I hosted a Fantasy Football Draft this evening. This is a 12-team keeper league and it's the league that I won last year. As the defending champion, I felt the extra pressure of the draft!
When the draft was completed, I gave my roster to our Commissioner so that he might enter my team into the website. For that reason, I don't recall who I drafted round-by-round, but here's my team nonetheless:
QB's: Brett Favre, Jake Delhomme
RB's: Tiki Barber, Mike Anderson, Corey Dillon, William Green
WR's: Randy Moss, Brandon Stokley, Charles Rogers, Travis Taylor
TE's: Antonio Gates, Stephen Alexander
PK's: David Akers, Paul Edinger
DEF's: New England, Indianapolis
We must start one RB and one WR and two "flex" players each week, so I'm not worried about my WR's being a bit weak. My opening-day roster will consist of Barber, Anderson, Dillon, and Moss. That sounds like a pretty good foursome good to me!
The league costs $50 to enter - so that's today's Sketchbook entry. My next Sketchbook entry will probably be from Vegas (hopefully) - provided I can get my hotel room's internet connection to work with my laptop.
Daily Sketch: Down $50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $355.44
August 30, 2005: Fun with Omaha Hi/Lo
When I began my night of gambling, I had exactly $67.34 in my Party Poker account. If nothing else, I considered it "fun" money that I could enjoy before heading to Vegas in two days. So, I decided to have fun with it.
First, I joined a 6-man $3/$6 Omaha Hi/Lo table and had lots of fun. Playing for 45 minutes, I watched my pile of money grow to nearly $225. At that point, I was having lots of fun!! Unfortunately, my opponents weren't having fun, and my table eventually disbanded. Sitting by myself, I was forced to leave. No one had any money, and no one would play with me. Apparently, there aren't a lot of guys playing $3/$6 Omaha Hi/Lo on Party Poker these days.
So, I left that table and found a seat at a 6-man $2/$4 Omaha Hi/Lo table and didn't have nearly as much fun. For 30 minutes, I couldn't win anything. I lost on the flop. I lost on the turn. I lost on the river. In fact, I lost all my winnings. After 30 minutes, my stack of chips was back down to $75. Ugh!!
So, I took that $75 to a $5/$10 table and hovered around even for another 30 minutes. My money eventually disappeared, however, as my run of cold cards continued. I lost two big pots to conclude the night and retired down $67.34 while playing poker. Ooops!
Oh, well. At least I had fun!!
Later in the night, I conducted my first fantasy football draft of the season. It cost me $60 to join Jon's keeper league. Last year, I had the best regular season record, so I drafted last (tenth) in tonight's draft. Here is my team. Wish me luck!! Since the check was thrown in the mail today, the $60 expenditure goes into today's Sketchbook.
(1) Priest Holmes (keeper)
(2) Baltimore Defense (keeper)
(3) Donovan McNabb
(4) Mike Anderson
(5) Steve Smith
(6) Isaac Bruce
(7) Michael Bennett
(8) L.J. Smith
(9) Travis Henry
(10) Travis Taylor
(11) Carson Palmer
(12) Jeff Wilkins
(13) Stephen Alexander
(14) Jeff Reed
(15) Cincinnati Defense
I've got three more drafts ahead of me. I can't wait!
Daily Sketch: Down $127.34
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $305.44
First, I joined a 6-man $3/$6 Omaha Hi/Lo table and had lots of fun. Playing for 45 minutes, I watched my pile of money grow to nearly $225. At that point, I was having lots of fun!! Unfortunately, my opponents weren't having fun, and my table eventually disbanded. Sitting by myself, I was forced to leave. No one had any money, and no one would play with me. Apparently, there aren't a lot of guys playing $3/$6 Omaha Hi/Lo on Party Poker these days.
So, I left that table and found a seat at a 6-man $2/$4 Omaha Hi/Lo table and didn't have nearly as much fun. For 30 minutes, I couldn't win anything. I lost on the flop. I lost on the turn. I lost on the river. In fact, I lost all my winnings. After 30 minutes, my stack of chips was back down to $75. Ugh!!
So, I took that $75 to a $5/$10 table and hovered around even for another 30 minutes. My money eventually disappeared, however, as my run of cold cards continued. I lost two big pots to conclude the night and retired down $67.34 while playing poker. Ooops!
Oh, well. At least I had fun!!
Later in the night, I conducted my first fantasy football draft of the season. It cost me $60 to join Jon's keeper league. Last year, I had the best regular season record, so I drafted last (tenth) in tonight's draft. Here is my team. Wish me luck!! Since the check was thrown in the mail today, the $60 expenditure goes into today's Sketchbook.
(1) Priest Holmes (keeper)
(2) Baltimore Defense (keeper)
(3) Donovan McNabb
(4) Mike Anderson
(5) Steve Smith
(6) Isaac Bruce
(7) Michael Bennett
(8) L.J. Smith
(9) Travis Henry
(10) Travis Taylor
(11) Carson Palmer
(12) Jeff Wilkins
(13) Stephen Alexander
(14) Jeff Reed
(15) Cincinnati Defense
I've got three more drafts ahead of me. I can't wait!
Daily Sketch: Down $127.34
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $305.44
August 29, 2005: Planning for Vegas
In three days, I leave for Las Vegas. As of this moment, I plan on making only one significant sporting wager: I will be taking Bowling Green (+5 points) over the Wisconsin Badgers this weekend.
Bowling Green is a good team from the MAC and I think that the Badgers are going to have a hard time handling the pass-happy Falcons. For those of you unaware, Bowling Green went 9-3 last year (the same record as Wisconsin) and averaged a little over 40 points a game. According to ESPN, “Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs is an exciting player, and his arm and athleticism make the Falcons the MAC's best chance to break through the BCS barrier.” MAC teams have 12 games scheduled against Big Ten teams this season and ESPN specifically states that the biggest upset chance for the MAC (of those 12 games) is this weekend’s tilt between Bowling Green and Wisconsin.
The Badgers, meanwhile, will be an average team - at best - this season. If Bowling Green really has aspirations of making a BCS bowl game, they are going to be a motivated team against Wisconsin. The Badgers lost several great defensive players to graduation this season, and I think that Bowling Green will have little trouble moving the ball up and down the field. The Badgers are going to need to score 30 points to stay in this game – and I don’t see it happening. In fact, Wisconsin scored over 30 points only once all of last season. If anything, I think that Bowling Green will win this game – straight up – especially if the weather is nice and conducive to the passing game.
As of now, local weathermen are predicting that it’ll be 79 degrees and sunny on Saturday in Madison. If the Badgers are really favored by 5 points when I get to Vegas, my money is going on the side of Bowling Green. I may look like a fool Saturday afternoon, but that’s why they call it gambling! Don't get me wrong - I'm still a fan of the Badger football team - I just don't think they'll beat Bowling Green by more than 5 points. Ultimately, I hope the Badgers win by 3 points.
I’ll also place some small wagers on the NASCAR race in California, but I don’t have any hard feelings about that race. Maybe that opinion will change by the time I arrive in Sin City and view the posted odds.
At the same time, I'm also investigating a way that will allow me to update this Sketchbook while I'm out-of-town. As my loyal readers may recall, I didn't post daily updates while in Vegas last year. Instead, I waited until I was back in Milwaukee and posted everything at once. Since I'll be in Vegas for five days this year, I'd like to make periodic posts so that people can see how I'm doing throughout - rather than waiting until I get back.
The Flamingo Hotel has free internet access (via dial-up) in each hotel room. However, since I subscribe to Roadrunner cable service at home, I'm not sure how this is going to work. Roadrunner has instructions that allow cable users to use dial-up when they travel, but I've never tried it before. I guess I'll find out if it really works. If it does, I'll be able to update the Sketchbook regularly and surf the internet during slow times (i.e. times when I'm losing at the tables) by using my laptop.
Before I leave for Vegas, however, I still have an opportunity to do a little on-line gambling. In fact, with the the little money I left behind at Party Poker, I decided to explore a 6-man $2/$4 Omaha Hi/Lo table tonight. Thirty minutes into my session, I decided to quit - shaking my head at the poor play I witnessed. I won $23.15, but I could have won much more if I had caught some good cards. Omaha Hi/Lo isn't the easiest game to pick up, and it was apparent that the guys I sat with tonight weren't good.
I am DEFINITELY going to visit the Omaha Hi/Lo tables again to see if tonight was an abherration. I hope not!
Daily Sketch: Up $23.15
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $178.10
Bowling Green is a good team from the MAC and I think that the Badgers are going to have a hard time handling the pass-happy Falcons. For those of you unaware, Bowling Green went 9-3 last year (the same record as Wisconsin) and averaged a little over 40 points a game. According to ESPN, “Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs is an exciting player, and his arm and athleticism make the Falcons the MAC's best chance to break through the BCS barrier.” MAC teams have 12 games scheduled against Big Ten teams this season and ESPN specifically states that the biggest upset chance for the MAC (of those 12 games) is this weekend’s tilt between Bowling Green and Wisconsin.
The Badgers, meanwhile, will be an average team - at best - this season. If Bowling Green really has aspirations of making a BCS bowl game, they are going to be a motivated team against Wisconsin. The Badgers lost several great defensive players to graduation this season, and I think that Bowling Green will have little trouble moving the ball up and down the field. The Badgers are going to need to score 30 points to stay in this game – and I don’t see it happening. In fact, Wisconsin scored over 30 points only once all of last season. If anything, I think that Bowling Green will win this game – straight up – especially if the weather is nice and conducive to the passing game.
As of now, local weathermen are predicting that it’ll be 79 degrees and sunny on Saturday in Madison. If the Badgers are really favored by 5 points when I get to Vegas, my money is going on the side of Bowling Green. I may look like a fool Saturday afternoon, but that’s why they call it gambling! Don't get me wrong - I'm still a fan of the Badger football team - I just don't think they'll beat Bowling Green by more than 5 points. Ultimately, I hope the Badgers win by 3 points.
I’ll also place some small wagers on the NASCAR race in California, but I don’t have any hard feelings about that race. Maybe that opinion will change by the time I arrive in Sin City and view the posted odds.
At the same time, I'm also investigating a way that will allow me to update this Sketchbook while I'm out-of-town. As my loyal readers may recall, I didn't post daily updates while in Vegas last year. Instead, I waited until I was back in Milwaukee and posted everything at once. Since I'll be in Vegas for five days this year, I'd like to make periodic posts so that people can see how I'm doing throughout - rather than waiting until I get back.
The Flamingo Hotel has free internet access (via dial-up) in each hotel room. However, since I subscribe to Roadrunner cable service at home, I'm not sure how this is going to work. Roadrunner has instructions that allow cable users to use dial-up when they travel, but I've never tried it before. I guess I'll find out if it really works. If it does, I'll be able to update the Sketchbook regularly and surf the internet during slow times (i.e. times when I'm losing at the tables) by using my laptop.
Before I leave for Vegas, however, I still have an opportunity to do a little on-line gambling. In fact, with the the little money I left behind at Party Poker, I decided to explore a 6-man $2/$4 Omaha Hi/Lo table tonight. Thirty minutes into my session, I decided to quit - shaking my head at the poor play I witnessed. I won $23.15, but I could have won much more if I had caught some good cards. Omaha Hi/Lo isn't the easiest game to pick up, and it was apparent that the guys I sat with tonight weren't good.
I am DEFINITELY going to visit the Omaha Hi/Lo tables again to see if tonight was an abherration. I hope not!
Daily Sketch: Up $23.15
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $178.10
August 28, 2005: A Lazy Sunday of Poker
Similar to yesterday, I couldn't win while playing on Noble Poker today. Of course, the day started well enough when I learned that my account had been credited with $20 for my action the last couple days. That's a small chunk of the sign-up bonus I'm eligible for, but I'll take it!
I doubt I'll earn my full sign-up bonus, since it takes A LONG TIME to earn money from Noble Poker. The Bonus Whores site that I list in my shortcuts (to the right) shows that Noble Poker has one of the lowest hourly earnings rate for bonuses. As a result, it's going to take me a long time to earn 100% of my sign-up bonus. Still, I'm quite happy with the set of poker chips I earned for joining the site, so I'm not going to complain.
After learning that I was already $20 ahead for the day, I proceeded to lose $85 on the $2/$4 tables on Noble Poker. I couldn't catch any cards and lost a lot of small pots. I can't say that the river killed me today. I simply couldn't hit ANYTHING. Ugh!
Down $65, I ventured back to Party Poker and played a variety of games:
First, I joined a Multi-Table $30(3) Speed Tournament and was eliminated relatively quickly. In these Speed Tournaments, blinds go up every 3 minutes. So, if you don't hit something in the first 30 minutes, you're done - and that's what happened to me. The blinds whittled my stack to the point that I was forced to go all in with J-K. I was called by an opponent holding A-Q. Two more queens on the flop proved to be my undoing. I did make a straight when an ace appeared on the river, but that gave my opponent a full house. Ooops!
Down $98, I joined a 10-man $30(3) table and found immediate success. The Party Poker dealer loved me in this tournament and I dominated the action. Two different times, I flopped a set while holding pocket pairs and eliminated opponents. The rest of the time, I found myself catching flushes and straights and I steamrolled to the title. As a result, I took home the $150 first place prize and suddenly found myself up for the day. Woo hoo!!
Confident that I could do it again, I joined another 10-man $30(3) Tournament. This time, however, the Party Poker dealer wasn't nearly as kind as I lost most of my chips early in the tournament when my opponent (who was holding 3c 4c) hit his flush on the river. I had flopped two-pair, so I thought I was about to take home a nice pot until that final flush card hit. Ugh!
I was down $14 for the day and decided to jump on a 6-man $3/$6 table. Playing for nearly an hour, I won a less-than-impressive $16.50. It wasn't a particularly exciting session and it was pretty easy to get up and walk away from that table.
At that point, I decided to cash-out most of the money sitting in my Party Poker account. Since I'm leaving for Vegas on Thursday, I needed to initiate a withdrawal to ensure that my Party Poker funds would be available in my checking account by Wednesday night. Since I've got activities planned each of the next three nights, it'll be easy for me to avoid on-line poker before we leave while I await the money to arrive at US Bank.
I left enough money behind, however, to join a $30(3) Multi-Table Tournament. A total of 340 people joined the tournament - with the top prize being $2,550. If nothing else, I figured it would preoccupy most of my late afternoon.
I played for two hours. Along the way, I caught some good cards - and got bad beat a few times. All in all, it was normal internet poker. After all was said and done, however, I could only muster a 73rd place finish - 40 spots from the money. Oh, well.
Four days 'til Vegas . . .
Daily Sketch: Down $31.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $201.25
I doubt I'll earn my full sign-up bonus, since it takes A LONG TIME to earn money from Noble Poker. The Bonus Whores site that I list in my shortcuts (to the right) shows that Noble Poker has one of the lowest hourly earnings rate for bonuses. As a result, it's going to take me a long time to earn 100% of my sign-up bonus. Still, I'm quite happy with the set of poker chips I earned for joining the site, so I'm not going to complain.
After learning that I was already $20 ahead for the day, I proceeded to lose $85 on the $2/$4 tables on Noble Poker. I couldn't catch any cards and lost a lot of small pots. I can't say that the river killed me today. I simply couldn't hit ANYTHING. Ugh!
Down $65, I ventured back to Party Poker and played a variety of games:
First, I joined a Multi-Table $30(3) Speed Tournament and was eliminated relatively quickly. In these Speed Tournaments, blinds go up every 3 minutes. So, if you don't hit something in the first 30 minutes, you're done - and that's what happened to me. The blinds whittled my stack to the point that I was forced to go all in with J-K. I was called by an opponent holding A-Q. Two more queens on the flop proved to be my undoing. I did make a straight when an ace appeared on the river, but that gave my opponent a full house. Ooops!
Down $98, I joined a 10-man $30(3) table and found immediate success. The Party Poker dealer loved me in this tournament and I dominated the action. Two different times, I flopped a set while holding pocket pairs and eliminated opponents. The rest of the time, I found myself catching flushes and straights and I steamrolled to the title. As a result, I took home the $150 first place prize and suddenly found myself up for the day. Woo hoo!!
Confident that I could do it again, I joined another 10-man $30(3) Tournament. This time, however, the Party Poker dealer wasn't nearly as kind as I lost most of my chips early in the tournament when my opponent (who was holding 3c 4c) hit his flush on the river. I had flopped two-pair, so I thought I was about to take home a nice pot until that final flush card hit. Ugh!
I was down $14 for the day and decided to jump on a 6-man $3/$6 table. Playing for nearly an hour, I won a less-than-impressive $16.50. It wasn't a particularly exciting session and it was pretty easy to get up and walk away from that table.
At that point, I decided to cash-out most of the money sitting in my Party Poker account. Since I'm leaving for Vegas on Thursday, I needed to initiate a withdrawal to ensure that my Party Poker funds would be available in my checking account by Wednesday night. Since I've got activities planned each of the next three nights, it'll be easy for me to avoid on-line poker before we leave while I await the money to arrive at US Bank.
I left enough money behind, however, to join a $30(3) Multi-Table Tournament. A total of 340 people joined the tournament - with the top prize being $2,550. If nothing else, I figured it would preoccupy most of my late afternoon.
I played for two hours. Along the way, I caught some good cards - and got bad beat a few times. All in all, it was normal internet poker. After all was said and done, however, I could only muster a 73rd place finish - 40 spots from the money. Oh, well.
Four days 'til Vegas . . .
Daily Sketch: Down $31.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $201.25
August 27, 2005: An Up and Down Day
I had a relatively interesting day in the world of cyber poker. In fact, thanks to one decent Sit 'n' Go, I avoided an ugly day. Thank goodness! With my trip to Las Vegas looming, I can't really afford to lose a ton of money while playing on-line poker.
Starting on Noble Poker this morning, I lost $157 while sitting at a 6-man $3/$6 table. On two different occassions, I lost big pots while holding pocket Aces. Each time, my opponent (who was holding a smaller pocket pair) flopped a set. First, an opponent holding 6-6 saw another 6 immediately appear on the board. Then, an opponent holding 10-10 had the good fortune of seeing a 10 appear on the board. Needless to say, I wasn't excited about either of those hands.
Down $157, I took a 4-hour break. Then, venturing to Party Poker, I decided to chase my losses by joining a $100(9) Sit 'n' Go Tournament. Thankfully, things went well and I proceeded to take 2nd place. For my efforts, I won $300 - netting me a profit of exactly $191. Just like that, I was up for the day! It's been awhile since I finished in the money in a $100 Tournament. It felt pretty good!
Relatively confident, I joined a $20(2) Tournament. Unfortunately, things didn't go well and I was eliminated in 6th place - far from the money. Ooops!
Content that I was up for the day (barely), I quit and proceeded to watch on TV as the NASCAR boyz raced in Bristol, Tennessee. Last night, Andrew and I each picked two drivers and wagered $2 that our respective drivers would do well. My drivers (J. Gordon & T. Stewart) both finished ahead of either of Andrew's drivers (J. Johnson & E. Sadler), so I won the two bucks. Woo Hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Up $14
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $169.75
Starting on Noble Poker this morning, I lost $157 while sitting at a 6-man $3/$6 table. On two different occassions, I lost big pots while holding pocket Aces. Each time, my opponent (who was holding a smaller pocket pair) flopped a set. First, an opponent holding 6-6 saw another 6 immediately appear on the board. Then, an opponent holding 10-10 had the good fortune of seeing a 10 appear on the board. Needless to say, I wasn't excited about either of those hands.
Down $157, I took a 4-hour break. Then, venturing to Party Poker, I decided to chase my losses by joining a $100(9) Sit 'n' Go Tournament. Thankfully, things went well and I proceeded to take 2nd place. For my efforts, I won $300 - netting me a profit of exactly $191. Just like that, I was up for the day! It's been awhile since I finished in the money in a $100 Tournament. It felt pretty good!
Relatively confident, I joined a $20(2) Tournament. Unfortunately, things didn't go well and I was eliminated in 6th place - far from the money. Ooops!
Content that I was up for the day (barely), I quit and proceeded to watch on TV as the NASCAR boyz raced in Bristol, Tennessee. Last night, Andrew and I each picked two drivers and wagered $2 that our respective drivers would do well. My drivers (J. Gordon & T. Stewart) both finished ahead of either of Andrew's drivers (J. Johnson & E. Sadler), so I won the two bucks. Woo Hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Up $14
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $169.75
August 26, 2005: A Little Noble Poker
I took the day off from work today to attend a wedding. The ceremonies didn't begin until the afternoon, so I had some time in the morning to play a little poker.
I jumped on a $3/$6 table and played for about 90 minutes on Noble Poker. I found a little bit of success and won exactly $39. It's not a mountain of loot, but it's better than losing.
I'll be in Las Vegas one week from today. Woo Hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Up $39
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $183.75
I jumped on a $3/$6 table and played for about 90 minutes on Noble Poker. I found a little bit of success and won exactly $39. It's not a mountain of loot, but it's better than losing.
I'll be in Las Vegas one week from today. Woo Hoo!!
Daily Sketch: Up $39
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $183.75
August 24, 2005: A Couple Tourneys
I played two 10-man tournaments on Party Poker tonight. Starting with a $20(2) Tournament, I took third place and claimed a profit of $18 for the accomplishment.
Next, I played a $30(3) Tournament and was eliminated in 4th place - one spot out of the money.
All told, I lost exactly $15 tonight. Ugh! I'm getting tired of poker. With my trip to Las Vegas only 8 days away, the Sketchbook is probably going to slow down a bit. I don't want to be burned out from gambling when I head to Sin City!
Daily Sketch: Down $15
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $222.75
Next, I played a $30(3) Tournament and was eliminated in 4th place - one spot out of the money.
All told, I lost exactly $15 tonight. Ugh! I'm getting tired of poker. With my trip to Las Vegas only 8 days away, the Sketchbook is probably going to slow down a bit. I don't want to be burned out from gambling when I head to Sin City!
Daily Sketch: Down $15
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $222.75
August 23, 2005: Brewers 11, Marlins 2
I visited Miller Park this evening and watched Milwaukee spank Florida. No wagers were made, and the Sketchbook shows an uneventful day.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $207.75
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $207.75
August 22, 2005: A Long Day Off
I took a day off from work and went golfing with Jared at Washington County Golf Club in Hartford. Teeing off at 8:41am, we flew threw 18 holes and walked away from the 18th green shortly after noon. Deciding that we had plenty of time left in the day, we decided to play another 18 holes.
I lost exactly $9 during those final 18 holes playing a variety of golf-related games. Jared shot a 76, so there was no way I was going to win any money from him. In fact, Jared came within 8 inches of getting a hole-in-one on the 180-yard 16th hole. We walked off the course shortly before 5:00pm.
Later that evening, I played poker at Joe's. Thankfully, I had a good night and more than offset the money I had given to Jared. All told, I won exactly $23.75 at Joe's, resulting in a small profit for today's Sketchbook.
After all was said and done, it was a long day off from work. I got to bed around midnight, approximately 18 hours after getting up in the morning. In between, I golfed 36 holes and played 4 hours of poker. I'm pooped! I need to go back to work tomorrow so that I can rest!
Daily Sketch: Up $14.75
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $207.75
I lost exactly $9 during those final 18 holes playing a variety of golf-related games. Jared shot a 76, so there was no way I was going to win any money from him. In fact, Jared came within 8 inches of getting a hole-in-one on the 180-yard 16th hole. We walked off the course shortly before 5:00pm.
Later that evening, I played poker at Joe's. Thankfully, I had a good night and more than offset the money I had given to Jared. All told, I won exactly $23.75 at Joe's, resulting in a small profit for today's Sketchbook.
After all was said and done, it was a long day off from work. I got to bed around midnight, approximately 18 hours after getting up in the morning. In between, I golfed 36 holes and played 4 hours of poker. I'm pooped! I need to go back to work tomorrow so that I can rest!
Daily Sketch: Up $14.75
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $207.75
August 21, 2005: A Quick $100(9) Tourney
I decided to get a little crazy today and played a $100(9) 10-man tourney on Party Poker. Relatively early in the tournament, I'm dealt 9-9. Here's how the hand went:
***** Hand History for Game 2573397634 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $100 Buy-in + $9 Entry Fee
Level:2 Blinds(15/30) - Sunday, August 21, 15:52:00 EDT 2005
Table Table 11823 (Real Money)
Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 1: bear_clan ( $910 )
Seat 2: NSm0405 ( $1100 )
Seat 5: Dudhound ( $975 )
Seat 6: ArtOfAllin ( $975 )
Seat 8: lazieboy ( $2340 )
Seat 9: RandomHit ( $1190 )
Seat 10: Boudger ( $1550 )
Seat 7: Stv_1313 ( $960 )
Trny:15038761 Level:2
Blinds(15/30)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ 9c 9s ]
Dudhound folds.
ArtOfAllin folds.
Stv_1313 raises [100].
lazieboy folds.
RandomHit folds.
Boudger folds.
bear_clan folds.
NSm0405 calls [70].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 6d, 4h, 7d ]
NSm0405 checks.
Stv_1313 bets [250].
NSm0405 calls [250].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 8s ]
NSm0405 is all-In [750]
Stv_1313 is all-In [610]
** Dealing River ** [ 5d ]
NSm0405 shows [ Ad, Jd ] a flush, ace high.
Stv_1313 shows [ 9c, 9s ] a straight, five to nine.
NSm0405 wins 140 chips from side pot #1 with a flush, ace high.
NSm0405 wins 1935 chips from the main pot with a flush, ace high.
Stv_1313 finished in eighth place.
Stv_1313 has left the table.
And with that, I lose $109. My opponent goes "all in" on a draw and hits his flush on the river. Ugh!
Daily Sketch: Down $109
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $222.50
***** Hand History for Game 2573397634 *****
NL Texas Hold'em $100 Buy-in + $9 Entry Fee
Level:2 Blinds(15/30) - Sunday, August 21, 15:52:00 EDT 2005
Table Table 11823 (Real Money)
Seat 10 is the button
Total number of players : 8
Seat 1: bear_clan ( $910 )
Seat 2: NSm0405 ( $1100 )
Seat 5: Dudhound ( $975 )
Seat 6: ArtOfAllin ( $975 )
Seat 8: lazieboy ( $2340 )
Seat 9: RandomHit ( $1190 )
Seat 10: Boudger ( $1550 )
Seat 7: Stv_1313 ( $960 )
Trny:15038761 Level:2
Blinds(15/30)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ 9c 9s ]
Dudhound folds.
ArtOfAllin folds.
Stv_1313 raises [100].
lazieboy folds.
RandomHit folds.
Boudger folds.
bear_clan folds.
NSm0405 calls [70].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 6d, 4h, 7d ]
NSm0405 checks.
Stv_1313 bets [250].
NSm0405 calls [250].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 8s ]
NSm0405 is all-In [750]
Stv_1313 is all-In [610]
** Dealing River ** [ 5d ]
NSm0405 shows [ Ad, Jd ] a flush, ace high.
Stv_1313 shows [ 9c, 9s ] a straight, five to nine.
NSm0405 wins 140 chips from side pot #1 with a flush, ace high.
NSm0405 wins 1935 chips from the main pot with a flush, ace high.
Stv_1313 finished in eighth place.
Stv_1313 has left the table.
And with that, I lose $109. My opponent goes "all in" on a draw and hits his flush on the river. Ugh!
Daily Sketch: Down $109
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $222.50
August 20, 2005: Spotted Cow IX
Today I hosted the ninth edition of my Spotted Cow Hold 'em Tournament. Per usual, it was a good time.
A total of twenty-five players participated, and I thought I played ok. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to catch good cards and I didn't finish in the money until the 4th (and final) tournament. I took 3rd place in that tournament - which allowed me to claim $105. All told, however, the four tournaments cost me $120, so the Sketchbook sees a small loss today. Oh, well. With 25 guys playing, it's not easy to finish in the money very often.
Daily Sketch: Down $15
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $113.59
A total of twenty-five players participated, and I thought I played ok. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to catch good cards and I didn't finish in the money until the 4th (and final) tournament. I took 3rd place in that tournament - which allowed me to claim $105. All told, however, the four tournaments cost me $120, so the Sketchbook sees a small loss today. Oh, well. With 25 guys playing, it's not easy to finish in the money very often.
Daily Sketch: Down $15
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $113.59
August 18, 2005: My New Poker Chips
When I arrived at home this evening, I was delighted to learn that a package from UPS had arrived at my apartment's doorstep during the day. Here's a picture of the contents of the package:
My new set of poker chips looks great. As I've been writing the past few weeks, these chips were free - courtesy of the account I established at Noble Poker. There were no hidden charges and it wasn't particularly difficult to earn these chips. If anyone needs a set of poker chips and plays on-line poker, I'd definitely recommend taking advantage of this offer. The new poker chips will be initiated at this weekend's Spotted Cow Tournament.
Not surprisingly, I didn't find my night of on-line poker as exciting as my new set of chips. I started my evening on a 10-man $20(2) Tournament on Party Poker. On the very first hand of the tournament, I doubled up when my pocket Aces held up. Unfortunately, my good fortune abruptly turned bad and I couldn't manage anything better than a 5th place finish.
Similar to last night, I decided to jump onto a 6-man $3/$6 table in a simple attempt to win back the $22 I blew in the tournament. For the longest time, however, I couldn't win any money and dug myself into a decent hole. I found one particularly bad player who kept hitting miracle cards - despite horrendous plays. Here's a good example of how he played:
***** Hand History for Game 2558611681 *****
$3/$6 Texas Hold'em - Thursday, August 18, 22:27:22 EDT 2005
Table Table 56060 (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 3: jwoz429 ( $123.83 )
Seat 5: sammycrain ( $126.90 )
Seat 1: Stv_1313 ( $85.59 )
Seat 6: SeriKing ( $94 )
Seat 2: pair10s ( $150 )
Seat 4: FiremanRich ( $219.50 )
pair10s posts small blind [$1].
jwoz429 posts big blind [$3].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ Ac Ad ]
FiremanRich folds.
sammycrain folds.
SeriKing raises [$6].
Stv_1313 raises [$9].
pair10s raises [$11].
jwoz429 folds.
SeriKing calls [$6].
Stv_1313 calls [$3].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9h, 7s, 9d ]
pair10s checks.
SeriKing checks.
Stv_1313 bets [$3].
pair10s calls [$3].
SeriKing folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Td ]
pair10s checks.
Stv_1313 bets [$6].
pair10s calls [$6].
** Dealing River ** [ 5d ]
pair10s bets [$6].
Stv_1313 raises [$12].
pair10s raises [$12].
Stv_1313 calls [$6].
pair10s shows [ 6d, 2d ] a flush, ten high.
Stv_1313 doesn't show [ Ac, Ad ] two pairs, aces and nines.
pair10s wins $91 from the main pot with a flush, ten high.
Upon re-reading the history of this hand, I'm still amazed at the play of Pair10s. Unlike most people I meet on Party Poker, however, I didn't criticize his play. Despite the fact that my opponent got incredibly lucky, he played the hand HORRIBLY. How a player caps the bet preflop (while holding 2d 6d) is beyond me. Regardless, I wanted him to keep playing like this, so I simply typed "nice hand" afterwards.
It took awhile, but my patience was eventually rewarded. Pair10s lost all the money he had at the table, and I helped take some of that money from him. Despite the fact that I was down nearly $100 at this table, I eventually won it all back and actually left the table with a profit of $25.09. Offsetting the $22 I lost in the Tournament, I experienced a miniscule profit tonight.
On the other hand, I'm the proud owner of a new set of poker chips!
Daily Sketch: Up $3.09
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $98.59
My new set of poker chips looks great. As I've been writing the past few weeks, these chips were free - courtesy of the account I established at Noble Poker. There were no hidden charges and it wasn't particularly difficult to earn these chips. If anyone needs a set of poker chips and plays on-line poker, I'd definitely recommend taking advantage of this offer. The new poker chips will be initiated at this weekend's Spotted Cow Tournament.
Not surprisingly, I didn't find my night of on-line poker as exciting as my new set of chips. I started my evening on a 10-man $20(2) Tournament on Party Poker. On the very first hand of the tournament, I doubled up when my pocket Aces held up. Unfortunately, my good fortune abruptly turned bad and I couldn't manage anything better than a 5th place finish.
Similar to last night, I decided to jump onto a 6-man $3/$6 table in a simple attempt to win back the $22 I blew in the tournament. For the longest time, however, I couldn't win any money and dug myself into a decent hole. I found one particularly bad player who kept hitting miracle cards - despite horrendous plays. Here's a good example of how he played:
***** Hand History for Game 2558611681 *****
$3/$6 Texas Hold'em - Thursday, August 18, 22:27:22 EDT 2005
Table Table 56060 (6 max) (Real Money)
Seat 1 is the button
Total number of players : 6
Seat 3: jwoz429 ( $123.83 )
Seat 5: sammycrain ( $126.90 )
Seat 1: Stv_1313 ( $85.59 )
Seat 6: SeriKing ( $94 )
Seat 2: pair10s ( $150 )
Seat 4: FiremanRich ( $219.50 )
pair10s posts small blind [$1].
jwoz429 posts big blind [$3].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to Stv_1313 [ Ac Ad ]
FiremanRich folds.
sammycrain folds.
SeriKing raises [$6].
Stv_1313 raises [$9].
pair10s raises [$11].
jwoz429 folds.
SeriKing calls [$6].
Stv_1313 calls [$3].
** Dealing Flop ** [ 9h, 7s, 9d ]
pair10s checks.
SeriKing checks.
Stv_1313 bets [$3].
pair10s calls [$3].
SeriKing folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ Td ]
pair10s checks.
Stv_1313 bets [$6].
pair10s calls [$6].
** Dealing River ** [ 5d ]
pair10s bets [$6].
Stv_1313 raises [$12].
pair10s raises [$12].
Stv_1313 calls [$6].
pair10s shows [ 6d, 2d ] a flush, ten high.
Stv_1313 doesn't show [ Ac, Ad ] two pairs, aces and nines.
pair10s wins $91 from the main pot with a flush, ten high.
Upon re-reading the history of this hand, I'm still amazed at the play of Pair10s. Unlike most people I meet on Party Poker, however, I didn't criticize his play. Despite the fact that my opponent got incredibly lucky, he played the hand HORRIBLY. How a player caps the bet preflop (while holding 2d 6d) is beyond me. Regardless, I wanted him to keep playing like this, so I simply typed "nice hand" afterwards.
It took awhile, but my patience was eventually rewarded. Pair10s lost all the money he had at the table, and I helped take some of that money from him. Despite the fact that I was down nearly $100 at this table, I eventually won it all back and actually left the table with a profit of $25.09. Offsetting the $22 I lost in the Tournament, I experienced a miniscule profit tonight.
On the other hand, I'm the proud owner of a new set of poker chips!
Daily Sketch: Up $3.09
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $98.59
August 17, 2005: Dead Even
When I got home from work this evening, I decided to join a 10-man $30(3) Tournament on Party Poker. The tournament progressed relatively well and when we got down to 4 players, I was the chip leader. Dealt pocket Aces two different times certainly didn't hurt my cause.
At that point, the tournament became an "all in" affair. Time after time, someone would go "all in" and everyone would subsequently fold. For that reason, I lost a few blinds, but eventually found myself holding Ac Jh in the big blind. The player in front of me went "all in" and I quickly called his bet.
My opponent flipped over 6s 9s (he was bluffing) and I was sitting in a great spot. However, three spades eventually appeared on the board and my stack of chips was decimated. Just like that, I became the low stack at the table and I was eliminated a few hands later. For finishing in 4th place, I won zip. Ugh!
Determined to win back my $33, I immediately joined a 6-man $3/$6 table. For the first 20 minutes, I couldn't catch any cards and dug myself a small hole. However, I won a big hand in the 21st minute when my 9s 10s saw three more spades appear on the flop. At the time, I was sitting in the big blind and all five players had limped into the pot. For whatever reason, I decided to raise the bet to $6, and everyone paid the extra $3 to see the flop. Even before any cards had appeared on the table, there was already $36 in the middle.
As it turned out, one of my opponents flopped two pair. Another player was holding the As and another player was holding Ks. I played my hand fast and the pot got ridiculously large. In the end, no more spades came out and I scooped a pot of over $100 with my flush.
After that hand, I found myself up $45 at the $3/$6 table. A few hands later, I lost a decent pot and noticed that I was up exactly $33 at the $3/$6 table. Since my original goal was to simply win back the money I had lost in the opening tournament, I decided to retire for the night - DEAD EVEN.
It's not exciting, but it's better than losing!
P.S. The package that had been waiting in Juneau Village's office was for Theresa. So, I continue to wait for my poker chips.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $101.68
At that point, the tournament became an "all in" affair. Time after time, someone would go "all in" and everyone would subsequently fold. For that reason, I lost a few blinds, but eventually found myself holding Ac Jh in the big blind. The player in front of me went "all in" and I quickly called his bet.
My opponent flipped over 6s 9s (he was bluffing) and I was sitting in a great spot. However, three spades eventually appeared on the board and my stack of chips was decimated. Just like that, I became the low stack at the table and I was eliminated a few hands later. For finishing in 4th place, I won zip. Ugh!
Determined to win back my $33, I immediately joined a 6-man $3/$6 table. For the first 20 minutes, I couldn't catch any cards and dug myself a small hole. However, I won a big hand in the 21st minute when my 9s 10s saw three more spades appear on the flop. At the time, I was sitting in the big blind and all five players had limped into the pot. For whatever reason, I decided to raise the bet to $6, and everyone paid the extra $3 to see the flop. Even before any cards had appeared on the table, there was already $36 in the middle.
As it turned out, one of my opponents flopped two pair. Another player was holding the As and another player was holding Ks. I played my hand fast and the pot got ridiculously large. In the end, no more spades came out and I scooped a pot of over $100 with my flush.
After that hand, I found myself up $45 at the $3/$6 table. A few hands later, I lost a decent pot and noticed that I was up exactly $33 at the $3/$6 table. Since my original goal was to simply win back the money I had lost in the opening tournament, I decided to retire for the night - DEAD EVEN.
It's not exciting, but it's better than losing!
P.S. The package that had been waiting in Juneau Village's office was for Theresa. So, I continue to wait for my poker chips.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $101.68
August 16, 2005: A Night of Rest
I took a night off from gambling. Theresa and I ran some errands after work and I got home later than usual. Instead of playing poker, I did a little research for my upcoming four (yes four!) fantasy football drafts and made some updates to my Spotted Cow Website. Only a few more days until that glorious event occurs!
When Theresa and I did get home, we found a UPS sticker on our mailbox. Something is sitting in Juneau Village's office waiting for pick-up. Theresa thinks it might be related to her work. I'm hoping that it's my poker chips. I guess we'll find out tomorrow!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $101.68
When Theresa and I did get home, we found a UPS sticker on our mailbox. Something is sitting in Juneau Village's office waiting for pick-up. Theresa thinks it might be related to her work. I'm hoping that it's my poker chips. I guess we'll find out tomorrow!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $101.68
August 15, 2005: Poker at Joe's
I must've still been on tilt from yesterday's Sausage Race, 'cuz I lost $15 while playing poker at Joe's tonight. Ooops!
Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for my new set of poker chips from Noble Poker . . .
Daily Sketch: Down $15
Month-to-Date Sketch Down $101.68
Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for my new set of poker chips from Noble Poker . . .
Daily Sketch: Down $15
Month-to-Date Sketch Down $101.68
August 14, 2005: Sausage Race
I went to the Brewer game today. I lost $1 on the Sausage Race when the "mini" Hot Dog got confused and didn't take off promptly in the relay race. The "big" Hot Dog was the leader at the turn, but it went for naught when "mini" Hot Dog got confused. I was tempted to lustily boo the "mini" Hot Dog, but I figured that it was probably poor etiquette to boo a 7-year old boy running around in an oversized Hot Dog costume.
Nonetheless, the 7-year old cost me a buck!
After getting home from work, I played a significant amount of low-stakes poker on Party Poker. After all was said and done, I lost exactly $18.25.
Oh, well. I must've been on tilt from that darn Hot Dog!
Daily Sketch: Down $19.25
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $86.68
August 13, 2005: Horsing Around with Jen & Andrew
Theresa and I made our annual trek to Arlington Park with Andrew and Jen to watch/bet on the horse races. Maybe I shouldn't use the word "annual" to describe the trip, considering the fact that last year was our first trip to the Illiniois track. However, based on my success the past two years, it will probably become an annual trek down south.
I went to the track with $60 in my wallet and prayed that I wouldn't need to visit an ATM machine. Considering the fact that I lost $20 on the first race, my visit to a cash machine seemed inevitable. After all, twelve races were scheduled during the day - and I only had $40 left in my pocket.
The 2nd race, however, proved quite lucrative. I put a few longshots into my 3-horse exacta box (cost: $12) and two of them finished 1-2. I hit the exacta and won exactly $316.60. Just like that, I was up $286.60 and it became evident that my ATM card wasn't going to be needed.
The rest of the day was mediocre - but that was ok. Over the course of the last ten races, I lost exactly $1. I hit another $95 exacta and claimed a couple smaller bets, but I lost those winnings back on other races. After all was said and done, I claimed a profit of $285.50 during the long day of racing. Woo Hoo!
Last year, I made $420 in my inaugural trip to the track. Coupled with this year's winnings, I'm up $700 in two visits to the horsies. As mentioned earlier, a trip to Arlington may become an annual trek. I like horsing around!
Daily Sketch: Up $285.60
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $67.43
I went to the track with $60 in my wallet and prayed that I wouldn't need to visit an ATM machine. Considering the fact that I lost $20 on the first race, my visit to a cash machine seemed inevitable. After all, twelve races were scheduled during the day - and I only had $40 left in my pocket.
The 2nd race, however, proved quite lucrative. I put a few longshots into my 3-horse exacta box (cost: $12) and two of them finished 1-2. I hit the exacta and won exactly $316.60. Just like that, I was up $286.60 and it became evident that my ATM card wasn't going to be needed.
The rest of the day was mediocre - but that was ok. Over the course of the last ten races, I lost exactly $1. I hit another $95 exacta and claimed a couple smaller bets, but I lost those winnings back on other races. After all was said and done, I claimed a profit of $285.50 during the long day of racing. Woo Hoo!
Last year, I made $420 in my inaugural trip to the track. Coupled with this year's winnings, I'm up $700 in two visits to the horsies. As mentioned earlier, a trip to Arlington may become an annual trek. I like horsing around!
Daily Sketch: Up $285.60
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $67.43
August 12, 2005: Fifteen Minutes
I decided to gamble tonight and joined a No-Limit $5/$10 table on Noble Poker. Buying in for $200, I was down to $180 after 14 minutes when I'm dealt As Ks. I raise the bet to $50 and I'm called by one player. The flop comes A-5-4 and I go "all in" with my last $130. My opponent calls my bet and flips over A-Q. I've got the lead!
Naturally, the turn is a Queen and I lose the pot. Just like that, I'm down $200 and I quit for the night. Ugh!
I'm getting sick of on-line poker. I battled a long time last evening to get even and gave it all back in one hand tonight. I think I'll take a short break from cyberworld. Theresa and I are visiting the horsetrack tomorrow, so it'll be pretty easy to stay away from poker this weekend.
Daily Sketch: Down $200
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $353.03
Naturally, the turn is a Queen and I lose the pot. Just like that, I'm down $200 and I quit for the night. Ugh!
I'm getting sick of on-line poker. I battled a long time last evening to get even and gave it all back in one hand tonight. I think I'll take a short break from cyberworld. Theresa and I are visiting the horsetrack tomorrow, so it'll be pretty easy to stay away from poker this weekend.
Daily Sketch: Down $200
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $353.03
August 11, 2005: Two Sites, Two Results
It was a "Tale of Two Websites" tonight.
Starting my evening at Party Poker, I immediately joined a 10-man $30(3) Tournament when I got home from work. The first three hands of the tournament, I received an ace in the hole. However, I couldn't get another ace to appear on the board and I quickly found myself down to 225 chips - after starting with 800 chips. I was the low stack at the table and things weren't looking particularly promising.
I must've folded the next 20 hands, as I simply tried to hang on. At the same time, I munched on a bowl of chili. Then, dealt 6-6, I went "all in" with my last 180 chips and had five different players match my bet. Amazingly, two more 6's appeared on the flop and I suddenly found myself with over 1,000 chips. Woo Hoo!!
Armed with some ammunition, I fought my way to a 2nd place finish in the tournament and was awarded $90 - netting me a quick profit of $57. I felt pretty good as I headed to the $3/$6 tables.
For the next 2 hours, I watched the Packers play the Chargers in the NFL preseason opener for both teams while simultaneously watching my bankroll get hammered. Nothing went right and I lost hand after hand after hand. It was very frustrating. All told, I lost $290 on the $3/$6 tables - which is an alarmingly high figure. Ugh! I was particularly distraught when my Kd-10d lost a big flush pot to another player holding Ad-7d.
Down exactly $233 for the night, I decided to head to Noble Poker as the Packers & Chargers headed to the 3rd Quarter. Just like that, my bad luck disappeared on the new website's $3/$6 tables. Considering the ugliness of the Packer game, it was nice to see that the poker tables a the new website didn't match the ugliness.
I played for 90 minutes on Noble Poker. During that time, I repeatedly flopped top pair and no one could seemingly beat me. I scooped a remarkably high number of pots and quit after winning exactly $240. After winning a particularly big hand, I noticed that I was suddenly ahead for the night and quickly retired. A huge sigh of relief escaped my lips!
It was, indeed, a "Tale of Two Websites" this evening. I lost $233 on Party Poker but won $240 at Noble Poker. I'm quite happy to report a small profit. These $3/$6 tables are quite interesting.
Daily Sketch: Up $7
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $153.03
Starting my evening at Party Poker, I immediately joined a 10-man $30(3) Tournament when I got home from work. The first three hands of the tournament, I received an ace in the hole. However, I couldn't get another ace to appear on the board and I quickly found myself down to 225 chips - after starting with 800 chips. I was the low stack at the table and things weren't looking particularly promising.
I must've folded the next 20 hands, as I simply tried to hang on. At the same time, I munched on a bowl of chili. Then, dealt 6-6, I went "all in" with my last 180 chips and had five different players match my bet. Amazingly, two more 6's appeared on the flop and I suddenly found myself with over 1,000 chips. Woo Hoo!!
Armed with some ammunition, I fought my way to a 2nd place finish in the tournament and was awarded $90 - netting me a quick profit of $57. I felt pretty good as I headed to the $3/$6 tables.
For the next 2 hours, I watched the Packers play the Chargers in the NFL preseason opener for both teams while simultaneously watching my bankroll get hammered. Nothing went right and I lost hand after hand after hand. It was very frustrating. All told, I lost $290 on the $3/$6 tables - which is an alarmingly high figure. Ugh! I was particularly distraught when my Kd-10d lost a big flush pot to another player holding Ad-7d.
Down exactly $233 for the night, I decided to head to Noble Poker as the Packers & Chargers headed to the 3rd Quarter. Just like that, my bad luck disappeared on the new website's $3/$6 tables. Considering the ugliness of the Packer game, it was nice to see that the poker tables a the new website didn't match the ugliness.
I played for 90 minutes on Noble Poker. During that time, I repeatedly flopped top pair and no one could seemingly beat me. I scooped a remarkably high number of pots and quit after winning exactly $240. After winning a particularly big hand, I noticed that I was suddenly ahead for the night and quickly retired. A huge sigh of relief escaped my lips!
It was, indeed, a "Tale of Two Websites" this evening. I lost $233 on Party Poker but won $240 at Noble Poker. I'm quite happy to report a small profit. These $3/$6 tables are quite interesting.
Daily Sketch: Up $7
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $153.03
August 10, 2005: No Fun Tonight
I didn't particularly enjoy playing poker tonight. All told, I lost exactly $117 playing on various $3/$6 tables on Party Poker. I won't bother describing some of the bad beats I experienced this evening - they (obviously) outnumbered the good hands. All told, I played for a little over 2 hours.
I'd like to build up some winnings in preparation for my visit to Las Vegas in a few weeks. Nights like this evening aren't going to help!
In addition to my subpar play on cyberspace's poker felt, the Sketchbook takes an additional beating today. I submitted two teams into Bob's PGA Tournament pool. Per usual, each team costs $25. I've had recent success under Theresa's name, so we'll see what happens.
My Team: Woods, Singh, Goosen, & Weir.
Theresa's Team: Woods, Singh, Goosen, & Furyk.
Daily Sketch: Down $167
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $160.03
I'd like to build up some winnings in preparation for my visit to Las Vegas in a few weeks. Nights like this evening aren't going to help!
In addition to my subpar play on cyberspace's poker felt, the Sketchbook takes an additional beating today. I submitted two teams into Bob's PGA Tournament pool. Per usual, each team costs $25. I've had recent success under Theresa's name, so we'll see what happens.
My Team: Woods, Singh, Goosen, & Weir.
Theresa's Team: Woods, Singh, Goosen, & Furyk.
Daily Sketch: Down $167
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $160.03
August 9, 2005: News & Notes
Well . . . The Guestbook wasn't down long. It's back!
At the same time, I found the following e-mail in my inbox this morning:
Dear Steve,
Thank you very much for participating in our free gift offer. We are writing to let you know that your account has been confirmed with Noble Poker and your Free Gift is being shipped out! Please allow 6-10 business days for the item to arrive (for shipments outside the US or Canada, please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery).
Sincerely,
Annie
I guess that my poker chips are on the way!
Finally . . . Rob broke out his poetic skills and composed the following Haiku regarding the trip to Indy. Most of you won't understand parts of it, but it's a nice summary of this past weekend:
Racing, golf and cold beer
Tiki Bobs, flattened frogs woo hoo
Tony wins the big prize
Abuse of livers, ouch
Ten straight wet drives, what a riot
The book of Rob, discuss
Gambling opportunities abound
Lady blows chunks on downtown street
Miller girls in pool, smokin!
Rain cancels Friday practice
Results in early golf, hangover
Yoshii plays ahead, free Coors
I didn't do any gambling tonight, but the Sketchbook will show a profit of $13 today - courtesy of my gambling profits at last night's Brewer game. I won $10 playing a few hold 'em tournaments before the game and I proceeded to win another $3 on the infamous Sausage race. Way to go Italian!
Daily Sketch: Up $13
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $6.97
At the same time, I found the following e-mail in my inbox this morning:
Dear Steve,
Thank you very much for participating in our free gift offer. We are writing to let you know that your account has been confirmed with Noble Poker and your Free Gift is being shipped out! Please allow 6-10 business days for the item to arrive (for shipments outside the US or Canada, please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery).
Sincerely,
Annie
I guess that my poker chips are on the way!
Finally . . . Rob broke out his poetic skills and composed the following Haiku regarding the trip to Indy. Most of you won't understand parts of it, but it's a nice summary of this past weekend:
Racing, golf and cold beer
Tiki Bobs, flattened frogs woo hoo
Tony wins the big prize
Abuse of livers, ouch
Ten straight wet drives, what a riot
The book of Rob, discuss
Gambling opportunities abound
Lady blows chunks on downtown street
Miller girls in pool, smokin!
Rain cancels Friday practice
Results in early golf, hangover
Yoshii plays ahead, free Coors
I didn't do any gambling tonight, but the Sketchbook will show a profit of $13 today - courtesy of my gambling profits at last night's Brewer game. I won $10 playing a few hold 'em tournaments before the game and I proceeded to win another $3 on the infamous Sausage race. Way to go Italian!
Daily Sketch: Up $13
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $6.97
August 8, 2005: Where's My Guestbook?
Hmmmm . . . as I look at my site today, it looks like the host of my Guestbook as disappeared. That's interesting! If nothing else, it would have been nice to have received a warning e-mail. For now, I'll leave the link alone and hope that the site comes back up. Otherwise, I guess I'll be starting a new Guestbook sometime in the near future. In the meantime, people can use the "Comments" link at the end of each of my postings.
On to gambling . . .
Back from Indianapolis, I decided to jump on UltimateBet and subsequently played some 6-man $5/$10 poker. Unfortunately, things went horribly and I lost exactly $150 in a little over 90 minutes. I got an inordinate number of pocket pairs in the hole, but I don't remember hitting a set one time. I must've been 0-12 with my pocket pairs today. Ugh!
I lost a particularly big hand while holding KK. The flop came 3-6-7, but another 7 on the river meant a big pot for my opponent - who was holding A-7. Ugh! Just like that, the Sketchbook is back in the red for the month. Doh!
I'm attending the Brewer game tonight. Almost certainly, there will be some wagering at the game. I'll write about that tomorrow.
Daily Sketch: Down $150
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $6.03
August 8, 2005: Back from Indy
Last Friday morning, I left for Indianapolis with Andrew, Rob, and Brian. It was a long (and fun) weekend. Here's how the gambling went . . .
Even before we left Milwaukee, Andrew and I wagered $.50 concerning the time zone difference. Andrew thought that we switched time zones when we arrived in Indy. I said "no" and we placed the $.50 wager. I won that bet and found myself up a half-a-buck right away. Woo hoo!!
On the Friday morning ride to Indiana, we played a $3 Hold 'em Tournament in the car. Despite the fact that I was driving 70 miles an hour, I managed to win the tournament and claimed a $9 first place prize - netting me a profit of $6.
That first afternoon, we went golfing. I shot 48-48. It was my first round of golf in over a month, so I wasn't overly disappointed with the results. I sprained my ankle a few weeks ago, so this was my first real test on the tender ankle. We didn't do any gambling on the course. Sorry!
I took a very small handful of pictures during the trip. Here's a quick snapshot of me golfing on Friday. It's not evident in the picture, but my left ankle is considerably larger than my right ankle - due to the swelling.
The next morning (after a very late night at the bars), we visited another golf course in the greater Indianapolis area. I didn't feel particularly good when we sauntered up to the #1 tee at 8:10am, but a golfer in the preceding group gave me a Coors Lite. The beer helped!
I proceeded to shoot a 48-43. I had three birdies on the back nine, but I blew up on several other holes and couldn't do better than the 43. Along the way, I won $9 while playing Bingo Bango Bongo with the boyz and won another $1 playing Poison on the tees. Again, my ankle survived the round.
Saturday afternoon (after leaving the golf course), we visited the track to watch the qualifying session. I lost $5 in our annual qualifying pool. Brian claimed a $15 profit as a result of Elliot Sadler's ability to take the poll.
After another late night in downtown Indianapolis, we got up at 9:30am and headed to the racetrack. Arriving a few hours early (to get a good parking spot), we had time to play $4 and $5 Hold 'em Tournaments in the car. I won the $4 tournament, but Andrew claimed the $5 Tournament. All told, I netted a small profit of $3 in the two tournaments.
That was it for the gambling. Tony Stewart proceeded to win this year's Brickyard 400, but we didn't place any wagers on the final results. After all was said and done, I won a whopping $14.50 on all my small wagers. I got back to Milwaukee around 11:15pm Sunday night.
Daily Sketch: Up $14.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $144.97
Even before we left Milwaukee, Andrew and I wagered $.50 concerning the time zone difference. Andrew thought that we switched time zones when we arrived in Indy. I said "no" and we placed the $.50 wager. I won that bet and found myself up a half-a-buck right away. Woo hoo!!
On the Friday morning ride to Indiana, we played a $3 Hold 'em Tournament in the car. Despite the fact that I was driving 70 miles an hour, I managed to win the tournament and claimed a $9 first place prize - netting me a profit of $6.
That first afternoon, we went golfing. I shot 48-48. It was my first round of golf in over a month, so I wasn't overly disappointed with the results. I sprained my ankle a few weeks ago, so this was my first real test on the tender ankle. We didn't do any gambling on the course. Sorry!
I took a very small handful of pictures during the trip. Here's a quick snapshot of me golfing on Friday. It's not evident in the picture, but my left ankle is considerably larger than my right ankle - due to the swelling.
The next morning (after a very late night at the bars), we visited another golf course in the greater Indianapolis area. I didn't feel particularly good when we sauntered up to the #1 tee at 8:10am, but a golfer in the preceding group gave me a Coors Lite. The beer helped!
I proceeded to shoot a 48-43. I had three birdies on the back nine, but I blew up on several other holes and couldn't do better than the 43. Along the way, I won $9 while playing Bingo Bango Bongo with the boyz and won another $1 playing Poison on the tees. Again, my ankle survived the round.
Saturday afternoon (after leaving the golf course), we visited the track to watch the qualifying session. I lost $5 in our annual qualifying pool. Brian claimed a $15 profit as a result of Elliot Sadler's ability to take the poll.
After another late night in downtown Indianapolis, we got up at 9:30am and headed to the racetrack. Arriving a few hours early (to get a good parking spot), we had time to play $4 and $5 Hold 'em Tournaments in the car. I won the $4 tournament, but Andrew claimed the $5 Tournament. All told, I netted a small profit of $3 in the two tournaments.
That was it for the gambling. Tony Stewart proceeded to win this year's Brickyard 400, but we didn't place any wagers on the final results. After all was said and done, I won a whopping $14.50 on all my small wagers. I got back to Milwaukee around 11:15pm Sunday night.
Daily Sketch: Up $14.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $144.97
August 4, 2005: More Poker Nobility
When I logged into Noble Poker this evening, exactly 935 people were playing on their tables. By way of comparison, I also logged into Party Poker and they were reporting 64,577 players at the same time. To say that Noble Poker is a bit smaller than Party Poker would be an understatement, ehh?
I found another small portion of my initial deposit bonus ($10) sitting in my Noble Poker account when I logged in, so I was up before the night of poker began. I immediately tried to join a 6-man $3/$6 table, but only one table was active and every chair was filled every time I looked. So, instead, I spent my night on a 6-man $2/$4 table. The players at these tables are plenty loose and the pots can get quite healthy, so I don't think I'm missing much by playing at the lower stakes. When there are only 935 people playing on a site, I suppose that it's going to be difficult to play on any table that you want.
After playing for 90 minutes, I found myself up exactly $50 at the table. Happy that I had won for a 3rd consecutive time on Noble Poker, I decided that it was a good time to retire for the night. I could have had a really nice entry in the Sketchbook except for two particularly bad river cards that cost me a couple big pots. Still, I should have plenty of raked hands in my back pocket and (I hope) that a new set of poker chips will be mailed to my attention in the near future.
Tomorrow morning, I am heading to Indianapolis for a long weekend with Andrew, Rob, and Brian. We'll be visiting Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday to watch NASCAR's Brickyard 400. As such, there won't be any entries to the Sketchbook for the next few days. I'm confident, however, that there will be some small wagers made throughout the weekend. I'll recount all the activity on Monday - complete with a couple photos.
See ya!
Daily Sketch: Up $60
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $130.97
I found another small portion of my initial deposit bonus ($10) sitting in my Noble Poker account when I logged in, so I was up before the night of poker began. I immediately tried to join a 6-man $3/$6 table, but only one table was active and every chair was filled every time I looked. So, instead, I spent my night on a 6-man $2/$4 table. The players at these tables are plenty loose and the pots can get quite healthy, so I don't think I'm missing much by playing at the lower stakes. When there are only 935 people playing on a site, I suppose that it's going to be difficult to play on any table that you want.
After playing for 90 minutes, I found myself up exactly $50 at the table. Happy that I had won for a 3rd consecutive time on Noble Poker, I decided that it was a good time to retire for the night. I could have had a really nice entry in the Sketchbook except for two particularly bad river cards that cost me a couple big pots. Still, I should have plenty of raked hands in my back pocket and (I hope) that a new set of poker chips will be mailed to my attention in the near future.
Tomorrow morning, I am heading to Indianapolis for a long weekend with Andrew, Rob, and Brian. We'll be visiting Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday to watch NASCAR's Brickyard 400. As such, there won't be any entries to the Sketchbook for the next few days. I'm confident, however, that there will be some small wagers made throughout the weekend. I'll recount all the activity on Monday - complete with a couple photos.
See ya!
Daily Sketch: Up $60
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $130.97
August 3, 2005: Noble Poker's Sign-up Bonus
As a result of my deposit yesterday, I've got a pending $250 match bonus coming from Noble Poker. Upon doing some research, I learned that Noble Poker pays out segments of the bonus (in $10 increments) once every day. In fact, when I logged into the software tonight, I was pleased to see that my Noble Poker cash account had increased $20 today - a reward for my play last night. As a result, I began this evening with an extra $20 in the coffers. Woo hoo!
Playing 75 minutes on a 6-man $2/$4 table, I proceeded to win exactly $40.97 this evening. Coupled with the $20 bonus I found in my account, I had a decent night. I'm not sure how many raked hands I played tonight, but I must be close to the 250 hands I need to play to earn the set of poker chips. Another hour of play tomorrow night should do it. Then, I can simply sit back and wait for Mr. Postman to deliver the goods!
Daily Sketch: Up $60.97
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $70.97
Playing 75 minutes on a 6-man $2/$4 table, I proceeded to win exactly $40.97 this evening. Coupled with the $20 bonus I found in my account, I had a decent night. I'm not sure how many raked hands I played tonight, but I must be close to the 250 hands I need to play to earn the set of poker chips. Another hour of play tomorrow night should do it. Then, I can simply sit back and wait for Mr. Postman to deliver the goods!
Daily Sketch: Up $60.97
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $70.97
August 2, 2005: My Venture into Noble Poker
I established a new poker account at a website called Noble Poker today. Besides the initial sign-up bonus the site is currently offering, an affiliated site by the name of NYPokerChips.com is offering a free set of poker chips (as pictured below) to anyone who establishes a new account at Noble Poker and subsequently plays 250 raked hands. Since I'm taking a one-week sabatical from Party Poker, this looks like a great opportunity to obtain a free set of poker chips from someone else.
Tonight, I moved $250 into a Noble Poker account and started my chase for the sign-up bonus and the set of poker chips. The site claims that my free set of poker chips will be mailed to my attention (free of charge) a few days after I play 250 raked hands. We'll see what happens. If this offer is legitimate, I'll probably establish a new account under Theresa's name, too.
Noble Poker's most famous promotion is the $1 Million Sit 'n' Go Challenge. Starting yesterday, the first person to win 7 consecutive $10(1) Sit 'n' Go Tournaments will win $1 Million. If a player falls one short and wins 6 consecutive tournaments, they still win $75,000. Of course, the chances of winning 7 consecutive Sit 'n' Go Tournaments is exceedingly remote, but it's still interesting to think about. I wonder how long it will take before someone wins 7 consecutive 10-man Sit 'n' Go Tournaments.
All told, I sat at a 6-man $2/$4 table for about 90 minutes this evening. During that time, I played about 125 hands. If I play on Noble Poker the next two nights, I should accumulate more than enough hands to earn the set of chips. Like I said, I guess we'll see what happens. I'm going to Indianapolis this weekend, and I'd like to play the 250 hands before I leave town.
Oh yeah . . . I almost forgot . . . I made exactly $30 on the $2/$4 table tonight. The players were pretty loose and I could have won significantly more money if I had caught some good cards. For now, I'm happy to record a small profit on this new website.
Daily Sketch: Up $30
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $10
August 1, 2005: Bonding with Mohsin
Last week, I tried to update the address on my Party Poker account. Despite the fact that Theresa and I have been in our new apartment for 20 months, I haven't been able to get Party Poker to change my apartment # - despite repeated e-mails asking for the change.
Last week, I sent another e-mail to Party Poker asking them to make the simple change to my apartment #. It's probably the 3rd time I've submitted such a request. At the same time, I also complained that my Party Poker points weren't increasing for my play on the 6-man $3/$6 tables. As I mentioned last month, you can use the points to buy merchandise, but I've been getting hosed the past few weeks. Here's the reply I got (via e-mail) from Party Poker:
Dear Steve,
Thank you for contacting us. Please note that we use the most sophisticated software accredited by world renowned authorities and the chances of such a thing happening are remote. Each and every hand you play on the Real Money tables are recorded and Party points are alloted. The 6 Max $3/$6 are also eligible for Party points in case rake is taken from the hand you participated. In case you are referring to any particular day where you did not earn points please let us know so that we can look into it.
Your query regarding address change was forwarded to the appropriate department. We tried contacting you on the number you provided us but were unable to reach you. The query you have cannot be resolved over email, so please call us at the below mentioned numbers so that we can explain the situation to you and assist you better.
Please call us on our Toll Free Number +1 (866) 299-8893 (US and Canada only) or+350-41003 (International Rates Apply). We are available 24 hrs, 7 days a weekand will be glad to assist you. Thank you for your cooperation!
Sincerely,
Abhilash
Credit Team - Party Poker
Ugh! This wasn't the response I wanted. Immediately, I had a flashback of the time I signed up for an account at Empire Poker (about a year ago) and was subsequently reprimanded for that action. Technically, my Party Poker account was supposed to be closed at that time, but someone made a mistake on Party Poker's side and my account was left open. I'm supposed to be playing on my Empire Poker account - but I couldn't make attempts at Party Poker's cruise if I kept playing under my Empire Poker name. So, I've simply stopped playing under my Empire Poker account and, instead, focused 100% on Party Poker.
With that backdrop, I was very hesitant to call Party Poker back and screw things up. To this point, they've been letting me play on the site and I haven't had any problems cashing out. I didn't want to stir up a hornet's nest if it wasn't needed, but I decided that I better change my address in the event I actually win something signficant and need my address to be correct. If they were determined to reprimand me and (for example) block me from the site, so be it.
Before making the call, however, I cleaned out my account. I transferred all the cash from my Party Poker account before doing anything. For all I knew, a phone call was going to result in my account being frozen, and I was sitting on nearly $1,200. There was NO WAY I was going to lose that money.
When I called Party Poker today, I was forwarded to a guy named Mohsin Mohd. For those of you unaware, Party Poker is governed by the laws of Gibraltar, so God only knows what country Mohsin was actually in while I talked to him. I could barely understand the guy, and the entire telephone conversation was a struggle. Mohsin sounded like he was sitting in a hut in New Dehli, India. In the end, however, Mohsin made the change to my address (I think). Other than asking the name of my mother's brother's college roommate's dog, he pretty much asked me every question possible to confirm my identity.
I didn't even bother asking about my lack of Party Points for my recent activity at the $3/$6 tables. At this point, I'm simply glad that Mohsin didn't grill me about my Empire account or point out that his records showed that my Party Poker account should be closed. Instead, Mohsin sent me a nice e-mail after I had hung up with him:
Dear Steve,
It was nice talking to you. We would like to invite you to upgrade your account by becoming a Preferred Player. This elite group enjoys the ease of faster cashouts and increased purchase limits. Get $10 free (no strings attached) and become a Preferred Player in just 4 easy steps!
Information submitted to us is kept private and confidential and will not be made available to any third parties. Please send your Email/Fax to the attention of the undersigned so that receipt can be confirmed.
Good Luck at the tables!
Mohsin Mohd
Credit Team - Party Poker
As I'll describe tomorrow, I'm taking a week's hiatus from the world of Party Poker and I'm going to play on a different site. I think I'll let things settle down a bit at Party and confirm that my address has been changed before I send money back into my Party Poker account. For all I know, it'll take Mohsin a day or two to realize that my account isn't completely on the up-and-up. Maybe New Dehli's internet connection was trampled by an elephant and Mohsin couldn't look up the details regarding my account right away.
Meanwhile, I hosted the weekly poker game this evening that's usually played at Joe's or Bernard's house. In an effort to mix things up a bit, I decided to host a night of low-stakes No-Limit Hold 'em Tournaments. All told, nine of us played three tournaments and I finished out of the money in all three. I was eliminated in Tourney #1 when my AA was cracked by a player who called me with an open-ended straight after the flop. Unfortunately, my opponent (Sean) hit a magical card on the river and took me down. In the 2nd Tourney, I was eliminated when my KK was cracked by the same guy who was holding another open-ended straight afer the flop. Amazingly, he hit another magical card. Ugh! In the final tournament, I flopped an open-ended straight (and the top pair) and went "all in". Yet again, Sean called my bet. He also had an open-ended straight, but he was also holding an overcard that he hadn't paired. Naturally, the turn card matched his overcard and I was eliminated again. I guess that it was safe to say that Sean had my number tonight. All told, I went "all in" three different times against him and was a significant favorite each time. Each time, however, I lost. As a result, the Sketchbook shows a nightly deficit of $20.
Daily Sketch: Down $20
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $20
Last week, I sent another e-mail to Party Poker asking them to make the simple change to my apartment #. It's probably the 3rd time I've submitted such a request. At the same time, I also complained that my Party Poker points weren't increasing for my play on the 6-man $3/$6 tables. As I mentioned last month, you can use the points to buy merchandise, but I've been getting hosed the past few weeks. Here's the reply I got (via e-mail) from Party Poker:
Dear Steve,
Thank you for contacting us. Please note that we use the most sophisticated software accredited by world renowned authorities and the chances of such a thing happening are remote. Each and every hand you play on the Real Money tables are recorded and Party points are alloted. The 6 Max $3/$6 are also eligible for Party points in case rake is taken from the hand you participated. In case you are referring to any particular day where you did not earn points please let us know so that we can look into it.
Your query regarding address change was forwarded to the appropriate department. We tried contacting you on the number you provided us but were unable to reach you. The query you have cannot be resolved over email, so please call us at the below mentioned numbers so that we can explain the situation to you and assist you better.
Please call us on our Toll Free Number +1 (866) 299-8893 (US and Canada only) or+350-41003 (International Rates Apply). We are available 24 hrs, 7 days a weekand will be glad to assist you. Thank you for your cooperation!
Sincerely,
Abhilash
Credit Team - Party Poker
Ugh! This wasn't the response I wanted. Immediately, I had a flashback of the time I signed up for an account at Empire Poker (about a year ago) and was subsequently reprimanded for that action. Technically, my Party Poker account was supposed to be closed at that time, but someone made a mistake on Party Poker's side and my account was left open. I'm supposed to be playing on my Empire Poker account - but I couldn't make attempts at Party Poker's cruise if I kept playing under my Empire Poker name. So, I've simply stopped playing under my Empire Poker account and, instead, focused 100% on Party Poker.
With that backdrop, I was very hesitant to call Party Poker back and screw things up. To this point, they've been letting me play on the site and I haven't had any problems cashing out. I didn't want to stir up a hornet's nest if it wasn't needed, but I decided that I better change my address in the event I actually win something signficant and need my address to be correct. If they were determined to reprimand me and (for example) block me from the site, so be it.
Before making the call, however, I cleaned out my account. I transferred all the cash from my Party Poker account before doing anything. For all I knew, a phone call was going to result in my account being frozen, and I was sitting on nearly $1,200. There was NO WAY I was going to lose that money.
When I called Party Poker today, I was forwarded to a guy named Mohsin Mohd. For those of you unaware, Party Poker is governed by the laws of Gibraltar, so God only knows what country Mohsin was actually in while I talked to him. I could barely understand the guy, and the entire telephone conversation was a struggle. Mohsin sounded like he was sitting in a hut in New Dehli, India. In the end, however, Mohsin made the change to my address (I think). Other than asking the name of my mother's brother's college roommate's dog, he pretty much asked me every question possible to confirm my identity.
I didn't even bother asking about my lack of Party Points for my recent activity at the $3/$6 tables. At this point, I'm simply glad that Mohsin didn't grill me about my Empire account or point out that his records showed that my Party Poker account should be closed. Instead, Mohsin sent me a nice e-mail after I had hung up with him:
Dear Steve,
It was nice talking to you. We would like to invite you to upgrade your account by becoming a Preferred Player. This elite group enjoys the ease of faster cashouts and increased purchase limits. Get $10 free (no strings attached) and become a Preferred Player in just 4 easy steps!
Information submitted to us is kept private and confidential and will not be made available to any third parties. Please send your Email/Fax to the attention of the undersigned so that receipt can be confirmed.
Good Luck at the tables!
Mohsin Mohd
Credit Team - Party Poker
As I'll describe tomorrow, I'm taking a week's hiatus from the world of Party Poker and I'm going to play on a different site. I think I'll let things settle down a bit at Party and confirm that my address has been changed before I send money back into my Party Poker account. For all I know, it'll take Mohsin a day or two to realize that my account isn't completely on the up-and-up. Maybe New Dehli's internet connection was trampled by an elephant and Mohsin couldn't look up the details regarding my account right away.
Meanwhile, I hosted the weekly poker game this evening that's usually played at Joe's or Bernard's house. In an effort to mix things up a bit, I decided to host a night of low-stakes No-Limit Hold 'em Tournaments. All told, nine of us played three tournaments and I finished out of the money in all three. I was eliminated in Tourney #1 when my AA was cracked by a player who called me with an open-ended straight after the flop. Unfortunately, my opponent (Sean) hit a magical card on the river and took me down. In the 2nd Tourney, I was eliminated when my KK was cracked by the same guy who was holding another open-ended straight afer the flop. Amazingly, he hit another magical card. Ugh! In the final tournament, I flopped an open-ended straight (and the top pair) and went "all in". Yet again, Sean called my bet. He also had an open-ended straight, but he was also holding an overcard that he hadn't paired. Naturally, the turn card matched his overcard and I was eliminated again. I guess that it was safe to say that Sean had my number tonight. All told, I went "all in" three different times against him and was a significant favorite each time. Each time, however, I lost. As a result, the Sketchbook shows a nightly deficit of $20.
Daily Sketch: Down $20
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $20
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
