The Madness of March

As mentioned in the last post, poker is on the back burner for a little bit with upcoming travel, and a boatload of work, but this pic about says it all in a variety of ways. Such as:

1-The North Carolina mascot seen above is looking at who his team will play next.
2-The North Carolina mascot is bemoaning his busted brackets.
3-There's a friggin gigantic animal costume looking at a tournament bracket.
4-This looked scene looked entertaining enough for me to snap a pic with my camera phone. And then I laughed about it the rest of the night after looking back at the pic.

Yep-what has 2 thumbs and needs some time off from work?

THIS GUY!!! (that would be me, not the mascot).

~M

OK, as promised....

A look back at Saturday's league event. 25 or 26 players (frankly I am not sure). My table draw wasn't a favorable one, considering of the 8 players at my starting table, there were 5 previous tournament winners. Ugh.

I start off kinda treading water, pick up a couple small pots here or there, but lose some big ones.

First one I lost, I didn't make it to the showdown, but called off chips thinking I was in the lead. Turns out, a river 5 made one player a full house (pocket 5's with a paired board), while the other held AA, and ended up with 2 pair. I was beat, folded after the river bet, and was glad I did. That took a chunk out of my stack.

I was down to about 1500 (half of our T3K starting stack) with the blinds at 75-150 when this hand came up. I'm in mid-position with K-J off. UTG player limps, I move all in, hoping to take it down right there. All fold to limper, who thinks and finally calls with 77. Coin flip. Flop A-X-Q, turn-brick, river 10. I make broadway, and cripple the limper (the limper held the AA in the hand I folded away from earlier), so now he was down to 250. I double up and a little bit more, so I am feeling better.

Before the end of the round (level 4), I get Q-2 suited (clubs), and feeling a little froggy, in early position, I limp. BB raises it 300 more, and knowing this player likes to play A-X, I decide to see if I can hit a flop, and take the pot. Flop comes K-X-X (I forget what they were, but the X-X were both clubs). Raiser checks, I check. Turn is the K of clubs, giving me 2nd nut flush. Raiser checks, I bet, raiser check raises. I call. At this point, I feel I have the hand. I think they have AK. River is 2 spades. Raiser bets 900. I call quickly, and am horrified to see the raiser roll over KK for quads. That was the last hand before the break, and now I am sitting on 900.

Yeah, I was a bit steamed. Steamed at myself for thinking I had the hand, and not thinking MAYBE the raiser had pocket a pocket pair of ANYTHING on the board. Any of the X cards had me beat, let alone KK. Needless to say, I didn't say much to anyone after that.

We come back from break, and I am on the button. First hand, I get 88 and shove all in, all fold, I scoop. I don't play another hand until I get the button again, I get 55, all-in, all fold, I scoop. It goes this way for a bit, and Soon, my 900 is now up to 2325. I get moved as we get to 12 players (inside the points bubble). I move to the other table with 8 chips in front of me (4-500's, 3-100's, and 1-25). I won an all-in with my stack sitting at around 2200 when my A-10 out ran AQ and get my stack to a little more than 4K, Later, I'm the button with 7-8 (and we are 5-handed.) I limp in for 600, SB and BB check. Flop comes 7-8-7. SB bets out 1200, BB folds, I shove, SB instantly calls. I am dead to one hand. 88. SB rolls over 5-6 for a straight draw, I have the made hand, this hand is over, and now I am at about 8K.

I make the final table, watch as 4 players bust out before me, so now with 5 left, 1 spot for the money. I hardly got involved in much at all, until I have A-J on the button, and raise it to 2000. SB (who has me covered in chips) shoves all-in. This is a player that can shove with pairs as low as 9-9, and can also shove with a big A. He had a big A, alright. His kicker was another A. Thus endeth the mission.

If there is a lesson to be learned (or the lesson I learned) on this night, it is this. You are never out of any event until all your chips are gone. I was mentally exhausted when I was eliminated. I was more focused at the table than I have ever been, even when I had that great week in Vegas last year. I was on stroke in Vegas, where I knew what other players held, when to move, when to get out. I had some of those same feelings on Saturday, but I was in a weird state of intensity that had me someplace I have never been. It was awesome to have the results I got on Saturday (even though I bubbled at the money, and didn't win). I walked away from that tournament feeling a lot better about the way I am playing.

NO--I didn't fully earn this win, as I know I got lucky in 2 spots. I fully expect to get unlucky (as I have in the past), in the future. Saturday, the cards broke in my favor in key spots. It brings to mind, this quote from Robert Wiliamson. "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." I got lucky, but I also made some plays (which I will not describe here) that enabled me to scoop other pots that I probably wouldn't have with out making the plays I did.

Likely will not have cards in my future for a few weeks with work and a family vacation on the horizon, so it looks like April 19 is the earliest chance for me to sit at the table again. If my math is correct, I am currently 2nd in the points chase, and need a win in the final event to overtake the leader. It sucks that with 2 wins I am in that predicament, but on the flip side, one to go, I still have a chance.

Hope one and all had a Happy Easter,
~M

Sunday

A nice relaxing day to process all that happened in our March league tourney.

I'll recap/summarize all of it Monday.

Sleep. Must sleep.

~M

Been a while...

Hey there blog readers! Sorry to have been away for so long, but I had a legit excuse. I have worked going on 8 straight days, and mixed into that stretch were 6 days of 10+ hours, and a 2.5 drive (5 hours round trip) for additional duties. Needless to say, my bed has felt very good since Sunday. It's all good, mind you. It's that time of year that puts a little jump in your step in my line of work.

As for poker, I haven't played since sitting in Irish Jim's game last Tuesday. I made one bad laydown against Irish Jim, and felt I played fairly well again, but just wasn't able to scoop that many pots. I hit a straight with all my chips in the middle, needing a Q to hit, and it did. Other than that, I was fairly card dead. Was a frustrating drive home. You know the drive. you relive every hand that you played, every hand you folded pre-flop, and think about "if I play this differently," or "I should have pushed more there." A never ending cycle of second guessing. It has been a frustrating time for me at the table in the past few months. I have done a good job this week of staying away from poker, to recharge my batteries a bit. I am hoping it sharpens my focus for the league event on Saturday.

As it stands, I am locked into the TOC by virtue of my 2 wins, but I still have a slim shot at garnering POY status. I need high finishes, and the players in front of me need early knockouts. I say slim, meaning I am giving myself reason to hope. My real chances are slim and none, and Slim is on his way out of town. It's my own fault for not being more competitive in the other events, but it's a huge credit to the players in front of me who have played very well month after month.

Anyway, time to get ready to get back to the grind. It's not March Madness for nothing!

Good luck and good cards,

~M

The calm before the storm

March of 2008 is running a close 2nd to May of 2008 in terms of the "holy-crap-it's-a-busy-month"-ometer. Work will be hectic for the next 2 of the 3 weeks, and then there are the preparations for the hell month that is May. I'd go into details, but it might depress me, and I'm feeling pretty good right now.

I remind myself of where I was back in 2001, so I know it could be worse. I could be out of a job.

OK, enough serious stuff. I'm gonna take an evening away from the grind tonight--don't know if it will involve poker or not. Mrs. Chipstack is beyond understanding when it comes to my love of rounding. She has yet to say, "I don't think you should play tonight," when she knows I really want to get to the table, and of course, Irish Jim has a game tonight. He told me that there might not be room--BLASPHEMY!!! I will see him shortly, and if there is an open seat, I shall approach the wise, all-knowing Mrs. Chipstack to see how she feels about it. Translation-I'll ask for permission!

Played Saturday night at the homestead here--6 handed game, and I was surprised my body heat didn't melt the cards I was getting. Talk about chilly decks. BBRRRRRRR! best hand I saw all night was pocket 9's, twice. Had AK suited, and pocket 7's, 6's, and 4's. Everything else ranged from sorta playable (suited connectors, suited 1 or 2 gappers), to ultra trash. It was ugly. Mrs. Chipstack played again, and while I outlasted her at the table in the long run, I also had 2 rebuys to her none. She wins.

Had a weird dream Sunday night into Monday. Mrs. Chipstack and I were at someones house (no idea who, but they were friends). An hour or so into the visit, Daniel Negreanu and 2 friends come in to hang out as well. Nice conversation, nice visit, good time. Daniel and I get to talking about golf, which leads to the 2 of us walking from a golf cart to a tee box to begin playing. At this point, one of my co-workers (a random person to say the least), rolls up in a cart, telling us she has one more player for our group, and that their bag is in the back seat of her 2-row golf cart. The bag is lying down, it is silver with the word "Buick" stitched into the side. I pick it up, and the bag belongs to Tiger Woods.

Just as Tiger is about to come into view, my alarm goes off, and I wake up. I know why Tiger is there--I recently watched a youtube where he is surprising random golfers with a Buick SUV (search "Tiger Trap" on youtube--it's really cool). Negreanu? No clue why he popped into my subconscious. Weird, but cool, and also frustrating. I KNOW , in my dream, I could beat Tiger.

Good luck, good cards, and sweet dreams,

~M

Certainly worth your time

To take a look and read the article I've linked here. It was brought to my attention from my buddy Big Kat, and it basically continues on about my hatred of former Senator Bill Frist, the lying, underhanded jackass that slipped the UIGEA onto the Safe Ports Act, and effectively crippled the online poker world as I knew it. I will admit, I have heard there are new and easier ways of funding online accounts since this happened-I'm just not up for jumping through those added hoops.

Anyway, if you click here, it will take you to the piece. Just read it, and don't worry about the early portions of the story. It will make its point. Hopefully, the powers that be will get something right before they get voted out of office in November.

Looks like a game is coming together at my place on Saturday. Should be fun, but a tough table is taking shape. Be a good time to see if my recent work at discipline is paying off.

Good luck and good cards,
~M

It's Monday

Blah. I want to play poker.

Can't do it. Not at all this week, unless I manage to pull a game together on Saturday. Sunday I have to go out of town, so now traditional Sunday game, nor is there the pub any longer.

It appears the pub folks aren't making any money on the poker folks.

I call bullshit.

There were anywhere from 9-16 MORE people in their place than they had on Sunday's before the poker tourneys began. If HALF of them drink, or eat, they are making MORE money than they were making before the poker tourneys began.

I'm not a business man by any stretch, but if 8 more people are purchasing food and drink than were purchasing in the past, I would think something is better than nothing. They gave it 3 whole Sundays, before pulling the plug. I won't be going back to that place in the future, not because it's a bad place--far from it. Nice pub, nice TVs, nice staff. They gave up on us. I've given up on them (unless they re-think the situation, but I doubt they will).

Love me some hockey, and just finished watching the Washington Capitals flat out DESTROY Boston tonight. 10-2 the final--yikes! Alexander Ovechkin was sick, 3 goals, 2 assists...Bruins goaltenders need some burn lotion for the back of their necks. They were getting sunburn from the goal judge's red light being turned on over and over. Wow, the Caps looked damn good, which doesn't bode well for the Carolina Hurricanes. Canes lead trimmed to 3 points in the division, with lots of hockey left.

Anyway, hopefully something comes together for Saturday night. Would be fun to have a 9 handed game at the ranch, but many of the folks I play cards with have found a new place closer to where they live. We'll see.

Until then, I'll keep dreaming of the right 6 numbers for Powerball this Wednesday. Lump sum payment of 85 million bucks. Now THAT'S a lot of buy ins.

Good luck and good cards,
~M