Nines, Suck: Part II...

10/27/08

Nines, Suck: Part II

Well, today I got to enter the freroll tournament at Caesar's
to win a seat into their Main Event. The casino added 2
more $10,000.00 seats, for a total of 12 seats to be won.

Not a bad overlay for the hours I put in the last week,
considering I made an actual profit from that time. I
registered the day before, finding out that I was actually
logged in for 50 hours of total live play. I guess I didn't
need to go in to play Saturday night.

Anyway, the tournament started out with 398 players. You
started out with $2,500.00 in chips. The blind levels
changed every 30 minutes, with the starting level of $25/25.
This was not a bad structure, considering this was a
freeroll.

One key hand I had had was when I called with Jack/Ten of
Hearts mid position. I called the bet of $50.00. The
dealer button player called, small blind player called and
the big blind player raised to $150.00. I called the
additional $100.00 (into a pot of $300.00), I figured I was
behind in the hand, but I could flop a monster with this
hand, plus I had position on the big blind player. The
other players folded behind me. The dealer dealt out a
King of Hearts, Three of Hearts and a Jack of Diamonds.
This was not a bad flop for me, I had a pair of Jacks, plus
the flush draw. The big blind player checked, I then put
out a bet of $200.00 to see where I was at in the hand.
The big blind player raised it to $500.00 total. The pot
now had a total of $1,100.00. A pretty good price for me
to call the additional $300.00, for the flush draw (An
additional Ten or Jack could be good cards for me, unless
he has three Kings already). Anyway, I called the
additional raise. The dealer dealt out a King of Spades
on the turn. The big blind player checked and I checked as
well. The river was dealt a Two of Spades. The big blind
player bet out $500.00 into a $1,400.00 pot, a small
"call me" bet. I decided to fold there, he probably had
at least Three Kings. Anyway, the big blind player said
that he got a "monster hand" on the turn. He might have
actually had Quad Kings. Either way, I was behind in the
hand. I did not want to donk off more chips to this guy.

I found myself on the short stack after one level of play
already. I needed to tighten up again. I just don't know
how some peeps get these large chip stacks early. Well,
I know, there is some luck involved, hehe.

I actually doubled up in the 2nd blind level, when I raised
all in over the top of a UTG raiser with Ace/Queen OS.
The UTG player was the only one who called me and he tabled
Ace/Nine of Diamonds. Wow, I was going to wait for the
dealer to peel off a Nine out the door. The dealer dealt
out a Queen of Hearts, Seven of Hearts and Two of Spades.
I should win this, unless the turn and river gets funny.
The dealer dealt out a Seven of Spades on the on the turn
and a Six of Clubs on the river. Cool, back up to $2,900.00
in chips. Blinds were $50/100 at this level. I got some
breathing room now.

I made it to the $200/400 blind level, with about $4,200.00
in chips. I went all in with Ace/Jack OS in the cutoff
and was called by the big blind player, who had King/Queen
OS. I had the lead in the hand - can't complain, I just hope
the winning percentages hold up. I caught a Jack on the
flop, but of course the river was dealt a Queen. The other
player outlucked me. I now had about $1,400.00 in chips.

The next level of blinds started at $300/600. I still had
$1,200.00. I found Three/Four of Hearts in mid position and
decided to go with the hand. I figured, if I get called, my
hand would be live (meaning that the other player/s would not
have the same cards I would be holding). I went all in with it,
as was called by only the dealer button player, who held
pocket Tens (Diamond/Spade). I took off my Ipod and sunglasses
and was ready to take a walk out the poker room. What do you
know, the dealer dealt out a Six, Nine and Eight of all
Hearts - I got a flush on the flop! Dang, that was lucky.
The dealer button stared down at his card and again confirmed
that he did not have a Heart to redraw to a better flush.
The turn and river were dealt non Heart Kings. What a crazy
hand.

I managed to put another bad beat on another player during
this level. I had about $3,200.00 in chips at this time and
stared down at Seven/Nine OS. I again decided to go all in,
thinking I was live, and I still had some fold equity against
the other players. The player to my immediate right also
went all in with about $4,200.00 in chips. Man, I just ran
into a big hand again. The other players folded and we were
heads up. He tabled his hand, which was of course pocket
Kings. I need help. The dealer dealt out Seven of Spades,
Ten of Diamonds and a Jack of Hearts. Wow, now I need another
Seven, Nine or Eight to win. The turn was dealt a Nine of
Clubs. Two pair now, just need to fade a King, Queen, Jack,
or Ten on the river. Again the gods found in my favor as the
river was dealt a Six of Clubs. Wheeheehee!!!. I doubled up
again, but still need to get more chips.

The next blind level of $400/800 was the fateful one though.
I folded out the first 3 hands in this level. My fourth hand
in I found Eight/Nine of Hearts. I had about $3,700.00 in
chips at the time. I thought it was now or never, and pushed
all in. The small blind and big blind players had called my
all in. They still had chips behind to bet. The flop was
dealt Queen of Hearts, Four of Diamonds and Eight of Diamonds.
The small blind player checked and the big blind player went
all in. I knew I was dead, but I had outs to win (hopefully
my additional Eights and Nines were still live). The small
blind player folded. The big blind player tabled his hand,
which was a pair of Nines. Now I need another Eight on the
turn and/or river. The dealer dealt out a Six of Diamonds
on the turn - hurry up, just deal out that river. The river
then fell a Ten of Hearts. No, dice...

I busted out at about 117th out of 398 players. Not bad, but
they only gave the $10,000.00 seats until you made it to the
last 12 players. My prize amount was the same at 398th place,
which was zilch.

It's all good - I kind of surprised myself to last that long
without even seeing a premium pair in the tournament. Plus,
again it was a free tourny.

Putting those bad beats on a couple of hands, was pretty good
entertainment though - sorry to those players, but it is
better to be lucky than good, hehe...

I just hate the walk of shame, when you bust out of a tournament.
You say your good lucks to the other players, when you wish
you were still mixing it up at the table.

Poker Sucks!!! Yeah right, at the bust out, that was my exact
feeling, lol...

Nines, Suck...

10/24/08

Nines, Suck...

On the heels of a successful past couple of days of poker,
Yesterday, I went back to Caesar's to play some some cash
and enter their 7pm NLHE tournament.

Today was not a good day in my poker life. Things could
have been worse. I could have been shot in the poker room,
but today, that did not happen to happen, lol...I had to
settle for losing some of the capital.

I started at a $1/3 No Limit Holdem table and cashed in
for $300.00. I play for approximately 2 uneventful hours,
where I lost about half of my starting stack. Most of it
went in the pot, when I doubled up another guy when we
both hit three Sevens on the board and I had a lower
kicker. He had paired his kicker on the river. Why did
I play Nine/Seven of Spades? Well, I was on the dealer
button after 2 other players limped in. The hand could
be a good hand when it hits the board pretty hard. The
flop was dealt out with two Sevens and a Jack. The small
blind and big blind players checked. The middle position
player bet out $10.00 bucks into a $15.00.00 pot. The
cutoff player folded, I called and the other players
behind me folded. The turn card came an Ace. There
was no flush draw and a harmless straight draw with the
Ace and Jack on the board. The middle position player
then bet out $35.00 bucks (he had about $65.00 bucks left
behind). I put him on a two pair of Jacks and Sevens.
I really didn't think he could have the other Seven.
I reraised him all in and he immediately called. He
flipped up Queen/Seven OS - damn, he did have the other
Seven. The river paired his Queen for a full house.

Again, why did I play that cooler hand....?

I played a little bit longer and entered the 7 pm NLHE
tournament. The buy in was for $200.00 bucks and had
similar blind structures to the other Caesar's poker
tournaments. You started off with $6,000.00 in chips.

Early in the tournament, I picked up pocket Aces (both
red). The dealer button player raised the bet to
$175.00 (blinds were still $25/50). The small blind
folded and looked down at my cards. I reraised him to
$500.00 total. The dealer button player just smooth
called. The pot now held $1,025.00, before the flop.
The dealer dealt out a Jack of Spades, Nine of Spades
and an Eight of Diamonds. I thought to myself, "did he
flop a set of Jacks?"...I bet out $1,000.00 and he then
reraised me another $1,000.00. The turn came a Five
of Hearts. I checked, I was sure he made a set of Jacks.
The dealer button player went all in and I went into the
tank. I had about $3,400.00 left in chips and he had me
covered. If I call and lose, I will be out of the
tournament after ten minutes. I just decided to fold in
that spot, as I still had chips left. I even folded my
hand faceup and tossed them to the dealer. The dealer
button player said, "Good fold, I had a set". He didn't
show it, but I had a hankering that he had me beat.
It was too early in the tournament to go all in with a
pair of Aces and not the "nuts".

During the $400/800 blind level, I found myself with
pocket Tens on the dealer button. There were 2 limpers
in front of me including the small and big blind players.
I told myself now or never and pushed all in with $4,700.00
in chips. The small and big blind players immediately
folded. The UTG player who limped had me outstacked and
asked for my chip count. He took out some chips and
just called. The player two spots to my right folded
and I was heads up with the UTG player. I asked him if
I ran into Aces, he said no, and he tabled Ace/Jack OS.
Man, if he was gonna play that, why didn't he raise. I was
probably gonna go all in anyway. Anyway, I called out
for a Ten to be flopped out and I got my wish when the
dealer dealt out Ten of Hearts, 8 of Diamonds and Queen
of Hearts. Dang, need to fade four Kings now. Luckily
the dealer dealt a Queen of Clubs to give me a full house.
The UTG Player was drawing dead. The river was dealt an
Eight of Clubs. Wow, I usually don't win those races, lol.
But that's what I always say - I've put beats on other
players as well.

I was able to survive until the blind level of $600/1,200.
I had been grinding all tournament long and had about
$6,800.00 in chips at the time. There was also an
additional $100.00 ante from each player in the pot.
The pot was laying $2,800.00 in chips before any betting.
There were two limpers in before me, where I was sitting
two seats from the button with Ace/Nine OS. I felt that
these limpers were probably coming in with some marginal
hands and would fold to a significant raise. Having the
Ace in my hand, I figured that no one else would have one
in their hand. I decided to push all in and hope for the
best. The cutoff seat folded and the dealer button player
went all in over the top of me. I said, "What did I run
into?". The dealer button player said, "The biggest hand",
which he shouldn't have done, as there were 4 other players
to act behind him. Dang, I thought he must have Aces.
Sure enough the other 4 players folded and we were heads up.
I tabled my hand, then the dealer button player put his
hand up on the table, which was of course pocket Aces.
The flop ran out Eight of Clubs, Seven of Clubs and Eight
of Spades. I need runner, runner Nines, or straight cards
to come out. The turn card was a Three of Diamonds, which
sealed my loss. The river card was an uneventful Jack of
Diamonds.

I should have really put more thought into the hand before
pushing. The fact that there were two limpers ahead of me,
should have given me a sign that there were players that
may call a raise. They might have limped in with a big
hand and were hoping for a raise from another player. I
forgot my other rule of going all in with at least Ace/King
or a made hand (a good pair). Or at least a suited
connector that could play against a high pair or high
Ace hand. Well, it can be a learning process at times.

Well, at least I got to put 5.5 hours toward the freeroll.
I was thinking of playing more, but just didn't not have
the desire to grind out more poker that day.

I will not play any hand with a Nine in it, unless it is
a pair of Nines. Nines, suck...lol...

Yum, Yum, Jack in the Box Chicken Sandwiches...

10/23/08

Yum, Yum, Jack in the Box Chicken Sandwiches
and Hump Day Redeaux...

I went back to Caesar's to get some hours in to try to
reach that attainable 40 hour mark by next Monday. I
cashed in $500.00 bucks into one of the $1/3 No Limit Holdem
games there. A very non productive 4 hours passed and
was down about $70.00 bucks from my initial buyin. Those
are the swings of the game, which I should know by now.
Which is not a big swing - I'm still beating the Dow, hehe.
My only discontent was the fight I had inside of trying
to be disciplined enough to play my game.

I felt that this would be a grinding session, so I decided
to play in the 1100 pm NLHE tournament. The buyin was for
$120.00 and you would get $2,500.00 in chips. This was not
the deepstack tournaments that I have come to like at Caesar's
or Orleans for that matter, but I thought I needed a change of
pace for the night. At least the blind levels changed at
every 30 minutes, so you didn't have to really double up
until the 3rd level of blinds. If I busted out early,
I could still play some more cash games in the main poker
room.

32 players eventually signed up to play the tourny. I even
came on a little late in the first level, as you could buy in
to the tournament any time during the first 30 minutes.
The tourny would pay the top 3 finishers. I think it was
about $1,600.00 for first, $930.00 for second and $620.00 for
third. There was about $3,104.00 in the pot. The money spots
are not restricted, as deals can always be made at the final
table.

That should give you an idea of what happened later, to my
delight...hehe...

Anyway, my first hand in on the big blind turned out to be
Ace/King OS. There were 3 other callers, before I actually
saw my hand. The table seemed pretty casual, so I blurted
out that I had a good hand and then raised it to $200.00
total (blinds were $25/50 at the time). I got two callers
and a fold. The dealer flopped Ace of Clubs, Five of
Clubs and a Nine of Diamonds. The small blind player
checked and the UTG player started to talk about how I
should have bet more so he could have folded. I chuckled
and put out a bet of $500.00. The UTG and small blind
players folded. I then decided to show my hand to the
table. I want to show the table a certain image right
away sometimes. Especially in that situation, where I
came in late to the table.

Again, I trucked along without getting into any trouble and
found myself at the final table, meaning the last nine
players (no matter how many players were in the tournament,
I always call the final 9 players - final table). We still
had to play for the last 3 money spots, unless we made
a deal. I probably would not have minded to chop the pot
at that point, as each player could gross about $345.00
if we all agreed to do that. I would be happy to parley
that cash into another tournament or cash game. Don't get
me wrong, I play for first all the time - but it sucks
to bust out on the money bubble with nothing to show for it.
I play poker to make money. You know what I'm sayin'?

I was glad to get the hands I went all in with not get
outlucked, meaning that the best hand would win after all
the cards were dealt. I did get pair of Kings twice and
Aces once, during my play at the final table. Got calls
from Ace/Jack twice and Ace/rag once - the best hand
won each time. I was expecting a suckout on the river
or something.

When it got to sixhanded, a couple of players and I again
suggested a chop of the pot at about $500.00 apiece.
A good overlay for 3 hours of play at the time. This
Vietnamese female player, kept on saying that she wanted
to play for first - I really didn't care either way, just
want to bring up the chop issue, so everyone is a winner.
There can be a lot of variance at the higher blind levels,
so you can be forced to go all in with any random hand.
This turns it into a luckfest - which is a part of the
game.

I made it to the final four players, which was the dreaded
money bubble. 4th place would not make any money. 3 of
us again suggested a chop of the money at about $775.00
each - the only dissenter being the Vietnamese female
player. She kept on going that "this is good practice"
for everyone, when we are ready to player bigger tournaments.
P'shah biatch - I hope you bust out 4th then, hehe...

I played even more disciplined at that point, as I did
not pick up any good hands during that time. The dissenting
player was playing pretty crazy and I thought in time, she
would eventually bust out. She was actually chip leader
from time to time, but we all traded chips equally
during that last blind level. I could not get any cards to
call her all in bets. She finally was called by the small
blind player (older white lady, who was chip leader at
that point), when she went all in with Jack/Nine OS in the
big blind. The small blind player called with pocket Sixes.
Fortunately, the big blind player, I'll call her Miss
Dissenter - did not get any help from the board. She got
up and left without saying anything. I told her "Good
Game", and she had no reaction. Well, she actually had
a look on her face of regret that she bubbled. F-U then
kid!, hehe...

Right after she left the tourny room, the three of us final
money table players agreed to chop the pot equally. I was
actually about even with one player, with the older white
lady was the chip leader. She had no trouble splitting the
pot equally among us. That's cool, I usually would do the
same, unless I was a clear dominant chip leader. I think
we were all kind of happy that Miss Dissenter did not agree
to a chop and she did not make any money. After our chop,
we got about $1,034.00 each.

After we got our money at the cashiers cage, we gave our tips
to the dealers and I was off for the work day, lol...

Oh yeah, I got about 7.5 hour hours in today, so I will
still need about 23 more hours and change to qualify for the
freeroll.

I also think I have found a pattern of winning - every time
I eat Jack in the Crack Chicken Dolla' Sandwiches, I make
the money in tournaments. Don't try this at home, alright?
Or was it because it was Hump Day? Hmmm...

30.75 hours to go...

10/22/08

30.75 hours to go...


Shoot, I thought I had built up a few more hours of live
cash play at Caesar's. I put in about 9.25 hours today,
which means I still have to play 30.75 more hours by Monday
10/27/08. I need a total of 40 hours by then, to qualify
for that freeroll for one of the $10,000.00 seats into their
main event starting the next day. I believe they will be
giving out 10 seats during the freeroll. It's not a bad
overlay, unless you lose throughout the 40 hours of live
cash play. If you do lose, stop playing - yeah right...

Played $1/3 No Limit Holdem today. I cashed in for $300.00,
intending to play my game. Win or lose, I want to make sure
I play good. Please no cracking of my Aces, if I get them,
hehe. It was a pretty good day for me, I left the table
with $550.00 total, for a $250.00 profit for the day.



I just wish I had certain hands, when certain players stacked
off their chips with some pretty marginal all in bets preflop.

The hand I am talking about, went like this. I was under
the gun with Ace/Queen OS, so I raised it to $7.00 bucks.
It's a raise to basically build the pot. If I hit a
Queen or Ace on the flop, with rags, I would probably have
the best hand and can take it down with a modest best
of half the pot or close to the pot amount. If I don't
hit my hand, I can get away from it easily, as I have not
invested too much in the pot. Two people called behind
me and then it got to the small blind player. He put in
a reraise of up to $25.00 bucks. The big blind player
folded and I was next. I thought to myself, he has to
have Ace/King, a pair of either Jacks, Queens, or Kings.
A pair of Aces could also be a possibility. I paused
for a moment and decided to fold. Ace/Queen OS or suited
for that matter, is not a good hand to call a reraise
with. I believe I had him outstacked in chips, as I had
about $500.00 or so on the table and he had about $240.00
behind him after his raise. He could even have me beat
by any pair. I've seen him put big raises in with
mid pairs. I just didn't feel right to call and see a flop.
There was also 2 other people behind me in the hand that
still were to bet after me. If I had at least Ace/King,
I would make the call to see the flop.

Anyway, after I folded, the player after me had reraised
the small blind player's bet of $25.00 to $60.00 total.
The next player folded and suddenly the small blind player
went all in for the rest of his money, $240.00. I stood
up, like I always do when someone else is all in. I thought
to myself that these guys were facing off with a pair of
Kings and Aces. The other player immediately called the
all in bet. I then said, "I wonder who has Aces and Kings?".
Both players did not flip up their cards, as they are not
required to do that on a live cash poker game. There
was about $550.00 in the pot preflop. The dealer then
dealt out for first 3 cards. It came 2 of Hearts, King of
Spades and 4 of Diamonds. I then said, "It looks like
pair of Kings are good". Still, both players did not flip
up their cards. The dealer dealt out the turn card, which
was a 5 of Diamonds. Nothing from the players. The
dealer finally dealt out a Nine of Spades. The first
player flipped up his hand and said he had Trip Kings,
but tabled a pair of Tens. The small blind player looked
at the board and quietly folded. I then asked him what he
raised preflop with, he didn't say anything. I thought to
myself, did he reraise all in with Ace/Jack or a low
pair like Eights or something? The player with the pair
of Tens scooped the pot. He then rejoiced like he won a
bracelet at the WSOP. These guys played their hands pretty
bad.

Dang, these guys were willing to stack off all their money
on some mediocre hands. It was like they were playing
tournament style poker.

I just wished I had a hand against these guys during
my session. Well, I can't complain. I made a decent
profit for the day and put in some hours toward the
freeroll. I hope I see them later this week, lol...

I still have 30.75 hours to go...

Back to Vegas...

10/20/08

Back to Vegas...


Dang, must have forgotten that I booked my flight back to
Vegas, with a connection in Ontario, Ca. Two flights back
to Vegas! Woe is me, hehe...Need a speedball of Xanax and
a Heineken, to calm me down. Just kidding.

The flight from San Jose to Ontario was actually pretty
smooth. There was only slight turbulence when decreasing
our altitude above the smoggy skies of LA.

The weekend before was the GF's birthday. I hope she
was happy with what we were able to do last Saturday. It
was nothing crazy - just a day at the museum. Namely,
the Californa Academy of Sciences at Golden Gate Park,
San Francisco...

She's never been there, and I haven't been back there since
I was a kid. They have recently refurbished it and it was
reopened at the end of last month. It's kind of like our
West Coast version of the Natural History Museum of
the Smithsonian or like the one in "Night at the Museum"
(with Ben Stiller).

We had a late start Saturday and didn't make it to the
museum until after 3 pm. The place closes at 5 pm -
whoops...I purchased a yearly pass for her anyway, which
enables you to bring in one other guest for free, each time
you visit the museum. The daily ticket costs $24.95 per
adult anyway - 2 trips will equate to the yearly pass,
so why not buy the pass? Kind of a no brainer. SF Residents
also benefit with free weekends (but they can be crowded)
and Wachovia Wednesdays are free for everybody. An added
bonus is that the yearly pass is tax deductible as well.



I dig going to museums, even in my "old age". I guess I'll
always be the exploring kid at heart. Wow, I feel like
buying Legos and watching Raiders of the Lost Ark. "Ta-
Na-Na-Na, Na-Na-Na, Ta-Na-Na-Na, Na-Na-Na-Na-Na", ala
John Williams theme to my famed fedora wearin' hero...

Touched down in Ontario for about 25 minutes, with no
turbulence!

Waited for the plane to board with passengers, and now
we are back up in the air. Jeez...hehe..

Anyway, back to the museum. We only had about 2 hours
to check out the exhibits. I thought it was pretty
cool that the building retained some of it's "vintage"
architecture. They still had the alligator swamp
toward the middle of the museum. The area around it
retained some of the greek/roman columns of the prior
building. The exhibit itself still had the same brass
railings with seahorses that I remembered from back in
the day. What was kind of scary to me was that there
was a chalk white albino alligator right in the middle
of the swamp. I've never seen that before. That was
a trip, mayn. Well at least you could see the gator
comin' at you, if you were stuck down there. The gator
wouldn't be able to blend in the murkiness like a
fallen tree or floating log.



Couldn't get into the planetium or the rainforest.
There'll be next time - the purpose of getting the
yearly pass. It'll be good for the GF to take one of
her nieces or nephew for another jaunt to the museum
as well.

We mainly strolled into the aquarium portion of the
museum. What, no sharks? The large sea snails had
also tripped me out - I would not want that swimming
toward me. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't want
alot of what I saw at the aquarium swimming at me.
There are alot of fish that look like the alien from
"Aliens" - you know, not the large adult ones, but the
ones that incubate in peoples' gut area and then pop out
suddenly to incubate in others. Why do I want to get my
scuba license in the PI? Probably because it's cheap,
which is no excuse to get it. But I'm adventuresome,
so why not?

Anyway, it seemed like the GF had enjoyed our day at
the CAS. After we made our way up the Great Highway
to eat dinner at the Beach Chalet (just before Cliff
House).

We started out with appetizers consisting of Ahi Tuna
Tartare and Phyllo Wrapped Brie. For dinner, she had
Pan Roasted Chicken and I had Caesar Salad with Fried
Calamari. I love her face when she enjoys the food.
Ooh, I picked a good place. I'll pat myself on the back
and my tummy (well, her tummy).

Dessert was to be found in a drive into the city. I was
pretty stuffed, so we got her scoop of Kahlua Mocha Cream,
dipped in chocolate and in a waffle cone. Where else, but
Mitchell's Ice Cream...

http://www.mitchellsicecream.com/



Wish I had one of my own, but was a bit stuffed from earlier.
I got a lick of it, and it's pretty much the bomb. I'll put
it in 3rd place, after my number one of Chocolate Malted
Crunch (Rite Aid, baby) and Cookies 'n' Cream...

Dang, I'm getting hungry...

Anyway, that's it for now - just touched down at
McCarran International, which means I'm back in Vegas...

And the grind...we'll can't think of it that way.

Need to play cash at Caesar's this week, to hopefully
qualify for the freeroll next week.

Wish this degenerate luck, ayt...

Peace and adobo grease...

Forgot to post before Garden City...

10/11/08

Leavin' On a Jetplane...


I don't think I'll ever get over my jitters gettin' on an
airplane. Weird, I've been flying all my life. It has
affected me about for about the last couple of years.
Like I said before, I think it stemmed from that fateful
"Lost" flight from Tokyo to Manila, in December of 2007.
Any sign of turbulence, makes me take a deep breath and
make the Sign of the Cross. I'm a bad Catholic, the only
time I turn to Jesus are on airplane flights, christenings
and funerals. I have a good heart, but it wouldn't hurt
to go to Church on Sunday, once in a while...

Can't seem to shake it. I think I need to take Xanax...

I'll be in the Bay Area for just over a week. It's
Mom's Bday weekend. Then the GF's Bday next weekend.
It feels good to go back home, even though it's been only a
little over a month since I've been back. I need to make
sure to visit the peeps I missed the last time I was
there.

It seems like Mom is getting better. The kidney transplant
appears to be successful, approximately 6 months postop.
I haven't heard anything worsening from her or my dad,
during our intermittent conversations. Her short term
memory seems to be getting worse though. The good thing
is that her long term memory is intact. She can remember
details of me and my brother's childhood, that I can't
seem to recall in hindsight, but gets refreshed when she
mentions things from the past.

Poker seems to be an afterthought the past couple of
weeks. Still positive for the time I've been here,
but not as much as I would want to be, lol. My mind
seems to be filled with other issues and priorities.
One of the reasons seems to be the state of the economy
in our country.

It really has not affected me like other people I know.
I don't have major financial obligations at this time,
like a mortgage, car payment, and/or children/family. I
just have my recurring living expenses every month, which
is not too much considering that my only fiduciary
responsibility is to my ownself. Many say that I am lucky to
be in this situation. Not many can do it, especially now.
It is a good thing not to be stressed...Fuck Yeah, lol...

What it the true meaning of wealth? Is it money?
Income? Material things? I can't really say...I think
part of it is living a life where you are happy in the
decisions that you have made in your Life, with minimal
regrets - Yes, an open ended answer...It differs for
everyone.

I'd be happy spending the rest of my life with my
wife/family on some beach resort in Batangas, renting out
snorkel and surf gear. Can it happen? Yes. Will it
happen? Don't know yet...

We'll have to see if my 401k remains intact, hehe...

Garden City...

Garden City...

10/16/08

I played a $120.00 buyin NLHE poker tourny at Garden City
Casino yesterday. 50 players entered the tournament that
morning. You started off with $4,000.00 in chips,
blind levels for the first two hours were 15 minutes each.
Thereafter, they increased to 20 minutes. It was not too
bad. Blinds started off at $25/25. By the fifth level,
they were at $100/200 - so if you have your original stack
of $4,000.00, you would not be severely short stacked.

The first hour for me was not too bad. I got hit when I
raised with Ace/Queen of Spades from the big blind, after
4 other people limped in. I raised it to $300.00 to thin
the field and put a little more value in the pot. The
UTG player folded, the player next to him raised all in
to $1,000.00 total, and the other 2 players folded. I
thought to myself, did this guy really just call with a
big hand in mid position, waiting for someone to raise
and then he would re-raise? $1,600.00 was in the pot,
I had to call $700.00, and I had about $4,200.00 left
behind if I make the call. It should be a no brainer,
but I sometimes hesitate calling if I feel that the other
player has me dominated. But again, I'm getting pretty
good pot odds, with no more betting, heads up and with
a premium hand (yeah right, read my other blog "Ace
Queen, No Good", hehe). Anyways, I called off course
and tabled my hand, again Ace/Queen of Spades. The
other player sighed and tabled his hand Queen/Eight of
Diamonds. Cool, I have him dominated! Anyway, the
dealer dealt out a Queen of Hearts, Jack of Hearts
and a 3 of Diamonds. I pretty much have him here. He
needs diamonds on the turn and river, or an Eight
to hit to win. The turn card was dealt a 2 of Spades.
Now he only needs an Eight to win on the river. Well,
whattaya' know, an Eight of Hearts hits the river.

Jeez..If I didn't get outlucked on the river everytime,
I would be sippin' Mojitos on some island in the
Carribean with a "St." in front of the name, earning
12% on my stack of cash...

I was happy not be be busted out. What can you do
when you have the best hand? That's poker, hehe...

Another hand came up in the same round, where I was
on the dealer button with pocket 3's. There was about
2 callers in front of me, I called the $100 bet, the
small blind called and the big blind checked. There
was about $500.00 in the pot preflop. The flop came
magic, King of Spades, 3 of Hearts and Ten of Clubs.
4 players checked in front of me. I bet out $300.00,
so now the pot held $800.00. The small blind and
big blind players folded, the UTG player (same player
who got the lucky Eight on the river), called my
bet (he had about $1,600.00 left behind - he's probably
gonna go all in on the Turn). A player behind him
folded. We were now heads up. The turn brought a
Queen of Spades. The UTG player goes all in for his
last $1,600.00. Now the pot held $2,700.00. If I call
I would be left with $1,650.00 (still alive, if I lose).
I can't say I would really lay down this hand, in this
spot. I paused and thought, "would he really go all
in if he hit a straight?" (as the board, read one), if
he did, I could still redraw to a full house for the
nuts, hmmm...Anyway, I called and tabled my set of
Threes and he tabled Ace/King OS (he had top pair
and a gutshot straight draw - he needed a Jack on the
river to win). "Dealer don't do it", I said under
my breath. The dealer dealt out a 2 of clubs on the
river. Nice...

I was kind of surprised that the UTG player didn't raise
preflop with his Ace/King OS. If he did, I might have
folded the pocket Threes preflop. That's his bad, I guess.
Ace/King is very slippery sometimes, that's why they call
it Big Slick. It's still a drawing hand.

The next hour or so was uneventful. I made it to the ninth
blind level, where bets were $500/1,000 at this time, with
no antes. I had $5,000.00 in chips at that point. Had
a couple of non confrontational all ins.

This is the hand that busted me though, Ace/Jack OS.
A player ahead of me went all in. I was on the dealter
button and peeled up Ace/Jack OS. The other player
had me covered. I don't think I can fold in this spot.
I probably have the best hand "right now" (like how I
said that). I called all in, the small blind an big
blind players folded, so no we were heads up. If I get
this pot of $11,500.00, I can stil be in this game.
The other player laments, says he was making a move and
flipped up Queen/Ten OS. I flip up my hand and kind of
make a sigh as well. I usually don't do well with these
types of hand matchups. The worst hand has been winning
more lately. Anyway, the dealer dealt out Seven, Ten,
Eight Rainbow. Dang, he his his ten. Well, that flop
increased my outs with Aces, Jacks and Nines (for a
straight - now I had 10 outs total for the win). The turn
came a King of Hearts - now I have 13 outs total with
the 3 Queens, for a double gutshot straight draw, Aces
and Jacks. And of course, they didn't hit when the dealer
dealt out a 3 of spades on the river...

Busted 14th out of 50 today. 5 spots out of the final
money table of 9.

It's all good, I think I played the best I could have in
this game. All you can do is call with the best hand
and hope it holds up.

You can't lose what you don't put in the middle, but you
can't win much either - again a quote from my fave poker
movie, "Rounders"...

See you on the felt...Next stop - cash games at Caesar's
need to qualify for the freeroll on 10/27/08.