Quote of the Night

"You started as a 4-to-1 dog."

"And I finished as his bitch."

After my all-in pocket 6s were called by pocket 8s -- and then he flopped quads. Ouch.

Sorry for the lengthy disappearance. I have a long post in the makings, which should be out tomorrow. I cut back on the poker and writing about poker to figure a few things out. Not that it worked, but at least I have a clear head.

Later.

Apparently Lightning CAN Strike Twice

Anybody know what the odds are for being knocked out of two SNGs (back-to-back) when your opponents flop quads? Just wondering. I guess I can say that at least I'm not getting knocked out by weak hands -- not that it helps. Wow.

Ethics

A couple of weekends ago, I headed down to a local theater to catch Harry Potter on the IMAX. It's a long movie, and I have the bladder of a six-year-old girl, so I had to hit the head about halfway through the movie.

While taking care of business at a stall, I was reading one of the convenient ads placed at eye level. Personally, I prefer newspapers, but hey any entertainment is welcome. However, this one kept my attention for a bit longer than typical.

It was an ad telling readers about Party Poker -- except that it was advertising http://partypoker.com -- not http://partypoker.net like Party's television ads normally do - plus, this ad was saying you could play for real money; again, something Party's normal advertising shies away from.

Reading on, the ad writer says you can get a $25 bonus if you use the listed bonus code (which was tied into St. Louis --- I don't want to publish it) and if you had any questions, to write the writer - AT A YAHOO ADDRESS!

It hit me after a second; this dude is trolling for bonuses!

I'm torn by this:

• On the one hand, I admire him for thinking up a fairly clever way to build up some bonus money; however,
• He's essentially passing himself off as a representative of Party, something he's clearly not. In addition, he's not mentioning that HE gets a $50 bonus for every person he signs up, and they get $25 after playing x number of raked hands.

When my brother, Dimebag, used me as a referral when he signed up on Party, he knew I was getting a bigger bonus. I wasn't hiding anything from him, and on top of that, we can't play on the same table. This is not a big deal, but I know I'd be a little curious as to why I was kicked off a table when I don't know anyone else playing on it, yet Party says I do.

Another issue that I think bears consideration is that EVERY ad I've seen for the poker sites stresses that they are NOT gambling sites -- you go to their .net version, where it's not real money. Internet gambling is currently under debate in the House (more on that in a later post); I don't think the sites are too willing to rock the boat much; realistically, everyone knows why they're there, but if you're not going to obey the letter of the law, you'd better look like you're at least honoring the spirit. Granted, an ad in a movie theater men's room isn't getting much exposure, but let's say someone takes out a similar ad in a local paper or on late-night television?

I think what this guy (or woman, for that matter) is being more than a little sneaky and dishonest; I'm not planning on contacting Party about this, because, frankly, it's really not any of my business. However, if you want to lie to me at the poker table, that's one thing -- I expect it and welcome it, it's part of the game, after all. If you want to be dishonest away from the tables, that's something else entirely, and passing yourself off as a representative of Party is a pretty weak way to make a few dollars.

Ugh

If I have too many more nights like last night, I'm changing my online name to Santa Claus, since I keep doubling up all the good short stacks throughout Party.

I'm Number Four!!!!!

I know, I've been gone for awhile. After Vegas, I decided to take a little poker break. I played in some home games and made one trip to the boat.

The home tournament was good, I won, but I wasn't particularly happy about my play. After that I played in a couple of SNGs on Party, where I promptly bounced out on the second hand in both of them (my pocket kings ran into aces; my big slick with a flopped ace lost to A9 when he turned a 9 -- it happens). Needless to say, some bad luck and it happens, but I still wasn't really happy with my play.

So we hit the boat this weekend; I was catching decent cards, but when I'd flop top or second pair, it wouldn't hold up, or I'd be chased off the pot. Raises had me seeing monsters around the corner and peeking out of the closet, and I clutched my blanket, stuck my thumb in my mouth and ran away crying. In short, I was playing like a wuss.

In any case, I wasn't stuck as badly as Chilly and Marty, but what the hell, it was my birthday celebration.

After a little soul searching, I figured out the big problem -- in the SNGs, I was only playing at L1, not trying to put my opponents on hands; at the boat, I was playing scared L2 -- everyone hit their flush or were slowplaying aces. Had I been a little more aggressive, I probably could have been at least a little profitable for the night.

With a little time to kill, I decided to hit Party for a little SNG action, but I gave myself a few rules:

1. Consider each move before making it; don't insta-call or raise
2. Try putting your opponent on a range of hands and then act accordingly
3. Remember to have fun

Pretty self-explanatory, huh? One would think, but for some reason, I keep slipping back into old, bad habits, and it's killing my game.

In the SNG, I had a huge chip lead by the third hand (pocket aces that hold up against five players is a miraculous, beautiful thing); I found myself playing patient poker. I took notes on opponents, and for once, I used position.

Unfortunately, the poker gods kicked me square in the nuts when, in a battle of the blinds, I flopped top two pair (A8). My opponent caught bottom pair (35o) and pushed after my small bet. I called, figuring he was playing an ace. Nope. However, he turned and rivered a 2 and a 4 to cripple me.

There were six players remaining at that point; rather than tilt off my remaining chips, I held out to bounce on the bubble when my pocket 7s lost to a rivered ace. I even climbed back to second in chips for a few hands.

Normally, I'd be steaming and raging at the bad beats, but I'm not. I'm actually pretty happy. I bought a couple of pots. When I had the best hand, my chips were in the pot. Bad luck happens; not much I can do about it. But for once, I wasn't playing only the cards on the table, and I wasn't jumping at my own shadow. And most importantly, I was enjoying myself more than I have while playing poker in quite some time.

Even though I didn't get paid off in the end, I'm happy about it. But next time? I'm getting paid dammit!

Eight Days Out

With Vegas only a few short days away, I've been working on whipping my game into something akin to shape -- unlike me, who's in perfect shape: all round. BA-DUM-DUM!!!

Anyway, things have been going pretty well for me. I had my first money finish in a MTT -- 71st out of 767. Didn't get paid much, but profit is profit. I started out making good decisions and playing tight and very aggressive. The deck was hitting me hard early. Things cooled off as I approached the bubble and had to play uber-tight - my stack was getting too small to stand up to much pressure, and the blinds were starting to hurt a lot. Fortunately, things worked out. Next goal: final table.

Limit and SNGs have also been going well - I finish in the money in SNGs about 70% of the time, including a five-win streak. That helped a lot.

In any case, Vegas looms near, and I can't freakin' wait. Eight days . . .

Miscellaneous Miscellaney

Apparently, the poker gods have decided to cut me some slack. After seeing aces send me packing in four straight tournaments (I had them, and they were cracked wide open every time), (Oh yeah -- Marty sucks) I finally had them hold up in a four-way all-in. I didn't want to open my eyes, but couldn't look away.

Things have improved somewhat -- I've been making a lot of money finishes in the $10 SNGs on Party. Up until a few weeks ago, I could not cash in the $10 tournaments to save my life. Hopefully, this streak will continue.

Longer post later this week -- especially after I clean up in the Dr. Jeff Invitational Thursday.