12/28/09
It's Been A Long Time...
It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you
Without a strong rhyme to step to...
Props to Rakim, for these lyrics to one of my old time
fave's - "I Know You Got Soul"...
Anyway - it's been a while, since I wrote in this thing.
I thought I may have died inside for a minute. I guess you
just can't dwell on the negative things that happen in your
life, but hope that these road bumps help you develop and
evolve positively. I guess some things can be a blessing.
Sometimes you have to step back, to move forward.
I can be grateful for all the support I have from family and
friends, even though most of them are quite a few hundred
miles away. But hey, by Southwest Air - I'm only an hour an
change back to the Bay...
Making a few final tables the past couple of months always
helps out the ego though, hehe...
Just need to get that elusive First Place again...
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
I Still Got It...
10/27/09
I Still Got It...
Nice to know that you can still play poker, or get lucky
for that matter.
I played in the 10 pm Caesar's NLHE tourney last Saturday.
It was a four table tourney with abount 37 players. Too
quick of a format for me, but it worked out OK.
It's part of the game. I had pocket pairs twice against
an over pocket pair (against the same player at that) and
hit my needed set on the flop. If you know me, it wasn't
like I was hoping to get lucky. I actually misread the
player for overcards instead, and was willing to take a
race. But hey, you got to have some luck involved at times.
Plus I was only all in once for my tournament life during
the tournament.
I eventually chopped the pot and settled for third place.
Then chopped half of that with my buddy who busted out
earlier in the game.
Agression baby - and lady luck - lol...
I still got it though...hehe...
I Still Got It...
Nice to know that you can still play poker, or get lucky
for that matter.
I played in the 10 pm Caesar's NLHE tourney last Saturday.
It was a four table tourney with abount 37 players. Too
quick of a format for me, but it worked out OK.
It's part of the game. I had pocket pairs twice against
an over pocket pair (against the same player at that) and
hit my needed set on the flop. If you know me, it wasn't
like I was hoping to get lucky. I actually misread the
player for overcards instead, and was willing to take a
race. But hey, you got to have some luck involved at times.
Plus I was only all in once for my tournament life during
the tournament.
I eventually chopped the pot and settled for third place.
Then chopped half of that with my buddy who busted out
earlier in the game.
Agression baby - and lady luck - lol...
I still got it though...hehe...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Storm Rolls In...
10/20/09
The Storm Rolls In...
It's dry in Vegas, but I feel like it's raining inside.
What did I do? What didn't I do? Those are questions,
I may have to answer for myself.
This cold is not helping.
The Storm Rolls In...
It's dry in Vegas, but I feel like it's raining inside.
What did I do? What didn't I do? Those are questions,
I may have to answer for myself.
This cold is not helping.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Back to the Yay...
9/25/09
Back to the Yay...
I guess it could mean a lot of things...
Winning a poker tourney last Sunday, with my buddy Ed
coming in 2nd place as well.
Seeing my boo this weekend - couple of more hours to go.
Back on a jet plane.
Niners 2 and 0, atop the NFC West.
Chau and Dave, tying the knot tomorrow. With an overnight
stay at the Fairmont, downtown San Jo'.
Seeing my family and friends again.
Maybe it's just being back in the Bay - even though it's only
for a couple of days.
Getting to wear a jacket outside - it's the small things in
life, hehe.
Back to the Yay...
Back to the Yay...
I guess it could mean a lot of things...
Winning a poker tourney last Sunday, with my buddy Ed
coming in 2nd place as well.
Seeing my boo this weekend - couple of more hours to go.
Back on a jet plane.
Niners 2 and 0, atop the NFC West.
Chau and Dave, tying the knot tomorrow. With an overnight
stay at the Fairmont, downtown San Jo'.
Seeing my family and friends again.
Maybe it's just being back in the Bay - even though it's only
for a couple of days.
Getting to wear a jacket outside - it's the small things in
life, hehe.
Back to the Yay...
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Cool Runnings...
8/9/09
Cool Runnings...
No, not the movie. The title of this blog could be the
fact the I solved my AC issue with Taylor. I took
advantage of the CARS rebate system and got a new car.
Wish it was some type of German feat of automotive
engineering, but I went with something that I needed as
opposed to wanted, if you know what I mean.
So after 5 hours of haggling and paperwork, I am the
proud owner of the 2008 Suzuki SX4 Sport Sedan.
Whoohoo!!!! Truly back in the Rat Race...hehe.
Well, to get that trade in rebate of $4,500.00, you
have to get a new car with an average fuel savings of
10 miles per gallon. Both cars were right at that
threshold.
Believe you me, I found it hard to part with Taylor.
We've been through alot. I wanted to keep her, but
after a talking about what she needed done with a
couple of mechanics - the list sounded to be endless.
I wouldn't be able to sell Taylor for the rebate amount,
nor would I know what how much money it would take for
her to get back in tip top condition. Vegas sucks
on cars...
I'll find her again...
Ahh, I know what AC feels like again - with the fun
of a Japanese "Gabrielle" (my old school Jetta, I sold
last year). I haven't found a name for the new ride
yet, hmmmm...
As for poker - had a couple of good sessions the past
month - doubling up my buyins, albeit I only played twice
since my last blog. Cash games have have been good to
me. I should stick to cash these days - the poker gods
have not given me the green light to win a tournament
the last few times. After I do good in cash, there is
some small tourny waiting for signups and for me to
dump my money in the pot.
The usual, I get in some type of race ahead preflop,
only to see the river give me a loss and poker gods
jovial in my personal pain (kinda' alliterative)...
I have to make it a point these days to keep up on
my journal - the AC should help.
Anyway, I have been missing Sugar as usual - I can't
wait for her to get to Vegas. It will give us better
balance in our lives. I also have to get back home
to see Deb and Dave's newborn daughter Delaney and
the rest of the my peeps.
Cool Runnings...
No, not the movie. The title of this blog could be the
fact the I solved my AC issue with Taylor. I took
advantage of the CARS rebate system and got a new car.
Wish it was some type of German feat of automotive
engineering, but I went with something that I needed as
opposed to wanted, if you know what I mean.
So after 5 hours of haggling and paperwork, I am the
proud owner of the 2008 Suzuki SX4 Sport Sedan.
Whoohoo!!!! Truly back in the Rat Race...hehe.
Well, to get that trade in rebate of $4,500.00, you
have to get a new car with an average fuel savings of
10 miles per gallon. Both cars were right at that
threshold.
Believe you me, I found it hard to part with Taylor.
We've been through alot. I wanted to keep her, but
after a talking about what she needed done with a
couple of mechanics - the list sounded to be endless.
I wouldn't be able to sell Taylor for the rebate amount,
nor would I know what how much money it would take for
her to get back in tip top condition. Vegas sucks
on cars...
I'll find her again...
Ahh, I know what AC feels like again - with the fun
of a Japanese "Gabrielle" (my old school Jetta, I sold
last year). I haven't found a name for the new ride
yet, hmmmm...
As for poker - had a couple of good sessions the past
month - doubling up my buyins, albeit I only played twice
since my last blog. Cash games have have been good to
me. I should stick to cash these days - the poker gods
have not given me the green light to win a tournament
the last few times. After I do good in cash, there is
some small tourny waiting for signups and for me to
dump my money in the pot.
The usual, I get in some type of race ahead preflop,
only to see the river give me a loss and poker gods
jovial in my personal pain (kinda' alliterative)...
I have to make it a point these days to keep up on
my journal - the AC should help.
Anyway, I have been missing Sugar as usual - I can't
wait for her to get to Vegas. It will give us better
balance in our lives. I also have to get back home
to see Deb and Dave's newborn daughter Delaney and
the rest of the my peeps.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Heat Turns On In Vegas...
7/8/09
The Heat Turns On In Vegas...
This is probably the most busiest times and hottest times in this
city. We averaging about a cool 105 F degrees. And now my AC
starts to act up again.
Sugar's been a big help trying to take my car to the shop to
get it fixed. I say trying, because everytime it starts to
act up - it works normally when she pulls up to the shop.
Jeez...what would I do without my two fave women, Sugar and
Taylor (the Jeep Cherokee), lol...I might go insane...
It was great seeing her the past couple of weekends. She came
in the weekend before 4th of July for an interview and came back
for the holiday weekend. My parents, Mikey, Lisa, Auntie Baby,
Uncle Noyle, Uncle Gerry and Auntie Mryna came down last weekend
as well.
Funny to kinda see the reactions we got when our group sat down
and ate at my fave' soul food spot. Maybe that's just from my
perspective. I don't mean to offend anyones, ya' know.
Also hung out with Tony and Chris a couple weeks back. Bar hoppin
and poker - the life of a tourist for me in my adopted city.
I haven't played as avidly as I've wanted to for the past couple
of months. I guess me being back in the rat race has to do
something with that. I haven't even stepped into the Rio to
check out any of the WSOP events.
I must be in one of those wacky non playing moods again.
Or it could be fatigue...
I'll be back in the game soon...
The Heat Turns On In Vegas...
This is probably the most busiest times and hottest times in this
city. We averaging about a cool 105 F degrees. And now my AC
starts to act up again.
Sugar's been a big help trying to take my car to the shop to
get it fixed. I say trying, because everytime it starts to
act up - it works normally when she pulls up to the shop.
Jeez...what would I do without my two fave women, Sugar and
Taylor (the Jeep Cherokee), lol...I might go insane...
It was great seeing her the past couple of weekends. She came
in the weekend before 4th of July for an interview and came back
for the holiday weekend. My parents, Mikey, Lisa, Auntie Baby,
Uncle Noyle, Uncle Gerry and Auntie Mryna came down last weekend
as well.
Funny to kinda see the reactions we got when our group sat down
and ate at my fave' soul food spot. Maybe that's just from my
perspective. I don't mean to offend anyones, ya' know.
Also hung out with Tony and Chris a couple weeks back. Bar hoppin
and poker - the life of a tourist for me in my adopted city.
I haven't played as avidly as I've wanted to for the past couple
of months. I guess me being back in the rat race has to do
something with that. I haven't even stepped into the Rio to
check out any of the WSOP events.
I must be in one of those wacky non playing moods again.
Or it could be fatigue...
I'll be back in the game soon...
Thursday, May 21, 2009
My Assistant Left...
5/21/09
My Assistant Left...
It's been about 10 days since my Booboo left to go back
to the Bay. She was here for about 10 days as well.
Not seeing her day to day, is one of the hardest things
I have to deal with in life.
I think I take her and what we have for granted at times,
I really need to improve on that. I really wish she
could get laid off from work. That's funny to say in
these economic times. But hey, I'd be happy living in
a studio apartment in Chatsworth, than be miserable in
a fat mansion, wasting my days away playin' online
poker. 2 different extremes, huh? Well, we will find
that balance.
As for poker, I played in the Wynn 7 pm poker tourny
last Saturday. I thought it was a pretty good format.
The buyin is for $160.00 and you start with $10,000 in
chips. Blind levels change every half hour.
To make a long story short, the critical hand I had
was when I had pocket Kings midway through the tourny.
I was in midposition where I raised the bet to $2,000,
where the big blind was for $600, with a $75 ante.
2 other players folded behind me and the small blind
player said raise to $2,000 as well. He didn't realize
that I already raised. So the dealer made him make a
min raise of another $2,000.00. I didn't think he
had Aces, because he probably would have paid better
attention to my action and also would have 3 bet me.
3 other players folded behind him and it was up to
me to call, raise or fold. With about $7,000 in chips
behind, I decided to raise all in (if I just called I
would be pretty pot committed on the flop anyway).
He thought aloud for a minute and he said that I
probably have him beat with a pair of Queens or
higher and he said, "I'll just gamble, I'm all in
too". He then flipped up pocket Tens and I flipped
up my pocket Kings. The flop and turn were dealt
out blanks for the both of us, I just had to fade
a Ten on the river. But of course a Diamond Ten
had to hit on the river for him to get a Set to
beat me. Hey, I wanted him to do what I wanted him
to do - just that damn river card, hehe.
Anyway, I only had about 3 bets left at that point.
I didn't last too much longer, when my last all in
failed to double me up.
Taylor, my Jeep's been acting up as well. Had to
put in a new A/C compressor/condenser within the
last couple of weeks, among other maintenance items.
I did put some new shoes on her this week. Check 'em
out - she's my urban jungle transport...
Mount Charleston here I come!!!
My Assistant Left...
It's been about 10 days since my Booboo left to go back
to the Bay. She was here for about 10 days as well.
Not seeing her day to day, is one of the hardest things
I have to deal with in life.
I think I take her and what we have for granted at times,
I really need to improve on that. I really wish she
could get laid off from work. That's funny to say in
these economic times. But hey, I'd be happy living in
a studio apartment in Chatsworth, than be miserable in
a fat mansion, wasting my days away playin' online
poker. 2 different extremes, huh? Well, we will find
that balance.
As for poker, I played in the Wynn 7 pm poker tourny
last Saturday. I thought it was a pretty good format.
The buyin is for $160.00 and you start with $10,000 in
chips. Blind levels change every half hour.
To make a long story short, the critical hand I had
was when I had pocket Kings midway through the tourny.
I was in midposition where I raised the bet to $2,000,
where the big blind was for $600, with a $75 ante.
2 other players folded behind me and the small blind
player said raise to $2,000 as well. He didn't realize
that I already raised. So the dealer made him make a
min raise of another $2,000.00. I didn't think he
had Aces, because he probably would have paid better
attention to my action and also would have 3 bet me.
3 other players folded behind him and it was up to
me to call, raise or fold. With about $7,000 in chips
behind, I decided to raise all in (if I just called I
would be pretty pot committed on the flop anyway).
He thought aloud for a minute and he said that I
probably have him beat with a pair of Queens or
higher and he said, "I'll just gamble, I'm all in
too". He then flipped up pocket Tens and I flipped
up my pocket Kings. The flop and turn were dealt
out blanks for the both of us, I just had to fade
a Ten on the river. But of course a Diamond Ten
had to hit on the river for him to get a Set to
beat me. Hey, I wanted him to do what I wanted him
to do - just that damn river card, hehe.
Anyway, I only had about 3 bets left at that point.
I didn't last too much longer, when my last all in
failed to double me up.
Taylor, my Jeep's been acting up as well. Had to
put in a new A/C compressor/condenser within the
last couple of weeks, among other maintenance items.
I did put some new shoes on her this week. Check 'em
out - she's my urban jungle transport...
Mount Charleston here I come!!!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Exhausted...
4/26/09
Exhausted...
With the property management issues, work, interviewing
for a new position at work, commuting, etc - where is the
time to play poker lately? Well, it's only been about
a week, since I last played. Now, I got to deal with
an issue about my Jeep, all stemming from a simple oil
change that took place on Friday - hopefully I can get
that issue resolved Monday (one of the techs must have
broke off my oil pressure sender while changing the
oil filter that day; printed up some forum threads to
verify the issue and of course, the broken part itself
is very obvious if you take a look just above the filter).
Anyway, it's just been one of those weeks...
Looking forward toward the end of the week, when my
booboo flies in and when some of the Yay Area homies
come in for the Pacquiao vs. Hatton fight. Vegas will
be a Pinoy and Limey haven. Lumpia and Sheperd's Pie,
on plates across Sin City.
Nice, I'm gettin' hungry...Can I get that with waffles?
Exhausted...
With the property management issues, work, interviewing
for a new position at work, commuting, etc - where is the
time to play poker lately? Well, it's only been about
a week, since I last played. Now, I got to deal with
an issue about my Jeep, all stemming from a simple oil
change that took place on Friday - hopefully I can get
that issue resolved Monday (one of the techs must have
broke off my oil pressure sender while changing the
oil filter that day; printed up some forum threads to
verify the issue and of course, the broken part itself
is very obvious if you take a look just above the filter).
Anyway, it's just been one of those weeks...
Looking forward toward the end of the week, when my
booboo flies in and when some of the Yay Area homies
come in for the Pacquiao vs. Hatton fight. Vegas will
be a Pinoy and Limey haven. Lumpia and Sheperd's Pie,
on plates across Sin City.
Nice, I'm gettin' hungry...Can I get that with waffles?
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Blowin' Bubbles At Final Table...
4/19/09
Blowin' Bubbles At Final Table...
Last night I played the Headhunter NLHE $125.00 tourny
at TI. Pretty good format, you start with $6K in chips,
blind levels jump every 30 minutes (but, they double up
each level, with antes coming in in the third level).
You also get $50.00 for every person you bust. I thought
that was kinda' cool, so at least you get some money for
taking out another player. I busted out one person, so
at least I had part of my buy in covered.
That was a tourny where I saw pocket Fives hit 4 sets
in one hour. They helped me out in one had, where I
almost busted out another player, who hit top 2 pair
with Ace/Ten OS - I hit my set on the flop and she
just kept paying off on every street, it was so sexy
rakin' in those chips.
I was doing pretty good, until the fateful last hand.
I made it to the last 6 players. Unfortunately, this
tourny paid the top 5 only. I had pocket 3's in the
small blind and only had to contend with the big blind
player. I had about 5 big blinds at this time, so the
hand I had was pretty much an automatic push all in.
So, I went all in - the big blind player called me
without looking at his cards. He popped his chips in
to call me and flipped up King/Six OS. A race...Which
I did not win, when another Six hit the flop. The
2 outer for me did not come and I bubbled right out
of the money. Hey, I'm not complaining, I had the best
hand preflop with a slight percentage. In the long
run, I will win more than lose with that hand and
decision.
As they say, that's poker...
Blowin' Bubbles At Final Table...
Last night I played the Headhunter NLHE $125.00 tourny
at TI. Pretty good format, you start with $6K in chips,
blind levels jump every 30 minutes (but, they double up
each level, with antes coming in in the third level).
You also get $50.00 for every person you bust. I thought
that was kinda' cool, so at least you get some money for
taking out another player. I busted out one person, so
at least I had part of my buy in covered.
That was a tourny where I saw pocket Fives hit 4 sets
in one hour. They helped me out in one had, where I
almost busted out another player, who hit top 2 pair
with Ace/Ten OS - I hit my set on the flop and she
just kept paying off on every street, it was so sexy
rakin' in those chips.
I was doing pretty good, until the fateful last hand.
I made it to the last 6 players. Unfortunately, this
tourny paid the top 5 only. I had pocket 3's in the
small blind and only had to contend with the big blind
player. I had about 5 big blinds at this time, so the
hand I had was pretty much an automatic push all in.
So, I went all in - the big blind player called me
without looking at his cards. He popped his chips in
to call me and flipped up King/Six OS. A race...Which
I did not win, when another Six hit the flop. The
2 outer for me did not come and I bubbled right out
of the money. Hey, I'm not complaining, I had the best
hand preflop with a slight percentage. In the long
run, I will win more than lose with that hand and
decision.
As they say, that's poker...
Friday, April 17, 2009
Fiendin' To Play And Waiting For Booboo...
4/17/09
Fiendin' To Play And Waiting For Booboo...
It's been a couple of weeks since I last touched a pair
of cards in the crook of my index fingers and thumbs
Hoping, wishing and waiting to see a pair of Aces peel
up from the top of the green felt. That sounds kinda'
sexy...Hehe...
It's OK, I'm not like a crack fiend waiting for the next
hit or anything. Just trying to find some time in the
schedule to play. With work and trying to prep a
couple of the rental properties for new tenants, a boy
gets a bit tired during the week.
Hopefully, I can find some time this Saturday or Sunday.
I would like to take a shot at the new Bellagio $300.00
NLHE tournys they will have scheduled from Sunday to
Thursdays now. The structure seems pretty cool, with
a starting stack of $10K in chips and 30 minute blind
levels. I just need to avoid getting outlucked, you
know...
Most importantly, my booboo will be coming in for a
a trip out to my neck of the woods in a couple of weeks.
It's been hard lately, the last time I spent time with
my girlfriend, was during my last trip back to the Bay.
That was only for the weekend - too quick. That was
about a month ago. So I am looking forward to our
time together at the end of the month. She gives me
focus...
And the PacMan's mauling of a certain Englishman
on the first weekend of May...
Anyway, I'll cut it short for now - I think my
laundry is fully dried, time for foldin' - but not
the cards this time, hehe....
Fiendin' To Play And Waiting For Booboo...
It's been a couple of weeks since I last touched a pair
of cards in the crook of my index fingers and thumbs
Hoping, wishing and waiting to see a pair of Aces peel
up from the top of the green felt. That sounds kinda'
sexy...Hehe...
It's OK, I'm not like a crack fiend waiting for the next
hit or anything. Just trying to find some time in the
schedule to play. With work and trying to prep a
couple of the rental properties for new tenants, a boy
gets a bit tired during the week.
Hopefully, I can find some time this Saturday or Sunday.
I would like to take a shot at the new Bellagio $300.00
NLHE tournys they will have scheduled from Sunday to
Thursdays now. The structure seems pretty cool, with
a starting stack of $10K in chips and 30 minute blind
levels. I just need to avoid getting outlucked, you
know...
Most importantly, my booboo will be coming in for a
a trip out to my neck of the woods in a couple of weeks.
It's been hard lately, the last time I spent time with
my girlfriend, was during my last trip back to the Bay.
That was only for the weekend - too quick. That was
about a month ago. So I am looking forward to our
time together at the end of the month. She gives me
focus...
And the PacMan's mauling of a certain Englishman
on the first weekend of May...
Anyway, I'll cut it short for now - I think my
laundry is fully dried, time for foldin' - but not
the cards this time, hehe....
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Ace/King, Fast - But Not Furious...
4/12/09
Ace/King, Fast - But Not Furious...
I'm putting up this blog about a week late.
To make a long story short, I played in the $70.00
Caesar's NLHE 3 pm tourny last Saturday.
I could not win race with the dreaded, Ace/King in
this one kids. I had it twice against Pocket Sevens
and Pocket Nines. Of course, I failed to catch up.
It's was one of those days, where I made the final
2 tables, but could not break into the money. Sometimes
I feel that, why didn't the poker gods just bust me out
early, rather than getting that close taste of victory.
Oh well, there's always the next one...
Ace/King, Fast - But Not Furious...
I'm putting up this blog about a week late.
To make a long story short, I played in the $70.00
Caesar's NLHE 3 pm tourny last Saturday.
I could not win race with the dreaded, Ace/King in
this one kids. I had it twice against Pocket Sevens
and Pocket Nines. Of course, I failed to catch up.
It's was one of those days, where I made the final
2 tables, but could not break into the money. Sometimes
I feel that, why didn't the poker gods just bust me out
early, rather than getting that close taste of victory.
Oh well, there's always the next one...
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Possible Food Poisoning, It's Like Hell...
4/2/09
Possible Food Poisoning, It's Like Hell...
I'm not sure if I had food poisoning the other day, but
the symptoms sure felt like it, according to WebMD and other
stuff I found on the internet. It actually started about
the time I got home on Tuesday (3/31/09).
I just had lunch earlier that day and had that familiar
feeling of going #2 on the way home driving on the freeway.
Well, I got home and the first thing I did was "do some
reading on the throne".
To make a long story short, I called in sick the next day,
"read on the throne" about 8 more times throughout the day
and night. Well..until I lost about a good 2 or 3 pounds.
And I wasn't at the gym.
There's really nothing you can do for possible food poisoning,
but let it "run its course". Haven't had that feeling
since one of my first visits back to the motherland, after
swallowing some tap water after brushing my teeth.
Ya' feel me?
It's like Hell...
Possible Food Poisoning, It's Like Hell...
I'm not sure if I had food poisoning the other day, but
the symptoms sure felt like it, according to WebMD and other
stuff I found on the internet. It actually started about
the time I got home on Tuesday (3/31/09).
I just had lunch earlier that day and had that familiar
feeling of going #2 on the way home driving on the freeway.
Well, I got home and the first thing I did was "do some
reading on the throne".
To make a long story short, I called in sick the next day,
"read on the throne" about 8 more times throughout the day
and night. Well..until I lost about a good 2 or 3 pounds.
And I wasn't at the gym.
There's really nothing you can do for possible food poisoning,
but let it "run its course". Haven't had that feeling
since one of my first visits back to the motherland, after
swallowing some tap water after brushing my teeth.
Ya' feel me?
It's like Hell...
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Crazy For Cucusoft...
3/29/09
Crazy For Cucusoft...
Yup...I am...Well, also crazy for Peanut Butter Cap'n
Crunch, but that's another subject to be discussed at a
later time. Who knew what this simple software program
would do to my life.
Any free time I have, is dedicated to decoding and
uploading more movies into my Ipod. I'm up to about 25
gigs in media so far. I may have to stop soon. I may
burnout of downloading so many movies, that I really won't
have time for poker, hehe. Or watch them for that matter.
I will need to hire a personal assistant soon to get my
whole DVD collection ripped and put on my Itunes, hehe.
I guess it's better to get all these movies in now, and
to not wait until later on, right? Word, to your motha's
uncle...
Crazy For Cucusoft...
Yup...I am...Well, also crazy for Peanut Butter Cap'n
Crunch, but that's another subject to be discussed at a
later time. Who knew what this simple software program
would do to my life.
Any free time I have, is dedicated to decoding and
uploading more movies into my Ipod. I'm up to about 25
gigs in media so far. I may have to stop soon. I may
burnout of downloading so many movies, that I really won't
have time for poker, hehe. Or watch them for that matter.
I will need to hire a personal assistant soon to get my
whole DVD collection ripped and put on my Itunes, hehe.
I guess it's better to get all these movies in now, and
to not wait until later on, right? Word, to your motha's
uncle...
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Taste Of Victory, Part II - No Not the P.Diddy Remix...
3/28/09
The Taste Of Victory, Part II - No, Not the P.Diddy Remix...
Today, I checked out the new M Resort Hotel/Casino, located
on South Las Vegas Blvd. It's not near the Strip at all,
but a welcome site in a sea of cookie cutter housing
subdivisions in southeast Vegas. But believe you me, this
place is pretty plush. I would rank it as one of the best
looking locals casinos off the Strip.
It seemed pretty busy too, but that may be the fact that
this is a new casino and that we're in the middle of
March Madness college b-ball.
I've been meaning to check out the poker room, so it was
a perfect excuse when one of my co-workers mentioned that
they started NLHE tournys there this week. So, this morning
I met up with him and a buddy of his, to play in the tourny.
The tourny buy-in is $55.00, where you get $3,000.00 in
tourny chips. The blind levels change every 30 minutes,
so you got a little bit more time to play poker and not
necessarily gambo gambo in the first level of blinds.
I think there was a total of 45 players.
I think I've mentioned it before, I'm kinda' glad that
I don't pick up pocket Aces or Kings in the beginning
of tournys, because of the commitment to play them to
the end of the flop at times. And, I hate getting
badbeated or "outlucked", lol. But again, I wish every
starting hand could be either pocket Aces or Kings
everytime, hehe.
Anyway, the 3 of us traded ten percent of our gross
winnings, if any of us make the cash. I always offer it,
it's like insurance for you in the tournament. You have
a couple more chances to win, ya' know.
I made a semibluff early in the tournament to chip up a
bit and try to show my initial table, that I was willing
to gamble with the worse hand on the flop. It basically
went like this. We were about 8 handed on my first
table. A couple of the players had already gotten
knocked out. It was during the first few minutes of
the third level of blinds $100/200. I had only about
$3,000.00 in total at the time and was in the big
blind. A mid position player (pretty erratic guy, but
had a good stack of about $7,000.00 chips) called the
big blind, the next player who called was the dealer
button (filipino guy probably about my age or older,
he played pretty good, he said he was a part time
dealer too), the small blind player (white senior
citizen dude) called and I then peeled up Queen/Four
of Clubs, where I checked my option to raise. The
flop came out 6 of Spades, Five of Clubs and Two of
Clubs. I had a gutshot straight draw, flush draw and
an overcard with the Queen. Some good possibilities,
but basically Queen high at this time. The small
blind checked, I checked, and the midposition player
checked. When it got to the dealer button player, he
stared at the flop for about a minute and made a bet
of $600.00, so now the pot held about $1,400.00 total.
The small blind player folded, so now it was up to me.
I paused to think what the dealer button and midposition
players could have. I was thinking they both held
some type of marginal Ace or facecards, where they
didn't hit the flop, as it came pretty low. I then
looked at my chips and it didn't feel right just to
call the bet from the dealer button player. Since I
had "outs", I felt the better play was to raise all
in. I mean, he could have the better hand at this
time, but I had the turn and river cards to hit my
hand. Like I said before, I don't think the dealer
button player and midposition player had any thing
on the flop, so my bet should elicit folds from both
players. I ruled out flush draws for the other 2 players
as well, as I seemed to notice that they would overbet
their flush draws. Alright back to the grill again, the
midposition player then asks me what I have, trying to
get a response. I just look at him and say nothing.
He folds, whew, now to the dealer button player. He says
to me that he has a pair of Fives on the flop, but no
clubs, again trying to elicit a response from me. He
thinks for about 30 seconds, folds and says "good bet".
You know what, I think to myself, I'm gonna' show my
hand here. I want to show a bit of table image to the
other players, that I am willing to gamble it up with
them, "So don't mess with me FOOL!", hehe.
Throughout the tourny, I didn't get into many confrontations,
where I was called all in for my toubrnament life. The only
all in that was called by another player, was when I had Trip
Sevens. The sequence was that the UTG player (an older
lady) limped in, everybody folded, the small blind player
(white dude my age) just called and I peeled up Ten/Seven
OS. I checked my option. The flop was dealt Six/Seven/Seven
of all different suits. Beautiful, the small blind player
checked, I checked and the UTG player checked. The turn
was dealt a Queen. I decided not to check and made a pot
sized bet (approx $3,000.00, I had about $4,000.00 left)
and hoped somebody hit a Queen. The UTG player went all in
and the small blind player folded (he said he folded Ace/Queen,
wow, that was a good laydown). I of course called and pleaded
the poker gods to not give me a suckout on the river. The
river was dealt a pretty Ace of Diamonds. Dang, I wish she
didn't go all in, the small blind player, might have called
with his eventual top 2 pair. It's all good, I got more than
doubled up.
I also made a good call when this other player went all in.
I had pocket Nines in the cutoff and started to think about
what he could have. The other player who went all in, seemed
to be a pretty good player, but I felt he had a wide range
of what cards he would go all in with preflop. I was also
thinking about what the other players behind me would do.
They seemed pretty tight and would not call an all in
without some made hand or at least Ace/Queen. The lady to
my right even folded Ace/King of Diamonds to this same guy
a few hands ago, when she had him outchipped. I mean, that
is a tight laydown, especially with the blind amounts at
the time. Anyway, I felt that I had the guy beat and I
would take a race if he had overcards (I was thinkin' he
had Ace/Rag though). After I called his all in (I had less
chips), the other players folded and we flipped up our cards.
Whattaya' know, he had Ace/Five OS. Cool, just have to outrun
his Ace on the flop. The flop came out Five/Three/Two of
Clubs, luckily he had no clubs, but gross anyway, now he
had 2 Fives, 4 Fours and 3 Aces to win (he had 9 outs).
The turn was dealt a 6 of Diamonds, whew. The river card
was dealt a nonthreatening Ten of Diamonds, double whew.
I didn't really have any further confrontations the rest of
the tourny. We got to five handed and decided to chop the
pot. The blinds were getting very big and each of us were
pretty much the same in chips. It would be a luckfest the
rest of the way. Got paid about a little over 6 to 1 on
my buyin, I then gave $30.00 bucks each to my coworker and
his buddy for their ten percent. Not bad for a Saturday
afternoon. Wish it was a Bellagio Saturday $1K tourny
win though, hehe.
Funny thing before chopped, was that the last 6 of us
decided to contribute another additional ten bucks for the
bubble person (the tourny was to pay only the top 5 spots),
so the bubble person would at least get most of their money
back. The bubble person was talking pretty bold in the
beginning of 6 handed play, saying that she would chop only
if she got the actual first place money of about $560 and
then the rest of us would chop the rest. She wasn't even
a dominant chip leader at the time, I think she had maybe
3 or 4 more bets than the next chipleader. She was the one
who laid down Ace/King of Diamonds earlier. Then she mentioned
that she wanted to chop earlier, when she only had 2 bets left.
Karma is a biznatch, hehe. She eventually bubbled in 6th place
and got her $60.00 (her net equity was actually negative
$5.00, take that you scurred Ace/King Diamonds laydowner! - the
other guy at the time had Ace/Jack OS - she dominated him, lol).
To live by the sword, you must die by the sword baby...
See y'all on the felt. I will be taking investors in the next
Bellagio tourny or the WSOP, I'll keep you posted, lol...
The Taste Of Victory, Part II - No, Not the P.Diddy Remix...
Today, I checked out the new M Resort Hotel/Casino, located
on South Las Vegas Blvd. It's not near the Strip at all,
but a welcome site in a sea of cookie cutter housing
subdivisions in southeast Vegas. But believe you me, this
place is pretty plush. I would rank it as one of the best
looking locals casinos off the Strip.
It seemed pretty busy too, but that may be the fact that
this is a new casino and that we're in the middle of
March Madness college b-ball.
I've been meaning to check out the poker room, so it was
a perfect excuse when one of my co-workers mentioned that
they started NLHE tournys there this week. So, this morning
I met up with him and a buddy of his, to play in the tourny.
The tourny buy-in is $55.00, where you get $3,000.00 in
tourny chips. The blind levels change every 30 minutes,
so you got a little bit more time to play poker and not
necessarily gambo gambo in the first level of blinds.
I think there was a total of 45 players.
I think I've mentioned it before, I'm kinda' glad that
I don't pick up pocket Aces or Kings in the beginning
of tournys, because of the commitment to play them to
the end of the flop at times. And, I hate getting
badbeated or "outlucked", lol. But again, I wish every
starting hand could be either pocket Aces or Kings
everytime, hehe.
Anyway, the 3 of us traded ten percent of our gross
winnings, if any of us make the cash. I always offer it,
it's like insurance for you in the tournament. You have
a couple more chances to win, ya' know.
I made a semibluff early in the tournament to chip up a
bit and try to show my initial table, that I was willing
to gamble with the worse hand on the flop. It basically
went like this. We were about 8 handed on my first
table. A couple of the players had already gotten
knocked out. It was during the first few minutes of
the third level of blinds $100/200. I had only about
$3,000.00 in total at the time and was in the big
blind. A mid position player (pretty erratic guy, but
had a good stack of about $7,000.00 chips) called the
big blind, the next player who called was the dealer
button (filipino guy probably about my age or older,
he played pretty good, he said he was a part time
dealer too), the small blind player (white senior
citizen dude) called and I then peeled up Queen/Four
of Clubs, where I checked my option to raise. The
flop came out 6 of Spades, Five of Clubs and Two of
Clubs. I had a gutshot straight draw, flush draw and
an overcard with the Queen. Some good possibilities,
but basically Queen high at this time. The small
blind checked, I checked, and the midposition player
checked. When it got to the dealer button player, he
stared at the flop for about a minute and made a bet
of $600.00, so now the pot held about $1,400.00 total.
The small blind player folded, so now it was up to me.
I paused to think what the dealer button and midposition
players could have. I was thinking they both held
some type of marginal Ace or facecards, where they
didn't hit the flop, as it came pretty low. I then
looked at my chips and it didn't feel right just to
call the bet from the dealer button player. Since I
had "outs", I felt the better play was to raise all
in. I mean, he could have the better hand at this
time, but I had the turn and river cards to hit my
hand. Like I said before, I don't think the dealer
button player and midposition player had any thing
on the flop, so my bet should elicit folds from both
players. I ruled out flush draws for the other 2 players
as well, as I seemed to notice that they would overbet
their flush draws. Alright back to the grill again, the
midposition player then asks me what I have, trying to
get a response. I just look at him and say nothing.
He folds, whew, now to the dealer button player. He says
to me that he has a pair of Fives on the flop, but no
clubs, again trying to elicit a response from me. He
thinks for about 30 seconds, folds and says "good bet".
You know what, I think to myself, I'm gonna' show my
hand here. I want to show a bit of table image to the
other players, that I am willing to gamble it up with
them, "So don't mess with me FOOL!", hehe.
Throughout the tourny, I didn't get into many confrontations,
where I was called all in for my toubrnament life. The only
all in that was called by another player, was when I had Trip
Sevens. The sequence was that the UTG player (an older
lady) limped in, everybody folded, the small blind player
(white dude my age) just called and I peeled up Ten/Seven
OS. I checked my option. The flop was dealt Six/Seven/Seven
of all different suits. Beautiful, the small blind player
checked, I checked and the UTG player checked. The turn
was dealt a Queen. I decided not to check and made a pot
sized bet (approx $3,000.00, I had about $4,000.00 left)
and hoped somebody hit a Queen. The UTG player went all in
and the small blind player folded (he said he folded Ace/Queen,
wow, that was a good laydown). I of course called and pleaded
the poker gods to not give me a suckout on the river. The
river was dealt a pretty Ace of Diamonds. Dang, I wish she
didn't go all in, the small blind player, might have called
with his eventual top 2 pair. It's all good, I got more than
doubled up.
I also made a good call when this other player went all in.
I had pocket Nines in the cutoff and started to think about
what he could have. The other player who went all in, seemed
to be a pretty good player, but I felt he had a wide range
of what cards he would go all in with preflop. I was also
thinking about what the other players behind me would do.
They seemed pretty tight and would not call an all in
without some made hand or at least Ace/Queen. The lady to
my right even folded Ace/King of Diamonds to this same guy
a few hands ago, when she had him outchipped. I mean, that
is a tight laydown, especially with the blind amounts at
the time. Anyway, I felt that I had the guy beat and I
would take a race if he had overcards (I was thinkin' he
had Ace/Rag though). After I called his all in (I had less
chips), the other players folded and we flipped up our cards.
Whattaya' know, he had Ace/Five OS. Cool, just have to outrun
his Ace on the flop. The flop came out Five/Three/Two of
Clubs, luckily he had no clubs, but gross anyway, now he
had 2 Fives, 4 Fours and 3 Aces to win (he had 9 outs).
The turn was dealt a 6 of Diamonds, whew. The river card
was dealt a nonthreatening Ten of Diamonds, double whew.
I didn't really have any further confrontations the rest of
the tourny. We got to five handed and decided to chop the
pot. The blinds were getting very big and each of us were
pretty much the same in chips. It would be a luckfest the
rest of the way. Got paid about a little over 6 to 1 on
my buyin, I then gave $30.00 bucks each to my coworker and
his buddy for their ten percent. Not bad for a Saturday
afternoon. Wish it was a Bellagio Saturday $1K tourny
win though, hehe.
Funny thing before chopped, was that the last 6 of us
decided to contribute another additional ten bucks for the
bubble person (the tourny was to pay only the top 5 spots),
so the bubble person would at least get most of their money
back. The bubble person was talking pretty bold in the
beginning of 6 handed play, saying that she would chop only
if she got the actual first place money of about $560 and
then the rest of us would chop the rest. She wasn't even
a dominant chip leader at the time, I think she had maybe
3 or 4 more bets than the next chipleader. She was the one
who laid down Ace/King of Diamonds earlier. Then she mentioned
that she wanted to chop earlier, when she only had 2 bets left.
Karma is a biznatch, hehe. She eventually bubbled in 6th place
and got her $60.00 (her net equity was actually negative
$5.00, take that you scurred Ace/King Diamonds laydowner! - the
other guy at the time had Ace/Jack OS - she dominated him, lol).
To live by the sword, you must die by the sword baby...
See y'all on the felt. I will be taking investors in the next
Bellagio tourny or the WSOP, I'll keep you posted, lol...
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Finally...
3/26/09
Finally...
I dunno why I lag on things like this. I finally got the sofware
to decode DVD's into MPEG4 format for my Ipod. I've had my 80g
Classic since last year, and have yet to use its full capability.
I only had about 8 or 9 Gigs of media in the thing since then, and
never added anything else to it for a while.
Well, syncin' it the wrong way a couple of days ago, must have
put the fire back in me. I erased my playlist and didn't have
a backup playlist on my Itunes. So, I had to copy a bunch of
my cd's (what are those? hehe...) and purchase some songs and
videos on Itunes.
I then thought to myself, that I have a bunch of DVD's collecting
dust under the flatscreen, I might as well copy those as well.
I got the Cucusoft program to decode the DVD's into MPEG4 format
and have been rippin away. It's pretty easy to use. Believe
me, I'm from Silicon Valley, but far removed from the techogeek
set - it was perfect...
I still only got about 14 Gigs of media...66 to go, lol...
Finally...
I dunno why I lag on things like this. I finally got the sofware
to decode DVD's into MPEG4 format for my Ipod. I've had my 80g
Classic since last year, and have yet to use its full capability.
I only had about 8 or 9 Gigs of media in the thing since then, and
never added anything else to it for a while.
Well, syncin' it the wrong way a couple of days ago, must have
put the fire back in me. I erased my playlist and didn't have
a backup playlist on my Itunes. So, I had to copy a bunch of
my cd's (what are those? hehe...) and purchase some songs and
videos on Itunes.
I then thought to myself, that I have a bunch of DVD's collecting
dust under the flatscreen, I might as well copy those as well.
I got the Cucusoft program to decode the DVD's into MPEG4 format
and have been rippin away. It's pretty easy to use. Believe
me, I'm from Silicon Valley, but far removed from the techogeek
set - it was perfect...
I still only got about 14 Gigs of media...66 to go, lol...
Sunday, March 22, 2009
In and Out, Fast Food Style...
3/22/09
In and Out, Fast Food Style...
This weekend was a blur. This was my shortest stay so
far coming back home. 2 nights went by pretty quick.
I guess 2 nights in Vegas as a tourist seems alot longer.
It's probably because you are up all day and night doin'
whatever may be - gettin' drinks poolside, waiting in
line at Tao for 4 hours (because your ass is too cheap
to get bottle service, hehe), hoping your double down
at Blackjack hits, etc...
Seein' my lady after a month was great. I'll be mushy
and say that I was counting out the days and hours.
We spent the day Saturday, up in the City and checked
out a couple of spots here in there.
Tommy's Joynt on Geary, should be a must go for you hole
in the wall types.
We shared a roast beef sandwich with swiss cheese
on sourdough (pretty tasty). It's not for you upscale
ma'arte types though. We then hung out and shopped
around Union Square, before heading back to San Jose.
It was also great to see my family after over a couple
of months. We got to go celebrate my pops Bday
Saturday night at the Fish Market. Was feeling like
a steak that night (after eating fish all day Friday,
due to my Catholicness), but ended up getting oysters
fish and chips style. It was pretty good. Nothing like
battered and fried food items, they're the best.
Sunday went by fast as well. Finished up my taxes with
my uncle in the morning. Got Viet food in the afternoon.
Then met up with Triple D's (Dave, Deb and Danielle)
at Pizza California, with Shuggs before leavin' on a
jetplane back to Vegas.
I wish again that I could have met up with more of my
peeps there - but hey, I'll probably see them in Vegas
in the next few months. Summer and the World Series of
Poker is just around the corner. The season when the
playas' play and mountain of chips can be found on the
green felt of our terra firma we call Sin City.
Wishful thinking...
P.S. Ooh...found a nice surprise in my bag when
I got home. I got a Team Pacquiao Nike Tshirt for
pasalubong from my cousin Jorge in the PI. Props
bro, been trying to find one like that for the
past year. Pinoy Size L, fits just fine. I just
got to make sure I don't put the tee in hot
water when I wash it or I may find myself with
a nice baby tee for summer, lol...
In and Out, Fast Food Style...
This weekend was a blur. This was my shortest stay so
far coming back home. 2 nights went by pretty quick.
I guess 2 nights in Vegas as a tourist seems alot longer.
It's probably because you are up all day and night doin'
whatever may be - gettin' drinks poolside, waiting in
line at Tao for 4 hours (because your ass is too cheap
to get bottle service, hehe), hoping your double down
at Blackjack hits, etc...
Seein' my lady after a month was great. I'll be mushy
and say that I was counting out the days and hours.
We spent the day Saturday, up in the City and checked
out a couple of spots here in there.
Tommy's Joynt on Geary, should be a must go for you hole
in the wall types.
We shared a roast beef sandwich with swiss cheese
on sourdough (pretty tasty). It's not for you upscale
ma'arte types though. We then hung out and shopped
around Union Square, before heading back to San Jose.
It was also great to see my family after over a couple
of months. We got to go celebrate my pops Bday
Saturday night at the Fish Market. Was feeling like
a steak that night (after eating fish all day Friday,
due to my Catholicness), but ended up getting oysters
fish and chips style. It was pretty good. Nothing like
battered and fried food items, they're the best.
Sunday went by fast as well. Finished up my taxes with
my uncle in the morning. Got Viet food in the afternoon.
Then met up with Triple D's (Dave, Deb and Danielle)
at Pizza California, with Shuggs before leavin' on a
jetplane back to Vegas.
I wish again that I could have met up with more of my
peeps there - but hey, I'll probably see them in Vegas
in the next few months. Summer and the World Series of
Poker is just around the corner. The season when the
playas' play and mountain of chips can be found on the
green felt of our terra firma we call Sin City.
Wishful thinking...
P.S. Ooh...found a nice surprise in my bag when
I got home. I got a Team Pacquiao Nike Tshirt for
pasalubong from my cousin Jorge in the PI. Props
bro, been trying to find one like that for the
past year. Pinoy Size L, fits just fine. I just
got to make sure I don't put the tee in hot
water when I wash it or I may find myself with
a nice baby tee for summer, lol...
Heatin' Up...
3/20/09
Heatin' Up...
Who knew that 85 degrees would feel hot to me in this
godforsaken town. I guess after a few months of
60 degree weather, the jump in temperature is a bit of a
shock to the system.
I'm just glad the a/c system in Taylor the Jeepney
is working just fine. Kinda surprised the air blowin' out
of it is ice cold, just like it just came out of the
factory. I will definitely need in good working order,
for the hell of a summer that is coming up.
I do remember those triple digit days when I first moved to
Sin City. Whoowee, at least I can sweat off a few pounds
by just living here.
Anyway, I'm at McCarran Int'l Airport, waiting for my
flight back home to the Bay. I guess I can't come to call
Vegas home, I'm just a tourist on extended stay, hehe.
Hope the poker starts heatin' up as well. 2 out 3 tournament
cashes ain't so bad for the year. That would be a great
winning percentage. I just need to get a little lucky and
also on the other hand, not get outlucked. I think I
have this tourny thing down pat - just go in with the
worst hand and hope it holds up - Wheee!!! Haha!!!
Done for now, boardin' the plane in a few....
Heatin' Up...
Who knew that 85 degrees would feel hot to me in this
godforsaken town. I guess after a few months of
60 degree weather, the jump in temperature is a bit of a
shock to the system.
I'm just glad the a/c system in Taylor the Jeepney
is working just fine. Kinda surprised the air blowin' out
of it is ice cold, just like it just came out of the
factory. I will definitely need in good working order,
for the hell of a summer that is coming up.
I do remember those triple digit days when I first moved to
Sin City. Whoowee, at least I can sweat off a few pounds
by just living here.
Anyway, I'm at McCarran Int'l Airport, waiting for my
flight back home to the Bay. I guess I can't come to call
Vegas home, I'm just a tourist on extended stay, hehe.
Hope the poker starts heatin' up as well. 2 out 3 tournament
cashes ain't so bad for the year. That would be a great
winning percentage. I just need to get a little lucky and
also on the other hand, not get outlucked. I think I
have this tourny thing down pat - just go in with the
worst hand and hope it holds up - Wheee!!! Haha!!!
Done for now, boardin' the plane in a few....
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
On A Roll...Right...
3/18/09
On A Roll...Right...
Just finished as chip leader for the mock poker tourny
to pick the 4 man team to represent AAA at the Corporate
Challenge of the City of Las Vegas. Whoohoo, we started
with 7 whoppin' entries, so I had to outlast 3 people to
make the team. It made it easier snapping up over half
the chips in play.
The actual tourny is on 6/2/09 at the Golden Nugget.
I think it will be like some type of shootout format,
where the team will combine their point results together
to get a final "score" for the company team.
I must be on a roll...hehe...
On A Roll...Right...
Just finished as chip leader for the mock poker tourny
to pick the 4 man team to represent AAA at the Corporate
Challenge of the City of Las Vegas. Whoohoo, we started
with 7 whoppin' entries, so I had to outlast 3 people to
make the team. It made it easier snapping up over half
the chips in play.
The actual tourny is on 6/2/09 at the Golden Nugget.
I think it will be like some type of shootout format,
where the team will combine their point results together
to get a final "score" for the company team.
I must be on a roll...hehe...
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Another Day, Another Dollar...
3/15/09
Another Day, Another Dollar...
This past weekend, some of the homies from the Bay and LA
came into town. Friday was pretty much a blur. If you know
me, I usually wake up automatically by 800 am or so, without
the use of an alarm. I actually slept in until about 1 pm on
Saturday. I would have slept in longer, but woke up due to
the smell of bacon, spam and eggs in the air.
Funny, just had spam and eggs at California Casino at about
600 am that morning. But yo, spam is good anytime of the day.
I did wake up at around 1030 am that morning to take a peepee,
but went right back to sleep, as soon as the tank was on empty.
Now I remember why I do not like taking tequila shots. It's
that damn headache you get the next day. I only had one
shot and maybe 3 other drinks spread out thru 5 or six hours.
That lone tequila shot, put the hammer to the head though.
I decided not to party with them on Saturday night, due
to the fact that I was feeling cheap (I didn't want to pay
for bottle service - I'm pretty much desensitized to the Vegas
club atmosphere in my old age), plus I wanted to have a clearer
head the next day, if I was planning to play in a poker tourny
on Sunday, which I planned to do (as I probably won't play for
the next couple of weeks, because of next weekend's trip
back home and work this week).
Anyway, I planned to play the 12 noon tourny at Caesar's.
Those plans got squashed, when I couldn't get a hold of a
couple of the poker homies that morning. They were probably
still sleeping in after partying the night before. I also
wanted to check out a couple of the last episodes of season
5 of the Soprano's. The past month and a half or so, I've been
rewatching each season. God, I miss that show and Entourage.
Maybe, I need to get into watching Big Love, a Mormon style
Soprano's on HBO, as well.
I decided to make the 3 pm tourny at Caesar's. It has a
buyin of $70.00, with a starting chips stack of $2,500.00.
I really don't like starting with a shortstack off the bat.
The noon tourny starts you off with $7,500.00 in chips, but
the 3 pm tourny would satisfy my poker tourny jones for the
day. Plus the blind levels went up every 30 minutes, so at
least you had more time to try to chip up each level.
Into the second level of blinds, I about doubled up my
starting stack to $5,000.00. I then proceeded to give
chips away until the end of the second level, where I went
back to my starting stack of $2,500.00. At least I was above
10 big bets and had some fold equity at the start of the
3rd level of blinds.
Again, I really had no premium hands throughout the
tourny. I had pocket Kings once where I went all in with about
7 big bets, with no callers. Better to win the dead money,
then get coolered by Ace Rag on the river.
The tourny started with about 55 people and would pay the
top 6 finishers. Luckily, we got down to 7 handed and we
all decided to give 7th place $60.00 for a bubble finish.
I was reading the other players pretty well and won a few
coinflips.
My all in over the top of another all in player with Ace/Ten
of Spades. I had the the other player outchipped 2 to 1,
but was looking to win the blinds/antes as well. I felt
the other player was just making a move with any hand,
and I was willing to race him with my ace suited hand.
Good thing the other player had King/Ten OS, I was
in the lead (which I thought anyway). We both flopped
a Ten on the turn, but no river King for him.
My all in with pocket Sixes, faded Ace/Nine OS (thanks for
the call you donk!, hehe - I can't believe I got called
by that hand. He practically called off all his chips
with that hand, after just putting in one bet initially.
Well, that's a call I wanted. The longer he took to call,
the better I felt, that I was ahead in the hand. Cool,
another double up.
My all in with Ace/Eight of Spades against pocket Jacks,
brought me an Ace on the flop, plus I runner runnered
the nut flush. Lovin' it. Double up time again.
My all in with Ace/Six of Spades (while in the money),
got called by Ace/Ten OS. I rivered a straight. I
couldn't believe that I was called by that hand either.
There are such a range of hands that beat Ace/Ten OS.
I can't blame the guy, he did make the right call, if
he put me on Ace/Rag or a baby pair. I think even, if
I put another person on Ace/Rag or a baby pair, I would
fold Ace/Ten OS, if I had no money in the pot. But hey,
that call from the other player doubled me up.
I had to make a couple of key laydowns, where I felt I
was behind in the hand (even with top pair). The other players
showed their hands after I folded, and was indeed behind in the
hand. It's better to save chips, then dump them off needlessly.
Kinda' surprised myself gettin' that far without really
any premium hands. Well, I had pocket Jacks a couple of
other times - but I got no callers with my raises at those
times. I could have raised with air and still get the dead
money.
Oh yeah, my bust out hand was King/Eight OS. I had only
about 6 big bets at the time and was under the gun.
The dead money in the pot was about a 30% of my stack at
the time. I might as well try to steal it. I went all
in and was called by the chip leader (who actually deliberated
folding his hand). He called my with Ace/Ten OS (saw
alot of Ace/Ten combos throughout the tourny, weird).
Anyway, the flop came out Nine/Seven/Six rainbow. About
the best flop I could get. I was on a open end straight
draw with a King. I had ten outs twice (3 Tens, 4 Fives
and 3 Kings - on the turn and river - I'll take
that). The turn came a Jack - still have the same outs.
The river hit an Eight. The other player thought he lost,
by me making a pair of Eights. The dealer and I pointed
out that he made a straight. The luck tank ran out.
I can't say it's all luck - I was the one usually initiating
the action with my raises and all ins.
God, so close...When can I get a first place again?
Again, better to cash, than, bust out right before the money.
So close...
Maybe, I'm leadin up to the winner's circle again.
Feels cool...even though the amount I won is what Mr. Wynn
wipes his nose with each day.
Another Day, Another Dollar...
This past weekend, some of the homies from the Bay and LA
came into town. Friday was pretty much a blur. If you know
me, I usually wake up automatically by 800 am or so, without
the use of an alarm. I actually slept in until about 1 pm on
Saturday. I would have slept in longer, but woke up due to
the smell of bacon, spam and eggs in the air.
Funny, just had spam and eggs at California Casino at about
600 am that morning. But yo, spam is good anytime of the day.
I did wake up at around 1030 am that morning to take a peepee,
but went right back to sleep, as soon as the tank was on empty.
Now I remember why I do not like taking tequila shots. It's
that damn headache you get the next day. I only had one
shot and maybe 3 other drinks spread out thru 5 or six hours.
That lone tequila shot, put the hammer to the head though.
I decided not to party with them on Saturday night, due
to the fact that I was feeling cheap (I didn't want to pay
for bottle service - I'm pretty much desensitized to the Vegas
club atmosphere in my old age), plus I wanted to have a clearer
head the next day, if I was planning to play in a poker tourny
on Sunday, which I planned to do (as I probably won't play for
the next couple of weeks, because of next weekend's trip
back home and work this week).
Anyway, I planned to play the 12 noon tourny at Caesar's.
Those plans got squashed, when I couldn't get a hold of a
couple of the poker homies that morning. They were probably
still sleeping in after partying the night before. I also
wanted to check out a couple of the last episodes of season
5 of the Soprano's. The past month and a half or so, I've been
rewatching each season. God, I miss that show and Entourage.
Maybe, I need to get into watching Big Love, a Mormon style
Soprano's on HBO, as well.
I decided to make the 3 pm tourny at Caesar's. It has a
buyin of $70.00, with a starting chips stack of $2,500.00.
I really don't like starting with a shortstack off the bat.
The noon tourny starts you off with $7,500.00 in chips, but
the 3 pm tourny would satisfy my poker tourny jones for the
day. Plus the blind levels went up every 30 minutes, so at
least you had more time to try to chip up each level.
Into the second level of blinds, I about doubled up my
starting stack to $5,000.00. I then proceeded to give
chips away until the end of the second level, where I went
back to my starting stack of $2,500.00. At least I was above
10 big bets and had some fold equity at the start of the
3rd level of blinds.
Again, I really had no premium hands throughout the
tourny. I had pocket Kings once where I went all in with about
7 big bets, with no callers. Better to win the dead money,
then get coolered by Ace Rag on the river.
The tourny started with about 55 people and would pay the
top 6 finishers. Luckily, we got down to 7 handed and we
all decided to give 7th place $60.00 for a bubble finish.
I was reading the other players pretty well and won a few
coinflips.
My all in over the top of another all in player with Ace/Ten
of Spades. I had the the other player outchipped 2 to 1,
but was looking to win the blinds/antes as well. I felt
the other player was just making a move with any hand,
and I was willing to race him with my ace suited hand.
Good thing the other player had King/Ten OS, I was
in the lead (which I thought anyway). We both flopped
a Ten on the turn, but no river King for him.
My all in with pocket Sixes, faded Ace/Nine OS (thanks for
the call you donk!, hehe - I can't believe I got called
by that hand. He practically called off all his chips
with that hand, after just putting in one bet initially.
Well, that's a call I wanted. The longer he took to call,
the better I felt, that I was ahead in the hand. Cool,
another double up.
My all in with Ace/Eight of Spades against pocket Jacks,
brought me an Ace on the flop, plus I runner runnered
the nut flush. Lovin' it. Double up time again.
My all in with Ace/Six of Spades (while in the money),
got called by Ace/Ten OS. I rivered a straight. I
couldn't believe that I was called by that hand either.
There are such a range of hands that beat Ace/Ten OS.
I can't blame the guy, he did make the right call, if
he put me on Ace/Rag or a baby pair. I think even, if
I put another person on Ace/Rag or a baby pair, I would
fold Ace/Ten OS, if I had no money in the pot. But hey,
that call from the other player doubled me up.
I had to make a couple of key laydowns, where I felt I
was behind in the hand (even with top pair). The other players
showed their hands after I folded, and was indeed behind in the
hand. It's better to save chips, then dump them off needlessly.
Kinda' surprised myself gettin' that far without really
any premium hands. Well, I had pocket Jacks a couple of
other times - but I got no callers with my raises at those
times. I could have raised with air and still get the dead
money.
Oh yeah, my bust out hand was King/Eight OS. I had only
about 6 big bets at the time and was under the gun.
The dead money in the pot was about a 30% of my stack at
the time. I might as well try to steal it. I went all
in and was called by the chip leader (who actually deliberated
folding his hand). He called my with Ace/Ten OS (saw
alot of Ace/Ten combos throughout the tourny, weird).
Anyway, the flop came out Nine/Seven/Six rainbow. About
the best flop I could get. I was on a open end straight
draw with a King. I had ten outs twice (3 Tens, 4 Fives
and 3 Kings - on the turn and river - I'll take
that). The turn came a Jack - still have the same outs.
The river hit an Eight. The other player thought he lost,
by me making a pair of Eights. The dealer and I pointed
out that he made a straight. The luck tank ran out.
I can't say it's all luck - I was the one usually initiating
the action with my raises and all ins.
God, so close...When can I get a first place again?
Again, better to cash, than, bust out right before the money.
So close...
Maybe, I'm leadin up to the winner's circle again.
Feels cool...even though the amount I won is what Mr. Wynn
wipes his nose with each day.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Taste Of Victory, Well A Sniff Of It At Least...
3/10/09
The Taste Of Victory, Well A Sniff Of It At Least...
Wow, it's been a few weeks since I last updated the
good old blog. Been busy workin' at AAA, part time at my
buddy's title business, and with some property management
issues. Plus, like I've said before - getting from point
A to point B in Vegas, is like driving from San Jo' to the
City - each damn way.
Anyway, after Vday weekend, my lady swung back from New
Mexico into Las Vegas the next weekend. Japes, his
girl and some of their friends were also in town for the
vacation and to play in some of the Deep Stack poker events
at the Venetian and Caesar's. Actually got to watch one
of his buddy's at the final table of a $300 event at
Venetian, the Friday after Valentine's day weekend. His
first tourny and he made a 4th place cash, which was good
for a great return on his $300. I'lll tell you this,
it was more than I made for my first place at Lucky Chances,
which now seems years ago, and if you remember that, that
was a good chunk of dolla' bills, hehe.
I decided to play a Mega Stack Poker tourny at Caesar's
the next day, on Saturday with JP. The buyin was for $340.00
total, which included the bonus, for a total of $15,000.00 in
tournament poker chips. The blind levels lasted 50 minutes
each. Pretty good value for the tourny, as you could have
a lot of play for the chipstack amount. Not necessarily
be gambo' gambo', but you could have the luxury of picking
your spots, without your tournament life on the line
in the first couple of rounds. A total of 155 players
played and they would pay the top 18.
The gameplan has pretty much been the same for me at each
tournament I play. I do not want to get into any big
confrontations early, unless I have the nut hand or if I have
a big enough stack to afford losing to some person who gets
lucky on me at the river. Playing small ball suits me these
days - I think back in the day, I would be willing to throw
it all in with Ace/King.
Recognizing spots to just call without putting a large
investment in the pot was a strategy that I wanted to employ
during the tournament. Ask Japes, he saw me do it time and
time again. I think everybody gets too hung up on raising
every hand and pot they enter. I think if you do that too
much, you can trap yourself in a hand. I'm not going to tell
you how I employed this strategy, hand by hand. I will tell
you it is a good way to build chips, without much of a hand.
You have to determine yourself when, how and who to employ
this strategy.
As in any poker tournament, there are times when you have to
get lucky. One hand I had, which Japes witnessed, and he
declared, "Vintage Scotty!". It's not like I wanted to get
lucky in the hand, but I was glad I did though. I made it
past the dinner break, Japes had already busted out, where
I found that my stack began to dwindle. Usually, if I am
around 10 to 15 big blinds, it is "All In" time. I just don't
do it indiscriminately. I try to find a good spot to make
my shove. Plus, I can't wait for pocket Aces or Ace/King
all day. This time, I shoved with a Five/Four of Diamonds.
I got one caller on the dealer button who had Ace/Ten OS.
I thought to myself, good it's a race, at least he doesn't
share any of my outs. The dealer dealt out Ace of Diamonds,
3 of Hearts and 5 of Hearts. What a flop, I have more outs
to win. 2 Fives, 3 Fours and 4 Twos, for a total of 9.
Ooh baby, the dealer dealt a turn card of Two of Diamonds.
Now I have a wheel straight, now the other player is drawing
to 3 outs for a chop (the remaining 4's in the deck). The
dealer dealt the river card which was an inconsequential
Ten of Clubs, which gave the other player a losing hand of
2 pair. I busted the other player, because I had $500 more
in chips. That was a nice double up. I didn't even celebrate,
cause it was still a long road ahead. Why should I celebrate,
we still had to get through 15 other players to get to the
money.
Back into grind mode now. After a few more hours, we
got to the money. We were now 2 tables of 9 each. To
make a long story short. I busted out in 11th place.
Made about 3 times my buyin, then gave 20% cut to Japes per
our trade. I guess I should be proud of the result.
Getting that far without having really any premium hands
is sometimes amazing to me. I only got pocket Aces once,
sometime in the early blind levels - where I raised it
under the gun, but got no callers at all (well, at least
I didn't bust out on them, lol).
I think my actual victory was that this was the first time
my girlfriend saw me play poker. She must have been bored
out her mind, but she did give me inspiration while playing.
Thanks hun!
And a first place would have been sweet as well, hehe...
Anyway, almost had the same result last Saturday at tourny
at the Orleans. Out of 69 players, I busted out at 13th,
just 6 away from the money. Jeez...
See you on the felt kids...
The Taste Of Victory, Well A Sniff Of It At Least...
Wow, it's been a few weeks since I last updated the
good old blog. Been busy workin' at AAA, part time at my
buddy's title business, and with some property management
issues. Plus, like I've said before - getting from point
A to point B in Vegas, is like driving from San Jo' to the
City - each damn way.
Anyway, after Vday weekend, my lady swung back from New
Mexico into Las Vegas the next weekend. Japes, his
girl and some of their friends were also in town for the
vacation and to play in some of the Deep Stack poker events
at the Venetian and Caesar's. Actually got to watch one
of his buddy's at the final table of a $300 event at
Venetian, the Friday after Valentine's day weekend. His
first tourny and he made a 4th place cash, which was good
for a great return on his $300. I'lll tell you this,
it was more than I made for my first place at Lucky Chances,
which now seems years ago, and if you remember that, that
was a good chunk of dolla' bills, hehe.
I decided to play a Mega Stack Poker tourny at Caesar's
the next day, on Saturday with JP. The buyin was for $340.00
total, which included the bonus, for a total of $15,000.00 in
tournament poker chips. The blind levels lasted 50 minutes
each. Pretty good value for the tourny, as you could have
a lot of play for the chipstack amount. Not necessarily
be gambo' gambo', but you could have the luxury of picking
your spots, without your tournament life on the line
in the first couple of rounds. A total of 155 players
played and they would pay the top 18.
The gameplan has pretty much been the same for me at each
tournament I play. I do not want to get into any big
confrontations early, unless I have the nut hand or if I have
a big enough stack to afford losing to some person who gets
lucky on me at the river. Playing small ball suits me these
days - I think back in the day, I would be willing to throw
it all in with Ace/King.
Recognizing spots to just call without putting a large
investment in the pot was a strategy that I wanted to employ
during the tournament. Ask Japes, he saw me do it time and
time again. I think everybody gets too hung up on raising
every hand and pot they enter. I think if you do that too
much, you can trap yourself in a hand. I'm not going to tell
you how I employed this strategy, hand by hand. I will tell
you it is a good way to build chips, without much of a hand.
You have to determine yourself when, how and who to employ
this strategy.
As in any poker tournament, there are times when you have to
get lucky. One hand I had, which Japes witnessed, and he
declared, "Vintage Scotty!". It's not like I wanted to get
lucky in the hand, but I was glad I did though. I made it
past the dinner break, Japes had already busted out, where
I found that my stack began to dwindle. Usually, if I am
around 10 to 15 big blinds, it is "All In" time. I just don't
do it indiscriminately. I try to find a good spot to make
my shove. Plus, I can't wait for pocket Aces or Ace/King
all day. This time, I shoved with a Five/Four of Diamonds.
I got one caller on the dealer button who had Ace/Ten OS.
I thought to myself, good it's a race, at least he doesn't
share any of my outs. The dealer dealt out Ace of Diamonds,
3 of Hearts and 5 of Hearts. What a flop, I have more outs
to win. 2 Fives, 3 Fours and 4 Twos, for a total of 9.
Ooh baby, the dealer dealt a turn card of Two of Diamonds.
Now I have a wheel straight, now the other player is drawing
to 3 outs for a chop (the remaining 4's in the deck). The
dealer dealt the river card which was an inconsequential
Ten of Clubs, which gave the other player a losing hand of
2 pair. I busted the other player, because I had $500 more
in chips. That was a nice double up. I didn't even celebrate,
cause it was still a long road ahead. Why should I celebrate,
we still had to get through 15 other players to get to the
money.
Back into grind mode now. After a few more hours, we
got to the money. We were now 2 tables of 9 each. To
make a long story short. I busted out in 11th place.
Made about 3 times my buyin, then gave 20% cut to Japes per
our trade. I guess I should be proud of the result.
Getting that far without having really any premium hands
is sometimes amazing to me. I only got pocket Aces once,
sometime in the early blind levels - where I raised it
under the gun, but got no callers at all (well, at least
I didn't bust out on them, lol).
I think my actual victory was that this was the first time
my girlfriend saw me play poker. She must have been bored
out her mind, but she did give me inspiration while playing.
Thanks hun!
And a first place would have been sweet as well, hehe...
Anyway, almost had the same result last Saturday at tourny
at the Orleans. Out of 69 players, I busted out at 13th,
just 6 away from the money. Jeez...
See you on the felt kids...
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Great Dane...
2/17/09
The Great Dane...
Not talking about the dog, but Gus Hansen's book called
"Every Hand Revealed". It's his book that came out last
year, detailing the hands he played (or hands he did
not play), on his way to winning the Aussie Millions in
2007.
I guess you could say, it's not your typical poker strategy
book - meaning you do step A, then step B and then step C,
if doing those things in order, you will end up in the
money. It's more of a diary or journal of key hands that
he was involved in during the tournament and how he played
them. For example, he talks about playing Ace/King in
different situations. I think some books just plainly
say to raise that hand preflop to filter out the junk
hands. If you happen to get called, bet (or raise) on
the flop if you hit your hand, if not, let it go. Gus
goes into better detail on what he plans to do with that
type of hand, what his reads are on the opposing player
(or players) in the hand with him and what he believes
what type of reaction he will get from the other players
before he commits any further action in the hand.
That's probably why I like the book and that it did not
take me that long to get through reading it. It really
gave me a picture of how he played through the tournament
and what went on in his mind during that time.
If you like the A, B, C's type of poker books, this one
ain't for you. But if you like to truly delve into the
mind of one of the world's best players (and probably
gambling degenerates, just kidding Gus) - this is probably
the book for you.
The Great Dane...
Not talking about the dog, but Gus Hansen's book called
"Every Hand Revealed". It's his book that came out last
year, detailing the hands he played (or hands he did
not play), on his way to winning the Aussie Millions in
2007.
I guess you could say, it's not your typical poker strategy
book - meaning you do step A, then step B and then step C,
if doing those things in order, you will end up in the
money. It's more of a diary or journal of key hands that
he was involved in during the tournament and how he played
them. For example, he talks about playing Ace/King in
different situations. I think some books just plainly
say to raise that hand preflop to filter out the junk
hands. If you happen to get called, bet (or raise) on
the flop if you hit your hand, if not, let it go. Gus
goes into better detail on what he plans to do with that
type of hand, what his reads are on the opposing player
(or players) in the hand with him and what he believes
what type of reaction he will get from the other players
before he commits any further action in the hand.
That's probably why I like the book and that it did not
take me that long to get through reading it. It really
gave me a picture of how he played through the tournament
and what went on in his mind during that time.
If you like the A, B, C's type of poker books, this one
ain't for you. But if you like to truly delve into the
mind of one of the world's best players (and probably
gambling degenerates, just kidding Gus) - this is probably
the book for you.
V-Day Weekend...
2/16/09
V-Day Weekend...
My girl came down from the Bay this weekend for Valentines
Day, on Friday. It feels great to see her after a what seems
a long 3 weeks of seeing her last in Vegas.
We had dinner at this Italian restaurant Onda, located at
the Mirage. It seemed like I didn't have to get reservations,
as they accomodated walk in customers at the time. But it is
better to be safe than sorry, especially during this weekend.
We both opted for their set Valentine's menu. We first
started with a salad and ravioli. The entree we both picked
was the ribeye steak. We only got thru about a third of it
each. Like true Filipinos, we got it boxed for baon later.
Dessert was a caramel like flan for me, she picked the
strawberry gelato with chocolate syrup and ligonberries.
Not a bad deal for a 3 course meal.
The atmosphere was a pleasant surprise. A slight clean Euro
bar entry area, which opened into their larger dinner area with
a Tuscan feel. There are a ton of restaurants in the Mirage,
so kudos to them for giving each of them a nice and different
architectural feel to all of them.
We weren't in the party mood, so we opted to watch "He's Not
That Into You" at the Brenden movie theatres at the Palms.
Pretty much my fave movie theatre on the Strip (and the only
one I've ever gone to in Vegas). I thought the movie was
pretty good - not essentially a chick flick, but a good
comedic relationship movie. It's funny, because the storyline
was chock full of truths, in different perspectives. I guess
you can really relate to movies when you've experienced the
same kind of things.
Anyway, I'll get back to chillin' with my lady at SB's...
Also got to think about my strategy going in to the Venetian
Deep Stack NLHE tourny I may play this upcoming week. Some
of the homies from the Bay will be coming in this week as well
to play. If I don't get to play, I'll probably put up some
money for somebody's buyin for a share if they happen to cash.
Got to get in the action somehow, hehe.
V-Day Weekend...
My girl came down from the Bay this weekend for Valentines
Day, on Friday. It feels great to see her after a what seems
a long 3 weeks of seeing her last in Vegas.
We had dinner at this Italian restaurant Onda, located at
the Mirage. It seemed like I didn't have to get reservations,
as they accomodated walk in customers at the time. But it is
better to be safe than sorry, especially during this weekend.
We both opted for their set Valentine's menu. We first
started with a salad and ravioli. The entree we both picked
was the ribeye steak. We only got thru about a third of it
each. Like true Filipinos, we got it boxed for baon later.
Dessert was a caramel like flan for me, she picked the
strawberry gelato with chocolate syrup and ligonberries.
Not a bad deal for a 3 course meal.
The atmosphere was a pleasant surprise. A slight clean Euro
bar entry area, which opened into their larger dinner area with
a Tuscan feel. There are a ton of restaurants in the Mirage,
so kudos to them for giving each of them a nice and different
architectural feel to all of them.
We weren't in the party mood, so we opted to watch "He's Not
That Into You" at the Brenden movie theatres at the Palms.
Pretty much my fave movie theatre on the Strip (and the only
one I've ever gone to in Vegas). I thought the movie was
pretty good - not essentially a chick flick, but a good
comedic relationship movie. It's funny, because the storyline
was chock full of truths, in different perspectives. I guess
you can really relate to movies when you've experienced the
same kind of things.
Anyway, I'll get back to chillin' with my lady at SB's...
Also got to think about my strategy going in to the Venetian
Deep Stack NLHE tourny I may play this upcoming week. Some
of the homies from the Bay will be coming in this week as well
to play. If I don't get to play, I'll probably put up some
money for somebody's buyin for a share if they happen to cash.
Got to get in the action somehow, hehe.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Basketball In The Bay...
2/13/08
Basketball In The Bay...
Through thick in thin, the only NBA Team I've been a fan of
are the Warriors. Lovin' it when Floyd was Sleepy, TMC was
runnin' thangs, and seeing our perennial drafts of the first
round fizzle out (re: Vonteego Cummings, where is he now?).
Oh yeah, I forgot some of the funky contracts we signed
players like Jason Caffey and Adonal Foyle to (but hey,
he will probably make a great diplomat or international
political figure in the future - when was the last time we
saw an diplomat lead the NBA in rebounds and blocks, hmmm?).
It was great seein' things pick up for the Warriors in the
last couple of years. Gettin' Baron Davis was a steal. He
made his time at Oracle, feel like the Showtime days of the
Lakers with Magic. Wow, so that's what a playoff atmosphere
feels like. I almost went a third of my life not knowin' if
the City would make it back to the postseason.
Then back to this season. What if Ellis was healthy at the
beginning of the season? What if Baron Davis stayed in the
Bay? I hate asking those questions to myself and my fellow
Warrior fans. But it has sure looked pretty good lately.
Some nice wins against West Coast playoff tier teams.
We can still win.
We will win.
Keep hope alive.
Basketball In The Bay...
Through thick in thin, the only NBA Team I've been a fan of
are the Warriors. Lovin' it when Floyd was Sleepy, TMC was
runnin' thangs, and seeing our perennial drafts of the first
round fizzle out (re: Vonteego Cummings, where is he now?).
Oh yeah, I forgot some of the funky contracts we signed
players like Jason Caffey and Adonal Foyle to (but hey,
he will probably make a great diplomat or international
political figure in the future - when was the last time we
saw an diplomat lead the NBA in rebounds and blocks, hmmm?).
It was great seein' things pick up for the Warriors in the
last couple of years. Gettin' Baron Davis was a steal. He
made his time at Oracle, feel like the Showtime days of the
Lakers with Magic. Wow, so that's what a playoff atmosphere
feels like. I almost went a third of my life not knowin' if
the City would make it back to the postseason.
Then back to this season. What if Ellis was healthy at the
beginning of the season? What if Baron Davis stayed in the
Bay? I hate asking those questions to myself and my fellow
Warrior fans. But it has sure looked pretty good lately.
Some nice wins against West Coast playoff tier teams.
We can still win.
We will win.
Keep hope alive.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Back In The Piker's Lane...
2/5/08
Back in the Piker's Lane...
Are you a Piker? Waiting for the whistle to blow, tellin'
you when to get off work...
Whew...work is not that mentally demanding, but clockin'
in day to day has some getting used to. Well, after
6 or 7 months of dealing with the green felt, it can be
a life change. Early retirement was not for me, hehe.
Being a contractor is not so bad for now. Being paid
every week, makes it a little easier on the wallet from
Uncle Sam.
Anyway, it's all good. I will save my UI for when I
really need it. Interacting with people at work, other
than poker degenerates seated around a leather and felt
bound oval table, can be reassuring in a social sense.
I still have that rapport with all walks of life. Does
that make sense? To me it does, I guess. Hehe. Maybe
that's what makes me a better than average poker player
(in my own mind, lol). A good sense of what people feel,
before they act. Hmmm, I guess poker is like life, huh?
I do miss playin' though. It's been a few weeks.
Starting to get withdrawal symptoms - I'm beginning to
shuffle chips in my sleep. The Venetian Deep Stack Series
is goin on now - but I may just have to wait until some of
the poker crew from the Bay is in town in a couple of
weeks. I'll have to do a couple of warm up tourny's in
the meantime. I guess, I haven't completely retired from
the poker life, hehe.
Back in the Piker's Lane...
Are you a Piker? Waiting for the whistle to blow, tellin'
you when to get off work...
Whew...work is not that mentally demanding, but clockin'
in day to day has some getting used to. Well, after
6 or 7 months of dealing with the green felt, it can be
a life change. Early retirement was not for me, hehe.
Being a contractor is not so bad for now. Being paid
every week, makes it a little easier on the wallet from
Uncle Sam.
Anyway, it's all good. I will save my UI for when I
really need it. Interacting with people at work, other
than poker degenerates seated around a leather and felt
bound oval table, can be reassuring in a social sense.
I still have that rapport with all walks of life. Does
that make sense? To me it does, I guess. Hehe. Maybe
that's what makes me a better than average poker player
(in my own mind, lol). A good sense of what people feel,
before they act. Hmmm, I guess poker is like life, huh?
I do miss playin' though. It's been a few weeks.
Starting to get withdrawal symptoms - I'm beginning to
shuffle chips in my sleep. The Venetian Deep Stack Series
is goin on now - but I may just have to wait until some of
the poker crew from the Bay is in town in a couple of
weeks. I'll have to do a couple of warm up tourny's in
the meantime. I guess, I haven't completely retired from
the poker life, hehe.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Back To The "True" Grind...
1/23/09
Back To The "True" Grind...
I guess that's what you can call it. I started sending
another round of resumes when I got back from the Bay,
after the New Year. I really felt that I needed to get
back in the work mode after a months of grindin' it out
on the felt.
So whattaya' know, after a week back in Vegas, I get a
new contracting gig at AAA Insurance. It's like herpes,
once you been in the insurance business, you might get
rid of the symptoms for a little while, but they always
come back. That's a little tongue in cheek, but hey sometimes
it hints at the truth.
It's all good though, the poker economy at brick and
mortar casinos have been mirroring what the economy has been
going through in this nation. Online sites are probably doing
alot better, as it has made playing poker much cheaper. You
know, you don't have to drive to a poker room (saves gas),
don't worry about getting ready (like takin' a shower and
getting dressed), don't have to worry about what you gonna'
eat (the fridge is probably within arms reach from your laptop,
as you go all in with your mouse), and the list may go on. I
just haven't really got into an online poker mode right now.
Don't get me wrong, I would never regret the decision I made
last year, leaving my job in the South Bay. I think the
hardest thing to deal with was being separated from family,
friends and my girl, back home.
Playing poker here, has enabled me to do other things than
just win money (albeit, it ain't not as much as I would want
to). It got me to think about what truly someone needs in
life. I had the ability to write out my thoughts more. Share
my story with anyone who feels they need time to waste while
droppin' a deuce (believe you me, reading during those times,
does relax you, lol)...
It's been slow here during the beginning of the week, so
having a job will at least cure some of the tediousness of
the week. And in these times, it always fine to have other
income streams at your disposal. Anyway, I'll still play to
win when the tourists come in during the weekends - hopefully
there are some fish to bait in the Obama age, hehe...
That might have been my problem, I think I may have had a
different style of playin' when I held a full time job. I
guess the luxury of having a guaranteed paycheck week to week,
makes you feel a little bit more "invincible" on the felt. If
you lose your buyin or go on a little cold spell, that other
income stream could hold you down. When you play without that
luxury, the chips on the table seem to look more like loaves
of bread, a dozen eggs, your utility bill money, gas
expenses - it's a calculated risk that could affect your life
even deeper.
Maybe that's it...Hmmm...I still have my bankroll intact,
but fear could be the reason, I dunno'. I'll have to gauge
my play in the next few months to see if that theory is correct.
I'll definitely need to take a break from the tournys until
February, once the Venetian Deep Stack and Cesar's Megastack
tournys start up. Some of the poker homies will be down from
the Bay, it'll be more fun to see a few more recognizable peeps
on the felt.
There's always sports betting, lol.
My thoughts for now...
Back To The "True" Grind...
I guess that's what you can call it. I started sending
another round of resumes when I got back from the Bay,
after the New Year. I really felt that I needed to get
back in the work mode after a months of grindin' it out
on the felt.
So whattaya' know, after a week back in Vegas, I get a
new contracting gig at AAA Insurance. It's like herpes,
once you been in the insurance business, you might get
rid of the symptoms for a little while, but they always
come back. That's a little tongue in cheek, but hey sometimes
it hints at the truth.
It's all good though, the poker economy at brick and
mortar casinos have been mirroring what the economy has been
going through in this nation. Online sites are probably doing
alot better, as it has made playing poker much cheaper. You
know, you don't have to drive to a poker room (saves gas),
don't worry about getting ready (like takin' a shower and
getting dressed), don't have to worry about what you gonna'
eat (the fridge is probably within arms reach from your laptop,
as you go all in with your mouse), and the list may go on. I
just haven't really got into an online poker mode right now.
Don't get me wrong, I would never regret the decision I made
last year, leaving my job in the South Bay. I think the
hardest thing to deal with was being separated from family,
friends and my girl, back home.
Playing poker here, has enabled me to do other things than
just win money (albeit, it ain't not as much as I would want
to). It got me to think about what truly someone needs in
life. I had the ability to write out my thoughts more. Share
my story with anyone who feels they need time to waste while
droppin' a deuce (believe you me, reading during those times,
does relax you, lol)...
It's been slow here during the beginning of the week, so
having a job will at least cure some of the tediousness of
the week. And in these times, it always fine to have other
income streams at your disposal. Anyway, I'll still play to
win when the tourists come in during the weekends - hopefully
there are some fish to bait in the Obama age, hehe...
That might have been my problem, I think I may have had a
different style of playin' when I held a full time job. I
guess the luxury of having a guaranteed paycheck week to week,
makes you feel a little bit more "invincible" on the felt. If
you lose your buyin or go on a little cold spell, that other
income stream could hold you down. When you play without that
luxury, the chips on the table seem to look more like loaves
of bread, a dozen eggs, your utility bill money, gas
expenses - it's a calculated risk that could affect your life
even deeper.
Maybe that's it...Hmmm...I still have my bankroll intact,
but fear could be the reason, I dunno'. I'll have to gauge
my play in the next few months to see if that theory is correct.
I'll definitely need to take a break from the tournys until
February, once the Venetian Deep Stack and Cesar's Megastack
tournys start up. Some of the poker homies will be down from
the Bay, it'll be more fun to see a few more recognizable peeps
on the felt.
There's always sports betting, lol.
My thoughts for now...
Monday, January 19, 2009
On Any Given Sunday, Part Deux...
1/18/09
On Any Given Sunday, Part Deux...
I wasn't even feeling like betting the football games this
Sunday. I mean, the small bets do add a bit of excitement
when watchin' the games on the tube. I was just gonna' hook
up at my buddy Ed's house to watch the games and maybe get
some grub later.
Anyway, I was sittin' in the barber's chair at Sportclips,
when I got a call from Ed asking me if I was going to put
a bet on the games today. I told him that I looked the lines
over on the games and really could not make a decision on what
parlay combo to bet on. I told him that I really didn't feel
like putting any money for today. We discussed it for a couple
of minutes and just told him that if he decided to make a bet,
I would be good for twenty, since I owed him a twenty anyway.
I was still a little up on the football bets too.
About five minutes later, I got a call back from Ed. He told
me that he contacted his cousin who was in from out of town
to put a bet down form Ed and I at twenty bucks each. Ed
chose to go with Arizona at +3 (underdogs at home), the
over points 47 total (Philly vs. AZ), Pittsburgh -6 and the
over points 34.5 (Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore). This parlay
bet would gross $260.00, if he hit all the bets. Not
bad for a twenty dollar bet. It does make it a little more
exciting to watch the games, hehe...
I got to Ed's house right before kickoff of the Philly vs.
AZ game. The first half was great. At halftime the score
was AZ 24 to Philly 6. Good point pace and AZ was killing
the spread. Just need to them to keep up the same pace and
we got this game. If you watched it, Philly started to come
back and snatched the lead 25 to 24. This actually was good
for us, we covered the over points and the spread still
favored AZ, but there was still more time to go. Luckily,
AZ scored the final touchdown and two point conversion at
AZ 32 to Philly 25. The clock ran out and half of our bet
was still alive.
We still had to sweat the Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore game.
And what a sweat it was, hehe.
At halftime it was Pittsburgh 13 to Baltimore 7. The
overpoints were on a good pace, but the spread was a tie at
this point. Hopefully there would be more scoring by both
teams in the next half, with Pittsburgh leading the way.
The second half of this game was pure sweat again, with
Pittsburgh just scoring 3 points in the 3rd quarter and
Baltimore scoring zilch! Jesus, sweatin' twenty bucks.
That's about 18 Jack in the Box sandwiches, lol!
Well, to make a long story short - my prediction of
Pittsburgh 23 to Baltimore 14 came to fruition. After
Baltimore scored a touchdown halfway through the 4th
quarter, they had the ball again with about five minutes
to go. I shouted at the TV screen for the Pittsburgh
Defense to make a play against Flacco. Whattaya' know,
I guess Polamolu musta' heard me and picked off a pass
from Flacco and zigzagged into the endzone for a touchdown,
whoohoo!!!
The only thing I didn't like about that was it still gave
Baltimore about 4 minutes to run another series to try to
score. The Pitt lead was nine points and was covering the
spread. The Pitt Offense got the ball back again, but
still could not manage another first down.
Then the play happened. Baltimore running back Magahee
caught a pass with about three and a half minutes left in
the game. He received a nasty hit and fumbled the ball.
It was pretty bad. He had to leave the field in a gurney.
One thing about this game, I don't like seeing anyone
get hurt like that. My prayers out out to him and his
family.
That play gave the ball back to the Pitt Offense.
Still, Pitt could not manage to make another first down.
The ball went back to the Baltimore Offense with about
two minutes to go. Luckily, Flacco was intercepted with
about a minute and a half to go. The Steelers just need
to run out clock. Which they did to preserve their lead
at 23 to 14, covering the spread and the overpoints as
well...
So anyway, the football parlay bet won.
It's not bad gettin' paid to watch football. It would be
great every Sunday, lol...
I forgot to say...Leetz came into town this weekend for
his friend's birthday. Did a couple of Non Vegas things.
Met up with some of his friends from the Bay and went to
M and M Soul Food (got the smothered bbq ribs with yams,
red beans/rice, cornbread pancakes and washed it down
with Red Koolaid - dang, I had to water it down - it was
pure sugar water, hehe). After that, checked out the
movie Notorious. And no, it was not a Man Date!!!
My girl has nothing to worry about, lol...
Next stop, Hard Rock Casino NLHE tourny on MLK Day.
I see mountains of chips, I see mountains of chips,
I see mountains of chips.
The power of positive thinking...It doesn't hurt, ayt.
On Any Given Sunday, Part Deux...
I wasn't even feeling like betting the football games this
Sunday. I mean, the small bets do add a bit of excitement
when watchin' the games on the tube. I was just gonna' hook
up at my buddy Ed's house to watch the games and maybe get
some grub later.
Anyway, I was sittin' in the barber's chair at Sportclips,
when I got a call from Ed asking me if I was going to put
a bet on the games today. I told him that I looked the lines
over on the games and really could not make a decision on what
parlay combo to bet on. I told him that I really didn't feel
like putting any money for today. We discussed it for a couple
of minutes and just told him that if he decided to make a bet,
I would be good for twenty, since I owed him a twenty anyway.
I was still a little up on the football bets too.
About five minutes later, I got a call back from Ed. He told
me that he contacted his cousin who was in from out of town
to put a bet down form Ed and I at twenty bucks each. Ed
chose to go with Arizona at +3 (underdogs at home), the
over points 47 total (Philly vs. AZ), Pittsburgh -6 and the
over points 34.5 (Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore). This parlay
bet would gross $260.00, if he hit all the bets. Not
bad for a twenty dollar bet. It does make it a little more
exciting to watch the games, hehe...
I got to Ed's house right before kickoff of the Philly vs.
AZ game. The first half was great. At halftime the score
was AZ 24 to Philly 6. Good point pace and AZ was killing
the spread. Just need to them to keep up the same pace and
we got this game. If you watched it, Philly started to come
back and snatched the lead 25 to 24. This actually was good
for us, we covered the over points and the spread still
favored AZ, but there was still more time to go. Luckily,
AZ scored the final touchdown and two point conversion at
AZ 32 to Philly 25. The clock ran out and half of our bet
was still alive.
We still had to sweat the Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore game.
And what a sweat it was, hehe.
At halftime it was Pittsburgh 13 to Baltimore 7. The
overpoints were on a good pace, but the spread was a tie at
this point. Hopefully there would be more scoring by both
teams in the next half, with Pittsburgh leading the way.
The second half of this game was pure sweat again, with
Pittsburgh just scoring 3 points in the 3rd quarter and
Baltimore scoring zilch! Jesus, sweatin' twenty bucks.
That's about 18 Jack in the Box sandwiches, lol!
Well, to make a long story short - my prediction of
Pittsburgh 23 to Baltimore 14 came to fruition. After
Baltimore scored a touchdown halfway through the 4th
quarter, they had the ball again with about five minutes
to go. I shouted at the TV screen for the Pittsburgh
Defense to make a play against Flacco. Whattaya' know,
I guess Polamolu musta' heard me and picked off a pass
from Flacco and zigzagged into the endzone for a touchdown,
whoohoo!!!
The only thing I didn't like about that was it still gave
Baltimore about 4 minutes to run another series to try to
score. The Pitt lead was nine points and was covering the
spread. The Pitt Offense got the ball back again, but
still could not manage another first down.
Then the play happened. Baltimore running back Magahee
caught a pass with about three and a half minutes left in
the game. He received a nasty hit and fumbled the ball.
It was pretty bad. He had to leave the field in a gurney.
One thing about this game, I don't like seeing anyone
get hurt like that. My prayers out out to him and his
family.
That play gave the ball back to the Pitt Offense.
Still, Pitt could not manage to make another first down.
The ball went back to the Baltimore Offense with about
two minutes to go. Luckily, Flacco was intercepted with
about a minute and a half to go. The Steelers just need
to run out clock. Which they did to preserve their lead
at 23 to 14, covering the spread and the overpoints as
well...
So anyway, the football parlay bet won.
It's not bad gettin' paid to watch football. It would be
great every Sunday, lol...
I forgot to say...Leetz came into town this weekend for
his friend's birthday. Did a couple of Non Vegas things.
Met up with some of his friends from the Bay and went to
M and M Soul Food (got the smothered bbq ribs with yams,
red beans/rice, cornbread pancakes and washed it down
with Red Koolaid - dang, I had to water it down - it was
pure sugar water, hehe). After that, checked out the
movie Notorious. And no, it was not a Man Date!!!
My girl has nothing to worry about, lol...
Next stop, Hard Rock Casino NLHE tourny on MLK Day.
I see mountains of chips, I see mountains of chips,
I see mountains of chips.
The power of positive thinking...It doesn't hurt, ayt.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Again Close, But No Cigar...
1/9/09
Again Close, But No Cigar...
Today I entered a NLHE tourny at Sahara which started out with 25
players.In short, I was the bubble boy at 6th place, which did
not pay. Dang...
I actually had to rebuy early in the tournament. In this hand, I
hit a King high flush on the turn and bet about a third of the
pot. Another guy reraised about 3 times the pot. I thought to
myself, if he hit the nut flush (the Ace high flush), wouldn't
he want to just call my bet and try to milk me. I kinda felt he
may have hit a set or was on a draw to the nut flush, so I decided
to go all in which would put him all in as well. Well, he called
and showed that he hit the nut flush as well. Not my day today.
It was actually the second hand of the tournament for me.
Oh well...
After my rebuy, I worked my stack up to above average throughout
until we got to the final table. I had to put my stack all in a
few times and was able to outlast a few of the other players.
My bustout hand was when I went all in in the cutoff with pocket
Fours. The button called with Ace/King OS and the big blind
called with Ace/King OS, as well. That's about the best scenario
for me here, as the other 2 players shared cards, which lessened
their outs. Unfortunately for me the door card was a King, which
paired both players. The turn and river failed to give me another
Four, so I was out in 6th place. The bad thing is that I just
busted right out of the money.
Oh well...hehe...
My basketball parlay bet hit 4 out of 5 as well...Damn Lakers
Defense! (meaning the lack of it)...
Again close, but no cigar...
At least there's football this weekend, lol...
Again Close, But No Cigar...
Today I entered a NLHE tourny at Sahara which started out with 25
players.In short, I was the bubble boy at 6th place, which did
not pay. Dang...
I actually had to rebuy early in the tournament. In this hand, I
hit a King high flush on the turn and bet about a third of the
pot. Another guy reraised about 3 times the pot. I thought to
myself, if he hit the nut flush (the Ace high flush), wouldn't
he want to just call my bet and try to milk me. I kinda felt he
may have hit a set or was on a draw to the nut flush, so I decided
to go all in which would put him all in as well. Well, he called
and showed that he hit the nut flush as well. Not my day today.
It was actually the second hand of the tournament for me.
Oh well...
After my rebuy, I worked my stack up to above average throughout
until we got to the final table. I had to put my stack all in a
few times and was able to outlast a few of the other players.
My bustout hand was when I went all in in the cutoff with pocket
Fours. The button called with Ace/King OS and the big blind
called with Ace/King OS, as well. That's about the best scenario
for me here, as the other 2 players shared cards, which lessened
their outs. Unfortunately for me the door card was a King, which
paired both players. The turn and river failed to give me another
Four, so I was out in 6th place. The bad thing is that I just
busted right out of the money.
Oh well...hehe...
My basketball parlay bet hit 4 out of 5 as well...Damn Lakers
Defense! (meaning the lack of it)...
Again close, but no cigar...
At least there's football this weekend, lol...
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Post Holiday Blues...
1/5/08
Post Holiday Blues...
Right now, I'm about 30,000 feet up in the air, on my flight
back to Vegas. Kinda' wishin' that my flight was cancelled and
that I would be stuck in the Bay for another day. But then,
I would wish that again the next day, and the feeling would
never stop. It's hard, I'm already missing my family, my girl
and friends back home.
I do have to go back to work too I guess, lol...
Well, I probably won't step into a casino until Thursday or
Friday. The beginning of the week is slow on the green felt,
when the tourists go home and the locals chill until the fish
fly back at the end of the week. Is that an analogy?
We'll have to see what the new year brings. Hopefully a rush of
cards for more checks in the win column. Maybe a new business
plan may be in the works as well. I get tired of grindin' out
the chips sometimes.
Havin' a quick flight to Vegas, flying over the ridge into the
city at 50 minutes on the dot. Great, turbulence - will shut
off the laptop for now...
I need to get at least a part time gig as well. Helping out my
dad manage his properties in Vegas takes some time out of the
monotony of the week, but it can only do so much. Maybe I can
get a gig at the new City Center on the Strip. It would certainly
help out to have some steady money comin' on the side, but also
with getting more friends and contacts out in the network. I'll
never know if I need a free steak dinner at Nine or Blue Man
Group tickets, ya' know...With this economy, it can also be about
the trading and bartering of certain effects. And I miss getting
health insurance for free - it is a luxury that I have to pay
for, hehe...
Okay, now I'm back home on solid ground.
Some of the pics' from the last week:
Magic Mountain and some other random LA pics...
Nuttin' like fried chicken and waffles!
Hot dogs are an art form at Pinks...
New Years Celebrities...
The trip seemed too short...
Anyway, see y'all on the green felt...
Post Holiday Blues...
Right now, I'm about 30,000 feet up in the air, on my flight
back to Vegas. Kinda' wishin' that my flight was cancelled and
that I would be stuck in the Bay for another day. But then,
I would wish that again the next day, and the feeling would
never stop. It's hard, I'm already missing my family, my girl
and friends back home.
I do have to go back to work too I guess, lol...
Well, I probably won't step into a casino until Thursday or
Friday. The beginning of the week is slow on the green felt,
when the tourists go home and the locals chill until the fish
fly back at the end of the week. Is that an analogy?
We'll have to see what the new year brings. Hopefully a rush of
cards for more checks in the win column. Maybe a new business
plan may be in the works as well. I get tired of grindin' out
the chips sometimes.
Havin' a quick flight to Vegas, flying over the ridge into the
city at 50 minutes on the dot. Great, turbulence - will shut
off the laptop for now...
I need to get at least a part time gig as well. Helping out my
dad manage his properties in Vegas takes some time out of the
monotony of the week, but it can only do so much. Maybe I can
get a gig at the new City Center on the Strip. It would certainly
help out to have some steady money comin' on the side, but also
with getting more friends and contacts out in the network. I'll
never know if I need a free steak dinner at Nine or Blue Man
Group tickets, ya' know...With this economy, it can also be about
the trading and bartering of certain effects. And I miss getting
health insurance for free - it is a luxury that I have to pay
for, hehe...
Okay, now I'm back home on solid ground.
Some of the pics' from the last week:
Magic Mountain and some other random LA pics...
Nuttin' like fried chicken and waffles!
Hot dogs are an art form at Pinks...
New Years Celebrities...
The trip seemed too short...
Anyway, see y'all on the green felt...
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