my hand. The Ax was the case A and managed to counter fit all the nut lows and made my 2x 5x good for a scupper of a monster pot well over 5K. I stacked all those chips in front of me without counting them and looked at the Juice and said "CASH ME OUT"!

The only thing better than cashing out for that much with a buy in of 400 was getting home by 2:30 AM, getting laid, sleeping in till 6:30 AM, and then knowing that when I woke up that Rick would still be going at it with Charles and Ellie and by 8:30 AM Rick would have all their chips and not Mine!

Charles' Greatest Hits

Anyone who has played poker with Charles is painfully (literally) aware of his singing, humming and whistling, um, prowess. How many times have you been sitting next to him, and as he was emanating some noise that can only be described as the mating call of the manatee, thought to yourself “Boy, I wish I could listen to this all day long!?” Well, now you can! In a special collaboration, Time/Life Books, K-TEL, the Franklin Mint, Home Shopping Network, the Helen Keller Institute, and William Hung have all come together to bring you Charles’ Greatest Hits!

You get unforgettable standards such as:

Keep Calling With That Crap!
(I Feel Like I’m In) A Room Full of Donkeys
Uh-KAAAY
Where’s Dave?
That Warm Spot in the Water (Isn’t What You Think)

Now, these songs alone would be enough to keep you up night after night. But wait, there’s more! You’ll also receive these timeless classics:

Badonkadonk!
(Why Don’t You Just) Roll Over and Piss on Yourselves!
Nice Suckout, *&%$#!
Ay-Deeeen
Rick is Soooooo Lucky

This selection is not sold in stores, and won’t last for long. It’s only available through this special offer. If you order in the next 30 minutes, we’ll throw in:

Hee-Haw!
(Hey Dealer, I Think I Got) Shorted Again
Cold-Decked to Death!
Get the Monkey! (And Give it to My Opponent)

How much would you pay for an incredible selection like this? In most poker rooms you could expect to get paid several hundred dollars while listening to these one-of-a-kind originals. However, if you act right now, we’ll also throw in an extra bonus track:

Who Wants to Chop? (Duet with The Juice)

Yes, this compilation has it all! This amazing collection would normally sell for close to $2.00. Since Charles has a small family, however (and even most of them reneged on their promise to buy it), we’re forced to sell the overstock for the low, low price of just .99 cents. Satisfaction guaranteed, or we’ll send a second one free! Don’t wait – order yours today!

Disclaimer
Listen at your own risk. May cause temporary bulimia. His humming has been proven to attract alien spacecraft and dogs in heat, while driving away most humans. His singing may cause uncontrollable snickers. His whistling has been known to shatter Pyrex™, and in some cases (including his), cause listeners to become tone-deaf. Not responsible for hearing loss, or for any permanent psychological damage to listener. Though it may sound like it, no farm animals were injured during the recording session.

D'Amato Interviewed in News/Polling Segment

WSOP 2007

With just a few days away from the first cards flying for the WSOP event in Vegas. Several of our close friends are planning their trek to holy land of poker! I would like to challenge all of you guys to carry a laptop with you and PLAN on blogging some of your action. I'll try to keep a running tally of events and finishes for you for our local guys who keep me informed!



Don't wait! Start blogging today! I promise it won't hurt long!

Friday nite poker with JC

It was another one of those nights where you find yourself.... patience, patience, screwed! It happened about a half dozen times last night.... hmmm, this morning. My son went to see the new Pirates last night so I spent some time with my lovely wife and headed down to Cary for the Friday night Omaha 8 Pot Limit game. I must have been high as I called before I got past Crabtree to check the status of the game and I somewhat suspected, there was a full table with a 1/3 table waiting, and I still went down there. I think that it might have been the allure of the 3 players waiting (and therefore, in front of me in the line).... Rick, John M and Ellie. When I got there, I didn't hardly even go in the poker room as Rick and John M were playing a tournament in the foyer on a coffee table... flopping the cards on the top of an upside down phonebook. The bottom of the phonebook was being used as the top of the phonebook had upper right and lower right corners curled up from frequent use. Interesting as I hardly ever use a phonebook anymore with the availability of such good information on the internet. The chip stacks were about even and they decided to call it a tie and play some $5/$10 No Limit hold'em with me and Ellie. Within about an hour we had more action than the O8 game. Pretty soon there were some folks leaving the O8 game and Rick was the first to go... then John and Ellie and I played heads up for about a half hour for John S decided to sell his seat to Ellie. In 3 different hands, I flopped top pair and he would call my bets with bottom pair and either two pair on the turn/river or make trips with his bottom or second pair. Killing me.

When I went in to the poker room to watch a little of the action, I did some quick math and determined that there were only nine players at the table. This is actually a house rule as there are about 4-5 players who really slow down the action. O8 is one of those games where the house rake can really suffer if there are some slow players or "drama" players at the table. Guys who insist on squeezing the life out of their hand before every action and then when they do call, rather than just announce their action, will slowly and deliberately count out their action using their smallest chips. C'mon guys! Move! Chuck has really improved in his handling of the deal and running the game. Every time there's any action, he stacks the chips in stacks of 10 so it is fairly easy to determine what the appropriate pot limit bet is at any given time. If we screw that up, Rick, the math whiz, can tell us within a dollar or two at any given time exactly what is in the pot without even checking the stacks. Scary. So I make a quick plea to stretch the game to 10 players and although everyone at the table was OK with my dead money getting in sooner than later, it took about 15 minutes of convincing Joe to permit me in the game. I try to play pretty quickly and although I am little larger than most, because of the kneeling chair that I use, I really don't take up as much space as some because the chair footprint is much smaller.

Well, back to the story.... patience, patience, screwed. Probably the best example of this was a 3 way hand after the turn with Rick and Big Dave. (Rick is on the other end of the table from me and I am on the Big Dave's immediate left. At any rate, the turn gives me the nut straight with 6, 7, A, 9... the board is 4x, 5x, 10x and 8x. Dave had bet the flop and then a nice bet on the turn. I had my suspicions so I just smooth called. When he made the $300 bet on the river, I had a really good idea that either my nut high was going to get quartered so I only smooth called. Sure enough, Dave turns over almost the same hand with A, 6, 7 (don't remember the 4th card) and Rick gets half the pot with the nut low. Dave and I barely got our final bet back. Nice.... yes.... patience, patience, screwed.

My first big hand of the night was against Big Dave.... the flop was Q, Q, 10 and I was holding Q, 10, X, X. Dave leads out with a $50 bet and I smooth call. I think that everyone folded except Elvie. The turn is an 8 and Dave checks and I bet about $250 more. Elvie folds and Dave smooth calls. I put him on a Queen and was thinking "no paint... no paint" --- yep, King on the river. He pushes all-in... I can't fold, I've only got about $35 remaining and he turns over Q, 9, K, K. He actually had one of his own outs meaning he hit a 2 outer on me.... Nice! I wish I could get that lucky.

As the morning dragged on, it did appear that John M was becoming impatient as he was ratcheting up his aggression and there were a couple of times in multi-handed games where I laid down the best hand that would have either won the high or low outright or at least would have tied. But that's poker.... and if you play well at O8, you will learn patience or you'll be re-buying a lot. So I waited.... and one of biggest hands of the nights was the LAST hand of the night. If I remember correctly, I was the first to act and limped in with Kh, Qh, Qc, Jc.... John raised the action with a pot limit bet. These may be isolation bets at a lot of tables, here it is like chumming the water. So there are 5 of us to the flop with a $125 pot. I remember thinking, c'mon Chuck, hit me... you've wanted to all night. And the flop, Qs, 10h, 10d. Got to love it. And Action John M is to my immediate left. I thought for a very brief moment about betting and I checked and John fired a $100 bet. There was one caller and I raised the action to $250 on top. John re-raised all-in and I immediately called. He asked me if I had a 10 and that made me feel considerably better about him NOT having quad 10s (which would be par for the course and I would remind you of Rick's Law's of Omaha chapter and verse.... Law #7a – If you flop top set and the turn pairs the board, you’re about to lose a big pot to quads. You’ve been waiting patiently all night, you’ve finally got the top boat, and players are actually giving you action! You think you’re “walking the dog,” but trust me, the dog is walking you. That idiot who just called your large flop bet with bottom set is about to take your entire stack. Well, John turned over pocked aces and as it turned out was drawing to only one out and in a truly un-PKR like turn and river, didn't hit it. So I ended up scooping about $1700 pot.

Well, I got home in time to shower and take a little nap and now we're off to the Memorial Day stuff.... and in the spirit of Memorial Day, I would like to say THANK YOU to all the veterans and active duty military who do what they do so that we may enjoy the liberties that we have here in the US. One of my favorite people is a guy named Mike Hefner that I met at the USPC last year in AC. Mike is a true hero and was wounded in a fire fight in the War on Terror and several of his team were killed during that fight. I haven't seen him in a while, but I do think about his sacrifice that he made for my freedoms. Mike, if you are reading this, thanks buddy! And come play poker with us.

Salute!

New Game in Town

I am happy to announce that I will be hosting a new no limit Hold'Em tournament in Cary. The tournament will be a $40+5 freeze-out to start and will take place on Saturdays @ 1PM starting in July. If you need any information please e-mail PokerPigJones@aol.com . I hope to have a cash game of some sort up and running soon too, but have yet to decide what to do about that.

Now That's a Flop!

The Tuesday night game with the Jizz brought out the usual group of hunters, all in search of the elusive perfect flop (Latin: slapmeupsida theheadamus). This is a rare animal, but can sometimes be stumbled upon by even the most neophyte sportsman. Unfortunately for the intrepid hunter, it rarely travels alone. Normally, hiding in the bushes nearby, is the most feared creature of them all, the river (Latin: porkimus yerassimus). And quicker than you can say “velociraptor,” the predator then become prey…

In Omaha 8, it’s fairly rare to get dealt four near-perfect cards. When you do, you’re hoping for that (seemingly) one time in twenty when you actually flop to it. After hours of crap hands and crap flops, it’s exciting to finally get hit upside the head with a flop while holding a premium starting hand. It’s even more exciting when that hand holds up! To actually get a little action with it, well, that’s almost too much for a humble poker player to take in.

I was in the middle of a nice run of cards, and had accumulated a nice little stack, when I look down to find As-Ac-3s-4c. Getting dealt a hand like this normally guarantees one thing: that the flop will come 10d-Jd-Qd. Most of the table calls the usual pre-flop straddle, and I patiently wait for the red, painted flop so I can muck my hand. Imagine my surprise when the flop brings Ah-2s-5s. Sa-weet!

While I’d love to say I got all the chips with three other players and quadrupled up, the truth is that I got a little flop action before everyone folded to a bet after the turn brought a brick. It’s way too dangerous to slow-play anything short of quads in Omaha 8 – one bad card and you’re getting quartered (or worse!). Of course you’re always hoping to rake in a monster pot with a big hand, but as they say, it’s better to win a small pot than lose a big one.

My rush continued through the night and into the morning, allowing me to cash out for almost $8k - a very nice session indeed. Though I obviously won several much larger pots during the night, the hand mentioned above was my favorite. Tonight it’s back to Cary, where I hope the rush continues!

See ya at the tables…
Rick

Canadian University Student Dealt PokerStars 10-BILLIONTH Hand

http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/article.cfm?contentID=166106

Copied from CasinoCityTimes.com

Canadian university student dealt PokerStars 10-billionth hand
By Ryan McLane
21 May 2007

A 19-year old Canadian woman, trying to get through her first year at Dalhousie University, won the 10-billionth hand dealt at PokerStars, earning $100,000 in a $.01/$.02 No-Limit Texas Hold'em cash-game.

Justine Hall had $12 in her PokerStars account when she won the big hand. She's been playing poker for two years, sticking to recreational limits, and only playing micro-limits on Stars when her class work load allowed.

Hall decided to join more than 100,000 players vying for the milestone prize because a friend had told her about the promotion. She'd seen the advertisements while playing on Stars and joked with her friends about what she'd do with the money, but admits she never really thought she had a chance.

One lucky 8-3 suited made the dreams real.

"With 8c-3c I didn't think I was going to win the $100,000," Hall said. "But when the commentator told the table that everyone was guaranteed at least $10,000, I knew I had to go all-in not matter what."

Amazingly, two players folded pre-flop, leaving Hall with only four competitors for the $100,000. The flop came Ac-Kc-10d. The 9c on the turn proved to be her money card, completing her flush and sending a ton of bonus money her way.

Hall's largest previous cash was $45 in a small Stars tournament. Hall said she knows cash like this doesn't come along too often, prompting her to plan on investing the money in her education, although there might be a little shopping in her future.

"I want this amazing amount of money to benefit me in the next couple of years and in the future as well," Hall said. "I'm going to pay for the rest of my university and either invest the rest of it or buy a house….and of course do a little shopping."

It's been a record-breaking year for PokerStars. Twice in the last three months, the world's largest poker room has hosted the largest poker tournament in history, drawing more than 10,000 players for two different Sunday Million tournaments.

Stars already had a Guinness Book of World Record's entry for having 100,000 players competing at one time, a feat they've matched several times in the last 12-months, including Saturday night during the 10-billionth hand celebration.

The site becomes the first online poker room to deal 10-billion hands, an astonishing feat considering they became the first to break the five-billion-hand plateau last summer.

"It shows the longevity of this company," PokerStars spokesperson Greg "Fossilman" Raymer said. "To deal 10-billion hands without any significant problems is quite an accomplishment. I think it shows everyone that online poker is a lot of fun and is a completely safe environment.

There shouldn't be anyone left who isn't willing to put their trust in these major online sites."

Raymer is a little jealous of Hall, wishing "it had been him." He laughed when asked whether people would believe it wasn't fixed if he won, saying if he had, it would have been completely random, "albeit tough to believe." Given Hall's reasonable outlook on her windfall, Raymer believes she will handle the money well.

"From what I've read, she seems to have a good head on her shoulders," Raymer. "It's good to see that she wants to pay for her education. But as long as you budget properly, a little shopping never hurt anyone."

Copied from CasinoCityTimes.com

http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/article.cfm?contentID=166106

Greg Raymer for Libertarian Vice President

Copied from www.daretogamble.com

http://www.daretogamble.com/2007/05/greg-raymer-for-libertarian-vice.html

Greg Raymer for Libertarian Vice President

Greg Raymer might run for Vice President on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2008.

That's right. A fellow gambler is getting politically active.

Raymer is said to have a lot in common with Wayne Allyn Root, a sports handicapper and candidate for the Libertarians' presidential nomination. Now, a Root-Raymer ticket appears a likelihood. Greg Raymer has announced he might run for Vice President.

WAYNE ALLYN ROOT

Root, who was a "libertarian" Republican until last year, has left the GOP to become a champion of the individual against government power. He announced his intention to seek the Libertarian nomination for 2008.

Online gambling could be a positive issue for the Libertarians, who hold to the idea that all governments should be out of the private lives of individuals. Libertarians believe that each human being is sovereign over his or her own life, liberty and property.

THE LIBERTARIAN VIEW OF ONLINE GAMBLING

Therefore, Libertarians naturally would support the online gambling industry, which argues the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is an intrusion into the private lives of citizens. Americans should be able to spend our hard-earned money any way we choose, so long as we aren't hurting someone else by spending it.

Americans should be able to sit in the comforts of our own home and gamble on the internet. When the Federal government writes laws that tell us we cannot do that, it is an intrusion into our homes.

WHY NOT GREG RAYMER?

Politics and poker have a lot in common. Politicians "bluff" at least as often as your average poker player. In theory, a successful poker player should make a successful politician. But let's look at the specifics.

There seems to be two prerequisites to become a Washington politician.One, you need to be a lawyer. Two, you need to be a millionaire. Greg Raymer is both.

Greg Raymer is a former patent attorney. When he won the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event, he became a multi-millionaire. So he's imminently qualified for the position.

Heck, other noted gamblers have become politically active. Look at Bill Bennett, for instance. If that self-righteous blowhard is considered an authority on politics, why not list to a champion of the World Series of Poker Main Event?

SERIOUSLY, THOUGH

Greg Raymer seems like a really smart guy. What's more, I've heard from friends he's a heckuva nice guy. So Greg Raymer is one step ahead of most lifelong politicians.

I'm hoping Raymer runs for Vice President. Readers can consider this to be an endorsement.

DareToGamble endorses Fossilman for VP.

http://www.daretogamble.com/2007/05/greg-raymer-for-libertarian-vice.html

Copied from www.daretogamble.com

Holla Raleighites

Been awhile since I've been in touch with some of my poker playin fool friends in R-town. Still haven't found a game in Atlanta, not that I've been trying. And I know how much you guys are dying to know how the girl is... so I'll tell ya... I'm swingin single as can be, loving the "alternative lifestyle" that's so well supported in Midtown Atlanta, and want to invite Jarod to "hang" with me anytime!

I have no poker stories, so it's contributing to my jones-ing for some action.

What I want to know is... when's everyone heading to Vegas for the WSOP? There was some talk a few months ago about some room-sharing, and I'm quite interested in making the trip. Who's going? When? Let me know... drop me a line at nathan _remove_this_ @ _remove_this_too_ downetworks.com and we'll work something out.

Until then... May all your cards be dead, and may Dave be the biggest loser of all!