What a night!

Thanks to ALL of you who made it out last night to help celebrate the 40th birthday of my wife, Teresa. You all made the time very special and she really enjoyed herself. The band, JINX'D was great and really put on a terrific show for us. We killed the first keg and headed into a second one. And Santana, our bartender with the the bottomless bottles, really helped to get the party going! Teresa really enjoyed all the gifts, including the "over-the-hill" variety which we all got a good laugh out of. She recalled this morning that at some point during the night she started selling "kisses" for a buck! I don't know if Laura will ever be the same!!! Too bad I don't have pictures of that to share... (if someone does I'd love to have 'em.)

I hope each of you had a wonderful evening. Thanks again for making it so special for her.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Happy 40th Birthday Big Red!!!

In just a few short minutes we'll be heading out the door to go to Big Red's 40th Birthday Party up at the Eagles banquet room. The room is decorated, the cake picked up, the band's all set, and the kegs been chillin' since this afternoon. There's no "old age" to be concerned with here... there's gonna be one helluva party tonight! So, put on your dancin' shoes and we'll see y'all real soon.

Teresa, I love you! I hope you have a great time on your big night... Even at 40... you're still lookin' good to me!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Tick... tock...

The hourglass might as well be floating around in Zero-G right now. The sands are not moving in the right direction to make this day go away. The day after Thanksgiving here is always really slow, there are likely only 10% of the people even in the building today that are normally present. Those remaining are simply doing their best to clog the incoming bandwidth in search of something to pass the time on the internet. You can in fact find the end of these here intertubes. It is a sad stagnant place. I guess it beats the alternative, at least from this "guy's" point of view, I could instead be out there wandering aimlessly like the rest of the zombie hordes in search of an elusive good deal on Black Friday. So, there is some solace to be had there, I suppose. Still, it doesn't make the clock tick any faster at all.

Don't forget tomorrow is Big Red's 40th birthday, and party begins at 8:00pm at the Eagles... It's going to be a great time! Make plans to be there, you won't want to miss it.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I wish you all a most Happy Thanksgiving Day. Remember to be truly thankful for friends and family and the time spent together.

And aside from all the sentimentality...

May you Gobble til you Wobble!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Drunken and crazed

After an alcohol induced stupor courtesy of the Eagles and a group of friends/all-too-willing participants Big Red and I headed to the house on what was Thanksgiving Eve. Buzzed as I Wuzzed... I fired up the Bodog client, and after the dust settled on 120 hands in 45 minutes... cheer_dad finds himself in strange uncharted Bodog territory. I've crossed another "hundred" marking and find myself at $324.00. Go figure. Tempted as I am to continue on, I'll savor the experience and call it a night.

Oh, and the other night, when JJ got me in trouble at NDPT #17, keeping me out much too late. One of the tips that I got at the Eagles, ended up as the winner. Ship the $100 beeyatches! Okay DeeJay, got tippage. So the night was by no means a total wash.

Regards,

cheer_dad

NDPT 2008 Series coming to a close...

Well gang, the N Debt Poker Tour (NDPT) 2008 Series is coming to a close. I want to say thanks to each and every one of you who have made this a fantastic year! From the looks of things one of three people will be taking down the Points Race for the year; Steve, Vince, or JR. Steve is currently in the lead with 190 points (by a margin of 4 points to both Vince and JR who are tied at 186.) Big Red and I are tied at 176, but I think a stray lightning bolt would have to take Steve, Vince, and JR out right after I announced "shuffle up and deal" at the next tournament for either of us to have a prayer of taking it down. Good luck to you all, and I'll be checking the Weather Channel for the extended forecast...

I'm going to go ahead and make the announcement for NDPT #18 to be held December 6th at 6:00pm at my house.

And also, the Year-End-Extravaganza $50 buyin game will be held on December 20th at 6:00pm, again at my house.

You may begin RSVP-ing to either one or both of these games now!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Like looking into a mirror, loud shirt and all!

One of the many blogs I follow posted the following: http://gadzooks64.blogspot.com/2008/11/south-park-character.html.

And although it says this used to be all the rage, once upon a time, I had never tried it out before. But now, I'd like to report that I have successfully created myself as a South Park character! Go try it out for yourself... run, don't walk! http://www.sp-studio.de/index.htm

Regards,

cheer_dad

I think I can make it through this week

Greetings all! I probably should have jotted down a few lines yesterday out here on the blog, but it was a lazy day and I didn't want to be the one to change that. We had our NDPT tournament on Sunday afternoon, and JR (a.k.a Uncle June) took down the top spot. We had a good crowd of around 24 players. I couldn't really put anything together, and the cards just weren't coming my way, so although I was able to outlast some of the field, I was never able to capitalize on anything and just survived until the end and donated the last of my chips on a feeble attempt at a steal, with A2 suited. JR put me out of my misery! : ) Earlier in the tourney I did however make a laydown of pocket Kings, preflop, which proved to be the right move. I was first to act, with blinds at 10-20, I make it 80 to go. It is immediately raised by Del to my left All-In for 200-ish. It heads on over to JR, who repops it to $500 straight. His range has now shrunk, significantly. He advertises it, and plays it full on. I drop... He turns over the rockets, Del has the A-10os. Neither hand really improves, and my King would have never hit. It sucks when your greatest talent is your ability to fold! : )

Then, as the beer continued to flow... I sat down at the cash game and got tied up in a hand that I should have let go. But hey it's only money right? I held top two pair, on the flop, and was betting full on, until the river brought the 3rd diamond. And I should have known Steve had chased it down, but my stubbornness and the Miller Brewing Company wouldn't let me fold it. So, $25 down in the tourney, followed by another $20 in the cash game. Then let's not forget another $13-ish bled out of the Bodog account later that night. Okay, so I've had better days. Then again, I was havin' a ball! The tourney failure was just bad cards, for too long. The cash game, went well for a while, but I far exceeded my reasoning abilities by then. The Bodog thing, ehhh, we'll call it "seed money" all those folks I lost to at the 3 tables will be convinced I'm a complete idiot.

Today, I'm back at work. Yesterday was my AWS day, so today's MY Monday. But I think I can survive this week. Work 2 days, then off for Thanksgiving, then come back for Friday, which they might as well write off. This place will be a ghost town, and NOTHING even resembling work will be accomplished on that day. And then another weekend awaits. OH, and don't forget Saturday, November 29th at 8:00pm, the festivities and celebration begins of the 40th birthday of my beloved wife, Teresa (a.k.a Big Red.) Mark your calendars now folks, you don't want to miss this one. Again, this will be held at the Eagles banquet room. There will be keg(s) and snacks for all. There will also be a cash bar for your other indulgences. The local band JINX'D will be performing from 8:00pm-- 1:00am for your listening and dancing pleasure. Hell, there might even be a deck of cards somewhere in the crowd. We do ask that you pony up $5 to help cover the cost of the band. Come one come all...

Also, of note is another milestone birthday in the home of the cheer_dad. My lovely daughter Whitney will be 16-years-old one week from today!!! That's right folks she'll be street legal. I think she wants to take her driving exam THAT DAY! There'll be no stopping her then. Well at least until she stalls the VW bug on a hill that is. Hey, you know it's happened to us all at some point in time, and we all lived through it right?

I also have to figure out when to insert a game in to the mix for our final regular season NDPT tournament. Right now I'm leaning toward December 6th. But I'm just no sure... There's just a lot of other things to work around. Then, the year end game is yet to be decided. I could let it lapse beyond the first of the year, but we'll see.

Also, check out the latest NDPT points update here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=ptNl6_cpXDHlDaBaHIU7NVA&hl=en

I'll figure out the rest of the year's poker schedule and get it posted SOON!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Weekend update

We took Cole out for his celebratory dinner last night, for making the basketball team. So Cole, Whitney and her friend Jo Jo, Teresa and I all piled into the car last night and headed to Buffalo Wild Wings. We met the Brothers clan, Chris, Laura and baby Megan. Cole played some video games, we ate some wings and drank a lot of beer. Okay, not Cole and the other kids. But the adults indulged, blowing off some of the steam of a long workweek which had come to an end. AHHHHH.... We came back home, and Big Red and Laura decided to head up to "spin" at the Eagles for a bit. She was gone for a while, and I stayed here with the kids and played some online poker. It was good to sit down and relax, with a beer or so and 3 tables on Bodog to occupy the time. I made like $11.00 for the evening. Would have been a little more but I took a hit from a "flush vs. higher flush" hand. It set me back a few bucks but nothing to steam or tilt about. Hey, he had the hand and took it down. I don't mind that. No suckouts to speak of. I was on one table that everyone seemed to be playing scared. I was winning pots with air, all too frequently based solely on my position plays. I never really caught anything substantial on the table though. I had some hyper aggressors at another table, that controlled things for a while but they were soon parted from their money by some of the more savvy/patient types at the table... yours truly included. I enjoyed the time alone, and thought it was very relaxing.

This morning I took Cole to bowling at 10:00 and then came home, and thus far I've been kind of veggin' around the house. It's cold and dreary, so it's the perfect day to do nothing. I do think we are going to go to the movies tonight. Big Red is dying to see Twilight. She read the whole series and really wants to go see it now. I've just started reading Twilight and figure okay, I can go see a flick with romance overtones (a.k.a. chick flick) as long as there's vampires in it. And we used to go to the movies all the time, when we first started dating and in fact later on earlier in our marriage. We were/are movie buffs! Kids and life in general have curbed the entertainment. Well that and I tend to download a lot of stuff to watch as well. : ) shhhhh!

I have to work for a couple of hours in the morning, applying some patches to some of our servers at work. But it should be too taxing on me at all. Later, we'll be heading to the Eagles for the NDPT tournament which starts at 3:00pm. Not sure how many people we have coming, but what's it matter. Cards, beer, good friends and good times. The simple things in life. Hope to see you there tomorrow. Oh, and All-In Allman MUST go down!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Cole made the Basketball Team!

My son, Cole was SOOOOO proud last night, when I picked him up from basketball tryouts! It was a little strange at first, since none of the boys was telling whether or not they made the team as they exited the gym one at a time. In fact, Cole and I headed outside immediately for the truck. I was a little cautious, and didn't want to ask him if (you know) it was bad news. Then, I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye, and he was sneaking a peek over each shoulder to see that no one was around. Then, he said, " hey dad ask me if I made the team."

I said, "oh I didn't know for sure if they were going to tell you tonight. So, did you make the team?"

He smiled really big and said "Yeah, I made it!" He went on to tell me that he didn't know who else made the team yet, since the coach had told each kid individually as they left the gym. And they were instructed not to talk about it in front of anyone else. I thought that was right decent of the coach! Also, he was honest with each boy that made the team as well, and gave them an indication of how much playtime they could expect. Obviously, the older boys and those who have greater skill are going to be playing. This isn't like REC league. This will be Cole's first year, and so he will likely ride the bench more than the others, but he said he didn't care. He recognized that making the team, he would be practicing and warming up at games, and would get some late game play time as well. He understood, they he has room to improve his skill in basketball and he openly admits that there are people that are better than him, BUT he saw this as an opportunity to get better. He said he tried his absolute best, and tried to show the coach that he could hustle and that he really wanted it, and I think in the end it showed. Of the 33-ish kids to show up for tryouts only around 13 kids made the team.

I'm really proud of the level of effort and intensity that Cole put into this and I told him so. I only look for him to improve throughout the season, and very likely continue on and make the team again next year, where with his size and power, he will be a formidable player. Great job son!

We're taking him out to dinner tonight to celebrate...

In other news, Big Red hit for $450 on the slots last night at the Eagles. Her luck on those damned things is just insane! And really she doesn't play them all the time. Usually just on Eagles night, and other times when she takes off with her mom. But most certainly she has won much more than she's lost. I on the other hand, am just staying away from the accursed contraptions.

Have a great weekend all.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Lots of stuff going on...

So, there's a lot of stuff going on. We are perched on the edge of the extended holiday season, what with Thanksgiving being next Thursday. (I swear the day after Halloween I walked into K-Mart and they already had their Christmas MUZAK tracks going.) What the hell! I hadn't even stolen all of the Reese's Cups out of Cole's Trick or Treat bag yet, and I'm listening to the sounds of Christmas already!?! C'mon people, this is nuts. So, there's Thanksgiving, then Christmas, and don't forget the Christmas shopping. I'm really contemplating this being the year of me shopping ONLY online! Why not, anything I buy, will likely be returned anyway. (Sorry Big Red, had to throw that out there!) : P

Then, don't forget work. It seems that "everything" gets put off until the end of the year at work to be accomplished. Right at the time, that everything else has to be done, and when everyone is trying to use the remainder of their "Use or Lose" leave balance and taking extra time off from work to spend time with their family and friends. I try to be a decent lead to my team and not hog the days surrounding the holidays. I like to think I'm pretty decent in that respect.

Also, there are a lot of poker games going on. Shuman is having another cash game on Friday. JR is hosting on Sunday at the Eagles our latest NDPT tournament. Then, December hits and we will be trying to fit in another regular season tournament for the NDPT, and then the follow-up Year End $50 tournament. Also, the Yanok's will have their December Qualifier on the 12th, to be followed the next day by their Year End Game, which is a freebie to all who have contributed throughout the year to the pot and scored a win/points. The prize pool will very likely be $1,000 for a max of like 16-18 people playing! Not too shabby!

And, don't forget Big Red's 40th Birthday Party on November 29th to be held in the Eagles banquet room, with JINX'D performing and kegs... Then, I have Whitney turning Sweet 16 on December 2nd. I think she'll be demanding to take her driving test that day too. Hello insurance rate increase!

Cole, is also trying to get in on the busier side of life. He's trying out for the basketball team at his Elementary School. He attended the clinic, and now he is in tryouts for going on the 3rd night tonight. The field has been narrowed from 33 kids to 17 now, and the coach is keeping 12. Keep your fingers crossed for the little guy, he's been hustling his little heart out! He told me last night, that if he didn't make it he'd be "crushed" and that's a quote! I let him know to do his best, but that if it didn't work out, we'd keep working through the off-season and keep on trying.

And speaking of basketball, now that football cheering season is over, basketball cheering season begins. And it's no secret they play a helluva lot more basketball than football games. Who needs a life anyway.

Finally, to help put me in a festive state of mind, I had a "run-in" phone conversation with the high school principal, complaining about how Geometry is going. Not just whining for my daughter, but this seems a problem apparent for almost all the kids in the class. I'm sure there's bound to be a chess geek in there who's getting it all, and bored, but he's not my problem, and will likely never get laid anyway. : ) The principal and I were doomed never to see eye to eye when during the course of the conversation he brought up the ole standby analogy of the Bell Curve. I immediately shut down. He might as well have cracked my Aces, with a 7-2os. I despise the utter concept of the Bell Curve. The idea that curriculum cannot be taught and some will excel, some will fail and the majority will exist in the curve of mediocrity. Well, fuck that! I don't subscribe to your point of view. To quote Stand and Deliver "...the students will rise to the expectation of the teacher!" However, the teacher MUST get the point across. I don't completely fault the teacher though, but the methodology and curriculum itself. There is no discovery in the methods of many of the subjects being taught today in our schools. Learning based on raw memorization of facts, and in the case of Geometry of postulates, and theorems, provides no means for discovery and understanding of concept. They preach logic, but do not teach logical thinking. You cannot read about it... you must experience it and also learn by 'great' example. There's got to be a better way, than how it is being done today, and how they were doing it nearly 25 years ago for me. Man... I feel old. But I'll stop on the GEO rant now! Before my blood pressure caps.

As you can see there's a lot going on, and I know there are some things I've left out. I'll try to keep up with the blog, and hope you keep stopping by to see what's up. But let me apologize in advance for my potential failure.

See several of you tonight at the Eagles. I'm in need of a little liquid sanity!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Here there be snow!

Things are "delayed" today, at least as far as my kids are concerned. Schools for the most part are on a 2-hour delay today in our area as a result of the first real snowfall of the year. Maybe they'll be less grumpy. I'm getting them to school today, so I'm still at home, waiting for "go time." I'll also be late for training, but I've already called ahead to the office and I guess it's to be expected during this time of year.

I thought I'd snap a couple of pictures since I had the extra time.


In other poker related news... this Friday at 7:00-ish Shuman will be hosting another cash game at his house for all you action junkies. Omaha and Pineapple get more game time than Hold'em at that gathering. The swings are great and the stacks of chips are high! And JR will play host on Sunday at 3:00pm to the next NDPT tournament. It will be held at the Eagles, since his basement is still functioning as a wood shop for the time being. Registration begins at 2:00pm for anyone who hasn't already signed up via the email listing. Please come and take part in one or both of these great games. Bring money!


The VW Bug will not be venturing out today.

Hope all is well in your respective necks of the woods... Stay warm!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Parkersburg South Patriot's End of the Season

Although they battled furiously against the Bridgeport High School Indians, the South Patriots came up short in their football playoff game. The scoreboard which showed Parkersburg South 35 Bridgeport 42 doesn't do the game justice. It was a nail-biter from start to finish! The Patriots were first to get on the board, having shut-down the Indian offense in its first drive and taking over after the punt. They drove the ball even opting to risk a 4th down conversion, which paid off and got us on the board. Unfortunately, the Indians came alive and were able to get a touchdown up on us, and despite a late rally by the Patriots, there simply wasn't enough time left on the clock to make it happen. Going into the 2:00 left in the game mark, it looked like we were headed for an overtime session, but the Indians punched through the line a couple more times and with around 37 seconds remaining got one more TD on the board to break the 35-35 gridlock. The Patriots were unable to bounce back, and the final buzzer sounded, ending the playoff hopes and the season. But, the Patriots have much to be proud of for this football season. They had a great run and have the admiration of us all! Fantastic Job guys! You've made us proud! As always... LET'S GOOOOO PATRIOTS!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Broad spectrum of topics

So I started this long, in-depth analysis of the "Final Rule" submitted by the Federal Reserve System and the Department of the Treasury providing policy and regs related to the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act.) I was up to page 30-ish of the document which appears to be like 121 pages long and I've already created my own commentary that's just scrolling off the page, and suddenly it hits me. WTF!?! Why are you bothering!? The Act was crap, it was enacted in a shady fashion, it's been argued, beaten, commented upon, ignored, revised, and now this "final rule" gives us the regs for how to get it done. In short, this is just furtherance of crap. I immediately deleted my diatribe on the finer points of the most recent document. Look folks, we're beatin' this dead horse... and keep giving it new life, somehow. I'm not suggesting ignore it, but it seems the regs are here to stay at least for a while, until someone or something else comes along which renders it impotent or we just find a loophole to work around. I read Shamus comment in which he says he's sorry for the mushroom cloud picture and inciting a panic, but honestly I think we all know he wasn't suggesting that the end is nigh. He went on to cover I. Nelson Rose's comments which I think are spot on. Life will go on for poker and we who play her. However, the economy of the thing will suffer. What I mean to say is that the harder it becomes to "move" money about online for poker purposes, some folks simply won't bother. And a lot of those folks are fish and so you are going to continue to find yourself engaged in tougher and tougher games online. I'm not looking to deposit any time soon, if ever, since I have a comfortable sum online that I play with now. (I'd like it to get bigger, but I don't want it to rely on me depositing money to get there.) But with less new money flowing into the poker community, the skillset of those you will encounter is only going to improve. Only the strong will survive and the weak will not bother with a redeposit if they have to put too much work into it. So, I think Shamus has it right in this respect. The poker boom online owes much of its success to the ease with which you could get money online. There will be an impact, I'm certain, but I have no idea to what degree.

Anyway, I'd like to tell you I've been playing lotsa poker, but that'd be a lie. I did excavate and pour a concrete driveway extension to accommodate a third vehicle in the cheer_dad clan. Recall the yellow volkswagen now sitting out front in the belong of my daughter, Whitney. Two days of back-breaking work and chilly weather now behind me. The muscle aches and pains still bear witness to the feat though.

I'm tired, and now reviewing the log file from my phone it looks like I may have been called by the school (shudder.) Very likely in response to an email that I sent to my daughter's Geometry teacher, telling her that I think some changes are in order in her teaching approach. Okay, maybe I was a little more diplomatic than that. I can do that when I write. Not so much when cornered on the phone or in person. Diplomacy can then take the backseat... an argument will shortly ensue. But we shall see... and I shall blog.

Oh and don't forget... tonight we travel to Bridgeport, WV where the South Patriot Football Juggernaut faces off against Bridgeport High School in the first of our playoff games. Keep those fingers crossed! Let's GOOOOOOO Patriots!!!

Later all, it's just that kinda day.

Regards,

cheer_dad

42nd Annual CMA Awards

Country Music had its big night last night and as you can imagine at "Casa de cheer_dad y big red" the tv was tuned in for the duration. Admittedly, my wife is the bigger country music fan, whereas I waffle among many different kinds of music. Okay, I'm fickle... My iPod is a real mish-mash of jazz, soundtracks, country, rock, pop, and even some metal. (No friggin' RAP though!) I'm talking about "music" here. But I digress, back to the CMA's!

The show was hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, both of whom were showered with awards throughout the evening themselves, in addition to their presenting and performing duties. Carrie took down the Female Vocalist of the Year and Brad garnered the Male Vocalist of the Year.




My wife of course took great pride in the fact that her man Kenny Chesney took down the coveted Entertainer of the Year accolades for the 3rd year in a row, and 4th time overall. She called it before the envelope was opened, stating, "he's the only one who can fill up the stadiums!" Chesney was truly humbled again by the award and exuded gratitude upon receiving the award which was presented to him by the lovely Shania Twain. She remarked when she took the stage that it was good to be back and that we would be seeing a lot more of her. Perhaps this suggests a return to the country music scene for Shania following her split from Jeff "Mutt" Lange. As I said in a previous post... what an idiot! Despite the reasonings for her return, it's nice to see her back in the spotlight.

Some other not surprising awards throughout the night. Rascal Flatts took home Vocal Group of the Year, Sugarland took Duo of the Year and front lady Jennifer Nettles also took home top honors for Song of the Year for "Stay." I really like the song, and her heartfelt performance of the song in the simplistic video is absolutely stunning. (I do really wish she would return to her long hair though.) : )

An appearance I can always do without is Nicole Kidman. I like to hear Keith Urban perform but something about his missus really annoys me. Is she never out in the sun, with that pasty complexion, and I keep waiting for the fangs to come out and for her to lunge at Keith's neck. Okay, I'll quit now...


A surprise appearance for me to see was Darius Rucker (former Hootie and the Blowfish frontman) performing at the CMA's. I hadn't realized that he'd crossed over, and didn't realize he was the artist that sang this song “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” until he performed it live last night. Very good performance.

If you missed the CMA's you can check out all that happened and see a lot of pics and clips over at http://www.cmaawards.com/2008/.

Congratulations to all of the winners!

Regards,

cheer_dad

He looks like this...

I read over on GeneBromberg's blog some of his observations of last night's ESPN coverage of the WSOP Main Event Final Table, and learned that a lot of the things I was thinking were at least crossing the mind of at least someone else on the planet. One thing that he said though that I have to give feedback to immediately was who Peter Eastgate looks like. I would have commented to Gene directly but trying to visit his blog directly is now an offense as deemed by the PROXY OVERLORDS, and thusly my name once again is showing up on the roster of the gambling degenerates to the management staff. Go figure... Anyway Gene and anyone who happens by, this is Peter Eastgate:



And this is who immediately came to mind, and I blurted it out to Big Red while we were watching the 2-hour ESPN coverage of the Final Table.














She laughed and said, " he DOES look like Malachi, from Children of the Corn! (also known in real-life as Courtney Gains, www.courtneygains.net)"










Sadly, as time wears on for the 22-year-old Poker Champ, his curly hair will fade over time. So, hang on to the PokerStars swag to keep your head warm in the future.

On the plus side the nickname "IceGate" for that steely expressionless stare is working for you. Outfit yourself with a pair of suspenders and a sharp blade for eliminating your poker table foes and your transformation will be complete.

By the way in the Children of the Corn shot from above, is that Phil Hellmuth hanging from the corn? Or is it just his record for being the youngest player to win the Main Event about to be burnt in effigy? : )

On a serious note, once again let me say "CONGRATULATIONS" to Peter Eastgate on his win of the World Series of Poker Main Event! You are indeed the World Poker Champ. I wish you continued success.

Regards,

cheer_dad

We have a WSOP Main Event Winner!!! *spoiler alert*

Congratulations to Peter Eastgate the World Series of Poker Main Event Champion! At long last the field has been vanquished and Peter Eastgate stands atop them all. In the longest ever final table/heads up battle in the history of the Main Event, the final two Ivan Demidov and Peter Eastgate battled for #104 hands heads up before finally crowning a winner. Demidov takes home the second spot and $5,809,595. Eastgate, the youngest ever winner of poker's greatest tournament at the tender age of 22, takes home $ 9,152,416 for his efforts! He also dethrones Phil Hellmuth as the youngest player to win the Main Event. Congratulations to Eastgate on an excellent run. You have not only the cash, the bracelet, but also the admiration of the Poker World! Thanks again to PokerNews.com for covering and providing live reporting from the hallowed halls of the Rio. I look forward to watching it all on ESPN!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Final Table continues... "spoiler alert"

After I logged off and then headed to bed, the remaining six players at the Final Table of the WSOP Main Event returned to "play-on." Before the action got underway again Dewey Tomko and Henry Orenstein were inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Following these ceremonies the cards were back in the air and blinds at 250,000-500,000 with a 50,000 ante.

The action continued on until Hand #105 when Darus Suharto was eliminated in 6th Place ($2,418,562) when he tangles with Scott Montgomery for all the marbles. His A8os is dominated by Montgomery's AQos, but it's even worse when Montgomery hits the nut flush on the turn, and sends Suharto to the rail.

Following that the chip counts were now at:

Dennis Phillips: 20,275,000
Ylon Schwartz: 19,375,000
Scott Montgomery: 32,700,000
Ivan Demidov: 26,350,000
Peter Eastgate: 37,525,000

Then after a devastating hand (#114) Scott Montgomery was dropped to just over 7 Million in chips when he tangled with Ivan Demidov. Montgomery held A9s but never improved to Demidov's wired Kings. A few short hands later on hand #119 - Scott Montgomery was eliminated in 5th Place ($3,096,768.)

After that the action broke briefly and chip counts were updated:

Dennis Phillips: 17,325,000
Ylon Schwartz: 22,175,000
Ivan Demidov: 49,100,000
Peter Eastgate: 47,625,000

On hand #155 Ylon Schwartz was eliminated in 4th Place ($3,774,974.)

And then... on Hand #169 Dennis Phillips... my "boy" was taken down and out in 3rd place. He held 9-10os against Eastgate's wired pocket 3's. When the flop brought the 3... well it was over. He takes home $4,517,773! It was a fantastic run... and after the bounce back early on Day 1... I was hopeful that he would go all the way. But it wasn't to be.

The remaining players, Ivan Demidov and Peter Eastgate return tonight at 10:00pm to finish this thing once and for all. Demidov holds the chip lead with 79,500,000, to Peter Eastgate - 57,725,000. Only time will tell.

Again thanks to F-Train and change100 for their continued coverage on Pokernews.com. Seriously... go check out all the great coverage they are providing! http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/november-nine/final-table/day2/

Stay tuned!

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP 2008 Final Table ...spoiler alert...

The November Nine returned to the Rio today at 10:00am PST. Play continues... According to the live coverage from PokerNews.com many of the hands/pots have ended before a flop is even seen. Positional play has really dominated things with late position players taking advantage of seeing what the others are going to do. In fact, it wasn't until the 13th hand of the night that a single community card was even seen by the table.

When things got underway here's how the chip stacks measured up:

Seat 1: Dennis Phillips (26,295,000)
Seat 2: Craig Marquis (10,210,000)
Seat 3: Ylon Schwartz (12,525,000)
Seat 4: Scott Montgomery (19,690,000)
Seat 5: Darus Suharto (12,520,000)
Seat 6: David Rheem (10,230,000)
Seat 7: Ivan Demidov (24,400,000)
Seat 8: Kelly Kim (2,620,000)
Seat 9: Peter Eastgate (18,375,000)

Here are some of the big moments thus far, as reported:

Dennis Phillips got tangled up with Ivan Demidov on Hand #18 which didn't make it to the Turn card, but did a lot of damage. The pot was raised and reraised with an All-In, which Phillips folded to. The pot catapulted Demidov to 35,875,000 in chips and Phillips down to under 9,000,000.

In Hand #52 Craig Marquis became the first casualty, when his pocket 7's ran into Scott Montgomery's AQos. An Ace fell on the flop, but so did another 7! Unfortunately along with that was a 10, and then the unthinkable happened and Montgomery caught runner-runner and hit the Broadway Straight! So Marquis heads for the rail with no additional money than he had than when he left the Rio before the break $900,670.

On the very next hand Kelly Kim who had been the extreme short-stack from the get go finally went out. He mucked his hand, when the other two remaining at showdown turned up hands which had him apparently dominated. Kim takes home $1,288,217 .

Hand #76 brought an end to David "Chino" Rheem's WSOP Main Event journey. Rheem got it in with the best of it with his AKos against Peter Eastgate's AQos, but a Queen dropped on the flop and that was all it took. Rheem heads for the rail with $1,772,650.

Hand #88 was the last before the players headed to their dinner break. They will get back to the action at 7:15pm PST. The "big" story seems to be Dennis Phillips who has clawed his way back from some earlier missteps and is back up to just under 27 Million in chips, which puts him right back into the thick of things.

Chip counts as of the break are:

Ivan Demidov 30725000
Peter Eastgate 27175000
Dennis Phillips 26950000
Ylon Schwartz 20475000
Scott Montgomery 20300000
Darus Suharto 10600000

Stay tuned... or if you can't wait for me point your browser over to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/november-nine/final-table/day1/ for all the best coverage! Thanks to F-Train and change100 for the superb coverage!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Stick shift... no big deal! : P

Super News!!!

Whitney can drive a STANDARD now!!! I took her out for her second lesson behind the wheel of her car today. I let her drive around in the same parking lot again for a while and then got her out on the street (with very little traffic) and get some more speed and as high as 3rd gear, before coming to a stop again. Then, after that went well, without many "stalled" attempts we did some more adventurous stuff. She even pulled into a parking spot, reverse, and even the dreaded taking off from a dead stop when your sitting on an incline! She did so well, that she got to drive us back home from the practice lot. Once she got out in the real world she thought less and less about the shifting and clutching process and just did it like she was an old pro. When we got home, I asked her with a somber/straight face, "so do you think you'll be able to learn to drive a standard now?" The smile and the laughter told the story! She knows she's got it now, and that given more time she'll only get better. I told her the most important thing is just not to panic, and just pay attention to the task at hand. I'm very proud of her, and glad that she's picked it up and doesn't feel frustrated about it anymore.

This will rank up there among some of the best father and daughter memories that I'll remember and try always to treasure. Great job baby girl!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Bug Pix!

As promised... here's some shots of my baby girl's car. It's a peppy little thing! Yes, it's a standard. Yes, she whined some about that fact but in my firm "dad-voice" I piped her down! I told her to trust me, I'd have her driving a stick shift in no time. Sorry the pictures aren't better, but hey it was raining outside at the time. I'll work with her this weekend, and get that clutch foot/leg in shape real quick.


She's got herself worked up for nothing as most of you already know. We were all a little skiddish when we had to learn to drive one ourselves, but now much like riding a bike, even after a number of years we never forget how it's done. I made her feel a little bit better when I told her that her mother "stalled" in it twice yesterday... once while trying to show off to the Wolfe Clan. That one was priceless.

Anyway, I wanted to get these posted up for the world to see. I know this pales by comparison to the major things going on in our world today, but this is a pretty big deal to us in our little corner of the 'burbs.

And ya gotta admit... it's kinda cute isn't it!!!

Later all, and South plays football again tonight. Let's GOOOOOO Patriots!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

There's a new sheriff in town among other things...

Well kids... there's a new sheriff in town, errr the nation! At approximately, 11:00pm EST last night ALL of the major networks were calling the presidential race for Barack Obama. Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you find yourself, you must acknowledge the significance of this event in the history of the United States. There's absolutely no denying it. Whether or not he was "your guy" while you were voting, he is now. He IS the president-elect, and worthy of our respect. Congratulations on a well-run campaign, and the victory. It's always good to put one up in the WIN column. I think as most of you know that I tend to lean a little further to the "right" in matters political, but I can say this... I do believe that Barack Obama will serve as President of the United States in a respectable manner and will perhaps restore to the office a greater sense of respect. I'll go out on a limb so far as to say that his term in office will NOT be marred in any "Clintonian" scandal of a seedy nature. Despite what may be our ideological differences, Barack Obama appears an honourable man. I wish him the best. May he lead well...

In other news, tonight my "baby-girl" Whitney got a surprise/early birthday present. Mamaw and Papaw bought her, her first automobile. It's a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, used, but in excellent shape and appearance. She loves everything about it, except for the fact that she's a little apprehensive about learning to drive a stick shift. Yes, boys and girls it's a standard. Dad and I took her for her first lesson in the Bureau parking lot tonight. She did okay, and she'll only get better as the days pass. I know it... but of course she doesn't. Eventually though she won't even remember what it was like not to know how to do it. I just keep telling her to trust me, and I'm being VERY supportive. It was too dark tonight for pictures, so I'll try to take some tomorrow and get 'em posted up. I'm very excited for her, maybe even a little jealous of the sporty looking little thing!

Tomorrow is an Eagles night, and we'll be there, how about you? The weekend I believe will find another poker game to be played, as JR scurries about trying to put together yet another NDPT event. Hope to see all of you at some point during the weekend.

Thanks for stopping by...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Happy Election Day!

Regardless of whether you throw your lot in with the donkey or side the way of the elephant just get out there today and do your thing. Vote your conscience, if you've got one. This is not and will not be a blog dedicated in any way to politics. The old picture shown however did catch my eye whilst perusing the web. Sex sells indeed... :P

But, as this is a holiday of sorts "Happy Election Day" one should reflect on things and rattle off those for which he or she feels thankful. For me, here they be...


1.) Finally the campaigning is OVER!
2.) When all the "vote for me" signs come down, I'll finally be able to see the "amber waves of grain" again.
3.) As a government employee, I'll have a new boss(-elect.)
4.) Debates, speeches, and other nit-wittery will cease to interrupt my television viewing pleasure.
5.) My phone will stop ringing all friggin' evening!
6.) Hilary Clinton is NOT among the options on the ballot!!! Can I get an amen on that?
7.) Regardless of who wins, the economy will seem to mysteriously normalize... go figure.
8.) We'll finally know who told the biggest and best (or worst) lies.
9.) Either way history will be made, in electing either an African American to the presidency or a Female American to the vice-presidency. Probably something that shouldn't have taken so long to do. I also 'prolly pushed the "politically correct" thing there a bit.
10.) But MOST importantly... we're a mere week away from the Broadcast of the WSOP Main Event FINAL TABLE on November 11th!!!

Someone cue up the Battle Hymn of the Republic, I'm gettin' all misty over here!!!

Vote early... vote often...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Medicated

Still feeling the effects of whatever it is that ails me. I went to QuickCare yesterday after Cole finished bowling... and got an antibiotic and some other meds. The headaches have been the worst, but I'm starting to feel a little better, except for the fact that I'm really tired. I'll see how I feel in the morning, to see how work goes...

We went last night to the Yanok's to play cards. I finished 4th place in each of the games. I managed to make my money back plus another $10... Oh well, a night playing cards and all that. I ended up going out of both games at the hands of a suckout in both cases. I got it in with the best of it, and ended up on the wrong side of the community cards. It's the nature of the game. All the more reason to love it.

I'm still a little overly medicated so my thoughts are scrambled and I think I'll simply call it a night, and a post. Good night...

Regards,

cheer_dad