In the dark on the details

So, I'm still a little in the dark as to my wife's antics of last night...  I had previously mentioned getting the chips ready for last night's poker game at the Eagles, but I didn't end up playing.  I took Cole to baseball practice, and actually Whitney was at softball practice on the next field, so I migrated back and forth a bit.  Then, when we got home and we ate.  Then, I knuckled down and got in my weight lifting workout at around 9PM.  So, I never made it up to the Eagles at all.  Big Red called to inform me around 10PM that she was out of the tourney, having been felted by Uncle June.  Preflop the guy in front of her goes All-In for 550, Red looks down at pocket Aces, and shoves for 650.  It folds around to Uncle June who makes the call saying it's prolly a stupid play, but what the hell, right?  The flip over, first all-in guy, with KK, Red with AA, Uncle June 3-4s.  Flop 5-6-7.  DOH!  I had to laugh!  So, she wants to know do I want to come up and play now and she'll come home.  But I know today's gonna be a busy day for me so I tell her to go ahead and hit the cash table.

...Flash forward...

At around 3:30AM, I roll over in bed to what seems like a strobe light flashing, and bleerily make out Poltergeist is on the television.  I realize Red is not there.  I chuckle and then a few minutes later I hear the garage door and then the tip-toe steps of my beloved.  She starts in with "I'm sorry."  But I told her I didn't care as long as she was having a good time.  I listened to a few words from her before nodding off.  I think I heard that she won back her buy-ins plus like $10 for the night.  Hey, it's a profit!  : P  Anyway, maybe I'll get details of her excursion later, when she has caught up on sleep.  She did say she thought they had over 50 players again, with a lot of new faces!  Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all of you who showed up!

Bowling went quick this morning.  I even took a call for support from the Help Desk, from Frank "iamwolfie."  Network cut-overs are always a joy on a weekend.  I leave in a few minutes to head over to Emerson Lanes for more bowling starting at 1PM.  Doubles tourney and Singles after that.  Cole picked up his 2nd place team trophy from last week's tournament.

Tonight, I will DEFINITELY be ready for some rest and relaxation.  You may all see a little "drunken poker" played LIVE this time from your ole buddy cheer_dad.  I'll lay aside the role of Super Dad for another day.  Really considering not being there for tomorrow morning's maintenance window at work.

I'll see many of you tonight at the Yanok's tournament(s.)  I'm hoping for some music to sing-along to, and that'll go well with the lampshade on my head!

Regards,

cheer_dad

 

i can feel it...

it's coming to take me away from this.  Work tomorrow but the promise of a short Friday, and then a 3-day weekend.  Saturday night at the Yanok's for poker night.  It promises to be a very good night.  I can sense a lampshade may be in my future.  There will be BEER.  It will wash away the mire of the workplace.  It will restore me... it will sustain me... I need some unwind time to just...be!  To avoid solving problems, being dedicated, putting others first, and just for a change think of absolutely nothing but where the next card is coming from, and when finding a lousy hand finding peace in the fact that I can grab another cold one.  No, this weekend will not bear witness to my ability to play the game, or my ability to carry on a coherent conversation.  This one is about forgetting.  About sloughing off the muck of the job, and considering it a job, and not life. 

I feel better... just knowing that a lost weekend approaches.  I think the blood pressure might have even dropped a few points.  I'm becoming me again.  To those who gather together Saturday to play the game, I look forward to your company, toward spending time and losing ourselves to it.

"Out here we is stoned. Immaculate."

Regards,

cheer_dad

Cut and Paste

It's like someone hit ctrl-c and ctrl-v, for the rest of the workweek! Or so says my Google widget...

Today, the kiddies got to remain snuggled in their beds since Wood County Schools in WV were closed due to the snowfall. I had little trouble getting to work in 4-wheel drive, but I'm sure the backroads might have presented some challenges for the buses. Might as well ease them back into school after a long Christmas break anyway. : )

I'm not exactly looking forward to today's treadmill run, having slacked off a bit while I was off on my extended break. But, I did bring the clothes to head down to the gym at lunch. I'll be happy to get in the 3 mile "run" as a jog, jaunt, or crawl. Prolly still sweat out some of the Corona had from New Years Eve... or some of that Wild Turkey liqueur. The good news is of course that there was no back-talk from the liver!

There's been little activity on the poker front for ole cheer_dad. I would have put in a few hundred hands yesterday online if the wife hadn't put me to work on stripping wallpaper yesterday. Grrrr! But the long dry spell from pokery goodness will most certainly come to an end this Friday, January 8th, 2010, since Uncle June has sent out his notice of the Texas Hold'em Tournament at the Eagles. Game time is 7:00pm, registration begins at 6:00pm, along with my alcohol consumption. An even $20 gets you in the tournament this time, as Uncle June made the executive decision to stop making change for everyone. (hehe) It'll just leave a few extra bills in your pockets for the cash games which always follow. Recall from a previous post that the last one got pretty beefy for a local game, especially since it was only a .25/.50 blinds nlhe game. All hail the multi-rebuyers!

Beyond that coming up on the 29th of January the Yanok's will be doing their fine hosting job to get the year going in the right poker direction for us all. I look forward to many late night weekends with you all!

Good luck, good skill throughout the year 2010!

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

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

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! : )

Spy vs Spy... plus some poker

The secrecy and subversive nature of this week, has been a troubling return to work following my vacation. Hey, it's not been Jason Bourne kinda stuff exactly but I'm quickly honing my skills to the point that a rolled up magazine will serve equally well as a weapon in any knife fight that I might per chance encounter. Secret squirrel, covert ops, spook shit, whatever it is... I've played a role. I would say TGIF... but some of the wildest announcements and proclaimations were today, some which no one saw coming. Following a late night, last night with very little sleep the events of the day have certainly kept me more alert than I have a right to be. BUT, lest I should incite the wrath of my handlers... that's all I'm going to say. Know that a number of things have however weighed heavily upon my mind.

In other news... tonight July 24th, 7:00pm at the local Eagles Aerie 2407... we're having another of our famed No Limit Hold'em Tournaments. This is open to the public, capped at 50 players (for now.) $25 gets you in the game. Registration begins at 6:00pm. Hope to see you all there.

Beyond that, tomorrow night is poker tournament night at the Yanok's house. It's gonna be a great "lost poker weekend!" And trust me I'm gonna need it.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Poker at the Yanok's house

The Yanok tournament is tonight. Well I guess it's actually tournaments, since we always play two games. It promises to be a lively crowd, I'll leave it at that! : ) Big Red and I are playing in both games, and I have little worry about the game going late. Not that it won't, but with as rainy and nasty as it has been here today, there's no way the baseball fields are going to be usable tomorrow morning for practice. I refuse to make the kids come out and wallow around in the mud. It's a game people, we're not solving world hunger here. Perhaps I'm not your idea of the uber-coach. Ask me if I care. I do this baseball coaching gig nearly every year, and it is NOT about the parents or to keep up with some testosterone infused coach on another team who is trying to relive his glory days. I'm there for the kids. I'm there for my kid. I'm hoping they're having fun while learning the game and staying active. If your idea includes winning at all costs, and verbally and mentally abusing the kids into submission, then perhaps we should just disagree from here on out. How 'bout it.

I will definitely be taking a power nap when I get home from work to prepare for the night to come. It's been a chore keeping the peepers open today at work. Sorry boss! I stayed up a little after the drawing last night at the Eagles and did a little four tabling on Bodog, and made $20. Still gotta climb outa my online hole, but it's NOT going to happen overnight. Wins come slow and steady. Losses happen like lightning! And unlike real lightning... it can and will strike the same spot twice.

Hope all is well with each of you, have a great weekend. Channel me your good vibes and luck for tonight's games. Unless of course you find yourself amongst the competition! In which case, "my vipers will feast upon your dead eyes!"

Regards,

cheer_dad

I mak'em moneys...

A 4th place finish in game #1 and a 1st place finish in game #2 at the Yanok's poker game put me at +$140 for the night! I had my fair share of ups and downs to get there, losing with a flopped two pair to Steve's rivered flush, and then later finding a beautiful finish even against Big Red when I was able to survive and profit with pocket jacks. Thanks all for sending me the positive mojo to get the job done.

Anyway, I'm tired and/or drunk so it's time to crash and I do mean hard. Thanks all for a great night, and for once in the profitable range!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Yanok's poker tonight, be there!

Poker tonight at the Yanok's house! Always a good game, always a good time. Start time is 7:45, to allow some folks to finish up at the local Fish Fry. I'm looking forward to the game(s.) Hoping to put up some points toward the year end tournament. Gotta bring the A-game, sacrifice a live chicken, feel up Lady Luck or whatever other ritual may do the trick. See the whole gang real soon.

Whitney is recovering nicely, from the wisdom teeth extraction. Still in a little pain, but she's coped quite well. Cole of course has bowling again tomorrow. I have the skills demo for baseball tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure there'll be honey do items for me to dive into the rest of the weekend, but it's a long 3-day weekend for me and I'm looking forward to it.

Good luck to you all, in whatever "game" you may find yourselves in this weekend. Unless of course you're in the hand against me. Then, it's just something I say, not something I mean.

Regards,

cheer_dad

You name it... I'm bloggin' it

Trips to the doctor are getting pricey.
Today, I had to go to the doctor, to see about a "funky" patch of skin on the side of my face. Nothing grotesquely disfiguring though when you've got so very little to work with in the first place... Anyway a prescription for some creams and then he whips out "the canister" of nitro and freezes the badboy right then and there. Freeze? HA, burns like hell! I know, I know suck it up cheer_dad! Anyway, of course I pay on my way out, just the co-pay, but the receptionist whispers to me, by the way your insurance "cough" BlueCross "cough" won't cover those prescriptions. Joy. This, all on the heels of yesterday's visit to the oral surgeon with my daughter, who at 16 will be getting her impacted wisdom teeth removed. CHA-CHING!!! Initial consult for the day, NOT included, I will need to come up with and fork over 1/2 of the total fee for the whole Extraction of Wisdom Teeth. My 1/2 equals $780, so you do the math. Oh and incidentally this particular doctor is not within the list of preferred providers of the almighty "cough" Blue Cross "cough." Still they cover somewhat. If I stay in the network of BlueCross's beautiful people then they pay 85% of the "allowed" fee. Meaning they set the total fee and then pay 85% of it. They muscle the doctor into accepting a lower fee than usual with the threat that if they don't play nice, they'll lose business. I get that some doctor's may willingly gouge the prices but not to this degree. The doc's got as much right to make a buck as do I. There I said it. But since this doctor's NOT in the network (which by the way NONE of Parkersburg, WV's oral surgeons are.) I can drive another hour to the west or to the south and find one, but wtf... Anyway, since the local/trustworthy/recommended doctor... the insurance company will pick up 70% of the accepted fee. I am directly responsible for the 30% more of the accepted fee AND any and all amounts in addition to the accepted fee. Aha, I didn't realize I'd visited the proctologist. How 'bout ya lube up there next time, big fellah. Ooof! Anyway, said extraction of teeth will occur in a week and a half. Brother can you spare a dime... a bankroll perhaps?!? I kidding... I'll survive or rob a bank.

Bodog account is just back over the 5 hundy mark. I had a minor setback just before Vegas that cost me during a night of play. Got some Big Sets crushed... the one that hurt the most was the frackin' QUEENS, which lost to the douchebag holding 3-6os, who called the preflop raise in the first place. There's a special place for you in hell, my friend. I'll refrain from posting the things I said and wrote about you that night. I'll keep the internet safe for the PG-13 crowd.

I've got poker this weekend on Friday at the Yanoks house. 2 qualifier games, which move fast and the chips fly. Then, on Saturday I've got the NDPT tourney at my house. I'm hopeful of a decent score somewhere in there. So, beware lil fishies! On the heels of that I'm feeling the urge to next week head down south to CrossLanes and play for the night in the poker room at the Tri-State Casino and Racetrack... call it an itch, call it Vegas withdraw, it is what it is... Let's see I need to work on the begging/pleading aspect to Big Red.

Cover me boys... I'm goin' in! Suppressing fire!

Regards,

cheer_dad

I'm still havin' fun!

Tonight is poker with the Yanoks! Game time is 7:30pm. I'll see many of you there tonight. Somewhere between now and then I could use a nap, but I don't see much chance of that happening. It's my short day... and then I pick Whitney up from school. She has to cheer at the basketball game tonight, but her bf is going to be there and they are going out on a date afterward. Cole will of course go with us, to play with the other kids. Other than me winning both games tonight, it sounds like everything's all mapped out huh!

Good luck to the Wolfe clan who are opting for a trip to Cross Lanes instead. She-Wolfe is going to match wits with many of the fairer sex tonight in the Ladies Tournament that they host in The Big Easy Poker Room. Wolfie plans to continue his winning ways at the cash tables. Bring some back!

My Bodog play has been fun lately. Yeah, it's more fun when you're winning. Whoever said that first is friggin' genius. At my micro levels and for my micro skills I'm happy. I'm actually beginning to get some breathing room to play, and I'm not as likely to get all worried if I have a bad night at the virtual felt. Some might encourage me to move up to the next level, but I don't think I have the bankroll for it yet. By the logic I'm subscribing to I don't think I'm truly supposed to be playing at the .10/.25 NL tables, BUT honestly I just couldn't bring myself to play lower. Call it a weakness, I don't care. Heck some of you call it a weakness that I'm not playing higher than I am. But I've really tried to stay true to my gameplan here. I actually want to be adequately bankrolled online. I am right now $53 bucks away from having 20 buy-ins for the .10/.25 level. I'm willing to camp myself out at this level for a while. I still err on the side of caution, since I'm not just playing one table. Each table is of course independent. But tilt is tilt, and a bad run of cards is a bad run of cards, no matter how much I try to flatten it out over the landscape of multiple tables simultaneously. In my mind when I hit $500 I will be legitimately at 20 buy ins for the level I'm playing at. I cannot then legitimately make a move higher to the .25/.50 (max $50) until I have $1,000 squirrelled away in the Bodog account. I'm counting this money as separate from the few hundred that's holed up in my sock drawer. I'm going to try to stick to my guns on one other point and not be tempted to pull any money out from Bodog until after I've crossed the GRAND threshold. My typical play time allows me to login and play for around an hour or more on occasion. I 3-4 table it from the get go and try to put in a minimum of 200 hands, whether I'm running good or bad. I have played on for around 400 hands, but at that point at least for me, it's time for a break. It'll also keep me outa hock with the lovely Big Red! : )

Consider this, I know my wins are minuscule, but not measured against the risk undertaken. Most generally (knock on wood) I win in these sessions. Not necessarily on every table. But the session as a whole levels it out nicely. I could play live, but in that case I'd only be able to play one table at a time. Very likely getting in only around 30 hands per hour. Arguably I'm maximizing, by seeing the the hands online that would be equivalent to like 6 or 7 hours of live play. Albeit at lower stakes. But the experience is priceless too me. Not only do I just enjoy the game, but I see things now. I remember things about people I play. I make moves that I didn't used to in my poker infancy. (I'm merely a toddler now.) I'm getting better. I'm accustomed to seeing the bad beats and suckouts and they don't bother me so much anymore. They happen and it's a good thing, cause they sometimes happen to my benefit! But either way, I grow accustomed to seeing it happen, and very few things surprise me anymore. I don't get blindsided very often at all. I might let you shove me off a hand every once and a while, more so than another fish might, BUT just plan on keeping my chips warm for me pal... I'll be back this session or the next to collect 'em from you. Hopefully the notes I've taken on you, will allow me to collect mine and have them bring some of yours with 'em.

Still the single most important thing about playing poker now... is that I'm still having fun doing it. I wonder over the course of a few years, will I find myself playing ever higher, or will I be contented to play in the catacombs of the micro limits forever!

Regards,

cheer_dad

NDPT #1 January 23, 2009

I have scheduled NDPT Tournament #1 for January 23, 2009 all you folk and folkette! I've dropped the bounty from this year's format. In it's place, is an optional $5 per tournament which will be used to create a year-end tournament pot. Only those who pay the $5 up front AND cash on that given night, will be eligible to play in the year-end tournament. Your chip stack for this final game will be in proportion to the amount of your winnings throughout the year when you paid the $5. This is an idea borrowed (shamelessly stolen from the Yanok's game) which I and others really like. Nay-sayers can opt out, or kiss my ass whichever they prefer. So for some the price of poker will remain the same. For others I guess they're getting a $5 rebate. I don't know that I explained it very well, but it'll make sense after the first couple of tournaments for the year. I guess I get around to too many other poker games out and about and have become accustomed to the myriad ways that people host their games. Having played host now for a few years, I most generally keep my mouth shut about things when I play elsewhere. There are times when the host will look to me for a ruling or at least an informed opinion, and I can tell you more often than not my reply is... "It's your house, your word is law!" I've found this to be the best approach, never to contradict. Go with the ebb and flow of the game. Ultimately encourage hosts to read up on the subject. Over the years, I've taken the most of my cues for running a poker tournament at my house from HomePokerTourney.com. I used to be active in the forums and had several "friends" but work and other things took priority and so I've become more of a lurker. BUT, routinely come tournament time at cheer_dad's house behind the Tournament Clock window on the laptop, I've already fired up the browser and have the HPT site up and running, always at the ready with Robert's Rules of Poker, Payout percentages, and many of the other finer points of tournament play. There's a wealth of information there and I encourage you to check it out and use it for yourself.

Now, a detour from the tournament discussion. I played a little (okay Big Red would say a lot or even too much) online night before last, on Bodog. I was 4 tabling it in the kiddie pool section... okay it was .10/.25 Full Ring NLHE, max buy-in per table $25. I had been up earlier in the session, but dammit I'd planned on playing some cards and rarely will I quit before logging at least 200 hands or so. I ended up finally cashing out at around 350+ hands for the evening. For all my hard work, I was up only a couple of bucks and I was exhausted! This had to have been one of the most frustrating and trying sessions I've ever had at the tables. There were 3-4 players at the tables that I was seeing throughout the 4 tables I was playing. They were the loose-aggressors. They were having their way at the table. Obscure stuff too. Early position raises, with garbage despite the fact the 4-5 players were seeing the flop. I was watching preflop legitimate bets being thwarted by reraise All-Ins all over the place. Yeah, SB .10, BB .25, under-the-gun makes it .85 to go, and then WHAM some one in mid-position shoves for $25 or much more. Not just a one time thing but often. So, that was something to watch for. Then, I can't tell you how often I had pocket Aces!!! The odds of looking down at Rockets are like what, 220:1. I played around 350 hands and I know I saw 'em at least 7 times among the 4 tables! The kicker is... on 2 of those I was the BB, AND it folded back around to me, when every other hand normally had 4-5 players to a flop. Or my minimum raise got too much respect. I started having to play in a much more deceptive manner. I lost a big chunk at one table when I flopped a K, when I was holding AKos. I failed to keep the pot smallish, with just a pair. And I was at the mercy of the guy in front of me, who I couldn't really decide if the ever escalating bets were merely continuation or if he really had the goods. I've noticed lately a greater online move by players to go for the All-In jugular much too often, but more often than not they got the goods to go with it. SO, I was erring on the side of caution. Maybe that night, I was the fish... maybe. I didn't lose money, but for the level of effort it sure felt like it. I guess it could have been worse (a lot worse) but I had then sense to finally call it a night and hope for a better session the next time. There are things that I would like to try, should I run into those same players ravaging the tables again, which given their assessment of me on the night, could become profitable to me should they fail to re-evaluate my play, and stick to their guns. So, this one session was merely part of the "metagame" you know that one long poker game that we play throughout the course of our lives. Where not just the cards and chips in front of you are at issue, but the thing you did that one time, two or three sessions back against that same guy, or some other guy, that comes to mind. ALL of this ultimately influences the next move and then the next and so on.

I'm making my head hurt... but in a good way. Again, ya buncha degenerates NDPT #1 for this year is January 23, 2009 7:00pm at my house. The Yanok game precedes me on January 9th. Yeah, you'll all see me there too. Gotta build the bankroll for Vegas Baby!!!

Regards,

cheer_dad

The Yanok Poker-Palooza

The poker weekend with the Yanok's has now come and gone. Recall on Friday the December qualifiers were held there, to allow everyone to beef up their starting chip stacks which they would hold on Saturday's BIG GAME. Respective finishes throughout the year determined the size of your starting stack. I didn't cash in either game, but did "point-up" in one of them. I watched a lot of sick beats through the night. But the most treacherous part of the evening was actually the hill into their development! I did manage to get up it, but halfway up, was forced to stop and drop the truck into 4-wheel drive. Not a move I recommend on that hill. But I managed to get up. Then, I opted to drop off Teresa and Cole and drive back down to the lower level and park. I figured a slippery walk in the wee hours would be a safer "bet" than careening down the hill and plowing into some random house. That was likely the smartest thing I did all night. The cards just didn't really stack up very well for me. I had a few decent starting hands, that just never panned out. AK's and AQ's a few times which failed to connect. Too many people calling. There was a LOT of calling station action. Even by some people that don't even know it.

Anyway, we survived the drive home, after failing to cash, so we were out $120 total, $60 each. Ehhh... We arose the following day, and got ready and headed back to the Yanok's for the High Noon Year Ender! Chip stacks ranged from $1,400-ish to just under $200... I was in the 750 range and content. I was able to chip up to as high as $1,500 and felt pretty good about things, but then the cards dried up and I simply blinded away, and finally took a shot with Ace high from late position, and got spanked by my wife, with a much bigger Ace. She held AcJc and hit the nut flush. I only paired my measly 6, and my tournament life was over.

Then things got HAIRY! Not long after the group was down to the final four, the ones who were getting paid. Frank had managed to wrestle the chips to his side of the table thanks in part to a Hail Mary Play when he was down to his last $400 and called all in with a pair of 7's. Three other players were in it too! When they all flipped up, there were 4 pocket pairs! 77, 88, 99, and QQ!!! Frank boated by the river and Quadrupled up and a few rounds later found himself with a monster stack of chips. Scott Eddy had been chipped away for a while too, having started the final table with a monster stack too, but he was still surviving. Jerry and Teresa were also to be found, still struggling to survive. I watched as chips moved from person to person for quite awhile, and fortunes gained and lost by each of them. Jerry was the first casualty. Teresa battled her way back and played quite well, and hit some great hands to boot. She and Scott managed to wrestle away the chip lead from Frank. One key hand was between Teresa and he in which Teresa held AQos, to his A6. He hit a 6 on the flop, but Lady Luck dealt a fatal blow giving Big Red a much needed Queen on the River. Soon after Frank hit the rail, finishing in 3rd. Teresa and Scott played on for a bit, but not excessively until they got into a race situation that ended with Scott on top and with all the chips. Scott remarkably had started the day at the shallow end of the chip pool, with just over $200 chips in play, but had managed to outlast and chip up through the day to the eventual win. For his efforts he took down over $400, and Big Red happily settled for over $200 for the day. Not bad for a freeroll huh! So, she continues her winning ways and supports my poker habit. And you know what I'm just friggin' FINE with that!

Big Thanks to the Yanok's for hosting a fantastic time and we look forward to next year! Congratulations to Scott on the come from behind victory!

Also, one last note, I am considering CHANGING the day of the NDPT End-of-the Year Extravaganza to the 27th of December instead of the 20th, since there appear to be a lot of conflicts for that day. Please let me know your plans and if this works better for any of you that are planning to play in this $50 buy-in event.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Big Red Strikes Again

Back on Friday, October 3rd of this year, I typed out a post for the blog (http://ndebtpokertour.blogspot.com/2008/10/it-really-must-be-red-hair.html) which detailed the luck and winning nature of my lovely wife... the enigma that is Big Red. In it I informed you, dear readers, that the night before she had hit the "winner-take-all" drawing at the Eagles for $1,400. Since then I'm certain I've posted a time or so of her other winnings on the slot machines. It's uncanny, her luck. Last night Lady Luck slipped her the tongue again. Last night's drawing at the Eagles went to none other than Big Red!!! She adds to her treasure cache an additional $1,100. (Attendance was down, she had to settle for a few hundred less.) Awww! Oh and now a new superstitious ritual will probably be in play from now on, she was wearing the same outfit both times. Hell, I may start wearing the damn thing now.

What must it be like to walk around and be so lucky? It's a thing I shall never know. Congratulations baby!

There's a line in the movie Let It Ride starring Richard Dreyfuss, in which he reads his fortune cookie. It says, "You could be walking around lucky and not even know it." But in the case of my wife... I think she knows it!

Tonight is the Yanok's December qualifier poker tournament(s). I'm hoping desperately to pad my year end stack, with a couple of good finishes tonight. I may even play a little sober. Then, on in to Saturday for the actual year ending tournament, which the Yanok's are hosting beginning at High Noon. (It's a 2-day poker-palooza!) This one is a freeroll, for all of us, probably 15-18 players or so, with $1,000 in the prize pool. It all comes down to this boys and girls. Bring the "A" Game, and let's get it on!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Lots of stuff going on...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Regards,

cheer_dad

Medicated

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

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

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

Regards,

cheer_dad

Things that caught my attention today

A wasted work day winds itself down, once again. I spend most of the day dealing with a virus alert on my laptop. After a few scans, reboots, research, and sacrifice of a virgin (the most difficult) and hours of effort; it was determined that my "virus" was in fact a false positive. Corrupted scanning engine and/or pattern file continued to identify a Trojan although no file(s) were identified, just an entry in the Risk History. In short Symantec had it out for me. On the plus side, during the course of the effort my PC Support buddy Mike was here to figure out what was going on. So while we watched scans crank and little else, we talked poker. He's a long-time member of the ole NDPT. We talked about Tri-State and various home tourneys, and the ever popular Shuman Cash Game. It was also good to hear some additional perspectives on how the WSOP Final Table looks. So, despite the downtime in the computing world, a good poker discussion filled the void! Thanks Mike!

I came across the following post by AlCantHang http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/poker-from-the-rail/bloggers-on-the-rail/railing-big-cash-game (which cited a write up over at PokerNews.com.) It covered a high dollar game on Full Tilt, in which I'll never find myself, but put into perspective some of the "bad beat" tales I have told and retold here on my blog. In short I think I should fess up and admit that "things ain't so bad for me." Talk about ouch!!! Go read it for yourself. And thanks to Al for posting it.

And while I was out there reading his blog, he reminded me of something else that I read yesterday but got sidetracked. My sincerest of apologies go out to MY GIRLFRIEND!!! Clonie Gowen won the 2008 World Poker Open Championship in Tunica, MS!!! The event had only 107 players (at $5,000 each) and was held at the Gold Strike Casino. Clonie, took it down for $183,224, further winning my admiration. : ) According to the post this win inches her closer to the magic number of $1 Million in career tourney winnings. Congratulations Clonie! (pssst, call me!)

Tonight is Eagles Night. We go up every week for the winner take all drawing, along with the whole gang. Yes, Robert... this is what "degenerate gambler feels like." Hope to see you all there. Tomorrow night is a South home football game, so Whitney cheers, and we'll cheer her/them from the stands. Hopefully things'll warm up a bit. I know how cold it was on Monday for the JV game. I lost feeling in the toes there for a while. Saturday night some of you fellow degenerates will converge with me on the Yanok's Tournament. There's always a good time to be had at this game, and this one is uber important as "both" games of the night will be qualifiers for the year-end game. I REALLY need to put one in the WIN column to beef up my meager chip stack for the final game. Can I get a little luv!

The online grind has returned to what passes for normal. I've been showing a profit for the last several hundred hands on Bodog, I'm happy to report. Meager sums here people, don't plan on rolling me in the parking lot for some extra scratch!

Hope all is well with each of you... and happy bankroll building.

Regards,

cheer_dad

A little recap of my poker life

NDPT #16 took place this past Sunday at the Eagles. Erik P. was the big winner, while yours truly had to settle for 3rd place in the outing. Erik took me out when his 10's bested my Queens, due to a flopped 10. (Must be the oompa loompa luck thing or something like that.) No, I kidding... I kidding... Congratulations on the win Erik, and like we talked a few days before, I do believe the blind structure changes were an incredibly relevant factor. I had a great time, and hope you all did too. The company was good... and the beer was cold, what more could one ask for? Once again, thanks to JR, for putting this together for us. We look forward to many more outings...

The next game on tap for extended poker-dom is the Yanok's game to be held on November 1st, at 7:00pm-ish I believe. Beyond that JR will play host to the monthly NDPT game, he is deciding whether or not that will be held at his house, or if he'll opt again to hold it at the Eagles, since his basement has been "temporarily" turned into a wood shop. Either way, there will be a game to be played. We'll also need to make some decisions about when and where the last two games of December will be held. We will have the final NDPT regular season tournament, and then the End-of-the-Year $50 buy-in tournament. There are just a lot of other poker games, and some pesky holidays to work around! : )

Of course all of this planning and scoping out next games, says nothing about planned or unplanned trips to Cross Lanes. There's fish with chips to give away... the dogtrack and the newly opened table gaming area. The pit area boasts all of your casino favorites. On my last trip there, the pit area (on a weekend night) had Blackjack as low as $10 and Let It Ride as low as $5!!! Wait times were not bad either. In the poker room, you will seldom wait longer than 10-15 minutes for a seat, if that long. The Poker Room Staff at The Big Easy Poker Room is to be commended for running a top notch room. Of particular notice is the fact that when around 10 people are on the waiting list to play... and new table is opened and the cards get in the air! Also, as I've said before the room is much more open and inviting than is Wheeling Island's. The bar boasts $2.50 draft beer on Saturday nights, and it's not a skimpy glass. I have really only one complaint so far about my experiences at Cross Lanes... There is one floor person/supervisor (whatever he calls himself) that I witnessed on a number of occasions getting on to his dealers in front of the players. I found his demeanor rude... and while I recognize he has a job to do, some of the things he was getting on to his people about should have been handled outside of the earshot of the general public. Berating a dealer while he is in the process of "dealing" is also BIG "NO-NO" in my book. A little more professionalism in this area is needed. Treat your "new" dealers with a little more respect.

I don't know what got me off on this Cross Lanes tangent, other than the fact that I'm always excited about taking a trip southward, but it got me to thinking about the last time I was down there and this hand in particular:

I'd been sitting in the number 6 seat at a $1/$2 NLHE table for a couple of hours playing a stupid ridiculously tight game by all accounts, including my own. Nearly 95% of the hands were being popped to $10-$12 preflop and 5-6 people seeing the flop. I had been seeing my usual grouping of "blackjack" style hands perfect for doubling down, but less than useful at the poker table. I did commit some scratch to the pot when I flopped a nut flush draw with an AJs, but never got there. A pocket pair of 7's also ended up in the muck, when a raise and reraise preflop had it to $25 before I even knew what hit me. Sorry, obviously there were overs out there (and there were.) No the hand that really got me was this little beauty. I'm first to act on this hand, which I looked down at after 2 hours of my fold-a-palooza. Two beautiful Red ACES! Recalling that nearly every hand was getting a raise preflop and knowing that my appearance was rocklike at the table, I opted to just call the $2. And it was called around to the 10 seat who, stupidly made it $4. It made it's way back to the BB, next to me, who insta-popped it to $12 straight, and as I was reaching for my chips the $4 raiser jumps ahead of me to make it $24, so instead of me shoving, I call the $12, and let him continue with the bet. It folds back to the BB, who immediately shoves it all in. He has me covered by a long shot here, but it's irrelevant. I call, and put myself all-in for all of the $60 I have left in my stack. The 4 green chips in my right pants pocket are burning a hole in my thigh as I'm doing it. Now the #10 seat friggin' wakes up and realizes something is amiss, and stares at me and folds. The bald headed kid in the #3 seat who isn't even in the hand, says "I know he's got Aces since he ain't played a hand since he sat down." That was actually a pretty fair assessment, although his ability to judge that was hindered a bit by his three lengthy outside smoke breaks. So... whatever!?! Regardless, you aren't in the hand, just shut up. Anyway, the dealer counts things up a bit, and the BB, takes back what he is due and he asks if I got 'em, which I admit... without smiling. He flips over his Kings next to my Aces, and they table groans collectively. The dealer brings cries of "OUCH" and gnashing of teeth with the flop, as he places "K-3-3" on the table (all black by the way.) And whatever the turn and river were, well let's just say I don't remember but neither was one of the other aces, and cheer_dad headed for the rail. The chips in my pocket now silent, although I think I might have heard one of them murmur, "dude, that sucked." I head for the bar, and order an Amber Bock draft to cool off. Next bad beat, comes in the form of a killed keg, and so I can't even get the dark beer to match my mood. Whatever, just friggin' pour me somethin' sweetheart. I wondered around for a bit to collect my thoughts... I later returned to the poker room, to a decidedly different table and played my last $100 down to around $55, when I started debating whether to play on or cash out and drink the rest of my bankroll. But opted to stay and ordered another beer. Somehow went on a run, and I'm not talking with great cards either here boys and girls, just some mediocre cards, but meeting up with some pretty damned stupid players willing to call down with air. By the time the poker room was shutting down at 3:00am, I found myself sitting on $263. A comeback which I was ecstatic about! A $213 rally is just fine by me!!!

I had relief, and just sat back and relaxed on the trip home, buzzed beyond belief. Erik and I in the backseat egging JR on to "wing" our empties out the window at the interstate signs, while Frank did battle with the alignment of his vehicle. Sorry guys, I don't know why I took so long to post that up. But I took this as the opportunity.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Sigh...

I went out first at the Yanok game last night. No love... On the flip side of failure, I was making some good reads, and made moves that I was proud of. Laying down pocket Queens when I knew I was beat... sometimes there is a sense of Nirvana even in defeat. Unfortunately the maniacs do still give me some trouble. If you can't legitimately put them on a hand, unless you're looking at the nuts every time, there's little room for error. I was crippled by Jerry when I hit top pair on the flop from the BB. He called from out of position with a 3-5 and straighted on the river. I would be more critical... BUT there's a lesson here that tells me that in order to really be successful and drag big pots, you've got to blind-side your opposition sometimes. Play the hands that they never see coming. They will tend to make more money than will the big pocket pairs, including the elusive Aces! I didn't play like a NIT, last night, but I just couldn't get it together. I took myself out with an ill-times bluff against Jeff, who had unfortunately hit 2nd pair. No harm, no foul. I headed home and fired up Bodog, played two SNG's and cashed (low) in both of them, but still a few bucks is a few bucks.

South won the football game last night, absolutely creaming Washington High 45-0, and the second half was with out 2nd string playing. Great Job Patriots! It's great to put another one in the "W" column especially for Homecoming. Congrats!

We're headed over to the Rempel's "Fiesta" very shortly. We'll see many of you here very shortly.

Regards,

cheer_dad