What's better than a suckout?

BACK TO BACK SUCKOUTS
I want to become the SUCKOUT KING!!!! (note: suckOUT not suckOFF)

Not so sucky suckouts

Just some reminders that I win some suckouts too...




This last one is a good example of how you can go broke with KK. Just a raise (instead of a shove) preflop and I could have stayed in this tournament. Oh well. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

No more AJ's

I am done, done, done. No more playing AJ. Sooted, offsuit, early position, late position, or guaranteed winner. I'm just not doing it. Three times this week, deep in a tourney, I have lost with AJ. AND, it has been me getting it in behind.

That's right. It's not a curse. It's not superstition. IT'S A SHITTY HAND. I can't seem to get that through my head. So, an EP player raises and I shove -EVEN THOUGH HE HAS ME COVERED, because I have the MIGHTY ACE JACK. He tables AQ and I go home. . . Example 2: We are on the bubble of a 2,000+ player tournament. Next person is the bubble: 1 person to go. Just 1 and then we are in the money. I have ~4,000 with 250/500 blinds. Plenty of money to get past the bubble. BUT WAIT. I am on the button with the MIGHTY ACE JACK. Everyone folds to me so I figure to pick up the blinds easy and I shove EVEN THOUGH THE SB HAS ME COVERED. He calls, tables AK and I go home on the bubble.

So go ahead and shove on me when the flop comes KQ10. Because I don't have the nuts! Flop comes AAJ? Shove away! I won't have AJ underneath. I might have A5 (right Buddydank?), but not AJ.

OH. And one more joy of online poker. Last night while playing more than 1 table at a time. I shoved on a Queen high pot with AQ. Villian calls and shows AQ. Nice -split pot. Oh wait, while I was hastily moving back and forth between tables, I didn't realize I had A10 on that table, not AQ. Worse than the accidental call: the shove with a hand you don't have....

So much fun.

Hope the tables are treating you well. Stay patient....

BBT4 is in full swing

Attention: Battle of the Blogger Tournament 4 is running now. There's still time to get in and win!

9 more weeks left, 4 events each week plus 2 "Blogger Big Games" – including your shot at a $10K WSOP* Main Event prize package.

Fight your way to Vegas each week and battle for your entry to the Big Dance ending on Sunday, May 31st. The winner of each blogger-hosted event will automatically be entered into the Tournament of Champions for the chance to claim a seat at the Main Event.

Win your way into the Tournament of Champions, to be held on Sunday, May 31st, and you could be going to Las Vegas. First and second place will be awarded $10K Main Event packages, while third and fourth places will win $2K Bracelet Race packages.

But that’s not all that you stand to win. Make the top 20 in the final Battle of the Bloggers 4 Leaderboard standings and you’ll earn even more:
First Place - $750
Second Place - $600
Third Place - $500
Fourth Place - $400
Fifth Place - $350
Sixth through 20th places will receive custom Full Tilt Poker jersey

Here is the tournament schedule:
Tournament: Blogger Big Game
When: April 19th, May 31st
Game: Superstack NLHE
Buyin: $69+6 or token
Password: donkey

Tournament: Brit Blogger Game
When: Every Sunday at 16:00ET
Game: NLHE
Buyin: $5+.50
Password: donkament

Tournament: PPI / Riverchasers Tournament
When: Every Monday at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $24+2 or token
Password: riverchasers

Tournament: Blogger Skillz Game
When: Every Tuesday at 21:30ET
Game: rotation of non-NLHE games
Buyin: $10+1
Password: skillz

Tournament: The Mookie
When: Every Wednesday at 22:00ET
Game: Deepstack NLHE
Buyin: $10+1
Password: vegas1

If you have any questions, email us at battleofthebloggers@fulltiltpoker.com and keep your eyes on Poker from the Rail as Alcanthang will be covering the events there.

I almost made something happen online

I was chip leader with 17 left. That's a good shot at getting a BBT4 seat.


I couldn't finish it out but the reality is, I made a bad play with AJ all in from MP after a Raise. I reraised all in and he called with AQ. I didn't improve so that was it for me. I was disappointed but happy with how I ended up overall. At one point I was at $1300 with 80/160 blinds.


Recap courtesy of theCloserX5:
2nd Break
Closer 9529 chips ranked 13th
Hawk 17144 chips ranked 4th

Top 20570
Avg 9193
Low 2145
Players 31

Then I was taken out in 22nd place got some points but no $$$

Than the hand of the night Hawk in sb and Buddy Dank in cutoff it folds to Buddy and he raises pot Hawk calls and bb folds.
Flops 9 5 5
Buddy bets pot and Hawk calls
Turns 6
Buddy all in and Hawk calls
Buddy has AA Hawk has Ah 5h
Hawk won pot took out Buddy and was sitting over 80,000 in chips

3rd Break
Hawk 30634 ranked 6th

Top 55316
Ave 35625
Low 12800
Players 8

Hawk took 4th place with AJ vs AQ (VBPro7)
Won $104.50

How to Fold KK or why not to limp preflop with them

Main Event Seat

2 tournaments to go. These last two will be tight, tight, tight.... Points winner gets WSOP main event seat and 2k travel expenses. I just need to hold position now to win.

BACK TO BACK

I won my monthly "Wanna Be WSOP" tournament. 10 tournaments so far and I have taken 1st in the last 2. It pushes me clearly into 1st, but I still have 2 more tournaments to finish to get the 10K buy in.

Wish me luck....

What are your thoughts on this hand? 6th hand of the tournament.

Full Tilt Poker Game #11179727964: PPI / Riverchasers Tournament (83195958), Table 3 - 15/30 - No Limit Hold'em - 22:04:30 ET - 2009/03/16
Seat 1: cardgrrl (2,985), is sitting out
Seat 3: TheCloserX5 (3,000)
Seat 4: Julius_Goat (3,455)
Seat 5: dueyv9 (2,955)
Seat 6: niktak (3,000)
Seat 7: jamyhawk (2,560)
Seat 9: NumbBono (3,045)
jamyhawk posts the small blind of 15
NumbBono posts the big blind of 30
The button is in seat #6
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to jamyhawk [Tc Ad]
cardgrrl folds
TheCloserX5 folds
Julius_Goat folds
dueyv9 raises to 90 <---- raise 3x bb from the cutoff. standard steal type move.
niktak folds
jamyhawk raises to 180 <---resteal. I don't really want to play this hand as much as I want to push him off a steal. His range has to be very wide from the cutoff.
NumbBono folds
dueyv9 calls 90<--just a call. that puts his hand range less than premium. AA-QQ definitely repops me. AK, AQ and sometimes AJ will also.
*** FLOP *** [3d Jd Ac]
jamyhawk checks<--intended check raise to show strength.
dueyv9 bets 240<--expected with any two cards
jamyhawk raises to 550<--this bet should really narrow down the range of cards
dueyv9 calls 310<--call only? He doesn't love his hand. NO AJ. No JJ or 33. Could be straight draw (K10, Q10). Could be weak Ace (A8, A9). Could be diamond draw.
*** TURN *** [3d Jd Ac] [2d]<--scare card for the possible flush.
jamyhawk has 15 seconds left to act
jamyhawk bets 550<--take time to act to fake weakness which shows strength. Am I overthinking it here for dueyv9? If I act weak and bet small he will definitely put me on flush.
dueyv9 raises to 2,225, and is all in<--insta shove. Doesn't help me define him much. Could be busted straight draw (me wishing). A flush would call and try to get value on the river, right? A2 is a real possibility. But in any case, I have backdoor flush draw still or a 10 or a paired board card to beat A2.
jamyhawk has 15 seconds left to act
jamyhawk has requested TIME
jamyhawk calls 1,280, and is all in<--wishing....
dueyv9 shows [2s 2h]<--not expected. He called a reraise preflop, then a check raise on the flop with only 22. Then with bottom set and flush on the board he had no problem shoving all in.
jamyhawk shows [Tc Ad]
Uncalled bet of 395 returned to dueyv9
*** RIVER *** [3d Jd Ac 2d] [Ah]
dueyv9 shows a full house, Twos full of Aces
jamyhawk shows three of a kind, Aces
dueyv9 wins the pot (5,150) with a full house, Twos full of Aces
jamyhawk stands up
*** SUMMARY ***


Bottom line is it was a bad play by me to call his shove at the turn. I talked myself into the call with wishful thinking. But most of the time, the preflop and flop play should be +EV for me. Or was I betting too small? Anything but a 2 on the turn and I take down a really nice pot. Actually a 2 of clubs and I can get away from the hand. So it was 1 card that got me. But hats off to dueyv9. He's definitely got me interested in sitting at the same table with him again.

Looks like I owe BamBam another $1, but I genuinely would like feedback on this hand.

Thanks and stay patient...

Mookie Bubble

I was pretty happy with my play in the MOOKIE last night. There were 3 critical hands IMO that made me finish 10th out of 98. I hated being the bubble boy, but to be honest, I was not playing like we were on the bubble. Sometimes I do and tighten "the hell up". But last night I was playing for the win so needed to try to build my chips while we were playing 5 handed.

Critical Hand #1: We all know bloggers love to steal. With antes on the board, stealing becomes essential to all good poker players late in a tournament (Note: I am not equating "bloggers" with "good poker players"... ). OMGitsPokerFool (who I do think is a good player) puts a standard 3x bet from the button while I'm in the small blind. He has almost 2x the chipstack I do and I'm getting fairly low. I attempt a resteal with 45sooooted by shoving all in. A true "steal attempt" has to fold. I got busted though as OMGitsPokerFool shows AQoff and I prepare to leave the tournament. 5 comes on the flop and no improvement for him and I double up. This gave me enough chips to get back into the rotation for steals.

Critical Hand #2: We are playing 5 handed with 10 players left in the tournament. Joanne1111 shoves with a short stack and I decide to call for about 40% of my stack with 77. She shows JJ and I don't improve. I am now ranked 8 out of 10, where I could have been 3rd if I won a coin flip. Looking back, it was a bad call, but I figured her range to be pretty wide with 500/1000 blinds and antes and she only had about 8,000 in front of her. I thought it would be a coin flip and I figured it was worth the risk. Good hand to her.

Critical Hand #3: I'm in the sb and everyone folds around to me. I have 88. We are 5 handed still and I figure any pocket pair has got to be good. I have about 14,000 in chips left and heffmike is in the bb with about 30,000+ in chips. I raise 4x bb and heffmike comes over me all in. I have to put him on a pretty wide range considering I'm only showing 10,000 chips left. I call and he tables 99. Again, it was bad to consider flipping here, I just get tired of blinds firing back at you every time you raise them. I'm sure heffmike agrees. Best case I had to dodge 2 overs. I go home bubble boy.

Oh well. I'm getting a feel for these players again. It's really been over a year since I played consistently in blogger tournaments. I'm having a great time. If your not playing, you should be. Next tournament is Sunday. You can check the leaderboard to see where everyone is. There are still lots of good players with -0- points. Start now and you aren't really behind.

See you in the next one. Stay patient.....

Getting closer to the WSOP

Only 3 tournaments left to determine who gets the seats to the WSOP. First in points gets $10,000 seat and $2,000 spending cash. 2nd and 3rd get $1500 seats and some spending cash. I am the money leader but not the points leader. Damn these points based tournaments.... LOL

The HAWK tournament

Tgrazz is super aggressive for the first 10 minutes and ends up first one out to wally's Jacks.



Mandalgan takes out Bundy (jfbstl11) with a pocket pair that holds up.


Lochmann is next out to Mazoo's higher pocket pair.


I take out fatmansjake with a nicely timed "pocket rockets".


Tyronelove drops wallywallwalker with big slick.


I thought FFOG was going out on this hand but he survives with a river 10.


mazoo99 is the next one out to the mighty 10Jsoooooooted.


ifoldallthetime goes out without a screenshot and we are down to the final table. thecloserX5 takes out blowinaduece. Once again, thecloserX5 is building up chips to cash in another HAWK tournament.


shimmshady takes mandalgan out after a desperation push from a short stack.


thecloserx5 builds up even more chips taking out rickphillips.


bigoface shoves preflop but is no match for his dad's "ANY ACE CALL"


The closerx5 goes down on a tough hand.


Can the HAWK win the HAWK? I take out the FFOG with bigger kicker Ace hand. Congratulations to FFOG for winning $32 for 3rd place.


I flop top pair and shove all in but it is no match for "the HAMMER". Shimmshady wins it all. Congrats to me for 2nd place and Shimmshady wins $64 for 1st.


Thanks to everyone for playing. The next one is April 5th at 8pm. Hope to see you there.

Doors

This is my son goofing around on a Saturday night. He wants to go to film school. I thought this was his best short film yet...

Talk about real life suckouts

Have you thought about going to a concert lately? You better take a 2nd mortgage out on your house. First of all, you gotta get the tickets. Tickets go on sale on a certain date, BUT if you are a member of something (the band fan club or citicard holders) you can buy tickets 3 days earlier.

I remember going to the local record store the night before they go on sale and waiting in line to be the first to buy tickets. Then a few years later you could run to the record store as soon as you heard the concert announced and they would issue "line numbers" so you could avoid the overnight stay to buy tickets. And even later (after people were lined up every Wednesday just in case they announced a concert at 5pm), they drew the "line numbers" lottery style.

So now, 25 years later, I am attempting to buy tickets to see Cheap Trick. Not even the headliner, but I will certainly be paying the most I have ever paid to see them since they are coming with Def Leppard. So the investigation begins. How do I get front row tickets without selling one of my 5 children to get them?

I find out that there will be a pre-sale for Def Leppard fans and for citicard members. I don't have a citicard and don't have time to open one as the pre-sale is the next morning. I check the Def Leppard site and for $30 I can get a code to insure I get tickets 3 days prior to the general public sale. Sounds good. $30 should get me in the first 5 rows. Very do-able.

So I sign up, get my code and I am good to go. But wait: there is another offer they send me:

As a fan club member, I can now pay $170 more for my tickets and get a laminated picture and a parking pass. Well this does guarantee first 10 rows. But wait a minute. When I do MY presale before the general public, will I not be allowed first 10 rows? Upon furthur investigation I find out that there is also a $175 ticket for guaranteed first 20 rows (without parking and pretty laminate). UGH.

I remember seeing bands for $10.00. Check that. TEN DOLLARS. Now how do I take a kid? For my wife and me and 2 kids, it would be ELEVEN HUNDRED +. OK, so I don't take the two kids and sit in the first 10 rows. But I can't believe the cost. And this is all without any adult bevarages and a commemorative T-Shirt.

So I log into the regular pre-sale and turns out I can get row Q for $125. SUCKOUT! That's what it feels like. I really want to get good seats but $125? And these aren't in the first 5 rows, right? A = 1, B=2, C=3 ... you get the idea. And I'm on a timer to make my decision. OK. Click accept and total: $150 per ticket. WHAT? ONE HUNDRED FIFTY? OMG. $25 in ticket fees PER TICKET! I'm too deep in now. So I'm going to the show but for $150 per ticket and looks like my kids have to skip this one so I can sell two tickets to my neighbors. $600 for a family night out is too STEEP!

I know. You would spend your money elsewhere. I got ya' already. I hope what you really want to do doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

The BBT4 is off and running

Thanks to JuliusGoat and Bayne for my new Donkavatar. I had no idea what to make, so I google search Hawk and got this. I suppose it's an Iowa Hawkeye, but something different for me none the less. If you want one, wander over to the Donkavatar blog and see about getting one for yourself.

The BBT4 is on. I forgot how fun it is. Loretta8 wrote about all the drama from the past and quite frankly, I look forward to it. Bring it on.

I did terrible Sunday night in the Big Game. I couldn't get any traction. I was playing in my own tournament, The HAWK, that I run for Saint Louis area fulltilt poker players, and I guess was doing poorly at managing both games.

Last night in the Riverchasers, I did better. I caught a few good hands at the right time to build up a nice chip stack. Then I raised with 55, Hoy shoved for over half my stack, I called and he flipped over the almighty 57sooted. A 7 hits and I remember now how much I love the BBT series'. Seriously! No sarcasm. I LOVE IT. You get a feel for the players -a feel for the PLAYS. It's fun. You gotta have a thick skin and a strong stomach. I think 27th out of 81 last night. Not terrible, but plenty of room to improve. And improve I will.

I am really looking forward to the upcoming weeks of BBT4. You should come play too.

And I'll leave you with a screen shot from the last hand for the theCloserX5 last night. A little SUCK/RESUCK/ROYAL action. Gotta love it!

Stay patient....

Charity Poker Tournament was a HUGE success!

Just thought I would throw up a quick post with some pictures. I'll get more up or linked on here later in the week. The final numbers are not in yet, but the rumor last night was that we raised over $5,000 after expenses to help the charity.

The prizes were all laid out. We had right at $4,000 in donated prizes. THANK YOU to everyone who donated. We gave something to everyone that busted out (keychains for the first ones out). We started the real prizes at 35th place.



79 players bought in. We had 1 full table more than last year. THANK YOU EVERYONE who played. It went smoother than I expected, in large part because of the Tournament Director software. I let it reassign player seating and it was perfect. It was so smooth, I almost felt like I could be playing while running it. Almost...

The final tabe was played on my table I brought from home. It allowed us to get 8 players and a dealer seated. Thanks to Anna Willis for dealing the final table (she is in the green shirt).



8th place was $100 fulltilt cash and a Pokerroad shirt. It went to Mike Loynd


7th place was an Apple Itouch. Joe Allen wins it.


6th place was another Golf package and it went to Melissa Roshek.


5th place was a Cordless Milwaukee Drill and Hackzall and it went to Daryl Bradshaw.


4th place was a prize package for him and her which included everything on the poker table (and the fold out table top). It went to Andrew Brown.


3rd place and the Golf Prize package goes to Thomas Cronin.


Ryan Roshek takes 2nd place and a 32" TV


1st place goes to Jeff Wade. He missed the first hour because of getting out of work late. It obviously didn't hurt him. Congratulations Jeff. 1st was an $800 Visa Check Card.