I guess they're just printing it...

I had 1 hour of play time last night. Big Red was tired and opted to head to bed early last night, so I took advantage and sat in 2 $2/$4 Limit tables on UB. I should have known that the tables were teaming with danger, when I saw so many of this level tables, with 5+ on each waiting list. But I figured the fish were biting I might as well drop a line in the waters. Well, it didn't turn out so well. Hyper aggressive table dwellers, were there raising every pot...seeing every flop...couple that with none of my pairs hitting their fair share of 1:8 chance of hitting a set, and none of my Big Hands hitting, or when I did have cowboys, nobody sticking around, even when I didn't even get the chance to raise. I resisted going on tilt, but damn it's tough to do when you're looking at your stats at two tables. And you've been dealt 60+ hands at each table, your money has dwindled on each to an equivalent amount. On one table you're showing a 10% win ratio, not to do with money, just win or lose. And you're seeing 25% of the flops. On the other table, you have won EXACTLY ONE HAND, in the 60 that you've been dealt. I recognized that I let them get the better of me, finally, and thank goodness Big Red called me to bed at 11:00pm, cause I was staged to friggin' blow it all on these @$$hole$! WTF!!! how do these guys do it? I know they sat with $200, and there's a few of them at each table, and more than a couple of them are up over $300, playing like this. The hand I got frustrated on and stayed in to see what was going on. I'm the big blind...one of the maniacs raises, another reraises, and finally another caps it preflop. It just keeps going. The one who took it down and was the reraise...and continued firing at the pot, was holding A-7os, from Middle Position! Even when you hit an Ace you've gotta believe you've got kicker trouble, right...WRONG! No fear poker. No sense poker. It just mystifies me...is there no risk in their minds. I think he took down a record $87 pot on that hand, at this low limit table. How do they do it? I wouldn't have stayed in, much less continued to raise/reraise, and then even after hitting the ace, I wouldn't have continued more of the same, for fear of my kicker. But he had a pair...and it was great, and he loved it...and just friggin' git 'r done dipshit! WOW, I think I'm more on tilt now than I was last night. Long story short...I know too late...they nearly picked me clean. I got out with less than my dignity. I'm back down to $700 on UB...AGAIN. Which abso-friggin'-lutely SUCKS! Silver lining still up a whopping $50 bucks from my last deposit there...and I still have to keep reminding myself that all of this and the money from other sites is all the product of the initial $90 deposit that I did so very long ago! I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,300-$1,400 online. Although some of it is trapped there. If withdrawals were easier, last night, I would have probably cashed out, and sworn off poker for good! Don't tell Big Red!

As the picture I included this time implies, and the title of the post...I think these players are printing their own money, the way they treat it...They don't respect it, the game or themselves...but unfortunately last night especially they were being rewarded for it all, heavily and I like many others were getting caught in the friggin' crossfire! I truly believe that had I stayed at the table...I would have been stuck for every chip I'd sat down with. In the words of WORM..."...you sat down with the Mad Russian and he picked your pockets." Of course his next words were, "...we gotta get you back in the game!" All I could do was make notes on each of them, label them ALL as absolute maniacs...might have called them a few other choice names. Called myself an IDIOT for hanging around...etc... I guess if I come across them again, and if they even remember, they may have me labelled as a fish, since they may have perceived a great deal of weakness, where the fact of the matter was it was just a string of shitty cards! At least that's what I keep trying to tell myself.

I know how much thought I'm giving to the events of last night's short lived session, I wonder just how much time these douchebags, spend on reflecting on the previous day's play?

Some days, I just really hate this game, which has become such an obsession.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Oscar Night

Well it's that time...again...Oscar Night, aka The Academy Awards. But Big Red possesses the remote, and she lives for these awards show. So, it's a secret to a long marriage...my secret is OUT! I'm watching the red carpet arrivals right now. Most of them are very gracious...some of them are a bit too much into themselves. Somewhere along the road they bought too much into their own celebrity. I'm not sure who I would like to see win in any of the categories. I guess The Departed should be in my mind, since it is one of the few movies that I've seen that are among the front runners. So many of the others I didn't see. I haven't watched Babel, although it is lying on the end table right now. I probably can't convince her to pop it in and watch it instead of the awards show.

So far the most annoying part of the show for me has been Ryan Seacrest. But he's been getting on my last nerve on American Idol as well. So he's on my list already. I'm sure he's crushed. And what's up with all the angst between he and Simon on Idol anyway? Well now the Red Carpet part is coming to an end, and the show's about to start. Oh and one last thing, Nicole Kidman's dress is hideous, but these colossal suck ups are saying they love it! And can they gush over Jennifer Hudson and Dreamgirls any friggin' more?!?

For some poker content. We played at the Yanok's on Friday, and actually stayed for both games, this time. I cashed in both. I won $40 in the first game, with a low finish. Then, when there were fewer players involved, I finished 2nd to Mr. Yanok himself! That paid $60. So $40 in and $100 out, less another $40 for Big Red's entry, so up only$20 for the night. Which I pissed away the following night at my own home. Yes, we hosted a cash game, and actually had 11 people plus a baby along in tow! When the hands that take you out, or at least cripple you are when you are holding 2 full houses and trips, it just ain't gonna be a good night. I really have found a hole in my game. I don't know how to play against truly bad players. There are no tells, when they don't know what they're doing. And you never even consider the horrid hands they may be holding. When the blinds are .25, and you make it $1.75, you have gone over and above the percentages. BUT, it's not real to anyone I suppose. I would expecct that a game would be a little different IF the money involved was truly worthwhile to defend. Of course those are the types of games I'd most enjoy...but they also represent risk of my own money. Something that I guess I don't have the stones for...and I cannot afford to put at risk at the sake of my family. So, I have to learn to adjust to the slop game. It puzzles me. I think I'll have to study Sam Farha and Gus Hansen, to see just how to play THAT LOOSE. They see many more hands than me. It just flies in the face of what I think I've learned. But it's an change that I think I need to make.

Well time to run...oh and online BlackJack, even on PokerTime SUCKS!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Self Aware

"The world is made for people who aren't cursed with self awareness." I heard this line in Bull Durham for the first time. How true... It seems there's always some donk at the table who's just livin' life right. Despite the fact that luck loves an idiot, I finished up last night playing. (Yes, I got to play online, cause Big Red went out!) But early on I was seated with a guy who crushed my Kings, when he played his sooted cards to the river. Yeah...you guessed it. He did his LOL, that was funny, crap, which nearly sent me over the edge. But then I decided simply to watch the game unfold and play the hands I was dealt, and steal when the opportunity presented itself. I actually made money last night. Then, I went and pissed a chunk of it away at the blackjack table. What was I thinking? I was up like $45, not rich, but up nonetheless. Then I friggin' donated $20 of it chasing, chasing, chasing. Bad part was, at one point at the blackjack table I was UP to an amount that would have put me ABOVE the level that I had been at before the big turn of events. SO STUPID! The profits don't come fast. If at all... Slow steady is sometimes VERY slow.

This is my short day, so it won't be long now. There's a game tonight at Yanok's, that Big Red and I are going to play. We may even drag JR and Tabby, and Frank and Julie along for the ride. This is a good, enjoyable, fun game, that I think they'll like. Who knows tonight, if things go well, maybe I can afford to play the Crush Game tomorrow. The $50 price tag is large, when half the proceeds are going to the fundraiser. BUT, I have played for more now haven't I.

A thought's been crossing my mind, something I read a while back. In poker, most players want to call, and they're looking for reasons to call, instead of looking for reasons to FOLD. They should be focusing more on why the other guy is involved in the hand. Focus on why they're in the hand in the first place. Don't let the blind luck factor play in to your game. Get your game face on. Bring your BEST game, whether it is online, B&R, or a home game...they are all opportunities for profit. Never play, just to pass the time. Every time, involves your wallet. And that money, is yours whether you won it from someone or whether you worked for it. Either way it is yours, and you choose to put it in play. Don't dump it off to anyone. Make 'em work for every penny of it. Be an agressor when you can. Tighten your game in some ways, loosen it in others. A donk will play anything, and hold it all the way down. Use your ability to cut loose from a hand to your advantage, don't get in deeper than you can swim back out again.

Well that's enough of my own poker ego oozing out. See you all real soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Round and round

From the song from the 80's band RATT... "Round and round...what comes around goes around..." Finally GamingClubPoker (now PokerTime) managed to return my money to my account! Not my bank account, but at least they were able to return it to my Gaming Account! They currently have no means by which to transfer the funds to me, and are actively looking into these options, but just haven't got it done yet. So, I guess I'll have to continue to play there for the time being, or just let the money sit there and collect dust. I would like to have had the money in my bank account. My son's recent trip to the orthodontist inflicted a hit to my savings. The cashout would have covered the cost. But for the time being the money exists somewhat, even if I cannot lay hands on it for the time being.

I played Limit again last night on UB, several hundred hands between 2 tables...and a smattering of blackjack as well, which was surprisingly profitable for the night. I opted for the $2/$4 Limit tables...and at one point I was up...but when I finally cashed out, adding the blackjack, the bonus dollars earned, and the up and down of the two tables, I think I was up about .80 cents. This was not my night...but I guess it could have been worse. Early on I caught SO MANY pocket pairs, it was unreal. None of them worked out, but I had 'em. I had Aces cracked once, and pocket Cowboys cracked 3 times out of the 4 that I saw them. So many people, suckin' out. So many suckouts criticizing the play of others. The Kill table that I found myself at was absolutely CRAZY. One guy held the kill button for like 4 rounds! With like 5 people staying for the flop, despite pre-flop RAISES, making it $8+ preflop just to see! And some of the crap they were playing...unbelievable. I was stuck for around $50 on that table, but had been lower, because of the utter stupidity. Just couldn't make the big hands hold up. But that's the game we play.

No poker tonight, accoring to Big Red. I overstayed in the online world last night...and she called me on it last night. Yeah, she was right, and I know it. But it's just so much fun! So, I should behave tonight, especially since I've been invited to 3 games for this weekend! I never thought I'd ever have to use "table selection" skills here in my own hometown. Poker is alive and well! Online is taking a beating...but it continues elsewhere. I even hear today that Doyle's Room is pulling out of the U.S. poker market too. That's just wrong. Hope this craziness ends soon. Then again, I just hope it ends.

That's all for now...back to the grind. It feels a little like work has initiated a RAKE system, the price grows exponentially.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Oops I did it again

This was my alter-ego over the weekend, during the Saturday tournament. The anger from within boiled to the surface and flowed out over the folks present, I'm currently trying to make amends for my behavior. But, we'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out in the end. I've given enough lip service to this otherwise, in emails to the group, postings to various forums and a lot of phone calls, so I won't beleaguer the issue here anymore. Suffice it to say, I had a meltdown at the tournament and I wish it hadn't happened. So that was my Oops I did it again moment for the weekend. BUT mine didn't hold a candle to this one...

Brit what's up girl? Is life so bad with K-Fed gone? I can't really believe that would be true. I'd have to think it'd be an improvement. What are you doing to yourself. Get it together! Then again, that whole bald look has worked for a few other beauties. Like Demi...and Sigourney. Skip the ode to Sinead O'Connor thing though. Never worked for anyone that I knew! Anyway, I guess what I took away from this was that as bad as things seem to get for me, apparently they just aren't all that bad! I'm keeping my hair! It's trying to leave me gradually, but I'll keep it for as long as I can without trying the comb-over!

I played a little $2/$4 today after doing lousy at low level No Limit earlier, and being screwed again by online blackjack. It really is evil. I'm back up to $788 as a result of moving up. I hit a few phenomenal hands that got me out of the cellar. So I'm about $60 off of the level I was at before taking the big hit. So that's something. Maybe the variance will come to an end. Although, my tilt move of moving up is the only thing that saved the night. :)

This has been a long weekend for me, and tomorrow is the first day back to work for me. It'll be a long one I'm sure! But it'll be a Wednesday already! HUMP DAY, PEOPLE!!!

Maybe we'd should round out the week, with another Poker Game on Friday or Saturday. HMMMM, now there's a thought!

Enough rambling for tonight, save something for another day.

Regards,

cheer_dad

When last we left our hero...

Just to catch you up to my progress or lack thereor with The Gaming Club folks, I thought I'd just copy the text from the email chain in which I've been involved so far. Do the words Comedy of Errors mean anything to you folks on the rail?

So here it is in all its glory:

Hi cheer_dad
Thank you for the e-mail.
Cheer_dad, we do apologize for the extended delay with this matter. The Fortune Lounge is committed to processing any withdrawals that have subsequently been affected.
We are currently in process of exploring new ways to process your funds back to you.
Once we have found a credible processor to process the funds, then we will send you your money.
We thank you for the time and patience with this matter.

Regards

Jozua

Casino Support
Please contact us on the following numbers for further assistance.
USA: 1-800-587-9036

Canada: 1-800-766-3571

United Kingdom: 0-800-056-9578

Australia: 1-800-706-903

France: 0-800-918-780

Germany: 0-800-180-0948

Hong Kong: 800-901-014

Italy: 800-782-446

Israel: 1800-945-1602

Malaysia: 1-800-805-933

Portugal: 800-827-002

Singapore: 800-270-0005

Taiwan: 801-279-906
Toll-Free Fax:

USA 1: 1-800-293-1408

USA 2: 1-8888-147-612

United Kingdom: 207-504-3501
*****
From: cheer_dadSent: 17 February 2007 03:22 AMTo: Floor Manager; Support (PokerTime); Abuse (PokerTime)Subject: RE: Account lock out and BOUNCED CHECK FROM GAMING CLUB

I'm not going to get my hopes up much on this anymore...but I will log into my account every evening and check to see if you've deposited my money, and continue to send you an email when it isn't there.

Regards,

cheer_dad

*****
Subject: RE: Account lock out and BOUNCED CHECK FROM GAMING CLUBDate: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 05:07:46 +0200From: FloorManager@CasinoDesk.comTo: cheer_dad

Hi cheer_dad

Thank you for your e-mail.
I apologize for all the delay that you have experienced. I did respond to your e-mail you sent us yesterday and I find it strange that you did not receive the reply. cheer_dad, I have again sent an urgent request to the processing company for feedback regarding your check cancellation.
As explained to you in my e-mail earlier, the processing company is awaiting confirmation from the issuing bank on the status of the check. This can unfortunately take some time to be confirmed due to the sensitivity of the matter.
I have however logged an urgent request to the processing company for feedback on the matter. Please accept my sincere apology for the time that this matter has taken from you. As always, we are committed to get this resolved for you timeously.
cheer_dad I am going to escalate your query to Codie who will be in the office within the next 4 hours.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further help or feedback.

Kind Regards

Riaan

Floor Manager

*****
From: cheer_dadSent: 16 February 2007 03:45 AMTo: Floor Manager; Support (PokerTime); Abuse (PokerTime)Subject: FW: Account lock out and BOUNCED CHECK FROM GAMING CLUB

To whom it may concern, The following chat session occurred approximately 24 hours ago with the Customer Support staff of PokerTime...and I commended the effort:
You are now chatting with 'Chris'Your Issue ID for this chat is "xxxxxxxxx"Chris: hi here how may i assist you/You: I'm actually checking to see if my account "previously" GamingClub will be credited back with my money any time soon?You: You may see reference to that in my account historyChris: please confirm your accountnumber for me?You: "xxxxxxxx"Chris: please hold for me.You: okChris: Can you provide me with a little more detals to your query.You: Yes, around the beginning of January, I requested a cashout from GamingClub, via check. This after the Neteller shutdown, so I didn't bother with that option.You: My withdrawal was approved, and on January 28th, I received a check from Web Merchants LLC.You: I deposited it...but it has bounced, and now I don't have my money online...or in my bank account.Chris: o.kYou: I have spoken to support in email and on the phone, and faxed a copy of the bounced check as requestedYou: Now, that GamingClub is no more, and PokerTime is instead...you can understand my reason for concern. Chris: the reason for this is due tot the recent Safe Ports act , that the processor which we made use of was then closed this is why the chec s had bounced.Chris: however our e-cash company is having a lookat implementing a different process in order to process the check once more.You: yes, i understand that...so I merely asked them to credit the funds back to my gaming account, and I'd simply keep playing it.Chris: this should be happening in the course of the next few days.You: but i cannot request another cashout with no money in the accountYou: there is no other reference to my money in my accountYou: can it not be credited back to my gaming account, so i can continue to play it instead, that is what i was told would happen when i faxed in a copy of the check and wrote cancel on it.Chris: see the funds are currebty with our E-cash company.Chris: We can send a request to have the money sent back to the account for you if you like.You: is there no reference to this already related to my account?!You: this is what i faxed the requested information for...Chris: Unfortunately we have no reference numbers in this regard.You: i have received an email back from the "floor manager" and the support desk on this matter today. Last week was when I was assured my account would be recredited by Monday...and on Monday I was told they needed me to fax a copy of the check to them. And there is no reference to any of this?Chris: Our E-cash company is finalisingf the process to have the cashins issued to plauers once more.Chris: We are just awaiting on the final word to advise which method it word be processed back to.You: So let me ask you this...what am I expected to do...nothing. Even if you are able to secure a new method to transfer funds, my funds no longer exist.You: Web Merchants LLC apparantely has them and won't give them to me and they won't give them back to you either. Chris: your cash is with our E-cash company at the moment , once they have connfirmed that process by which the cashins will be prcessed back tou you.You: Is there in process something by PokerTime or GamingClub to reclaim my funds from Web Merchants LLC, and ultimately get them back to me in one form or another? I guess that's the bottom line question.You: but the e-cash company already sent me a check...they are generally going to send me another one or pay me for something that they can argue they already did.You: the "aren't" going to send me another...Chris: We are not able to say which method they will make use of as they are still in the process of confirming the details.Chris: we cannot say which method they will be making use of.You: i understand that part...but if they can't pay me then they should at least give it back to you, and then you back to my gaming account...Chris: as confirmed we can request they put the money back in to your account for you.Chris: Would you rather have the funds back in your account for you?You: then that's what i would like to do.You: how do i make that happen?Chris: I will send the request for you in this regard.Chris: it dhould then be added to your account in the next 12 hourd timeYou: 12 hours! really! that would be greatChris: i will send the requwst for you.Chris: *request.You: will i receive any confirmation or an email of this?Chris: we can request that it is done.You: i would greatly appreciate it! thank you for your assistance! hope i didn't appear to blame you for any of this. I know you had nothing to do with it. Once again thank you VERY much!Chris: my pleasure assiting you.You: have a good day...or night depending on the side of the planet you may be on! :)Chris: you too.
I was hopeful at the time that everything was going to work out just fine after this discussion, and the subsequent follow up from the floor manager gave me reason to believe that it would work itself out. Unfortunately, my account has still not been credited. AND, worse still I was not contacted in any fashion to explain that there was a problem with processing my money back to my gaming account. So, I'm still right where I was yesterday at this same time. While I've been spoken to (chatted with and emailed) with a degree of courtesy, I've been treated rather shoddily. I would request now that some effort be taken by your staff to accommodate my request and put this matter to an end. If something else was needed from me, a common courtesy would have been to contact me to let me know. You can see that I'm upset, but I'm remaining civil, which I'm sure is not the norm for correspondence that is received. Please take that into consideration when addressing my complaint.

Regards,

cheer_dad

*****
From: cheer_dadTo: floormanager@casinodesk.comSubject: RE: Account lock out and BOUNCED CHECK FROM GAMING CLUBDate: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 20:30:16 -0500

Codie,

Thank you for your quick response to my questions! And my problems!I have since been able to get back into my account.Uninstalling and Reinstalling PokerTime software as suggested by the support desk didn't actually do the trick. I was forced to install on another machine, apparantly the uninstallation doesn't get rid of some extraneous registry information. I'll work on that later myself. But I am able to access my account now. Of course the matter of my money remains. I'm currently in a chat session with one of your online reps (chat) and "Chris" seems to be herding me in the right direction. At least I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway. He has informed me that he is putting in a request back to the payment processor (Web Merchants, LLC) and that within 12 hours it should be credited back to my gaming account, which is now at the new and improved PokerTime. I'm skeptical but I'll wait that long, and probably a little longer, since I know this whole circumstance hasn't been a walk in the park for any of you either. Anyway the chat session with Chris just ended, and he said he would put in the appropriate requests for me. I'll check back tomorrow, probably around Noon, to see where things stand.
As for the information you requested from me:
Date of Birth 1/22/1968

Email address cheer_dad@xxxxx.com

Home Address 251 E Wildwood Drive, Parkersburg, WV 26101

Telephone number (xxx) xxx-xxxx (home) (xxx) xxx-xxxx

Last 4 digits of the credit card registered with the poker room. I never had a credit card registered with the poker room. I always used Neteller, which due to recent events, isn't exactly a viable option now is it :) . But I can give you bank account information if necessary.
I'll drop you another email tomorrow, when I have additional information, or if I need HELP!

Regards,

cheer_dad

*****
Subject: RE: Account lock out and BOUNCED CHECK FROM GAMING CLUBDate: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 15:19:55 +0200From: FloorManager@CasinoDesk.comTo: cheer_dad

Hi cheer_dad

Thank you for your email.
I have reviewed your account and see that the account is open. It could just be that with the switch over the account password was corrupted.
I can reset your password, in order for me to do so you will need to confirm the following details.
Date of Birth

Email address

Home Address

Telephone number

Last 4 digits of the credit card registered with the poker room.

I have also requested feedback from the processing company as to when the withdrawal will be credited back to your account as requested.

Kind Regards

Codie

Floor Manager

*****

From: cheer_dad[mailto:cheer_dad] Sent: Wednesday, 14 February 2007 13:25To: Support (PokerTime); Abuse (PokerTime); Floor Manager (PokerTime)

Subject: Account lock out and BOUNCED CHECK FROM GAMING CLUB

To whom it may concern,

Why has my account #xxxxxxxx been locked out?Now that GamingClub is now PokerTime, I can no longer access my account.ALSO, I have been in contact with GamingClub over the past week trying to resolve a cashout request in the amount of $481.10 for which I received a check from Web Merchants LLC, however it has "bounced." So, my money is no longer in my Poker Account, and I don't have possession of it, and am continuing to get the runaround from Customer Support, and now my last few inquiries have NOT been responded to at all. What further recourse, and action can be taken? Please respond both to the account lockout question and to the greater issue of my money!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Light at the end of the tunnel

Who knows, there may actually turn out to be a happy ending to my GamingClub experience. We'll just have to wait and see for the time being. I wasn't surprised when Monday came and most of it went without my money being deposited back into my gaming account, after the Web Merchants LLC check fiasco. Recall that I cashed out my $481.10, received a check, deposited it and have now had it returned back to my bank, not for the obvious NSF reasons, but for no reason at all, other than oops, we don't do that anymore. Anyway, so my money is in limbo still. I called GamingClub last night, ready to do battle, but the customer service rep verified once again, that they currently have no means to transfer money to me. So, at least now I know I wasn't just hearing the latest rumor. He said that they would be able to re-credit my money to my gaming account, BUT that I needed to provide proof to them that the check had been returned and that I had not been "paid." Well okay that is a reasonable thing to request. Granted it could have been requested previously...or when it was discovered that this was a necessity, they could have emailed or phoned to let me know. Customer Service is indeed a dying art! So, I am still a bit hopeful that all is not lost. Granted I can't currently get to my money, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel that at least implies that some day soon I'll at least get it back where I can at least play with it online. I'll fax that information to them today and see where we go from here. ALSO, the rep told me that their Marketing Department is working to secure a new method of withdraw/deposit for its U.S. customers, and it should be in place by the end of the week. Everyone cross your fingers for me!

I UPS'd my sons computer back to Acer, through the "Fix My Acer" program, since it is majorly on the fritz, suffering from some definite hardware issues. The lack of keyboard/mouse/monitor control on a laptop is a real problem, at least in my book! I would have reloaded but couldn't gain enough control to do it. So, I'm out $47 in shipping it back to them for service, which I caught a degree of hell for, from Big Red, but I'm not real happy about the fact either. But I take the brunt of the hostility. I guess that's my lot in life.

The 2nd NDPT Tournament of the year is this coming Saturday at 6:00pm gang, so don't forget it. In fact, there will be a few extra people there, like close to 30! This wasn't my original intention, but it just sort of happened that way, and I ended up with more being told to show up than I had anticipated.

Also, if you're looking for a change of pace online, try out the H.O.R.S.E. ring games at Ultimate Bet, they are an absolute blast! And you can sit in from some really cheap stakes, just to familiarize yourself with some different games, than you normally play.

That's enough for today...

Regards,

cheer_dad

The check I received from The GamingClub Poker Room, as subsidiary of Bellrock Gaming, was deposited over one week ago. On Friday, late afternoon, Big Red notified me that the check had been "returned" and was not paid against my account. Let's recap...My $481.10 was removed from my GamingClub account, following my cashout (via check) request. It was approved. A check was cut from Web Trends LLC and sent to me for the full amount. I received it, and deposited it...and now it has been returned, with out me getting my money. So I spent a couple of turns on the phone with GamingClub's customer support. Let's see instead of recapping off the top of my head, let me just copy what I posted to the HPT forums, for all the world to see:

I'd like to apologize in advance to those of you who make it through to the end of this poorly concealed rant in the the form of a post to the HomePokerTourney Forums. I guess I'm just one of the statistics now... After Neteller pulled out, I started checking around to find an alternative, and wasn't entirely keen on the alternatives, BUT I started making choices about where I wanted to keep and leave money online. I opted to pull my money out of Gaming Club, mainly because I hadn't found myself playing there, or finding a good $oft $eat. So, I make a withdrawal through their currently prescribed method on the website a few weeks ago. I was notified that it had been approved and that a check was making its way to me for the full amount. I received a check from "Web Merchants LLC, dated 1/28/2007. Took it to my bank and deposited it. Today (over a week later) I was contacted by my bank and they informed me that the check had been returned twice now, not marked as NSF or anything, just refused. So, I log on to Gaming Club, find my account is at ZERO, so I contact them via their 800 number. Hey they even answered in less than a minute! This is a good sign. I spoke with a customer service rep who checked into things and said that he'd been informed that Web Merchants was no longer acting as a payment processor. So, he told me my only alternative was to provide my bank account information and routing number and they would transfer direct, instead. I needed the routing number so I told him I'd call back, he said I could even send it to them in an email. But 5 minutes later I got the information I needed, and opted to call them back. AND (I'm sure you see where this is going) I got someone else on the line this time. "Oh, no sir...as of YESTERDAY, we have been informed that there is no means to transfer funds to our U.S. customers. We will notify you when something becomes available." I told him I'd just been on the phone with someone else who told me otherwise, but he repeated his speech to me as if reading from the teleprompter. Yes, that's his "final answer!" So, next question, what do I need to do. "Oh sir, your money is safe with us." Well not exactly, was my response since my online balance at good ole Gaming Club is ZERO! And you say you've paid me but you haven't. So where does that leave us. "Let me put you on hold... Oh okay, sir, I will put in the order to have your Gaming Club account credited with the money that we can't ship to you." Gee what a pal. He started to hang up, but I caught him in time to say, "...and I can expect this deposit on...?" He assured me it would be there on Monday. Stay tuned here at HPT, we shall see.The part that really gets me here is this. Gaming Club asserted that No U.S, financial institution will "accept" money from them or any other online gaming establishment. So that would imply that the new law has swept the nation, and it is common knowledge in banking circles. Enter into the picture my wife (previously referred to as "Big Red" here in the forums)...the Member Services Rep at the Credit Union where we do all of our banking, or credit union-ing... She checks with the manager and told him what was being stated. He said that absolutely NO GUIDANCE has been issued to financial institutions about rejecting funds from online gaming establishments. The long and short of it was...if they want to make a transfer to your account with the routing number, we'll process it today. So as you can see we have ourselves a bit of a disagreement. I'm not saying anyone is trying to cheat me here, but the mass confusion and misinformation is just painful. Rather than call back and get into it with the Gaming Club Help Desk, and perfect my communication skills with the "English as a 2nd Language" reps, I opted to drop them an email with all my information. And for the time being have them to return my money to my gaming account, if they were unable to transfer to my bank account. If they get it back there, I'm going to try to do a direct bank transfer and see what happens.So, like I said before, stay tuned, I'll keep you all posted. And granted I'm only talking about $500 here, but it is still MY $500 and I worked hard for it. Ah, it seems like only yesterday that it was an initial deposit of $100, but my how it grew! But enough about memory lane. Anyone else in this boat? Any other oddball interactions with your online poker rooms? If so, I'd like to hear them. Or have at least somebody say..."I feel your pain." Remember the good ole days when a bad beat was just when some donkey hit his 2-outer on the river? I miss those days!I sincerely hope that your mileage has varied. Now, I'm half afraid to touch the remainder of my bankroll on UltimateBet, Bodog, and Noble. At least when Party pulled out, I was forewarned that I had 'x' number of days to vacate their premises.Anyway...thanks for listening. And yes this is the end of my rant!

Regards,

cheer_dad

So, you can see, it did not go well the second time around. SOOO, now I'm in a holding pattern. I'm waiting (unpatiently) on a reply to a nasty-gram email I sent to GamingClub Support. I doubt that it will be responded to at all. Hopefully, though, they can do what the first guy said and send me my money straight away. If not, then they'd better make good on this and at least CREDIT my account back the $481.10 I had in the first place. A tidy BONUS SUM should as well be in order. I would think!

Anyway, I'll keep things up-to-date. Mind you, if GamingClub makes all of this right for me, I will fully thank and acknowledge it here, in full public view.

In other news, several of us headed to Shuman's for the Friday night cash game. DANG, it is cold out there in the garage, even with the stove burnin'. I was there til after 2:00am. I doubled my $20 to $40. Unfortunately, Big Red got stuck for $30 for the night. JR on the other hand was a force of nature and cashed out for well over $100 for the night. That's how to play the game, now! I should have opted to leave earlier that night. I was exhausted and "shaky" the next day, well on into the evening. Had we made it home earlier, Big Red might have submitted to another Poker Night on Saturday! But it was my own stupid fault. SORRY DEAR!

Well another day here at work on a Sunday, is slowly coming to an end, much SOONER that we'd expected. :) and :(

Anyway you keep readin' and I'll keep bloggin'

Regards,

cheer_dad

H.O.R.S.E.

H.O.R.S.E. can be FUN! Just don't have so much fun that you forget what round you're currently in and make that phenomenal RAZ hand and find out your playing 7card stud. Okay luckily it was for cheap. The $.50/$1.00 NLHE tables were no place to have a good time, last night. I was up and down, but seldom above the $100 I sat in with. I had at least 4 guys at the table last night that were pushers. There was NO LIMPING ALLOWED at all. No free cards. It was typically $3.50 to see the flop if not more. I dropped AQos and other somewhat worthy hands a number of times post flop, when they didn't hit. I hit a few good hands, a couple of nice plays. But eventually regardless of my preflop raise with or without cards to back it, there came a couple of guys who had decided they were going to run the table. It was working. I don't think they were in packs last night, just a lot of similar minded individuals at the table. Sharks will attack one another if provoked. I wasn't going up and/or down. I cashed out just under my buy-in but the earned Bonus Dollars put me over the top by $3.50-ish. I decided to check out the H.O.R.S.E. ring games. I sat down with $5.00, and had an absolute ball. I was up a buck and a half at one point, but in the end what I lost was paid for in the bonus dollars again. BUT I was having a blast! I could see where that game could be good and bad. Bad, cause it's easy to make a mistake. Good, cause you'll never get bored at anything. There's just so much to be thinking about! I'll play it at those low limits only, THANK YOU! Still if I'm ever just cravin' some card play/action, that's the place to go.

Tonight, I just gotta remember to stop friggin' around and play the game. Cards tonight at Casa du Shuman. I gotta loosen up and be prepared to dump when appropriate. I really need a BIG WIN! WHOYAHHHH! I'm a junkie aren't I?!

This day is dragging on and on.

Regards,

cheer_dad

So, that's what Grant looks like...

Okay, it's a start in the right direction. I've taken my break from Limit. It was just draggin' me down. Last night I played one table of NLHE ($.50/1.00) and finished up for the night including bonus for 50 Bucks. Hey, I'm still down, but I've recrossed the $700 threshold. That was a move in the right direction for me...and hey I'll take it ANY DAY of the week. So, maybe the dust has been blown off of my game for a time, until the next go 'round. I don't want to be a gambler. I want to be a card player. I won't say luck doesn't play a role, but I want to become a student of the game to the point where I can minimize its effect and prosper in the long term. Again, poker is not tonight's or tomorrow's or next week's game, it is the string the amalgem of them all. In the end, the one with the most chip$ is the winner. Okay, perhaps a little over the top. No, then again it is the essence of the thing.

I've been invited to a game tomorrow night at Casa du Shuman :) but I'm not sure it's going to happen yet or not. This basketball season of Cole's is putting a damper on the Friday night games for me. Can't be out all night laughin', jokin, and draggin' the occaissional pot when the morning bells will be ringing. We will have to see, I'd really like to hit another game. There are some techniques and some ploys I'd like to introduce to my game. More correctly, introduce to the game's of others! HeHe...

I've been late to work the past few days due to 2-hour school delays. The temperature, even when I was dropping the kids off was 12!!! BRRRR!!! So, I'm burning a few extra hours of leave that I would have preferred to hang on to. But, it is the least that I can do. Big Red does this every morning...and whether she knows it or not, I do sincerely appreciate it. In that light...I hope she gets to really enjoy her Rascal Flats concert tonight in Charleston. She deserves it!

I need to hammer out the details of this weekend's work, so I can make plans of my own. Then again, there's always online play. This NLHE is tightening me back down. I dropped Trip Aces last night, when I knew I was outkicked. Several hands later, the player, let me know that he had the stone-cold-nuts, with Aces over Queens. My 7-kicker, would have cost me another $35. Sometimes, the play is FOLD! It's as much a part of the game as winning. Sometimes, it is winning.

Well enough for today. Good luck to you all, you're going to need it, I feel I RUSH coming on.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Change up

Okay, last night I make a departure from Limit Hold 'em. I definitely needed a change up. Maybe, it'll force me to tighten up a bit. The No Limit Game is not the place to dabble, and I know it. It was my playing ground at lower levels, but this time, I'm opting instead for the $.50/$1.00 NL tables. I crawled, yes crawled...no running allowed. I actually made it back up to my initial deposit amount! REALLY! That wasn't a lot, but it was on the PLUS side this time, instead of the eternal spiral that I've been feeling lately. NOW, I didn't play GREAT, there were a few minor bumps. But there was one hand I was proud of. I had A-K preflop and raised, was called, bet standard post flop, when I missed, and was reraised. There was crap on the board. I'd been paying attention to the guys play. He was also a big stack, but the whole table was betting huge, when they actually had it. One guy even pushed all-in preflop for over $150, when he held Pocket Kings, solely out of fear of the suckout. So, back to my hand. This other guy has hit...I know it, feel it...I made him for a solid upper/mid range pair, and I'm confident that no matter what I did I wouldn't have shaken him. It is even possible that he held a set, but I decided not to draw against a made hand. It stings to lose, but I remembered the goal in playing here was discipline. I therefore...won, but not losing big. The only dumb hand of the night, was with pocket 9's. I call a preflop pot bet of $3.50, from a guy who is in late position. Flop comes up 10-10-5, w/two diamonds. He bets small, very small, so I call. Turn is another 5. He checks I check behind. River fills in the flush possibility. But now I'm wondering if he's been sitting on Big Slick from the get go, and is confident with his 10s and 5s Ace kicker, in which case I can take this down. He again bets small, and I walk in. He flips over his Cowboys. Okay, I lost...and it was stupid. I went too far and completely misread it. But it was a good, not TOO costly excursion into Wishful Thinking! Don't ever friggin' do it AGAIN! IDIOT!!! I also looked back through my stats for the night. I showed a small profit while winning a VERY SMALL percentage of the hands. So, I do believe I was playing TIGHT, legitimately TIGHT! I was agressive when the circumstances called for it. So, I hope to use this as a learning experience. Re-introduce the possibility of loss of it all to myself, to perhaps train the brain.

Tune in next time kids...and until then, stay away from the Tilt-A-Whirl!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Well it didn't continue

Yesterday I reported that I was "treading water" while playing UB. The "treading" trend did NOT continue. I wish that were a positive comment, but it isn't. I went on a miserable streak...and it was all I could do to fend off tilt in the end, and I'm not absolutely sure that I did at all. I played through the day til it was time to get the kids from school. Down maybe $25 in about 600 hands total at two tables. I returned to the scene of the crime later that night, for around 400 hands, and made it a total of -$60 for the day. On this second session I was keeping a close eye on the player stats. I think when I quit, I was seeing a respectable 32% of the flops. But on the one table I was only winning a paltry 3%!!! The other table while showing a 9% win, I was down just as much. The winning % was very misleading. The monster hands I did have, weren't making any scratch for me. I HATE this game! Okay, that's extreme. I hate what's been happening lately in this game. So, even though I took a break from online, for a few days to clear my head, I'm still losing. Since that dismal last week performance, I'm in the cellar by $300. FTP account is empty now...and the UB amount has dropped below my initial $650 deposit. That is absolutely crushing to me. Not only am I losing, but I'm losing bonus $'s along with it. If it weren't for them I'd be stuck for even more. Maybe I really do SUCK at this friggin' game. MAN, talk about self doubt. And I know scared money can't win. But it does make you a little gunshy. I thought about shifting gears for a while...and playing only SNG's, perhaps even multi-table SNG's. A string of wins there, MIGHT stop the bleeding bankroll. But continuous losses would just add additional insult to the injury!

I guess I just need to keep my head and my wits about me, and just play my game. Maybe I should just get out, and cut my losses altogether. But then what would I do with all my "spare" time. Maybe I should consider a longer departure from the online poker world?! Make myself hungry for it. Of course how devastating will that be if upon returning yet again, I continue to donate to the bankrolls of others?

These things trouble me greatly.

One final note...WOW, is it ever COLD!!!!!!!!!!! Sub zero windchill. My flesh hurt this morning, walking from the truck to the front door here at work. Brrrr!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Luxury

Well, I'm allowing myself the luxury of playing online today. After the dismal failures from last week, I took break from the online grind. Perhaps Big Red sensed my sadness over the beatings, and took pity on my wretched spirit. Whatever it was, she and I ended up playing in a tournament on Friday night, and a ring game on Saturday. The first game, was at the Yanok's. I believe they played host to about 14 of us. They normally play two games for the night, but we could only stay for the first, since at the time we had to be up for our son's baseball and hockey games on Saturday. BUT, the snow was falling, all night, even before we left for the Yanok's. It was a bit of a cause for concern since they live on quite the hill in Wellesley. The going up was an adventure, we were a bit concerned about the downhill though. BUT, we survived it after all, by ramping one set of tires up over the curb and just coasting down. Hey don't laugh, it's how they told us to do it! We made it down just fine that way! Now, back to the tournament though. I didn't catch many cards early on, and was concerned. I modified my style just a bit for this game, opting to play a few more hands than is normal for me; however despite this fact, I had a couple of comments like: "...are you going to play a hand?" or "...why are you so tight?" But I paid little attention. This actually served me well, and allowed me to throw few well-timed bluffs. Which were very profitable to me, in the later rounds. The one I was most proud of was my bluff with a 6-3os. I wouldn't normally have tried but I wasn't catching cards and I seemed to pick up on the fact that no one really liked their hands. In the end it was a healthy pot due to my all in move. I even showed it, and the overall effect was incredible. Later when I wasn't necessarily bluffing it induced some calls that I wouldn't have expected, but they were convinced I had nothing because of what I'd shown. In the end it came down to a heads up match-up with an old familiar competitor, Jerry! I've gone heads up with him a number of times and I consider him very good, and very unpredictable. Caution is always in order. We went at each other for a number of rounds, but finally agreed to "chop" it for $105 each. Also, we both got "entry chips" for the End of the Year tournament that is planned. Your starting chip stack will depend on the amount of cash that you won over the course of the year, in his monthly tournaments. I'm kind of excited about it. Jerry's already ahead though, since he'd placed in the tournament last month, which I didn't play in. But there's a lot of months yet to come!

The following Saturday night, we invited a table full of people over for a small cash game. I was able to double up on the night, for a whopping $20 more than I'd sat down with. So, all told for the weekend I made a profit of $105! Which went half of the way to helping me lick the wounds from earlier in the week. I guess I'm only down $145 now. Which still sucks, but I'm not as down and out as I was before. Now if only I could be redepositing these wins online to be able to easily count it all up. I guess what I'm going to have to do from now on is keep track of every performance, that I can! Ring/Tourney and Live/Online. That I guess would give me a truer picture of my actual performce level. There are some areas that I could improve, and I know it. Right now, online I'm just treading water though. But I have NOT let it creep in to affecting my play. We'll see if the trend continues. I'd like to see a hot run of cards that would boost me over the top today, but those rarely happen in limit do they!?! At least not for me. Others seem to hit them, and just absolutely go off the to the races! I watched a guy at the tables last week, start with $100, drop to $80, and then seemed to go on a monster rush, and when I left the table he was sitting at $260! That NEVER happens to me. Maybe I'm just too cautious to let it happen. If so, and that is indeed the reason, then this is definitely a hole that I need to fill in my game.

I read something last week that made me think about what game(s) I should really be playing. I've been on this $1/$2 Limit kick for quite a while now, and it has been profitable for me. But this recent downturn has been worrisome. Was it me...was it variance, or TILT? How could I know. Well I could be tracking, that would help a lot. (Of course here I sit once again, not tracking.) I need to remedy this soon.

I FINALLY got the window decal for my truck today!!! It looks great, and I'll have to go get a picture of it in just a bit to share with you all! The folks at "Sign Language" took great care of me. Thanks Jordana! Also a shout out to all the fine folks at AC Audio/Video, particularly the Millers! Who are regulars to many of the tourneys that I play and/or host.
I suppose this has been long enough for me to have rambled on, but it is kinda like payback for failing to do so since Friday, so hopefully you'll forgive me. Before I post copy all of this from Notepad and put it out on Blogger I'll go and get a picture of the truck, like I promised. I'm in now for over 230 hands on two tables since I started this blog episode up, and am only up a few dollars, BUT I guess it beats the heck out of losing! So I'll take it and add it to the overall "score."

Regards,

cheer_dad

Montezuma's Revenge

For dinner last night, Big Red and I headed to the "Ranch" with the Riordans. We all had a GREAT time! A couple of pitchers of margaritas on the rocks, made the haze of the day just melt away. Home for a little tube, sumpin'sumpin', to bed and day is done, right? Apparently not... 3:00am rolls around, and my gut has taken a turn south. Stomach sours...feels as if an alien is going to burst out, and grin it's deadly smile. Well that didn't happen, but seconds later, I was shall we say, "seein' Mexican again!" Montezuma and ALL his cronies! Following that gut wrenching turn of events...all was good again. Back to sleep and at work by 6:30am. Go figure! I've come to the conclusion that me and margs just aren't going to get along. Mind you, I was NOT drunk, believe it our not. Just my stomach anymore is too acidic. I imagine that work has had a decided impact on that. Stress again takes its toll. But whadya gonna do, huh!?

This day is almost over, at least the work portion of it. Tonight, at 7:00pm I'll be playin' cards at the Yanok's. No, not online...I'm taking a few days off from that to clear the head, before wandering into the variance streak again. It can only help to keep me from going on tilt. Tonight's just to go and have a good time! I want to work on some other aspects of my game. The people watching portion of the thing, someday, hoping to make the cards irrelevant. :) Yeah...DARE TO DREAM, cheer_dad! No, seriously tonight's just about fun, nothing more, nothing less. We'll see how it goes.

Actually I'm really looking forward to it!

Shuffle up and deal BABY!

Regards,

cheer_dad