Casino Tournaments in Milwaukee

Yes, Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee now has weekly Texas Hold'm tournaments. Limit of 50 participants per tournament with payouts to the top five. Monday entry is $50, Thursday $100 and Sunday $200 plus a 10% entry fee.

Registration must be done in person and opens three hours prior to start. Monday and Thursday's start time is 10:00am and I was told that on Monday the tournament is full by 8:30am. Fullness is reached somewhat later on Thursday and you may be able to get a seat up to start time on Sunday. Of course with that info I have to ask; What's for breakfast? Unfortunately, only a couple of vendors in the food court are open in the mornings.

I was going to ask more questions but the manager was a bit busy. I was surprised by the surly attitudes of those asking to get into a game. A sign of the poor economy? The manager said that payouts go to the final table and then corrected herself, saying the top five. That suggests to me that they start with five at a table and will consolidate up to six. Not sure. Two and a half to three hours is the typical length.

So how about my goal to make $1,000,000 play money on all the major sites? Playing Hold'm on Ultimate Bet I've had some huge days, and that is not walking away after a big hand but sticking with a ring game for at least an hour. But usually it is five steps forward and four steps back. Same with Absolute Poker where I have been playing strictly Omaha Hi/Lo. If I could spend a couple full days straight playing I think I would make the goal quickly but I have to balance my priorities.

I haven't been on Full Tilt or Doyle's room for a while. I don't like Full Tilt. Doyle's Room has some great graphics, getting away from all those cheesy avatars. Play as one of your favorite poker professionals. The pace is slightly slower and the audio less harsh. It is pleasant to play there. The Doyle's Room community is small and plays very well.

Poker Stars? I have been playing strictly 'sit and go' tournaments and doing well. The easiest place to get into a 'sit and go' without having to wait long for a tournament to fill with the largest poker community on the net. Consistent growth in my play money balance each day I play a few. Generally in tournament play it I can make the top 10% very consistently. It suggests that I could do well at the Potawatomi Tournaments but I have little live play time. I have a ledger of my casino play and am currently down $86 and with our current financial situation am not currently planning to put out any cash in pursuit of Poker Fame. When we get on top of our bills I will slowly put some money away into a savings account and when I get a good balance will start working to build a fortune , but never risking the majority of the balance.

Hopefully I will be making some Tavern Tourneys now and then.

I take everything I do seriously.

Omaha Hi Lo

The last couple of days I tried some tournaments again. Bad beats took me out of a promising freeroll. Otherwise I haven't played a whole lot of poker recently. More days in the week than not, but only for about an hour while watching "Daniel Boone" in the middle of the night before finishing my prayers and going to sleep.

I am not one who can productively play more than one table at a time on the Internet either. I don't think you can learn much more playing two three or eight tables at a time than one. Now, I believe it is on Full Tilt, they have rush poker. That is you are part of a large pool of players, and as soon as you fold or your hand plays out you are shot off immediately to a table that is ready to deal. So there is no waiting for your next hand. But you also cannot get a feel for the style of play of your competitors. Still you can see many hands and get a feel for what pays on a regular basis. Unless you have people pushing all-in hand after hand, no one able to recognize that they are being donkeys and calling their bluff.

So what really magnifies lessons everyone needs to learn in poker is the Omaha Hi Lo table.

First of all you have to always look for the nuts at a Omaha table, with four in your hand and five on the table (using any two from your hand and three from the table). The hand that can't be beat. The big hands you may seldom see at a Hold'm table. No more chasing rainbows unless you like to lose money, whatever the game. But you also learn to bet well. When to push, seeing potential that you want to knock off the hand and betting on your own potential to back into the best hand. And when to pull, when you have the nuts and don't want to chase people out. Hoping they will bet when they see potential on the turn and/or river.

You learn more quickly the significance of the flop. If you are playing all 9 or above, going for that high hand that can take the whole pot, or have A,2 with two other low potential, the flop can tell you... fold. And sometimes  the low cards win it all. You learn the potential for low cards to pay off big. You are going to be in far more hands with Lo cards than you would be at a Hold'm table and reap rewards from those cards on a regular basis.

And to win at Hold'm, coming out significantly ahead, you need to be able to win those starting Lo hands from time to time. And position and risk/reward ratios, what you need to look for to do that well, are clearer in Omaha Hi Lo than any other game. In Omaha Hi Lo, where one may often split or quarter a pot, how many are in the hand is very important. I had an A,A,2 other on a hand and only collected 1/6 of the pot with my Lo. No, my low cards weren't counterfeited, two others had an A,2.

So goes my life. I'm sure somewhere you can find someone who has written in more detail on the topic.

But heah! The investment is doing well and another job opportunity is presenting itself. The Internet advertising hasn't paid off yet. Maybe I'll be able to get to those Tavern Tourney's. It's not the $5 that would be wise to invest that keep me from going, but the cost of the gas as none are close by. Not too anxious about going to the casino when I'm carrying debt.

Gluttony

Mmmm! Nothing like a casino buffet.

In the past, before casino's were everywhere, I heard food at a casino was always dirt cheap. I found that not to be true, but in the case of our casino in Milwaukee it is a true bargain in that it is most excellent in quality for the price.

It was our anniversary last Tuesday and we went to the dinner buffet. Our last visit we went for lunch and I wasn't impressed with absolutely everything but that may be because we arrived late in the service. I tried nearly all the meats at dinner and they were all fabulous. I never saw anyone eat as much shell fish as my wife did.

After only one trip to the dessert buffet I hit a wall. I was shocked. It may have something to do with my weight loss strategy, simply stated as 'hunger.' My stomach must have shrunk. But that eggnog cake was to die for. Very light fluffy white cake with an eggnog cream on top and layered between so delicately.

I was actually losing weight and the buffet didn't send my weight back up. It didn't give me indigestion or constipation and I slept like a baby that night. Obviously great food well prepared.

We walked by the poker room and I was surprised that it was nearly full on a Tuesday evening. I am slowly advancing towards my goal of making over $1 million play money on each of the major poker sites. Though you can recharge your initial $1k or $2k starting balance when you lose it all, I am working never to recharge when I start on a new site. If I have a bad day I just drop down to the lower stakes games as not to threaten going bust. It would be a strategy I would use in real life if I could afford to put $2k into a savings account. Making withdrawals, it's $200 minimum to get into a no-limit game, and going to the casino and redeposit my balance afterwards. Just not letting the account reach an inconsequential level, waiting for a big breakout. A good way to track any potential income for April 15th too.

But we have too much debt to divert that kind of resource right now. But if we didn't that is the way we would have to go, since I certainly wouldn't have the resources to travel to any major tournaments with our income.

If anyone wants to jump through the hoops to get a free $500 Target gift card, click here.

Happy 2010

Today I qualified for a freeroll main event this Sunday. Texas Hold'm, no limit of course. I find I play better when I switch back from Omaha hi/lo. The winner gets hockey tickets and a cool $1,000. Not sure if I'll be free at the designated time but I hope so. There is always e-bay, cause I'm quite sure I wont be using the tickets.

Hopefully we all have goals and dreams to fulfill is this great year of 2010. One goal would be to find out how to put your picture on the poker site avatars. Do you have to make a deposit for that function to be available? I don't play cash games. Haven't been able to do it to date. I was playing with our web cam and took a picture I was hoping to put up. My best poker face.

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.