I played some live hold 'em poker this evening. All told, 61 guys gathered in the banquet room of a top secret local restaurant and played a tournament that cost $150 to join. To put it mildly, my opponents were an interesting collection of personalities. At least 75% of them were hard core Greeks and most of them owned a business (usually a restaurant) in the greater Milwaukee metro area. I may have been the only person in the entire room who couldn't speak Greek. Still, it was a nice group of men and I met some interesting folks.
The first place prize was around $4,000 and the top five people received money. The organizers had hoped to get 100 guys together, but it's a relatively new tournament and word is still spreading. They firmly believe that this tournament will grow in size.
After one hour of play, I was the chip leader at my table. Starting with 10,000 chips, I had accumulated a stack of 24,000 chips and felt pretty good about my play. Unfortunately, I was playing at an 8-man table that had some pretty good players sitting with me. From what I could tell, most of the other tables were a lot looser than my own table and the chips were flying. After 60 minutes of play, no one at my table had been eliminated. At the same time, another table had 5 guys eliminated during the same period and people were screaming "all in" every few minutes. So, despite the fact that I had accumulated a decent amount of chips, I was well behind the overall tournament leader.
My high point of the opening hour occurred while I was holding A-Q. The flop came 9-10-J and I got lucky when an 8 came on the river. My opponent was holding A-J and cursed his luck when I showed my rivered straight. That pot alone was worth a good 10,000 chips.
The next 90 minutes were rather uneventful. We got down to 16 players and I had 34,000 chips - which seemed about average. I stole a few blinds along the way, but I never scooped a really nice pot. From there, however, my cards cooled down considerably. It didn't help when the blinds started increasing exponentially.
After getting down to 16 players, I was dealt pocket 8's twice and had to fold to big bets after the flop. When we got down to our final table of eight (after another hour of play), I was the low stack with exactly 1,200 chips. I hadn't won a hand for the longest time and felt fortunate to still be alive. Of course, you can imagine my glee when a seemingly golden 8 had appeared on one flop while I was holding the pocket 8's. However, it was noted that the dealer had forgotten to burn a card, and it was proved that the 8 should have been the burn card. Doh!
On the very first hand of the final table (after getting down to 8 players), I was dealt A-J and went "all in" with the last of my dwindling pile. Everyone folded to the big blind, who called my bet with A-Q. Ugh! Quite naturally, a queen appeared on the flop and I was eliminated in 8th spot - only three spots from the money. Ugh!!
All told, I played for a little over 3 hours. I thought I played well at the start, but I couldn't seem to get any cards during the middle half of the tourney, and that really cost me. If nothing else, however, this tournament makes me appreciate my own Spotted Cow Tournament even more than I previously did. Tonight's tournament wasn't well organized and the blind structure was screwy. There were numerous complaints about various rules instituted by the organizers and the tournament never seemed to have a good direction. When tables broke up, players got to pick which table they moved to and it was all a bit weird. Since a lot of guys were relatives, the organizers made every attempt to keep them apart. While that seems good, it's a bit strange to allow guys to avoid certain tables because their siblings are already there.
Although I had a generally good time, I don't know that I'll play again. Near the end, the tournaments organizers decided that the tourney was taking a bit too long and seemed to increase the blinds faster than I thought appropriate. There were no published rules and the entire blind structure seemed a bit arbitrary. Had I gotten some cards near the end of the tournament, I might have had a different impression of the entire event. Instead, I finished 8th and the Sketchbook takes a hit on the final day of the month. Oh, well. Supposedly, this tournament is going to run on the final Wednesday of every month, so we'll see how I feel in a month or two.
Daily Sketch: Down $150
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $653.85
November 29, 2005: Omaha Sit 'n' Go's
From what I've read, Omaha Hi/Lo is a poker game that can be quite profitable when played online, primarly 'cuz a lot of people simply don't understand the nuances of the game. That's the primary reason why I've been experimenting with Omaha the past few weeks. I like to think that I know what I'm doing, but I suppose that time will tell, ehh?
Tonight, I dabbled in $30(3) Sit 'n' Go Omaha Hi/Lo Tournaments on Party Poker. All told, I played three tournaments, so my total expenditures were $99. I finished 2nd in my 2nd tournament, but couldn't win anything in my other two tournaments. I won $90 for my 2nd place finish, so the Sketchbook saw a modest loss of $9 tonight.
Daily Sketch: Down $9
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $803.85
Tonight, I dabbled in $30(3) Sit 'n' Go Omaha Hi/Lo Tournaments on Party Poker. All told, I played three tournaments, so my total expenditures were $99. I finished 2nd in my 2nd tournament, but couldn't win anything in my other two tournaments. I won $90 for my 2nd place finish, so the Sketchbook saw a modest loss of $9 tonight.
Daily Sketch: Down $9
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $803.85
November 28, 2005: Poker at Joe's
Playing poker at Joe's house this evening, I had a very uneventful night. All told, we played three $5 Tournaments, and placed 2nd place in one tournament. As a reward, I won $15. I spent $15 in the three tournaments, so I broke exactly even for the night. Yawn!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $812.85
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $812.85
November 27, 2005: $100k Freeroll Tourney
As mentioned in my last post, I won an entry into a Party Poker No Limit Hold ‘em Tournament last night that is guaranteed to have a total prize purse of $100,000. In other words, if only one person signed up to play, they would win the full $100k. Of course, that would never happen, but it would be mighty nice, ehh?
The tournament began at 5:40pm (CST) today. Here’s how it went:
5:40pm-> A total of 2,079 people have signed up to play. This is probably the largest tournament I’ve ever joined. First place will win a whopping $21,000 (yikes!) with payouts extending all the way to 220th place ($70). At this point, I’ll be excited to simply last through the first hour and see where things go from there.
5:41pm-> Well, it certainly didn’t take long for me to claim my first pot. Limping into the first hand with Ac 10c, I see two more aces appear on the flop. I proceed to take a relatively small pot and I’m the early chip leader (at my table) with 1,195 chips. I’m sitting at Table #49.
5:58pm-> I’m dealt KK and another player (Checktmdeath) goes “all in” after we see two jacks appear on the flop. Naturally, I call the bet (while praying that he doesn’t have a jack) and I proceed to scoop a big pot when my kings hold on. As it turned out, my opponent had pocket nines – so I can’t really fault his bet. Just like that, I’m up to 2,180 chips.
6:19pm-> Dealt QQ, I lose a modest pot when an ace appears on the flop. Thankfully, my tight opponent (who’s holding AQ) bets weakly and I’m “only” down to 1,877 chips. I end up playing the hand through the river, but my opponent (King_Cerni) certainly let me chase another queen. Shortly thereafter, he loses a big pot to another player and is eliminated.
6:40pm-> I’ve accomplished my first goal. I’ve lasted until the first hour break! I’m sitting on 1,952 chips. The chip leader has 7,885 chips. The average stack has 1,637 chips. There are 1,270 people still alive. Only 1,050 people need to be eliminated before I make the money!
6:52pm-> Dealt pocket queens, I lose over half my stack to a player (X2then) holding pocket kings. He goes “all in” after I make a significant raise, and there’s no way I can fold my hand. Just like that, I’m down to 762 chips. Argh!
6:57pm-> I run up against another monster. Holding 99, I make another significant raise (preflop) and I’m called by one player. We see a flop of 8-8-2 and I go “all in” with my diminished stack. My opponent calls (he's got more chips) and he flips over AA. Ugh!! Naturally, I lose the pot and my tournament ends. In finish in 1,130th place. In the last five minutes, I get run over by pocket kings and pocket aces and my dreams of winning $21,000 are dashed.
To win one of these tournaments, you need to get lucky. When you’re dealt pocket queens and pocket nines in the span of a few minutes, that usually means you’re getting lucky. However, it’s very unlucky when players at your table have even better hands. What are the odds that my opponents would have Aces and Kings in such a short time period?
At least it didn't cost me anything.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $812.85
The tournament began at 5:40pm (CST) today. Here’s how it went:
5:40pm-> A total of 2,079 people have signed up to play. This is probably the largest tournament I’ve ever joined. First place will win a whopping $21,000 (yikes!) with payouts extending all the way to 220th place ($70). At this point, I’ll be excited to simply last through the first hour and see where things go from there.
5:41pm-> Well, it certainly didn’t take long for me to claim my first pot. Limping into the first hand with Ac 10c, I see two more aces appear on the flop. I proceed to take a relatively small pot and I’m the early chip leader (at my table) with 1,195 chips. I’m sitting at Table #49.
5:58pm-> I’m dealt KK and another player (Checktmdeath) goes “all in” after we see two jacks appear on the flop. Naturally, I call the bet (while praying that he doesn’t have a jack) and I proceed to scoop a big pot when my kings hold on. As it turned out, my opponent had pocket nines – so I can’t really fault his bet. Just like that, I’m up to 2,180 chips.
6:19pm-> Dealt QQ, I lose a modest pot when an ace appears on the flop. Thankfully, my tight opponent (who’s holding AQ) bets weakly and I’m “only” down to 1,877 chips. I end up playing the hand through the river, but my opponent (King_Cerni) certainly let me chase another queen. Shortly thereafter, he loses a big pot to another player and is eliminated.
6:40pm-> I’ve accomplished my first goal. I’ve lasted until the first hour break! I’m sitting on 1,952 chips. The chip leader has 7,885 chips. The average stack has 1,637 chips. There are 1,270 people still alive. Only 1,050 people need to be eliminated before I make the money!
6:52pm-> Dealt pocket queens, I lose over half my stack to a player (X2then) holding pocket kings. He goes “all in” after I make a significant raise, and there’s no way I can fold my hand. Just like that, I’m down to 762 chips. Argh!
6:57pm-> I run up against another monster. Holding 99, I make another significant raise (preflop) and I’m called by one player. We see a flop of 8-8-2 and I go “all in” with my diminished stack. My opponent calls (he's got more chips) and he flips over AA. Ugh!! Naturally, I lose the pot and my tournament ends. In finish in 1,130th place. In the last five minutes, I get run over by pocket kings and pocket aces and my dreams of winning $21,000 are dashed.
To win one of these tournaments, you need to get lucky. When you’re dealt pocket queens and pocket nines in the span of a few minutes, that usually means you’re getting lucky. However, it’s very unlucky when players at your table have even better hands. What are the odds that my opponents would have Aces and Kings in such a short time period?
At least it didn't cost me anything.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $812.85
November 27, 2005: These Free Tourneys were Frustrating
As I type this entry, it's 12:34am. For the past five hours, I've been playing a free tournament on Party Poker. For once, I did quite well and placed 12th - out of 495 players. My reward is a free entry into a $100k tournament at 5:40pm on Sunday (today). At the same time, I watched Marquette win the Great Alaskan Shootout, so all is well and good in my little world!
Hopefully, my internet doesn't go down later today - as it did on Saturday. As of this moment, over 1,000 people have already signed up to play in the $100k tourney - so my chances of winning anything are pretty slim. Still, I'm playing for free, so we'll see what happens. It feels good to finally find some success in one of these bigger tourneys on Party Poker - even if I haven't won anything yet.
Hopefully, my internet doesn't go down later today - as it did on Saturday. As of this moment, over 1,000 people have already signed up to play in the $100k tourney - so my chances of winning anything are pretty slim. Still, I'm playing for free, so we'll see what happens. It feels good to finally find some success in one of these bigger tourneys on Party Poker - even if I haven't won anything yet.
November 26, 2005: These Free Tourneys are Frustrating
I played a few free tournaments on Party Poker today. My first two tournaments ended with my opponents going "all in" on flush draws and hitting their card each time. In the first case, I had flopped two pair. In the 2nd case, I had flopped a wonderful straight. However, as I said, I lost each hand to players who had flopped four-to-a-flush and nearly threw my computer out the window each time.
The kicker came this evening. As a result of having played 200 raked hands yesterday, I automatically qualified for a tournament guaranteed to pay $10,000. The tournament was scheduled to start at 5:50pm.
When Theresa and I got home in the early afternoon, we discovered that Time Warner was having problems. As a result, my RoadRunner was out. The beginning of the tournament came and went and I couldn't get online to play. Doh!
Around 6:55pm, things were fixed and I jumped onto the site to see if I was still alive. Sure enough, my starting stack of chips had been reduced to 455 chips (from 1,000), but I was still alive. Woo hoo!!
I was immediately dealt some nice cards and won a few hands. Just like that, I was up to 1,355 chips and looking ok. Then, I was dealt Ad 10d. A player to my left made a significant raise (300 chips) and I called his bet.
The flop came A-J-3 (rainbow) and my opponent checked. I went "all in" and watched my opponent stew over his decision. After a few seconds, he called my bet (he had more chips) and he flipped over K-K. I had a big lead!
Wouldn't you know it, however? A king appeared on the turn and I was subsequently eliminated from the tournament. Are you kidding me? That, my friends, is frustrating!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $812.85
The kicker came this evening. As a result of having played 200 raked hands yesterday, I automatically qualified for a tournament guaranteed to pay $10,000. The tournament was scheduled to start at 5:50pm.
When Theresa and I got home in the early afternoon, we discovered that Time Warner was having problems. As a result, my RoadRunner was out. The beginning of the tournament came and went and I couldn't get online to play. Doh!
Around 6:55pm, things were fixed and I jumped onto the site to see if I was still alive. Sure enough, my starting stack of chips had been reduced to 455 chips (from 1,000), but I was still alive. Woo hoo!!
I was immediately dealt some nice cards and won a few hands. Just like that, I was up to 1,355 chips and looking ok. Then, I was dealt Ad 10d. A player to my left made a significant raise (300 chips) and I called his bet.
The flop came A-J-3 (rainbow) and my opponent checked. I went "all in" and watched my opponent stew over his decision. After a few seconds, he called my bet (he had more chips) and he flipped over K-K. I had a big lead!
Wouldn't you know it, however? A king appeared on the turn and I was subsequently eliminated from the tournament. Are you kidding me? That, my friends, is frustrating!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $812.85
November 25, 2005: Back to Party Poker
I haven't played on Party Poker in a while, so I decided to visit that site today. After suffering yesterday's bad beat on UltimateBet, I figured it was time to mix things up a bit.
I really like UltimateBet's "free" tournaments better than similar tournaments on Party Poker. Generally speaking, you can play a tournament on UltimateBet (using only points) and actually compete for a real money prize. On Party Poker, most of the "free" tournaments are merely satellite tournaments into real tournaments.
As an example, today I joined a tournament on Party Poker that cost 500 points to play. The top two finishers won entry into a PPV Semifinal Tournament next month. So, even if I had won the tournament (which I didn't), the Sketchbook wouldn't have recorded a profit. Still, considering the fact that my poker "dream" is to get on the PPV cruise next Spring, this is my cheapest way to chase that dream.
I've still got over 37,000 points on Party Poker. On the other hand, I'm down to roughly 15,000 points on UltimateBet. So, I have a feeling that my "free" poker play will be exclusively concentrated at Party Poker in a short while. While a typical tournament costs nearly 3,000 points on UltimateBet, they're signficantly cheaper at Party Poker. That probably explains why you can't win actual cash in Party Poker's "free" tournaments.
Anyway, I played 44 hands in today's No-Limit Hold 'em Tournament. I didn't win any of them. I was down to 480 chips (after starting with 1,000) when I was dealt KK on the 44th hand. Naturally, I went "all in" and got two callers. An ace appeared on the board and I lost to another player holding A-10. Ooops!! I finished in 111th place (out of 304 players). Considering the fact that I didn't win a single hand, it's interesting to note that I still beat over 60% of the field.
Frustrated that I didn't win a hand, I decided to scrap the free tournaments and took $200 to an Omaha table. Since I've found a bit of success playing this form of poker on UltimateBet, I thought I'd test my skills on a 6-man $5/$10 table on Party Poker.
For the first 45 minutes, I was humbled. Playing relatively tight, I managed to lose most of my money. I was down to my last $40 and ready to scrap this experiment when I caught a bit of luck. I won a couple hands and got back to $100. Then, for 30 minutes, I hovered around $100 while watching another player (Yetmasi) catch a great wave of cards.
Arriving at the table shortly after me, Yetmasi cleaned up. He came to the table with $150 and I watched as his bankroll went above $500. Along the way, he bankrupted a few players. Eventually, everyone left the table - except me. Thanks to the wonders of the Party Poker hand history, I can tell you that I had exactly $94 when we started playing heads-up. Yetmasi, meanwhile, had $542. He had won nearly $400 in (roughly) seventy minutes.
For the next 10 minutes, things went my way. Theresa wanted to go shopping for a new recliner, but I couldn't leave a table that was bearing such nice fruit. At one point, I won seven straight hands. I was wondering when Yetsami would leave the table, but he kept soldiering on. When I cracked the $300 mark, I was ready to quit. However, I thought it would be rude to cut and run, so I declared (to Theresa) that I'd quit if my stack dipped below $275.
The software must have heard me, 'cuz I lost three hands in a row. Back down to $272, I said a hearty goodbye and left the table - up exactly $72 for the entire session. Considering the fact that I was down $160 at one point and down $106 a mere ten minutes before I quit, I was very excited to claim a profit. Thanks to a nice rush of cards and the play of Yetsami, today's Sketchbook doesn't look half bad!
Daily Sketch: Up $72
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $812.85
I really like UltimateBet's "free" tournaments better than similar tournaments on Party Poker. Generally speaking, you can play a tournament on UltimateBet (using only points) and actually compete for a real money prize. On Party Poker, most of the "free" tournaments are merely satellite tournaments into real tournaments.
As an example, today I joined a tournament on Party Poker that cost 500 points to play. The top two finishers won entry into a PPV Semifinal Tournament next month. So, even if I had won the tournament (which I didn't), the Sketchbook wouldn't have recorded a profit. Still, considering the fact that my poker "dream" is to get on the PPV cruise next Spring, this is my cheapest way to chase that dream.
I've still got over 37,000 points on Party Poker. On the other hand, I'm down to roughly 15,000 points on UltimateBet. So, I have a feeling that my "free" poker play will be exclusively concentrated at Party Poker in a short while. While a typical tournament costs nearly 3,000 points on UltimateBet, they're signficantly cheaper at Party Poker. That probably explains why you can't win actual cash in Party Poker's "free" tournaments.
Anyway, I played 44 hands in today's No-Limit Hold 'em Tournament. I didn't win any of them. I was down to 480 chips (after starting with 1,000) when I was dealt KK on the 44th hand. Naturally, I went "all in" and got two callers. An ace appeared on the board and I lost to another player holding A-10. Ooops!! I finished in 111th place (out of 304 players). Considering the fact that I didn't win a single hand, it's interesting to note that I still beat over 60% of the field.
Frustrated that I didn't win a hand, I decided to scrap the free tournaments and took $200 to an Omaha table. Since I've found a bit of success playing this form of poker on UltimateBet, I thought I'd test my skills on a 6-man $5/$10 table on Party Poker.
For the first 45 minutes, I was humbled. Playing relatively tight, I managed to lose most of my money. I was down to my last $40 and ready to scrap this experiment when I caught a bit of luck. I won a couple hands and got back to $100. Then, for 30 minutes, I hovered around $100 while watching another player (Yetmasi) catch a great wave of cards.
Arriving at the table shortly after me, Yetmasi cleaned up. He came to the table with $150 and I watched as his bankroll went above $500. Along the way, he bankrupted a few players. Eventually, everyone left the table - except me. Thanks to the wonders of the Party Poker hand history, I can tell you that I had exactly $94 when we started playing heads-up. Yetmasi, meanwhile, had $542. He had won nearly $400 in (roughly) seventy minutes.
For the next 10 minutes, things went my way. Theresa wanted to go shopping for a new recliner, but I couldn't leave a table that was bearing such nice fruit. At one point, I won seven straight hands. I was wondering when Yetsami would leave the table, but he kept soldiering on. When I cracked the $300 mark, I was ready to quit. However, I thought it would be rude to cut and run, so I declared (to Theresa) that I'd quit if my stack dipped below $275.
The software must have heard me, 'cuz I lost three hands in a row. Back down to $272, I said a hearty goodbye and left the table - up exactly $72 for the entire session. Considering the fact that I was down $160 at one point and down $106 a mere ten minutes before I quit, I was very excited to claim a profit. Thanks to a nice rush of cards and the play of Yetsami, today's Sketchbook doesn't look half bad!
Daily Sketch: Up $72
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $812.85
November 24, 2005: A Thanksgiving Bad Beat
After feasting on turkey this afternoon, I joined a free Pot Limit Omaha Tournament on UltimateBet. A total of 83 people signed up to play. The top prize was $650.
For a little over two hours, I played good poker. I picked my spots and eventually got down to the final 13 players. I was sitting with 26,000 chips (just above average) when I was dealt J-Q-K-K. I bet the pot and got one caller.
The flop came 8-9-10 (rainbow). I had flopped the nut straight and bet the pot. My opponent raised and I went "all in" with the rest of my chips. My opponent had me covered, so my tournament life was at stake.
My opponent flipped A-Q-Q-4. I had a big lead!!
The turn and river seemed inconsequential, until I saw all the chips flow in my opponent's direction. As it turned out, the turn and river were both clubs and my opponent was holding two clubs. He had caught the miracle runner-runner flush and I was eliminated in 13th place - five spots from the money - which paid $105.
Ugh!! Had I won that hand, I would have had a very healthy stack of chips and would have surely finished in the money. Instead, two hours of good poker was ruined by a bad turn card and an equally bad river card. Happy Thanksgiving!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $740.85
For a little over two hours, I played good poker. I picked my spots and eventually got down to the final 13 players. I was sitting with 26,000 chips (just above average) when I was dealt J-Q-K-K. I bet the pot and got one caller.
The flop came 8-9-10 (rainbow). I had flopped the nut straight and bet the pot. My opponent raised and I went "all in" with the rest of my chips. My opponent had me covered, so my tournament life was at stake.
My opponent flipped A-Q-Q-4. I had a big lead!!
The turn and river seemed inconsequential, until I saw all the chips flow in my opponent's direction. As it turned out, the turn and river were both clubs and my opponent was holding two clubs. He had caught the miracle runner-runner flush and I was eliminated in 13th place - five spots from the money - which paid $105.
Ugh!! Had I won that hand, I would have had a very healthy stack of chips and would have surely finished in the money. Instead, two hours of good poker was ruined by a bad turn card and an equally bad river card. Happy Thanksgiving!
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $740.85
November 22, 2005: Another UltimateBet Freebie
I decided to play another free tournament on UltimateBet tonight. Unlike last week's tournament, however, this was No-Limit Hold 'em poker - a game that I'm a bit more skilled at. It cost me 1,250 points to play and 551 people joined the tournament. The total prize pool was $2,755. First place won $688.92 and the top 50 players were awarded cash. Rather than using points, players were also given the option of paying $6 to play. I declined that option. After all, playing for free is much more fun!
After the tournament started, I quickly learned that this was a Speed Tournament that saw blinds increase every 5 minutes. As a result, people with mediocre hands went "all in" as they tried to get lucky a few times. I played patiently and doubled up on the 20th hand when my Ac Qd beat another player hold A-7.
For the longest time, I hovered somewhere around 4,000 chips (after starting with 1,500 chips) and watched as an inordinate number of people were eliminated. It was amazing to see how many people kept going "all in" with any ace. That was fine with me, though. I wasn't getting any cards, but I was getting close to the money after the first hour ended. Despite the fact that 551 people had signed up to play, we were already down to 78 players after 60 minutes.
When we got down to 53 players, I was in big trouble. The blinds were 1000/2000 and I was sitting in the Big Blind with 2,425 chips. One of the first players went "all in" with a mountain of chips and everyone folded to me. Figuring that I was about to finish just outside the money, I threw my last 425 chips into the pot while holding A9. Although it isn't a bad hand, I figured to be behind.
To my shock, my only opponent flipped over 8-9 (he was bluffing) and I proceeded to double-up. Just like that, I had a manageable number of chips and I was in the money. Of course, 50th place only paid $11.02, but it felt good to finish in-the-money in my 2nd consecutive tournament on UltimateBet.
The blinds kept increasing and I quickly found myself going "all in" again. Two consecutive hands, I escaped defeat when my high card kept pairing on the board. Eventually, I found myself sitting in 28th place when I was dealt KK. Feeling good about my chances, I went "all in" and got two callers. Theresa was watching the action and I declared out loud, "no ace no ace no ace."
Wouldn't you know it? An ace appeared on the board and I eventually lost the pot to an opponent holding AJ. Ugh! For my efforts, I won exactly $15.15. I suppose that I should feel fortunate to win money in a tournament that cost nothing, but I was eliminated while holding my best hand of the night. That's tournament action for ya!
Interestingly, the player that eliminated me from the tournament proceeded to win the entire thing. In the official scoresheet, I believe that I'm credited with an assist for giving him some extra chips to play with!
Daily Sketch: Up $15.15
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $740.85
After the tournament started, I quickly learned that this was a Speed Tournament that saw blinds increase every 5 minutes. As a result, people with mediocre hands went "all in" as they tried to get lucky a few times. I played patiently and doubled up on the 20th hand when my Ac Qd beat another player hold A-7.
For the longest time, I hovered somewhere around 4,000 chips (after starting with 1,500 chips) and watched as an inordinate number of people were eliminated. It was amazing to see how many people kept going "all in" with any ace. That was fine with me, though. I wasn't getting any cards, but I was getting close to the money after the first hour ended. Despite the fact that 551 people had signed up to play, we were already down to 78 players after 60 minutes.
When we got down to 53 players, I was in big trouble. The blinds were 1000/2000 and I was sitting in the Big Blind with 2,425 chips. One of the first players went "all in" with a mountain of chips and everyone folded to me. Figuring that I was about to finish just outside the money, I threw my last 425 chips into the pot while holding A9. Although it isn't a bad hand, I figured to be behind.
To my shock, my only opponent flipped over 8-9 (he was bluffing) and I proceeded to double-up. Just like that, I had a manageable number of chips and I was in the money. Of course, 50th place only paid $11.02, but it felt good to finish in-the-money in my 2nd consecutive tournament on UltimateBet.
The blinds kept increasing and I quickly found myself going "all in" again. Two consecutive hands, I escaped defeat when my high card kept pairing on the board. Eventually, I found myself sitting in 28th place when I was dealt KK. Feeling good about my chances, I went "all in" and got two callers. Theresa was watching the action and I declared out loud, "no ace no ace no ace."
Wouldn't you know it? An ace appeared on the board and I eventually lost the pot to an opponent holding AJ. Ugh! For my efforts, I won exactly $15.15. I suppose that I should feel fortunate to win money in a tournament that cost nothing, but I was eliminated while holding my best hand of the night. That's tournament action for ya!
Interestingly, the player that eliminated me from the tournament proceeded to win the entire thing. In the official scoresheet, I believe that I'm credited with an assist for giving him some extra chips to play with!
Daily Sketch: Up $15.15
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $740.85
November 19, 2005: Spotted Cow X
I hosted my tenth Texas Hold 'em Tournament in the clubroom of Juneau Village this evening. Beginning at 4:00pm, 25 players gathered to play three consecutive tournaments costing $30 apiece. Around 11:00pm, 13 of us played an optional 4th tournament. All told, the entry fees for Spotted Cow X cost me $120. Since this tournament is played quarterly, it shouldn't be too long before my Roman Numeral numbering of these poker tournaments catch the Super Bowl numbers. Actually, as I think about it, it'll probably take 10 years before that happens. Hmmmm . . .
Unlike my play on a website like Party Poker, I can't go back in time and browse through hand histories. So, with that in mind, here's a quick summary of my own action in each tournament. I'm sure I'm missing some good info, but that's what happens when you drink a dozen beers throughout a night. A person's memory can become a bit cloudy!
I started well in the first tournament, but lost a sizeable chunk of change when my 9-9 lost to Phil's 4-4 relatively early. After going "all-in", Phil caught a miracle 4 on the river and my stack took a big hit. Thankfully, I had more chips than Phil, or my tournament would have been over. Despite that setback, however, I won a few other decent hands and limped into the final five players. Three different times after that, I went "all in" and escaped each time. On one hand, I found myself holding pocket 9's again and ran up against Denny's A-9. Denny flopped an ace, but the final 9 in the deck appeared on the turn and my 3-of-a-kind held up. That was a miracle!
Eventually, Bruce became the unlucky man eliminated in 5th place (one spot from the money) and I eventually claimed 4th place - which was good for $70. Considering the fact that I never really accumulated a big pile of chips after losing to Phil's four's, I felt pretty good about winning the $70 fourth place prize.
The 2nd tournament went WAY TOO quickly. Very early in the tournament, I found myself holding J-K in the small blind. I made a decent raise and a flop of K-10-10 seemed good enough. Unfortunately, Matt was holding 10-2 and I foolishly went "all in" with my pair of kings. Matt scooped the pot and unceremoniously eliminated me in 23rd place - way out of the money. Matt proceeded to win that tournament - after having already won the first touranment. Needless to say, Matt had a great night!
The 3rd tournament went just fine. I don't remember much about my own play, as most of the players were mesmorized by Chris' play. Time after time, he went "all in" with mediocre hands and continued to hit. He must've single-handedly taken out a dozen players in this tournament, and he romped to the title. Generally speaking, I seemed to be the only person who could beat him in a race of cards, and I finished in 2nd place as a result. Of course, I did get pocket Aces three different times in this tournament, so that certainly didn't hurt my chances. For my efforts, I claimed the $175 2nd place prize. Considering the fact that the entire night was costing me $120, my finish in this tournament guaranteed that the Sketchbook would show a profit tonight.
We concluded our night with an optional tournament that had 13 players. Similar to the previous tournament, I caught some decent cards. On one particularly good hand, I was (again) dealt pocket aces when we had gotten down to eight players. I eliminated Jeff on that hand and essentially guaranteed that I'd get to the final three players. I had a nice stack of chips after that hand and used my momentum to ride to a 2nd place finish. As a result, I won $115 in that tournament.
So, after all was said and done, I claimed winnings of $360 at Spotted Cow X. My entry fees were $120, so my daily profit was $240. I'll take it! The last tournament ended around 1:00am - approximately 9 hours after it had begun.
Daily Sketch: Up $240
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $725.70
Unlike my play on a website like Party Poker, I can't go back in time and browse through hand histories. So, with that in mind, here's a quick summary of my own action in each tournament. I'm sure I'm missing some good info, but that's what happens when you drink a dozen beers throughout a night. A person's memory can become a bit cloudy!
I started well in the first tournament, but lost a sizeable chunk of change when my 9-9 lost to Phil's 4-4 relatively early. After going "all-in", Phil caught a miracle 4 on the river and my stack took a big hit. Thankfully, I had more chips than Phil, or my tournament would have been over. Despite that setback, however, I won a few other decent hands and limped into the final five players. Three different times after that, I went "all in" and escaped each time. On one hand, I found myself holding pocket 9's again and ran up against Denny's A-9. Denny flopped an ace, but the final 9 in the deck appeared on the turn and my 3-of-a-kind held up. That was a miracle!
Eventually, Bruce became the unlucky man eliminated in 5th place (one spot from the money) and I eventually claimed 4th place - which was good for $70. Considering the fact that I never really accumulated a big pile of chips after losing to Phil's four's, I felt pretty good about winning the $70 fourth place prize.
The 2nd tournament went WAY TOO quickly. Very early in the tournament, I found myself holding J-K in the small blind. I made a decent raise and a flop of K-10-10 seemed good enough. Unfortunately, Matt was holding 10-2 and I foolishly went "all in" with my pair of kings. Matt scooped the pot and unceremoniously eliminated me in 23rd place - way out of the money. Matt proceeded to win that tournament - after having already won the first touranment. Needless to say, Matt had a great night!
The 3rd tournament went just fine. I don't remember much about my own play, as most of the players were mesmorized by Chris' play. Time after time, he went "all in" with mediocre hands and continued to hit. He must've single-handedly taken out a dozen players in this tournament, and he romped to the title. Generally speaking, I seemed to be the only person who could beat him in a race of cards, and I finished in 2nd place as a result. Of course, I did get pocket Aces three different times in this tournament, so that certainly didn't hurt my chances. For my efforts, I claimed the $175 2nd place prize. Considering the fact that the entire night was costing me $120, my finish in this tournament guaranteed that the Sketchbook would show a profit tonight.
We concluded our night with an optional tournament that had 13 players. Similar to the previous tournament, I caught some decent cards. On one particularly good hand, I was (again) dealt pocket aces when we had gotten down to eight players. I eliminated Jeff on that hand and essentially guaranteed that I'd get to the final three players. I had a nice stack of chips after that hand and used my momentum to ride to a 2nd place finish. As a result, I won $115 in that tournament.
So, after all was said and done, I claimed winnings of $360 at Spotted Cow X. My entry fees were $120, so my daily profit was $240. I'll take it! The last tournament ended around 1:00am - approximately 9 hours after it had begun.
Daily Sketch: Up $240
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $725.70
November 17, 2005: Poker at Harry's
I visited Harry's house for a night of poker this evening. With individual bets capped at $3 (with 3 raises), seven of us played for 4 hours in Harry's basement. Most of the players in this game are very loose, so a lot of the pots are substantial. When a lot of the pots pay for best and worst hands, it was not uncommon to see six players throw money in the pot until the bitter end.
After all was said and done, I had a good night. I scooped some nice pots and finished the night with a profit of exactly $184.
Around midnight, the game broke up and several players headed to Harry's blackjack table. Typically, I "donate" $50 to Harry, but I was really tired and decided to head home early for the evening. I've got plans the next two nights, included Spotted Cow X. If I'm going to be the host of that event, I should probably make sure that I can stay awake during its duration!
Daily Sketch: Up $184
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $485.70
After all was said and done, I had a good night. I scooped some nice pots and finished the night with a profit of exactly $184.
Around midnight, the game broke up and several players headed to Harry's blackjack table. Typically, I "donate" $50 to Harry, but I was really tired and decided to head home early for the evening. I've got plans the next two nights, included Spotted Cow X. If I'm going to be the host of that event, I should probably make sure that I can stay awake during its duration!
Daily Sketch: Up $184
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $485.70
November 14, 2005: UltimateBet Points
Similar to Party Poker, you earn UltimateBet points when you play poker on their site. However, the things you can purchase on Ultimate Bet are much better than Party Poker's selection. For example, you can get a one year subscription to Card Player magazine by redeeming 10,000 UltimateBet points. At the same time, various poker books run anywhere from 3,000 to 7,000 points. Generally speaking, the selection of things you can purchase from Ultimate Bet is WAY BETTER than Party Poker's cheesy selection of stuff.
Entering the night, I had accumulated 38,802 Ultimate Points during my three years of playing on the site. Rather than cash in any points, however, I decided to enter an Omaha 8/b Limit Tournament that cost me 2,750 points. All told, 209 people signed up to play, with a top prize of $546. I like these free tournaments. If nothing, they're an award for all the time I've spent on these sites over the past few years.
At the one hour break, things were going quite well. Starting with 1,500 points, my stack had grown nicely and I was sitting 2nd in chips with just under 5,000. I was surprised to be doing so well, considering the fact that Omaha 8/b isn't my best game.
Unfortunately, the 2nd hour didn't go nearly as well. At one point, I was down to 930 chips and things were looking bleak. However, I won a couple nice hands and made it to the 2-hour break. At that point, we were down to 52 players. The top 30 players would get paid, although 30th place was only going to get $14. If I really wanted to win some signficant money, I had a lot of work ahead of me.
The 3rd hour went VERY quickly. I caught a beautiful rush of cards and my stack of chips increased exponentially. At the 3-hour break, we were down to 12 players and I was sitting with a stack of nearly 50,000 chips. I was 3rd overall. Woo Hoo!!
The 4th hour started magically. I won the first four hands, single-handedly eliminated two players, and found myself with 89,000 chips when we consolidated to a single 10-man table. I was the chip leader!
I played very tight for the next 30 minutes, watching players fall. When we got down to four players, I had 100,000 chips - good enough for 2nd place overall. It didn't take long to eliminate two more players, and I suddenly found myself playing for the 1st place prize. I can't every recall holding 100K chips in any tournament I've played.
Then, disaster struck. First, my internet connection went down for a good 90 seconds. During that time, my stack of chips shrunk and I found myself battling from behind. A short time later, I was eliminated on this hand:
Hand #9643644-92 at Mon 8:40pm EST
Final (8000/16000 tournament Omaha 8/b)
Powered by UltimateBetStarted at 15/Nov/05 00:49:46
stv1313 is at seat 0 with 118,365 chips.
Stud2125 is at seat 9 with 196,635 chips.
The button is at seat 0.
stv1313 posts the small blind of 4,000.
Stud2125 posts the big blind of 8,000.
stv1313: Dealt 6h 6s Kd Ad
Stud2125: Dealt -- -- -- --
Pre-flop: stv1313 raises to 16,000. Stud2125 calls.
Flop (board: 8h 6d 3d):
Stud2125 checks. stv1313 bets 8,000. Stud2125 calls.
Note: At this point, I'm pretty happy. I've just flopped a set of 6's.
Turn (board: 8h 6d 3d 3s):
Stud2125 checks. stv1313 bets 16,000. Stud2125 raises to 32,000. stv1313 re-raises to 48,000. Stud2125 re-raises to 64,000. stv1313 calls.
Note: At this point, I'm still very happy. Now I've got a full boat.
River (board: 8h 6d 3d 3s Kc):
Stud2125 bets 16,000. stv1313 goes all-in for 30,365. Stud2125 calls.
Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:
stv1313 shows 6h 6s Kd Ad.
Stud2125 shows 3h 8c 4h 3c.
Showdown:
stv1313 has 6h 6s 6d 3d 3s: full house, sixes full of threes.
Stud2125 has 3h 3c 3d 3s Kc: four threes.
Hand #9643644-92 Summary:
Stud2125 wins 236,730 with four threes.
Ooops! What can you do? I lost to a player who hit 4-of-a-kind on the turn and was subsequently eliminated. Ugh!
Despite that ugly hand, my 2nd place finish paid $325.50. Considering the fact that I didn't pay any cash to play this tournament, I'm quite happy with the outcome. Apparently, this same tournament is played every night at 7:40pm, so I think I'll keep playing at this time and see if I can duplicate the feat in the near future. In the interim, the Sketchbook FINALLY shows a nice entry. It's about time!
Daily Sketch: Up $325.50
Month-to-Dat Sketch: Up $301.70
Entering the night, I had accumulated 38,802 Ultimate Points during my three years of playing on the site. Rather than cash in any points, however, I decided to enter an Omaha 8/b Limit Tournament that cost me 2,750 points. All told, 209 people signed up to play, with a top prize of $546. I like these free tournaments. If nothing, they're an award for all the time I've spent on these sites over the past few years.
At the one hour break, things were going quite well. Starting with 1,500 points, my stack had grown nicely and I was sitting 2nd in chips with just under 5,000. I was surprised to be doing so well, considering the fact that Omaha 8/b isn't my best game.
Unfortunately, the 2nd hour didn't go nearly as well. At one point, I was down to 930 chips and things were looking bleak. However, I won a couple nice hands and made it to the 2-hour break. At that point, we were down to 52 players. The top 30 players would get paid, although 30th place was only going to get $14. If I really wanted to win some signficant money, I had a lot of work ahead of me.
The 3rd hour went VERY quickly. I caught a beautiful rush of cards and my stack of chips increased exponentially. At the 3-hour break, we were down to 12 players and I was sitting with a stack of nearly 50,000 chips. I was 3rd overall. Woo Hoo!!
The 4th hour started magically. I won the first four hands, single-handedly eliminated two players, and found myself with 89,000 chips when we consolidated to a single 10-man table. I was the chip leader!
I played very tight for the next 30 minutes, watching players fall. When we got down to four players, I had 100,000 chips - good enough for 2nd place overall. It didn't take long to eliminate two more players, and I suddenly found myself playing for the 1st place prize. I can't every recall holding 100K chips in any tournament I've played.
Then, disaster struck. First, my internet connection went down for a good 90 seconds. During that time, my stack of chips shrunk and I found myself battling from behind. A short time later, I was eliminated on this hand:
Hand #9643644-92 at Mon 8:40pm EST
Final (8000/16000 tournament Omaha 8/b)
Powered by UltimateBetStarted at 15/Nov/05 00:49:46
stv1313 is at seat 0 with 118,365 chips.
Stud2125 is at seat 9 with 196,635 chips.
The button is at seat 0.
stv1313 posts the small blind of 4,000.
Stud2125 posts the big blind of 8,000.
stv1313: Dealt 6h 6s Kd Ad
Stud2125: Dealt -- -- -- --
Pre-flop: stv1313 raises to 16,000. Stud2125 calls.
Flop (board: 8h 6d 3d):
Stud2125 checks. stv1313 bets 8,000. Stud2125 calls.
Note: At this point, I'm pretty happy. I've just flopped a set of 6's.
Turn (board: 8h 6d 3d 3s):
Stud2125 checks. stv1313 bets 16,000. Stud2125 raises to 32,000. stv1313 re-raises to 48,000. Stud2125 re-raises to 64,000. stv1313 calls.
Note: At this point, I'm still very happy. Now I've got a full boat.
River (board: 8h 6d 3d 3s Kc):
Stud2125 bets 16,000. stv1313 goes all-in for 30,365. Stud2125 calls.
Tournament all-in showdown -- players show:
stv1313 shows 6h 6s Kd Ad.
Stud2125 shows 3h 8c 4h 3c.
Showdown:
stv1313 has 6h 6s 6d 3d 3s: full house, sixes full of threes.
Stud2125 has 3h 3c 3d 3s Kc: four threes.
Hand #9643644-92 Summary:
Stud2125 wins 236,730 with four threes.
Ooops! What can you do? I lost to a player who hit 4-of-a-kind on the turn and was subsequently eliminated. Ugh!
Despite that ugly hand, my 2nd place finish paid $325.50. Considering the fact that I didn't pay any cash to play this tournament, I'm quite happy with the outcome. Apparently, this same tournament is played every night at 7:40pm, so I think I'll keep playing at this time and see if I can duplicate the feat in the near future. In the interim, the Sketchbook FINALLY shows a nice entry. It's about time!
Daily Sketch: Up $325.50
Month-to-Dat Sketch: Up $301.70
November 12, 2005: Party Poker Points
Every time you play for real money on Party Poker, you earn points. Generally speaking, those points can be used for buying "cheesy" merchandise (hats, jackets, sweatshirts, etc) that have the Party Poker logo on them. At the same time, however, those points can also be used to enter free tournaments that can ultimately become quite lucrative. At the beginning of the day, I had exactly 42,678 points in my personal account.
Once an hour, Party Poker runs a tournament that's free to enter and only requires points to play. So, at 9:50am, I entered a Party Poker V Cruise Qualifier that cost 1,000 points to enter. Since I had over 40,000 points, it was pretty easy to give up 1,000 points - especially when you consider that I have no plans of purcharsing any Party Poker sweatshirts. A total of 398 people signed up to play, with the final two players earned a free entry into a Party Poker Semifinal Tournament scheduled to be played during the first week of January.
For 120 minutes, I played excellent poker. At the two-hour break, I was sitting on 16,750 chips. We were down to 36 players and I was 4th in chips. I felt pretty good about my chances about making the final two. After all, my poker "dream" continues to be earning a trip on that cruise.
On the very first hand after the break, I'm dealt 66 and three of us see a flop. It comes Q-2-6 and I'm feeling pretty good about my chances - especially when another player (with 9,000 chips) gies "all in" ahead of me. I called his bet and he flipped over QK. I had a HUGE advantage. However, runner-runner diamonds gave my opponent a flush and I lost over half my stack - just like that! Ugh!! Had I won that hand, I would have been 2nd in chips.
Shortly thereafter, I went all in with "AK" and was called by another player holding JK. Quite naturally, another Jack appeared on the board and I was rudely eliminated in 24th place. Ugh!! At least the tournament didn't cost me any money, but it was mighty frustrating to play well for over 2 hours and lose so quickly.
Two other times during the day, I joined free tournaments. In one of them, I finished in exactly 200th place - out of 478 players. I never really caught any cards and I was eliminated just after the one-hour mark.
My final tournament of the day produced a first. I was eliminated on the very first hand of the tournament when my KK lost to another player holding AA. A total of 698 players had signed up to play. I finished in 695th place. Somehow, two other people were eliminated quicker than I was eliminated.
When the day ended, I still had 40,178 points in my account. I know it won't be exciting Sketchbook fodder, but I plan on burning through those chips during the next month or so. If nothing else, it'll provide me with some nice tournament experience. Who knows, maybe I'll actually win something with them. Otherwise, they're simply going to rot in my account. I may as well take advantage of the all the points I've earned during the past few years.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $23.80
Once an hour, Party Poker runs a tournament that's free to enter and only requires points to play. So, at 9:50am, I entered a Party Poker V Cruise Qualifier that cost 1,000 points to enter. Since I had over 40,000 points, it was pretty easy to give up 1,000 points - especially when you consider that I have no plans of purcharsing any Party Poker sweatshirts. A total of 398 people signed up to play, with the final two players earned a free entry into a Party Poker Semifinal Tournament scheduled to be played during the first week of January.
For 120 minutes, I played excellent poker. At the two-hour break, I was sitting on 16,750 chips. We were down to 36 players and I was 4th in chips. I felt pretty good about my chances about making the final two. After all, my poker "dream" continues to be earning a trip on that cruise.
On the very first hand after the break, I'm dealt 66 and three of us see a flop. It comes Q-2-6 and I'm feeling pretty good about my chances - especially when another player (with 9,000 chips) gies "all in" ahead of me. I called his bet and he flipped over QK. I had a HUGE advantage. However, runner-runner diamonds gave my opponent a flush and I lost over half my stack - just like that! Ugh!! Had I won that hand, I would have been 2nd in chips.
Shortly thereafter, I went all in with "AK" and was called by another player holding JK. Quite naturally, another Jack appeared on the board and I was rudely eliminated in 24th place. Ugh!! At least the tournament didn't cost me any money, but it was mighty frustrating to play well for over 2 hours and lose so quickly.
Two other times during the day, I joined free tournaments. In one of them, I finished in exactly 200th place - out of 478 players. I never really caught any cards and I was eliminated just after the one-hour mark.
My final tournament of the day produced a first. I was eliminated on the very first hand of the tournament when my KK lost to another player holding AA. A total of 698 players had signed up to play. I finished in 695th place. Somehow, two other people were eliminated quicker than I was eliminated.
When the day ended, I still had 40,178 points in my account. I know it won't be exciting Sketchbook fodder, but I plan on burning through those chips during the next month or so. If nothing else, it'll provide me with some nice tournament experience. Who knows, maybe I'll actually win something with them. Otherwise, they're simply going to rot in my account. I may as well take advantage of the all the points I've earned during the past few years.
Daily Sketch: $0
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $23.80
November 10, 2005: A Couple Tourneys
I decided to try my luck in a $20(2) multi-table tournament on Party Poker tonight. A total of 502 signed up to play. I stayed alive for 90 minutes, but I was eventually eliminated in 178th place. On the very first hand of the tournament, I was dealt pocket aces, but I won a very tiny pot when no one wanted to play with me. For the rest of the of the tourney, I couldn't catch anything and I never really accumulated a decent pile of chips. I felt fortunate to survive for 90 minutes, and I eventually left the tourney when my KQ saw a couple more kings appear on the board. Unfortunately, my opponent was holding Q-10 and he eventually caught a straight. Ugh!
Shortly thereafter, I joined a 10-man $20(2) tournament and found similar results. I finished in 5th place.
Finally, I decided to take $6 to the Blackjack table. It took 3 minutes to lose that money, and I finished the night with a nicely rounded loss of $50. Ooops!
Daily Sketch: Down $50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $23.80
Shortly thereafter, I joined a 10-man $20(2) tournament and found similar results. I finished in 5th place.
Finally, I decided to take $6 to the Blackjack table. It took 3 minutes to lose that money, and I finished the night with a nicely rounded loss of $50. Ooops!
Daily Sketch: Down $50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $23.80
November 8, 2006: Football Pool
I finally won some money this week in a football pool!
Costing $5/week, I pick all of the NFL games (against the spread) in a pool organized by a woman at my workplace. To date, I've been permforming rather mediocre. It's a winner-take-all pool, although $1 of the entry does go into the year-to-date pool. Through the first 7 weeks of the season, I hadn't won anything and I was sitting in 7th place (out of 15 regular players) in the year-to-date race.
With my luck running out, I decided to simply throw a dice to pick my games this weekend. If the dice was a 1, 2, or 3, I picked the favorite. If the dice came 4, 5, or 6, I picked the underdog. Admittedly, it's a poor method for picking games.
Wouldn't you know it, however, the dice worked this week! I went 11-3 with my picks and won $64 for the accomplishment. Previous to this weekend, my best week had been 8-6. Maybe I'll stick to the dice technique for a little while. I forgot to check, but I think I moved up to 5th place in the year-to-date race.
Daily Sketch: Up $64
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $26.20
Costing $5/week, I pick all of the NFL games (against the spread) in a pool organized by a woman at my workplace. To date, I've been permforming rather mediocre. It's a winner-take-all pool, although $1 of the entry does go into the year-to-date pool. Through the first 7 weeks of the season, I hadn't won anything and I was sitting in 7th place (out of 15 regular players) in the year-to-date race.
With my luck running out, I decided to simply throw a dice to pick my games this weekend. If the dice was a 1, 2, or 3, I picked the favorite. If the dice came 4, 5, or 6, I picked the underdog. Admittedly, it's a poor method for picking games.
Wouldn't you know it, however, the dice worked this week! I went 11-3 with my picks and won $64 for the accomplishment. Previous to this weekend, my best week had been 8-6. Maybe I'll stick to the dice technique for a little while. I forgot to check, but I think I moved up to 5th place in the year-to-date race.
Daily Sketch: Up $64
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $26.20
November 7, 2005: Poker at Joe's
Playing poker at Joe's house this evening, I didn't find any success. We played three $5 tournaments amongst 8 players, and I never finished in the money. In fact, I don't know that I finished better than 6th in any of the tournaments. Overall, it was an ugly night of cards and I couldn't catch ANYTHING.
Daily Sketch: Down $15
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $37.80
Daily Sketch: Down $15
Month-to-Date Sketch: Down $37.80
November 5, 2005: Visiting the Doggies
As promised, I went to Geneva Lakes this evening to help "celebrate" the closing of the dogtrack in Delavan. After this weekend, Kenosha's Dairyland Park is going to be the only dogtrack still operating in Wisconsin. The Indian casinos have essentially driven the dogtracks out of business.
Betting $6/race, I couldn't find any success during the first 7 races. Betting exclusively on Quinella Boxes, I didn't really come close to winning any races. Adding insult to injury, I lost $1 to Jay during a maintenance delay. While they fixed the lure, we watched a simulcast video of a race from Iowa, and the dog I selected finished near the back of the field. Jay's dog finished 2nd (I think), so I gave him a buck.
So, after 7 races, I was down exactly $43. Ugh! Then, in Race #8, my luck turned around and I nailed the Quinella. The payout was relatively small ($21.40), but it felt good to collect some cash. All three of my dogs finished 1-2-3, so it was an easy win.
Unfortunatley, the good fortune didn't help me in the next two races. Losing both, I entered Race #12 on a losing streak. However, this was the race that I had posted on this website, so I had renewed hope. When I left for the track, Dog #2 (Sugarloaf Annie) and Dog #3 (Whengoodgoesbad) had both garnered six votes from my loyal readers. Needing to select one greyhound, I chose Dog #3 and wagered $5 on Whengoodgoesbad to win. I would have put $10 on him, but since my poll ended in a tie, I didn't feel overly confident that Whengoodgoesbad would win the race.
As it turned out, my apprehension was ill-founded. Breaking quickly from the gate, Whengoodgoesbad led from wire-to-wire. He was never threatened and I collected $30 of profits. I think that Whengoodgoesbad should have gone off with odds better than 6-to-1, but what can you do?
Thanks to everyone who helped me win $30 on this race! The exact order of finish was . . . .
1. Whengoodgoesbad
2. Jc's Little Lori
3. Glory Crossfire
4. Sugarloaf Annie
5. Tali Cacharal
6. Irenes Lily
7. Major Hurricane
8. Tyville Dupe
I proceeded to win a very small quinella in Race #13 ($10.80), which wasn't quite enough to pull me even for the night. After all was said and done, I lost exactly $22.80 during the 3-hour session. I think I spent more money on beer, so the losses weren't hard to stomach.
Daily Sketch: Down $22.80
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $0.50
Betting $6/race, I couldn't find any success during the first 7 races. Betting exclusively on Quinella Boxes, I didn't really come close to winning any races. Adding insult to injury, I lost $1 to Jay during a maintenance delay. While they fixed the lure, we watched a simulcast video of a race from Iowa, and the dog I selected finished near the back of the field. Jay's dog finished 2nd (I think), so I gave him a buck.
So, after 7 races, I was down exactly $43. Ugh! Then, in Race #8, my luck turned around and I nailed the Quinella. The payout was relatively small ($21.40), but it felt good to collect some cash. All three of my dogs finished 1-2-3, so it was an easy win.
Unfortunatley, the good fortune didn't help me in the next two races. Losing both, I entered Race #12 on a losing streak. However, this was the race that I had posted on this website, so I had renewed hope. When I left for the track, Dog #2 (Sugarloaf Annie) and Dog #3 (Whengoodgoesbad) had both garnered six votes from my loyal readers. Needing to select one greyhound, I chose Dog #3 and wagered $5 on Whengoodgoesbad to win. I would have put $10 on him, but since my poll ended in a tie, I didn't feel overly confident that Whengoodgoesbad would win the race.
As it turned out, my apprehension was ill-founded. Breaking quickly from the gate, Whengoodgoesbad led from wire-to-wire. He was never threatened and I collected $30 of profits. I think that Whengoodgoesbad should have gone off with odds better than 6-to-1, but what can you do?
Thanks to everyone who helped me win $30 on this race! The exact order of finish was . . . .
1. Whengoodgoesbad
2. Jc's Little Lori
3. Glory Crossfire
4. Sugarloaf Annie
5. Tali Cacharal
6. Irenes Lily
7. Major Hurricane
8. Tyville Dupe
I proceeded to win a very small quinella in Race #13 ($10.80), which wasn't quite enough to pull me even for the night. After all was said and done, I lost exactly $22.80 during the 3-hour session. I think I spent more money on beer, so the losses weren't hard to stomach.
Daily Sketch: Down $22.80
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $0.50
November 4, 2005: Help me Out!
Now's your chance to directly influence how my Sketchbook performs this weekend!
Simply vote in the poll to the right. I'll bet $10 on the winner and we'll see what happens.
Simply vote in the poll to the right. I'll bet $10 on the winner and we'll see what happens.
November 4, 2005: A Few Updates . . .
For the better part of a week, I've been forgetting to log a $1 loss in the Sketchbook. Ten days ago, Ty and I played in a free poker tournament at Long Wong's in Wauwatosa. The session is part of a recurring series sponsored by Badger Poker that ultimately awards an entry into one of the World Series of Poker events in 2006. I believe that the winner of the entire Badger Poker series won his entry to Vegas this past weekend.
Anyway, there must've been 125 people signed up to play last Tuesday night. I made a $1 side wager with Ty that I could outlast him in the tournament, and I lost. I'm guessing that I finished around 60th place - after playing for 90 minutes. Ty played for another hour and cracked the top 20 (I think). Regardless, I paid him the buck, so it gets recorded in the Sketchbook. It was good entertainment - especially when you consider that it was a free event.
At the same time, I haven't provided a fantasy football update in a while. All told, my four teams have a collective record of 19-13. Two of my teams are 6-2, but I'm suffering through 4-4 and 3-5 campaigns in two of my leagues. Things don't look great, but we'll see what happens. There's still plenty of season left.
Meanwhile, my picks in the $100 pool continue to be abysmal. Picking against the spread, I have accumulated a record of 23-35-1 so far this season while picking a variety of NFL and college games. I could have flipped a coin in the 59 games I've selected and accumulated a better record. Needless to say, I'm going to need to go on a serious run if I expect to recoup any of the $100 I've thrown into this pool - especially when you consider that I'm in last place right now. The leader of this 12-man pool, meanwhile, has an impressive record of 58-38-2. If he gets his last two games wrong, I'd still need to finish the season 35-5-1 to tie him. Ugh! I guess I'm racing for 2nd place. That place is held by a guy currently sporting a record of 33-21-1. I'll need a miracle to catch him, too.
Finally, I'm playing poker in two weeks at Harry's house. The invitation to this game is sent via e-mail, and it's very formal. Here's how I was notified of the pending game:
Steve:
Please let me know at your earliest convenience regarding a potential Investment Club Meeting on Thursday, November 17, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kaufmann's. Thank you.
This e-mail comes from one of the Administrative Assistants of one of the players in this game, so I suppose that's why it's written so formally. Regardless, I think it's humorous that I'm attending an Investment Club Meeting in a couple weeks.
Daily Sketch: Down $1
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $23.50
Anyway, there must've been 125 people signed up to play last Tuesday night. I made a $1 side wager with Ty that I could outlast him in the tournament, and I lost. I'm guessing that I finished around 60th place - after playing for 90 minutes. Ty played for another hour and cracked the top 20 (I think). Regardless, I paid him the buck, so it gets recorded in the Sketchbook. It was good entertainment - especially when you consider that it was a free event.
At the same time, I haven't provided a fantasy football update in a while. All told, my four teams have a collective record of 19-13. Two of my teams are 6-2, but I'm suffering through 4-4 and 3-5 campaigns in two of my leagues. Things don't look great, but we'll see what happens. There's still plenty of season left.
Meanwhile, my picks in the $100 pool continue to be abysmal. Picking against the spread, I have accumulated a record of 23-35-1 so far this season while picking a variety of NFL and college games. I could have flipped a coin in the 59 games I've selected and accumulated a better record. Needless to say, I'm going to need to go on a serious run if I expect to recoup any of the $100 I've thrown into this pool - especially when you consider that I'm in last place right now. The leader of this 12-man pool, meanwhile, has an impressive record of 58-38-2. If he gets his last two games wrong, I'd still need to finish the season 35-5-1 to tie him. Ugh! I guess I'm racing for 2nd place. That place is held by a guy currently sporting a record of 33-21-1. I'll need a miracle to catch him, too.
Finally, I'm playing poker in two weeks at Harry's house. The invitation to this game is sent via e-mail, and it's very formal. Here's how I was notified of the pending game:
Steve:
Please let me know at your earliest convenience regarding a potential Investment Club Meeting on Thursday, November 17, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kaufmann's. Thank you.
This e-mail comes from one of the Administrative Assistants of one of the players in this game, so I suppose that's why it's written so formally. Regardless, I think it's humorous that I'm attending an Investment Club Meeting in a couple weeks.
Daily Sketch: Down $1
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $23.50
November 3, 2005: Planning a Trip to the Dogtrack
Geneva Lakes is closing after this weekend. So, a few of us are planning one final trip to the doggy track on Saturday. If any of my loyal readers are interested in joining the fun and pageantry of a trip to Geneva Lakes (and all that it entails), let me know. The Schroeder caravan leaves Milwaukee at 4:00pm on Saturday and everyone is welcome to join us!
I played poker for about an hour on Party Poker's 6-man $3/$6 tables and won $24.50 this evening. At my peak, I was up $60. At my lowest point, I was down $75. So, I was relatively happy to win a little money tonight.
Daily Sketch: Up $24.50
Month-to-Date Sketch: Up $24.50
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
