Poker punched me in the face the past two sessions. Normally this is nothing to blog about, but it was poor timing as I had just moved up in limits. I am comfortable at the limit (it is still just chips meaning I am not playing scared) but the beats are a little bigger to the bank roll and I am throwing in the towel and moving back down. I'll be back bitches.
I won't be back this weekend though because I am enroute to the house in Ohio that is still for sale. Motivated by watching home improvement and house flipping shows, we are headed in to paint the two rooms we never painted when we lived there and to install some blinds upstairs. A thorough cleaning is also in order as we have not been there since the beginning of September. I am not fazed by the work ahead this weekend, I enjoy getting projects done, but there is no Internet or tv at the house now. All I will have for outside contact is my trusty little BlackBerry (which I am blogging from right now). No football, no poker, just a partially empty house. The bright side is that I plan on exercising the ST1100 if the weather permits. I also plan on picking up some brew supplies for the next batch of honeywheat I will be brewing. Oh yeah, we might even sell the house as we have a buyer coming through tonight and we are apparently on their short list. Wish us some luck because I am convinced that is what it will take to sell this place in the current market.
No Steeler football this weekend so I will not be missing much during the drive back to MI on Sunday. After last weeks game I am not sure I would be missing anything even if they were playing!
DoubleAs busted out of the ArUBa tournament but is still having a good time. Next time Scott.
Have a great weekend out there.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
Meh
Poker was Meh this weekend with a little Blah thrown in for good measure. I guess the good thing is that I avoided tilt for the most part, and did not go chasing despite the hits that kept on coming. My stats in PT were in line (17 to 22 VP$IP) with all the other winning sessions and I played my good hands aggressively and got action on them. The cards just did not fall my way. There was one read that I made and did not act upon…. I just had to see! That bothered me to the tune of a $9.00 loss so it was not catastrophic by any means, just plain old dumb.
The trend I noticed was the same old one I read about quite often on other blogs. Get stuck early and spend the rest of the session fighting back. Three of the four big sessions saw me not making it back. I dropped a buy in and a half twice on the $25 NL tables and only one session saw me up that same amount. I also hit a rough patch on the ½ Limit tables and was proud of making some decent laydowns. Not sure I would be able to get away from KK, 1010, and AK in limit in the past. I dropped some of the gains I had made on replacing my 2% of DoubleAs in Aruba, but I am still headed in the right direction overall. It feels good.
Speaking of DoubleAs, I am anxiously waiting for some updates from Mean Gene and the UltimateBet Blog from Aruba. I was disappointed to see that their blog did not offer an RSS feed, so I will have to check that one from home. I have a good feeling about DoubleAs in this tourney and I am more excited about it than I otherwise would be because I have some money on it. I figure it is like me playing the tourney for a $125 buy in but with a much better version of me playing and I get to stay in Detroit, not sunny Aruba. So, win-win, right? Umm, yeah. I have been to Aruba once and would jump on the opportunity to get back there. I spent an 8 day honeymoon there at the Divi Divi resort and it was awesome. I did the whole tourist/newlywed thing with SNUBA diving, horseback riding on the beach, booze cruises, etc. and the weather and ocean was fantastic. Looking at the pictures on Mean Gene’s blog took me back there instantly.
I am sure that Gene will be glad that he was out of town and missed the debacle of a football game between the Steelers and the Bengals. It was almost like the Steelers wanted the Bengals to win. It was a very frustrating experience to watch all the turnover mistakes. Muffed punts that the Bengals recover and score with. Fumbles that the Bengals recovered. Interceptions in the end zone that really swing momentum. Dropped TD passes. Ugh, I can feel my blood pressure rising. I hope that game was not a harbinger of things to come. I know we can’t win them all, but the offense and special teams might being trying to prove that they can lose them all. The contest last week with Jacksonville was a good game against a good opponent. This week it was a bad game with an average opponent and the Steelers made way too many mistakes. The score should not have been as close as it was. Booooo Bengals and Steelers. Hooray Beer!!
The trend I noticed was the same old one I read about quite often on other blogs. Get stuck early and spend the rest of the session fighting back. Three of the four big sessions saw me not making it back. I dropped a buy in and a half twice on the $25 NL tables and only one session saw me up that same amount. I also hit a rough patch on the ½ Limit tables and was proud of making some decent laydowns. Not sure I would be able to get away from KK, 1010, and AK in limit in the past. I dropped some of the gains I had made on replacing my 2% of DoubleAs in Aruba, but I am still headed in the right direction overall. It feels good.
Speaking of DoubleAs, I am anxiously waiting for some updates from Mean Gene and the UltimateBet Blog from Aruba. I was disappointed to see that their blog did not offer an RSS feed, so I will have to check that one from home. I have a good feeling about DoubleAs in this tourney and I am more excited about it than I otherwise would be because I have some money on it. I figure it is like me playing the tourney for a $125 buy in but with a much better version of me playing and I get to stay in Detroit, not sunny Aruba. So, win-win, right? Umm, yeah. I have been to Aruba once and would jump on the opportunity to get back there. I spent an 8 day honeymoon there at the Divi Divi resort and it was awesome. I did the whole tourist/newlywed thing with SNUBA diving, horseback riding on the beach, booze cruises, etc. and the weather and ocean was fantastic. Looking at the pictures on Mean Gene’s blog took me back there instantly.
I am sure that Gene will be glad that he was out of town and missed the debacle of a football game between the Steelers and the Bengals. It was almost like the Steelers wanted the Bengals to win. It was a very frustrating experience to watch all the turnover mistakes. Muffed punts that the Bengals recover and score with. Fumbles that the Bengals recovered. Interceptions in the end zone that really swing momentum. Dropped TD passes. Ugh, I can feel my blood pressure rising. I hope that game was not a harbinger of things to come. I know we can’t win them all, but the offense and special teams might being trying to prove that they can lose them all. The contest last week with Jacksonville was a good game against a good opponent. This week it was a bad game with an average opponent and the Steelers made way too many mistakes. The score should not have been as close as it was. Booooo Bengals and Steelers. Hooray Beer!!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Excited
Sadly, it has come to this. I am really excited because DirecTV finally came to the apartment and was able to hook up the dish and restore our service. The service includes the NFL Sunday Ticket and TIVO.
This 16 day hiatus from TIVO has helped me realize something about myself.
I love TIVO. If you have never had it, you would not understand. If you have had it and never lost it, you too would not understand.
I managed to live 29 years without you and I know now that I took you for granted while I had you the last year. I am sorry TIVO, I will not do it again. I will appreciate every commercial you let me speed through with your happy "Be-doop, Be-DOop, Be-DOOP" chirp. I will praise you for allowing me to watch LOST when I want to watch it, not when the network says I have to. What, I am busy during High Stakes Poker on GSN? I know you have my back. There was a show with something Pittsburgh Steelers related and I was not aware it was on? You have me covered there too lil' buddy. You know that staying up to watch Lucky Louie would make me tired and cranky the next day so you assure me I can rest easy and watch it on Monday when I get home from work. In short, you are the man TIVO. Keep on doing what you do I promise to keep you happy by recording our favorite shows (sometimes two at a time!) and even finally allowing you to offer some of your zany suggestions.
In the "Other News that Dugglebogy does not care About" department, I am proud to brag that my "children" went 2-0 this weekend. I started off my season in both leauges with a win, although one took a tackle for a 9 yard loss of Washington's althletic TE, Chris Coooley. I scraped by with a .5 point win there. Consider me a fan of the Vikings D for week one (although Mean Gene and I both know who really defines Defense and is starts with a Pitts and ends with a burgh). Bragging will continue as my wins do.
No poker yet this week, but I have been enjoying a modicum of success at the micro-limit NL Hold Em on Party. Two months of positive results at the $25 Max Buy in NL has me feeling that this focus shift from Limit to NL is what I was looking for. I plan to keep grinding away and taking a shot at the next level as I feel comfortable.
I missed the Mookie last night, but plan on being there next week... that is always fun.
This 16 day hiatus from TIVO has helped me realize something about myself.
I love TIVO. If you have never had it, you would not understand. If you have had it and never lost it, you too would not understand.
I managed to live 29 years without you and I know now that I took you for granted while I had you the last year. I am sorry TIVO, I will not do it again. I will appreciate every commercial you let me speed through with your happy "Be-doop, Be-DOop, Be-DOOP" chirp. I will praise you for allowing me to watch LOST when I want to watch it, not when the network says I have to. What, I am busy during High Stakes Poker on GSN? I know you have my back. There was a show with something Pittsburgh Steelers related and I was not aware it was on? You have me covered there too lil' buddy. You know that staying up to watch Lucky Louie would make me tired and cranky the next day so you assure me I can rest easy and watch it on Monday when I get home from work. In short, you are the man TIVO. Keep on doing what you do I promise to keep you happy by recording our favorite shows (sometimes two at a time!) and even finally allowing you to offer some of your zany suggestions.
In the "Other News that Dugglebogy does not care About" department, I am proud to brag that my "children" went 2-0 this weekend. I started off my season in both leauges with a win, although one took a tackle for a 9 yard loss of Washington's althletic TE, Chris Coooley. I scraped by with a .5 point win there. Consider me a fan of the Vikings D for week one (although Mean Gene and I both know who really defines Defense and is starts with a Pitts and ends with a burgh). Bragging will continue as my wins do.
No poker yet this week, but I have been enjoying a modicum of success at the micro-limit NL Hold Em on Party. Two months of positive results at the $25 Max Buy in NL has me feeling that this focus shift from Limit to NL is what I was looking for. I plan to keep grinding away and taking a shot at the next level as I feel comfortable.
I missed the Mookie last night, but plan on being there next week... that is always fun.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Koney Island
Can anyone tell me why there are approx 125 of these per square mile in MI and why or what I would eat there?
I am quite curious, but too afraid to actually venture in one. If it is a greasy spoon type place, give me a Waffle House and I am all set.
1st full week in MI and I have been to the B&M casino zero times. Money is pretty tight right now with a mortgage and rent. I am looking forward to getting some live action in now that I am only 30 mins from the downtown Detroit casinos but it will have to wait for a windfall like a big score online or selling our house.
I am quite curious, but too afraid to actually venture in one. If it is a greasy spoon type place, give me a Waffle House and I am all set.
1st full week in MI and I have been to the B&M casino zero times. Money is pretty tight right now with a mortgage and rent. I am looking forward to getting some live action in now that I am only 30 mins from the downtown Detroit casinos but it will have to wait for a windfall like a big score online or selling our house.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Enough Already
I need to get some tv service or something else to do in Michigan. For Fook's sake, poker is really pissing me off right now and I seem to be in a flat spin. This is particularly frustrating after a great August that saw me making steady gains throughout the month. With no DirecTV service yet (screw you installers) I am spending a lot of free time mashing buttons and getting the shock. No banana. Stupid monkey, when will I learn?
Baahh Humbug.
Baahh Humbug.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Unpacked (Almost)
Had some time for poker today and it was not nice to me. I think I played well, but I could not win a HU SNG if my life depended on it and my one MTT was 1 hour and 26 mins for nothing. My JJ could not win the race against the maniac that hit a three outer on the river earlier against me to stay in. Funny how that catches up more often than not. The guy that should have been on the rail survives his all in with me and then proceeds to knock me out later in the tourney.
One thing I enjoyed in this MTT, and I have to thank Hoyazo for, was playing my pocket pairs. I utilized his treatise on playing middle pairs and raised them 3x BB regardless of position and it went well for me. A great example is when I had pocket 8's late in the tourney and raised to 3600 UTG +1. In the past I might have limped with these hoping to hit a flop but this time my raise won the blinds and the antes. I raised all my PP 3x and almost any hand I was playing and this really helped to disguise my monsters and my hammers. Looking at my stats in the disappointing final table money miss, I think I might have played a little too tight. I was hot early on and was chip leader most of the first hour. I checked my stats after the break and I was only 14% VPIP according to Party which means I was closer to 10%. Pretty tight. This is good, as I have been working on that, but that is probably why I finished out side of the money.
Actually, poker has pretty much sucked since the move, but what else am I going to do? I have no tv service yet (not until the 14th..don't ask, but DirecTV can bite my ass) and you can only arrange so much crap. After dropping half a G at Ikea, at least I have a place to keep all my clothes and I have lights in each room. Pretty much, moving into an apartment after living in a house.... sucks. On the bright side I am now 14.4 miles from the office and there is a ton of shit nearby the new homestead. I got my haircut, purchased groceries, had pizza delivered, and found some nice dog walking less than a mile from the Steelerhome. Curious how I will feel when it is winter here.
Ironic that DNasty is in MI this week but we will not see each other. He is in the woods have man sex with his brother or something. They call it "camping up north" but I think I know the real deal. I might have to re-develop my passion for sleeping and eating without walls and roof but 3 years stationed at the National Training Center and sleeping under the stars for 2 weeks out of every month kinda killed that desire. It did develop a knack for knowing how to shit outside and which MRE's were the best, but not so much a desire to rough it. Anyway, I hope DNasty is smart and uses protection...
from mosquitoes.
Before I go iron something for my first day in my new office, let me worry publicly about Big Ben and his appendectomy that will cause him to miss the opener. I am not a Batch hater (which is against the grain in my new locale), there is something about Ben that just wins games. Charlie might get it done, but I have less faith/hope that the defending Super Bowl Champs will start the season with a win. I wonder what this is doing to the line at Mansion.
Have a good week all and make HighonPoker's Poker.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Break from the Move
For my Cleveland Office Fantasy Football Draft. I had to drive into the office... check that... FLY into the office because I got stuck in IKEA with the wife and parents-in-law. Wow. That place is not designed for an easy or timely escape... but I digress.
Running late, I hauled as much ass as I could in Detroit traffic and got to the office (and my only means of connecting to the net right now) and started off my draft right with Shaun Alexander in the third pick. Surprised he was there.
My favorite quote of the night was, "That Wali Lundy pick has me rattled!" (after Mr. Lundy went with the first pick of the 10th Round)
My team shook out like this:
QB: Daunte Culpepper
Jake Plummer
RB: Shaun Alexander
Julius Jones
Deshaun Foster
Jerious Norwood
Dominic Rhodes
WR: Terrell Owens
Andre Johnson
Rod Smith
Nate Burleson
TE: Todd Heap
K: Matt Stover
D: Baltimore Ravens
I like how they look on paper, hopefully there are no injuries (or suspensions T.O.!!) to my big starters and I really like my Norwood pick late in the draft. Fast Willie might lose to him in a footrace... that kid is FAST!
Back to the boxes and the unpacking in the new apartment. In case you have not experienced this, it really sucks moving from a house to an apartment. It really feels like you are taking a step back in life. Not to sound snobby, but the second refrigerator that we kept in the garage is nicer and bigger than the only one in the apartment's kitchen now. At least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Barring a complete crash of the Northeast Ohio housing market, we will be back among the homeowning class in 12 months.
I am getting high speed cable hooked up tomorrow in the apartment. See you all then.
Running late, I hauled as much ass as I could in Detroit traffic and got to the office (and my only means of connecting to the net right now) and started off my draft right with Shaun Alexander in the third pick. Surprised he was there.
My favorite quote of the night was, "That Wali Lundy pick has me rattled!" (after Mr. Lundy went with the first pick of the 10th Round)
My team shook out like this:
QB: Daunte Culpepper
Jake Plummer
RB: Shaun Alexander
Julius Jones
Deshaun Foster
Jerious Norwood
Dominic Rhodes
WR: Terrell Owens
Andre Johnson
Rod Smith
Nate Burleson
TE: Todd Heap
K: Matt Stover
D: Baltimore Ravens
I like how they look on paper, hopefully there are no injuries (or suspensions T.O.!!) to my big starters and I really like my Norwood pick late in the draft. Fast Willie might lose to him in a footrace... that kid is FAST!
Back to the boxes and the unpacking in the new apartment. In case you have not experienced this, it really sucks moving from a house to an apartment. It really feels like you are taking a step back in life. Not to sound snobby, but the second refrigerator that we kept in the garage is nicer and bigger than the only one in the apartment's kitchen now. At least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Barring a complete crash of the Northeast Ohio housing market, we will be back among the homeowning class in 12 months.
I am getting high speed cable hooked up tomorrow in the apartment. See you all then.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
M Day
Move Day.
Michigan Day.
Off to the land of Thrice Confirmed Huge Junk. Wheeee.
Maybe this is the same scientific phenomenon that occurs when you buy a new car and then notice that every third car you pass is the same one..... but there seem to be several other bloggers going through the move process and they all seem to express the same feelings I have... only better than I can.
Scurvy Dog
Mean Gene
DuggleBogey
Poker Poison
I have not tried it, but I understand Mean Gene completely when he says, "It is very difficult to successfully throw away a garbage can." I also identified with his Bittersweet post. Well put.
I am moving today and will not have cable in the new place until Friday so I will have to get my blog fixes via Bloglines and the BlackBerry. Good luck to all at the Mookie and WWDN. Miss my chips.
In summation: Moving is teh Suck.
Michigan Day.
Off to the land of Thrice Confirmed Huge Junk. Wheeee.
Maybe this is the same scientific phenomenon that occurs when you buy a new car and then notice that every third car you pass is the same one..... but there seem to be several other bloggers going through the move process and they all seem to express the same feelings I have... only better than I can.
Scurvy Dog
Mean Gene
DuggleBogey
Poker Poison
I have not tried it, but I understand Mean Gene completely when he says, "It is very difficult to successfully throw away a garbage can." I also identified with his Bittersweet post. Well put.
I am moving today and will not have cable in the new place until Friday so I will have to get my blog fixes via Bloglines and the BlackBerry. Good luck to all at the Mookie and WWDN. Miss my chips.
In summation: Moving is teh Suck.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
No Hammer, No Glory
Let this be a lesson. From teh Mookie:
PokerStars Game #6028848228: Tournament #30401788, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2006/08/23 - 22:28:43 (ET)Table '30401788 1' 9-max
Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: HighOnPokr (2075 in chips)
Seat 2: smokkee (3078 in chips)
Seat 4: Iakaris (1900 in chips)
Seat 5: aquaverse (565 in chips)
Seat 6: hoyazo (1750 in chips)
Seat 7: STeelerJosh (3292 in chips)
Seat 8: willwonka (1160 in chips)
Seat 9: bthecloser69 (1805 in chips) I
akaris: posts small blind 15
aquaverse: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to STeelerJosh [2h 7d] <---The Real Deal, 72o
STeelerJosh: folds embarrassedly
Iakaris: raises 210 to 300
aquaverse: raises 265 to 565 and is all-in
Iakaris: calls 265
*** FLOP *** [8d 6d 7c]s
*** TURN *** [8d 6d 7c] [2s]
*** RIVER *** [8d 6d 7c 2s] [3h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Iakaris: shows [Kd Kc] (a pair of Kings)
aquaverse: shows [Qc Qd] (a pair of Queens)
smokkee said, "the hammer woulda took it"
So true it hurts smokkee.... so true.
PokerStars Game #6028848228: Tournament #30401788, $10+$1 Hold'em No Limit - Level II (15/30) - 2006/08/23 - 22:28:43 (ET)Table '30401788 1' 9-max
Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: HighOnPokr (2075 in chips)
Seat 2: smokkee (3078 in chips)
Seat 4: Iakaris (1900 in chips)
Seat 5: aquaverse (565 in chips)
Seat 6: hoyazo (1750 in chips)
Seat 7: STeelerJosh (3292 in chips)
Seat 8: willwonka (1160 in chips)
Seat 9: bthecloser69 (1805 in chips) I
akaris: posts small blind 15
aquaverse: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to STeelerJosh [2h 7d] <---The Real Deal, 72o
STeelerJosh: folds embarrassedly
Iakaris: raises 210 to 300
aquaverse: raises 265 to 565 and is all-in
Iakaris: calls 265
*** FLOP *** [8d 6d 7c]s
*** TURN *** [8d 6d 7c] [2s]
*** RIVER *** [8d 6d 7c 2s] [3h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Iakaris: shows [Kd Kc] (a pair of Kings)
aquaverse: shows [Qc Qd] (a pair of Queens)
smokkee said, "the hammer woulda took it"
So true it hurts smokkee.... so true.
Michigan Vanity Plates
As you may have guessed by my avatar, blogname, face paint, etc. I am a pretty big Steelers fan. For that past two years I have had customized plates on my car and I will be losing them when I move to Michigan. I mistakenly thought that it would be easier to get custom plates with Steeler references in MI. I was wrong. I can't even get my current Ohio plate up there!
With DNasty's help today, we came up with the following available plate ideas:
ST33L3R
STLRJSH
STLRPRD
COWRPWR
STLRFN1
BLKGLD1
STLCURT
STLRN8N
I think my favorite two are COWRPWR and STLRN8N. I am leaning towards the latter since I am not sure how long Cowher will maintain his coaching job. There seem to be some rumors around the lack of a contract renewal with an organization that has traditionally renewed coaching contracts with two years left on them. Personally, I hope Bill stays but I would respect a decision to not renew if it was on his part. If he was forced by the Rooneys to leave (unlikley, but possible I guess) I would think the Steelers organization would be making a mistake.
Whew, I have to be careful... I can get on my soapbox pretty quickly on anything Steelers related (don't even ask me about #22 Staley) Anyway, if you think you are pretty creative and want to give it a shot, try your idea on the link below and leave me a comment.
http://sosntsl01.sos.state.mi.us/plates/papstep2.asp?plateTYPE=STANDARD&plateID=blue
With DNasty's help today, we came up with the following available plate ideas:
ST33L3R
STLRJSH
STLRPRD
COWRPWR
STLRFN1
BLKGLD1
STLCURT
STLRN8N
I think my favorite two are COWRPWR and STLRN8N. I am leaning towards the latter since I am not sure how long Cowher will maintain his coaching job. There seem to be some rumors around the lack of a contract renewal with an organization that has traditionally renewed coaching contracts with two years left on them. Personally, I hope Bill stays but I would respect a decision to not renew if it was on his part. If he was forced by the Rooneys to leave (unlikley, but possible I guess) I would think the Steelers organization would be making a mistake.
Whew, I have to be careful... I can get on my soapbox pretty quickly on anything Steelers related (don't even ask me about #22 Staley) Anyway, if you think you are pretty creative and want to give it a shot, try your idea on the link below and leave me a comment.
http://sosntsl01.sos.state.mi.us/plates/papstep2.asp?plateTYPE=STANDARD&plateID=blue
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
My New Name is "Chedda Bob"
Detroit News is the Craziest
In some odd twist of the cosmic controllers of DirecTV I am receiving Detroit local channels on my television now. This came to my attention when I got home from work last night at 7:58 PM with the intention of telling Tivo to grab the new season of Prison Break (outside of my Sunday night HBO tv manifesto, Prison Break and Lost are required viewing) at 8 PM. My best efforts were thwarted because I no longer had a channel 8. WTF? All my local channel numbers were weird. I finally found Fox on channel 2 and pressed record. Previously, my channels stopped at 3.
I had a sneaking suspicion that the call to DirecTV for the upcoming move may have caused this funny state of affairs. Funny you ask? Yes, hilarious. If you have not had the pleasure of staying in a Detroit are hotel and enjoying the Channel 4 News, you are missing a lot. The news is ridiculous. I think that the local news always finds the worst stories to cover, shootings, robberies, rapes, etc, but apparently D Town is really rough! One bad thing just does not happen to a person in the D, but multiples! “In other news tonight, a Wayne County woman was hit by a car, her unconscious body was mugged, and then she was shot and killed in a drive by. In Macomb County tonight a young boy was caught stealing a car, raped an old lady, and held up a local convenience store.”
So, SteelerSteph and I watched the news with a small amount of building apprehension about the upcoming move and I don’t think I reassured her much when I explained that we were moving to Oakland County and that county was not mentioned in any of the great news stories. We are excited about the move and Steph’s new job with *Edit by Bobby Bracelet*, a large pharmaceutical company. (Can you get in trouble for your husband’s blog?) We have started packing the unsold house and I am about to find out what fun the logistics will be of living in one state and maintaining a property for sale in another. Open to any advice of anyone that has done this before…. ScurvyDog, Duggles?
I guess my solace will be that no matter how rough it gets driving back to Ohio to mow the lawn or staring at the bank account when I am paying a mortgage and rent…. I will be able to enjoy the goodness that is Local Channel 4 News at 11 and the cheer they will bring. I just hope I don’t get carjacked/shot/thrown into Lake Erie and make the news…..
On the poker front, I am really starting to like my shift to low stakes NL on Party. I am developing the cash NL skills that I lacked and making slow but steady additions to the bankroll. It has been interesting to see how I develop in this area, I know that I could grow faster with more aggression, but right now I am happy with my results and decisions. Other than the Mookie, I am pretty much sticking to Party these days so if you are on there, look for STeelerJosh on the baby NL tables.
In some odd twist of the cosmic controllers of DirecTV I am receiving Detroit local channels on my television now. This came to my attention when I got home from work last night at 7:58 PM with the intention of telling Tivo to grab the new season of Prison Break (outside of my Sunday night HBO tv manifesto, Prison Break and Lost are required viewing) at 8 PM. My best efforts were thwarted because I no longer had a channel 8. WTF? All my local channel numbers were weird. I finally found Fox on channel 2 and pressed record. Previously, my channels stopped at 3.
I had a sneaking suspicion that the call to DirecTV for the upcoming move may have caused this funny state of affairs. Funny you ask? Yes, hilarious. If you have not had the pleasure of staying in a Detroit are hotel and enjoying the Channel 4 News, you are missing a lot. The news is ridiculous. I think that the local news always finds the worst stories to cover, shootings, robberies, rapes, etc, but apparently D Town is really rough! One bad thing just does not happen to a person in the D, but multiples! “In other news tonight, a Wayne County woman was hit by a car, her unconscious body was mugged, and then she was shot and killed in a drive by. In Macomb County tonight a young boy was caught stealing a car, raped an old lady, and held up a local convenience store.”
So, SteelerSteph and I watched the news with a small amount of building apprehension about the upcoming move and I don’t think I reassured her much when I explained that we were moving to Oakland County and that county was not mentioned in any of the great news stories. We are excited about the move and Steph’s new job with *Edit by Bobby Bracelet*, a large pharmaceutical company. (Can you get in trouble for your husband’s blog?) We have started packing the unsold house and I am about to find out what fun the logistics will be of living in one state and maintaining a property for sale in another. Open to any advice of anyone that has done this before…. ScurvyDog, Duggles?
I guess my solace will be that no matter how rough it gets driving back to Ohio to mow the lawn or staring at the bank account when I am paying a mortgage and rent…. I will be able to enjoy the goodness that is Local Channel 4 News at 11 and the cheer they will bring. I just hope I don’t get carjacked/shot/thrown into Lake Erie and make the news…..
On the poker front, I am really starting to like my shift to low stakes NL on Party. I am developing the cash NL skills that I lacked and making slow but steady additions to the bankroll. It has been interesting to see how I develop in this area, I know that I could grow faster with more aggression, but right now I am happy with my results and decisions. Other than the Mookie, I am pretty much sticking to Party these days so if you are on there, look for STeelerJosh on the baby NL tables.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Nervous for SteelerSteph
Nervous for SteelerSteph
She set off for Novi, MI this morning at an ungodly hour (“O Dark Thirty” is what we called it in the Army) and last I talked to her she was close to her destination at 8 AM. While the more dramatic might call it destination unknown, I would not fault them. She was traveling to meet a group of her potential new co-workers at a Panera Bread in Livonia, MI and then off to meet with the division VP and her potential new boss. That is a lot of unknown to deal with in one morning. Job interviewing is a stressful proposition, I am sure she did not sleep well/much last night and I am sending her all my good thoughts today. She really deserves a break and has jumped through all of the hoops required for this new job. She has not given the new employer any reason not to hire her…. But you just never know with these things. Good luck Steph, I am feeling good things.
Was SteelerJosh playing the role of good husband last night and helping her prep for this last interview? Of course not! He was at a Dave Matthews Band concert with a buddy from work. I would feel a little more guilt if Steph was not the reason I was there. I have been a DMB fan since their inception circa 1990 and I had a $100 Ticketmaster gift certificate lying around. She found a local Ticketmaster outlet and turned the 2 year old gift certificate into tickets to see Dave at Blossom Music Center. I thought that this was a pretty cool thing to do as I would not have done it myself. She could not make it with me (because of the whole interview thing today) but I asked a buddy at work and it was on.
Dave brings back many fond memories for me. When I got out of the Army in 1996 and went back home for a few years, I did a lot of partying with my brothers and their friends. It seemed that Dave’s albums, “Recently” and “Under The Table and Dreaming” were always playing. My brother can play a mean air guitar to DMB’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower”. Hand that kid a fire poker and watch him get busy on the coffee table. Anyway, watching all the stoners, long hairs, hippie chicks, frat boys, and other monkeys getting their head right for a Dave show took me right back to that place and time last night. I miss them… the times and the friends.
The only cloud I could see outside of my silver lining last night was that I am getting old! Mingling with drunk and stoned underage crowd clarified the age difference. I am on the cusp of really standing out in a DMB crowd as an old guy. Booo getting old.
Well, think good thoughts for SteelerSteph and her big interview. I will be sure to post the results…. as long as they are good!
She set off for Novi, MI this morning at an ungodly hour (“O Dark Thirty” is what we called it in the Army) and last I talked to her she was close to her destination at 8 AM. While the more dramatic might call it destination unknown, I would not fault them. She was traveling to meet a group of her potential new co-workers at a Panera Bread in Livonia, MI and then off to meet with the division VP and her potential new boss. That is a lot of unknown to deal with in one morning. Job interviewing is a stressful proposition, I am sure she did not sleep well/much last night and I am sending her all my good thoughts today. She really deserves a break and has jumped through all of the hoops required for this new job. She has not given the new employer any reason not to hire her…. But you just never know with these things. Good luck Steph, I am feeling good things.
Was SteelerJosh playing the role of good husband last night and helping her prep for this last interview? Of course not! He was at a Dave Matthews Band concert with a buddy from work. I would feel a little more guilt if Steph was not the reason I was there. I have been a DMB fan since their inception circa 1990 and I had a $100 Ticketmaster gift certificate lying around. She found a local Ticketmaster outlet and turned the 2 year old gift certificate into tickets to see Dave at Blossom Music Center. I thought that this was a pretty cool thing to do as I would not have done it myself. She could not make it with me (because of the whole interview thing today) but I asked a buddy at work and it was on.
Dave brings back many fond memories for me. When I got out of the Army in 1996 and went back home for a few years, I did a lot of partying with my brothers and their friends. It seemed that Dave’s albums, “Recently” and “Under The Table and Dreaming” were always playing. My brother can play a mean air guitar to DMB’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower”. Hand that kid a fire poker and watch him get busy on the coffee table. Anyway, watching all the stoners, long hairs, hippie chicks, frat boys, and other monkeys getting their head right for a Dave show took me right back to that place and time last night. I miss them… the times and the friends.
The only cloud I could see outside of my silver lining last night was that I am getting old! Mingling with drunk and stoned underage crowd clarified the age difference. I am on the cusp of really standing out in a DMB crowd as an old guy. Booo getting old.
Well, think good thoughts for SteelerSteph and her big interview. I will be sure to post the results…. as long as they are good!
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Maybe if I bitch about it here
It will stop.
Probably not, but I am tired today of the bad beats and bubble finishes. Twice today I have lost a HU match with trips flopped and my opponent has the case 4th card and a higher kicker.
I have been knocked out on the bubble in both 10 person SNGs I played and once was to a 4 card flush when I got it all in pre flop waaaaay ahead. Goddamnit (that is for Karen).
On the good side of life, my first batch of beer is maturing well. I am 4 bottles into it and each one is getting better. I think that by next weekend they will be prime for the drinking. I drank 2 today and they are getting quite tasty. 10.5 alcohol by volume in a 22 oz bottle will do ya like my man Larry the Cable Guy says, "Get 'R Done".
I am in another 10 person SNG as I type this because I am a real glutton for punishment. I decided to bump up the stakes to $22, maybe that will make a difference.
We held our first open house today and had one family through... but they came through twice! I hope that bodes well as another family saw the house by appointment today and it was there second time through as well. They brought the kids with them today and they really like the house. I hope someone makes an offer soon because I really need to sell this thing so I can get to Southfield. SteelerSteph has a 4th interview with Glaxo Smith Kline in Michigan on the 3rd of August with a tentative start date of August 21st. Despite the fact that this will really put us in a pinch, I am hoping she gets the position because GSK seems like a really good company to work for and she deserves a break. The past 5 months have been rough on her and she has been a real trooper. Wish us well, we could use all the good karma we have saved up.
In case you were wondering, my Raspberry Wheat is in the primary fermenter bubbling away and I am pretty excited to see what becomes of it. The boil last weekend went well and I think it will be ready to transfer to the secondary fermenter some time this week. After that, one more week and she will be ready for bottling. Mmmmm Beeeer.
As I am typing this I have outlasted 5 of my starting companions in the $22 SNG, I will wait to publish this until this is over. I am sure you are all holding your breath :-)
KK in the BB...... and I doubled up. T4290, next hand the guy I doubled through pushes all in on tilt and I call with K10 on the button and he flips K6. Nice.
I got KK again (2nd in 3 hands) and no callers. Just get the blinds, T6755. Just like that, I am ITM.
2nd in chips and 1st and 3rd are duking it out.
AJs in the SB, I shove and 1st calls with 99. I lose the race, but get second place for my first cash in a 10 person SNG today. Cool.
Probably not, but I am tired today of the bad beats and bubble finishes. Twice today I have lost a HU match with trips flopped and my opponent has the case 4th card and a higher kicker.
I have been knocked out on the bubble in both 10 person SNGs I played and once was to a 4 card flush when I got it all in pre flop waaaaay ahead. Goddamnit (that is for Karen).
On the good side of life, my first batch of beer is maturing well. I am 4 bottles into it and each one is getting better. I think that by next weekend they will be prime for the drinking. I drank 2 today and they are getting quite tasty. 10.5 alcohol by volume in a 22 oz bottle will do ya like my man Larry the Cable Guy says, "Get 'R Done".
I am in another 10 person SNG as I type this because I am a real glutton for punishment. I decided to bump up the stakes to $22, maybe that will make a difference.
We held our first open house today and had one family through... but they came through twice! I hope that bodes well as another family saw the house by appointment today and it was there second time through as well. They brought the kids with them today and they really like the house. I hope someone makes an offer soon because I really need to sell this thing so I can get to Southfield. SteelerSteph has a 4th interview with Glaxo Smith Kline in Michigan on the 3rd of August with a tentative start date of August 21st. Despite the fact that this will really put us in a pinch, I am hoping she gets the position because GSK seems like a really good company to work for and she deserves a break. The past 5 months have been rough on her and she has been a real trooper. Wish us well, we could use all the good karma we have saved up.
In case you were wondering, my Raspberry Wheat is in the primary fermenter bubbling away and I am pretty excited to see what becomes of it. The boil last weekend went well and I think it will be ready to transfer to the secondary fermenter some time this week. After that, one more week and she will be ready for bottling. Mmmmm Beeeer.
As I am typing this I have outlasted 5 of my starting companions in the $22 SNG, I will wait to publish this until this is over. I am sure you are all holding your breath :-)
KK in the BB...... and I doubled up. T4290, next hand the guy I doubled through pushes all in on tilt and I call with K10 on the button and he flips K6. Nice.
I got KK again (2nd in 3 hands) and no callers. Just get the blinds, T6755. Just like that, I am ITM.
2nd in chips and 1st and 3rd are duking it out.
AJs in the SB, I shove and 1st calls with 99. I lose the race, but get second place for my first cash in a 10 person SNG today. Cool.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Wish I was in Vegas
Wish I was in Vegas…
Because I am reading all these blogs about the blogger hijinks and the WSOP going on out there. But life is not too bad here. I had a poker-less weekend (save one HU match on Party that I managed to drop, I hate slowplayed quads that give me an Aces full of nines Full House)
I did get some traveling, boating, and golfing in while SteelerSteph was hawking the homestead to potential buyers. We thought we had a very promising buyer, a perfect one according to our realtor: “Out of town buyer that has to relocate in a specific time frame”.
Family of three from St. Louis that was in town for two days to find and purchase a house and needed to move within 5 weeks. BINGO! That would be perfect for us and we thought our house would be perfect for them. They visited our house twice during their two day trip (once each day) and Steph was told that we were on the short list. She is in sales and practiced a little of her craft when she pointed out the flat driveway (Feature) and that it was great for a basketball hoop (Benefit), the favorite sport of their 16 year old son. She also mentioned that the neighborhood had a lot of children (it does) and that there was a cute 16 year old girl down the street (another Feature/Benefit I guess!). We found out Saturday that our house came in 2nd place and an offer had been made on another property. “If that offer falls through for some reason, we would be next blah, blah, blah”. That was a little disappointing, but not devastating.
On the subject of preparing a house for showing, I think SteelerSteph outdoes herself. How do I know? I told her that if I came into our house and saw how perfect it was and those damn little notes that she leaves in strategic places I would urinate in the refrigerator or a hamper to express my displeasure at the perfectness. For example, we have a two story family room with a wall of windows. Since we watch tv in that room and it is westward facing, we get sun in there in the afternoon and it can produce some glare on the television. This is not acceptable, especially with many of the Steelers games being broadcast at 1 PM. We installed room darkening blinds and the top level are powered and can be adjusted with a remote control. She puts a folded card next to the remote sitting on the coffee table - “Remote Controlled Blinds – Keeps House Cool in Summer” in very pretty girly writing. Gag. Walking in to the kitchen, you are confronted by a dish of “Treasures”, some type of chocolate, and another card with sentiments of welcome, enjoy the house, and thanks. See what I mean? Encountering cute little cards like that combined with the immaculate house would create an intense desire in me to upper deck one of the seller’s immaculate toilets. But, I suppose I am not the target audience. That would be the true decision maker when it comes to domiciles, the woman. There is a built in workbench in the garage and a full basement to keep the guy occupied while his wife samples the chocolates and reads the cards. He might even play with the blinds because they have a remote, which lends a touch of masculinity to it, right?
While our house was coming in second, I was here http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/14993088.htm . I was not there at 1:30 AM when the fire started, but was there the next day to witness that aftermath and watch some of the recovery operations. Some of those houseboats are huge and they are docked very close together. I was really surprised that there were only 4 affected by the fire. They credit the quick acting people that were in other docked houseboats that cut the lines and pushed other houseboats out of the docks. Craziness. We were on a pontoon boat and a jetski and had a great time on the lake. My sister in law lives in Richmond, KY and we came to spend the weekend with her and go out on the lake. On Sunday, I got 18 holes in at The Bull. http://www.kentucky-golfer.com/Bull/Index.htm . There were 6 golfers so we played a two team 3 person scramble. I was happy to contribute a natural birdie on a par 5, but it was overshadowed by an eagle on a par 4. All in all, a very nice course with a lot of blind shots, well defended greens, and challenging terrain.
Hope to get some poker in this week, but it is shaping up to be another busy one. I am still interviewing for my replacement at work and that has been an experience in itself. Here is an interview tip: Don’t make sexual moaning noises and pretend to spank a computer while saying “Bad Computer, Bad Computer”. The wonders never cease.
Because I am reading all these blogs about the blogger hijinks and the WSOP going on out there. But life is not too bad here. I had a poker-less weekend (save one HU match on Party that I managed to drop, I hate slowplayed quads that give me an Aces full of nines Full House)
I did get some traveling, boating, and golfing in while SteelerSteph was hawking the homestead to potential buyers. We thought we had a very promising buyer, a perfect one according to our realtor: “Out of town buyer that has to relocate in a specific time frame”.
Family of three from St. Louis that was in town for two days to find and purchase a house and needed to move within 5 weeks. BINGO! That would be perfect for us and we thought our house would be perfect for them. They visited our house twice during their two day trip (once each day) and Steph was told that we were on the short list. She is in sales and practiced a little of her craft when she pointed out the flat driveway (Feature) and that it was great for a basketball hoop (Benefit), the favorite sport of their 16 year old son. She also mentioned that the neighborhood had a lot of children (it does) and that there was a cute 16 year old girl down the street (another Feature/Benefit I guess!). We found out Saturday that our house came in 2nd place and an offer had been made on another property. “If that offer falls through for some reason, we would be next blah, blah, blah”. That was a little disappointing, but not devastating.
On the subject of preparing a house for showing, I think SteelerSteph outdoes herself. How do I know? I told her that if I came into our house and saw how perfect it was and those damn little notes that she leaves in strategic places I would urinate in the refrigerator or a hamper to express my displeasure at the perfectness. For example, we have a two story family room with a wall of windows. Since we watch tv in that room and it is westward facing, we get sun in there in the afternoon and it can produce some glare on the television. This is not acceptable, especially with many of the Steelers games being broadcast at 1 PM. We installed room darkening blinds and the top level are powered and can be adjusted with a remote control. She puts a folded card next to the remote sitting on the coffee table - “Remote Controlled Blinds – Keeps House Cool in Summer” in very pretty girly writing. Gag. Walking in to the kitchen, you are confronted by a dish of “Treasures”, some type of chocolate, and another card with sentiments of welcome, enjoy the house, and thanks. See what I mean? Encountering cute little cards like that combined with the immaculate house would create an intense desire in me to upper deck one of the seller’s immaculate toilets. But, I suppose I am not the target audience. That would be the true decision maker when it comes to domiciles, the woman. There is a built in workbench in the garage and a full basement to keep the guy occupied while his wife samples the chocolates and reads the cards. He might even play with the blinds because they have a remote, which lends a touch of masculinity to it, right?
While our house was coming in second, I was here http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/14993088.htm . I was not there at 1:30 AM when the fire started, but was there the next day to witness that aftermath and watch some of the recovery operations. Some of those houseboats are huge and they are docked very close together. I was really surprised that there were only 4 affected by the fire. They credit the quick acting people that were in other docked houseboats that cut the lines and pushed other houseboats out of the docks. Craziness. We were on a pontoon boat and a jetski and had a great time on the lake. My sister in law lives in Richmond, KY and we came to spend the weekend with her and go out on the lake. On Sunday, I got 18 holes in at The Bull. http://www.kentucky-golfer.com/Bull/Index.htm . There were 6 golfers so we played a two team 3 person scramble. I was happy to contribute a natural birdie on a par 5, but it was overshadowed by an eagle on a par 4. All in all, a very nice course with a lot of blind shots, well defended greens, and challenging terrain.
Hope to get some poker in this week, but it is shaping up to be another busy one. I am still interviewing for my replacement at work and that has been an experience in itself. Here is an interview tip: Don’t make sexual moaning noises and pretend to spank a computer while saying “Bad Computer, Bad Computer”. The wonders never cease.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Family Reunion Poker
I am posting this from my Blackberry and it likes to skip the letter "t" when I type fast so please pardon any missing "t"'s. I posted my NWA rant from this device also and it was missing a few.
I attended my wife's annual family reunion in Brockway, PA this weekend. It is always a good time and it got better in the past two years because of poker. The host/organization duties rotate each year and last year it was our turn to run it. Each year there is a golf scramble on the Saturday before the reunion Sunday. We decided to host a poker tournament after the golf outing. About 28 entrants for the $10 entry fee and we offered $5 re-buys during the first hour (with all re-buys going towards the reunion fund). It was a great success and the reward for good work was, yup, you guessed it, more work! Even though we were not hosting the reunion this year, we were asked to run the tournament again this year. I was bummed at first because I could not play last year since I was running it. Helping decide play rules, handling re-buys, balancing tables, and keeping things moving was too much to do while playing. SteelerSteph knew that I really wanted to play so she volunteered to run it this year. (Thanks Steph in case you ever read this blog).
26 entries in the 2006 Reunion WSOP created a first prize of $130, an amount I am proud to say I brought home! It was interesting as the mix of players was eclectic at best. There was a group of 10 or so avid players, 10 players that were social players and a handful of just for fun players. It seemed that almost everyone at my starting table wanted to see the flop no matter how much it was raised PF. I am kind of glad I did not get many premium starting hands because it helped me avoid the inevitable bad beats. I limped with suited connectors a lot and got paid when they connected. My one premium hand (KK) was doomed on an xAx flop. I raised 3x BB (600) and had three callers. I continuation bet the flop with another 600 and I knew my one caller had an A. I checked the turn and the river (she checked too) and was not too surprised when she flipped AK. The play was very passive until the final table with min bets all the way with full houses and flushes not uncommon.
I made the final table with a smaller chipstack and was able to double up twice through the chip leader. My first double up happened when I limped with 68h on the button. The flop came all hearts and I jammed on the gutshot straight flush draw figuring my flush was good anyway. The chip leader had already put in a 2k bet but I was confident he did not have the flush already, I knew him and it was a semi-bluff. He thought for a minute and then called. He said he knew I had the flush so I am not sure why he called. He had outs with his Ah but they did not come and I was now in the top 3 with chips. A few hands later I finished him off when my QJ flopped two pair. I jammed again and he quickly called. The speed of the call concerned me, did he get a set? But his PF action of limping did not make me think pocket pair. He normally would bet that. With a flop of QJ7, he flipped his Q7 and was all in. I felt a little bad because of my aggressive final table play, I don't think I could have gotten away from a flopped two pair heads up either. Just bad luck. No sevens came and I was the new dominant chip leader with 7 to go. 7,6,5 got it all in one one hand and then there was 4 of us left. I took out fourth on a hand I can't remember and then took out my father-in-law 3rd with my 33 v his AQo. He turned a Q and was crushed by my rivered 3. Whew, good job John, I got lucky on that coinflip. The final hand of the tourney was my AK v Holly's A9. The favored hand stood up and I won my first family reunion WSOP. I knew I could outplay most of them and had final table expectations but did not think I would take it down.
The next day we got a small cash game going with $5 buy in and .05/.10 blinds. I did well in that also cashing out more than 5 times my buy in. I am either on a little rush, or I am seeing some fruits of my poker labors. The play was pretty bad so I am leaning towards a 70/30 split. 70% experience and 30% dumb ass luck.
Happy Fourth of July to all and condolences to DNasty. I think Ben moved to the Bulls because he heard STeelerJosh was moving to the D and there is only room for one Ben in my heart.... The stupid no helmet wearing QB Super Bowl winning one. I appreciate Wallace's style and think he would make a fine Steeler Linebacker. Good luck in Chi-town other Ben.
No Internet poker out here in the sticks (dial up only) but I will see you all on the virtual felt again soon. I am headed back home tomorrow and cannot wait. My homebrew is ready to be bottelled and in 3 short weeks I will be enjoying some fine honey wheat "HammerBrau" or whatever the hell I decide to call it. Suggestions welcome. The next batch I am planning will be a much lighter raspberry ale. This high test stuff (10.5 alcohol) takes too long to ferment.
I attended my wife's annual family reunion in Brockway, PA this weekend. It is always a good time and it got better in the past two years because of poker. The host/organization duties rotate each year and last year it was our turn to run it. Each year there is a golf scramble on the Saturday before the reunion Sunday. We decided to host a poker tournament after the golf outing. About 28 entrants for the $10 entry fee and we offered $5 re-buys during the first hour (with all re-buys going towards the reunion fund). It was a great success and the reward for good work was, yup, you guessed it, more work! Even though we were not hosting the reunion this year, we were asked to run the tournament again this year. I was bummed at first because I could not play last year since I was running it. Helping decide play rules, handling re-buys, balancing tables, and keeping things moving was too much to do while playing. SteelerSteph knew that I really wanted to play so she volunteered to run it this year. (Thanks Steph in case you ever read this blog).
26 entries in the 2006 Reunion WSOP created a first prize of $130, an amount I am proud to say I brought home! It was interesting as the mix of players was eclectic at best. There was a group of 10 or so avid players, 10 players that were social players and a handful of just for fun players. It seemed that almost everyone at my starting table wanted to see the flop no matter how much it was raised PF. I am kind of glad I did not get many premium starting hands because it helped me avoid the inevitable bad beats. I limped with suited connectors a lot and got paid when they connected. My one premium hand (KK) was doomed on an xAx flop. I raised 3x BB (600) and had three callers. I continuation bet the flop with another 600 and I knew my one caller had an A. I checked the turn and the river (she checked too) and was not too surprised when she flipped AK. The play was very passive until the final table with min bets all the way with full houses and flushes not uncommon.
I made the final table with a smaller chipstack and was able to double up twice through the chip leader. My first double up happened when I limped with 68h on the button. The flop came all hearts and I jammed on the gutshot straight flush draw figuring my flush was good anyway. The chip leader had already put in a 2k bet but I was confident he did not have the flush already, I knew him and it was a semi-bluff. He thought for a minute and then called. He said he knew I had the flush so I am not sure why he called. He had outs with his Ah but they did not come and I was now in the top 3 with chips. A few hands later I finished him off when my QJ flopped two pair. I jammed again and he quickly called. The speed of the call concerned me, did he get a set? But his PF action of limping did not make me think pocket pair. He normally would bet that. With a flop of QJ7, he flipped his Q7 and was all in. I felt a little bad because of my aggressive final table play, I don't think I could have gotten away from a flopped two pair heads up either. Just bad luck. No sevens came and I was the new dominant chip leader with 7 to go. 7,6,5 got it all in one one hand and then there was 4 of us left. I took out fourth on a hand I can't remember and then took out my father-in-law 3rd with my 33 v his AQo. He turned a Q and was crushed by my rivered 3. Whew, good job John, I got lucky on that coinflip. The final hand of the tourney was my AK v Holly's A9. The favored hand stood up and I won my first family reunion WSOP. I knew I could outplay most of them and had final table expectations but did not think I would take it down.
The next day we got a small cash game going with $5 buy in and .05/.10 blinds. I did well in that also cashing out more than 5 times my buy in. I am either on a little rush, or I am seeing some fruits of my poker labors. The play was pretty bad so I am leaning towards a 70/30 split. 70% experience and 30% dumb ass luck.
Happy Fourth of July to all and condolences to DNasty. I think Ben moved to the Bulls because he heard STeelerJosh was moving to the D and there is only room for one Ben in my heart.... The stupid no helmet wearing QB Super Bowl winning one. I appreciate Wallace's style and think he would make a fine Steeler Linebacker. Good luck in Chi-town other Ben.
No Internet poker out here in the sticks (dial up only) but I will see you all on the virtual felt again soon. I am headed back home tomorrow and cannot wait. My homebrew is ready to be bottelled and in 3 short weeks I will be enjoying some fine honey wheat "HammerBrau" or whatever the hell I decide to call it. Suggestions welcome. The next batch I am planning will be a much lighter raspberry ale. This high test stuff (10.5 alcohol) takes too long to ferment.
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