If you read this and don't realize that its the second results post, you might think that I had just re-posted week one's results. As it turns out thebmorekid has more than just beginners luck, and successfully defended his Horsey Ride title from the first week. Not only that, but hslaw is proving to be a great bridesmaid as he finished second for the second week in a row. Newcomer toilets took 3rd place and yours truly was the bubble boy.
Interesting notes from week 2
crazydiggity set a land speed record for exiting a limit event. He was out in ten hands and obviously had something better to do on Sunday evening. Maybe there was a special Desperate Housewives that I wasn't aware of...
Hold'em (3 KO's), Stud Hi-Lo (2 KO's), and Omaha Hi-Lo (2 KO's) were the games that caused the most devastation.
hslaw was the primary executioner, taking out 4 of the 10 players who entered.
We had two new entrants this week, BlueHen226 and toilets, both OM Rounders who have occasionally made it to the weekly cash game.
Tune in next week to see if thebmorekid can pull off the three-peat and if I can get on the board.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Horsey Ride
Tonight we had the first Horsey Ride, a private tournament for OM Rounders and their friends. We had 12 players show up to test the full range of their poker skills. Proving that innaugural tournaments are his speciality, thebmorekid took it down. Proving that in-depth knowledge of all the games isn't required, hslaw06 took 2nd and spoiled a father-son duel between thebmorekid and 3rd place finisher xojones.
Other noteable events from the first Horsey Ride:
mind27 was the first player to bust out. Mr. Piccalino got him on the last hand of Stud Hi.
xojones was the biggest executioner of the tourney, taking out 4 players, including the tournament host, yours truly.
Players were busted in each of the games, 3 in holdem and 2 each in all of the other games.
Hopefully all the OM Rounders who played had a good time. This event will be played each week on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. If you are reading this blog and are interested in playing, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.
Other noteable events from the first Horsey Ride:
mind27 was the first player to bust out. Mr. Piccalino got him on the last hand of Stud Hi.
xojones was the biggest executioner of the tourney, taking out 4 players, including the tournament host, yours truly.
Players were busted in each of the games, 3 in holdem and 2 each in all of the other games.
Hopefully all the OM Rounders who played had a good time. This event will be played each week on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. If you are reading this blog and are interested in playing, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.
Friday, March 7, 2008
People just like you and I are out there...
Maybe this should be titled "People just like you and ME are out there..." and I'm sure someone will correct me on it. If that's how you spend your time, correcting obscure blogger's gramatical errors, then I hope you have a high paying job and can afford to pay your friends.
To make my point, there are a bunch of us who like to publish our frequent bad beat stories and rare successes on this thing that Al Gore invented. Just check out the Battle of the Bloggers on Full Tilt Poker. I had no idea that such a thing existed, then thebmorekid tells me that there is a series of 5 tournaments a week for 13 WEEKS!!!! And all it is are tournaments hosted by bloggers for the right to be named king of the bloggers (and go to the WSOP main event). I don't know about you, but being named King of the Bloggers is kind of like being named the best one-legged hooker. I mean, take a look at the population you're being compared to. But alas, I am a blogger by virtue of the fact that I type my thoughts into this computer and publish them on the internet for any random passer by to read. From what I've seen, there aren't many random passer's by, but I'm having some fun anyway.
Since my posts from the last few weeks have sounded about as exciting as the waning moments of Leaving Las Vegas, I should let you know that I cashed last night in my 2nd Battle of the Bloggers tournament. Now keep in mind, I didn't win any money, but I did get points, and as thebmorekid says, "points are all that matter." I don't know if I agree with him, but I lasted longer than him and jmlabrie18, the only other two Bmore Brawlers or OMRounders in the event. So that's gotta be good for something, maybe a toy from a cracker jack box or the free newspaper they keep delivering to my house. But it's something, right?!?!?
Anyway, this weekend is crazy, fantasy baseball draft and poker tournament on Saturday followed by the SHOW on Sunday. I'll post something else about the SHOW, but it is hands down, the best home game rebuy tournament I've ever played in and it's filled with enough donkeys to take you, your family, and your distant relatives down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back.
To make my point, there are a bunch of us who like to publish our frequent bad beat stories and rare successes on this thing that Al Gore invented. Just check out the Battle of the Bloggers on Full Tilt Poker. I had no idea that such a thing existed, then thebmorekid tells me that there is a series of 5 tournaments a week for 13 WEEKS!!!! And all it is are tournaments hosted by bloggers for the right to be named king of the bloggers (and go to the WSOP main event). I don't know about you, but being named King of the Bloggers is kind of like being named the best one-legged hooker. I mean, take a look at the population you're being compared to. But alas, I am a blogger by virtue of the fact that I type my thoughts into this computer and publish them on the internet for any random passer by to read. From what I've seen, there aren't many random passer's by, but I'm having some fun anyway.
Since my posts from the last few weeks have sounded about as exciting as the waning moments of Leaving Las Vegas, I should let you know that I cashed last night in my 2nd Battle of the Bloggers tournament. Now keep in mind, I didn't win any money, but I did get points, and as thebmorekid says, "points are all that matter." I don't know if I agree with him, but I lasted longer than him and jmlabrie18, the only other two Bmore Brawlers or OMRounders in the event. So that's gotta be good for something, maybe a toy from a cracker jack box or the free newspaper they keep delivering to my house. But it's something, right?!?!?
Anyway, this weekend is crazy, fantasy baseball draft and poker tournament on Saturday followed by the SHOW on Sunday. I'll post something else about the SHOW, but it is hands down, the best home game rebuy tournament I've ever played in and it's filled with enough donkeys to take you, your family, and your distant relatives down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Lots going on, not much poker
I'm not playing as much as usual, which admittedly is quite a bit. I had a conference in Nashville last week for work that took up 3 full days. For the record, I was at the Gaylord Opryland and that place is the biggest hotel I've ever been in that didn't have a casino. I probably could have organized a game with a bunch of people I work with, but after giving it some thought, I decided that drinking until closing for three straight nights was a better idea.
So I get home from the conference, and two days later, our offer on a house is accepted. Now, we weren't looking to move, but this was a deal that was too good to pass up. So the past few days have been spent feverishly getting our house ready to go on the market. If you know anyone who's looking for a house just north of Baltimore, please post a comment on this blog. I know there are only two people reading this, so I'm not counting on anything, but hey, a guy can hope, right?
So that has kept me from my usual diet of online poker almost nightly and live games at least once a week. This upcoming weekend is my fantasy baseball draft combined with a fun poker tourney. I might also get in a game on Thursday night, or possibly get into kibl's tourney on Sunday. Nothing like a $80 rebuy tourney with 50+ of your closest friends.
As you will see from thebmorekid's blog, my showings have not been that impressive in the brawl and my wife, Momx2, is ahead of me on both the money and KO lists. I hope to improve on those numbers this Wednesday, but I just don't feel like I've been running that well. I know its a self fulfilling prophecy, so I just need to take a step back and stop thinking that way. Hopefully this little unplanned break will give me the perspective I need.
So I get home from the conference, and two days later, our offer on a house is accepted. Now, we weren't looking to move, but this was a deal that was too good to pass up. So the past few days have been spent feverishly getting our house ready to go on the market. If you know anyone who's looking for a house just north of Baltimore, please post a comment on this blog. I know there are only two people reading this, so I'm not counting on anything, but hey, a guy can hope, right?
So that has kept me from my usual diet of online poker almost nightly and live games at least once a week. This upcoming weekend is my fantasy baseball draft combined with a fun poker tourney. I might also get in a game on Thursday night, or possibly get into kibl's tourney on Sunday. Nothing like a $80 rebuy tourney with 50+ of your closest friends.
As you will see from thebmorekid's blog, my showings have not been that impressive in the brawl and my wife, Momx2, is ahead of me on both the money and KO lists. I hope to improve on those numbers this Wednesday, but I just don't feel like I've been running that well. I know its a self fulfilling prophecy, so I just need to take a step back and stop thinking that way. Hopefully this little unplanned break will give me the perspective I need.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Canadian Bacon
I know, I know, I haven't written for a while. I was away in Niagara Falls last weekend with Momx2, thebmorekid, and his wife. And before that I didn't feel like writing another bad beat/whining blog about how bad I'm running. So, this blog is dedicated to a review of poker in the Niagara Falls area. I'll write another one soon on how I'm doing.
There are three poker rooms in the Niagara Falls area. On the American side you have Seneca Niagara and on the Canadian side there's Casino Niagara and the Fallsview Casino. All three casinos are within sight of each other. I played at Seneca and Casino Niagara, but didn't have a chance to play at Fallsview. Of the three, Fallsview looks the nicest and it should, it's the newest.
The Canadian casinos are affiliated with each other and it's readily apparent that Fallsview caters to the higher stakes players and Casino Niagara caters to the average person. In both of those rooms the wait times were frequently over an hour and a half. They do allow you to call ahead and put your name on the list, and I'd highly recommend doing it. At 11 am on a Sunday morning during a holiday weekend we had to wait an hour until the afternoon shift came on because they didn't have enough dealers to open any more than the three tables they had running. On Sunday night the wait at Fallsview was over an hour and a half as well and the room was full.
At Casino Niagara all they spread was $1-$2 no limit with a $100 max buy in. It seemed that later in the day they would open a game with a $200 max, but that was as high as they played. The dealers and floor people were very friendly and the locals who played there regularly were of the opinion that this was one advantage that Casino Niagara had over Fallsview. The rake was also pretty hefty as it seemed that nearly $5 was taken out of every pot.
Fallsview was definitely the nicer of the two casinos and it was packed on a Sunday night (again, it was a holiday weekend for both Canadians and Americans). The lowest limit game they spread was $2-5 NL with a $300 max buy in. They had no limit games going all the way up to $10-$20 with a $3k max buy in. While I didn't play at Fallsview, the observation of thebmorekid and I was that there were quite a few players at the $2-$5 tables who had no business playing these stakes, but had to because it was the lowest limit game in the room. Next time I'm up there, I hope to be rolled for that game and be able to take advantage of this phenomenon. According to the players I talked to, all of the games at Fallsview are time games and they don't take a rake.
We did play at Seneca and it was more on par with what you'd expect from an Indian casino poker room in the states. It had more tables than either Fallsview or Casino Niagara. I noted at least one $3-$6 limit Omaha game on the board and there might have been some limit hold'em as well. I sat in the $1-$2 NL game with a $200 max buy-in. They also have $2-$5 NL.
The other big difference between Seneca and the Canadian casinos was the free drinks. Apparently in Canada it is illegal to give away free booze, so you have to pay for any alcohol. However, the states remains committed to intoxicating it's gamblers and most of the booze is free (minus the obligatory tip to the waitress). Also, in Canada, you have to step outside to smoke, not a problem for me, but thebmorekid and his wife spent a lot of time in the cold. At Seneca you can smoke in certain INDOOR areas.
Overall the player mix was a combination of regulars and tourists. I didn't encounter anyone who was particularly tricky. But if you play in the low max games in Canada, be prepared to take some beats because players will feel pot committed pretty quickly. Essentially ABC poker is the order of the day because alot of the deep stack moves are taken away by the short buy in. That being said, it was a fun weekend filled with lots of interesting folks at the poker table. You'll have to read the next blog to hear about how I was 7 outs from being a winner for the weekend...
There are three poker rooms in the Niagara Falls area. On the American side you have Seneca Niagara and on the Canadian side there's Casino Niagara and the Fallsview Casino. All three casinos are within sight of each other. I played at Seneca and Casino Niagara, but didn't have a chance to play at Fallsview. Of the three, Fallsview looks the nicest and it should, it's the newest.
The Canadian casinos are affiliated with each other and it's readily apparent that Fallsview caters to the higher stakes players and Casino Niagara caters to the average person. In both of those rooms the wait times were frequently over an hour and a half. They do allow you to call ahead and put your name on the list, and I'd highly recommend doing it. At 11 am on a Sunday morning during a holiday weekend we had to wait an hour until the afternoon shift came on because they didn't have enough dealers to open any more than the three tables they had running. On Sunday night the wait at Fallsview was over an hour and a half as well and the room was full.
At Casino Niagara all they spread was $1-$2 no limit with a $100 max buy in. It seemed that later in the day they would open a game with a $200 max, but that was as high as they played. The dealers and floor people were very friendly and the locals who played there regularly were of the opinion that this was one advantage that Casino Niagara had over Fallsview. The rake was also pretty hefty as it seemed that nearly $5 was taken out of every pot.
Fallsview was definitely the nicer of the two casinos and it was packed on a Sunday night (again, it was a holiday weekend for both Canadians and Americans). The lowest limit game they spread was $2-5 NL with a $300 max buy in. They had no limit games going all the way up to $10-$20 with a $3k max buy in. While I didn't play at Fallsview, the observation of thebmorekid and I was that there were quite a few players at the $2-$5 tables who had no business playing these stakes, but had to because it was the lowest limit game in the room. Next time I'm up there, I hope to be rolled for that game and be able to take advantage of this phenomenon. According to the players I talked to, all of the games at Fallsview are time games and they don't take a rake.
We did play at Seneca and it was more on par with what you'd expect from an Indian casino poker room in the states. It had more tables than either Fallsview or Casino Niagara. I noted at least one $3-$6 limit Omaha game on the board and there might have been some limit hold'em as well. I sat in the $1-$2 NL game with a $200 max buy-in. They also have $2-$5 NL.
The other big difference between Seneca and the Canadian casinos was the free drinks. Apparently in Canada it is illegal to give away free booze, so you have to pay for any alcohol. However, the states remains committed to intoxicating it's gamblers and most of the booze is free (minus the obligatory tip to the waitress). Also, in Canada, you have to step outside to smoke, not a problem for me, but thebmorekid and his wife spent a lot of time in the cold. At Seneca you can smoke in certain INDOOR areas.
Overall the player mix was a combination of regulars and tourists. I didn't encounter anyone who was particularly tricky. But if you play in the low max games in Canada, be prepared to take some beats because players will feel pot committed pretty quickly. Essentially ABC poker is the order of the day because alot of the deep stack moves are taken away by the short buy in. That being said, it was a fun weekend filled with lots of interesting folks at the poker table. You'll have to read the next blog to hear about how I was 7 outs from being a winner for the weekend...
Monday, February 11, 2008
Running Bad?
You all know what it's like. Everything you do seems to be wrong. You bluff into the nuts, slowplay and let donkeys hit 3 outers, fold when you should call, raise when you should fold, etc...
We all love to believe that the poker gods (or luck, or karma, or whatever it is that you think controls the cards) have frowned on you. You start wearing your lucky shirt (or whatever lucky trinkets you have), sacrificing virgins, and getting fried chicken to honor Jobu. All in the hopes of turning it around. After all, its not our play that could be causing it, it must be bad luck.
But somewhere, deep inside ourselves, our confidence is shaken. We wonder if all those previous good results were just good luck and not the skill that we had given ourselves credit for. Were we just getting lucky before and our current results are more reflective of our skills? It's a tough realization that our own play might be the cause of our dwindling bankroll.
The truth, as with many things, lies somewhere in the middle. When you're running good, you play better, and that, in turn, creates more "luck." When you're running bad, or playing bad, it becomes a downward spiral. The trick is getting out of the cycle. And that's about where I am right now.
If you think it's all me playing bad, then you should know that in back to back tourneys I went out on 80-20 situations. The first time I had TT vs. 99 and he flopped a 4 flush and finished me off on the turn. The river even brought a 5th flush card and gave me a set to boot. The second time I had QQ vs. 55 and managed to survive the flop, no spade or flush draws this time, but the cruel turn was one of the two outs he had left.
But I can't turn a blind eye to poor play. I have been negative for the past few weeks in cash games online. I have tried playing more passively, playing hyper aggressively, and most styles in between. Each seems to work for a little while, but none seems to produce any long-term results. So am I getting unlucky or am I playing poorly? Probably a little of both, after all, I did make $600 playing in home games last week, so that's gotta count for something...
We all love to believe that the poker gods (or luck, or karma, or whatever it is that you think controls the cards) have frowned on you. You start wearing your lucky shirt (or whatever lucky trinkets you have), sacrificing virgins, and getting fried chicken to honor Jobu. All in the hopes of turning it around. After all, its not our play that could be causing it, it must be bad luck.
But somewhere, deep inside ourselves, our confidence is shaken. We wonder if all those previous good results were just good luck and not the skill that we had given ourselves credit for. Were we just getting lucky before and our current results are more reflective of our skills? It's a tough realization that our own play might be the cause of our dwindling bankroll.
The truth, as with many things, lies somewhere in the middle. When you're running good, you play better, and that, in turn, creates more "luck." When you're running bad, or playing bad, it becomes a downward spiral. The trick is getting out of the cycle. And that's about where I am right now.
If you think it's all me playing bad, then you should know that in back to back tourneys I went out on 80-20 situations. The first time I had TT vs. 99 and he flopped a 4 flush and finished me off on the turn. The river even brought a 5th flush card and gave me a set to boot. The second time I had QQ vs. 55 and managed to survive the flop, no spade or flush draws this time, but the cruel turn was one of the two outs he had left.
But I can't turn a blind eye to poor play. I have been negative for the past few weeks in cash games online. I have tried playing more passively, playing hyper aggressively, and most styles in between. Each seems to work for a little while, but none seems to produce any long-term results. So am I getting unlucky or am I playing poorly? Probably a little of both, after all, I did make $600 playing in home games last week, so that's gotta count for something...
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Pro Player Sightings
Just wanted to add one more note from the Borgata trip and then I'll be through with it. Because we happened to be up there during days 3 and 4 of the Borgata Winter Open Main Event, we saw a ton of poker players. This might not be that exciting to most of you, but I thought I'd compile a list of players that we saw. Hopefully thebmorekid will help me make this a comprehensive list. Please forgive me if I spell any names wrong. I could get them right, but I don't feel like doing all the research.
In the tournament we saw (in no particular order):
Gavin Griffin
Men "The Master" Nguyen
Lee Watkinson
Vanessa Rousso
Jared "WacoKid" Hamby
Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo
Brian Haveson
John Hennigan
John Juanda
David Tran
Nam Le
Roy Winston
Isabelle Mercier (thanks thebmorekid)
In the tournament room:
David "The Dragon" Pham
John Phan
In the poker room:
Joe Sebok
Layne Flack
Gavin Smith
Mark Seif
Vince Van Patten
JC Tran (thanks bmore)
In other places in the hotel:
Bill Gazes
This post will be updated as thebmorekid and I go over our collective memories...
In the tournament we saw (in no particular order):
Gavin Griffin
Men "The Master" Nguyen
Lee Watkinson
Vanessa Rousso
Jared "WacoKid" Hamby
Justin "ZeeJustin" Bonomo
Brian Haveson
John Hennigan
John Juanda
David Tran
Nam Le
Roy Winston
Isabelle Mercier (thanks thebmorekid)
In the tournament room:
David "The Dragon" Pham
John Phan
In the poker room:
Joe Sebok
Layne Flack
Gavin Smith
Mark Seif
Vince Van Patten
JC Tran (thanks bmore)
In other places in the hotel:
Bill Gazes
This post will be updated as thebmorekid and I go over our collective memories...
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