Chumming the Water

The Sharks will be out in force!!

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 7330476

Hoyazo Inspired Me

I guess this falls under the concept that "It's the thought that counts" because it was certainly not about the cheddar. I took down a $1 PokerStars 45 person MTT tonight. I tried the MTT because I wanted to have some of the fun that Hoyazo does when Hoy makes it look so easy....

I pulled the patented Hoy a few times and also employed the reverse with success. After the first big pot I took down, I never left the top 3. Moderated aggression fo shiz. Thanks for the inspiration Hoyazo, it netted me $13 and a boost of confidence!

*edit* stupid Blogger, giving up on uploading the screen grab of this impressive victory, you will just have to imagine my name at the top :)

Hoyazo = En Fuego

I have not posted in .... let me see.... carry the 1.... Um.......forever. Between work and cruise I took last week, poker and blogging has not been a priority. Things are looking up in that area as my work "busy season" comes to an end today.

Bloglines made it easy to catch up on my reading after a week OCONUS (Outside the CONtinental US for you civilian types) and my favorite blog to catch up was hands down Hoyazo's Hammer Player's Poker Blog. I really enjoy his screenshots (one of his recent posts must be some kind of record) and his "strategery" towards the game. He gives enough insight into the game and his style, but does not give away the whole thing.... just a taste. Anyway, the trademarked Hoyazo and Reverse Hoyazo included, it is very fun to read the exploits of a blogger that is really coming into stride with his game and dare I say it, running hot right now. If you have not been there yet, make sure you stop by and congratulate Hoyazo on his takedown of the Party 40k Gauranteed. Well played and even better chronicled, sir.

In the OTHER department I have some adminstrata to take care of.

Big Thanks to Jordan, the Devil's Advocate. He produced on his bounty for the DADI and I am now the proud owner of a sweet pair COPAQ card decks. Thank you for running your 1010 into my JJ.

I am getting pumped up for Okie Vegas, although it has been pushed to the back burner of my mind the past month. Work and life gets into the way of cool things like this.

I used the bulk of my online bankroll to finance the drinking, gambling, and excursions on my 7 day cruise last week. Back to the cellar for me, but that is where I still belong so it may helpful as I will not be able to give into the temptations to frolic in the levels above my BR. The winnings (think positive) of my Okie Vegas trip will be the seeds of the new improved STeelerJosh BR. Tally Ho!

Lastly, there is a potential for a big change at work on the horizon. Can't get into details here, but it would be a big change for SteelerSteph and me and something that I am looking forward to. Will post the details on here for any family and friends that stop by once I can.

Trying to find an easy way to update my Blog links

By using all the links I setup in Bloglines!

Let me see what this does:

http://rpc.bloglines.com/blogroll?html=1&id=STeelerJosh

Okie Vegas

Gary C’s Okie Vegas

Crunching some numbers to see the most economical way to get to and from the upcoming blogger get together and had some interesting results. I have several options, driving, riding, flying and hitching.

Since hitching is inherently dangerous, I can rule that out…but it is technically an option I guess. I tried that once while in the Army stationed in California. I was trying to get back to Barstow, CA after letting my boys take my car home from the Cowboy bar were I was successful in scoring a cowgirl. I ended up doing a lot of walking and ended up going Greyhound after a disastrous first and only attempt at hitching. The first car that stopped offered to take me to the next town if we could play the Vito and the Security Guard game. (If you missed the Sopranos last night, you missed a good episode) I would have been playing the role of Security Guard in this gentleman’s offer. Ironically, when he first explained what was required to get me to the next town, I thought he was offering me a lollipop filled with a bubble gum center.

For the record: I declined. I know DNasty would be asking. I found the bus station in the town and waited for the next bus. Was it worth it? Not really, but it made for an interesting life experience. I think SteelerSteph may have heard this story, or at least some form of it… but I am glad she does not read this blog!

That leaves me my two 4 wheeled options, my two wheeled option, and finally a plane. I had initially ruled out the plane because the ticket prices seemed too high. Min $250, but upon further reflection, I think that price will be hard to beat.

It is about 1,059 miles from my house to Oklahoma City. 1,059/46 mpg = 23.02 gallons of gas for my ST1100. Gas is about 2.90 a gallon right now and I expect it to go up this summer, but I will stick with 2.90 for the calculations. 23.02*2.90*2(round trip) = $133.51 in gas. I was toying with the idea of doing an IronButt ride down (1,000 miles in 24 hours) but would need to get a hotel room on the way back, and possibly on the way there if I am getting too tired to ride safely. $80 hotel room with the possibility of needing one for two nights. I would estimate that I would be 85% successful on making the full distance so lets say hotel costs would be $92. Motorcycle cost would be $225 plus one hell of a sore ass and two extra days off of work. That $250 flight is looking a lot more attractive.

For grins, if I were to drive my Honda Pilot down there (my choice because it has XM radio) I would be looking at 50.43 gallons of gas setting me back $292.50 in fuel costs alone.

The more I cogitated about this trip, the more obvious the right choice became. I could take less days off from work (I get plenty, but it is always nice to have a cushion), have an easier time sitting down to play poker, and spend less time traveling if I flew.

So, Gary, what time can you pick me up at Will Rogers World Airport?

StayinSafe

I had some disturbing news this week. I was checking my e-mail on Monday and caught a quick line in one of the messages that Larry Grodsky had been in a motorcycle accident in Texas and been killed. I did not know him personally, but I enjoyed his articles in Rider magazine each month and he was a well known rider coach. I imagined that I would take one of his courses in the future and he seemed like he would be a cool guy to hang it with. He was a Pittsburgher - so we probably had two passions in common.

I wanted to corroborate this news but could find nothing on Google besides a death notice for a Lawrence Grodsky, 55 of Squirrel Hill on April 8th. Hmm, that seems to fit but I wanted to know more about what happened. This was Mr. Safety, what possibly could have happened?

I finally found some posts on the BMW Georgia board and they seemed to be in the same position as me. Saddened, shocked, and curious.

http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/666991/page/0/fpart/all/vc/1

I finally had a chance to follow up on this some more today and found the Rider magazine write up on Larry.

http://www.riderreport.com//output.cfm?id=1087183

I would imagine that there will be more info coming out on the exact circumstances. I have discovered that most riders have a slightly morbid curiosity of how accidents happen and the results. I think it is a combination of innate curiosity, a desire to learn from other's mistakes, and to try train ourselves by going over how we would react in a certain situation. There are inherent increased risks in choosing to ride a motorcycle, but we all try to minimize these. We also rationalize them to a degree since you could die doing a million other "safe" things. The joy and pleasure that riding brings seems to outweigh the potential risks.

When someone who is considered to be one of the bests is killed doing what he does best, it is pause for thought. Several thoughts hit your brain at once: "At least he died doing what he loved." "Wow, if it can happen to Larry, it surely can happen to me." "That sucks." "He will be missed." "What a shame." All this went through my head and more, but I still rode to Columbus from Cleveland on Monday and Tuesday this week. I may have kept a closer eye out for deer, but what can you do if one decides to leap at that exact horrible moment.

Bottom line? This saddening little nugget of information will remain a placeholder in the back of my brain. I will be a little sad this week and in the future when I think of it. I will continue to ride and be the safest rider I can be. Like poker, there is always the challenge of bettering yourself and learning something new. There is risk and reward, choice and consequence. They both also bring me a lot of excitement and pleasure when done well.

Enjoy your play and Ride Safe.

Autocross Report

I pulled off of I-70 and followed the GPS’ directions to Cooper Stadium and immediately saw a bunch of tricked out imports and good old American horsepower parked together. This must be the place, where else would this mix of “Buy American”, Burn some rice, and whatever the hell a Subaru is get along?

The mix of cars was quite eclectic. There were about 25 drivers in cars ranging from a new Corvette (it appeared to come with a blond female passenger seat ornament), to home built racecars and even a handful of go-karts. The go-karts were running when I got there, they apparently get an hour of track time while the rest of the cars are on a lunch break. Those little things can move!

I found Zsolt pretty quickly and snapped a pic of his Civic. He is in the stock class, the only improvement he has made to his car is upgraded Pirelli rubber. The home made race car in the background was in the second group or drivers so I did not get to see that thing go, but Zsolt told me they are very fast.
Since I arrived before the second hour of runs by the real cars, I got to witness the “tuning” before the runs. The more serious racers were busy checking and adjusting air pressure in their tires while the WRX with its hood open below appeared to by dialing in some different suspension settings along with adjusting air pressure. A small sample of the cars is also visible in this picture. The Subaru WRXs seem to be pretty popular, I am guessing the turbo combined with an all wheel drive system makes them pretty competitive.

I watched a few runs by Zsolt before I decided to acquiesce and ride with him on a few. It was quite an experience. He tried to prep me by explaining this would not be a like a video game, but to me it was quite reminiscent of Gran Turismo (Playstation 2 driving/racing simulator). I am not sure how he kept track of which way to go around the cones that defined the course on the parking lot, but that was his job. Mine was to worry about him flipping the car over! The course consisted of a pretty short straightaway with a long slalom and at least 5 very sharp corners. Here is a shot of Zsolt’s car in the last turn. Not sure if he is three wheeling there, but he was definitely sliding and screeching some rubber.

I rode four runs with Zsolt and they were all pretty exciting. He was averaging 37 seconds a run and really attacking the course. I might have left a permanent dent in his passenger seat floor where I was pressing my imaginary brake pedal through the floor as we approached the turn right after the longest straight of the track. He really followed through on the brake late and hard theory. There was an expensive aroma of burning rubber that made its way into the cabin that may have mingled with some burnt clutch.

“I love the smell of burnt Pirelli’s in the afternoon. Smells like…..like victory”

My hat is off to Zsolt; he is a pretty good driver and is really passionate about his hobby/sport. I can only imagine what he could do if he had his hands on my favorite car that I saw race, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. That thing took off like a scalded cat and you could hear the turbo from across the track. A chirp at all four corners and it was moving into turn one with a quickness. It was sweet.
The ride home was nice, I was able to get off the highway and explore some backroads. I was tempted to stop and take a picture here and there, but it was too much fun to ride! If it does not snow this weekend, I will be riding to Baltimore, MD. I cannot wait for summer.

Motorcycle Goot, Bankroll not so Goot

I got some riding in this weekend which was awesome and some SNGs and ring games that were pretty bad. All in all, a good weekend! (The bike can really compensate! - no wiener jokes please)

I will not bore you with the poker beats (save the first one which was magnificent... my AA vs 73s) but the net result was a buy in at 3/6 LHE and $200 in SNGs. Ouch, a big dent, but not on the canvas yet. The usual, a few amazing river catches by my opponents and my good reads became big losses. I didn't tilt and spread the love around several sites (under the pretense that maybe my variance would be on the plus side on UB if it was on the downside on Full Tilt...it could work!) So, why was the weekend not a complete "bust"? Because it was warm enough to RIDE!

I rode almost everyday to work last week and had to use my Gerbing heated jacket liner and gloves only one day. On Saturday, I had a nice day planned. SteelerSteph was in the 'Burgh with her family so it was me, the dog, the cat, and the bike. I had a breakfast ride planned to Mansfield, OH and told a friend that I would then head on down to Columbus, OH to watch him participate in his Autocross racing. It was the first "Test & Tune" of the season and he was pretty excited. This guy lives for racing... getting up at 1AM to watch Formula One racing in Europe on the Speed channel, reading books like, "The Secrets of Speed: 2"... you get the idea. He is an interesting dude, a computer programmer here on a work visa for the past 6 years. He hails from Hungary and I can always count on him to offer a unique perspective on things. Although I have travelled outside of America a good bit in my life, when talking to Zsolt I have found that I still maintain a solidly Amer-centric point of view on most things. I try to keep up on my current events, it is a habit from my days in military intelligence. When talking about events or policies it is usually an enjoyable mental challenge to understand my friend's point of view. He is quite worldly and has had some pretty interesting life experiences.

The ride down to Mansfield was not an interesting life experience. I had been up late the night before (takes some time to lose half your roll) and even after I shut down the computer, I could not sleep so I cleared some of the list in my TIVO. I probably got to bed around 3 and had to be on the road by 0830. I begrudgingly got out of bed around 7:45 and got ready for the day.
1. Let Copper (the dog) out to pee. He is going to be alone for a good 8 hours today. Sorry buddy, the pavement is calling.
2. Check the weather. Sweet, no rain predicted. In the high thirties right now, migh hit 51 today.
3. Take care of hygene and make sure I get some Steelers gear on. My name is the same on the ST1100 boards, gotta make it easy to recognize STeelerJosh!
4. Lock up and hit the road. I gotta make some time up since I am leaving later than I hoped. No back road fun for me on the way down, gotta "slab" it.

Here is the bike: ready to hit the road.
I packed some shoes (I wear riding boots and they are not comfortable for a lot of standing around or walkingd), a camera, some bottle water, and some extra warm stuff in case the forecast was wrong. I set off at an illegal pace down I-71 that only increased until I finally rolled off the interstate. No cops, no problems!

I got the Cracker Barrel 5 minutes ahead of schedule and over half of the gang was already there (long distance riders like breakfast). The attendees had ridden in from as far South as Tenessee and Kentucky and as far North as Michigan. Ohio was well represented with riders coming in from all over the state. The parking lot looked like this when I got there with eventually 17 bikes cooling their engines while their owners caught up.

While most of the riders were on Honda ST's (1100's and the newer 1300's) there were two Gold Wings, a V-Strom, a BMW, an R-6 (don't know how that guy rode a sport bike all the way up from Kentucky) and a few others. All the guys are good guys. I caught up with many that I had not seen since last summer and met some new faces. It's true, "you meet the nicest people on a Honda..."

Breakfast eventually ended and headed further South with a 4 bike caravan. Uncle Phil was headed back to Tenesee and Jason and his brother Daniel (the R-6 rider) back to Kentucky. While it is neat to be in a pack sometimes, I prefer solo or pair riding to large group riding. The foursome was nice and we took turns leading until I peeled off in Columbus. The GPS took me right to Cooper Stadium and I was not really sure what to expect when I got there.

Getting late so I guess this will have to be a two parter. My first Autocross report is up next. Since I am in a motorcycling mood, here are two pictures from a great ride last year.

This is was on SkyLine Drive in Virgina. A slow but enjoyable ride through a great state park. There are lots of curves and you can get into a nice rythym. The scenery is spectacular

This was my GPS on a quick break on a ride in West Virgina. Damn that is a beautiful sight to behold. I like my women curvy and my roads curvier!

HUC3 Was Not To Be

I have heard that some people hate hand histories.  If you want a short recap, here it is:

My first match lasted one hand.  I flopped top two pair and got it all in by the turn and faded the magic K that would have sent me packing.

My second match I got it all in with 1010 vs AQ and had a monster chip lead.  I then got it all in pre-flop with AKs vs Q9s (same suit) and was ready to claim victory.  It was not to be.

Dave was back in the game and it was time to play poker again.  Final hand left a mark, my junk is swollen like a pair of grapefruits and are a ugly purple yellowish mess of bruises.  Get it all in on the turn with my K10 (2 pair) vs 55.  You can guess what came on the river and caused the discoloration of said junk.  2 outers hurt my feelings.

Here are the three pivotal hands of the HUC3 round 1 match.  I am happy with my play and reads, Lady Luck just chose to desert me at the key times.

1st Hand of the HUC3

Full Tilt Poker Game #518895988: HUC#3-Donkeys (3384403), Table 2 - 10/20 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:00:30 ET - 2006/03/23
STeelerJosh posts the small blind of 10
iam23skidoo posts the big blind of 20
The button is in seat #2
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to STeelerJosh [Jh 8s]
STeelerJosh calls 10
iam23skidoo checks
*** FLOP *** [Jd 8h 7s]
iam23skidoo bets 20
STeelerJosh raises to 40
iam23skidoo raises to 140
STeelerJosh raises to 240
iam23skidoo calls 100
*** TURN *** [Jd 8h 7s] [2d]
iam23skidoo bets 150
STeelerJosh raises to 970
iam23skidoo raises to 1,240, and is all in
STeelerJosh calls 270, and is all in
iam23skidoo shows [Js Ks]
STeelerJosh shows [Jh 8s]
*** RIVER *** [Jd 8h 7s 2d] [Td]
iam23skidoo shows a pair of Jacks
STeelerJosh shows two pair, Jacks and Eights
STeelerJosh wins the pot (3,000) with two pair, Jacks and Eights
iam23skidoo stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3,000 | Rake 0
Board: [Jd 8h 7s 2d Td]
Seat 1: iam23skidoo (big blind) showed [Js Ks] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 2: STeelerJosh (small blind) showed [Jh 8s] and won (3,000) with two pair, Jacks and Eights

Last Hand of the HUC3
Full Tilt Poker Game #518965920: HUC#3-Donkeys (3384403), Table 1 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:31:45 ET - 2006/03/23
Seat 1: STeelerJosh (2,375)
Seat 2: presidentdave (3,625)
STeelerJosh posts the small blind of 40
presidentdave posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to STeelerJosh [Ts Kd]
STeelerJosh raises to 160
presidentdave raises to 480
STeelerJosh calls 320
*** FLOP *** [8d Jd Th]
presidentdave bets 960
STeelerJosh calls 960
*** TURN *** [8d Jd Th] [Kc]
presidentdave bets 2,185, and is all in
STeelerJosh calls 935, and is all in
presidentdave shows [5h 5s]
STeelerJosh shows [Ts Kd]
Uncalled bet of 1,250 returned to presidentdave
*** RIVER *** [8d Jd Th Kc] [5d]
presidentdave shows three of a kind, Fives
STeelerJosh shows two pair, Kings and Tens
presidentdave wins the pot (4,750) with three of a kind, Fives
STeelerJosh: ohh
presidentdave: ouch
STeelerJosh stands up
presidentdave stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4,750 | Rake 0
Board: [8d Jd Th Kc 5d]
Seat 1: STeelerJosh (small blind) showed [Ts Kd] and lost with two pair, Kings and Tens
Seat 2: presidentdave (big blind) showed [5h 5s] and won (4,750) with three of a kind, Fives

Pivotal Hand of the HUC –
Dave’s first demonstration of his superior suckout powers
Full Tilt Poker Game #518940267: HUC#3-Donkeys (3384403), Table 1 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 21:20:03 ET - 2006/03/23
Seat 1: STeelerJosh (5,535)
Seat 2: presidentdave (465)
STeelerJosh posts the small blind of 25
presidentdave posts the big blind of 50
The button is in seat #1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to STeelerJosh [Ad Kd]
STeelerJosh raises to 100
presidentdave raises to 465, and is all in
STeelerJosh: Q high last hand
STeelerJosh calls 365
presidentdave shows [Qd 9d]
STeelerJosh shows [Ad Kd]
*** FLOP *** [Qs 2h Kc]
*** TURN *** [Qs 2h Kc] [9c]
presidentdave: nh
*** RIVER *** [Qs 2h Kc 9c] [4d]
presidentdave shows two pair, Queens and Nines
STeelerJosh shows a pair of Kings
presidentdave wins the pot (930) with two pair, Queens and Nines
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 930 | Rake 0
Board: [Qs 2h Kc 9c 4d]
Seat 1: STeelerJosh (small blind) showed [Ad Kd] and lost with a pair of Kings
Seat 2: presidentdave (big blind) showed [Qd 9d] and won (930) with two pair, Queens and Nines

Geek Milestone

It is official, I have achieved another geek notch in the belt of certifications. I passed the last required test to become an IBM Certified System Administrator 6/6.5 today. Soon I will have another fancy certificate to hang on my wall next to the existing Microsoft Certified System Engineer in NT 4.0, and the IBM Certified Associate System Administrator. Throw in a sprinkling of Dell hardware and Microsoft Office Specialist certificates and you have one nerdtastic wall decorated.

Nerd "I love me walls" aside, I am pretty proud of this one. There were not as many tests to pass as the MCSE, but there were enough of them. Add in the fact that many geeks consider Domino and Lotus admins to be practitioners of some strange black art and the cert gains some points. I don't think it will have any salary impact at work, but it will give some credibility and would aid in finding future employment (not that I am looking, my company is a great place to work (as evidenced by 8 consecutive years on the Fortune 100 Magazine list of 100 Best Places to Work)), but employers seem to like third party certifications in the tech industry. Bottom line is you have to be able to produce so paper tiger MCSEs and Lotus Admins will usually be caught pretty quickly.

I am hoping to parlay the excitement of passing the last test today into a win in the HUC3 tonight. I am fighting off some kind of bug and not at 100% right now, but hope is alive and well. I was able to register on Full Tilt and get some practice in on the site last night (by practice I mean getting used to the interface and losing some HU matches) and capped it off by winning a 4 person HU Shootout. The first match was tough, the second one was cruise control. Look out Donkey room, thanks Veneno, SteelerJosh, MCSE, IBMCSA, MCDLT, FBI,CIA is here to play!

This blogger is:

Eveno with Veneno

Poker was goot this weekend. Played two SNGs and won one.

Played several HU matches and won all of those.

Played some Limit and had my hands stand up. Refreshing.

It is amazing how fun poker is when the cards are going your way. Even being the first person out of a $20 SNG did not faze me. (Note, I broke my own rule which led to this early demise. K7h in the BB and I get to see it for free. Flop comes 275 rainbow and I check it. 4 way action and it is checked all the way around. K on the turn with only two cards of any suit. I decide to pot it and get one caller. No warning bells here, I put him on a K with a decent kicker. River is a not a threat and I pot once more wanting to end it there. Opponent doubles my bet. Hmmm. Perhaps that should be a warning but aggressor Josh decides that my two top pair will handle this bidness and I shove myself (and him) all in. He makes the call and shows 22 for a nice set. I cannot remember the last time I was first out. This was also in the first two levels of a SNG and where I broke my rule. I think it is a well tested strategy to play only super cards the first three levels or so and then start playing some poker once the herd has thinned. I don't know what I was thinking, but I really did not expect him to turn over a set. I cannot see myself playing it that way, but the net result was that it worked out for him. He got a monkey to push all in with the second best hand.

While it was not my biggest win in money this weekend, the win against Veneno HU was a sweet victory. Once again, the deck seemed to favor me and I made some good reads on her. It was easy to call her aggressive play with Ax on a Q high board when I had pocket cowboys and she kept potting until she was all in. I would not exactly call it a trap, (she did have outs) but I knew she did not connect with the flop and my Kings were good. That win brought us to dead even with each other and minus $2 each to the house in rake. That ol house is a tough competitor and not easy to beat! As usual, a HU match against a blogger is much more interesting and mentally fun than the average comp at the $10 and $20 HU levels I favor. Thanks for the workout Veneno.

Lastly, I am pretty sure that anyone who keeps tabs on this blog is already aware of the HUC3, but just in case check this out:



Heads Up Challenge 3 - Where luck beats skill 2 out of 3.



I am looking to avenge my dismal performance in HUC2. Bring it on...

Poker Poisoned

I finally got a chance to better my record against the HU Queen, YoSoyVeneno. It was a fun first two matches, I was getting killed by the deck. My favorite hand was a flopped OESD with the hammer that hit on the turn. I potted and V called. Nice. I guess I should have stopped at two matches in a row because I pressed my luck in the third and she retains her winning percentage against me. Good stuff Veneno. Looking forward to being your antidote in HUC3….

I played a SNG on Stars after my matches with V and won. Nice $51.50 profit… it almost covered my buy in I lost earlier in the day on $1/$2 short handed limit. Do you ever feel like you will just not win on a certain site? For example, I am playing my same game on UB and Stars right now. I cannot lose on UB in ring play and cannot win in ring play on PS. Go figure. I am doing well on the Single and Multi SNGs on Stars, enough to finance the losing play on ring. I know it will come around so I just keep playing and trying to gut through it. I am not looking at the stats on the PokerStars ring games too closely (I should) but the numbers at the end of the session do not look out of wack. It is still fun and I am not chasing losses so I will press ahead. At least it is fun to watch the other players sometimes. Sometimes I am marveled, and I think that SirF summed it up when he said, “luckbox > skill”. In the short term, I am in complete agreement. My skills are weak and my luck weaker on PS right now. That won’t get you far….

So why am I doing well on SNGs and flailing in ring? I think it might have to be the larger “luck” factor in Limit. I theorize that I would be doing better in No Limit right now because I could potentially push the chasers out that catch the magic river card. This theory is consistent with the success I am seeing in the NL SNGs. So why mess with limit? Cause I am wimp. I don’t think I have the game/bankroll/fortitude for NL right now. I do well in the SNGs cause I can sit and wait for the blinds to escalate and then start to play some poker. Win one race (either from in front or back) and then get in the money. Fun and profitable. The dynamics of the steady blinds in NL are a much different animal and I am not sure I know the animal well enough to avoid getting bit (mauled).

That said, I think that ultimately that is where I need to take my game. My plan is to assess the bankroll and life demands at the end of March and take it to the mean streets of No Limit. I will have to make sure I play well within my bankroll as I cut my teeth, but I think I have gotten enough out of limit… there is not much more room to grow there and not much game to be played at the lower levels. Wait for good hands and push. Where is the progress as a player in that?

If you were there

If you were there

This would make sense:

“10:11 – Mookie calls my 450 raise with the Mook and Mooks out on me.”
-live blogging excerpt from the blog yet to be renamed.

Mookie was fun to play with and was getting some good cards. I think Waffles commented at one point, “Luckbox always beats skill”. That was quite a poignant remark as I had battled a luckbox on Stars earlier in the day and come out on the very short end of the stick. It was impressive, I kept telling myself to keep playing tight and aggressive and those little electronic chips will come back to me…. and they probably will in the long run or if I had the fortitude to keep playing, but I did not. It was tough going, every hand was getting cracked by the same two alpacas. Same old song you read about on the other blogs, 83o, 46s, etc cracking my pocket AA, AK etc. It was just weird to experience. At least I have the bankroll and was playing at the correct level to take it in stride. I know that I want those players, but I need to learn to give them more credit when they check raise me on the river…. But my brain takes over and tells me, “SteelerJosh, your set of A’s is good dude! No way he called all the way to the river with only one heart on the flop. Re-Raise him or just at least call” and I do one or the other and marvel at my chips sliding away.

After spending some of my Sunday morning reading http://obituarium.blogspot.com/ I am getting a little concerned about finding the right balance. It is moving, real stuff and I feel for Joe. Besides a scary dose of how it can go to shite so quickly, I take from his writing a warning to make sure I don’t fall into the same hole. I need to make sure I find the right balance with my hobbies and my wife. The balance has been shifted in her favor for a few months as I was frustrated with my poker results and started to drift away some. Now that I am back in it and having a blast with my other bloggers, I know I need to be careful and not discount or take my time with SteelerSteph for granted. It is by no means guaranteed, no matter how sunny it seems today. All the best to you Joe. You really sound like you have your head straight and you appear to have a great support network. Even though I don’t know him, I too feel for especially for AJ. That has got to be tough.

So, armed with Joe’s advice and my newfound luckbox skillz, I am looking forward to playing with more of you this week and my try my hand at a yosoyveneno HU match again. She gave me the free ticket to deposit $5 or $10 into her account anytime I want. Maybe it will go down that like Veneno… maybe.

TiltFest (aka, What should I call SirFWALGMAN's blog?)

Tonight was a tournament I was looking forward to all week, the Sir Old Farts Tiltfest. It was a great time, I started out of the gate hot!

I looked at AKo in the first hand and got it all in pre flop against DuggleBogey's 72s. I was sweating, but in hindsight I probably had nothing to worry about because it was suited. Those imposter hammers will hurt you. I figured it would be my one and only shot at being atop the leaderboard of a star studded event like this. Lotta talent.



As the game went on, I just sat and waited for hands..... but that got boring and this was a fun bunch so I decided to loosen up. I made some marginal calls and pushes, but I was here to gambool! Oddly enough (ok not really that odd), my favorite hand was a big suckout. I had been flooshed on twice and was getting frustrated. I forget how we got it all in, but it was me, the birthday boy, and Trauma (who flooshed on my earlier for a nice chunk). Menage trois, SteelerJosh style! A8s v JJ v AQ 8 on the flop, A on the river and I was tripled up into the lead again.

Apparently, I have also "earned" the right to rename Sir F's blog for a week. I woke up with JJ in the BB and he pushed all in from EP. JJ held up against 1010 and I did feel bad for taking him out... but took some strange solace in the fact that it was legit. He was having a rollercoaster of a game and and one point was big stackin' but STB and Mookie kept him in check.

Ran into AA twice when in the blinds or button and I had a pair. Not the recipe for success. 77 and 88 crashed into AA, the latter being my exit in 6th. Mookie was the benefactor, I really did not expect him to wake up with that. He probably popped a rod when I pushed all in on his reraise. In hindsight, I could have folded, I was 2nd or 3rd in chips, but I really did not put him on a hand. He played back at me twice earlier and folded to me once so I thought it could go my way. The A on the flop made him virtually suckout proof.



This was my first blogger tourney and it was all that I expected. I witnessed the Hammer take out AK. I sucked out. I got sucked out on. We laughed, we cried and it was fun. Thanks for getting older SirF and giving us an excuse to sling chips together.

Finally, I would be remiss if I failed to point out that I won the last longer bet (that I just made up) with the GCox mafia. They are a fun and talented bunch, I am truly surprised that I was the last one. You all owe me a beer in Okie Vegas this June.

When Hammers Collide

When Hammers Collide…

http://sirfwalgman.blogspot.com/2006/03/when-hammers-collide.html

As a purist, I think that the offsuit should have won all the chips.  I guess that is why I am not running a poker site…

Thanks for the laugh Waffle.