Something's got me WOUND UP today!

Anyone care to enlighten me how the following article regarding Mike Sexton speaking out against the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act...and then the article I've copied after it, in which the WPTE applauds the Act, can exist in the same UNIVERSE!!!?

http://www.pokersourceonline.com/news.asp?poker=448

Mike Sexton Takes up the Good Fight
Published: Monday, October 09, 2006
Author: Dan Katz

Mike Sexton, winner of this years’s World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, will reportedly set out on a campaign against the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Best known as the on-air voice of the World Poker Tour and also known as the “Ambassador of Poker,” is said to be starting out in New York this week.
Sexton said that the campaign was actually started by PartyGaming, for which he is a spokesperson. Sexton said Party will be airing advertisements in support of poker players and asked him to help. Funny how Party didn’t do much of anything before the bill was passed by Congress, but now they decide to do so (at the same time, I get the sense that U.S. legislators would not have cared that an offshore “illegal” gambling company was upset about the bill).
Sexton said well-respected poker pro, Barry Greenstein, and Poker Players Alliance president, Michael Bolcerek, will be joining him on the campaign.
Said Sexton, “The mission is obviously to voice the displeasure with this bill that has been passed by Congress, and to speak up for the rights of poker players, and their right to play online poker.”
Word has it that President Bush will be signing the bill into law on Friday.

Originally published October 9, 2006

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2006/10/wpte-weighs-online-gaming-legislation.htm

WPTE Weighs In On Impact Of Gaming Legislation
October 09, 2006
Earl Burton

In an oddly optimistic press release following the passage (and pending signing) of legislation regarding financing of online gaming and poker accounts, World Poker Tour Enterprises added their thoughts to the current situation recently. In the communiqué, WPTE encouraged poker players worldwide to focus on the bright future ahead for poker instead of the downsides of the current legislation.
With the passage by Congress of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 last week, "The Justice Department has been very clear that it believes online gaming to be illegal in the United States and our policies have been always been tailored accordingly," said Adam Pliska, General Counsel of WPTE. "This law clarifies the rules and makes it possible for everyone to move forward on an even footing."
Steve Lipscomb also added his bright outlook when he commented, "It was a wide-spread love of this game and the reinvention of poker as a televised sport that ignited the poker phenomenon and that is what will continue to drive the future of the sport. WPTE remains committed to growing the domestic poker market through traditional franchise opportunities like consumer products, sponsorship and events."
While WPTE will not be directly affected by the recent legislation (their online poker site has always refused American action as they are an American company), the bright outlook the company is espousing is strange at the minimum. Part of the drive that has brought many to the poker community has been the advent of online poker. People who may have played only a few times a year on vacation trips to gaming Meccas could play at any point with the online game. This added to their excitement for the game and also allowed them to become proficient enough to be able to battle against some of the greatest players in the world.
Another factor to consider on this front is the effect that the loss of online satellites will have on tournaments in the future. Both the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker have seen tournament fields explode due to the opportunity of players to earn their way into events through inexpensive online satellites. In 2005, of the 5619 players who came to the felt, PokerStars alone sent almost twenty percent of the field to the Championship Event of the World Series. Poker historian and "jack of all trades" Nolan Dalla emphasized this point when he discussed his thoughts on the ramifications of the online legislation and noted with sadness that future tournament participation will actually fall as these online satellites are eliminated.
While many might like the departure of online players from B&M tournaments, it is extremely possible that the tournament poker scene could revert back to the point where only the richest (and, in some cases, the best) poker players can afford to participate. The potential dream of an online qualifier vanquishing the best in the world (such as the startling Chris Moneymaker breakthrough at the 2003 WSOP) will vanish and the sharks will once again have to compete amongst each other. We could be potentially looking at tournament fields falling now instead of showing the steady increases of the past few years (and, in the case of the WSOP Main Event, massive increase) and slowly falling back to levels of the pre-Internet days, where only those who can afford it or can qualify in live satellites make the fields.
Even though there are an estimated 50 million poker players in the U. S. alone and casinos adding poker rooms left and right, most Americans aren't within a two hour drive of those rooms. This is one of the reasons that the online game is necessary. It gives Joe Sixpack the opportunity to participate in an American pastime, potentially earn his way to a major tournament and, if the stars align, make a significant change in their life. These are a few of the reasons that this writer feels the WPTE's rosy look at the online legislation is puzzling, to say the least.

***End of the quotations***

And now that you've read them both...does this mean that we will now be witnessing the WPTE attempting to slap Mr. Sexton with some sort of GAG-ORDER? I must say, that Mike is an ideal candidate to take up the cause, however won't the "company" attempt to squash his opinions and statements, since he's on the payroll?
The events which have transpired since the Bill passed through the legislature are remarkable, many online casinos and poker rooms, shutting their doors to all U.S. customers, while others are poised for the Bill to become LAW. Others, and Neteller have thumbed their nose, at the whole thing. Saying it is not truly binding upon them in any way. The Poker forums everywhere have been clogged with statements, reports, arguments, and a lot of whining and crying (self included,) however, I still see somewhat of a remarkable silence on the major news sources. I believe that the cross section of America may not REALLY grasp what is going on, if anything at all. I believe there are some who are NOT gamblers and wouldn't necessarily equate themselves with the religious right (fanatical right) that would be appalled by the methodology employed to bring this whole issue before Congress, and ultimately a date with the President's pen. I cannot see this issue being the one which would mobilize a conservative base. I always thought the conservative right, was all about smaller government, meaning government having a lesser role in our day-to-day lives. The Liberal Left, was always about taking care of the poor, the unfortunate, and particularly having the opinion that people in general don't have the common sense to make good decisions for themselves, so the government will have to do it for them. That is how the Conservative/Liberal bit played out going back to the 80's through the Reagan years, George Bush part I...it was further (in my opinion) reinforced during the Clintonian era. Rush Limbaugh espoused it from the rooftops. AND quite frankly, I agreed with him. I didn't see the Republican party as being solely for the rich of America. That would be a poor campaign slogan! They were more about what I perceived to be individual freedoms, putting people in charge of their own lives. So this new Conservative/Republican style sits a little crossways to me. Maybe I'm just being overly critical...NAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! It's crazy! There are far GREATER causes to champion than getting online poker banned! This is hardly the cause I want my "guy" in Washington concentrating his efforts on. How about you? Is this what you had in mind? Or did you accidently leave your "CHADS" dangling at the voting booth!
Anyway, I think I'll go take a pill, and calm down now. I guess I really got off on a rant there. Wow...I even dragged Ronnie into all of this. May he rest in peace, however I think you have to go back THAT FAR to find a MAN who has occupied the top office of our country, and demonstrated what leadership, responsibility, respectability, finesse, and true passion for our great nation is ALL ABOUT!

Someone cue up the "Battle Hymn of the Republic!"

WHEW!

That felt good...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Funny, I'm still playin'...hmmm

Wasn't there something recently in the news...on the net...on tv, darn near everywhere, about making something illegal, online...maybe gambling of some kind or other? Poker perhaps, as I recall. Yeah, that was it, the little bill originally from Sen Frist...that killed the beautiful online poker world, or did it? I'm still playing...now yes I've received a few notices informing me that I need to cash in my chips, because a few sites are closing all their U.S accounts. They should have given me the option of just leaving my money online, cause I rarely used to take money offline. I started moving it back and forth to Neteller, to take advantage of bonuses. Some sites are more lucrative than others, and some give better bonuses. But that's coming to an end for me...and frankly I'm content to leave my cash in one spot, well as long as it doesn't dry up, and I start feeling the never-ending string of an opponents suckouts. Yeah did I mention Full Tilt Poker? I should, I just started that promo yesterday, or was it the day before. Well I accumulated the required points for the Savvy part. Now the ole bankroll has taken a FRIGGIN' BEATING! I mean this one ranks up there with my all time bad streaks. Wow, nothing works out right now. AK AQ see nothing on the flop, and some numb nuts will take it down with a 7-5os. I've donated to the poker cause...or at least some newbies are feeling really freaking GREAT about themselves right now, figure they got this Poker THANG down! Every once in a while instead of chumming the waters, I guess you gotta drop some power bait, outa your own pocket. Just remember where the hole of water was, and recall the FISH that got away. Hopefully on your next fishing trip...he'll swallow the damn hook! THAT, is a beautiful thing. Then, it's really nice to recall for him the time and date of the last time he was doing so well against you. Give him a "gee fella, what happened...and send him back to mom!" Man, does that sound bitter, yeah, it kinda does doesn't it! Sheesh, this game used to be a lotta fun. All of a sudden it got all serious like! I think I have more of a poker/gambling problem now, that they've outlawed it (or kinda sorta made it illegal, but not quite.) Is there a cure out there somewhere. Much like OJ Simpson was going to look for the real killer, I too will be on the constant lookout for a cure. He used to look on the golf course...I think I'll look around in the online poker rooms for a gambling cure. I'll keep you all posted on my progress. Until next time...

Regards,

cheer_dad

It's been a very dismal week.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 has passed through the legislature piggy-backed on the Port Security Act, for weeding out those terroristically bent types. Yeah us poker players are a vicious bunch. Life and poker will go on. In some form, it will. I have begun withdrawing money from some of the Poker Rooms that I play on, but not all. Some of them, unlike PartyPoker.com have taken somewhat of a stance, and haven't immediately cut ties with the U.S. players. I was concerned like many others, that if I waited too long that I'd never get anything back out. I am leaving the money poised in my Neteller account, until the final disposition on this thing is hashed out. A loophole of some kind will most likely emerge. A series of new heavy hitters will probably hit the poker market too. At least many of us hope so. However the statements I've seen lately saying that the "Golden Age of Poker" is over, seem sadly true. I urge you all to keep an eye how all of this unfolds, particularly if you are continuing to play online. I'd recommend taking a look at the following link to see where (so far) you're poker room of choice has weighed in: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=7509074&an=0&page=0#Post7509074

I just sent out the latest tournament notice to the NDPT family of players. I had to switch it to a different week, due to some scheduling conflicts. It is now October 13th at 7:00pm. Still plenty of time to get everyone notified. Sheesh I just sent it out less than 10 minutes ago, and I've already received email responses from enough people to fill up one table!!! JUNKIES! Maybe this whole poker being a moral degeneration of America holds some weight. HMMMM!

Busy week as well. I've got a new boss again! They just keep moving our little group ALL OVER the place around here. We're the red-headed step children of this organization! But someone's got to fill that role, might as well be us.

I climbed out of the hole on Gaming Club, and I'm once again in the black on that site. Whew!!! I was starting to get a complex. Looks like I'm going to have to park some money elsewhere for a while, and ride this thing out to its final destination.

Hope things are going well for the rest of you out there.
Keep your chin up, maybe things'll be brighter tomorrow, for our little online poker culture!

Regards,

cheer_dad

PSO Freeroll last night

I got an email yesterday, reminding me about a PokerSourceOnline freeroll being held at PokerRoom...and I just had to play. Nevermind the fact that I had people coming over to play a cash game! :) OOOPS! I promise it was the 1st and only time that it'll happen. I had a great time playing with all those people who showed up last night. And I'm glad the indulged me and let me play the PSO tourney. Of the over 300 who began the tourney last night, I finished in 9th place!!! I made a cool $160, which was great. Unfortunately, 1st prize was $2,500! I very well could have gotten there if my last hand had gone differently. I called another guy's All-In, when I looked down to see Pocket Cowboys! He flipped up AQos. I even hit my set of Kings! Unfortunately...he hit his straight on the RIVER! If I'd won it...that would have propelled me through for quite a while I believe. But hey...I didn't pay a dime for it, and I walked away with $160, so I'm pretty happy about it!

I've climbed out of my hole on GamingClub. I have cashed a couple of $20 bonuses, by playing 350 hands at a stretch. Plus, I was credited another $50, for doing a total of 500 due to another email promo that they sent me. Thank goodness, since I was really down on my luck on this site. This puts me back to within $4 of what I started out with. Now, as long as I don't blow it all. Just take it slow.

I've done several "honey--doo" projects today. I put up this metal star on the front of the house that Big Red wanted. I drained the pool, to get ready to put it to bed for the winter. I also replaced the kitchen faucet today. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Things seldom are as bad as I think they will be. My mind works in the "worst-case-scenario" mode all the time. It can eat you up at times.

Anyway time to move on to the next thing.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Lost some...won some

I was credited with my PokerSavvy points yesterday for finishing the hand requirements on Gaming Club Poker. (Thanks Matt, you da man!)  AND I was also credited $20 on the poker room site for finishing my first 350 hands.  I proceeded to get yet another crappy string of cards.  And lost a lot of what I'd just been given.  :(  But I logged back in again later...and went up a few bucks, to get it back.  Then coupled with a brief trip over to PartyPoker, put back about even, if not up a buck or so for the evening.  So, the post subject makes sense now.

I need to do another Savvy promo to put me over the 1,000 mark for another gift card...BUT, I've gotten 2 different offers directly from 2 poker sites which may be a bit difficult to pass up!  PokerRoom, is offering me $20, if I'll deposit another $10, + 50% bonus $'s in whatever I deposit up to $100!  CDPoker is offering a flat 150% bonus to deposit!  Those are both decent offers and I may find it difficult to pass up.  The kicker is that I've got to liquidate some cash quickly to take advantage of it.  My money is on a few sites, that I have to do withdrawal requests from tonight, to Neteller.  Those transactions will have to complete before September 30th, to take advantage of the offer.  So keep your fingers crossed.  

I was stuck in meetings ALL MORNING...and was ready to die in there.  ARGHHHH!  For the third day now in a row I've ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes during lunch.  Logging in just under 2 miles at a clip.  Although the muscles protest a bit...I do truly feel better.  My mood is better.  I'm a bit more upbeat.  Not filled with that feeling of dread and gloom as I cross the threshold to work in the morning.  Yeah, it was starting to get that way.  Hopefully this reversing trend with running will continue.  Let's hope.  

Spent way too long procrastinating, time to get back to it.

Regards,

cheer_dad

I almost posted yesterday...almost

I was typing away at the keyboard, intent on posting to the ole blog.  I was playing on GamingClub.com at the time, remarkably things going very well, as compared to my initial 300+/- hands.  Had my account back up over the $100 mark, and was well on my way back to the black.  I hit a BOAT on the turn with my Mr.Sneaky pocket fours.  Again this is $1/$2 Limit we're talking here.  Betting gets capped on the Turn and River cards.  I've got a big smile, except what's this, oh NOOOOOOOOOOO, he's got a bigger boat!  What'd he have...a friggin' 5-8os!?!  how do you even protect against a crap hand like that.  Okay so that hand drops me back to $96-ish.  Hey, right now, I'm still happy.  At the time, I didn't much feel like posting.  I played a couple more "no-cost" hands.  But my heart wasn't in it, at the time.  However, I'm pleased, really.  I climbed up by about $30 yesterday, on a site that has thus far given me nothing but grief.  Within the next day or so, I should also be getting my $20 deposit bonus, AND if they get their DB issues resolved they should soon confirm me to PokerSavvy, and then I'll be able to cash in for a gift card of some sort.  In the mean time...there are cards to be played, and pots to be won!  Anyway that's why I didn't post yesterday.  I had this high-flying post cranked up and ready to hit send on, but that happened.  The message no longer conveyed the emotion of the moment.  And then...the moment's gone...

I went downstairs at lunch today, and actually got back on the treadmill.  I'm proud of myself, I actually ran for a full 20 minutes.  I'm sure I'll be sore a little tomorrow.  But I did it.  I'll try not to quit this go around.  If I don't the only other "around" is going to be my belly!

Oh, and I got my new work laptop!  SWEET!  Widescreen, power, bells whistles, etc...  I'm lovin' it!

There are only 29 more days, until I leave for VEGAS!!!  The rest of the world will just melt away.  May I swim in a sea of CHIPS!!!

Anyway, time to get back to what they're payin' me for.  Until next time...

Regards,

cheer_dad

To paraphrase Van Wilder "[E]-mail it in!!!"

I've noticed the feature on Blogger before, but never tried it, so today I thought I'd give it a whirl.  I'm referring of course to the emailing a post to your own blog.  Cool/easy feature!  Might cause me to post more often/random tidbits to the blog, instead of waiting to throw together what passes for an uberpost for me.  By no means am I comparing my posting prowess to that of IGGY over at http://guinnessandpoker.blogspot.com/.  Truly he is a world apart...I can only aspire to such greatness.  I've also been intrigued lately by the postings over at http://iakaris.blogspot.com/ aptly named "Flights of Iakaris."  I'll have to read a little further back in his blog to ascertain the reason for the difference in spelling, maybe it's just his name.  In Greek mythology  it was Ikarus.  For those among you who slept through that portion of your High School literature class, here's a quick roundout of the story:

The first name of Icaria was Dolichi but through Greek mythology it became connected to Ikarus, the first man who succeeded to fly and commemorates his fall. According to myth Daedalus, a famous craftsman, was a prisoner of Minos, the King of Crete. In an attempt to escape, he made two sets of wings, one for himself and one for his son, Ikarus, and attached them with wax. Together they secretly flew away, heading towards Athens. Out over the sea, near Ikaria, Ikarus, became excited by the view, flew too close to the sun with the result that the wax melted and he plunged into the sea and drowned. Thereafter, the sea named after him, Ikario Pelagos and the island was named Ikaria.

Hope that helps everyone get caught up!

I'm impressed by the posts of both of these bloggers, not all poker...but mostly.  The other posts helps to view them in general terms, and gain an understanding of what makes 'em tick.  This whole blogging phenomenon really has caught my attention.  I enjoy keeping my own updated now, more than ever, and I'm beginning to enjoy and look forward to the ramblings of others on their own.  

Speaking of blogging, PokerSavvy just sent me an email last night, to tell me that the last Blogger Freeroll final table was "video captured" and is available on YouTube.  So I'll have to go check that out.  I noticed that the guy who knocked me out, ultimately went on to win 1st prize in that event, for a cool $500!  Savvy has committed to having these freerolls for the bloggers, every month.  And further they have challenged us to drum up some business both to PokerSavvy and to the bloggers amongst us.  They have challenged us to hit 50 participants in the next blog freeroll.  If we hit it they will up the prize pool to $1,500.  Let's get busy boys!

Might have a small cash game tonight at the house, just not sure yet...we'll see how the day unfolds.

I, like the rest of my team, will be in here this weekend for some major Data Center Moves.  So Big Red might actually let me stick around a little longer, for bringin' in some additional bacon as it were!

I played a few hands last night on GamingClub.  My performance on their has been dismal.  I feel like such a poker loser right now, but I've re-analyzed the in's and out's of what I did on that site.  I made a big mistake, at the no-limit table, when I should have recognized that I'd stepped in a bear trap with my pocket cowboys.  I really hadn't entertained the idea that someone would chase after such a feeble looking hand on me.  But in the end he came up with his trip eights, NOT A SET...no he didn't have a pocket pair, I just couldn't fathom holding an 8, at that point in the hand.  I guess he a "playa!"  BUT it did get him the pot...and a VERY LARGE CHUNK of my cash on GamingClub.  From that point on I was playing from behind, at all times, and I felt the pressure of each and every hand.  So maybe I should just wait for the Savvy points to clear the account.  I might play an additional 30 hands to hit the $20 deposit bonus, and then swear of the site forever and chalk up the loss of $'s to experience...and consider it Lesson Learned.  But, I can get it back...I SWEAR!!!  :)

Time to get back at it.

Regards,

cheer_dad

!!!Warning DONK ALERT warninG!!!

I'm playing a new room GamingClub Poker, courtesy of a link from the fine folks at PokerSavvy! I'm still alive...but if you'll recall my start out at Noble...well it's a lot like THAT! Coming off of great success from Nine.com (yes I cleared the 150% bonus finally,) I was perhaps emboldened. A little too much so, it seems. I just couldn't let go of those COWBOYS! No Limit...and I reraised preflop to the guy who'd been in every hand, with nothing. Post flop, I pot bet it...he calls, turn I bet he calls, river I bet...he friggin' raised me. Hmmmm not much there, nah he couldn't have been holding an eight, who in their right mind would have an eight. He couldn't have made trips, that'd be obscene...an eight! I reraise over the top...then think what the heck are you doing...he's an idiot, of course he's got the eight. What else could he have...that would just be the capper. And I was right...he had an eight, and one of my Kings. "NH" is say...all-the-while thinking something else, as I watch my $50 waltz across the table to RandomCaller I believe was the moniker. ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH! I only deposited $100 on this stupid PRIMA site. What was I doing this early at NL...nowhere near the 300 raked hands needed for the promo. Well at least I've still got my other $50 right...Well wrong. I'm playing limit with it. Nice and Safe Limit Hold 'em...no muss, no fuss, small losses, small wins...slow steady. Yeah, and pigs fly too! Could I DONK it up anymore here?!? Let's just say I got out with very little still intact. Pride and Ego severly damaged. Poker skill and ability much in question. Do I suck...or what!?! So I get out with 32 whopping dollars to my name on that site. EEEE--AWWWW! Donk it up, loser! I clear my head...for a couple hours. Return to the scene of the crime, my blood still puddled on the table. Sheepish smiles all around the table. No I can't see them but dangit I know they're there! I hate you all. But cheer_dad's back for your donking enjoyment. Well that session went a little better. Got things back up to $52. Just a little breathing room. A total of 91 raked hands I believe, for both sessions. I need 300 for Savvy. Actually 350 gets me my first $20 back from GamingClub. And thereafter each 350 gets me another $20, to a maximum of $300, within the first 30 DAYS ONLY! A smart man...would play a smart game...but I'm stuck with me, so I can just do my best I suppose. Hopefully I can at least win back to my original buy-in, and fade away into poker anonymity.

Focussing on lighter fare...like I said I finished Nine.com earlier on Monday. $100 deposited, $150 in bonus, $220 in winnings, + $100 gift card through Savvy for getting the points. So I turned $100 into $570 in just over a month. Not too bad for a DONK!

NDPT had it's tourney this weekend at my house. A whopping 26 people played. Again Matt J walks away with the top prize, inching ever closer to the top of the Points Pyramid. There are only 3 Points tournaments left before the end of the year, and then only the Year End Bash remains. Eyes on the prize...eyes on the prize.

In other news...I bought my daughter a parakeet yesterday afternoon. After much discussion...the bird has finally been named Trixie. I'll have to remember to snap a picture of it later tonight for the blog. I had to face the wrath of Big Red for a while, but she mellowed, on me...ahhhh, me and my boyish charm. :) That can't be it...she must have something in store for me. Oh hello dear!!! WHAM!

Anyway, that's enough for today. That brings me up-to-date with life events, thus far.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Nine.com last night!

I played Nine.com last night...BRIEFLY! And it wasn't brief for a bad reason either. I log on to put in the requisite points to finalize that darn bonus requirement. So many points for the next few nights, and I hit it. But last night I didn't hit the mark. Instead I found a MARK, more precisely two of them at my table. I sit down again at $1/$2 Limit, with my usual $50. Right off the bat I notice these two players at the table, that are in every hand...raising, reraising, sucking out, swinging back and forth so fast that my head is spinning. They're chatting it up...dominating and running the table. Conventional wisdom says that these are the guys you want at the table with you. My experience is when idiots travel in packs, it can be dangerous. Still, I figure, I'll log a few hands, and since the pots are boosted by these boneheads I should earn some points. Then, I'll log off. That's right, game plan, earn points, logoff! Well it didn't go down that way. BUT, in a GOOD WAY. I get nothing for a while, like one round of the button. Then, I'm the BB, and get pocket 9's. Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum, one or the other raises it up preflop, of course, as always. I opt to call just to see what becomes of the hand. The flop comes out...and well lookee there that's a 9 out there! I bet...Tweedle dee raises, and dum reraises...so I comply, and cap it, they both call. Next card is a Jack, (i think) I pause, and then bet out again...Dee raises, Dum reraises...I cap again, they call...Dum's a little slow about it all this time. The river brings up a scary card for me...there is a straight possible, no flush, just a straight. An 8-Q or Q-K could really ruin my day here. Dee and Dum could very well have anything, remember I've seen them playing...But I decide you only live once. I bet, Dee jumps on it, and raises me, without thinking, holy cow, he must have the "RAISE ANY" button mashed in on his screen! Dum, next to act, ponders...long, and hard, this time, just CALLS. Back to me...and I'm well this is what we came here for boys...let's do this THANG! I reraise, Dee reraises me...back to Dum...has he slipped into a coma?!!! Please call/fold/anything...I just wanna know something, anything. Finally, he meekly calls, as do I of course. The rest of the table is going crazy by now...this is unreal, it's INSANE I tell you! Immediately, Dee's cards display...oh no...it's...it's...hey...that's a 10-J he's got there, ooooh, nice two pair ya got their pal. :) Now the blinky light moves on to DUM...what's he got...what's he got...what's he got...MUCK!!!! You've got to be friggin' kiddin ME!!! Now it's back to little ole me, and my little ole set o' NINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The pot had swelled to $60+ on a $1/$2 LIMIT TABLE!?! And it just got shoved my way! Huh...well that's nice, I play the next hand, heck I don't even remember what it was, I folded early on. Dee and Dum ain't sayin' so much any more. Huh, they don't seem to be pushing as much anymore either. I sit around for a few more hands, and now it's like there's blood in the water. Either of them even enters a pot, and the rest of the table DIVES IN on 'em. It's like a pack of dogs on a three legged cat. I'm laughing so hard now, that I've gotta leave now. It isn't safe out there for anyone, now. Oh wait, my plan...oh yeah the points, then leave...ahh screw the plan! I've almost doubled up in about 15 total hands played, I just plowed myself back over the $300 mark. It's time to call it an evening. It's Miller Time!
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum have been given elite status now in my buddy list, on Nine.com. I'm considering renaming my children after them. By the way the brother's Tweedle are not really their names. And no, I'm not going to print their names here...not because I fear libel, but simply because, those two cash cows are mine...ALL MINE! Find your own!

Regards,

cheer_dad

PS3 vs. Wii - Apple Style!

. Thanks Erik...this is GREAT!!! Regards, cheer_dad

Thanks PokerSavvy for the freeroll!

I wanted to give a big thanks to PokerSavvy.com for putting together a great $1,000 freeroll on Poker.com last night. Although, I didn't make it to the money...I had a great time hanging out with my fellow Savvy bloggers. Played a ring game while I was there, at the .10/.25 NL level and cashed out up $10.00, so for me it was a winning night! If PokerSavvy continues to run these, and they said that they would, their site traffic in general is going to shoot up. I wish them luck! Go MATT!

In other news...I'm closing in on the Nine.com prize of $150 that I've been working for (see previous blog posts.) Another 350 points or so to go. AND, I'm out of the slump that I was wallowing in out there. Having been as high as $310, dropping to $199, I'm happy to report that I'm on the way to recovery, and sitting currently at $268. Man dropping below the $200 mark was a real blow to the poker ego. Self doubt begets tilt, begets more losing! Just say NO!!!

The week is dragging by. These 5 day work weeks kill me. I used to be on 4X10's but management decision forced leads into this crazy AlternateWorkSchedule of 5-4-9's. Basically a 5 day week and a 4 day week combined. So I get one Monday off every other week. AND this AIN'T that week!

Chatted w/a fellow Savvy person last night "skippymagoo" on Poker.com. He seemed pleased with PokerSavvy. Said that having me respond to his post on the forum had a lot to do with him signing up and going the Savvy way, particularly on Poker.com. I hope it does go well for him. Though not at my bankroll's expense. :) Sorry dude!

Saturday night is the tourney at my house at 6:00pm. There are currently 25 people signed up! That's where I had to cap it...and I've got folks waiting in the wings too!

Finally, a torrential downpour last night turned the street in front of my house into a giant lake, and a raging river in the backyard. Doesn't appear to have got in the basement anywhere. I'll have to get copies of Liz's pictures that she was taking during the storm. Also, shots of the kids playing in the water. Maybe I should hold off on showing those to Big Red! Ahhh, what the heck, you only live once.

Oh yeah...and Teresa booked our rooms for VEGAS!!! She found our mailer that got us 3 comped nights!!! SWEET!

Time to get back to the grind.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Spiralling into the abyss

Nine.com has NOT been kind the past few days. I am 444 points away from the 150% bonus, but if the past 2 days are any indication I'll be broke in the account before I ever get there. I'm serious! Cold cards doesn't even seem to describe my experience as of late. I've dropped just over $100. I'm still above my initial investment, by about $100, but a C-note down from where I've been is lousy. I really just want this to be over, so I can move on to a greener pasture. Had I NOT been fulfilling the bonus requirements I would have taken my money off of this site earlier. There are others that I want to try...and there have been others which I greatly prefer their bonus programs. Also Nine.com doesn't seem to have all that many tourneys running. Not that I'm a huge fan any more of the multi table online tourney, but it seems to attract a group of players that keeps me in the black. I'll see what tonight brings me as far as Poker is concerned. This slump has got to end eventually. Thankfully, I haven't given completely in to TILT. I admit that there have been a couple of acts of desperation. Thank goodness it was Limit.

I really need to get some tracking software installed to monitor my progress and results a little more accurately. Perhaps it would help identify trends in my game. It might keep me from making some huge mistakes over time. Maybe, if I'm lucky, it would help identify gaping holes in my game as well. THAT, would be useful. I don't know which product to go with, but I'm leaning toward Poker Tracker or Poker Office:

I'll compare and contrast them, and get moving on this very soon. I like the Poker Office logo better. Has a greater impact to me. Don't know why...

I suppose I should really get on with the rest of my day. Let's see what happens.

Regards,

cheer_dad

In the home stretch...and struggling

I'm "nearly" complete with the Nine.com bonus... I need in the neighborhood of 550 point to claim my 150% now. I had built my account on there up to about $310, but man the cards have certainly gone cold on me. I've dropped back into uncomfortable territory again, sinking to $248. I'm usually okay with it down to $250, but now that I've crossed over, it sucks. I've given myself a few reality checks, to be sure, I'm still playing MY GAME. Style and requirements haven't changed, so I start analyzing other things...and sure enough, I see none of my pairs, making a set. My King high flushes being bested by the Ace, and my straights normally being rivered by runner/runner flushes. I'm also experiencing sub-par win to loss ratios. I'm even okay with a 1:10 ratio, when I'm getting in there and able to capitolize on my big hands. But lately I'm a bit below that, and the hands I'm taking down, are little more than the blinds. Remember this is $1/$2 Limit, so there is no "Too Agressive." The other thing I'm noticing, at least yesterday, is 2 or 3 people at the table who are raising/reraising/and capping a great many of the hands, preflop. And I've watched to the bitter end as they have turned over LESS THAN GOOD cards, that'll happen to hit a piece of something. Sometimes they're just playing Ace anything or King anything, but other times, it's just crap! And they're raising it every time...in every hand. And it seems to be working for them. I've watched helplessly, unable to do a thing about it. When I have caught a big hand, it usually gets destroyed on the flop, and I'm forced to throw it away, or follow it down to the bitter end, only to be rivered by some nasty set of cards.

I suppose I'll be okay, provided that in getting that 150% bonus I don't drop below $200, but it'll just suck that I had been as high as $300 and I'll just feel like I'm "settling." If I can turn this around, as has usually been the case, when I've hit this slump on this site, I may have to continue playing on the site, even though to a lesser degree than I am now, while bonus chasing. But I can feel some other site calling my name to come and get a bonus.

I sent out a reminder this morning that my tourney is this Saturday. I've already got 19 signed, so there are just 5 spots left. Get 'em while they're HOT!

In other news, the command(s) for the day are:

$ /itim/bin/StartAgent.sh
$ ps -ef grep AixAgent

Information you can use...well I can anyway. You'll probably find it absolutely useless.

Time to get back to it.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Pics that have caught my eye...and mind...today

Productivity has definitely taken a NOSE DIVE! Here are some of the things/images which have otherwise occupied the gray matter...







Always one of my favorite images. The single drop, makes a big splash...relatively speaking of course.














The girl with the most haunting eyes EVER!














Now here's a tangent!













Clonie Gowan at the table...














Is he staring her down?















If so, he better have these in the hole.









i miss vegas... :(












There...that got it off my mind!











Well at least for a little while...
The Yanok's game is tonight...and I'm looking forward to it. Teresa, Chris, Laura, Erik and I are all going tonight. So our "crew" invades their game I suppose. We'll try not to wear out our welcome.

In other news I'm up to $277 on Nine.com, with about 800 points left to make for my additional 150%. SWEET!!!

My time here is now DONE!

Regards,

cheer_dad

A 4-day weekend, just isn't long enough

The work week came back around way too quickly! Despite the fact that I was off Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday; my time away from work just seems to short. I even got to play a tournament on Sunday at my house. Although I didn't win, I had a great time. This was not a points event, so I actually believe that people (including) me played a bit differently. More aggressive play and gambling moves were the hallmarks of the evening. My wife even made the final table, and GOT PAID! Way to go honey! I have also logged some serious time against the Nine.com bonus. I really closing in on this 150% bonus. Not only that but I'm up to about $250 on the site already from my $100 start. I hope that the trend continues and I come out prosperous on the site, in my quest for the bonus, instead of watching it crash in on me. My wife keeps insisting that I should take some of this money off line, and hold it where I can get at it, not so she can take it, but so that it is available to me the next time that Matt calls and invites me to another of his "high stakes" nights. By high stakes, I mean about a $200 sit down No Limit game. I'm just not sure I can make that transition...and I'm torn by the decision in a lot of directions. BUT, I am considering it. If the bankroll continues to grow, I'm going to have to entertain the idea.

I've had a better time of sleeping without snoring lately due to BreatheRight nasal strips. Faced with the option of Teresa kicking me out of the bedroom for good...I thought maybe I should give these a try. They really do open the nasal passage, and appear to be helping me. Teresa seems to think that they are helping me, and she also says that I've been considerably quieter. However, I'm still feeling a bit tired during the days here at work. I think a general sense of burnout has ensued. I need some extended downtime. A new outlook, a new attitude. Perhaps, if the "overlords" were not so vigilent, so watchful. The feeling of dread and impending doom.

You know, the ever watchful Eye of Ra is upon you, much like in the movie Stargate. In the end he turned out to be some vicious little E.T. But was still able to leave a lot of misery in his wake.

Wow, did the blog take a turn for the negative there or what!?!

Moving right along...


Thought for the day, I guess should be..."If you're at the end of your rope. Tie a knot and hang on!"

And with that happy little tidbit, I'll bring this overshadowed blog post to an end, before it drags me down even deeper.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Working for the Weekend!

You know Loverboy had it right back in the 80's. Life really was all about the weekend! That and leather pants I guess... The weekend is finally here. I for one am glad! However I do have to go back into work at 8:00pm for a production deployment. Please let it go smooth, please let it go smooth... Just like in the picture, keep your fingers CROSSED! With as much confusion as is going on around here, I might be better off at work anyway. It couldn't be much worse anyway. Kids have a lot of pent up energy...since returning to school this week. I've just been going in to work to early, and I'm just irritable, I suppose. Hopefully this deployment tonight will take care of the memory leak. Thus making the morning restarts of the application a thing of the past. Regardless this is a holiday weekend. Happy Labor Day!!! And to celebrate we will not labor. And even better my AWS week is next, so it's a four day weekend for yours truly.

Planning a cookout for Sunday, if the weather cooperates. But more importantly the wife suggested a Poker Tourney for 7:00pm that night! She's really going all-in on playing cards! Brings a tear to the eye. Okay, really just a smile to my face.

I may write more later...was just mulling over the weekend thing, and that song popped into my head. So for your 80's education moment try on these lyrics:

Working For The Weekend - Loverboy
Everyone's watching, to see what you will do
Everyone's looking at you, oh
Everyone's wondering, will you come out tonight
Everyone's trying to get it right, get it right
Everybody's working for the weekend
Everybody wants a little romance
Everybody's goin' off the deep end
Everybody needs a second chance, oh
You want a piece of my heart
You better start from start
You wanna be in the show
Come on baby lets go
Everyone's looking to see if it was you
Everyone wants you to come through
Everyone's hoping it'll all work out
Everyone's waiting they're holding out
Everybody's working for the weekend
Everybody wants a little romance
Everybody's goin' off the deep end
Everybody needs a second chance, oh
You want a piece of my heart
You better start from start
You wanna be in the show
Come on baby lets go
(quick break)
You want a piece of my heart
You better start from start
You wanna be in the show
Come on baby lets go
You want a piece of my heart
You better start from start
You wanna be in the show
Come on baby lets go

Gotta run...

Regards,

cheer_dad

# chown {your name here} allmychips

Assuming you're logged in as root, you should be able to do this, and save yourself the time of taking my chips from me a few at a time on Nine.com. Okay, so now I'm offering up UNIX commands to the competition to take my money away from me. Not that they needed any help last night! I'm still up on the site...to the tune of $120 total. I'm still about 1,200 points shy of my 150% bonus being awarded, which would translate to $150. So the question is, do I continue to play only to the point that I lose back to my initial investment of $100, or continue to play on, in hopes that my cold cards will eventually warm back up...or if not that I get the remaining points required to get awarded the $150 thus putting myself back on top again? I'm irritated by the last couple of days, but not dead yet. It is just frustrating to think back and realize that I was over $200 not a week ago. Poker does have an ebb and flow. It could be worse, and I could be playing for no bonus $'s at a brick and mortar, or at some lesser online room. No, I'm not going broke...I'm still at around $1,100 online total...it's just spread out around several different rooms online. I think I'll push on and go for the $150. Hopefully, I'll never dip below the $100 mark, and this whole line of thought will be a moot point.

In other news JJ has once again left the gambling fold! At least "live games." He's still "allowed" to play online from time-to-time. At least his wife says so for now. So, I guess I should just drop him from the NDPT Points Standings, what does everyone think!? :)

I realized this morning that I missed a freeroll on PokerRoom, last night, courtesy of PokerSourceOnline.com I thought it was tonight! I would have served myself better to have played in that instead of on Nine.com.

I'm currently reading Doyle Brunson's Super System...for the first time! Believe it or not! It is actually an interesting read. Following this book I still have my sites set on reading Caro's Book of Tells. I think it will prove to be an invaluable aid in my poker journey! Following that, I'm thinking Zen and the Art of Poker.

Sort of dreary here today, lots of rain. I'm actually more awake today than I have been in several days now, but I could really use a truly relaxing vacation. But the likelihood of that is VERY SLIM!

Whenever I do finally finish up the promo on Nine.com I think I'm going to move back over to PSO, to complete PokerShare. I still have 1,250 points on PSO, and if I do the promo for PokerShare I can get 6,000 more. Which would give me more than enough for a roll of 100 25 cent Nevada Jacks chips. These would be VERY nice for a cash game along with the 300 multi denominations that I currently have. The problem was that the smallest denomination I had was $1.00, and I as well as many of my fellow NDPT'ers are cheapskates. Yeah, you know who you are!

After finishing that I think I'll move immediately back to Savvy where I think I've found a home.

It is official now too, that Big Red and I will be returning to Las Vegas the last week of October. Which by the way will coincide with our 15th Anniversary! Yippee for us!

That's all I've got for now...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Recovery and Spaniards

I managed to rack up in the neighborhood of 50+ points last night on the Nine.com site, to put me over 700 points toward the goal of 2270, for my bonus level. And was able to regain some of what I had lost the previous night. In fact over $40 back of the $60, I'd dropped. So that was a considerable relief to me. AND, what made it even better, at least in my mind, was that two of the guys at last night's table, were the same two from the night before, who seemed to be sucking out more often than not. Tonight, it looked a little more like they were getting the worst end of it, all around. I think I was even getting under their skin a little with my check raising against them repeatedly when I was isolated with them in a hand. My cards just kept hitting against them...and I have to admit, it was very satisfying. Anyway, I had speculated that the two of them were "working" together. Which I don't know that for a fact, but they were both from Spain...and in fact were chatting in Spanish while at the table. No one else at the table seemed to raise any complaints about it...so I stayed out of it as well. Whatever they were chit-chatting about, wasn't helping their game any, as far as I could see. :)

Big Red is planning another Labor Day get-together, although would prefer to have the cookout/games/gathering on either Saturday or Sunday instead of on Monday, since it seems that we're rushing around on a Monday, and then we are worn out on Tuesday at work! Also, she shocked me when she said that if we have it on Sat/Sun then we could have a card game later on in the evening! I think I've created a MONSTER! What's next, is she going to start playing on line?

The kids had their first day of school yesterday. Everything sounded really positive from them both. Both like their teachers...and there were no complaints about anything that I recall.

I see on my calendar that there's an HPT freeroll tonight. I wonder if Big Red's going to let me play this one? Guess I better turn on the charm! :)

Time to turn my attention elsewhere.

Regards,

cheer_dad

A little bad...a lot good

Friday and Saturday were tournament nights this past weekend.
Friday night at the Yanok's for 2 tournaments, due to quick blind escalation. The wife actually came along with me this time. (Lately she's been showing a great deal of interest in this little game!) Actually that night, we just broke even. In the second tourney, Julie and I chopped the prize pool, since it was late...and she was my ride home. :) That put us at $80 each. So, since the evening cost very little from that perspective(I won back both of our buy-ins from both tourneys, Big Red decided that the Saturday game at Shuman's was a "go" as well! We bought in for $26 each there, including the "bad beat" pot. Out of the 19 who showed, I finished in 2nd place and took down $145. Big Red nearly made it to the final table...so she did quite well. She enjoyed the game there too! So the weekend showed a tidy profit of $93 in my little world of poker, since I was supporting the buy-ins of two people. "Technically" I was up $159...but I didn't want to state that too strongly...I was just glad to get to play!
That was the "a lot good" part...

A little bad, followed the next morning (Sunday.) Recall that I'm still finishing up the bonus points at Nine Poker (Nine.com.) I still need to crank out about 37 points per day for the next 45 days or so, to complete and claim an additional $150 bonus. I bought in on 2 tables ($1/$2 Limit) for $50 each. Nearly bled to death over a couple of hands in particular. First my set of Queens that I hit on the flop got spanked by a straight on the river, which cost me a huge chunk, since the bet was getting capped. That one really hurt. Second, was the river brought me my straight to the King, only to be greeted by the Nut Flush, when the guy caught his runner/runner for his backdoor flush draw. I think I could have saved a few bucks if I'd left then and there...but you all know how hard that is, when you feel you can still turn it around. I probably could have walked at that point I merely been down $50, but I opted to stay to finish out my 37 points for the day...but kept going beyond that out of frustration (yes, they call that TILT!!!) Anyway, when the dust finally settled I dropped about $65 on that site during the session. However, I'm still up $35 from my initial deposit there, not counting the extra $100 I got from PokerSavvy in a gift card for promo-ing the site. So, I guess there's still a silver lining. The sucky part is that I had just broke the $200 mark on the site. But that's poker I suppose. So, depending on perspective I'm up $28 -OR- $94 for the weekend. I'll let you all decide! :) I'll play again this evening on Nine.com to put in my 37 points again, but I'm going to pull the plug on the whole site if I drop the last $35 back to my initial buy-in. At which point I'll just cash out completely, and move on to greener pastures. Their bonus clears horribly slow...and I'm not getting much extra for my play time there. Other sites have much more attractive bonuses for me at much more comfortable "limits" to me. I'm not a big fan of limit hold 'em in the first place.
I am beginning to recognize the make up of a table when I'm playing limit. There are some tell tale signs that point to an "unprofitable" table for me, though some might disagree with me. The table will see approximately 5-6 people to the flop every single time. At least two people at the table will be at $60+. Someone in late position...every single time will make it $2 to see the flop, and nearly everyone will call this raise. And, finally at least two guys at the table will seem to be from the same geographical spot in the world. I'm not particularly saying that there's cheating afoot, but I don't rule that out. No, what I'm beginning to see is a couple of friends just jockeying at the table for dominance, and the rest of us are just along for the ride. You will see lots of suckouts...lots of any two will do players, crap cards hitting flushes and straights, your good hands meeting monsters, and just generally a bad time for you! Sometimes though, you find the berry patch table, the planets align, and lady luck plants a big wet one on you...and all of a sudden you can do no wrong. Ride that...briefly, and then walk away and count your bankroll and be happy. You will need these sessions to counter-balance those spank sessions, I've laid out above. Getting this all off my chest, will let me move beyond this now, because I can sense that the losing session was still on my mind, and would affect my game. So, now I've let myself have the little pity party I had coming to me, and now it's back to the game plan. Tight/Agressive...lather/rinse/repeat. Nuff Said.

Regards,

cheer_dad

WOW, am I delinquent or what?!?

My apologies to cyberspace, for not staying up with the blog. Work just really has a way of bogging down the day, and really taking the life out of you some days. It's been that way now, for well over a month now! Frankly, I see no end in sight, which really sucks. Well let's recap the important stuff. The 2006 WSOP has crowned its champion Jamie Gold, after he won the 12 Million Dollar prize in the Main Event. But now, I see today, thanks to my RSS feeds on My Yahoo page that he is now being sued for half!!! Here's the story: http://www.pokernews.com/news/2006/8/price-fame-gold-sued.htm Is nothing sacred?

Another tournament for the NDPT was held on August 18th...and no I didn't win, but TJ and I are now neck and neck in the points race. Okay, maybe not so close as that, but only 7 points separates us. There's only 14 points between 1st and 3rd, who is none other than Matt B. I'm really glad that I implemented the points standings for this year...it has really added a lot of extra excitement to the game in my opinion. If you don't like it, say so...but really that's just TOUGH! In my online exploits...I've finished another PokerSavvy promo on Nine.com, which put me over the top again, and I've already snatched up another PartyPoker gift card for my trouble. I took a bit of a beating one night to really diminish my funds on Nine.com, BUT as of last night, I'm back baby! My initial deposit of $100, had capsized at one point to $30, when Big Slick, and Rockets were getting consistently cracked! But I got back up to $132 last night. So I'm good to go again for quite a while. I'm doubtful that I'll be able to earn the requisite Nine.com player points within the 60 days to get my 150% bonus. Their points are pretty tought to get at my levels of play. I'm just not going to go chasing the bonus dollars anymore...it just leads to trouble. I nearly let it cost me everything on this site. Thankfully, I got out while I was still solvent.
School will be starting up for the kids, and actually I think they're going to be ready to go back. I think they've had enough of summer. Of course they'll think differently after about a week or so. Also, I think Teresa is considering a Vegas trip for us, for our Anniversary. Yes, October 26th, will be 15 years for me and Big Red. One of these days, she's going to wake up and realize she's just too good for me, but so far, she's stuck it out with me. And, despite all my b.s....I'm very happily married to a wonderful woman. Sheesh...where'd that come from!?! Anyway, that'll have to tide you over until next time, I just promise that I won't wait nearly a month, before posting to the blog again!

Regards, cheer_dad