The gambling ramblings of Pauly -- a writer, traveler, and degenerate

 
Fantasy Pauly

It's that time of the week for updates of my fantasy pools. I am winning the Grid Iron pool and I'm making a run in the College Football Pool. My pick'em picks in the NFL pool aren't panning out. I'm getting taunting emails from other group members making fun of me because I'm losing to the only female entry in the pool. I'm not worried. I always make my run in October!

Pigskin Pick'em - Week 3 Update

Team of the Week: Snot Bubbles (11-3)

Week 3 Results:
1 Snot Bubbles 11
2 Smokin Ricky 10
2 Uwannabet? . 10
2 Well T'anks For Nuttin' 10
2 All In 10
6 The Brooklyn Embeds 9
6 Drunk Norsemen 9
6 Chico's Bail Bonds 9
9 Austin Drunks 8
9 manny and ortiz 8
9 Coach's Picks 8
9 Twinkle & Turquoise 8
9 McNamara Entry 8
14 MoshPit badblood44 7
14 Lovelace Leapsloth 7
14 Shakedown Street 7
14 Ugarte's Last Stand 7
14 Oyster Bay Moore 7
14 BiG PERM BiG WORM 7
20 AlCantPickEm 6
20 Punch You in the Eye 6
22 Running Back Ribs 5
22 All My Sweet Bitches 5
22 WhereMy NillasAt? 5
22 Cumberland Blues5
26 Bobby BigBalls 4

Overall Standings:
1 Well T'anks For Nuttin' (Jerry!) 30
2 All In (Landow) 29
3 Snot Bubbles (Sean from Anistropy) 26
4 Smokin Ricky (Senor) 25
4 Chico's Bail Bonds (Derek) 25
4 Austin Drunks (Matt S.) 25
4 Uwannabet? (Uwannabet?) 25
4 The Brooklyn Embeds (Gil) 25
4 manny and ortiz (B Singer) 25
4 McNamara Entry (Spider) 25
11 MoshPit badblood44 (Bad Blood) 24
12 Coach's Picks (Coach) 23
13 Drunk Norsemen (Halverson) 22
13 All My Sweet Bitches (Ty) 22
13 Lovelace Leapsloth (S. Lovelace) 22
13 Punch You in the Eye (Pauly 2) 22
13 Twinkle & Turquoise (Jenna & Haley) 22
18 Shakedown Street (Pauly 1) 21
18 BiG PERM BiG WORM (Armen) 21
18 Oyster Bay Moore (J. Moore) 21
18 Bobby BigBalls (C. Hardin) 21
22 Ugarte's Last Stand (Charles Star, comedian, esq.) 20
23 AlCantPickEm (Al Cant Hang) 19
23 Cumberland Blues (K. Hungus) 19
25 Running Back Ribs (Schanzer) 17
26 WhereMy NillasAt? (BG) 16

The Skinny: Sean and Snot Bubbles took team of the week after and moved to third place over all. Jerry and Well T'anks for Nuthin! is still winning it all, with Landow and All In behind by ust one point. There's plenty of time to make a move. I haven't been too impressive, but I always make a run in October!! Watch out, some crazy games this week with plenty of injured players out there throwing a wrench into everyone's picks. Jerry is winning with an insane 62.5% winning percentage! The previous winners usually never get more than 55%.


Grid Iron - Week 3 Update

Team of the Week: Uncle Jodd's Band

Week 3 Results:
1 Uncle Jodd's Band 187
2 Mary-Kate's Nosebleed 168
3 The Brooklyn Embeds 158
4 Rib Boy's Latrells 149
5 Robber Barons 143
6 Your Enemies Friend 140
7 Porkchops & Applesauce 132
8 Trained Professional 118

Overall Standings:
1 Uncle Jodd's Band (Senor & Pauly) 435
2 Mary-Kate's Nosebleed (Pauly) 413
3 The Brooklyn Embeds (Gil) 412
4 Rib Boy's Latrells (Derek) 395
5 Trained Professional (BG) 391
6 Your Enemies Friend (Spider) 381
7 Porkchops & Applesauce (Joe Moore) 371
8 Robber Barons (Armen) 356

The Skinny: BG and Trained Professionals slipped out of the top spot after a huge surge from Uncle Jodd's Band. Lots of injuries this past week and with bye weeks upcoming, it's going to be another tough week.


College Football Pool - Week 4 Update

Team of the Week: TIE (The Venetian Blinds & WhatyaTalkin AboutWillis?) were 9-1

Week 4 Results:
1 WhatyaTalkin AboutWillis? 54
1 The Venetian Blinds 54
3 Porkchops & Apple Sauce 52
4 Austin Drunks 51
5 AlCantHang 50
6 Chico's Bail Bonds 49
7 Ugarte's Last Stand 47
8 Sheer Entry 43
9 Killer Gophers 37
10 Muff State Pie Boys 33

Overall Standings:
1 Austin Drunks (Matt S) 191
2 Chico's Bail Bonds (Derek) 188
3 AlCantHang 181
4 WhatyaTalkin AboutWillis? (Pauly) 177
4 The Venetian Blinds (Poker Nerd) 177
6 Ugarte's Last Stand (Ugarte) 159
7 Sheer Entry (Senor) 153
8 Killer Gophers (Halverson) 143
9 Buckeye! (Signor Ferrari) 124
10 Landow 119
11 Porkchops & Apple Sauce (Joe Moore) 107
12 Muff State Pie Boys (Spider) 104

The Skinny: Virigina Tech missed a field goal and cost me a perfect week! It seemed like Week 4 was one week when the favorites prevailed. Notre Dame is still undefeated. Austin Drunks is still in first place with Chico's Bail Bonds in a close second. The Venetian Blinds and WatchatalkinaboutWillis are tied for fourth. Still plenty of time left in the season to make a late charge!!

posted by Pauly at 9/30/2004 06:19:00 PM | Permalink |

 
The Boathouse Game

"Sun Tzu? You're barely Sonny Bono!" - BG to Lewey

The last time I played with Al Cant Hang's crew, I got slaughtered. Lewey cracked my KK with 23o! I knew better this time. I was prepared to play against a table of loose cannons. And I was ready to win back some of the money I lost at the Borgata the night before. We arrived at the Boathouse after Mrs. Hang and I picked up Derek at the train station and BG at the airport. Big Mike, Al Cant Hang, and Lewey were already drinking heavily. I tried to catch up quickly and inside a half hour, we sat down inside at the "bankers table" for the first part of the game.



$40 buy in, NL hold'em, blinds: 25c and 50c. The rules were the same; Keep hands inside at all times and don't feed the animals.

The Players:
Seat 1: Big Mike
Seat 2: Lewey
Seat 3: BG
Seat 4: Landow
Seat 5: Dr. Pauly
Seat 6: Derek
Seat 7: Al Cant Hang (and later JDubs and Brian)

3:15pm EST... On the first hand, Al Cant Fold sucked out a runner runner flush against BG who flopped two pair.

3:51pm EST... With a flop of 542 and two clubs, Lewey pushed his stack all in with K2. BG thought for a while and called. He had A-10s and spiked a 10 on the river to double up against Lewey.

4:09pm EST... UTG, I raised with nothing. It was a drunk bet, trying to play Q9s fast. Only AlCantFold called. The flop: 954. I bet the pot and AlCantFold called even after I outflopped him. I put him on A5 or A4. The turn: K. I bet and Al Called. The river: another K. I moved all in and Al took his time. He eventually folded thinking I was going to outkick him. He had K3 and laid down his hand. I had to show the bluff. I almost walked into a mine field. Good job to Al for considering the kicker issues. He said he put me on King-face.

4:20pm EST... BG lost a hand to Lewey. He had 65s and flopped a flush draw which he never got on the river.

4:44pm EST... +36. Lewey bet $8. I declared to the table, "Lewey, you are full of shit!" Everyone laughed as I moved all in. He called with 88. I had A10s. The board: 9-6-5-10-2. Big Mike folded 5-10 and he almost called! I busted Lewey for the first time that day. He quickly did a rebuy and ran upstairs for another round of drinks.

4:51pm EST... Lewey's Big Slick went heads up with AlCantLimp's A10. Al flopped a ten and busted Lewey. For a second time, he dug into the pockets for a rebuy. Landow finally joined the table.

5:07pm EST... BG had the Hilton Sisters vs. Big Mike's 10-9s and doubled up when Big Mike flopped top pair and they both moved all in.

5:15pm EST... +35. With AJ I flopped a Broadway Straight. No callers.

5:31pm EST... BG moved all in and survived once again! Big Mike's Q3 lost to BG's J7 when BG flopped a jack.

5:42pm EST... Landow's AA hold up when he nailed a full boat.

5:44pm EST... +105. On the button, I played a hand blind, since Big Mike announced he was going to play his hand without looking at it. Lewey peeked and he called. The flop: K86. Big Mike checked, Lewey moved all in (short stack). I pushed my stack all in and Big Mike called (I had him covered). We flipped over our cards. Lewey had nothing... 92o. Big Mike had a monster 10-10! I sheepishly rolled over my hand. An 8... then... a 6! I flopped two pair. Lucky fuck, eh? Rags fell on the turn & river and I knocked out both Lewey (for a second time) and Big Mike. Lewey had his third rebuy. It was time to move the game outdoors.

6:20pm EST... +195. I busted AlCantLimp with 10-10. He called with A7s and flopped top pair! I pushed him all in and he called. JDub, the bass player from Petey and the Bandcampers sat in Al's seat, who had to start greeting the guests as they arrived.

6:26pm EST... The party had officially begun. Lewey's decent into Hades had begun a few hours before. The alcohol that seeped into his bloodstream had taken control of his poker faculties. Landow's KJ was good enough when they flopped a Jack and Lewey moved all in with J6.

6:37pm EST... Derek had been playing tight all day. He wasn't getting any cards. I called a raise on the button with A4s. Derek and Big Mike were in the pot with me. The flop: A43. Derek checked, so did Big Mike and I bet the pot. Derek reraised all in. Big Mike folded and I was left thinking about calling with top two pair. The first thing I said to myself, "Derek would never play 2-5 to a preflop raise!" Maybe he has a set of 3s or 4s or he could also have two pair. I called and he did in fact have 25o and he doubled up against me. He said he was sick of Big Mike always raising his blinds and he wanted to see a flop. Nice flop, eh?

6:47pm EST... +100. BG played his hand blind and ended up with AK.

7:07pm EST... JDub moved all in with a shortstack and AKs to triple up. Lewey dug into his pockets for his fourth rebuy. He was down $160. He was screaming, "Lot's of bleeding, right here!" as he emphatically pounded his chest. Perhaps he was just foreshadowing the hijinks later in the evening? JDubs left to get ready for the opening set and Brian took his seat.

7:16pm EST... +80. In my notes, I scribbled: Lewey = Belligerent. He announced to the table that he was in fact Sun Tzu. BG quickly quipped, "Sun Tzu? You're barely Sonny Bono!"

7:34pm EST... +140. El Diablo Rio. It was one of those moments when I had A10 and raised the pot to $10. Lewey called and pushed his entire stack all in on the flop: J75. No way he had J7 or J5, right? Nope. Lewey turned over J7 and I foolishly called with A10. I was doomed. I needed running cards to hope for a miracle suckout. The turn: 5. Wait a second... I just got the first miracle card. An ace would now give me a better two pair. The turn card was dealt... and bam! And ace spiked and the table exploded in a drunken symphony of loud hooterin' and boisterous hollerin'. The guests at the bar looked over to see what all the commotion was about. I was pumping my fist in the air, celebrating in true Hellmuthian fashion. Lewey sunk his head and sighed. He quickly whipped out a $50 bill and bought some chips off of me. He was down $210. BG whipped out his ATM card and tried to swipe it in Lewey's mouth thinking he'd shoot out $20 bills.

7:53pm EST... +110. I gave some of the money back to Lewey when I flopped two pair and Lewey caught a straight on the turn.

8:01pm EST... My notes say: Lewey was screaming at the top of his lungs! A few moments later he knocked over his beer, which was the point where we ended the game and headed inside for some food and the opening band.

The Final Tally:
Pauly +110
Landow +93
Derek +45
AlCantFold +10
JDubs +5
Brian -15
Big Mike -60
Lewey -170

A five hour game before the party was exactly what I wanted. I got to play with BG again as well as Big Mike and Lewey and Landow and some new guys. Those games are seat-of-your-pants-wild-fun. Home games take on the personality of the players, and as you can tell from AlCantHang's stories and pictures... his home games are always wacky and wild adventures.

If you'd like to read about the non-poker happenings of this weekend, visit Tao of Pauly.
posted by Pauly at 9/29/2004 02:06:00 PM | Permalink |

 
Private Table Birthday

I logged online to just check my email. I got home after walking several blocks in the pouring rain to be invited to a private table in honor of AL Cant Hang's birthday.

The Players:
Seat 1: Dr. Pauly
Seat 2: Maudie
Seat 3: AlCantFold
Seat 4: Bad Blood
Seat 5: Carter from Cubanlinks
Seat 6: Iggy
Seat 7: Lord Geznikor
Seat 8: Sean from Anistropy
Seat 9: Daddy from Snail Trax
Seat 10: Otis B. Dart

I was still dripping wet during the first few hands. Can't recall much aside from raising Al's big blind every orbit from the button! As always, a blast even though I lost a crushing $8, which is about the price of one drink in NYC.
posted by Pauly at 9/29/2004 01:13:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Happy Birthday, Al Cant Hang!


Another shot??
In honor of America's Favorite Wingman and North America's foremost SoCologist's birthday, I penned a poem for him.

Ode to Al Cant Hang

Always
Liquored
Content
Altruistic
Newfangled
Tipsy
Hangovers
Are
Never
Grand

Happy birthday, Senor Al No Puede Colgar! Hope it's a good one.
posted by Pauly at 9/28/2004 11:22:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Borgata Blogger Misadventures

"You might wanna check in on your boyfriend, I just put a bad beat on him." - Al Cant Hang

24 Sept. 2004... Atlantic City, NJ

It took exactly two hours to drive from midtown Manhattan to the Borgata, with a piss stop along the way. Not bad time for a sunny Friday morning. I forgot that Atlantic City is actually a few minutes closer to NYC than Foxwoods. As soon as I parked, I called Al Cant Hang and the lovely Mrs. H. They were just five minutes behind me. We arranged to meet at the B Bar, centrally located in the middle of the casino. I had only been to the Borgata once before during their first opening week but never had the chance to play cards.

By 11:43am, the ever generous Senor Al No Puede Colgar bought his second round of drinks... the usual for himself, a cranberry and Malibu for Mrs. H and a pint of Lager for yours truly. We toasted to Iggy and Sean and everyone else who couldn't make the journey. We were awaiting the arrival of Grubby who had passed out at 8:30 that morning after a late night session of poker. He finally wandered downstairs and recanted his previous night's performance. A few minutes later, Helixx popped in (he got carded!) and within seconds we had four degenerate gamblers drinking at noon in a bar in an Atlantic City casino yapping about all things poker. We could have probably sat there all day and night knocking back cocktails and comfortably discussing our deep passion for gambling and other related interests, but alas, we were in AC to play some poker. The three beers on an empty stomach made me a little tipsy and I needed food. I never like to play serious cards when I'm pounding beers. I'll drive after a few drinks, but I hate playing poker when I'm liquored up. Why is that? I know that my decision making processes are heavily impaired while I'm on the sauce. Just think about the five ugliest women you ever hooked up with... then you'll understand why I need to have a little more self control at the tables. Conjuring up those nasty mental images is enough to rapidly drive a man to the nearest AA meeting.

After a kick ass General Tso's special from Noodles of the World (and thanks to Grubby who graciously picked up the tab... on his birthday I think!) we invaded the downstairs poker room. Within ten minutes we were seated. Helixx was called first for his $2-4 game and then they announced open seating for a new NL table. I bought in the $300 max and sat down ready to play. The blinds were $1 and $2.

The Players:
Seat 1: The kid (had his girlfriend sitting behind him)
Seat 2: The suit
Seat 3: The mechanic (and later Carter)
Seat 4: Al Cant Hang
Seat 5: Grubby
Seat 6: Boston Guy 1
Seat 7: Mrs. Hang
Seat 8: Boston Guy 2
Seat 9: Dr. Pauly

2:38pm EST... Mrs. Hang got dealt AA and KK in the first four hands. She took a huge chip lead early. $15 seemed to be the opening bet.

2:46pm EST... -50. I was in the big blind and saw my first flop and nailed two pair with Q2s. Mrs. Hang on the button had QJ and called all of my flop, turn and my river bets. She caught two pair on the river when a Jack spiked. That was a costly $50 hand.

3:31pm EST... I played my second hand in an hour when I found cowboys in late position and fired out a $30 preflop raise. I had two callers... Al Cant Fold and Grubby. I put Grubby on AK or 10s figuring that he would have come back over the top with any other big hands. I put Al on big suited cards or something like AQ or AJ. The flop: 6xJs9s. I opened up with a $50 bet. Al Cant Limp folded. And Grubby thought for a second and moved all in. That's when I should have folded. I was used to being bullied around by my fellow poker bloggers and the guys at the Blue Parrot. I had $80 already in the pot and $160 left. I foolishly called and of course the Grubster had JJ. He took my $240 in what was a $500+ pot. I was busted in the first hour! I looked at the time. How was going to last until Midnight with just $200 left? I only brought $500 with me out of my thin (Eastern European model-thin) cash bankroll. I wanted to cap out my loses in case I was on a bad run. I didn't want to have to go to the ATM but I pretty much decided that would have to happen if I lost my rebuy. I walked back up to the cage and got $200 in red chips. I took my seat again. Like that old Chinese proverb said, "Fall eight times, get up nine."

4:32pm EST... -320. I raised in MP with KK and got no callers. That was just the third hand I played since I sat down. Grubby's stack of chips led the table. Al Cant Limp was up and down. Mrs. Hang was probably second in chips at the table after she put a whooping on the Boston guys.

4:41pm EST... -265. The suit was a calling station. With AA in the BB and three limpers in the pot, I raised to $50, well over 25% of my stack. The suit called and before the last card was dealt on the all rags flop, I pushed my chips all in. He took his time and for the first time all day, my heart jumped out of my stomach while my breathing intensified. I live for those moments. Some folks jump out of airplanes, others climb misty mountain tops, and some party themselves into frenetic highs. The rare instances in my life when I never felt more alive and in the moment... were at poker tables. At 4:41pm EST... that moment was no different. I'll be chasing that high for many days in the future for sure. My heart was thumping harder than Monica Lewinsky rushing down the street to Krispy Kreme first thing in the morning. Sweat was dripping off my face harder than Patrick Ewing at the free throw line. The suit was staring me down. I couldn't decide if I wanted him to call and chase or fold. He took more time before he peeked at his cards one last time, sighed, then folded. I wish he waited a few more seconds. The rush of adrenaline sobered me up and kept me going for the next day or so.

5:17pm EST... -205. The mechanic in seat 4 next to Al was a loose player who liked to see a lot of flops. I got KK for a third time and threw out a $50 bet preflop. The mechanic called. The flop: AQ6. He checked and I thought about it for a second and checked. I put him on Ax suited and thought he was trying to slow play. On the turn he checked again and I should have fired out, but I checked a second time. On the river my hand did not improve. He checked and I flipped over KK. He lost with 77. Afterwards Grubby gave me some great advice on that hand, suggesting that I should have bet on the flop... to at least get information from the mechanic. That was the correct play but I was worrying two steps ahead thinking... "What if he just calls? Does he have a little ace?" I realized that after losing that monster hand to Grubby, that I slipped into that Passive Pauly phase. I don't play my best poker in that mode. I'm at my best when I'm playing aggressive and fast. Grubby knew that was my style and was wondering why I was playing so timid giving that guy two free cards to catch up to a hand. Shit, I know for a fact that I would have bet the pot online at Party Poker if I was in the same situation, but I was on tilt... I was afraid at losing my chips. I made my second biggest mistake of the session that time, unscathed.

5:29pm EST... -270. I called a preflop raise in LP with AKs. The flop was QJ6. I folded when another 6 fell on the turn.

5:53pm EST... -255. With 88 on the button, I raised driving Al Cant Fold outta the pot when he tried to limp in with the hammer. The flop: 10-7-2. I was heads up with the mechanic again and even with two running Kings on the board, I still took down the pot. He had 67s.

5:57pm EST... -260. I folded AQ to a preflop raise with two callers. Of course K-10-J hit the flop.

5:51pm EST... Al Cant Hang with a shortstack moved all-in in the dark. Grubby took his time before he called with K10s. Al Cant Hang showed his monster... 49o! And yeah, a 9 flopped and Al Cant Limp doubled up.

6:13pm EST... The hand of the day... Al Cant Hang raised in LP with A10. The kid in Seat 1 called with K6s. The flop: K92. The kid bet and Al raised. The kid called. The turn was another rag, but it gave a second club to the board. The kid bet and Al moved all in with nothing but an ace high!! The kid took his time. That's when I put him on a small King. He called with top pair but was worried if Al had him outkicked, or even had paired the board with his kicker. It seemed like a couple of minutes before the kid made up his mind. His girlfriend wasn't there at the time (she had gotten up to got for a smoke or bathroom or boredom break) and he kept staring at the board. He finally called and showed his K6s. He almost jumped out of his seat when Al Cant Limp showed A10s. The guy next to me whispered, "I folded an ace." Al had a flimsy two outs to win. In dramatic fashion an ace fell on the turn followed by the chorus of "Wow!" and "Holy shit!" Grubby's jaw dropped. The kid punched the empty seat his girlfriend had been occupying. He smacked it a second time and then a third. I heard the muffled shout of, "No!" over him trying not to cry at the table. He smacked the chair a fourth time. If his sweetheart had been sitting there, chances are she would have had two black eyes by that point. Al slowly stacked up his chips then left the table which was blanketed in an uncomfortable silence as the kid pulled his shirt up over his face to hide the tears. He was visibly shaken (for the following next forty minutes). The guy next to me made a comment (in jest) that the kid lost all the money he was saving up for his wedding. If true, that would have been fucked up. At the time, I was cracking up on the inside because Al Cant Hang made some kid cry after a vicious bad beat and possibly took all his wedding and honeymoon money! All I could think was two things:

1. Thank God that wasn't me.
2. I can't wait to blog this!

When Al went out for a cigarette, he saw the kid's girlfriend and said something like, "You might wanna check in on your boyfriend, I just put a bad beat on him." Tragically funny, kinda like when a clown dies. Like a vicious storm ripping through a trailer park, Hurricane Al Cant Hang terrorized the poor kid. He was lucky to still have the shirt on his back.

6:33pm EST... -215. Carter joined the table. He had been on a different table and he got a seat change.

6:50pm EST... The Hilton Sisters were flashing me. I raised preflop and Al cold called in the BB. The flop: 8JJ with two clubs. He bet $30 and I called. Did he have the Jack? Would Al Cant Limp smooth call when he flopped trips? When a 4 hit the turn he bet $100 or roughly the size of the pot. Was he on a flush draw? I took my time and went through all the possible hands. I figured he had a AJ or something like that. I folded. The dealer pushed him the pot and he flipped over A7s. I expected the ace, but not the 7! I pounded my fist on the table and in Hellmuthian fashion, I stormed away intoxicated by a haze of ire. Seething? Yep. Irked? You betcha. Did I lose my composure? You would have too. Those damn Hilton Sisters. I didn't want to loose my entire stack to three Jacks again. I should have moved all in against Al and folded against Grubby. I sat down completely embarrassed that I lost my cool in a casino. The dealer never said anything and we moved on to the next hand.

7:14pm EST... Mrs. Hang was knocked out with KK. She flopped two pair and lost to a guy with 33 when he caught a full boat on the turn. He pushed her all in and she eventually called. Mrs. Hang getting busted was a watershed moment ... because ten minutes later she returned to the table with the largest smile I've seen. She hit a $1200 slot win! In ten minutes Mrs. Hang went from down $300 to up $900!! The jackpot was enough to cover Al Cant Limp's poker loses.

7:22pm EST... -350. I limped in a pot with A-10 with four other players. The flop: KQ6. Everyone checked all around. The turn was a Jack which gave me a Broadway straight. I should have moved all in with two spades on the board. I bet $50 and everyone folded except Carter, who I put on a flush draw or two pair. A spade fell on the river and I checked to carter who bet $50. I should have folded, but called. Carter caught runner runner for a flush and I lost another big hand to a blogger. Fellow Bloggers + Spouses 4, Dr. Pauly 0.

8:24pm EST... Karmic revenge fell into the path of Al Cant Hang. The kid bad beated Al and took his entire stack. Al flopped a straight and bet out. The kid called with 67s. He had two pair and caught a full boat on the river to take down Al. Talk about heavy swings, eh? Al was busted and he left the table. I asked him later how many drinks he had during the session because everytime I looked up, a very busty cocktail waitress was handing Al another double SoCo. I think he lost a $20-30 in tips! He told me he gages his drink intake by the number of water bottles he orders. He gets one bottle of water per drink and had "eight or nine" empties underneath his seat.

8:41pm EST... I didn't hear that Carter was playing his last hand. I raised with AQs. He called with AJ and we ended up checking it all the way down to the river. I caught a Queen on the river and that was the last hand I played. I walked away down $325 for the session.

Overall Grubby came out on top netting over $200 (most on the $500 pot he won against me!). Carter only lost $25 (on his last hand to me) and Helixx had a $50 loss at the $2-4 tables. Al Cant Hang and Mrs. H lost their buyins at the table but the big slot win made the trip a profitable adventure. Mrs. H had some meal comps so we grabbed a late night dinner at their diner. Cheeseburgers for me and Grubby! I think Al Cant Hang was eating pancakes. We chatted and rambled on. I got bogged down into an "industry chat" with Grubby and we shared not just poker, but writing as a collective interest. Carter encouraged me to get a full RSS feed so he can read my blogs at work (I think I fixed that... lemme know). I wish I had the chance to play with Helixx especially since we all had a blast a couple of Friday's ago at the micro limit, drunken, blogger convention on Party Poker.

We said our good byes and I drove with Al Cant Hang back to chez Hang. We blasted Led Zeppelin the entire drive home and I eventually had to slow down near Valley Forge Park when I saw all the friggin' deer grazing all over. It was freaky because I could barely see all the deer through the faint moonlight and the low fog. I had this fear that Bambi would sprint out in the middle of the road and I'd slam on the brakes and Al Cant Hang would go flying through the dashboard (he'd be OK of course... a half a bottle of SoCo makes men bulletproof) and we'd be spending the rest of the night explaining to Mrs. Hang why we needed a crowbar and a bucket... to remove the bloody hoof from the front end of my rental car.

Day 1: -325

Next up... the Boathouse Game which is tentatively titled Lewey's Soused Implosion.
posted by Pauly at 9/27/2004 01:54:00 PM | Permalink |

 
Boathouse Bash Preview

This is just some of the things I'll be addressing in a future post.

1. After picking up Boy Genius at the airport and Derek at the train station with Mrs. Can't Hang, we were drinking at the Boathouse by 3pm.
2. We played poker on the outside deck for 5+ hours.
2. I won $110 for a $40 buy in NL game. I was almost up $200 at one point.
4. I won all the money back that I lost from Lewey in June. I rivered Lewey on a really bad beat.
5. Lewey had to do 4 rebuys.
6. Big Mike had these cool "dirty" cards from Greece with all sorts of orgy scenes and guys with cranks the size of a 7-iron.
7. I bluffed Al Can't Hang out of a huge pot. He actually folded trip Kings!! I had nothing.
8. Boy Genius was shortstacked most of the early part but hung on surviving all of his all-ins.
9. Landow won a hand with AA! They weren't cracked.
10. Derek flopped a straight with 25o, went all in and doubled up against me when I flopped two pair.

Some non-poker things...
1. Carter arrived a little late and very tired after a day long sessions in AC!
2. I heard one of the bands play the infamous "Al Can't Hang" song.
3. One of the bands were called: The Al Cant Hang Experiment
4. One of our fellow poker bloggers... puked. I'll reveal his identity later!
5. Two words: SoCo Shots.
6. I went with Landow to drive an extremely inebriated Lewey home.
7. BG had me cracking up all night with his observations of the crowd.
8. There was a female singer in one of the bands (an 80s cover band). She had huge watemelons. BG described her as "chunky enough that she probably has self-esteem issues."
9. We chatted up the "watermelon" girl at the bar. She kinda blew us off.
10. Another random blogger passed out for a few minutes. I'll have photo evidence very soon.

More to come.
posted by Pauly at 9/26/2004 10:50:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Borgata Blues Preview

1. I started drinking with the Hangs at 11:15am, Atlantic City time.
2. Met fellow poker bloggers Helix, Cuban Links, and the infamous Poker Grub.
3. I dropped $325 in 6 hours playing NL.
4. Played at the same table with Al Cant Hang, Mrs. Hang, Grubby, and Cuban Links.
5. Grubby won a $250 pot from me and busted me. His Jacks cracked my pocket cowboys.
6. I lost my entire $300 buyin within the first hour.
7. Carter from Cuban links sucked out a runner runner flush to beat me out of a $100 pot.
8. Al Cant Hang made some kid cry after he won a $300+ pot when he bad beated the poor kid on the river when Al Cant Hang caught a near impossible two outer.
9. Al Cant Hang bluffed me out of a $220+ pot. I folded on the turn. I had the Hilton Sisters and all he had was... ace high, which he proudly showed me. Why didn't I call?
10. After the AlCantHang Bluff, I lost my temper and smacked the table loudly and had to walk away from the table to collect myself.

More to come.
posted by Pauly at 9/25/2004 02:10:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Hilton Sisters Challenge 6

I'm going out of town this weekend, so how about another Hilton Sisters Challenge?!?

Your mission: You must crack AA with QQ on Party Poker this Saturday, September 25th only. Any ring game and any tournaments (except $5 and $10 SNGs). You must write: Dr. Pauly loves Paris in the chat.

Prizes: The winner gets either a Pauly painting or the new Paris Hilton book.



No, I'll never ever pick this up.
Past Winners:
Hilton Sisters Challenge 1: Chris Halverson and Bad Blood
Hilton Sisters Challenge 2: No one
Hilton Sisters Challenge 3: My brother from Poker in the Weeds
Hilton Sisters Challenge 4: Jordan from Hurty Gurty
Hilton Sisters Challenge 5: No one

The Hilton Sisters Challenge 6 is only open to poker bloggers (as always with the exception of Nemo D, Jerry, Hank987, and Landow). The contest will be held from 12:01am EST on Saturday and end at Midnight. You must email me the hand history to be eligible. Best of luck!

On the Road

I'm off to Atlantic City and the Bogarta today with Senor Al No Puede Colgar and Senora No Puede Colgar and Saturday will be the epic Bash at the Boat just outside Philly. The weeeknd will be featuring cameos from everyone's favorite poker bloggers. Expect full write ups on both my sites. The poker stories will be posted here next week and the sordid tales of deviant debauchery will be posted to my main blog. Stay tuned. In the meantime, why don't you read the latest issue of my blog-zine Truckin'. Have a great weekend. Best of luck with the Hilton Sisters.

September 2004 (Vol. 3, Issue 9)

September's issue of Truckin' is short and sweet. I'm excited to add another new writer to the roster. Ignatious J. Reilly shares a story about his recent trip to Aruba during a hurricane. Diane Roy is back with a touching piece of fiction. And of course I have two stories; an Amsterdam tale, and another Coventry, Vermont story. Sit back, enjoy, and please spread the good word about this site. Be sweet, McG.

1. Charlie's Albatros by Tenzin McGrupp
She barely touched her tea, instead she put a hefty dent into the pack of Gitanes she bought during our desperate search for hash and French smokes in the early afternoon... More


2. Mausoleum by Diane Roy
The answering machine was the only thing alive, waiting like an exasperated lover, waiting to be released from the duty of reliving that day, over and over and over... More


3. Ivan and Aruba by Ignatious J. Reilly
Hurricane Ivan was on it's way and everything was closed up or shut down. Arubans were twitchy and dumbfounded, and that alone made me nervous. A hurricane, much less a category 4 storm, had not hit this lovely island in nearly 200 years... More


4. A Vermont Wake Up Call by Tenzin McGrupp
Sure it might have been the first strange thing I saw that day, but I was guaranteed that by Midnight, the naked pregnant chick taking a shit behind my tent would be the 136th weird-ass-happening that I'd experience... More
posted by Pauly at 9/24/2004 05:51:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Fantasy Pauly Updates

I have some updates for all my pools. I'm not doing too hot. I managed 9-1 week in college football, only to be outshined by my brother who had a perfect 10-0 week. My fanatsy football team is sputtering along, and my NFL pool picks aren't panning out.

Pauly's Pub Pigskin Pick'em - Week 2 Update

Team of the Week: TIE (All My Sweet Bitches; All In; Snot Bubbles; Well T'anks For Nuttin') 9 wins

Week 2 Results:
1 All My Sweet Bitches 9
1 All In 9
1 Snot Bubbles 9
1 Well T'anks For Nuttin' 9
5 manny and ortiz 8
5 Smokin Ricky 8
5 Running Back Ribs 8
5 BiG PERM BiG WORM 8
9 Oyster Bay Moore 7
9 Chico's Bail Bonds 7
9 Cumberland Blues 7
9 Twinkle & Turquoise 7
9 Ugarte's Last Stand 7
9 The Brooklyn Embeds 7
9 Austin Drunks 7
9 Uwannabet? . 7
9 Drunk Norsemen 7
9 Bobby BigBalls 7
9 Punch You in the Eye 7
9 McNamara Entry1 7
9 Lovelace Leapsloth 7
9 WhereMy NillasAt? 7
9 Shakedown Street 7
9 Coach's Picks 7
25 MoshPit badblood44 6
25 PayMeNow 6

Overall Standings:
1 Well T'anks For Nuttin' (Jerry) 20
2 All In (Landow) 19
3 Bobby BigBalls (C. Hardin) 17
3 manny and ortiz (. BSinger) 17
3 McNamara Entry1 (Spider) 17
3 All My Sweet Bitches (Ty) 17
3 Austin Drunks (Matt S.)17
3 MoshPit badblood44 (Bad Blood) 17
9 The Brooklyn Embeds (Gil) 16
9 Chico's Bail Bonds (Derek) 16
9 Punch You in the Eye (Pauly 2) 16
12 Snot Bubbles (Sean - Anistropy) 15
12 Lovelace Leapsloth (S. Lovelace) 15
12 Smokin Ricky (Senor) 15
12 Coach's Picks (Coach) 15
12 Uwannabet? (U Wanna Bet) 15
17 Shakedown Street (Pauly 1) 14
17 BiG PERM BiG WORM (Armen)14
17 Oyster Bay Moore (Moore) 14
17 Cumberland Blues (K. Hungus) 14
17 Twinkle & Turquoise (Jenna & Haley) 14
22 Ugarte's Last Stand (Charles Star, comedian, esq.) 13
22 PayMeNow (AlCantHang) 13
22 Drunk Norsemen (C. Halverson) 13
25 Running Back Ribs (Schanzer) 12
26 WhereMy NillasAt? (Boy Genius) 11

The Skinny: Jerry and Well T'anks for Nuthin' are leading the field. Landow and All In sits in second, just one behind our leader. Their 9 win week kept them up top. All My Sweet Bitches and Snot Bubbles had solid weeks and moved up in the standings. A lot of wild upsets thiin Week 2. It's a long season, so there's plenty of time to make a comeback!!

Don't forget to do you picks!!! If you don't do them, the computer automatically takes all the HOME teams for you... that way you still have some points if you forget to do your picks.

Andy ideas for a "Last Place" bonus prize?!?


Grid Iron Week 2 Update

Team of the Week: Uncle Jodd's Band

Week 2 Results:
1 Uncle Jodd's Band 134
2 Trained Professional 128
3 Mary-Kate's Nosebleed 120
4 Rib Boy's Latrells 119
5 Porkchops & Applesauce 118
6 Robber Barons 117
7 The Brooklyn Embeds 110
7 Your Enemies Friend 110

Overall Standings
1 Trained Professiona (Boy Genius) 273
2 The Brooklyn Embeds (Gil) 254
3 Uncle Jodd's Band (Senor & Pauly) 248
4 Rib Boy's Latrells(Derek) 246
5 Mary-Kate's Nosebleed (Pauly) 245
6 Your Enemies Friend (Spider) 241
7 Porkchops & Applesauce (Joe Moore) 239
8 Robber Barons (Armen) 213

The Skinny: Senor and I had a monster week (despite Priest Holmes getting injured and taken out of the game) and jumped up in the standings. Boy Genius and his Trained Professional team are still on top. With a slew of injuries and a bye weeks upcoming, it's going to be a long season.



College Football - Week 3

Team of the Week: Chico's Bail Bonds (10-0) and a perfect 55 point week

Week 3 Results
1 Chico's Bail Bonds 55
2 WhatyaTalkin AboutWillis? 53
2 Austin Drunks 53
3 AlCantHang 50
4 Landow 45
5 Buckeye! 43
6 The Venetian Blinds 41
7 Sheer Entry 40
8 Ugarte's Last Stand 39
9 Muff State Pie Boys 34
10 Killer Gophers 32

Overall Standings
1 Austin Drunks 140
2 Chico's Bail Bonds 139
3 AlCantHang 131
4 Buckeye! 124
5 WhatyaTalkin AboutWillis? 123
5 The Venetian Blinds 123
7 Landow 119
8 Ugarte's Last Stand 112
9 Sheer Entry 110
10 Killer Gophers 106
11 Muff State Pie Boys 71
12 Porkchops & Apple Sauce 55

The Skinny Week 3: I thought I had a great week, but it looks like Derek and Chico's Bail Bonds had a perfect week going 10-0 and is just one point off the lead, held onto by Austin Drunks (for a third straight week). Anyway, Derek and I both called the Auburn win. Tennesse won on a 50 yeard field goal, West Virginia needed OT, and Notre Dame keeps on rolling.
posted by Pauly at 9/23/2004 05:15:00 PM | Permalink |

 
Annie Duke on Letterman

A friend of mine sent me an email this morning telling me that "some poker chick" is going to be on Letterman tonight. I just checked CBS and the Late Show's website and it confirms that tonight's guests are: Kelly Ripa, Annie Duke, and Elvis Costello. I dunno if this is a new episode or a repeat. Either way, I have never seen it. Check your local listings. Last night, I watched Annie knock out her brother to go heads up with Phil Hellmuth to win $2 Million. It was cool watching a prime time "SNG" with some of my favorite players.
posted by Pauly at 9/22/2004 10:13:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Late Night Weirdness at the Blue Parrot

"Swish, I'm right fucking here!" - Ugarte scolding a player for continuously acting out of turn

I had a great birthday yesterday. I wrote for several hours, played a few hands on Party Poker, ate dinner with my brother, then ventured off for a late night game at the Blue Parrot. Signor Ferrari had not hosted a game in several weeks. He pushed back the starting time a couple of hours and suggested that everyone bring a lax attitude this week, along with alcohol. Lots of it. Most of the regulars were back... Coach, Ugarte, and even Swish made the game. He was in town covering the Giants-Skins game and stuck around an extra day to play. Weirdness is the norm when the games get into the late hours. You can imagine what it was like when we left his apartment at 6am. At one point I was down almost $200 and left at 3am. I'm glad I stayed because I stormed back, saved face, and walked away only down $30.

It was a full table at the Blue Parrot, with the MNF game on in the background.

The players:
Seat 1: Joel
Seat 2: Om
Seat 3: Matt (first appearance at the Blue Parrot)
Seat 4: Signor Ferrari
Seat 5: Ugarte
Seat 6: Swish
Seat 7: Diane
Seat 8: Coach
Seat 9: Dr. Pauly

9:35pm EST... I won the button and called a round of $2-4 hold'em. Swish scooped the first pot and Joel won two of the next three. LJ Smith scored a TD. He's the starting TE on my fantasy team and I needed three TDs from the guy to win the week.

9:56pm EST... Coach won a pot with one of his trouble hands AQ. He flopped top pair and escaped both a flush and straight draws to take down his first pot of the night. It was a little hectic because I had been wasted from celebrating all day. I swigged my Rolling Rock, and in between folding all my junk hands, I bravely attempted to carry on eight different conversations at once since I had not seen everyone in weeks; Coach dropped 27 points in a lawyer's league hoops game, Swish just got back to America after a month covering the Olympics in Athens, Matt and Om were quizzed me about the origins of The Hammer, Joel spoke to me about my short story Lost Puppy, chatted with Ugarte about his recent stand up gigs, Ferrari talked up college football including his Buckeyes, and Diane told me about her new poets group.... all within one orbit of hold'em.

10:19pm EST... -20. Ferrari took down the biggest pot of the night in $2-4 hold'em after calling a preflop raise with 46o. He was defending his blinds, flopped his pair, then nailed his trips on the turn. Swish's KJ, Diane's pocket 9s and Om's 10s all went down when everyone bet to the river with their two pair.

10:43pm EST... -25. Playing another round of hold'em, Diane, went heads up with Swish. The flop: KsJs7c. Swish had the reputation to play any two cards to the river, taking down gigantic pots and cracking pocket pairs in the process. Running aces made the board extremely terrifying, filling up a flush in the river. Swish raised, Diane reraised, and Swish went back over the top. There's no limit to raises heads up at the Blue Parrot and it looked like someone's flush was going to lose to a full boat. Diane folded and Swish flipped over Big Slick. It was a nicely played hand especially since he didn't raise preflop.

11:01pm EST... -31. Ugarte called a round of Omaha hi/lo and I found A23J, double suited. The board read: A2356 with no flush possibilities for me. It could have not been a worse flop.

11:19pm EST... -50. This is what I scratched in my notes: OMAHA KILLING ME!.

11:43pm EST... -35. I took down one of my first pot of the night after playing for over two hours. I had Ah-10h UTG and raised. I drove out all but four players and. I flopped two hearts and pushed the action. When an ace fell on the turn I checked-raised and everyone folded.

11:57pm EST... -45. Hold'em. Coach opened up with a raise. I called with 10-10. The flop: Q76. Coach came out firing and I folded. He got a few callers to the river including Matt and Om. He had a set of 7s and scooped a decent sized pot.

12:17am EST... -70. Most recently, we rarely played games with wild cards. Om called Follow the Queen (Stud where Queens AND the card following the Queens are wild) and I lost a pot when I had 88/Q to open. I could not even fill up a full boat, which would have been a marginal hand in a game with so many wild cards.

12:30am EST... -75. I was waiting for Stud hi/lo. Unfortunately I got nothing and folded. Since I had been playing a lot of stud in the last ten days, I got more accustomed to seeing different starting hands. I have a better feel what to muck and what hands I could draw out on.

12:44am EST... -55. I went heads up with Diane. In LP, I raised. The flop: A22. I raised Diane and she called. The turn and flop: 6 and J. I was worrying about a 2, but more concerned about getting outkicked. I didn't raise on the river and Diane showed A3. I won the pot with A5s. It was one of the best hands I had seen all night and I got a few grumbles from the peanut gallery for my questionable preflop raise.

1:08 am EST... -40. Matt called Baseball and I got three 3s with the King and 10 of hearts. My Royal Straight Flush took down Swish's quad 4s in a great example of the insanity of wild cards games!

A couple of folks left and the game got shorthanded. That's when I knew it was going to get ugly.

Late Night Players:
Seat 1: Om
Seat 2: Matt
Seat 3: Signor Ferrari
Seat 4: Swish
Seat 5: Diane
Seat 6: Dr. Pauly

1:21 am EST... -115. Anaconda. Man, I have lost so much money on Anaconda at the Blue Parrot that I could probably buy an entire bar in Southern Mexico somewhere, a place that Al Can't Hang and Mrs. Hang could vacation, and where the locals would shout out, "Senor No Puede Colgar!" everytime our favorite Socologist entered the premises. I cannot fold hands in Anaconda. I know better too. I feel like one of those battered wives, with two black eyes and a broken collar bone, who constantly runs face first into the fist of her pugilistic husband, unable to break free from the sadistic nature of life that we all crave, yet lack the self-esteem to walk away. I had a fullhouse, Queens full of Jacks. Diane was showing 77A. I knew Om was going for the low. He had one ace covered up. Did she have the other two? I paid to see the next card and Diane showed an Ace. That's when I folded when I should have called. In the past when I called that last bet, I always lost to a higher full boat. That was the first of many poorly played Anaconda hands.

2:03am EST... -120. Om took down five 5s in Follow the Queen. Ferrari had been doing well at that point. And Matt had two huge stacks of chips which slowly bled away. I bought 80 off of him for my first rebuy of the night. Om had a few swings back and forth. He started out hot. Diane and Swish were sputtering along, having to rebuy after a trip downstairs to the ATM.

2:11am EST... -155. Swish called Baseball. I lost to Ferrari's quad cowboys to my quad 2s. We played Midnight Baseballl or no peek. Om's quads beat out Diane's trips.

2:36am EST... -165. In hold'em, Diane raised perflop with the Hammer but lost to Swish's A5s. Matt left and the already loose game got five handed.

3:10am EST... -190. Ferrari bad beated Om when his 73o took down K-10. Om flopped top pair, Ferrari bottom pair, then caught his trips on the turn. The next hand, my A-10s lost to Q9. I had just a few chips left. I was going to leave but decided to stick around for a few more hands.

3:17am EST... -130. I started my run. Swish called Seven card Stud with 2s wild. My fullboat took down Swish's set of 9s.

3:41am EST... -90. Hold'em. I raised preflop with 88. I got two callers including Ferrari. I flopped a set (Q78) and raised. Ferrari reraised, I played back and he called. I put him on top pair or a straight draw. I paired the board on the river and my full boat took down a well needed pot. I was off running. I was gunning to win my rebuy back.

3:50am EST... Karma found it's way towards Ferrari's hand. He had K8 and Om had the Hilton Sisters. The flop: 2K9. Ferrari had him and raised. Om proceeded to catch running cards for a Broadway Straight suckout!

3:57am EST... -60. I raised preflop with QJs. Swish called. The flop: AK3. I caught my straight on the turn. Swish hit two pair on the river and raised me. I played back and I thought we were going to chop the pot. Nope. He had A2 and I scooped it all.

4:20am EST... -70. Om called Follow the Queen. I bailed right away but the pot was huge by the time it got to the river. Ferrari had quad 6s, Swish had qaud Aces, and Om flipped over five 9s!! He added to his stack with another huge hand in Follow the Queen. Ferrari had been playing great all night and was up over $300 at one point. But he made some loose calls. It was late, the table was loose and no one was folding when he raised to drive people out so plenty of us hit their hands when they probably should have been folding.

4:34am EST... -49. I limped in with 34o. I flopped a straight and was heads up with Diane. Huge pot. Lucky flop.

4:47am EST... -70. Swish found a flight back to DC and was going to stay until he left for the airport. He put a nice play on me and bluffed me out of a pot. I had 35s. The board read: 837J2. Swish check raised me on the river and I folded my ugly pair. Swish flipped over 62o. Well done! He also bluffed out Diane in a similar pot. She had K6 and paired the board with her 6. He had bottom pair with 34 and won it.

5:09am EST... -45. I called Ferrari's preflop raise with 10-9. The flop: 332. I caught my top pair on the turn and got a full boat when another 3 fell. Ferrari had A9s. And I won back over $150 in two hours. All I could think was, "I'm happy I didn't leave to hit the bars just before last call!"

5:47am EST... More Anaconda adventures. Diane made a great call against Om when heads up for the low end of the pot. She bet and Om raised. She said, "I don't believe you." and raised. Om came back over the top and they got into a weird staring match for a few seconds. Om wasn't going away, but neither was Diane. She said it again, "I don't believe you." and reraised. Om folded and Diane took down a big pot on a great call and a better read. On the last hand of the night, I had a full boat Queens full of 8s. Swish was showing: 9h-7h-8h-6h. He kept jamming the pot and raising me. That told me he didn't have it, but I still had some doubt. I ended up calling his last bet and said, "Show me the straight flush." He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I wish I could. Take it down." It was a great bluff because I almost folded. he was impressed I stayed in all the way.

I finished the night only down $31!! It was one of those sessions where I gutted through all the misery and waited until I had the chance to get better hands and take advantage of a short handed table. I was pumped about only losing $30 because it could have been a lot worse. My cash bankroll is more thinner than the anorexic Olsen twin and a huge loss at the Blue Parrot would have made this upcoming trip to AC uncomfortable with a limited bankroll.

The Finally Tally:
Signor Ferrari +202
Om +120
Matt +30
Ugarte +21
Coach +14.50
Dr. Pauly -31
Joel -34
Swish -140
Diane -190

It was just a few moments before sunrise when I left the Blue Parrot. Ferrari had to crash for a few hours before he went into work. I grabbed breakfast with Diane where we chatted about the night's game. She made a few mistakes but also made some great calls. She reads people well sometimes and that's her best asset. As I walked past Penn Station to get to the subway, I was nearly run over by a horde of bitter, early morning commuters heading to work. I smiled. I pulled an all night poker session on my birthday of all days, gutting out only a $30 loss after almost losing my buy-in and rebuy. I rode the subway home in silence, my eyes heavy, and my body wedged in between two NY Times reading, Starbucks drinking yuppies. They were just starting their day, while I was ending mine. Well, not really. I got home and wrote for several hours, including this rambling review of another wild late night of poker at the Blue Parrot.

My next big report will be about my tales in Atlantic City on Friday with Senor No Puede Colgar, El Comida del poker, and friends. Stay tuned.

Other Write Ups

Ugarte wrote up the game in his latest entry Ugarte's Poker Grovel #43, or Two Tabling Again where he touched on some topics like poor poker etiquette and semantics. Here's a bit:

The poker wasn't particularly interesting most of the night. I was steaming early, managing to lose almost $50 without really getting involved in much action. I can't even guess where the money went (with the exception of an Omaha hand where I had the second best hand both ways). The play wasn't the important thing anyway. Most of the fireworks came when two recurring themes from the game again reared their ugly head: poor poker etiquette (Swish) and semantics (Ferrari)...

I kinda missed the drama, I was taking notes during both instances and I usually stear clear of two lawyers in a heated exchange. But Ugarte is right about one thing involving acting out of turn:

I don't mind when people make mistakes; I'll point them out and calmly explain why they were wrong. But when someone so consistently flouts the rules - whether intentionally or becuase he can't be bothered to care or pay attention - it becomes a question of respect. So I was more than a little upset with Swish. Waiting your turn is essentially a kindergarten principle, and it steams my ass that the table considers me the petulant one for having the audacity to care. The argument that the game is loose and casual doesn't cut it with me. Most of the simple courtesies of poker play are designed to enhance fairness, not just order. Pretending that a game with pots that get over $100 shouldn't require just a little bit of attention is bullshit. So I guess I'm still a little upset.

Of course Diane blogged a little bit about the game on her site called ...Night at the Blue Parrot:

"Why are you staring at me so hard? Either bet or fold."

His body language reveals his cards. And that voice in my head is getting louder, so in order to make sure I push him, like Hamlet when he put on the play, I pushed and pushed until it was obvious to me that he was afraid, very afraid. His shoulders sank, there was a quiver in his voice, he was agitated, impatient.If you've got the nuts, you just sit there and wait. Who care's how long the other person takes if you're going to win. Then he bets and he almost scared me off because I was totally short stacked and I'll scare myself, but I didn't believe him and as I kept betting/raising I kept talking shit, as if to keep reminding myself to do what I knew I needed to.

Yeah Diane is a young player that will eventuallty mature over time. She hasn't been afraid to sit down with some great players and took away some lessons from her losing session. Lastly, here's what she wrote about me...

Something about sitting next to him (Pauly) while I play makes me calmer. He's about as close to a friend as you get in this game (*see obscure Rounders reference). It's not easy being the only girl, not to mention the only black person at this table. No one respects my pre-flop raises, All my bets get called and none of them have ANY issue with taking all of my money, in fact some are just straight gunning for me. Playing without him there just isn't the same, isn't as fun.

Aww, thanks!
posted by Pauly at 9/21/2004 05:59:00 PM | Permalink |

 
Push On Til the Day

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. - Sun Tzu

This weekend was the last weekend of Summer, so I'm told. July was my sole losing month in this sun-filled season. If I didn't take so many days off to travel, and if I didn't fleece my bankroll to fund my excursions... I'd be sitting pretty right now on a mountain of cash. Instead, I'm grinding away at the tables on Party Poker, building up my courage, confidence, and bankroll ...eventually with my eyes set on a bump up in levels. I refuse to advance unless my bankroll can withstand a several bad sessions. It's been taking me longer to rebuild than I expected. I'm back to my hit and run strategy at the tables, winning enough to play in a few tournaments at night, and pocketing the rest.

Stud and Oamha

My Stud play is the best it's been in years. I never played online until just recently. There's no middle class in the online stud games, I'm quickly finding out. Either players are really good or they're very fishy. I understand that one week of crushing the micro limits doesn't make me a world class player. It has, however, given me the confidence that I can improve my game while make a few dollars at the same time. My Omaha play is slightly improving. I finally won another SNG. I discovered that I have a tough time playing shorthanded in Oamha hi/lo. Heads up is where I'm struggling. I'm really making stuff up as I go along, but having to factor in split pots heads up is tough. But that's something I don't have to worry at a full ring table.

Bad Beats of the Week:
AA lost to KJ
KK lost to QJ
KK lost to 66
QQ lost to 10-9
AKs lost to Q4
AK lost to Q3s
AK lost to A7
AK lost to A8
AK lost to 64
AQs lost to J2

Yeah, my AK hands got slaughtered this week. My pocket aces held up at a decent rate. They were only cracked once in five times. I got booted from tournaments with the Hilton Sisters twice this past week.

Aussie Million Satellite B Write Up

If you haven't heard, I came in 34th place out of 73 players. The buy in was $600 + 45 and I won a single table Qualifier free roll for my seat. The top three places won seats/prize packages. Fourth place won $3000, Fifth $1800, and Sixth place won $1200. I originally was slated to play on Wednesday but the tournament was canceled by Party Poker due to technical problems. No less than a dozen bloggers and readers showed up again to cheer me on. And I must have bored them to death folding hand after hand.

Level 1: The levels were 20 minutes long. My plan was to play super tight, survive through the first break and then I'd make my move with a short stack. I expected at least half the field to be gone by the end of the first break and I liked my chances attacking with a short stack with three tables of players remaining. About the fifth hand in, I'm dealt the Hammer in the big blind. Four players in the pot, which was checked all the way down to the river. The board was terrible. But I made a pair of twos... and guess what? I won the pot.

Level 2: Loose player raised 3x the BB. He had been seeing a lot of flops, limping in with any suited two gappers and any ace or king. I had a bad feeling. If he had garbage he would have limped. Since he raised, I was suspicious. I folded AK in MP. If I was going to see a flop, I was going to re-raise. I didn't feel comfortable pushing my stack all-in if he came over the top of me. I wasn't prepared to get knocked out of the tournament with AK in level 2. I also folded 88 UTG before I limped in a pot with AK on the button. I should have raised to drive out the blinds and two limpers, but I wasn't comfortable having to play back at anyone so early. I also didn't want to build up the pot at a semi-loose table. I probably made a bad move trying to slow play Big Slick. I didn't hit my flop and folded right away. By the end of the level, I had T860 with 60 players remaining and the average stack was T1200+.

Level 3: I was moved to Table #1. I hoped that was going to be a good sign. I folded A4s and 44, both in MP. I made it to the break with T665. I was 41st out of 47 and about 3x behind the average stack.

Level 4: I found the Hilton Sisters and moved all-in with the short stack. No action, and I won just my second pot since the fifth hand. Who would have thought I would have made it for over an hour playing only two hands... the Hilton Sisters and the Hammer? I pushed my chips in when I had 10-10 and AJs on the button. I picked up the blinds and could have been a lot worse off with T895. I was 32nd out of 34 with an average stack size of T2200.

Level 5: On the first hand of the new level, I moved all-in with the Hilton Sisters in LP. The BB called with AKs. I lost again with QQ, booted in 34th place. Not very impressive, I know. I folded my way into 34th place. I'm lucky I made it that far with no cards. I was dealt exactly 100 hands in the satellite. I won 5% of those hands, won 2 out of 6 showdowns, and saw just 8 flops.

Tournament Binge

Since the Australian Poker Championships are in January 2005, I'll have a few more chances to win another seat via a qualifier. I've also been trying my hand at a few multi-table and SNG qualifiers. I bubbled out of both... winning prize money instead of a seat on the $300 European Open Satellite.

Tournament Results on Party Poker this past week:

$5 Omaha hi/lo SNG (3): 4,4, 1
$5 Multi-table NL (2): 703 out of 1018; 857 out of 1684
$9 Euro Open Sat. Sub-Qualifier SNG: 1 (won a seat in the $36 Qualifier)
$10 Euro Open multi-table Qualifier: 4 out of 80
$10 Multi-table NL (2): 177 out of 330; 90 out of 496
$10 Stud SNG: 5
$30 SNG (3): 6, 1, 4
$36 Euro Open Sat. Qualifier SNG: 2
$600 Aussie Million Satellite: 34 out of 73

Money invested: $194 + 2 Freerolls worth over $636+
Tournaments I made the prize money: 5
Gross Winnings: $240.20 + $36 freeroll
Profit/ROI: +46.20 + $36 freeroll

Felt good to win a bunch of different tournaments and SNGs. I was close to winning seats in the Euro Open Satellite, but bubbled out in both. I was a bubble boy twice in Omaha hi/lo and a $30 SNG. Those are tough to stomach. I still make plenty of mistakes when I play, and if I just made one less in each of those instances, I could have netted a little more prize money. Ah, but like I said, I generate all the entry fees from my winnings grinding away at the NL ring games. This week, I expect to play a few more Stud and Omaha SNGs as well as a few single table sub-qualifiers to the Aussie and Euro Open satellites.
posted by Pauly at 9/20/2004 01:20:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Dingos and 34th Place

Do dingos really eat babies? I wanted to find out. Alas, it was not meant to be. I finished in 34th place last night out of 73 other players in the $600 Aussie Million Satellite on Party Poker. Top 3 places won seats/prize packages to the Australian Poker Championships, with some cash going through places 4-6. I pretty much folded everything last night (eveen folded AK twice!), and when I was shortstacked I moved all in with the Hilton Sisters and lost to AKs.

Thanks to everyone, bloggers and readers alike, who stopped by to root me on. You guys rock. I wish I could have made it a little more interesting for you. Next time for sure. If I could win a seat in the satellite for just an $11 investment, I'm sure I can get back for a second chance.

Due to time constraints, I will be unable to write a complete report this morning. Stay tuned, because tomorrow I'll recap my week including a bunch of random tournaments I played online at Party Poker, including last night's satellite.

Thanks again!
posted by Pauly at 9/19/2004 07:12:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Pot Freak Busted!


I got the friggin' munchies, bro!!!
Breaking news... a former child star tragically falls victim to the dark side of marijuana abuse! Ex-Child Star Macaulay Culkin Arrested on Drug Charges in Oklahoma During Traffic Stop is another sad story about a child star's decent into refer madness. Here's my favorite part:

Photographers captured the scruffy-faced former prodigy strolling from jail dressed in a "New Yawk" shirt, a jacket and a baseball cap with "Pre-flop" written on it, an apparent poker reference. The young star is slated to play a celebrity poker tournament next month.

So the Home Alone kid likes to smoke doobies, pop pain killers, and play poker. He can crash my party anytime. Does he have a poker blog too? Macaulay give me a call. We'll play heads up for your stash.
posted by Pauly at 9/18/2004 08:06:00 PM | Permalink |

 
Friday Night Blogger Convention

Last night, I went slumming at the 50 cent tables with some of our favorite poker bloggers on Party Poker. It's been a while since I let loose and had a good time. I wonder what the four or five other players thought about the wretched insanity we all brought to the tables? I'm sure they had no idea that we knew each other. It was like that scene from Rounders... except they were playing with some seriously demented, distrubed, drunk, and disorderly people.

The Players:
Seat 2: HDouble (later)
Seat 3: AlCantHang
Seat 4: Otis
Seat 7: Dr. Pauly
Seat 8: Helixx
Seat 9: Iggy
Seat 10: Ugarte

Over an hour, I dropped $19 most of it to a hand with AlCantFold. Party Poker's wild and loose tables at micro limits especially suck when you flop a set and still have five mentally unbalanced players rampantly jamming the pot with two gappers. I flopped four sets and only once did they hold up. Alas, I wasn't really there to win money.

Poker used to be a social event for me. I love a good party. In the last year or so, I adopted a more serious approach to poker. And at times, that new mentality took a lot of the fun out of the game. Sure I have plenty of poker passion, but the fun had slowly slipped away in my most recent sessions. Last night was unlike so many other nights. I actually had a blast... losing. I guess technically everyone was on tilt, playing garbage starting hands and trying to outbluff each other. Maybe it was the liquor or the pain killers or the excitement, but that table was one of the best I ever sat down at. Even the rock-solid Ugarte loosened up a bit. I swear I saw him play A7o in early position! When HDouble sat down, he busted out the $1000 stack. Iggy wanted to show everyone he had a bigger one, so he whipped out his $1000 stack. I wished I could have stayed longer, but I had a few things I had to write before I crashed and got up early this morning to write some more.

As always it was a pleasure to sit at a table with everyone and enjoy such fine table commentary. I got to play with Helixx for the first time. I heard a rumor I might see him at the Borgata next week. Here's what he had to say on his blog:

How do you take a table where you're up 50bb and turn it into a scary proposition? add about 5 bloggers who regularly play 15/30 and up (who are 3 sheets to the wind), that's how.

last night i found a bored iggy and, after bullshitting for a few minutes, found him seated to my left at my .50/1 table on party. carson says i want loose/maniac players to my left, so i figure i'm good but with iggy at your table, anything can happen.

by the time he arrived, i had already won a hand or two but after he sat down, i literally could not lose a hand. i was hitting draws, having good hands hold up (on party, no less) and generally just doing pretty well. i was up to about $72 from my original $25 buy in when i noticed someone abusing iggy (as opposed to the other way around, like usual). alcanthang was in the house.

the banter was bordering on "i really should be writing this down" level hilarity. al went into "RAISE OR FOLD" mode and it all went -ev from there for me.

Great observations!

Australia?

Ah, I almost forgot. Tonight at 11:15 pm EST on Party Poker, I'll be playing in the $600 Aussie Million Satellite B (#78880). Check the special tournament tab. I have a shot to win a trip to Melbourne to play in the 2005 Austalian Poker Championships. See ya then.
posted by Pauly at 9/18/2004 07:08:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Wild Weekend

"A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic." - George Bernard Shaw

On Saturday night, I have the Aussie Million satellite on Party Poker. That should be one of the biggest events I ever played in online. I'm itching to go to Australia.

I got a few bets down on the Bloody Yanks in this weekend's Ryder Cup golf matches. I was watching Dan Harrington's cousin play against Tiger Woods and Phil Mickleson (in between flipping back and forth between CNBC and Dawson's Creek). Of course it's always an event when the Yankees go heads up with the Red Sox. This weekend's series will have an October-post-season flavor to the the greatest rivalry in baseball. There's a lot of tough college games this weekend. Auburn-LSU could be a thriller. Week 2 of the NFL has a few trap games... like that Atlanta-Rams game. The local bookies (Vinny and the infamous Cologne Brothers) are putting the Hotlanta at a 3 point favorite. My brother smelled a trap right away. I'm tempted but I won't go there. Instead let's double up on my Jets! They never play well on the road in California, but after last week's glimpse of a rejuvenated Curtis Martin, I can't help but think he's going to run all over them and show LDT that he's still the dude. I'm 1-0 in my fantasy football league ($2200 to the winner) and Uncle Jodd's Band is 4th in points overall. Last year we only won two games so we're excited about our victory in week one.

Next weekend, if you haven't heard, has the potential to be one of those epic adventures where at least someone goes to a hospital or jail... or both. Al Can't Hang has his yearly monster party. He's be telling me about it since May. I had my calendar marked since then. OK, that's not entirely truthful. I don't own a wall calendar. But, I've been carrying around a piece of paper in my pocket that says, "Al Can't Hang Party 9.25 Philly." So far, we have confirmations from Iggy, Boy Genius, and Carter from Cubanlinks.org. I heard that Sean might be dropping by... as well as the Grubmiester.

Before BG and Iggy committed, I already made plans to hit the Borgata in Atlantic City with Al and Mrs. Hang. Now, Iggy can bankroll me into the $30-60 game. Just kidding. We'll be combining bankrolls and staking Mrs. Cant Hang.

My brother can't make it for the festivities. He's got a friend in from outta town and he has to show him the city. He's bummed out. The only poker bloggers he got to meet were Felicia and Glenn.

How many bloggers have I met? Well, I met Felicia and Glenn in Vegas in April. I met Ugarte (and through him Signor Ferrari and Rick Blaine from Rick's Cafe and Asphnxma from Riding the F Train.) I met Daddy from Snail Trax at one of the Phish shows in Indiana. On my way back from Phish tour, I stopped by Boy Genius' home game and met Lord Geznikor and one of the brother's of BG. Hopefully I'll meet Monte Christo soon. I had a chance to meet up with Poker Chronicles and Double As on Thursday, but never had the time to go down to Atlantic City. Speaking of which, I'm still waiting to hear how Riding the F Train fared yesterday. He played in the $1500 NL event at the Borgata.

More Wacky Adventures in Stud

Felicia mentioned some simple, but great advice in my comments. "Patience is another word for Stud." I've taken many of her suggestions to heart. Within the first few minutes of meeting her last April she told me that I played too many hands in tournaments. This time, I applied her suggestion towards cracking the low limit Stud tables on Party Poker. I had another 70 BB winning session. I would have won more if I wasn't beaten on two seventh street flush suckouts. I lost a monster pot with rolled up Queens. I never paired the board before he hit his flush. Overall, I tightened up my starting hands... and I still think I could play a lot more tighter!

I played a $10 Stud SNG earlier with poor results. I was third in chips at one point and I folded hand after hand until I found 6K/K and limped in. I was pumped by fifth street with: 6K/KAA and heads up with the chipleader, a loose cannon who played every hand to the river. He had xx/10-7-5 with no possible flushes. I never caught another A or K and had to settle with my two pair. He caught running cards on sixth and seventh streets to hit his straight. I got bubbled out in 5th place. Stud SNGs are eight-handed and the top 4 get paid. I'm improving every session and getting a better feel for my opponents. I am putting them on hands a lot easier than before. Playing Stud as compared to Omaha hi/lo has done wonders to my confidence and bankroll (outside of hold'em). I feel positive about my Stud game, whereas in Omaha hi/lo, I feel as though I'm constantly struggling just to break even.

Late last night I bubbled out of an Omaha hi/lo SNG. Late in the game, it was four handed. I was second in chips. With Ad2d3cKc, I flopped the Wheel... only to lose to a higher straight on the river and chop the low pot with two other players. The next hand, as the short stack, I moved all-in. I was booted with AAJJ, double suited. I flopped a set of Jacks and a nut flush draw. I lost to a straight. Bubbled out again.

Hilton Sisters screwed me royally last night in a NL ring game. I lost to pocket 88s when the guy hit his set on the flop. They always make me scream somehow.

Motherless Child

I recently commented on Maudie's site that I think she might be my illegitimate mother. Here's how she responded:

Pauly I can't think of a better illegitimate child to have than you... I'm sure my girls would allow an addition to the menagerie as long as you follow Maudie's rules:

- Smoking (all kinds) outside.
- Take out the trash.
- Do your homework.

And at least introduce me to the sluts ...er... girlfriends.

Hmmm. Paris isn't exactly the kind of girl you bring home to meet Aunt Maudie. Now, that Katie Holmes... she's a whole different story.

Recent Poker Playing Music Included...
1. Charlie Hunter
2. Trey Anastasio Band
3. The Grateful Dead
4. Toots & the Maytals
5. John Coltrane
posted by Pauly at 9/17/2004 10:35:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Postponed

Thanks to everyone who showed up to root me on in the Aussie Million Satellite last night on Party Poker. Twenty-seven players entered with one first place Aussie prize package going to the winner. Second place would have gotten $1800, third place $1080, and fourth place $720. Due to a problem with their server, the tournament never started at 11:15 pm, and I sat at my table for twenty minutes before I called up support. Everyone was seated but the tourney never began. I was on hold for ten minutes before support told me that the tournament would be canceled. That was thirty minutes after the scheduled start time.

I was irked. A lot of people contacted me during the day asking me for my screen name so they could watch. I felt bad for them. My brother stayed up late to watch and had to get up early to go to work, as did plenty of the other players. Party Poker failed to properly communicate the problem status with any of the tournament players. I never would have found out what was up unless I called them.

Here's the email they sent me:

We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.

We have refunded back the freeroll to your account and you can go ahead and register for the next week tournament. Our technical department tried hard to start the tournament, but due to technical constraints they were not able to start it and that is the reason why it was canceled and it was later posted on the lobby.

We thank you for your support and cooperation in this matter.

I don't know how some of you prepare for a big poker game or a tournament. For me, I try to have a mellow day leading up to game time. Since the tournament was scheduled for 11:15pm and I got up very early, I had a full day in which I did everything possible not to slip into an anxious groove. The half hour before the event started was when I began to psyche myself up. I was mentally prepared by the time I sat down. When the delayed happened, I had to wait without knowing the status of the tourney. That was taxing. I tried not to get too outta whack and lose my focus on the game, but I was agitated due to Party Poker's fuck up. I was treating last night like a fist fight. I was ready to viciously throw down and get my ass kicked. If I was going to lose, I was going to go down swinging. You didn't expect me to just fold away my chance at a shot at $1 Million Aussie bucks, did you? You can imagine the state of mind I was in when I was told, "You won't be brawling tonight."

The tournament has been rescheduled for Saturday Sept. 18th at 11:15 pm EST. I have a free roll to play in that one and I'll be signing up. My only problem is that I think there will be more players in this event. I really liked my chances when I had a 1 in 27 chance at winning. A Saturday night satellite will probably draw more entrants than a Wednesday night one. I'll drop to a 1 in 50 shot now. All because Party Poker dropped the ball.

Thanks again for everyone who stopped by. Your support is humbling. If you have nothing to do on Saturday, feel free to stop by and say hello.
posted by Pauly at 9/16/2004 03:32:00 AM | Permalink |

 
What's in a Name?

A quick note... in ten hours I'll be playing in the $600 Aussie Million B Satellite on Party Poker. I'm gunning for a free trip to Melbourne to play in the Australian Poker Championships, and the chance to meet Heafy from Poker on Film. Stop by if you like at 11:15 pm EST.

So... what's the significance behind people's online poker screen names?

With the recent poker boom, all the good online names are being snatched up quickly. And if you have a common real name, your chances of getting something unique on Party Poker is very slim. Some names make me chuckle. Others make me shiver in disgust.

Most of the names break down in a few categories. And I'll briefly speak about each.

Rounders' Characters: You've seen those guys. I call them the least creative of the bunch; Worm36, MikeMcD14, and JoeyKnish69 to name a few. And so many players have adopted these names that if you try to ask Party Poker for TeddyKGB, you'll end up getting TeddyKGB23145566. Outside of the pokerati, no one understands that reference, but inside my apartment I poke fun at you and label you a big Rounders geek in my notes. Hey MikeMcD14, try slowplaying a flopped straight against me and I'll shove every one of Teddy KGB's Oreos up your least favorite orifice.

Poker Pros: There are a bunch of online players in cyberworld who take on the personae of their favorite pros; AnnieDuke1234, TexasDolly54, GusHansen618178, and Fossilman666. Unfortunately, sharing the same online name as a pro is about as close they are going to come to making a final table at a WSoP event, especially when they chase gutshot straight draws or call all-in raises with bottom pair. I wanna play against those folks.

Poker Terminology: Those folks decide to use a cool catch phrases as their screen name and sometimes try to tweak it. RiverBeat. FloppedQuads. JacksUp. Some of them are cheesy. But others are very clever. Those might be some of the creative names out there.

Jumble Guys: Those are the folks who use an odd mixture of letters and numbers as their names: ksiiik474kfoek or dhduggt2831142. Good luck getting Party Poker Support on the phone and telling them your account name if you ever run into a glitch and your table freezes.

Drug/Marijuana References: For some of you older hippies, you might be digging on the vibes of the younger-drug-MTV-chic-culture. If not, I'll clue you into various slang that some slackers would use in their screen names. Anything with Bong or 420 or Puff or Blunt usually indicates that the player at your table is a proud pothead, and usually (but not limited to) from the Northern California or Pacific Northwest area. Chances that they are stoned while playing are... well... pretty high. These are the players with names like: Fatty420, PuffintheAM, Bluntorama, Deadhead69, HighGirl420.

Fictional Characters: I play under a name of a popular 70s TV character. I had to change my first name after I realized I had people stalking me at the tables. Lots of James Bond references and literary ones too. The Simpson's references always make me laugh; DuffMan765, AllyMcBeal4, Frankie007, Morpheus541, and KilgoreTrout4.

Musical References: I've seen a few Phish and Grateful Dead related names, as well as a few titles of random Motown tunes and old jazz standards. Some of the younger generation likes to use rappers and other hip hop references to spice up their screen names.

Inside Jokes and Nicknames: Those are players using their real world nicknames, like BigMike33 or SmellyEd.

Location: These are folks who can't come up with an original name, so they use their city or state as part of their screen name. AmarilloSteve, JoeyTX, HawaiiMary, CincyLou. I always ask them how the weather is.

Year of Birth or Graduation: Here's a tip. If you see a number after someone's name and it's the last two digits of a year, chances are that person was born in said year, or graduated college or high school in that year. JonJay56 is either 56 years old, or most likely born in 1956. AlexD82 id probably a college kid. And HellBoy06, is probably also a college boy and will get his degree in two more years. Sure, I could be totally wrong here, but again, I'm making a snap decision on the fly. You have to attempt to size up online players quickly and age, to me, makes a huge difference. Chances are older players play more conservatively than younger players and will trap you when they have the nuts. On the other side, younger players who were influenced by TV and the popularity of the WPT, tend to play wilder, looser, and more aggressively than they folks in older generations. Some of these people could be using their old numbers that they wore during high school athletic glory days. My old hoops and hockey number was #3, so I like to add that sometimes. But I'm willing to bet that some folks are too lazy to come up with anything else, so they pick their year of birth to make their screen name unique.

Location, Location, Location

What's in a location? It wasn't my intent to speak about a player's location, but it's something I'll address for a few moments. On Party Poker, you can see where someone is from. Will that give you an edge? Sometimes. Here's some more broad generalizations.

European cities: Most European players are aggressive preflop bettors. This is not to say that they are loose. It's just that they don't play as tighter preflop as so many of the Sklansky disciples out there. I'm not telling you to call every single on of their bets preflop. But if you see a city of European origin and the guy ends to raise a lot, you might consider calling with one of your marginal hands (especially in late position) because you could have the best hand.

Las Vegas & Henderson: If I see either places mentioned (Henderson is a suburb of Vegas), I try to avoid playing with them, especially heads up. Are all online players from Vegas sharks? I'd rather not find out.

Canadian Players: Our Northern neighbors breed some of the toughest and fiercest competition in the poker world. There's some good players out there, so beware. Canadian players make a living off of greedy, stupid, fat Americans who chase nut flushes and call top pair all the way to the river. Knowing the big cities is easy. But familiarize yourself with some smaller Canadian town names and suburbs, like Carberry, Moosejaw, and New Glasgow.

College Towns: Ann Arbor, Pullman, Madison. Those towns are filled with bored, inebriated college kids with tons of free time and Daddy's money on their hands. Back to my generalization about younger players under the age of 24, especially with parentally funded bankrolls... those are loose and aggressive types, and a young gun with a belly full of cold pizza and a six Jello-shots from a college town is more likely to bluff with second pair and an inside straight draw.

Retirement Communities: Places in Arizona, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Florida are filled with bored, retired Americans looking to waste their time away blowing their social security checks on Party Poker. Older players tend to be more conservative. When a player from Jupiter, FL pushes me all in on a flop with all rags, chances are he has a bigger hand than then hungover frat boy from Madison.

Again, all these are just generalizations that I've encountered over my last six months playing online at Party Poker. I'm sure there are fish living in Vegas who are playing online. I'm sure we have WWII vets in college towns and Europeans aboard playing tight. But for the most part, you have to quickly profile your opponents if you wish to seek a greater edge.
posted by Pauly at 9/15/2004 01:10:00 PM | Permalink |

 
Pauly's Pub Fantasy Pools Update

For complete updates and standings, visit: Pauly's Pub. Thanks to everyone who signed up. Austin Drunks tops the College Pool, Bad Blood and Jerry are tied for the lead in the pro football pool, and BG and his Trained Professionals are winning the Grid Iron pool. How are my teams doing? Not so good. Last year's co-champ in the pro football pool, Shakedown Street, got off to a slow start and my second sheet Punch You in the Eye is barely in the top 10. I thought my team for Grid Iron was going to be the best on the league. Alas, Mary-Kate's Nosebleed sputtered to the middle of the pack and my college picks haven't been panning out.

Pro Football Pool - Week 1 Results

Team(s) of the Week: Mosh Pit Badblood 44 and Team Engel

Week 1 & Overall Results
1 MoshPit badblood44 11
1 Engel Entry1 11
3 McNamara Entry1 10
3 All In 10
3 Bobby BigBalls 10
3 Austin Drunks 10
7 The Brooklyn Embeds 9
7 Chico's Bail Bonds 9
7 Punch You in the Eye 9 (My 2nd Team)
7 manny and ortiz 9
11 Lovelace Leapsloth 8
11 All My Sweet Bitches 8
11 Uwannabet? 8
11 Coach's Picks 8
15 Smokin Ricky Entry1 7
15 Oyster Bay Moore 7
15 PayMeNow 7
15 Cumberland Blues 7
15 Twinkle & Turquoise 7
15 Shakedown Street 7 (My first team)
21 BiG PERM BiG WORM 6
21 Ugarte's Last Stand 6
21 Snot Bubbles 6
21 Drunk Norsemen 6
25 WhereMy NillasAt? 4
25 Running Back Ribs 4

The Skinny: The heavily favored Rams failed to cover and the Browns upended teh Ravens for another wild start to the season. There were a handful of games that were decided by a point or less... those can make or break your season. Week 2's games look tougher than week 1. Best of luck and congrats to Jerry and Bad Blood... who got off to a nice start.


Grid Iron - Week 1

Team of the Week: Trained Professionals

Week 1 Results and Overall Standings:
1 Trained Professional 145
2 The Brooklyn Embeds 144
3 Your Enemies Friend 131
4 Rib Boy's Latrells 127
5 Mary-Kate's Nosebleed 125
6 Porkchops & Applesauce 121
7 Uncle Jodd's Band 114
8 Robber Barons 96

The Skinny: Boy Genius and his team got off to a hot start in a week where some players put up huge numbers (Culpepper, Holmes, TO).



Week 2 - College Football Pool

Team of the Week: Austin Drunks & Chico Bail Bonds

Week 2 Results:
1 Chico's Bail Bonds 38
2 Austin Drunks 38
3 Ugarte's Last Stand 37
4 Killer Gophers 36
5 Buckeye! 35
5 AlCantHang 34
7 The Venetian Blinds 34
8 WhatyaTalkin AboutWillis? 33
8 Sheer Entry 33
10 Landow 31
11 Porkchops & Apple Sauce 19
12 Cumberland Blues N/A

Overall Standings:
1 Austin Drunks 87
2 Chico's Bail Bonds 84
3 The Venetian Blinds 82
4 AlCantHang 81
4 Buckeye! 81
6 Killer Gophers 74
6 Landow 74
8 Ugarte's Last Stand 73
9 Sheer Entry 70
9 WhatyaTalkin AboutWillis? 70
11 Porkchops & Apple Sauce 55
12 Muff State Pie Boys 37
13 Cumberland Blues 0

The Skinny: Notre Dame threw Michigan for an early season upset. Iowa made their game closer then it should have been. Georgia Tech came from behind and upended Clemsen. Another wild week in college football.
posted by Pauly at 9/14/2004 10:19:00 PM | Permalink |

 
Escape to the Tables

"We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence; like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away." - Chuang Tzu

I had my second full week of poker since my traveling binge ended and I was able to actually return to my hectic mix of trying to squeeze as much time on Party Poker and writing into my waking hours, despite having to deal with my Fantasy Football draft, the last bits of Hurricane Frances, moving into a new place, and some tragic family issues. Poker has been a forum where I have been able to escape from certain frustrating aspects of my real life. That's what I did last summer after the death of one of my best friends, and that's what I did this weekend, after I found about some messed up family stuff. Throwing myself into poker worked, because I ended up winning a $70 Single table Qualifier and won a seat in the upcoming $600 Aussie Million Satellite.

Sometimes the past reaches up to bite you in the ass when your not looking. And sometimes you have to keep moving forward. I was spawned and reared by two families composed of insecure idiots. My life often resembles a sullen Shakespearian play or a badly sung Country Western song. But that's the hand I was dealt. I decided long ago to muck it and move along. Just like Hunter Thompson once said, "Don't take any guff from these fuckin' swine."

I finally made it to the positive side of September. The first week of the month was tough after several bubble finishes in $30 SNGs. This past week, I broke out of the bubble funk and took down first place finishes in four different SNGs. I finally won an Omaha hi/lo SNG after several humbling defeats. I had to tighten up my game even more and I finally took down a first place money finish. I won first place in a $30 SNG after making the money in just one out of my last seven. It always feels good to win and a first place victory in a $30 SNG definitely helps boost the Party Poker bankroll. Of course I won a sub-Qualifier (on my second try) and then the Qualifier to the Aussie Million Satellite.

I didn't do very well in any of the multi-table tournaments. I played in a multi table Million Dollar Qualifier and a European Open Qualifier failing to make the money in either. I found myself getting spanked in the $20 + $2 multi table tourneys and I never made the money in any of those. Those are just as fishy as the daily $5 ones at 11am.

My bankroll was inflated by solid play in NL ring games. I would try to win as much as possible during the late afternoons and early evenings so I could use some of my daily winnings to play in SNGs and other tournaments later in the night. That formula worked this week and I hope to continue the same blueprint for the rest of the month. Sure, I'm bleeding most of my bankroll away playing in all these tourneys... but I'm getting more experience playing in tournaments and I have an outside shot at going to England, Estonia, or Australia... via a free roll.

Stud Boy Reprise

To keep my brain fresh on other games, I found myself in the middle of some low limit Stud adventures on Party Poker. I've been doing better than expected. I've tightened up my starting hands against players who will see any draw or pair to seventh street. I won about 70BB in three sessions this past week. I am considering bumping up in limits, but I might just keep playing ABC stud at the micro limits to keep up the discipline. I'm trying to devote a small portion of my poker time towards improving my play in other games. I'm attempting to become a better overall poker player, and besides, my photographic memory comes in handy when figuring out drawing odds in Stud after four players folded all their cards on fifth street. Stud might be boring for some, but it's not as gut wrenching as Omaha hi/lo. If I played as much Stud as Hold'em on a daily basis, I might have the opportunity to become a better Stud player. Let's face it, I've been playing Stud longer than Hold'em, but I've ignored one of my poker strengths and focused on the fast paced action in Hold'em. I'm going to try to set aside more time towards improving my Stud game, including reading and re-reading Felicia's insightful posts on Stud.

Bad Beat City

I dished out more bad beats this past week than ever before. I took down some monster pots and knocked people out of tourneys with inferior hands. I know everyone bitches and moans about bad beats, but how many do you actually win?

A list of my victims...
A5s beats AJs
J10 catches a river straight and beats AKs
JJ beats AA when I flopped quads
Q9 beats AQ
89s beats AJ

You have to bad beat opponents in tournaments if you expect to advance. That's just the way it is. You have to win your coinflips and you have to hold off and dish out bad beats over the long haul. And of course, I'll list a few of my bad beats.

Bad Beats of the Week...
AA lost to K7
KK lost to JJ
QQ lost to 99
QQ lost to J7s
10-10 lost to 84o
AKs lost to Q10
AK lost to Q7
AK lost to J9
AQs lost to Q3
AQ lost to 10-8s

Ironically, I found AA eight times and only once did they get cracked when some nimrod caught his second pair on the river. I found myself with pocket 88s a shitload of times. I usually muck 88 in early position, but aggressively play my middle pairs in late position. Twice I got booted from a tournament with 88... losing to A4s and I ran into a guy slowplaying KK.

Big Slick fucked me a few times. It's probably my most overrated starting hand and I either have problems playing it too strongly or I'm at fault for not being disciplined enough to lay it down after a troublesome flop. I lost two big coin flips with AK... losing to pocket 10s and pocket 9s... getting knocked out of both tournaments. How many times are you booted with AK? It's such a dangerous hand. For the next decade I'll be pondering how to correctly play AK. Someday I'll figure it out.

Hand of the Week

Sunday morning, I found KK in late position. With a few limpers in the pot, I raised 6x BB. I got one caller. The flop: Js-8s-Jc. The first player checked, and I bet the pot. He check-raised me all in and I had a decision to make. Did he have the J? How about just AK? Or two suited cards? He's the type of guy that would call a huge bet preflop with just KJo or with 54s. The correct move was to fold. You have to play the cards on Party Poker. I typed in the chat... "I got KK. I've only laid these down twice!" poking fun at Phil Hellmuth in a recent WSoP episode. A few people got the reference and thought that was funny. The guy decided to show me his hand... the Hilton Sisters! I would have won if I called.

I had been trying to get myself to lay down big hands when I think they are beat. Normally, I would have called his bet right away. And as it goes, when I fold a big pair, I end up folding the winning hand. When I call in those situations... I'm almost always drawing dead. Bad timing with my big pocket pairs. If I can take anything away from this hand... is that I had the sensibility to lay down a hand when I thought I was beat. Good players fold good hands. I haven't been folding as much as I should.

Tournament Results on Party Poker this past week:

$5 Omaha hi/lo SNG (2): 5, 1
$5 Multitable NL: 835 out of 1534
$10 Multitable LIMIT: 97 out of 239
$10 Multitable NL: 129 out of 457
$10 Sub-Qualifiers Aussie Million B, SNG (2): 5, 1 (won a seat in the Qualifier)
$10 Qualifier, Million Guaranteed: 63 out of 366
$10 Qualifier European Open Satellite: 58 out of 150
$20 Multitable NL (2): 633 out of 1601; 224 out of 930
$30 SNG (2): 5, 1
$70 Qualifier Aussie Million B: 1 (won a seat in the Satellite)

Money invested: $194
Tournaments I made the prize money: 4
Gross Winnings: $175 + freerolls/seats in a $70 Qualifier and $600 Satellite
Profit/ROI: - $19 + two freerolls valued at over $670 + fees

I still have a shot at turning $11 into a trip to Australia! If you wanna watch from the rail, I'll be playing on Wednesday night, 11:15pm EST on Party Poker... $600 Aussie Million B Satellite. In the meantime, I have plenty of holes to plug in my game this week while trying to win enough money off of loose newbies to feed my Midnight $30 SNG habit.
posted by Pauly at 9/13/2004 01:02:00 PM | Permalink |

 
Dr. Pauly, $11, and the the Australian Poker Championships

"I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man's." - William Blake

Earlier in the week, I won a special $10 SNG... it was a Sub-Qualifier to the Crown Casino Aussie Million Dollar Satellite B. The winner got a seat (or a freeroll) into the actual $70 + $7 Qualifier...and yep, that was me. Party Poker has been running various tourneys 24 hours a day (check underneath the Single-Table Tournament tab, look for Special). I just played in the $70 single table Qualifier where the winner got a seat in the $600 Aussie Million Satellite B scheduled for next Wednesday. And yep, I was that winner. The $600 free roll might be the largest single prize I've netted on Party Poker. $11 and a dream right?

$10 + $1 Sub-Qualifier >
$70 Qualifier >
$600 Satellite >
Crown Casino Aussie Million

I'm just one multi table tournament win away from snagging an all expenses paid trip to Australia in January 2005. I never been there before. I'm always looking for excuses to travel to exotic lands and get obliterated in dive bars while hitting on the local soused female population. But hey, let's not shoot my entire load before I even get the condom on...

I'll start from the beginning. The Crown Casino in Melbourne hosts the Australian Poker Championships. (Here's the schedule.) Yesterday, I played in a Sub-Qualifier. It's basically a $10 SNG with the winner getting a seat in the Qualifier. Within the first three levels, six people got knocked out. It was a loose table, I played tight and folded everything. I was the shortstack. I doubled up with AK against 44. I river'd him when a majestic King saved me. After that successful coin flip battle, I never looked back. I took the chip lead when I took down a good sized pot with three remaining players. I had KQ and the board read: AQ63. Everyone limped and everyone checked on the flop. On the turn, I took a stab and moved all-in to steal the pot... with was probably the best hand. The shortstack called with a straight draw and I knocked him out. It was heads up and I like my chances heads up against a weak-tight player. I took down a small pot with AK and my A8s was bad beated by Q7. I got some solace when I knocked him out with Q9 vs. his K10s. I won... but at that time, I was confused because I didn't know exactly what I won. I eventually figured out that I had a free roll into any $70 + 7 Aussie B Qualifier.

Then on Saturday night, I decided to play my Qualifier. I waited for over an hour for people to sign up. I guess some people also won sub-Qualifiers and got to use the freeroll, but a few bought in directly from their Party Poker bankroll. It's basically a $70 SNG. The winner got a seat in the $600 Aussie Million Satellite.

Party Poker, 11:34pm EST... $70 + $7 Qualifier to Aussie Satellite B

Level 1: On the fifth hand, I limped in on the button with A10s. The flop: A37. One guy bet the pot. I raised and he called. A rag fell on the turn and he checked. I moved all in and he called with.... 38s... and no flush draw, just bottom pair. I doubled up and that win set me up for the rest of the tournament. And I play my best with a chip lead... the bigger my stack, the more I'm intoxicated with a fearless attitude. Alas, I still had that little angel sitting over my shoulder, who encouraged me to lay down AJ and 77 in LP.

Level 4: With two people gone, I had A10s again in the BB. I limped and caught a nut flush draw on the flop with top pair. I checked and K9s (without any draws) moved all in. I quickly called and caught my flush on the turn. It didn't matter. I had the guy beat the entire way and knocked out my second guy. I was the chip leader with T3600+. I lost a pot with A8s to AJ, but still held the lead with T2575.

Level 5: In consecutive hands, I caught pocket aces and the Hilton Sisters, getting no action for either.

Level 7: Four players left and I'm still in front. I caught a flurry of aces. AJ, A5s, AQ, A5... raised every pot and took them each down uncontested. Picking up all those blinds helped add to my ever growing stack of T4500+. The devil on my left was telling me, "Keep on speeding... full throttle!" and the angel was whispering, "Slow down. Patience and discipline."

Level 8: You have to win your coin flip situations. Your pocket pairs have to stand up against inferior hands. And you have to totally smack someone around with a river bad beat if you want to win a tournament. With four players left, the button pushed all in. I had A3s and called. I put him on a bluff-button-raise-steal. I was wrong. He had AJ. I was fucked when he flopped a set. I was saved when running spades completed the board and he left the table pretty pissed off. My brother and Daddy from Snail Trax were sweating me and that fired me up to stay focused and not fuck up my chance. One guy was knocked out and it was heads up. I had 4 to 1 chip advantage. And you know I love my chances heads up.

Level 9: It was quick and easy. Within ten hands heads up, I took him out. I raised with Q10 and he moved all-in with 86s. I flopped a full boat and Derek and Daddy sent their congrats in the chat before the hand was even over. I was pumped, thrilled, and of course had no clue when I'd be playing next. I checked the schedule and I'm the only one signed up for the $600 + $45 Aussie Million B Satellite due to start at 11:15pm EST on Wednesday Sept. 15th. Feel free to watch. I expect more players to sign up and win seats in Qualifiers.

Here's what I have a shot at winning on Wednesday:

1. Entry to the AUD $1,600 World Speed Poker Championship (USD $1,150 approx.)
2. Entry to the AUD $10,300 NL Hold'em Tournament (USD $7,400 approx.)
3. Hotel accommodation and USD $2,500 cash to cover my airfare.

In case you were wondering, USD = US Dollars and AUD = Australian Dollars. If I win, I get to play in two different events!

It was a good night. I caught cards and my table was filled with loose players who knocked each other out. That allowed me to sit and wait for good hands. Although, I'm playing some of my best in a long time. I had been on a roll all week at the tables on Party Poker. I won a $30 SNG, won my first Omaha SNG in a very long time, and won the Sub-Qualifier and Qualifier. I wouldn't gush about my play. I still have plenty of room for improvement, especially in tournaments. Let's see if I can catch enough cards and bluff my way to Australia.
posted by Pauly at 9/12/2004 01:53:00 AM | Permalink |

 
In Memoriam

Jason Defazio
James Riches
Scott Hazelcorn
Matthew Burke
Charlie Heeran
Steven Schlag
Nigel Thompson

You will never be forgotten.
posted by Pauly at 9/11/2004 08:33:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Hit and Run Quads

"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting." - Buddha

I've been busy looking for a new apartment and trying to cram for my Fantasy Football draft. I like my team's prospects more than my actual chances of finding a moderately priced apartment that's just a tad wider than the dirt hole Saddam Hussein crawled out of last year. Pressed for time, I had a few quickie sessions on Party Poker over the last few days. The other night, I played with Ugarte for a little bit on the NL ring tables. He saw me take down a pot with AA on the button. I flopped an ace and got one guy to push his chips all in.

This past week, I was issuing bad beats more frequently than the L.A.P.D. on a muggy summer night. I cracked AK with AQ when I flopped top pair, top kicker and some guy pushed his stack all in with Big Slick. That was the first hand I posted when I sat down! Nothing's cooler than doubling up right away. I also bad beated a dude holding suited Slick when I caught a river straight after he flopped two pair. He tried to slow play and foolishly let me catch my Queen. Nothing's cooler than watching your four outer spike the nuts on the turn, aside from the moments after your opponent to pushes his stack all in with two pair and you hear those cheesy Party Poker fireworks going off celebrating your win.

Yesterday afternoon, I cracked pocket aces when I flopped quads with JJ. He pushed his stack all in with a board: 6JJ. It wasn't pretty after he saw the result. He berated me for a full orbit before I turned his chat off. I was going to limp in with the Jerkoffs, and made a loose call on the raise. Of course I would have folded if I knew he had aces. I'd love to crack Phil Helmuth's AA in a WPT event, with the assistance of the Hilton Sisters, only to flop quads, send Vince Van Patten spinning off his chair, and slow playing Helmuth's whiney ass to the river. I'd crack a smile while I stacked up his chips while he berated me for not folding to his substantial raise preflop.

Stud Boy

Congrats to Felicia for taking third in a big Stud event at the Four Queens. Inspired, I went slumming at the low limit Stud tables. I fared pretty well in a short hit and run session taking in a nice 40BB in an hour against a table of calling stations that don't understand how to fold. After two sets of mine were cracked after I was beat on seventh street straights on consecutive hands, I won most of my horde back on two quick hands. The first one was uglier than Ricki Lake's baby pictures. I caught a straight on seventh street after I chased one of my six outs all the way down. The second one was pretty. I was dealt 99/J. I caught my set on fourth street in a five way pot. I checked then called a bet. By sixth street, I hit quad 9s. One guy raised the pot with xx/Qc10c5c7d and chased everyone out. I raised, and he reraised and it was capped. On the river I assumed he got his flush. I led out with the betting and we reraised each other until it was capped. He caught his flush on the river, and I took down a monster pot. Great session for me. I originally started as stud player in college and it wasn't until I moved to Seattle and went to a few casinos out there that I was introduced to Texas Hold'em. People play too loose and think top pair is a decent hand on seventh street with other people showing possible straights and flushes.

I never hit Quads twice in a day... in two different games. I flopped quads last week in an Omaha hi/lo SNG.

Party Tournaments

I played in a two $20 multi table tournaments this week. The first one, I came in 636th out of 1612 when I flopped top two pair with KQs and lost to 88's set. First place paid $6400+. Yesterday morning, I took 334th place out of 930. First place got $3800+. I lost when my 88 ran into KK.

I took a shot at a $10 SNG Aussie Qualifier in one of the tighter tables I've played with in a very long time. There were 9 players going into Level 7. I came in 5th when I was short stacked and moved al in with K4, losing to K6.

I finally cracked my cold streak of bubbling out of $30 SNGs with a win. I was up very early when someone went all in with an A on the board when I was holding AK and raised the pot preflop. He had A9s. I blew a huge chip lead when it was three way and was down to my last T800. I stormed back and won it all, with the help of some river suckouts and winning those coinflips. That was a fun SNG, it was all over the place when it was three way... everyone had the chiplead at some point and no one could knock anyone out when they were shortstacked.

I continued my futility at the Omaha hi/lo tables with another crappy 5th place finish in an SNG. I'll find some more time to play Omaha and a few more tournaments this weekend.

Crush Your Bookie

Daddy is having a contest for all you football fans. It's called Crush Your Bookie, where you pick three winner each week. Visit his site for more details!
posted by Pauly at 9/10/2004 02:43:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Last Chance: Pauly's Pub Football Pool

Anyone interested in joining my football pool? If so you have less than 12 hours to join up! The season starts tonight.

Last year my team Shakedown Street tied with my brother's team Chico's Bail Bonds for the Championship in the fourth annual Pauly's Pub Football Pool. Who will win it this year?

The entry fee is $10... all of which goes to the total prize pool. FYI, I am not making one cent on this pool.

First place will win 50%, Second place will get 30%, and third place will get 20% of the total prize pool. So far we got a couple of poker bloggers in the mix with some of my friends.

And of course, this pool is with point spreads.

Visit this link: Football Pool to sign up for an entry. After you do that, email me, and I'll send you my group name and password. It takes just a few minutes to set up.

You must snail mail me the money no later than Sept 30th. I'll send you my mailing information after the season begins. Best of luck!!!

Uncle Jodd's Band

Last night, I sat through four long ass hours at my fantasy football league draft. The NYC area was hit hard with the last bits of Hurricane Frances and a shitload of rain was dumped on the city and surrounding areas. Half our league lives on Long Island and the draft was scheduled to be in NYC at 7pm. The LI guys never made it due to horrible flooding and had to draft players via online. That function was already set up for several teams (1/3 of our league) who live in Miami and the LI boys hopped abaord. And only the city guys made the draft... live in person. My partner, Senor, lives in Providence, RI, so I had to be at the draft since he couldn't make it. So the drafting process was slow, especially with 14 teams. I had the second pick. It was easy. Here's my team:

Uncle Jodd's Band
RB: Priest Holmes, Kevin Jones (r), Charlie Garner, Chris Perry (r)
QB: Marc Bulger & Jyle Boller
WR: Joe Horn, Eddie Kennison, Donald Driver, Travis Taylor
TE: LJ Smith, Anthony Becht
K: Adam Vinetari, Bill Cundiff
D: Carolina & Indy

I made a risky move picking up Kevin Jones on Detroit. I like what I've seen this preseason. I felt much better this morning when Boy Genius gave me a thumbs up on the starting RB on his homestate team. These 14 team leagues are insane!! $360 per team with $2200 to the winner... it's a crap shoot. But I like Priest Holmes, one of my favorite players to watch in the NFL! In true tradition, I drafted one NY Jet... Anthony Becht in the 15th round!! I had the chance to pick Pennington, but opted for Bulger instead. I would go nuts if I had to watch my fantasy QB every weekend!

Why is my team called Uncle Jodd's Band? When I was seeing The Dead at Great Woods with Senor this past summer, we decided that we'd use a Grateful Dead theme in picking our team name. Have you noticed that my football pool team name is also named after a Grateful Dead song? There's a Dead song called Uncle John's Band and we tweaked it a bit and included Senor's son's name... Jodd. We just replaced the first names... and that's how we got: Uncle Jodd's Band. We're hoping the fat man can help us out with this year's team!
posted by Pauly at 9/09/2004 10:40:00 AM | Permalink |

 
One Man Gathers What Another Man Spills

"By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning." - Lao Tzu

I had my first full week of poker playing in a over a month. I logged plenty of hours around and about especially on Party Poker. And after closing out a profitable August, I found myself sputtering along in the first days of September. I fared well at the NL ring tables, a place where I generate the majority of my poker winnings online. My philosophy this summer was to win at the ring tables and parlay those winnings into SNGs and other tournaments. This past week's highlight was winning a 30 person Qualifier to the World Speed Poker Championships in Estonia and getting a $200 + $15 seat to the satellite. And the lowlight had to be the five bubble finishes in various SNGs. Making the money in one of the $30 SNGs could have been the difference between a down week and a break even week.

I threw over $500 of my bankroll in various tournaments this past two week, with an unimpressive return on investment (ROI) of a little over $300. But that doesn't include the $200 seat I won, so I guess you can say, I'm even in the last two weeks playing online tournaments.

I ran into three bubble finishes in $30 SNGs. Those hurt. I had AQ lose to AK when we both flopped an ace. I had the chip lead in another SNG after on the first hand I tripled up with Q10s in the BB. Some guy with AA slowplayed and I flopped a straight (flop: J98 rainbow). Of course he pushed it all-in as did some dude with J9o and I won the race and tripled up... on the first hand! Later on in that SNG, I moved all-in with KK and of course, I lost to AA. It's so hard to lay down KK when people on Party Poker push all-in preflop with any pair it seems. I can't recall how many times I layed down the Hilton Sisters or JJ, only to realize that two guys with 99 and 77 pushed it all-in. My other bubble finish was not pretty. I was the victim if a river bad beat when my AK fell to J6o after I flopped an ace and he moved all-in before I could act. He bluffed with nothing and I called with a pair of aces, king kicker. He caught running jacks to beat me. Bubbled out again.

I bumped up from the $5 multi table NL tournaments to the $10 ones. Party Poker runs those at 8am, and I had been up early all week writing at dawn, so I was already up to play in them. The field is substantially lower than the $5 ones, and I like my chances in a 300 person tournament. Both Derek and myself played in a 2000 person (capped out) $5 multis this weekend, and those are insane with over a thousand people KO'd in the first hour. I cashed in one of my first $10 multis, taking 25th out of 310. I blew the chiplead early and could have folded my way to the final table. Maybe I should have, but then again, that's not my style of play. I attack with the big stack.

I made a mistake one day, signing up for a $10 limit tourney instead if a NL tourney. Talk about a slow grind. I had AK cracked twice by crapola and lost most of my stack to a serious of bad beats. Be sure to check twice before you sign up for any SNG and tourney. That will save you time and money in the long run.

Oh, Omaha. I bubbled out of a few Omaha hi/lo SNGs. I had Al Can't Hang sweat me in one and all I could think of was... "How boring is watching Omaha hi/lo from the rail?" Even a loose maniac like me knows that folding and tight play is rewarded in Omaha hi/lo. I recalled reading something from both Annie Duke and Felicia... about having all four cards in your hand working for you in Omaha, and I stuck to that theory when deciding which starting hands to play, as I grew tighter than ever. Although I didn't cash out in an SNG, I learned a few new things. My learning curve in Omaha is much greater than in hold'em. I suggest you try the lower limit Omaha SNGs on Party Poker. They are filled with fishy players who think raising the low hand is a winning play. Yes, I used to be one of those fishy Omaha newbies, until a helpful WWII vet in Florida clued me in last December when I was playing Omaha at the dogtrack while I waited for my hold'em game. The only highlight this week in Omaha was flopping quad Kings. Running low cards made a couple of people nut lows and I kept jamming the pots on the turn and river, and they kept calling and even raising me on the river! It was a monster pot, and I'm sure both guys who had the low actually lost money on their A2xx hands. Sure, these games are brutal, but I need to keep my Omaha game somewhat sharp since the guys at the Blue Parrot like calling rounds of Omaha.

I played with a bunch of bloggers on Party Poker this past week. I played with Daddy from Snail Trax early in the week at the same table with Young Poker. This past weekend, Maudie took my entire stack when I called her modest raise with AQo in the big blind. Let me say that the hand before (or it could have been one or two hands before), Maudie won a pot with KK. That was the last hand ever I put her on at that point, especially when she raised a smaller amount than she had been with big pairs. So the flop came: Q87. I checked, she bet, I moved all-in and she called. Of course she had KK and hit another King on the turn to seal the win. Ouch!

At that point one of the guys at the table had a Q8 theory, stating that Queens and Eights always flop together on Party Poker. And you know what, within the next hour, I swear that every fifth flop had both an Q and and 8 on the board. And yeah, I played the two Q-8 hands I was dealt, to test the theory, and I missed both flops. I played for a while at the same table with Maudie, Bad Blood, and Otis. It's always fun to play with other bloggers because I feel like that scene in Rounders when they all go down to Atlantic City to try to win money off of tourists.

I witnessed Quads mania this week. I saw both Daddy flop quad 9s and Bad Blood take down a pot with Quad Jacks at two different times. And even poor Otis, slumming at the $25 NL tables, lost a pot when his two pair lost to quad 4s!

The strangest hand of the week happened in the wee hours on Monday morning on Party Poker. I played in a $9 + $1 Party Poker Million IV Qualifier at 2:15 am. In level 5, I had T2400+ sitting decent in 21st place out of 58. In middle position, I found AA! Well, UTG limped, the next guy was the short stack at the table and he moved all-in. I pushed all my chips in hoping to stay heads up. The button called as did UTG. I had them all covered. So what did everyone go all-in with? K-10, J9s, and 55. I hate my chances in a multi-way pot with AA, especially with non-made hands. Luckily I was cracked by the shortstack (K-10 he flopped two pair!), so I was able to win the side pot(s) with the other hands and break even. He had over T4000 after that win.

Last Week's Bad Beats:
AA lost to J7s
AA lost to 33
AA lost to K10
KK lost to 67
KK lost to Q8
QQ lost to J10
QQ lost to 93
AKs lost to A10s
AKs lost to J6
AK lost to J9
AK lost to 10-8
10-10 to 24o

Estonia?

So what happened in the Speed Poker Satellite? I came in 21st place. Only 41 players entered. Half the field won Qualifiers and the rest bought in for $200 + $15. Party Poker was only giving away a seat for every 25 players, so the prize structure was: 1st place = Estonia prize package, 2nd = $1600, 3rd = $960, 4th = $640. I would have been happy coming in second place! The levels were 20 minutes long. I didn't play well. I was too soft and tentative. I only played a few hands and folded two big hands to the tourney chip leader who probably was bluffing. Normnally, I would have called at least one of the two times, but I passively folded. And the one time I called the loose-idiot, he actually had a decent hand. OK, I called a modest raise preflop with JJ. The board was 963. He doubled the pot with a bet and I folded JJ. Did he have a set or overpairs? I didn't want to find out the hard way. Another time, I folded AK in BB to an all-in raise. That was probably the better fold, but laying down JJ was tough. Of course when I was shortstcked in Level 3, He raised my blind on the button. I made the decision to call him the next time he tried to bully me. That was the last hand before the break and I was just under T1000. I moved all-in with 66. He had a better hand than I expected: AJs. He flopped two pair and I was fucked, kicked out in 21st place. Was it the best call? That's up for debate. But I stand behind my decision to enter a coin flip race with the chip leader. I needed to double up and I put my chips all-in when I had the best hand. If I had a bigger stack I would have let the small pocket pair go. You have to win those coin flips. I didn't and instead of packing my bags to Estonia, I'm writing about my loss.

Tournament Results on Party Poker this past week:

$5 Omaha hi/lo SNG (4): 4,9,5,4
$5 NL SNG: 2
$5 three table SNG (4): 19,7,9,12
$5 NL multi: 633 out of 2000
$9 Qualifier PP Million IV: 20 out of 130
$9 Qualifier World Speed Poker Championships: 1 out of 30 (won a seat in the satellite!)
$10 LIMIT multi: 98 out of 210
$10 NL multi (2): 215 out of 480; 25 out of 310
$30 NL SNG (6): 1, 10, 4, 4, 7, 4
$200 Satellite to World Speed Poker Championships: 21 out of 41

Money invested: $311
Tournaments that I made the prize money: 4
Gross winnings: $187.50 + $200 seat in the World Speed Poker satellite
Profit/ROI: - $123.50

More to come this week! I hope to improve my bubble situations in $30 SNGs.
posted by Pauly at 9/07/2004 08:20:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Fantasy Pauly

Anyone interested in joining my football pool? It's back. Wasting all my Sundays with the NFL... Last year my team Shakedown Street tied with my brother's team Chico's Bail Bonds for the Championship in the third annual Pauly's Pub Football Pool. Who will win it this year?

There are some new twists. There is a entry fee this year. $10... all of which goes to the total prize pool. FYI, I am not making one cent on this pool.

First place will win 50%, Second place will get 30%, and third place will get 20% of the total prize pool. So far we got a couple of poker bloggers in the mix with some of my friends.

And of course, this pool is with point spreads.

Visit this link: Football Pool to sign up for an entry. After you do that, email me, and I'll send you my group name and password. It takes just a few minutes to set up.

The season starts this Thursday! Please set up your team before noon on Thursday.

You must snail mail me the money no later than Sept 30th. I'll send you my mailing information after the season begins. Best of luck!!!

Alas, college football kicked off this weekend. So how did everyone do in my college pool??

Week 1 Update Pauly's Pub College Football Pool

Overall Results:
1 Austin Drunks (Matt S.) 49
2 The Venetian Blinds (Poker Nerd) 48
3 AlCantHang (Mr. Hang) 47
4 Chico's Bail Bonds (Derek) 46
4 Buckeye! (Signor Ferrari) 46
6 Landow (Landow )43
7 Killer Gophers (Halverson) 38
8 WhatyaTalkin AboutWillis? (Dr. Pauly) 37
8 Muff State Pie Boys (Spider) 37
8 Team Senor (Senor) 37
11 Porkchops & Apple Sauce (J. Moore) 36
11 Ugarte's Last Stand (Ugarte) 36
13 Cumberland Blues (K. Hungus) N/A

Congrats to Austin Drunks. They are the Team of the Week!

The Skinny: One of the upsets of the week was Michigan State losing to Rutgers. And I dunno about you guys, but I had 10 points on LSU... who came from behind to win it after the Oregon State kicker missed 3 extra points, including the deciding one in OT! That was close, as was the Colorado-Colorado State game.
posted by Pauly at 9/05/2004 10:41:00 PM | Permalink |

 
Quality Scribes

There's been some good writing out there in bloggerdom this past week. Yesterday I actually went to every blog I have linked up. It took me forever to visit everyone's blog, but I found some qaulity poker musings.

HDouble has an interesting tale entitled The Greatest Poker Monologue Ever. Only in Hollyweird, eh? Both JD from Cheap Thrills and Mas from Genius of Poker have various trip reports from Vegas and the Borgata. Check those out. Double As had some helpful things to saying about Playing against a LAG. Lastly, the Poker Chronicles had some of these interesting observations:

1. Most players, even the winners, don't understand the game.
2. Party players are so bad that weak tight players can be winners.
3. Players give up more edge than they realize.
4. Players are unwilling to try to learn different styles of play.

Read the rest of his entry, Borgata and August Recap.

Sadly, The Poker Nerd ended his run this past week at blogging. I hope he returns after a short hiatus.

Rough Day at the Tables

I played on Party Poker today and had the chance to play with Daddy for a little bit. I watched him take down a nice pot when he flopped quad nines!! He also saw the bad beat of the day... I lost with the Hilton Sisters to 93o. It was pretty ugly.

Poker Playing Music in the Last 24 Hours...
1. Phil Lesh and Phriends
2. Galactic
3. Thelonius Monk
4. Traffic
5. Medeski, Martin & Wood with Marc Ribot
posted by Pauly at 9/03/2004 11:51:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Speed Poker in Estonia

I've never been to Estonia before. I've never played speed poker before either, so I cancelled my trip to the Hamptons for the weekend to play in the World Speed Poker Championships Satellite on Party Poker, this Saturday at 6:15 pm EST.

I won a $9 + $1 qualifier Thursday morning. I outlasted thirty other players and won a seat to the upcoming $200 + $15 satellite. The winner of that will get an all-expense-paid package for the World Speed Poker Championships to be held in Tallinn, Estonia in mid September. For every 25 entries in Saturday's satellite, Party Poker will be giving away a seat. The last few of these satellites had about 40-50 players. Party Poker gave away one seat and paid out cash to places two through four.

When I told my brother that I won a seat in the satellite, he said, "You'll enjoy Estonia. It's beautiful this time of year."


Welcome to Estonia!
This is the third time I won a Qualifier to a satellite. Last April I won two qualifers for the WPT Championships at the Bellagio... and grinded my way to 12th in one of the satellites, missing my shot at a WPT seat by nine places.

You'll know where I'll be on Saturday at 6:15. I'm gunning for a trip to a country I would never have dreamed about visiting. These satellites are always a crap shoot. But, I am looking forward to the opportunity for solid competition against some decent players.

Here's the tournament's website: World Speed Poker Championships. It explains what the hell speed poker is all about. Here's a bit:

In a nutshell - it's a poker tournament where the clock never ever stops running. The dealer deals and starts the 15 second player clock when the action is on you No time to think about all the possibilities or your hand is declared dead when the 15 second bell rings!!!

If that doesn't scare you - how about this? They have 2 dealers for every table - one to shuffle and one to deal. Hand rate is expected to hit 50 hands an hour, and it gets better!!!!

Did we mention what the "player countdown clocks" look like? Well you are going to love the look!!! 15 of the sexiest looking young girls in Estonia have been signed up to stand behind the players and hold the time clock. If that is not enough to put you off your game we don’t know what is.

For the satellite on Party Poker, it's just like a regular NL tourney... no shot clock, or a scantly clad Estonia beauty taping me on the shoulder shouting, "Faster, Dr. Pauly! Faster!"

I wonder if this is all a set up by the Estonian mafia? When we get there, they are going to drug us, then rob us of our kidneys and other vital organs for sale on the Russian black market.

So how did I win the Qualifier? I treated the 30 person tourney like a three table SNG. Recently, I had some experience playing three table SNGs, winning a 3 table $30 SNG once, and making the money in several $5 ones. The key to winning in three table tournaments is tight play in the opening rounds, then the ability to switch gears as soon as the tables get shorthanded, to jump into the fight and aggressively attack pots and steal blinds. And you must strike quick before someone gets KOd and the tables break and the empty seats are filled. Just before the tables break up (from 3 to 2 and from 2 to 1) there is often an extended amount of time when you quickly go from nine players to five players at your table. Being able to adjust your style of play on the fly is often a necessary factor in winning. Overall, well-rounded play is rewarded. The ability to play your best poker at a full table and a short handed table is a valuable asset. If you make the final table in one of these three table SNGs, you'll go through two periods of shorthanded play. That's the time to loosen up and play a lot more hands in late position. I also never limp in those situations, raising with almost every premium hand and even some marginal ones from any position. It's a great opportunity to add to a big stack or help replenish a thin short stack.

Levels 1-4: Basically, I folded everything. I won pots with AQs and AKs. I doubled up against K4o with suited Slick against a guy who played any ace, king, or two suited cards. I flopped a set with 55 and won a race with a guy who was on a flush draw. I only lost one hand (77 to K2) and it was a bad beat on the river. When it got shorthanded, I played a lot of hands in late position, often stealing pots with nothing after everyone checked on the flop. By the end of the fourth level, I was 2nd in chips out of 11 remaining players with T3760.

Levels 5-6: At the end of level 5, I made the final table and was happy to be third in chips. I decided to sit back and slow down. I folded everything in sight. The chip leader had a 3 to 1 advantage over me, and I was in 3rd place! I nearly doubled up against 10-9s. I had AQs and caught a miracle straight on the river to win and knocked out a guy. A few hands later, I took down KJs with AJs. With T9400+ I was second in chips with four players left.

Level 7: I thrive on three handed play, mainly because I think I'm the strongest when I'm heads up, and I'm eagerly awaiting to see who I'll go up against. I'll test players at that point to see how they'll react later on when it's heads up. Do they fold to raises or play back wiith a reraise? Do they slowplay hands? With AA on the button, I popped the pot for a ridiculous size bet. The big stack pushed me all in with 45s! I called and doubled up. I had T19,880 and was the new chip leader. When it got heads up, I had a 2 to 1 chip lead which I almost increased to 3 to 1 after I bombarded the guy with plenty of position raises. He folded everytime. The one time he played back at me, I had 55. I called his all-in and I was fucked because he showed 66. A five flopped! But my celebration was short-lived when a six spiked on the turn. The chip lead was gone. At the end of the level, I had 17k to his 13k.

Level 8: I won a pot with AKs to get back a 2 to 1 chip lead. A few hands laer I found suited Big Slick again. I slowplayed and I just called his small raise preflop. When an ace hit on the flop, I moved all-in. He called with A4 and he never caught up. He won $22.50 for his troubles. I won a seat at the satellite.

OK, that's how it happened. Log into Party Poker Saturday early evening if you want to sweat me. Look under the Special Tournament tabs: Speed Poker Championships Satellite $200 + $15. See you there.
posted by Pauly at 9/03/2004 02:01:00 AM | Permalink |

 
$10 Multi Drama

"You win by not losing. Except when it gets to be very shorthanded (final 2 or 3). If you get that far, it's a matter of headsup skills." - Poker Penguin's Law of Tournament Poker

I woke up early to write some thoughts about politics and the RNC. Afterwards, I fired up Party Poker and decided to play in their 8am $10 multi-table NL tournament. 310 others signed up and top 40 made the money with $775 for first place.

Levels 1-4: I played zero hands out of the blinds. I folded everything else and read poker blogs, the Wall Street Journal, and my favorite hooker blog while eating poundcake and sipping green tea. I was chipped down to T810 and I was roughly 1/3 of the average stack with 132 players remaining at the first break.

Level 5: I got a table change and I was the short stack at my new table. With A4s UTG I moved all-in. It was one of those "Fuck it!" moments that we all have once in a while. I had a gut feeling. Of course I was wrong. The big stack in the LB called with AKs. I flopped a 4 and bad beat the chip leader to double up (T1620) with some breathing room. I even apologized in the chat for my fishy move. I'm not a young gun who watched too many episodes of the WPT and think I'm a Gus Hansen clone. I pride myself in doing my own thing in life, and that often requires me listening to the voice inside of me. Sometimes it gives me horrible advice.... but most of the time, it's cajoled me into going places I never would have had the balls to go otherwise.

Level 6: I reraised the chip leader with AQo in LP. She pushed me all in with her A10 and I doubled up again with T3915. Another table change and in my first orbit, I picked up the blinds with AQs and K10s. By the end of the level, I increased my stack by 6x from the first break. There were 80 players left and I was slightly above the average stack size.

Level 7: Winning coin flip situations is crucial. Those middle pocket pairs have to hold up against A-x over the length of multi-table tourneys if you want to make a final table. I won a race with the Hilton Sisters vs. A10 and doubled up to over T7800. Although I was 4th in my table in chips, I was 10th overall and feeling confident. Getting lucky and hitting flops is even better. I called the small blind with Q9s. I hit an opened straight draw and a flush draw. There were three players also in the pot and I checked-called the min. bet and hit a flush on the turn and took down a lucky pot, in a hand I never would have played if I didn't have the chips.

Level 8: I was a tad over T10k in chips. Then I caught pocket 8s three times in one orbit. I raised each time, picking up the blinds twice and then taking down AJ when the flop came out: A38. I bet the pot on the flop and the chipleader put me all-in. I doubled up to T20,000+ and found myself 2nd in chips overall with 50 players left and I was 3.5x the average stack.

Level 9: I lost a 1/4 of my chips to a short stack when my AJ fell to AQ. I wasn't getting playable hands, and folded plenty of small-aces and suited kings. By the end of the level I was still 3rd in chips with 47 players left.

Level 10: 88 in the BB. Nothing is sweeter than flopping your set with an Ace on a rainbow board in a multi-way pot. I checked, a guy with an ace checked, and so did two guys in late position. On the turn the guy in late position bet and we all called. On the river, I checked my set, the ace checked, the guy in late position bet the pot, I called, the ace moved all-in (check raise). Both guys called and so did I. My trips took down a nice sized pot. I was the chip leader with over T24k. I knew at that point, I wasn't going to win. I had the chip lead to early with 42 players left and the top 40 paying out.

Level 11: I bad beated AQ with AJ when I caught a river straight. T28k and shocked. I made the money and was 1st out of 40th.

Level 13: With 25 players left, I had T22,000. I was third in chips at my table and fourth overall. I had been playing with two huge stacks for the last three levels. We all took turns alternating as the chip leader. In LP, I raised with AJs. I big blind called me. She was the chip leader. The flop: AJ7 with two diamonds. I had clubs and moved all-in after the little blind checked to me. She called and caught a river flush to knock me out and have almost T50K in chips! Yeah she ended up winning it all and I got stiffed with 25th place and a lousy $22.50 in prize money.

Oh well. I played solid. I'd rather go out knowing at the time I bet all my chips, I had the best hand and was river'd... instead of me making a bonehead move and losing my chips on a semi-bluff draw. I hit a lot of flops with my middle pairs and I got lucky a few times and dished out a few bad beats. That's how you win tournaments, like the Penguin said, by simply... not losing pots. Sounds basic, but only play in pots you can win.
posted by Pauly at 9/02/2004 02:19:00 AM | Permalink |

 
Pauly's Pub College Football Pool

For the last few years I have been running a series of fantasy games and pools via espn.com... and my friends have been battling one another for bragging rights in various Pauly's Pub pools. I will be running a couple this football season.

So, I'd like to invite my fellow bloggers (and a couple of loyal readers) to join my first pool... the infamous College Football Pick'em Pool.

It's free to join and it takes just a few minutes to set up an account on espn.com. The winner of this year's pool will get either an authentic Pauly painting or a Phish t-shirt.

The season begins this Saturday, Sept. 4th. You have to sign up and do your picks before noon. The season is 12 or 13 weeks long. Once you set up your team and account, shoot me an email (or leave your email address in the comments) and I'll tell you my group name and password.

Helpful links:
College Pick'em Frontpage
How to Play

Last year, my buddy Spider's team Muff State Pieboys was crowned champion of the second annual Pauly's Pub College Football pool. Who will win it this year? Already, Signor Ferrari, and a couple of fellow poker bloggers signed up (Derek, Mr. Hang and Mr. Halverson)... so I'm hoping to get a decent showing.

Any questions, shoot me an email. Take care... and let's get ready to gamble on the Saturday afternoon misfortunes of 19 year old kids!

P.S. And if you are into NFL football, don't fear, I'll be running a pro pool as well. That one will be for cash prizes!! Wait until next week for details.
posted by Pauly at 9/01/2004 07:32:00 PM | Permalink |