Sunday, August 23, 2009

Down Big Then Back Up Big.

It was a roller coaster weekend for me. I loss $300 on Friday night. What's worst was it was a really loose and easy table, I could have capitalized but just wants getting any cards. I came back and made $320 on Saturday night, for a total profit of $20. I will settle for that after last weeks profit of $575. Sometimes you just cant win and if you can break even, you have to be happy with that. I tell myself, at least I didn't lose anything...

Friday night I didn't have a single pocket pair except 22s. I did have AK about 6 times and it hit like every time. The first time I had AK, Nicole was in the pot and she called my preflop raise of $15 and flop bet of $30, after an Ace hit the flop. I decided to small ball it and check it to the river, since I know she isn't folding to any bet with a draw. Unfortunately, she hit a one card straight with a 84 and I had to pay her river bet off of $66. The board was A5273, she called with a gut shot and hit! I should have known better, but made a loose call.

I decided to add on another $100 after the game was getting crazy action. I get AK again on the button. I raise to $15 and get 5 callers. The flop is K84, and everyone checks to Nicole and she bets $33. I push all-in for $85 and the Small blind smooth calls and Nicole calls. Everyone checks to the river. Unbelievably, the small blind has pocket Aces.. WTF? No re-raise and no betting? And this was a really aggressive player? I hate slow players, they just don't know how bad they really are... After that beat I left a loser.

I decided to try out the Saturday night crowd and redeem myself. The game only lasted 3.5hrs. It was crazy action and Nicole and Bill were back at it again. I hit a set of 777s early on against Sean. This time he made a good lay down after calling my flop re-raise to $100.

Most of my money came from Bill. I hit a Nut Flush on the turn and Bill hit a set of 555s on the turn. I bet my draw, $10 on the flop and Bill check raised my nuts. I bet $25 on he re-raised to $60. I pushed back all-in and doubled up. Luckily, the board didn't pair and the river was an Ace.

A bit later I have pocket Kings on the button. I raise to $20 and get 3 callers. The flop is JJ7. Bill comes out betting $35. He has been playing erratically, so I just smooth call. The other caller folds. The turn is a blank like a 4. Bill bets $60 and I call again. The river is another blank and Bill bets $75. He is kinda betting small and I wonder if he is trying to reel me in, but I have to go with my gut and call. Bill shows nothing 68 suited and I take the pot!



Sunday, August 16, 2009

The Poker Action is Back

The Poker action is back. After a week off the game was back on! Since my $90 loss last week in Shreveport I was still operating on the cash that I won 2 weeks prior. I try not to dip into my bank account and live off only my winnings. I only had $150 in my new wallet, so bought in for less then my normal $200. No matter, it was up up and away for me. I was in the #1 seat as usual and Nicole was in #10. This is ideal for me, since I knew her luck would probably be done this time around and I should be able to capitalize. As plan, most of my money came from her and I ended up cashing out $725, 12 hours later.

Some advice, if there is a maniac at the table then always try to be on their left. You can hide behind their raises and re-raise with an advantage. If there is a tight player at the table, then you want to be on there right. You can easily steal a tight player's blinds, but I don't usually recommend it, because after a few tries, they might re-raise you and you better fold...

Here were my key hands:

Full House over Nut Flush: I had pocket 66s. Nicole raises $11 and I call and one other guy calls. The flop is 774, with 2 spades. Nicole bets $11 and I call her and one other guy calls. The turn is a Jack of spades. Everyone checks... The river is a 6 of spades! I just boated and there is 4 spades on the board. This new guy from Europe bets out $25. Nicole folds and I re-raise to $75. I never played with this guy and he doesn't know me. He ask how big my spade is, I say how big is your spade? He thinks really long and hard and finally says he can't get away from his hand and calls. I say, "No flush.." He shows the Ace of spade. and then Jessica the dealer says, "Full House..?" Jessica knows me well... What else would I have? (BTW, Nicole says she had pocket 55s, I was leading all the way...) My stack is now up to ~$250..

Aces up over lower Two Pair: I wasn't getting any cards to play, and was slowly losing most of my winnings. Finally I get my pocket Aces. There is a raise of $20 in front of me. It is Sean and I have played him many times. Actually, the last time we played I also had Aces he he doubled me up. Anyways, Sean is a really loose player so I re-raise him $60 thinking that he will probably call and I will be committing myself to the hand with about $100 left. As expected, everyone folds and Sean calls. The flop is QJ4 and he checks. I push all-in and he calls saying he has 2-pair. I say "Queen Jack" and he says yes. What a lucky mother f..er..! I think I'm drawing to 2 outs. But suddenly on the river is a 4, pairing the board! Everyone sighs and I, still in shock he flopped 2-pair, think I loss, until the pot is pushed to me. Now I just realized that I have a higher two pair Aces and fours! Wow... I actually had had 8 outs on the river..

Set over Aces up: Later in the evening I have pocket 44s. Everyone limps in and the flop is A4K rainbow. Nicole bets $11 and I re-raise her $25 more. Everyone folds and she calls. The turn is and Jack, Nicole checks and I bet $50. She calls. The river is a 8. She checks and I bet $60 again, slightly afraid of the straight, but since she check I figured my set is good. She surprises me and raises me $160. I call, just in case she has it and ask her "2 pair?" She says yes.. I say "No good," and show her my set. She never shows her hand..

The big lay down: I have pocket 10s and the table is playing really loose. So I raise to $20. Eric calls and Nicole calls. The flop is 894 with two clubs. I bet $40 and Eric re-raises to $80 saying he wants the flush draws out. Nicole folds and I call. The turn is the 2 of spades! I check the potential flush and Eric bets. I think for a moment and fold. Eric has to either have a flush or a set. He would never make a move like this to me. Eric shows me one red nine and later says he did flop top set... I lost $100, but felt good I made the right decision, but who knows for sure, maybe he bluffed me.

Up Against the Shaq: I have pocket Queens and raise it $20. Everyone folds and the Shaq calls. The flop is J83. The Shaq checks and I bet $40 and he calls. They turn is a 5 and he checks again so I bet $50 and the Shaq calls again. The river is a Queen and he checks and I bet $100. The Shaq calls and I say top set and he folds... Not sure what he had, but I figure he had at least a Jack...maybe thinking I had Ace King? Whatever and thank you sir..

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

For Sprint or Nextel Customers free $35- $90...

If you were or are a Sprint or Nextel Customer then go to http://www.sprintetfsettlement.com/ and claim your free $35 to $90 settlement or 30 free minutes per month.  Sprint was sued for charging an (ETF) Early Termination Fee.  Sprint decided to settled and now you can be part of the class action law suit.  If you ever paid an ETF or decided to stay with Sprint because of the fee, then you qualify.  It is an easy process and all online.


Monday, August 10, 2009

Trip To Shreveport

Took a last minute trip to Shreveport, LA this weekend. The Local poker action was shutdown so decided to check out the casinos in Louisiana. Me and Eric played at The Horseshoe. The action was loose and Casino packed.

All my big hands were during the first couple of hours. I had pocket Aces, Kings, Jacks and Queens. My Aces were cracked by Q10 when there was two 10s on the flop. I folded on the turn when it was obvious that he had trip 10s. 

My Kings held up, but my Jacks ran into Aces both time. The first time I folded on the flop after the kid went all-in after min raising me. The second time I folded pre-flop after I raised it $20 and one short stack goes all-in and an old guy pushes all-in. The old guy had limped in at first, so I put him on a big pair and that is exactly what he had, Aces...

It was just one of those nights where I am the poor soul that has to fold the big pairs to a bigger pair. I am glad I was able to do it. Most people would have busted out much early then I.

I finally started getting a little lucky, hitting a set of 333s and then a set of 10s. I built my stack to $400 before another bad beat. I had A7 and flopped two pair with a flop of A79. One short stack guy goes all-in and another guy pushes on the flop. I push back and end up putting him all in. He had A10 and the short stack guy had A10. The turn is a 6 and the river an 8. They hit runner runner to make a straight!

My stack was now down to $150. I called a guy down to the river who only had AK. The flop was two Queens and I had pocket nines. That built my stack back up to over $210. I was making my way back. Eric finally came over and gave me his bad beat story. Just like my story he flopped top two pair with KJ. A donkie called $700 with a flush draw 104 and hit runner runner strait! Eric was done for the night and I decided to wrap it up a short time later.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Texas Gambling Law

Hysteria is going around so I thought I would review the Texas Law on Gambling. Here is the exact law for Gambling in Texas.  Basically, it says that poker is illegal in Texas if you play at a place that makes money on it.  (takes a rake..), but it is just a Class C misdemeanor, which is basically as serious as a speeding ticket for a player, the max penalty is $500.  If you run a game, then watch out.. That is a Class A misdemeanor which has a $4,000 max fine and up to 1 year in jail.

§ 47.02.  GAMBLING.  (a)  A person commits an offense if he:
(1)  makes a bet on the partial or final result of a game or contest or on the performance of a participant in a game or contest;
(2)  makes a bet on the result of any political nomination, appointment, or election or on the degree of success of any nominee, appointee, or candidate; or
(3)  plays and bets for money or other thing of value at any game played with cards, dice, balls, or any other gambling device.
(b)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(1)  the actor engaged in gambling in a private place;
(2)  no person received any economic benefit other than personal winnings; and
(3)  except for the advantage of skill or luck, the risks of losing and the chances of winning were the same for all participants.
(c)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the actor reasonably believed that the conduct:
(1)  was permitted under Chapter 2001, Occupations Code;
(2)  was permitted under Chapter 2002, Occupations Code;
(3)  consisted entirely of participation in the state lottery authorized by the State Lottery Act (Chapter 466, Government Code);
(4)  was permitted under the Texas Racing Act (Article 179e, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes); or
(5)  consisted entirely of participation in a drawing for the opportunity to participate in a hunting, fishing, or other recreational event conducted by the Parks and Wildlife Department.
(d)  An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(e)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that a person played for something of value other than money using an electronic, electromechanical, or mechanical contrivance excluded from the definition of "gambling device" under Section 47.01(4)(B).

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Bad Week

Its been a bad week for me.. First, I didn't get paid last week. My company ran out of money. Poor cash flow planning.... The company also announced on Monday that we had a RIF, Reduction in Force. In other words, we had a lay off. Our newest employee had to be let go because our sales were not coming in.

The prior week I learned from my property management company that my tenant in my big house in Michigan gave their 30 days notice. They are leaving at the end of August. I guess the lady of the house lost her job and now they are moving closer to the man of the house's job. Now, I have 2 homes in Michigan that need a tenant or someone to buy me out. The people in my Flint house moved out over a month ago.

I did finally get paid on Wednesday, so it was just a short delay. In the past, the company had 2.5 months delay in pay and they eventually loss every employee except the founder. I should consider myself lucky. This is the risk you take in a small company. Luckily, my personal cash flow is pretty good, but I'm going to take a big hit with my houses being empty.

I decided to post my houses on Craig's List. I had really good luck selling all my things last year. I got a couple response on my big house immediately, I was shocked! Maybe I can get lucky in this economy. I will take what ever I can get. I just need to be freed from this debt.

On top of all this, my cell phone stop charging or syncing. The USB port got messed up. The plastic surrounding the leads got lodged into the cable. Sprint doesn't sell the Motorola Q anymore so I have to buy a used one and get it activated for my number.


Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Junk Mailings

My mom keeps giving me all this junk mail.  Sometimes there is interesting presentations in there.  So here are some clips.


Saturday, August 1, 2009

Crazy Month of Action - Sick Action Last Night


It was a sick night at the Retreat. At one point over $4K on the table playing $1/$2 game. The action was the looses I ever seen. One girl was on a major heating playing any 2 cards. She went all-in preflop with K7 and won with 2 pair. She was up over $1800 at one point. Eventually she lost it all and then some. I saw her give it all back in a few hands. One notable hand where she called $850 pre-flop with 45 suited.. Is that sick or what..? She really loosen up the table and made everyone call with shit and re-buy after re-buy after re-buy. Good job Eric, for cashing out over $1000. You did have to re-buy a few times, but at the end you made it all back and then some. That was a sick hand with you chasing the nut flush and having 5 people all-in on the flop!.

I really wasn't getting at hands early on. So I just mostly watched.. waiting for my moment. I started with my standard $200. My stack got down to $110 and added on another $100. The average chip stack was over $500 and I just couldn't compete with such huge chip stacks. People were calling everything. Eventually I hit my hand, which turned into a bad beat.

I had AJ suited in clubs. Sheldon pre-flop raises $7. There are like 5 callers. The flop is AJ3 with 2 hearts. I bet out $20, Sheldon calls and another guy pushes all-in for $120. I call and Sheldon calls. I put him on a flush draw. The turn is a 2, no heart. I push all in for my remaining $90. Sheldon calls. He had 62 of hearts and wants to deal. I say no. The river is no heart, but another 2. He hits trips and takes down the $550 pot! The other guy had AQ.

I borrow another $200 from the house. The action remains sick and intense. I finally hit pocket Aces under the gun. I haven't played in hours, but people have been playing crazy. I raise to $25. I get 3 callers. The flop is all rags 956. One guy bets out and another calls so I push all-in for about $150. One guy folds and the other calls. The turn is a King and the river an Ace. I hit my set. The guy said he had 2 pair. Wow.. I got lucky.. Now I just doubled my stack to $400.

Some how I continued to increase my stack to over $700. I don't remember to much since most hands never had a showdown. It was just solid poker and people folding to me. I have a few more sets. A set of 222s, 666s, and 10s I guess that is 4 sets in about 10 hours. An average night, but most of it all happen late in the session. So it was a grind... It could have been so much better, but I will take it...

Here is a graph of my last 12 months. I can now say that I have not had a losing month in 1 year!