No, really?

C'mon... 7 degrees?!?  That shouldn't be legal for Monday.  Then again Monday's themselves should be outlawed as well.  Yes, it was a cold morning here in the 'burg.  Snow and ice still covers the ground, but at least I'm not committed to 4-wheel drive for the morning commute now.  But, I heard there is more of the white stuff in the forecast, so hunker down and pray for spring. 

The first game Eagles' Texas Hold'em Tournament of 2010 treated me good.  I finished 2nd to Eric Shuman on Friday.  As Uncle June mentions over on his blog http://jrruble.blogspot.com/ we were pleasantly surprised by the turnout of 30 players, despite the snowfall.  Thanks to everyone who showed up for the game and we sincerely hope everyone had a good time.  I drank excessively (yeah go figure) and sloughed off the work week burden.  I was boss-less last week (and again this week) and so I've been inserted into the mix for a few extra duties.  They're not so bad in and of themselves but not when coupled with everything else on the plate.  But, this too shall pass. 

Saturday (skip ahead to evening) since we slept in.  Big Red took her position in front of the TV to cheer her beloved Dallas Cowboys on to their first playoff win of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Like I posted to Facebook, it would've made life rough around our home for a while had they not won. 

The kiddies of Wood County should be headed back to school today, after nearly a week of snow days last week.  I'm sure the homework will flow...  Also, Cole's basketball games and practice will finally get underway and there will be all those makeup games to tend to as well.  The first game is tonight, which reminds me I need to leave a little early to get him there on time. 

Next up on the Poker front...Frank's wanting me to head up with him to Wheeling Island on the 18th for a WSOP NLHE Super Satellite.  Buy-in is $130.  The "points" winner of this and the 3 prior events will receive the added bonus of playing heads up against WSOP 2009 final tabler Darvin Moon, in what Wheeling is billing as the Ultimate Challenge.  Check out the website for additional details on this event and all the other promotional tournaments being offered.  http://www.wheelingisland.com/Poker-Tournaments.aspx?mainpageid=31&subpageid=35

The Yanok's will play host at the end of the month January 29th, with their start to the 2010 Yanok's Poker Season.  I believe he said every game night will feature 2 tournaments, with both being qualifier events for the year end extravaganza.  I mention this only because I'm now the defending champion!  : P

Beyond that, also keep on your radar February 5th at 7:00pm at the Eagles Lodge where a charity Hold'em Tournament is scheduled for the Relay for Life.  The organizers are hoping to draw a sizeable crowd for this one, so please come out to play and help out this worthy cause.  $20 tournament +$5 donation. 

One week later on the February 12th, will be the next regularly scheduled Eagles Tournament.  So there's plenty of games set up for our immediate future.  Almost enough to quench even my poker thirst.  I'll be seeing you here, there, and everywhere!

Regards,

cheer_dad 

1st Annual Wiener Dog Nationals

I received a flier in the mail not too long ago on the subject but the following article http://www.wtov9.com/news/17705985/detail.html just brought it back to mind. I'm writing about the 1st Annual Wiener Dog Nationals to be held on Sunday, October 19, 2008. Owners of dachshunds from all over will be bringing the short-legged racers to the Wheeling Island Racetrack to run where the longer-legged greyhound counterparts run daily. I think it sounds like a very cool idea, and should be a lot of fun, or least good for a few laughs. Check out the article for additional details and also click on the video link to see "Coco" being put through paces in order to prepare for the competition. I would really like to go check this out, but I'm afraid I would need a big win the night before at the Wolfe's house where NDPT #15 will be held on October 18th. Plus, I'd need a travelling companion which is going to be hard to come by now that Tri-State has opened their poker room and table games. It's a simply matter of geography people. They'll be hard to convince, I'm afraid. Among my arguments, only one stands clear... "guys there'll be beer and friggin' wiener dogs running around the track!" If that doesn't get the job done, I'll likely have to question my own mortality. My faith in the human existence will have reached rock bottom. Okay... maybe it's not as bad as all that! But c'mon Wiener Dogs!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

I've shared this news item through my Google Reader Blog tie-in, but it was just too good not to dedicate a post to it.

According to this article http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/article/4937/wheeling-island-offering-playboy-tournament-series by Kristy Arnett of CardPlayer.com my "thus far" favorite West Virginia casino, Wheeling Island will be playing host to a "Playboy Poker Open!" That's right boys, stop yer grinnin' and drop yer linen!

According to the article players will have the opportunity to enter weekly satellite events for $65 every Sunday at 2:00pm beginning on September 7th. Winners of these Satellites will advance to compete in the "Main Event" which takes place on November 9th at 12:30pm. Players can do a direct buy-in to this event as well but the entry at that time will be $550! In the end ONE lucky winner will find himself on top and claim the "$52,800 purse AND perhaps more importantly a trip for two to a VIP Party at the Playboy Mansion on Nov. 19." Thank you Kristy for pointing this out! You would think that I'd have heard about this before now, seeing as it is in my home state and all, but the local media has been slow to pick up on poker, casino, and gambling related news.

The article as well goes on to discuss the "Playboy Series of Blackjack" as well, in which the top prize will be $25,000 AND the coveted two tickets to the aforementioned VIP Party at the Playboy Mansion on Nov. 19. The $75 satellites for that event begin September 3rd, Wednesdays 6pm and Saturdays 11am. Again that "final" event to be held on November 8th, will offer players the ability to buy in directly for $550.

I do see now that the information is posted on the Wheeling Island website here: http://www.wheelingisland.com/Sites/WIRT/GreyhoundRacing/Promotions.aspx, but unfortunately that information isn't going to be widely received. Hopefully, an advertisement campaign with a little more fanfare is in the pipe already.

Will I find myself there in the thick of that competition? Well, I won't be making any "special" trip up to Wheeling Island or anything... but let's just say I'm rescheduling what I've got on the calendar for November 19th. : P

Regards,

cheer_dad

NDPT #11, Blogger spam issue update, Wheeling and cheerleading too

Here's the latest announcement for the next NDPT Poker Tournament from Jr:

Tourney # 11 is scheduled for August 9 (Saturday) at 7:00. R.S.V.P. Now!!!
It will be interesting to see where the points fall after this tourney. Remember, only the top 10 finishes are counted.
20 - person cap
$25 Total
$20 1,000 chips
$5 All-in (Bounty) chip

Hope to see you all there!
Thanks,
Jr.

P.S. - Second tourney tentatively scheduled for the weekend of August 23rd. Will be either Saturday (at my house) or Sunday afternoon (at the Eagles). There will be no cap if we have it at the Eagles.

Interesting P.S. there too! The Eagles has as of late "inquired" as to our interest in bringing our little poker game "back" to the club. I remember a time when we weren't so welcome. What a difference a new set of officers and a little over a year makes... But that's ancient history now. I'll be happy to return, we'll just see how it all plays out.

In other news I'll make mention of a couple of posts that came from Blogger. I recently made note of the fact that a couple of my favorite bloggers AlCantHang and DrPauly had been identified by Blogger as spammers and their respective blogs were interfered with. That injustice has been recognized and corrected according to the following posts which appeared in the Blogger Buzz...

"Spam Fridays
August 1, 2008 — While we wish that every post on this blog could be about cool features or other Blogger news, sometimes we have to step in and admit a mistake.
We've noticed that a number of users have had their blogs mistakenly marked as spam, and wanted to sound off real quick to let you know that, despite it being Friday afternoon, we are working hard to sort this out. So to those folks who have received an email saying that your blog has been classified as spam and can't post right now, we offer our sincere apologies for the trouble.
We hope to have this resolved shortly, and appreciate your patience as we work through the kinks.
— Brett "

"You Are Not Spam
August 2, 2008 — You knew that already, and now we do too. We have now restored all accounts that were mistakenly marked as spam yesterday. (See: Spam Fridays)
We want to offer our sincerest apologies to affected bloggers and their readers. We’ve tracked down the problem to a bug in our data processing code that locked blogs even when our algorithms concluded they were not spam. We are adding additional monitoring and process checks to ensure that bugs of this magnitude are caught before they can affect your data.
At Blogger, we strongly believe that you own and should control your posts and other data. We understand that you trust us to store and serve your blog, and incidents like this one are a betrayal of that trust. In the spirit of ensuring that you always have access to your data, we have been working on importing and exporting tools to make it easier to back up your posts. If you'd like a sneak peek at the Import / Export tool, you can try it out on Blogger in Draft.
Our restoration today was of all blogs that were mistakenly marked as spam due to Friday's bug. Because spam fighting inherently runs the risk of false positives, your blog may have been mis-classified as spam for other reasons. If you are still unable to post to your blog today you can request a review by clicking Request Unlock Review on your Dashboard.
— Siobhan"

That's good news and I'm glad it's been worked out.

Also, something I meant to mention in my last post related to the impromptu trip to Wheeling on Saturday. Chris finally realized that when I referred to one of my favorite people who worked the Wheeling Island Poker Room, that it was Diane "the dealer" and NOT Diane "the room supervisor." There's no comparison. Diane the dealer is great, and always has a smile on her face and can dish it out as easy as take it. She's great to have at a table! I only wished I'd been able to play at her table longer. Incidentally, she's sporting a new hairstyle. Regarding the other Diane... well let's just leave it at that, mmmkay?

My "little girl" just left for cheer leading tryouts. She's nervous, worried, wants it to be over, and all that; but she's worked really hard for this and that's all she can do. She's just gotta get out there and do it, and leave it all out there on the floor! Good luck baby girl!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort WSOP Satellite winners doing well!

After mentioning Brian Schaedlich who is the current WSOP Main Event chip leader (with a now reported 745,000 in chips) and Ohio native who won his way into the WSOP via winning a $135 Satelite at West Virginia's own Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort; I got curious as to how all the other winners from the Mountaineer are doing.

So, here's what I've found...

Doug Craine finished Day 2a with 201,600 chips. Leland Smith will enter Day 2b play with 63,025 chips and Darren Horvath with 24,550.

All others noted on the Mountaineer Casino website do not appear to have played in the WSOP including: James Retton, Daniel Whitaker, and Leland Smith.

I'm still trying to wade through and search the players roster for any of the other names. But congratulations to all of them for winning the package and doing so well thus far!

Wheeling Island's website however has no mention of the WSOP Satellite's OR their winners. This has honestly been "par-for-the-course" for Wheeling's website though. They should really get on the ball with this. They're really missing out on some GREAT advertising if any of their winners even went to the WSOP, let alone if they happen to still be in the running!

Ron White was right... "You can't fix stupid."

Regards,

cheer_dad

The Big Game...and Wheeling too

Special thanks to JR for hosting "The Big Game" on Saturday evening. And congratulations to Bob for besting the 10 of us. I think everyone had a good time who played, including me and the rest of the losers who just donated our $100 to the cause. But following that little adventure, the subject of Wheeling came up, as it does all so often among our little group. The idea soon took on a life of its own. Around 9:30-ish a group departed, heading northward, with your very own cheer_dad at the helm. Chris, Laura, JR, Teresa and I in our vehicle were joined by Vince and "his" Theresa in their truck. A cooler of beer was hoisted in for a little beverage consumption for the long trip. : ) No as the D.D. I abstained, instead stealing one of my daughter's Monster energy drinks. The drive up was great, lots of talk and laughter, and just us being us. We are after all a fun bunch!

When we got there, I wanted to head upstairs and at least "see" the table games of Wheeling Island's casino. I mean I've been there since they opened up, but I never left the poker room, to go check it out. That's what a lot of alcohol and a desire to win more chips will do. Anywho... Big Red, Laura and I headed upstairs. There was a live band attempting to belt out a Led Zeppelin song as we got off the escalator. I swear I say a senior citizen in the crowd wearing a Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon t-shirt. I remember thinking how bizarre, and surreal that it seemed.

On to the tables. WOW! They were packed. Teresa and Laura finally found their way to a 3-card-poker table with a MIN $15 bet. They opted for that when they couldn't get an open seat at a $10 Let it Ride table. I opted instead to pass on the tables, because of the crowd and the wait, and headed back down to the poker room. No wait necessary this time, and I was quickly seated at a $1/$2 NLHE table. I began first playing on my belly, since recall I was already down the $100 from back at JR's game. So, I didn't want to make the evening a complete disaster. The first hand I played was AKos, before the button made a full lap around the table. I got it from late position, and popped the bet to $12 preflop. I picked up only the blinds and 3 other callers. Grinned, dragged my dinky pot and tipped the dealer anyway. Good, my image was set. I would later try the same bet from the same position later and was able to grab a couple others as well, but I never really did it with trash, because on a number of occasions there were those who were ALWAYS suspicious. Post flop bets were effective, in most cases. What seemed to work best on this night however was a slightly more passive approach. Allowing the competition the ability to hang themselves. I screwed up on one hand only in the fact that I should have made more on it than I did. But it was early on and I was feeling the bunch out at the table. I could have VERY easily been spanked and sent to the rail on this hand. As it was, however, I dragged a decent sized pot, and let my opponent do the betting. The effect it had on others at the table probably was more better for me than a few extra bucks in the pot. The hand was pocket cowboys and I was in the small blind. It gets popped to $7 by the button... I pause, and repop to $15 to thin the herd, which works. The flop comes A-10-A. True I'd rather not have seen an ace, but I wasn't surprised. I bet out a small $15 after the flop, to make it seem a little suspicious. The button, slowly calls. The turn is a blank... and I check this time, and the button agrees. The River, is a wondrous King! The button reaches for chips, a little too quick when it hits, and I think/hope briefly he has made a straight. So I check to him. He bets out $25, and then it hits me that it's quite possible that he's been sitting on an Ace, and has just made a bigger boat than me with perhaps Big Slick. So, caution... being one of my stronger tendencies (translate I'm a puss) I just called it down. He proudly tabled his pocket Jacks, which I couldn't help but snicker at when I unveiled my Kings full of Aces!

Other hands of note, on the evening I hit a set and took down a decent pot. The most profitable hand of the evening was when I found A-Jos from the button, and just smooth called the BB, since it was nearing the family pot state. I flop an Ace and a Jack. Same opponent as before bets out $20, which I just call, in hopes of making a little more later on. I know it's greedy. I hit a miracle Jack on the Turn, so I'm in the driver's seat, still check it. My opponent drops another $20 bet out. I stare, don't speak (don't want to give the speech) and then I pop it to $60. And I get a call. I get it all in on the River and drag it in. That one felt good ladies and gentlemen. Okay I've got their attention. They know I've stolen a few hands, but every time they've seen me showdown, I'm kickin' ass. I did get involved in one hand with the drunk donkey from Ironton, OH, who at last call tried to order a 12-pack, to go along with the 15 cups he had stacked beside him. He'd been there since 10am. Preflop I look down at pocket Q's from early position and I pop it to $15 not wanting any real action on it. Ironton Drunk calls it. I've decided regardless of the flop I'm betting again. The flop comes 9-4-9... I bet out immediately $25. He counts, ponders, bullshits, and then pops it to $50. I pause... and then he starts giving me the office and trying to coax me into a call. Tells me he's only got a 9-2, which the little voice in my head tells me he's only telling a half lie. I drop... and don't give him any further sour grapes or pleasure. I read his lips later to his buddy at the other end of the table as he confided that he had A-9. Better to lose a little, than a lot more. Perhaps the $25 after the flop was a mistake when the board paired. But I found out where I was, right?!

I managed to make back what I lost on that hand with a few smaller less impressive hands, so no harm, no foul. Anyway... I finally cashed out when I realized my heart and mind were no longer in it. I found myself more concerned with what Ironton was going to do. He was donkin' it up, and mouthing off a lot to the table including the dealers and waitresses. He was out of it, and the table was becoming a little more hostile. He sent 2 or 3 players to the rail, and the table began to break apart. Two newbies joined, and I opted to leave. When I tallied up, I had doubled my $100 buyin. I was back even for the "entire" night of poker and that was fine by me.

I went upstairs to check on the little lady. She was fine and still at the 3-card-poker table. I hung out and watched for a while, and then headed back downstairs. I found the table I'd been at to be completely empty now. Also noteworthy was a large gathering of Security Staff members, EMT's, and Wheeling Police Department. And oh yeah an older guy bleeding profusely at the front of the poker room. Chris filled me in on the goings on, telling me that some drunk had just cold cocked the bleeder in the lobby as he walked by. My question "what drunk," came with a reply of the guy that was sitting right over there, with a hand gesture. The gesture pointed to my previously occupied table and you guessed it the guy from Ironton. I found a good vantage point to watch it all move forward. I finally spotted "Ironton" coming out of the bathroom and sitting down at a table at the bar, with his significant other. The police were talking to him and the to the victim as well. Then remarkably I saw Ironton get up and in his sloppy drunkenness try to hug the officer, who shoved him back and then Ironton and his lady walk toward the exit?!? WTF! I'm told by one of the dealers that someone has to press charges since it's on private property. But from what I could "overhear" from the victim and his son, they were definitely pressing. They were trying to get access to video. I'm not sure I agree, that the idiot shouldn't have been shown the steel bracelets right then and there. He was drunk, disorderly, and had just assaulted some innocent by-stander. The casino should share in the responsibility since they'd continued to serve the guy since 10am. I don't have all the facts obviously... but the whole thing other than the care given to the bleeder seemed a little lackluster. Maybe the occurrence is just too frequent.

This gave plenty of additional discussion for the drive home. On the way home, we stopped again at Denny's for breakfast. I drove halfway home and handed the helm to Teresa when we stopped for a bathroom break. It was the right move... I was tired. We finally got back home at 7:00am, and took a big nap, and basically lounged our way through the rest of the day.

I hope everyone had as good a time as we did, and we'll see you all real soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Methinks trouble's a brewin'!!!

You see Google Alerts are good for something. I got my daily Google alert email related to MTR Gaming and what do I find but the following articles which report that some of the Mountaineer Casino's employees may very well go out on strike THIS SATURDAY! Read all about it:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5650059.html (oddly enough I found it in the Houston Chronicle.)

http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=24164 (and subsequently found a similar story back in West Virginia.)

According to the articles 206 employees are set to go on strike in protest of "poverty wages." Included in these workers are the cashiers, slot technicians and money room employees, all of which are represented by Local 23 of the United Food & Commercial Workers. I won't requote all of the particulars of dispute (when you can read them in the articles above) but in my estimation I would kind of agree with the workers in this labor dispute. The fact that the wages being paid do seem a bit skimpy is an understatement. Add to it that the same Union Local represents the employees at Wheeling Island, which is the only other casino in the state of West Virginia currently offering table gaming and poker. The wage differences between the two casinos are as much as $2.00 per hour. And according to the article Wheeling employees insurance is paid 100% by the casino. This in a casino less than an hour away. Sorry MTR Gaming, that's going to be a difficult position from which to offer up any legitimate argument! Face it, if Delaware North Companies Inc. (owner of Wheeling Island is doing it and remaining profitable then I think there can be little excuse, that MTR cannot do the same.)

Recall that poker and table gaming only recently came to the Mountain State, and the voters in each of the counties where casino/racetrack establishments existed had to approve it. One of the arguments was that increased revenue for the state and new jobs would be a positive result of passing the initiative. But as the Union Representative Tony Helfer is quoted from the MetroNews article as stating, "...our members qualify for a lot of state assistance benefits and we think it's wrong that the residents of West Virginia should be subsidizing a racetrack." I for one would have to agree, pumping money into the state's coffers via taxes only to suck them right back out to the people employeed by the casino. Well, something just doesn't seem right about that, particularly when both Wheeling Island and Mountaineer Casinos are both boasting such profits and successes directly related to the recent addition of table games.

MTR Gaming, I think you can do better! In fact, I think I'd bet you on it!

Regards,

cheer_dad

So much for a Wheeling Feeling... : )

All things considered "my" trip to Wheeling wasn't so bad. Of course losing is never a good thing but playing from 6:30pm to 1:30am and being down only $27... well I suppose that's not so bad. Particularly if you consider the fact that at one point "early" on I was down just over $150. I was in the same seat ALL NIGHT. I got seated in relatively short order at a $1/$2 NLHE table when we got there, in the #3 seat and just never moved. There was a little turnover on the table, but for the most part the characters remained the same. Vince and I ended up at the same table, so that was kind of nice. We both had to shake our heads MANY times at some of the absolute garbage hands that we saw being played and some of the sick beats that were taking place. Not just to he and I but a few of the others at the table. The guy who was sandwiched between the two of us, was a gambler. He'd gamble anything... he didn't care, he wasn't a very good poker player in my estimation but he just had a knack for falling into hand after hand. He was calling $12-$15 preflop bets with absolutely nothing, and he said so just to see if he could suck out. Thinking back now, I don't think he folded any more than 10 hands the whole time preflop. Honest, I'm not makin' this shit up. Raised pots, unraised, all-in's you name it, he was in it...and oft times as evidenced by his stack he was coming up smelling like a rose. He wasn't the only one though. I've come to recognize an ever growing locals population inhabiting the poker room at Wheeling Island. All too many of them are regular weekend (if not daily) fixtures of the room. They know one another, the dealers, the floor managers, waitresses, hell even the guys picking up the trash. At times the degree of camaraderie among them and the staff is a bit un-nerving, but I'm not suggesting any impropriety, just that it tends to make me feel like bit of an outsider. But, the feeling passes and you insert yourself into the ebb and flow of the game.

One such fixture that some of you may recall was known to the entire room, I mean literally. "G" is the name. I referred to him in previous posts on my trips to Wheeling. Frank and I in particular took pictures of him the last time we were there. He was wearing so much bling that the he tended to "white" out the picture. You just saw this shiny spot in the center of the image. Like I said... EVERYONE in the joint knows this guy, goatie, bling, and hat cocked to one side and all. He tended to be in most pots as well, at least to start, then the tide turned and he dropped down into a tighter profile in the game. He ended up getting busted out with AKs when the guy in the #1 seat called his preflop bet and the subsequent all-in on the flop. Unfortunately for "G" the kid in seat 1 had hit two pair on the flop with his K3os. "G" launched his cards, which frisbeed off the table and onto the floor. The floor was called to retrieve them, harsh glances and a few parting comments from a tilted "G" yelling "nice fuckin' suck out" on his way toward the door. Dealers returned to dealing, players returned to playing, Diane (sp) the Poker Room Supervisor returned to her spot at the front desk, having assisted in averting yet another disaster in HER room. And yes, the place is HER ROOM, if you have any doubts about it. I watched her "escort" two idiots who tried to skip the waiting list and sneak in to an open seat. She showed 'em the door, quite unceremoniously. Hell, she even wagged a finger at me for texting a message at the table to JR, when I wasn't in the hand. Oops... busted. In all seriousness, your supervision of the place and care of the players and staff appears to be top notch. MY COMPLIMENTS to you!!! You're a credit to the Wheeling Island staff!

Two other notables for the room are two dealers, that make the game run smoothly and the place a great place to be! Debbie, your interaction with the players, dealing proficiency, and ballsy attitude is top notch. I love to see you tappin' out the current dealer, and joining the table. My other favorite dealer is Tera. You've got a smile that absolutely lights up the room, and you've got an incredibly kind spirit. As well you keep the table chugging along in the right direction. Don't know if any of you will ever read this blog to even see it, but hopefully others who trudge through the blogosphere and take note of all of these excellent staff members of Wheeling Island's poker room.

Okay, enough with the individual assessments and pats on the back, I made some notes during the evening of play to help me remember the more memorable hands in which I played a part, sometimes coming up on top, other times... eh... not so much. Here's my recollection of a number of hands based on the chicken-scrawls found in my shirt pocket:

1. This was I suppose a mistake for me. I'd been at the table for about one round without much in the way of a playable hand. I'm UTG and look down at AA! Now I have not seen a good hand so far... I have ALSO not seen a single unraised pot pre-flop thus far. Friggin' everyone raising it up, and despite $12-$15 preflop there were still typically 4-5 players seeing EVERY flop. So, I get inventive, and just "smooth" call. Of course the one time I try it, in hopes of getting a raise which I can shove in on and take a chunk right away, gets killed. 8 players to the FLOP! I'm still in the lead after the flop, and bet out $15, and get a few callers. The turn brings a possible straight draw on the board, but I'm still fairly happy with my Aces. River brings me a Set! Of course it also looms on the horizon as a possible straight completer. The button bets $35... I reluctantly make the call. Yeah his K-10os finally hit pay dirt and the straight. Cheer_dad mucks without having to show, sits back quietly and licks wounds. You might say, my mistake for not raising preflop, but I would argue that I would have been called down by some of them, and in particular I think the #1 seat would have called this in a heartbeat being on the button. I could have open shoved and take the $3 in blinds from my UTG spot, but I thought what I'd witness thus far at the table suggested otherwise. I've been wrong before.
2. The next stack killer hand I'll cover was A-Qos in late position. No real interest expressed in the hand when it gets to me, I pop it to $12 preflop. The #4 seat, pauses, looks at me and openly remarks, you never do that unless you've got a really good hand, and look at him straight and say, "yes, you are correct!" He calls, all others fold. I hit an Ace on the flop, and bet out $25, he calls, the turn brings a clone of the low card on deck (another 5) he checks to me, I shove with Aces and 5's, Q kicker. He shudders, shakes head and says sorry about your luck... he calls and tables his 5-8 (frackin' sooted) for the three of a kind 5's which hold through the River. CHECKS ON TABLE 8!!! Motherless fuck! is what I'm thinking, I grin, nod and say nice hand. Kept my cool and composure and rebought another $100. At my lowest point, I was down over $150, but I managed to climb back out from under it with a few of the hands that I'll cover now. (Gasp, that's right they weren't all bad!)
3. Here's a mild one, to warm up to that was a GREAT HAND that I could get paid on! I look down in late position to find KK, and pop it my customary $12 preflop, and get 2 callers. Flop comes KJJ. I get insta-wood of course, but get two checkers back to me, I pause and just decide to check cause I'm getting the eyeball. Turn and River fills in like 4 cards to a straight with even a possible flush out there, and I bet out a measly $15 and can't catch a single call! Both folders look and scoff, "yeah, nice buy!" I later confide to Vince that I indeed had a monster. Only the 4 of a kind to avoid. (Speaking of 4 of a kind I did see a monster pot that I wasn't involved in go to 4 of a kind 8's!!! against the #1 seat's boat.)
4. I was able to get away from pocket Nines once (only a little bit late) when a 10 came on the river, and I had a sense that I'd just been screwed. I dropped it and saw "G" drag back his all-in and the pot with a pair of 10's Ace kicker, while again the #4 seat who bet huge at me on the river and got me to fold as well had a 10 to invalidate my 9's, but he was holding a 10-2os, which I'm sure he plays 'cuz it's Doyle's hand. Yeah, impress me with your mastery of the poker lingo.
5. This hand turned things around for me. Again, late position I look down at the Hilton Sisters. (QQ) it is raised to $8 straight in front of me, I make it $25 to go, the original raiser all-ins it, I insta call, for actually a near equal stack (within $2 total) he proudly tables his 10's, I grin with my ladies. The ladies stand! I take it down, Checks on table 8 again... but NOT for our hero, cheer_dad. : )
6. Next hand, I get a guy all in after the flop with my pocket 10's which met their triplet on the flop. He called me down for all his stack with KQ, in dire need of a gut shot Jack, which never got there for him. I take stock after this, and laugh, Vince catches my eye, and say "I'm up by $1 for 3 1/2 hours play!" I rock out loud at this game now don't I!
7. Things dried up a little after that, and I started to dwindle, but regained enough ground to call it a night when I opted to play my least favorite ( i hate it) hand J-K off. I prefer to leave this one to the teen boys and a Victoria's Secret catalogue. Nonetheless, sorry to say, Jimmy Woods, I played that shit. As punishment, I flop an open-ended straight draw and say, you know, "what the fuck, it's my turn!" and throw out an uncharacteristic $30 after the flop. Insta callation by a short stack for all his marbles because his Q-6 connected with another little lady on the flop. But as lady luck saw fit... the suicide King fell on the turn, and well, she gave me a good seein' to! No more checks on table 8 this time, he takes the walk of shame. I decide it's nearing the "wow it's really late or early hour" and I grab the coat, turn off the iPod, cradle my chips and head to the cage.

Like I said, I'm down only $27 for the trip for all my poker playing efforts and all things considered I guess I made out okay, considering some of the things I ran in to. It was remarkable that I got away from some of the things that I did.

Anyway, hope at least some of you made it the whole way to the end of this post. Don't forget to tip your dealers and waitresses, they're working hard for the money.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Cry Havoc...

Today's my short day... but it won't be short enough. Some of us are making another trip right after work to Wheeling Island. Chris, Laura, Teresa, and I are going together, and I believe Vince and Theresa will be joining us as well, a bit later. So the NDPT will be well represented in West Virginia's northern panhandle this evening. This will be my first trip back since they've added full casino gaming tables. I'm curious to see the whole setup, the "limits" the whole atmosphere. My time, or least I intend to spend my time primarily in the poker room. More so than usual I want to actually play the game. Some of the observations I've made lately I've formed strategies for, or more correctly borrowed them from the masters of the game. Can you plagiarize an idea!? If so, then I guess I have.

When the others at the table look across at me I want them to see only this. I want to be robotic, and fall into that perfect rhythm which happens only when you fully embrace it and become a part of the game you are playing. Aside from all that, I want to play each hand the way it should be played, the perfect play at the perfect time. Be the player that you know that you can.
Okay so enough with all the metaphysical bullshit. It's Friday, lighten the frack up right!?!

I played last night in the Pokerspace UltimateBet freeroll. Unfortunately when there were about 50-ish players left, I had to go pick up Whit and JoJo from their school dance. Needless to say with blinds at the 200/400 mark, well it was only a matter of time. I finally was blinded out in 25th place. No payout whatsoever. BUT, again, I'm tending to go deep into tournaments. I'm watching the douchebags who accumulate early stacks just absolutely piss 'em away. I'm crediting that with making great decisions throughout my game. Bumping it from position with or without cards. Playing strong with strong cards. Make 'em pay, watch for the guy who keeps raising all the time, and then waiting for a monster hand, and smooth call in front of him and wait to get paid by his pushy stupidity.

If you can't tell, I'm on a mission. There are no guarantees but right now, I've activated the voice of the "id" in my head that's gonna convince me that I can eat lightning and crap thunder. I will inflict and deflect. I will as in the words of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!" BUT, despite the outward appearance I will remain calm, and recall my recent studies of calm and harmony... and yes, remain at one with self... ZEN.

May our trip be both enjoyable and profitable. I'm not feeling lucky, I'm not due, I'm not anything but prepared and ready to capitalize on the moment for as many of them as there are to be had! And what more is there really. "'Luck' favors the prepared mind!"

Regards,
cheer_dad

Wheeling Island Floor Manager Arrested!

The eye in the sky is always watching...
Michael DiTaranto found that out the hard way.
The article was posted in The Intelligencer/ Wheeling News-Register today: http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/506198.html

To paraphrase; Mr. DiTaranto (a Floor Manager at Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack) got caught on video "allegedly" trying to swipe a few $500 chips (13 to be exact, for a $6,500 attempt.) In addition, the story goes on to give the history that the suspect attempted to get cooperation from a West Virginia Lottery Commission Official in the escapade. You can check out the article above by FRED CONNORS Staff Writer for all the juicy/pathetic details. It would appear from the article that the Lottery Official was in on the sting to apprehend Mr. DiTaranto. So, despite a bad incident... the WV Lottery Commission AND Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack are showing their ability to keep a handle on the illegal activity in the casino. Kudos to both!

It's sad when you see a patron of a casino try this...but even worse when it's an employee, and a floor manager no less. He was taken to Moundsville, WV's Northern Regional Jail and charged with grand larceny. Yeah, that's not gonna look good on the ole resume.

I know how oft times these little nuggets of information go unnoticed, so I wanted to make sure to give it a boost and share it with the rest of the blogosphere.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Declining profits for Atlantic City casinos

The New York Times is running the following article from the Associated Press regarding Atlantic City casino yearly profit reports. According to the released report although revenues taken down were a staggering $4.92 billion that this is actually cause for concern for the Eastern gambling Mecca. Since 1978, profits for the casino city have steadily increased, but not so for 2007. Profits in 2006 were listed as $5.21 billion.

Blame is being zeroed in on competition from outside Atlantic City, primarily slot parlors which have opened in Pennsylvania and New York. A partial smoking ban is also a contributing factor.

What this brings to my mind, is what sort of affect will the opening of casino gaming in West Virginia (Wheeling Island and Mountaineer Casinos) do to the Pennsylvania market? Obviously there will be a huge impact. By the same token thinking further down the line, will these future losses fuel efforts to push for casino gaming in Pennsylvania, and elsewhere including Kentucky, when slot parlor visitors make their exodus from their own home states and cross the West Virgina borders, in search of something other than the slot machines being offered?

If approved elsewhere, what will ultimately be the saturation point for new casinos. Exactly how many is too many, and what can revenues actually support in the long term? Which casinos or better yet which state(s) will emerge as the winners in the Gaming Wars?

The answers to these and many other questions will provide a wealth of topics of discussion from now until well into the next decade and beyond I'm sure. I'll continue to throw my two cents worth into the mix for what it's worth, and keep my blog minions apprised of the situation. Stay tuned!

Regards,

cheer_dad

So, what brings 'em in?

I've been paying a lot more attention to my stats lately, no not my height, weight, and age (although I really should) no what I'm talking about is what attracts ye "surfers of the web" to the NPDT...n debt poker tour blog. I've been using Google Analytics to get a better picture of who is visiting my blog, and where they're from, as I've previously mentioned. But I've also been looking into the reason for your visit, how you found me, and how long you stick around when you get here. Granted I'm not packing them in by any means, but there are some things which seem to have attracted more traffic than others. So, with that opener, here are the "search terms" that landed folks on the ole blog and my accompanying comments:

Keyword:

1. wheeling island - Well this one's pretty obvious, the huddling masses wanted to know where to get their poker on!

2. carpe viam - This one caught me off guard. I only used the Latin phrase once on my blog, but I forgot about the oh so large Dead Runner's Society contingent out there in the world. I used to subscribe/belong to both the Dead Runner's Society and the Penguin Brigade, back in my full tilt running days, and "Seize the Road" is a true battle cry of both! It is fitting that I'm trying to reclaim my running roots, and shed the excess tonnage that this tie-in presents itself.

3. mountaineer "poker tournament" - Yet, again, rather obvious, poker freaks (such as I) jonesin' for a game.

4. wheeling island commercials - Similar, but this time folks looking for word of the commercials that started hitting the airwaves shortly after casino gaming opened in West Virginia.

5. wheeling island poker - I'm seeing a trend here...

6. "kwazy kowean" - This one FLOORS me!!! So much so that I did a search on it myself from Google.com and found that only two pages match the criteria! Of which I was #1! I guess I have to give credit to my buddy JJ on this. After all he is the one, and original Kwazy Kowean!!!

7. "phil ivey" debt - hmmm talk of "good" poker pros gets me found. I'll not be confused and start mentioning Jamie Gold. : ) Sorry Jamie, if you're reading this, I'm just kiddin'!

8. "poker room" + tri-state - Those of you searching for Tri-State (Cross Lanes, WV) poker are for the time being S.O.L. BUT take heart they'll be dealing out the first bad beat in the coming months!

9. "wheeling island" - uhmm users of Boolean operators...with such a simple search terms, I wouldn't have thought you would have narrowed your results much. But, I thought wrong. wheeling island without the quotes on Google, yields you 230,000 results, while using the quotes brings in a paltry 39,900!

10. "wheeling island" "minimum" "blackjack" $5 - this Boolean string yields only 104 results, or which the NDPT blog comes up as #5 thank you very much! Oh and the fact that the ACCURSED frackin' BLACKJACK is mentioned so very often in my more whiny posts, it's appropriate as all hell isn't it!?!

Anyway, in a nutshell that's what's bringin' you in, day in and day out. Now if only there were a few more of you and maybe I'd really feel like I was accomplishing something! Ah what does it matter, I'd still be out here yakkin' it up like a Chatty Cathy Doll. Remember the blog is cheaper than the much needed therapist!!!

I'll be seeing some of you Friday night at the Yanok's for the first tournament of the year 2008! And then on Saturday I'll be seeing even more of you at the first tournament of the year 2008 for the combined poker groups NDPT, River's Edge and SmartAss Poker (a.k.a Murray's, Wolfe's, and Ruble's respectively.) I'm looking forward to it ALL!

Oh and did I mention lately that the "Countdown to Vegas 2008" is getting SHORT!!! : )

Regards,

cheer_dad

Casino gaming articles from The Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register

A couple of articles in The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register that I missed regarding table gaming and associated tourism. The first: http://theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/503740.html discusses the award of grant money to "local tourism hot spots" including Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack, in addition to Oglebay Park and the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau. Of the $766,073 being awarded in Wheeling, the Wheeling Island casino will receive $145,587. This grant package in Wheeling is part of a larger $5.1 million funding being handed out by the West Virginia Tourism Commission. The goal is to target more tourism to the various destinations within the state. Trying to turn "day-trippers into overnight visitors," is one of the major goals of floating money into this advertising effort. In any case, the grants awarded are matching funds, so it is clear that double the capital will be utilized in attracting tourism.

The second article: http://theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/503958.html discusses West Virginia tracks getting table gaming...well yeah, we know. However it does further outline, that one of the cornerstone arguments employed by officials to bring casino gaming to the Mountain State (at least in the Northern Panhandle was the creation of jobs and battling the competition presented to video lottery gambling, as the Pennsylvania General Assembly moved to allow the machines in Pennsylvania as well, cutting into that WV market. Well the argument did in fact work, and Chester and Wheeling have both enjoyed an incredible shot in the arm as far as increased revenues AND new jobs. Wheeling Island, according to the article, has created 500 new jobs and Mountaineer has added 725 new jobs, following the opening of casino style table games at each of the locations.

Check out the articles for yourself...I don't want to steal the thunder of the original writers Shelley Hanson and Joselyn King. They did all the leg work and deserve the credit. I think it's even more interesting to read through the list of comments following each of the articles. Not everyone supports the state's "gambling ways, and are letting their voices be heard. Regardless of the opinions the state is beneficiary to the gambling revenues to the tune of 35% of the profits. Not to mention, the initial $1.5 Million table game licensing fee, which when renewed the following year will increase its price tag to $2.5 Million.

Dollars and cents of this magnitude cannot be ignored!
The boost to a struggling West Virginia economy is much needed!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Opening Day

The Wheeling Intelligencer has the following two articles detailing the opening of table games at both of the northern panhandle casinos.
Chester http://theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/503642.html?nav=515
Wheeling http://theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/503641.html?nav=515
Sounds like both casinos are off to a great start with their table games.

I want to go up to see it all (especially Chester) but I just don't know when that's going to happen seeing as things are so busy with the Holiday Season, the kids, and a few big home poker games to be played in a short amount of a remaining hear. Then, not long after that, in 29 Days, 2 Hours, 36 Minutes...we're headed to VEGAS! So, who knows when I'll make it North.

The day's almost DONE!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Wheeling Island website, checkup from work...

Quick note, checking the Wheeling Island website today from work...the screenshot I posted from home late last night is current, and is NOW showing at work (through the proxy) as well. SOOO, what's it all mean? Either work sucks, which we all knew already, or in fact the web admins for the casino to the north, were in fact working whilst in production. No-No boys...bad form.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Wheeling site follow up...and other plans

Hmmm, now I'm hopeful that the picture shown here, is actually the Wheeling Island website redesign... Now the bigger question, was it complete before? Were they still working on it? Or is this another friggin' site that the accursed PROXY servers are shredding before displaying?! Say it ain't so, Del!!! Frank have we merely been duped by surfing at work? OR...did your screenshot come from home? I'm still not really all that sold on the idea of the Ford F-150 dwarfing the rest of the home page... maybe a DODGE!!! : ) Blush, is that my hemi showing? Anyway, it is an improvement over what I was seeing earlier. If it was that way earlier today, I guess I'll look foolish again. But after 39 years on the planet, I've been getting used to it by now. I did browse through the rest of the site, and it is better looking than it used to be. It has a little more glitz, and some pictures, and I'm hoping they'll quickly fill in the "blanks" for the other table games as soon as they open on the 20th. BUT, keep in mind that up until this change the news posts on the website were usually at least a month old. Until some time passes, the jury will hold its verdict. Maybe, just maybe I spoke too soon. We shall see.

In other topics Big Red says this Friday night a "bunch" of us are going to dinner and a movie. Adults and children this go 'round. Quickie dinner after work, I'm guessing it'll be somewhere Mexican (think quick.) And then we'll all head to the mall, and the adults are going to indulge ourselves in I Am Legend, while the kids check out the new Alvin and the Chipmunks flick. I've got to confess, I will probably end up watching that one too, later, in disguise. I grew up with these rodents, and honestly the commercials look pretty funny. Now back to "Legend." I read the book by Richard Matheson at Frank's urging. It was short, and I enjoyed it...and I'm curious to see how HollyWeird will modify it to their liking. Nonetheless, the previews look good, and they may make an exciting, interesting film in their own right. Again, jury's still out. I'll let you know later, and this won't be an Ebert and Roper critique. I genuinely love movies...but I'm not all about the director/actor intention and vision. I EXPECT to be entertained. Get it done, and the popcorn better not be stale. End of story...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Wheeling Island website!?

I visited the Wheeling Island website yesterday, to see if there were any news to be found. There was something new, but it wasn't good. Their website is "new." I cannot say improved, and honestly it would not have been hard to improve upon it. I actually crossed my fingers and hoped they were "in the process" of updating it when I visited, but finding it again in this state I'm guessing the powers that be in charge of advertising at Wheeling Island are content with it as a finished product. I decided to echo Frank's comments and email my comments to them as well, I hope it makes an impact, and soon. Here are my comments, and I hope they do NOT go unheard:

What have you done to your website!?! The redesign, if that's what it is, doesn't even have your name at the top of the home page. The old site was amateurish, at best, but at least it had the basic elements of a web presence. Please tell me that the web designers are NOT doing a redesign while in production...if so you should fire them now. With the enormous advertising campaign that Wheeling Island is currently involved in (what with advertisements in CardPlayer and Bluff Magazines, billboards, radio and television commercials) it should be realized that you are doing yourself a disservice with your website. A number of my friends, colleagues, and fellow bloggers continue to track the progress and experience of the newly opened poker room at Wheeling Island, and as well will continue to report on our blogs as the additional table games are formally opened next week, BUT your website definitely needs an overhaul!

Regards,

cheer_dad

http://ndebtpokertour.blogspot.com/

Opportunities still abound

I have to agree completely with Frank on the "state" of the websites of Wheeling Island and Mountaineer. Although, we STILL haven't made it to Mountaineer to play, since it is a little further north, it is obvious that they are attempting to embrace poker much more on their website. Then again, maybe it's not just poker, but more a fact that they place more value in their website, than does Wheeling Island. Slot machine play still seems to be the focus of their interest. Historically slot machines appeal to an older demographic. (Nobody better point out that I'll soon be hitting the BIG-40.) Poker on the other hand, with the recent online and tv explosion has become a game enjoyed by a MUCH younger crowd! Once upon a time, even many Las Vegas casinos only offered poker as a way of enticing couples in the door. Older men could sit down in a small poker room, with other older men, smoking bad cigars with horrendous comb-overs, and avoid the "one-armed-bandits." Their wives were actually the intended "targets" though. The ladies (blue hair and all) could then be fully engaged and uninterrupted at the slot machines. Fast forward now to today and roughly the past few years, and you will see an entirely different demographic. Younger and younger players are coming out in droves to casinos. Granted no "younger" than 21 (don't get me started on the tangent of they can go 1/2 way round the world and wage war over some ass-end of desert, but they can't be trusted or permitted in a casino, or gasp, don't let 'em drink either.) These young guns of poker are stoking the fire and casino traffic in general is heating up. And while the availability of the close to home option of playing poker at Wheeling or Chester is great, these will still NEVER replace the pilgrimage WEST to SIN CITY! Even when this month they open their other table games to entice the masses, and yes, you bet I'll be hitting them at some point, the thrill of VEGAS still remains to great to pass up.

Some of you have even asked if I'm concerned that with the opening of Wheeling and Chester and later Cross Lanes (Tri-State) poker rooms and sundry games, will actually hurt our home games. I don't think so at all. In fact, I think it will only add to the frenzy. The home tourneys and cash games that we continue to have, are VERY social events. And in a lot of cases present an entertainment option to a lot of us, particularly couples, that is much cheaper than any other entertainment available to us here in the Mid-Ohio Valley. I think more and more home games will be available for a long time to come, so don't worry about it. I'll keep the light on in the local card room, and keep the chips stacked up nice and neat for you all. This coming year, I will continue to host poker tournaments, but may actually be able to cut back on the number of times per year, that I personally host, and instead attend the games of others instead. More and more of you are hosting games thereby alleviating some of the "stresses" involved with putting a game together every other week, or month. Since Erik S is still hosting his tourneys and the oh so "juicy" cash games that's always an option. Frank has River's Edge Poker Club in full swing, JR (a.k.a. Smartass, Junior, or Uncle Jun) set off a Vegas grenade in his basement and boasts a helluva poker room now, don't forget the Yanok's game (although I can't elaborate since what happens there, stays there!) And for the more adventurous among you there are the IBEW games that Julie M can ALWAYS be counted on to give the scoop on, and when I can once again "afford" to wander in to the other game with Matt and his brother-in-law, I'll do so. Seriously though, the guy in for $1,500 that night still freaked me out a little!!! I really gotta improve my game! There are also the Moose games that are still going on, although I've never taken part there. Lundo, is still running his game, last I heard. And there are some other "beefy" below the radar games that I can point you to if you've got some deep pockets, and a hankerin' for a little sumpin' sumpin'. And I know that a number of you have other games that you attend with your "other" friends, whoever in the heck they are. You know the ones that you're willing to be seen with in daylight hours, as opposed to this pack of degenerates! We look better in a little less light, and a beer or twelve! Anyway, I've way over beleaguered a point I think I was trying to make. There's lots of poker to be played here in our hometown and surrounding area. A renewed poker boom is taking place at a lot of local levels, despite a possible reduction at the big name events and television tournaments. People have rediscovered the game. And not just hold 'em, which many believe will begin to take a backseat to Omaha, and the H.O.R.S.E. tournaments and ring games are gaining a lot of popularity, forcing mastery of a multiple of poker disciplines.

All I can really say is, that poker in it's many forms and venues, is Alive and Well, and will be that way for many moons to come. Hang on tight folks, this Merry-Go-Round is moving fast. I'll see MANY of you this weekend, and many more next. But for now, I gotta run off to Project Management Class, and be a good little government worker.

Regards,

cheer_dad

P.S. Countdown to Las Vegas... 44 Days, 10 Hours, 7 Minutes!!! We gotta look up the little Korean? dealer whose name was also Frank, and see if he actually did "...prolly ROOOOSSSE his job!"

Some stuff and a word of the day

I'm glad to see that my buddy Frank has been following the "state" of poker in the "state" of West Virginia so well. I haven't been in much of a blogging mood lately, much less in an investigative reporter mood. Although I do and accomplish nothing, I seem to have very little energy or oomph lately. To say that I have a waning interest in life, would seem to put it a little harshly! Eh...but if the shoe fits, put the other one on. Anyway, I am still a bit surprised that Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center has not even applied for a gaming license to permit table games at the facility. Poor choice if you ask me. They could use the ramped up revenue to help or completely finance their "pie-in-the-sky" expansion plans. Meanwhile Wheeling and Chester will move forward with their table games plans, and possible expansion. Sooner or later surrounding states will jump on the bandwagon in some way to stave their residents from crossing the border to the Mountain State, to slough off their hard earned dollars. Instead keeping it for themselves to fill the governmental coffers. How is it that something that appears so sensible, from a business perspective, could elude the powers that be of the Tri-State facility?

In other news, it seems that JR got the last laugh on the Murray's and the Wolfe's on Saturday night. During the WVU game/cluster-frack Frank texted JR to see how the date was going, and throughout the evening we were entertained with replies, stating that the date ended early during dinner, and he opted to head instead for the $1/$2 NLHE table in Wheeling. Laughter (and a little jealously ensued!) Turns out, that the date continued, and he parted ways with said maiden in the neighborhood of 1:30 in the AM. So, he didn't get any poker in after all, or at least any that involved a deck of cards! : ) Sorry, lady...don't know you yet, so I can continue to talk trash!

It is bitter cold and windy outside. The morning's walk from the truck to the building was enough to bring tears to the eyes and left you gasping for breath. BRRR! I hate the cold, hate the Winter, hate having those clearly defined 4 seasons. I'd be much happier with, oh say ONE!!! I wonder if I can retire to someplace tropical, or very warm?

Oh and finally, my word for the day is DONKTARD! After reading it on the AnteUp Blog, I got a good chuckle and found that it is VERY fitting of a number of the players I've encountered recently at Wheeling Island's poker room. You should be able to mop up with them, but as is pointed out at AnteUp, too many of them at a table can be a VERY dangerous thing. You can't bluff a donktard. You need powerful, if not nuts hands to take it down, but the suckouts can be severe.

There's a lot of poker coming up in the the next few weeks, the Yanok's, JR's, Mine, and a couple of year-end games yet to be scheduled. Then maybe a short, well-deserved break before a big contingency of us head of to the land of lights in the desert (Las Vegas.) ETA is 47 Days, 3 Hours, 10 Minutes, according to the iGoogle gadget I've got in place. Rest up...save your pennies gang, it's going to be one heckuva ride! See you all soon.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Another baby step online, and WVU sucks!

After WVU's dismal failure during last nights game, the family and I returned from the Wolfe's. I won't even go into detail about the game it irritated me so much. I logged on briefly to Poker Rewards to play just a few hands. A few is all that I did. But for a good reason! After about a 1/2 round of play, I look down at rockets! The table has moved slow thus far, so I opted just to make it 2X the BB. I get only 1 caller. The flop is 2-2-5. I bet the pot. Lone caller just calls. The turn is an 8. I bet 1/2 pot. Lone caller again, just calls. Now before you go, yeah those'll get you every time, you shoulda dropped the bullets, let me tell you the river card. Another ACE!!! Only one hand in the deck can kill me now. Normally I would accept your pity, but not this time. I bet pot again, for all my marbles. He CALLS! I show...and he MUCKS!!! I make $18.xx in less than 10 minutes of play. Big Red says it's time for bed...sounds like a good idea, I'll quit while I'm ahead. Have $133.xx on that site now.

Only other thing I'm interested in, is finding out what brought JR's date to an end last night. BUT on the positive side, it sounded like he was having a great run at the $1/$2 NLHE table! Apparently everyone but of course him, was interested in the WVU vs Pitt game. Gotta run.

Regards,

cheer_dad