I played at the game I muddied over in this blog after the last time I played. I couldn’t resist it. I didn’t need to play. I actually have more stuff to do than I can even finish in a Labor Day extended weekend, yet I still went. It wasn’t the money. It wasn’t the need for cards. What happened is I felt I owed that particular game.
I’m either 0-4 or 0-5 in this game as far as making any money. Tonight I finished 3rd of 18 to get a little of my …read more

I finally did it.  I broke the losing streak and took home a shiny figurative trophy from Bonerack’s House o’ Poker.  I even learned about a bigger regular tournament I may enter into on occasion.  There were only 7 players so Pete made the cut off on winnings 2 and it worked out nicely for me as I grossed $100 with no re-buys made.
Its going to take another 2 or 3 wins for me to get back into the green at Bonerack’s, but I am very happy about winning today.  I didn’t play especially well, but what I did do …read more

Grinders can be a very difficult opponent, but the players I have the most trouble with are those that overvalue their hand. Typically these players are beginners to novices, but not all inexperienced players have this trait so you have to be on the lookout.
Example:
You have J-10 offsuit and the flop comes 10-4-2. You bet out 1.5 times the pot. An inexperienced player comes with a raise of 3x your bet. Hmmm… Let’s say you call. The next card is a 5 and you bet out 30% of the pot. Your opponent goes over …read more

I was playing heads up on PokerStars today and I ran across the guy who was using his full 15 seconds almost every time.  I ignored it at first but eventually it bothered me because it was wasting my time.  I asked if he was trying to disguise his bet timing.  He answered he was playing several tables at once.
I won’t say this cost him the game because I probably would have won anyways (I’m very sharp heads up), but it did hurt his cause.  If he was paying attention to our game, he would have done more than fold …read more

I told you I felt good about the way I played at Bonerack’s.  Well that play has carried over to my online play.  I had originally bought in for $85 and lost it all.  I rebought in for $50 and now my bank roll is at $125 after withdrawing $85.  Needless to say, I’ve been playing quite well to regail you with such a turnaround.
The reason I took out the $85 was because I’m hoping not to need it again.  Plus, after awhile you have to take out some of your earnings.  You really don’t have the money until you …read more

BoneRack’s has a blog.  I never knew, but today I want two recommend excellent Poker Posts involving the pros and cons of the re-buy and BoneRack’s return to FullTilt.  If you’ll remember, the author, Pete Mills, is a regular opponent of mine in the home games I play.
On the pros and cons of re-buy article, I had never considered the notion that you don’t want friends coming to your house, busting out in 3 hands, and then having to drive all the way back home after 5 minutes of play.  Good point.
As for me, I’m always up for rebuys – …read more

The clip from the previous blog entry is from 2007 so I decided to search for a newer clip of Jamie Fricke. He does a 180 in diplomacy in this interview from a few days ago with PokerNews.com. He says a few interesting things including he believes online poker is more honest than real life and that he is still waiting to turn 21. I assumed he was 21, but failed to take into account overseas players don’t need to be 21 to gamble. As with a lot of players, he’s a lot more likable when …read more

As you know, I finished 4 of 10 at the tournament.  I picked up some great hands (pocket Aces 3 times) and made some nice calls.  At one point, my friend Pete pushed all-in and I called him down with A10, putting him on a A9 or A8.  He indeed flipped up A9 and I took the pot.  This call was after the flop with an Ace showing.  So good play on my part there, but there were other times when I made the absolute wrong moves.  See the Big Hand 1 and Big Hand 2 blog entries below.  I …read more

It’s been awhile but tomorrow I touch the felt once again.  My hope is that I play good and win so I can write victoriously afterwords.  I’ll be sure to give you my blogger-insider point of view rather than my traditional non scrutinizing perspective.  Seeing as how I haven’t played cards in awhile, I’m going to play very conservatively to see if that can’t help me last longer.  One thing I also want to give you guys is some notes I’ll pick up from other players around the table.  None of us take it overly seriously (or at least I …read more

One thing I never did get a good read on was tipping during cash games at the table.  I’m not a cheap guy when it comes to compensating people for their services.  I was a waiter so I know first hand what it feels like to get stood up at the table.  However, tipping poker dealers is an entirely different animal.
Some people were tipping every hand they won – no matter what they won.  I’d watch someone win the blinds ($1-$2 No Limit) and throw $2 to the dealer (perhaps not clearly thinking).  Other times, people would win a decent …read more