As we usher in 2010...

Take a few moments to reflect on the year that has been 2009 as we pass joyously into the new year. I'm grateful for family and friends and time well spent among them all. I'm thankful for our individual prosperity in troublesome times. While like most of us I could use to shed some additional poundage, I've been blessed with continued good health, and I remain active.

I think about those who've gone on before, and are no longer a part of my daily life... but I recall the manner in which each touched my life, and have contributed to who I've become and even will be in the future.

Tonight, is indeed a time of great celebration and good will as we usher in the new year. Look forward to great things if for no other reason than to bring about self-fulfilling-prophecy! There's a picture/sign that my wife has hung here in our home, which aside from all the others speaks volumes to me... and I hope I can strive to achieve its message throughout the coming year and through all my remaining days:

...live...laugh...love...

Happy New Year to one and all!

Regards,

cheer_dad

In 3D Where Available...

On the heels of my 3D Avatar experience I've already started craving to see another 3D movie. I've seen them before, but on vacation of course where it was usually also in IMAX. But for the most part those were documentarian in nature or thrill ride-ish. Avatar however was a movie, with plot, and effects, and things that blow-up too. The movie was enhanced by being shown in 3D. It wasn't just thrown together and some effects inserted for folks to gawk at. The added dimension was thoroughly embraced... and I for one enjoyed and appreciated it! Anyway, I've digressed... I started looking around for other 3D movies on the horizon for the coming year. I stumbled across http://www.3dmovielist.com/list.html, which provided a number of other links which to visit for specifics about each of the movies I've listed below:

http://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com/ We saw the trailer for this one on the beginning of Avatar, and everyone expressed interest in coming back for it. Clearly the family is on board with my 3D fascination.

http://www.thehotticket.net/kennychesney/ Oh yeah, this goes without saying that at the very least Big Red and I will definitely be going to see. Hell, we might even be in the footage for all I know!

http://www.shrek.com/ Well duh, of course...

http://disney.go.com/toystory/ And uhhhh, ditto!

http://www.despicable.me/ This one, I don't know, we aren't exactly members of Steve Carell's fan club.

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/tron/ I may have to see this one by myself... this is all uber geek for the rest of the cheer_dad clan. But the original movie was strewn with effects and you know a new one would be as well. Also, many a quarter was sacrificed to the almighty Tron arcade game back in the day! If I'm really quiet, I think I can still hear the music blaring from the machine's speakers! Oh wait maybe that's my tinitis acting up again.

But I've found something new (to me) to hold my attention for a while, at least until someone installs a 3D IMAX theater somewhere close to home! : )

Fear not this momentary fascination will not erase my love (or hate) of poker! Nor will it skew the focus of the blog. Game on! There will continue to appear all manner of pokery goodness!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Avatar

The family and I just got back from watching Avatar. If you haven't seen it yet, what're you waiting for?!? Run, don't walk! The movie was absolutely amazing. The effects, scenery, plot, cgi, it was all amazing. Also, if you do decide to go, please see it in a theater which offers it in 3D! You'll thank me. I was really blown away by this movie, and so was the rest of my family. We talked about it all the way home from Athens, this evening. Kudos to James Cameron on an epic vision realized!

Really why are you still reading my crummy blog, go see Avatar already!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Some days...sheesh

It just doesn't pay to sit down at the online table. While waiting for Big Red to get ready, I set down for a quickie PokerStars session. I called it DONE after 250 hands (i was 4 tabling.) During the session I just couldn't put anything together on any table, I posted the following Facebook, as a comical rant:

"needs the 'L' tattooed on forehead... quick online cash session. set of K's busted, then, A9 (flop 2 pair, but he hits set of 9's), AA vs K4os, he hits boat KKK44, KK vs K5 he hits straight w/his 5, and finally AQ vs KQ, and he hits flush. and i play this game for fun! : )"

But there are just those days that you feel like you can't hit water if you fall out of the fuckin' boat! Still, remember Doc Schoonmaker's mantra to look at yourself for the reasons for your losses. In the latter part of the session, after most of the damage had been done, I got loose, and my open attempts to limp were hammered by those paying attention. That cost me a few extra nickles and dimes... I notice that when I get behind that my thoughts do drift toward just liking to get even, but I try to resist, and don't allow myself to play on through a "bad luck streak." They are inevitable. They happen... and most certainly to me! : ) Now, now... in time, those 3 buy-ins will find their way back to my lil poker fold! Just sucks to lose 'em and I'll miss 'em whilst they are gone.

It wasn't bad luck, star alignment, sun spots, or anything else, it's just the way the cards felt. Well and I think Lady Luck mighta given me a "wet willy!" : )

Heading out to meet Uncle June at the club... and I'm sure there will be others.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Just a quick note to say Merry Christmas to everyone. May your holiday season be filled with joy, family, and friends.

Here at the house of cheer_dad, I think we've actually got everything wrapped up and ready to be ripped open in the morning. I can't wait to play with some of this stuff too! : )

We're heading out the door now, to make the Christmas party rounds, next stop the home of Chris and Laura (and Megan too!) See you soon!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Follow up to the Eagles Game

I guess I never followed up with anything more about the Eagles Game, on the through the night as I continued to imbibe... : ) Eric Shuman takes down the top spot in the tourney with a nice payday on his return to tournament poker play after a bit of a hiatus. Congrats to him! I of course busted out when I got called by the guy with the monster 10-6! I swear he actually looked everyone at the table in the eye and said, "but they were suited, I had to call!" and he wasn't kidding, having called my $250 allin. He was amassing quite the chip stack... only to give it all away, leaving him to wonder, how he came up short... and why did he lose... To be honest I got a kick out of it all. Although, I wish some of the rest of you at the table weren't instructing him on how to play better, sheesh! Okay, tips on dealing and etiquette, and not being an obnoxious douche-bag are fine to relay to people... but not how to play the game well. Let a donk, continue to be a donk!

But, I moved on to the cash game, where I found myself seated across from Harry Knopp. Then, there was the other guy, whose name escapes me, who was absolutely bleeding money! We were all buying in for $20. But he did so, several times, and even bought for $40 once or so. When he finally had enough and left... the game started to whither. I cashed myself and the rest out not long after. Harry left with over $300, having bought in for maybe $40 (maybe $60.) I cashed out for $80, having bought in with only $20. So, made back my tourney buyin, and cash, and made some spending money for Cole's basketball tourney for the rest of the weekend. : )

Among other things on the weekend, Sunday evening I was called to drive Uncle June and Chris home when an officers' Christmas party at the Eagles found them both unable to spell car let alone drive one. But that was good times for me. But how sad of a day is it when you have to call on ME to be the DD?!?

Played some cards online yesterday on PokerStars. I cleared a teeny tiny profit of a few measly cents... but felt okay, having recovered from an allin preflop with Aces, and got beat by pocket Kings, when he flopped another cowboy on me. I won't complain... since later in the session I was a set hitting fool and pounding some opponents' over pairs into oblivion. Had it not been for the early hit... it would have been a profitable session indeed.

Back at the grind today, working for the man. I've got some late afternoon meetings that will likely put me on tilt! But, hey, what could possibly go wrong? Hope all is well with each of you. Stay warm and safe, and get that Christmas shopping completed! Buy me sumpin' nice!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Oddly enuff right here in WV at our usual eagles game we r graced by WPT final tabler harry knopp! Enjoyed it...and he's a good guy too!

regards,

cheer_dad

Now i go on a suckout rally! Hitting absolute shhhhtuff on everybody on my steal attempts. Game on...

regards,
cheer_dad

Mr bucholtz takes one of my legs out from under me in this december eagles tourney. My ak hits the ace on the flop but not nearly as good as his set of 6s!

My wife is right...again

I have to hand it to my wife, when she's right... she's right. It seems with the advent of social networking site Facebook and other notification methods, although I did "post" results from the NDPT 2009 Year End Tournament elsewhere I failed to do so HERE on the NDPT blog! I even need to get the original website updated to reflect that too. (Hmmm, wonder if I can even remember the account information for that!?!) Been awhile since I've even touched that html!

BUT without further delay, the results of the tournament which we hosted on December 12th, 2009 are:

Eric Freed 1st
Teresa "Big Red" Murray 2nd
JR Ruble 3rd
Vince Post 4th

A "loser's" honorable mention goes to yours truly cheer_dad, for bubbling in 5th. : ( Yeah, thanks DEAR!!! Now you know why she wanted to see a post, dontcha, AND likely why I "forgot." hehe!

But, it was a great night, with great friends and some great card play. Thank you all for continuing to feed this poker degeneracy in me!

Regards,

cheer_dad

That time of year

It's that time of year again, in which despite our best intentions and my warnings at work that WAY TOO MANY PROJECTS get put off til the end of the year, or had planned to culminate with the "first of the year!" Do the buffoons not remember this from year to year? It's always the same. A limited staff struggles to perform in the absence of a lot of people trying to do their Christmassssy type stuff, and use up all of that "use or lose" leave before January 1st! Stressful situations ensue. Tempers flare, and fuses ignite... I have all that to I suppose but this year an added bonus is that the projects I have on my plate all have additional idiots who are stalling the overall progress. Yes, the ones who remain on site... and slowing things down this year. Go figure.

So, I'm opting to burn some leave up myself and get myself in the holiday spirit. Or drink some spirits around the holidays... errr, oh you get the picture. There's always misery to love company with!

In other news don't forget this Friday, December 18th at 7:00pm at the Eagles... we're playing Poker again. Last months attendance record of 54 could get shattered, and I'd like to be there to witness it all over again. Hope to see you all there!

Regards,

cheer_dad

brrrr! sitting here waiting for cole's bball practice to end and the temp reads 23... and i'm not talkin' celsius.
regards,
cheer_dad

NDPT Year End Tourney Dec 12th, 7pm

Seeing as there are so many things going on this year, I've made the decision to forgo the December qualifier for the NDPT Year End Tournament and instead just have the Final Tournament. Below is the listing of EVERYONE who accumulated points throughout the 2009 NDPT Poker Season... Congratulations! The money that each person paid in to this qualifier has yielded us a pot of $550 that we'll be playing for. The number next to each of your names, signifies the number of chips that each of you will of course will be starting with. The blinds will be in line with the original NDPT blinds schedule (where everyone would normally start out with $1,000 in tournament chips.) This tournament will be held at my house, where it all began. This is a smaller group and a little easier to manage here...

The date will be Saturday, December 12th, 2009 at 7:00pm. (YES, that is THIS weekend!!!) Please let me know as soon as possible if you will be attending. If there are conflicts I may have to make a change, but I'll let everyone know as soon as possible. Depending on the actual number of people that show up to play, we will be playing for either 3 or 4 payouts.

JR Ruble 2,940
Teresa Murray 2,280
Eric Freed 2,130
Brian Murray 2,040
Del Minturn 1,985
Julie Wolfe 1,930
John Johnson 1,700
Steve Allman 1,625
Vince Post 1,550
Matt Hensley 1,050
Mike Westbrook 953
TJ Sellers 630
Julie Miller 480
Dennis Rempel 315

Hope to see you all here!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

We are the Champions...

Uncle June and I seem to be making this particular outcome into a habit! December 5th, 2 tables of poker miscreants gathered at the Yanok's house at High Noon, to play out the Year End Tournament. Over five hours of play ensued...With lots of ups and downs for us all. This tournament has people starting with dissimilar chip stacks in proportion to their level of wins throughout the year. We had each paid in $5 for every tournament we had participated in throughout the year. Usually 2 per month, since Yanok began holding "double" qualifiers for the whole year. Matt finished in 4th, Steve in 3rd... and Uncle June and I chopped 1st and 2nd... To determine the winner of the championship and the coveted YSOP (Yanok Series of Poker) bracelet, we played it out and I ended up with the BLING! It all sort of erases any and all bad poker mojo throughout the year. Don't think I'll be able to claim anything like "I never win" or that "I'm running bad" without having someone laugh at or slap me in the face.

Great time, great friends, and an incredible hosting job by the Yanoks. Thank you for inviting us into your home time and time again! I look forward to many games to come with you ALL!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Poker night at the Yanok's! Wrapping up the rest of the week's chaos... ready for the lost poker weekend ahead.

Regards,

cheer_dad

The REAL bad "wobot"

Okay, so whomever the Numb Nuts is who has setup to drop his links on my older blog posts... I've resorted to inconveniencing the rest of my visitors who opt to leave legitimate comments. I hope you're happy Asshole! I've grown tired already of removing your "comments" (which are nothing more than porn links to your website) in the short time that I've been removing you. So, to help flush out the problem, when someone comments they will from now on be required to copy verification text into a box. That way if Mr. Numb Nuts is a spam robot, then he can go bang a toaster for all I care. As for the rest of you, sorry for the added step!

Of course if this doesn't work, I'll have to begin moderating all comments, which flies in the face of how I've always treated the blog. But sheesh at least stay somewhat on topic.

Not that I'm opposed to the beauty of the female form in all it's wondrous glory... you have all oft seen/heard my battle cry of "Yeah Boobies!" In short... I'm for them! But hey, this is my blog, my choice, my links, my shit... No means NO big fella! Go away, bad "wobot!"

Regards,

cheer_dad

Long week and we've only just finished hump day. Same time it's been good, and somewhat gratifying. Purposeful is a good word for it.

Regards,

cheer_dad

A little cleanup is necessary

I'm just getting started, wading through the blog clearing out all the garbage postings left by the various spamming scum of the "undernet" who have latched on over time to the ole NDPT. Yes, I've noticed you posting (if you're even human) but haven't had the time to cleanse your filth from my little blog. I'm getting started and won't likely stop. I'd hate to have to lock down my commenters... I'm a free speech, free love kinda guy, but I'll do it if the current wave of garbage continues to plague me. The funny part is most of these leeches are tagging on to OLD posts. Even last year's WSOP. That is like SOOOO last year!!! To all who have remained faithful to my ramblings, thanks... to the blood-sucking-ne'er-do-well-ish-leeches. BITE ME!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Cross Lanes last night

A little +EV and positive outcome last night at the Mardi Gras Poker Room in Cross Lanes, WV. The tight game and aggressive when necessary paid off in the end. I even got spanked around a bit with pocket Kings. Man there are truly some horrid players out there in the wild! Action junkies get paid off far too often than should be legal! I made a nice pot with pocket Aces for once, so I can't trash talk them in the future. I thought I'd announce it here to tell it to the world. Anyway up a couple of hundred after a good night at the tables. Hope to do it again soon. Nice seeing some of the typical morons getting pounded by their own sloppy play for a change.

Tonight, dinner with my lovely wife, for her birthday (Sunday.) Lotsa friends coming along. See you all soon. Happy Birthday Big Red!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a Very Happy Thanksgiving. Be safe in your travels, enjoy the company of friends and family, and eat yourselves into a turkey coma! Let the feasting begin!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Mommy is Gone

Mommy is Gone

My sympathies go out to Daniel Negreanu on the passing of his mother. He writes a heartfelt dedication/testament to the life she led and the family she touched.

Regards,

cheer_dad

NDPT 2009 Points Race, and Year End Planning

Greetings all fellow NDPT'ers! The points race for the 2009 year has nearly drawn to a close! We have only one more qualifier tournament left for the year, which will coincide with the Eagles Tournament in December. You know the drill the extra $5 that has been collected from the members of the NDPT. We need to begin planning now for when we will hold the Year End Tournament. I know that the holidays get VERY hectic for us all and I don't want this to sneak up on us and leave anyone out in the cold! So be thinking about when you would like to have it. This tournament will return to OUR basement. The points that are shown below are the current standings, and reflect what each of you will be issue in tournament chips. Of course the December qualifier will add to this as well, so the totals are not yet carved in stone. We will be playing for an approximate $600 prize pool. That's not bad for a total of 14 qualified players! So, plan on being there! If you have some preferences on time and dates for this little game, please start replying here or to my email. I want to be sure to dodge the many other games and other holiday type functions too. Remember only those who have paid in and qualified will be playing in this event. Thank goodness I qualified for my own tourney!!! Check out the points standings below:

JR Ruble 2,940
Teresa Murray 2,280
Eric Freed 2,130
Brian Murray 2,040
Del Minturn 1,985
Julie Wolfe 1,930
John Johnson 1,700
Steve Allman 1,625
Vince Post 1,550
Matt Hensley 1,050
Mike Westbrook 953
TJ Sellers 630
Julie Miller 480
Dennis Rempel 315

Regards,

cheer_dad

In training... and it's Monday

Just a quick note... heading off to training in a couple of minutes. I'll be out of touch from the world. A lot of taskings this week, and a lot of outside appointments later in the week, and a whole slew of meetings on the calendar too. So, of course I'll accomplish very likely ZERO! Looking around here, I wonder if I can request maid service?

Oh and UGGGGGHHHHH, it's Monday! Gotta run gang...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Eagles Poker Tournament TONIGHT!

Don't forget folk and folkette, that tonight is the Eagles Poker Tournament. Registration begins at 6:00pm, and cards get in the air at roughly 7:00pm. $25 gets you in the game. Uncle June forecasts attendance to be VERY high tonight (yeah, he's got crazy mad prediction skills!) So, don't be late!!! If like me, you find yourself "felted" early, don't get all dejected because JINX'D is playing tonight, and they ALWAYS put on a fantastic show for us. Songs sure to be sung, will be "I hate my life..." and the EVER popular "Crazy Bitch!" Hmmm, there's a telling statement in there somewhere, I just know it.

The work day is nearly over for me. I have to make a quick run by the high school to pick up Whit's assignments that she's missed while oinkin' it up with the FLU. So not only has she been sick, and dealing with my smart alec remarks, now she gets to do school work over the weekend. Yes, baby girl, daddy gives... because he loves! : P

I'll see Y'ALL tonight.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Follow up questions...

Well, one reply did come in from Uncle June (look down below to the longer of the previous postings.) I started a follow up comment to him, but then recognized that some of these additional thoughts were at least curious (to me) and worth sharing, and doubtful that any of you might actually wade through all of the comments out here. So, here's what I ended up saying in response to his comment:

No, I didn't feel that I was beat at that moment. (It became abundantly clear when he rolled over his pocket 6's though, for a flopped set.) I'm just trying to decide if this was my rookie mistake or if it was just one of those situations where I was destined to lose a lot of chips (which I did.) BUT, if I'm suggesting that when you bet out TPTK after the flop (with a hand you raised with preflop too) and get raised post flop, that you should be folding... I'm afraid that sounds as if I'm playing like too much of a NIT! Or should I always assume that to be at that point a weak holding when raised?

I don't want to rationalize this away if I screwed up, I'm really trying to heed the lessons of Alan Schoonmaker's book, Your Worst Poker Enemy. Losers will continue to blame bad luck and rationalize away their own poor plays. Those trying to become winners, will analyze and reflect and learn from mistakes. Here, though I want to make sure I'm learning the correct lesson.

I don't want this "story" to come across as a bad beat story (it wasn't,) or that I always lose with a particular hand or good cards, because frankly of course I always lose with good cards, as I try not to play trash hands in the first place. I also win with good cards.

BWoP, if you stumble across this mess of postings, I'm particularly interested in your thoughts on this, if you're willing to share. My reason... I think you have more cash game experience than a lot of folks. You're not the type to offer up cure-all poker advice which we all know doesn't exist in the first place, as the answer to most questions continues to be "it depends..."

Also, in other unrelated upcoming events:
Don't forget tomorrow night, November 13th (yes, Friday the 13th) its yet another installment of the Eagles' Poker Tournament. Registration begins at 6:00pm, game at 7:00pm. $25 gets you in it, to win it! Also JINX'D is playing starting at 9:00pm, so those who bust out early will have some great music to listen to while they console their egos with copious amounts of adult beverage. Hope to see you all there! Be warned cheer_dad's looking to replenish the bankroll. Only with your help can I make that a reality! : P

Regards,

cheer_dad

Thanks for listening and for living with the broken posts but sometimes i ramble beyond the confines of a text message.
Regards,
cheer_dad

Now if i am rationalizing MY bad play say so! I use the analysis and re-hashing of hands to try and get something positive of something that went badly.

I think if i had resized my betting i would have avoided getting it all in on the flop...but by the river i think if he had any sense at all he owned me.

Well he was and he wasn't. In hindsight i believe he would have been equally capable of making that move with rags. Just this time he had the goods.

A pair is not the hand to put your entire stack at risk for, albeit tptk. My analysis leaned more toward the assumption that he was pushing me around.

It worked to eliminate 2 of the callers. But the guy that hits is the only one who calls here. The raise should have given me more pause than it did.

Further contemplation on the hand that broke me. Him hitting his set of 6s was good fortune. My bet post flop was pot sized designed to get take it down now...

It went downhill

You see a few of the mobile texting posts from yesterday, as I had joined Frank and headed south to the Cross Lanes Poker Room. The tournament brought me stale cards, but I had glimmer of hope briefly when a stolen pot beefed me back up. Unfortunately the blinds and antes just slowly chipped me out. No pairs, connectors, or face cards for that matter. Busted out 33 out of 95 players. sigh...

Then, on to the cash game. It was VERY loose. Suckout city... So, I played cautious. First hand I got involved in from the button, was 7-8os when it was only $5 to the flop, with EVERYONE in. Why not. The board shows two sevens on the flop. Ooooh goodie for cheer_dad. It checked around to me, so I fumbled around and threw out what looked like a steal for the pot. I got a couple callers. The turn was an 8. I think the table rose a little on my end of it. But the guy in front of me throws out a $20 bet. I feign to throw away (yes, transparent to most players but not these guys.) Then frustrated looking I throw in a raise. He called very slowly... more shrewd than I gave him credit for. He tables his 7-9s for trips. I table my 7s full of 8s for the win and a very nice pot. He had called from early position with a 7-9, in fact I think he's the one that made it $5 in the first place. Hmmmm. BUT, life is good, cheer_dad's actually up for the trip now, despite busting out of the tourney. I order a beer... You can see where this is going. Then, comes the hand. I'm in the small blind, and the whole table is limping in, it rounds back to me, and I finally look down at my cards. I have AQos. I make it $15 straight to go, just content to take it there. Instead I get 3 callers. Oh goodie...BUT as luck would have it, the flop comes out Q-6-4 rainbow. This is a great flop for me. So, I bet out $60, still just wanting to get this done and over... 1 fold, then 2, then wait... WTF, he pauses and looks doubtingly at my cards seemingly challenging that I have a queen in my hand. So much so that he grabs a boat load of greens (far more than enough to put me and my measly stack all in. I think he threw like $200 out there, where I had a lil under $100 left. Everything here pointed to him buying it, the pot had swollen now, a call by me is going to make it in the $360+ neighborhood. I've lost track, my mind, and as you can tell, I'm about to lose all my chips too. I make the call with my top pair top kicker, convinced that he's bullying me, like I've seen he and the other players doing so far tonight. I call it, and he says immediately I "just" got middle set... 666, the mark of the beast. I've just been owned. Nice hand sir, I'll call it a night after that. No, sense throwing good money after bad.

To any of my readers, where did I go wrong on this... other than actually showing UP in the card room in the first place? Did the chips inevitably end up in the pot, no matter? Anything I could've done? Was I just destined to lose it all here? Should I just suck it up, and quit the bitching, or what do I actually "learn" here? I await any comments you may have...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Wow... First win of the night for me with j9os. Wins me over 2,000. Bluffed after the flop... Level 5. 54 of 95 left in. Gettin' 'spensive

Frank ever the bad influence convinces me that cross lanes poker room is the place to be on this tuesday eve leading into the holiday... Tourney starts now!

Congratulations to Joe Cada on winning the 2009 WSOP Main Event! He claimed the title after an 87 hand heads-up battle with Darvin Moon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

WSOP Final Table (Day 1)

Action as promised got back under way yesterday at the Rio. Thus far, the players have been at it for over 16 hours! Yes, you read that correctly! Poker is indeed a sport, if you consider Raw Endurance as a sport... I feel for you guys. Hang in there. And "hang" they must as the goal is to play the final 9 down to the final 2, before anyone can call it a day. When play resumed on this "Day 1" of the Final Table, here's the tale of the chip stacks:

Seat 1: Darvin Moon (58,930,000)
Seat 2: James Akenhead (6,800,000)
Seat 3: Phil Ivey (9,765,000)
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel (12,390,000)
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter (29,885,000)
Seat 6: Eric Buchman (34,800,000)
Seat 7: Joseph Cada (13,215,000)
Seat 8: Antoine Saout (9,500,000)
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman (19,580,000)

And now many hours later... the number of players has been reduced (at this time when I awoke to start reading up and post my own blog entry) down to 3 players left. As I read back through the coverage provided by PokerNews (no I didn't stay up to read and listen along, sorry cheer_dad's just not that dedicated from here in the hills of WV) here are some of the things which catch my eye and interest, including the names of those who have been eliminated thus far. So, if you want to keep it a surprise until it airs on TV... stop reading now! I'm serious, here we go... Last chance...

It was nearly an hour into play before a Turn and then a River card were even seen, at Hand #28. It was a check-down hand between Jeff Schulman and Eric Buchman. Buchman came up with the winner.

Just under 13 hours ago, James Akenhead was eliminated in 9th Place and thus finally lays claim to 9th place prize money of $1,263,602. Although, recall that everyone was already paid roughly that amount before the big break. Congratulations on having come so far Mr. Akenhead! And then there were 8.

Just over 12 hours ago, on hand #68 - Kevin Schaffel was eliminated in 8th Place ($1,300,231) with a gut wrenching hand! Schaffel got it all-in with his pocket Aces and found himself up against the pocket Kings of Eric Buchman. A gut wrenching King came out on the flop, only to have the only other King in the deck arrive on the TURN! Yeah, I think Quad Kings are good here! Ouch! Still, congratulations to Mr. Schaffel. And then there were 7.

This snippet update from PokerNews.com's "donpeters" made me laugh,
"Ivey Color Blind?

Phil Ivey just found an orange T5,000 chip mixed in with one of his stacks. Those chips were colored up a while ago and are not in play anymore. Ivey simply took the chip off the table and gave it to the tournament staff. Who needs an extra 5,000 anyway?"

At the Dinner Break (9pm Las Vegas time) they were still at 7 players and Eric Buchman was now in first place in the chip counts, instead of Darvin Moon, for a change of pace.

Tournament Directory Jack Effel reminded the crowd that it took 169 hands to get the final table down to a heads up match at last year's WSOP. Clearly that record is going down...

Hand #175... ugh! Two of my favorites come clashing together. Phil Ivey gets it all in only to be called by Darvin Moon. Phil rolls over AK to Darvin's AQ. Unfortunately for Ivey a Queen would peel off on the flop and that was all she wrote... Phil Ivey is eliminated in 7th Place ($1,404,014.) Congratulations to Phil, I know it's not what you were looking for and I had high hopes, but it happens. The crowd in the Penn and Teller theater begins to disperse. And then there were 6.

Not long after on hand #187 Moon would once again thin the field. And again he has AQ! Darvin would move all-in and get a snap call from Steve Begleiter, who rolled over QQ! Another gut-wrenching card rears its ugly head this time on the river as an Ace is displayed, dashing Begleiter's hopes and putting Darvin back on top of the chip counts. Steve Begleiter is eliminated in 6th Place ($1,587,160.) And then there were 5.

Things tightened up a great deal after Begleiter's departure, and snails were seen zipping by...

It would be hand #236 that would claim another victim, this time in the form of Jeff Shulman who was unfortunately eliminated in 5th Place ($1,953,452.) This time, Antoine Saout's A9 goes up against Shulman's pocket 7s. Again, fate is sealed when a stray 9 hits the board on the flop and Shulman doesn't improve. Congratulations to Mr. Shulman.

Hand #271 would claim another casualty. Eric Buchman was eliminated in 4th Place ($2,502,890) when he gets it all-in versus Darvin Moon. Buchman with A5os vs Moon's KJs. This time a King peels off the deck on the turn, sending Buchman to the rail. Congratulations to Mr. Buchman, but then there were 3.

It should be noted that last year's WSOP ran only a total of 275 hands, including heads-up play.

Hand #276, would bring things to a close for the Day 1! Antoine Saout was eliminated in 3rd Place ($3,479,670) at the hands of "21 year-old-youngster" Joe Cada. Saout would shove all-in with pocket 8s and get the call from Cada's AKos. This time, suspense reigns and a King comes off the deck on the RIVER! The crowd (full of Cada's supporters) goes wild. Congratulations to Mr. Saout on having come so far. And then finally there were 2.

And now... we are down to heads up and things wrap up quickly as two clearly weary players will now get some deserved rest (well maybe.)

Chip stacks of the two are now at:

Joseph Cada 135,950,000
Darvin Moon 58,850,000

Go get some sleep guys, honestly! Don't even think about the difference between 2nd place and 1st place, although it's $8,547,042 to the winner and a mere $ 5,182,928 for the other guy... Oh and don't forget some shiny jewelry!!!

My personal special thanks goes out to the phenomenal blogger/reporters of the PokerNews.com Team, who continued their coverage of Day 1 for 17-1/2 hours. They have done an outstanding job with their coverage of the WSOP 2009 and I for one greatly appreciate ALL their efforts!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Who's BEST for poker?

A very good article over at PokerNews from yesterday: http://www.pokernews.com/news/2009/11/pokernews-op-ed-the-november-nine-who-s-the-best-for-poker-7490.htm I know, I know I'm behind. Work has truly kept me hopping as of late. But idle hands and all that... The article by Nicole Gordon discusses which of the World Series of Poker's November Nine will be BEST for poker. It's an interesting read, check it out.

My prediction (or who's my pony in this race?) Phil Ivey... I just like the guy. I enjoy watching him play. That vacant stare, and the darting eyes. There's a cold-calculating mind in there but I really think the guy is truly a phenom! He's an incredibly intuitive player. Phil is unfortunately on the short side of the stacks... If not Phil then my second pick for WSOP glory would be Darvin Moon. He's somewhat local! He hails from Maryland, but earned his seat by winning it at Wheeling Island, right here in West BY GOD Virginia! It makes for one of those great stories, of "Local Boy Makes Good!" Of course I can openly root for Jeff Shulman as well, he's well known in the poker community and it'd be a good thing if he took down the win too. Of them all, Phil would be BEST for poker's image. He's a talented, charismatic personality and a win by him would indeed elevate the idea that skill does indeed play an enormous part in poker and he'd be a good candidate to sell it to the world. I agree completely with the author's assertion there. As for one of the "unknown"-ish NOOB's winning it and sparking yet another poker explosion... I don't know. The game is very much alive in the U.S. although the UIGEA did put a big lid on it for folks. But I can't tell you how many games I can still find every week right here in my own hometown, far removed from the Vegas skyline. The specter of poker illegality simply put a dent in online poker for a season. I like many others still believe that at some point the laws will be repealed or just fade into obscurity. I have a lot of friends that don't play poker... and they could care less if I choose to do so or not. It is that which gives me pleasure and joy. And sensible human beings I think respect that and won't throw their weight and support behind the silliness that the UIGEA introduced. All that said, though I don't think a poker-splotion is in the cards again. Moneymaker truly did give hope to the huddled masses to climb to greatness in the poker world, but really all it did for me was get me logged on to a computer to play some micro-stakes. I haven't plugged any sort of hole in the poker economy. I guess some others did way back then.

Wow, but I've rambled on... Uhmmm tonight there's cards to be played at the Yanok's! Gametime 7-ish. Always a good crowd, always a good time. Big Red and I are still on the fence about going, since she has been sick for a while, albeit no longer contagious. I'm feeling like 70% that we'll be there, since she's going STIR CRAZY from sitting at home all this time. She's gonna want to go back out into the world if she can stand it. So, I hope to see you all tonight, but if we don't make it play your hearts out gang!

Oh and don't forget the WSOP's Final Table does come back together starting tomorrow at High Noon, Vegas Time! Leading up to a much anticipated/hyped showdown among the nine, which will culminate the 10th of November on TV. Yes, of course I'll be watching... but thanks to the fine folks doing the Live Blogging at PokerNews.com, I really won't need to now will I! : P

Regards,

cheer_dad

Splat, and some poker announcements too

Somedays even the coffee gets the better of you at work! Off to a wondrous start this morning, with one too many dramas to deal with. Everyone really gets overly freaked out over things that just don't get me all that excited. Folks, ain't nobody gonna die if this service isn't running for about a minute and a half. FFS, it even fails over to it's counterpart. BUT, I digress. Just a minor bump in the road, but unfortunately the "team" didn't all see eye to eye on the subject. But hey as the lead, I opted for words of wisdom, from Mike McD himself. "Yeah, it's one me!" Of course now who in management will likely by "Gramma" or "TeddyKGB" I have no clue. The thought does give me pause... mighta even thrown up in my mouth a little there! : P

Work is work people... it's just a job... don't let it define or encompass you're very existence. If our work defined us, we all most certainly have very short dictionary entries.

In other more positive pokery type goodness, the Yanok's are hosting this Friday, at 7-ish I think!?! Me thinks there will be Crown. Time grows short for additional qualifiers to pad the chip stack for the year end game. See you all there!

Also, Friday the 13th (November) the Eagles Hold'em Tournament is scheduled. Registration at 6, game at 7. $25 gets you in for all the fun. Limit of 50 players (for now.) As an added bonus Uncle June tells me that Jinx'd is playing in the Main room. Any of my erstwhile Facebook fanatical followers can attest to the "good" time I/we all had on Halloween when they played at the 5th Street Pub. The things I've seen, the things I've heard... Thank all your lucky stars that I'm pretty sure I lost some time there. There are some details that are pretty fuzzy. Anyway, I hope to see you all come out for the game. I needs a big win... and YOU can make it happen! : )

Regards,

cheer_dad

On 6, 6 down...

And again from the well of drunken poker, I goes for 6 tables o micro variety, and hand over $6 to the poker overlords... who jeered and sneered in my general direction. Prolly lucky to have escaped with what I did sans my dignity. I did hit quad 7's last night and actually got paid with the little beauties, when I just limp called the whole way vs one other player, and then I mashed the all-in button after his river bet. He tanked for a while before making the call, and pulling the fuzzy session for me out of the toilet. He was holding cowboys and frankly played a bit weakly with them. (or so sez i, dee poker drunk...) The pot there actually pulled me back from the abyss. Sleep and boredom finally had me close down the connection to PokerStars.

I really gotta quit that shhtuff! It does SOOO cut into my beauty reshhhhht!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Quarantine

Day... what is it like 3 now? I've been at home with the boy, who has been sick. Flu of some variety. pig like, bird like, monkey for all we know. Doctor just told us to stay at home, control the fever, rest, relax, and get better. You know try not to DIE!!! But I'm happy to report that he is getting better. Fever has subsided, so the contagious phase is prolly over. Still some headaches, and a nasty cough, but Cole is thankfully on the road to recovery. I was concerned this morning that I might be getting the bug myself. The jury is still out but I'm leaning more toward a sinus/allergy thing in my case. The sore throat has passed.

I'd like to say that I'll be happy to get back to work, maybe tomorrow, but I'd be lying and you ALL know it, don't you!

Waiting around to see if Whit needs picked up from school... when the heck is that VW part going to get here so I can get her back on the road, and I can stop carting her around! Okay that last part was an exaggeration!

I did play a little poker I think back on Monday, and made a few dimes and nickles... very few. But I did experiment with 6-tabling on PokerStars and didn't find it too disturbing or taxing. When time permits again, I'll give it a shot.

Hope all is well with each of you, and if any of you find yourselves under "quarantine" at this point due to some iteration of the flu... take care and get well soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Happy 18th Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Baby! 18 years ago today Teresa and I were married. Through the good and even the bad we've made a wonderful life together, have two great kids, and have the rest of our lives to look forward to. I wouldn't change a thing... well except for that thing... that time... with those people... u remember! : P

I love you Teresa and am so very glad that you lost your good sense and agreed to be my wife! You truly make me want to be better than I am, and so I strive each day to become the man which you deserve.

Tell her congratulations today, if you see her... or maybe tell her how sorry you are if you really know ME.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Follow your bliss

I'm winding down the day, with a little B-52's, happen on the Follow Your Bliss track off of the Cosmic Thing album. No lyrics, just a slow melodic undercurrent, that if I just let go would drift me off to sleep. And the randomized Media Player psychedelic animated display swirls and pulsates to the music. Dude, the friggin' colors! But it won't be long now.

We had a fun time at the Eagles last night. Of course I spent most of time huddled around the stupid Word Dojo machine with JJ and Jim trying to break thru the elusive high score. Earlier in the day Whitney called when she couldn't get her car so start. And of course I'm the who has to help, although I don't know the least little bit about automobiles. But the problem yesterday seemed somewhat obvious. I found a blown fuse, which sits in a fuse box over the battery. There was also some meltage of the surrounding plastic. We replaced the fuse, but it still would turn over, not until we popped the clutch. Then it started and runs til you turn if off. Then it won't come back on at all. Today I've spent a lot of time looking for internet advice to help me. I think I know what has to be done, which will required a trip into the shop for little Yellow Turbo, the VW bug!

No poker to be played this weekend I don't believe. We do have a bonfire tomorrow at the Eagles, so there's that. Beer and Combustion... : ) Also, Big Red and I will be celebrating our 18th Wedding Anniversary over the weekend! The day is October 26th, Monday... but we'll do some things together over the course of the weekend. Happy Anniversary Baby!

I foolishly played some after Eagles poker last night, and just gave it away. I got to pushy early on, and ran a flopped set into the Nut Flush on the River. I knew better than to shove there, but got cocky. I then tried to get it back, and failed and just ended up giving more back. I know you'd think I'd learn. But, it was all tiny stakes, so no real harm done, except for priced.
As the day marches on, my eyes are getting heavier. I'm looking forward to heading home and take a catnap. Plug your ears, the snoring's about to commence.

Later all!

Regards,

cheer_dad

NDPT Points Race update

I have updated the NDPT Points Race here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkU945DT3QQ5cHRObDZfY3BYREhsLXJVQmxnZDlmT1E&hl=en

For those of you unable, unwilling to click here you go.

JR Ruble, 2940
Teresa Murray, 2280
Eric Freed, 2130
Del Minturn, 1985
John Johnson, 1700
Steve Allman, 1625
Brian Murray, 1590
Julie Wolfe, 1330
Matt Hensley, 1050
Mike Westbrook, 953
Vince Post, 800
TJ Sellers, 630
Julie Miller, 480
Dennis Rempel, 315

Since our "regular" game has migrated to the Eagles, I will likely discontinue the points race after this year. It's been fun while it lasted but it's been like running a tournament within a tournament since obviously not everyone participated up there. Plus, even many of the regulars have changed. At any rate we'll be battling it out for prolly just under $600 by the end of the year.

We'll need to discuss options for the End of the Year game, likely at next month's tournament at the Eagles. I will post all the information here to the blog, so stay tuned. I will most certainly coordinate it to stay out of the way of any other scheduled pokery type events!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Gettin' the green light

In an hour I'm getting the "go ahead" for an early weekend! I moved my AWS day to Friday this week so I'm out of here come 4:00pm. Okay, I'm staying in the building after that to go get in a treadmill workout, but it's all MY TIME at that point. On the heels of a run, and heading home to help out on the homework front for the kidlets, tonight is most assuredly a DRAWING night at the Eagles folks. I've threatened to drink my body weight in adult beverage. Yes, likely a pipe dream, but what a way to go huh!!! : P

I'm struggling in the last hour here. Although this has been a short week indeed, I've crammed a lot into it. I've done more than enough meetings to last a lifetime, and even had to give a presentation of sorts today, just before lunch. I think I did fine and it went off at least as somewhat informative. But I think I'll really pep up, once my work day is over.

There will be no football for Cole this weekend, as he spent a couple days missing school from strep throat, and I'm not going to put him outside in the cold/rain/sleet/possible friggin' SNOW on Sunday. Uh uh... no way, not gonna happen. Last game of the regular season, and he was taking too much of their bullshit anyway! Plus, not being there will keep them safe as well, as I would normally work chain gang, and in my current attitude toward them would likely shove the down marker up someone's ass anyway. So, it's really all about the Win-Win situation after all.

I actually finished wading through the HUNDREDS of Google Reader posts I've been behind on from all the many bloggers out there. I've missed your antics. I should have realized all along that I could have used the laughter which you create on an every day basis and stuck with it even during some rather dark times. Hell, you all even encouraged me to get my ass back on line and playing some poker! And enjoy it, win or lose. I'll try not to forget it in the future.

I hope all is well with each of you. If you're here local, stay bundled up and try to stay warm. To those of you in warmer climates, not only am I deeply jealous right now, but hate you immensly. Okay maybe it's not so bad as all that.

OH, and don't forget TOMORROW NIGHT October 16th at 7:00pm at the Eagles, it is Poker Night, Texas Hold'em! Registration starts at 6:00pm. In Uncle June's absence I'll be carrying the hosting torch. 25 dolla make u holla! Be there... I'm looking forward to it!

I leave you with a final quote, similar in nature to the many I've entertained with on Facebook:
"...it takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile, be yourself no matter what they say..."

Regards,

cheer_dad

Happy Columbus Day

Hope everyone is having a Happy Columbus Day. This is that one holiday of the year that adults typically get that the kids do not. School is in session, but my son was up most of the night not feeling well and isn't feeling so hot today, so we kept him home with us. The rest will do him some good.

Red and I had a nice weekend. Friday night was of course Cole's birthday, but after that he spent the night with mamaw and papaw to go turkey hunting the following couple of days. That perhaps explains his cold now. But on Saturday we went out to eat with the Brotherses at Los Agaves (the old Stoney Creek Restaurant.) Very good Mexican food... and Red and Laura really seemed to enjoy the margaritas. Afterwards we headed to the Eagles for a beer or so... okay there were buckets involved. Good time was had by all.

Sunday, with Cole returned we headed out to the football field at Belpre. Our Bullet boys did us proud and put one up in the W column. Congrats! After the game we all headed over to the Yanok's house for a special late afternoon Hold'em tournament! Brian Yanok took down the top spot, followed my Red, then Jules (Snapper time) and I brought up the rear to cash out in 4th. I had a great time and hope that you all did too.

Speaking of poker I wandered back out to a little online play the other day. I had a notice from UB that they had deposited $10 so I decided to go try my luck at a SNG. I was out in 5 minutes, before the blinds even went up, when my AA ran into J-10, and he flopped two pair. Yeah me... But take heart since I later logged on to PokerStars and managed a small profit, despite this loss. Once again, the online ring game was kind. Oh ye poker gods... why must ye tempt me?

Regards,

cheer_dad

Once more down at the football field for practice... again. Cold and wet and generally (cough) unpleasant. Is that a sniffle?
Regards,
cheerdad

Let's Go Bullets!

Once more down to the fields again today, as the Tri-C Bullets play host to Ravenswood today. Cole is primed and ready and itching to plow over a quarterback. It's been a long weekend all around and it's nice to be winding it down. But got to keep up the intensity for just a little while. Teresa already headed down to work the gate, I'm going down with Cole at 1:30 and I have to work the chain gang during his game. So, it's a family affair sorta day, not just Cole.

Early morning texts from Uncle June imply that he's been involved in a little offensive/defensive action himself. Love is a battlefield, baby! So, I say when the officials aren't looking, CHEAT! jk

Tomorrow I have to interview for a job that I won't get, at a time that normally finds me already heading for the house, 4:00pm. BUT, that's how it goes. I'm confident I know who's getting it, and honestly he's a good guy and frankly one who I believe has rightly paid his dues. Either I believe all that or I'm a tremendous suckup, since after all he will become my boss. Yes, I applied for the recently vacated position of my own boss. I guess it's time to let 'em know that I'm even interested in moving above the lead spot. Although, I have like another 19 years to go til retirement or something like that. Shudder... all of a sudden I'm depressed.

But that's all for now, I'll see some of you today at the fields, while others tomorrow in the AM at work. Have a nice Sunday gang.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Saints and Sinners Comedy Tour

This Friday, October 2nd at 8:00pm at the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Parkersburg, WV The Saints and Sinners Comedy Tour is coming to brighten your night with laughter. The comedy duo of Matthew Lumpkin and Patrick Jolle are certain to entertain the crowd. The public is welcome! Tickets are $10 per person. Don't miss it!

Also check out the sample YouTube video below of Matthew Lumpkin performing...

Hope to see you all there!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Off on every OTHER Monday...

So, I'm off work today. Well at least from the job that pays me anyway. I did sleep in a bit, but then dragged myself off to Walley World to get the shopping list done. On the way back I stopped at the bowling alley to pick up Cole's ball. Recall that I was an evil father when the pro-shop wasn't open on Saturday for the boy to pick up prior to bowling that morning. (I should've known there would be illness keeping the shop closed for the day.) Yeah, he made me pay. It wasn't his most stellar of performances on the lane in game 1. (I will say that a 128 in game 2 went a long way toward redeeming him somewhat though.) Anyway, now I have the ball. I also stopped at the sporting goods store to pick up a new football mouthpiece that I kept forgetting to pick up. Both the ball and the mouthpiece will be in the truck for him to behold when I pick him up from school in about an hour. I also straightened up and swept the garage as per the orders of my beloved wife. Also set up ever table I have out there, so she can begin to prepare for the weekend's yard sale (shudder!) Tonight, Cole and I head northward about 40 minutes to play a scrimmage football game against Belmont. We're not exactly thrilled about it on a school night. Please, oh please let this be a VERY light homework night!!! Teresa won't be along with us either, instead heading off to play tennis tonight.

There has been no recent online poker play for your ole pal cheer_dad. Too busy to even see straight. We did get to really enjoy the Yanok's game over the weekend. I for once put a first place score on the board. Remarkably, I'm in the points lead over there, despite what I'd consider a lackluster year at the tournament tables for me. My thoughts on it... are my survivor style of play, allows me to outlast a lot of the field, BUT I at times cripple myself with a shortstack and find it difficult to muscle back in to the thick of things. I'm dangerous at a final table, there's no doubt about it. My early tight image serves me well, as I make some very drastic gear switches. Hell sometimes my playing style even feels random to me, in the ends of these things. Others, are just convinced that I suck, or have had entirely too much to drink. Any of those conclusions have merit! : P

I hope to return to more frequent posts now that some of the weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Life's pace while still frantic, has its moments of peace once again. I even enjoyed a nap on the couch yesterday in front of the tv. Although, if I don't stop snoring my wife is going to cut off my air supply.

Hope all is well with each of you.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Good friends, good times...

Good friends and good times last night at the Yanok's and I'm glad we all shared the time together. Before we even played cards, Uncle June said that he and I would return to our winning ways, and tonight was the night. And like some strange self-fulfilling prophecy some good pokery luck came our way. In game one, I won the top spot... with the help of a couple of perfectly timed suckouts there at the end. Sorry dude. : ) So, he had to settle for 2nd. Big Red cashed out in 3rd. So, there's cash in the pocket and we stay on for game two. Well Red and I didn't win in that one, but we certainly gave it a helluva try. My "go-for-broke" shove on my final hand with KQs, in retrospect was ill-timed. Particularly since I lost! But no the correct move was to have dropped and waited for a better spot. I just got weary of watching the double and triple up that were happening all around me, while my stack was being blinded away. Still, 2 big chip stacks at the table going up against each other for a pot, isn't the best course of action...

Uncle June ended up going on a real heater for the rest of the game, and he texted me later to say that he and scottyb had opted to chop. Despite the fact that Yanok told him "chopping" is for pussies. Regardless, I had a great time, and made some cash and got back into a winning frame of mind. Uncle June took it to the extreme, with his winapalooza last night... great job, and hopefully this'll be a return to normalcy that we've hoped for at the poker tables! As for the rest of you... sorry 'bout your luck. : P

Thanks to the Yanoks for hosting another great night of poker and general mayhem!

Regards,

cheer_dad

sighhhh

...dark gloomy wet
not just what it looks like outside
looking inward much the same...

karen carpenter had it right about rainy days and mondays

Regards,

"not so" cheer_dad

idk

Somehow... somewhere... somehaircolor not mine own... Big Red walks (not runs) away with the win tonight. Somewhere along the line tonight the Eagles Hold'em Tournament grows to the 50 player level, and ultimately my lovely and talented wife comes out on top. RED wins AGAIN! I love her, and she's got crazy mad poker skills! All of which I Do Not Understand! Still though, I'm all about it... and she as always rocks my world. Somehow, as LUCK would have it of the NDPT players... Red takes the top spot in points, followed by Uncle June, and in a distant, nearly unspeakable, we find your friendly neighborhood cheer_dad. Oh yeah, biyatches... I'm here and going NOWHERE! I hope you've all enjoyed the night!

Bowling in the morning with Cole and Drew... and I get to pony up the $$$ for yet another ball! But hey, it's for "the children..."

G'night!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Hiya Gang! : )

Your friendly neighborhood cheer_dad has been a busy guy lately. Work has presented its share of unique challenges and speedbumps lately, but I'm still standing, and perhaps in a sick sort of abuse kinda way to motivation I'm working better and harder. All the while doing my best to crush mine ENEMIES! : ) Okay, a bit extreme. Comic book virtues like "truth, justice, and the American way" actually seem like worthwhile pinnacles to reach to. Along the journey to these admirable heights, there are a number of idiots in the way. Go figure. I'm resisting urges here people, work with me huh!!!

Anywho, first let's cover the really important things in life, and you know the original reason for creating a "POKER" blog in the first place. FRIDAY, September 18th, 7:00pm SHARP, there will be yet another of our highly successful and popular Texas Hold'em Tournaments at the Eagles Aerie 2307. Registration begins at 6:00pm. Get there early to insure your spot, and give yourself to drink your weight in beer. You'll be easier for me to dispatch in that condition! : P But seriously, I hope to see each of you there. We are still holding things to a maximum of 50 players. (for now, more chips are on the way...) But hey, if tournaments aren't your cup of tea, show up anyway, as the subsequent "games" which inevitably fire up as folks bust out, have become VERY JUICY! Thanks all for making Poker night such a success for the Eagles most recently and the even all of you members of the greater NDPT collective.

And really I thank each of you who still drop by this blog, even though I've been less chatty lately. Things are coming back around. Normalcy is returning to life, and the blog posts will increase and be better than ever.

Regards,

cheer_dad

wonders if a few more meetings could have been jammed into this day! i guess i shoulda had something stronger than a pot of coffee.

Life continues to be blur of work and football... Weekends are mere illusions. Okay so maybe i did get to enjoy the wvu vs ecu game! 35-20

regards
cheerdad

Thought dump...

Great day yesterday! We took in the WVU game with friends here at the house, with some excellent food, and cold beer. Hung out all day and on into the night. Good times! I won't say much more about the Mountaineers except that, "well at least they won..." Oh, and Marshall also won in their season opener. Congrats.

Today, we go to Cole's football game, Our Tri-C Bullets head over to do battle with the Godbey Warhawks. Still not like I have to travel any distance as the field is like 5 minutes from the house. (Okay maybe 10 if I obey the speed limit on Gihon Road.) I'll likely see lots of friends there today on both sides of the field. Well that is up until the opening kickoff!

To all of you who still read the old blog, thanks a bunch. I know it has taken a recent hiatus from all things pokery. But there's just been so little time. I play all the tournaments still, NDPT, Eagles, Yanok's, Stanwick's but there has been very little in the online arena for me. Life's got to have its priorities. Family wins hands down... I don't even need to see a flop!

You've also likely noted some recapping of "turmoil..." Yes, there's been some. Yes, I've been involved (from both sides of the fence.) Yes, I'm still standing. Yes, my gainful employment will continue. Yes, the rumors swirling around about others are GREATLY exaggerated. Yes, some of the folks you think have been affected, in fact have NOT been. Yes, the tactics are shady. Yes, I think the ninth circle of hell is reserved for some of those conducting this witch hunt. Yes, I think the bad karma will eventually come back around and bite 'em in the ass. You find that inappropriate? Offensive? I assure you, not nearly as inappropriate or as offensive as I find the amount of time, effort, and dollars that are being wasted on this frivolous undertaking. Yes, the impact that this "investigation" is having on a lot of GOOD people is very troubling to me. In fact, the plight of others concerns me more than my own. It's wrong folks, and I think you know it. And I think you should start reading the writing on the wall and bring it to an end, quickly... before it's too late.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Now Serving...

Well my little blogladytes cheer_dad took a number and got in line. Or did I get served... or was that serviced. I'm not entirely sure which is appropriate to say. Let's just say that I joined an ever expanding group of fine people that have been deemed by some prurient interested folks to have done (written) something inappropriate. I'm not overly concerned. Ole cheer_dad's gonna keep his job and all. Don't you worry none.








But honestly the folks pointing the fingers in all of this...




Seriously, 9th Circle of Hell, and furthermore my vipers feasting on your dead eyes. Get a life and let me get back to work!

Mutherless ... hmmm what's that word I'm lookin' for?





Regards,

cheer_dad

This is what i meant...

To help clarify folks there is some "legitimacy" to be had... and perhaps it could be in good "taste" as well... you might even have to say "appropriate." But I guess you'll never know until you try and spread the word about your favorite Fat Bastard. Go on now, really chat it up.

So, when you decide it's "time" for something that's not the quite "same" go on and give Fat Bastard a try: http://fatbastardwine.com/

Regards,

cheer_dad

I can't quite put my finger on it...

The family and I are back from our nation's capital after a fun weekend of doing the tourist thing. We visited the White House at 8:00pm on Friday, for a quick tour. It was great to actually visit... but honestly they really need to spice things up a little on that tour. Not that I expected to see the Prez wander out into the hall in his boxers or something, but I'm just saying... Following the tour we headed down to the Lincoln Memorial, to take in the view of the Reflection Pool, then walked along to see the Korean and Viet Nam War Memorials, which are on either side of the pool. I absolutely love the Korean Memorial. If you've never visited it, I highly recommend it. It is beautiful, eerie, and makes me feel humble and proud all at the same time, every time I visit it. Also, take it all in at night...

The following day we went on a whirlwind tour of a couple of the Smithsonian Museums, the National History and Air and Space Museums. We spent hours in each, and even took in an IMAX movie, which was spectacular. The kids clearly favored Day 2 of the trip. Of course, Cole would have been content to have rode around on the Metro all day and night. I'll remember that on future vacations! CHEAP! I did manage to snap several pictures though, including the one of Cole hamming it up with the Washington Monument.

We got back late and collapsed into bed early Sunday morning. We slept in a little, before heading to the football field at Warren, OH. Our boys played great and won their game 18-6. Cole played on the line offense and defense for the whole first half, and most of the 3rd quarter, when they started subbing in our other players. He did great and I was proud of him... We always check out the new "colors" on his helmet after every practice and game. There was lots and lots of new blue after this one. Those big boys hit big too!

Today, I spent mowing the lawn and catching up on the vacation laundry, ugh... Okay it was a day off from work, spent working nonetheless. Hope all is well with each of you.

Regards,

cheer_dad

DC tomorrow

We leave in the morning for DC, for our tour of the White House followed by some sightseeing. I'm really looking forward to it... and I'm anxious for my kids to experience all the great sites that we'll see.

And hey, a day off work for me and the wife, and a day off school for the kidlets sounds like a pretty good time too. So, I'm sure it'll be a blast.

Hope is well with each of you. Good night all, and have a great weekend.

Regards,

cheer_dad

A trip to the White House

This is going to be a pretty cool week! Well at the least the end of it will be anyway... The whole cheer_dad clan is going to DC on Friday. Thanks to the quick thinking of "Uncle June" and a special invitation a group of us is making the trip to our nation's capital Friday morning. We have been included in a private tour of the White House. Maybe that's not such a big deal to some of you, but hey it makes me feel pretty special, so let me have my little moment, okay?

We've decided to make a weekend mini vacation out of it. We are getting a hotel, and taking the kids along, despite the fact that they will have just started school on Wednesday. I figure anything that requires a background investigation by the U.S. Secret Service to attend should probably be considered worthy of missing a day of public education. Am I right?

Of course we'll do additional sightseeing while we are there, but despite the fact that some of us have been to DC a number of times before, we've never been to a White House tour. I think years ago, this was a much more common thing to go on this tour, but now it requires some preplanning and special permission. If I'm wrong, let me keep my delusion.

So, other stops on the sightseeing tour I want to make sure to hit for the sake of my kids are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and possibly a stop at some of the Museums of the Smithsonian. Of course the Viet Nam and Korean War Memorials are also close by. Lots to do, lots to see, and just a lot to experience. We're all really looking forward to it. I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures taken that I'll post up here to the blog. Even Cole says he wants to take a lot of pictures. He's excited about the trip. He said he was going to take pictures in the White House, but I had to tell him that that is not permitted. His words, "well that's stupid! Who does the President think he is?" My answer was "... well it's just the rules son, and the President didn't make 'em, but he IS after all the President, so he probably could have anyway..."

But enough about that for now, I'm sure I'll post up a full trip report later on. For now, I've got to head off to training. I'm once again in class, the Bureau seems to want to make me into some kinda leader. Go ahead all of you, laugh it up, get it out of your systems now... Glad I could add a little humor to your lives.

Have a great day!

Regards,

cheer_dad

crash and burn

Just not my night. Or my weekend. Hell, maybe it's just not my game. But hey, I did have a good time hangin' out with a lot of great people last night and tonight playing poker so I guess that's something positive. Still a -EV proposition though. So, once again cheer_dad is a woozer. Come now, my peeps, kick me when I'm down.

How else will u get to pick me up and brush me off to go back at it again.

Thanks to the Stanwick's tonight for hosting, I DID have a great time. Big Red once again kinda carried us through game 1. Game 2 not so much...

Regards,

cheer_dad

FIDDY!

A great big bunch of you's showed up to play poker last night at the Eagles. And we set a new attendance record of 50 players! Can you say FIDDY! Additional chips are being ordered by the Aerie as a result. I thank you for your support of the Eagles, Uncle June, the NDPT, me, all things "pokery" in nature!

The top spot was chopped last night by Mr.'s Pugh and Wolfe, congratulations you guys! Nice payday! I was chipping up nicely early on, picking only a few careful spots to play, as the first table was pretty loose, and there were a couple of guys who'd never met a poker hand they didn't like. My demise came when I moved to a new table. 3 hands sealed the fate. I got involved in a hand with Frank. He called $100 from first position, I was after him and looked down at pocket 8's. I bumped it to $300. Only he called... the flop came K-Q-X, and he checked to me. I bet out, and then came the check raise-all-in. I conceded, and mucked. (And no Frank, contrary to what you might have thought, this was NOT one of my little position plays.) Still I had some chips to play with. A couple hands later, I look down at A9 of crubs, and opt to see the flop with another guy. I flop an Ace, but I'm cautious about my kicker. The other guy bets out the minimum, I call. In fact it went that way on every street... Unfortunately, the other guy who hadn't raised preflop, was sitting on a pair of Queens, and had also flopped a beautiful set. Now I was on life support... When the big blind finally got to me I just went all in dark. Same guy called me... with his AKos. I turn over the mystery 7-5os. He hit two pair, and I made my walk of shame. Of course I later saw that he busted out before the final table.

I opted to leave not long after that... Big Red stuck around for some cash game antics. I hear that the pots, and the buyins were juicy. In the span of like 5 minutes while I was still there I say a $100 buyin and a $200 buyin. Both had just busted and were coming back in for revenge. That's a dangerous time for all at the table but also one which can be extremely profitable. Hope everyone had a great time at both the tourney and the subsequent cash games.

Thank you all again for making it a great night, and we look forward to seeing you all again really soon!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Survive...the cheer_dad story

In the movie they one day make about my life... Jim Morrison's ominously haunting voice will most assuredly belt out "No One Here Gets Out Alive" on the Soundtrack. This week though, being nearly over, I may actually have a shot at it in the short term. Survival, congratulations kid ya made it! The workday is nearly over for the day. Only Friday remains, and hey due to this weekend's Parkersburg Homecoming celebration, the Bureau will dismiss employees early. No, most certainly not out of the kindness of their hearts. The city just needs all the parking that we government workers occupy. So, I only gotta survive for 5 hours tomorrow, then I'm home free! Of course I have to wonder what an Eagles drawing night just might do to my withered battle-worn body tonight. Hey, lighten up folks, I'm taking the boy child to football practice and doing all the Super Dad things first. As always, family first. But after that, Miller Time is an option!

Tomorrow night we have the Eagles Poker Tournament as well, starting at 7:00pm on the dot---ish. 25 dolla, make u holla... Last time we had 47 people. We'd love to break the record, and pack the joint, so please by all means come one, come all. Registration begins at 6:00. If you're new to the club... just ask for JR (a.k.a. Uncle June, or el presidente) or me, cheer_dad. You really don't wanna know my "a.k.a's" then all the mystery and flare would disappear. The blog would dry up, poker would die, dogs would sleep with cats, anarchy would ensue... and then I ask you what would become of the movie of my life. Stay tuned for the future, I'm planning some really cool moments in my future to help pick up the pace in the plot thus far, which admittedly has been a little ho-hum.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Sigh

Aw, so sad that as the World Series of Poker ends (or at least goes on the 4-month hiatus) visitors to the blog start dropping off. "Sigh..." I'll miss you all. To those of you who continue to wander through my musings thanks for stopping by and sharing time with me.

In my real world (at work) things seem to have settled down a bit, but I remain guardedly optimistic. I don't need someone dropping he proverbial garbage can on my head.

I'm still busy with Cole's football practice. We are still practicing 5 nights per week through this week. Next week (on Wednesday) the kids all head back to school so then, the boys will get some relief, with only 3 nights a week. But something else will no doubt fill the void.

Whitney is looking for a part-time job. She hopes becoming a wage slave will fill the hours spent last year cheering. Yes, kids the lil blond girl is NOT cheering this year. It's a long story and I won't dignify the coaches with a long drawn out explanation. You know whatcha did... and you know it was wrong... and my daughter stepped up and told you both to "get bent... I'll go my own way!" I'm proud of her. I'm proud of the effort she put into it all, over the years, but I guess the real lesson she's learned from me is that she doesn't have to take a lot of shit from anyone. Some... yes of course, life sometimes serves it up, but there is a limit to what any one of us should endure. Knowing that limit, and reacting appropriately when it is crossed defines one's character. And right now, my daughter stands tall and proud. I'm very proud of her, and the young woman she has become. Anyway, my apologies for the extended recap... wish her luck in finding a good job to earn a few bucks.

Don't forget POKER this Friday at the Eagles Aerie 2307, starting at 7:00pm. Registration begins at 6:00pm. $25 gets you in on the action. Cash games to certainly follow... Hope to see you all there.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Like I said... fish

We went to Yanok's last night. Big Red and I chopped 1st and 2nd in game one! I sucked out somethin' awful on people. I played a huge number of hands and had a ball and drank copious amounts. Good times, good friends... I tripled up on a hand with a J5os, when I got a little cocky with it, when I hit a Jack for 2nd pair. I bet out, got raised and I and another called. My 3rd Jack hit the turn and the rest was history!

Today, we had the Grid-O-Rama! Here's my animal of a tackle!!!














Great job today Cole, and wow was it hot!

Regards,

cheer_dad

I'm a fish!

I remember all the fun at the poker tables. I remember the suckouts, the badbeats, drinking too much, day after hangovers, going all in with rags, calling with crappy hands and winning, playing damn near every hand, dragging much more than the occasional pot, getting it in bad, and witnessing river miracles. I was a fish, and wow was it a lot of fun. It wasn't something to dwell on and think about! Hell, I wasn't trying to make money at it (and did a little) it was a social activity with my friends over 5 years ago, when the NDPT started throwing nickels and dimes around on a table. The cards were usually getting in the way of our mass quantities of beer and chicken wings... and NOT the other way around. It was a great time! And your humble blogger, cheer_dad needs him some joy in his life and deserves a little WTF time!!! : ) So boys... and girls come ready tonight to the Yanok's to set your hook deep into my friggin' gills. I'm itching to play some cards and drink some (lotsa) beer and nibble at the pot like there's power bait dangled out there in front of me. Tonight, I'm your huckleberry biyatch...

I'm a fish... indeed!

Regards,

cheer_dad

P.S. Thank goodness, they're setting up cornhole in the back yard. Clearly, I'll be out back... but I'll keep the beer nice and cold! : )