RFID

Here is a video demonstrating the use of RFID technology. The comments are highly skeptical, assuming that some sort of cheating will be going on with this technology. And don't we all think some one is cheating when things aren't going our way?

But looking at this technology I have to think online. I still wonder how one can program something to be truly random. But this technology suggests that you could have a live dealer dealing online games. Never even needing to know to whom they are dealing. It might seem worthwhile for marketing high stakes online games. Maybe some site already has it.

Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year.

A Winter project. Building some poker tables in the basement. Bought some 4x6 particle board with camo design on one side some years back dirt cheap. Was going to build a tree stand for hunting but can hardly afford to even get to my property but once or twice a year.

Note the new power tool to make the season bright. But no funds for more tools and the padding and cloth to do the job right. Have to try to amp up my Internet endeavors to cover the costs.

Yes I'll be working on my bike(s) throughout the Winter. Also starting at the bottom in house repairs... again. Hope to get all the tuck pointing done, at least on the inside, and other home repairs in the basement. Waiting for warmer weather to start work on the other parts of the house if I have the money.

Poker goals? Over $1 million play money on all the major poker sights. It has never cost me a single penny to play poker online. And more Tavern Tourneys. If the Internet advertising angle pays big I'll work to give myself a proper stack for an Omaha Hi/Lo game or no limit hold'm game at the casino.

Tavern Tourneys

Last night I drove down to Kansasville to play some live poker in Tavern Tourneys. Free entry, $5 for extra chips and more chips for buying a round for your table if you go bust. Some of the $5 go into cash prizes for 1st and 2nd. 3rd gets a gift certificate from the host. I suppose they have to pay for cards and I'm not sure if they give the host tavern anything.

I talked to the Tourney Director a bit. He said they have about 600 regular players and about 10% are serious about the WSOP entry they offer twice a year. They have tourneys every night. He said they usually have about 30 people. I'm not sure if that is the same for their weekend games.

Well designed to give people the chance to play poker for free and spend a good part of the evening playing poker by dropping a few friendly bucks if you are not doing well. Taking advantage of the offers and the cost in fuel (none of the tourneys are close, it was a 45 minute drive) I can have a good night of poker for about as much as it cost me to sit at the casino, two miles away, with a minor stack. Of course I could come out ahead at the casino, it's happened once, or not lose my whole investment. The casino's Monday Night Football promotion looks inviting.

But Tavern Tourneys has a much lighter and friendlier spirit than the casino. Yes, there is cash at stake but push comes to shove the poker is free. But how did I do you're demanding, moving to the edge of your seat and leaning deep into your computer monitor.

I had some good hands and was doing well but after the break I noticed some at my table had huge stacks. So with a stack that could still intimidate, push most off a hand, I went all-in with pocket 8's. One caller with K,J. He got his third J on fourth street and I needed an 8 on the river for a full house...

or is it on the turn and fifth street....

Now I'm confused....

So, I did not get the 8. With a single chip left I threw in with a K,Q. I got the K on the flop but someone else caught the Ace.

I wish I could afford to go once a week or more, but will have to settle for maybe once a month. Maybe I can drag my friend down to a game. He keeps trying to get me to go to a bowling league on Fridays. Not team play, individual. Lots of prizes and free bowling for league members at certain times in the week.

Every Good Western

Every good Western has a saloon scene where either the villain or misguided hero are caught cheating. Having given a backhanded endorsement of Ultimate Bet I have to mention this article I came across. It says that Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker have had some software problems. It suggests that something dishonest may have been going on. A bit of reflection on what I wrote about a few posts back.

If you don't do anything online without a heightened sense of healthy paranoia you're just a fool. Whether some one can see your cards, identify the deck allowing them to determine your cards or get into your web cam to see your reactions and hear your comments, I consider all possible, the advantage is with the cheater. I think determining the cards to come down on the table is less likely, unless the cheater is an insider. I know when I have chatted during a game sometimes my screen flashes several times after my first chat message. I have a general rule to avoid chatting but once in a while I have to chime in. Sometimes people chat vigorously trying to get a response from some one.

Possible cheating is one of the reasons you should keep notes on players. Something all sites provide. And it is most likely safer to play when volumes are high. I'm sure the cheaters are few and far between. At least that is what I'd like to believe.

What surprised me is that the article says that poker sites do not put in protections against cheating. I know the sites advertise heavily that the cash transaction side of their business is completely safe. (the PPA is adamant that online poker is not illegal) I'm not sure why they wouldn't want to be known for having the most secure games on the web.

But I really like what Ultimate Bet does and their new show is great. You can see it online. If I got paid for all the free advertising I give on my various blogs I would be a rich man. "Cowboys Full; The Story of Poker" was recommended on the show. One of a few poker books I'd like to read if I get the chance. I have a real love of history. ...Another free prop.

I have read most of the book Misao gave me for my birthday. I found that much of what it says I already picked up intuitively. Other things, and the clearly determined odds, are a big help if I can stay disciplined. "Omaha High-Low Poker" is the book and I'm not seeing as many A,2 A,3 2,3 in my hands when playing online as the book suggests I should. I have found things to be cyclical. I have to just wait things out. Which begs the question concerning the shuffle online; Can you program random results? Maybe that is a big part of the problem with online poker.

If anyone has any input in that regard I'd enjoy reading your comments.

If you want a nearly guaranteed honest game.... pull your wallet out and put out the cash to play at a casino.

Celebrity Poker

Yes, poker players have become a type of celebrity and poker programing is on the rise. Every Internet poker site has some type of television programing association. (I'm not sure why NBC isn't showing "Face the Ace" in our area) Yes, you can enter, typically for free, online tournaments in which you can win a spot on television.

One of the reasons I enjoy playing on Ultimate bet is that Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke and their crew use their celebrity to support charity. Maybe most other sites and players do also, but I haven't seen anything as prominent. I've seen much more than the two links I provide here. I started following Ultimate Bet on twitter based on their promotion for African relief.

I tried Poker Stars' tournaments to qualify for the FOX show they are aligned with. With my wife's heavy stare upon me, as she wants the Internet in the evenings, I pushed in many advantageous but risky situations trying to get a worthy stack to justify the time I was taking from Misao. Not to sit for hours with a minor stack that most likely wont bear fruit as the leader's stacks stand mountainous over your own and the blinds continue to rise. So I often didn't get very deep into the tournament.

But I decided when I play my best game I can get into the top 5% of any tournament. So with that determination I sat down to one of the FOX/Poker Stars tournaments. They always start full at 10,000 players; ten seated tables. So in the top 500 would be the top 5%. I finished 567th. I had a mid pair and gut shot straight draw. A 3 to 7 straight (3,4, 567). Really! So when pushed I went all-in before the river and missed the straight losing to top pair.

I could have just sat back and let my stack ride to get to the top 500. Using the full extent of my clock every time it was my bet, so others would go out on other tables as I waited. But that's not how I roll.

I now created an account with Absolute Poker, part of cerus and associated with Ultimate Bet, getting in on one of their twitter cash free rolls. These free rolls, that you need a twitter account to get the passwords too, come once a month and generally have a small field of good players. In this free roll of about 280 players the top 50 positions paid.

I was doing well but we had to leave for work; our small business. Running a bit late I hung in for a bit longer to look for some chances to go all-in. Folding a lot of hands, cause I ain't stupid, I patiently waited and got some cards I felt good about. An Ace Jack suited that paid, along with a K, 5 suited, both hitting the flush. Pocket nines all-in facing pocket Q's. I tripped on the flop. So when we left I was sitting in 14th place, top 50 being paid with over 100 left in the tournament. Leaving my position to just ride out the blinds, and ante's that come as the blinds rise. My computer went to sleep at the second 5 minute break at which point I was in 40th place with 67 players left. Not sure how the rest played out, only that I had $4 in my account when we got home several hours later. That means I finished at least 40th. 1st position paid $200.

At that stage of the tournament, fighting to make the money cut, many small stacks go all-in. The larger stacks can be pulled down, as it is easy to call when you have good cards since you are not risking much, but then keep losing these mini challenges. And getting very tight as you reach the money cut off I could have collected on the big blind if everyone folded. It's happened as people get really really tight trying to break the top 50.

Now if I can build these free roll winnings into a small fortune in tournament play could you claim it wasn't skill? Never having wired any money the only problem would be how to collect. I think my odds at celebrity are much greater by creating a fortune from literally nothing than making one of those TV shows.... unless I get really lucky.

Patterns

I finished just short of the final four tables last night in a NL Hold'm points freeroll of 321 tables. (keeping me up way too late) Last two tables being paid in points. Hanging on with only a fraction of an average stack until the last 50 tables. Then I climbed into the top 20 chip leaders before hitting a tough streak.

My last trip to the casino I went bust with my tiny stack. I went to play my best game, Omaha Hi/Lo, but, since they didn't have a table going, I played my weakest game; limit Texas Hold'm. I decided to only settle for a seat with my strongest game next time I get the chance.

I made most of my Internet play money fortune at heads up no limit Hold'm or at Omaha Hi/Lo. Lately I've been doing poorly at heads up, but have noticed some patterns with Internet play. For instance in a half hour period I hit trips four or five times but the other guy had a full house each time.

Or in a ring game hitting two pair on the flop but another guy hitting a long shot flush on the river. Another annoying pattern is being pushed off a small pair or suited connectors pre-flop and seeing you would have had trips or a flush on the flop. And as the hand plays out you see that those who raised, or a group that raised and re raised, had poor starting hands. When these hands happen over and over you wonder.

Or there are those tables where you just get great hands over and over but another always seems to have an even better hand. In heads up play I started scanning with my anti-virus/spy ware program that came with my new computer after the first few hands. After a few more hands my opponents often leave the table. Otherwise it goes like this. You trade hands for a while. Then you get up a bit before they clean you out with a series of really big hands and leave the table quickly. Just a pattern I noticed.

I'm not saying anything... I'm just saying.

Of course we have 'vista' with our new computer. I've come to blame all my problems on 'vista' these days. Three weeks til we can expect to get our free version of '7' in the mail.

Or there is the single table tournament games where there are four of you left but the other three seem to work together to keep each of their stacks viable. That's with the final three being paid of course. Just good old fashion graft.

A Different Kind of Investing

That fore mentioned talk show host also does a football pick contest. Included is a company from Wisconsin; American Sports Analysts. They have a service where they make picks, available for a fee on sporting events. I always thought that if I ever had a lot of money that this may be something better to invest in than the stock market.

They put their reputation behind their most highly ranked picks. If they are wrong their business will fail. The only factor in their success is that their picks be correct. Is it the same for your stock broker? What stake does a stock broker have in your buy paying off? Little to none.

With my past experience in the stock market I wonder if I would have done better with giving this company all my money. Though it would cut into my winnings to pay and go with 'only' their highest ranked picks, their record would suggest I most likely would have come out ahead.

A different Kind of Gambling

Until I can get my highest interest credit card paid off the opportunities to sit at a live poker table will be few and far between. And it will mean starting with a short stack even if I do get the chance. But unless I bust out in one game to build up a chunk of seed money that is how it will have to be.

But there is another gamble that I have chosen to put some money towards before taking care of the immediate demands of the monthly bills. That would be investing in the stock market. Yes, with a bit of extra cash coming in I put $300 into my near extinct investment account. Without a stock transaction soon a built in fee would have nearly liquidated the account as it was.

Misfortune hardly describes my past experience in the stock market, thank you Y2K. Having lost thousands and having to extract thousands for other needs at inopportune times my investments have sat in tatters for many a year now. Recently one of two companies I had a stake in went under leaving me with nothing but ten shares in a small electronics company that paid a dividend.

Yes the stock market is a gamble. I read a small Internet article where the author described the poker betting process in the same manner as investment strategy. In terms of risk and reward. What is the factor on your potential return versus the risk. So I put more money into this dividend paying stock buying 50 shares at $4. A stock that before this economic downturn almost never went under $7 and was known to go up over twice that at times. It had been lower than $3 at its lowest and I felt a hunch to buy more when it was more than a dime lower than $4. As it was, it was sitting above $4 and came down the day after I put my bid in. Since then it has gone up over $1. But it will be the following investments, after I decide to sell this bit of fortune, that will decide how good of a decision to divert these funds was.

The reality is that life is full of risk taking on one level or the other. Life requires the ability to make decisions. Decisions that require an investment and contain no guarantee that the desired result will occur or that some unknown factor will not frustrate the expected outcome. It requires knowledge and the ability to read people and environments. All realities that can be introduced in game play.

Some may think that poker, gambling with money, would be an inappropriate way of learning these skills. I often think fondly of playing sheep's head with my family. A game where the card play determines the outcome as well as the ability to determine who your unknown partner is. The nickle and dime stakes, now supposedly illegal in Wisconsin as a favor to certain campaign contributors, were hardly life changing gains or losses but plenty to heighten the senses and hone ones skills; ones abilities to read a situation and make informed decisions.

An argument in the online poker debate is that the micro stakes that the Internet can provide actually keep people with gambling problems from going bust in other aspects of their lives. And when more and more casinos are opening up, accessible to a larger and larger portion of the population, it would seem people with a problem have greater opportunity to get into games of much greater stakes 24 hours a day. As far as the Internet I know that in Korea, where Internet use and role play gaming has been recognized as a serious problem especially for the young, they have systems that cut users off after five hours a day. And also in my previously mentioned discussion with a gentleman at the gym, he brought up the fact that at a casino, in the gambling scene, you come across a lot of seedy people you have to be careful of.

People whose lives are destroyed by gambling have been found to have other problems that contributed to their failings. I heard a report by the BBC on the radio of someone who has done a study showing that gambling actually has a positive effect for many people. Why? Because it is incredibly fun, taking the risk and dreaming of potential unimaginable success, but at the same time not depending on, or expecting, to win. People with sound decision making processes interacting in a responsible fashion. Playing games is fun and they reflect the challenges and dreams we all have in life. A release everyone can enjoy from time to time whether at the poker table or... on the monopoly board if poker isn't your kind of game.

Luck

I debated with a gentleman at the gym the other day on whether poker was a game of skill or luck. He claimed that the fact casinos wont ban supposed good poker players, but will blackjack players, that poker was not a game of skill. The problem with that argument is in blackjack the house pays the winner and in poker the house takes a rake out of the pot no matter who wins or loses.

Poker is a game of skill but luck cannot be ignored. And in tournament play you often have to roll the dice. When your stack doesn't grow with the rising blinds at some point you have to go all-in with the first thing that looks like a respectable hand. Or you just have bad luck. When your nuts are busted on the river. Some may say the most money is lost at a table when more than one have a full house. A rare hand that you wouldn't usually expect there to be two of.

I happened to mention to my wife that she always seems to have good luck when I am around... And that I have bad luck when she is nearby. At least that is how it has been on our three trips to the casino to hit the poker room. My stack grew while she was off playing slots or perusing the casino, but I couldn't help but lose when she came into the room to watch or just wait in the poker room lobby.

We went to take advantage of a slot promotion where they give you $5 for playing $20 on the slot machine. Came away at a loss. When I went by myself I came out ahead nearly $6.

I noticed it with dealers also. You'll make several big hands with one dealer and then the dealer changes and the hands dry up. Or proximity with a dealer. I've had the same dealer on more than one occasion and when sitting directly next to them I did very poorly. But on another occasion when sitting across from them I did well.

I sat down at a table and an older lady across from me put in all her chips in despair on my first hand. She was their with a real grinder, perhaps her husband. She won and looked across at me with a smile. She mentioned she had given up. She had been losing all night. Then she won again... and again and she kept smiling. She obviously thought my arrival changed her fortune.

Then there are the people who just upset the whole atmosphere. The two guys who keep talking it up, standing saying they are going out for a cigarette but then don't go. Play another hand, never clear if they are going or staying. If they are in the next hand or not. Even the dealer seemed to get a bit annoyed. Messes up the whole mood, rhythm of the game. Language usually isn't a big problem. The dealers work hard to discourage any abusive language.

Of course in a ring game many of these misfortunes can be overcome with discipline play and keeping an even temperament. I had been doing poorly recently on the Internet with my play money stack rocketing down after going well beyond half a million. We just recently got a new more secure Internet connection and a new computer with the latest protection software and my luck has changed.



Only Frank could get away with those lyrics.

Our local casino in "Ante" their monthly publication actually has a star gazer. You can find not only your luck days but specific times down to the minute when your luck will be running high... If you can believe it.

A Day at the Races

Not today, but last Saturday. And not a day, but a couple of hours. And not at the races, but at the OTB room at the casino which is just a couple miles from my home.

A local talk show host has an investment in a race horse. Being well studied in the sport of horse racing he often has tips for races and horses he has confidence in. The Friday before last he had two such tips for The Travers Cup at Saratoga. I had put some money down on some extensive tips he had given in the past and lost more than I had won. If I had been more conservative in my bets, sticking with the top three horses he recommended, I would have come in ahead. For The Travers Cup last week he gave two picks, not the favorite, that I decided to pursue.

It was a $16 investment. What attracted me to this race was the potential for these two horses with the favorite to fill in the top three. So a $6 trifecta box. Than another $6 dollars in $2 exacta boxes and $2 each for his picks to place. Then, the wait for race 12, The Travers Cup.

I was early, or maybe it was just the rain that delayed the race. Capt. Candyman Can looked attractive to me in race 11 and thought of putting $2 to show but didn't. It would have paid. Thought of putting $4 on the favorite for race 12 to show, #4 Quality Road, but the rewards were too small for the investment. It would have paid. Then I thought of putting $2 on the race 12 long shot to show, #1 Hold Me Back, and that also would have paid.

Yes, #1 Hold Me Back, the long shot came in second messing up my chances at the trifecta and exacta boxes with #2 Charitable Man, the first tip coming in 4th, #4 Quality Road, the favorite coming in 3rd, and #6 Summer Bird, the second tip finishing first. The three making up my boxes. Summer Bird paid something over double to place.

But it was an interesting experience rubbing elbows and watching the races with some serious followers of the sport for awhile. And together with the potential for a great return, a good chance at hundreds of dollars, a day worthwhile. The information was obviously excellent. You just never know what's going to happen though. But you never stop learning. I may go back, not too soon, if I see a chance for some good returns investing in boxes, and hedging my bets with some solid picks and maybe $2 on a long shot potential.

A little windfall would have been great. Always seems to be opportunity before me but we just can't catch a break. It's as if something keeps holding me back.

The Buffet

It has been about a week since Misao and I took the casino up on a two for the price of one offer from the casino buffet. It wasn't the most impressive layout but some of the food was very good. We arrived when the buffet was over halfway into its service. The lo-mein was great and my wife really liked the chicken from the Latin counter. It just cost us a small tip since we used my birthday points to pay for the one.

They also give away free cards or dice when you 'leave' the casino. The cards are the real casino cards with a corner sliced off. So that evening I taught Misao how to play poker. After running her through all the hands, and what beats what, we played some hands without any chips, ...which is far from ideal and somewhat meaningless.

I asked Misao if she would like to deal to which she enthusiastically answered; "Yes."

We had started about the same time as the 10:00pm news. She kept going and going and going to which I commented; "You really like poker I guess."

And asked; "When do you want to stop?"

"I want a straight flush!" she said.

After some time the yawns started in succession and she finally decided to settle for something better than two pair. Well into Late Night with Jimmy Fallon she hit a flush and we put the cards away.

Poker Face

If you care to look I have added 'Tavern Tourneys' to my links. Yes, poker tournaments are available in Wisconsin though I don't know how the prizes are determined or awarded. Still have to spend some more time researching the site.

If you don't know we work weekend evenings selling flowers in bars and taverns. Misao has commented that the sales are always very good when the song "Poker Face" is playing. It has been played heavily but recently has not been getting as much air time. The sales were not too hot this Friday and as we neared the end of our route my wife had just walked into a Mexican bar and restaurant and the song started up on the car radio. She came out with an empty bucket.

Makes one wonder if he should head to the casino. But,... we just don't have the extra cash right now. Misao wants to go there for lunch tomorrow when she finishes working. They sent us a two for one coupon for their buffet and I can use my card points.

Blogger Freeroll

When I signed up for twitter to follow conservatives and poker greats I began following the Ultimate Bet blog seeing their promotion to send money for Africa if they gain so many followers. What I missed was that those signing up were qualified for a freeroll with cash payouts. I didn't miss that fact when they did a similar promotion centering on delicious, a bookmark service. And here is how it went down. I may have some of the facts mixed up but you'll get the picture.

The blinds started out fairly high at 15-30, everyone with 1,500. I had a few potential hands that didn't develop. Was dry for a long while with my stack shrinking. About half gone I played a Q, 6 suited. Q,K,3 on the flop with one of my suit. After the others checked I raised. One guy went all in. I called. He had Q,9 dominating my hand. 3 on the turn and now we are splitting the pot. The river... a 6 and I win.

Stole a hand and got some good hands here and there to build my stack well into the top 45; the cash winners. But I pursued goods hands, I can't resist, and got some bad beats and was out of the money and looked to be soon out of the game.

Pocket 7's and I posted. A raise and then a very large raise. All in or fold for me, facing such a large raise, so I went all in. One fold, one call, heads up against an A,J suited. My pair held. Back in the money. I was being bullied by one player and called all in after he again raised big on the flop. I had hit two pair... sweet.

Back deep into the money I hit some incredible hands. On the SB I raised with a poor hand trying to knock off the BB. He called and I hit a set, trips, on the flop and almost took him out of the game. Had incredible hands and hit 73K, 30K over the next largest stack. I didn't know if I wanted to win 1st. 1st and 2nd received entry into a 200K tourney, no cash. I didn't know if I would be free for the big money tourney and wasn't confident I could make it into the cash. Started playing marginal hands... and still won. Then I entertained some three or four small stacks with marginal hands by calling their all in's for some heads up play. Lost all of them but still held the large stack.

Played a 6,7 and hit a pair of 6's on the flop. Raised and was called. Raised after the turn with my pair and a straight draw and the other guy went all in over 20K. I thought by the way he had bet he had some high cards, not the 9 on the table. I called and was right. He had the A,K suited. River... A. Lost.

Then I had a Q,K or something. Q,6,6 on the flop. Heads up and the other guy had raised pre-flop on the BB and I didn't think he had a 6. He went all in. I called but he did. I was out in 12th place.

If I focus I'm going deep into the tournaments. Usually I catch a game and then have to do something else and don't keep focus. Or enter a tourney when I know I can't sit the hours it will take and play loose and aggressive and don't do well. I don't know if that's good for my over all development.

Same here. I didn't have a clear picture of what I was shooting for. Final table should have been it and I shouldn't have made that last call. I have some cash to work with now for some single table tournament play. ... If I get the chance. Have been lining up a lot of odd jobs and hope to be busy these next few weeks.

Moving On Up

My game has made a quantum leap forward. After attempting several cash freeroll tourneys, when the opportunity presented, advanced play has finally sunk in. And no it wasn't just good cards. I sat dry for long periods. Hit the top 1% in a field of over 6,000 last night coming just short of the final 30, top 18 paid, which would have qualified me for weekend final cash freeroll. Top 3% today. Both times lost big to pocket Q's. I could have just sat back with my stack to see how far I could go but I have to play when I have a good hand.

Today I actually had to go to a job (just got back) and was hoping for a final big pot in the tourney so I could turn on the 'sit out' option and leave. I might have made it to the top 30 without even being here. Yes some odd jobs are coming in and I have to take them while I can get them. Need the money for house repairs and some cost saving improvements like a new range or the upfront costs to makeover our telephone and Internet service to a cheaper option. After I get the necessities paid and cost saving work done I might try the casino again if I get any extra cash. Not confident I can win consistently at the tables.

Understanding what hands to play when(or where), and a more aggressive betting strategy is paying off. You have to get as much out of a good hand as you can. And I have come to read what people have simply from their betting strategy. In today's tourney I put it on 'sit out' and went and took a shower. When I got back I went to the replay option and saw that I had had pocket A's. The winner of that hand had two pair, Q's (Q being high card on the table, on the flop), and 3's. If I had gone all in pre-flop, I may have taken a small pot and if I slow played it, I most likely would have lost big. You have to knock people off potential hands too.

My strategy is to win a cash freeroll, man they take a long time, and then with that enter single table tourneys, the cheapest starting at $0.55. They pay out to the top three and take far less time than a 5,000+ freeroll field. That way I have not sent any money and I am not placing a bet.

Ultimate Bet is having a blogger's freeroll. I have qualified. It offers a relatively small field and pays out to the top 65. Wont find many better odds than that. I told the Ultimate Bet blogger my birthday was the same day as Phil Hellmuth's. Thought they might drop a bit of cash into my account. No such luck.

Last week was National Poker Week by the way.

Not My Day

My birthdays have always been more grief than not and today was no exception. I should have known better when Phil Hellmuth tweeted he busted today. But while busting at the casino tonight, it was still a lot of fun and a first time experience that has to come sometime. All part of my pursuit of a life of reckless abandon. Not to mention most of my losses were covered by Fire Keeper's Club points earned because it was my birthday. Misao made a card too but didn't gamble. With her birthday points we can enjoy a meal at one of their better restaurants in the future.

Took an unusual high percentage of pots in the beginning but they were very small with only five of us at a new table to start. Maybe hit $70 in my stack. Ace to 5 straight with an A, 3 off suit on the small blind, if I remember correctly, my best hand of the day. 2, 4 on the flop and a 5 on the river. Then the table started filling up.

My one flush for the night was with a 7, 2 of diamonds on the big blind. Three diamonds on the flop and I raised. Then another on the turn. Heads up I checked he raised and I folded. A good read because he had the Ace.

Saw an amazing number of pocket pairs. At least a half dozen and none higher than nines. Only the nines paid. Nothing on the flops, all high cards, and folded to raises on all the others. I would have had nothing on the turns or rivers either. Again good folds.

I played mostly tight but still all bad flops for my A, J's suited and A, K and other suited high cards. Tried a few marginal suited hands not on the big blind looking for some action but again nothing on the flop.

All in, heads up pre-flop after one raise. I decided my 9, 10 of spades heads up were the best odds I would see with only a couple of blinds left in my stack. The other guy had Q, Q. A ten came on the flop along with an 8; three clubs. A Q on the river and it was all over after an hour and a half.

Next step. Study a few books and more websites. Schedule my Internet play so as to limit my time investment, working the freerolls and any other tournament I can get into. Some at the table were saying you can play for money on the web. Not according to what I've read. But I pay for a legal service so I might as well ask them. It doesn't cost anything extra. Particularly what I can do with cash I may win in a freeroll. Can get to the top 10% in most freerolls, which typically top over 5,000 participants. It's having a stack to work with when you get that far that has been my problem.

Wont be seeing the casino in the near future. Maybe take those cans we've been saving for years in someday and try again. The Omaha Hi-Lo games are $3-$6 stakes. I may have done better there. It is the Omaha and heads up hold'em games where I have built most of my play $ fortune on the Internet.

Of course if I finally get a full time job there wont be much time for Internet play but with extra cash I may still hit the casino once of month. And with a proper starting stack, 100 big blinds, I think I'll... have lots of fun. And I believe I have a high potential to come out ahead.

The Book Store

Misao and I went to the Book Store in Mayfair Mall today looking for books on poker. I saw a section for sports next to a section on mathematics and thought the poker books would be between them. Misao said they would be in the game section. Just goes to show you how differently people look at the same thing.

She was right.

Round 2

I went again to the casino this evening for another round on a $2-$4 limit hold'em table. With only $40 in chips I was against a wall. Put my last $5 in chips in when the K of diamonds on the turn gave me the flush with my Q,9. At one point I was about $30 up but spent most of the night, under my initial buy-in.

Saw plenty of great hands that might of been. Like a full house if I hadn't tossed my J,3 off suit. But that kind of speculation wont win in the long run and I had too few chips to be gambling.

My only consolation is that there are always really good players you're competing with. At least one very accomplished player and a few regulars who know how to win. Never expect you'll ever be playing against people who aren't better then you when you go to a casino. I thought of going over the Holiday thinking it might be easier with a lot of fun seekers there, but we had better things to do.

After just over 2 hours I finished $5 ahead. (but I gave only one tip to the final dealer all night... me bad)

A Profession in Poker?

Yes, we went to the Casino Wednesday night about a week and a half ago. The Wednesday Night Race, held by the local mountain bike club, was canceled due to rain. My wife has been encouraging me, kind of, to try my hand at poker, since I have been watching Poker After Dark for a couple years now and am not bad playing for free on the Internet. I believe she thinks I can win or at least loose less than what it costs to race. She claims she never knew I had to pay to race mountain bikes.

So we went to the casino together. My first time to sit down at a live poker table. I had a bad seat, next to the dealer. I was very tired and unfamiliar with my environment. Felt awkward and out of place. 2-4 dollar limit hold em. Went with the minimum buy in of twenty bucks and then a re-buy. After two hours I was $1 down and we went home.

Chased a couple hands I shouldn't have. Didn't steal one I could of. With two queens on the table I checked wanting the other guy to bet first, knowing he didn't have a queen, and then steel it. I had been betting heavy looking for a straight, and representing a queen. But he checked. he had a J where I had a 10 high.

Sweetest hand? Suited connectors on the big blind. Everyone was in and thought there would be a lot of low cards on the table. Risk reward ratio was good. I raised pre-flop. Two diamonds on the flop and another on the river. Someone threw down their two pair, Q's and 9's, expecting to take the pot and I tossed my 2-3 of diamonds on the table and said;

"I got the flush."

Of course the two pairs of 7's were nice too.

So not being able to get a job and at the point of certain bankruptcy should I make a last effort to pay our debts at the poker tables?