PAAAAA---THET---ICK v2.0

I can't come up with anything better to describe the home loss by the Steelers yesterday afternoon. While the running game got on track against a weak Cincy D, 5 turnovers just doesn't cut the mustard in the NFL. And with two of those picks coming in the Cincy endzone, taking away at least 6 points, if not 14, is just NFL suicide. So we handed a game to Cincy and are now two games out of first after playing three....Some way to start the season for the World Champions. Here's hoping that Ben gets a ton of practice in over the bye week and is ready to light up the scoreboard in San Diego in two weeks....sigh.

Buckeyes held on to win and maintain their #1 status for another week. Will need a better performance against Iowa, as USC and Auburn are nipping at their heals in both polls and could overtake them if OSU doesn't perform like the #1 team in the country.

Poker is still on the backburner at the moment...bankroll is depleted and I'm hoping to catch one of the freerolls to start the rebuilding process yet again. This is the time of year that I went on a tear last year, so I'm hoping to recreate that bit of magic at the tables this fall once I get some cash online again. Trying to avoid paying any upcharges, but may have to sooner or later. Thankfully I'm travelling a lot over the next month or so, so I won't have much time to stress about not playing poker.

time for some work....ttfn.

Blogger Tourney

Getting ready to start at 4pm est. 75 players entered so far with $500 in prizes up for grabs, as well as the first set of points towards the season finale tourney for the trip to the AussieMillions. More updates as the tourney starts.

3:55pm - tables are set...can't recall anyone at my table from last season, but that could just be my memory. Starting with 2000 in chips, $125 to first place, and a bounty on Shane from poker.com. Will see what happens.

4:01 - took down the first hand...just the blinds. cawtbluffin and lightening36 at my table.

4:06 - picked up 2 hands in a row...sitting at 2240 right now

4:22 - lost a nice hand to cawtbluffin when he reraised my pocket 7s and got me to fold with his pocket 5s. Sitting at 1585 now.

4:30 - still sitting around 1500...can't get anything going and i have large stacks bracketing me now.

4:37 - doubled up through the chip leader when my 44 held up against his AQos.

4:43 - doubled up again trough the chip leader on a flopped flush against his AA. He had just finished off another player when he called an all in with second pair on the flop and he turned trips to knock out TPTK.

4:54 - 2 straight doubles.....KK gets me started....then my 55 hits a set on the river. 7655 now.

5:01 - Break time. I have Shane sitting to my right and I probably could have taken him out on a hand when he had a set of 10s and I flopped a straight...I avoided risking too much as there was a flush on the board that had me worried and kept me from betting too hard at the pot. I'm in 4th place with 7280 in chips with 47 of 75 players remaining. Top 10 get cash and then the points towards the championship. I think I can take out burnley1 (chip leader) as he's playing alot of pots and leaning on the table with his big stack. Tedns to overplay a bit though, so I think I can get him again, as I've doubled thgough him three times already.

5:14 - Shane just busted after getting crippeled on a bluff gone bad when he ran into a made hand, then his Ax ran into AA and he was gone. I'm in 6th with 43 remaining.

5:23 - card dead for awhile....moved tables as well, so got away from the big stack for a bit. 9th place with 30 remaining.

5:37 - 19 left, still running ok. Have the big stack to my left yet again....sigh. 9th place.

5:58 - Knocked out in 15th...had 66 in the SB with 5000 in chips....two big stacks limp in with blinds at 500/100 and I push to try and buy the pot. BB calls off his last 500, then EP limper calls the bet as well...my 66 against AQos and A8os....I survive the flop only to see a Q hit the turn and no 6 on the river. Surprised BobbyOlsen called off a third of his stack with AQos but I guess a top 15 out of 75 isn't too bad to start the season.

OSU winning 14-3 with 7:38 left in the game. PSU just jumped offside on a 4th and goal on the run to end up kicking a FG to draw within 8.

Here's the final money results from the tourney...congrats to all.

1 - ReplicantPoker
2 - Michael1965
3 - Irongirl
4 - BobbyOlsen
5 - JCL514
6 - natsdad
7 - Quackpot
8 - Hacksaw2000
9 - astinaguy
10 - brodoughno

I had hoped to link to their blogs, but can't easily find them in the poker.com blog list. Overall it was a decent tourney, but I didn;t see any spectacular play at any of my tables. I played ok, but need to get back into the swing of tourney poker, as I have played almost exclusively limit, which definately effects my decision making and betting in tourneys. Looking for better performance in a few weeks at the next event.

ttfn.

Poker Blogger Tour

Well...as you can see, the PBT is getting ready to start, as the ad link over on the right side is now updated to the Aussie Million in January. I want to go on this trip so bad I can taste it. Australia has always been a dream destination for me, so getting an chance to go and play poker would be an absolute blast. I registered on Poker.com this morning, and there is a low turnout at this point for the freeroll on Sunday. I expect it will pick up over the next couple of days as people get the info and get registered. Hoping to do well on Sunday to revitalize a depleted bankroll. I'm also planning on live-blogging the event, as their giving away a second trip to the Aussie Million to the blogger that gives the best coverage of the qualifying events to have them attend the tourney and blog the coverage...which would also be really sweet.

Poker has continued to be on a downswing for me....dropped my limits and switched over to $0.25/0.50 NL with $25 buy-in....dropped 2 straight buy-ins as my TPTK ran into turned flush draws both times I pushed the pot. If someone is willing to push all their money into the pot on the flush draw, I can't do anything about it except wait for the odds to catch up with them and the money start flowing my way. But 0-2 so far on winning that race.

Took the girls rollerskating last night. First time that either of them have been on real skates (not the strap over shoes, in the driveway skates). They both tried very hard and Danielle is getting the hang of it. Ashley was very tired (fell asleep in the car before skating) and got pretty frustrated by the skating and wanted to play games instead, but we kept to the skating. Danielle showed a ton of independence by going out on the rink and trying her best to skate by herself as I stayed with Ashley....very proud of both of them.

Not much else going on. Planning a trip to China for November, heading to NJ and then Canada over the next couple of weeks. Busy, busy, busy.

ttfn.

PAAAAA---THET---ICK

I know it's spelled wrong, but the "ICK" seemed to sum up my feeling this morning while recovering from a slight Gin & Tonic hangover and the piss-poor performance of the Steelers yesterday. I have to tip my hat to the Jag's defense, they did a great job shutting down everything we did on the ground, and with Ben sporting a 104 degree fever, that was all that mattered, as he was definately off his game last night. I can only hope they get alot of work this week or Cincy will have a field day with us next weekend.

To add insult to injury, my poker game has gone in the toilet since my last post....the string of positive sessions ended with a thud on Sunday as I watched a buy-in get flushed in a series of brutal beats. I had every pocket pair busted, flopped straights get run down by runner-runner flush, K high flushes get beat by A high flushes, etc, etc, etc. My last hand saw QQ get busted by A2os when he called my pre-flop raise, then let me check-raise on a flop of 2-7-9, then we capped it on a J on the turn with the last of my cash, only to see an A hit the river and the last of my cash disappear into his stack.

To follow that up, I hit the tables again this morning over coffee before work and watched another buy-in float down the river. My profits for the month are gone and I think I'm negative now....same story as the Sunday game...solid hands beaten by chasers, final hand had my 10-10 run into KK of all things on a flop of 3-7-9 and of course I get the last of my money in to see that I'm wayyyyyy behind.

The only thing I can think of is that the poker gods to not appreciate my posts about running well, so they decided to pimp-slap me back into line. I just hope I can recover and running positive again soon. Maybe time to move to a different site for awhile and see if the change of scenery makes a difference.

back to work now...ttfn.

Poker Update

Haven't had much to write about on the poker front, but felt it was time to recap the last two months. I'm happy to say that I am running positive again Since Aug 1...here is a quick breakdown.

Aug 2006: +164 over 885 hands with a 1.85 BB/hr rate.
---Aug would have been much better if not for a single terrible session of -$390 where I tilted against a table full of donkey players that all had horseshoes shoved up their backsides. But I'll take a positive month wherever I can.

Sept 2006 (to date): +$515 over 457 hands with a 11.28 BB/hr rate.
---I love these numbers....I've run 7 positive sessions in a row for a much needed boost to the bankroll. Was finally able to make a withdraw from the online account for a car payment and some much needed RAM for the computer. I'm not playing much, but the sessions have been good to me.

I decided to play a bit this morning over a fresh cup of coffee before work. Sat down at a full $5/10 table (10 players) and end up with two very loose players with huge bankrolls to my left (one had over a grand, the other with $800). The most you can buy into the $5/10 game on Ub is $500, and most buy in for less than that....so either these guys had been running well or they padded their stack after sitting down at the table. I think you can add chips over the $500 mark after sitting at the table, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Anyway, I have no PT notes on either of these guys, so I decide to see what happens...I wait for the BB and catch garbage on my first hand....bleh. UTG (with $1K - known as $$ now) fires in a raise and 3 people call him....I have decent pot odds to call, so I do to see a flop miss me completly. I check, he fires another bet in, both otehr players call and I fold. End result was that he was playing the aggressor from UTG with 9-10 suited and tried to buy the pot that he completly missed on against a slow played KK in late position that took down an easy pot. So now I know that he's a little loose and will try and bully pots.

A couple of hands later I catch big slick in late position with $$ on the button. One limper ahead of me and I raise. $$ reraises and the blinds fold, Limper calls, I cap and everyone else calls. Flop comes down rainbow K-9-3...looking good for me so far. Check to me, I bet, $$ raises, EP calls, I reraise, $$ caps, EP folds and I call....I can't put him on a great hand at this point, as he's played every hand much the same way since I sat down...he could have anything at this point. A J hits the turn, giving a straight possibility now if he has Q-10, and gives me a gutshot for a 10 along with my TPTK. I bet, he raises and I call at this point, as I'm now cautious that he may have a real hand here. A 8 hits the river, which gives a few more straight possibilities to the board, but my TPTK still looks strong. I bet, he raises a final time and I call to see him flip over 8-3os and rake a very nice pot away from me.....so that is how he's been making his money.....

So now I'm down about $70 and I've played 2 hands out of the first round of play....great way to start the day......sigh.

Things turn around a bit when $$ hits a down turn and looses about $200 over three straight hands. I take the last bit from him on the following huge hand....

I'm in LP again with A3 suited in hearts....$$ is on the button again and I fully expect the raise form him, so I limp in with 3 others ahead of me, willing to pay an extra $5 to see the flop, but not wanting to initiate the raise/re-raise war that will ensue with $$. He does raise and the BB, along with the rest of the table (5 in all) see a flop. A solid flop for me comes with A-6-8, with the 6-8 in hearts....so I get top pair, terrible kicker, but more importantly the nut flush draw. Check to me and I bet with the Aces and draw...$$ reraises (as his MO) and one other calls his raise, as do I. A lovely J of hearts hits the turn and I do a slow happy dance....EP checks to me, I bet and watch $$ reraise and EP call....now I have a decision....do I re-re-raise with the nut flush or wait until the river to try the same play, fully expecting the same betting sequence regardless of what falls on the river? I decide to hit the pot here and pop it another $10...$$ now caps (as I kinda expected), EP CALLS and I call very happily. A fourth heart hits the river (the 3 I think) and we go through the motions again....check to me, I bet, $$ calls this time, EP re-raises me...I pop it again, $$ calls and EP caps....I call and watch my nut flush take down a huge pot against the second nut flush (K-J os) in EP and A-5os from $$. This puts me positive for the session by about $60 bucks or so.

So the coffee is gone and I'm still sitting positive around $50 bucks and playing out the last round when $$ and I tangle again. I get dealt A-8 suited on the button and raise a folded pot around the table....$$ in SB calls and we watch a flop of A-J-7 rainbow hit. Against him, I like my A-8 now and bet into him and watch him raise as usual...I just call at this point, as A-8 is good, but not terrific in this situation. I check-call him on the turn and watch an 8 hit the river for my two pair....which I believe is golden against this guy. I check-raise on his river bet and he calls to turn over A-3os and I scoop a $80 pot with a nice $40 profit. He then chats that he can't believe he didn't win the hand with A3os when he was behind the entire hand...was funny to watch him rant a bit as I sit out my blind, wait for PT to collect the hand history and log off for the day with a nice $90 in profit. The table was down to 5 players at this point anyway and I didn't want to butt heads with $$ every hand, as everyone else was running scared from him....not to mention I needed to get to work and all. Nice start to the day though.

Not much to speak of otherwise. Huge Buckeye win over the weekend. I think I lost my first round in the fantasy football league here at work by about a point thanks to a late TD reception by Gates last night....guy has 2 catches and makes one of them a TD to beat me....sigh.

Back to work now...ttfn.

Steelers Perfect Season gets underway

Hello again all. I know, I've been a major slacker the past couple of weeks with updates. Sue me.

Here's a run down of recent events....

Poker - Ended August up a modest $150 according to PokerTracker. September has started well with a +$160 uptick to the bankroll in two meager sessions....the bulk of that coming yesterday in a quick +$105 session on UB. I have played a couple of the elimination poker tourneys on UB as time wasters....serious money drain for me playing blackjack online...I have to continue to fight the urge to sit down for 10 minutes and playing BJ to get a gambling fix. Online BJ is an evil, evil thing.

WoW - Still playing WoW...trying to slow down the time that I'm playing, as there have been a few comments from the lovely wife on my new addiction, and I have to agree that I have been playing too much. I'm now caught up with Tom and Burton though (lvl 33) and that was my goal, so now we can spend more time questing on a level playing field. Still a great game though.

Work - been in Chicago and Rhode Island the past couple of weeks. Headed to NJ, Wisconsin and back to NJ ini the coming weeks, so no rest for the wicked.

Steelers - and finally my beloved Steelers. Started off the season with a nice win last night over the fish from Miami. Batch looked ok, as did the team as a whole. Santonio Holmes needs to keep his head screwed on straight as a punt returner...you don't fair catch on the four yard line, or bring it out of the end zone from three yards deep on a punt from midfield...both returns had the Steelers starting deep in the end zone...thankfully a couple of defensive penalties helped them dig their way out and win the game. The pass to Miller was a thing of beauty, as was the running of Parker during crunch time late in the game. Defense looked good most of the night, swarming over Brown and holding him to 30 yards rushing. Was nice to see a win with a solid defensive effort and typical Steelers offense. Steelers Special Teams looked pretty weak thoguh...they were burned for a number of onf punt/Ko returns, and added nothing of their own to spark the team and win the field position battle. Good thing the defense showed up to bail us out. Looking forward to Ben coming back soon though.

If I had one complaint about the game it was the officiating....the blown pass interference call in the first quarter was obvious. The late hit on Batch on a scramble when he did the feet first slide and Zack Thomas crushed him was another. But the officials did assist with a couple of minor calls against the fins to keep us moving, so it all balanced out. Saban will get ripped for the late challenge to the Miller TD....clearly out of bounds (another blown call), but the late challenge was terrible on Saban's part. Would have given the Steelers the ball on the 1-2 yard line, and most likely a score to tie or go ahead, but we did fumble one other time at the five, so strange things can happen.

time for work...ttfn