Honey??? When can we go back???

So, as you can likely figure out, there were no glory stories for me at the WSOP. I didn't even make it to level 3. Quick synopsis of my day (which won't take long since I lasted exactly 2 hours).

Lost one blind v blind hand, when my 2 pair J-5 were topped by opponents 2 pair J-6 (he flopped two, I turned my 2).

Lost a pot where I was likely bluffed out of it. Uber connected board, I had top pair kings, with 10 kicker. I was in the blind, but too may hearts on board. I mucked to all in bet on river.

Those hands cost me nearly half of my stack, but I would double up when my AA held v. JJ.

Didn't play another hand until I went broke. Here's the story.

After watching 3 full orbits, I open raise (blinds are 25-50) to 150 with Q9 hearts. Not premium, but players at my table were fairly observant, so I raise it. Pick up 1 caller in seat 8 (I was in 3), button, SB fold, BB calls for 100 more.

FLOP: Q-9-3, rainbow

Niiiiiiiice.... I bet out 500 (into a pot of 475), lose seat 8, seat 1 (BB) comes along.

TURN: 2 (puts 2 diamonds on the board)

I bet out 800, seat one ships it.

Huh????

I call, and he shows 2-2 for a turned set. He then says to me "I thought you had a set of 9's." My reply was simple..."why would you call on the flop then?"

River bricked off, and I was done. Not a bad beat story, but a bad play story. I heard another player in another tournament saying (as he got up from a table when he busted from a tourney), "you can't make 'em play good." Divine wisdom, right there.

No promises, but will try to hit this blog a little more often. Came home with a cash on Saturday in league event, but still thirty for a win. Haven't had one in a while. I think I'm due.

Good luck and good cards.

~M

Remember me?

Wow, has it really been 18 months since I've written an entry here? My buddy Adam had a blog that was called "This Blog May or May Not Suck." My blog definitely sucks. Apologies.

Regardless of the level of suck, I am back with some renewed energy for poker blogging, and it happens to coincide with the start of the 2011 WSOP, and the fact that I will be in the center of the poker universe is less than a month.

Since it's been more than a calendar year, a quick update. The usual run of 1-6 outers continue to follow me,, but I have managed to turn the tables a few times and spike a miracle card that helped me. Went through our 6th league season, made the Tournament of Champions based on points, and managed to finish 2nd after my opponent went crazy on an A-10-7 rainbow board with a pair of deuces thinking he was good. He wasn't until his 3rd deuce hit on the river, busting my already flopped 2 pair. Oh well, I run goot, I run bad.

Starting up season 7 (amazing) in a few weeks, and am looking forward to it. Most of all, though, I'm amped for my WSOP return. July 5th, event #56. I won the seat in a tournament, and will be armed with my best possible game, and enough of my battle gear to get me through 3 days of play. It will be my first WSOP since 2006, and my short term goal is to bag my chips after day 1. If I can manage that, I should be inside the money bubble. As I said on the day I won the seat, I don't want good luck, just average luck. If I can get average luck, I think I have enough ability to survive into the money bubble. After that, it's anybody's guess. I know there will be more skilled players than I in the field, so I'll have to get lucky in spots if I have any chance of making the final table.

First things first, I gotta get through day one.

Anyway, looks like Phil Ivey is taking a stand against Full Tilt Poker, and their foot-dragging when it comes to paying players. Ivey says he won't play in any WSOP event until FTP starts making good on getting money back to players who have their funds tied up right now. It's a noble stance, and a costly one for him as well. Ivey does quite well at the WSOP, and this could cost him a shot at some additional wrist-wear.

No need for me to re-hash Black Friday, when the US government took yet another step in protecting us from ourselves, by shutting down online poker as we knew it. I thought President Obama was a poker player? Guess he's nothing more than a fish in his game, because if he was half the player the voters thought he was, he would have found a way to embrace online poker as a source of MUCH NEEDED REVENUE IN THESE DIFFICULT ECONOMIC TIMES.

I digress. Maybe one day, the powers that be will find a way to +make online poker a thriving, and legal business in the USA. One that isn't viewed as a dirty profession. It's a hard way to make an easy living.

I know, I'm preaching to the choir. Sorry.

~M