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Haven't played much lately but found a few minutes last night to jump on UB and lose three straight heads up SnGs. Basically I sucked and the coin flip didn't go my way. My last hand of the first sng I I shove with pocket 4s and get called with AJo, flop a set and then go down in flames to runner-runner straight.

Hard to believe that the WSOP has run for three weeks now. I've given up my frantically trying to read every single blog out there and now just read whatever I feel like. It is great to have so many choices, though.

Euro 08 final Germany vs. Spain. I didn't see Russia v Spain, but Germany looks strong and will be tough to beat. The Turks were great and gave us one hell of a show.

Go Celtics

I'm not a big basketball fan. Although, when I used to play people would call me the Asian Dennis Rodman (without the dyed hair, multiple piercings and body art). I could rebound and play D like nobody's business. I can't shoot worth a lick, but that's another story. If there was an under 6'0 league, I could probably have been a pro.

I did watch parts of last night's game and was rooting for Boston. Not that I'm a big Boston fan, but I'm rooting for Ray Allen. He suffered long enough at Seattle, if anyone is due, it's gotta be him.

Of course, Father's day dinner is going to be a rather chaotic affair. Half the people will be glued to the TV screaming and yelling.

Euro 08: Sweden v Greece

Is it just me, or does Zlatan Ibrahimovic look a lot like the Dungeon Master on "Good Eats"?

Great games today. Spain and Sweden looked good. One of the perks of being a stay at home dad is that, baby willing, I can watch a lot of the matches. When I was watching the Sweden v Greece game I thought the stands looked mighty empty and then I realized that it was just the Swedish fans were all wearing jerseys.

Watching Poker After Dark right now. This is the week where Gus Hansen takes on 5 women. Why does JJ Liu insist on wearing those hideous outfits? Clonie Gowen and Jessica Schoenberg, yummy. Vanessa Rousso just doesn't do it for me. I just can't see past her bad playing.

Euro 08: Netherlands v Italy

O-M-G. OK, the first goal was a joke. Even the refs in our co-rec league could have spotted that offsides. I mean, COME ON. That said, that second goal was sick. That was a textbook counter attack goal. That shot? If I ever made a goal like that I would end my soccer career right then and there so that could be my last soccer memory. I have no idea how the second half went since I'm still figuring out TiVo and didn't record it, but the Dutch definitely looked like the better team. And you got to hand it to men who are confident enough to wear orange and baby blue.

The Other Home Game

The other game that Mrs. T and I play is Scrabble, with actual tiles and on a board. Last night's match was fairly balanced, no bingos for either of us. In the end, I was able to hold off Mrs. T and win 335-288.

Blogger Tourney Recap

OK. Now that I'm done kicking around our imaginary dog (Mrs. T threatened to call the imaginary SPCA), I can sit back and reflect. As we were making dinner, Mrs. T asked me if I had fun and without hesitation I said "yes." I got to play poker for a couple of hours with a bunch of bloggers and experience the dream. Now, I have to admit going in I had no illusions of winning it all; I just wanted to play well and go deep. But as we got closer and closer to the final table I started to wonder if it was really possible.

Early on I payed fairly tight, but of course I couldn't pass up the chance to play the hammer:



Didn't catch many hands early on but I was able to make a few moves and take a few pots. My image must have been pretty tight because I showed only a few hands. Got lucky with a couple of outright steals, then when we hit the final table I got hit with the deck. I had KK twice in a row, Tens, Jacks twice, AK twice in a row. At one point I limped on the button with 45s and flopped the straight.

Going into 4 handed play I had about 50% of the chips and that's where it went all horribly wrong. Mistake number 1: I limped with the HAMMER. Shoulda raised. Mistake number 2: I called a fair-sized bet with a gutshot (4 6 8). Mistake 3: I called an all-in on the turn with a double-gutter. Of course, had I won, I would have been the massive chip leader and got to type "HAMMER!" Instead, I doubled up the second place person to give them the chip lead. And that's when the dream began to die a little piece at a time.

Well, it was fun while it lasted. I learned a few things, got to chase a dream and can walk away knowing that I can hang with the bloggers.

Blogger Tourney update

At the first break I'm 5th out of 59 remaining. I've caught a few breaks. Played the sooted hammer once for a win. More later.

2nd Break: 6th of 14 left. The smaller stacks are shoving with impunity. Going to keep grinding away.

Out: 4th (of 122). Blech. Oh well. It was a great ride. 4th was just as good as 2nd or 10th or DFL. Sucked out with AQ vs. AK to take a chip lead and managed to blow if trying to play the hammer against 2 pair. In my defense, I had a double gutter and would have had more than half the chips if I had caught. But ultimately it was my downfall.

Congrats to Lightning36 for taking it down. At least I feel a little better that the person who took me out went on to win it. Thanks be to AlCan'tHang for putting together the blogger tournament.

Win and Loss(es)

To prepare for today's Blogger tournament on Full Tilt, I decided to play a 1-table sit-n-go. At the same time I was playing Settlers with Mrs. T and the Q. While I was successful on Full Tilt, Mrs. T went 2-0 and handed me my ass on a plate in Settlers. It was a combination of strategically placed settlements and a bunch of lucky rolls; 12 (where she had a settlement) was rolled three times in one game while 2 (where I had my settlement) wasn't rolled once. I was on a bit of tilt towards the end. Luckily I had pocket Kings over Queens hold up when were down to three to mollify me a little bit.

I don't know what it is about FT that I don't like. Maybe it's just because I started on Ultimate Bet but I just like UB's tables better. The whole avatar thing on FT was really annoying; I know you can hide them, but when I started either you couldn't hide them or it just took me a while to realize how to hide them. I do like that you can play HORSE sit-n-gos on FTP. I'm slowly adjusting, but you know what they say about old dogs.

Looking forward to the Blogger Tourney on FT today. I realize my chances are slim, but 122 to 1 ain't too bad. Besides, I expect there to be a few empty chairs so really it's probably closer to a 100 to 1 shot. And being my only realistic chance at going to the WSOP this year, what have I got to lose? If nothing else it will be an hour or two of entertaining play.

Wish me luck.

1-hand SNG

Ultra Turbo $10 heads-up SNG on UB.

I'm dealt 2h3h on the button.
I call the BB.
He raises it to 60, I call.
Flop: Qh 2x 4x
He bets 120, I call.
Turn: Kh
He checks, I bet 160, he pops it to 500, I call
River: 9h
He goes all in, I call. He has Ad2d

I wish every game were that easy.

The Biggest Game

I'm not talking about the game that goes on in Bobby's room. I'm talking about the big game for the president of the United States of America. You know how in poker one big mistake can ruin you in a game? How about a game that goes on continuously for almost 2 years where any mistep will most likely be caught on video and haunt you forever? The decisions these people make will most likely affect almost every single person in this country for at least the next four years. Now that is a gamble.

I turned on the TV last night, admittedly to watch some poker on the DVR, and caught the tail end of Barack Obama giving his victory speech. Say what you will, that man can give a speech. And even if 75% of what he says is just meaningless fluff and empty promises, you have to admit that what he's pushing is a little infectious. As I sat there listening to the speech I was a little saddened to know that there are people out there who are not going to vote for Obama simply based on the color of his skin. I just pray that those closed-minded, ass-backwards anachronistic tards do us all a favor and just stay home and not vote and not vote for McCain. I've already told the missus that if McCain wins we're moving out of the country.

Things to chew on

One of those eternal questions that always come up right around the start of the WSOP is: "would you go all in with pocket aces on the very first hand of the WSOP main event." In my mind, unless you were in the big blind and every single person in front of you had already shoved, you're a pussy if you say no. What part of "best starting hand in hold'em" don't you understand?

A situation that is much more likely to come up in your life is what happened to Terrence Chan during event 5 at this year's WSOP:
http://terrencechan.livejournal.com/246673.html

In summary, some guy keeled over during the tournament and a guy from Terrence's table who happened to be a doctor went to help out. Of course, while doing his good deed, the good doctor was also missing hands. Terrence proposed that the players give the doctor a walk in the park when it was his big blind. While his intentions were good, although technically collusion, I'm not sure I would be able to go along with his proposal. When (if) I ever go to the WSOP, my goal will be to win it. And I am going to do everything (legally) within my means to win. In the abstract, the gesture seems fine, and I'm sure I'd be inclined to throw away a marginal hand if it was the Doctor's BB, but what if I looked down to see Aces?

Also, Shane Schleger has a great post on how to act when at a tournament:
http://shaniaconline.blogspot.com/

Would you walk up to an NBA pro while they walked to the locker room at halftime and start asking them about plays they made or for advice on your jumper? Shane makes the point that for pros, a poker tournament is their job and not all of them want to hear your bad beat story or talk about chip stacks when they are on break. Good thing to keep in mind when (if) I go.

Short and sweet

Jumped on Full Tilt just to check on the Blogger tournament going on this weekend. For some reason I put it down on the Calendar as happening Sunday when it's actually happening Saturday. Of course I invited some friends over for a BBQ at the exact same time. Arrrgh. Only 46 entrants so it won't be an all day affair, but what kind of host will I be if I just neglect my guests? Maybe I'll jump on and play ultra aggressive hoping to build a stack quickly and then I can sit out until the final table. hmmmmm... Or I can realize that my friends matter more than some lousy $2,000 buy-in to the WSOP.

So while I was there I decided to just play one heads up Sit-n-go. It was over in three hands.
Hand 1 (on button): I limp, he raises, I fold.
Hand 2: He bets pot, I call with J9o. Flop comes J high, I check raise, he folds.
Hand 3: I limp with AJc, he bets pot, I raise pot, he goes all in with red 6s. Flop comes A J x with two diamonds. Turn is another diamond and I'm bending over ready to get reamed but instead the river is another Ace. Thank you and good night.

WSOP: Event 2 $1,500 NLHE

From PokerNews:

A New Leader Emerges

We arrived at a table where a lot of chips were being pushed around on the flop.

The board showed {K-Clubs} {J-Clubs} {5-Diamonds} , and Ginikachukwu Izuogu passed the betting over to Michael Goetsch. Goetsch fired out 10,000, and Izuogu put in a check-raise to 35,000. Instantly, Goetsch jams it harder, all in for 75,000.

Izuogu digs for information. "Do you have aces? You have aces?"

Goetsch tells him, "Call and find out," so Izuogu obliges him and puts in the call.

Be careful what you wish for, Goetsch sees he's in trouble with his {4-Spades} {4-Clubs} against Izuogu's {K-Spades} {Q-Diamonds} . The last two cards on the board are {7-Spades} {5-Spades} , and Goetsch heads to the rail.

After the hand, we have our first three-hundredaire, as Izuogu sits with 305,000 chips in front of him.

I don't know who this guy is, but I want him at the final table just to hear Norman Chad say his name.

The Home Game

Three nights ago a very peculiar thing happened. The missus asked me if I wanted to play a card game. At first she suggested Gin Rummy, but as both of us couldn't remember exactly how to play, her second suggestion was poker. Now, this may not seem so odd at first unless you know Mrs. T. My wife asking me to play poker with her is somewhat akin to Mother Theresa asking you to watch a porno with her. I love my wife dearly but one of the qualities she does not possess is a love for anything sports/gambling related, which, sadly, includes Las Vegas.

I must admit that I probably share part of the blame for Mrs. T's aversion to poker. The few times she has played socially (and I can count those times on one hand), she is the SLOWEST and LUCKIEST person I have ever seen and I'll admit that times I have been a little impatient with her. It is painful to play poker with her. I have no idea what her exact thought processes are, but the time that she takes for each hand make Chris Ferguson look very speedy. On top of that, she catches ridiculous hands. Playing heads up she has had more full houses then I get in a month. A perfect example. I'm on the button with 55 and she raises. Flop comes Q 6 2 and she bets out. Each time she makes very small bets relative to the pot. In the end the board is something like Q 6 2 8 6 and she turns over pocket queens. Two sevens on the board? she has A 7. It's sick.

So for the past three nights we have played an ongoing game. We each started with 500 in chips and at the end of each night we count up how much we have and start with that amount the next time we play. The first night, the night of the slow played Queens, Mrs. T jumped out to an early chip lead that I was able to erase the next night. Last night I gained a few more chips so that I'm now a 640 to 360 leader. It's been interesting to try and figure out what she's thinking. We will stop and talk about a hand here and there but for the most part she is playing on her own. I can't read her to save my life. We'll see how long her enthusiasm for the game goes on, but for now I'm just riding the wave. Who knows? maybe she'll becoming hooked on poker and want to go to the WSOP one day. A man can dream, can't he?