Sunday

After working most of the weekend without sleeping I took a short nap and went to 'Fanatics' for a tavern tourney. (earlier in the week we dropped off a gift for my mother) No initial buy-in for bonus chips. I failed to win a single hand before the first break. It wasn't that I didn't go in with any hands. I went in quite a bit. I never saw so many Aces. I had more hands with an Ace than not in the first hour. Some like A, 6 or A, 2 I folded before the flop in the face of large raises. In the end I had to fold all of them at some point and they were all good folds. They would have produced nothing.

The betting was small with two 9's on the table and I went all the way to the river looking for a 6 to match my pocket pair but it didn't happen. I folded on a raise on the river. Trip 9's took the pot.

My stack was 800, a fraction of most stacks on the table, with the blinds at 100-200. From early position I made a raise pre-flop to 500, 'all day' as they say. I held a K, 10 of spades. I had two callers and there was an addition 1000 in the pot because someone had just gone busted and bought a round. He received more chips, I picked up 500 more for a $1 tip for the waitress (so I was actually down to 300) and the tournament manager threw 1000 into the pot for that hand. 2700 or so in the pot with the big blind folding.

Two spades came on the flop including the ace which gave me the nuts flush draw. There was also a 4 on the board. I went all-in with 300 more and the two others called. No spade on the turn or river and no raises as another Ace came on the turn. I couldn't raise. The man to my left took the pot with a pair of 4's. He had a 3, 4 suited and stayed in the hand because he wasn't challenged, and my 300 didn't scare him. If I had limped in and bet heavy after the flop he would have folded with an Ace on the table. If the other man in the pot had raised at all, he said he would have folded. The other gentleman had the Q, 9 of spades and I would have beat him with my K high.

So I was out before the first break and received my free chips and went for some bonus chips for the next session. I still didn't win any hands. I folded a 9, 3 off suit and would have hit trip 3's on the river. But that was a good fold. You only play that hand from the big blind (maybe small blind) or if Phil Hellmuth is at the table just to send him into a fit. Then when I was sitting in early position and before dealing the dealer called that I would win this hand and should raise pre-flop. I did, about half my stack, with pocket 4's. Hit a four on the flop and made a minimal bet and took the pot as an Ace was also on the table. I didn't think I would scare anyone with a minimum bet. The dealer dealt out the hand and I would have made quads.

Then I went all-in with 8's and was called by 10's. Hit an 8 on the flop and more than doubled up, collecting the blinds also which were quite high at the time.

Several people went bust and bought back in by buying rounds. You get a lot of chips for buying a round. And me still in the game having only won two hands. One such individual had just gone bust and bought back in with a round the previous hand. I was 'under the gun' and posted the 1600 to get in the hand. The guy to my left, Mr. Just bought a round, came over the top with 5000. Everyone folded and I had only 6400 in my stack. I went all-in with an A, Q suited; hearts. He called. He had an A, J off suit. At this point you would say I dominated.

Isn't that what you call dominating?

He got a J on the flop and another on the turn. An Ace came on the river. We went wild with excitement at our table, as we all did with the 8's against 10's hand. Lots of fun.

No, I can't afford to buy a round. That was it. The field would have been down to half if not for the buying a round buy back. Of course that is how you support the establishment which is essential to enjoy a night of poker in a tournament venue for little cost. Literally you could get away with just buying a drink, I drink soda, when you arrive if you really wanted to. And it is nice to have a few dollars in the pocket to catch some free chips for tipping the waitress when someone buys a round.

All my folds were good. In one hand with mid pair, 9's, I folded to a re-raise, and the winner showed me his high pair, Q's. I couldn't have played any better, yet I could only take two pots. Still I would have finished around the top half of the tournament had it not been for the buy a round buy back. So having played so well why am I so upset. I am working on a book of short stories and was planning to work on it today but couldn't clear my mind until I wrote about the events of last night.

It makes me consider tournament play at the casino rather than looking for a loose Omaha Hi/Lo game. That is if I can ever build up a poker fund for such play, which I have no money to invest in right now. The casino has dropped its buy-ins. They were Monday, Thursday, Sunday for $50, $100, $200 plus a 10% fee, but have gone down to $50, $70, $100. We get their monthly publication.

I don't drink and am not someone who would spend any length of time at bars, so I pay attention to the atmosphere of a place as I feel it can influence my life. 'Fanatics' was fairly bright and open with a large view of the outdoors. Also it is completely sports related which makes it more attractive to me and plays less to people's base natures. Lots of sports and poker on many screens. Smoking will be banned in July but, outside of your clothes smelling, it isn't a big issue as most bars have ventilation systems that suck up most smoke quickly. So it tops my list as to where I am most likely to play.

Still have not visited Tavern Tourney's Wednesday night venue.

So when I get the chance to play again the venue will be the largest determinant, as they have stopped the bonus free chip promotion for playing consecutive days. They are all great establishments. It is just my personal criteria I will be applying.

Final Table

Monday I went to the local Milwaukee Tavern Tourny and made the final table. True I arrived at the final table with a stack equal to the small blind but still I was there and finished 8th, going all-in with Q, 3 suited, the best cards I had seen for quite a while. The final table at my first Milwaukee Tourny, a good omen in my quest for poker glory.

I spent the $5 for the bonus chips and just played smart. Then a bit of theatrics. With a 6, 9 suited I placed a stack of chips on my hold cards and with a K on the table I tried my best to look like I really wanted to bet. Hit a nine on the river and bet 500 to take the pot with a losing hand, as my opponent had a 9, 8. If you have a running back that makes the defense think he is running left when he runs right, do you say he is lying?

That was at Victor's with about 38 people at the tables. A bit disheartening to play well and see those going bust buying back in, buying a round of drinks for bonus chips, and ending up with a stack bigger than yours. But at this level of Tavern Tourny's it is about enjoying yourself and supporting the local establishment. I had no extra cash to be taking advantage of the bonus chip gimmick's. But playing consecutive days gets you 2000 in free chips each day and soon they will be having a tournament on Sunday.

Then Tuesday we were at G-Daddy's BBC on the east-side. Only 18 at the tables. A few college guys were playing. Some not knowing how to deal, but there is always someone, if not everyone, happy to help others learn the game.

I chased a bluff and/or a full house with two A's on the table at the turn. Lucky I didn't make the 8 on the river to go with my pocket pair cause I was facing quads, eagerly shown as I folded. My call of his large raises hopefully made his night. I live to serve. My pocket 7's lost to pocket K's and I was out before the break.

After the first break everyone gets 2000 more in free chips and I was moved to a table of small stacks. There was a guy who had been to the world series of poker. I won an all-in with pocket 8's against the large stack at the table.

Then I decided to play a J, 8 suited; clubs. The flop came J, 10, 7 giving me high pair and a straight draw with one club on the table. I decided to go all-in. The WSOP participant, he was showing us his pictures on his laptop, called with a stack equal to my own. He had a Q, K making my gut shot straight draw a losing prospect. A 3 of clubs came on the turn and he was left with 11 outs as a club would give me the flush. He made the K, red, and I was out. It was a great way to go out. If you can't enjoy the game for the game you don't love poker. We shook hands and that was it for me for the night.

I almost didn't go Tuesday because I felt I wouldn't do well. Part of it was I was a bit enamored with myself from the night before and chased some hands I shouldn't have. And I did finish early but I was happy I went. Really hit a comfort level at the tables and picking up more of the lingo.

Wednesday a seat at the six month Tournament was on the line with an expectation of forty people in attendance but I had something previously planned. I hope to hit a string of games at least once a month. The promoter is hoping to double the numbers at each establishment. Plenty of seats and free chips for anyone interested.

Some at the table were talking about Badger Poker. I added their links in the side bar.

Ughhh!

The good news is that Tavern Tourneys now has Milwaukee tournaments Monday through Wednesday. I haven't been to the site in a while so I'm not sure when they started, to my regret. It is the live games I really need experience in. And more good news was that last month I found that rather than owing taxes we were in line to get both a State and Federal refund. Along with that news, a refund check on our mortgage came in the mail.

And on that second, ...or third, bit of good news I took a small part of the mortgage refund and invested a Saturday afternoon to sit at a Omaha Hi/lo table at the casino. A game I have been studying on, and have had play money  success with on the Internet. And it was the kind of game everyone hopes for. 4-6 players in on each hand. A pleasant surprise was that in a 3-6 game the small blind was only $1.

Again coming in with a small stack was a disadvantage. A guy at the end of the table would keep raising me every time I came in. I'm not sure why, since it was obvious I was playing only good hands, doing a lot of pre-flop folding.

There were also several older gentleman who clearly knew the game. They were happy with the table and yelling to the floor manager every time a seat would open. Someone has to pay the dealer. In fact, to this point I could rationalize that I have broken even at the tables to date. My losses easily covered by the rake the house takes and tips I gave to the dealers. But no more.

The best starting hands will roughly pay off about a third of the time, and they weren't at first. Then I got a 2, 6, 7, 8 and felt really good about it. This is something I've been trying to hone with some success. Going with a hand just on a good initial feeling when I see it. I have had success with this on the Internet. I felt so good about the hand I looked a second time with a smile, but confident that I could win playing tight, though some play for the mid-range straight, I folded. The flop came 8, 8, 7. A 4-8 straight took the high.

My stack became quite small when I started winning a few hands. This limited my profits. Otherwise I would have gotten back to my starting stack, if not more. This lack of funds and a continuous push by the guy at the end of the table (he went bust and had to buy back in) I went bust myself hoping to make an open ended straight after the flop. So overall my ledger is in the red for nearly$100.

Then came the really bad news. Our dog was sick. Trying to save it, finally realizing it was poisoned, cost us big bucks we didn't have. Just when we were getting a handle on our debt. I have a good idea who did it. We buried her next to our last dog in the North Woods.

But I have a plan to put into practice to fund my pursuit of poker glory. No more going in with minor stacks. I'm sure I would have done fine if I had a larger stack and could have taken full advantage of the hands I did win. The plan I will write about next month, since without a lot of live play I don't have much of interest to write about. I have to keep a standard of one post a month though.

I may decide to hit the Tavern Tourneys the next three days spending $15, the $5 initial bonus chip buy in each night. I recently bought some bicycle lights on sale for street riding that I can put to good use, saving the cost of gas, which wouldn't be much. All three are very close and in fairly nice areas with large schools of college fish.

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.