HERE WE GO STEELERS.....and weekend poker

Had to toss this up on the web page....very good game yesterday for the Steelers, especially on offense, as they exploited the weaknesses in the Cincy D that has been there all season. I was sorry to see the hit on Palmer, as I would have rather beaten the Bengals without the built in excuses that I have heard all morning already by their crying fans. Kitna played well enough, but their D was porous and didn't produce the multiples of turnovers that has helped the Bengals all season long. I did get a kick out of explaining to a Bengals fan the nuances of winning the division and the effect on your next season's schedule. He didn't believe me until we looked at the 2006 schedules for each team...


AFC NORTH 2006 Schedule

Cincinnati
Home - Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Oakland, San Diego, Atlanta, Carolina, New England
Away - Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Denver, Kansas City, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Indianapolis
Cincy gets a visit from New England, Carolina and San Diego....as well as traveling to KC, Denver, Indy & TB....the benefits of winning the division....good luck going 11-5 again next season without some improvements to the defense.

Pittsburgh
Home - Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Kansas City, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Miami
Away - Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Oakland, San Diego, Atlanta, Carolina, Jacksonville
Steelers don't get off easy....but do get Denver, KC & TB at home, with away games at Carolina, Atlanta, SD and Jax....not bad....

In poker news...had another meltdown on Sat morning at the $10/20 tables....was down $459 (my self-imposed limit to leave a $10/20 table is $500) and was waiting out the blinds when I get dealt KK UTG....hell...I have to play this, so I raise it up and get 4 callers (pot $85)....flop comes 9-7-2 rainbow and I look golden. I bet and get 2 callers ($115). J on the turn completes the rainbow board and I lead out again and get a reraise from late position...I put him on AJ or QJ base don his earlier plays. I reraise and they both call ($295). A vicious A hits the river and I cringe inwardly, as my gut tells me one of these guys stuck around with an A....I check, middle player check, late position bets, I call, mid position reraises, both call and watch these two 'poker' players flip over A3os and A8os....They both called an early position, pre-flop raise with weak aces and then chased them to the river to catch their 2 outer and bust my kings. No idea what the dude was doing reraising me when that J hit the board with a weak A.....simply amazing to watch these guys/gals/kids sling money around with little to no regard for how to play the game at all. So this final hand cost me another $110 and I leave the table down $570 or so. Came back an hour later and tried my luck again...had AA cracked in the first orbit by a suited 37 that ran down runner, runner for the flush on a flop of A, 10, 9...why he called my bet on the flop is beyond me...but I figured that the poker gods were trying to tell me something so I left the table minus another $100 for a final hit in the junk of about $700.

Was able to recoup some of the loss ($390) on Sunday morning by returning some of the bad beats to other players. Cracked a pair of Aces when his A on the turn (giving him a set) also filled my straight from the BB with Q-10os. He was less than pleased....but he slow played the pocket rockets and paid the price. Hoping to make up the rest of the weekend loss while travelling this week, as I hope to be able to get in some hands from the hotel room while travelling this week. I tend to play pretty well while travelling, as there are fewer distraction while on the road.

And Iggy and I did settle on a wager for the game...looking forward to the additional cash in my bankroll due to the Steelers yesterday....thanks Iggy.

ttfn.

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