Saturday, December 19, 2009

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Thursday, July 12, 2007

Part 3


Towards the middle of the trip we decide to dine at the best buffet in Las Vegas and that is the Seafood Buffet at The Rio. It is an absolutely incredible feast. The choice of entrees include Salmon and Tuna Steaks cooked impecably, Lobster tails, shrimps in all flavors, sushi, etc.. the list goes on and on. If you ever find yourseld in Vegas you do not want to miss this buffet. The buffet also happens to be at the hotel where the WSOP is being held so of course after dinner we stroll over to check out the action. As we are walking over we see Antonio Esfarandi. Lisa says "Hi, I saw you on ESPN" to which he says "thank you" ? Thanx for watching I assume. I had seen him the night before playing the 100/200 NL big game at The Venetian with Phil Laak and Jeniffer Tilly sitting behind him. Lisa greeted Jeniffer at The Venetian with a smile and Jeniffer said "hello" As we continue on our way to the huge floor where the WSOP events are being held we run into Matt Damon, Ray Romano, Don Cheadle, and Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm). They had just finished playing in the $5000 Ante up for Africa charity tournament. As we continue on our way it seems that Esfandiari is a fast walker because he catches up with us after stopping to speak with Damon and co. Again Lisa has words for him, she said. "My husband can take you down". at which point I do not even want to look at him. I say " I don't think I want to play for my house" Esfandiari replies "we can play for the kid". I decline after giving it some thought. : ).

We finally arrive at the massive room that is set-up for the WSOP. It is as large as a football field with poker tables set-up from end to end. More than half of the room is empty at the time, but the other half was filled with poker degenerates playing the highest limit games. There is a waiting list for 100/200NL. The smallest game is 2/5. The screen has an animation that states if you would like to play 1/2NL or 2/4 Limit we suggest that you visit one of the other fine Harrah casinos. Harrah you can kiss my ass. I want some action right here so I sit down with $500 at a 2/5 table. I see a commotion going on a few tables over and someone mentions that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are playing 100/200NL at that table, both sitting with 25K each. At my table I have one guy who busted out of the $5000 charity tourney. 2 guys who are going to play in the 10K main event. A guy to my right who is a pro back home and Mr. Howell who has made the trip after wiping out Dom at the Borgata some months back. He is the live one at this table. One player has already cracked him 3X and is sitting behind a stack of about 2K. I have no such luck but I do get JTs in late position. A raise to $15 in EP, a call, I call. Flop comes J 7 2 rainbow. Raiser bets $25, call, I raise to $75. Raiser folds MP calls, pot is $215. Turn is 9, MP checks, I decide it is time to take it down. I push out a $100 stack of redbirds. He folds and says "nice play". Unfortunately that is the biggest pot I win during my 4 hour session at 2/5 but I did manage a $2 profit, yessssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!

During a bathroom break I decide to see how the famous actors are doing. When I get to their table I see Damon standing up with a large stack of $100 chips in front of him pushed into the middle. His face is a brilliant red and he is using all of his abilities to put forth a smile but it is not working, he is busted. He walks off to the bathroom in front of me with Affleck. I do see him later at the same table and have heard that he finished up for the session. I also heard that they were both hammered and that Affleck was playing like a donkey and had a losing session.

Hopefully if things go right, the next time I am in Vegas during the WSOP I can play in something bigger that a 2/5 game.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Part 2


1/2 NL can be a cruel game. Even when the situation is optimal you can lose, and lose a lot rapidly. This was my experience with the 2 best hands in Hold-em AA and KK. I managed to get AA only 2X during the trip. Once I won a very small pot and the other time it went like this. I raise to $15 from MP and got 2 calls. The flop came Jc 9s 3s, EP bets $30, I raise to $90, LP calls. What does this guy have to call a $90 raise into a $155 pot? EP thinks and folds. The turn comes Qs putting a flush and possible straight on the board. I check and he shoves all-in for $200 more. I muck and he shows T8h. He had an open ender on the flop but did not have odds to make the call. He likes to gamble as so many were inclined to do at the 1/2 tables when the WSOP was in town. If a blank comes on that turn my stack is going in the middle and if he still wants to play, so be it.

Now for my KK experience. I have KK in EP raise to $15 get a call from the lady to my left. She is a good tight aggressive player. The flop comes J x x. I bet $25, she raises to $50. Warning bells should have been sounding at this point. I put her on a big pair, maybe AJ. The turn comes J. I check she bets $75. Since the J came i am putting her on 99 TT or QQ. She has another $90 behind. Something was telling me that she was good but i did not listen to that little voice this time and I shoved all-in. She insta-calls with AJ. I played that one miserably.

Another KK donation for the ladies. I get KK in MP and raise to $13. This time I get 4 callers. Flop Q J 3 rainbow. 2 checks to me I bet $50. A call from the Asian girl in LP who likes to gamble a bit but is a solid player, 2 folds. Turn is K woo hoo! I bet $75. She shoves all-in for $150 total. I feel that I might be beat but can I lay down the top set? I don't think so, I still have 10 outs to the nuts if I am behind and her range is large. She can have QQ JJ or even 33 so I call and she wins the hand with 9Ts.

Now for the finale, this one goes to an older Englishman who is possibly lit up as he sits down at the table. He is loud and obnoxious, coming on to the female dealers, screaming deuce of hearts at every flop when he is in the hand, and most importantly making big re-raise bluffs and showing it down in pride to the table. He is at the table for about 30 minutes when I get, well you guessed it KK. He raises to $6 and gets 3 callers. I re-raise to $42. I want to isolate this fool and take his stack of about $200. The plan works, he calls everyone else folds. I knew he was not going to fold. The flop comes Q Q 7. He shoves all in for $150. I think about it and come to the conclusion that he wants to show down yet another bluff. I tell him. "Am I going to pay you off? He is quiet. The first time he shut his mouth since he sat down. He does not want a call. I call, he flips over 56s. the turn comes 5, river 5. I go to the bathroom to vomit.

I did make some of my money back with KK on another hand when I hit a K on the turn to fill up for K's over 9's when my opponent had trip 9's. I also made much cash when players were playing typical of the way I have been describing, continued to do so but did not hit their draws. All in all If I had mediocre luck with my premium hands I could have been up well over $1000 for the trip but I did manage to cut my losses to only $230 in total. Not what I was hoping as a final tally but I'll take it. It could have been much worse.

Do you guys ever watch High Stakes Poker? Well it is a Poker show on GSN which is not a tourney but a cash game with a $100K minimum buy-in. The top pros have all been on it during the first 3 seasons and I think the guy I was in a big hand with one morning at The Venetian was an avid viewer due to the fact he offered me a deal for the pot on the turn during a big hand.
I got TT in MP, a raise to $10 from EP, I re-raise to $20. I wanted to represent a big hand that wanted action so that I can push them off on the flop. I get 2 callers. The flop is 2s 5s 6c. Check, I bet $40, call, call. Looks like I got 2 chasers. Turn comes 9d. Check, I check, LP bets $50, fold. I shove all in for another $175 and have him covered. He decides that it is time to do like the pros on High Stakes Poker and make a deal. He said to me " Do you know what I got?" I say nothing, he continues "I have a big draw" and starts to motion as if he was going to show me his cards. The dealer said "you can not show your hand" He said "I'll make you a deal, we chop the pot now or I call your all-in and take it all." I nod my head "no". I have made it a practice to never talk during a hand, but I did nod no so we could get the hand over with. He was being very persistent and I knew there was no way I was not going to make that deal. If he had shown me his hand on the flop and he had a strong draw I might have went for it but it was now the river coming and at best he probably had a 30% chance or less to beat me. The turn comes blank and I take the pot. he is livid. "How can you not take that deal" "Do you really like to risk that much money"? I explained to him that it was not a good deal but he was not having it. A girl at the table agreed with me but he was not in the mood to be educated that day. He reloaded but unfortunately I was unable to get a piece of that stack before he got cracked again.

Let's not forget that the WSOP is going on while I am out there, and with that I leave you until Part 3 "WSOP Bonus coverage at The Rio" and I do play at The WSOP!

Monday, July 09, 2007

Vegas 07, Damon Goes on a steamer and so do I, plus misfits, making deals, and Missippi Straddles. Part 1

Vegas during the WSOP is a crazy place. A lot of players are walking around with loads of cash. People are plucking down money on tournaments like it is going out of style. As an example one WSOP event at The Rio drew 3100 participants for a $1500 NL tourney. 5000 people started the $10,000 main event on Friday and while all this was going on The Venetian was drawing hundreds of participants for it's $1000 and $500 twice daily tourneys. The byproduct of all this action was that to play any decent tourneys was going to cost a bundle which was more than I felt comfortable with. Tourneys with a good structure had a minimum of $330 buy-in. I did end up playing 3 tourneys, 1 satellite to a $500 tourney at the Venetian and a SNG at The Mirage with no cashes.

2 $62 tourneys at The Sahara which I must say is the most miserable Poker Room in existence. The felt on the tables is made of green canvas, there is 1 waitress for over 150 players. The ceiling is about 8 feet high with bare florescent bulbs. The people there looked like something out of a trailer park nightmare. Missing teeth, bad toupees and broken dreams of making it in Vegas as a poker player. The one thing that I liked about it was the final table railing. While I was getting ready to begin my 11:00PM tourney there was a final table in progress with about 40 people behind the rail watching. If you could call it watching, they were practically participants. I heard people screaming,"Go all in", "Call", "he's bluffing", and then what I still do not understand they started canting "Chop, Chop, Chop". With 1st place paying over $3000 it seemed more like a home game than a Vegas tourney but it was fun. I went deep in one of them when I was all-in with QQ and ran into 77 with a 7 on the flop

$120 11:00PM tourney at Ceasers Palace that had 220 participants with a $6000 first place prize. I went semi deep making it in to the 4th or 5th level with 30 minute blinds. I like the longer blinds than the typical 20 minute blinds in AC, but they gave us only 2500 in chips. I got down to around 90 players when 55 could not beat AK on an all-in. The room is very nice and I was able to use my Showboat card to register for the tourney since they are both part of Harrah's and Ceasers being by far there premiere property.

$115 SNG at The Mirage. The Mirage has a beautiful room second only to the Venetian. It reminded me a lot of The Bellagio. First place in the SNG paid $700 and second place paid $300. I bubbled out in 3rd with the blinds 200/400 and 75 antes. I'm in the BB, Button folds, SB who has me outstacked raises to 1200, I go over the top for about 4000 with 99. He calls with JTs and said "it is a race". Was there any doubt? I do not know what he was thinking, but if my hand held up I would have crippled him and had a good chance of winning 1st place, but that was not to be because a 10 came on the flop. This was the the theme of my tourney play for my visit. I just could not win any races.

I finished in 4th place in a Satellite SNG at The Venetian for their $500 tourney. 2 players get a seat in the $500 tourney and some cash. It was a $130 buy-in. I ended up in 4th. The Venetian is my favorite room in Vegas. It is to Vegas as The Borgata is to AC, a big luxurious room with plenty of action. I spent most of my time there at the 1/2 tables but more about that in part 2.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Game Report for Saturday 6/16

Tournament Report: The Crew at Frank's 6/16/07

When one thinks of the Poker games that Frank hosts at his house, a
few words come to mind:

-Entertaining
-Fun
-Exciting
-Sick
-Degenerate
-Insanity!!!

Well, this latest event held in Glen Ridge was NO EXCEPTION!!! A
total of 13 people came to play in a $25 buy-in, No-Limit Texas
Hold'em Poker tourney…and everyone left with a story to tell!

The first tourney was split up into 2 tables. I, the great Poker
champion that I am, found myself seated in Frank's rather impressive,
newly-carpeted basement. Everyone loves Frank's basement, as it is
the epitome of the bachelor pad, replete with fully-stocked bar, nice
cozy couch, and a flat-screen TV that makes King Kong look miniscule
in comparison!

Seated at the table with me were: Lisa, Abby, Andy, Alan and Amy.
Yes, you read that right! Four people whose names all begin with the
letter "A"! Unfortunately for them, they were NOT the ones who
brought their "A game" on this particular evening! LOL!

I began my usual assault on the group by first knocking out Frank's
beautiful wife Lisa. I hated to do it. Truly I did. It was a big
pot, too. Alan and Amy were also in the pot. At this point, the
blinds were $50/$100, and, if memory serves, I believe it was Lisa who
had the nerve to raise it up to $300. Alan called. Amy called. And
I said, "What the heck"! and called, too. Now, before I go on, you
probably want to know what my hole cards were: QJos. Not a
particularly good hand, but hey, this is Poker, where anything can
happen, and I came to play! That said, the flop came Q-J-rag. Alan
checks. Amy checks. I push all-in. Lisa's sitting over there
thinking about it. I'm looking at her, and I'm like, "What the hell
is she thinking about? I just pushed all-in. Is she really gonna
call me???" Well, she did, which prompted quick folds from Alan and
Amy. We go to flip 'em over, and Lisa's got American Airlines!!!
What a way to go! Hey, Lisa, if you're reading this, I hate to break
it to ya: But AA is only a pair! Nothing more, nothing less. Better
luck next time, kid!

Now, my chip stack is looking healthy! I continue to beat and
pummel-to-a-pulp everyone at the table and snag up their chips for
myself. I was in a few nice pots with Abby. I took money offa her.
She took money offa me. In the end, I think I took more money offa
her than she took offa me, but that's only natural! Abby played very
good Poker this evening, in the loose-aggressive style, and she
definitely had me and Alan and Andy scratching our heads like, "What
the f#%&!!!" Which, in Poker, is a good thing, not a bad thing i.e.
you always want to keep your opponents guessing! Good job, Abby!

Moving on to my new pal Alan. Oh, poor Alan! You got schooled,
didn't you, bro? You couldn't believe what you saw! You saw me, the
great Dominick, raking in the chips left and right. You were baffled.
You lost all your chips to me. And I thank you kindly for it! On
the hand in question, the one where I knocked Poor Alan out of the
game, he raised it up pre-flop. I look down and see AJclubs, and I'm
like, "Sweeeeeet!" Alan is on the short stack. Heck, Alan was on the
short stack for most of the night, playing weak-tight Poker, a common
mistake among newbie Poker players. Well, I figured my hand was
better than his, and, as Doyle says, "The key to no-limit is to put
your man to the test for all his chips." So I said to Alan, "I'm
gonna put you all-in, man." And Alan, after being taken aback by my
bold announcing of my intended play, correctly called. He flips over
KQos. Sadly for Alan, when the community cards came, they were no
help to him. Clearly he was upset. Later, after we combined tables,
I overheard Frank in the kitchen ask Alan, "Who knocked you out?" To
which my new best buddy Alan responded, "The asswipe over there."
NICE! Alan is just another in a long series of people that I, the
awesome Poker player named Dominick (formerly "Jihad"), have sent away
crying like a baby! It's always nice to see the effect that I have on
people, isn't it? That said, I said to Alan, "Hey, pal, how you gonna
call me names when I was nothing but nice to you downstairs, man???"
But I'm sure all he was thinking was, "I am sour grapes because Dom
knocked me outta da game!" Better luck next time, dude!

So now the tables are combined and the game continues on. I am chip
leader, as usual. But the difference is now I find myself at the
green felt along with Abby, Amy, Andy, Julio, Frank, Ray and Chrissy.
Oh, and the atmosphere is insane, too! Julio, Frank and Ray are all
liquored up thanks to our very special guest Mr. Johnny Walker Black.
I, by comparison, have only drunk a half a beer! Clearly, these guys
were having loads of fun upstairs, whilst I was busy downstairs
grinding out my gigantic, enormous chip lead. Well. Noticing that
the bottle of Johnny Walker is almost depleted, I immediately run to
the kitchen and retrieve a glass so that I can get in on all the fun!
And fun we did have!

A word about Julio and Ray's table presence: THESE GUYS ARE FUCKING
GREAT!!! These are the kind of guys I love to play with: loud,
raucous, drinking-like-crazy, trash-talking, having-a-good-time, cool
dudes! Even Frank let his hair down on this particular night! Frank,
who rarely drinks at the Poker table, was knocking back shots of
Johnny Walker like they was goin' outta style, yo! It was sick!
Aside from that night in AC where I made that big score, this could
definitely be the most fun I've ever had at a Poker game in my entire
life!

I'm not even sure what to write about the antics that henceforth
ensued. I saw Ray push all-in like 50 times, and he won and lost and
won and lost! Abby and Amy and Andy eventually fizzled out, as they
were all on the short stack. Speaking of which, I'd like to say that
I thought Amy played a very good, solid Poker game all night long.
However, her main leak is that she, like Alan, puts too much faith in
the so-called premium hands, and found herself "waiting and waiting"
for the "good hands" to come. In Poker, you can't always wait for a
good hand, because if you do you run the risk of being blinded out.
Sometimes, you have to play a hand you would otherwise throw away.
This is something that they don't teach you in the Poker books…but
genius Poker player that I am, I offer this most-important knowledge
free-of-charge!!! ;)

Anyway, the liquor was kicking in after a while. I excused myself to
go outside and pet Melanie's nice, little dog…and I also fed him roast
beef and turkey. Afterwards, said dog told me that he wanted to go
home with me 'cause I feed him good food. Regretfully, I said that I
already have 2 cats, so sorry dawg you gotta go home with your masters
like you always do! Melanie is Julio's girlfriend who, along with
Tati and Lexy, I didn't get a chance to really play with on this
particular night since we were seated at different tables. However, I
did play with Tati for a little while in the 2nd tourney of the night,
and without a doubt she's a good Poker player…even better than Ray!
Sorry, Ray, I had to say it! 

Speaking of Ray, let's not forget about how I knocked him out of the
game like I would, back in my dairy-eating days, knock out an entire
Ray's pizza pie in New York City! Ray was on-tilt about that, and
going into the second game he made it his mission to play every hand
that I played in the hope of sucking out on me and getting his revenge
on me…which he did! Well, Ray, remember this: Even a broken clock is
right twice a day, and if you keep playing crazy Poker like that
pretty soon your car, your house, and all of your worldly possessions
will be MINE MINE MINE!!! Mark my words, sir! It will happen!

The final 3 at this first tourney were none other than Frank, Chrissy
and MYSELF! We all congratulated each other, the Three Musketeers
that we are, going back as we do to the very first game that Frank
ever hosted around a year and a half ago. In that time, I have seen
both Chrissy and Frank's game improve drastically, and, in turn, these
Poker warriors have also taught me a few things about the game of
Poker. I would say that as a result of Frank's lessons and guidance,
my game is the sharpest it's ever been. When I sit down at a Poker
table, there is no doubt that I will win mad $$$$$$$$$$. This is why
I am so hated/feared by all. People can't beat me, so they get angry,
and that anger festers inside of them and forces them to do anything
in their power to stop me from playing with them. But, like a phoenix
out of the ashes, I always RISE ABOVE!

Wow, that was mighty dramatic, wouldn't you say?

Well, drama aside, I ended up knocking Chrissy out of the game, and
that left the 2 Greatest Poker Degenerates to fight it out mano a
mano! I'm telling you, this game woulda gone on all night! Frank
took a big pot offa me, and then I took one offa Frank, and the next
thing we knew—WE WERE ABOUT EVEN IN CHIPS. So, Frank and I decided to
chop it, because the game lasted a bit longer than we had expected,
and in order to fit in a second tourney meant we would immediately
have to chop the pot 50/50 and move on…which is what we did. But I'm
sure Frank agrees with me on this point: I would have liked nothing
better than to finish that game and see who, at least for this Poker
tourney, was the better player. It would be like if Roger Federer and
John McEnroe, both in their primes, could come together and battle it
out at the U.S. Open! Or Mike Tyson and Ali, both in their primes,
coming together in some cosmic time warp to fight it out, thus letting
the world know once and for all who is truly The Best! But, alas, it
was not to be, as the pot required a chop, so that a second game could
occur…and occur it did!

Ray, by some miracle of God, managed to win the 2nd tourney of the
night. How did he do this? Well, you'll just have to ask Lady Luck,
as I pushed all-in on him and he called, and when we flipped 'em over,
I was ahead…but this is Poker, remember? And in Poker, unlike most
other games, the best doesn't always win. He did the same thing to
Frank and Chrissy, too. I'm sure that when both of them went all-in
against Ray, Ray was severely behind…but they don't call it "The
River" for nothing! Ray took down the 2nd tournament in glorious
fashion…and I for one look forward to playing with him again!

All in all, it was a wonderful night! I made money, ate really well
(Frank, those sandwiches ROCK! Thanks for getting me the veggie
sandwiches…they were delicious, sir!), got drunk (thanks again, Frank
and Mr. Walker), and had a blast! Frank and Chrissy by far host the
best Poker games around. Not everyone leaves with money, but everyone
does leave with a full belly and great memories!

Lastly, Frank, Chrissy, Ray, Julio and myself are gonna be hitting
that mecca of gambling this Sunday, June 24th to play in the 11am MTT
at the Showboat…and then afterwards, we plan on moseying on over to
the Borgata for a little cash game action. I suspect that with the 5
of us in that tourney, it will be sick!!!!!!!!!! I'm especially
looking forward to playing with new guys Ray and Julio, 'cause these
guys are like me: they are funny and play sick, crazy Poker…oh, and
they like to drink!!! Guys, this weekend will be one for the books!
See you then!

Respectfully submitted,
Dominick the Poker Champ!

The coldest hands ever...

And I am talking Jack Frost touched these cards. I couldn't get a break. My good hands lost to higher pairs, players calling at each hand. No one could get a break. These are my friends, and as newcomers, they had a good share of the pot this past Saturday. I wasn't angry though, it's nice to have so many people who love me in the same room- it brings a certain warmth to the room, or was it the heat? ;-)

My cousin Melanie joined in at the last minute of our friendly tournament, making it a table of friends and family. Our shouts and laughter could be heard down the block. There were some good hands, but I lost a big chunk when I missed a key card in my straight and didn't notice (Stinger told me this has happened to her before). In any case, I finally lost my stash when Ray called. I had a full house (we both did), but he had the higher hand. I couldn't have lost to a nicer guy.

My side game proved to be at an influx as well. My pairs were knocked out by three of a kinds and I knew this night was going to be a draw. Tati and I realized that we were not going to win that night. I hear she got a little money back later, though.

It seems as though my friends will be joining Frank in AC for a tourney this coming week. I wish them all luck and I may be joining the next time around...

Monday, April 02, 2007

Sorry Dom.



Poker night 3/31/2007






What’s in the drink, Doctor?






Contrary to what my fellow players think of my avatar’s mysterious “drink,” I will attest that it is not in fact urine. I will attest to the fact that it abetted and secured my position in the top 3 of the longest awaited tourney in my poker lifetime. With a record amount of people, the tournament started off with a drawing for a seat. Well, with me drawing the Ace, it was just a good omen right from the start.

Due to the complexities surrounding the night’s game (i.e. me not ever playing with most of these players before), I decided to bet conservatively. I was stuck with one of whom I shall not mention his name, but insists on having players “pay” for his sometimes crappy hands. When he and another player went “all in,” I took the whole lot. What a relief for me! At this point it was down to 4 of the original. I just had to keep my game tight in order to be in the money. Patience won out, and G.O.A.T. was pushed out. The situation appeared pretty bleak to me, as I was the lowest common denominator in terms of chip holding. However, I managed to extract a number of chips from Frank a couple of times. “The surgery was a success” as we would say in my field. After a while, my rawness at poker won out. I pushed all in on A3 because it worked before, and lost out to a higher pair. It was a great run, and Frank made some delicious food (so I heard). I managed to recruit four players, so I considered the night to be an all-around accomplishment for me.

What do Frank and Dom have in common???

1 Picture is worth a 1000 words!!

Monday, March 12, 2007

AC Trip Report 3/11


You might be wondering, "Why is the title of this article AC Trip Report 3/11? when there is a picture of Caeser's Palace, Las Vegas. Well there is good reason. It is because I will be a guest at this mecca of luxury and gambling from 6/30 through 7/8. I am hoping to possibly satellite into a WSOP bracelet event or even buy directly into one depending on my success leading up to it. If you might be interested in taking a vacation to the promised land let me know. I'm sure you will have a good time. If you would like some action on my possible participation in the WSOP we can work something out.

As for yesterday I played in The Borgata's 11:00AM 50+1 AO MTT. The field started out with 181 participants, first place paying over $4700. I played in SS Ninja mode for the vast majority of the tourney. I was short stacked by the middle of the second hour and played the short stack for 5 hours straight. 6 and a half hours after the first hand was dealt I made my exit in 13th place with a small cash of $205. Whenever you get this deep in a tourney the first place prize is within your grasp as it was for me. I lost my last 2 races 44 vs 89o and AKs vs 96 which left me crippled. Had I won with my 44 and AK I would have most likely made it to the final table and made a big cash. It was Barry Greenstein who said "To win a tourney you have to win your races" and this was very evident yesterday. There was a lot of action deep in with the usual arguments and laughter here is an example. With 19 players left and 18 getting paid on the money bubble I am in the SB with the blinds at T4000/T8000 and T1000 antes. It gets folded around to the button who shoves all-in for T15000. I fold, now there is T28000 in the pot and it is T7000 for the BB to call. She has a good sized stack. With what hands should she call the Button's all-in? I know that she has to call it with any 2 cards. She is getting 4:1 for a call so she can call with any 2 considering the shoving range of the button who has less than 2BB's left. The BB has 35s and calls, the button flips over A10o and loses to the BB who catches a flush on the river. Now the button is pissed and starts to let the BB have it. It starts to turn into a catfight with insults hurled and the BB telling the button to go home and pout. I actually told the button that she had to call but the button was having none of it. In actuality the call would even be correct had the button been holding AA. AA is a 4:1 favorite versus 35s and that is exactly the odds that was being offered for the pot in that hand.

In other news there will be a tourney at my house on Saturday March 31st at 7:00pm. I sent out an evite. If you did nor receive one let me know.